I'm Following Jesus – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Friday, July 10, 2020
Chapters: Amos 6-9
Message: In Jesus Name

Hello My Friend,

As I was reading the chapters for today, this verse came to mind, [John 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.] There really is no greater name spoken than, Jesus. All we need to do is speak His name, and one of two things will happen, we will be welcomed or rejected. I was watching a movie that was set during Thanksgiving, as the people sat at the table and the prayer was said, it was ended, “In His name, Amen.”, I have even seen this in public when a man of faith was told when they pray to say, “In His name” and not actually say the name Jesus as to not offend other religions. My preacher refuses to speak at public events for this reason. We should never be ashamed to speak of Jesus, He is our life, and our salvation, [Romans 10:9-11 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.]

Since we who are saved, are all sinners saved by grace, it would be wise to keep ourselves humble and reminded of that fact. Our salvation is not a way to get out of judgment for living a life of sin, in fact, we face it more because we are saved. There are many people, both Jew and Christian, who pride themselves on their faith, they believe themselves to be untouchable, that God is with them no matter how they live their lives. Well, God is merciful to the repentant sinner who comes to Him daily for forgiveness, He will not be mocked, and will judge every person who takes His mercy for granted. Israel thought that they were untouchable since they were God’s chosen, they worshiped false gods, made up idols, forsook every command He made, and yet still expected the same securities and protection God gave His faithful. Well, God had enough, He was about to judge Israel, through Amos He upbraids them for being so at ease with their sin.

[Amos 6:1-4,6-8 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! 2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? 3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; 4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; 6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. 7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed. 8 The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.]

[I abhor the excellency of Jacob,] You see, everything we excel at and possess comes from God, prosperity, protections, peace, and provisions, it is all given to us by God, through our faithfulness to Him. That is as long as we are mindful to give thanks to Him for them, and acknowledge Him as the source. The second we think that we did these things of our own merit, and start turning to the world instead of Him, that is when He starts taking them away, beginning with those protection. Let me tell you, there is no greater peace than to realize that God has been protecting you, there is also no greater fear than the thought that God is not with you. We often wonder why the majority of faithful Christians are not wealthy, that is God’s way of keeping us humble and dependent upon Him, He knows what would happen if we got too comfortable and proud of our prosperity, [II Corinthians 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.]

Remember, these were not people who had no knowledge of God, they down right rejected Him, after all He had done for them. Israel forgot God, and prided themselves on what they had made out of the kingdom, including their false gods. God takes pride in a nation that prospers under Him because He built it from the ground up, but He is a jealous God, and He will destroy that nation that rejects Him just as fast as He built it. All that Amos was saying to them was not new news, God had been trying to bring them back to Him, this was the last call, and when they found out about the judgment, even a priest tried to silence Amos.

[Amos 7:8-15 And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: 9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. 10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. 12 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: 13 But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court. 14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: 15 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.]

[But prophesy not again any more at Bethel:] The world, and quite frankly, many churches try to ignore the fact that God will judge any nation that turns His back on Him. The wicked do not want to hear they are sinners and will die and end up in hell for their sin. The saved do not want to hear that God is going to judge them for their living in sin well before Jesus gets here. There will come a time though when it will be too late, and no one will hear the Gospel at all, which is why we cannot stop preaching about it now. Count it a great blessing that we are in the midst of a nation that still knows of God, there will come a time when people are going to be so desperate that they will seek His Word, but it will not be found. Through Amos, God speaks of a famine like not other, a time when people will wander the world in search of His Word, but not be able to find it.

[Amos 8:7-12 The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. 8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: 10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day. 11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.]

[but of hearing the words of the LORD:] How sad it must have been during that time, a time where they had no communication with God whatsoever. Let me tell you, that day is coming again, in many countries we are not even allowed to have a Bible in our possession, and it is against the law to preach Jesus. Even though we have the Word of God at our disposal it can sometimes seem as though God is not near, and that is where our faith comes in. You know, we tend to think that God is judging His faithful all the time, since we know He judges His house first. However, that is not the case, our judgments are not the same as what the world will receive. God knows we are saved, and will judge us to keep us in check as we will not face the judgment of hell. His judgment upon those who reject Him is death and hell, Jew or Gentile. Even though His faithful are in the midst of this wicked world, and have to deal with the repercussions of their actions, we can rest in the hope of knowing that Jesus is coming to get us, and we will not see the world be destroyed. God may have judged Israel, but He knew not all of them rejected Him, He gives them hope of restoring Israel.

[Amos 9:2,4-6,8-10 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: 4 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. 5 And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. 6 It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name. 8-12 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD. 9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. 10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.]

[The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.] These are the ones who are not saved, and think that they can escape hell through themselves or some false religion. Sound familiar? This sounds a lot like Satan, he thinks he is untouchable, that God will never judge him, well, he even has to answer to God. We will all answer to God, there is only, and only has been one way to be saved from judgment, and that is Jesus Christ, [Matthew 10:32-33 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.]

Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You, for making a way for our soul to be saved from hell. It was Your sinless sacrifice on the cross that saved me, and I will forever proclaim that I have trusted You as my Saviour and are the one who saved me. You tell us that if we ask anything in Your name that You will do it, and I for one will never be ashamed to say Your name. Lord, lead me and guide me, keep my heart tender, my ears open, my eyes on You, my mind learning in Your Word, and my mouth teaching it. Let me never be ashamed to mention Your name, let me be mindful to give thanks to You for everything and acknowledge You as the source for all my prosperity, and let me not become proud in my own abilities. I love You, and need You, and ask these things in Your name, Jesus, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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