1 "Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel—against the entire family I rescued from Egypt:
2 “From among all the families on the earth, I HAVE BEEN INTIMATE WITH YOU ALONE. THAT IS WHY I MUST PUNISH YOU FOR ALL YOUR SINS.”
Amos 3:1,2 (NLT)
• If you are God's Beloved, He would not condone sins in your LIFE.
GOD did choose Israel among the families of the earth, He was intimate with them, thus they would have to be punished for their sins (Amos 3:2).
- If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, then you are accepted by God as His son or daughter: "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6).
- Thus as God's son or daughter, you are expected to live in line with God's Word and the principles of the Kingdom.
IF you live contrary to His Word, He cannot but Discipline you: "FOR WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE CHASTENS, And scourges every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12:6). - If you are loved by God, He would be strict on you!
IN our text, Amos 3:1,2, God said He must PUNISH the people of Israel because they are His chosen ones.
• God wants to be proud of you, He does want you to be different from the people of the world.
16 "And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will dwell in them And walk among them. I WILL BE THEIR GOD, And they shall be My people.”
17 Therefore “COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE SEPARATE, SAYS THE LORD. DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN, And I will receive you.”
18 “I WILL BE A FATHER TO YOU,
AND YOU SHALL BE MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS, Says the Lord Almighty.”
2 Corinthians 6:16-18 (NKJV)
- Whilst others are sinning, God does not want you to be part of it.
GOD also expects more from you because He has invested in you (Luke 12:48).
• As you are His beloved, whenever you miss it, He would not delay the chastisement because He does love you (Hebrews 12:5,6).
AT TIMES when you have asked for forgiveness, He would still need to cane you that you may not repeat the same mistake next time.
SOME believe if they committed a SIN, God will forgive them, and it is true, He will, according to His Word: "If we confess our sins, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND TO CLEANSE US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS" (1 John 1:9).
- However, a mature believer may receive a different treatment because much is expected from him or her: "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; AND TO WHOM MUCH HAS BEEN COMMITTED, OF HIM THEY WILL ASK THE MORE" (Luke 12:48).
• Those who are serving at the leadership would receive stricter judgement, that is, those who teach the Word would receive severed Discipline than those who are being taught: "My brethren, LET NOT MANY OF YOU BECOME TEACHERS, KNOWING THAT WE SHALL RECEIVE A STRICTER JUDGMENT" (James 3:1).
- Not only those who are in the teaching ministry, All Leaders in the vineyard of God who missed it would receive stricter judgement: "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “LET EVERYONE WHO NAMES THE NAME OF CHRIST DEPART FROM INIQUITY" (2 Timothy 2:19).
• When Moses did miss it, he pleaded but God said no, because he supposed to know better (Deuteronomy 3:23-27).
GOD said he, Moses, would not get to the promised Land because he did not believe Him, obey His Word, Or carried the word out to the letter and did not hallow Him (Numbers 20:12).
"Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “BECAUSE YOU DID NOT BELIEVE ME, TO HALLOW ME IN THE EYES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, THEREFORE YOU SHALL NOT BRING THIS ASSEMBLY INTO THE LAND WHICH I HAVE GIVEN THEM.”
Numbers 20:12 (NKJV)
- A Leader who has gotten to a higher LEVEL in his or her walk with God would not just receive forgiveness by claiming 1 John 1:9—God May have to Discipline the person, and that depends on what he or she did wrong.
THE gravity or seriousness of what such did determines the severity of the punishment.
23 “THEN I PLEADED WITH THE LORD AT THAT TIME, SAYING:
24 ‘O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds?
25 I PRAY, LET ME CROSS OVER AND SEE THE GOOD LAND BEYOND THE JORDAN, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.’
26 “BUT THE LORD WAS ANGRY WITH ME ON YOUR ACCOUNT, AND WOULD NOT LISTEN TO ME. So the Lord said to me: ‘ENOUGH OF THAT! SPEAK NO MORE TO ME OF THIS MATTER.
27 Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes towards the west, the north, the south, and the east; BEHOLD IT WITH YOUR EYES, FOR YOU SHALL NOT CROSS OVER THIS JORDAN."
Deuteronomy 3:23-27 (NKJV)
• Also, when David committed SINS of adultery and murder: he took Uriah's wife and killed the Man in a bid to conceal his sin (2 Samuel 11:1-27).
GOD sent His prophet, Nathan, to David to confront him about what he did.
HE repented and pleaded that God would spare the baby who was the product of the sinful Act, but God did not answer his prayer (2 Samuel 12:1-18).
- The consequences of that sinful Act lingered on for the rest of David's lifetime, there were many bloodshed in his family:
AMNON, David's first son raped his half sister Tamar, who happens to be Absalom's sister, and Absalom arranged a bloody death for Amnon to avenge what he did to his sister (2 Samuel 13:1-29).
THIS SAME Absalom plotted to topple his father's government, slept with His father's concubines, and was killed in the Battle against his father (2 Samuel Chapters 15-18).
GOD did forgive King David when he repented of his sins genuinely, but the scar of what he did was there for him to remember all the days of his Life.
• If you delighted in committing Sin, indulging your flesh, and living in habitual Sin, condoning yourself, saying, God is merciful and will forgive—He is merciful and will forgive truly, however you should not forget that the consequences of whatever sin you committed may linger on than expected.
- The Law of sowing and reaping is a cardinal law that cannot but come into Play in whatever you do in life (Genesis 8:22; Galatians 6:7).
- You may be clever in concealing your SINS, but it will eventually find you out.
• If you are living in SIN and it seemed things are still working for you, and you think God UNDERSTANDS.
I WANT you to know there is danger ahead.
Do not take God's patience for weakness: "OR DO YOU DESPISE THE RICHES OF HIS GOODNESS, FORBEARANCE, and LONG-SUFFERING, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4).
God is not weak, He is only being patient with you, giving you the opportunity to change: "THE LORD IS NOT SLACK CONCERNING HIS PROMISE, as some count slackness, but He is long-suffering towards us [you], NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE" (2 Peter 3:9).
If you had always received Cane, chastisements, whenever you do wrong as a child of God, I want to congratulate you—it means you are His chosen one, the BELOVED.
IT means you should work more on your Life and do not play with Sin.
AS you move closer to God and become more intimate with Him, the severer the Discipline when you err.
GOD cannot but Discipline you when you missed it.God said He must punish Israel because they are His chosen ones.
THEIR punishment is a must because they have known His Way, that is, His commandments.
GOD expects holiness from everyone who is called By His name.
• You will not fail in Jesus' name.
Peace!