WOE TO THEM WHO ARE AT EASE

Amos 6:1? ¶ Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

Amos had journeyed to the town of Bethel, where there stood a chapel, and within that chapel was the King of Israel. And with the King of Israel were priests, and singers; and everyone there was decked out for this 'majestic' service. The great religious leaders were there, the great politicians were there, the rich and the famous were there; all gathered together in the name of the Lord.

But out side the chapel there stood a man. A herdsman from the hill country whose name meant "burdened" (Amos 1:1). He wasn't invited to their 'church service', the people inside probably never heard of him before, he wasn't a professional preacher or pastor. He wasn't the son of a prophet, or of a politician. He had never been to college; but this man Amos was God's man, for God's day, with God's message.

And he stood outside the chapel, and he shouted to the top of his lungs "WOE TO THEM THAT ARE AT EASE IN ZION"! WOE TO THEM THAT ARE AT EASE IN ZION!

He stood before the people, and he preached a message, and he preached against and denounced their luxury. He preached against their Apathy, against their lack of concern for the poor people of the land. He condemned their expensive indulgences, he condemned their complacency and he condemned them for being religious but dead. WOE ONTO THEM THAT ARE AT EASE IN ZION!.

RELIGIOUS BUT LOST

If you read this book of Amos, you will see that the religious people, who were going to all the services, yet had not given GOD their whole hearts were the ones more than any other that brought the wrath of GOD. They were religious, but they failed to bless others. They were religious but they were not concerned. They were religious but they had no burden for those who were lost. They were religious, but they compromised the principals of GOD to suit their own ideas.

The people then, like so many to day, were taking the name of the Lord with their mouths, but denying him with the lifestyles. The same people that Amos said "Woe unto" were shouting: 'We are looking forward to the day of His coming!'

But to them God had proclaimed: "Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? [for you] the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light." – Amos 5:18-20

So many of the Christians that yearn after His coming and are looking for the glory of His coming, are not ready for His coming! Too many Christians are at ease in Zion today! Christ is coming for a church that has made HERSELF ready, but he is going to find that a lot of the church world has made its self fat and lazy on the world.

PROSPERING DEAD CHURCH

In Amos' day in the nation of Israel there was peace and prosperity, there was luxury that there never was before, everything seemed to be going well, everyone was prospering - yet this man, this rustic preacher, God's man with God's message was standing out there shouting 'Woe!'. That wasn't what the people wanted to hear, that wasn't what the people expected to hear, but it was what they NEEDED to hear.

The Church world is now in the same Laodecian state (Revelation 3:14-20).

The Laodecians was a church that was at ease in Zion, they were prosperous, they had luxury, they had rest from persecution, and they thought they had everything they needed; but they didn't have the most important thing! Jesus wasn't in their midst! And they were too blind to know it. And he rebuked them and told them that they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. And he told them he was ready to vomit them up if they did not repent!

The Laodecian church was comfortable, the Laodecians were at ease, but the Laodecians were headed for destruction. And they should had realized their condition, seeing they were neglecting the two greatest commandments.

THE GREATEST COMMANDMENTS

Mark 12:29-31 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

The Church of Laodecia may of professed to love God with all their hearts. I can imagine them singing the hymn, "Oh How I love Jesus". And Jesus standing outside ready to gag over their hypocrisy.

The Church of Laodecia may of professed to love their neighbor. I would guess that they passed an offering plate and the wealthy would drop in a few dollars, just enough to make them feel good about their 'charity', but not enough that they would miss it. Oh no, they would never give so much that it actually hurt them.

And I would guess that they would even boast, "I do not steal from my neighbor, or lie on my neighbor, or hurt my neighbor; thus I must love my neighbor". Yet the Bible teaches that the things you don't do to him, doesn't prove you love him.

For instance the mass murder from Virginia did not kill a single person from Idaho, does that mean he loved those he did not kill?

If Jesus came to the earth and simply didn't bother anyone would that had proved his love? If GOD had looked down upon this earth and saw us in our miserable condition and said only, "I will not steal from them", would that had proved his love?

True love is not passive, it is not at ease, it is not apathetic. True love motivates, true love is full of action. We are to LOVE as Christ loved, and when you LOVE with the love of Christ your love will cause you to DO. We are not to love in word but in deed and truth.

Love moved the Son of GOD to leave the splendors of heaven and it motivated him to die upon a cross for our sins. Love will motivate you Christian to get out of your comfort zone, and to have some action to attend your words, Love will cause you to suffer for the cause of Christ and the salvation of souls. A faith that is not followed by works is dead, and it is not worth having.

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS YOUR SELF.

I want you Christian to put yourself in the shoes of these people all around us who are lost today, who are in the bondage of satan today. What if that were you out there, blinded by evil, with no light of the gospel, no real knowledge of the Savior on your way to a devil's hell.

Would you want people to just leave you alone and let you go to hell, or would you not appreciate it if a person came by and shared Jesus with you, either through word or a tract? Wouldn't you appreciate being invited to church where you could hear the gospel? Then "Do onto others as you would have them to do unto you..... Love your neighbor as yourself!"

I am thankful today that someone took the time to hand me a bible, I am thankful that someone took the time to think about the soul of a security guard that they didn't really know.

On Judgment Day how will it feel to hear the lost, those you know, those you have had opportunity to witness to, to care for, to share Jesus with, say, "Why didn't you tell me about Jesus? Why didn't you invite me to Church? Why didn't you at least share a tract with me?"

WOE TO THEM THAT ARE AT EASE IN ZION.

THREE TOOLS FOR THE CHRISTIAN

What has GOD given us to reach the lost? If you are saved, he has given you love, he has given you his Spirit and he has given you the cross.

#1 He has placed love in your heart for your fellow man. He has given you a burden for souls, a desire to lead the lost to the good Shepherd. A heart that is willing to sacrifice and give of yourself, so others may be blessed. Do you have that today church? If not then go and buy of Christ.

I read where one preacher back in the nineteenth century would give an altar call by saying, "Whosoever will, let him come... and suffer". How many today are willing to suffer for Christ? How many are willing to suffer for their fellow man? If you are not willing to suffer for the cause of Christ, how can you believe you will reign with Christ? A love that is not willing to suffer for another, is not love at all.

#2 And GOD has given you his Spirit, that will sanctify you, and cause you to live holy, so that the world can see that you are different. The Spirit will set you free from the bondage of sin, and deliver you from the chains of this world.

Yet the Spirit is not only given to free you, but He is also given that you may be used to free others. The Spirit is the power behind the Christian's witness. Without the Spirit, one can only labor in the flesh, and the flesh can accomplish nothing.

Christian, have you got the power of the Spirit in your life? I fear that many are like those in Acts chapter nineteen, whom Paul asked, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they answered him, "We have not even heard if there was a Holy Ghost" [Acts 19:2].

WILL MANY IN CHRISTENDOM FALL INTO THIS CATEGORY?

Matthew 25:1-4 ¶ Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

The Church as a whole is represented by 10 virgins. They are divided down the middle into two classes: the wise and the foolish.

Both groups have their lamps, but the foolish did not bring any extra oil. They all had a form of Godliness, but some did not have the power there of. That Power is the Holy Ghost of God in their life.

Matthew 25:5-7 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

When the bridegroom tarried longer than expected, they all slumbered and slept. But the midnight cry awakened them. "Behold the Bridegroom Cometh!" The cry awoke them all, and they all prepared their lamps, so they would shine brightly.

Matthew 25:8-9 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

Now the foolish realize their folly of going forward with out the oil. It is not safe to rely on outward professions as evidence of salvation, you may be a part of a large church, of a loving congregation, even where the truth is taught and the Spirit reigns, but our associations does not matter, salvation is personal, and we must not rely upon anything to attest of our salvation, besides the supreme love to God that is bound in the hearts of all true Saints..

Not so but go and buy: No believer can furnish grace for his fellow-men. This comes only from God. And the wise virgins directed them to go to the right persons for grace. They were not sent to men or even ministers of the Gospel, nor to angels; but to God, the Father of mercies, who sits on a throne of grace, and gives it to them that come to him for it through Christ. And to Christ the mediator, who is full of grace and truth, and counsels persons to buy of him gold tried in the fire, grace more precious than the purest gold.

Matthew 25:10-13 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Only those who are ready when Christ returns shall be saved. Once the door of mercy is shut, no one shall enter the bridal chamber. The whole parable is for one purpose, and that is to urge us to be ready, to be prepared to meet our God. For those who are not ready shall surely suffer. And without the power of the Holy Spirit in your life there is no way for you to be ready.

ACCEPTING THE SPIRIT

Christians, we must accept the Lordship of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is Christ with us; and we must recognize that, and yield ourselves to Him.

Let me explain what I mean by 'accepting': A man marries a widower who has a son. The man moves in with the woman and child. The child tolerates the man being there, but he does not accept him as his Father, or the head of the household. The child refuses to spend time with him, or listen to him, or to obey him.

There are many believers who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but who have not accepted Him and acknowledged his presence and, as it were, He being the Lord of our life.

Sometimes I think we are SO FOOLISH! We think of Christ as being only in heaven. Like he is a million miles away from us, but in truth he is personally present with us through the Holy Spirit. And what he commands us to do by the Spirit is as sure as what he commands us to do by his Bible. God talks to us through the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is here to teach us, to lead us, to guide us, to conform us and to empower us. Church we need to acknowledge the Holy Ghost, and if we truly acknowledge the Holy Spirit we will yield ourselves to him. We will not resist the Spirit, we will not grieve the Spirit, but we will submit ourselves willingly to the leading of the Spirit.

The question I will now put to you is: "Have ye accepted the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" If not, why not do so right now?

Pleading for the Fulness and Power

Luke 11:8, 13 "I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him,

because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and

give him as many as he needeth... If ye then, being evil, know how to give

good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father

give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?"

You receive the indwelling of the Spirit by faith. The Bible never commands a Christian to be indwelt with the Spirit, for if he is saved, then he naturally has the Spirit indwelling him. But the Bible does command all Christians to be filled with the Spirit [Ephesians 5:18]. And one must be filled with the Spirit for one to rightly minister the things of Grace.

You see the indwelling of the Spirit is for you, it is God's work upon you. The fulness of the Spirit is to empower you to minister to others.

Notice the parable, a man wishes to give bread to his friend. Not to feed himself but a friend. When he realizes he has no bread to spare he goes to the neighbors and asks bread from him. How does he get it? By his continual begging he receives it.

Christ gives us the explanation to the parable in verse thirteen. We Christians should be asking God to fill us with the Holy Spirit. Why? So we can feed the hungry sinners with the bread of life.

Do you love sinners and wish to give them the bread of life, that they may eat and never die? Then you must go to the Father and get the bread. Men are starving to death in their sins, and we see them in this condition and we refuse to help them, because we are so lazy and selfish to go to the Father and ask for bread.

Have you ever bowed down and begged God to fill you with his Holy Spirit? Can you even imagine yourself doing so? Probably not, and I think the reason is you see no need in it.

One Brother didn't either, for a time. He was a nominal Christian, a good person, who attended Church faithfully, yet one who had not been filled with the Spirit. He had spent some time witnessing to his father about the Lord. Witnessing lightly, not effectually. Witnessing because he knew it was right, but not with the power of God. Finally he got his dad to commit to come out and visit the Church in a few weeks, and to this he was satisfied. Not many days hence, he received a phone call explaining that his dad had dropped dead with a massive heart attack while drinking.

The young man went to the grave of his father, broken because he knew his witnessing was insufficient and spiritless, and he fell upon it. And as he bowed there he began to pray that God would fill him with the Spirit, so that he might not again witness without power. I'm not sure how long he was there praying, but finally he was filled with the Holy Ghost. This man became a Pastor and for the next 31 years there wasn't a weekend that went by that he did not lead someone to the Lord.

What is it going to take for us to realize that we need to be filled with the Spirit of God? What is it going to take to cause us to get serious with God, to pray and seek his face until we receive power from on high?

Are you filled with the Spirit today Church? If not then go and buy of Christ. It will cost you something, you must repent of your sins, and yield your body up to Christ as a living Sacrifice, and then, and only then will he send the fire with power.

#3. And with that love, and Spirit, he has given you the cross! He has given you the gospel of Jesus Christ; that teaches his death for our sins, his burial and his resurrection. It is the good news that can break the hardest heart. Do you know how to share the gospel with a lost soul? If you cared about souls you would make sure you know how to present the gospel in its clarity. Do you have the boldness to share this gospel? If not, then go and buy of Christ.

Sad how a good many Christians do very well at sharing gossip and hearsay and slander with others. They do so without shame and most naturally. They can repeat the grandest lie and make it sound as fact; but absolutely have no power or desire to share the story of Christ. Maybe it is because idle tales of shame is more real to them than the Gospel? I think men need to return to the altar and lay hold of something that is so real and so life changing that they will not be able to stay quiet about it.

It is with these three tools that we are to compel the sinner to come to the house of the Lord and to give his life to Jesus. But the church world has lost its first love, it has refused to be filled with the Spirit, and it is afraid that the preaching of the cross will be offensive. So they have taken the articles of the world, in an attempt to boast up their attendance. Now you have "Entertainment" being used to draw people into the church house. It ranges from "CONCERTS", to "BINGO". The Sanctuary and the time set aside for services instead of being used to worship GOD are filled with idle talk. Services are seen as times of "Fellowship" instead of time for worship. There is hardly any conviction in the churches today, there is more of the world than there is of the Spirit. And I can imagine AMOS standing out side screaming, "WOE UNTO THEE THAT ARE AT EASE IN ZION!" "WAKE UP, WAKE UP, AND BE ABOUT THE FATHER'S BUSINESS FOR THE SUMMER IS ABOUT ENDED".

Dear Church, we must shake ourselves and get busy. Pray and fast, study and witness; seek the face of GOD until you lay hold upon his power. Stop being satisfied with lukewarmness. Don't be satisfied in a dead church. Don't be satisfied when you come to worship and there is no lost sinner here to listen. Where sinners come and feel no conviction. It begins with you.