Listening to the Word

Amos 7-9; Psalms 104; Titus 2   “This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. Then I cried out, ‘Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!’ So the Lord relented. ‘This will not happen either,’ the Sovereign Lord said.” Amos 7:4-6 Amos knew the Sovereign Lord as a friend who shared his plans with him. As one who knew God, Amos had the boldness to ask God to relent in sending judgment. Why? Amos knew the love of God through his mercy in saving and calling. While God is Sovereign, he is also merciful. Amos appealed to this aspect of God’s nature and God listened to his friend Amos. God listened to Abraham as he interceded for Sodom and to Moses as he interceded for Israel. God listens to his friends today who have been purchased by the blood of Christ and boldly approach the throne of grace. “Lord God, you are sovereign and you are merciful. Heal our land ...

Amos 4-6; Psalms 86; Titus 1   “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” Titus 1:15, 16 Our heart births motives and thoughts which shape our actions and then our character. To the pure, all things are pure. Rather than a list of ‘do’s and don’ts’, the pure are focused on living in unbroken fellowship with God. Each day, they see God at work in their lives and the world around them. However, when our heart is corrupted, we might say we believe, but our actions and secret disobedience tell the true story. Sanctification is not just a reformation of behavior, but a transformation of the heart.   Will we ask God to replace our divided heart with a heart that is pure and seeks his face each day? It will change how we see others and the wo...

Amos 1-3; Psalms 80; 2 Timothy 4 “When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared – who will not fear? The Sovereign Lord has spoken – who can but prophesy?” Amos 3:6-8 “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 2 Timothy 4:3 When we ignore the Word of the Lord, he sometimes roars like a lion through the circumstances of our lives. There are times when the Word of the Lord comes to us with prophetic urgency. Will we fear the Lord and obey him? Will we humble ourselves, or harden our hearts? Our temptation might be to turn the page, ignore the voice of the Spirit, or even look for a different church where ‘our needs are met’. ”Itching ears” ...

2 Kings 13-14; 2 Chronicles 25; 2 Timothy 3   “Amaziah asked the man of God, ‘But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?’ The man of God replied, ‘The Lord can give you much more than that.’ So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home...” 2 Chronicles 25:9-11 How often does money influence our willingness to obey God? King Amaziah had hired troops from Israel to help him fight the Edomites. When confronted by a man of God about relying on Israel rather than the Lord, Amaziah’s first thought was about his investment being lost. Yet the man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.” Do we believe that? Do we believe that obeying the Lord is worthwhile, even when it appears that we will pay a price financially? Do we believe God’s Word to us is useful for ‘teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness’ (2 Timothy 3:16). Do we believe that to obey God’s Word is worthwhile, even when it h...

Jonah 1-4; 2 Timothy 2   “The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’ But Jonah ran away...Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time:…” Jonah 1:1-3; 3:1 Jonah’s story is a good illustration of the pursuing grace of God, both for Nineveh and for Jonah. Jonah ran away from the call of God because of disobedience, prejudice, and a self-centered view of God. Despite Jonah’s rebellion against the call of God, God’s pursuit of Jonah (and his discipline) provided another opportunity for Jonah to say ‘Yes” to God’s word. Listening to the Word must be followed by obedience. Jesus called his disciples to teach others to “obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:20)”. Listening or reading the Word is not enough.   If we ignore or disobey God’s Word despite being his disciples, what happens? Is God through with us? Jonah’s example reminds us that God disciplin...

Joel 1-3; 2 Timothy 1   “The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel. Hear this, you elders;…Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.” Joel 1:1, 2, 13, 14 Joel’s message was first to leaders. The response of leaders to the word of the Lord significantly shapes how God’s people will respond. Joel’s message was a call to repentance, to humility, and to seek the Lord. Would the elders and priests humble themselves, fast, and pray? Leaders have the responsibility to frame reality as they see it. Without urgency, there will not be repentance and surrender to the Lord. Change begins with leaders. Everything leaders are asking God to accomp...