Speak Up, Listen Up | Pastor Chris Kouba

Open up your Bibles there to the book of Amos as we dive in today.

How many of you have ever crushed an entire bag of famous Amos cookies?

All right, anybody on here?

These are greatness.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, you are missing out on one of the greatest gifts that have ever been given out there.

I'm a big fan of chocolate chip cookies no matter what, but I'm a really big fan of famous Amos cookies.

They're made from scratch.

They're just a totally different thing.

It's just incredibly, incredibly good.

If you don't know, though, it's a story of how famous Amos came to be.

It was actually a guy named Willie Amos who was working in the mailroom of a talent agency in New York.

Just not a glamorous position, not a big job.

He just was working in the mailroom faithfully.

And over time, he began to move up in the company.

They began to move him out of kind of the operational side and begin to move him more towards the talent agency side.

And he ended up having a very successful career as a talent agent at this talent agency in New York.

But every time he would go and meet with one of his clients, he would also have this side hobby where he would make chocolate chip cookies with his aunt's recipe.

And so he would bring those cookies to the talent meeting and they would eventually say, Hey, Amos, we don't really care about the contract.

Next time we get together, I want to make sure you've got those cookies with you because those things are amazing.

And even suggested you should sell these things.

These are incredible.

And so in 1975, Amos, Willie Amos, moved from New York.

He moved to Los Angeles, he borrowed$25,000, and he opened up a business selling premium chocolate chip cookies.

And the rest is history.

We know of Amos because he took a risk.

Everybody told him he was crazy.

Why would you do this?

Why would you leave this high-paying job?

And why would you go and do?

But he felt like he had something.

He believed in himself and he believed in what he felt like he was supposed to do.

And so therefore he stepped out, he started it, and now we know famous Amos cookies.

We're going to talk about a different Amos today.

This Amos is not famous, okay?

This Amos is faithful.

And you're going to see the reason why we're still talking about him 2,700 years later is not because he was, he got some really cool story or some cool background.

We're talking about him 2,700 years later, is because he said yes to something hard, but no one else wanted to do it.

We've been going through a sermon series called Have You Read My Book.

We're trying to help you avoid an awkward conversation when you get to heaven, when you meet the minor prophets, and they ask you, hey man, what do you think about my book?

And if you've never read it, it's going to be really weird for you, okay?

And we want to help you by actually walking through.

This will be the fourth one that we're going to be walking through.

I'm going to put a QR code on the on the screens.

This is a way for you.

There's two Bible reading plans that it can help you read through all 12 of the minor prophets.

When I say minor, I don't mean minor in importance.

I just mean minor in size.

They're not very big.

Amos, in fact, is nine chapters.

It's one of the most, it's one of the longer minor prophets, but even then, it's just a few pages.

It's not crazy, crazy long.

We've also got some videos of all of the services that we've had so far, all the topics in the books that we've gone through.

And you can watch some Bible project overview videos that I think will help you as you're thinking through the minor prophets.

But what the reason what we've been learned so far is you think through the minor prophets so far, we've seen God's relentless pursuit of his people.

We've seen God's passion for justice show up multiple times.

We've also seen God's faithfulness and his willing to be long-suffering and to have patience with us.

Let me give you some background, though, for the book of Amos.

We're going to pick out a few verses from these nine chapters, but it's important for you to kind of understand what's going on in the big picture in the context.

And because I know our tendency, particularly with this book, which is eight and a half, really eight and three-quarters of judgment.

It's just judgment nonstop.

What your tendency is going to be to think, man, God's really mad at those people.

And you got to move on like it has nothing to do with you.

So I want to give you a little context of why it may got upset, but I want to show you how it's just as applicable to us today.

In the land of Amos, it was around 760 BC.

It was the northern kingdom, which is Israel.

There's the southern kingdom, which is Judah.

The nation had split in kings.

It talks about how basically God's judgment was to split the nation.

And so therefore, you've got the two, the northern kingdom.

This is a northern kingdom situation.

And King Jeroboam II was in charge and ruling for over 40 years.

While he was ruling, there was peace in the land.

While he was ruling, the economy was booming.

While he was ruining the ruling, the military actually increased in stature and they began became really, really strong.

Like things were going super well.

In fact, it was going so well that the Bible tells us in the book of Amos that people started buying second homes.

So they had summer homes and winter homes.

It talks about how their beds were inlaid with ivory, they're eating the finest food, they're drinking wine by the bowlful.

I mean, they are living the dream in every way.

If they were on Instagram today, they would be posting pictures of their vacations and their additions to their houses.

And all of us would be watching it, being like, man, I just wish I could live their life.

Like it's just amazing how great things are going for them.

But what I also want you to know is that while everything was going well in their personal lives, there also was two churches.

The two churches that are mentioned in northern Israel are Bethel and Dan.

They're both mentioned in the book of Amos.

And here's what I want you to know: they were booming.

Like they were totally crowded, like people turning away from the temples, like the churches were going super well.

So externally, their personal lives were going well, their spiritual lives were going well.

Everything's going wonderful.

There's no problems here, except the fact that God says, Well, I see a few things.

Underneath the shiny exterior, everything was rotting.

The rich were getting richer by exploiting the poor.

The people were being sold into slavery over debts.

The justice system is corrupt and nobody cares.

You want to know why?

Because the money is flowing and the church is full, so we're good, right?

It's at that moment that God steps in and says, I got a few things to say.

I got a few things I need to bring up.

Before we begin to think this is just something that was applicable to them and not to us, can I just remind you that you live in one of the wealthiest nations in human history?

Your average is considered wealth everywhere else in the world.

Not only that, we got a great church.

This church is a great church.

Praise God for that.

And not only that, you've got access to Christian music, you've got access to Christian podcasts.

There's so many different places that you could worship just in Houston alone, Northeast Houston as well.

And you have so much access, more access to Christian content than any other generation in human history.

Yet despite all of that, there's some cracks underneath the surface.

Despite all of that, there's a gap between our worship and our witness.

We post Bible verses on Instagram, and then we go home and we speak negatively and we speak bad to our spouse whenever we walk in the door.

Amos has some tough words for these people.

Amos has some tough words for us.

Amos has some tough words for me.

I tried to think through, man, how can I make this like digestible?

How can I make this like better?

How can I make some disclaimers on it?

How can I put some things that kind of soften it?

And what I feel like the Lord very clearly told me is like step on their toes and make it hurt.

Because my toes have been bleeding all week.

And there's no question about it, we want to preach the whole council of God, and part of the whole council of God means this.

You better get it right.

Don't mess around with our God.

And the message that we're gonna see in here, he just doesn't let up.

He just keeps at it.

But I want you to know you're either gonna hear the message of Amos one of two ways.

As judgment because you didn't listen, or as a warning from a loving father.

And I hope that you will allow the conviction of the Lord to be received as the gift that it is today.

Let's begin reading.

Amos chapter 1.

Amos 1 · chapter mention

I've got two next steps from this message today, the book of Amos, nine chapters.

We're gonna be largely summarizing it.

Let's look, though, first at verse one.

It says the words of Amos, who is among the shepherds of Takoya.

Where's Tequoia?

Takoya is a town 10 miles south of Jerusalem.

Here's what I want you to know about Takoya.

You don't need to know about Takoya.

No one cares about Takoia.

It's the only place it's mentioned is right here.

No one cares about Takoya.

Okay?

This is like saying you're from the middle of nowhere, all right?

Which just kind of sets the sea.

You got a guy that's not from a cool place.

He's not from a place that carries a lot of weight.

He's from Takoya.

Who cares about Takoya?

It says, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

Many of the minor prophets are written, and we don't know exactly what time frame.

This is one that's like, oh, I know exactly when that was.

That's when King Jeroboam was on the top of the mountain.

That's when things were going really, really well.

That's when the economy was booming.

Like all of those contextual things.

The reason why we know it is because of the historical analysis that is given here in verse one.

But don't miss the main point, which is this Amos is just a shepherd from nowhere.

Later on, because of the intensity of what Amos is actually saying to the people and the way that he's calling them out, you see that there's one of the priests who are like, Man, I don't like the message that you're telling us.

And so, what do you do when somebody speaks truth to you and you don't like hearing it?

Then what do you do?

You just try to go after the messenger.

That's what people do all the time.

And we see here in Amos chapter 7, turn with me over there in verse 14 that there's this religious prophet who's this religious priest named Amaziah, and he comes up to Amos almost like, dude, what are you doing?

Amos 7 · chapter mention

Will you back off?

Leave us alone.

What makes you think you've got authority to say this?

And here's his response in verse 14.

We learned some background on him.

Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.

I wasn't anybody.

That's the translation.

I'm not coming to you speaking to you this message because I've got authority.

I'm coming to you speaking to this message because God told me to.

Here's what we see God takes an ordinary guy, dirt under his nails, smells like sheep, and says, You're the guy that I'm gonna send.

But don't miss this.

Amos isn't the exception in the Bible, he's the norm.

God calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things for him all the time.

Moses is a stutterer.

I can't even talk God, and God says, Perfect, you're gonna be the guy that's gonna deliver my people from the slavery in Egypt.

Gideon, he is hiding in fear, and God says, You're gonna be my mighty warrior.

David, David was the forgotten shepherd boy, and God says, You're gonna be my king.

Mary was a teenage girl from Nazareth.

God said, You're gonna carry my son.

Peter denied Jesus three times, and Jesus said, You're gonna be the guy I'm gonna build my church on.

Over and over and over again, God chooses unlikely people to do impossible things.

Now, why does he do that?

Because it's not like Amos can say, Well, I'm a big deal, so therefore big things are gonna happen.

Instead, Amos is like, I'm a nobody, so that when all of a sudden God does something, it's very clear it's God who is the one who did that.

He's the one who's writing the story.

Which brings me to my first next step that some of you need to have today.

Number one, write this down.

When God calls you, speak up.

When God calls you, speak up.

God had a message that needed to be delivered to the people, and it was not gonna be a fun one.

And he chose a guy that wasn't qualified, he had no degree, he had no ordination, he had no prophetic background, he's just a shepherd who grew figs.

But God has a pattern of taking unlikely people and doing impossible things.

First Corinthians chapter 1, verse 27 through 29 describes it.

1 Corinthians 1:27–29

It says, But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.

God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Think about how you finish the sentence.

I'm just a blank.

What goes into that blank?

I'm just a college student, I'm just a middle school student, I'm just a stay-at-home mom.

I'm just an accountant, I'm just someone who works in sales, I'm just a kid who grew up in a broken home.

You see what we do?

We put labels on ourselves that God hasn't put on us.

And we box ourselves in thinking we know what we can and most importantly, what we can't do when all God wants you to do is to be able to be available because what he sees is your justa means you are just right.

Because God doesn't call the equipped, God equips the called.

Josh mentioned that he went on that mission trip to LA, just got back last week, and he had the opportunity to be there with uh Brian Wallace, who preached for us earlier this year, our Church Planner Weekend uh at City Connect Church, doing some amazing stuff.

But he also got to be with Andrew Carter last Sunday morning.

Andrew Carter actually preached here a couple of years ago.

Uh Andrew Carter has started and is planted a couple years ago, Royal City Church, which literally meets down the street, like right down the street from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

Like it's like an amazing location that he is there.

And two weeks ago, Andrew Carter had to actually start another service because they're running over 400 people each week at Royal City Church there in Englewood, California, which former people may not sound like a whole lot to us, but for Inglewood, California, that is massive.

Like that is unbelievable.

And we've been a part of that journey from the very, very beginning with Andrew Carter.

They got to go to the services, they got to be a part of the prayer team, they got to serve over there.

I'm telling you, if you're looking for a short mission trip, this is the perfect thing.

We take trips all throughout the year to many of our church planners.

It's kind of a Thursday to Sunday type situation.

It'd be a great way for you and for your family to go and be a part of mission work here at United City.

But Andrew Carter, it's amazing to see what's happening.

And they got to be there, particularly on a weekend, that's really, really neat, where they baptize at the Santa Monica Pier, right next to it on the beach, 57 people last Saturday.

57 people.

How amazing is that?

It's amazing to get baptized anywhere.

That would be really cool, though, would it not?

In that location, in that situation that is there.

Andrew Carter is an interesting guy.

He grew up in the foster care system.

Not only did he grow up in the foster care system, he ended up going in and out of it, and it ultimately led him towards substance abuse.

He became addicted to drugs and alcohol.

That ultimately led him to make choices that put him in incarcerated and in prison.

And God saved him.

And God saved him and then called him to plant a church in Inglewood, California.

Just a foster care kid.

Just a drug addict.

Just a prisoner.

And God says, just right.

That's my guy.

And you know what Andrew's having the opportunity to do there in Inglewood, California?

He's getting a chance to reach people just like him.

Folks, what I want you to see is that God doesn't need your ability, He needs your availability.

That's it.

And when He's got that, he can do everything else.

Let's get practical.

Where's God calling you to speak up?

In your family, is it to pray with your spouse out loud?

Is it to have that hard conversation with your teenager?

Is it to reach out to that family member who walked away?

With your lost friends, we're trying to do everything we can to make the cookie be on the bottom shelf for you by having this at the movie series and giving you these gospel conversations leading into it.

For the next four weeks coming up here, we want to give you the opportunity to easily invite someone else to come and be a part of church and to hear the gospel.

So what we're asking you to do is God's calling you.

Are you gonna speak up?

Or you're just gonna hear it and be like, yeah, it's that's a good idea, but it's not for me.

In your sphere, in your life group, meaning you stop showing up, you need to start speaking up in your workplace, stop hiding your faith in your friendships.

Invite someone this week, not someday, speak up when God calls you.

There will be a voice in your ear that tells you this, you are not good enough, and you need to say, I know I'm not good enough, that's why I'm qualified.

Because when God calls, I say yes.

I speak up.

What if you your problem though isn't silence, but it's hypocrisy?

What if you've been speaking, but your life doesn't match what your words say?

It brings me to step two.

For some of you, your next step today is this when God convicts you, listen up.

When God convicts you, listen up.

The book of Amos is nine chapters, eight and three-quarters of the chapters are all fire, judgment, wrath.

God bringing down the hammer, it's intense.

But here's what I want you to see: God is not just angry and mad.

God instead is trying to warn his people, he's trying to tell them, turn from what you are doing so that you don't have to face the consequences that I'm telling you will come.

And the same way I want you to hear me today, that God is not here today trying to give judgment to you, but God is trying to bring conviction to you so that you can escape judgment.

But you gotta listen up.

So as you begin to feel conviction, don't push back and explain it away or think it's for your friend, or think it's for your mom, or think it's for your kid, or think you're for its boyfriend, all the various people, but instead realize God's talking to you.

When God convicts you, you gotta listen up.

Chapter one and two, God begins to judge the other nations that are all around Israel, and Israel's sitting there looking at that and being like, Man, you get them, you get them, you get them, you get them.

And then at the end of chapter two, and like the whole middle and main chunk of the book, he begins now to turn the mirror over to the people of Israel, and he's like, Here's what I see in you.

Chapter five, he points out three different types of Israel's sins that I think I want to ask you to write these things down and see if the mirror pointing back at you, these things don't apply to you too.

First one is this they prioritize possessions over people.

They prioritize possessions over people.

They were building vacation homes, eating the finest food, they were drinking wine by the bowlful, living the dream.

And here's what God says in Amos chapter 5, verse 11.

Amos 5:11

Therefore, because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you've built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them.

You planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.

For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins.

You who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe and turn aside the needy in the gate.

Here's what he's trying to say.

I see how good your life is, but I ain't gonna let you live it.

They were dishonest in their business practices to get rich.

They were exploiting the poor, they were caring about profit over people.

And here's the truth when stuff gets prioritized, people get deprioritized.

We complain about gas prices from our second car when there's people all over the world that have to walk miles to get water.

We upgrade our phones yearly while there's kids.

Who go to bed hungry every night?

If closets full of clothes while refugees arrive with nothing.

You drive past the same homeless guy every single week.

You avoid you avoid eye contact.

Why?

Because if you don't see him, then you don't feel guilty.

Who have you made yourself blind to?

A struggling neighbor?

A drowning coworker?

Here's what God says.

I see it.

And I hate it.

For me, there's a family in our community, and I know.

I know that I can help him.

But I haven't.

I actually really do have a really busy calendar.

That's not it.

It's uncomfortable.

If I just ignore it, my mind goes away.

What I found is that the Lord doesn't let that happen.

What have you tried to rewrite out of your mind that you can't unsee?

What has God shown and brought to you that He wants you to see?

Hey man, those are my people.

Like those are mine.

Those are folks that I care about.

No one else may care about them, and you may not care about them, but I care about them.

It gets worse.

Look at verse 21.

I hate.

I despise your feast.

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 fatten 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, but let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

The mirror is pointed at Israel, and here's what he's pointing out.

They ignored justice while attending church.

They ignored justice while attending church.

And here's what God says in verse 21 I hate, I despise your feast.

Why?

Because their worship didn't change their lives.

What God wants is justice, verse 24.

He wants justice making wrong things right, treating people fairly.

He wants righteousness, right living that flows from right worship.

Here's what happens, though.

We get in a church and we make it all about us.

We start fighting about the carpet color when there's people and families who can't pay rent.

We start wondering about our song and our style and our preferences when there's single moms who need help.

We start arguing about budgets whenever there are widows who sit alone.

We are really good at religious activity.

And please hear me, I don't want it to be said that it is not important for us to gather in here and worship, but you can have the tightest and best harmonies that have ever existed.

And if we walk out of here and we don't care about the people that we come in contact with, God looks at that and he says, I hate it.

I hate it.

Songs without righteousness mean nothing.

Worship without justice is worthless.

Church without compassion is just noise.

We've got a really good production at our church.

We take pride in that.

We believe excellence in all things and all things to the glory of God.

My biggest fear, though, is that you would walk out of here and you would tell somebody about our production and you would instead treat them opposite of the way that God wants us to see them in the first place.

The greatest way that you can help United City, the greatest way that you can be an influence for Jesus, the greatest way for you to be able to be a believer is not to talk about the show, but it's instead for you to live your faith personally with the people that you come in contact with, regardless if they ever walk in these doors.

So make this clear.

If you're posting something on Sunday and you're treating people like trash on Tuesday, stop.

Because at the end of the day, that's what God cares about.

Let me take the third thing.

Third sin.

They live with the Sunday to Monday gap.

A Sunday to Monday gap.

Israel had a gap between the temple and their life.

God called them out for it.

Please hear me.

You can't claim heaven and live like hell.

We raise our hands in worship on Sunday.

We raise our voice in anger on Monday.

We sing about his love on Sunday.

We gossip about his people on Tuesday.

We pray for God's will on Sunday.

We cheat on our taxes on Wednesday.

We take communion on Sunday.

We look at porn on Thursday.

We come with all that we have on a Sunday morning, and then we don't talk about what we did on Friday night as though somehow God doesn't see it.

God calls it hypocrisy.

He hates it.

Let's do an honesty check.

Do you have integrity at work?

Do you cut corners when no one's watching?

Do you show kindness at home?

Are you patient with your spouse or do you snap at them?

Do you live generously?

Are you robbing God?

Don't be robbing God every week and then asking him to bless them.

That's not how it works.

When you leave here today, you're gonna go to a restaurant.

Are you cheap?

God's people should be the most generous people there are.

We should lead the way.

Is your life marked by purity?

Is your internet history something you'd be ashamed of?

What if somebody followed you around with a camera all week long and they just videoed every single thing that you did all the time?

They put it into some AI thing because nobody's got time to watch that film all week.

And then they're gonna basically put it in some AI thing and it's gonna do some sort of deal that's gonna summarize here's your top points and here's your low points from this past week.

If we were to take that of your life and put it up on this screen in front of everybody, would you be okay with it?

Can I just remind you, God sees all of it.

And he doesn't need an AI summary to know what you did.

Here's why this matters.

Amos isn't just warning about personal sin, he's warning about judgment, and Israel didn't listen.

What we see, history shows, is that 30 years after Amos gave this message to this economy that was booming and the military that was booming and the peace that was in the land and King Jeroboam and his leadership and all of those things, the Assyrian army came and destroyed the northern kingdom, gone, completely wiped out.

Why?

Because they wouldn't repent when they had the chance.

God is warning you today.

The question is, will you listen to what he's saying?

You're to repent, which means to change your mind.

More than that, it's agreeing with God about your sin, turning 180 degrees, going a different direction, not just feeling sorry, not just tweaking a few things, but having a hard change which leads to life change.

Acts chapter 3, verse 19 and 20 says, Repent, therefore, and turn back that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus.

Acts 3:19

Times of refreshing.

That's what we want.

That's what we get.

Not condemnation, but refreshing, because God warns you, God doesn't warn you rather to destroy you.

Look at Amos chapter 5.

Amos 5 · chapter mention

I want you to see three different times what he says.

Verse 4, verse 6, verse 14.

Verse 4 reads, For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, seek me and live.

Verse 6, seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire on the house of Joseph and it devour with none to quench it for Bethel.

Verse 14, seek good and not evil, that you may live, and so that the Lord the God of hosts will be with you as you have said.

Here's what God's heart is: his heart is life, his heart is restoration.

So it means we need to listen up when God convicts, and we need to see it as the gift that it is.

It's God saying, I love you way too much to let you keep doing what you're doing.

You want to know when you need to get really scared?

When you stop feeling conviction.

Because the Bible says the ultimate form of judgment of God is not striking you down with lightning and making you stop.

The ultimate form of judgment from God, Romans 1 says, whenever he takes his hand off and he's like, okay.

Good luck with that.

And let you and turns you over to shameful things.

If Amos ended with judgment, it'd be pretty depressing, but it's not.

Look with me in Amos chapter 9, verse 13.

Amos 9:13

It says, Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes, him who sows the seed.

The mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.

I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them.

They shall plant vineyards and drink their va their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.

I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them, says the Lord your God.

After eight chapters of judgment, he ends the book with five verses of hope.

This is the gospel.

We deserve judgment.

Jesus took it, we receive restoration.

God's goal is in judgment, it's restoration.

He doesn't want to destroy you, he wants to redeem you.

He doesn't want to condemn you, he wants to restore you.

He doesn't want to leave you in sin, he wants to transform you.

That's the hope that we have in Jesus.

And this book leaves us with two choices today.

Choice number one, will you speak up?

You gotta stop letting ordinary disqualify you.

Step into what God is calling you to do before you leave.

What's one area that you need to step up and speak up in?

That you know, like, man, I'm just of this, I'm just of that.

God says, I don't care about that, you're just right.

This is what I want you to do.

You speak up.

Others of you, choice number two, will you listen up?

Stop living with the Sunday to Monday gap.

But let worship transform your life, let justice flow and roll in your life before you leave.

Would you identify one area that you need to have repent in?

You you confess it, you make it right, you turn around today.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

We can't wait to see you next week for any of our services at 8 30, 10, 11 30, or Espignol at 1 o'clock.