The Book of Amos (Part 1)

They are known as the minor prophets, but there's nothing minor about their message Especially their message about the character of god All of them pack a theological punch that one can't shouldn't ignore Listening on our nine week journey through seven of these little books and get a major look at the might and majesty of god in the series small books Big god the character of god in the minor prophets Well, good morning first family church wherever you're gathered with us today I just want to say welcome those here in the worship center upstairs in our live stream venue In carlisle and in guttenberg. We're just so grateful. Uh for what god is doing Throughout the state of iowa and the small part we get to play.

So thank you for gathering with us today I'll ask you to grab your bibles And i'll give you a little head start as we're in the book of amos Today I just want to remind you as you're flipping there we're in a series on the minor prophets We're calling it small books But big god and it's my job today To help you see the character of god in the small book of amos I want to give you a little bit of a heads up is we're going to be in the book of amos for two weeks Because it's a little bit longer of a small book if that makes any sense. It's nine chapters Long it's got a lot of verses and it's uh got a lot of content And it would have been very difficult to try to summarize Everything in the book of amos into one week. And so we have the privilege of covering it in two weeks I'm going to tackle the first part and show us God's character as seen in the book of amos and his character quality that we're going to look at today is god's justice And then next week pastor brett is going to be teaching us And i'm not going to give away his character attribute that he's going to discuss uh, so you'll have to come back and anticipate that but no offense to any police officers, but brett and I are going to do a little bad cop good cop and Of course, i'm the bad cop.

I just I have that tough firm personality I don't pull any punches Not much mercy so I get to be the bad cop today and then brett's the much gentler one So he's going to come up and kind of lick your wounds a little bit for you. So i'm excited to tackle. Um, This book.

I think it's fantastic. I think it's interesting. It's highly entertaining um, but a little caution It's not a great bedtime story.

It's probably it's not uh The book you want to read and you grab your three-year-old your four-year-old cuddle them in your lap and say tonight We're reading amos That would be a Terrifying read for your child. I might have some nightmares, but it's a fantastic an interesting book Um that we're going to talk about for the next two weeks. I would highly recommend That you spend some time reading it.

It's nine chapters. It reads pretty quickly very entertaining um, yeah, it would be worth your while to be able to fully understand, uh this fantastic Book but let me tell you a little bit about amos. I think that will help uh, just to bring a little bit of detail To this character so that you can understand kind of what his dilemma is what he's facing.

Um, amos is a prophet told to call out the sins of the northern kingdom israel, but by no means is amos's Career path that of a prophet this is not what he was Mainly or initially called to do look at just a few verses throughout the book of amos that tells us about the prophet amos chapter one verse one tells us that he is a Sheep breeder from tekoa. I just want to read it for you because it helps you Understand a little bit. It says this the words of amos Who is one of the sheep breeders from tekoa? What he saw regarding israel in the days of king uziah of judah And jeroboam son of joe johash King of israel two years before the earthquake already verses one and two are captivating aren't they? That god would use a sheep breeder To call out the northern kingdom and this is interesting I hope this makes sense is tekoa is not in the northern kingdom.

It's in the southern kingdom And so he's called to go to a neighboring land um Probably there's some tension there some uh differences there and he's called to go to them and call them out that would be a difficult task And then look at chapter 7 verses 14 through 15. It says this So amos answered Uh amaziah I was not a prophet Or the son of a prophet rather. I was a herdsman And I took care of sycamore figs But the lord took me from following the flock And said to me go prophesy to my people israel challenging task Can you imagine if god pulled you out of wells fargo and sent you to a far land and told them told you to go? Challenge them their way of living that would be a difficult Difficult task.

This is what amos was called to do. So just to summarize who amos was was he was a farmer from the southern kingdom of judah Called to call out the sins of the northern kingdom israel a heavy burden And that's exactly what the name amos means To carry a heavy burden wonder if there's any um In insight into that as amos was named that like you sure mom and dad you're gonna give me that name You're gonna ask me to carry a heavy burden and maybe when god called him to do that task. It seemed a little fitting like That's what my name means Oftentimes people joke about my name is travis or travesty You know, like that's a real travesty i've heard that joke before friends.

So Um, it's a real travesty. It's almost like a prediction of what's ahead. Maybe anyways, that's dark Anyways, um, I think it's a fantastic story though of what it helps you see Um the difficult burden that amos was called to do Just to put it in context for you Um amos is a contemporary of hosea We talked about hosea a couple weeks ago and hosea was called to prophesy Against israel the northern kingdom and amos is called to do the same thing So they're prophesying to the same people mainly about the same things the same sins if hosea is if we were to articulate it or maybe um Characterize it as like mature Content, right? That's kind of what we talked about the book of hosea then amos would be dark content very violent many disasters Scary, that's maybe how you would articulate the book of amos But they were around the same time calling god's people to repent Both those books have very two different feels But pretty much the same point you're in sin This is a challenge to you to turn back to god and to repent I think amos's career and location are significant where he's located What he did for a living I think those are important amos is an ordinary guy in another land And I think the conclusion we are meant to come to is that the only reason amos knows And does what he does is because god knows and cares So god being over all things as we just sang He's uh, the king of kings the lord of lords.

He rules and reigns over everything He's fully aware Of what is happening in israel so he goes to a no-name farmer in judah and says What I know Breaks my heart You must go And I think that's significant that teaches us. I think one of the main points of the entire book of amos The book of amos teaches us this biblical truth god knows and god cares That is who our god is He knows and he cares about what is happening in the world the entire world And he knows and he cares Especially about what is happening by those who say they follow him god knows and god cares And when there's injustice as we'll see It causes god to move and act and respond I wonder if there's some in this room or watching online today for sure Who feel kind of like a justice warrior any of you guys bent that way Like you just seem to lean towards empathy and compassion You watch the news and it drives you to action for sure. There's some listening today when there's Hurricanes or things like that.

You're the first to go or or you definitely feel the pull like something Somebody somebody needs to go I just have that leaning or that bent or you hear about Injustice on the news and oh man, it just drives you drives you insane And causes you to god like why aren't you responding? Why aren't you doing? Something if you're a justice warrior, you will love the book of amos Because that's I think one of the main points is that god is also A justice warrior. He loves justice. He desires justice Maybe even some of you have thought this man.

No one no one cares I'm, the only one who cares about this problem Or this injustice if you've ever said that this is the book for you. You will love the book of amos And the book of amos teaches us that god deeply cares about injustice It bothers him greatly Causes him to respond and to act And there's this interesting understanding of god that I want you guys to see and learn and i'm continuing to learn this too when we Say that god is righteous Or he is right in all ways in the bible a similar or even synonym you could say is just So he's righteous. Therefore that word implies that he demands justice Or he has to act That's a similar theme throughout the whole bible.

He's not just pure in all his ways He demands purity on the earth. So to say that god is righteous Also teaches us that he acts He moves towards And justice we'll explain that a little bit more as we continue to go on the book of amos will show us this perfect character of god and justice of god And those are not two separate things in the bible. Those two things are very connected his character and his movement or his action Are similar character traits or synonyms? The book shows us that Shows us the heart of god And it's god's heart.

He hates injustice. That's what you're going to learn about. God's heart is that he hates injustice This book also teaches us the love of god that he that he um desires justice So that's his heart When he looks at the landscape of the earth and he sees injustice This book shows us that his heart is for justice that he he acts and he moves and lastly this book shows us the character of god for him to inflict justice That's his character that he can't overlook it.

He can't just let it go or ignore it He hates sin and he moves towards it I know Nine chapters is a lot And we're not going to read it because of our time today, but can I just show you some of it? If you were to read all nine chapters right now, here's some of the things you would read I want to just show you a few verses. This is Chapter one verse two. It says this the lord roars from zion and makes his voice heard from jerusalem What you'll notice in amos chapter one and two is that it's a it begins with a condemnation of the neighboring nations And then there's a strict condemnation of israel.

It's god showing us. I see everything I see what's happening in moab and I see what's happening in gaza and I see what's happening and I see what's happening And then he moves a spotlight onto israel and says I see what you're doing, too It's god showing his omniscience Over all things he sees all injustice including even in our own heart Look at 310 the people are incapable of doing right This is the lord's declaration 512 for I know your crimes are many and your sins innumerable 6 8 I loathe jacob's pride And hate his citadels So I will hand over the city and everything in it 8 2 the end has come for my people israel. I will no longer spare them And then 9 8 look the eyes of the lord god are on the sinful kingdom And I will obliterate it from the face of the earth If you were to just summarize nine chapters of amos, it would be this that god knows And god cares Mankind's actions and character are not hidden from god I think you and I oftentimes think no one knows This is a little secret that i've held.

It's not bothering anybody. The book of amos is for you It proves that's not the case god knows God cares and he hates sin and injustice No one could read the book of amos and conclude that god is distant Or god is out of touch or indifferent You wouldn't come to that conclusion. You'd see the very opposite He deeply cares And it his love drives him to action The main sins addressed there are I think three main sins addressed throughout the book of amos It's selfishness Or you could say self-centeredness Which is also pride you'll see the word pride come up a lot of times in the book of amos and then ultimately I think the main sin That's addressed is the mistreatment of the poor and needy And for sure all three of those sins are connected, right? My selfishness makes me overlook the poor and needy My pride will cause me to overlook the poor and needy and ultimately that's the Main sin that will be repeated over and over again israel.

How dare you? You're overlooking the needs Or you're mistreating the poor and the needy The book of amos teaches us three things about god Three main things about god it shows us that god knows and cares about three things The first thing it shows us is that god knows and god cares about the injustices in the world Friends the sins in the world that you see and hate and you could probably name those right now the things that you see on the news the things you read about those news articles about Something some atrocity that's happening around the world the things that make you respond in anger They also make god respond in anger the sins in the world you see and hate god also hates crooked governments Trafficking War for purely selfish reasons Racism those things that make your heart break. They also break the heart of god And the good news is that god is not blind to these Even though we may not know how he is responding And that's probably the tension you feel a god. Don't you care? Then what what are you doing? It doesn't look like you're doing anything god.

That doesn't mean he's not doing anything I think that book of amos solves that for us Just because I see injustice and don't see action doesn't mean god isn't acting or responding That's what the book of amos teaches us It's I think it'd be interesting To just answer in your own heart. What is the most egregious injustice in the world you see? We all have one What is the worst thing you you know about the world? What is that injustice that just breaks your heart? I think it'd be interesting small group question or family discussion sometime today. Do you know god also hates that? That's what the book of amos teaches us.

God also hates that amos 1 6 and 7 reads this way The lord says I will not relent from punishing gaza For three crimes even four because they exiled a whole community Handing them over to edom Therefore I will send fire against the walls of gaza and it will consume its citadels. Do you see how god knows? and god cares And god responds. That's a theme throughout the entire book god knows God cares And god responds chapter 5 verse 12 reads this way.

They oppress the righteous They take a bribe They deprive the poor of justice at the city gates That verse could be written about today couldn't it about the world you and I live in They oppress the righteous they take a bribe and deprive the poor of justice at the city gates God knows God cares nobody told amos that god revealed that to amos and said that breaks my heart That should not be and i'm going to respond in justice The second thing that our text teaches us that not only does god care about the injustices in the world But god cares about the injustices in your own life So we're not just talking about the ends of the world and and those stories you hear on the news God also cares about the injustices you experience on a daily basis The ones you interact with the ones that you face and you're suffering in He knows about those too the sins in your life that you hate god also hates The sins caused against you done towards you god hates those two mistreatments at work Mistreatment at home family strife hidden unrepentant sins of people that you know and love God also hates those He relates to you. He he he's there for you I think many times when we're suffering that's the number one question god. Where are you? Do you not know? About my mistreatment at work or at home Do you not know the suffering i'm enduring then the book of amos is for you Because it proves that god knows And god cares Amos 2 verses 6 and 7 reads this the lord says I will not relent from punishing Israel remember it it starts with the nations of the world and then amos boils down to israel And he says I will not relent from punishing israel for three crimes Even four because they sell a righteous person for silver And a needy person for a pair of sandals They trample the heads of the poor on the dust of the ground and obstruct the path of the needy you can imagine israel being guilty of their own crimes Being frustrated with the injustices in the world, right? That's all of us Like man, the world's so crooked The world's a mess and god's pointing his finger at our place our land saying you you are too You're guilty of the same things this is the book of amos don't just be frustrated By the world be frustrated by the sins and the injustices in your own life friends god knows And god cares and he responds to the injustices you'll face this week at work or at home or in your neighborhood or In in our city in our in our local government in our nationwide government like those things bother god Too and that's good news for us the third thing we learn about God from the book of amos is not that good of news And it teaches us this that god cares god knows and god cares about the injustices you cause God doesn't just know and care about the injustice in the world He doesn't just know and care about the injustices you interact with that you Suffer in He also cares about the injustices you cause friends the one you and I are guilty of This is the scary part God got god not only hates the injustices in the world, but he hates the injustices you are culpable of the ones you commit the people you hurt Lying Manipulating Cheating lusting hating The sins that you were guilty of this week god hates The sins that I was guilty of this week god hates And amos teaches me that god knows And god cares And god responds Let the book of amos speak to you on that level as well Don't point your finger only at the world around you Point the finger at your own heart and admit guilt and fault That you are also the problem He does that as well in the book of amos What injustices are you causing? That bothers the people around you the most What harm or hurt have you caused this week? To those around you the ones that you love Which sin of yours does your family wish would god would deal with have you ever thought about that? Like who's praying against you this week? God, don't you care that travis is such a jerk to me at work? God, don't you care? That travis is cheating and lying and manipulating God, don't you care he does So I should be the first to repent And first to confess first to run because i'm also The problem i'm also guilty of those things and god is responding to the sin in my life Maybe even by using some of you to call out the sins in my own life Amos 2 11 through 13 reads this way This is the lord's declaration but you You see it gets so personal.

He starts about gaza He moves to israel and then he moves to you And in the book of amos, he says this is the lord's Declaration, but you made the nazarites drink wine And commanded the prophets do not prophesy Look, I am about to crush you in your place as a wagon crushes when full of grain And then 5 11 says this therefore because you trample on the poor And exact a grain tax from him you will never live in the houses of cut stone you have built You will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted amos is very personal very convicting That god sees in my own heart He knows of the things i'm guilty of the people i'm hurting and he is responding. He is acting Let amos speak to you on that level You you can't talk about the book of amos without Talking about chapters 7 through 9. So can I encourage you to flip to chapter 7 real quick? This is just a main theme of the book of amos Very well known you could mention to somebody like hey I'm reading the book of amos right now and they'll probably summarize for you chapters 7 through 9 It's a list of visions That god gives to amos about impending doom Of what god is going to do to israel and I think this is just a sobering reality Because so many times I think we do think of like god hates the injustices in the world And he is he's going to respond to those but again, these are condemnations on god's people israel on His followers those that claim to love and and care about god And so I just want to highlight these for you And let it be a sobering reminder that god knows and cares, especially about those who say like I follow yahweh I love jesus. I'm a follower of his Let this be a warning to you.

He he starts out with the vision of locusts And the text says in chapter 7 the locust that he was forming imagine god forming this this army of of locusts Ready to send them out on his people This is the warning he gives to amos The sec the second one is of a fire And it says that the lord was calling a fire Like come on fire. Come on down Go to israel imagine that it's terrifying, isn't it? You think of like wildfires in the in the western canada like Those are terrifying the text teaches that god is calling that fire To put upon his people if they don't repent The third one is of the plumb line and it teaches us that god is a judge And there's only a straight narrow And anything outside of the straight and narrow is sin That god desires perfection and holiness and righteousness. This is what his law causes us to do The fourth vision is of a summer fruit that imagine a fruit that's sitting in the heat of the day outside How's that fruit going to do in the heat? It's not well, right? It's going to rot and it's going to die and he says this is israel This is what's going to happen to israel.

It's going to rot and it's going to die because it's not good And then the last vision is of god attacking the very temple That they loved and they worshiped at they performed sacrifices at and god is saying that your worship is not acceptable to me You're doing right things with impure motives. Therefore i'm going to destroy it and god threatens to destroy The temple because of their injustice And the temple represented the presence in the favor of god and he says i'm going to take that away Because you don't deserve it You're not treating me with respect. You're not treating those that I love with respect You don't care for the poor and needy and that's what I care about And so if you're not going to care about what I care about then you don't get the temple You don't get my presence You don't get my favor upon your life I'm taking those away because you're not representing me.

Well And these chapters prophesy of impending judgment on israel if they don't repent This clearly teaches us that god doesn't only hate the sins throughout the world. He hates the sins his people are guilty of Amos chapter 8 verses 2 through 8. I think are some of the most Powerful verses if you could turn there for just a moment. I don't want you to miss these verses they read in a very um They're terrifying.

Let me read for you amos 8 2 through 8 says this The lord said to me the end has come for my people israel I will no longer spare them in that day. The temple songs will become wailing This is the lord god's declaration many dead bodies thrown everywhere silence Hear this you who trample on the needy and do away with the poor of the land Asking when will the new moon be over so we will sell grain and the sabbath so we may market wheat We can reduce the measure while increasing the price And cheat with dishonest scales We can buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and even sell the chaff The lord is sworn by the pride of jacob. I will never forget all their deeds because of this Won't the land quake? And all who dwell in it mourn All of it will rise like the nile it will surge and then subside Like the nile in egypt terrifying warning of the sin that they're committing the sins in their own lives friends I just want to take a moment to remind you that that's how god views this views the sins in your life He's not blind He's not ignorant like many of our loved ones and our friends and our family We think we keep these sins hidden and no one knows and they're not hurting anyone.

That's not true Let amos 8 2 through 8 be a staggering warning to you of how god views the sins in your own life Even the secret sins So let's conclude our sermon today by not just bad news But also some good news. So what does god desire? If this if that's what god hates injustice The mistreatment of the poor and the needy of pride and selfishness or self-centeredness then what does god love? What does god desire? And I want to just end our time with that today as a reminder of what we should be about us as followers of god Those who worship him are here today in order to give him praise. We just sang to him Will we live for him? This is where our text points us what does god desire he desires image bearers who represent him well That's who you are.

Genesis 2 tells you that you were made in his image to represent him to reflect him He gave you dominion over the earth to rule in his image to represent him To act like him that was your role in genesis 2 to rule and reign on the earth in his place Like he would rule and reign So what does that look like image bearers who represent god? Well look at amos 5 Verses 14 through 15. I know i'm giving you a lot of verses. I apologize at least write them down You can always turn there later amos 5 verses 14 through 15 says this pursue good And not evil hate evil and love good Establish justice at the city gate That's what we should look like We should hate we should love good.

We should pursue good and hate evil We should hate evil and love good We should establish justice at the city gate As I mentioned earlier righteousness in the bible also means to execute justice For those of us that claim to be followers of jesus who desire to live righteous lives or holy lives That means we execute justice It's the same idea. It's the same. You can't you can't be righteous without executing justice It's a it's a loving parent who disciplines his child A loving parent can't not discipline It's it's it's a synonym I love you so much.

I discipline that's the same idea of a righteous Person and a righteous god a righteous person Executes justice a righteous god executes justice. We can't know god without knowing both sides of that coin That he's righteous therefore Executes justice. So similarly a righteous person is someone who upholds righteousness around them We fight for justice Because we ourselves have been declared righteous So I want to just show you a list of verses Throughout the entire bible That help us see that amos is right I think sometimes when you take these minor prophets, first of all, we don't read them very often And and second of all, we sometimes assume that they're they're they're odd or misplaced Well, like amos, I don't know.

It's just this kind of book about a really angry god But that's not really what god is like I think we sometimes like remove in our minds these minor prophets as if they don't fit Let me prove to you how well amos fits By showing you the rest of the bible Here's jeremiah chapter 9 Says this this is what the lord says The wise person should not boast in his wisdom The strong should not boast in his strength The wealthy should not boast in his wealth, but the one who boasts should boast in this That he understands and knows me That I am the lord showing faithful love justice and righteousness on the earth for I delight in these things This is the lord's declaration What about micah 6 8? It's another verse you you know, really? Well, it says this mankind he has told each of you what is good And what it what it is the lord requires of you to act justly To love faithfulness and to walk humbly with your god Here's isaiah chapter 1 learn to do right seek justice Defend the oppressed Take up the cause of the fatherless Plead the case of the widow Here's proverbs chapter 29 The righteous care about justice for the poor Isn't that a beautiful verse? The righteous care about the justice for the poor But the wicked have no such concern another very familiar passage james chapter 1 Pure and undefiled religion before god the father is this To look after orphans and widows and their distress And to keep oneself unstained from the world. Do you see that? Here's what righteousness is keep yourself unstained from the world. Oh, and you know what also righteousness is care for the widows and orphans It's the same thing.

That's what god looks like Reflect what god is like and then luke This is jesus speaking in luke chapter 12 But seek his kingdom And these things will be provided for you. Don't be afraid little flock because your father delights to give you the kingdom Sell your possessions and give to the poor Make money bags for yourselves that won't grow old an inexhaustible treasure in heaven where no thief comes near And no moth destroys for where your treasure is there your heart will be also A summary of what god desires that we sell our possessions not so we have more money So that we would sell our possessions to give to the poor. This is what we look like.

This is what we Care about jeremiah chapter 22. This is what the lord says administer justice and righteousness Rescue the victim of robbery from his oppressor Don't exploit or brutalize the resident alien the fatherless or the widow Don't shed innocent blood in this place And the last one is the book of isaiah chapter 1 wash yourselves cleanse yourselves Remove your evil deeds from my sight Stop doing evil Learn to do what is good pursue justice correct the oppressor Defend the rights of the fatherless plead the widow's case I just think that's a beautiful summary of the heart of god Is there a lot more about god that we could talk about for sure? But I think one character trait that we don't talk probably enough about is his justice his love for specifically the poor and needy And this for sure is shown in the book of amos, but all throughout the word of god as well that god hates Injustice the mistreatment of those less fortunate and you know what else he hates Is when those who claim to be followers of god don't stand up Don't act And that was a great challenge to me as I prepared for today to ask myself that question. Do I accurately reflect my king And in what areas of my life am I failing to live like my king and act like him? And you know what else the book of amos caused me to do? repent Because it made me very aware again of the sins in my own life the areas that I cheat and steal and Mistreat and manipulate and all those sins that god hates I was reminded that live those live in my own heart as well And the book of amos caused me to realize that god knows And god cares and god acts Against the things in my own life that have yet to repent of And so I pray and ask that you would have that same type of moment in interaction with god's word today That you would see what god is like and what god loves and you would respond appropriately Here's my take-home truth for you all today Just a way to challenge what how you're currently living How you're currently acting And maybe allow god to once again Continue to shape us into the image of jesus Here's your take-home truth because of god's perfect Justice or you could say his character because of god's perfect justice I must repent That's the reality when you understand that god knows and god cares the Reaction that must happen is repentance I must repent I must Change and I must trust in his provision For my sins jesus So this is the beauty of the justice of god is he's not just an angry father.

He's a loving dad Who in his Anger provides a way Allows the nation of israel in the story of amos time to repent If you look at isaiah, or i'm, sorry amos chapter 7 He calls he creates a swarm of locusts But then I think it's verse 3 he says but he relents He calls to the fire To come and consume israel, but then in like verse 8 he says but then god relents See god in his love and his justice He is angry. He will act but he also provides a way of escape And that love and that mercy is shown perfectly in the person of jesus christ who will ultimately take the punishment that you and I deserve And allow us to not receive the justice that's due but instead receive love and mercy And grace so friends let the book of amos be to you a call to repentance What sinful Actions and lifestyles and thoughts are in your own heart and in your own mind that nobody knows about friends god knows And god cares and god is moving Be allow today to be a day of repentance Friends my second challenge you would be to let to allow today to create change in your life to fight for justice There are always certain things that break our heart, but maybe there are areas that ought to break our heart that don't Would you allow the book of amos to cause you to change? And say god give me a heart like yours I've Resented the poor and the needy and the the needy and the poor haven't Haven't caused me to move to action the fatherless the orphans That that doesn't currently break my heart god, would you allow me to change to be more like you? The injustices in the world. I really don't care about because it's not in america God, would you cause that to break my heart and make me more like you? God use your word to cause us to change and then lastly let the book of amos call you to faith in christ Friends the only hope for our sin Is not change it's faith The solution to your and my sin problem is christ jesus For god loved us so much at the right time.

He sent his one and only son jesus To receive the wrath of god That's what happened at the cross friends that jesus received the wrath of god so that you and I don't have to See the cross is this beautiful picture for you and I it's this perfect beautiful picture of the justice of god That he hated sin so much. He had to crush it he had to Had to be paid for and instead of god's wrath being poured out on you and I it's poured out on Jesus and for those who believe we receive his mercy and his grace And is forgiven and we're forgiven see the cross is also this beautiful picture of Injustice because you and I don't receive what we deserve Instead it was poured out upon another And the cross is the beautiful picture of god's both grace Mercy and justice that he would allow you and I to be declared righteous, but only for those who have faith in christ So my final call and challenge you as friends Have you received the provision that christ has made for your sins? Do you have faith in jesus? It's the only way To have a right relationship with god without receiving the penalty that you're due allow amos to be a call to you to turn to jesus Friends and family We love you so much our hearts Ought to break for what breaks god's heart and ultimately that's for those of us Maybe in this room who are listening right now that don't yet have faith in jesus My final call to you today would to be to believe To believe in the provision that god has made for us sinners and that is the person and work of jesus christ perfectly displayed in the cross Let the book of amos be that challenge to you as well