August 26, 2025 • 19 mins
Pastor Brandon examines the prophet Amos's warning about "walking on thin ice" – how Israel's complacency and false security were leading them toward judgment despite their apparent prosperity and success.
• Amos functioned as God's watchman, warning people of coming disaster with enough time to prepare
• The prophet addressed both Israel and his home nation of Judah, proving no one is exempt from God's standards
• God's patience should never be confused with His acceptance of sin
• Those who acknowledge their struggles and move toward God experience grace differently than those who rationalize disobedience
• Accountability with trusted believers is essential for overcoming persistent sin patterns
• Whatever you're struggling with, someone else has likely battled it too and can walk alongside you
• Radical changes may be necessary to break free from entrenched sin – "is your freedom worth it?"
• Ministry leaders need the same accountability and transparency as everyone else
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, hello everybody .
Welcome back to the BibleBreakdown Podcast with your host
, pastor Brandon, today, amos,chapter 6, and today's title is
Walking on Thin Ice.
Walking on Thin Ice.
I don't know if you've everdone this before.
I grew up in the Deep South, andso the idea of walking on an
ice-covered lake just was not athing.
(00:21):
You know, any ice that wouldcover a lake down there would,
first of all, be extremely rare,but it would also be extremely
risky if it ever did Not.
Going to do that, however, Ihave heard stories of people who
have grown up in Michigan,wisconsin, canada, all kinds of
other places where it would getextremely ungodly cold, and
during the wintertime, you know,you would have ice houses.
(00:42):
You know fishing houses, ratheron the ice, and at the
wintertime, you would have icehouses, fishing houses, rather
on the ice.
And at the same time, though,there would be this transitional
season where it's no longerfull winter, it's not yet spring
, and there would be thistransitional season where the
ice was starting to get thinnerand you could risk going out on
the ice, but it was very riskyand it could lead to disaster,
(01:03):
which is where one of thephrases came from that we now
say, walking on thin ice, whichis walking in a dangerous
situation.
Well, that is what Amos isgoing to be yelling again from
the rooftops as he continues totalk about this overall idea of
the justice of God.
So we're going to jump into allthat in just a moment.
So you have your Bibles.
I want to open up with me toAmos, chapter six.
(01:24):
While you're doing that, makesure you take just a second to
like, share and subscribe to theYouTube channel and the podcast
.
Leave us a five-star review onthe podcast.
It really does help and it'sfree to you.
Also, make sure you go to theBible Breakdown Discussion on
Facebook.
It's an amazing group of peopledoing a wonderful job.
The more we dig, the more wefind, and you can get links to
all of that by going tothebiblebreakdowncom.
(01:46):
And I want to pause and tellyou something that's kind of an
insider thing, and that is thiswhen it comes to
thebiblebreakdowncom, we are inthe process right now of wanting
to develop an online commentarythat will cover all the books
of the Bible, and it's not goingto go, you know, all the way,
as deep as you possibly can go,but it's to give you more
resources and to really takesome next steps in how I relate
(02:08):
to God's word, and so I wouldencourage you to go to
thebiblebreakdowncom andsubscribe to the newsletter
there Right now.
What you're going to get isyou're going to get an email
with some of those resourcesevery day, every day, but and I
literally mean over the yearsthis is going to be a years long
process.
We're going to be developing afree to you online commentary of
(02:33):
the entire Bible, and the goalof it is is the more we dig, the
more we find, and my favoritepart about that is the comment
section, because, just like onthe YouTube videos, we have
comment sections On those posts.
We have comment sections, and Iwould love to hear from you
Comments of what you're gettingfrom God's Word, different
resources that you have, because, once again, as we always say,
the more we dig, the more wefind.
Well, let's get into God's Wordtoday, and, if you've been with
(02:54):
us over the past few days, nowwe're going through the book of
Amos, and the overall big themeidea of Amos is let justice roll
.
We got it from the Garth Brookssong, you know let the thunder
roll, and it is the idea thatjustice is coming to the nation
of Israel, and that's one of thethings we've been saying is
(03:14):
what is really unique about thebook of Amos not only is it one
of the oldest prophetic bookswritten in the Bible, but also
he is writing to the nation ofIsrael and he lives in Judah,
and so it would be like writingto a neighboring nation.
And the thing is is, eventhough Judah and Israel are part
of the same big family, theyhave an on again, off again
(03:37):
relationship.
Sometimes they're friends,sometimes they're not good
friends.
And he is writing to them froman outsider's perspective,
because he's not even a prophet,he's a shepherd that God has
called to do this, and he istelling them hey, listen, you
guys need to be careful.
I know that even us, as Judah,we're doing business with you,
but you're also doing a lot ofthings that does not line up
(03:59):
with the plan of God.
Your ethics don't line up withGod's standards.
You got to be careful, and Iwant to remind us, before we
jump into this today, thatremember the overall goal of the
prophets.
The prophets are an amazingpalate cleanser to the body of
Christ, because the prophetswere not sent to be nice.
The prophets are the ones whosee the enemy coming and they
(04:25):
are calling a warning.
They're the ones, as a matterof fact, ezekiel, he actually
talks about this.
He talks about the prophetsbeing like people, like back in
the day when you lived inside ofa walled city.
Right, let's say, you livedinside of Jerusalem was a walled
city.
You live inside that.
Well, you didn't have GPS, youdidn't have all these things we
have today.
You had, you know, eyesight.
They didn't have gps.
You didn't have all thesethings we have today.
(04:45):
You had, you know, eyesight.
They didn't have binoculars.
Okay, it was a long time ago.
The only thing you had toprotect yourself from an
invading army.
I mean, you had like word ofmouth, stuff like that.
But as far as in in the momentis, these guards would take
shifts and you would have guardswho would watch all through the
night, all through the day, andtheir job was to look at the
(05:06):
horizon and to see if aninvading army was coming.
That's why, a lot of times also, these walled cities would be
built on hills so they could seemuch further around them, and
their job was, if they saw aninvading army coming, they got
one job and that job is to soundan alarm horn a ram's horn, if
you live in Jerusalem and towarn the people that bad news
(05:29):
was coming, and to warn themwith enough notice so they could
get ready.
Here's the thing.
Can you imagine losing your joblike this?
You would lose your job if youwere a soldier and you did
technically sound the alarm.
But you sound the alarm twominutes before they ring the
doorbell.
You know what I mean.
They're right there at the citygate and you go oh, by the way,
(05:49):
invading army.
No, you lost.
Okay, your job was to warn thepeople with enough notice so
that they would be able to getready.
So therefore, the ones with thebest eyesight were the ones who
got that job.
And it's boring until it's not.
It reminds me of what they saythat the job of a pilot is.
It is hours of tedious boredomfollowed by moments of sheer
(06:18):
panic, and I've actually been inthe cockpit of a plane as it
has been going, taking off andlanding, and those moments are
panic.
I mean they're crazy, butthey're also a lot of fun when
you're right there.
That's the job of a prophet.
So many times, the job of aprophet is to say hey, we need
to honor God, we need to obeyhim.
And then, every once in a while, a prophet's like ah, watch out
.
And that's what Amos is doing.
In chapter six, amos is tellingthem man, y'all walking on thin
(06:40):
ice.
So what he's doing is he'swaving that flag and he is
telling them to be careful.
So let's read this together andlet's see how God's Word will
speak to us today.
Chapter 6, verse 1 says thiswhat sorrow awaits you who
lounge in luxury in Jerusalem?
Now, remember he's been talkingto Israel, now he's talking to
his own people, becauseJerusalem is the capital of
(07:01):
Judah.
What sorrow awaits you wholounge in luxury in Jerusalem,
you who feel secure in Samaria?
That's the capital of Israel.
You are famous and popular inIsrael and people go to you for
help.
But go over to Calnea and seewhat happened there.
Then go to the great city ofHamath, go down to Philistine
(07:23):
city of Gath you are no betterthan they were and look at how
they were destroyed.
You push away every thought ofcoming disaster, but your
actions only bring the day ofjudgment closer.
How terrible for you who sprawlover ivory beds and lounge on
your couches Eating the meat oftender lambs from the flock and
(07:45):
of the choice calves fattened inthe stall.
You sing trivial songs to thesound of the harp and fancy
yourselves to be great musicians.
Like David, you drink wine bythe bowl full and perfume
yourselves with fragrant lotions.
You care nothing about the ruinof your nation.
Therefore, you will be thefirst to be led away as captives
(08:06):
.
Suddenly, all your parties willend.
The sovereign Lord has sworn byhis own name, and this is what
the Lord, god of heaven's army,says.
In other words, he's sayingthis is what God has said.
It's going to happen.
Here we go.
I despise the arrogance ofIsrael and I hate their
fortresses.
I will give this city andeverything in it to their
(08:28):
enemies.
And if there are ten men leftin one house, they will all die.
And when a relative who isresponsible to dispose of their
dead goes into the house tocarry out the dead bodies, he
will ask the last survivor, isanyone else with you?
And when the person begins toswear no bye, he will interrupt
(08:51):
and say stop, don't even mentionthe name of the Lord.
When the Lord gives the command, homes, both great and small,
will be smashed to pieces.
Can horses gallop over boulders?
Can oxen be used to plow them?
But that's how foolish you arewhen you turn justice into
poison and sweet fruit ofrighteousness into bitterness.
(09:12):
You brag about your conquest ofLodabar.
You boast didn't we takeCarnathium by our own strength?
O people of Israel, I am aboutto bring an enemy nation against
you, says the Lord, god ofheaven's armies.
They will oppress youthroughout the land, from Lebo
Hamath in the north to ArabaValley in the south.
(09:33):
Wow, notice how he says this inthe very beginning.
He says you look good.
You actually are the one thatother people go to, but you are
no better than these otherplaces who have flirted with
disaster and did not trust in me.
So, in other words, he'swarning them.
He's saying listen, you are notgoing to be spared if you keep
(09:54):
doing all these bad things.
You keep on.
Verse 3, it says you keep onpushing away every thought of
coming disaster, but youractions will only bring the day
of judgment closer.
Now, when it comes to this,there's two ways you can look at
this If it's you or if it'ssomeone that you know and love.
If you know and love someonethat they're walking on thin ice
(10:18):
, but even though they knowthey're not doing what they
should be doing, they knowthey're not honoring the Lord,
but they still keep on saying,ah, it's fine, ah, it's fine,
it's fine.
You know what I mean.
Then our job is to pray themercy of God on them, because
when you are purposefullyaccording to God's word, what we
just read, the principle thatwe can bring from this, is when
(10:40):
you are not honoring the word ofGod and you push away every
thought of coming disaster, whenyou know God's word says you
should not do X, y and Z and yougo, ah, it's fine, god isn't
punishing me for this, then youknow that not only is judgment
coming, judgment is comingsooner.
Let me give you an example.
(11:00):
I know somebody one time.
I know well, I've known manypeople.
Let me say two people.
I knew one person who they werestruggling with sexual sin.
They were, they were strugglingwith it.
This is, you know, biblebreakdown.
We're getting real up in here.
They're struggling with sexualsin and I was talking to them
and we were processing it, wewere dealing with it and I was
trying to be accountable to them.
(11:25):
And one of the promises I alwaysmake to people when I'm
accountable to them is I willsay I will never tell your
secret.
Your secret is safe with me.
However, there will get to apoint when I will pray that God
will reveal your secret.
If you will not, you know, ifyou're not taking next steps,
like, if you're taking nextsteps, I'm here, I'm with it,
I'm for you.
I'm never going to tell yoursecret, and I've had people get
mad at me for that and say, well, why didn't you tell me?
It's a promise I make.
However, I will pray for God toreveal it If you're not making
(11:47):
those next steps, right, likelike this is serious, right,
your, your, your soul is on theline here, right.
But I've walked with peoplebefore and I want two people.
I've got in my mind, years andyears ago, one person.
They were struggling with theirsin, they were trying to get
freedom, they were taking thenext steps, they were doing all
the things, but it was just hard, just hard, and I just saw
endless grace in their life.
(12:07):
I saw God do so many wonderfulthings in their life as they
just continued to struggle.
But they were struggling towardGod, falling toward his mercy.
But then I've walked with otherpeople who we would talk to one
another and I would just tellthem hey, listen, I can't walk
with you anymore because you'renot doing the things.
You're not doing the stuff.
I don't think you're strugglingwith this sin at all.
I think you've got to the placewhere you think that you and
(12:29):
God have struck some kind ofdeal and he's just going to wink
at it and they've literallysaid well, no, it's just.
I got other things I'm workingon right now and I'm just going
to get to that, because it's notmy secret to tell.
However, I'm no longer going topray for God to not reveal it,
if it's the only thing that'snecessary.
I just got to tell you that, assomeone who loves you, I just
(12:51):
got to right, and I have seenthe person who struggled both
people had the same issue theperson who was struggling and
trying to get free.
I saw them find freedom andforgiveness and it was beautiful
.
And I've seen people whothought they had somehow made a
deal with God and that it wasokay.
Well, since God wasn't judgingit, he must be okay with it.
(13:12):
I saw them absolutely fallapart from the inside out.
God didn't reveal it.
They ended up confessing itbecause they completely just
fell apart.
And so can I tell you that ifyou are walking with someone and
they are in spot number two.
It is time to pray the mercy ofGod on them and just pray and
(13:34):
beg for them to start strugglingwith their sin instead of
celebrating it On the other side.
If it's you, can I tell youJesus loves you just the way you
are, but he loves you too muchto let you stay that way.
He knows what that sin will do.
And can I tell you, god'spatience is not God's acceptance
(13:56):
.
Let's talk about sexual sin.
Maybe you are in a situationwhere you think that God doesn't
care about that you areindulging in sexual sin.
He does, he absolutely does.
God is merciful and he ispatient to give us time to
repent.
If you will not repent, godwill judge it, and so I beg you
(14:21):
to allow the mercy of God toflow and to never let the enemy
deceive you by lying to you, bytelling you that just because
God is patient means God hasaccepted it.
That is not how it works.
Every time that you sin and Goddoesn't reveal it.
Let that be a moment where youcelebrate God, because you
realize that's how patient ourGod is.
(14:42):
But then let it double downyour effort.
And then can I tell you this, ifyou are sitting there going,
okay, you're right, I do need toget a hold of this.
I don't know what to do.
Here's a couple things to prayand then we're going to be done
for the day.
Number one is pray and ask Godto open your eyes to see an
accountable brother or sister,depending on you know, men with
men, women with women when itcomes to accountability an
(15:04):
accountable brother or sisterthat you can walk with.
And then is your freedom, is itworth it to take a chance to
talk to them and then putboundaries in your life?
Jesus said this.
He said if your eye causes youto sin, cut it off or gouge it
out.
It would be better for you toenter into heaven with one eye
than to go into hell with botheyes.
(15:24):
Now, he's not saying literallycut off a part of your body, for
heaven's sake.
What he's saying is radicalamputation, as in if you can
only if you use your phone toaccess pornography, get a dumb
phone.
Is your freedom worth it?
That dumb phone, those old flipphones, right, they're there,
(15:45):
right?
If you work in a business thatyou travel and when you travel
you have trouble not callingescorts, get a new job.
Well, pastor, how can I do that?
If you will take the step, godwill open the door.
Is your freedom worth it?
Your legacy is worth it.
And one more thing I just feellike, if you've been listening
(16:06):
to this podcast, we've done over200 episodes now.
Worth it?
And one more thing I just feellike, if you've been listening
to this podcast, we've done over200 episodes now.
I've never done this before,but I feel this so strongly in
my heart right now.
This is going to be an episode.
I've never done like thisbefore, but I feel so strongly
that the Spirit of God isputting in my life.
I know that there are pastorsand ministry leaders all over
the world who listen and watchthis podcast.
I want to look right at thecamera If you're looking at
YouTube.
I don't say this to you, pastoryour legacy is worth it that, if
(16:28):
you are struggling, take thesame steps.
Reach out to a brother, reachout to somebody you can trust
and start taking steps tofreedom.
You would rather be known as apastor who struggled well than a
pastor who exploded in all theworst ways and imploded his
ministry.
Your legacy is worth it.
God will help you if you'lltake the next step.
(16:52):
Let's pray together right now,god, thank you so much for today
.
Thank you, god, that your wordis true.
And, lord, just like Amos, whois sounding the alarm, and he is
warning the people that baddays are coming if they don't
take the right step, but at thesame time, you are opening up
the windows of heaven.
That's my prayer today, lord.
There's a strong word in yourword today about taking those
(17:15):
next steps.
But if we will have the courageto take the next step, I pray
that you will open up the rightpeople.
And I want to pray this, lord,for everybody who realizes it's
time for them to get serious.
And, lord, I mentioned sexualsin, but it could be anything
that tries to take the place ofyou in our life.
It literally could be anything.
My prayer is today that youwill open up our eyes to see the
(17:36):
people around us that aretrustworthy.
Lord, I pray for those who aregoing to be approached over the
next few days that they will betrustworthy and they'll realize
me too.
Lord, I pray you open theireyes in Jesus' name, amen, amen.
Usually I read the scripture,but I want to give you one more
encouragement, and that is thisCan I tell you, there have been
times in my life when I havefelt the need I had to go talk
(18:01):
to someone and have them walkwith me through something, can I
tell you every single time andI didn't know about it, but
every single time when I wouldopen up to them and I would say,
hey, listen, this is costing alot.
I'm giving you a knife to cutme with right, but I need to do
this.
You know what's always happened.
They've always said this insome form or fashion.
Me too.
I'm telling you, whateveryou're struggling with right now
(18:22):
, god has either already putsomeone or he is in the process
of putting someone in your lifewho's already been through it.
So they're going to understandlike you can't even imagine.
I've also had to happen in mylife.
I've had people and I've got tothe point now where I've lived
long enough that I've had peoplein my life that I know the
meeting.
When it happens, they'refumbling, they're nervous,
someone who's usually carefreenow feels kind of tight and
(18:44):
tense, and finally they say hey,pastor, can you walk with me?
And I know you're not going tounderstand this.
Blah, blah, blah.
And I go no, no, me too, I'd beglad to.
So I can't wait to hear whathappens.
God's word says in Amos,chapter five, verse 24,.
He says instead I want to see amighty flood of justice and an
endless river of righteousliving.
(19:04):
I love you, I'll.
Well, hello everybody .
Welcome back to the BibleBreakdown Podcast with your host
, pastor Brandon, today, amos,chapter 6, and today's title is
Walking on Thin Ice.
Walking on Thin Ice.
I don't know if you've everdone this before.
I grew up in the Deep South, andso the idea of walking on an
ice-covered lake just was not athing.
(00:21):
You know, any ice that wouldcover a lake down there would,
first of all, be extremely rare,but it would also be extremely
risky if it ever did Not.
Going to do that, however, Ihave heard stories of people who
have grown up in Michigan,wisconsin, canada, all kinds of
other places where it would getextremely ungodly cold, and
during the wintertime, you know,you would have ice houses.
(00:42):
You know fishing houses, ratheron the ice, and at the
wintertime, you would have icehouses, fishing houses, rather
on the ice.
And at the same time, though,there would be this transitional
season where it's no longerfull winter, it's not yet spring
, and there would be thistransitional season where the
ice was starting to get thinnerand you could risk going out on
the ice, but it was very riskyand it could lead to disaster,
(01:03):
which is where one of thephrases came from that we now
say, walking on thin ice, whichis walking in a dangerous
situation.
Well, that is what Amos isgoing to be yelling again from
the rooftops as he continues totalk about this overall idea of
the justice of God.
So we're going to jump into allthat in just a moment.
So you have your Bibles.
I want to open up with me toAmos, chapter six.
(01:24):
While you're doing that, makesure you take just a second to
like, share and subscribe to theYouTube channel and the podcast
.
Leave us a five-star review onthe podcast.
It really does help and it'sfree to you.
Also, make sure you go to theBible Breakdown Discussion on
Facebook.
It's an amazing group of peopledoing a wonderful job.
The more we dig, the more wefind, and you can get links to
all of that by going tothebiblebreakdowncom.
(01:46):
And I want to pause and tellyou something that's kind of an
insider thing, and that is thiswhen it comes to
thebiblebreakdowncom, we are inthe process right now of wanting
to develop an online commentarythat will cover all the books
of the Bible, and it's not goingto go, you know, all the way,
as deep as you possibly can go,but it's to give you more
resources and to really takesome next steps in how I relate
(02:08):
to God's word, and so I wouldencourage you to go to
thebiblebreakdowncom andsubscribe to the newsletter
there Right now.
What you're going to get isyou're going to get an email
with some of those resourcesevery day, every day, but and I
literally mean over the yearsthis is going to be a years long
process.
We're going to be developing afree to you online commentary of
(02:33):
the entire Bible, and the goalof it is is the more we dig, the
more we find, and my favoritepart about that is the comment
section, because, just like onthe YouTube videos, we have
comment sections On those posts.
We have comment sections, and Iwould love to hear from you
Comments of what you're gettingfrom God's Word, different
resources that you have, because, once again, as we always say,
the more we dig, the more wefind.
Well, let's get into God's Wordtoday, and, if you've been with
(02:54):
us over the past few days, nowwe're going through the book of
Amos, and the overall big themeidea of Amos is let justice roll
.
We got it from the Garth Brookssong, you know let the thunder
roll, and it is the idea thatjustice is coming to the nation
of Israel, and that's one of thethings we've been saying is
(03:14):
what is really unique about thebook of Amos not only is it one
of the oldest prophetic bookswritten in the Bible, but also
he is writing to the nation ofIsrael and he lives in Judah,
and so it would be like writingto a neighboring nation.
And the thing is is, eventhough Judah and Israel are part
of the same big family, theyhave an on again, off again
(03:37):
relationship.
Sometimes they're friends,sometimes they're not good
friends.
And he is writing to them froman outsider's perspective,
because he's not even a prophet,he's a shepherd that God has
called to do this, and he istelling them hey, listen, you
guys need to be careful.
I know that even us, as Judah,we're doing business with you,
but you're also doing a lot ofthings that does not line up
(03:59):
with the plan of God.
Your ethics don't line up withGod's standards.
You got to be careful, and Iwant to remind us, before we
jump into this today, thatremember the overall goal of the
prophets.
The prophets are an amazingpalate cleanser to the body of
Christ, because the prophetswere not sent to be nice.
The prophets are the ones whosee the enemy coming and they
(04:25):
are calling a warning.
They're the ones, as a matterof fact, ezekiel, he actually
talks about this.
He talks about the prophetsbeing like people, like back in
the day when you lived inside ofa walled city.
Right, let's say, you livedinside of Jerusalem was a walled
city.
You live inside that.
Well, you didn't have GPS, youdidn't have all these things we
have today.
You had, you know, eyesight.
They didn't have gps.
You didn't have all thesethings we have today.
(04:45):
You had, you know, eyesight.
They didn't have binoculars.
Okay, it was a long time ago.
The only thing you had toprotect yourself from an
invading army.
I mean, you had like word ofmouth, stuff like that.
But as far as in in the momentis, these guards would take
shifts and you would have guardswho would watch all through the
night, all through the day, andtheir job was to look at the
(05:06):
horizon and to see if aninvading army was coming.
That's why, a lot of times also, these walled cities would be
built on hills so they could seemuch further around them, and
their job was, if they saw aninvading army coming, they got
one job and that job is to soundan alarm horn a ram's horn, if
you live in Jerusalem and towarn the people that bad news
(05:29):
was coming, and to warn themwith enough notice so they could
get ready.
Here's the thing.
Can you imagine losing your joblike this?
You would lose your job if youwere a soldier and you did
technically sound the alarm.
But you sound the alarm twominutes before they ring the
doorbell.
You know what I mean.
They're right there at the citygate and you go oh, by the way,
(05:49):
invading army.
No, you lost.
Okay, your job was to warn thepeople with enough notice so
that they would be able to getready.
So therefore, the ones with thebest eyesight were the ones who
got that job.
And it's boring until it's not.
It reminds me of what they saythat the job of a pilot is.
It is hours of tedious boredomfollowed by moments of sheer
(06:18):
panic, and I've actually been inthe cockpit of a plane as it
has been going, taking off andlanding, and those moments are
panic.
I mean they're crazy, butthey're also a lot of fun when
you're right there.
That's the job of a prophet.
So many times, the job of aprophet is to say hey, we need
to honor God, we need to obeyhim.
And then, every once in a while, a prophet's like ah, watch out
.
And that's what Amos is doing.
In chapter six, amos is tellingthem man, y'all walking on thin
(06:40):
ice.
So what he's doing is he'swaving that flag and he is
telling them to be careful.
So let's read this together andlet's see how God's Word will
speak to us today.
Chapter 6, verse 1 says thiswhat sorrow awaits you who
lounge in luxury in Jerusalem?
Now, remember he's been talkingto Israel, now he's talking to
his own people, becauseJerusalem is the capital of
(07:01):
Judah.
What sorrow awaits you wholounge in luxury in Jerusalem,
you who feel secure in Samaria?
That's the capital of Israel.
You are famous and popular inIsrael and people go to you for
help.
But go over to Calnea and seewhat happened there.
Then go to the great city ofHamath, go down to Philistine
(07:23):
city of Gath you are no betterthan they were and look at how
they were destroyed.
You push away every thought ofcoming disaster, but your
actions only bring the day ofjudgment closer.
How terrible for you who sprawlover ivory beds and lounge on
your couches Eating the meat oftender lambs from the flock and
(07:45):
of the choice calves fattened inthe stall.
You sing trivial songs to thesound of the harp and fancy
yourselves to be great musicians.
Like David, you drink wine bythe bowl full and perfume
yourselves with fragrant lotions.
You care nothing about the ruinof your nation.
Therefore, you will be thefirst to be led away as captives
(08:06):
.
Suddenly, all your parties willend.
The sovereign Lord has sworn byhis own name, and this is what
the Lord, god of heaven's army,says.
In other words, he's sayingthis is what God has said.
It's going to happen.
Here we go.
I despise the arrogance ofIsrael and I hate their
fortresses.
I will give this city andeverything in it to their
(08:28):
enemies.
And if there are ten men leftin one house, they will all die.
And when a relative who isresponsible to dispose of their
dead goes into the house tocarry out the dead bodies, he
will ask the last survivor, isanyone else with you?
And when the person begins toswear no bye, he will interrupt
(08:51):
and say stop, don't even mentionthe name of the Lord.
When the Lord gives the command, homes, both great and small,
will be smashed to pieces.
Can horses gallop over boulders?
Can oxen be used to plow them?
But that's how foolish you arewhen you turn justice into
poison and sweet fruit ofrighteousness into bitterness.
(09:12):
You brag about your conquest ofLodabar.
You boast didn't we takeCarnathium by our own strength?
O people of Israel, I am aboutto bring an enemy nation against
you, says the Lord, god ofheaven's armies.
They will oppress youthroughout the land, from Lebo
Hamath in the north to ArabaValley in the south.
(09:33):
Wow, notice how he says this inthe very beginning.
He says you look good.
You actually are the one thatother people go to, but you are
no better than these otherplaces who have flirted with
disaster and did not trust in me.
So, in other words, he'swarning them.
He's saying listen, you are notgoing to be spared if you keep
(09:54):
doing all these bad things.
You keep on.
Verse 3, it says you keep onpushing away every thought of
coming disaster, but youractions will only bring the day
of judgment closer.
Now, when it comes to this,there's two ways you can look at
this If it's you or if it'ssomeone that you know and love.
If you know and love someonethat they're walking on thin ice
(10:18):
, but even though they knowthey're not doing what they
should be doing, they knowthey're not honoring the Lord,
but they still keep on saying,ah, it's fine, ah, it's fine,
it's fine.
You know what I mean.
Then our job is to pray themercy of God on them, because
when you are purposefullyaccording to God's word, what we
just read, the principle thatwe can bring from this, is when
(10:40):
you are not honoring the word ofGod and you push away every
thought of coming disaster, whenyou know God's word says you
should not do X, y and Z and yougo, ah, it's fine, god isn't
punishing me for this, then youknow that not only is judgment
coming, judgment is comingsooner.
Let me give you an example.
(11:00):
I know somebody one time.
I know well, I've known manypeople.
Let me say two people.
I knew one person who they werestruggling with sexual sin.
They were, they were strugglingwith it.
This is, you know, biblebreakdown.
We're getting real up in here.
They're struggling with sexualsin and I was talking to them
and we were processing it, wewere dealing with it and I was
trying to be accountable to them.
(11:25):
And one of the promises I alwaysmake to people when I'm
accountable to them is I willsay I will never tell your
secret.
Your secret is safe with me.
However, there will get to apoint when I will pray that God
will reveal your secret.
If you will not, you know, ifyou're not taking next steps,
like, if you're taking nextsteps, I'm here, I'm with it,
I'm for you.
I'm never going to tell yoursecret, and I've had people get
mad at me for that and say, well, why didn't you tell me?
It's a promise I make.
However, I will pray for God toreveal it If you're not making
(11:47):
those next steps, right, likelike this is serious, right,
your, your, your soul is on theline here, right.
But I've walked with peoplebefore and I want two people.
I've got in my mind, years andyears ago, one person.
They were struggling with theirsin, they were trying to get
freedom, they were taking thenext steps, they were doing all
the things, but it was just hard, just hard, and I just saw
endless grace in their life.
(12:07):
I saw God do so many wonderfulthings in their life as they
just continued to struggle.
But they were struggling towardGod, falling toward his mercy.
But then I've walked with otherpeople who we would talk to one
another and I would just tellthem hey, listen, I can't walk
with you anymore because you'renot doing the things.
You're not doing the stuff.
I don't think you're strugglingwith this sin at all.
I think you've got to the placewhere you think that you and
(12:29):
God have struck some kind ofdeal and he's just going to wink
at it and they've literallysaid well, no, it's just.
I got other things I'm workingon right now and I'm just going
to get to that, because it's notmy secret to tell.
However, I'm no longer going topray for God to not reveal it,
if it's the only thing that'snecessary.
I just got to tell you that, assomeone who loves you, I just
(12:51):
got to right, and I have seenthe person who struggled both
people had the same issue theperson who was struggling and
trying to get free.
I saw them find freedom andforgiveness and it was beautiful
.
And I've seen people whothought they had somehow made a
deal with God and that it wasokay.
Well, since God wasn't judgingit, he must be okay with it.
(13:12):
I saw them absolutely fallapart from the inside out.
God didn't reveal it.
They ended up confessing itbecause they completely just
fell apart.
And so can I tell you that ifyou are walking with someone and
they are in spot number two.
It is time to pray the mercy ofGod on them and just pray and
(13:34):
beg for them to start strugglingwith their sin instead of
celebrating it On the other side.
If it's you, can I tell youJesus loves you just the way you
are, but he loves you too muchto let you stay that way.
He knows what that sin will do.
And can I tell you, god'spatience is not God's acceptance
(13:56):
.
Let's talk about sexual sin.
Maybe you are in a situationwhere you think that God doesn't
care about that you areindulging in sexual sin.
He does, he absolutely does.
God is merciful and he ispatient to give us time to
repent.
If you will not repent, godwill judge it, and so I beg you
(14:21):
to allow the mercy of God toflow and to never let the enemy
deceive you by lying to you, bytelling you that just because
God is patient means God hasaccepted it.
That is not how it works.
Every time that you sin and Goddoesn't reveal it.
Let that be a moment where youcelebrate God, because you
realize that's how patient ourGod is.
(14:42):
But then let it double downyour effort.
And then can I tell you this, ifyou are sitting there going,
okay, you're right, I do need toget a hold of this.
I don't know what to do.
Here's a couple things to prayand then we're going to be done
for the day.
Number one is pray and ask Godto open your eyes to see an
accountable brother or sister,depending on you know, men with
men, women with women when itcomes to accountability an
(15:04):
accountable brother or sisterthat you can walk with.
And then is your freedom, is itworth it to take a chance to
talk to them and then putboundaries in your life?
Jesus said this.
He said if your eye causes youto sin, cut it off or gouge it
out.
It would be better for you toenter into heaven with one eye
than to go into hell with botheyes.
(15:24):
Now, he's not saying literallycut off a part of your body, for
heaven's sake.
What he's saying is radicalamputation, as in if you can
only if you use your phone toaccess pornography, get a dumb
phone.
Is your freedom worth it?
That dumb phone, those old flipphones, right, they're there,
(15:45):
right?
If you work in a business thatyou travel and when you travel
you have trouble not callingescorts, get a new job.
Well, pastor, how can I do that?
If you will take the step, godwill open the door.
Is your freedom worth it?
Your legacy is worth it.
And one more thing I just feellike, if you've been listening
(16:06):
to this podcast, we've done over200 episodes now.
Worth it?
And one more thing I just feellike, if you've been listening
to this podcast, we've done over200 episodes now.
I've never done this before,but I feel this so strongly in
my heart right now.
This is going to be an episode.
I've never done like thisbefore, but I feel so strongly
that the Spirit of God isputting in my life.
I know that there are pastorsand ministry leaders all over
the world who listen and watchthis podcast.
I want to look right at thecamera If you're looking at
YouTube.
I don't say this to you, pastoryour legacy is worth it that, if
(16:28):
you are struggling, take thesame steps.
Reach out to a brother, reachout to somebody you can trust
and start taking steps tofreedom.
You would rather be known as apastor who struggled well than a
pastor who exploded in all theworst ways and imploded his
ministry.
Your legacy is worth it.
God will help you if you'lltake the next step.
(16:52):
Let's pray together right now,god, thank you so much for today
.
Thank you, god, that your wordis true.
And, lord, just like Amos, whois sounding the alarm, and he is
warning the people that baddays are coming if they don't
take the right step, but at thesame time, you are opening up
the windows of heaven.
That's my prayer today, lord.
There's a strong word in yourword today about taking those
(17:15):
next steps.
But if we will have the courageto take the next step, I pray
that you will open up the rightpeople.
And I want to pray this, lord,for everybody who realizes it's
time for them to get serious.
And, lord, I mentioned sexualsin, but it could be anything
that tries to take the place ofyou in our life.
It literally could be anything.
My prayer is today that youwill open up our eyes to see the
(17:36):
people around us that aretrustworthy.
Lord, I pray for those who aregoing to be approached over the
next few days that they will betrustworthy and they'll realize
me too.
Lord, I pray you open theireyes in Jesus' name, amen, amen.
Usually I read the scripture,but I want to give you one more
encouragement, and that is thisCan I tell you, there have been
times in my life when I havefelt the need I had to go talk
(18:01):
to someone and have them walkwith me through something, can I
tell you every single time andI didn't know about it, but
every single time when I wouldopen up to them and I would say,
hey, listen, this is costing alot.
I'm giving you a knife to cutme with right, but I need to do
this.
You know what's always happened.
They've always said this insome form or fashion.
Me too.
I'm telling you, whateveryou're struggling with right now
(18:22):
, god has either already putsomeone or he is in the process
of putting someone in your lifewho's already been through it.
So they're going to understandlike you can't even imagine.
I've also had to happen in mylife.
I've had people and I've got tothe point now where I've lived
long enough that I've had peoplein my life that I know the
meeting.
When it happens, they'refumbling, they're nervous,
someone who's usually carefreenow feels kind of tight and
(18:44):
tense, and finally they say hey,pastor, can you walk with me?
And I know you're not going tounderstand this.
Blah, blah, blah.
And I go no, no, me too, I'd beglad to.
So I can't wait to hear whathappens.
God's word says in Amos,chapter five, verse 24,.
He says instead I want to see amighty flood of justice and an
endless river of righteousliving.
(19:04):
I love you, I'll.
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