Amos - The God Of Justice - Preach The Word

THE GOD OF JUSTICE
David Legge
walk together except they be agreed? I wonder here tonight are you and Jesus
arguing about something? Can two walk together except they be agreed?
C.T. Studd on one occasion was on furlough, and he decided to go to the Keswick
Convention. F.B. Meyer happened to be the speaker on that occasion, and in one of
the sessions C.T. Studd was asked to come to the platform impromptu and give a 15
minute report on his work in Africa. He did that, and there was an amazing thing
happened in that meeting: God came down. A sense of God's Spirit filled the place,
and there was a brokenness on the congregation, and people began to weep as he
related to them his experience of serving the Lord on that great continent. When he
got down from the pulpit, F.B. Meyer, well, he didn't really know what to do. He could
hardly preach. After the meeting Meyer came and sought out Studd, and he just said
these three words to him: 'What is it?'. He was meaning: 'What happened? How did
you do that?' - but of course it wasn't him, it was God. This is what C.T. Studd said to
F.B. Meyer, a great expositor and preacher of the word of God, he couldn't have been
anything else to be at Keswick Convention, and C.T. Studd, that broken missionary,
said: 'Have you given all of the keys of your life to Jesus Christ?'. Do you know what
that means? Like the keys of your house, to every room, have you given every
compartment, every secret place to Jesus Christ, that He might fill it?
Meyer realised that he had never done that, and so that evening, after the
convention, he went alone with God and he began to give the keys over to Him. He
gave the key of family, he gave the key of possessions, he give the key of his future
and his health, and he tried to do in Hebrews 12 what we're called to do: to lay aside
every sin, and the weight that weighs us down, keeping us from running the race -
but there was one key in F.B. Meyer's life that was a real problem in giving over. Do
you know what it was? It was his popularity as a preacher, it was his reputation as an
expositor of the word of God - he couldn't give it up! He heard God's Spirit speak to
him in that moment, in that crisis, and God said: 'Everything or nothing! Partial
obedience is disobedience'. Like Jacob, he wrestled with God, and he broke through
and he gave up his reputation and God came and met him!
Can I ask you tonight: have you given all the keys of your life to the Lord? That's
what it means to walk with God, to be in agreement with Him, not to be arguing with
Him about anything. C.T. Studd and F.B. Meyer became great friends after that event,
and they just called one another 'C.T.' and 'F.B.'. C.T. later came on furlough to
another Keswick Convention were F.B. Meyer again was the speaker, and they shared
a tent with one another. Early in the morning F.B. was woken up by C.T. on his knees
with a candle lit and an open Bible, and he was weeping. F.B. Meyer said to him:
'What is wrong, brother? What are you doing?', and the tears came streaming down
his cheeks, and he said, 'The Lord spoke to me this morning when I woke, and He
said 'If you love Me, keep My Commandments', and there are so many that I have not
obeyed!' - that was C.T. Studd! The reason for God's blessing on his life was that he
walked with God, which meant he was in agreement with God.
They were questioning Amos as the prophet of God, his message of judgement, and
he told them: 'It is justified because of your election, God expects more of you, but it
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