Amos declares that he is not a prophet nor the son of a prophet. Amos is a shepherd that God calls from the Northern hills of the Promised Land to speak into the rebellious nation of Israel.
Amos speaks of the great prosperity that the People of God had
received from Yahweh (the Lord God). He then begins to speak in chapter 4 of all
the calamities that have been brought up on the people. At the end of mentioning a calamity that God
had brought against them he states, “Yet you have not returned to me, declares
the Yahweh God.”
God had blessed his people with prosperity and had brought
calamity and loss upon them yet they did not recognize or acknowledge him. God desire is that you return to him. He desires a return to the person of
God.
A person that returns to the person of God experiences right relationship and restored purpose,
but that purpose is God’s. For us to return to the person of God we must
return to the purposes of God. If we
love Christ, we obey him.
So before we venture further into why we wander, confess to
the Lord how you have wandered…and repent.
In this book we find 4 heart issues that lead us astray.
1. Religion void of compassion.
If you do not love your brother, you do not love God.
2. Prosperity lulls and dulls.
The more you have the more you do to upkeep and maintain what you have. The more you do with what you have the less you realize what you never do. Before you know it, your prosperity has lulled you and dulled you about God’s purposes.
3. Insincere worship insults God.
False worship is found in special occasion centric faith, public gatherings as the pinnacle of faith, insincere gifts to God, and singing without meaning.
4. Privilege involves and invokes responsibility.
He who is faithful with little will be given much.
1. Religion void of compassion.
If you do not love your brother, you do not love God.
2. Prosperity lulls and dulls.
The more you have the more you do to upkeep and maintain what you have. The more you do with what you have the less you realize what you never do. Before you know it, your prosperity has lulled you and dulled you about God’s purposes.
3. Insincere worship insults God.
False worship is found in special occasion centric faith, public gatherings as the pinnacle of faith, insincere gifts to God, and singing without meaning.
4. Privilege involves and invokes responsibility.
He who is faithful with little will be given much.
I challenge you to be about God’s purposes because you are
passionate about the very person of God.
The grace He has
given you is given freely, received faithfully, and lived obediently.
