Well, good morning, everyone.
It's an absolute privilege and a bit sad to be here this morning to preach my last sermon to you here.
I remember when I first came to St. Paul's, I was asked, I'm not sure why I was asked to say this,
but I shared with you all my passion for ministry and, I guess, why I do what I do.
Sorry.
I didn't plan for this.
From Ephesians 1, Paul prays for the Ephesians, reminding of the hope that I have,
all the benefits of salvation that I enjoy, and he says this,
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you and my prayers.
I keep asking that God, our Father, Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,
may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better.
I pray the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you
in the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.
That's my prayer for you for the last two and a half years.
That's my prayer for you this morning as we look at God's word.
So please pray with me as we open up his word once more.
Heavenly Father, we give you great thanks and praise for the privilege it is to sit under your word.
You're a God who is holy and perfect, powerful, mighty,
and we ask, Lord, that you would give us eyes to see who you are this morning
and the great privilege it is that we can come before you through your son, Jesus Christ,
to worship you and to love you.
We give you thanks and praise that we can do this now.
We pray this in your son's name.
Amen.
I'm going to just clean myself up here.
Okay.
You've been weighed, you've been measured, and you've been found wanting.
I first heard this quote from the movie A Knight's Tale.
You haven't seen it.
It's a fantastic film set in medieval times.
The basic plot line is a young squire, a knight in training, Heath Ledger,
dreamy, gorgeous Heath Ledger,
who dreams of becoming a knight one day.
And he eventually does.
By fraudulently taking upon his dead master's name and title as knight,
he goes in as Sir Orlick von Liechtenstein,
and he beats every single knight in every single jasping tournament there is
in Paris and in London,
except for one knight, Count Adhemar.
Early on in the movie, he loses to Count Adhemar,
and Heath Ledger's character says to Count Adhemar,
Next time I face you, you will look at me from the flat of your back.
And Count Adhemar, from his position of having just beaten Heath Ledger in this jasping tournament,
says to him,
You've been weighed, you've been measured, and you've been found wanting.
In other words, you've been tested, and you've failed.
Your actions don't stand up to the measure set before you.
Such a response is an appropriate way to describe the people of God in the book of Amos.
As we saw last week with the imagery of the plumb line in chapter 7,
God's people did not measure up to God's standard set by his law and covenant.
They had been found wanting.
They had not lived as God's people.
Amos 9 comes to a boiling point.
This chapter is probably the most devastating of all judgment oracles in this book,
and yet towards the end of the chapter, there is hope.
There's a promise of restoration.
It'd be easy for us to skip to the hope bit and focus on that,
thinking that's what's applied to us.
But I believe God is still roaring through the book of Amos,
and this roar of judgment is still declared,
sorry, directed towards his people, Christians, and to us as a church today.
It's something that we must hear and reflect upon,
lest we end up like the nation of Israel.
But we will all face judgment.
We will be weighed.
We will be measured.
But the question is, is whether or not we'll be found wanting.
In chapter 9, we learn the full consequences and dangers
of presuming upon God's love and status,
that God must punish and judge sin.
But we also learn the extent of God's grace,
that God's judgment is not forever.
There are two main points this morning.
Firstly, to those who presume upon God's favor and love,
God promises to punish them.
In verse 1, Amos has changed in introduction.
No longer is the prophet being shown something by the Lord or declared a vision,
Amos now sees the Lord in action.
He is described as standing beside the altar.
The phrase is very similar to the one used in chapter 7, verse 7,
of God standing beside the wall of the plumb line.
This conscious connection between God standing beside the altar
is supposed to bring to mind the illustration of God standing beside the wall of the plumb line,
measuring up the Israelites' obedience against the law itself.
And here now, more specifically, he measures their sacrifice upon the altar,
against their lives, their hearts,
and concludes that they are found wanting.
And instead of consuming the sacrifice and sparing them from his judgment,
he instead rejects their sacrifice,
and from the altar he pours out his judgment upon the people.
Strike the tops of the pillars,
let the threshold shake,
bring them down their heads.
Of all the people, those who are left,
I will kill the sword.
No one will get away.
None will escape.
It's a picture of God bringing down the temple
whilst his people are inside it.
Can you imagine if our building right now just collapsed in on us?
That's what's going on here in this image.
As we saw in our series in Leviticus,
the altar was once a place where God's people could meet with them
and experience his grace and love,
his mercy, his forgiveness.
It was a divine barbecue
on which the nation could bring the meat,
the bull, the pigeons, etc.,
to sacrifice for their sins.
These animals would take the judgment of God for Israel.
So Israel wouldn't have to experience the wrath
and anger and judgment of God
and instead enjoy his presence and grace.
Here in Amos 9,
the people still gather with this intention.
They still come to God and bring him sacrifice.
They still come and gather these people to worship him,
expecting blessing,
expecting to enjoy his presence and grace and mercy,
completely unsuspecting of what was about to happen
the moment they brought their sacrifice to him.
It's kind of like in Star Wars,
The Empire Strikes Back,
when Han Solo and the crew of the Millennium Falcon
are seeking refuge from the Empire
and Han decides to go to Cloud City
to seek refuge from his friend Lando Calrissian
in the Bespin system.
I know my Star Wars quite well,
for those who don't know me.
But when they go to dinner that night
and the doors are opened,
before them is Darth Vader.
And in that moment,
as soon as they see Darth Vader,
they know they've been betrayed.
And the look on their faces
says that they had no idea.
They had no idea the whole time
they were in danger.
They were never safe,
never secure.
The place they thought was refuge
turned out to be the most dangerous place of all to be.
In a similar way,
the Israelite people thought they were safe.
They thought that coming before the altar of God
would mean safety and blessing for them,
that they could find refuge in him,
knowing that their sins might be forgiven.
But they could not be in any more danger now.
As they approached a holy and awesome God,
they presumed upon his goodness
when in fact he was angry with them
because of their sin.
In chapter 5,
we get an idea of what he thinks of their worship.
I hate, I despise your feasts.
I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings
and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
And the peace offerings of your fasting animals,
I will not look upon them.
Take away from the noise of your songs.
To the melody of your harps,
I will not listen.
The altar was once a place of grace
and mercy,
a place which allowed the people of God
to escape God's judgment
and enjoy his presence.
But here in Amos 9,
the place, the altar,
has become the place of judgment
from which no one will escape.
This scene is a devastating one.
You can imagine the terror and upheaval
as people try to escape the Lord God Almighty.
People will trample on each other
to try and get out of the temple
to escape the debris.
But no one will escape his judgment.
Though they dig down to the depths below,
from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,
from there I will bring them down.
Though they hide themselves
on top of Mount Carmel,
there I will hunt them down and seize them.
Though they hide from my eyes
at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent
to bite them.
Though they are driven to exile
by their enemies,
there I will command the sword
to slay them.
Nowhere is safe.
God will make sure
everyone is brought under judgment.
And he concludes in verse 4,
I will keep my eye on them for harm
and not for good.
They presumed they were safe
in the presence of God
before the altar,
when in fact they never were.
Their sin blinded them
to the reality that they were fools
to offer worship and sacrifice
without recognizing their need
for repentance.
They were fools to think
they could buy God's protection
instead of devoting themselves
to obedience and holiness.
But the tables have turned
and their foolishness
has come to light.
No longer does God look upon
his people with blessing
and good intention,
but he intends to judge them
and punish them.
The altar,
once the place
of receiving God's mercy,
has now become the place
of receiving God's judgment.
It's a bit much to hear
at the moment, is it?
The lot coming in through here.
Can you imagine
Aeolus' hearers
being stunned at this?
I mean, they were God's people,
chosen, taken from Egypt.
They thought God loved them.
It's a bit of a
deer-in-the-headlights moment.
It's a bit of a
Han Solo-seen Darth Vader moment.
What is going on?
And then God interjects again
in verse 7.
Are you not like the Cushites
to me, O people of Israel?
Declares the Lord.
Did I not bring up Israel
from the land of Egypt
and the Philistines
from Kapdor
and the Syrians
from Kerr?
The Cushites were
a remote people
who the Israelites
considered as
very insignificant,
a small,
tribal-type people.
And so hearing that
their God thinks of them
like the Cushites,
that they are
an insignificant people,
not worth a second look at
or a second thought,
would have stung them
to the core.
But what is more stinging
is the next question.
God has not only saved
his own people from Egypt,
but the Philistines
from Kapdor
and the Syrians
from Kerr.
There was nothing unique
in the saving of God's people
from Egypt
that prevented them
from facing judgment
for sin.
God has saved
other nations
from other nations
as well.
They thought the Exodus
in and of itself
made them special
and unique
compared to every
other nation,
but it's very clear
that God's sovereignty
and care
extends beyond
just Israel
to the other nations
as well.
Any pride
they might have had,
any smugness
they might have had
about their status
and favour
was dashed away
at God's
impending judgement
and not even
their exodus
from Egypt
could do anything
about it.
We might look
at the northern kingdom,
the Israelites
and think,
such fools!
What are they doing?
But I wonder
if we'd only be
making ourselves
out to be fools
as well.
The northern kingdom
thought they were
in the right
because of who they were
by the fact
they were sacrificing
and worshipping,
by the fact
that they were
God's people
taken out of Egypt,
doing all the right
things,
but they were
proven to be fools.
Their sacrifices
were measured
and weighed
and they were
found wanting.
I wonder
if we think
we are in the right
with God
when in fact
we might be
dangerously
presuming
upon Him
as well.
Do we think
we are safe
as we gather
here now
before Him
praising Him
and praying to Him
and reading His word
when in fact
maybe we're not?
It depends
upon our picture
of God.
Do we think
that we can buy
God's favour and love
like the Israelites did
by showing Him
our good works
and our good deeds
that we come to church
every Sunday
that we read our Bibles
and pray
that we serve
at morning tea
or throughout the week?
Or do we think
God doesn't care
about sin?
That He doesn't
want to judge you?
He's not angry
at you?
He doesn't want to
punish you
for your sin.
He's all sugar
and spice
and everything nice.
He says
come as you are
no need to change.
The problem
with both those views
with both those responses
is they presume
upon who God is
based on what
we think He is
from a human point of view.
And surely
this passage
so far
teaches us
to never do that
to never presume
upon who God is
and what He is like
from our point of view
from our perspective.
Anyone who tries
to measure up
upon their own
thinking they are
in the right
with God
whilst remaining
in sin
will be destroyed.
And anyone who thinks
sin is irrelevant
God will destroy them
as well.
Only a fool
would presume
to be in the right
with God
based on his own
status and actions
or based upon
sin
not having any
consequences at all.
A misunderstanding
of what God's love is.
Such a fool
will discover
in the same way
the people of Israel
did
God's awful
judgment.
As Jesus
says Himself
in Matthew 7
many will say
to me on that day
Lord, Lord
did we not
prophesy
in your name
and your name
drive out demons
and your name
perform many miracles
then I will tell
them plainly
I never knew you
away from me
you evil
doers.
At the heart
of the issue
is being
presumptuous
upon God's
love and favour
towards them.
Amos
warns us
to not
to never
presume
upon
God's love
and favour
because God
promises to destroy
all who do so
promising to judge
and punish them
for ignoring
and not acknowledging
their sin.
But
God is also
faithful to
His promise
that He's made
to His people
in the past
which is my
second point
here this morning.
God remains
faithful to
His promise
of salvation
even when
His people
remain
unfaithful.
Verse 8
Behold the eyes
of the Lord God
are upon this
sinful nation
and I will
destroy it
from the surface
of the ground
except that I
will not utterly
destroy the house
of Jacob
declares the Lord.
God will not
destroy His people
completely.
His promise
to remain
faithful to
His covenant
by saving
a few.
God is always
faithful to
His promises
that He made
way back
in Genesis
chapter 12
that Abraham
and the nation
that would come
through Him
would be a
great nation
would be a
blessing to
all the nations.
He remembers
His promise to
David in 2 Samuel 7
when He said
that He would
always establish
His throne
forever.
and so despite
the sin
of the people
how far
gone they are
we know how
far gone
they are
God is still
going to make
good on His
promise
by being the
one to do
the work
Himself.
He is going
to remain
faithful
when His
people
remain unfaithful.
He will
establish a
better king.
Verse 11
In that day
I will restore
David's fallen
shelter
I will repair
its broken
walls
and restore
its ruins
and rebuild
it as it
used to be.
The language
of repairing
broken walls
and restoring
ruined cities
is figurative.
The kings
that had come
before
did not measure
up to God's
standard.
They had failed
the test
of the plumb
line.
They did not
execute their
office of king
in a worthy
manner.
required by
God.
Thus they
crumbled
and failed
and became
ruined.
The nation
therefore as a
result also
became ruined
in shambles.
But God
will repair
and restore
the kingship
to one who
would uphold
the office
with integrity
and in a
deserving manner.
He would love
justice
and love
mercy.
He would
protect the
poor
and the
vulnerable.
He would
love righteousness
and hate
evil.
He would
uphold the
righteous
and punish
the
evildoer.
He will be
the king
Israel has
longed for
since David.
But he will
be a better
king for this
king will
have a kingdom
that's much
vaster than
the one that's
gone before.
Verse 12
said to
Edom.
The grand
plan of
this
restoration
was to
include the
surrounding
nations
who will
bear God's
name also.
The mercy
and grace
of God
will not
only extend
to Israel
but to
Edom
and to
all the
nations as
well.
The same
God who
punished and
judged the
nations in
the opening
chapters of
Amos will
also extend
his mercy
and his
grace to
them also.
That they
might be
included as
his people
and receive
salvation.
For as God
told us a few
verses earlier,
his care and
his sovereignty
goes beyond
just Israel.
And through
the work
of Christ
we enjoy
this reality
now ourselves.
For we are
those nations
as well,
as Australians.
We enjoy
being part
of God's
restored
people who
have received
mercy and
grace with
Jesus as
our promised
king on
the throne.
And if
that is what
we enjoy
now as
believers,
for indeed
we are
those other
nations,
verses 13
and 15
then are
what we
are to
anticipate
for the
future.
This
agricultural
picture of
fruitfulness,
dwelling in
God's kingdom
as bountiful,
perfect,
wonderful,
a site for
sore eyes,
a place that
is untainted
from the
corruption of
sin,
where everything
is growing,
a place
where we
will never
again be
uprooted
and taken
away.
That is the
glorious plan
of restoration
God has in
store for
his people
in the book
of Amos.
Though whilst
there is
judgment
coming,
this is
going to
be the
result.
What are
the people
of Israel
to do
with this
prophecy?
For nine
and a half
chapters,
all they
have heard
is judgment.
Judgment.
And now
towards the
end there
is hope.
Why does
Amos finish
with hope
when judgment
is still
to come?
I think
Amos wants
to leave
his hearers,
his Israelite
people,
with a bigger
picture in
mind.
God's
judgment
is not
capricious
or vindictive,
but an
extension of
his love
and jealousy
for his
people to
obey him,
to be his,
and to
live with
him and
for him.
The role
of judgment
then plays
a part
for the
sake of
restoration,
for the
sake of
bringing back
his people
into alignment
with his
way of
living.
And so
here Amos
wants to
remind him
that judgment
is not
the goal,
but restoration
is.
And God
will restore
those who
seek him.
The heart
of the book's
message to
Israel and
to us
here this
morning is
literally in
the heart
of the book,
in the middle,
in chapter 5
from verse 4.
This is what
the Lord says
to Israel.
Seek me
and live.
Do not
seek Bethel,
do not
go to
Gilgal,
do not
journey to
Beersheba,
for Gilgal
will surely
go into
exile and
Bethel
will be
reduced to
nothing.
Seek the
Lord and
live.
Seek good,
not evil,
that you
may live.
Then the
Lord God
Almighty
will be
with you,
just as
you say
he is.
Hate
evil,
love
good.
maintain
justice
in the
courts.
Perhaps
the Lord
God
Almighty
will have
mercy
on the
remnant
of
Joseph.
The book
of Amos can be
summed up as
a judgment
is coming,
seek the
Lord and
live.
With all
negativity
and devastation
prophesied,
it would be
easy for the
Israelites to
lose sight of
the bigger
picture here,
to think that
promises have
failed.
God has
forgotten us.
Judgment
is the
end.
The promise
of the end
of Amos 9
shows that
judgment is
not the
end.
God will
restore his
people.
He will
do good
on his
promises,
that if
you seek
him,
you will
live.
Even though
you face
the pain
of judgment,
the devastation
of your
homeland,
the suffering
and death
of loved
ones,
the loss
of your
livelihood,
even though
you see
all these
things happen
before you
now,
foreign
occupation,
exile,
do not
take your
eyes off
the Lord.
Continue
to seek
him.
He will
make good
on his
promise as
he did
to Abraham
and to
David.
He will
restore the
kingdom.
The end
of chapter 9
is to
encourage them
to keep
going.
Despite
what is
coming for
them,
seek God
and they
will live.
In the
same way,
the message
is for
us as
well.
Judgment
is coming.
Seek the
Lord and
live.
Do not
presume upon
his love
and mercy.
Do not
be so
smug and
proud of
who you
might think
you are
in God's
sight.
Instead,
be humble
thankful for
the salvation
that God
has worked
in you
through
Christ,
through
his death
and resurrection
on the
cross,
in light
of his
work to
save you
from God's
judgment.
Continue to
live in
faith and
repentance
in these
dark days.
For these
are dark
days where
the impact
of sin in
our lives
makes living
for God,
seeking him
very difficult
and tough.
Some of us
here live
day-to-day
with pain
in our
bodies.
Some of us
live day-to-day
struggling
with depression
and anxiety.
Some of us
live day-to-day
with uncertainty
about our
jobs or
our health,
about our
future.
Some of us
live day-to-day
with the pain
of broken
relationships.
There is
increase in
pressure on
Christians to
conform to
the status
quo of
secularism.
Increased
pressure for
us to give
up the
faith that
has been
declared by
the public
as archaic
and useless,
as a threat
to modernity
and progression.
Vitriol and
hate towards
Christians is
increasing,
and slowly
but steadily
we are losing
our influence
in the general
public,
shunned from
them,
considered by
some as a
plight on
society,
as those who
cause wars
and conflict.
There's a
great struggle
ahead for
Christians in
this growing
secular age,
a struggle for
us to seek
the Lord.
But the great
hope that Amos
reminds of is
that God is
going to make
good on his
promise to
those who
seek him,
to those who
are humble
themselves
before the
Lord,
who acknowledge
their sin,
that they
don't measure
up,
to seek
him,
and you
will live.
In him,
in Christ,
we place
our trust
and hope.
It is in him
we seek,
and when we
do,
we will live,
for he has
come to give
life,
and life to
the full,
life eternally.
For those
who doubt
God will
make good
on his
promise,
Amos 9
says he
will and
he always
has,
and so you
can be
sure of
that.
In fact,
the coming
of the
Son,
the coming
of Jesus
shows that
he has
done so,
and so we
can look
forward to
that future
that's been
talked about
in verses
13 to
15.
For those
who fear
that they
will face
the judgment
of God,
that like
the Israelites,
they have
presumed for
far too
long upon
God's love
without
recognizing
their sin,
Amos 9
says there
is still
time.
Seek the
Lord and
you will
live.
But judgment
is coming,
so seek
the Lord,
seek Jesus
and you
will live.
God promises
us, for
those who do
seek him,
they will
live.
The message
we might
take away
from Amos
from this
series is
this,
never presume
upon the love
of God
based on
who you
are,
for those
to be
complacent
and foolish.
Instead,
humble yourselves
before God
and repent
of your
sin.
Give
thanks to
God who
in Christ
Jesus has
made a
way for
you to
know God's
love and
mercy.
Seek
Jesus
and you
will live.
I pray
that you
would continue
to seek
God,
St.
Paul,
that you
would not
presume
he ever
arrived
before God,
but you
would continue
to seek
him in
repentance
and in
faith,
for by
doing so
you will
live.
Amen.