{"id":8606,"date":"2020-04-05T20:00:42","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T03:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=8606"},"modified":"2020-04-05T18:56:53","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T01:56:53","slug":"amos6_1-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/amos6_1-14\/","title":{"rendered":"2 Clues That You Struggle with Pride"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amos 6:1-14\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Amos 6:1-14.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Amos 6:1 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 1:\u00a0 Amos addresses the complacent and prideful leaders of two kingdoms: the southern kingdom of Judah (referred to here as \u201cZion\u201d) and the northern kingdom of Israel (referred to here as \u201cMount Samaria\u201d since Samaria was the capital city of Israel).\u00a0 The leaders of Israel in particular had a lot of pride, seeing themselves as the greatest men of the greatest nation (\u201cnotable men of the foremost nation\u201d (v1)).\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When you are in a position of influence or affluence, you must be especially careful not to let pride poison your perspective.<\/strong>
\n
\nAmos 6:2 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Go to Calneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 2:\u00a0 Amos wants to warn the leaders of Judah and Israel about not letting pride cause their downfall.\u00a0 Amos points them to three other kingdoms that once were great and powerful but that had recently been invaded and captured: Calneh and Hamath were two prominent city states in the nation of Aram but they were captured by Shalmaneser III of Assyria in approximately 850 B.C.\u00a0 Gath was a major city in Philistia yet it was taken over by Hazael of Aram in approximately 815 B.C.\u00a0 These kingdoms were apparently larger than Judah and Israel, but they still fell.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When things are going well, beware of getting prideful.\u00a0 God can bring a person down just as easily as He can exalt a person.\u00a0 So stay humble no matter what.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amos 6:3-7 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You put off the evil day and bring near a reign of terror.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 3:\u00a0 In their complacency the leaders of Israel would \u201cput off the evil day\u201d by arrogantly dismissing the thought that disaster would ever strike their nation.\u00a0 Little did they know that their prideful attitudes and sinful ways were ushering \u201ca reign of terror\u201d.\u00a0 Though the Israelites experienced economic prosperity under King Jeroboam II, the decades after Jeroboam\u2019s death would be filled with fear, violence and uncertainty.\u00a0 In the 31 years after Jeroboam II\u2019s death, Israel would be ruled by six kings, a number of whom would seize the throne through military coups and assassinations.\u00a0 Eventually, the Assyrians would capture Israel and send the Israelites into exile.\u00a0 How quickly the fortunes of Israel would turn shortly after Amos wrote these words.\u00a0 Thus Amos warns the Israelites against being complacent now and ignoring the coming destruction that was awaiting them.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Complacency and laziness are a recipe for disaster.<\/strong>\u00a0 As we talked about this past Sunday at Thrive, if Zacchaeus had gotten too comfortable up in the tree, he would have missed the greater things God had planned for him.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s not be complacent in seeking God or passive in the way we worship with our church.\u00a0 Be proactive.\u00a0 Attack each day and make it count for Jesus.<\/strong>
\n
\nAmos 6:8 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Sovereign\u00a0LORD\u00a0has sworn by himself–the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God Almighty declares: “I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-14:\u00a0 After addressing the Israelites\u2019 complacency, Amos takes aim at another related problem: the Israelites\u2019 pride.\u00a0 In verse 8, the Lord responds to \u201cthe pride of Jacob\u201d (another name for Israel).\u00a0 Since the Israelites kept placing their hope in their own strength instead of trusting in the Lord, the Lord promises to give Israel up entirely to a foreign nation. Verses 9-11 illustrate just how thoroughly the Israelites will be handed over to destruction and foreign control.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 God detests pride.\u00a0 One of the most prevalent themes in the Bible is that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.\u00a0\u00a0How do you know if you have a problem with pride?\u00a0 There are many clues, but here are two we can see from this passage:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Clue #1 that you struggle with pride:\u00a0 You think you are above God\u2019s laws and commands.<\/strong>\u00a0 That is, you think God\u2019s laws and commands do not apply to you, that you do not need to listen to God\u2019s Word or obey His commands.\u00a0 That\u2019s how the Israelites \u201cturned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness\u201d (v12).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Clue #2 that you struggle with pride:\u00a0 You deny any need for God.<\/strong>\u00a0 Rather you rely on yourself and attribute your accomplishments to your own strength and smarts.\u00a0 This is what the Israelites did when they would say, \u201cDid we not take Karnaim by our own strength?\u201d (v13)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Because of their own pride, the Israelites would suffer dearly.\u00a0 Similarly, if we struggle with pride, it\u2019s time to humble ourselves, lest we suffer a similar fate.\u00a0 For pride comes before a fall, but humility comes before honour.\u00a0\u00a0No matter how big or prosperous you get, always stay hungry for God and humble before Him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Heavenly Father, thank You for showing me that I need to guard against two things: complacency and pride.\u00a0 When I\u2019m starting to get comfortable spiritually or start to get complacent, that\u2019s when I need to watch out.\u00a0 When I\u2019m often thinking that my own strength and resources will ensure that I am secure, that\u2019s when I need to beware.\u00a0 No matter what my circumstances, may I always stay hungry and desperate for you, recognizing that apart from You I can do nothing.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n
      <\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

      Today\u2019s passage is Amos 6:1-14.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

      Amos 6:1 (NIV)\u00a0
      \n1\u00a0\u00a0Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!\u00a0<\/p>\n

      On verse 1:\u00a0 Amos addresses the complacent and prideful leaders of two kingdoms: the southern kingdom of Judah (referred to here as \u201cZion\u201d) and the northern kingdom of Israel (referred to here as \u201cMount Samaria\u201d since Samaria was the capital city of Israel).\u00a0 The leaders of Israel in particular had a lot of pride, seeing themselves as the greatest men of the greatest nation (\u201cnotable men of the foremost nation\u201d (v1)).\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When you are in a position of influence or affluence, you must be especially careful not to let pride poison your perspective.
      \n\u00a0
      \nAmos 6:2 (NIV)\u00a0
      \n2\u00a0\u00a0Go to Calneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8606","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\/8606","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=8606"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8615,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8606\/revisions\/8615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}