Amos, as the Prophet of God, was tasked to tell a nation of its sins during a time of great prosperity. At least the elites lived with great royalty and richness while trampling on the poor and needy. Believing themselves to be wiser and entitled, the elite lived lives of grandeur while forcing the rest to suffer beneath their foolish decisions. This angered God. After all they would themselves have nothing were it not for God’s grace to them. So how was it that they were themselves so selfish and cold. Therefore, God commanded them to prepare to meet the Lord God Almighty and face judgment.
He had sent periods of famine, pestilence, drought, and national disasters to get their attention. Yet, they did not return to worshiping God in truth and sincerity. Hence, God announced through His prophet Amos that judgement must come. Every heart must prepare to meet the Lord God Almighty.
Are we not already there as a nation? The elites do not seek God. As demonstrated by their actions, they do not even know the Lord God Almighty. Indeed, their guilt mirrors that of the nation of Israel in Amos’ day. In Chapter 4 of Amos, he refers to the elites as fat cows which oppress the poor and crush the needy. Demanding their luxuries, believing themselves worthy of adoration; they failed to see anything apart from fulfilling their own desires. Somehow, they felt they deserved everything. Thereby having the right to command adoration of all the people. But God did not see them as such. He, in perfect righteousness, came to judge them and proclaim their forthcoming demise.
Prepare to Meet the Lord God Almighty- A Just and Righteous King
“Hear this word, you cows of Bashan,
who are on the mountain of Samaria,
(They) who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,
who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’
2 The Lord God has sworn by his holiness
that, behold, the days are coming upon you,
when they shall take you away with hooks,
even the last of you with fishhooks.
3 And you shall go out through the breaches,
each one straight ahead;
and you shall be cast out into Harmon,”
declares the Lord.
The Assyrians were known for their cruelty. When they captured a people, they would strip them. Then they would string them naked together with fishhooks placed through their lower lips to march hundreds of miles to another land chained to each other.
Yet, none of this could happen had God not ordained it to be so. As we saw earlier in Amos 3 (NET):
6 If a [c]trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?
If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?7 Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
Who can but prophesy?
All that we see happening today around us is providential. None of it can happen unless God in His Sovereign will ordain it. He, who resides outside of our time, space continuum, knows all things and works it all to His Sovereign Will. Only God knows how all the threads fit perfectly together to complete the tapestry of each of our lives.
The Sovereign Will of God
As to nations. God is still in control of all things. All that He has spoken in times past through His prophets will come to pass, just as it did in the olden days. So shall it happen just as He has said. For that reason, we know that there will be famines, pestilence, droughts, wars, and rumors of wars occurring with increasing frequency and intensity until His Glorious Return. Governments will rise and fall; yet every leader, President, and King are placed by God to accomplish His purpose ultimately. There are no mistakes.
The Assyrians could not have conquered Israel except God ordained it. He did so with the ultimate plan to cleanse the nation of Israel and to sustain a people from whom Christ would be born. Could God have done it another way? If so, why would He have allowed His Son to bear the wrath for our sin? Instead, He allows all this so that He might hold fast to His Justice, His Righteousness, and provide a way for Mercy, Love and Grace to be displayed to all who will come.
The Great Mystery
I do not pretend to understand in my limited world with time and space restraints how both Free Will, and God’s Complete Sovereignty are both true at the same time. But they are and for now I accept this truth by faith. The same as I do not pretend to know how my momentary prayer is heard and answered by a God who already saw the future before I spoke it. However, both His omniscience and God’s grace in answering prayer are true and vibrant at the same time. One day I will understand it all. But in the meantime, we must realize that one day we will meet the Lord God Almighty and on that day we will fully understand.
Then I Will See Him Face to Face
One day I will meet the Lord God Almighty, face to face. I daresay when I see the depths of evil my own heart is capable of, I will be overwhelmed by the degree of Grace I was given.
No longer will I see others in the same light. Instead, I will see them through the eyes of God who patiently continued to attempt to draw them to Himself by whatever means necessary. He desires for all to be saved; however, He will not force any to love Him. For then that would not be love. Nor can I choose Him unless He drew me to Him, for a dead spirit could not come alive if He had not drawn.
To One Day Meet the Lord God Almighty—With Hearts Wide Open
Not only did God criticize the elite for their cruelty to the poor and oppressed, but also for their phony worship.
4 “Come to Bethel, and transgress;
to Gilgal, and multiply transgression;
bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three days;
5 offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened,
and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them;
for so you love to do, O people of Israel!”
declares the Lord God. Amos 4: (ESV)
They went through the motions of pretending to worship and perform the rituals. But their hearts were wicked through and through. They carried out the acts of worship; but not as God had ordained them to. How often is that true today in our society and churches?
The Patience of God (Amos 4: NET)
Famine
6 “But surely I gave[u] you no food to eat in all your cities;
you lacked food everywhere you lived.[v]
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking
7 “I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest.[w]
Draught and Flooding
I gave rain to one city, but not to another.
One field[x] would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.
8 People from[y] two or three cities staggered into one city to get[z] water,
but remained thirsty.[aa]
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking
Pestilence and Disease
9 “I destroyed your crops[ab] with blight and disease.
Locusts kept[ac] devouring your orchards,[ad] vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees.
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking
10 “I sent against you a plague like one of the Egyptian plagues.[ae]
Wars and Death
I killed your young men with the sword,
along with the horses you had captured.
I made the stench from the corpses[af] rise up into your nostrils.
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking
11 “I overthrew some of you the way God[ag] overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.[ah]
You were like a burning stick[ai] snatched from the flames.
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking
He speaks in prosperity, beauty, and love. However, He also speaks in famine, draught, rain, wars, pestilence, diseases, sorrows, and fire; yet, we as stiff necked people do not return to Him. He knows that the only thing that will satisfy our hearts is a relationship with Him, so He tries every means possible to turn our eyes toward Him. Yet, still we do not return to worship Him as we should.
God Speaks to Israel, but the same is true for each of us.
“Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel.
Because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, Israel!”[aj]
13 For here he is!
He[ak] formed the mountains and created the wind.
(God) reveals[al] His plans[am] to men.
He turns the dawn into darkness[an]
and marches on the heights of the earth.
The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies[ao] is His name! Amos 4 (NET)
How Do We Prepare to Meet the Lord God Almighty?
We will all meet Him one day, face to face. One day every knee shall bow and proclaim Him as Lord.
God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2 (ESV)
So, if now we understand why this is so important. Should we not also consider how? After all something so important as to determine our eternity should be considered.
First, Do You Know Him as Lord and Savior?
Knowing that we will meet Him face to face, one must consider their own destiny? What have you done with Jesus, today? Have you rejected Him as Savior? Or have you chosen to Mirror Him with Your life? He who deserves all our honor, worship, and praise, do you know Him?
To be prepared to meet the Lord God Almighty, one must first Know Him as Lord and Savior. There is no other way of Salvation apart from accepting Jesus Christ as God’s only Son. He was crucified to pay the price for our sins and raised again to newness of life by the Power of God the Father through the Workings of the Holy Spirit. That is the power of salvation. Therefore, salvation is by faith in the Risen Lord Jesus who paid the price for our sins. We may then come to Him, truly repentant of our sins to ask for salvation.
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10: 9-10 (ESV).
Study His Word
I rise before the dawning of the morning,
And cry for help;
I hope in Your word.
148 My eyes are awake through the night watches,
That I may meditate on Your word.
149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness;
O Lord, revive me according to Your justice. Psalm 119:147-149 (NKJV)
When I truly recognize that only God is my hope, my joy, in life or death—then I cannot wait to spend time with Him. The lures of TV or social media become less as I seek Him more. Knowing Him satisfies my thirsty soul as nothing else can do.
Prayer-Praise, repentance, and then petition.
Prayer becomes a means of worship. First, we praise His name
Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
3 He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
4 He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
5 God has gone up with a shout,
The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding.
8 God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
Psalm 47: (NKJV)
Second, repentance
these things we write to you that [a]your joy may be full.
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. I John 1: 4-10 (NKJV)
Third is petition,
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 6-7 (ESV).
Or as better laid out by one of my students: Prayer can best be remembered by the Acronym ACTS
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
Concluding thoughts:
If we seek Him morning and night, we will see our hearts transformed. Therein we will find peace, joy everlasting, humility, hope, and learn to love as He loves. Why? Because the more time we spend with Him, the more we recognize the power of the Holy Spirit that indwells us.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 [b]gentleness, self-control. Galatians 6
If I use this, much like a thermometer, to gauge my spiritual state at any time, I will know also when I need to spend more time with Him.
And sometimes, I find that song is how I find Him again. Song lifts high to the throne of God. For He always is surrounded by song. To Him, my song is sweet, even if only to Him.
LORD HAVE MERCY BY MATT BOSWELL AND MATT PAPA[2]
Vs 1
For what we have done and left undone
We fall on Your countless mercies
For sins that are known and those unknown
We call on Your name so holy
For envy and pride, for closing our eyes
For scorning our very neighbor
In thought word and deed we’ve failed You our King
How deeply we need a Savior
Chorus
Lord have mercy Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us (repeat)
Vs 2
For what You have done Your life of love
You perfectly lived we praise You
Though tempted and tried You fixed Your eyes
You finished the work God gave You
And there on the tree A King among thieves
You bled for a world’s betrayal
You loved to the end Our merciful friend
How pure and forever faithful
Bridge
For hearts that are cold for seizing control
For scorning our very Maker
In thought word and deed we’ve failed You our King
How deeply we need a Savior
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.
Therefore if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you today. Go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
For Prayer or Comments
If you have a prayer request feel free to email me by clicking here
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DISCLOSURES
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2021
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Credits
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New English Translation (NET)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Photo licensed through Goodsalt.com
[1] Spurgeon, Charles Haddon “The New Park Street Pulpit” Volumes 1-6 and “The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit” Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)
[2] https://store.gettymusic.com/us/song/lord-mercy-done/