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Home , Amos 8, Amos 9

Ei-D (j) @? G-oJJ SUBJECT J)f'A-#z cl -f E.F~--2 - --- CLASSIFICATION: TEXT _____.c;Arn>UJ.!.l,os"-'8~:~9~1~0,______--EXPOSITORY --BIOGRAPHICAL TITLCaE---=--YO""'UR=:...._:_CO.=cD=--=I=-S-'D=--=E:.::A:.=D_:_! __ --TEXTUAL --TOPICAL SCRIPTURE READING ---DEVOTIONAL

DELIVERIES: Date Hour Place Results and Comments: First Baptist 1/15/67 a.m . Ponca City, Okla. XXX+++ 2 letter First Baptist 6-4- 72 a . m. San Angelo, Texas XXX+++ l bapt . (adult) H rst Baptist 9/1 )/77 p . m . San Angelo, Texas XXXX , 3 l , 1 Red; FBC 11-9- 80 pm San Angelo, Tx XXX++ F.B. C. 2-14-88 P .M. San Angelo , TX (XXX+++); Pfbc.... 1-n~rr f./11 ' "" tl ,, ( ><.XK+ff./.) .:2.i.; 'f--p-J"t Iv" W~1U, . " ~Jtl\P~S' '"

BIBLIOGRAPHY ______YOUR GOD IS DEAD ! ((!"' lvt--rF-!.. {\ :t.' kt..t -7 er ,., SCRIPTURE: 0 mos 8:9-1~ l"~w' / -.

I INTRO: , 11 GOD IS DEAD! - -GOD DIED IN CHRIST Al'JD THUS ENDED TRANSCENDENCE. , THE BODY OF C YET REMAINS IN THE TOMB. ONLY THE SPIRI OF CHRIST LIVES. THE ' GOSPEL' IS THE PROCLA Tl THA'T MAN· IS TOTALLY FREE FROM ANY GOD OUT- SIDE HIM, BEYQND HIM OR OVER HIM. 11 1 _ ~ THUS SPOKE GUEST PROFESSOR J. J. ALTIZER AT TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY AS I SAT .AND LISTEN , rf-7 .. y E,.A RS _ AGO. HE WAS PRESENTING N NE.W IDEA--RATHER HE WAS RESURRECTING AN OLD 1$CA:/JEN1 HERESY FIRST SO STATED BY FREDERICK NIETZSCHE IN THE LAST CENTURY--A GERMAN PHILOSOPHER WHO SPENT THE LAST 10 YEARS OF HIS LIFE IN A MENTAL INSTITUTION~--- , THROUGHOUT HIS PROPHECY, PROCLAIMS TO , 11 YOUR GOD l§.DEAD--BUT JEHOVAH GOD IS NOT DEAD! YOU LIVE AS THOUGH GOD WER DEAD BUT HE IS NOT AND SOO:~ YOU MUST FACE HI IN DIVINE JUDGMENT ! 1 M"S O: 9-/1) "'"''"""';:..., P 777 AND AMOS WOULD SAY TO ALTIZER AND THE GENERATION HE REPRESENTS, 11 YOUR STATEMENT QUITE TRUE CONCERNING THE GOD YOU KNOW -- YO GOD IS DEAD! 11 8v7 'J'/& fil)YAH- '-"'JJ:S.~ W'.c.lJ ~''"'(

I. IF HE ·IS MERELY A PRIVATE GOD ~) : (Living Proph~ ies)A10h peopl~ of Israel, are you any m o re to me thaR' the Ethopians are? Have not I, who brought you .O'J.t of E g ypt, done as m u ch for other people, too? I brought the PMILISTINES from Caphtor and the SYRIANS out of Kir. 11 ·iiiili:&~1:=s~i= These words of Amo s are intended t o

1 decla·res tn at such a god is dead! - -he does no~xist ! 1. ou ·self ' afointerest i,n min ' - -Exeg*sis :- Israel's claim of uniquenes·s because God had brought her out of Egypt was destroyed by the assertion that God had a hand in'bringing the Pli11istines and the· Sy; ians from their . origina homes. His concern went :beyond Israel's own selfish interests! --TT,LUS: "I prayed and God id not answei:--I therefore no lon~:~li<;Y~~ither jI}jP!~e~I in God! 11 .,...B/--,,1,J,_ ·,~ ry ~ - , 2. ho can b mani ulated --Exegesis: !~ was worshiping a god whom she could manipu1,a~e. If the Assyrians dared to attack her, she would simply invoke the wrath of God ,upon them. She woul,d ~ God to b~ those whom she wanted to be blessed and to Pd flj;.,, ..,-. curse thos_~ ~ham she wa~t:d to be cursed. . ~ Ill "i/)u/,"0"1 --ILLUS: Gotl 1s not a yo-yo on:~h_e ~?d of a strmg ~ ~ '-\-y" ' which you hold! He refuses to be "used. 11 gJk . - - ;ff~D-~ ~ ~KA-At l ,,r l'L 3. Who is the defender of the status uo --Exegesis: Th}s was the god whom the cnief priest, Ama~ah, worshipped and iead his nation, Israel, to worship. -- :12-13 (R EAD) " Just leave things alone. Every­ thing is alright--just as it is! 11 --JLLUS; When asked the meaning of "status quo" an old Louisiana negro replied, "Well suh, de status quo, dat stand fo de mess we is in! 11 7 Southern-Baptist- -Christians and in that order. ~p :fivate god who was the defender (?f the status quo was the kind of god preached in · u-s-sia prior to the Communist revolution. This kind of god ~ about

II.

saying 11 You live as though God were some passive imp who quietly sits in the corner waiting to jump whenever you snap your fingers. NOT SO! Such a god is deaa and I am here to pro­ ~laim that tne' God who lives is an all-powerful God who controls the entire universe and all who live

1. --§3cegesj s: Amos . the same right and control over the-nations of the earth, m o ving them from one parf of the earth to another, would move is p~wns au the board . He can do as He wisheE with Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, , Moab and AmnJ.on. Their gods, Hadad, Dagon, Melkart /J.iv&fiJA and C h: emosh , a re not eve n t o b e consi d ered for ctt.:l' I\JA a m oment--they are all 11 Dead gods! II d"F;A --ILLUS: (l) Lord Nelson and Battle of the . JJ. K (Zj Defeat of Spanish Armada.@.) apoleon at -;r._p._Jt,t/ Waterloo (June 18, 1815I] ~ The defeat of Israel (foretold by· Amos) and her e ?{ile. (fil Adol ph Hitler _ _Y-:'. • t · ans strut for a while--but in time he exercises the power and authority which is only His! il1Ji y ki'">'lqJMf) µ?We:,'1 t 2. t:ili~ ='I • not einanci universal acco tin READ) --Exegesis:· he plum line is simply a weight tied to the end of a string which will ini::licate a true perpendicular relationship to the earth. By this device a wall can be tested. If it leans to an appreciable extent, it must be declared unsafe and thus m u st be either straightened or torn dow t1 . of all nations witb the plumb line of his righteousness in hand ready to test their character -- even the charact7,r wn 'Ji,.eo'jle Isravel. -1-t:CO',,,,,,,f-~/ Jr { --Matthew 25:31-32 11 W.hen the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy ang~ls with him, then shall he sit upon the -throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered .sUl Inations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd 9-ivideth his, sheep from / the goats:" 3. Who cannot erform the miraculou s

- -Exegia,,is : Amos may be .speak ing of an eclipse - J ~ of the sun simila r to tha t seen in P alestine in 763 B . C . - - an eclipse but nontheless a divine performance of the miraculous !)-Israel was livin ~ as though God had lost his miracle-work- -ing powers--"Oh , yes He parted·the Red Sea, but that was very long ago. The day of m i racles h as p a st. " ' --ILLUS: S imply because w e are l earning a lit t i e more about the laws of nature' the secrets of creation, and the mechanics of cosmic ~~/ phenomenon1does not lessen the wonder oLit // all nor the miraculous power.- of Go~, _ · · ,)._Afai t h that does n ot believe in the m i raculous cannot believe in a l iv:G1g God, for the re sur rection of Jesus itself -is a miracle! To reject this ,miracle is to place Chris t back into the grave and thus to be left with only a "dead god. " - - b r : C ould there be some significa n relat:i,en betwe@ll the fact that those who preach the "God is dead" myth have never experienced anything within their religion which would lead them t o believe that He is alive? ~~*'::lie.:: A god w ho cannot heal an i n c u rable disease--mend a broken heart--reconcile the irreconcilable- - redeem t he alcoholic- -st raighten a withered hand- -be born of a virgin- -or be rai sed from the grave is indeed a "dead god"

' ,- who inspires only a dea d f~ith ! - , . . . ff E. =r:s .Ml ~AP07Evr GOD 'l

- -Exegesi § ~ Amos vividly describes the impossibility \J/T(S_A'of escape from t he watchful eye of :God/ {The maze 1/' ' of Mt. Carmel's thickets, the lowest realms of Sheol the highest heights of heaven , the trackless depths of the sea , and the far reaches or enemy territory , w ould be u seless as a hiding place . (Yates,, Sr. p. 46 ) 1. :Whose claims can~ be evaded

--Exegesis: God is saying, 11L liberated. yo;u from sl_avery, watched over you ~O ·years in the w ilder-. ness, ~able d )TAlJ to possess the promised land , provided , and ! a ised u p Nazarites -- and have a c]airo .on you and you cannot evade it! II <: - - ~: Israel did not like the claims of God on ))JJ.~ her so she caused the Nazarites t o sin by in­ sisting that they drink -wine and t o ld t he p r oph e t s to shut up. But still God ' s claims stood and she could not. evade, them! Jonah tried to evade God ' s claims--by geogr aphically relo~at in·g hims~lf_. ,:a (.51.J~S ... The insincere Christian today seeks to evade God ' s claims by theologica t elocating himself. He 1 not "endure aoun doctrine. 11 Even tho the modern Christian's evasiv e action may be a bit more sophisticated than that of Jonah it nevertheless results the same e xperience -­ futility- -for God's claims cannot be evaded .

.. tL:liilla:&lri~t· , If y;ou can leave you r g·:,d behind, go on into sinful practic s and s ense not h is condemnin pre~ence then your god is dead--he is cert ainly not ej-~ ah ¥:,~ ·This is what Israel had done. - - O · A :A Leaving God behi~d at church at noon on Sun ay. ~~!!@l!!l}-Je when yo:u go off to coll g e . When ·you go on vacation. When you

losing!" - - , --ILL : Your sin will find you out: (JJ In time (2.) In conscience and U.) In eternity.

IV. I F HE IS A CREATE GOD · --4:13 (READ). --5:26 ' --Exe esis: "You have e;r-eatad dead g ods who offer only a dead hope. Jehovah God is not molded or crea ted by man but ,rather molded and created the univers 1. Who xe-rcis es irre onsible '_ud ment. --In :8 God is pictured as judging Israel y.,ith a "plumb line" to illustrate the fact that this procedure of testing is in no way arbitrary but is based upon ~bsolute standards of righteou:: ness. God cannot be accused of sighting by eye or making an educated guess. --ILLUS ; The reason J. J. Altizer rejoices that his concept "Threatens now to erase even the memory of God" (T. C. U. 1966) is because his imagination has created a monster out of God. A god who exercises irresponsible judgment ex ists only in the m inds of theologically sick people. The living God is a God of mercy, love, fotgive1'11/ 1and grace as well as justice. 2. Who insists on no moral standards --6:2-3a (Living Pro.) "Go over to Cal neh and seE I. what happened there; then go to great Hamath and down to in the ' land. Once they were better and greater than you, but look at them now. You push a w ay all thought of punishment awaiting you. 11 -- EXf;gesis : Amos offe rs evidence that the Living God insists on moral standards. To embrace a faith that makes no ·moral demands is to emb rac a faith founded upon dead godj;.,_ __ .'.. -2:7b (Liv. Pro.) "And a man and his fathers defile the same temple-girl , -corrupting my I holy Name: 11 , L.---rr--r US: "God is dead" theology is nothing more than a theolO:gfral rationalization £:or the 11 new morality. 11 Anything now goes because (J. J. Alt . I 11 Man is totally free from any God outside him, :beyond him,' over him. 11

eye existed,. if: re

imate you to abandon..such an insipid God and to meet the rue and i\ling God revealed esus Christ. . . 't~r .2 ) fyv.;;wt .(, ' ;l~· rJ r y-;, 1/ i r) / .,,L 1/ l-~•')-0 I ,IV/ 'J.; ,' I);) I )I. a? YOUR GOD IS DEAD!

-.:-SED:

t. I ,._ .. ~'t•

Jerold R. McBride, Th. D. Your God Is Dead! :9-10 Sardis Baptist Church April 27, 2014

Your God Is Dead:

I. If he is merely a private god :7 1. Who has only your selfish interests in mind > Israel thought of God as its own private god 2. Who can be manipulated > Israel thought it could manipulate for its own personal good 3. Who is the defender of the status quo - Amos 7: 12-13 > Religious leaders told Amos to leave things as they were

II. If he is an impotent god - Amos 9:5-6 1. Who is not in control of all nations > Amos declared that the God who lives is all powerful 2. Who does not demand a universal accounting -Amos 7:7-8 > "For every one ofus shall give an account ofhimself to God" Romans 14:12 3. Who cannot perform the miraculous-Amos 8:9 > A faith that does not believe in the miraculous cannot believe in a living God.

III. If he is an evadable god - Amon 9:2-4 1. Whose claims can be evaded - : 10-12 > Jonah tried to evade God's claims 2. Whose judgment can be evaded-:19 > "As ifa man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him" - Amos5: 19

I invite you to abandon such an insipid god and to meet the True and Living God revealed through Jesus Christ.