{"id":8513,"date":"2020-03-31T20:00:12","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T03:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=8513"},"modified":"2020-03-29T17:33:31","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T00:33:31","slug":"amos3_1-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/amos3_1-15\/","title":{"rendered":"A Great Way to Minimize Trouble in Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amos 3:1-15\u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Amos 3:1-2 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Hear this word the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has spoken against you, O people of Israel–against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-2:\u00a0 The Lord chose Israel especially to be a light to other nations.\u00a0 However, Israel was not faithful to the Lord, breaking His heart and defaming His name with their continual idolatry.\u00a0 The fact that God would punish Israel for their sins shows us that with authority from God comes accountability from God.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God holds accountable those to whom He has given authority.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0If we are faithful with the authority He has given us, He will reward us.\u00a0 If we are unfaithful with that authority, He will discipline us.<\/p>\n

Amos 3:3-9 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Does a lion roar in the thicket when he has no prey? Does he growl in his den when he has caught nothing?
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground where no snare has been set? Does a trap spring up from the earth when there is nothing to catch?
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the\u00a0LORD\u00a0caused it?
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Surely the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The lion has roared– who will not fear? The Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0has spoken– who can but prophesy?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 3-8:\u00a0 The answer to all these questions is no.\u00a0 The point to all these questions is to show that God is active in warning His people about future calamities.\u00a0 As verses 7-8 say, \u201cSurely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets\u2026The Sovereign Lord has spoken \u2013 who can but prophesy?\u201d \u00a0When you look at many of the calamities that came to Israel in the Old Testament, God sent a prophet to warn the people beforehand, sometimes years, decades or even centuries in advance.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. One of the best ways to minimize the amount of unnecessary trouble you encounter in life is to study God\u2019s Word. \u00a0<\/strong>God gives us His Word to warn us about so many things that can hurt us.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be silly and ignore the warnings God has specifically placed in His Word just for us.\u00a0 Instead, be a student of God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 Diligently study your Bible and meditate on it often.\u00a0 You will be so much wiser and avoid much trouble as a result.\u00a0 Talking about God\u2019s commands, David says, \u201cBy them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward\u201d. (Psalm\u00a019:11)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Like a good Father, God warns us before He doles out His punishment.<\/strong>\u00a0 He gives us time to repent and to turn back to Him before it is too late.\u00a0 God did this repeatedly in the Old Testament.\u00a0 In the New Testament, God warns us that those who reject His Son Jesus are bound to face an eternity without Him. \u00a0\u00a0Not wanting anyone to perish, God gives us this warning in His Word in hope that as many people as possible will listen to the warning and run to His Son Jesus for safety (2 Peter 3:9).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Amos 3:9-15 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
      \n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod and to the fortresses of Egypt: “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest within her and the oppression among her people.”
      \n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“They do not know how to do right,” declares the\u00a0LORD, “who hoard plunder and loot in their fortresses.”
      \n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore this is what the Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: “An enemy will overrun the land; he will pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses.”
      \n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is what the\u00a0LORD\u00a0says: “As a shepherd saves from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites be saved, those who sit in Samaria on the edge of their beds and in Damascus on their couches.”
      \n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Hear this and testify against the house of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God Almighty.
      \n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.
      \n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed and the mansions will be demolished,” declares the\u00a0LORD.<\/em><\/p>\n

      On verses 9-15:\u00a0 Here God promises to punish Israel for her sins by sending an enemy of Israel to invade Israel\u2019s land, tear down fortresses (v11), altars (v14), \u201cthe winter house along with the summer house\u201d (referring to the king\u2019s vacation homes) (v15), and mansions (v15).\u00a0 Approximately 40 years after this prophecy was written, the Assyrians would invade Israel and do what Amos prophesied here.<\/p>\n

      What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God is true to His Word.\u00a0 He does what He says He will do.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Heavenly Father, thank You that one of the best ways You love me is by warning me of danger.\u00a0 Thank You for placing in Your Word many words of warning, so that by heeding Your warnings I will save myself much pain.\u00a0 Thank You for caring enough about me to warn me in advance so that I don\u2019t fall into unnecessary and avoidable trouble.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

      Amos 3:1-2 (NIV)
      \n1\u00a0\u00a0Hear this word the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has spoken against you, O people of Israel–against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
      \n2\u00a0\u00a0“You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”<\/p>\n

      On verses 1-2:\u00a0 The Lord chose Israel especially to be a light to other nations.\u00a0 However, Israel was not faithful to the Lord, breaking His heart and defaming His name with their continual idolatry.\u00a0 The fact that God would punish Israel for their sins shows us that with authority from God comes accountability from God.<\/p>\n

      What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God holds accountable those to whom He has given authority.\u00a0\u00a0If we are faithful with the authority He has given us, He will reward us.\u00a0 If we are unfaithful with that authority, He will discipline us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8513"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8516,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8513\/revisions\/8516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}