WEBVTT 00:00:01.690 --> 00:00:05.370 Amos, my guess is a minor prophet that was probably 00:00:05.370 --> 00:00:08.650 not on your devotional, daily devotional bingo 00:00:08.650 --> 00:00:11.990 card. One, a prophet we don't necessarily spend 00:00:11.990 --> 00:00:16.750 a whole lot of time with, but a minor prophet 00:00:16.750 --> 00:00:19.670 who had a very, very tough job. And I'm going 00:00:19.670 --> 00:00:23.449 to set the stage, right? So God himself, probably 00:00:23.449 --> 00:00:26.769 in a way we wouldn't recognize. What if he came 00:00:26.769 --> 00:00:30.649 in today? or last Sunday or our Easter service 00:00:30.649 --> 00:00:36.030 or our candlelight service or whatever, goes 00:00:36.030 --> 00:00:39.009 through our worship service, gets up on the stage 00:00:39.009 --> 00:00:42.770 and says, Munster Church, I hate all of this. 00:00:44.409 --> 00:00:47.990 I don't know how we would take it. I'd probably 00:00:47.990 --> 00:00:50.609 just go fetal, right? As the pastor of the church, 00:00:50.810 --> 00:00:53.590 I'd fall down, start sucking my thumb and go, 00:00:53.689 --> 00:00:55.710 I knew I should have done something else with 00:00:55.710 --> 00:01:00.179 my life, right? How would we as a body take that? 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:04.700 Just let that sit. And if you have courage to 00:01:04.700 --> 00:01:07.260 answer, I know it's aggressive, but that's the 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:09.060 minor prophets. A lot of times they had to go 00:01:09.060 --> 00:01:10.900 in and give a very aggressive message of the 00:01:10.900 --> 00:01:13.060 Lord to the people of Israel, to the Munster 00:01:13.060 --> 00:01:15.959 churches of that day and today. And that's what 00:01:15.959 --> 00:01:18.420 Amos is getting and kind of starting us off with. 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:23.409 What kind of reflection would you have? If after 00:01:23.409 --> 00:01:25.629 I gave the benediction, probably before the band 00:01:25.629 --> 00:01:28.030 played the last song, God just came up and said, 00:01:28.090 --> 00:01:31.709 by the way, I hate all of this. How do you think 00:01:31.709 --> 00:01:35.530 you'd react? Why? Okay, so Nick would be the 00:01:35.530 --> 00:01:37.709 first one to be probably turned to salt. Okay, 00:01:37.769 --> 00:01:40.689 you'd speak up against God. Why? Done. All right. 00:01:40.709 --> 00:01:45.909 No, I don't know. Anyone else? Hurt. Ooh, yeah. 00:01:46.209 --> 00:01:48.390 You can join me on the ground sucking our thumbs. 00:01:49.069 --> 00:01:54.469 Anyone else? Devastated. Okay. Hurt. Multiplied. 00:01:54.530 --> 00:02:01.689 Absolutely. Defensive. Okay. Wow. To the Almighty. 00:02:01.969 --> 00:02:05.510 All right. Father, we pray for Brad. But understand, 00:02:05.909 --> 00:02:08.770 anyone else? Balcony. How would you be feeling? 00:02:08.870 --> 00:02:10.810 You guys probably, I mean, I don't know if he'd 00:02:10.810 --> 00:02:13.129 be looking up to you or just over here, right? 00:02:13.189 --> 00:02:15.909 But some of you probably have already left. But 00:02:15.909 --> 00:02:19.210 in the balcony, one or two, I hate all of this. 00:02:21.160 --> 00:02:23.659 Disappointed, right? Because Mark's the sound 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:25.979 guy. God's probably looking right at him first, 00:02:26.099 --> 00:02:29.939 right? And so understand that what God means 00:02:29.939 --> 00:02:32.439 by this, what Amos had to say this to the people 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:34.960 of Israel, it had nothing to do with the music. 00:02:35.419 --> 00:02:38.900 Evan, you're safe, right? It had nothing to do 00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:43.139 with the building, okay? Building grounds, you're 00:02:43.139 --> 00:02:46.900 safe. It had nothing to do with the sermon length. 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:54.539 I'm still fetal, but I'm safe. Okay? The worship 00:02:54.539 --> 00:02:59.819 itself, it was us, collectively. This is exactly 00:02:59.819 --> 00:03:03.060 what happens in the book of Amos. If Hosea showed 00:03:03.060 --> 00:03:06.639 us a God who pursues wanderers, and Joel showed 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:13.169 us a God who restores what is ruined, Amos shows 00:03:13.169 --> 00:03:17.409 us a God who refuses to be worshipped without 00:03:17.409 --> 00:03:21.310 something specific. And this makes God angry. 00:03:21.490 --> 00:03:26.770 The worship that makes God angry is when we worship 00:03:26.770 --> 00:03:31.250 without justice in our hearts individually and 00:03:31.250 --> 00:03:36.069 collectively. This is the uncomfortable truth 00:03:36.069 --> 00:03:38.650 of the Chesed we're going to learn about today. 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:43.599 God's steadfast love does not tolerate a divided 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:51.080 life. And grace that saves also transforms through 00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:55.400 that division. And Amos forced to ask the dangerous 00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:59.300 question. So we're going to start it today. Right 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:01.620 in the beginning. What if our worship sounds 00:04:01.620 --> 00:04:07.699 faithful, but our lives contradict that worship? 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:13.500 I know, it's heavy. I already warned you. But 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:15.900 let's work through it. So first, who is Amos? 00:04:16.819 --> 00:04:21.120 Amos, minor prophet, God sends an outsider. Amos 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:26.480 7, 14. Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, 00:04:26.620 --> 00:04:29.800 I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:33.220 was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:37.350 Just an average guy. That he was an outsider. 00:04:37.449 --> 00:04:40.410 He did not get that call of prophet, per se. 00:04:40.470 --> 00:04:43.930 He was not from the Levitical line. He really 00:04:43.930 --> 00:04:48.069 had no credentials to go in and speak to Israel. 00:04:48.189 --> 00:04:51.009 But as we've learned, throughout these sermon 00:04:51.009 --> 00:04:53.550 series, God uses the ordinary for the extraordinary. 00:04:54.509 --> 00:04:59.529 Yet, Amos prophesies around 760 BC, during the 00:04:59.529 --> 00:05:03.129 reign of... reign of King Jeroboam II, and at 00:05:03.129 --> 00:05:05.889 this point, the snapshot of Israel economically 00:05:05.889 --> 00:05:11.370 booming, politically secure, but spiritually 00:05:11.370 --> 00:05:16.509 hollow. When you think of a hollowness, whether 00:05:16.509 --> 00:05:19.189 in a tree, what does that mean? If a tree is 00:05:19.189 --> 00:05:23.389 hollow, there is what? Nothing inside, right? 00:05:23.490 --> 00:05:25.810 Though it may look like a tree, it's hollow inside, 00:05:25.930 --> 00:05:30.100 and the fear for hollow trees Is that even a 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:33.120 slight breeze can knock them over. Simple things. 00:05:33.339 --> 00:05:36.060 One of my boys running into it can destroy it. 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:38.680 If it's hollow. That's not asking you guys to 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:43.000 try. Spiritually hollow. In this season of Israel. 00:05:43.300 --> 00:05:45.899 They had the wealthy elites. The borders were 00:05:45.899 --> 00:05:50.060 expanding. Impressive religious festivals. Every 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:53.000 day was like some of our top worship services. 00:05:53.139 --> 00:05:56.879 Whatever that means. And God sends Amos, not 00:05:56.879 --> 00:05:59.660 a trained prophet, but a shepherd, a fig farmer, 00:05:59.819 --> 00:06:03.639 and an outsider from Judah. Why? Because prosperity 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:07.699 has blinded Israel to their sin. Things were 00:06:07.699 --> 00:06:11.819 going so well, they forgot about Yahweh. Something 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:14.560 they've done over and over and over again. And 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:17.259 if we're being honest, something we do constantly. 00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:20.959 When our life stinks, the bank account's in negative, 00:06:21.019 --> 00:06:24.720 we cry out to God. When everything's good, We 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:28.019 tend to forget them. And God's hesed refuses 00:06:28.019 --> 00:06:34.920 to let injustice hide behind religion. Behind 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:37.660 the way that people are talking the talk, walking 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:41.000 the walk. There's a hollowness there. And God 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:45.160 comes in hot. He comes in like a roaring lion. 00:06:45.339 --> 00:06:49.279 Because God will not, has not, will not, and 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:56.019 will never ignore injustice. Hear that. God will 00:06:56.019 --> 00:06:59.980 not ignore injustice. Right? So this is our second 00:06:59.980 --> 00:07:05.540 point. The roaring lion. Amos 1, chapter 2. Sorry. 00:07:05.620 --> 00:07:09.939 Chapter 1, verse 2. And he said, the Lord roars 00:07:09.939 --> 00:07:12.620 from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem. 00:07:12.819 --> 00:07:15.819 The pastors of the shepherds mourn and the top 00:07:15.819 --> 00:07:20.579 of Carmel withers. Right? Mount Carmel. It withers. 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:25.089 This is a picture of God's. Anger. Things are 00:07:25.089 --> 00:07:28.970 not going well behind the scenes. Friends, we 00:07:28.970 --> 00:07:31.949 all have PhDs in this. When things are not going 00:07:31.949 --> 00:07:34.750 well, we know how to make it look that way, whether 00:07:34.750 --> 00:07:38.209 in person or online. We know how to do it. The 00:07:38.209 --> 00:07:40.810 book opens not with comfort, but with a warning. 00:07:40.910 --> 00:07:43.129 Like I've said, minor prophets, get in, do the 00:07:43.129 --> 00:07:48.069 job, get out. He comes in hot. Amos begins by 00:07:48.069 --> 00:07:51.610 announcing judgment on Israel's enemies. Damascus, 00:07:51.610 --> 00:07:55.490 Gaza, Tyre, Edom. Israel cheers. They think, 00:07:55.550 --> 00:07:58.550 another great day in the Lord. Yahweh's got our 00:07:58.550 --> 00:08:00.949 backs. When we remember him, Yahweh's got our 00:08:00.949 --> 00:08:06.589 backs. But Amos isn't done. Amos, yes, calls 00:08:06.589 --> 00:08:09.029 out judgment for all the outsiders, so to speak. 00:08:09.149 --> 00:08:15.180 Then turns right at Israel. I liken this. Maybe 00:08:15.180 --> 00:08:16.959 when you're growing up, you're in a group of 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:20.220 friends that maybe got in trouble about doing 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:24.579 something. I remember me and the guys from the 00:08:24.579 --> 00:08:27.040 neighborhood. We all went to camp together. We 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:31.540 all got in trouble about something, and everyone 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:34.120 was brought in. All the moms and dads were brought 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:37.309 in. I look back on it and, like, all the dads 00:08:37.309 --> 00:08:39.230 huddled up to see who was going to get, like, 00:08:39.250 --> 00:08:41.370 the first licks in. And they just, they hit us 00:08:41.370 --> 00:08:43.929 with, we're disappointed, never do this again, 00:08:44.129 --> 00:08:47.250 all this kind of stuff. And then you knew it 00:08:47.250 --> 00:08:50.950 wasn't done. Because, yes, everyone was together. 00:08:51.710 --> 00:08:53.450 But, Kyle, what do you think it was like when 00:08:53.450 --> 00:08:58.549 we all got to our own homes? Terrifying, right? 00:08:58.809 --> 00:09:00.909 This is coming from a boy house. He's been through 00:09:00.909 --> 00:09:04.429 this, I'm sure. It was very different when mom 00:09:04.429 --> 00:09:07.149 and dad got us alone. We didn't see Jeff after 00:09:07.149 --> 00:09:10.169 that. Just kidding. No, that didn't happen. But 00:09:10.169 --> 00:09:13.029 understand that all of a sudden, Israel turns 00:09:13.029 --> 00:09:18.049 to his own. This is different than mom and dad 00:09:18.049 --> 00:09:20.629 going, I don't care what your friends do. I'm 00:09:20.629 --> 00:09:26.429 not their parents, right? Absolutely. All of 00:09:26.429 --> 00:09:29.129 a sudden, Israel gets brought home. And Amos 00:09:29.129 --> 00:09:34.129 opens up. The cheering stops. Because Israel's 00:09:34.129 --> 00:09:37.909 sins are now completely splayed before them. 00:09:37.970 --> 00:09:40.490 And they're repeated throughout Amos. Israel's 00:09:40.490 --> 00:09:44.210 sins. Exploiting the poor. Manipulating the courts. 00:09:44.409 --> 00:09:47.950 Hoarding wealth. Crushing the needy. Living in 00:09:47.950 --> 00:09:53.710 luxury while others suffer. Leave that up. This 00:09:53.710 --> 00:09:58.879 is not accidental sin. This is all lifestyle. 00:10:00.379 --> 00:10:05.039 Israel forgot their center. They lost who was 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:07.659 the one that created them and called them to 00:10:07.659 --> 00:10:12.740 a people who gave them a book of rules that spoke 00:10:12.740 --> 00:10:16.120 against doing all of this. But much like us, 00:10:16.220 --> 00:10:21.039 we are Israelites of 2026. We fall into what 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:26.220 I'm going to call systemic. or systemic injustice. 00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:32.279 This is Micah, right? Do justly, love mercy, 00:10:32.460 --> 00:10:34.899 walk humbly. Sorry, Micah, that's weird. I have 00:10:34.899 --> 00:10:36.480 Micah as one running squeeze, but there is a 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:40.039 prophet Micah, right? Do justly, love mercy, 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:43.639 walk humbly with our God. You come to me, Pastor, 00:10:43.940 --> 00:10:45.799 what's the best way for me to live my life? I'm 00:10:45.799 --> 00:10:48.460 going to start there. First, I'm going to start 00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:49.820 with love the Lord your God with all your heart, 00:10:49.860 --> 00:10:51.399 soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as 00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:54.220 yourself. The greatest of these, right? Jesus 00:10:54.220 --> 00:10:57.220 says that. Everything hangs on that. Well, how 00:10:57.220 --> 00:10:59.220 do I walk that out? Do justly, love mercy, walk 00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:00.879 humbly with your God. Well, how do I do that 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:05.580 practically? Don't do this. Friends, read this 00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:08.779 over. Burn this into your mind. Again, not accidental 00:11:08.779 --> 00:11:13.580 sin. Systemic injustice. This is the sins of 00:11:13.580 --> 00:11:17.759 the heart and the sins of the body. Are you starting 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:20.289 to see why God might hate the worship? Because 00:11:20.289 --> 00:11:23.230 people have the audacity to come for 90 minutes 00:11:23.230 --> 00:11:27.330 maybe, one day a week, and lift up praises, sing 00:11:27.330 --> 00:11:29.990 the songs, pretend to listen, all or whatever, 00:11:30.250 --> 00:11:36.049 yet go out and live like this. I know we joke, 00:11:36.070 --> 00:11:37.529 and we haven't made them in a while, but you 00:11:37.529 --> 00:11:39.870 have the Munster Church bumper sticker. And I've 00:11:39.870 --> 00:11:41.990 always said, if you drive like a jerk, please 00:11:41.990 --> 00:11:44.889 don't put one of these on your car. Okay? That's 00:11:44.889 --> 00:11:48.720 not a good witness. Right? And if for some reason 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:51.039 you find yourself, you know, giving everybody 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:53.200 the pinky as you drive, we should probably have 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.519 a conversation, okay? Because that's not a good 00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:57.679 thing regardless of what stickers you have on, 00:11:57.779 --> 00:12:00.259 you know, all of those kind of things. But please 00:12:00.259 --> 00:12:03.700 don't do that. Amos makes this painfully clear. 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:08.720 Religious activity will never cancel out moral 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:12.379 failure. So it makes us different than the Catholics. 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:15.700 It makes us different than the understanding 00:12:15.700 --> 00:12:18.059 of church history that if I do in the church, 00:12:18.259 --> 00:12:20.539 it will magically erase what I do in the world. 00:12:20.980 --> 00:12:23.320 Jesus comes to say no, and guess what? It was 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:25.000 even before Jesus. It was all throughout the 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:28.480 Old Testament. Because God makes it very clear 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:35.320 in Amos 5, I hate your feasts. Now that might 00:12:35.320 --> 00:12:39.259 not slap as much as it should in 2026, right? 00:12:39.340 --> 00:12:41.120 Because they're like, I hate your feasts. I don't 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:43.000 feast. You hate my Thanksgiving, God? Great. 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:46.820 Right? No, this is not what he means. Jump into 00:12:46.820 --> 00:12:50.000 Amos 5. When worship is empty, Amos 5, 21 to 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:54.710 23. I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take 00:12:54.710 --> 00:12:57.509 no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though 00:12:57.509 --> 00:13:00.129 you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, 00:13:00.289 --> 00:13:03.009 I will not accept them. And the peace offerings 00:13:03.009 --> 00:13:05.809 of your fattened animals, I will not look upon 00:13:05.809 --> 00:13:08.870 them. Take away from me the noise of your songs 00:13:08.870 --> 00:13:13.289 to the melody of your harps. I will not listen. 00:13:13.490 --> 00:13:18.139 Micah, leave that up. It's pretty direct. But 00:13:18.139 --> 00:13:21.399 let's kind of do a little bit of a 2026 kind 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:25.080 of commentary on some of this. I hate, I despise. 00:13:25.700 --> 00:13:27.899 You can get that. You understand what that is. 00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:29.679 That's the same in the Hebrew as it is in the 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:32.440 English, right? I hate. The funny thing is, is 00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:35.759 the Hebrew kind of foundation for I hate and 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:39.019 I despise. The way Hebrew is written, it's more 00:13:39.019 --> 00:13:41.720 in kind of the visual and the auditory in that 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:44.700 sense, right? It's hard to really find thesaurus 00:13:44.700 --> 00:13:47.460 and dictionaries for the Hebrew per se. It's 00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:50.779 more of kind of the experiencing the words, especially 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:53.700 learning it. It's an experience, right? And now 00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:58.320 Evan goes fetal. But understand, I hate, I despise. 00:13:58.340 --> 00:14:01.799 You should really look at this as God, as he's 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:05.309 saying it, he's turning his back on it. I'm not 00:14:05.309 --> 00:14:09.389 even going to engage it. Those of you that are 00:14:09.389 --> 00:14:12.250 married, you're in maybe an argument, heated 00:14:12.250 --> 00:14:16.250 or not, with your spouse and you just went through 00:14:16.250 --> 00:14:19.389 this laundry list of things and your spouse just 00:14:19.389 --> 00:14:22.389 turns around and walks away. Don't look at your 00:14:22.389 --> 00:14:25.340 spouse right now and make it weird. How are you 00:14:25.340 --> 00:14:28.259 feeling when that happens? Maybe you've prepped 00:14:28.259 --> 00:14:30.139 this. You've talked to yourself about this in 00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:32.379 the car. You've talked to maybe some friends. 00:14:32.539 --> 00:14:36.500 You've maybe emailed me about it and I pretended 00:14:36.500 --> 00:14:39.879 to write you back. All of the things. And you 00:14:39.879 --> 00:14:43.139 give this monologue and you know you have it. 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:46.700 And that person just, bloop, and walks away. 00:14:47.019 --> 00:14:52.220 How are you feeling? Careful now, you're in the 00:14:52.220 --> 00:14:58.500 church. How are you feeling? Frustrated. Okay, 00:14:58.620 --> 00:15:00.279 let's start there, because that's really down 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:02.639 here, I feel like. Good answer. You got the ball 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:05.500 rolling, Doug. Again, you practiced this. You 00:15:05.500 --> 00:15:08.480 knew you got them. This is gotcha marriage stuff, 00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:11.200 right? Like, oh, man, after I just light them 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:13.059 up, they're going to want to sleep on the couch 00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:17.120 for a year. Am I overdoing it? Maybe. I don't 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:22.600 know. How else are you feeling? Angry? Frustrated? 00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:25.700 Come on, open it up, friends. Those have been 00:15:25.700 --> 00:15:31.360 married for decades. How are you feeling? Rejected. 00:15:32.179 --> 00:15:41.100 Yeah. Powerless. Interesting. Disrespected. Ooh, 00:15:41.139 --> 00:15:43.539 said. Said with the voice of Randy DeVries. That 00:15:43.539 --> 00:15:49.919 put chills in me. Wow. Okay. Whew. All the things. 00:15:50.730 --> 00:15:54.070 You're also feeling injustice, aren't you? That's 00:15:54.070 --> 00:15:56.929 exactly how God's feeling. By all the stuff. 00:15:57.269 --> 00:16:01.809 I hate, I despise your feasts, meaning your gatherings. 00:16:01.889 --> 00:16:05.149 This isn't couples club, okay? That's a great 00:16:05.149 --> 00:16:06.789 thing. This isn't what he's talking about. All 00:16:06.789 --> 00:16:09.809 the things you're doing for me, your feasts, 00:16:09.909 --> 00:16:13.289 your solemn assemblies, your burnt offerings, 00:16:13.470 --> 00:16:17.370 your grain offerings, your peace offerings, even 00:16:17.370 --> 00:16:23.679 the noise of your songs. Even the harp. I hate 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:29.519 and despise them because of your heart. He's 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:31.960 cutting right there. One of the most shocking 00:16:31.960 --> 00:16:34.539 passages in all of scripture. God rejects the 00:16:34.539 --> 00:16:38.320 sacrifices, the songs, the assemblies. Why? Because 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:42.299 worship had become disconnected to following 00:16:42.299 --> 00:16:55.389 his word. I liken this to verbal disrespect to 00:16:55.389 --> 00:16:58.190 Carrie and I, yet their rooms are immaculate. 00:17:00.389 --> 00:17:04.329 At that point, I don't even care if you're going 00:17:04.329 --> 00:17:06.849 to be disrespectful. I don't care about your 00:17:06.849 --> 00:17:08.789 room. I don't care about what you think you can 00:17:08.789 --> 00:17:13.619 show me because I know your heart. This is exactly 00:17:13.619 --> 00:17:16.759 what God is mad about. God is not anti -worship. 00:17:16.900 --> 00:17:22.420 And God is not anti -worship. He's anti -hypocrisy. 00:17:22.539 --> 00:17:25.440 What he's calling out is their heart. They are 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:29.359 hypocrites. We are hypocrites. And he's calling 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:34.079 out the church. Why? Because it's become disconnected. 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:38.460 Worship does not shape how we treat people. A 00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:41.099 worship that does not shape how we treat people 00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:47.119 isn't worship. It's a show. It's fake. And God 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:50.500 is doubling down. Unfortunately, this is a hard 00:17:50.500 --> 00:17:53.660 look at Chesed. This is Chesed turned inside 00:17:53.660 --> 00:17:58.220 out. Covenant love for God must produce covenant 00:17:58.220 --> 00:18:03.099 faithfulness towards others. God covenants with 00:18:03.099 --> 00:18:06.119 you. You understand what that means? That love 00:18:06.119 --> 00:18:09.160 is there, not as a contract, but as a covenant. 00:18:09.220 --> 00:18:12.559 How dare we love a world with a contract love 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:16.480 then? We are learning nothing from God's love. 00:18:16.619 --> 00:18:20.420 Because justice, let it roll down, Amos said. 00:18:20.500 --> 00:18:26.099 This is the heart of Amos, Amos 5 .24. But let 00:18:26.099 --> 00:18:29.000 justice roll down like the waters, and righteousness 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:34.559 like an ever -flowing stream. Our righteousness, 00:18:34.819 --> 00:18:37.519 our justice, talking the talk, walking the walk, 00:18:37.579 --> 00:18:40.259 having the heart walk that out and talk that 00:18:40.259 --> 00:18:42.119 out too is exactly what we're talking about. 00:18:42.259 --> 00:18:48.359 Justice is not optional charity. Justice isn't, 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:52.579 oh, I gave that homeless person a dollar. This 00:18:52.579 --> 00:18:55.619 is living a life of justice. This is covenant 00:18:55.619 --> 00:18:59.980 faithfulness lived out publicly. How you live 00:18:59.980 --> 00:19:04.269 your life. In scripture, we see justice and righteousness. 00:19:04.410 --> 00:19:06.150 We're going to break it down this morning, okay? 00:19:06.450 --> 00:19:10.089 Justice, righteousness. Let's go to the next 00:19:10.089 --> 00:19:14.289 one. Justice is giving people what God says they 00:19:14.289 --> 00:19:18.150 are due. Righteousness is living in right relationship 00:19:18.150 --> 00:19:23.009 with God and neighbor. Together, they are the 00:19:23.009 --> 00:19:26.690 visible fruit of chesed. This is how the world 00:19:26.690 --> 00:19:30.849 tries to understand chesed through us. Ooh, that 00:19:30.849 --> 00:19:33.369 church, they have decent, good worship, 90 minutes, 00:19:33.609 --> 00:19:37.410 a sermon, okay? He won't put you to sleep, like, 00:19:37.490 --> 00:19:40.549 whatever. But then they go out and live life 00:19:40.549 --> 00:19:43.789 terribly towards people. They're all about themselves. 00:19:45.009 --> 00:19:47.430 They want their pound of flesh. They don't forgive. 00:19:47.990 --> 00:19:51.630 They forget the needy. They look down on the 00:19:51.630 --> 00:19:54.829 widow and the orphan, all the things that the 00:19:54.829 --> 00:19:58.329 Scriptures tell us to do opposite. That's why 00:19:58.329 --> 00:20:02.789 grace... must produce justice. That's where we're 00:20:02.789 --> 00:20:08.690 going next. Grace must produce justice. The meaning 00:20:08.690 --> 00:20:12.069 behind this is you have been shown grace. How 00:20:12.069 --> 00:20:16.430 dare you not show others grace? Well, pastor, 00:20:16.549 --> 00:20:20.150 they really hurt me. Okay? And guess what? If 00:20:20.150 --> 00:20:22.390 you are perfect in the situation, then you can 00:20:22.390 --> 00:20:24.730 cast all the judgment in the world. Trick question. 00:20:25.309 --> 00:20:29.519 None of us are. If we've been shown grace, we 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:34.519 must show grace. Because grace produces justice. 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:36.359 This is where the canons of Dort are going to 00:20:36.359 --> 00:20:40.359 tie these two truths together. Grace 101. We 00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:45.140 are saved by grace alone. Right? Head 3 and 4, 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:50.160 line 3. Humanity is incapable of good apart from 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:52.789 regeneration. You don't know what good living 00:20:52.789 --> 00:20:55.309 is. I don't know what good living is without 00:20:55.309 --> 00:20:58.609 the Holy Spirit at work in my life, without Jesus 00:20:58.609 --> 00:21:03.470 as my Lord. One, seven, salvation rests entirely 00:21:03.470 --> 00:21:09.930 on God's sovereign grace. We're going to unpack 00:21:09.930 --> 00:21:13.509 that with high school today, that we are saved 00:21:13.509 --> 00:21:17.150 by grace alone. Salvation rests entirely on God's 00:21:17.150 --> 00:21:21.519 sovereign grace. You've been shown grace. We 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:24.480 must show grace to people. Israel's problem was 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:28.460 not in worship forms, but in the unregenerated 00:21:28.460 --> 00:21:33.140 hearts hiding behind religion. I've been shown 00:21:33.140 --> 00:21:34.920 grace. I'm going to worship the grace giver. 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:37.859 But I'm going to demand my pound of flesh every 00:21:37.859 --> 00:21:40.059 other day of the week. Then you don't get it. 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:48.140 Grace 201. Grace always produces fruit. 3, 4, 00:21:48.220 --> 00:21:51.839 11 through 12. God renews the will, making people 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:58.119 willing and able to live in obedience. Your best 00:21:58.119 --> 00:22:00.579 understanding of grace in your life is showing 00:22:00.579 --> 00:22:04.460 grace to others and obeying God's word. Okay, 00:22:04.500 --> 00:22:07.279 pastor, we get it. We're terrible people, right? 00:22:07.380 --> 00:22:09.680 How do we walk this out? The nice thing is I'm 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:13.400 a terrible person too, and we all have received 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:18.680 grace. So we must live. with grace -colored glasses. 00:22:19.319 --> 00:22:21.539 Now that doesn't mean you don't hold people accountable. 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:23.619 That doesn't mean you don't ask for forgiveness 00:22:23.619 --> 00:22:26.440 when you fall and when you sin. But especially 00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:29.759 in the church, no matter how badly we've been 00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:31.799 hurt, you've heard me say before, I'll say it 00:22:31.799 --> 00:22:34.099 again, if you're in Christ, I'm in Christ, and 00:22:34.099 --> 00:22:37.259 we have conflict, we can't come to resolution, 00:22:37.539 --> 00:22:42.490 restoration, reconciliation. We can come to that 00:22:42.490 --> 00:22:45.630 if we're in Christ. Yeah, we may not be BFFs 00:22:45.630 --> 00:22:47.910 afterwards. We may not be on each other's Christmas 00:22:47.910 --> 00:22:51.250 card list, and that's okay. But there is grace 00:22:51.250 --> 00:22:58.069 found in faith. Let's pause here for one second. 00:22:59.930 --> 00:23:03.369 What happens when they really hurt you? What 00:23:03.369 --> 00:23:06.250 happens when you really fell, when I really fell, 00:23:06.369 --> 00:23:11.250 when we are in the pit of it? It's hard to accept 00:23:11.250 --> 00:23:16.569 because we don't think we're worthy of it. Friends, 00:23:16.569 --> 00:23:20.509 Christ didn't go to the cross for no reason. 00:23:21.349 --> 00:23:24.829 He went to the cross not because we've done so 00:23:24.829 --> 00:23:27.470 many great things, but because the sin was so 00:23:27.470 --> 00:23:30.869 great and we couldn't save ourselves. He went 00:23:30.869 --> 00:23:33.910 to the cross. While we were still sinners, Christ 00:23:33.910 --> 00:23:37.769 died for us. For the wages of sin is death. And 00:23:37.769 --> 00:23:40.230 that was... A covenant none of us could walk 00:23:40.230 --> 00:23:45.710 out ourselves. You have received grace and forgiveness. 00:23:45.910 --> 00:23:48.490 I have received grace and forgiveness. And as 00:23:48.490 --> 00:23:50.910 we declared in worship today, he remembers your 00:23:50.910 --> 00:23:55.170 sin no more when that grace, when that forgiveness, 00:23:55.430 --> 00:24:00.730 when that confession really happens. God goes, 00:24:00.750 --> 00:24:08.259 you've been forgiven. Walk as one forgiven. There's 00:24:08.259 --> 00:24:10.579 a lot of depth to the canons of Dort. And the 00:24:10.579 --> 00:24:13.019 canons reject two things that our society loves 00:24:13.019 --> 00:24:15.819 and even the church does subscribe to in a false 00:24:15.819 --> 00:24:19.200 teaching kind of way. Moralism, the understanding 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:22.079 of earning salvation by works. The canons of 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:24.259 Dort helps us understand that that's bad theology. 00:24:24.259 --> 00:24:27.339 It's a bad way to live life. Because what's going 00:24:27.339 --> 00:24:30.539 to stop you from earning your way to God? Friends, 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:32.940 though we may want it, none of us want that job. 00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:35.500 You don't want to be the creator and sustainer 00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:38.369 of the universe. I don't like going to Aldi by 00:24:38.369 --> 00:24:40.769 myself and making those decisions. Why in the 00:24:40.769 --> 00:24:43.309 world would I want to have to do that for everybody 00:24:43.309 --> 00:24:51.769 in the world? So it's not a moralism thing. Antinomialism. 00:24:52.410 --> 00:24:55.690 You're welcome. Right? What is that? That is 00:24:55.690 --> 00:25:00.450 claiming grace without transformation. That's 00:25:00.450 --> 00:25:03.529 being a Christian fraud. I'm not even going to 00:25:03.529 --> 00:25:06.710 put, that's just being a fraud of faith. To say, 00:25:06.829 --> 00:25:09.650 I have been given, I have been forgiven, I've 00:25:09.650 --> 00:25:12.549 been given grace. Christ died for me. His blood 00:25:12.549 --> 00:25:16.789 shed. I'm whiter than snow. But there's no life 00:25:16.789 --> 00:25:21.529 change. Everything has stayed the same. Then 00:25:21.529 --> 00:25:26.490 friend, you've been washed by nothing. Amos stamps 00:25:26.490 --> 00:25:29.329 firmly in Reformed theology. I love it. And maybe 00:25:29.329 --> 00:25:31.130 you'll take some time and read Amos this week. 00:25:31.769 --> 00:25:35.640 Grace that does not reshape how you live. is 00:25:35.640 --> 00:25:38.720 not biblical grace. It's not the grace of Christ. 00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:42.680 Because the grace of Christ changes everything. 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:47.319 Even in those deep, dark pits of despair. Even 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:50.299 when that relationship, that marriage, that whatever 00:25:50.299 --> 00:25:53.660 is pretty much over. There is grace that can 00:25:53.660 --> 00:25:56.259 restore. It may not be restored to what it once 00:25:56.259 --> 00:25:58.640 was, but it's going to be restored to what it 00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:03.859 is in the Lord. How do we walk this out? This 00:26:03.859 --> 00:26:06.240 is a tough one, isn't it? Because it's convicting 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:09.559 every part of our being. How do we walk this 00:26:09.559 --> 00:26:11.759 out? What does this hesed in action look like? 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:14.140 What is Amos calling out for us today? First, 00:26:14.500 --> 00:26:18.980 examine the gap. I use that word specifically. 00:26:19.460 --> 00:26:23.619 Examine the gap between your worship and your 00:26:23.619 --> 00:26:25.380 life. I'm going to double down. And your life 00:26:25.380 --> 00:26:27.839 online. Because unfortunately, those two rarely 00:26:27.839 --> 00:26:33.710 are the same. Examine the gap. Is it that much 00:26:33.710 --> 00:26:37.329 or is it a Grand Canyon's worth? Either way, 00:26:37.390 --> 00:26:42.029 it's bad. Does your songs match your systems 00:26:42.029 --> 00:26:46.089 in your life? Do your prayers match your practices 00:26:46.089 --> 00:26:52.130 day in and day out? Two, justice begins with 00:26:52.130 --> 00:26:58.390 seeing people. Really seeing people. Not how 00:26:58.390 --> 00:27:01.400 you want to see them. Not pretending you see 00:27:01.400 --> 00:27:03.619 them, but actually seeing them. Chesed requires 00:27:03.619 --> 00:27:08.059 noticing the vulnerable, listening to the unheard, 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:11.680 and refusing to benefit from systems that harm 00:27:11.680 --> 00:27:14.319 others. It's exactly what Israel turned into. 00:27:14.940 --> 00:27:17.440 We're going to benefit from all the good things, 00:27:17.619 --> 00:27:20.839 but we're going to forget the nobodies. We're 00:27:20.839 --> 00:27:23.680 going to forget the widows and the orphans. We're 00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:26.759 not going to live out justice -filled lives. 00:27:30.250 --> 00:27:32.569 This ties to that third one, and then I'm going 00:27:32.569 --> 00:27:36.109 to hit it pretty hard right now in 2026. The 00:27:36.109 --> 00:27:39.569 church must be a place where justice flows. That 00:27:39.569 --> 00:27:43.309 second point and that third point is not political 00:27:43.309 --> 00:27:47.509 ideology. If right away what I just said about 00:27:47.509 --> 00:27:50.390 the vulnerable makes you uncomfortable politically, 00:27:50.609 --> 00:27:55.069 stop worshiping at the political altar. This 00:27:55.069 --> 00:27:58.549 is not what we're talking about. Yet we're seeing 00:27:58.549 --> 00:28:01.769 it in our world today. And we need to respond 00:28:01.769 --> 00:28:05.009 the way God wants us to respond. This is not 00:28:05.009 --> 00:28:08.690 social posturing. We've got to look like we're 00:28:08.690 --> 00:28:10.910 the best church on Ridge Road. No, we don't. 00:28:10.910 --> 00:28:15.869 Who cares? This is gospel -shaped justice rooted 00:28:15.869 --> 00:28:18.289 in God's love. Because at the end of the day, 00:28:18.349 --> 00:28:21.470 you know who you are. And you know you did not 00:28:21.470 --> 00:28:26.039 save yourself. I did not save myself. I didn't 00:28:26.039 --> 00:28:30.319 climb myself out of the pit. God reached down 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:34.680 in his grace, pulled me out, and gave me a form 00:28:34.680 --> 00:28:39.319 and a future, and he gave me a father that disciplines 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:43.740 me when I disrespect, when I disobey, and when 00:28:43.740 --> 00:28:48.259 I dishonor, and loves me through those times. 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:52.970 Fourth. Ultimately, Jesus is the fulfillment 00:28:52.970 --> 00:28:56.190 Amos is pointing towards. When Israel failed, 00:28:56.950 --> 00:29:00.009 guess what? Jesus lived the perfect justice. 00:29:00.390 --> 00:29:04.890 Jesus embodied the hesed. Jesus bore all of the 00:29:04.890 --> 00:29:08.869 injustices, all of the jokes that we tend to 00:29:08.869 --> 00:29:14.309 live out. Jesus bore those on the cross. Grace 00:29:14.309 --> 00:29:19.779 does not excuse injustice. Grace redeems. injustice, 00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:24.819 so we can live differently. Let's bring it home. 00:29:24.839 --> 00:29:28.759 Let's land this plane. When love takes shape, 00:29:29.119 --> 00:29:33.259 Hosea taught us that God's hesed pursues us. 00:29:33.380 --> 00:29:37.000 Joel taught us that God's hesed restores us. 00:29:37.059 --> 00:29:39.920 Take this with you today. Amos teaches us why 00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:45.799 God's hesed is so great that our lives can reflect 00:29:45.799 --> 00:29:50.990 that love and be forever different. Chesed is 00:29:50.990 --> 00:29:54.609 not the abstract. It's not out there in the cosmos 00:29:54.609 --> 00:29:57.329 for us not to understand. Chesed has weight. 00:29:57.509 --> 00:30:02.130 Chesed has shape. Chesed has consequences. We 00:30:02.130 --> 00:30:04.750 need to live this out the best, most biblical 00:30:04.750 --> 00:30:09.329 way we can. So let the justice roll in your life. 00:30:09.769 --> 00:30:12.950 But remember, it starts here. It doesn't start 00:30:12.950 --> 00:30:15.309 by pointing everywhere else. It starts inside. 00:30:15.829 --> 00:30:20.319 Let justice roll. Not because it saves us, but 00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:25.140 because we've already been saved. And that makes 00:30:25.140 --> 00:30:26.759 a difference. Let's pray.