Let Justice Roll

God, thank you so much for everyone who's here,

for all the regular Church of Maasai people,

for all our guests.

Most of all, thank you that you're here.

God, you are not our guest of honor.

You're the reason that we're here.

And we come to you and we come to you with great expectancy,

knowing that you who've spoken through the ages

can speak again to us today.

Would you please speak to us?

But Lord, help us not just be those who hear your word

and go on unchanged.

Help us to hear your word,

to hear it spoken into our lives.

Into the deep places of our hearts,

of our minds, of all who we are.

And would you help us to change?

God, I'm barely more than a child.

For this to be the case, for you to speak to us,

I need your help.

So please speak through the power of your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Please be seated.

I remember when I was a boy,

I was having a sleepover with one of my best friends,

Dan Damien, his little brother Michael,

and my big brother Josh were all at my parents' home.

So much fun.

And my parents, they love us,

they gave us a lot of freedom,

but they also gave some guidelines because they love us.

And so one of those guidelines meant there was,

I can't remember what hour it was,

but there was a certain hour

by which we had to turn the light off and go to sleep.

It was later than we normally get to go to bed,

but we were so stoked.

This was my best friend.

We saw each other every single day.

And so we were there,

and I just remember we were having so much fun.

We had no idea what time it was,

and we were talking,

and my back,

I was facing the window in the room,

so my back was to the door.

And we were all like being pretty loud,

as some boys are.

And all of a sudden,

I remember,

I still this day,

I remember my brother Josh's face.

It just went pale.

And his eyes got kind of big,

and he was trying to communicate something to me,

his little brother.

I'm his little brother.

I didn't give a rip.

I just,

I do my thing.

And so I was still talking,

and finally,

I was the only one talking,

right?

So I was like,

hey,

I have a lot of siblings.

This was my moment.

And so I was like,

everyone's listening,

right?

So I'm just like,

I don't know what I was doing.

I just remember stupid.

And then all of a sudden,

I heard my father's voice.

And my brother had been trying to communicate to me

that my dad was at the door.

Now,

I'm the only one of all the guys at the sleepover

that the sleepover ended for me right there.

My dad brought me to the living room.

It was actually,

it was this cool house,

where it used to be two different homes

that were kind of combined.

So when they brought me to the other part,

like I was,

I was in another house,

basically.

And same address,

like different house.

I was so frustrated.

I like,

why,

why does my dad hate fun?

Why does my dad hate me?

Like,

he's always been a great dad.

But that moment,

it was just like,

the world was dark.

I remember just,

I had to,

he put me on the couch.

I just like,

sleeping on the couch.

I wasn't sleeping though.

And I was just frustrated.

And I just didn't understand

why he was such a killjoy.

And I just went to sleep in a bad mood.

My brother Josh's face,

I,

that,

that,

that look of like,

of concern,

of trying to communicate,

is the voice of Amos in this passage.

It really is.

And if you just look at it,

like even my brother's face,

I remember like,

what,

like what's your deal,

man?

Like why,

why are you being a killjoy right now?

Like he just went from laughter.

As a boy,

all I wanted was for,

to make people laugh.

And he wasn't laughing.

And woe to you who desire the day of the Lord.

Why would you have the day of the Lord?

It is darkness and not light.

As if a man fled from a lion,

and a bear met him,

or went into his house,

and leaned his hand against the wall,

and a serpent bit him.

Is not the day of the Lord darkness and not light,

and gloom with no brightness in it?

The people of Israel,

the people of God,

they were going through different things,

different times.

The time that Amos is writing in

is the time of relative affluency.

The middle class is doing well.

They're very spiritual.

And yet there was rumblings around them

as the big empires of Assyria,

the different ones were growing,

and they were eating up these different places.

And so there's definitely,

on the one hand,

a lot of confidence in themselves.

At the same time,

there's a lot of laughter,

a lot of good stuff.

At the same time,

there's this growing sense of dread

some people had in fear.

And yet the people of God,

they really had this confidence,

not just in how affluent they were,

but that no matter what happened,

the day of the Lord was coming.

The day of the Lord,

the day of judgment,

the day of judgment

for all the peoples around them,

they thought.

They thought because they were God's people,

because they were believers,

because they were spiritual,

when God came,

when God came to them as the Messiah,

he was going to just crush

all those who opposed God,

and they would find

that they were the big dogs.

You see that same,

like when Jesus is coming

into Jerusalem on the donkey,

and the people are going wild,

they really believe

that the Messiah is coming

to destroy Rome.

And even though that's like 400 years,

like five, six,

about 800 years after this is written,

that same kind of confidence

that this Messiah

was going to just crush

all the enemies of God,

they had.

Now that's a fair confidence they have.

God is coming to crush the enemy.

What they didn't understand

is they actually had found themselves

on the side of the enemy,

despite all their spirituality.

Woe to you who desire

the day of the Lord.

Why would you have

the day of the Lord?

It is darkness and not light.

As if a man fled from a lion

and a bear met him.

In a sense,

what he's saying right here

is that in there,

seeing that Assyria

is like a lion,

he's there to destroy them,

and they're going,

well, you know what?

We're going to escape this lion

because we're the people of God.

And he's saying,

you know what?

Yeah, you'll escape the lion,

but you'll be met by a hungry bear,

and it's going to destroy you.

The next image,

or went into the house

and leaned his hand against the wall.

In your own home,

and the aspect of leaning against something,

it's one of a casual safety.

You're safe in your own home,

and the attitude of leaning your hand

against the wall,

you're chill right there.

And he's saying,

you're there in this casual safety.

This is your safe place,

your happy place.

But what you think is a wall,

a thing that holds a roof above your head,

and that is something to lean on,

casual safety.

It actually is a serpent that will bite you.

And who is that serpent here?

Is it the devil?

No, actually,

he's comparing that,

which they think is their safety,

to something that will actually bring them down.

In this passage,

the serpent,

as far as I can tell,

is actually God.

He's saying that that,

it's just an analogy,

he's not saying God's a serpent,

but he's saying that

this thing you think is your safety

is actually going to bite.

Is not the day of the Lord darkness

and not light,

and gloom with no brightness in it.

Confusing words to the people hearing it then,

maybe confusing to us now.

It was confusing to me

as I thought we were just having a good time,

and my brother's face is trying to communicate,

hey, there's something serious going on.

He's trying to warn me,

Daniel,

if you keep doing your thing,

you're going to get in trouble.

And Amos is trying to communicate that to them.

The next words are really intense.

I hate,

I despise your feasts.

It's easy as we read these,

these very negative words.

For us to miss how good the people are doing.

So let's read what's going on.

What are the people actually up to?

Your feasts,

solemn assemblies,

verse 22,

burnt offerings,

grain offerings,

peace offerings,

of your fat animals,

your songs,

melody of your harps.

These people,

when it says feasts,

these are not like these Canaanite feasts

where it's all orgies and crazy stuff.

These,

as far as we can tell,

would be the feasts of God.

The feasts of God,

the feasts God commanded them to do.

Passover,

Sukkot,

these feasts,

these are good feasts.

Solemn assemblies.

Again,

we're not talking about them burning their children in the fire

as they had done at certain times.

These solemn assemblies would probably,

most likely,

actually be things like church

where the people of God are getting together

to sing songs to God

and to hear the Bible.

Burnt offerings and grain offerings.

These are the things God commanded them to do.

And not only are they giving burnt offerings

and peace offerings,

but these are the fat animals.

Remember Cain and Abel.

One of the issues with,

I always get it confused,

Cain,

Abel.

Abel is the one who offered the right sacrifice.

He was giving his best to God.

And Cain seems to have been giving,

Abel was giving the fat,

the best sheep.

And then Cain was kind of giving

just of the other stuff.

But here he's saying,

you guys are giving,

you guys are giving God the fat animal,

the best you have of your animals.

It's so good.

I want to be,

I want to be spiritual like that.

I want to be faithful like that.

And then there are also people

who aren't just coming together,

just being really solemn

in their solemn assemblies,

but they're people

who are making a noise of songs

that melody in their harps,

they're singing.

And yet,

fill in the words we miss.

We're just reading your feasts,

your solemn assemblies,

your burnt offerings.

What is God's attitude,

what is God's attitude

toward these things?

I hate,

this isn't Amos speaking,

he's just recording God's word.

I hate,

I despise your feasts,

and I take no delight

in your solemn assemblies.

Even though you offer me

your burnt offerings

and grain offerings,

I will not accept them.

And the peace offerings

of your fat animals,

I will not look upon them.

Take away from me

the noise of your songs.

To the melody of your harps,

I will not listen.

These are scary words.

Because you can be

doing a diagnostic

of your life,

how am I doing spiritually?

And you would look at,

you're doing the feasts,

you're eating in the context,

feasting in the context

that God commanded.

You're gathering together

with the believers.

The Bible says,

don't forsake the gathering

of the believers.

They're not,

they're doing it,

they're solemn assemblies.

And they're giving them

some of their best stuff.

And God says,

I will not listen

to your songs.

That's a scary place to be.

What else are you supposed to do?

What else can you give God

but your best?

God won't have it.

So what's going on?

Verse 24,

but let justice roll down

like waters

and righteousness

like an ever-flowing stream.

Did you bring,

did you bring to me

sacrifices and offerings

during the 40 years

in the wilderness,

O host of Israel?

You shall take up

Sukkot, your king,

and Kion, your star god,

your images that you made

for yourselves.

And through these words,

God is saying to them,

you know what,

yes, you're doing

all the spiritual activity

and maybe those around you

and even yourself

are impressed with yourself.

But look what they're doing.

These people have made

for themselves

these little idols.

From reading commentaries

this week,

my understanding is that

Sukkot,

that these were these idols

that they're like pocket idols

that you can put in your pocket

and take with you to work

and you can have with you.

And so these people

were doing all the spiritual stuff,

but they'd done

what we call synchronism

where they were doing

both the stuff of God

but also the stuff

of the people around them.

And God,

because of that,

says,

I will not hear your singing.

I despise your feasts

and all your spiritual activity.

Why is God so mad?

Well, it's kind of like

if you're married

and say the husband

says to his wife,

like,

say the wife saying to her husband,

like,

hey, like,

you know what,

I hate,

I hate your vacuuming

of the house.

I despise your working hard

to help pay rent.

I despise your budgeting.

I will not even look upon

your playing with the kids

before bedtime.

And the husband's like,

do you know that

all the other wives

wish that their husband

did the things

you just mentioned

that I do?

Like,

I'm the husband

that all the ladies

wish their husband were.

You know what I'm saying?

And she's like,

you do all these things,

but you don't love me.

And you don't even love

the children.

You're just doing it

because it's a checklist

of things.

It makes you feel good

about yourself,

but you're selfish.

And the husband's like,

no, no, no, no, no.

I, I,

not only do,

do I do these things,

but you know what?

Remember our vows?

And he reads the vows.

They're so beautiful vows.

Just like they'd be,

they'd be,

and the psalm assemblies,

they would be reading

the words of the hero Israel,

the Lord your God,

the Lord is one.

They'd be saying these things.

And he's saying,

you know,

I'm,

he reads his vows to her,

expecting that she's going

to tear up

because they're so beautiful.

He wrote his vows himself,

you know,

the creative people

who do that at their weddings.

And so he's like,

you listen to this.

And you know what, honey?

I mean,

I keep this on Sundays,

on Tuesdays,

Wednesdays,

Fridays,

and Saturdays.

What more do you want?

And she's like,

exactly.

Like,

what about,

I'm not going to math.

What about those Mondays

and like Thursdays

where you're going on

sleeping with other women?

And he's like,

you don't understand.

I'm so with you

and I'm with you.

And when I'm with you,

you're the only one

in my mind.

And she's like,

what about Mondays

and Thursdays

and you're going

and sleeping around?

He's like,

come on.

I am paying rent.

That's kind of the conversation

going on right now

where God is saying,

you are so proud

of your spiritual activity.

You're doing,

in our language,

you're doing church.

And you're the one,

you're not giving 10%.

You're giving 11%

just because you can.

And you understand

that you're not just

giving up your money

but like you're also

volunteering in Sunday school

and you're doing

all this great stuff

and God's saying,

it's not only

do I not care about it

but it stinks

because somehow

you think you're buying me off

with those things

when what I want

is your love.

What I want

is your love,

God is saying.

But let justice

roll down like waters.

I can't read these words

without hearing

the much more epic

Martin Luther King Jr.

saying those words.

But let justice

roll down like waters.

I'm not going to try

to imitate him.

But let justice

roll down like waters.

The image here

is a cascading

white water rapids

into a waterfall.

There's overwhelming,

overflowing justice.

Justice.

What is justice?

It's an all-encompassing

right way of living.

It is all these things

that Amos has been speaking

about chapter after chapter

of saying,

guys,

you are trampling

on the poor.

Justice is caring

for the poor.

You guys are being

sexually immoral.

Justice includes

sexual integrity.

It includes all areas of life.

It's a completely

all-consumed devotion

to what is right.

Let justice roll down

like waters

and righteousness

like an ever-flowing

stream.

God is saying to them,

what I want

isn't just all

the spiritual activity.

That's actually

all really good things.

But what I want

is all of who you are.

What I want

is all of you.

He doesn't want

our synchronism.

He doesn't want us

to be trying to combine

and merge

our spirituality

with our other stuff.

God wants all that we are.

He wants all of us.

You know,

the temptation

for the people of God

at this time

was to begin

combining their walk

with God

with the religions

around them.

And the Canaanite religion,

I'm not an expert

in Canaanite religion.

I'm just getting this

from others.

But from what we can tell

from history,

the Canaanite religion

was all about

do's and don'ts,

spiritual stuff.

So you can do

whatever you want to do.

They're God's Moloch,

whoever it was,

Baal.

They didn't really

have anything,

any requirements

about your fidelity

to your husband

or wife.

They didn't have anything

about your sexual integrity.

They didn't define

those things.

It was simply a religion

of this is the type

of sacrifice

you bring to the God

at this time of year.

This is the type

of feast you celebrate

at this time.

This is the type

of thing you'll do

on this day of the week.

This is,

and so as a result,

you can live

however you want to live,

but you just got to do

your spiritual things.

And if you do that,

then the gods

will be favorable to you.

And so the people

of God see that

and then they apply

that to their own,

to the scriptures.

And they see

that the scriptures

call us to spiritual activity.

And so like,

okay,

you know what,

we're not just going

to do the minimum.

We're just going

to max out

and all these,

the feasts,

we'll celebrate them

like no one's ever

celebrated them.

And God is saying,

you know,

I'm not like,

I'm not like

the Canaanite religion

where if you just

give me your lip service

and you sing me the songs

and you pour out

your wine offering,

your libations

and all that stuff,

then I'm pleased

with you.

No,

I don't want

your sacrifice.

I want you.

I don't want

your sacrifice.

I want you.

Now the temptation

for these guys,

the people of God

at this time,

to be like the people

around them,

would be to have

little pocket idols,

things that you can touch

and feel throughout the day

if you're feeling

a little nervous,

little superstition,

stuff like that.

And God is saying,

no,

I want you.

I don't want that.

And what is the temptation

for you and me?

I don't know if there are

people here who maybe

you have a Hindu background

and so you're tempted

to like have some

little idol figurines

and like bow

and whatever,

give them food and stuff.

There might be some of us here.

If that's you,

you're welcome here.

I think for most of us,

the temptation is actually

to have a different God,

which is ourselves.

As some of you know,

I'm at Camp Iowa

and this past week,

every week,

we've been singing a song

with a big,

it's a really fun song.

Mostly it's the band

that we're playing the songs,

but this one we put on

like the background soundtrack

and we have the actions to it.

And it goes,

my God is so big

and so strong

and so mighty.

There's nothing

my God cannot do.

It's a full band.

It's just,

it's awesome.

This past week,

I discovered that the boys,

it was Boys Week,

and the boys made

their own lyrics to it.

And they were singing,

my balls are so big

and so strong

and so mighty.

There's nothing

my balls cannot do.

Okay?

Now you look shocked.

I just said that.

That's what they were singing.

And what I actually appreciate

about their song

is they put to lyrics

what so many of us

do with our lives.

These boys,

I spoke to them

at the primetime,

the preaching session.

I said,

you guys think you're so funny.

And to be honest,

privately,

I'm thinking in my head

like you guys

are actually so funny.

But I'm just like,

you guys think you're so funny

singing about your balls.

Just in case

if there's any generational gap.

They're singing about

their testicles.

Okay?

You guys think you're so funny.

Okay?

But listen,

you guys,

you're settling

for something so small

and so insignificant.

You think you've discovered

how to,

oh, you guys,

you guys are the cool kids.

You guys,

you've invented your own lyrics.

But what you've done

is as if someone

has given you the keys

to a magnificent castle.

It's amazing.

You never,

it's not the stuff

you dreamed of.

It's bigger than

the stuff you dreamed of.

And you like hockey?

There's a skating arena there

or ice rink,

I guess we call them.

Whatever.

You know,

it's got everything you want.

All the toys

and so much more.

It's so fun.

It's such an adventure.

You can explore

the halls

and all the different aspects

of the castle

forever and ever.

And you'll never

discover all of it.

It's made for sardines,

the game.

You know,

like it's unreal.

And yet you guys,

I come across you.

I'm your buddy.

I come and you guys

are making sandcastles.

You're like,

look at our castle.

It's so big.

It's so awesome.

We're so cool.

We made this ourselves.

And look,

like it's not just like

we made like our own moat

and we have water

and we even have

like little fishes in it.

Like look at us.

And you're like,

okay,

that's cool.

But you know

there's a real moat

with real castle walls

with a real castle

right behind you

and you have settled

for a sandcastle.

And then as I was chatting

with them,

I was like,

you know what?

That's a bad analogy.

What you actually are doing

is you haven't made

a sandcastle.

I'm sorry,

I'm at camp

but it's a little more

gritty.

You haven't made a sandcastle.

You've made a poop castle.

You actually have taken manure

and not just like horse manure.

Like you've taken human feces

and you're making

your own little castle.

Like this is so cool.

We have a castle.

We're so good.

And it's like actually

you have first

a massive castle

that's awesome

right behind you

that's actually bigger

than anything

you can ever imagine.

That'd be such

a great adventure.

And you've settled

for something so insignificant

that's actually like poop

bad for you

and bad for those

that you're interacting with.

It's infecting them.

It's full of germs and stuff.

When we're wrapped up

with ourselves

when we're living a life

that's like you're singing

my balls are so big

when that's your life

when all you are

is consumed with yourself

and don't just picture

the boys here.

What about our own selfishness?

For some of us

our laziness

our apathy

for others of us

it's our hard working

workaholism

where we're neglecting

those who God

has entrusted to our care

because we are so obsessed

with our own achievements.

Whatever it is

when we're obsessed

when our life

is about ourselves

really we might be thinking

you know I've cracked

the code to life

like I've found

the key to my happiness

my working crazy hard

and getting all the toys

or whatever it is.

You're settling

for something

that's so much

less awesome.

And I don't just mean

like less good

or less justice

or less righteous

I mean less awesome.

It's actually

so much less

of an adventure.

There's less joy

in it

there's actually

less peace

in it

it's not what you want

but you've settled

for this

and you're like

oh I'm so cool

and it's like

not only is this

so much less awesome

but it's actually

harming yourself

and others.

Is that what you want?

Every time we do

synchronism

every time we combine

God with the other stuff

every time we say

God I give you

my Sundays

and my Wednesday nights

or some of you

also your Friday mornings

not just you

some of us

that's what we're doing

and God

800

in 800 BC

2,800 years ago

and still today

is saying

please

please

give me yourself

and it sounds

very sobering

because it is

woe to you

who desire

the day of the Lord

why would you have

the day of the Lord

it is dark

so not light

as if man fled

from light

these words

are serious

these words

are haunting

these words

are words of fear

just like I saw

my brother's face

there was a look of fear

and he was trying

to communicate

something to me

and if I'd

embraced that message

as difficult

as it would have been

for me as a boy

and even today

to shut up

I would have just

embraced that message

just be quiet

when he was trying

to be like

I would have still

been in that sleepover

well not still

to this day

but I would have gone

to live out

the sleepover

that's what my

parents had wanted

for me

was to have fun

and to live

the fullness

of that sleepover

but I lost out big

at least to my little

boy mind

I lost out big

it was a look of fear

in my brother's eyes

but that fear

was because of his

love for me

and he wanted me

to stay part

of the party

and as God

through Amos

is speaking

these heavy words

they're words

not just of fear

they're words of love

they're words of health

they're words of restoration

there did come

a time of judgment

but these words

were warning

and in the warning

there's a possibility

that things could change

in the warning

there's a possibility

that things could change

church

regulars

guests

everyone

myself included

there are things

in our lives

that need to change

there is areas

in our life

where it's like

we're singing

my balls are so big

where we're selfish

where we're self-focused

we're synchronizing

our stuff with God

for a lot of us

me included

it might be hard to see

so how do we change

don't worry about it

you can just pray

go on

you don't actually

need to change

just kidding

we need to change

it's going to be

tough to change

one of the toughest

things is to actually

see it

we want to think

that we're all that

I want to think

that I'm all that

but God calls us

to change

we need to change

and so this is the

hardest part of the message

how do we change

I think the toughest

thing about changing

is that God is saying

right here

I don't just want

your actions

I want your hearts

and we can give God

our actions

but how do we give

him our heart

how do we do that

like tell me

I think a lot of husbands

are here when their wife

is like

or vice versa

a wife can be there

when the husband's like

hey I want your heart

I want your love

and the spouse is like

look

I've given you this

I've given you that

I've given you that

and in a sense

it's just like

just tell me

one more thing

three more things

give me a list

of things I can do

for you

and we're cool

and they're like

no you miss it

I want your love

I want your heart

we can adopt more actions

how do we change

our hearts

it begins with

realizing we can't

I think it was

last week

I think it was

last week

that I was sharing

with you that

when I was about 16

I realized

that I knew so much

about God

I loved so much

about God

I knew I knew him

as a kid

I just didn't

I just didn't know him

he didn't have my heart

and I tried

he just didn't have my heart

and so I just

got on my knees

and I said

God

I need to know you

help me to love you

two things I was praying

at the time

God I want to know you

I want to love you

I knew that I didn't

at least not fully

like I was made for

I told you

I prayed that

real earnest

God I want to know you

God I want to know you

I need to know you

you're too good

to be my parents

thing

you're too

if all that's true

about you

is true

what the pastor's saying

and I see

the sparkle in his eye

that he loves

and knows you

I need that

give that to me

I want to know you

I get up off my knees

because I had others

that had to go to school

still nothing

day after day

it took way too long

day after day

God I need to know you

there's probably

multiple days

where I didn't pray that

because I was wrapped up

in myself again

then I get back on my knees

God I need to know you

please

I need to know you

we were talking last week

about seek me and live

but I didn't understand

that whole time

as much as I felt like

I was the one seeking

the love

the knowing of God

the Bible is so so clear

God is the one seeking us

he's the one loving us

he's the one seeking

the image is that

of the prodigal son

in Jesus' own words

when the guy

he realizes he's not

where he needs to be

he realizes he's like

these people

maybe he's of the people

of God

but he's living like

the pagans really

and so he's walking home

and he's rehearsing his lines

and he's trying to seek God

kind of like me

like he's saying his stuff

and then when the father

when all of a sudden

he looks up

the father has been

searching for him

the father was the one

seeking the son

the whole time

way before the son

was seeking him

and the father is the one

that runs

not the son

he runs to the son

and he embraces him

the son tries to start

saying his words

his spiritual words

and the father

interrupts him

and he just says

he just says

like let's throw a party

my son is home

and he wraps him

in the robes

and gives him his best

and all this stuff

in a sense

I was seeking God

and seeking him

the Bible tells us to

but what I didn't understand

was even in my seeking him

that was empowered

by the very breath of God

so where do we go church

to be fully the people

he's called us to be

I know there's testimonies

throughout here

so many of you

are even more committed

to God than me

but all of us

all of us

can grow in the fullness

of our commitment

to him

and listen

if you're not actually

committed to him at all

you are in a dangerous place

so how do we change

knowing it's God

who's seeking us

let's begin

or continue

with that same prayer

God

God

I'm not completely

given to you

I see their selfishness

or maybe I can't see it

but I'm sure it's there

God would you change my heart

change my heart

give me

refresh my heart

renew my heart

give me your heart

help me to love you

not just the stuff of you

it begins

I believe in prayer

pray

and pray

and pray

seek him

and live

knowing that he's

the one seeking us

our very crying out

is empowered by him

and then second

what God's saying here

and saying

let justice rule

he's saying

this isn't just about

your spiritual stuff

this is an all of life thing

people have said

look

if you really want to know

your priorities

don't listen to someone's words

look at their pocketbook

what are they spending money on

look at their day planner

if people still do that

look at what you're spending

your time on

and in that respect

as we seek to give our life

completely to God

not just to the spiritual

to all of our life

to God

then let's start looking at

how we're spending money

and what we're doing

with our time

and seeing

are we actually

giving ourselves to God

how our friendships

our marriages

our sexuality

are we defining

our own terms

are we seeking to

to let the Bible define

what is actually right

and good

and sometimes people

will talk to me

because I'm the pastor

and they'll say like

hey you know

can you pray for me

that I spend more time

in the Bible this week

and that's another

we begin in prayer

but also the Bible

spiritual food

it's so much of the strength

that we need to change

it's going to be found

as we read these words

so they're saying

hey I'm not reading my Bible

I'm not really praying much

can you pray that I do

but you know what

I'm never going to say no

to prayer

I'll pray for you

but you actually just need

to do it

you know what I'm saying

like you just

you don't need

you don't need me

to pray for you

you just need to actually

when you go to reach

for your phone

to check Facebook

in the morning

just bring back the hand

grab the Bible

spend like three

four or five minutes

at least

if not longer

reading a bit

you know what I'm saying

sometimes you just got to do it

just got to gird up your loins

in the words of scripture

just do it

you know what I'm saying

so how do we change

part of it

is by just crying out for help

and crying out for help

all the way to the end of our life

God help me to change

I want to know you more completely

I'm not satisfied with where I'm at

you have more for me

I want to be fully yours

and second

is that we do what it says

that we read the words

and we seek

we see as we read through the scriptures

that it's speaking into our life

and showing us

where we're actually not devoted to God

and seeking to change

praying

and then applying

justice

and righteousness

and purity

and humility

and courage

and faithfulness

rolling

like overflowing

cascading

all that our lives are

it's how we change

we look to God

one of the temptations

I can't say for all pastors

one of my temptations

is I want to make sure

that I'm saying something new

and innovative and stuff

but

then you come across

where you're just like

you know what

I'm just going to be repeating myself

every single week

and we're going to do that again

because

that's what the Bible says

so there's nothing new

or innovative here

that's just the Bible

this section ends up

as he's saying

he's calling them

to a full

wholehearted

full throttled

life with God

his final words

of this passage are

says the Lord

whose name is the God

of armies

again

and again

and again

the call

to become

who we're called to be

to leave the poo castles

and live in a life

of obedience

and surrender

in the fullness

of the adventure

of life with God

how

where does our hope

come from for that

time and time

week after week

you see Amos is saying

the Lord of armies

one of the problems

we have with changing

especially

when what we need

to change from

is self-obsession

is that we turn inward

to change

and that's why

so many of those

self-help books

you see

at chapters

or the stuff

you google

is not helpful

because it's just

trying to turn

ourselves inward

to find the strength

to change

but Amos' solution

to changing

is to say

stop

you guys

you think

you're so funny

or whatever

singing about

your own

your testicle

like look at God

what those boys

needed this week

I think what we were

able to speak

to them about

was

guys

you think

that life

obsessed about

your own prowess

so big

and so bad

look what you need

look at God

who's so big

and so mighty

there's nothing

he cannot do

I believe that's

the message

that Amos is trying

to say to them

as he says

God of armies

there's power

there's might

and there's action

there

our God

isn't just

a God

who's big

sitting on a throne

looking at us

and tsk tsk

no he's the father

searching out there

with his armies

looking for us

seeking us

that we might live

like

just one final word

then we're done

we'll have

work with strength

to fight

it's a ministry

helping people

find freedom

from porn

and a couple

months ago

a pastor was

meeting with us

talking about

how he and his

church can

work with us

and he was

talking about

how he was

so passionate

about purity

and all this stuff

and porn is tied

to human trafficking

so about fighting

human trafficking

and he was telling

us his testimony

about being free

of porn

and so

one of my

colleagues

with strength

to fight

just had the

wisdom to say

like hey

when was the

last time

you watched

porn

and he was

like uh

two weeks ago

and then he's

like okay

how long was it

since before that

he's like well

about a month

like oh yeah

like I'm free

I only watch

porn once a month

and we're like

and he's like

anyway

it's still actually

a regular consistent

part of this man's

life

and you know

what that's true

likely for several

number of people

here

or maybe even

more true

like there's

likely people

among us

who uh

who are watching

even more

regular than

that

that's one

of the ways

this passage

comes alive

for us

is to see

that like

this pastor

is basically

like hey

you know

what I'm

gonna do

all these

like his

version of

the feasts

is justice

his version

of the feasts

is like okay

I am volunteering

with fight

for freedom

we're helping

rescue girls

from you know

sexual exploitation

um god

aren't you so

happy with me

but at the same

time he was

holding on

to sexual

impurity

in his case

pornography

holding on

to it

this is

this is

okay I'll

give up

once a week

I'll give up

multiple times

a day

I'll give all

that up

but once a

month that's

me time

that's my

life my

terms

and it's

actually awesome

that that

god is

through his

that he's

worked at it

and god

that it's

down to

once a

month

I'm sure

that's actually

a big miracle

a huge step

for him

but what god

would be saying

to him

I try to

share with

him

I'm gonna

share with

myself and

all of us

today

whatever those

things are

that like

god you've

done so much

in my life

but no more

now this is

me

you can have

all of me

up until this

god is saying

to the people

of Israel

in Amos

Amos 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

like he's

speaking to

us I believe

today right

now and

for the rest

of our lives

give me

everything

all of it

and that's

not some

burdensome

command

that is

an invitation

to life

itself

would you

stand with

me as

you pray

god you

see

everything

so often

like Adam

and Eve

we want to

hide ourselves

as if that

does anything

against your

gaze

you see

everything

you know

you know

the selfishness

the self

obsession

the idolatry

and the

synchronism

in every

one of us

you see

where we

flatter ourselves

and lie to

ourselves

and don't

even see

the blind

spots

and the

sin

lord you

see it

in all

of us

and

we ask

in your

mercy

and your

love

that you

would

free us

from those

poop castles

that we

play with

and lead

us

in the

safety

and the

wholeness

and the

risky

adventure

and all

that you

made us

for

for life

unleashed

for your

glory

we cannot

heal

ourselves

we cannot

change

ourselves

we do

not have

the strength

for we

are not

strong

and mighty

and there's

many things

that we

cannot do

but god

you are

so big

and so

strong

and so

mighty

would you

turn

the gaze

the attention

of our

heart

to you

the fullness

and the

bigness

and the

majesty

and the

power

and the

grandeur

and the

love

and all

that you

are

give us

the hope

the drive

the help

the humility

that we

need

to surrender

to you

so lord

would you

help all

of us

give you

all that

we are

not just

partial

but completely

to you

for in you

there is

life

life everlasting

in jesus name

amen

amen

and

you

you

you

you