Well, pleased to have a seat and a very good evening, everyone.
I hope you've had a great afternoon in 1st of November,
which I heard from Lawrence in Wales.
It was 22.7 degrees, Lawrence.
Unheard of, November.
There we go.
Amos chapter 6.
Please turn there in your Bibles.
Also, I've made us a sermon outline this evening,
which is going to massively help us, I think,
see the big idea of what Amos 6 is all about.
So if you don't have one of them,
then please put up your hand.
And Johnny, I'm sure, will be able to get one to you.
Hopefully that's going to be very helpful for us this evening.
What a joy it is to be together at the end of what is a busy week,
and I'm sure on the cusp of what is going to be another busy week,
just to spend time in God's presence.
So why don't we pause and let's pray together
before we dive into Amos chapter 6.
Let's pray together.
Our gracious and loving God,
we are so thankful for our time together this evening.
Father, we ask that as we continue to look at this book of Amos,
this sometimes difficult book to understand,
Lord, that you would help us,
by your Holy Spirit,
to understand what you are saying to us.
Would you help us to know more of you?
Would you help us to see more of your goodness
and your glory in this passage we ask in Jesus' name?
Amen.
So I want to begin by taking you back to your school days.
I wonder if you were like me,
my dad would come home after every day from work,
and he would say to me,
son, how was school today?
And I replied, one word answer.
I wonder if anyone else did this.
One word.
What was that word?
Fine.
Every time.
Fine.
And so my dad, bless his heart,
he would try and get a bit more out of his stroppy teenager,
and he would say,
son, what about maths?
Did you enjoy maths today?
And I said, well, yeah, it's going well.
What about English?
You've been doing that project in Macbeth.
Are you enjoying it?
How's it going?
Yeah, it's going all right.
Not too bad.
Quite like Macbeth.
I said, well, what about history?
You love history.
Tell us about World War II.
Tell us what you're learning about German history
in the Weimar Republic.
Yeah, it's all right.
Teacher's a good guy.
Everything was always fine.
But I wonder if you were like me.
There was one day in the school calendar
that I dreaded above all others.
And it was the day when I came home
with my school report cards.
Because that was the day that revealed
that all things weren't in actual fact fine.
And I remember those days well,
with trembling hands and with knobbly knees.
I would hand this report card to my dad,
and out the door I sprinted to play football
with my friends,
because I was bracing myself for the worst.
We all know that experience, don't we?
What our mouths kept hidden,
the report card so massively exposed.
And I think that is a good way to understand
what is going on in Amos chapter 6 this evening.
I found this a really helpful way
for understanding what's going on here.
This is the last part of the first section of this book,
and it's the second of these warning or woe oracles
that Amos has been bringing to God's people,
the first one of which we saw last week.
And I think what we need to understand
is that if you had asked God's people at the time
how things were going,
they would probably tell you they were going fine.
In fact, they were going better than fine.
They are flying right now as a people.
We are experiencing the favor and the blessing of the Lord.
It's no doubt what they would have piously
and presumptuously told you.
Things are going good in the land.
Remember, John introduced this letter a few weeks back.
Things are going very well for Israel at this point.
They are prosperous and they are victorious.
These are good times on the surface for God's people.
Things are going fine.
Amos chapter 6.
He's about to deliver to them
God's report card on how he thinks things are really going.
And let me tell you, it is stinging.
Right at the heart of this stinging take on things,
the divine looking at things,
the biggest displeasure that God has with his people,
the precise details that we'll look at in a minute,
the very heart of this is their pride.
God is disgusted with the pride of his people.
Open report card, page 1.
It says that,
I detest, I abhor your pride.
I abhor it.
I hate it.
And notice who Amos is addressing here.
Firstly, he's addressing the people of God.
Right?
The people who are supposed to be God's people,
representing him,
as we heard this morning,
shining for him and displaying God's glory to the watching world.
That people, God's anger,
is against them.
It's not just against any old nation.
It's against God's people,
which incidentally is why the lessons from this
are so applicable to us this evening.
This is God's people.
Secondly, within that people,
look halfway through verse 1.
We saw Amos last week addressing,
or two weeks ago,
addressing the females in Israel.
So the cows of Bashan,
which I thought Ian so helpfully
and delicately took us through.
We're looking this week at the male of the species.
Amos is speaking directly,
did you notice it,
to the notable men.
So he's speaking to the men
in the corridors of power,
both in the north and in the south.
The men at the top of society,
the movers and shakers,
the men of influence,
the decision makers,
the leaders of God's people.
These are the people that Amos is speaking to.
And these are the people in his sights
as he delivers this stinging report card.
God detests their pride.
Hates it.
And for that pride, says God,
you are heading for destruction and exile.
I think we see that emphasis
come out so strongly
in the way that Amos has shaped
and structured this message in this chapter.
Now, here's a question for you this evening.
Put your hand up if you like a sandwich.
Excellent.
Peter, favourite sandwich?
Take your time.
Stuffing.
Excellent.
Cool.
Anyone else?
Favourite sandwich?
Lawrence.
Cheese and ham.
Okay.
Anyone else?
One more.
A BLT.
Standard.
Excellent.
Here's the sandwich we're going to look at this evening.
This is the Amos 6 sandwich.
Very simple.
Two bits of bread,
two bits of cheese,
and a bit of meat in the middle,
which is the focus of
and the substance of the sandwich.
Amos 6 sandwich.
You'll see it on your sheet.
The mark of pride,
number one.
The mark of pride,
number two.
And the meat in the middle,
which is the very focus of
and the sharp end
of what Amos is saying to God's people.
God is disgusted
with the pride of his people.
Mark of pride,
number one.
His people's complacency.
God hates his people's complacency.
You'll see the first bit of this sandwich,
verses 1 to 3,
and verses 13 to 14.
This is the bread of the Amos 6 sandwich.
And what does he start?
Verse 1, chapter 5,
the word,
woe.
Now, I've had many a bad report card in my time,
but none of them have started with woe.
Started with a lot of other words,
but not woe.
This is shockingly surprising, isn't it?
Woe.
It is strong language.
Who is this woe addressed to?
It's to the capital cities.
Capital city in the north,
capital city in the south.
To those who are at ease in Zion,
so that's Jerusalem,
and those who are secure in Samaria.
These men at the top,
whom the people of the land,
they come to seek counsel and advice from,
they are quite happy,
quite happy with how things are going in the land.
And that ease may suggest comfort to those leaders,
but it reeks of complacency to God.
Here's what they're doing.
They're doing two things, okay?
Firstly,
they are looking at favorable comparisons.
Now, you'll notice it.
Johnny did excellently
in reading the place names
that are in here in these verses.
Look at them with me, okay?
The place names.
Kalna,
Hamath,
and Gath.
These are the nations that surround Israel.
And we can understand that at this point in time,
Israel are far better off
than the nations surrounding them.
And as the leaders of God's people,
when they go compare.com,
they come off very favorably.
And it produces within them
a sense of smugness
as they compare themselves
to the nations round about them.
Now, look at verse 2.
Commentators think that this,
verse 2,
is the propaganda of the day.
So, when the people of the land,
they come to the leaders
with their problems
and their cases of injustice,
instead of dealing with them,
the leaders simply fob them off
by telling them
that instead of complaining,
what they really should do
is be extremely thankful
that they live in Israel
and they don't live
in one of the surrounding nations.
Be so thankful
that you live here
and you don't live over there.
This is what they're saying.
And so, they're just fobbing them off.
Now, to get your head around
what this would look like,
here's what I want you to picture.
Imagine you write to David Cameron
and you're appealing to him
because your employer
has tripled your contracted hours of work,
is making you work without a break,
and to sum it all up,
he has halved your pay.
So, you make your way to number 10
and you meet David Cameron.
He hears your complaint
and he says to you,
well, I could deal with your complaint.
I could deal with it.
But I put it to you
that you should be thankful
that you live in the United Kingdom
where you have a job
instead of living in a third world country
where you don't have a job.
So, here's what I suggest to you,
that instead of coming to me with a complaint,
just stop yourself next time
and count your lucky stars
that you live here
and you don't live over there.
Now, would you be satisfied
that justice has been done
in that situation?
Of course you wouldn't.
But that is exactly
what is going on
in the land of God's people
at this precise moment.
These leaders,
these people at the top
should not be at ease
over how things are going.
There's a distinct moral unjustness
that is rife in the lands
and they are being complacent
in the way that they are leading
this nation.
And adding to that sense
of complacency,
secondly,
they are exaggerating
their achievements.
Look at the bottom
of the sandwich here.
So, this is verses 13 and 14.
The bottom bit of bread.
So, this is,
look at it with me,
Lodabar and Karname.
They are two place names.
They are two places
of recent military victories
for Israel.
And the fact that they are
two recent military victories
has led to God's people
feeling super confident
in their own abilities
and strength.
And what does Amos say?
You foolish people.
There's some irony
going on here as well.
These two towns,
we can understand,
they were not hard to conquer.
They were not hard to conquer.
Lodabar,
the name literally means nothing.
It means nothing.
I mean,
this is the equivalent
of Scotland
beating San Marino
at football
and thinking that we are
world beaters
off the back of it.
Now, I say that
knowing that sometimes
we don't beat San Marino,
but you get the point.
Don't get ahead of yourself.
That's Amos' point.
Don't get ahead of yourself.
That wasn't a difficult victory.
And Karname,
again,
it's not a big place,
but its name,
it means horns.
So,
it's the symbol
of power and authority.
So,
to conquer a land
with horns
on the emblem,
it most likely
fed Israel's pride.
Both of these
are hollow victories.
They're not something
to be boasting about.
They're not something
to be bragging about.
And I think
these favorable comparisons
and this exaggerated
sense of achievement
has led to this
sense of invincibility.
And as they look
to their army
and as they look
to their borders,
they think they are
invincible
when the truth is
they are anything but.
They are
a complacent
people.
They are a complacent
people because
they have taken
their eye off the ball.
They have taken
their gaze
away
from God.
They have fallen
out of a right
relationship with Him.
and they have
stopped judging
things by how
He views things
and they have
started judging
things by their
own standards
and their own
interpretation.
They say things
are fine.
They are not.
You are
a complacent
people,
says God.
And I guess
we've got to ask
ourselves,
haven't we,
as God's people,
are we
complacent?
Would that be
as we open
our report card,
would it say
complacent?
Are we
settling
for hearts
that are
at ease?
Are we
settling for
a haphazard
prayer life?
Are we
becoming
casual
in our
treatment
of God's
words?
Both
indications,
I think,
that we are
doing things
in our own
strength.
Friends,
have we become
numb
because of our
comfortable lifestyles
to the broken
world in which
we live?
Are we
being lulled
into thinking
that we are
doing well
at shining
for Jesus
because we
are comparing
ourselves
to the world
in which we
live and we
think we're
just that
little bit
more moral
than everyone
else?
Brothers and
sisters,
have we
taken our
eyes off
of God
and are we
stopping
judging things
by his
standards
and are we
judging things
by our
own?
You know,
it was Jim
Elliott who
said,
forgive me
for being
so ordinary
while claiming
to know
so extraordinary
a God.
And so what
does Amos say
to this
complacent
generation
of God's
people?
Look at
verse 3.
You put
off the
day of
disaster
and bring
near a
rain of
terror.
I mean,
I know it
was Halloween
the other
night,
but these
are scary,
scary words,
aren't they?
Mark of
pride number
one,
their
complacency.
Mark of
pride number
two,
their
carelessness.
God
detests his
people's
carelessness.
And you'll
see this
next layer
of the
Amos 6
sandwich.
Okay,
we're into
the cheese
section now.
Verses 4
to 7
and verse
12.
Now,
why might
you be
asking?
Why are
they
careless?
Well,
to be blunt,
friends,
they really
couldn't care
less about
what's going
on in
their land.
These
notable
men could
not care
less about
the people
underneath
them in
the pecking
order of
society,
and they
couldn't
care more
about
prospering
themselves.
Look at
verses 4
to 7.
Amos gives
us such
a flavour
of the
reality of
what's going
on in
the land
here.
It's a
picture of
affluence,
it's a
picture of
indulgence
and luxury.
All round
about them
there is
poverty and
ruin amongst
God's
people.
Look at
the words
that Amos
uses here.
Look at
this description.
What's he
saying here?
This is
what's going
on in
the land.
Beds
of ivory,
lounging
on couches,
dining on
choice lambs
and fattened
calves,
drinking wine
by the
bowl full,
strumming on
instruments,
I don't think
that's anything
against the
harp there,
using the
finest lotions,
bathing
themselves.
Do you get
the picture
here?
Do you
see what
he's trying
to tell
us?
That this
stuff that's
going on,
God's not
blind to
it, God
sees it,
God sees
how they're
behaving, and
he hates
it.
He hates
their
carelessness.
And you'll
notice two
biblical
characters that
Amos uses
there in
those verses.
I think they
add to that
sense of
rebuke.
Firstly, you
get David
in there,
and I think
Amos is
saying, and
it's a
massive lesson
for God's
people, that
just because
you act like
David,
David, doesn't
mean you've
got a heart
like David,
and also we
get Joseph in
there as
well.
What's he
doing in
there?
Well, we
studied him, I
wonder if you
remember, a few
months ago.
We did a
series in
Genesis looking
at his life,
and you may
remember that
episode in
Genesis 37,
where his
brothers, filled
with jealousy,
they throw him
into the depths
of the pit and
leave him there
for events to
take their
course.
They literally
just leave him
for death.
And then a few
chapters later
on in Genesis
42, the
brothers are
looking back on
this incident,
they're looking
back on this
incident, but
Joseph now is
in the place of
power in Pharaoh's
courts.
And they say
this in Genesis
42, looking back
on that, they
confess to one
another.
This is what
they say.
We saw how
distressed he
was.
So that's
Joseph.
We saw how
distressed he
was when he
pleaded for his
life, but we
would not
listen.
We saw his
cries and we
did nothing.
We heard the
cries, we saw
it, we turned a
blind eye to it
and we did
nothing.
And it's almost
as if Amos is
saying to this
generation of
God's people,
you are at it
again.
You're doing it
again.
You turn a
blind eye to
injustice.
You ignore it
as if it wasn't
there.
This is happening
right under your
noses.
You know about
this stuff and
you're doing
nothing to stop
it.
As leaders of
God's people,
you're supposed
to be those who
love God.
You love God
and you love
and you serve
his people and
you are doing
anything but.
And that
mismatch behavior
isn't right,
it isn't right
morally and it
isn't glorifying
to the God who
you claim to
represent.
You're not
shining for him.
And as if to
drive home the
point, we get the
second part of that
sandwich at verse
12.
And the big idea
that Amos is
painting for them
here is this idea
of mismatches.
So this is things
that everybody knows
don't go together.
So look what he
does.
What does he say?
Would you take
your horse out of
the paddock and
instead of taking
it to a lush green
field for a run
around, would you
take it to the
rocks to run
around?
Of course you
wouldn't.
Of course you
wouldn't.
Would you take
your oxen out to
plow and instead
of going to the
lush soil of the
farm to plow,
would you go to
the sea to
plow?
Of course you
wouldn't.
Everybody knows
those things do
not go together.
It does not take a
genius to work
that out.
And so follow the
logic.
What does he say
next?
Would you expect
life-giving justice
to produce poison?
Would you expect a
healthy tree to
produce bitter fruit?
Of course you
wouldn't.
Of course you
wouldn't.
And yet, and
yet, that is
precisely what is
going on in your
land.
Precisely what's
going on.
Now if you've got
an ESV there,
you'll notice it
verse 12.
Instead of
bitterness, it
uses the word,
Amos uses the
word wormwood.
I find that
quite a helpful
image in
understanding what's
going on.
I wonder if you've
had that experience
in your life where
you've gone to pick
up an old table or
an old chair that
was sitting in the
attic for years and
years and years,
and as you lift it
up, it just falls to
pieces beneath you.
Have you had that
experience before?
I've had that
experience before.
It is rotten to the
core.
It is eaten by
woodworm.
And it gives you
the impression that
it is healthy and
stable, while all the
time it is rotten to
the core.
And that's what's
going on here.
Here is a people at
face value are giving
the impression that
they are healthy and
stable.
Reality is there's
nothing going on.
They are rotten.
You are a careless
people.
What does Amos say to
this careless generation
of God's people?
By the way, you'll
notice that where it
says, those who
strive to put
themselves first.
You'll notice that
idea of first as you
read this through.
They put themselves,
they are the first
nation in their eyes.
The leaders place
themselves first in
this nation.
They eat and anoint
themselves with the
finest or the first of
meats and oils.
What does Amos say?
Verse 8.
Therefore, you will be
among the first to go
into exile.
Your feasting and
lounging will be at an
end.
God detests his
people's carelessness.
He hates it.
And it's a real, real
challenge to us.
Friends, would God on
our report cards, would
he write careless?
Are we those who are
living mismatched lives?
Are we people who say
one thing, claim to be
living for one thing, and
are doing something
completely else?
Are we giving the
impression of health and
life, but the truth of
it is, on the inside,
there's absolutely nothing
going on?
Now just think about your
own personal walk with
the Lord for just a
second.
are you good at putting on
the front in here?
Are you, have you
mastered the church
lingo?
Do you know the right
times to say amen?
But actually the reality is
that the fire, the inward
affection and love for
Jesus has long gone out.
Friends, do we care about
justice?
Do we care about
injustice?
Or have we got so good?
Have we mastered the art
of turning a blind eye to
it, and are simply
fattening ourselves and
growing callous?
You know, Neil mentioned
it earlier, are we
unconcerned?
Are we concerned about the
plight of our brothers and
sisters around the world
who are facing persecution
for standing for Jesus
Christ?
Does that even concern us?
Can I encourage you to come
to the prayer meeting on
Wednesday, where we'll be
praying for the
persecuted church?
It's just a great way of
remembering them in our
prayers.
God detests his people's
carelessness.
And now we come to our
favorite bit, the meat of
the sandwich.
This is the meat of the
sandwich here.
This is the sharp end of
what God is saying to his
people through Amos.
You'll see it in verses
8 to 11.
And the big idea here is
that God detests his
people's pride.
He hates his people's
pride.
What's going to happen to
this people?
That's the question.
What's going to happen to
them?
Well, says Amos, you are
headed for exile and
destruction.
And he describes for them
what that destruction is
going to look like as we
get this quite shocking
picture at verse 9.
Look at it there.
Verse 9, it is a shocking
picture.
And I think it's a picture
of the aftermath of a
slaughtering battle.
And there's a relative
hunting for survivors
amongst the rubble,
looking for bodies to
take away and burn.
And what he does, he
calls into the rubble.
He calls, is anyone
there?
Is anyone there?
And a voice shouts back,
I am here.
I'm here.
But whatever you do,
whatever you do, just
don't mention God's name.
Just don't mention God's
name.
Now, why is he saying
that?
Well, I think the idea is
that this people have
experienced God's
judgment.
And this is the
confession of a people
who have taken God
lightly.
They have not listened to
his words, and they've
experienced the
consequences of that.
Now, why?
What does God have
against his people?
Well, God is disgusted
with the pride of his
people.
Their self-sufficiency,
they don't think they
need him.
Their self-assurance,
it's that they can go
alone.
That they think they
have all the resources
at their disposal.
Their self-enhancement,
their false sense of
security, the fact that
they only care about
themselves.
That's what's going on
here on the surface.
But I think we need to
work a little bit harder
than that.
Because lying behind this
pride,
lying, I mean,
pride is just a
manifestation of it,
right?
Lying behind this
pride is a people who
have lost sight of who
God really is.
Because right at this
root, right at the root
of this pride,
standing right behind it,
this is a worship
problem.
This is a worship
problem.
They've ceased to
worship God as he
truly is, how God has
revealed himself to be,
and instead they are
bowing at the altars of
the God of their own
imagination and
preferences.
So you can think
about it this way,
in the life of this
nation, God's people
at the time, God has
gone from being in the
driver's seat to being
but a speck in the
rear view mirror.
They've just forgotten
about him.
And God reminds them
here of who he really
is.
Notice the names that
God uses for himself
at verses 8 to 11.
The sovereign Lord,
verse 8,
the Lord God
Almighty,
verses 8 and 14.
He is the holy
God.
He is the awesome
God.
He is the all-powerful
God.
He is the redeeming
and loving God.
He is the God who
controls the entirety
of the world which he
made.
All people,
all people,
including God's
people,
answer to him.
So do you see what
God is doing here?
He's committing the
totality of who he is
to doing what he says
he is going to do.
Let me ask you this
evening, let's pause
just for a second and
ask ourselves this
because it is so
important.
Friends, do you have a
worship problem?
Have you lost sight of
who God really is?
Have you just lost
sight of it?
And instead, are you
making God into a
figment of your own
imagination and being?
Is God who he says he
is or is God who you
say he is?
You see, lying behind
this people, the core
of the people's
problem here is that
they have failed and
they are ceasing to see
God as he really is.
It's a worship problem.
I'm always reminded of
the words of Lucy from
The Lion and the Witch
and the Wardrobe, if
you remember that.
She's speaking about
Aslan.
And what does she say?
He is not a tame
lion, but he is good.
He is not a tame
lion, but he is good.
God's people are headed
for exile and
destruction.
And of course, we've
got the privilege of
having history on our
side.
We know that 40 years
or so later, the
Assyrians are going to
come marching into town
and destroy Israel.
And if what we know
about the Assyrians is
true, they're not the
most humane of people
when it comes to
conquering a nation.
And Judah, of course,
the little brother of
the north and the
south.
Judah, they're not far
behind.
God is disgusted with
the pride of his
people.
Now, this Amos 6
sandwich, it's been a
hard chew, hasn't it?
It's been a hard
chew.
But here is the
aftertaste that I
wanted for us to be on
our tongues as we
leave this evening.
Because believe it or
not, there are two
great encouragements.
I know, honestly, there
are encouragements in
this passage.
Two great encouragements
for us in Amos chapter
6.
Firstly, what comes so
clearly across in this
chapter, and indeed
throughout the whole
Bible, Old and New
Testament, is that God
detests pride.
He hates it.
God opposes the
proud.
But praise God that he
gives grace to the
humble.
James chapter 4 would
tell us that wonderful
truth, that he gives
grace.
We need to see that God
warning his people of
their pride, him
pointing it out, is a
mark of his loving and
great grace.
It's grace.
And that gracious hand of
God is still outstretched
today through his son,
Jesus Christ, the man who
John describes in his
prologue, John chapter 1,
as being full of grace and
truth.
Encouragement number one,
friends, that God gives
grace to the humble.
And the second great
encouragement that I think
we can take from this,
Amos here is addressing a
generation of God's people,
and specifically addressing
a generation of corrupt
leaders of God's people.
Complacent leaders,
careless leaders, leaders
who couldn't care less about
the affairs of their people,
leaders who are self-serving,
who are quite literally
leading their people into
death and destruction.
And I think most importantly,
they are leading this people,
their people, away from the
presence of God.
Well, praise God.
Praise God, friends, that the
true and perfect leader of
God's people, Jesus Christ,
came as one who was fully
obedient to God, who was fully
dedicated to his people,
and who fully gave it all to
save them.
For Jesus came not into riches
and palaces, but into poverty,
with nowhere to lay his head.
He left his throne room.
He humbled himself.
And he took our poverty.
He took it.
So that we, through him,
might become rich.
Jesus came not eating and
dining with the high and
mighty, but associating himself
with the meek and lowly.
He came not wearing the
sweetest smelling aromas of
finest perfumes, but he was
born into the stench of a
stable.
And Jesus is the true leader of
God's, true leader of God's
people, through whose costly
sacrifice on the cross took
God's disgust and judgment that
we deserved.
He took it on himself.
And his self-giving for his
people has opened the way back
up for us to come to the
Father.
Do you see what's going on
here?
This is beautiful stuff.
These leaders of God's people
are leading their people away
from the presence of God.
Jesus leads his people straight
into the very presence of God.
The contrast couldn't be any
greater between these two
leaders of God's people.
Friends, let me ask you this
evening.
What leader are you trusting
in this evening?
Are you like Israel in Amos 6?
Are you trusting in yourself?
Do you rate your own
achievements and capabilities?
Or are you trusting in Jesus,
the true and perfect leader of
God's people?
If that's you this evening, if
that's where you are, then this
is a great cause for rejoicing.
That we have been saved from
death and destruction.
And we are now found in the
true and perfect leader of
God's people.
And what does he tell us to do
as his followers?
To live now for his kingdom.
The kingdom that he will bring
when he returns in glory, where
all social injustice will be
abolished, all oppression
ceased, and where he will rule
his people in grace and truth
in the very presence of God.
And what does he tell us to
pray and to do?
That it would be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
You see, there's that wonderful
cause for rejoicing this evening
that we are found in the
perfect leader of God's people,
Jesus.
What a great thing.
But as we close, let me just
take you back to school for a
minute.
When it comes to the report
card of our lives, friends,
let's be honest with one another,
none of us are getting straight A's,
are we?
I mean, not even close to that.
None of us are perfect.
But the gospel tells us that
Jesus has taken our blotted
report card.
The report card of our lives that
justifiably read guilty and
excluded and dead.
And he's given us his unblemished
perfect one.
And so we don't come in fear and
unbelief before God.
We come before him with confidence
and assurance in Jesus Christ that
we are acceptable to him and
praise God that we can call him
father.
That is what God has done for us in
the gospel.
He's taken spiritually dead people
and he's made them alive.
He has turned enemies, his enemies,
into his friends.
And he's turned orphans into sons and
daughters of the living God.
What a great and wonderful God that we
serve.
Why don't we pray?
And I'm just going to allow just a
few minutes,
maybe just 30 seconds actually,
let's just respond
to what God has been saying to us
through his word this evening.
God with you.
Let me just read you one of the verses
of one of my favorite hymns called Here is Love.
Let me all thy love accepting,
love thee ever all my days.
Let me seek thy kingdom only
and my life be to thy praise.
Thou alone shalt be my glory,
nothing in the world I see.
Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me.
Thou thyself hast set me free.
So Father God, we thank you so much for Jesus.
We praise you, Lord, for the gospel.
We praise you for our great leader,
Captain, King, and Savior,
who has saved us, rescued us from death,
and transported us into your wonderful family.
Help us, Lord, this week as we live our lives in this world
to seek your kingdom above all.
Lord, help us to be people who don't live for ourselves,
but live for your glory.
And this is our prayer in and through Jesus' wonderful name.
Amen.