ltci chapel - 7/08/2011 - amos 5

Amos 5:1-6

Sunday 7 August 2011

Hear this word, Israel, this lament I take up concerning you: 2 “Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again, deserted in her own land, with no one to lift her up.” 3 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Israel: “Your city that marches out a thousand strong will have only a hundred left; your town that marches out a hundred strong will have only ten left.”


4 This is what the LORD says to Israel: “Seek me and live; 5 do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.” 6 Seek the LORD and live, or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire; it will devour them, and Bethel will have no one to quench it.


The Rebuke

PurityDependence

Passion...and much more - lost


Seek the Lordandlive

Amos 5:4, 6

Their, and our, Response


OT and NT words for "seek" mean:

to seek the face of God;

to desire;to seek earnestly;

to crave;to pursue.

Seeking the Lord means seeking his

presence


Oh give thanks to the LORD;call upon his name;

make known his deeds among the peoples!Sing to him, sing praises to him;

tell of all his wondrous works!Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those whoseek the LORD rejoice!

Seek the LORD and his strength;seek his presence continually!

Psalm 105:1-4


...you will seek the LORD your God and you

will find him, if you search after him with all

your heart and with all your soul.

Deut. 4:28


If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things

that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of

God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things

that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is

hidden with Christ in God.Col 3:1-3


Our (failing) Response

Never starting

Giving upWe don’t

know God’s desire


Ask and it will be given to you;seek and you will find;

knock and the door will be opened to you.Matt 7:7

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

Isaiah 55:6...devote your heart and soul

to seeking the LORD your God.1 Chron 22:19


By myself I can do nothing; I judge

only as I hear, and my judgment is

just, for I seek not to please myself

but him who sent me.

John 5:30


The Remedy

repentseek God every

dayread the Bible

pray


set your heart upon him

listen ask for the Holy Spirit


"God does nothing except in response to

believing prayer."

John Wesley


Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you

have received it, and it will be yours. And when you

stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone,

forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may

forgive you your sins.”


“One day George Mueller began praying for five of his friends. After many months, one of them came to the Lord. Ten years later,

two others were converted. It took 25 years before the fourth man was saved.

Mueller persevered in prayer until his death for the fifth friend, and throughout those 52 years he never gave up hoping that he

would accept Christ! His faith was rewarded, for soon after Mueller’s funeral

the last one was saved.”


Faced with a pile of problems, we may say with

our lips that only prayer can solve them, yet we talk more

than pray, worry more than pray, and scheme more than

pray. In sum, we put everything before prayer;

Watchman Nee


The Reward

God


What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have

lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not

having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith

in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know

Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his

sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection

from the dead.


Intimacy with God and the fullest fellowship and

partnership with Him comes as you desire

and seek to know Him, His plans, His

will and His ways. Prayer and spending time with God is all about a desire and

passion for GodAnonymous


Seeking the Lord means seeking his presence.

“Presence” is a common translation of the

Hebrew word “face.” Literally, we are to seek

his “face.” But this is the Hebraic way of

having access to God. To be before his face is to

be in his presence.John Piper


"Don't seek God's hand; seek his face.

Don't seek God's face; seek God's heart."

God’s hand = God at workGod’s face = God loving me.

God as he is. God’s heart =God's heart for

Others, what he values, loves, hates, etc.


Faced with a pile of problems, we may say with

our lips that only prayer can solve them, yet we talk more

than pray, worry more than pray, and scheme more than

pray. In sum, we put everything before prayer; other things are placed in

prominent positions while prayer is relegated to last

place; it is the only thing which is not so important.

Watchman Nee


ltci chapel - 7/08/2011 - amos 5

Spiritual

face of god

sovereign lord

lord meansseeking

right hand of god

failing responseneverstarting

dont knowgodsdesiresunday

rebuke puritydependencepassion

muchmore lostsunday