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[0:00] God, truly, no tongue can say, no words can convey, no song can convey, as we sang, the greatness of our God. God, you are so great, and you are so good, and your love is steadfast.

[0:12] You are the God of justice and mercy. You are our God. Now, as we open your word, we pray that you would speak through your word once again. Lord, as you've spoken through the centuries, we ask that you would speak once again.

[0:25] Lord, I'm barely more than a child. Lord, for us to actually hear not just my thoughts and stories and whatever, but to hear from you, we need you to speak through the power of your Holy Spirit.

[0:36] So please do pour out your spirit afresh upon us. Make us disciples of Jesus, gripped by the gospel, living for your glory. In his name we pray. Amen. Please be seated if you're not ready.

[0:47] Just before we get into the word, Steve Griffin, are you still here? Yeah, do you want to stand up, you and your family? Guys, this is the Griffin family. A lot of us have been praying for them like multiple times a week for the past years, and just shaking hands before the service, hugging people, whatever.

[1:01] And yeah, all of a sudden they said, yeah, I realized it was them that we've been praying for. They've been missionaries in Guatemala, and now they're going to Nigeria, and they just continue to serve God wherever the Lord takes them. Just want to say we love you guys, and it's awesome to have you with us in body.

[1:15] So feel free to take a seat. But guys, we love you so much. Also, I know a lot of people are praying for Paul Rudenberg. Paul, do you want to stand up for a second? Paul's back. He's been in Turkey and Greece, and he's working with refugees and all sorts of crazy stuff, and traveled a lot of other places besides that.

[1:30] And Paul, we're just so proud of you and just giving yourself to the service of God, whether that's overseas or also back in Ottawa. So yeah, feel free to be seated, too. I don't want to make you stand longer than you want. But yeah, let's just pray for them, and then we'll continue.

[1:42] God, it has been such a joy to get to be praying for them and the other missionaries of our church all over the world. Lord, it's so sweet that we have this bond of brotherhood in you, and we haven't even met.

[1:53] A lot of us haven't met them until today. But God, we're just so grateful for the Griffins, for Paul, and for the other missionaries of our church. And we pray that even as we get into Amos 6 now, that you would help each one of us more fully be the missionaries that you've called us to be, wherever that is, whether our schools or our families, homes, Ottawa, Kingston, or wherever else you've called us to.

[2:14] In Jesus' name, amen. When I was a little boy, my brothers and I loved to have Who Can Hold Your Breath competitions. Who Can Hold It the Longest?

[2:25] I think we may have mentioned this here before, but if any of you have experienced the same kind of competition, if you're really committed, like me, you're there to win. You're not just there to play. You're there to win. So you're holding your breath, and time's going by.

[2:37] The clock is ticking ever so slow. Those seconds seem more like hours. And then as you get past two minutes, your leg will start to kick against itself, and your body starts doing weird things, and you're going to win. I wasn't faster, stronger, better looking, or anything than my brothers, but holding my breath, I was going to win this one.

[2:54] And I could actually do it, so I'd just be fighting against myself to try to win. My body fighting against itself as I'm holding my breath. What's that fight? What's that internal fight? One of the most basic human instincts is self-preservation.

[3:08] One of the most basic human instincts is self-preservation. As a result, when we try to do things that are uncomfortable, when we try to do things that might be dangerous, for most of us, well, not all, for most of us, we end up fighting against ourselves to try to keep ourselves away from discomfort.

[3:23] And so in light of that, it's with great sympathy that I read these words of great warning, of great rebuke from God to his people. Amos chapter 6, verse 4.

[3:34] I don't know about you, but my mouth waters as I read these words.

[3:46] I love lamb. Delicious. Calves, veal. That's my jam. And so we read these words, and God seems so upset with his people.

[3:58] But if we stop and just are honest with ourselves, there's a lot we have in common with these people. If you've been here for the other weeks, you know that Amos is writing in around the year 800 BC. This is a time in the northern kingdom of Israel, who he's speaking to, a time of peace and prosperity.

[4:12] The middle class is doing very well. And not only was it a time of peace, even while nations around them were at war and were crumbling, Israel was actually doing really well. And not only that, but it was a very spiritual time in the land.

[4:24] There were times when they'd become very pagan, very this. But at this time, they were doing a lot of spiritual activity. And not just the stuff of the Canaanites and the Hittites and whatever around them, but they were actually doing a lot of very biblical religious observances, celebrating the feasts.

[4:40] And yet they were so far from God. I moved into a new home in January.

[4:59] Well, it was new to me. It was not that new. But I moved in, and I'm subletting from some missionaries overseas. And they're a married couple. And they had, I don't even think it's a king-sized bed.

[5:10] It was like an emperor-sized bed, if that's a thing. And I'm a single dude, so I don't need a bed that big. But I wanted, because I study and all that kind of stuff, I wanted a desk. And so I traded my bed to hostmates, like up on one of the floors above it.

[5:24] They're not apartment mates, I guess. Whatever. They're apartment up there. So we traded beds. I gave them my massive emperor-sized bed. I got a smaller bed. And I was very happy with that, because I can fit a lot more stuff into my room, bookshelves and all that kind of stuff, that pastor people kind of need.

[5:38] But what I didn't anticipate is the bed that I got in the exchange is, in the words of one person who I let my bed to, and I was elsewhere in the world, so they stayed at my house. And in their words, it is the worst bed that they've ever slept on.

[5:52] It actually took like multiple months to be able to be confident that I can lie down and sleep on this bed. It's not that great. But I guarantee you, it's more comfortable than a bed of ivory. Okay?

[6:03] When God is speaking to these people, verse 4, woe to those who lie in beds of ivory. He's speaking to these people who are so comfortable and secure in their wealth. And even though my bed isn't the best bed we have in 2016, it's still more comfortable than a bed of ivory.

[6:16] Today, it's not that we live like the ancient kings of old. We actually live much better than the kings of old. An example of that would be, there's some of us who don't like the humidity. Some of, I'm not one of them.

[6:28] I actually love, the hotter it gets, the more I'm happy. But I know there's a number of my colleagues and stuff who have been struggling with how hot it is day after day. But our frustration with the weather has more to do with the fact that we're sweating a little too much.

[6:40] We're not actually concerned for what this is going to mean for what we eat. But at the time that these words were written, and for most of human history, the temperature affected dramatically whether or not you're going to have food on the table.

[6:52] They would be looking to see, you know, what's the weather going to be like? If we don't get enough rain, we're not going to get enough food. We're actually maybe even going to starve. And not only is that the case throughout the centuries of time, but not the case for most of us in this room, where we actually are living lives that, regardless of what the weather is like, we're going to eat nice food, veal, lamb, all that good stuff.

[7:11] But there's even people in our city today who the weather actually affects whether or not they're going to live or die. When it gets far too hot, there's warnings for those who are living on the streets because it's actually, some of them will pass away.

[7:24] And in Ottawa, when it gets to minus 40 and beyond, there are people who are living on the streets and their very life is in jeopardy because of the temperature. But for most of us, maybe not all, for most of us in this room, our lives are completely isolated from the temperature and from all that stuff.

[7:40] And that's an indication that we are actually more secure. We're more comfortable. Our lives are a lot more glorious than those who God is writing to right here, saying, you guys are so comfortable.

[7:52] So God is speaking to them about their comfort. And he is so heartbroken over it. Woe to those who lie in beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, who sing idle songs with the sound of the harp and, like David, invent for themselves instruments of music, who drink wine and bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.

[8:14] Now, all these things that God lays out here are actually really good things. They're gifts from God. Lamb, meat. We thank God before we eat our food generally because it's a gift from God. The scriptures say in the Psalms that God gives sleep to those he loves.

[8:27] To be able to have the opportunity to sleep on a bed, whether it's a bed of ivory or whatever my mattress is made out of, is actually a gift from God. These are all good things. Wine, as much as one Graham Cook once said, he's from England, a pastor, and he said, Jesus turned water into wine, and evangelicals have been trying to turn it back into water ever since, right?

[8:46] Like, in the Bible, wine is actually a gift from the Lord. Just don't abuse it like anything else. Anointing of oil. This is a precious. These are all very good things. And yet, why is God so grieved over his people?

[8:58] Verse 6. Who drink wine and bowls, anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph. The language here is very specifically chosen because Amos is speaking to people who know their Bibles very well.

[9:13] And they would know the story of Joseph. That Joseph, he came to his brothers. You know the story. He came to his brothers. And his brothers, envious of him, they took his robe, and they put animal blood on it so their father would think that Joseph was dead.

[9:27] And they threw Joseph into a well. And at first, they were actually going to have him be just left there to die. And as they left him there to die, before eventually they changed their mind and sold him into slavery, which is not okay either, but they left him there to die.

[9:39] And then they sat down and broke bread together and just ate food. That's a disturbing image, is it not? Their own brother. Not just some poor person that they should have a heart for and they don't.

[9:50] Their own flesh and blood. Their brother. I know some here are older brothers, and you probably get frustrated with your younger brother, just like my older brother sometimes gets annoyed with me, but he's never thrown me in a well and then just sat down to eat some mac and cheese.

[10:02] Right? Like that's a very disturbing image that you can actually just eat. Maybe they even said one of their, you know, ritual Jewish prayers before they ate their food. But they sat down to eat food while their brother was languishing, for they had thrown him there.

[10:14] And God is saying, in your comfort, on your beds of ivory and your choice, food and all of this stuff, you're just like Joseph's brothers. You don't care for the broken, for the poor. Many of you, whether you are Christians or not, are familiar with the images of Sodom and Gomorrah.

[10:32] When God destroyed those cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. And if you know the story, you know that Sodom and Gomorrah was a place of great filth and sin and defilement. You're familiar with the stories of so much sexual immorality.

[10:44] One of the key characters then offers up his daughters to be raped in order to provide hospitality to his guests. Disturbing stuff. There's all manner of sexual immorality. Stuff that breaks God's heart, for he sees how people are destroying themselves with the gift of sexuality that God had given them.

[10:59] They're destroying themselves with it by abusing it. Is that what the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was? Is that why God brought destruction to their city? It is not. As much as the term sodomy refers to specific things, what is real sodomy according to God?

[11:12] What is the great sin, worse, more grotesque to God than all the other sins in Sodom and Gomorrah that we read about? God defines it in Ezekiel 16 verse 49 with these words, Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom.

[11:26] She and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but they did not aid the poor and needy.

[11:38] For all of the wickedness and defilement, the debauchery of Sodom and Gomorrah, the defining sin that marked them as a city that God would destroy was their pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but they did not aid the poor and the needy.

[11:56] In the language there is not that these were the guys trampling on the poor. These are the guys who are walking through town and they see a guy with a cup of change and they throw it over and it's like, yo, sucks to be you, and keep walking with their life.

[12:07] These aren't those guys. These aren't the guys who are bribing the judges in order to trample on the rights of the poor. They aren't. The sin of Sodom is complacency. They were just living their comfortable life.

[12:18] They had their food. Complacency. They just didn't give a rep. That broke God's heart over the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and it broke his heart to see the people, his own people, living the same way.

[12:31] Woe to those who lie in beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches. It must be noted that what God is calling for isn't simply that they care for Joseph, that they care for the broken, but that he wants them to be grieved with him over it.

[12:48] And that's partly because God is not just some kind of robotic set of moral laws. But God is the most loving, most compassionate being we can ever discover.

[13:03] And his heart breaks. He grieves over those who are languishing. He grieves over innocent bloodshed. He grieves for those exploited, for those abused, for those who are bullied, for those who are hurting.

[13:14] And what he wants for us is not just that we would do these right things, oh, care for the poor. He wants us to grieve with him. God created the universe and designed us human beings to breathe his life in us and gave us a choice to obey him or not because he longs for us to love him and know him and walk with him.

[13:30] He's given us a choice. We can choose to surrender ourselves to him and know him and walk with him and be his children, his friends, or not. And he longs for us, not just to obey him, but to love and to grieve with him.

[13:42] This past week, a friend came to me with tears coming down his face because his grandfather had passed away. And all he needed for me was for me to be with him in it. I hugged him, held him tight, and I just was sad with him.

[13:55] He didn't need any inspiring words from me. He didn't need me to go and try to whatever, save the day. He just needed me to grieve with him. And I grieved with him because he's my friend. I love him. And if his heart is broken, then I'm broken with him.

[14:07] And that's the image here, being grieved over Joseph. God wants him to be grieved over the destitute and the hurting. Day after day after day, there are people in our city and throughout the world who are being sexually abused.

[14:19] And God wants us to take action and care for them. But I believe he also wants us to grieve with him. Some years ago, I was invited to become part of a campaign against human trafficking and sexual abuse.

[14:31] And an older mentor friend of mine said, Daniel, don't do it. Don't get involved. It's going to scar you. Don't do it. And I chatted with my sister, Naomi, and she said, you know what? Like, yeah, it'll probably scar you.

[14:42] But like, that's what God, like, Jesus has scars and he's bringing healing to the world. So go join him in it. And so I went, it was part of the campaign. And in the months after that, when I would look at the time, when I look at the time, I couldn't help but see some, like, I'm not that good at math, but for some reason, my mind was always able to see what part of the world was late evening, early night.

[15:03] Because that was the part of the time of the day when little boys and girls were being sexually abused. The kids that we were helping rescue in Thailand and Cambodia from brothels, five and six-year-olds in brothels. I was scarred.

[15:15] If it was, whatever, it would be 9 a.m. here, I'd look at the time, see, oh, like an hour to church, and all of a sudden, and I couldn't help it, it's 9 p.m. in Cambodia right now. Or later in the day, all of a sudden, I know it's 9 p.m. in India right then.

[15:26] I was scarred. It's not healthy to look at the time and always know where there's little kids who are being raped. It's not how we were made for. That's not the mind God gave us.

[15:38] I was wounded by the very fact that it's trying to help bring healing to the world. And in that, my heart began to break, and I'd go to say grace before a meal, and I couldn't help but just be sad with God.

[15:49] I know there's a number of us in this church who have been involved in pro-life work. Some pray near the abortion clinic on Bank Street. Others have been involved in Christ's Parenting Center work and involved in the University of Ottawa, working with CCBR, different stuff like that.

[16:03] every single year in Canada, 100,000 babies are killed. Every single year, 100,000. Every single day, more than 300 babies are killed.

[16:16] And God is there in the language of Scripture, knitting together these babies in their mother's womb. They're not an idea to God. They're not just great potential to God. They're precious people who God is with in the womb.

[16:29] And for a variety of reasons, they're being killed. They're being put to death. That breaks God's heart. And I cannot help but think, based on Amos 6, that God is looking for us not only to take action, but as his friends, to grieve with him over the lost lives, over the innocent blood that is shed.

[16:50] Working at a Christ's Parenting Center years ago, I saw that not only do we have 100,000 babies being killed in our country every year, but there are so many women who through that, they've been lied to about what their baby is.

[17:01] It's not actually a person, whatever the case may be, being coarsed into this, all sorts of stories, where there are also 100,000 mothers of dead babies who are being broken through abortion, who, whether it's by the guilt and shame, or it's by the coercion that others have forced and whatever, there are so many.

[17:21] There's so many who are hurting throughout this country, in our own church, who've been personally affected by this stuff, whether it's sexual abuse or abortion, domestic abuse.

[17:33] There's so many in our community who are hurting and God feels their pain. He's hurting and He's grieving and He's calling us not to just be those who believe in Him and sing happy songs to Him, but people who will grieve with Him.

[17:46] And so, for us to live out what it means to walk with God, for us to live as really His followers, it means that we join Him in grief. And so, I want to take a minute today to just be quiet with God, to give a moment of silence, to just remember with God, to share in His grief for those who've been trampled on, for those who even right now are being exploited, for those who are in harmful situations or those who've had their own lives be destroyed through injustice.

[18:14] And so, let's just take a minute right now and join God, not just talk about this, but actually live it out and grieve with God. Heavenly Father, together with you, we remember those who have been exploited, abused, neglected, and even killed.

[18:39] We grieve with you. We don't know what to say. We don't know what words of comfort we can possibly offer you, God. But we want you to know that we as individuals and as a church, that we grieve with you.

[18:53] we remember with you. And we acknowledge that not only is this something in the past, innocent bloodshed, people being hurt and exploited and abused, but we know this is something that's ongoing in our neighborhoods and even has touched many of us personally here in this church.

[19:15] That we're not just remembering the grief and the pain of those outside of these walls, but even within these walls, we have been, some of us have been sexually abused, others have faced domestic violence, been affected in various ways through abortion, so many other ways that you know so intimately and personally.

[19:40] Lord God, we grieve with you and we look to you knowing that you are the God whose very name is Healer, Jehovah Rapha, that you are the God of rescue, that you are not complacent, that you are compassionate, that you suffer with those who are suffering and you bring healing and life.

[20:02] And so we look to you that you would bring healing and rescue and restoration and we ask that you would help us as a church join you in that, that we would be your hands and feet.

[20:15] In Jesus' name, Amen. Even as we read these words, God calling them to not be complacent. I was just looking around the churches we're singing and I knew this message is coming up and I was looking around and again I'm seeing people in our church who are professors of social work who even in the past few months have helped not only myself but even others in Toronto have given expert guidance in helping deal with situations of rescue and restoration regarding sexual abuse.

[20:46] Amazing stuff. I'm looking around and seeing people who have given big chunks of their time and still are involved with helping rescue those who are being hurt by abortion. I'm looking around and seeing people who have gone overseas and are preparing to go overseas again to parts of the world where it's illegal to be a Christian and they're risking themselves that people might find healing and restoration in Jesus.

[21:06] I'm looking around the room and seeing people who have given so much of their own money and time and even their career dreams and everything to be able to bring the gospel to Parliament Hill and to the homeless in our place.

[21:17] I'm looking around and seeing people in our church who are going to Jericho Road Coffeehouse and not only themselves but organizing for others to be able to share in that ministry among the homeless. As we read these words and see God's heart for the poor see his heart for the abused and for the hurt I'm just so filled with gratitude for what God has been doing intermixed as a church and yet it's important that we don't become comfortable with where we're at but that we continue to seek God for his heart and we see that as we continue reading on as disturbing as the image regarding Joseph is in verse 10 is the most haunting image in this chapter and possibly all of Amos.

[21:54] You'll see that just a little further on in the same chapter in the words that Ann read that God warns them that he is going to remove his people from the land he promised them that he is going to put them into exile and we know that decades later it came true but more haunting than any of that is verse 10.

[22:11] Is there still anyone with you? He shall say. No. And he shall say. Silence. We must not mention the name of the Lord. Now regrettably and we know it this is not a full translation of the verse when it says that the Lord all in caps that all in caps is an indication that this is God's name but it's a name we do not know and we do not know how to translate.

[22:32] For there is no one today in the Jewish community in the Christian community there's no one today who knows the name of the Lord. I am who I am. The name that God revealed to Moses and gave us his people we have forgotten it.

[22:45] And when this was written it was not a forgotten name of God. This is the most common name in the Bible. The name others will use all sorts of good righteous names of God but the name that God uses when he is talking regarding himself more than any other name is the name that some today speak of as Yahweh.

[23:00] Others use the term Jehovah. We know that's definitely not how you pronounce it because Hebrew had no J. So Jehovah that's not a thing but people are grappling with how to be able to say the name of God. They have forgotten it.

[23:11] We have forgotten it. And this is one of the as far as I know this might be the only prophecy that is warning that the people are actually going to begin to do what they did.

[23:22] Silence. We must not mention the name of the Lord. The people of God their most precious gift they had wasn't just the land or the it was the name of God. God had revealed himself to them.

[23:33] And over time we're not exactly sure when but God's people began to say something that the Bible never said. They said God's name is so holy we must not speak it. And so they started to call wherever the scriptures said the Lord they would begin to they replace it with Hashem the name.

[23:48] The name basically the name that shall not be mentioned. Just as it says right here silence. We must not mention the name of the Lord. It prophesies they will say. And that's exactly what they did. They began to not mention the name of the Lord.

[23:59] Hashem they called him. And over time they forgot how to pronounce God's name. And to this day none of us there is no one who knows God's name. Whereas some centuries and centuries ago we knew it.

[24:10] The heartbreaking thing about that is not just that it's kind of rude if you forget someone's name. I'm at camp and I remember in the first week we have 70 staff and it hit me. I know all 70 of our staff name.

[24:21] Like I've done this. And then I realized the next day we're giving everyone a camp name. So I had to relearn 70 names. And so even this past week the kids were referring to their cabin leader and I had no idea who they're talking about. And I'm just glad the cabin leader wasn't there because I had no idea who my friend's name is.

[24:34] Right? Like it's rude to forget someone's name. That's not why it's heartbreaking that we've forgotten God's name because it's just a little rude. In the Bible in the ancient time a name tells the story and the character the personality of who someone is.

[24:46] It wasn't just to differentiate this guy from that guy but it was to tell their story. And in God's sharing of his name I am who I am to his people he had revealed the essence of who he is. The people of God to this day not knowing God's name is an indication that they hadn't simply forgotten how to pronounce his name but they did not know God.

[25:04] They were people of liturgy and they were people of sacrifice and they were people of all this great religious observance but they did not know who God is. They'd forgotten it. And you see that in their complacency.

[25:17] These people who are we've read in previous weeks how they were going down to Beersheba and they're going to Bethel and Gilgal and they were singing these hymns these amazing words regarding God's design of the constellations.

[25:29] We looked at that a few weeks ago. Amazing stuff. But they did not know the God of whom they sang. In church we will be the same if we are people of liturgy and of song and of prayer and all these things but we are complacent regarding the broken.

[25:43] Because God is a God who is anything but complacent regarding the broken. A greatest example of what it means to actually live this out this call to care for the broken to grieve over Joseph to be people not of complacency is Jesus who he was in his talk about a comfortable bed he was in his throne in heaven a place where there is no heartbreak or homelessness where there's no rebellion where there's none of that stuff where all the angels and the elders and everyone bowed down crying out as is right and fitting holy, holy, holy are you God.

[26:12] And he left that amazing, comfortable, secure place in heaven to enter into the midst of the muck and the danger and the frailty of the human condition to be able to rescue those who are hurting to rescue us to life in him.

[26:25] He is a great example the scriptures speak in Philippians of how he didn't account equality with God something to be grasped but emptied himself making himself nothing to bring rescue. He's anything but complacent he's a God of compassion.

[26:38] The word compassion is a combination of the word passion to suffer and the C-O-M is a prefix which means with compassion is to suffer with those who are suffering. God's grieving for the poor his compassion for the hurting is never just sympathy it's never just like oh, I'm so sorry you're going through that but it's an action he's suffering with those who are suffering bringing life in him.

[26:59] And so God's call to be compassionate isn't just that we're humanitarians and people of nice hearts but that we're actually joining those who are hurting and bringing them to helping them come to know Jesus and life in him dealing with their their issues physically, spiritually, holistically that's what God's calling us to through these words and Jesus is a great example of that but he's more than just a great example because it is you can look at someone like Mother Teresa and you can look at someone whoever Martin Luther King Jr.

[27:25] any of those great heroes of ours and we can be inspired by what they did but we're not actually inspired to action because we know we're not as compassionate as those people. You look at Jesus and see how amazingly selfless he is and we look at our own comfort and our own way that we always want to self-preserve and keep ourselves from discomfort and it's like Jesus, great for you and we'll sing songs about you but like I'm not Jesus and it's right we're not Jesus but the great hope of the gospel is that Jesus is not just a great example but he is our great sacrifice that he both through his death brings forgiveness for our sin and where any of us reading these words see that we are those who are comfortable in our comforts and are indifferent to those who are hurting and we see that there is guilt and there is shame there rightly so that we find forgiveness and cleansing purification by asking Jesus for forgiveness but his sacrifice not only provides forgiveness for our sin the removal of shame and guilt but it also provides the empowerment we need the grace the strength the dynamite power of God to become ever more like him to become ever more like him in John 17

[28:32] Jesus' prayer for his disciples and all who will follow him he says oh righteous father even though the world does not know you I know you and these know that you have sent me I made known to them your name and I will continue to make it known that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them as God is praying for us to be people defined by love this compassionate love he speaks of how he has made known to us God's name now he didn't tell us the pronunciation of the name of the Lord I am who I am but he did reveal to us and make it possible for all of us to know personally the character of God this God of love and justice and compassion and life Jesus reveals to us God's name and one day when Jesus comes back we'll fully know how to pronounce God's name but on this side of eternity we're able to come to know God as we turn to Jesus and receive his gift of life as we sang as a church just a few minutes ago give me eyes to see more of who you are may what I behold still my anxious heart take what I have known and break it all apart you my God are greater still as we sang these words

[29:37] I looked around I looked at myself and I thought do I mean these words do I want God to actually break apart my understanding of who he is and give me a real understanding of who he is a God to be loved and adored and worshipped and feared and committed to do we actually want that no words can say nor song convey the greatness of our God the reason we long for that and rightly so is that that is where life is found as scary as it may be for a God to actually show us who he really is he's not just a God to be believed but he's a God to be followed to be fully committed to that he's a God who calls us out of our beds of ivory into a broken world to join him in bringing life and healing even as we are scarred and hurt in the process a God who calls us to pick up a cross deny ourselves and die to ourselves deny ourselves and follow him every single day of our lives it's not comfortable it's anything but self-preservation it's just the opposite it's throwing ourselves into a place of discomfort and risk but in so doing why would anyone do that because it is where life is found because it is the most glorious adventure it's the most fulfilling call it is life not just the best life a better choice than others it's the only way to live is to walk with Jesus he's not he's not like he's not the best option he's the only option of real life anything less than that you can be a person of liturgy and of church and of tithes and all of these things but if you haven't actually looked to Jesus to be your king to be the boss of your life look to him for your forgiveness as well as look to him to surrender your life to him then you will live your whole life in this place of empty chaos a place you're always trying to find fulfillment and meaning and searching for the next pleasure and whatever and never finding satisfaction if you haven't committed your life to Jesus do not wait any longer would you stand with me and pray

[31:35] God you are so much more than we can ever understand and you are so much more awesome and glorious such a greater adventure than anything that any song could ever convey it is true and God we confess that as much as we know of you there is so much more to be known Lord we look to you that you would help us not just hear these words from Amos and then go on with our lives but to be people people who are constantly turning from ourselves and our self preservation and our selfishness turning to you for not only forgiveness forgiveness but also for transformation that you would save us from ourselves that you would save us from living for ourselves that you would save us from trying to self preserve with all of our fake stuff and false fronts and lies and all the things to try to keep our own image and whatever comfort up but rather

[32:40]  God would you help us to be people who are so fully alive in you people who know you who not just know the various names of God you've revealed to us God the healer God the provider God of armies the people who actually are living life with you the true and living God in Jesus name amen