Amos - The God Of Justice - Preach The Word

THE GOD OF JUSTICE
David Legge
- but what do we do? We go on doing the same. I've said before that if the Holy Ghost
didn't turn up at 11 o'clock on Sunday morning, we would be able to go on right
ahead and we wouldn't notice hardly any difference half the time. We go on in our
activity, and what the prophet Amos is saying is: 'No, don't! Stop! You Israelites are
living in denial, you're thinking God is well pleased with your activity, you're thinking
God is well pleased and satisfied in His heart with your half-hearted devotion!'. What
Amos was preaching - and I think what needs to be preached today - is that the
church needs to take radical action in seeking the Lord, to hear what the Lord says.
We've got all the answers, we can buy all the paperbacks and watch all the DVDs from
America on how to fill your church with people, how to have seeker sensitive services,
how to get the community in - but friends, most of it is a sham! God isn't in any of it!
We need God! We need to find out how to get God back! Who is there who knows how
to get God down, to seek Him that we might live, and that our people might live?
You see, we need to seek Him to hear what He's saying - that's what the Psalmist
spoke in Psalm 85: 'Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?
Show us Your mercy, LORD, and grant us Your salvation' - listen - 'I will hear what
God the LORD will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints; but
let them not turn back to folly'. You see, he cried 'Revive us, O Lord', and he waited
on God and he sought the Lord to hear what He will say. What do you think we need
to do to revive the church in the United Kingdom? What do we need to do? You know,
people would give you a list, here's the ABC - you need to put this in the right place,
and do this, and we need to be preaching this way, that way, and the other way - and
all of it is fine and dandy, but wait till I tell you: I really don't know where we would
start, I honestly don't know. There are things we could do better, but I do know this:
what we do need to do, collectively, across denominational boundaries, we need to
seek God! We need to put everything on hold! Who will do it? What churches will do
it? What denominations will do it? Who of them will unite together and say: 'We will
put everything on hold, and we're going to seek God, and say 'Lord, what's happened?
Where have we gone wrong? Where is our blindspot? What sin is in the camp, Lord?
What do You want us to do?''.
In the island of Lewis, before the awakening, did you know that they were in dire
straits spiritually on the isles? A place that once had experienced refreshing from the
presence of the Lord had now begun to grow cold and indifferent. That burden was
shared by the Free Church Presbytery of Lewis who, in the following declaration that
I'm going to read that was posted in the Stornoway Gazette and West Coast
Advertiser, publicly expressed their deep concern. This is verbatim what they said,
listen: 'The Presbytery of Lewis, having taken into consideration the low state of vital
religion within their own bounds, and throughout the land generally, call upon their
faithful people in all their congregations to take a serious view of the present
dispensation of divine displeasure, manifested not only in the chaotic conditions of
international politics and morality, but also and especially in the lack of spiritual power
from Gospel ordinances, and to realise that these things plainly indicate that the Most
High has a controversy with the nation. The Presbytery affectionately plead with their
people, especially with the youth of the church, to take these matters to heart and to
make serious inquiry as to what must be the end should there be no repentance! They
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