Prepare to Meet Your God

I one who wish each one of us a very

happy Sabbath. We are glad you are here in the

presence of the Lord to worship and fellowship. Life is

filled with preparations, all kinds of preparations. Children are being

prepared for their future. Young people prepare themselves for their careers,

middle aged adults prepare themselves for retirement, and all the

ones prepare themselves to leave a legacy behind them.

From the time we are born till the end.

Of life, life is filled with preparations. But the greatest preparation,

the ultimate preparation that is needed, is the preparation to.

Meet the Lord.

That is the purpose and the mission of the Pathfinders.

In writing to young people, elng.

White says their young reader seek a thorough preparation to

meet Jesus, that when he appears, you may exclaim with joy, Lord,

this is our God. We have waited for him and

he will save us. So today we will be speaking

about preparing to meet our God.

Let's have a prayer.

Father, God, we thank you for the presence of the

Holy Spirit in armits as your word is being spoken

and heard. We pray for the empowering of the Holy

spirit for each one of us, so that the message

may be received well and it will impact each of

our lives.

In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Amos was from Taikoa, a small town in the Sudden

Part in the Sudden Kingdom of Judah. Amos was a

shepherd and a farmer, taking care of victories.

And one day, even though Amos was not.

A prophet by profession, he never attended the school of prophets,

neither was he a son the son.

Of a prophet.

God called him to the prophetic office. And even though

he belonged to the Sudden Kingdom of Israel, God had

an urgent message of warning to give to the Northern

Kingdom of Israel. So he called Amus for this important task,

to give a message of urgency, a warning message to

the Northern Kingdom of Israel. If we look at the

background of the contexts of his of the time in

which he lived. During the time of Amus, the Northern

king Kingdom was ruled by King Jerobom the second and

the kingdom was experiencing its golden age. The kingdom reached

unprecedented levels of political growth, territorial expansion, and economic growth.

So great was the geopolitical and economic prosperity that it

rivaled the glorious day of the United Monarchy of Solomon

of David and Solomon. But despite its external success, the

kingdom was plagued by internal decay. There was rampant social

and judicial corruption. The poor and the vulnerable were being

oppressed and exploited. The rich manipulated the court system for

their own benefit. Bribes were openly accepted, and the poor

were often denied justice. Not only that, there were spiritual

and moral corruption in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The

Israelites mediculously performed religious rituals. They brought sacrifices, they celebrated festivals,

they played music, they listened to the Word of God,

but yet their hearts were far from God.

And in addition to that, not only did they.

Worship Yahweh, they mingled the worship of the true God

Yahweh with the idols that were worshiped by the Canonites.

God loved his people, the Bible says, God disciplines his children.

God loved his people, and he desired the people of

the Northern Kingdom of Israel to repent and wholeheartedly returned

to Him.

And in his mercy. What did God do?

He sent warning after warning through his prophets, and Amos

was one of them. And these warnings were divine alarms

of the coming judgments. And the purpose of these divine

alarms or warnings were to wake them up from their sleep,

from their sleepy spiritual slumber, and to turn back to

God in repentance doing the work that they were supposed

to do. Big missionaries, being.

The light of the world. So what did God do?

In Amos Chapter four godless five things? God sent them

shortage of food. God brought shortages of food to them.

He said, you have clean teeth, which meant they didn't

have enough.

Food to eat. And then he sent them drought.

They didn't have rain for three months during the harvest,

they had to go from town to town in search

of water. Thirdly, he struck their crops with blight and mildew,

and he sent locus to eat up their crops. And

if that was not enough, God sent plagues similar to

those in Egypt, the ten plagues, similar to the ten

plagues that God sent to the Egyptians when he was

trying to deliver the Israelites from Egypt. And he allowed

the young men to be killed in battle. And not

only that. Amos Chapter four continues on to say that

God sent cataclysmic destruction.

Some areas were overthrown.

Some parts of the northern Kingdom of Israel were overthrown,

like Sodom and Gomorrah. These did these alarm so called

alarm Bell's work for the children of Israel.

None of them work. Each mention of.

These wake up calls concludes with the heartbreaking refrain God

said five times, yet you have not returned to me.

Because these warnings completely failed to bring them to repentance,

God declared that he would no longer send them mere warnings.

He would now finally execute judgment on the nation. So

in Emma's chapter four, verse twelve, God says, therefore, thus

will I do to you, Israel, because I will do

this to you, And he says, prepare to.

Meet your God, oh Israel.

The phrase prepared to meet prepared to media God is

not a comforting invitation. Rather, it is an omnious warning

against divine judgment on the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Amos's

prophesied during the mid eighth century. Busy did Israel hit

the worning so mercifully given to them through Amos. The

Bible tells us sadly, no, three decades or so after

Amos's propheside, God's judgment came through the Assyrians because the

Northern Kingdom of Israel refused to return to God to

come back to God through repentance. The Bible tells us

that the Assyrian forces, led by Shalmaneser the fifth and

completed by Sargean the second, laid siege to the capital

Samaria for three years. People in Bible times grew crops

in fields encircling their cities. During the three year period

of siege, no one could go out of the city.

Say you can imagine the hunger due to short food

shortages and resulting in many deaths. According to historical record,

the city fell, leading to the mass deportation of over

twenty seven thousand Israelites in the year seven twenty two

b C. This the fall of the Northern Kingdom, is

recorded in Second Kings Chapter seventeen. The people of Israel

walked in all the sins that Jerobon did. They did

not depart from them until the Lord removed Israel out.

Of his sight.

As he had spoken by all his servants the prophets,

so Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria until

this day. The prize of disobedience, the prize of unrepentance,

the prize of being stiff necked. We have lots to

learn from the story that is told in the Book

of Amos, from the messages given in the Book of Amos.

Much like the time of Amos, which was close to

the end of the Northern Kingdom, we two are living

in the time of the end. The fast fulfilling signs

of the times declare that the.

Coming of Christ is near at hand.

And as Christ was giving at this course about the

nearness the signs of the nearness of his coming. In

Luke chapter twenty one, he says, now when these things

begin to happen, he told them, look up and lift

up your heads, because your redemption draws near. How important

it is to be prepared to meet the Lord. How

important it is that we avoid the mistake that was

committed by the Northern Kingdom of Israel. If we remain unrepentant,

if we are stiff neick, we will meet the same

faith as they did when our Lord shall appear. In

Matthew chapter verse twenty four, Jesus says, Therefore, you also

be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at

an hour.

You do not expect.

God's people in aimas time eagerly anticipated the day of

the Lord, and they thought the day of the Lord

would be a day of national salvation and victory. But

Amos corrected them. He says in chapter five, verse eighteen,

war to you who long for the day of the Lord,

Why do you long for.

The day of the Lord?

That day will be darkness and not light? Why because

of their unrepentance. And if we take it in our contexts,

meeting Jesus unprepared will be the most terrifying experience. The

Bible tells us what the experience of those who are

unprepared for his appearing will be.

It says in Revelation chapter six.

They will cry to the mountains and rocks fall on

us and hide us from the wrath of the Lamb.

For the great day of his wrath is come. And

who shall be able to stand God through Amos admonish

his people prepare to meet the Lord, O Israel, And

the same admonition comes to us, prepare to meet your God.

Then we prepare to meet your God. Our rich high

Church family. Prepare to meet your God. That is the

most important preparation you and I should be engaged in.

And how should we prepare to meet the Lord? What

lessons can we learn from the messages of Amos?

I would like to bring three points amus God.

Through Amos' appeal again and again to the northern kingdom

of Israel, he said to them, seek good, not evil.

This is a call to true repentance. What is repentance?

Repentance is a complete change of mind and direction, turning

away from sin and turning our face toward God. And

the Bible explicitly teaches that preparing for the Second Coming

requires a life of acts repentance, not just a one

time repentance, but a daily repentance where we repent of

our sin on a daily basis, a life of active

repentance and spiritual purification. In First John, Chapter three, verses

three and four, we read, but we know that when

Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall

see him.

As he is.

And then he goes on to say, all who have

this hope in him, beautify themselves just as He is pure.

How does purification in our lives take place?

Days?

Through repentance, forsaking our sins, repenting and coming to Jesus

for mercy and for Greece. Talking about the last days

and the preparation needed, Paul says in Romans chapter thirteen,

he says, the hour has come for you to wake

from sleep. It is no longer time to wallow in.

The sins of the world. It is time to wake

up from sleep.

He says, for salvation is nearer to us than us

now than when we first believed. And he goes on

to say, the night is far gone, the day is

at hand, And then he says, so then let us

cast off.

The words righteousness.

It's the language of repentance, doing away with sin, repenting,

and in place of that, putting on the armor of light.

Prophet Joel is one of those prophets who speaks about

the day of the Lord, appealing to the people to

prepare themselves for the day of the Lord. And what

does he say in Joel chapter two, He says, Now, therefore,

says the Lord, turn to me with all your heart,

with fasting, weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart

and not your garments.

Return to the Lord, your God.

A call to turn learn to God wholeheartedly, a call

to repent and a call to take God seriously. So

he says, turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping,

with mourning. For Christians who waiting for the second coming

of Jesus Christ, this should be our business, fasting, weeping, mourning,

turning from our sin and turning our faces toward God.

Second point.

In Amos chapter five, and in other places, God tells.

Israel, seek me and live.

As we prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ.

What should you and I do here? God is telling Israel,

seek Me and live. And he says, do not seek Bethel,

nor enter Gilgel, nor pass over to Beersheba, seek the

Lord and live. Why did God mention these three places Bethel,

Gilgel and Beer Sheeba. The people of Emma's time visited

these sites for religious pilgrimages because these places were deeply

tied to Israel's history with God. If we look at Bethel,

Bethel was once the place where jacob encountered with God

in his dream, and when he realized God was with

him and God had met him, he built an altar

and he named that place Bethel House of God, and Gilgel.

What is the significance of Gilgel? As Israel entered the

land of Canaan, the Promised Land, they spiritually rededicated themselves

to God at this place in Gilgel and in to

remember to immortalize this place.

What did they do?

They set up stones a place where God, where God

performed miracle by parting the waters of Jordan. They cross

over the river Jordan on dry ground, and on the

banks of the river Jordan. In Gilgal, they rededicated their

lives to Him. What about birdshe Bad, Isaac Abraham, Isaac

Jacob all lived in this place. They read a gwels

to sustain their families, and they built altars to worship God.

So what where the people of AMS's time do? They

were going on pilgrimages, religious pilgrimages to these places, thinking

they would become holy or this would merrit them salvation.

And sadly these three places became places of idolatry idols

were set up in this place.

So what does God's appeal to them? He said?

Don't seek, he said me. He said, do not seek Bethel,

nor enter Gilgail. No pass over to Beerziba. Instead, what

should they do? They should seek God and God alone.

God should be their priority.

God was saying, seek Me instead, instead of going to

all these places, seek Me instead and live. God was

telling them to stop running after other gods and to

seek Him only. What does God say? You will seek

Me and find me when you seek Me with all

your heart. What does it mean to seek God? To

seek God with all our heart means to pursue a

relationship with Him and making pursue a relationship with Him

our highest priority, placing Him above our own desires, distractions,

or worldly pursuits.

It is an.

Intentional, undivided dedication, where our choices, thoughts, and affections are

completely devoted to knowing and pleasing Him.

We see, as seen.

In Bethany in the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.

Jesus and his.

Disciples were having a meal in their house, and as

soon as they entered, what did Martha do? The Bible

tells us her mind was filled with preparations, the things

that she needed to do to make her guests comfortable.

But what was the priority of Mary?

As soon as Jesus came in, Mary.

Sat at the feet of Jesus Christ waiting for words.

To fall from the lips of the Savior, which were

more precious to her than gold. While her sister Martha

was being distracted with all the preparations, Mary her priority

was to sit at the feet of Jesus Christ. And

when Martha came to Jesus Christ complaining about her sister,

don't you care that my sister has left all the

work to me?

What did Jesus say?

He said, Martha, Martha, only one thing is sorry, only

one thing is important, and Mary has chosen the better

part and it will not be taken from her.

As we prepare for.

The second coming of Jesus Christ, what should be a priority?

Our priority should be to seek God with all our heart,

with all our mind, with all our strength. That should

be a priority. Yes, we have work, we have families,

but those are important, but they should never take our

priority in seeking the face of God. Lastly, as we

prepare for the second coming of.

Jesus Christ, what should what is needed.

Accepting Jesus Christ, God's provision for our salvation. In the

Old Testament, God appointed feast days.

He instituted the.

Sacrificial system to educate Israel about his plan of salvation.

And all these were symbols pointing forward to the Savior

who take away the sins of the world. Every detail

of the feasts, every detail of the sacrificial system, from

the unblemish passover Lamb to the day of Atonement rituals,

everything prefigured Jesus's seedless life, his atoning sacrifice on the cross,

and his role.

As our high priests.

And yet in Amos chapter five, what does God say?

God says to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He says,

I hate very strong language. I despise your religious festivals. Yeah,

assemblies are astand to me, even though you bring me

burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.

It was God who appointed these days, it was God

who instituted the sacrificial system. And yet here God says

he was disgusted with Israel's assemblies and offerings and he

he and he will not accept them.

Why First due to their oppression of the poor.

And secondly, because the people participated in these religious rituals, worships, assemblies,

offering sacrifices without placing their faith in God, treating them

as mere outward religious performances. In other words, they did

not truly accept God's provision for their salvation and evangelist rites.

The rich man must meet God. Also the beggar, the scholar,

the illiterate men, the noble man, the king, the emperor.

Everyone must meet God. The supreme question of life, then, then,

is this, Are you ready to meet God? None of

us can tell how soon it may be? How can

we meet God with joy and not with dismay?

There is only one ground upon.

Which men may meet God with joy and not with despear.

That ground is the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. If

we look at Revelation chapter six, the John is talking

about the sixth plagues, and under the sixth plague it says,

I'm sorry, seal. It says, the great day of his

wrath has come, and who is able to stand? Who

will be able to stand on the day of God's appearing?

It says who is able to stand?

And in chapter seven, Chapter six ends with who will

be able to stand on the great day of the

wrath of the Lamb? And chapter seven answers the question.

In chapter seven John says, after these things behold, I

saw a great multitude before the throne and before the lamb.

Cloth with white robes.

What do you and I need as we prepare for

the second coming of Jesus Christ, to meet the Lord

when he comes, so that we may welcome him.

With open arms.

We need the atoning to be covered by the blood

of Jesus Christ. We need the garment of his righteousness.

And we see this clearly in.

The parable that Jesus told the wedding garment. In Matthew

chapter twenty two. The king came in to look over

the dinner guest, and he saw a man there who

was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, friend,

how did you get in here without wearing wedding clothes?

And the man was speechless. Then the King said to

the servants, tie his hands and feet and throw him

into the outer darkness.

There will be weeping.

And gnashing of feet in that place, for many are

called and many are chosen. The only way we will

be able to stand on the day of the appearing

of our Lord Jesus Christ is if we put on

the wedding garment, which is the righteousness of Jesus Christ

that was offered freely through the sh blood on the cross.

I want to end with this song, and may we

introspect ourselves as I read this song. It says, when

the bridegroom cometh, willia robes be white? Are you washed

in the blood of the Lamb? Will you are so

be ready for the mansion? Bright and be washed in

the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood,

in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are you

garments spotless? Are they white as no? Are you washed

in the blood of the Lamb.