May 19, 2003

___ Continued from page 14
___was forced to become God's mouthpiece, stating the people had violated the holiness codes set up by God. We get the sense of how serious this concern is in 4:2, when the Hebrew can be translated, "My Lord God swears by his holiness." This holiness motivated the Lord to correct the covenant family.
___The responsibilities
___of God's family
___Amos models for the believer today two critical responsibilities of God's spiritual family.
___Leaders must speak. The opening verses of chapter 3 allude to several cause-and-effect relationships, such as a lion roaring and a trap being tripped. Amos related his prophetic calling to these kinds of familiar operations in society. Amos' life has a cause-and-effect relationship with the Lord. The Lord speaks, and he cannot help but follow through by speaking to the people.
___The leaders of the 21st century must speak in ways similar to Amos. Just as we find it natural to cheer when our favorite sports team scores, the prophetic voices of today should find it natural to speak when the lifestyles of believers become so opulent their spiritual lives are clouded by their material possessions.
___Early Baptists like John Bunyan wrote of this prophetic urgency when he boldly prayed: "Oh, that those who have heard me speak today will see as I do--what sin, death, hell and the curse of God really are, and that they might understand the grace and love and mercy of God, that it is through Christ to them no matter in what condition they are, even if they are his enemies."
___God's family also is accountable. Just as marriages and family systems require accountability and faithfulness to the agreements we make together, so God's family necessitates accountability to one another and a holy God. We have a very special relationship to the Lord; as the church today, we are God's chosen.
___Just like the Israelites chosen by God on Mount Sinai, we are now responsible for our own choices. Our most important responsibility is to follow the example of a holy God and see the worth and dignity of every person created in his image, including the poor. Bribery, slavery and adultery all transgress the first order of God's good creation. By trampling on those who are the least, we risk running over the very Christ who said, "Whatever you have done unto the least of these, my brothers, you have done unto me."
___The word from Amos is not optional. As General Montgomery, commander of the forces in North Africa during World War II, once said, "Orders no longer form the basis for discussion but for action." The family of God must take action now to avoid the imminent judgment (3:2).
___On July 14, 2000, Warren Bailey died. Most people probably did not read his obituary; but unknown to most people in his hometown of St. Mary's, Ga., Warren Bailey had left $60 million to the local Methodist church. According to the Associated Press story, Bailey operated a local family-owned telephone company. He became quite wealthy over time but divorced after several years of marriage and died with no children to inherit the money. He chose to give most of his estate to the church with no strings attached to the gift.
___This inheritance presented a wonderful opportunity for the church and their pastor, Derek McAleer. Most churches might crater under the responsibility of this kind of estate, but the church voted to give the majority of the money away. They divided the estate into various kinds of trusts and accounts designated to assist the impoverished and needy in their community and to go toward nonprofit groups and other churches to assist them with their projects. None of it was designated for future building construction or for the general fund of the budget.
___Could Warren Bailey and the members of St. Mary's church have been modern-day prophets like Amos, willing to give for the good of the community? They certainly became responsible members of God's family.
___Questions for discussion
___ Amos challenges us to set new priorities in our finances. What would Amos say if he were a member of your church's finance committee? How would his influence cause you to evaluate your church's budget priorities?
___ Christians are not immune to the temptations of materialism. If Amos were to stop by your home, what material goods would you be ashamed to show him, for fear he might have something negative to say about them?
___ Amos describes God as a holy God. How should that characteristic of God be reflected in our choices today?
___ Can you see areas of injustice in our judicial system that favor the rich over the poor? What ways can the church be used today to provide equal opportunities for justice at every level of society?
___ The Dallas Morning News reported that average giving to churches dropped by almost $150 per donor from 1999 to 2000, and the giving of the average Christian dropped by 19 percent within the same period. What do these statistics reveal about Christians' attitudes to generosity and giving today?

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