Thoughts On Amos Six
Today, we study the Book of Amos Chapter Six, where God gave a powerful warning to leaders and the people of Israel about COMPLACENCY.
“WOE” is an expression of grief, sorrow, and impending disaster, which may be a curse or a warning.
Reflection:
“Spiritual Complacency”
Key Scripture
“Woe to you who are at ease in Zion”
(Amos 6:1)
According to Proverbs 10 verse 22, the blessings of the Lord, maketh rich and adds no sorrow.
Historically, complacency is associated with periods of success, peace, and prosperity.
Consequently , our ATTITUDE in our comfort zone tends to have spiritual carelessness.
Indicators
ARE WE COMPLACENT?
The following are indicators to alert believers to possible areas of complacency:
1. Desire for the Word (1 Peter 2:2)
2. Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17)
3. Not forsaking the assembly. (Heb 10:25)
4. Obedience to divine instructions
5. The companies we keep (1 Cor.15:33)
6. Lack of zeal for evangelism (2 Tim 4:5)
7. Love of Money (1 Timothy 6:10)
Conclusion
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty!
Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
(1 Corinthians 10:12)
Prayer
Father, we pray for the zeal to serve You to the end. Amen.
Thoughts on Amos chapter 7
Amos 7:8 NKJV
And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said: “Behold, I am setting a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore
James 1:25 AMP
But he who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and faithfully abides by it, not having become a [careless] listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he will be blessed and favored by God in what he does [in his life of obedience
There’s a lot to learn from our chapter today.
Importantly, we see from the life of Amos how anyone can become a vessel, prepared and meet for God’s use. He testified of himself in response to Amaziah in chapter 7 verse 14, “I was no prophet, Nor was I a son of a prophet, But I was a sheep breeder And a tender of sycamore fruit”.
Amos made no claims to any intimidating list of qualifications or even skills that favoured his appointment as a prophet, he was just a breeder of sheep and goats, who was faithful in his vocation and called to do the Lord’s work.
Scripture is loaded with examples of men whom God called out of obscurity, to bear His burden through leadership and influence.
What do we say of Moses, hiding in the wilderness of Midian, tending sheep but got called by God. Jeremiah, but a youth, who could not speak, yet ordained as prophet to the nations, David, hidden from public eye tending his father’s sheep, but anointed as king over Israel, the disciples of Jesus mostly fishermen, without oratory skills, turned the world upside down as they spread the Good news everywhere.
We deduce from these examples that the only thing God requires from us is, a willingness to receive and follow Him.
God, in His benevolence, distributed various gifts to His church. It is time to put aside all excuses, arise, and let these gifts manifest.
As the new Levites, God is beaming His search light upon to serve Him. He already qualified you, so do what He has laid in your heart to do in His house.
Training is important to help us grow in that which He has committed into our hands, but it is not a prerequisite to our being used for His purpose. Like Amos, we must respond to the Lord’s call in faithfulness.
Verses 7 and 8 drive home the purpose for which God called each one of us as believers, aptly put in Romans 8:29 NKJV to be conformed to the image of His Son.
God has a standard of measurement for godliness. He held a plumb line against Israel in Amos’s time to see if they were straight against His standard. (A plumb line measures if a line is built straight).
In our dispensation, Jesus is the plumb line. He is God’s standard of godliness. Our Conformation to Him comes through transformation as we daily commit to reading, studying, and meditation on the word of God.
His word is truth, sanctifying us. As a mirror, it reveals places in our lives that deviate from God’s standard.
Before He sets His plumb line in our midst, we must learn from Israel’s mistakes, turn from sin, and return quickly to the Lord when He convicts us of any wrong-doing. His grace is sufficient for us.
