This prophecy God gave Amos took
place 750 years before our Lord's incarnation. At the time, the
nation of Israel was a thriving, prosperous kingdom. It was during
the reign of Jeroboam II. The nation was enjoying a time
of peace, stable, strong, But at the same time, as we read
earlier in 2 Timothy 3, at the same time they were very, very
religious. The nation was degenerate. The
land was filled with greed and corruption. You read this book
and you'll see that. And the judgment of God had already
begun. God again and again sent judgment
sent famine, sent pestilence, but they would not repent. They
just grew harder. And the Lord God swore by His
prophet that because they repented not, He would send a famine worse
than that to their bodies. He would send a famine of His
Word, of His Word. Look, if you will, in chapter
8, here in Amos chapter 8. And it's probably not necessary,
but notice how this describes our day. This could have been
written to you and I this morning. Here in chapter 8, verse 11,
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send a
famine in the land, not a famine of bread, that he had already
done. nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the
Lord, of famine. And they shall wander from sea
to sea, and from the north even to the east, and they shall run
to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find
it, ever learning, but never able to come to a knowledge of
the truth. You see, light despised brings
God's wrath. Privilege, which Israel enjoyed,
privilege despised brings responsibility and God's wrath. The nation of
Israel had been given the greatest revelation, the greatest privileges
of any other nation on earth at the time. But they turned
from them to walk in utter darkness and idolatry. Jeroboam I, this
was written during the reign of Jeroboam II, but he ordered
them, the nation, to bow down to two golden calves and they
did it. They did it. And at the same
time tried to incorporate the worship of the true God with
their idolatry. Just going through the motions
again I repeat, does that not sound familiar? Does that not
describe the day in which you and I lived? They had the Passover,
the feast, the sacrifices, the priesthood, the temple, the altar,
the mercy seat, but they willfully rejected God's revelation. Therefore,
they were sentenced to the outpouring of God's wrath. This is exactly
what Peter speaks of in his first epistle, chapter 4, that judgment
must begin first at the house of God. It always does. It always
does. It begins among those who at
least profess to know and worship the one true God. Israel despised
God and his word and for this reason the prophet says, look
if you will in chapter 4. The prophet says this, chapter
4 verse 11, I have overthrown some of you as God overthrew
Sodom and Gomorrah. And you were as a firebrand plucked
out of the burning. I spared you. I spared you. Yet, have you not returned unto
me, saith the Lord? Therefore, therefore, listen
up. Therefore, thus will I do unto
thee, O Israel. And because I will do this unto
thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. Prepare to meet thy
God. What a word. What a word. What a reality. This is not an old wife's tale,
John. Most of our loved ones believe
it is. They believe it's a fable. Christ
returning, being ushered into the presence of God Almighty,
Peter says, in the last days there'll be scoffers and mockers
tell you we've heard that all of our lives. We've heard that
all of our lives. Our grandfathers and our great
grandfathers said that. Where's the sign of his coming?
And they consider it just a fable. But God through the mouth of
this prophet says, prepare to meet thy God. That's a certain reality. What
a sobering thought. What a sobering thought. I will
soon meet God, and so will you. Even with the small number we
have here this morning, it is not a stretch to say that represented
here are folks some of your needs I've already made known. Is there anyone here that didn't
come in with a burden of some sort? Anybody here doesn't have
a legitimate concern, a heartbreak, a trial, a difficulty? Anybody? Anybody? Of course not. But is
there anything more important than this? Can anything at all, anything
that goes on in my life or is going on in my life, can anything
compare to the importance of this? I'm going to meet God. I'm going to meet God. In a few
more days, this life's going to be over like the vapor that
it is that appears for a moment and poof, it's gone. No sooner
do you see it, it's gone. and I'll be ushered in in the
presence of God. Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel."
Does that disturb you? When you read that, does that
bother you? Does it frighten you? Does it
make you feel uneasy? Only if you're not ready to meet
God. If you're not ready to meet God,
oh, I hope you do feel uneasy. Last night, thousands, thousands
of people were called out to meet God. Thousands. Today, thousands and thousands
will be ushered into the presence of God Almighty. While I was
working on this message yesterday evening, Kenny called me and
said, Larry, my sister just died. Patty just died. I said, Kenny,
was she in the hospital? No, she's at home. And we went
in and found her in her room. She died. Look, if you will, we'll come
back to our text, but look, if you will, in chapter 7. Look
in chapter 7 here of Obadiah. We have this question. In chapter
7 verse 2, just a portion of it. Oh Lord forgive I beseech
thee, by whom shall Jacob arise? For Jacob is small. Oh Lord God,
verse 2, forgive I beseech thee, there's a faithful prophet. He
knew they deserved God's wrath. He knew God's wrath was coming,
but at the same time he prayed, Oh God be merciful, forgive them,
I beseech thee, by whom shall Jacob arise? He by whom Jacob,
that is God's chosen, he by whom they shall arise from the ruins
of Adam's fall, is only by one. only by one. Bobby sang about
it a moment ago. By Jesus Christ our Lord, by
His merits, and His blood, and His righteousness, by the power
of His grace. Grace that doesn't offer, that
doesn't attempt, oh no, glory to His name, grace that reigns. grace that reigns above the multitude
of my many sins and transgressions. Oh, by the merits of his blood
and righteousness and by the power of his grace, Jacob shall
arise. God's elect shall arise to life
eternal. Then at his glorious second advent,
we shall arise in resurrection glory, O blessed hope. With such a hope as that, these
words in chapter 4 do not frighten me. Prepare to meet thy God,
cause complete in him, I'm prepared to meet him. Again, what a word
this is. Turn if you will to Luke chapter
2. Luke chapter 2. You're very familiar
with this. But here is a picture. Here is
a picture of a man ready to meet God. Ready to meet
God. Simeon, prepare to meet thy God. And Simeon says, I'm ready. I'm
ready. I'm ready to depart. I'm ready
to kiss everything in this world goodbye. I'm looking forward
to it." And he tells us why. Why? My soul, is that possible? Can a helpless sinner go home
and lie down in his bed tonight with the blessed sweet assurance
the glorious promise that it is well with his soul. If he
should not open his eyes to this world ever again, if he shall
be called out during the night to stand before God Almighty,
he has no fear. He's ready. He's ready. My soul, what would you give
for that? What would you give for that?
Look what We read here in Luke chapter 2, you know where I'm
going, the story of Simeon. Mary and Joseph bring the young
child Jesus to the temple to do what the law commanded because
he didn't come to destroy the law or redeem her, he came to
fulfill it. And behold, verse 25, there was a man in Jerusalem
whose name was Simeon. And the same man was just and
devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. The consolation of
Israel. And the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, just like
it was Peter. Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona.
Flesh and blood had not revealed this unto thee. It was revealed
unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before
he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into
the temple, And when the parents brought in the child Jesus due
for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his
arms. Can you picture that? Can you
picture that? Isn't that sweet? Here's this old man, as we say,
with one foot in the grave. But God says, Simeon, before
you put the other foot in, you're going to see my salvation. You're going to see that which
your heart longs for. You're going to see the consolation
of Israel and you're going to be prepared by that look to meet
God Almighty in peace. And he came by the Spirit into
the temple, verse 27, and when the parents brought in the child
Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then took
he him up in his arms, took he him up in his arms, and
blessed God. Oh, I'm not surprised that he
blessed God. What sinner would not do the
same? What sinner, what sinner, what blind Bartimaeus sitting
in his rags in his darkness, to whom the Lord of glory has
come and opened his eyes and enabled him by faith to embrace
God's own Son, why wouldn't he bless the Lord? Why wouldn't
he sing the rest of his days? Oh, glory to God! Glory to God
for what he hath done. And he said, verse 29, Lord now,
now, not before, but now, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace. In peace. I don't know that Simeon
didn't lay in his bed. when the time of death was come,
suffering and hurting and aching, in physical stress and hurt. But that doesn't
negate this. That doesn't affect this. He
had peace with God. He had peace with God. Why? Because
he'd seen God's salvation. And now he could depart in peace.
If Amos had come to Simeon and said, prepare to meet thy God,
and Simeon said, I'm looking forward to it, I'm ready. Take me to be with him forever. Depart in peace according to
thy word. God doesn't lie. For mine eyes
have seen thy salvation. Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. There were many when our Lord
was on earth saw him physically and he said to them, you've never
really come to me. You've never really seen me.
That's a gift of God's grace, the precious gift of faith. Simeon
saw him. Saw him. Not with just the physical
eye, oh no. He had revealed to him by the
miracle of God's grace. That's what it takes. Nothing
else can do it. You cannot be educated into a
knowledge, a personal knowledge of who Jesus Christ is. It won't
happen. It won't happen. You said, I've
heard of him all my life. Most people in America have.
So did Saul. And Saul thought he was an imposter.
Oh, but when he on that Damascus road had his eyes open, he saw
the King of Glory. And then later, when the time
for he himself to leave this world had come, he said, I know
whom I have believed. I'm ready. I'm ready. Let me
depart. I know whom. You see, faith is
in a person. I don't trust the finished work
of Christ. I trust Him who finished the
work. I trust Him. I know Him. Faith is not believing
that Christ died for me. Does that shock anybody? Preachers
everywhere today, everywhere, all around us with very few exceptions. And thank God for those exceptions.
They're hearing God loves everybody. Jesus died for everybody. God
loves you. God loves you. I may believe
that and be believing a lie. The only way I can know that
is to do as Simeon did. Embrace God's Son. Embrace God's
Son. Living faith trusts the living
Lord. What we believe, listen, What
we believe, John, is determined by who we believe. Who we believe. Is He able to keep that which
I've committed unto Him against that day? Can He do that? Is He great enough? Powerful
enough? Loving enough? Is He full of
such grace and truth that He can take all the weight of my
immoral soul up on His mighty shoulders and lift me up to the
Kingdom of God itself and present me without fault? Yes, He can. I trust Him. If I believe Him,
Everything else is settled, is it not? And this proclamation,
prepare to meet thy God, gives me no fear. Does it make me uneasy? Doesn't frighten me at all. In
Hebrews chapter 9, Paul said, and it is appointed unto men
once to die. Is it appointed unto men, plural,
that's you, and that's me. That's from the youngest, JC
back there, to the oldest, Bess, just had a birthday. 88? 88. But is it appointed unto men,
wants to die, But that's not the whole verse. That's not the
whole verse, is it? That's not all. Now we... I hear folks that ought to know
better. That ought to know better. They talk like that's all. A
person dies lost and they say, well, they're out of their suffering
now, they're not suffering anymore. Whoa, wait a minute! That's not
so. That's not according to God's
Word. It's appointed unto men once to die and that's not all.
Though people talk like it and act like it and they live like
it, that's not all. Paul went on to say, but after
this, after this, after death, something follows death. Death
is not the end. He didn't say it is appointed
unto men once to die and after this, nothing. After this annihilation,
no. After this purgatory, no. But after this, Paul said, the
judgment. The judgment. Just as God's faithful
prophet hundreds of years before said, prepare to meet thy God. That is what will follow my certain
death, a certain meeting with God. I think John referred to
this this morning in his lesson. Paul on Mars Hill before all
those smart people. Oh, they were so smart. I mean, you had fellas with so
many degrees they called them Dr. Fahrenheit. They spent their
whole time in nothing else but to hear or to tell some new thing. A lot of philosophers. And they
had shrines to every god. A god for this, a god for that.
And Paul said, fellas, let me tell you something. At the time
of this ignorance, God winked at, but He now commands all men
everywhere to repent for He had appointed the day. Do you hear
that? You have an appointment with God Almighty. You've got
an appointment with God Almighty. God has appointed a day in which
He will judge this world in righteousness by that man which He had appointed,
Jesus Christ the Lord. Prepare to meet thy God. In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul wrote,
the believers who were concerned about their loved ones who had
died believing other Christians, they were concerned about where
they were. And Paul said, listen, don't
you sorry for them like you would someone who died without hope. What does that mean? Someone
dies without hope. If they died without Christ,
they died without hope. If they died without knowing
Jesus Christ, they died without hope. They may have died as a
Baptist. They may die as a five-pointer.
But if they died without Jesus Christ, they died without hope,
and they stand before God without hope. Hmm. Pat. Back there has her ribbons of
hope, it's called. She works hard trying to raise
money for cancer research, to try to find a cure for cancer.
And that's commendable. That's a good thing to do. May
God be pleased to allow them to find a cure. But men will
still die, won't they? Men will still die, they'll still
face God. Oh, but to die with a good hope. To die in Christ. It doesn't
get any gooder than that, does it? It doesn't get any better
than that. All to, like old Simeon, all
to embrace him and to be embraced by him. to be held up by his
mighty arm. To hear him say, Larry, nothing
and no one can ever pluck you out of my hand. Could I be any
more secure? Could I be safer than that? In
the hand of our glorious Redeemer, that great shepherd of the sheep. Last Wednesday, just past Wednesday
before, I drove back here from West Virginia. I stood at the graveside of someone
that I had preached to for years. I had personally witnessed to
them for years. And I asked myself, Where are
you now? Were you prepared to meet God? Why do most people just do like
these folks in Amos did? They hear the faithful prophet
deliver God's message And they say, let's go our way and eat
and drink and be merry. No need to be alarmed. Like those cattle out in the
field, just grazing and grazing and grazing. And every now and
then someone will come and separate one and take it, taking it out
for the slaughter. And the cows may raise their
head just for a moment, As that one is led away to be slaughtered,
then they go right back to grazing again. So is man. Unfazed. Unfazed. Yesterday, I looked at the weather forecast
and I flipped it on, flipped to my local And it said a high
of 81. This was yesterday morning and
it was already hotter than that. With a 100% chance of heavy rain. And I thought, what are they
talking about? And then I noticed up in the
top there was a zip code that wasn't silicon. I put it in before
I left. It was the forecast for where
my mother lives. And I thought, oops. So I hit
another button for our area and it said 91 degrees with a 0%
chance of rain. A lot different, not the same
thing at all. Even so, even so, most people
today have no fear of God because they are tuned in to a different
forecast altogether. Just altogether. They don't know
who God really is. And because they've heard this
different broadcast all of their life about who God is, they have
no fear of him. No concern for their soul. No
reason to be. Because they've heard this. They've watched a different forecast. God's done all he can. Now it's
up to you. Now am I lying? Am I making that
up, Louie? I heard that all my life. So
did you. That's what multitudes. It's heartbreaking. Oh God, help
us to get out the gospel. They're hearing God's done all
he can and now it's up to you. And you know the effect that
has on people? Well, let's just eat and sleep
and be merry. If it's all up to me, I'll just
live like I want. And when I come down to die,
I'll do like these preachers have told me. I'll make my decisions
for Jesus. No problem. No problem. So sad. This is what Paul talked about
in 2 Thessalonians 2, about folks believing the lie, just like
Eve did. The devil said, oh, take it,
take it, eat that fruit. You won't die? You really won't
die? That's a fable. That's a fairy
tale. You won't die? And that's what
he tells our day. Let me read you something by one of the, or at least he
was at one time, big proponent of this other God. These are
his own words I'm reading. Free will is our passport to
heaven. Free will is our foundation in
salvation. Free will is our ticket out of
salvation. Salvation is not up to God, it
is up to you. It is not up to God, it is up
to you. Jimmy Swagger. And he's just
saying exactly what all these other false prophets say. And
so many people believe that. Therefore, they're not prepared
to meet God. Because God to them is just some
feeble old man in glory that just can't have his way, that
needs the help of the sinner because before anything he wants
to do can be successful. And they sleep the sleep of death. And until that day they're ushered
into the presence of God Almighty, then and then alone will they
see God as He really is. I cannot think of anything, anything
worse than that. Trusting the wrong Jesus, the
wrong God. Prepare to meet thy God. The very words though, the very
words. have the sound of grace about
them. Do they not? Do you hear it?
Do you recognize the tune? Prepare to meet thy God. Oh,
I hear grace in those words from God because he gives sinners
warning. God clearly says in advance of
certain judgment, he says, prepare, prepare for it, prepare for it.
So then, the case is not hopeless. unless you just don't heed the
warning, unless you continue on without taking any notice
to God's words. As our Lord himself said to the
religious folk of his day, if you believe not that I am he,
you shall die in your sins. But, blessed, blessed word, but,
but, glorious gospel, Blessed, blessed good news. Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Oh, what glorious sound. What music to that poor jailer's
ears those words must have been when he cried, what must I do
to be saved? And Paul said, well, We're going
to have a class. You come every night and we'll
indoctrinate you. We're going to educate you. We're
going to jam all these various points into your brain till you
get confused. No, Paul said in answer to the
question, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved. And he did by the grace of God. Saved from sin's curse, no condemnation. From sin's dominion and from
sin's very presence one day. Saved by the grace that is in
Christ Jesus to the uttermost. Would you be prepared to meet
God? Paul said in writing to Timothy, In chapter 2, there
is one God. One God. There is one true God. The true God says, He will in
no wise pass by iniquity. The true God says, I demand satisfaction. The true God says, The soul that
sinneth, it must die. That's the true God. There is
one God, but Paul didn't stop there, did he? And one mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Oh, I've got a mediator. A mediator
between my soul and a holy God, and he, in whom I am accepted. In that one, in whom we are complete. Complete in thee, no work of
mine can take, dear Lord, the place of thine. Complete in Christ. Yes, Christ alone prepares sinners
to meet God. Ye who once were far off are
now brought nigh by the blood of Christ. like that publican our Lord talked
about. Two men went up to the temple
to pray and he said after they did their thing, no one truly sought God. The other did his religious thing
and went home just like he went in. Didn't ask for a thing, didn't
need anything. But that poor sinner, that poor
despised publican that cried for mercy found mercy. And the King of glory, the King
of glory said, I say unto you, that man's going home justified. I've said this before, but I'll
repeat it. Brothers and sisters in Christ,
if the King of glory himself, if he who loved us and gave himself
for us, If he looks down from the throne of his sovereign majesty
and he says concerning you as you go through those doors and
go back home, justified. Justified. Bless God for such marvelous,
redeeming grace. Turn, if you will, to Ezekiel
chapter 16. John again referred to this,
but that's okay. There's room here for both of
us. Ezekiel chapter 16. Last Monday, I think it was, or the week before. Anyway, before
I preached at Grace Baptist Church in Danville, where Don Portner
is pastor, I was babysitting my two granddaughters, Laura,
who's 10, And Allison, we call her Allie, who's seven. If any of you listened to the
message on Free Grace, I referred to this then, but they kept snapping
my picture, especially the older one. And I said, what are you
doing? I'm taking your picture, Pawpaw.
I said, let me see that. And I said, man, I need to go
on a diet. I need to go on a diet. And Allie
sitting over here said, Pawpaw, what's a diet? I said, Honey,
Pawpaw needs to lose some weight, don't you think so? And she said,
No, Pawpaw, you're perfect. Oh, I should have hugged her
and gave her a big kiss. Pawpaw, you're perfect. Listen,
listen, as a result of God's work, for this helpless, dead dog sinner
that he came to me and found me when none eye pitied me as
a result of his picking me up, giving me life, dressing me in
the righteousness of his own son, I'm perfect. I'm perfect. And thy renown went forth among
the heathen for thy beauty, for it was perfect, perfect through
my comeliness which I put upon thee, saith the Lord God, complete
in thee." Oh, what a marvelous place to be. What else matters,
child of God? What else matters? This sinner,
is prepared to meet God. My departure's at hand, and I'm
ready. I'm ready. My soul. I'm ready to depart. Bold shall I stand in that great
day, for who ought to my charge shall lay, while through thy
blood absorbed I am from fear and sin and guilt and shame. That's what Paul said, isn't
it? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It
is God that justifies. This spotless robe the same appears
when ruined nature sinks in years. No age can change its glorious
hue. The robe of Christ is ever new. Jesus, be endless praise to thee,
whose boundless mercy hath for me, for me a full atonement made. an everlasting ransomed paid. And doing so, He has prepared
me to meet my God. Amen. Amen. God bless you.