Good morning. We're going to be in the book of Amos, Amos, the last chapter of Amos, Amos chapter nine. Let's ask the Lord's blessings.

Our merciful heavenly father, Thank you for putting in our hearts a desire, a need to come before thee, to worship thee, and to seek thy mercy and thy grace. Thank you for the revelation that you've given us of thy dear son, in whom All your promises are yay and amen. Lord, you said that if if Christ be lifted up that you would draw us into thy presence, we pray, Lord, that you would enable us to lift up the Lord Jesus this morning. She would give us the words to speak that would glorify and honor him. We pray that you would give us ears to hear thy voice that we might follow after Christ. Lord, we pray for our brethren who you have afflicted with physical illnesses, and we ask, Lord, that you would comfort them as only you can. We pray that you would give them a good hope in Christ, and that you would speak peace to their hearts, and that you would place your hand of healing upon their bodies. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen.

You have your Bibles open to Amos chapter 9. We've been in the book of Amos now for, I don't know, maybe three months, mostly on Wednesday nights. But what an encouragement this brother has been to our hearts. He tells us in his own testimony that he's not a prophet nor the son of a prophet. He's a tender of sheep and a keeper of sycamore trees. And yet God gave him a message and he was faithful. in declaring that message to God's people. And the Lord has used the revelation that he gave to Amos to speak hope and comfort to our hearts. I pray that he'll do that again this morning, especially with these last verses.

Much of the book of Amos has to do with God's judgments and warnings against unfaithful Israel. And yet here at the end, as we say farewell for now to Brother Amos, the Lord gives him a word of hope, a word of peace for God's people. May the Lord give us spiritual eyes to understand these words as they are meant for us. These are for us. This is God's word of encouragement. to his people.

In Amos chapter 9 we begin reading in verse 11, in that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen and close up the breeches thereof And I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord, that doeth this."

Now much of Amos' prophecy has to do with with the destruction of the land as the enemies of Israel come in and the temple's going to be destroyed and the people are going to be carried off into captivity. And now the Lord is speaking a word of promise to them that this judgment of God is not going to be permanent, that there's going to be a returning of the people. And we know that that happened historically after Ezra and Nehemiah brought the children of Israel back from the Babylonian captivity. Amos was prophesying before that. And we know that the temple was rebuilt and worship was restored.

But that's all just past historical events that really don't speak to our need. The real meaning of this, as far as the tabernacle of David, has to do with the son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, who tabernacled among us. There's a spiritual meaning, as there always is, to these historical events. We don't look at them just for their own benefit, but we see through them what the Lord would have for us. Look at verse 13. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the tenderer of grapes, him that soweth seed, and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. It's going to be a time of great prosperity and great peace. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them. And they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof. And they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land, which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.

As we know, our Lord warned the Pharisees and told the disciples that after his departure that the temple would be destroyed. And one generation about, one generation after the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. The Romans came in, and as the Lord said, not one stone was left upon the other. In 1948, Israel regained control of Israel. from 70 AD to 1948, they were a dispersed people. And all of them today would interpret these verses that we just read as what's being fulfilled in Israel today. They're building cities, they're planting vineyards, and they are holding on to this text as the promise of God to never lose their land again. And most people who call themselves Christian, who are fundamentalist, dispensationalist, would agree that these verses in Amos are a reference to the modern day events that we're witnessing right now.

In order to come to that conclusion, you would have to completely ignore the interpretation that God gave of this text in the New Testament. Turn with me to Acts chapter 15. In Acts chapter 10, Peter went to Cornelius' house under the direction of the Holy Spirit and preached the gospel to Cornelius, a Gentile. And the Lord saved Cornelius and his household and gave evidence of his presence and power in that salvation with miracles as often took place in the early days of the New Testament church. The Holy Spirit was poured out upon them and there was speaking in tongues and all sorts of manifestations of God's presence.

After that, Paul and Barnabas are sent out by the church into the Gentile world to preach the gospel, as the Lord had called Paul to be an apostle to the Gentiles. Gentiles were being converted, but there were still some in Jerusalem who were in disagreement about the Gentiles being equal with them.

unless the Gentiles succumbed to circumcision. Now, hang with me for just a moment, because this all has to do with the interpretation of this prophecy. Circumcision was what these Judaizers insisted that the Gentiles go through in order for them to be saved.

And so in Acts chapter 15, the apostles get together with Paul and Barnabas, who came back to Jerusalem. And we have an Acts chapter 15, what's called the Jerusalem Council. And in the Jerusalem Council, they debate this very issue. Can the Gentiles be converted without circumcision? or must they also submit to the law of Moses as the Jews had?

And the Judaizers who were insisting upon this, they were the same ones who came behind the Apostle Paul into the Gentile churches and corrupted the simplicity of the gospel by telling those Gentiles after Paul left that yes, what Paul told you about Jesus of Nazareth is true. He is the Christ. And he did die for your sins. And you must believe upon him. And he is necessary for salvation. But he's not sufficient. In addition to what Christ did, you must submit to the law of Moses and you must be circumcised in order to be saved.

Now they didn't win the argument in Acts chapter 15, but they still were not convinced by what the Lord had led the apostles to conclude in the Jerusalem council. And so they went out and spread these lies. Those lies are still being told today.

What is the lie? Jesus Christ of Nazareth is necessary for your salvation, but he's not sufficient. You have to make a decision. You have to perform a work. You have to be a part of this organization or that organization. You have to succumb to the circumcision of the flesh done by the hands of men in order to be saved.

This prophecy that Amos gave, James, who is now James, one of the apostles, there were two Jameses that were apostles. One was a brother of John, the sons of thunder, James and John, who wanted to call down fire from heaven upon the Samaritans because they wouldn't allow the Lord to be in their city. That James was killed by Herod in Acts chapter 12. This is the other James. And it seems from everything we read in the New Testament, this other James, though Paul refers to him as a pillar in the church, was probably the pastor of the church in Jerusalem. Certainly he was an apostle and great influence there.

So this heated debate now is going on between Paul and Barnabas who are insisting that God saved these Gentiles without circumcision. God saved these Gentiles by the simplicity of the gospel in the person and work of the Lord Jesus all by himself. And that they should be received and considered brothers in Christ even as the Jews were. And there was a great debate over this very issue. And James stands up in the council and he quotes the verses that we just read as proof that God would save the Gentiles without the work of man.

Look what James says. Verse 13, and after they had held their peace, Paul and Barnabas have spoken up and they've stood up against these Judaizers who were insisting They were calling themselves Christians, they were calling themselves followers of Christ, but they were insisting on a grace-plus-works gospel. And Paul, with no uncertain terms, in Barnabas, in verse 12, stand up against them. And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me. Simeon, that's Peter, hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles and take out of them a people for his name.

In other words, James is reminding them of what happened with Peter in Acts chapter 10 when he went to Cornelius' house. And Peter has already reported to us that God saved the Gentiles. This was the most foreign thought that these Jews ever had, that God's elect people, would be outside of Judaism. And so James is saying to them, it's already been proven by what Peter told us and what happened with Peter at Cornelius' house. And to this agree the words of the prophets as it is written. After this, I will return and build Again, the Tabernacle of David.

The title of this message is the Tabernacle of David. What is the Tabernacle of David? Is it the rebuilding of the temple of Jerusalem? James is telling us that this is what Amos was talking about. The bringing in of the Gentiles. The Tabernacle of David is not the rebuilding of the temple. There are Jews and so-called Christians today who believe that the temple is going to be rebuilt in Jerusalem, that God had promised it in Amos chapter nine, and that it was going to happen. And the Jews to this day are praying against a wall, the ruins of that old temple that was destroyed in 70 AD and never rebuilt, and on the temple site is a Muslim mosque, the Dome of the Rock.

God's not gonna rebuild that temple in Jerusalem. That's not the tabernacle of David. The restoration of national Israel is not the fulfillment of this prophecy, and James makes it clear. Having to do with the conversion of the Gentiles and the building up of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, this is the tabernacle of David. It's all about the Lord Jesus, the son of David, and his tabernacle is his church.

And so James, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it's inspired scripture. Tells us, that's why I said you have to completely ignore what James says in order to come to the conclusion that the Jews have and that many of so-called Christians have concerning Amos chapter nine. This is not building cities and rebuilding the temple and planting vineyards in the Middle East. This prophecy is being fulfilled right now. Right now.

I will return and I will build again the tabernacle of David which has fallen down and I will build the ruins thereof and I will set it up that the residue of men might seek the Lord. The residue, that's the remnant, that's the Gentiles. And all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. So the Lord's given us, in Acts chapter 15, a clear interpretation of Amos chapter nine.

I'm gonna build my tabernacle. It's not gonna be one of brick and mortar. It's not gonna be one of stone. It's going to be a tabernacle that can only be seen through the eye of faith. My throne is not going to be a chair in a building. It's going to be the hearts of my people. And I'm going to reign over them. And I'm going to build that which has been broken down. I'm going to make a new covenant with my people. I'm gonna write my laws upon their heart and impress them upon their minds.

And no longer will it be necessary, as it was in the Old Testament, for a man to say to his brother, you need to know the Lord. That was Old Testament Israel. That was the Jewish nation. There was a remnant within Israel that were believers, but most of them were not believers. And Amos was one of those believers that was saying to the unbelievers in Israel, you need to repent and know God.

But the Lord says, when I rebuild my tabernacle, the tabernacle of David, when I fulfill this prophecy, it will no longer be necessary for a man to say to his brother, you need to know the Lord. for they will all know me from the least of them even unto the greatest. What's the Lord saying? In order to be a part of this tabernacle, you've already got to be converted.

You see this, I was talking to some men the other day about our, about people that are hold to a covenant theology. You talk to them about their, They baptize their, these are, I don't know how to say this. I want to be kind about it. I don't want to be mean spirited. I'm talking about the Presbyterians who say they believe in the salvation of grace and yet they call their, they baptize their babies and they call them members of the covenant community. And you ask them what part of the covenant community are they part of? And they talk out of both sides, you can't make sense of it, because it doesn't make sense. It too is a works gospel. To baptize a child, a baby, and to say that they're now members of, no, they will all know me from the least of them unto the greatest.

Baptism is the entrance into the tabernacle of David. This is the building up of the kingdom of God that the Lord Jesus is accomplishing. This is the gathering together of his elect from every kingdom and every tribe and every people in every tongue. This is the breaking down of that middle wall that stood between Israel and the Gentile world. This is the kingdom of God, which is not of this earth. This is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Amos.

And it's undeniable in light of what James says to these Judaizers who are trying to mix works with the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace. the salvation that was accomplished by the Lord Jesus when he said, it is finished, it's finished. We're the true circumcision, the true circumcision. We're the true Jew, not circumcised with the hands of men and the flesh, but circumcised in the heart Worshiping God in the spirit and rejoicing in Christ Jesus.

What is the circumcision of the heart? It's when the spirit of God cuts away from your heart any hope of your salvation by any fleshly means. That's it. Has he done that for you? Has he taken from you any hope of you being saved based on something that you did? Something you submitted to, something you decided, something, some work that you performed, or is all of your hope in the work that the Lord Jesus accomplished?

When he was cut off, there's circumcision, he was cut off from the land of the living, and he bore the full burden of the sins of his people. This is what the Lord is giving to Amos and this is what he's given to us. I will rebuild, I'm gonna close up the breaches. What are the breaches? When a wall falls and the city falls and the enemy's able to come in, there's holes in the wall. What are those holes as it relates to what we're talking about now, the gospel? Well, a little leaven leavens the whole lump. So it's any idea or suggestion or word or belief that there's something else required for salvation other than what the Lord Jesus did. That's a breach in the wall. The wall is a protection of the city. The tabernacle of David is protected with a wall. That wall is the gospel.

I'm gonna close up all the breaches in it. And where the gospel is preached, there can be no lie, there could be no works. There could be nothing added to the Lord Jesus Christ. If there is, then this prophecy is not being fulfilled. I will raise up, let's go back to our text for a moment in Amos. In that day, from the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, the day when he got the victory, the day when he did all that was required of God and all that was necessary for us to be saved, bearing all the sins of all of his people in his body upon that tree and putting them away once and for all by the sacrifice of himself in that day.

and from that day to this day. The Lord's been, there was a little bit of a difficulty for those Jews early on, but once they understood these prophecies that God had given concerning the Gentiles, then there was no argument about it. I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen." It fallen. We fell in our father, Adam. And our fall didn't just result in a bruise, it resulted in death. We died in Adam. We were born into this world spiritually dead, spiritually blind, unable. Unable to see and unable to produce any life. In the natural world, death can never produce life. In order for life to be produced, whether it be in the animal world or in the plant world, it has to have life to produce it. And yet men think that being spiritually dead, they're able to create the spark of life by their own free will or by something that they do. No, only the one who is life can give life.

I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen And I will close up the breaches thereof. I'm gonna make it so that they can't find any comfort, any peace outside of my son, outside of what I've done. I'm gonna close up the breaches for them.

And I will raise up the ruins The temple of the tabernacle was a place of worship. I'm going to raise up a place of worship. They're going to worship me. They're going to worship me as they gather together in worship. They're going to worship me privately in worship. In their hearts, they're going to worship me.

and I will build it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom." Like Ruth, we're a bunch of Edomites. Edomites were despised enemy of Israel. There was a few Gentiles in the Old Testament that the Lord saved, but very few, and those Gentiles ended up becoming proselytes of Israel, Jews, Ruth being one of them. Here he's talking about all the Gentiles that are by nature heathen, without God and without hope in this world.

Here's going to be the difference There's a whole bunch of them out there that are called by my name. There's a bunch of them right here that are called by my name. I put my name on them. You know, your name means something to you. Your name is your reputation. You put your name on something, you protect the reputation of your name. If that's true among us who often mar our reputation by our unfaithfulness and by our sin. How much more true that is of God. God puts his name on something. It's set. He put his name on each one of his Edomites, each one of his heathens, each one of those who are out there in the world. They're going to become stones in the tabernacle of David. Peter called them lively stones, and I'm going to build them one upon the other upon that foundation stone, which the builders have rejected. It's a stumbling stone. It's a stone of offense. We're talking about the Judaizers again, those who want to mix works with grace, those who want to give man part of the credit for his salvation, those who want to rob God of his glory.

in doing it all and doing it by himself. This is what this prophecy is against. This is what it's for. Saith the Lord, that doeth this. That doeth this. I'm gonna do it. Y'all build it. I'm gonna build it. Y'all can build your own tabernacle. You're not going to build your church. You're not going to build the kingdom, but I'm going to build it. Upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Nothing in this world is going to hinder me from bringing those whom I have put my name on into the tabernacle of David.

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper. This is almost, I don't want to use the word exaggerated, but it's language that is being used to express. I mean, you can see one man's reaping and another man's plowing and the plower overtakes the reaper. The prosperity and the peace is so abundant that there's no stopping of the gathering up. him that soweth seed, overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes, him that soweth seed, and the mountains shall drop sweet wine and all the hills shall melt.



When do you experience this prosperity? When are you able to drink of the wine and have peace with God and rest and know that your sins have been forgiven and that God has done this, that he has brought you in to the tabernacle of David. When is that true for you? Is it not when Christ is being lifted up? Is it not when the word of God is being preached? Is it not when your heart is being drawn by the spirit of God in faith and in hope toward Christ?

away from yourself, away from your circumstances, away from all the trials and troubles and the fears that come within and the troubles that are without, and you're able to sit with Mary at the feet of the Lord Jesus and have that one thing that is needful, the one thing that is needful. You're able to say with the blind man, you know, in all the confusion, in all the troubles of this life and of this world, One thing I know, once I was blind, but now I see. Convincingly, I see. I see that I was dead in my trespasses and sins. I see that I had fallen down and that the Lord brought me in and that all of my hope and all of my salvation is in him.

And I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof and they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them. Not talking about material prosperity or the building up of lands or the planning of physical vineyards. He's talking about the fruits of the spirit. The fruits of the spirit in the heart. And that might be accompanied with little or no prosperity. It might be accompanied with great trouble and great trial and great affliction and sickness unto death. It might be accompanied with all sorts of material trials and troubles and problems, but the application of these things is to the heart by the Spirit of God through faith.

I will plant them upon their land. We read from Isaiah 61 this morning in the men's study. The Lord said, there'll be trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. I'm gonna plant them. I don't know about you, I planted stuff that didn't do too well before. I planted trees that never really took off and had to, tear them out of the ground. I've planted stuff that, you know, just never been the case with the Lord. When His seed is planted, it will accomplish that for which it purposed. It will not return unto Him void. I will plant them upon their land and they shall no more be pulled out. And their land, which I have given them, out of their land, I'm sorry, which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.

We have a land, brethren, the land of Beulah, the heavenly Jerusalem, the tabernacle of David that one day is gonna come down from heaven. And everyone that the Lord has put in this tabernacle will be part of that tabernacle. Rooted and built up in him. Peter calls it a spiritual house. One stone built upon the other with each conversion of each of God's heathen, heathen, brought into the tabernacle of David to worship him, to rejoice in him. There's where I can rest. That's the prophecy. that God gave to Amos. I'm sure when the Jews came back from Jerusalem, they rejoiced that that prophecy had been fulfilled in that day. And the Jews and so-called Christians that are waiting for that prophecy to be fulfilled in the Middle East today are wrong. They're wrong. This is the fulfillment of that prophecy. And we rejoice. Lord done it, amen? Amen.

All right, let's take a break.