May 23, 2021

MAJOR ON THE MINORS

May 23, 2021

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

 

Do you recall learning “cause and effect” phrases as a young person? Perhaps you recall “a rolling stone gathers no moss,” or “you reap what you sow.” Can you share a memory?

Today and next Sunday we will be looking at the twelve “Minor Prophets,” as we finish reading the last few books of the Old Testament. As we continue this journey of reading through the Bible in six months, we find the warnings of these prophets could have been spoken recently in any area of the world and the messages would have been just as relevant as they were nearly a few thousand years ago. This Sunday we will concentrate on Amos, followed by key verses from Hosea, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. Each of these men warned the people to seek the Lord God in order to avoid destruction!

Focal Passage: The Book of Amos

            God Calls Us to Be Holy and Punishes Our Sin

He calls us to listen

  • Read Amos 5:1a. Even though Amos was calling the house of Israel to listen to what he was saying, who, then and now, was/is asking us to listen? What are some of the distractions that assault our senses from the time we wake each day, causing us to possibly overlook the voice of God?
  • How can we develop the habit (or discipline) to “listen” for God during our time of prayer? Read Isaiah 48:12-13. Who was speaking in this passage? Who was He speaking to?
  • We want God to listen to us. How can we develop the habit of quietness when we desire Him to speak to us?

There are always devastating consequences to our sin

  • Read Amos 5:2 What were some of the heinous sins that God was going to punish Israel for? What hope did she have in this verse? Read Romans 3:23. Are we all under the same condemnation?
  • If a believer continues in a lifestyle of sin, how does his become desensitized to it? (De“sin”sitized!) What will eventually happen?
  • Read Job 4:8, Psalm 126:5, and Proverbs 22:8a. What do each of these verses promise us?

But He never leaves us without hope

  • Read Amos 5:4. How did Amos finish the scathing warning of coming judgment? Why did God give them hope if they would repent? How is this like Jonah as he preached in Nineveh?
  • Read Hebrews 2:3a, Rom. 6:23, and Psa. 32:2a. How do any of us have hope in this world? Are we passionate about taking this story of a living hope to a lost world around us? What are some ways we can do that if we’re just one person?

 But we must obey

  • Read Amos 5:6. What is the very important word in this verse? Why? If you personalize the verse with your family name and community, would you be honest with yourself as to which side of the “or” you are currently living on?
  • Read Romans 6:16. Is obedience a choice for believers? Read 1 John 2:3. Again, is obedience a choice for a believer?
  • Read Colossians 1:21-23. What will Jesus do that will bring Him glory as we stand before God? What will you have to offer Him from your days on this earth?

Close

The warnings of these prophets—ordinary men who were called by God to proclaim judgment was coming—are as important in this day in which we live as they were in the days long ago. Our world is a mass of confusion with most countries divided down the middle between those who desire moral values and godly living and those who live the motto of the ending of the book of Judges, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

What can we do? How can we change the world? It is so easy to feel we are alone in our thinking, and let despair overtake us. We look at our past and feel burdened with the failures we recall; we look at the future and the way seems unclear, the problems seem too big to handle and the help we see insufficient; we look at the present and are filled with fear of the next step. It’s easier to stay within our comfort zone, be silent, keep from making waves, and stay away from the news. But is it right?

Is that the life Jesus called us to live in Matthew 28? Hardly. The apostles, certainly, could have easily gone back to fishing. Few of them would have envisioned a death of martyrdom—until James was beheaded (Acts 12) and it “pleased the Jews” [religious leaders]. God does not want us to live afraid of men, either. Although we never foresaw a world where Christians are so hated, it is time for us to put fear aside and stand up; put our past behind us and remember all our sins were hung on the cross (Col. 2:11-15). The present day is a gift to us from God, that we should “rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day the Lord has made!” (Psa. 118:24). The future? There is only one way to handle it: stay in the Word, reading and memorizing, engrafting and meditating, until it is deep in your soul, ready to be a “lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path” (Psa. 119:105), so that you don’t sin. Love Him, talk to Him, pray to Him, obey Him, and LISTEN to Him! It may be a still, small voice, or it may be thunder. Be ready! 

Key Verses From the other Minor Prophets:

  • Hosea 5:15: “I will depart and return to My place until they recognize their guilt and seek My face; they will search for Me in their distress.”
  • Joel 2:12-13: “Even now—this is the Lord’s declaration—turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger; abounding in faithful love, and He relents from sending disaster.”
  • Obadiah 1:3-4: “Your arrogant heart has deceived you, you who live in clefts of the rock, in your home on the heights, who say to yourself, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you seem to soar like an eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down. This is the Lord’s declaration.”
  • Jonah 3:10: “God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—so God relented from the disaster He had threatened them with, and He did not do it.”
  • Micah 6:8: “Mankind, He has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
  • Nahum 3:4-5: “Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute, the attractive mistress of sorcery, who treats nations and clans like merchandise by her prostitution and sorcery, I am against you. This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. I will lift your skirts over your face and display your nakedness to nations, your shame to kingdoms.”
  • Habakkuk 1:12-13: “Are you not from eternity, Lord my God? My Holy One, You will not die. Lord, You appointed them to execute judgment; my Rock, You destined them to punish us. Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing.”
  • Zephaniah 3:15: “The Lord has removed your punishment; He has turned back your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is among you; you need no longer fear harm.”

 

 

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