1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,200
His apathy stands on the shore, but
refuses to connect with the sufferer.

2
00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,470
So right before this, he's pictured,
the sufferer is the one who's drowning.

3
00:00:07,470 --> 00:00:09,840
The sufferer is the one
that's in the the pit.

4
00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:13,440
And specifically he uses the idea
of quicksand and he says, apathy

5
00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,040
stands on the shore and refuses
to connect with the sufferer.

6
00:00:18,330 --> 00:00:23,460
Empathy dives in to connect with the
sufferer, but loses touch with the shore.

7
00:00:23,460 --> 00:00:23,490
I.

8
00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:29,790
The virtue of compassion or sympathy
insists on being tethered to both.

9
00:00:30,524 --> 00:00:35,264
Maintaining contact with the shore so
that we can help the person who's in need.

10
00:00:36,105 --> 00:00:38,984
He develops that thought throughout
the book, and I think he does so in

11
00:00:38,984 --> 00:00:40,754
a really helpful and compelling way.

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00:00:40,754 --> 00:00:43,634
But that's a little bit about what
we're talking about when we come

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00:00:43,634 --> 00:00:44,955
to the book of Amos this morning.

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Amos is going to present a picture of
God and his concern, and his care and

15
00:00:49,634 --> 00:00:54,824
his compassion for those that are needy
and destitute and helpless, impoverished.

16
00:00:55,199 --> 00:00:59,280
In fact, God's gonna go after Israel,
the Northern Kingdom for their neglect

17
00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:00,959
of their abuse, of their apathy.

18
00:01:00,959 --> 00:01:03,480
They're the ones that are
apathetic here towards the

19
00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:05,489
suffering people in their midst.

20
00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,720
And as we, as the church think about
that, I think this is an area for us to

21
00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,470
lean into a little bit to, to understand
that as we look around our culture and

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society, that we can't take an apathetic.

23
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Point of view that we can't
take an apathetic position.

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00:01:18,735 --> 00:01:22,965
We can't stand on the shore huddled
in our, our holy huddles as the church

25
00:01:23,265 --> 00:01:26,655
and look at the destitute, the poor,
the needy among us, and just say, well,

26
00:01:26,925 --> 00:01:30,045
uh, we'll preach the gospel to them
because that's really what they need.

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But that's as, that's our obligation, that
is the primary obligation that we have.

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It's not the only obligation that we have.

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And the Book of Amos is
gonna lay that out for us.

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In fact, the book of
Amos is gonna do this.

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It's gonna show us that because God cares.

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00:01:44,354 --> 00:01:47,625
About the poor and the needy, and
the destitute and the helpless.

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00:01:47,925 --> 00:01:49,275
God cares that we care too.

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00:01:50,384 --> 00:01:51,675
God cares that we care too.

35
00:01:52,710 --> 00:01:54,420
And we're gonna find out what
that should look like as we

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00:01:54,420 --> 00:01:55,470
walk through this book together.

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00:01:55,950 --> 00:01:59,100
The book of Amos Falls right
around the middle of the eighth

38
00:01:59,100 --> 00:02:01,410
century BC seven 60 to seven 50.

39
00:02:01,470 --> 00:02:05,250
His, uh, reign or his prophecy, his
prophetic ministry, according to

40
00:02:05,250 --> 00:02:09,030
Amos one, one, uh, took place during
the reigns of the kings that that

41
00:02:09,030 --> 00:02:12,240
reign from about 7 93 to 7 39 bc.

42
00:02:12,475 --> 00:02:16,710
And, and so we kind of take the middle of
that range as the time that he probably

43
00:02:16,710 --> 00:02:19,050
wrote, probably prophesied during this.

44
00:02:19,590 --> 00:02:20,670
Amos is a, a unique.

45
00:02:20,805 --> 00:02:23,985
Author of the book, and we know it's
him because Amos one, one says that

46
00:02:23,985 --> 00:02:26,954
it is him, the words of Amos, and
he's unique because you'll notice

47
00:02:26,985 --> 00:02:28,995
he was among the shepherds of Koa.

48
00:02:29,325 --> 00:02:31,695
And so Amos was not the son of a prophet.

49
00:02:31,725 --> 00:02:33,795
He didn't grow up
aspiring to be a prophet.

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00:02:33,795 --> 00:02:35,235
He was out shepherding.

51
00:02:35,235 --> 00:02:39,704
He was breeding sheep most likely, and
God calls him from that and it says he

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00:02:39,704 --> 00:02:41,925
calls him from that in the region of Koa.

53
00:02:42,165 --> 00:02:43,935
Here's another interesting
thing about Amos.

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00:02:44,175 --> 00:02:47,775
Amos lived about 10 miles south of
Jerusalem, which means he was part

55
00:02:47,775 --> 00:02:51,525
of the Southern kingdom, and yet God
takes him and calls him to go and

56
00:02:51,525 --> 00:02:55,155
prophesy a message of judgment that's
coming against the Northern Kingdom.

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00:02:55,605 --> 00:02:59,055
If you're not familiar with what's going
on here after King Solomon, the, the

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Kingdom of Israel split into two kingdoms.

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00:03:01,815 --> 00:03:04,965
You had the northern kingdom and then
you had the southern kingdom of Judah.

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00:03:05,385 --> 00:03:08,445
And so he comes, Amos does, from
the southern kingdom of Judah,

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00:03:08,445 --> 00:03:12,105
and God is sending him to the
northern kingdom of Israel.

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00:03:12,105 --> 00:03:15,525
Again, date around seven 50, the
audience, Israel and, and the theme we've

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been talking about, these key words to
associate with these books each week.

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And so Hosea was the word redemption.

65
00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,000
And then we got to Joel and
the word was repentance.

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00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:28,800
Now as we come to Amos, the word for us
this week is gonna be the word justice.

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00:03:29,340 --> 00:03:30,150
Justice.

68
00:03:31,260 --> 00:03:34,620
This is a book again about God's care
and compassion for the, the needy,

69
00:03:34,620 --> 00:03:38,280
the destitute, the poor, the helpless,
and about how he cares that we care

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00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,750
to Israel neglected that, and God was
going to come in judgment against them.

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00:03:42,750 --> 00:03:43,890
The book's gonna break down this way.

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00:03:43,890 --> 00:03:46,800
Just a quick outline for you,
chapters one and two, indictment.

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00:03:47,175 --> 00:03:50,025
God's leveling the, the
guilt against Israel.

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00:03:50,025 --> 00:03:55,395
You are being indicted for your neglect
of the needy, your neglect of the

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00:03:55,395 --> 00:03:58,605
compassion ministry that you've been
called to chapters three through six.

76
00:03:58,605 --> 00:04:01,155
Then it provide the detailed
charges of that indictment.

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00:04:01,335 --> 00:04:04,965
Here's specifically Israel, what you've
done, and here's where you've gone wrong.

78
00:04:05,204 --> 00:04:08,295
And then chapter seven through
nine, deal with the judgment of God

79
00:04:08,295 --> 00:04:10,125
against the people of Israel there.

80
00:04:10,725 --> 00:04:13,575
Our task this morning is to cover this
book and to say, okay, so what does

81
00:04:13,575 --> 00:04:16,605
this have to do with us Amos written.

82
00:04:17,430 --> 00:04:22,920
Almost 3000 years ago, 2,700 years ago,
about to a people that are Northern

83
00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:24,330
Tribe that that's not even there anymore.

84
00:04:24,330 --> 00:04:27,210
The Northern Kingdom is
gone exile in 7 22 bc.

85
00:04:28,050 --> 00:04:29,220
What does this have to do with us?

86
00:04:29,220 --> 00:04:31,890
Well, that's what I hope to answer
this morning as we look at Amos,

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00:04:31,890 --> 00:04:33,210
the God who cares, that we care.

88
00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:35,580
Let's pick up in chapter one.

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00:04:35,580 --> 00:04:39,270
In chapter one through two, we
find eight judgements against

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00:04:39,270 --> 00:04:40,290
eight different nations.

91
00:04:40,350 --> 00:04:42,330
And so what we're gonna see
here is we're gonna see 'em

92
00:04:42,330 --> 00:04:44,250
start out with Damascus, Syria.

93
00:04:45,030 --> 00:04:47,610
And that's in chapter one, verses
one through five and then you get

94
00:04:47,610 --> 00:04:51,870
Gaza or Philistia chapter one verses
six through eight, and then you get

95
00:04:51,870 --> 00:04:54,270
tire nine through 10, you get edem.

96
00:04:54,300 --> 00:04:56,159
That's the mites, the
the descendants of Esau.

97
00:04:57,195 --> 00:05:01,665
And then you've get, you've got Amon Ian
verses 13 through 15, and then Moab in

98
00:05:01,665 --> 00:05:03,105
chapter two verses one through three.

99
00:05:03,435 --> 00:05:06,585
So you can imagine, as Amos is going
before Israel, and he's going through

100
00:05:06,585 --> 00:05:10,305
these initial judgements, these first six
Israel's probably sitting there nodding

101
00:05:10,305 --> 00:05:12,075
their heads along going, yes, amen.

102
00:05:12,105 --> 00:05:14,205
Yes, judge, those pagan
nations, they deserve it.

103
00:05:14,205 --> 00:05:15,465
They're awful, they're godless.

104
00:05:15,645 --> 00:05:17,115
They don't do what God wants them to do.

105
00:05:17,235 --> 00:05:18,285
This is great, Amos.

106
00:05:18,285 --> 00:05:18,765
We like you.

107
00:05:18,765 --> 00:05:19,575
You're a good prophet.

108
00:05:19,575 --> 00:05:20,270
You can hang around.

109
00:05:21,330 --> 00:05:23,985
But the problem is that in verse
four, he turns his sights on Judah.

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00:05:24,990 --> 00:05:28,020
And my assumption is at that
point, the excitement from Israel

111
00:05:28,020 --> 00:05:29,130
kind of died down a little bit.

112
00:05:29,130 --> 00:05:31,290
Wait a minute, this is a
little bit too close to home.

113
00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,770
This is our own backyard now
that God is concerned with.

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00:05:35,430 --> 00:05:40,140
And then sure enough, in verse six,
the Lord turns his attention to Israel.

115
00:05:40,290 --> 00:05:44,340
In fact, the longest portion of judgment
in these opening eight has to do with the

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00:05:44,340 --> 00:05:46,500
northern kingdom, has to do with Israel.

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00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:48,810
And what was God judging in Israel?

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00:05:48,810 --> 00:05:51,000
We'll look at chapter
two, verse six with me.

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00:05:51,420 --> 00:05:52,830
Chapter two, verse six.

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00:05:53,655 --> 00:05:58,455
It says this, thus says the Lord for
three transgressions of Israel and for

121
00:05:58,455 --> 00:06:02,325
four, I will not revoke the punishment
because they sell the righteous for

122
00:06:02,325 --> 00:06:07,545
silver and the needy for a pair of
sandals, those who trampled the head of

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00:06:07,545 --> 00:06:10,875
the poor into the dust of the earth and
turn aside the way of the afflicted.

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00:06:11,175 --> 00:06:15,015
A man and his father go into the same
girl, so that my holy name is profaned.

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00:06:15,284 --> 00:06:18,914
And they lay themselves down beside
every altar on garments taken in

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00:06:18,914 --> 00:06:20,895
pledge and in the house of their God.

127
00:06:20,895 --> 00:06:24,344
They drink the wine of
those who have been fined.

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00:06:24,854 --> 00:06:28,034
And, and so God provides these
three kind of four high level

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00:06:28,034 --> 00:06:29,205
indictments against Israel.

130
00:06:29,205 --> 00:06:33,195
These, these charges, number one,
the devaluing of human life There in

131
00:06:33,195 --> 00:06:36,734
verse six, he says, you're selling
the needy for silver and for a pair

132
00:06:36,734 --> 00:06:38,925
of sandals, you don't value those.

133
00:06:38,925 --> 00:06:41,625
That, that God would say I
have created in my image.

134
00:06:41,745 --> 00:06:43,575
You're devaluing human life.

135
00:06:43,935 --> 00:06:46,845
Second, he says, the needy
were abused and neglected.

136
00:06:47,205 --> 00:06:50,595
They trampled their head down into
the dust of the earth and turn

137
00:06:50,595 --> 00:06:52,575
aside the way of the afflicted.

138
00:06:52,575 --> 00:06:55,335
They're not executing
justice for those in need.

139
00:06:55,935 --> 00:06:58,665
Third sexual immorality and
perversion were running rampant.

140
00:06:58,665 --> 00:07:00,645
The man and the father
going into the same girl.

141
00:07:00,945 --> 00:07:02,445
I won't go any further
than that on that one.

142
00:07:03,075 --> 00:07:06,165
And then finally, verse eight,
oppression of those who are in debt.

143
00:07:06,405 --> 00:07:08,055
This one might take a
little bit of explanation.

144
00:07:08,055 --> 00:07:08,415
Verse eight.

145
00:07:08,445 --> 00:07:12,465
They lay themselves down beside every
altar on garments taken in pledge.

146
00:07:13,035 --> 00:07:16,605
A person's cloak was really the
last item that they had that they

147
00:07:16,605 --> 00:07:18,195
could give in payment of a debt.

148
00:07:18,615 --> 00:07:22,275
And, and in fact, Jesus even talks
about that if, if somebody has l you

149
00:07:22,275 --> 00:07:25,275
their cloak, make sure you return
it before the, the evening comes so

150
00:07:25,275 --> 00:07:27,735
that they can be warm, they won't
be cold, they won't be exposed.

151
00:07:28,095 --> 00:07:30,375
This was really the last thing
somebody had, the last shred of

152
00:07:30,375 --> 00:07:33,765
dignity, the last element that they
had to be given to repay a debt.

153
00:07:33,765 --> 00:07:37,845
And in fact, it was oftentimes when
debts were exacted to their fullest, they

154
00:07:37,845 --> 00:07:41,925
would take the garment and here God is
charging Israel with having done that.

155
00:07:42,330 --> 00:07:45,330
You've taken the garments and you
haven't taken them because you need them.

156
00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,180
You haven't taken them to sell them
so that then you can get some of the

157
00:07:48,180 --> 00:07:49,800
money back that you lent to this person.

158
00:07:50,159 --> 00:07:50,580
No, no, no.

159
00:07:50,580 --> 00:07:54,270
You've taken them and you've just made
them, uh, something to lay beside the

160
00:07:54,270 --> 00:07:58,469
altar on top of you've taken these
things without even really needing them.

161
00:07:58,469 --> 00:08:01,500
In other words, and that's the same idea
with the wine too, he says, and they

162
00:08:01,500 --> 00:08:05,340
drink wine in the house of their God,
uh, uh, from those who have been fined.

163
00:08:05,940 --> 00:08:08,910
Wine was also used from time
to time to repay a debt.

164
00:08:09,270 --> 00:08:11,969
And here the scene is not
that they need the wine.

165
00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,880
It's not that they're gonna take the
wine and and sell it to again, make

166
00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:16,110
up the money that they had loaned.

167
00:08:16,500 --> 00:08:18,960
No, they're gonna take the wine into the
house of God and they're gonna use it

168
00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,060
for frivolity and mirth and drunkenness.

169
00:08:21,630 --> 00:08:25,530
And so again, the oppression of
those in need, God is calling

170
00:08:25,530 --> 00:08:27,180
Israel for account on these things.

171
00:08:27,540 --> 00:08:30,390
What had happened at this time was
Israel was living in a time of, of

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00:08:30,390 --> 00:08:32,789
great opulence in the northern kingdom.

173
00:08:32,818 --> 00:08:36,328
During the reign of these kings,
things were going, well, not morally,

174
00:08:36,539 --> 00:08:38,640
not spiritually, but financially I.

175
00:08:39,044 --> 00:08:43,334
This was a culture wherein they
were blessed, they had every

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00:08:43,334 --> 00:08:44,475
luxury that they could need.

177
00:08:44,745 --> 00:08:47,685
They may have been living in
the, the prosper of Israel at the

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00:08:47,685 --> 00:08:48,765
time, if we could put it that way.

179
00:08:50,295 --> 00:08:52,845
And yet the problem was, what that
had done is it so often does is it

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00:08:52,845 --> 00:08:54,225
created the haves and the have nots.

181
00:08:55,334 --> 00:08:58,185
And what the problem with Israel
was, is that the have nots were

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00:08:58,185 --> 00:09:01,964
being abused and neglected and
mistreated by those that had.

183
00:09:03,405 --> 00:09:06,405
And the biggest issue with
that is that God had called

184
00:09:06,405 --> 00:09:07,214
them to something different.

185
00:09:08,025 --> 00:09:11,985
Exodus chapter 23, verse six says,
you shall not pervert the justice

186
00:09:11,985 --> 00:09:13,545
due to the poor in his lawsuit.

187
00:09:14,175 --> 00:09:16,485
That's just one example from
the law where God said, Hey,

188
00:09:16,695 --> 00:09:17,715
you need to care for the poor.

189
00:09:17,775 --> 00:09:19,185
You need to care for the
needy, the afflicted.

190
00:09:19,935 --> 00:09:22,515
If you've been tracking with us in
our daily Bible reading, the book of

191
00:09:22,515 --> 00:09:26,535
Proverbs has been replete with times
where Solomon has instructed his son

192
00:09:26,535 --> 00:09:30,285
about how evil it is and wicked it is
to take advantage of those that are

193
00:09:30,285 --> 00:09:34,845
less fortunate than you to hurt them, to
oppress them, to do evil against them.

194
00:09:36,060 --> 00:09:40,620
We're gonna dive more into the subject of
justice in our second point this morning.

195
00:09:40,620 --> 00:09:43,890
But for now, I want us to notice
God's intentionality here in how

196
00:09:43,890 --> 00:09:45,360
he sets up this opening indictment.

197
00:09:46,380 --> 00:09:48,480
Again, he could have come straight
outta the book and said, Israel,

198
00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:50,340
you got a problem with justice.

199
00:09:51,270 --> 00:09:56,130
But instead, he kind of circles the runway
with them until he finally sets them up

200
00:09:56,130 --> 00:09:59,580
and lands the plane with the longest of
all the judgment passages in chapter one.

201
00:10:01,140 --> 00:10:03,750
If Israel was listening to this.

202
00:10:04,319 --> 00:10:07,079
Then those that were listening to it
with ears to hear should have been

203
00:10:07,079 --> 00:10:11,189
terrified by this Amos two 13 through 16.

204
00:10:11,219 --> 00:10:14,130
Behold, I will press you
down in your place as a cart

205
00:10:14,130 --> 00:10:15,569
full of Sheaves presses down.

206
00:10:16,260 --> 00:10:20,069
The image there is of after a harvest and
the cart is loaded down with all of the

207
00:10:20,069 --> 00:10:24,750
weight of the harvest and it is crushing
anything in his path under that weight.

208
00:10:24,750 --> 00:10:28,589
He says, I will press you down in your
place as a cart full of sheaves presses

209
00:10:28,589 --> 00:10:31,079
down flight shall perish from the swift.

210
00:10:31,109 --> 00:10:32,339
You won't be able to run from me.

211
00:10:32,925 --> 00:10:34,395
Strong shall not retain their strength.

212
00:10:34,395 --> 00:10:37,605
You're not gonna be able to resist
me, nor the mighty save his life.

213
00:10:37,965 --> 00:10:39,675
He who handles the bow shall not stand.

214
00:10:39,675 --> 00:10:42,645
Weapons, won't stand against my
judgment, and he who is swift of

215
00:10:42,645 --> 00:10:45,885
foot shall not save himself, nor he
who rides the horse save his life.

216
00:10:46,275 --> 00:10:49,365
He who is stout of heart, among
the mighty shall flee away naked

217
00:10:49,365 --> 00:10:50,564
in that day to clears the Lord.

218
00:10:50,564 --> 00:10:55,365
Even the bravest among you are
going to be terrified again.

219
00:10:55,365 --> 00:10:58,665
For the person with ears to hear that
message would've been terrifying.

220
00:10:59,025 --> 00:10:59,505
Frightening.

221
00:11:00,750 --> 00:11:05,040
Even as we listen to this message as,
as we sit here today, it's a message

222
00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,910
that should instill a little bit of,
of terror in us, discomfort in us.

223
00:11:08,910 --> 00:11:12,330
That, that this God is the same God
that we serve and worship today.

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Now there's a difference.

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We're not afraid of obliteration.

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See, Israel was gonna be taken
out in 7 22 BC and they would

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never be a kingdom again.

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00:11:22,350 --> 00:11:25,410
The northern Kingdom would never exist
again and will never exist again.

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There's a remnant from them that will
be part of true Israel as it's restored.

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But God was, was done.

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And that's his message here,
Israel, I'm done with you.

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And, and so we don't fear
that as Christians, right?

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Because why?

234
00:11:37,604 --> 00:11:38,385
Because of the cross.

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00:11:39,074 --> 00:11:41,084
God is never gonna look at you
and say, I'm done with you.

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00:11:41,805 --> 00:11:44,444
If you are in Christ, God is never
gonna look at you and say, you are

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00:11:44,444 --> 00:11:48,074
being condemned to hell God this
morning doesn't want you to carry

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00:11:48,074 --> 00:11:49,410
the weight of a fear of judgment.

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That's one John four, when it
says perfect love, cast out fear.

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That's what it's talking about.

241
00:11:53,685 --> 00:11:56,114
You don't have to fear God in the
sense of saying, God, I, I'm afraid

242
00:11:56,114 --> 00:11:57,164
that you're going to send me to hell.

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If you're in Christ, God's
not gonna send you to hell.

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00:11:58,844 --> 00:12:00,164
That's the whole point of the cross.

245
00:12:01,094 --> 00:12:04,514
And yet the Bible does say as
Christians, that there is a fear

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of God that we should possess.

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So as we see this opening chapter, I.

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One of the things that's gonna cause us
to respond to loving those, caring for

249
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those that are needy and destitute and
helpless because God cares that we care.

250
00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:20,925
The the foundation of that is gonna
come in a right understanding of who

251
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God is, a right relationship to God.

252
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That's based on this point.

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Number one, we need to
accept fear alongside love.

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We need to accept fear alongside love.

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The right kind of fear, not the fear that
man, God's gonna turn you into a burn mark

256
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on the ground if you don't please him.

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Not that kind of fear.

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A different fear.

259
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A fear that is a fear of awe.

260
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A fear that understands the power
of God, the majesty of God, the

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00:12:44,609 --> 00:12:46,259
glory of God, the holiness of God.

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A fear that says God, you care
about something, so I need

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to care about that thing too.

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If you remember the song by Rich
Mullen's originally, awesome God,

265
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I think Phil Wickham has recently
taken it in, in modernize it,

266
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I guess you could call it that.

267
00:13:01,170 --> 00:13:03,839
Um, but our God is an awesome God, right?

268
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What does that mean?

269
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We say awesome.

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We say, that's awesome.

271
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That's great.

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We, we've lost all sense of
meaning in that word, haven't we?

273
00:13:11,685 --> 00:13:14,564
Thanks to the 1980s and the skateboard
culture that came outta that, right?

274
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Awesome, rad.

275
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All that stuff.

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That word means to be filled with
awe, to be fearful even is what

277
00:13:22,844 --> 00:13:24,224
the word in the Hebrew means.

278
00:13:25,005 --> 00:13:28,035
To have reverence for something,
to have honor for something.

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Or maybe you can think about it this
way, this relationship of love and

280
00:13:31,665 --> 00:13:35,415
fear, because we need to love God
undoubtedly, and that is so important

281
00:13:35,415 --> 00:13:36,375
in our relationship with him.

282
00:13:36,824 --> 00:13:41,324
We love him because he first loved us,
and that is so crucial for us, right?

283
00:13:41,324 --> 00:13:44,265
We draw near to him as adopted
sons and daughters of God.

284
00:13:44,324 --> 00:13:48,194
And yet we also marry that with
a, a fear and a reverence for him.

285
00:13:48,464 --> 00:13:49,935
Let me e explain it this way.

286
00:13:50,324 --> 00:13:52,395
Um, picture a gun, if you will.

287
00:13:53,430 --> 00:13:57,060
You can look at a gun and, and let's go
back to the, the time when people had to

288
00:13:57,060 --> 00:14:00,869
hunt for their food or to Amir's house,
um, where he still hunts for his food.

289
00:14:01,889 --> 00:14:05,519
You can look at a gun and you
can go, man, I love that gun

290
00:14:05,519 --> 00:14:07,139
because of what it does for me.

291
00:14:08,069 --> 00:14:09,839
That gun protects my family.

292
00:14:10,259 --> 00:14:14,069
That gun helps me get food for my
family and put food on the table.

293
00:14:14,129 --> 00:14:19,800
So in a sense, I love that gun, and yet
you can also look at that gun and say, but

294
00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:21,989
I have a respect for what that gun can do.

295
00:14:22,454 --> 00:14:27,285
If I'm not careful in my approach to that
gun, if I don't use that gun the way I

296
00:14:27,285 --> 00:14:31,005
need to, the way that I'm supposed to
use that gun, then that same thing that I

297
00:14:31,005 --> 00:14:35,025
love, that can be so helpful and so good
for me and my family can become something

298
00:14:35,025 --> 00:14:37,214
that is horribly devastating to us.

299
00:14:38,594 --> 00:14:40,694
That's a little bit of the
relationship of fear and love and

300
00:14:40,694 --> 00:14:41,895
how they can coexist together.

301
00:14:43,064 --> 00:14:45,255
Those of you that are are
weapons specialists out there?

302
00:14:45,255 --> 00:14:45,704
I'm not.

303
00:14:45,765 --> 00:14:46,755
I don't pretend to be one.

304
00:14:46,755 --> 00:14:49,694
I carry a pocket knife and I'm, I'm
okay with that, but not great with it.

305
00:14:50,955 --> 00:14:54,285
You don't, you're not afraid every
time you pick up your gun, but you

306
00:14:54,285 --> 00:14:57,765
do understand what it is to have
the fear of it, and, and yet you

307
00:14:57,765 --> 00:14:59,564
also have that passion for it too.

308
00:14:59,564 --> 00:15:00,975
You're like, I see the good in this thing.

309
00:15:01,995 --> 00:15:03,765
When we approach God, we
approach him that way.

310
00:15:04,785 --> 00:15:09,645
We're not always trembling and trepid
being totally fearful when we come

311
00:15:09,645 --> 00:15:12,074
before him saying, God, you're, you're
gonna cast me away from your presence.

312
00:15:12,074 --> 00:15:13,215
You're gonna throw me
into the pit of hell.

313
00:15:13,694 --> 00:15:14,625
He's not gonna do that.

314
00:15:15,225 --> 00:15:16,245
That's one John four.

315
00:15:16,245 --> 00:15:17,145
You don't have to fear that.

316
00:15:17,895 --> 00:15:22,155
You come before him, knowing the
God that you come before Israel had

317
00:15:22,155 --> 00:15:27,224
forgotten that God and God was calling
them to account on that following God

318
00:15:27,224 --> 00:15:29,444
involves both the fear and the love.

319
00:15:29,685 --> 00:15:32,594
And so if you know a profession Christian
who would say, I don't fear God,

320
00:15:32,594 --> 00:15:34,005
man, you should fear for that person.

321
00:15:35,265 --> 00:15:35,954
I've talked to people.

322
00:15:35,954 --> 00:15:37,905
In fact, there was a person back
in California that I talked to him

323
00:15:37,905 --> 00:15:40,214
multiple times that sat with me
and said, I don't think fearing

324
00:15:40,214 --> 00:15:41,535
God is a New Testament concept.

325
00:15:41,865 --> 00:15:45,435
Peter literally says,
in one Peter, fear God.

326
00:15:47,025 --> 00:15:50,925
And and beyond that you have Jesus in
the gospel saying, I don't fear man.

327
00:15:50,955 --> 00:15:51,795
What can man do to you?

328
00:15:52,515 --> 00:15:55,335
Man can kill the body if you're
the one that can destroy both

329
00:15:55,335 --> 00:15:56,655
the body and soul and hell.

330
00:15:58,185 --> 00:16:02,445
And even if it was just an Old Testament
God concept, the God of the Old Testament

331
00:16:02,445 --> 00:16:03,405
is the God of the New Testament.

332
00:16:04,335 --> 00:16:06,885
And so to, to isolate these commandments
to the Old Testament, go, well, we don't

333
00:16:06,885 --> 00:16:09,555
have to fear him anymore because you
know, the New Testament God is Jesus

334
00:16:09,555 --> 00:16:10,725
and the Old Testament God is Yahweh.

335
00:16:11,115 --> 00:16:13,185
That's a perversion of
the scriptures by itself.

336
00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:16,199
But it is something that's
called on for us as Christians.

337
00:16:16,319 --> 00:16:18,209
So I guess we need to ask the
question then, what should

338
00:16:18,209 --> 00:16:19,050
that look like in my life?

339
00:16:19,229 --> 00:16:21,180
If it's not this trepidation
where I'm like, God, I don't

340
00:16:21,180 --> 00:16:23,609
want any to be around you because
I'm afraid you're gonna zap me.

341
00:16:23,999 --> 00:16:26,339
That's not the right fear that
a Christian should have it.

342
00:16:26,339 --> 00:16:27,359
It's a different kind of fear.

343
00:16:27,359 --> 00:16:29,189
It's a respect, it's a
reverence, it's an honor.

344
00:16:29,189 --> 00:16:30,959
As we approach him, what
does that look like?

345
00:16:30,959 --> 00:16:33,930
Well, by God's providence, we're in the
Book of Proverbs now in our daily Bible

346
00:16:33,930 --> 00:16:37,079
reading, and here's some of the things
that Proverbs says, the fear of the Lord

347
00:16:37,079 --> 00:16:39,329
is the fear of the Lord is hating evil.

348
00:16:40,335 --> 00:16:42,345
It's looking at sin, it's looking
at wickedness in my life and

349
00:16:42,345 --> 00:16:43,665
saying, man, I I, I hate that.

350
00:16:43,665 --> 00:16:47,325
I don't want that to be present
in my life, which I follow up to.

351
00:16:47,325 --> 00:16:48,645
That is what we talked about last week.

352
00:16:48,645 --> 00:16:50,385
The fear of the Lord
is repenting from sin.

353
00:16:51,495 --> 00:16:53,835
It's putting sin off and saying,
I, I wanna turn from this.

354
00:16:53,835 --> 00:16:55,395
I don't wanna walk in
the way of the wicked.

355
00:16:56,025 --> 00:16:57,615
I want to write these things.

356
00:16:58,785 --> 00:17:01,484
The fear of the Lord is also
Proverbs one, seven, loving wisdom.

357
00:17:01,994 --> 00:17:05,233
The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of knowledge and understanding.

358
00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:08,429
So the fear of the Lord is to
love the wisdom of the, the

359
00:17:08,429 --> 00:17:10,200
word of God, to love God's word.

360
00:17:10,950 --> 00:17:13,050
The fear of the Lord is
also growing in humility.

361
00:17:14,638 --> 00:17:17,790
Proverbs 1533 associates
having a, a, a mindset.

362
00:17:17,819 --> 00:17:20,819
That is a humble mindset
because we fear God.

363
00:17:21,990 --> 00:17:24,540
The fear of the Lord is
also resting in confidence.

364
00:17:24,598 --> 00:17:29,879
In Proverbs 1923, part of the fear
of God on the, the positive side of

365
00:17:29,879 --> 00:17:31,350
of the scale is you're gonna say God.

366
00:17:31,740 --> 00:17:33,990
I, I fear you in the sense
that I believe in your, your

367
00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:35,220
promises and your commandments.

368
00:17:35,220 --> 00:17:36,840
I, I trust that you are
gonna follow through.

369
00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:40,200
I trust that when I breathe my
last here, I will open my eyes in

370
00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:41,340
the presence of you in eternity.

371
00:17:41,340 --> 00:17:45,000
That's part of our fear, and the Lord
is resting in that confidence, fear, the

372
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:49,590
Lord that is also learning contentment
while we're here, that we will be content

373
00:17:49,590 --> 00:17:51,420
with what God has provided for us.

374
00:17:53,010 --> 00:17:56,430
If this is what the fear of the
Lord looks like in our life,

375
00:17:56,460 --> 00:17:59,040
the question might follow, okay,
well how do I cultivate that?

376
00:18:00,090 --> 00:18:02,070
How do I grow in my fear of the Lord?

377
00:18:03,090 --> 00:18:04,710
And the answer is through God's word.

378
00:18:05,940 --> 00:18:09,270
The more time you spend in the word
of God, reading it, memorizing it,

379
00:18:09,270 --> 00:18:12,060
meditating on it, the more you will
find that you fear the God of the

380
00:18:12,060 --> 00:18:13,470
Bible, the more you'll get to know him.

381
00:18:13,470 --> 00:18:17,129
And the more you get to know him,
you will have an awesome view of him.

382
00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:21,389
He will inspire all within you,
and at the same time, the more

383
00:18:21,389 --> 00:18:22,440
your love will increase for him.

384
00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:25,950
And so it's a both and
it's not an either or.

385
00:18:26,685 --> 00:18:31,185
And so we have a relationship with God
that is based both in a fear of God and a

386
00:18:31,215 --> 00:18:33,555
love for God, and that has to be intact.

387
00:18:33,705 --> 00:18:36,855
If we're gonna understand where we're
gonna go from here, uh, because God

388
00:18:36,855 --> 00:18:39,585
is going to now in the next part of
this book, in chapter three through

389
00:18:39,585 --> 00:18:41,595
six level, the charges against Israel.

390
00:18:41,595 --> 00:18:44,985
Israel, I've, I've given you the high
level what you've done, but now Israel,

391
00:18:44,985 --> 00:18:48,015
let's talk specifically about some
of the things that I'm upset with.

392
00:18:48,015 --> 00:18:52,065
And so in chapter three through six, Amos
Unpacks the reason for the indictment

393
00:18:52,785 --> 00:18:54,075
that was announced in chapter two.

394
00:18:54,689 --> 00:18:55,530
Look at verse seven.

395
00:18:55,530 --> 00:18:57,929
Here's the high level
of it, of chapter five.

396
00:18:57,990 --> 00:19:00,360
Yeah, verse seven of what's
chapter, chapter five.

397
00:19:01,020 --> 00:19:05,699
It says this, oh, you who turned
justice to wormwood and cast

398
00:19:05,699 --> 00:19:07,770
down righteousness to the earth.

399
00:19:08,580 --> 00:19:13,469
Wormwood was a, a poison you
who poison justice and you cast

400
00:19:13,469 --> 00:19:15,030
down righteousness to the earth.

401
00:19:15,209 --> 00:19:18,990
Those two terms, those two concepts
were at the heart of the, the

402
00:19:18,990 --> 00:19:20,820
problem facing the northern kingdom.

403
00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:24,120
They had neglected
righteousness and justice.

404
00:19:25,004 --> 00:19:26,264
Amos chapter three.

405
00:19:26,475 --> 00:19:28,215
We're gonna do a little bit of
flip-flopping back and forth here

406
00:19:28,215 --> 00:19:32,114
in these middle chapters here, Amos
chapter three, verses nine and 10.

407
00:19:33,014 --> 00:19:38,145
Amos three, nine and 10 says, proclaim
to the strongholds in Ashdod and

408
00:19:38,145 --> 00:19:41,564
to the strongholds in the land of
Egypt, and say, assemble yourselves

409
00:19:41,594 --> 00:19:42,794
in the mountains of Sumaria.

410
00:19:43,335 --> 00:19:46,635
And see the great tumults within
her and the oppressed in her midst.

411
00:19:46,755 --> 00:19:50,955
And so here God is calling on these
pagan nations to come and take root

412
00:19:50,955 --> 00:19:53,685
on the mountains of Samaria, the
capital of the northern kingdom.

413
00:19:53,985 --> 00:19:56,865
And he says, I want you to look
at at how depraved they are.

414
00:19:57,929 --> 00:19:58,800
This is sobering.

415
00:19:59,159 --> 00:20:02,999
God is calling foreign nations to come
and look at how evil Israel had been in

416
00:20:02,999 --> 00:20:07,889
oppressing the needy and oppressing those
that were destitute, those that were

417
00:20:08,100 --> 00:20:12,779
needing care and concern, instead, the
perversion of justice and righteousness.

418
00:20:12,779 --> 00:20:15,810
So he's calling for them and then he
says this in verse 10, they do not

419
00:20:15,810 --> 00:20:20,429
know how to do right, declares the
Lord, those who store up violence

420
00:20:20,429 --> 00:20:22,409
and robbery in their strongholds.

421
00:20:23,264 --> 00:20:25,605
And so God is calling on these
foreign nations to come and look

422
00:20:25,605 --> 00:20:28,455
at how they've oppressed people
and to be appalled at that.

423
00:20:29,385 --> 00:20:30,675
Look at chapter four verse one.

424
00:20:32,355 --> 00:20:33,675
Amos chapter four, verse one.

425
00:20:33,794 --> 00:20:35,745
He says this, hear this word you.

426
00:20:35,745 --> 00:20:37,245
Cows of baan.

427
00:20:37,725 --> 00:20:40,725
Alright, he's talking about the
ladies of the Northern Kingdom.

428
00:20:41,445 --> 00:20:44,024
This tells us Amos was not
looking for a wife as he was

429
00:20:44,024 --> 00:20:46,574
prophesying the cows of Baan.

430
00:20:46,574 --> 00:20:47,235
What does that mean?

431
00:20:47,235 --> 00:20:51,495
Well, Baan, we have to understand first
was an area that was, was very lush green.

432
00:20:51,795 --> 00:20:55,365
It had pastures that were very
rich and always well supplied.

433
00:20:55,365 --> 00:20:58,785
And so the cows from that region were
just, they were plumped, they were

434
00:20:58,785 --> 00:21:00,195
good, they were roton, they were round.

435
00:21:00,825 --> 00:21:05,025
And so he's looking now at the ladies,
specifically in the northern kingdom, and

436
00:21:05,025 --> 00:21:08,835
he's saying, here this word you cows of
baan, you are on the mountain of Samira.

437
00:21:08,835 --> 00:21:11,295
You oppress the poor and crush the needy.

438
00:21:11,445 --> 00:21:13,905
And you say to your husbands,
bring that we may drink.

439
00:21:14,985 --> 00:21:17,955
So he's indicting the, the opulence
and, and the comfortable lifestyle

440
00:21:17,955 --> 00:21:21,645
of these women who have even, I think
what's partially implied here, usurp

441
00:21:21,645 --> 00:21:23,595
the roles even of, of marriage there.

442
00:21:24,465 --> 00:21:26,925
I think this is a problem
that is, is thorough.

443
00:21:26,985 --> 00:21:30,135
It's reached not just from the leaders
of the nation, not just in the men

444
00:21:30,135 --> 00:21:32,774
of the nation, but the ladies in the
nation are doing the same things here.

445
00:21:33,405 --> 00:21:33,735
One more.

446
00:21:33,764 --> 00:21:34,754
Amos five 12.

447
00:21:35,925 --> 00:21:36,945
Amos five 12.

448
00:21:37,875 --> 00:21:41,355
He says, for I know how many
are your transgressions?

449
00:21:41,610 --> 00:21:43,379
How great are your sins?

450
00:21:43,590 --> 00:21:47,370
You who afflict the righteous,
who take a bribe and turn

451
00:21:47,370 --> 00:21:49,470
aside the needy in the gates?

452
00:21:51,060 --> 00:21:54,689
And so you see that the reason God
was so angry with Israel was because

453
00:21:54,689 --> 00:21:57,540
of how they had treated the poor, the
oppressed, the needy, the afflicted,

454
00:21:57,570 --> 00:22:02,340
the destitute, the comfortable and
prosperous in Israel, were enjoying a

455
00:22:02,340 --> 00:22:06,870
life of ease while oppressing the poor
and ignoring the call that they had from

456
00:22:06,870 --> 00:22:10,800
God according to the law to make sure that
they did justice in accordance with them.

457
00:22:13,649 --> 00:22:15,510
God had tried to get their
attention prior to this.

458
00:22:15,510 --> 00:22:19,230
By the way, this is not the first time
God had tried to grab their attention

459
00:22:19,230 --> 00:22:20,909
and, and to shake them out of this apathy.

460
00:22:21,659 --> 00:22:24,360
We know that because in verse six
of chapter four, he said, I gave you

461
00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:25,980
cleanness of teeth in all your cities.

462
00:22:25,980 --> 00:22:28,919
In other words, Israel, I sent
famine to you, and what does it say?

463
00:22:28,919 --> 00:22:30,149
Yet you did not return to me.

464
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:34,800
Amos chapter four, verses seven through
80 says, I also withheld rain from you.

465
00:22:35,250 --> 00:22:38,399
So I, I, I sent drought upon you
Israel, and, and what did you

466
00:22:38,399 --> 00:22:40,470
do yet you did not return to me.

467
00:22:41,835 --> 00:22:42,554
Amos four, nine.

468
00:22:42,554 --> 00:22:44,745
He says, I, I struck you
with blight and mildew.

469
00:22:44,774 --> 00:22:46,965
I went after your crops,
your gardens, your vineyards.

470
00:22:46,965 --> 00:22:51,554
I went after your food supply, Israel,
and, and yet you did not return to me.

471
00:22:52,845 --> 00:22:53,324
Amos four.

472
00:22:53,655 --> 00:22:57,345
I sent among you a pestilence
after a manner of Egypt plagues.

473
00:22:57,345 --> 00:23:01,304
I killed your young men with
the sword, and yet Israel,

474
00:23:01,304 --> 00:23:02,475
you, you did not return to me.

475
00:23:03,794 --> 00:23:04,574
Amos four 11.

476
00:23:04,574 --> 00:23:07,544
I even overthrew some of you as when
God overthrew, Sodom and Gomorrah.

477
00:23:08,940 --> 00:23:11,520
And yet Israel, you, you
did not return to me.

478
00:23:12,659 --> 00:23:16,980
So you see God had fired warning shots
across the bow multiple times with his

479
00:23:16,980 --> 00:23:20,669
people trying to get their attention,
trying to say What you are doing is wrong.

480
00:23:21,690 --> 00:23:23,669
And yet Israel had ignored
God the whole time.

481
00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:27,419
Such to the point that it leads to
verse 12 of chapter four, where he

482
00:23:27,419 --> 00:23:30,960
says, therefore, thus I will do to you
O Israel because I will do this to you.

483
00:23:31,350 --> 00:23:34,530
Prepare to meet your God O Israel.

484
00:23:35,340 --> 00:23:36,929
Prepare to meet your God.

485
00:23:38,565 --> 00:23:41,175
It's a terrifying prospect for
anyone who is living in a life

486
00:23:41,205 --> 00:23:43,690
of disobedience to God in.

487
00:23:43,695 --> 00:23:46,485
In fact, God confronts them in
chapter eight, chapter five, verse

488
00:23:46,485 --> 00:23:49,515
18, because there's some that were
even welcoming the day of the Lord

489
00:23:50,205 --> 00:23:51,255
saying, bring the day of the Lord.

490
00:23:51,255 --> 00:23:52,185
We welcome the day of the Lord.

491
00:23:52,185 --> 00:23:53,325
And he says, the prophet does.

492
00:23:53,325 --> 00:23:55,245
Why do you desire the day of the Lord?

493
00:23:56,025 --> 00:23:59,505
We talked out about that a little bit
last week in Joel, that the day of the

494
00:23:59,505 --> 00:24:00,975
Lord is the day of wrath and judgment.

495
00:24:00,975 --> 00:24:03,585
And God is saying to Israel,
you're gonna be a target of that.

496
00:24:04,425 --> 00:24:06,465
Prepare to meet your God.

497
00:24:08,085 --> 00:24:08,925
All because of what?

498
00:24:09,825 --> 00:24:11,535
Because of injustice.

499
00:24:12,855 --> 00:24:18,465
Now, when we talk about justice in the
church, it makes us squirm a little bit.

500
00:24:19,635 --> 00:24:23,445
In fact, some of y'all who have not been
here before are probably wondering, what

501
00:24:23,445 --> 00:24:24,915
kind of a church did I walk into here?

502
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:27,225
Are we about to go woke?

503
00:24:27,225 --> 00:24:28,995
Are we about to go social justice?

504
00:24:30,165 --> 00:24:31,665
No, we're not.

505
00:24:32,205 --> 00:24:33,135
We're about to go biblical though.

506
00:24:34,889 --> 00:24:35,669
See, here's the thing.

507
00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:40,500
Justice makes us uncomfortable because
it's been kidnapped and hijacked.

508
00:24:40,500 --> 00:24:44,610
The term has by the woke left who
have said, this is what it is to,

509
00:24:44,610 --> 00:24:46,800
to be a light amongst the nations.

510
00:24:48,750 --> 00:24:49,440
And my fear is this.

511
00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:52,919
My fear is that we've thrown the baby
of a gobbly concern for justice out with

512
00:24:52,919 --> 00:24:54,840
the bathwater of social justice ideology.

513
00:24:56,490 --> 00:24:57,960
And as a church, it's upon us.

514
00:24:59,085 --> 00:25:04,155
To regain an understanding of what the God
of the Bible calls us to biblically as far

515
00:25:04,155 --> 00:25:06,885
as our concerned for those that are needy
and oppressed and poor and afflicted.

516
00:25:07,515 --> 00:25:09,705
See, we have to care about them
because God cares about them

517
00:25:09,705 --> 00:25:11,115
and God cares that we care.

518
00:25:12,735 --> 00:25:17,835
And so along those lines, as we approach
the book of Amos and say, man, what do we

519
00:25:17,835 --> 00:25:23,415
do with the book of Amos as it's written
to Israel back in 750 BC around that

520
00:25:23,415 --> 00:25:25,095
time, and we're sitting here in 2020.

521
00:25:25,155 --> 00:25:25,605
What year is it?

522
00:25:25,605 --> 00:25:26,145
2025.

523
00:25:26,145 --> 00:25:26,505
Thank you.

524
00:25:26,835 --> 00:25:27,285
Uh.

525
00:25:27,629 --> 00:25:28,230
In America.

526
00:25:28,230 --> 00:25:29,669
What does this have to do with us?

527
00:25:29,669 --> 00:25:31,889
Well, I think the lessons
are ours to learn as well.

528
00:25:32,730 --> 00:25:36,090
Point number two, this morning, along
those lines are this value justice

529
00:25:36,149 --> 00:25:41,460
alongside righteousness, value
justice alongside righteousness.

530
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:46,830
It's not just that, yeah, we
need to know love and fear.

531
00:25:46,830 --> 00:25:50,820
We also need to know
righteousness and justice.

532
00:25:51,945 --> 00:25:53,325
I think we're good with righteousness.

533
00:25:53,325 --> 00:25:54,045
We're comfortable there.

534
00:25:54,045 --> 00:25:56,865
We're like, yes, we need to be a godly
people, a holy people, a purified

535
00:25:56,865 --> 00:25:59,625
people in our, we're righteous in
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

536
00:25:59,625 --> 00:26:00,045
Amen.

537
00:26:00,525 --> 00:26:01,095
Yes.

538
00:26:02,205 --> 00:26:03,705
And we need to be a people of justice.

539
00:26:04,305 --> 00:26:07,665
In fact, these two terms, righteousness
and justice, are related to one

540
00:26:07,665 --> 00:26:09,885
another, the related to one another.

541
00:26:09,915 --> 00:26:13,455
In the Hebrew, the word righteousness
has undergirding it as its root.

542
00:26:13,635 --> 00:26:15,945
The idea of being right with God.

543
00:26:17,175 --> 00:26:19,334
That's why we must be declared righteous.

544
00:26:19,334 --> 00:26:23,175
To be declared righteous is to be
declared right in relationship with God.

545
00:26:24,105 --> 00:26:27,314
The problem is in our broken and
fallen world, through sin, through

546
00:26:27,314 --> 00:26:33,074
acts of injustice, we are, we see
that that rightness broken, and

547
00:26:33,074 --> 00:26:37,455
so that rightness that's broken is
through what we know as injustice.

548
00:26:38,205 --> 00:26:41,745
And so that's why we need
to be justified, right?

549
00:26:41,895 --> 00:26:45,405
To be declared righteous, to be
declared at one again with God.

550
00:26:45,735 --> 00:26:49,155
We need to be justified, which means
that brokenness has to be restored.

551
00:26:50,085 --> 00:26:53,385
And so that's from a, a, a
spiritual salvation level, the term

552
00:26:53,385 --> 00:26:56,835
righteousness and justice, those two
things are married to one another.

553
00:26:57,975 --> 00:27:01,335
Righteousness is the presence of justice.

554
00:27:01,754 --> 00:27:04,995
Unrighteousness is the
presence of injustice.

555
00:27:04,995 --> 00:27:07,514
And so those two things go hand in hand.

556
00:27:07,669 --> 00:27:09,885
And, and so let's take
that now into the church.

557
00:27:10,095 --> 00:27:12,645
We can understand that relationally
with one another, right?

558
00:27:13,034 --> 00:27:16,395
We can have a righteous relationship with
someone else in the church when things are

559
00:27:16,965 --> 00:27:20,385
on, on level with one another, where we
have a good relationship with one another.

560
00:27:20,835 --> 00:27:24,105
But when we sin against one another,
when we commit an injustice against

561
00:27:24,105 --> 00:27:27,705
our brother or sister in Christ, that
relationship is severed for a time.

562
00:27:28,335 --> 00:27:31,125
And what that means that we need to
do is through reconciliation, through

563
00:27:31,155 --> 00:27:32,534
confession, through repentance.

564
00:27:32,534 --> 00:27:35,175
That relationship needs to
be brought back together.

565
00:27:35,175 --> 00:27:38,804
It needs to be made righteous again,
made right with one another again.

566
00:27:39,855 --> 00:27:41,055
That's within the church.

567
00:27:41,265 --> 00:27:43,935
Now let's take that to the
full scope of humanity.

568
00:27:44,865 --> 00:27:47,505
We live in a world that is a
world of injustice because we

569
00:27:47,505 --> 00:27:48,915
live in a broken and fallen world.

570
00:27:50,265 --> 00:27:53,895
And so the primary methodology of
us saying, man, the the world, and

571
00:27:53,895 --> 00:27:57,045
God, there's a of a gap here, is to
say, we need to preach the gospel

572
00:27:57,045 --> 00:27:59,265
to those that are lost and they
need to be made right with God.

573
00:27:59,715 --> 00:28:00,585
100%.

574
00:28:00,585 --> 00:28:02,325
That is the mission of the church.

575
00:28:04,785 --> 00:28:08,475
Alongside that, though, not in
place of that, not above that.

576
00:28:09,014 --> 00:28:13,065
Alongside that though, I do believe the
church needs to look at the realities

577
00:28:13,065 --> 00:28:16,215
of injustice that are done in the
world as far as the affliction of

578
00:28:16,215 --> 00:28:19,035
the poor, the needy, the destitute,
the helpless, and to say we have

579
00:28:19,035 --> 00:28:20,325
an obligation to love them too.

580
00:28:21,705 --> 00:28:24,075
We have an obligation to do
something about that as well.

581
00:28:26,625 --> 00:28:31,245
Proverbs 31, verses eight and nine says
this, open your mouth for the mute for

582
00:28:31,245 --> 00:28:32,835
the rights of all who are destitute.

583
00:28:33,075 --> 00:28:37,575
Open your mouth, judge righteously defend
the rights of the poor and the needy.

584
00:28:39,285 --> 00:28:42,405
Psalm 1 46, 9 says The Lord
watches over the sojourner.

585
00:28:42,855 --> 00:28:46,635
He upholds the widow in the
fatherless, but the way of the wicked

586
00:28:46,935 --> 00:28:49,035
he brings to ruin the word wicked.

587
00:28:49,035 --> 00:28:52,485
There in Psalm 1 46, 9 is the Hebrew
word that means one who transgresses,

588
00:28:52,545 --> 00:28:55,125
another person who commits injustice.

589
00:28:56,985 --> 00:29:00,525
James 1 27 defines religion this way.

590
00:29:01,095 --> 00:29:04,875
He says Religion that is pure and
undefiled before God is to keep

591
00:29:04,875 --> 00:29:06,255
oneself, unstained from the world.

592
00:29:08,415 --> 00:29:08,594
Y'all.

593
00:29:08,594 --> 00:29:12,465
I'll be honest that that's how I like
to read that verse Mo most often because

594
00:29:12,465 --> 00:29:15,195
that that's easier, albeit not easy.

595
00:29:15,195 --> 00:29:17,955
It's hard to keep oneself tained from
the world, but it's easier for me to just

596
00:29:17,955 --> 00:29:22,064
focus on my relationship with Jesus and
to say it's about me being a godly person.

597
00:29:23,745 --> 00:29:25,514
But it's not everything that James says.

598
00:29:25,514 --> 00:29:28,455
He says religion that's pure and
undefiled before God the father is this.

599
00:29:28,634 --> 00:29:34,034
To visit the orphans and widows
in their affliction and to keep

600
00:29:34,034 --> 00:29:35,324
oneself, unstained from the world.

601
00:29:36,975 --> 00:29:40,065
So James is saying that we have an
obligation to the needy, the poor,

602
00:29:40,065 --> 00:29:43,575
the helpless, the destitute, that
that's part of what it looks like to

603
00:29:43,725 --> 00:29:46,185
practice pure religion in this world.

604
00:29:46,545 --> 00:29:49,754
And, and I think the reason he
does that is this, I think James

605
00:29:49,754 --> 00:29:54,225
understands that this is a natural
overflowing byproduct of our lives.

606
00:29:54,254 --> 00:30:00,825
If we rightly understand the gospel to
begin with, because of this spiritually

607
00:30:00,825 --> 00:30:03,075
speaking, all of us in this room.

608
00:30:03,705 --> 00:30:08,504
Poor afflicted, needy, destitute, and
helpless when Jesus Christ came for us.

609
00:30:09,675 --> 00:30:10,575
That's Romans five.

610
00:30:11,175 --> 00:30:12,375
Paul uses different words there.

611
00:30:12,375 --> 00:30:15,615
He says, you were weak, ungodly,
sinful enemies of God when

612
00:30:15,615 --> 00:30:16,935
Christ Jesus died for you.

613
00:30:19,155 --> 00:30:23,054
All of us spiritually were
in need of God coming to us.

614
00:30:23,054 --> 00:30:25,875
And again, taking that broken
relationship, that injustice, that

615
00:30:25,875 --> 00:30:29,715
arson had created and making us
right with him again, and he came

616
00:30:29,715 --> 00:30:32,085
and did that to us, he became.

617
00:30:32,504 --> 00:30:36,645
Impoverished for us, that we might
become rich in him, as Paul says.

618
00:30:37,905 --> 00:30:41,534
And so a natural response to that, an
overflow of that is realizing, man,

619
00:30:41,534 --> 00:30:46,094
if, if God in Christ love me to that
degree, then it makes sense for me to

620
00:30:46,185 --> 00:30:49,334
physically care for the needs of the
less fortunate around me as God has

621
00:30:49,334 --> 00:30:52,334
given me means to be able to do that
as an expression of my understanding of

622
00:30:52,334 --> 00:30:53,504
what God has done for me spiritually.

623
00:30:54,764 --> 00:30:57,764
Now the problem is when the church
isolates that and says that's

624
00:30:58,064 --> 00:30:59,834
our main mission as a church.

625
00:31:01,139 --> 00:31:03,840
Our main mission as a church is
to preach the gospel of Christ.

626
00:31:04,530 --> 00:31:06,510
To say, repent and believe in
Jesus Christ is your Lord and

627
00:31:06,510 --> 00:31:07,980
Savior, and be reconciled to God.

628
00:31:09,090 --> 00:31:11,550
But those two things are not
in opposition to one another.

629
00:31:12,389 --> 00:31:14,400
They're not in in
juxtaposition to one another.

630
00:31:14,820 --> 00:31:17,879
And I think as the the conservative
church, we need to regain some

631
00:31:17,879 --> 00:31:21,060
of this focus on what it means to
be a church that pursues justice

632
00:31:21,060 --> 00:31:22,950
for those that are in need.

633
00:31:24,344 --> 00:31:27,165
And so as we get into that a little
bit, what does that look like?

634
00:31:27,165 --> 00:31:31,455
Well, I think one of our primary concerns
for those that are in need should be the

635
00:31:31,455 --> 00:31:34,544
fact that we understand that they too have
been created in the image of God, right?

636
00:31:35,864 --> 00:31:40,304
And so we hope every time that we go
and and have an opportunity to show

637
00:31:40,394 --> 00:31:42,884
mercy to somebody in a physical way,
that we also have an opportunity

638
00:31:42,884 --> 00:31:43,995
to preach the gospel to them.

639
00:31:44,834 --> 00:31:48,195
But that may not be the case every
time, and I think there's still

640
00:31:48,195 --> 00:31:50,175
value in us loving them that way.

641
00:31:50,175 --> 00:31:52,814
I think there's still an act of obedience
to God and us loving them that way.

642
00:31:53,340 --> 00:31:55,830
You come up to the panhandler on
the side of the road, you've got

643
00:31:55,830 --> 00:31:57,180
a couple of choices there, right?

644
00:31:57,690 --> 00:32:00,870
You can pull up cynical and look
at them and be like, well, they

645
00:32:00,870 --> 00:32:02,040
got themselves in this position.

646
00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:02,909
Or Why do they have a dog?

647
00:32:02,909 --> 00:32:04,290
I can't believe the, they have a dog.

648
00:32:04,290 --> 00:32:07,139
If they have a dog, they should be able
to afford to feed themselves maybe,

649
00:32:08,100 --> 00:32:10,980
but where in scripture are we called to
examine the motive in the heart behind the

650
00:32:10,980 --> 00:32:12,389
person that's on the, the street corner?

651
00:32:12,389 --> 00:32:13,440
That's, that's helped us in needy.

652
00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:14,700
We are called to love them.

653
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:19,440
Well, I don't wanna put cash in their
hands that they might use for alcohol.

654
00:32:19,470 --> 00:32:21,240
Okay, there's more cynicism, number one.

655
00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:21,930
But number two, fine.

656
00:32:21,930 --> 00:32:24,540
Go out and buy some $5 McDonald
gift cards and put them in your car.

657
00:32:25,860 --> 00:32:29,280
Say, Hey, I wanna, I wanna give you this
because I want you to know that God loves

658
00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:32,670
you more than I love you, but I love you
enough to say, I wanna buy you a burger.

659
00:32:32,790 --> 00:32:33,300
Here's this.

660
00:32:33,300 --> 00:32:35,100
If the light turns green
and then you keep going.

661
00:32:36,660 --> 00:32:38,250
Little things like this, right?

662
00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:40,890
It's about giving because of how
much we've received, and that

663
00:32:40,890 --> 00:32:42,750
begins spiritually, but it's also.

664
00:32:43,124 --> 00:32:47,054
It flows over into how much God
has given us as far as material

665
00:32:47,054 --> 00:32:49,784
resources go to good stewardship.

666
00:32:49,784 --> 00:32:50,864
It's about being salt and light.

667
00:32:50,864 --> 00:32:52,455
It's about obedience.

668
00:32:53,925 --> 00:32:56,084
And listen, it's okay for us
to preach that without being

669
00:32:56,445 --> 00:32:57,584
guilty of the social gospel.

670
00:32:58,754 --> 00:33:03,465
It's okay to preach that we should
feed and clothe the poor because

671
00:33:03,465 --> 00:33:07,544
God commands that and that the poor
ultimately need to be made right with

672
00:33:07,544 --> 00:33:09,044
God, with the riches of Jesus Christ.

673
00:33:10,235 --> 00:33:13,260
It, it, it's okay to preach that we
should fight against the murder of the

674
00:33:13,260 --> 00:33:15,480
unborn and vote in accordance with that.

675
00:33:16,260 --> 00:33:21,180
And to say that our ultimate concern
is that baby and that mom and that dad

676
00:33:21,180 --> 00:33:25,080
all come to faith and repentance in
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior it,

677
00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:29,520
it's okay to preach that racism is a
great moral evil because God shows us

678
00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:33,750
that all men are created in his image
and that that is one of a plethora of

679
00:33:33,750 --> 00:33:37,140
moral evils, that faith in Jesus Christ
as our Lord and Savior overcomes.

680
00:33:38,789 --> 00:33:39,870
We don't have to choose.

681
00:33:40,439 --> 00:33:44,879
In other words, and I think God in
the Bible, and I think Amos is a good,

682
00:33:44,939 --> 00:33:46,860
good example of this, calls us to both.

683
00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:52,169
As Christians, we have to be concerned
about justice because that which is unjust

684
00:33:52,169 --> 00:33:56,340
is a product of broken and fallen world in
which we live, and God is concerned about

685
00:33:56,340 --> 00:33:57,509
it, so we need to be concerned about it.

686
00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:02,760
Was this a concern in the early church St.

687
00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:03,119
Pastoria?

688
00:34:03,119 --> 00:34:04,649
We're preaching Amos, how
about the early church?

689
00:34:04,919 --> 00:34:06,180
Do we see this in the New Testament?

690
00:34:06,180 --> 00:34:06,629
I think we do.

691
00:34:07,290 --> 00:34:09,780
The book of Acts as the church first
began, it says everybody was selling

692
00:34:09,780 --> 00:34:13,530
what they had and giving that anyone
who had need their needs might be cared

693
00:34:13,530 --> 00:34:16,860
for and provided for Acts chapter six.

694
00:34:17,310 --> 00:34:20,070
A big reason for the creation
of the deacons was what?

695
00:34:20,639 --> 00:34:23,400
The widows, the Hellenistic widows, the
Greek widows, they were being neglected.

696
00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:26,670
People weren't caring for them, and
the apostles said, this isn't right.

697
00:34:27,389 --> 00:34:30,270
We need people to specifically
care for the, the afflicted,

698
00:34:30,270 --> 00:34:31,139
the helpless, the needy.

699
00:34:32,250 --> 00:34:33,239
Paul writes to Timothy.

700
00:34:33,764 --> 00:34:37,425
About the process of enrolling widows
on the support of the church and saying

701
00:34:37,455 --> 00:34:40,125
the church needs to care for those
that can't care for themselves as well.

702
00:34:41,655 --> 00:34:44,925
And as we saw earlier in James, James
defines pure religion as caring for

703
00:34:44,925 --> 00:34:46,635
the widows in the orphaned as well.

704
00:34:48,195 --> 00:34:52,185
So practically that can take on a lot
of different ways and, and, and methods.

705
00:34:52,185 --> 00:34:54,855
And, and we can pursue this a lot
of different ways and we'll talk

706
00:34:54,855 --> 00:34:56,655
about that a little bit more on
our, our third point this morning.

707
00:34:56,655 --> 00:34:58,485
But I wanna say three things.

708
00:34:58,485 --> 00:35:00,915
If this makes you uncomfortable, if
you're out there going, man, I, I.

709
00:35:01,470 --> 00:35:02,280
This makes me uncomfortable.

710
00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:05,580
I wish you would just preach the gospel
and not so much of this social justice

711
00:35:05,580 --> 00:35:08,280
stuff, which is is not what I'm after.

712
00:35:09,210 --> 00:35:10,410
I'm after Biblical justice.

713
00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:11,280
So a few things.

714
00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:14,070
First, that I'm not trying
to conflate these two things.

715
00:35:14,759 --> 00:35:18,180
The primary mission of the church is
to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

716
00:35:19,020 --> 00:35:22,470
The way that a person is saved is
only through faith and repentance in

717
00:35:22,470 --> 00:35:23,790
Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior.

718
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:25,530
And that is why we're here as a church.

719
00:35:25,590 --> 00:35:26,700
That is what we're called to do.

720
00:35:26,759 --> 00:35:28,259
That is the main thing
that we're called to do.

721
00:35:28,980 --> 00:35:29,220
Okay.

722
00:35:29,700 --> 00:35:31,710
So I'm not trying to
conflate these things.

723
00:35:32,370 --> 00:35:34,980
Second, if this makes you
uncomfortable, let me suggest this.

724
00:35:34,980 --> 00:35:39,360
Maybe it's uncomfortable to us and I,
y'all, I, I wrestled with this this week.

725
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:44,130
Maybe it's uncomfortable to us because
such a mentality forces us to get in

726
00:35:44,130 --> 00:35:49,920
the trenches of a fallen world, and
we just don't want to, we don't want

727
00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:53,685
to think, oh man, God cares that I
care for those that need my help.

728
00:35:56,505 --> 00:36:00,345
Maybe we wrongly and cynically write
off a person's economic, social,

729
00:36:00,345 --> 00:36:03,135
racial, or physical state with whether
or not God has chosen to bless them.

730
00:36:04,365 --> 00:36:04,935
That's a God thing.

731
00:36:04,935 --> 00:36:05,655
That's not a me thing.

732
00:36:08,085 --> 00:36:12,255
And then finally, third, I want us to see
this morning that our love for those in

733
00:36:12,255 --> 00:36:16,695
need has to flow from our love for the
God who rescued us from our greatest need.

734
00:36:18,405 --> 00:36:20,415
That goes back to that first
point of love and fear of God.

735
00:36:21,645 --> 00:36:23,775
That's the basis that's
gonna produce this mindset.

736
00:36:24,390 --> 00:36:26,100
Understanding how much God has loved us.

737
00:36:27,870 --> 00:36:30,390
Listen, if stuff like this fires you up
and gets you excited, I wanna talk to you.

738
00:36:30,720 --> 00:36:30,960
I do.

739
00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:32,340
I'd, I'd love to, to talk to you.

740
00:36:32,340 --> 00:36:36,060
I, I, again, like I said, I, I
think we have room to grow in this

741
00:36:36,060 --> 00:36:40,020
area as a church, and I'd love to
think and, and get creative as,

742
00:36:40,020 --> 00:36:41,070
as to what that might look like.

743
00:36:42,285 --> 00:36:45,135
God cares for the needy, the vulnerable,
the poor, the defenseless, the orphans,

744
00:36:45,135 --> 00:36:49,545
the widows, and he cares that we
care to his admonition, to those in

745
00:36:49,545 --> 00:36:51,165
Israel, that that still could listen.

746
00:36:51,165 --> 00:36:53,085
Was this in Aus five 14 through 15?

747
00:36:53,085 --> 00:36:57,225
He says this, he says, seek good
and not evil that you may live.

748
00:36:57,495 --> 00:36:59,685
And so the Lord, the God of
Host will also be with you.

749
00:37:00,255 --> 00:37:04,665
As you have said, hate evil and
love good, and establish justice.

750
00:37:04,665 --> 00:37:05,295
In the gate.

751
00:37:05,535 --> 00:37:08,055
It may be that the Lord, the
God of host, will be gracious

752
00:37:08,055 --> 00:37:09,100
to the remnants of Joseph.

753
00:37:11,310 --> 00:37:14,490
Seek good and not evil for Israel.

754
00:37:14,490 --> 00:37:15,510
Judgment was coming though.

755
00:37:16,110 --> 00:37:19,950
For the majority there was gonna be a
remnant, but for the majority it was done.

756
00:37:20,190 --> 00:37:23,220
God had fired his warning shots across the
bow with the drought and the famine and

757
00:37:23,225 --> 00:37:24,840
the, the, even the plagues and the death.

758
00:37:24,875 --> 00:37:26,490
And, and yet now he was done.

759
00:37:27,030 --> 00:37:29,460
And that's where we turn to next
in chapter seven through nine.

760
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:33,090
This is the judgment of God that's coming
and he's gonna lay this out for Israel

761
00:37:33,090 --> 00:37:34,650
and tell them what he's going to do here.

762
00:37:35,730 --> 00:37:39,270
Here in Amos chapter seven, verses
eight and nine, it says this, the Lord

763
00:37:39,270 --> 00:37:40,920
said to me, Amos, what do you see?

764
00:37:41,310 --> 00:37:42,990
And I said, A plumb line.

765
00:37:43,590 --> 00:37:45,960
Then the Lord said, behold, I
am setting a plumb line in the

766
00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:48,780
midst of my people, Israel and
I will never again pass by them.

767
00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:52,230
The high places of Isaac shall be made
desolate and the sanctuaries of Israel

768
00:37:52,230 --> 00:37:56,850
shall be laid waste and I will rise
against the house of ome with a sword.

769
00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:01,260
The high places of Isaac, by
the way, uh, they had Beersheba

770
00:38:01,260 --> 00:38:02,550
as one of their high places.

771
00:38:02,550 --> 00:38:04,200
Beersheba was the birthplace of Isaac.

772
00:38:04,875 --> 00:38:08,445
And so they had made that one of their,
their glorified high places, and so God

773
00:38:08,445 --> 00:38:12,825
is calling that out there in Amos, chapter
seven, as well as all of the other ones.

774
00:38:12,825 --> 00:38:15,735
Basically, God is saying there's
no place for pure worship to be

775
00:38:15,735 --> 00:38:17,355
found here in Israel any longer.

776
00:38:18,135 --> 00:38:18,615
All of it.

777
00:38:18,645 --> 00:38:19,875
I'm taking it all out.

778
00:38:20,835 --> 00:38:23,475
And then he said in chapter
eight, he said, I, I, this is

779
00:38:23,475 --> 00:38:24,435
what the Lord God showed me.

780
00:38:24,435 --> 00:38:26,745
Verse one a, a basket of summer fruit.

781
00:38:26,805 --> 00:38:27,885
And he said, Amos, what do you see?

782
00:38:27,885 --> 00:38:30,795
And I said, A basket of summer
fruit or a basket of ripe fruit.

783
00:38:31,215 --> 00:38:34,065
Then the Lord said to me, the end
has come upon my people, Israel.

784
00:38:34,305 --> 00:38:36,765
I will never pass by them.

785
00:38:37,140 --> 00:38:42,345
The Lord was bringing
judgment and it was done.

786
00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:46,890
Was as good as it's done 7 22 bc
maybe 30 years from when Amos is

787
00:38:46,890 --> 00:38:50,370
prophesying the northern kingdom is
gonna be no more carried into exile.

788
00:38:50,850 --> 00:38:55,260
Never will there be another king in
the north for the rest of all time.

789
00:38:56,160 --> 00:39:00,090
And so God is, is telling them that and
his judgment that and perhaps one of

790
00:39:00,090 --> 00:39:03,060
the most sobering judgments is found
in chapter eight verses 11 and 12.

791
00:39:04,545 --> 00:39:05,805
Chapter eight, verses 11 and 12.

792
00:39:05,805 --> 00:39:08,535
He says, behold, the days are coming
to clear as the Lord God, when I

793
00:39:08,535 --> 00:39:10,215
will send a famine on the land.

794
00:39:10,395 --> 00:39:15,765
Not a famine of bread, nor of a thirst
for water, but of a hearing of the words.

795
00:39:15,795 --> 00:39:18,285
Speak the Lord, but
they shall not find it.

796
00:39:19,605 --> 00:39:20,535
That's the most startling.

797
00:39:20,745 --> 00:39:22,035
They had rejected God's word.

798
00:39:22,035 --> 00:39:23,205
They had rejected the prophets.

799
00:39:23,205 --> 00:39:26,325
They had ignored the conviction that
God had brought upon them for so

800
00:39:26,325 --> 00:39:27,615
long that God was saying no more.

801
00:39:28,935 --> 00:39:31,455
One of his initial acts of judgment
before the exile was gonna be

802
00:39:31,455 --> 00:39:32,415
that he was gonna pull back.

803
00:39:33,375 --> 00:39:37,335
To turn them over to their ways to
cease his prophetic ministry with them.

804
00:39:37,515 --> 00:39:39,735
And even though they might exhaust
themselves searching for the

805
00:39:39,735 --> 00:39:41,745
voice of the Lord, they weren't
gonna be able to find it anymore.

806
00:39:44,925 --> 00:39:47,625
Listen, as those who have God's
spirit in our seal for the day of

807
00:39:47,625 --> 00:39:50,175
redemption, like I said in point
number one, we don't fear this level

808
00:39:50,175 --> 00:39:52,005
of judgment against God or from God.

809
00:39:53,265 --> 00:39:55,965
We're not fearing that God is
gonna put an end to the church.

810
00:39:55,995 --> 00:39:57,855
In fact, we know he won't
'cause he promised that.

811
00:39:58,725 --> 00:40:00,825
He said, upon this rock, I'll
build my church and the gates of

812
00:40:00,825 --> 00:40:01,995
hell will not prevail against it.

813
00:40:03,420 --> 00:40:04,890
So we don't fear that.

814
00:40:06,030 --> 00:40:08,970
At the same time, we need to understand
that God has given us his word to produce

815
00:40:08,970 --> 00:40:12,360
what he was intended to produce in
Israel, which is conviction and change.

816
00:40:13,620 --> 00:40:15,330
And so even today, God
has given us his word.

817
00:40:15,330 --> 00:40:17,460
He's given us conviction, but
to allow that conviction to then

818
00:40:17,460 --> 00:40:20,250
produce change in our lives as well.

819
00:40:20,580 --> 00:40:24,300
Third and final point this morning is
this pursue change alongside conviction.

820
00:40:25,260 --> 00:40:27,420
Pursue change alongside conviction.

821
00:40:28,530 --> 00:40:29,460
We have to have both.

822
00:40:29,940 --> 00:40:31,650
Having one but not the other is.

823
00:40:32,985 --> 00:40:35,385
Not understanding what, what we're
supposed to have to, to begin with.

824
00:40:36,165 --> 00:40:39,225
Conviction that doesn't produce change
is what Paul refers to as, as worldly

825
00:40:39,225 --> 00:40:40,935
grief in second Corinthians chapter seven.

826
00:40:41,655 --> 00:40:43,215
We can feel bad about our sin.

827
00:40:43,875 --> 00:40:47,835
We can feel bad about disobeying God,
but if we never do anything to change

828
00:40:47,835 --> 00:40:52,335
that, if we never say, okay, so how do I
need to adjust course, well then we're,

829
00:40:52,395 --> 00:40:54,885
we're acting like Israel was at the time.

830
00:40:56,130 --> 00:41:00,510
And so when we encounter God's conviction,
when we line ourselves up against God's

831
00:41:00,510 --> 00:41:04,140
plumb line, so the, the plumb line was
this instrument that's dropped, and they

832
00:41:04,140 --> 00:41:07,470
still use it today, that's dropped in
and dropped vertically there because

833
00:41:07,470 --> 00:41:11,580
it would be, uh, perpendicular to
the, the, the horizontal plane there.

834
00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:15,450
And with that perpendicular
plane, you could measure what is

835
00:41:15,450 --> 00:41:17,010
called the, the plumb of a wall.

836
00:41:17,220 --> 00:41:19,200
Is the wall in accordance?

837
00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:20,670
Is it parallel to that plumb line?

838
00:41:20,940 --> 00:41:23,010
And if it is, then you know
you've got a sound structure.

839
00:41:23,415 --> 00:41:27,165
But if that plumb line hangs and
that wall crosses over one way or

840
00:41:27,165 --> 00:41:30,585
the other of that plumb line, then
you know that your wall is not plumb

841
00:41:30,585 --> 00:41:33,405
and the structure is not sound and it
needs to be torn down and destroyed.

842
00:41:34,995 --> 00:41:39,285
And so for God with Israel, it
was a total destruction for you

843
00:41:39,285 --> 00:41:40,965
and I, he's given us his word.

844
00:41:40,965 --> 00:41:41,805
He is given us the Bible.

845
00:41:41,805 --> 00:41:43,395
He is given us the the spirit.

846
00:41:45,015 --> 00:41:48,195
As the plum line in our lives to say,
when we find areas of our lives that

847
00:41:48,195 --> 00:41:52,545
are not in, in lined up, they're not
parallel with his word, not in keeping

848
00:41:52,545 --> 00:41:56,145
with his word, then we found something
that's structurally unsound spiritually

849
00:41:56,145 --> 00:41:57,885
that needs to be torn down and rebuild.

850
00:41:59,565 --> 00:42:01,095
That's what conviction does for us.

851
00:42:01,095 --> 00:42:04,305
And it's meant then to produce
change in our lives in response.

852
00:42:04,665 --> 00:42:07,005
And now when we're talking about this,
this morning, specifically what I'm

853
00:42:07,005 --> 00:42:10,845
talking about for us is the church is
saying, okay, if God cares for the weak,

854
00:42:10,845 --> 00:42:14,205
the needy, the destitute, the poor, the
helpless, and he cares that we care too.

855
00:42:14,355 --> 00:42:19,215
Man, if we're out here this morning
saying I need to care more, then

856
00:42:19,215 --> 00:42:21,555
I would say, man, that that's
conviction for us to lean into.

857
00:42:22,845 --> 00:42:26,565
And I think all of us in the
room have room to excel still

858
00:42:26,565 --> 00:42:27,825
more in this at minimum.

859
00:42:29,025 --> 00:42:32,205
To say, how can I be more
merciful, more charitable, more

860
00:42:32,415 --> 00:42:34,275
giving to people who are in need?

861
00:42:35,085 --> 00:42:39,615
How can I physically show what
spiritually God has done for me?

862
00:42:40,695 --> 00:42:41,895
What does that look like for me?

863
00:42:42,330 --> 00:42:44,835
And, and this is where I have to be
careful 'cause I can't say thus says the

864
00:42:44,835 --> 00:42:50,175
Lord on this because a lot of this is
gonna be a matter of personal conviction.

865
00:42:51,315 --> 00:42:54,435
My point is though, if you feel the
conviction, let it produce change.

866
00:42:55,515 --> 00:42:58,305
So, for example, maybe somebody out
there, a family has been thinking

867
00:42:58,305 --> 00:43:01,490
about foster care or adoption and
you've thought to yourself, man, I

868
00:43:01,490 --> 00:43:04,035
I I feel like God has, has put us
in a position where we can do this.

869
00:43:04,035 --> 00:43:04,725
We should do this.

870
00:43:04,725 --> 00:43:05,655
This is the right thing to do.

871
00:43:06,165 --> 00:43:07,815
Our, our kids in our
good position for this.

872
00:43:08,070 --> 00:43:11,415
And, and maybe all a while you've
been hesitant to, to do that though.

873
00:43:11,415 --> 00:43:12,825
You're like, yeah, I, I just don't know.

874
00:43:13,665 --> 00:43:17,265
Maybe this morning God is, is kind of
giving you that final nudge on that

875
00:43:17,265 --> 00:43:20,295
one, and you're gonna say, that's
a way for us to care for literally

876
00:43:20,295 --> 00:43:23,175
the orphans and those in need.

877
00:43:24,030 --> 00:43:28,260
Or maybe for example, you're a lawyer
or a doctor and you've made a, a good

878
00:43:28,260 --> 00:43:31,200
living, you, you've got a good career,
and yet you've also thought about,

879
00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:33,900
man, how could God use my talents
to help those who can't afford them?

880
00:43:35,160 --> 00:43:38,880
How could God use what I'm able to do
to, to help those that, that are needy,

881
00:43:38,970 --> 00:43:44,730
to help those that that can't afford to
hire a lawyer or to pay the medical bills?

882
00:43:45,810 --> 00:43:48,390
Maybe God's prompting you and inviting
you to step out in faith to care for the

883
00:43:48,390 --> 00:43:49,920
needy and watch what he'll do in response.

884
00:43:51,585 --> 00:43:55,095
Or maybe for you, your family, you've
been saving up for that European vacation

885
00:43:55,755 --> 00:43:58,665
and you're like, man, we, we've got
a, a good nest egg going and we can't

886
00:43:58,665 --> 00:44:02,685
wait to get to Europe and we deserve it
because we've never been there before.

887
00:44:02,685 --> 00:44:05,625
And then you hear of a family
in the church that's facing

888
00:44:05,625 --> 00:44:07,785
medical bills that they know
they aren't gonna be able to pay.

889
00:44:10,215 --> 00:44:14,265
Maybe you caring for the
helpless, the destitute, the

890
00:44:14,265 --> 00:44:17,985
poor, the needy is taking that.

891
00:44:18,705 --> 00:44:20,235
Vacation fund and saying, you know what?

892
00:44:20,325 --> 00:44:25,995
It's more important for me to see their
needs met than to see the Eiffel Tower, so

893
00:44:25,995 --> 00:44:27,165
I'm gonna sacrifice to meet their needs.

894
00:44:29,535 --> 00:44:33,255
I think for everyone, it can mean a look
at our monthly budget through fresh eyes

895
00:44:34,215 --> 00:44:38,295
to ask ourselves, man, maybe I can add a
line item in for generosity to my budget.

896
00:44:39,825 --> 00:44:44,265
I'm gonna budget a little bit more
so that I can get some McDonald's

897
00:44:44,265 --> 00:44:45,405
gift cards and throw 'em in my car.

898
00:44:46,455 --> 00:44:49,995
I'm gonna budget a little bit more
so that I can take somebody a meal.

899
00:44:51,075 --> 00:44:55,575
I'm gonna budget a little bit more
so that I can fill in the blank.

900
00:44:56,775 --> 00:44:59,445
There's other ways I, I, I know some
of your community groups out here

901
00:44:59,445 --> 00:45:02,025
have gone to Children's Hunger Fund
and backed, packed boxes of food

902
00:45:02,025 --> 00:45:03,195
for them and, and sent that out.

903
00:45:03,375 --> 00:45:05,745
That's great Habitat for Humanity.

904
00:45:05,745 --> 00:45:08,775
I know that I, I did that when I was
growing up and built houses for people.

905
00:45:09,135 --> 00:45:12,405
Again, I think there's, there's value
there, even in just honoring the image

906
00:45:12,405 --> 00:45:13,725
of God and the people that are needed.

907
00:45:16,395 --> 00:45:19,635
You say, can one adoption, can one
lawyer, can one doctor, can one

908
00:45:19,635 --> 00:45:22,545
vacation fund really make that much of a
difference in a broken and fallen world?

909
00:45:23,625 --> 00:45:25,875
Well, again, hear me say, it's not
gonna undo the the effects of the

910
00:45:25,875 --> 00:45:28,005
fall, only the gospel does that.

911
00:45:29,295 --> 00:45:34,390
But when I look at the early church,
they were preaching Christ and seeking

912
00:45:34,635 --> 00:45:39,705
the welfare of all who came to them and
to their enemies, it looked like they

913
00:45:39,705 --> 00:45:41,235
were turning the world upside down.

914
00:45:42,340 --> 00:45:45,525
I think maybe if we recapture some of
this, we have potential in the room

915
00:45:45,555 --> 00:45:48,675
here, even a little bit to, to maybe
not turn the world totally upside

916
00:45:48,675 --> 00:45:50,055
down, but to tilt it a little bit

917
00:45:52,155 --> 00:45:56,505
as I close, I want you to think back to
a parable that Jesus told that I think

918
00:45:56,505 --> 00:46:00,705
really captures the idea and the motive,
and the drive and the why behind all this.

919
00:46:01,545 --> 00:46:02,805
Jesus had just given a commandment.

920
00:46:02,805 --> 00:46:04,545
You should love your neighbor as yourself.

921
00:46:06,810 --> 00:46:09,360
Or he had asked the question actually,
teacher, what's the greatest law?

922
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:10,500
How do you understand it?

923
00:46:10,500 --> 00:46:11,550
Well, love the neighbor as yourself.

924
00:46:11,550 --> 00:46:11,700
Okay?

925
00:46:11,700 --> 00:46:13,710
You've answered well,
but who's my neighbor?

926
00:46:14,190 --> 00:46:15,840
Is the question that was asked to Jesus.

927
00:46:16,350 --> 00:46:17,070
Who's my neighbor?

928
00:46:18,060 --> 00:46:20,430
The guy asking the question
is basically asking in that

929
00:46:20,430 --> 00:46:22,170
question, who do I have to love?

930
00:46:22,515 --> 00:46:26,010
Who do I have to be compassionate to?

931
00:46:27,975 --> 00:46:30,810
And Jesus tells a story of a
man who was coming back from

932
00:46:31,320 --> 00:46:32,970
Jerusalem after worshiping God.

933
00:46:33,825 --> 00:46:37,605
Falls among some robbers
on the way he's beaten.

934
00:46:37,605 --> 00:46:38,295
He's waylaid.

935
00:46:38,295 --> 00:46:39,135
He's left for dead.

936
00:46:39,135 --> 00:46:41,145
He's bleeding out on the side of the road.

937
00:46:41,985 --> 00:46:43,515
A priest comes by and passes by.

938
00:46:43,515 --> 00:46:45,495
He doesn't wanna defile
himself and he is also nervous.

939
00:46:45,495 --> 00:46:47,115
The, the robbers might be nearby still.

940
00:46:47,175 --> 00:46:49,245
He passes by a Levite,
somebody serving in the temple.

941
00:46:49,245 --> 00:46:50,655
He comes by, I I, same reasons.

942
00:46:50,655 --> 00:46:51,525
I'm gonna pass by the road.

943
00:46:52,035 --> 00:46:53,415
And a Samaritan shows up

944
00:46:55,425 --> 00:46:57,765
and the Samaritan goes to the man
beaten and bloody laying on the

945
00:46:57,765 --> 00:47:01,065
ground, and he meets his need.

946
00:47:02,250 --> 00:47:05,880
He not only meets his need by risking
his personal safety, knowing the same

947
00:47:05,880 --> 00:47:07,170
thing that the robbers could be nearby.

948
00:47:08,310 --> 00:47:10,860
But he risks also his financial wellbeing.

949
00:47:10,860 --> 00:47:14,910
He takes his material goods, his bandages
and his oils, and he treats the wounds

950
00:47:14,910 --> 00:47:18,000
as best as he can there, and he also
going, so he is willing to be made

951
00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:22,470
uncomfortable to meet the needs of those
that are, are more worse off than he is.

952
00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:27,120
And he puts his finances at risk because
he goes to the in and lays the man

953
00:47:27,120 --> 00:47:30,960
up in the in goes to the innkeeper,
who in those days innkeepers were

954
00:47:30,960 --> 00:47:33,780
some of the most fraudulent people
that were, were walking the face of

955
00:47:33,780 --> 00:47:36,750
the planet and says to the guy, Hey,
I'm gonna trust you with his care.

956
00:47:36,870 --> 00:47:41,070
Whatever additional expenses you incur
to care for this man, let me know and

957
00:47:41,070 --> 00:47:42,600
I will pay you back when I get back.

958
00:47:45,090 --> 00:47:46,560
And Jesus says, who was the neighbor?

959
00:47:48,390 --> 00:47:51,720
And in a Jewish audience, you can
picture them gritting their teeth.

960
00:47:52,200 --> 00:47:57,150
Saying The Samaritan, 'cause
they hated the Samaritans.

961
00:47:59,760 --> 00:48:02,610
And so Jesus took this
question, who do I have to love?

962
00:48:03,630 --> 00:48:09,270
And he took the most unlovable person and
made him the hero of the story and said,

963
00:48:09,270 --> 00:48:12,930
love like that guy, y'all in that parable.

964
00:48:12,935 --> 00:48:16,410
By the way, we're not the good Samaritan.

965
00:48:17,670 --> 00:48:21,030
We're also not the Levite or the priest.

966
00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:23,160
You know who we are.

967
00:48:24,390 --> 00:48:27,210
We're the guy that's beaten and
bloody and bleeding out on the ground.

968
00:48:29,640 --> 00:48:34,770
Jesus is the one that loved us at such
exorbitant risk and cost to himself,

969
00:48:36,780 --> 00:48:39,720
and the message of the Parable of the
Good Samaritan is in light of that

970
00:48:42,360 --> 00:48:43,080
love your neighbor.

971
00:48:45,030 --> 00:48:45,690
Who's my neighbor?

972
00:48:47,940 --> 00:48:49,890
I don't know that there's
borders on that one.

973
00:48:51,900 --> 00:48:52,890
I think that was Jesus' point.

974
00:48:54,780 --> 00:48:59,070
Part of being the church, being a
light, being different, loving in such

975
00:48:59,070 --> 00:49:00,960
a way that goes, why would you do that?

976
00:49:04,620 --> 00:49:06,840
And so do we need to be concerned
about justice as a church?

977
00:49:06,840 --> 00:49:07,320
Yes.

978
00:49:09,255 --> 00:49:10,710
Do we need to care for
the poor to help us?

979
00:49:10,740 --> 00:49:11,700
The needy, the destitute?

980
00:49:12,180 --> 00:49:12,840
Yes.

981
00:49:13,620 --> 00:49:13,800
Why?

982
00:49:13,800 --> 00:49:17,430
Because God does, and God
cares that we care too.

983
00:49:17,730 --> 00:49:19,110
We stand with me as we pray.