Father, we come before your word.
Father, your word talks of people that we don't really know,
of countries that we no longer know.
Father, we know that it was written almost 3,000 years ago,
and it can be hard for us to enter into it.
And Father, for some of us who are just familiar with certain parts of the New Testament,
this part of the Bible sounds very strange and odd to us.
We ask, Father, that you would gently but deeply pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
and humble and quieten our hearts so that we might hear your word,
that your word might enter deep within who we are
and there bear much fruit in our daily lives to your great glory
and the furtherance of your kingdom.
And this we ask in Jesus' name, your Son and our Savior. Amen.
Please be seated.
When I first, sorry, I felt that God was calling us to look at the book of Amos
during the summer every year at Church of the Messiah.
We like to take at least some of the teaching from the Old Testament.
It's really helpful, I think, for Christians to have the pastor
or other speakers go through an Old Testament book
to help us to try to read things which are very strange.
And I don't know how many of you are aware of this,
but there's part of the book of Amos,
not the part that we're going to look at particularly today,
but from a literary point of view,
actually sort of in some ways the turning point
or the key foundational text of the whole book of Amos
played a very important role in the history of the United States of America.
Andrew's going to be getting things set up on the screen right now as I speak
because in a moment I'm going to show you a film clip.
Those of you who are used to HD, this was something filmed in 1963,
and Martin Luther King was part of a leadership team
that called for a march on Washington in 1963
to address the persistent racism and segregation of the United States of America.
And at the end of that famous march on Washington,
he gave his famous I Have a Dream speech.
And at the very center of the I Have a Dream speech
is a quote from the book of Amos,
which is part of the theological center of the book,
and it gives us, in fact, the name for our sermon series.
So we can't play the whole clip.
We're going to play a little bit of the clip,
which quotes from Amos.
So off you go, Andrew.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights,
when will you be satisfied?
We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim
of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.
We can never be satisfied.
As long as our body is heavy with the fatigue of travel,
cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.
We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood
and robbed of their dignity by signs stating for whites only.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro in Mississippi cannot vote,
and the Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.
No, no, we are not satisfied,
and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters
and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Let justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.
We're not going to look at that text today.
I think it's going to be Daniel in a couple of weeks who's going to exposit that,
but it's at the center of the book
and the center of the theological understanding of the book of Amos.
It's really interesting that in 1963,
when there was still no integration in many parts of the United States,
still segregation,
that in this historic speech in Washington underneath the Lincoln Memorial,
they had the Lincoln Memorial just behind them,
that in calling people to address these evils
and in a sense to have the moral weight and moral certainty
and moral courage to address these evils.
He goes to the book of Amos.
And so, you know, when Nora was reading the book of Amos,
it might have sounded,
where on earth is George going to go with a text like this?
But to understand that this book has this moral weight
that inspired this profound movement of nonviolence in the United States
to try to start to address some historic evils
that have been going on for hundreds of years.
Well, let's look and see if we can have a bit of a glimpse
of this moral weight and moral authority
that can lead to such changes and such courage.
So if you would just read with me, let's look how it begins.
It's Amos.
It's a hard book to find.
It's a short little prophet book towards the end of the Old Testament,
just before the New Testament.
And here's how it begins.
Verse 1.
The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa,
which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah,
in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel,
two years before the earthquake.
And over the next few weeks,
we'll talk a little bit about the distinction of Judah and Israel.
I'm not going to say anything about it right now,
or very little about it right now.
Just to let you know that one of the things which is really curious about this text,
I'm not going to say anything about it other than point it out to you.
He sees the words.
I mean, the words are spoken, but he sees them.
Isn't that an odd thing?
I don't know what it means, but I thought I should show you.
Look at that.
The words of Amos, which he saw.
I think that's just cool.
I don't know what else it means.
It's just cool.
And Amos prophesied, when he mentions the two kings,
they were both two kings who had a very, very, very, very long rule.
Sort of imagine Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth of the North and Queen Elizabeth of the South
with a little bit of an overlap between the two of them.
And so he wrote somewhere between the time 793 B.C.,
in other words, 793 years before the birth of Christ,
and 739 B.C.
And one other thing for you to note just before we go on.
Amos is going to be pronouncing these oracles,
and an oracle is as if God speaks, but he uses someone's mouth.
So it would be as if God used Daniel here to speak an oracle,
it would be God speaking, but he uses Daniel's mouth, Daniel to speak it.
And there's a series of eight oracles, which make up chapter 1 and chapter 2.
Six of them are about the pagan nations outside of Israel,
and two of them are about the northern and southern kingdom of Israel.
And I'm going to look at the six oracles to the pagan nations.
And so Amos tells us that he's saying these things sometime between 793
and sometime between that and 739.
Let's just say for sake of arguments around 750.
One thing for you to remember is in 722,
Israel ceased to exist as a nation.
That sometime in the 720s, in other words,
sometime maybe a decade after Amos prophesied,
the Assyrian empire entered into this area.
All of the nations that are mentioned are completely and utterly defeated militarily,
some of them never to recover,
and some to recover but in a very weakened state.
And the nation of Israel itself is defeated by Assyria.
The ten tribes that are resident there are carried into exile,
and they are lost from history.
They disappear.
So depending on how you date it,
somewhere between 15 and 50 years after Amos speaks these words,
the nations will all fall that he mentions.
So let's read verses 2 to 5.
And he said,
The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem.
The pastures of the shepherds mourn,
and the top of Carmel withers.
Thus says the Lord,
For three transgressions of Damascus and for four,
I will not revoke the punishment.
Because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron,
so I will send fire upon the house of Hazael,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-Hadad.
I will break the gate bar of Damascus
and cut off the inhabitants from the valley of Avon,
and him who holds the scepter from Beth Eden
and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,
says the Lord.
And just sort of pause here for a second.
And I'm going to spend a little bit of time
just in this first five verses,
or the first couple of verses,
because as you'll see, there's a rhythm throughout all of the six,
in fact, all of the eight oracles,
two of which Daniel will look at with you next Sunday.
But there's this rhythm for three, for four.
I will send fire.
I will devour.
Thus says the Lord.
There's this rhythm.
So let's just sort of begin with this.
And here's the first point,
if you could put it up,
that would be very helpful.
The true, real, living, untamed, nation-judging God roars.
This is the introduction to the whole book.
The whole book.
What's one of the things that can help Martin Luther King stare down
the police in places like Alabama and Mississippi
is he's gripped with the notion
that there is a God who exists
who is bigger than the United States of America.
He is untamed by human institutions.
He is true.
He is real.
He is living.
He is untamed.
He judges every nation,
every human institution,
every social structure.
And this God roars.
At this time, for a lot of Canadians,
the glow of Martin Luther King's speech starts to fade.
Just this past week, as I'm working on the book of Amos,
I overheard that God sent two pairs of people
to sit right beside me to talk.
And in both cases,
in one case it was two men,
and in another case it was two women.
And one person was giving advice to the other.
And their conversation was very Canadian
and very spiritual, not religious.
And I'm not saying this to mock.
I'm just saying it to describe.
And obviously that one person was in some type of trouble
and the other person was giving them advice
that they had to become more spiritual.
They had to know that they had to walk on their own spiritual path.
And that spiritual path meant leaving these other people behind.
And they had to stop being concerned about these other people
because they had to get in touch with their own spiritual nature.
They had to get in touch with their own spiritual power
and their own spiritual value
and walk their own spiritual path.
Even if that means leaving all these other people behind
and just completely ignoring the complaints that they have about them,
they needed to get in touch with their spiritual center,
their spiritual power,
their spiritual path.
And it's very Canadian.
And we breathe that Canadian spiritual cultural air.
We breathe it every day.
We breathe it when we watch TV and we watch Netflix.
We breathe it probably even when sports commentators comment.
We breathe it in the newspapers.
We breathe it when we hear about the decisions of governments.
We breathe it when we go to school.
We breathe it when we go to work in the bureaucracy
and even in many businesses and companies.
It is the spiritual air.
It is the cultural air that we breathe
that people are to get in touch with their spiritual nature,
their spiritual path,
to walk their spiritual path,
to touch their spiritual values.
And it's a very, very comforting type of thing.
And here in a country which that is very common,
if you said that at a particular party,
I mean, some people might be bored.
Some people might roll their eyes,
but nobody would insult you probably.
Maybe Christopher Hitchens,
if he was still alive in there,
he would insult you.
But apart from odd atheists like him,
it would just come with knowing nods.
And then here you come,
what, a kilometer from Parliament Hill,
half a kilometer from the entertainment and bar center
of the city of Ottawa,
half a kilometer from the University of Ottawa.
And we read a text,
and at the heart of that text
is this profound theological claim
that there is a true God.
There is a real God.
There is a God who actually is alive.
And he is completely and utterly untamed
and untameable.
He can never, ever be domesticated
by any human being,
by any institution,
by any nation.
He is completely impossible
to domesticate or tame.
And he's real,
and he's live,
and he's true,
and he judges,
even nations,
even the Supreme Court of Canada,
even the Parliament,
the Senate,
the Premier,
the Mayor,
Apple,
Google,
GM,
he judges.
and he roars.
And it is very un-Canadian.
Let me tell you one other thing about this.
I'm not going to argue for it, by the way.
I'm just going to give you a bit of an analogy about it.
And I'm going to say,
at the end of the day,
I mean, for many Canadians,
they would just say,
well, that's one of the reasons
I don't read the Bible.
Thank you very much,
and off you go.
But,
I mean,
the argument for why this is true
is partially the fact that
the prophecies are fulfilled.
At the end of the day,
I would have to talk about
the overall narrative of the Bible,
the wisdom,
and the insight of the Bible.
I would maybe have to talk a little bit
about why it is
that the type of spiritual,
not religious talk
that I overheard in Starbucks
could not lead you
to stare down troopers
in Alabama and Mississippi
and change
systemic,
century-old evil.
It has no power
to do that.
Never has
and never will.
At the end of the day,
I'd have to talk about
arguments for God
and finally,
ultimately,
the fact of Jesus
and his death
and resurrection.
But let me tell you this.
Before I was married
to Louise,
I imagined
what my perfect girlfriend
and wife would be like.
and my imaginary
perfect girlfriend
never told me
that I was doing something wrong,
never commented
negatively
about how I was dressed,
how I cut my hair,
how I spent my time,
how I should spend my time,
how I should speak to her.
My imaginary ideal girlfriend
and wife
never talked like that.
And then I met Louise.
And let me tell you,
her account of the distance
between whatever her imaginary
husband and me,
that would be vastly different.
I have way more to repent of
than she does.
But don't you think
that much of the spiritual,
not religious,
contemporary talk
about religion,
spirituality in Canada
is exactly like
imaginary girlfriends
and boyfriends.
Real people
are annoyingly angular
until you learn
to love them
and you have to love them
in their angularity.
In fact,
what I'm going to suggest
is the God
who's described in the Bible
is vastly more likely
to be real
than the way we talk
about spirituality
and religion in Canada
and is well worth
our considered opinion.
Especially after a clip
like that
and Martin Luther King.
I believe the Bible is true.
And I believe that
the God who really does exist,
who's revealed
in the words of Scripture
and is ultimately revealed
most perfectly in Jesus
and his death upon the cross
and mighty resurrection,
that he is the real
and true God.
The true,
real,
living,
untamed,
nation,
judging God
that roars.
And I've had several people
over this week
tell me that they've tried
to study the book of Amos
and it just seems
to be the same week in
and week out
and so they never finished it.
And it might very well be
that we will come
to the conclusion
that the book of Amos
keeps banging
the same note
like a drum.
But I want to suggest
to you
that contemporary Canadians
need to spend
ten weeks
meditating upon the fact
that the God
that really does exist
is true
and living
and real
and untamed
and nation-judging.
And that if all we do
is hear that
for ten consecutive weeks
it is probably
very important
for our souls.
And probably
very important
for our nation.
And if you get
nothing else out of it,
if that's all you get
and you are confronted
to meditate upon that,
then God has done
a mighty thing
in our midst.
Now I want to tell,
I don't know if there's
any people
who are here today
who are not a follower
of Jesus
and maybe have been
dragged here
because of a family member
or maybe you're here
because you're on a search.
I want to tell you
a secret about Christians
in Canada.
I want to tell you
a secret
about most of
your Christian friends.
most of your Christian
friends suffer
under the belief
that God is small
and people are big.
God is small
and their boss is big.
God is small
and their money is big.
God is small
and the Supreme Court
of Canada is big.
God is small
and Hollywood is big.
And most of your
Christian friends
suffer
from that basic belief.
And the book of Amos here
is going to challenge that.
Listen to it again.
The Lord roars from Zion
and utters his voice
from Jerusalem.
The pastures
of the shepherds
mourn
and the top
of Carmel withers.
This is an image
of the,
it's an image
of north to south
and it's an image,
it's as if I in Canada
said from the hunters
in the high Arctic
to the penthouses
on Bay Street.
from the street people
in Victoria
to the richest people
in Bridal Path
area of Toronto.
And he uses an image
of high to low as well.
He uses the image
of from the river valleys
to the highest places
on the highest tree line
in the mountains.
The Lord roars from Zion
and utters his voice
from Jerusalem.
The pastures
of the shepherds
mourn
and the top
of Carmel withers.
Thus says the Lord
for three transgressions
of Damascus
and for four
I will not revoke
the punishment
because they have
threshed Gilead
with threshing
sledges of iron.
So I will send,
I will send fire
upon the house
of Hazael
and it shall devour
the strongholds
of Ben-Hadad.
I will break
the gate bar
of Damascus
and cut off
the inhabitants
from the valley
of Avon
and him
who holds
the scepter
sign of ruling
from Beth Eden
and the people
of Syria
shall go into exile
to Kir
says the Lord.
Here's the next point.
If you could put it up,
Andrew,
that would be great.
The Lord roars.
I live as if Canada
and its institutions
are big
and God is small.
Pray for me.
Pray for each other.
It is a persistent,
pervasive illness
for North American Christians.
Our God is too small
and people and problems
are too big.
We live as if
the only option before us
is to tower ourselves
or to cower under others.
And once we are gripped
with the idea
that the living,
true,
real,
untamed nation
judging God roars,
we can begin
to understand
that there is
a completely different option
and that is
to be the servant
of the Most High King.
Do you put up
the next point?
Really,
in some ways,
the whole part
of the sermon
is to try to bring us
to these first two points
and prayers
that are going to
follow from them.
But we need to go
through the text
because there's really
something very important
in here.
Dear Lord,
please make me
a disciple of Jesus,
gripped by the gospel,
growing in a humble,
trusting,
knowing that you are big
and everything human
is small
or everything created
is small.
That is a prayer
for the rest of your life.
It's a prayer
to pray every day.
And if you don't have time
to write these down,
they're always on the webpage
within a day or two
if you want to write them down
and use them
in your prayer life.
But some people might say,
isn't this passage
offensive?
Here we have
a Jewish guy
from Judah,
southern kingdom,
and he's judging
other people groups
by Jewish standards.
Like,
what gives him
the right
to judge Edomites
as to how they should live?
What gives him
the right
to talk to Damascus?
They have their own values.
Like,
isn't this a multicultural world?
Shouldn't we value tolerance?
Aren't morals
just relative?
How dare...
Okay, George,
you sort of caught us up
with some of your rhetoric,
but how dare there be
a guy from Judah
imposing Jewish standards
on these six
surrounding pagan nations?
They have their own gods.
They have their own
metanarrative.
They have their own story.
And, George,
all the smartest
and brightest people
in Canada
know that morals
are relative,
that there's nothing
inherently absolute.
Like, George,
this is a deeply
offensive text
to Canada.
Well,
all I'd like to say is,
do you still want
to maintain that
when you see the sins
that Amos accuses
the six nations of?
Like,
let's look here again
at verse 3.
Thus says the Lord,
for three transgressions
of Damascus
and for four,
I will not revoke
the punishment.
Why?
Because they have
threshed Gilead
with threshing
sledges of iron.
It's an image
that they use
an iron device
to take an entire
people group
and go over them
and over them
until they are
completely,
utterly,
completely destroyed.
He's condemning
genocide.
You're fine with that?
In smug Canada?
You're fine with genocide?
You have nothing to say
about what goes on
about that?
Is genocide
just a figment
of the imagination,
a moral oddity
about some guy
from the southern
kingdom of Judah?
He condemns
the nation
for genocide.
Here's the third point.
Could you put it up,
Andrew, please?
The Lord roars.
There are some things
that human beings
cannot
not know.
Despite all of the
glib talk
of a certain form
of multiculturalism
and a glib talk
of a certain form
of tolerance
and the glib talk
of certain forms
of moral relativism,
the Bible here
is going to maintain
and all the way
through the book
of Amos
that there are
some truths,
some things
that human beings
cannot
not know.
There is never
a justification
for a complete
annihilation
of a people group.
One of the things
that people wonder
about is the Bible
on slavery.
Do you know
that the next
two condemnations
are about slavery?
In fact,
it's a condemnation
of slavery
in a remarkably
complete way.
It's not immediately
obvious in the English,
but if you look
at it very carefully,
it's even more obvious
in the Hebrew,
but even in the English,
if you look at it
very carefully,
you'll see
that the next thing
that is condemned
is two aspects
of the institution
of slavery
and is completely
and utterly condemned.
Is slavery all right?
Let's read it.
Verses 6 to 8.
For thus says the Lord
for three transgressions
of Gaza
and for four,
this is a condemnation
of the Philistine people.
For three transgressions
of Gaza
and for four,
I will not revoke
the punishment
because they carried
into exile
a whole people
to deliver them
up to Edom.
They were the ones
who went and captured
a whole people
for the purpose
of making them slaves
and took them
to the slave market
where they could be
sold.
This is condemned
by Amos
in a cult,
in a world
that viewed slavery
as normal.
The Bible condemns it
750 years
before the birth
of Jesus,
before Plato,
before Aristotle,
before Socrates.
So I will send
a fire upon
the walls of Gaza
and it shall devour
her strongholds.
I will cut off
the inhabitants
from Ashdod
and him who holds
the scepter
from Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand
against Ekron
and the remnant
of the Philistine
shall perish,
says the Lord God.
And then he captures
the next part.
Some people might say,
well, I'm just an ordinary
businessman.
I'm just trying
to make a living.
It's not my fault
that they come
and dump all these
slaves with me.
I'm just trying
to provide a market.
I'm just trying
to provide a service.
It's just business.
Business is neutral.
Excuse me.
Before we read
the next part,
could you put up
the next point,
Andrew?
The Lord roars.
There is a real
moral order
that despite being
imperfectly known,
forgotten,
twisted,
and repressed,
it is still present
enough for God
to judge us.
Listen to verses
9 and 10.
Thus says the Lord,
for three transgressions
of Tyre and for four,
I will not revoke
the punishment
because they delivered
up a whole people
to Edom
and did not remember
the covenant
of brotherhood.
So I will send
a fire upon
the wall of Tyre
and it shall devour
her strongholds.
And when you put
the parts together,
the Syrians
capture people
to make them slaves.
They don't know
how to sell them.
They sell them
through Edom.
Edom sells them
as slaves.
The Lord roars.
There is a real
moral order
that despite being
imperfectly known,
forgotten,
parts of it,
parts of it twisted,
parts of it repressed,
it is still present
enough for God
to judge us.
Imagine for a second
that they were able
to take a human being,
like in a test tube,
they were able
to develop something
like DNA
and they were able
to make a human being
in a machine
and, you know,
whatever it is,
a little while later
out pops this
fully functioning
human being.
But then you actually
spend time
with a human being
and you discover
that the human being
has no conscience
at all.
Like, by no conscience
I mean it's like a snake.
Snakes have no conscience,
it's just an animal.
When it's hungry,
it hunts and eats.
After it's eaten,
it stops.
If somebody threatens it,
it fights back,
otherwise it just sleeps.
Would we say,
even if it had
everything about us
as human beings,
it looked like
a human being
and everything like that
is completely
and it's real,
if you cut it,
it's not like a machine,
like it's real.
But would you say
that something
that looks like
a human being
manufactured out
of a test tube
that had no conscience
was human?
And if you think
about it for a second,
one of the problems
with the Turing test
about machines
having consciousness
is there's,
I believe,
no conscience aspect of it.
Can there be
a human mind
without conscience?
Would you call
a mind
without conscience
a human mind?
The Bible says
that having a conscience
is part of the image
of God in us.
And even though
our consciences
can be repressed
and parts of it repressed
and parts of it twisted
and parts of it
inflamed unnaturally
and parts of it
just all messed up,
that every human being,
this is the message
of Romans 1
and Romans 2,
that every human being
retains enough
of a conscience
that God in complete
and utter justice
can judge us.
In fact,
the horrible thing
on one hand
from the book
of Romans chapter 2
is that Paul maintains
that even if
all God did
was take your moral order,
no matter how twisted
or whatever it is
and no matter
how much repressed,
the moral order
that you're conscious of
and that you use
in your own life,
and if he used that
to judge you,
you would fail
and he would be right
in judging you.
You know,
to our glib
Canadians
who are enticed
by spiritual,
not religious
and all things
being relative,
what about racism?
The hatred
of any people group,
not just racism,
but hating men
because they're men
or women
because they're women
or a particular
ethnic group
because they're ethnic.
Isn't that a human problem
and isn't it viewed
not just as ethnocentrism
but as something fundamental
that we should reject?
But Amos rejects it.
In fact,
I would suggest
that it's only ultimately
in the biblical worldview
that you can have
a true rejection
of racism
because racism,
you know,
if you have,
in our modern narrative,
our modern story,
you know,
that first everything,
you know,
whatever the initial bit
of life came together
completely and utterly
by chance
and then natural selection
means that eventually
we go from having
apes and gorillas
to human beings,
therefore don't be prejudiced.
That doesn't follow.
That's incoherent.
It makes absolutely
no sense.
Our culture's hatred
of racism
is an echo
of an echo
of the story
of the Bible
and the teaching
of books like Amos
that teaches
there is but one God
who's created
all human beings
and all human beings
equally bear
the image of God
and all human beings
equally bearing
the image of God
have a conscience,
a reflection
of the moral order
even if imperfectly known
after the fall.
And there is
but one God
and but one
created human race
made male
and female,
two genders,
not 70.
And the book
of Amos
is going to condemn
racism at its heart.
Read along with me
here in verses 11 and 12.
Thus says the Lord,
for three transgressions
of Edom
and for four
I will not revoke
the punishment
because he pursued
his brother
with the sword
and cast off
all pity
and his anger
tore perpetually
and he kept
his wrath forever.
So I will send
a fire upon Timan
and it shall devour
the strongholds
of Basra.
I mean there's
not only here
a strong condemnation
of anger
but isn't that
the very heart
of racism?
Like even just
within this past
week or two
the president
the head
of the Palestine
group I think
centered in Gaza
continuing to pass
on this
libelous assault
on Jewish people
of poisoning wells.
a lie of hatred
against the Jewish
people that has
gone on for
centuries and centuries
and is used
to fuel
and inflame
hatred.
And the Bible
here condemns
all hatred
of people groups
as people groups.
All of our social
and other means
by which
we nourish
a hatred
of entire
people groups.
we feed it
we justify it
we rationalize it
we inflame it
and the Bible
condemns it.
The Bible
condemns it.
The Lord roars
if you could put up
the next point
Andrew
the Lord roars
he is holy
good
and wholly
opposed
to evil.
The Lord roars
he is holy
he is good
and he is wholly
opposed
to evil.
I have to confess
that there is a
on the Christian
radio show
here in Ottawa
on Sunday
afternoons
they play the
same one hour
show over
and over again
I think from
about one o'clock
till seven
and I
every time I
listen to it
for longer
than a couple
of minutes
I get so angry
I have to spend
time in repentance
and I know
that for some
people this may
be very very
helpful
I hear true
confessions
John Maxwell
who is one of
these power
of positive
thinking
I have a very
soft spot
in my heart
for John Maxwell
his writings
at a certain
point in time
in my life
were tremendously
tremendously
helpful
but I think
even John Maxwell
would acknowledge
if you only read
John Maxwell
you are going to
starve yourself
you will poison
yourself
and encouragement
constant encouragement
without any
discussion
of the holiness
of God
and any
call to
repentance
it might be
very good
for a very
brief season
but it's
spiritually
profoundly
dangerous
we live
in a culture
where not all
praise songs
are like this
and I'm not
dumping on
praise songs
I love
praise songs
we go a whole
other thing
you know the
favorite song
of this church
you know before
I came here
was the words
of that poem
what is it
Andrew
and did
in England's
that you know
England's fields
green
did Jesus
really walk
no
he didn't
stop singing
the song
he didn't
walk around
England's
green and
verdant fields
England isn't
Israel
get over it
it's in the
hymn book
in the
Anglican
hymn book
well beloved
but there is a
common problem
of Jesus is my
girlfriend songs
you can't sing
Jesus is my
girlfriend songs
if it never
means you have
to wrestle with
the fact
that the God
who really does
exist is untamed
nation judging
he is holy
good
and he is
holy
opposed
to evil
let's read
verses 13
to 15
we're almost
coming to
an end
of the text
thus says
the Lord
for three
transgressions
of the
Ammonites
and for four
I will not
revoke the
punishment
because they
have ripped
open pregnant
women in
Gilead
that they
might enlarge
their
border
so I
will
kindle
a fire
in the
wall
of
Rabah
and it
shall
devour
her
strongholds
with shouting
in the
day of
battle
and with
a tempest
in the
day of
the
whirlwind
and their
king
shall go
into exile
he and his
princes
together
says the
Lord
because they
ripped open
pregnant women
in Gilead
that they
might enlarge
their border
enter the
next point
the Lord
roars
he is
judging
every
human
being
institution
and social
structure
he is
judging
every
human
being
institution
and social
structure
I know
a woman
who had
an abortion
so she
would look
good in her
wedding dress
not making
it up
so she had
the abortion
she wanted
to look
good in her
wedding dress
on her
wedding
day
human
beings
regularly
attack the
weakest
and the
vulnerable
because of
their
ambitions
whether it's
an ambition
to take
more territory
or to look
good in a
bikini
or ambitions
because as a
guy you want
to travel and
you want to
do things
you don't
want to have
to be
encumbered
by a
girlfriend
whom you
made
pregnant
the first
time I ever
spoke on
Parliament Hill
at the
Parliament Hill
Christian Fellowship
I thought to
myself
I've seen
many people
come and go
in places
like this
and what
they do
is they
try to
preach a
sermon
that people
will like
so they
get invited
back
and the
irony is
that they
usually
don't get
invited
back
so I
prayed about
it and
I thought
I will
preach
so that
if I only
get one
shot on
Parliament Hill
and I
never get
invited
back
and so I
preached on
the fact
that we
have to
fear
God
and that
on Parliament Hill
you have to
understand
that you're
under judgment
that God
will judge
you
funnily enough
they've invited
me back
now for
19 years
go figure
but that
wasn't actually
my plan
was that I
might only
get one
shot
and so I
was going
to give
it to
them
because it
would be
not because
I was going
to give
it to
them
because
you know
how
would it
be
if at
the
judgment
seat
God
said to
me
George
you had
a chance
to warn
those guys
because you
wanted them
to like
you
because
you're
a people
pleaser
and even
now I
worried about
whether I
should make
a reference
to abortion
in case
it offends
people
I confess
I am
very
deeply
Canadian
but the
text here
speaks very
clearly
to political
ambition
economic
ambition
and personal
ambition
and the
way we
will
victimize
the
weakest
the
great
worry
amongst
many
of the
law
that's
now
in
Canada
that
allows
doctors
to
kill
people
is
what
happens
if in
20
years
I'm
fading
and my
kids would
like to
go on
a cruise
and it
would be
a lot
easier
if I
died
before
they
went
and if
you think
this is
completely
obscene
or completely
unrealistic
just read
what's
gone on
in the
Netherlands
and in
Belgium
the
weakest
get in
the way
of our
ambition
some of
you are
saying
George
this has
been too
much
just the
one
final
text
just so
we can
and then
we'll
start to
wrap it
up in
a very
important
way
you know
in our
warfare
nobody
in our
modern
world
I think
in our
warfare
thinks
that we
can send
people to
hell
by defeating
them
but in
the ancient
world
they thought
that
and that's
at the
heart
one aspect
of the
heart
of this
final
condemnation
not that
they're able
to do
it
but they
thought
they
could
do
it
and
because
they
thought
they
could
do
it
they
did
it
look
at
chapter
2
verses
1
to 3
thus
says
they
believed
in that
particular
culture
that
if you
were to
completely
annihilate
the body
in such
a way
it would
mean
that
his
existence
in the
afterlife
became
fraught
became
endangered
that in
a sense
he could
wander
and be
he would
not have
a good
death
he would
dwell
in a
terrible
place
after
death
and it
also
had
the
ability
of
destroying
the
traditions
of the
country
so it
both
destroys
their
past
and destroys
the future
and in a
sense
by doing
it to
the king
who's
understood
to be
a
representative
of the
whole
people
in some
ways
they're
saying
we are
going to
cast all
of you
as a
nation
we're not
only going to
defeat you
militarily
we're going to
send you to
hell
and it's
condemned here
in the
Bible
the Lord
roars
enter the
final one
the Lord
roars
in mercy
this might not
be originally
mainly obvious
the Lord
roars in
mercy
you know
the thing
about this
text
is this
text is
written
somewhere
between
15
to 30
years
before
Assyria
invades
these
nations
and these
nations
are
destroyed
it's
the
complete
opposite
of a
terrorist
attack
I was
on
Thursday
I was
going to
have
lunch
with
somebody
in the
church
and so
I was
walking
on
Laurier
bridge
right by
the
D&D
and virtually
every time
I walk
by D&D
I think
to myself
is this
the day
that a
terrorist
will set
off a
bomb
at D&D
headquarters
while I'm
walking
by
I know
I have a
very odd
imagination
but I
think about
that
and you
know the
way terrorists
work is
the bomb
goes off
and then
they roar
the Lord
roars
10
15
20
30
years
later
the
judgment
comes
he roars
so we
can repent
in fact
even within
this text
you might
notice that
there's
something
that seems
to mean
that there's
have no
mercy
for some
of you
maybe
who've
had an
abortion
and I've
made you
feel very
guilty
and you
think to
yourself
George
this is
very hard
I can't
undo
an abortion
I can't
undo
the fact
that I
encouraged
a person
to have
an abortion
or that I
drove them
I can't
undo
any of those
types of
things
and it's
even made
worse in
the text
because what
does it say
time after
time
every one
of these
places
I will
not
revoke
I will
not
revoke
I will
not
revoke
I will
not
revoke
I will
not
revoke
it says
it time
and time
again
I will
not
revoke
the punishment
I will
not
revoke
the punishment
I will
not
revoke
the punishment
how could
God
revoke
punishment
for such
evil
and still
be just
see one
of the
things we
have to
understand
about this
text of
the Bible
is that it
all comes
before the
cross
and what
the Old
Testament is
doing is
it's setting
in light
within us
not only an
awareness of
right and
wrong
but in a
sense the
spiritual
quandary
that we
need to
come to
the point
that we
realize that
God has
to do
something
and it's
hard for us
to imagine
what God
could do
we ourselves
every single
one of us
here
as the
book of
Amos
goes on
it's going
to talk
about how
we treat
the weak
and how
we treat
the poor
and how
we do
how we
misuse
religion
and how
we
misuse
spirituality
every single
one of us
will be
confronted
in some
ways
and in
every single
case
how could
God
revoke
the
punishment
of the
cross
is that
750 years
800 years
after this
there will
be a
pagan
king
and there
will be
a pagan
empire
and they
believe that
they can
stop a
people
movement
by killing
its
representative
in such
a shameful
way
that the
people
movement
will come
to an
end
and if
they deal
with the
representative
they have
dealt
with the
people
movement
and they
hung him
upon a
cross
as their
representative
and as
yours
mine
and three
days later
he rose
God
does not
revoke
my
punishment
and he
does not
revoke
yours
but he
sends
his
son
he
himself
bears
the
punishment
that you
and I
deserve
he
takes
that
in his
person
as my
substitute
and exchanges
with me
when I
put my
faith and
trust in
him
his
perfect
righteousness
and standing
with the
father
my
evil
is not
revoked
in my
place
condemned
he
stood
in my
place
condemned
he
stood
the book
of
Ezekiel
says
God
takes
no
delight
in
the
death
of
a
sinner
but
rather
that
he
would
turn
from
his
wickedness
and
live
and
1
John
chapter 2
verses
1
and 2
says
my
little
children
I
am
writing
these
things
to you
that
you
may
not
sin
but
if
anyone
does
sin
we
have
an
advocate
with
the
father
Jesus
Christ
the
righteous
he
is
the
propitiation
for
our
but
also
for
the
sins
of
the
whole
world
for
Moabites
and
Edomites
and
Syrians
and
Assyrians
and
Philistines
and
Phoenicians
Andrew
if you
could
put up
the
first of
the
three
concluding
prayers
remember
I said
that the
Lord
roars
in
mercy
here's
the
prayer
that
we
can
respond
dear
Lord
please
make
me
a
disciple
of
Jesus
gripped
by
the
gospel
humbly
growing
in
gratitude
that
in
my
place
condemned
he
stood
friend
if
you
are
here
and
you
have
not
given
your
life
to
Jesus
you
need
to
understand
what
he
did
for
you
on
the
cross
if
you
have
had
an
abortion
if
you
have
counseled
for
abortion
if
you
work
in
an
abortion
clinic
and
you
are
here
today
there's
nothing
you
can
do
that
is
better
you
can't
undo
what
you
did
but
you
and
he
stood
and
bore
the
punishment
that
you
deserved
there's
grace
and
there's
mercy
and
there's
another
thing
in here
which
is
really
important
if
you
could
put
up
the
next
prayer
Andrew
remember
I
told
you
that
maybe
this
prophecy
might
have
been
written
in
752
and
in
722
Assyria
invades
and
Israel
is
destroyed
and
the
Lord
roars
in
mercy
and
the
hope
that
people
will
repent
here's
a
problem
for
us
let's
just
be
honest
for
a
second
I
live
in
an
instant
society
if
all
of a
sudden
you
had
to
go
back
to
use
computers
that
were
around
in
1995
and
you
turn
the
computer
on
and
you
have
enough
time
to
go
and
make
yourself
a
cup
of
coffee
to
come
back
before
it
booted
up
nobody
would
use
that
computer
today
Starbucks
now
has
an
app
that
if
I
order
my
coffee
at
the
office
and
I
indicate
that
I'm
walking
it
tracks
my
movement
so
that
when
I
get
to
Starbucks
I
don't
have
to
wait
in
line
I
can
go
and
get
my
coffee
right
away
we
live
in
an
instant
society
how
many
of
us
possibly
could
understand
the
call
to
pray
for
somebody
or
something
for
10
20
30
years
without
falling
into
despair
without
falling
into
cynicism
without
falling
into
just
complete
and utter
laziness
and
hopelessness
and
this
passage
of
scripture
is a
profound
call
for
us
to
call
out
to
God
that
he
would
teach
us
and
help
us
to
pray
for
our
nation
or
for
people
or
for
social
structures
or
for
social
evils
that
might
call
us
to
pray
for
30
years
without
being
cynical
without
being
hopeless
dear
Lord
please
make
me
a
disciple
of
Jesus
gripped
by
the
gospel
growing
in
the
habit
of
daily
uncynical
non
despairing
persistent
decades
long
prayer
and the
final thing
if you
could just
put it
up
Andrew
if I
I'd
like
you
all
to
stand
no
you can
pray for
those
things
you don't
have to
worry about
how hard
it is
that's
why
I had
the
Holy
Spirit
dear
Lord
please
make me
a
disciple
of
Jesus
gripped
by
the
gospel
growing
in
my
fight
against
the
evil
I
do
and
the
evil
in
the
world
that's
what
this
call
is
Martin
Luther
King
he
looked
at
centuries
of
oppression
and he
said
I'm
not
going to
surrender
to
this
some
evil
needs
to be
resisted
and resist
and resisted
resisted
we live
in a
culture
of
death
that is
growing
many
of us
believe
the
culture
of
death
is
bigger
than
God
what
can
we
do
against
the
institutional
elites
the
educational
elites
the
Hollywood
elites
the
artistic
elites
the
government
elites
the
business
elites
what
can
we
do
against
them
they're
all
too
big
no
God
is
bigger
he
calls
us
to
resist
evil
and
not
only
resist
the
evil
but
for
those
of
us
who
struggle
maybe
it's
with
pornography
maybe
it's
with
an
angry
temper
maybe
it's
with
greed
maybe
it's
with
gluttony
whatever
it is
that
we
come
to
God
and
say
I
will
not
surrender
to
this
I
will
not
view
this
as
normal
I
will
be
gripped
by
the
gospel
gratitude
for
what
you
have
done
for
me
on
the
cross
and
I
will
continue
to
repent
and
I
will
continue
to
call
out
in
prayer
and
do
what
I
can
to
stop
the
institutional
and
social
structural
evil
of
the
world
let's
bow
our heads
in
prayer
father
we
thank you
for these
powerful
words
of
Amos
father
we
come
to
you
again
we
said
it
early
on
the
prayer
but
we
confess
before
you
father
it
seems
father
as
if
it's
our
natural
default
to
think
that
you
are
small
and
that
these
other
things
and
these
problems
in
our
lives
that
they
are
too
big
father
we
ask
that
your
holy
spirit
would
do
a
mighty
work
in
our
lives
that
you
would
grip
us
with
the
gospel
that
you
would
grip
us
with
the
scriptures
that
you
would
grip
us
father
to
grow
day
by
day
and
a
growing
knowledge
that
you
are
big
and
everything
created
everything
human
is
small
that
you
would
grow
within
us
an
ever
deeper
father
trust
and
belief
in
this
father
we
call
out
to
you
to
do
it
in
our
lives
as
individuals
and
as
a
church
and
we
ask
this
in
the
name
of
Jesus
your
son
and
our
savior
amen