Lessons from Amos: Seek the Lord

“But seek not Bethel. . . .Seek the LORD, and ye shall live.” (Amos 5:5-6)

Bethel had a long history with Israel. Abraham camped near Bethel when he first entered the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:8) and “called on the name of the LORD” at Bethel when he returned from Egypt (Genesis 13:3-4). Jacob’s dream of the ladder took place at Bethel (Genesis 28:10-12, 19), and later it was there his name was changed to “Israel” (Genesis 35:9-15).

Later however, Bethel became Bethaven, the “House of Idols” (Hosea 4:15), after Jeroboam I established a temple to the golden calf (1 Kings 12:28-33). And much later, Assyria, after the destruction of Israel, left false priests at Bethel to corrupt the land (2 Kings 17:27-34). The place became a substutite for the person of God.

The danger comes when God becomes fixed to a place or an event, where there is more concern for property than people. The kind of place (one’s denomination) substitutes theology for truth, or the experience gives more credence to intuition than inspiration. Worship of place or event supersedes the worship of God. Both substitutes will produce error.

The admonition of Amos is to “seek the LORD” (Amos 5:6). The promise is that if we seek the LORD, we “shall live.” We will not find God in a place but in a person (Acts 4:12). We cannot find God in a campaign but in a commitment (Matthew 6:33). We surely will not find God in promises from men but in power from God (2 Peter 1:4). HMM III

As Holy as You Want to Be

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. —2 Corinthians 7:1

It may be said without qualification that every man is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he wants to be. He may not be as full as he wishes he were, but he is most certainly as full as he wants to be.

Our Lord placed this beyond dispute when He said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Hunger and thirst are physical sensations which, in their acute stages, may become real pain. It has been the experience of countless seekers after God that when their desires became a pain they were suddenly and wonderfully filled. The problem is not to persuade God to fill us, but to want God sufficiently to permit Him to do so. The average Christian is so cold and so contented with His wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness.

Lord, quiet my heart today and fill me with this holy longing. I don’t want to be contented with my present condition; I long for that vacuum of desire into which the Holy Spirit can rush. Amen.

The Importance of Right Relationship with God

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our Spirit, that we are children of God. Romans 8:16

Many men and women are seeking counsellors to aid them with their confessed feelings of emptiness and inadequacy. Each seems to have a plea about becoming a “whole person.”

The importance of coming back into right relationship with God cannot be overestimated as we seriously think and study and pray.

By the mysterious operation of the Spirit of God in the new birth, that which is called by Peter “the divine nature” enters the deep-in core of the believer’s heart and establishes residence there. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his,” for “the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:9, 16).

Such a one is a true Christian, and only such. Baptism, confirmation, the receiving of the sacraments, church membership—these mean nothing unless the supreme act of God in regeneration also takes place!

Religious externals may have a meaning for the God-inhabited soul; for any others they are not only useless but may actually become snares, deceiving them into a false and perilous sense of security.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence” is more than a wise saying; it is a solemn charge laid upon us by the One who cares most about us!

“Be Still and Know”

Be still, and know that I am God. PSALM 46:10

Prayer among evangelical Christians is always in danger of degenerating into a glorified “gold rush.” Almost every book on prayer deals mainly with the “get” element. How to get things we want from God occupies most of our space.

Christians should never forget that the highest kind of prayer is never the making of requests.

Prayer at its holiest moment is the entering into God to a place of such blessed union as makes miracles seem tame and remarkable answers to prayer appear something very far short of wonderful, by comparison.

We should be aware that there is a kind of school where the soul must go to learn its best eternal lessons. It is the school of silence. “Be still and know,” said the psalmist (46:10).

It might well be a revelation to some Christians if they were to get completely quiet for a time—a time to listen in the silence for the deep voice of the Eternal God!

Heavenly Father, I desire my prayer time to be more than a “wish list.” Help me to spend more time listening for Your voice than making personal requests.

VIDEO Charles Spurgeon Sermon – Heaven and Hell

Jan 24, 2011

Charles Spurgeon Sermon – Heaven and Hell

Matthew 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

C. H. Spurgeon – Baptist preacher

The descendant of several generations of Independent ministers, he was born at Kelvedon, Essex, and became a Baptist in 1850. In the same year he preached his first sermon, and in 1852 he was appointed paster of the Baptist congregation at Waterbeach. In 1854 he went to Southwark, where his sermons drew such crowds that a new church, the Metropolitan Tabernacle in Newington Causeway, had to be built for him. Apart from his preaching activities he founded a pastors’ college, an orphanage, and a colportage association for the propagation of uplifting literature. Spurgeon was a strong Calvinist. He had a controversy in 1864 with the Evangelical party of the Church of England for remaining in a Church that taught Baptismal Regeneration, and also estranged considerable sections of his own community by rigid opposition to the more liberal methods of Biblical exegesis. These differences led to a rupture with the Baptist Union in 1887. He owed his fame as a preacher to his great oratorical gifts, humour, and shrewd common sense, which showed itself especially in his treatment of contemporary problems. Among his works are The Saint and his Saviour (1857), Commenting and Commentaries (1876) and numerous volumes of sermons (translated into many languages).

Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 January 31, 1892) was a British Reformed Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the “Prince of Preachers.” In his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to around 10,000,000 people, often up to 10 times a week at different places. His sermons have been translated into many languages. Spurgeon was the pastor of the New Park Street Chapel in London for 38 years. In 1857, he started a charity organization called Spurgeon’s which now works globally. He also founded Spurgeon’s College, which was named after him after his death.

Spurgeon was a prolific author of many types of works including sermons, an autobiography, a commentary, books on prayer, a devotional, a magazine, and more. Many sermons were transcribed as he spoke and were translated into many languages during his lifetime. Arguably, no other author, Christian or otherwise, has more material in print than C.H. Spurgeon.

His Choice

God from the beginning chose you for salvation. —2 Thessalonians 2:13

When our children were small, I often prayed with them after we tucked them into bed. But before I prayed, I sometimes would sit on the edge of the bed and talk with them. I remember telling our daughter Libby, “If I could line up all the 4-year-old girls in the world, I would walk down the line looking for you. After going through the entire line, I would choose you to be my daughter.” That always put a big smile on Libby’s face because she knew she was special.

If that was a smile-worthy moment for her, think of the grace-filled fact that the Creator-God of the universe “from the beginning chose you for salvation” (2 Thess. 2:13). Before time began, He desired to make you His own. This is why Scripture often uses the picture of adoption to communicate the amazing reality that, through no merit or worthiness of our own, we have been chosen by Him.

This is stunning news! We are “beloved by the Lord” (v.13) and enjoy the benefits of being part of His family. This glorious truth should fill our lives with humility and gratitude. “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us . . . establish you in every good word and work” (vv.16-17). By Joe Stowell

In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he assured the believers that they were loved by God and chosen (1:4 niv). In today’s reading, Paul reiterates this by saying, “God from the beginning chose you for salvation” (v.13). That God “chooses” people is taught in Scripture (Deut. 7:6-8; Isa. 44:1-2; Rom. 8:28-33; 9:11; Eph. 1:4-6,11; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1-2). Although a person is “chosen” before the creation of the world (Eph. 1:4-5; 2 Tim. 1:9), this becomes evident in life when one believes in the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 2:13-14).

I will be forever grateful that I am Your child,
Father, and that You love me! Teach me to remember
all the benefits of belonging to You, and may I
serve You faithfully as part of Your family.

It’s God’s choice to love you and to make you part of His family.

The Message in the Storm

Psalm 62:1-8

One of the most difficult things we’re to do as Christians is to “[wait] in silence for God only” (Ps. 62:1). We tend to think of waiting as passively sitting back until something happens. However, in the midst of a stormy life event, we don’t like inactivity. Our instinct is to react quickly and force things to change.

But in this psalm, the word wait has a different meaning—it connotes “pause for further instructions.” Instead of opting for passivity, we must choose to stop our actions and listen for God’s directive. Sometimes the Lord is silent for a season, but He always has a purpose. He knows the perfect time for us to act, and until that moment, we need to wait. It takes more strength and character to be still in the midst of a storm than to frantically seek our own solution.

I can tell you that I, too, at times wait impatiently. When that happens, I can become nervous and question God or complain. But those reactions do not fit who we are as Christians. Paul tells us plainly to “be anxious for nothing” (Phil. 4:6); he instructs us instead to pray to the Lord, who offers peace. We’re to wait in silence without complaining, which means we must have patience. In order for that to happen, we must trust in God’s wisdom, love, power, and timing. We can’t go wrong when we rely on Him.

The key to finding peace in the storm is waiting for God only. When we refuse to do so, we are more likely to make bad decisions. He hears our every prayer, but we must be willing to wait in silence and listen for His reply.

Lessons from Amos: Walking with God

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3)

Amos was a prophet during the reign of Jeroboam II (son of Joash), who ruled the northern ten tribes of Israel from 825 to 784 B.C. (2 Kings 14:23). Some 100 years earlier, Jeroboam I (son of Nebat) had led a rebellion against the son of Solomon and started the northern nation of Israel (1 Kings 12). In order to keep his people from returning to Jerusalem, Jeroboam I “made Israel to sin” (1 Kings 12:30; 16:26; etc) by developing a “new” religion centered on an image of a golden calf with idol temples in Bethel and Dan (1 Kings 12:28-29).

Those northern tribes never did return to the worship of Jehovah but “sinned against the LORD,” and Israel “feared other gods” (2 Kings 17:7). The list of their sins is long and grevious in God’s sight.

-They “did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD” (2 Kings 17:9).
– Israel set up “images and groves in every high hill” (2 Kings 17:10). They “wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger” (2 Kings 17:11).
-They “worshipped all the host of heaven” (2 Kings 17:16).
– They “used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger” (2 Kings 17:17).
– They “feared the LORD, and served their own gods” (2 Kings 17:33).

Amos was commissioned in those dark years to openly confront the nation to “walk” in “agreement” with the God they professed to worship. Hypocrisy is at the core of the judgment and warnings that God recorded for us in the little book of Amos. We must learn the lessons or suffer the same judgment. HMM III

Holiness and Worship First

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;… That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
—Titus 3:5, 7

To teach that the filling with the Holy Spirit is given to the Christian to provide “power for service” is to teach truth, but not the whole truth. Power for service is but one effect of the experience, and I do not hesitate to say that it is the least of several effects. It is least for the very reason that it touches service, presumably service to mankind; and contrary to the popular belief, “to serve this present age” is not the Christian’s first duty….

The primary work of the Holy Spirit is to restore the lost soul to intimate fellowship with God through the washing of regeneration….

God wants worshipers before workers; indeed the only acceptable workers are those who have learned the lost art of worship. It is inconceivable that a sovereign and holy God should be so hard up for workers that He would press into service anyone who had been empowered regardless of his moral qualifications….

Gifts and power for service the Spirit surely desires to impart; but holiness and spiritual worship come first.

Oh, Lord, where has the hunger for holiness gone? Remind us of the priority of holiness and spiritual worship. Amen.

The Early Disciples Burned with an Inward Fire

In whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 1 Peter 1:8

If there is any reality within the whole sphere of human experience that is by its very nature worthy to challenge the mind, charm the heart and bring the total life to a burning focus, it is the reality that revolves around the Person of Christ! If He is who and what the Christian message declares Him to be, then the thought of Him should be the most stimulating to enter the human mind.

God dwells in a state of perpetual enthusiasm. He is delighted with all that is good and lovingly concerned about all that is wrong. No wonder the Spirit came at Pentecost as the sound of a rushing mighty wind and sat in tongues of fire on every forehead. In so doing, He was acting as one of the Persons of the blessed Godhead.

Whatever else happened at Pentecost, one thing that cannot be missed was the sudden upsurging of moral enthusiasm. Those first disciples burned with a steady, inward fire. They were enthusiastic to the point of complete abandon!

But what do we find in our day? We find the contradictory situation of noisy, headlong religious activity carried on without moral energy or spiritual fervor! In the churches it is hard to find a believer whose blood count is normal and whose temperature is up to standard. We look in vain among the professed followers of Christ for the flush and excitement of the soul in love with God.

The low level of moral enthusiasm among us may have a significance far deeper than we are willing to believe!