Seek the Lord and Live!

21st Sunday after Pentecost, 10/25/09
Amos 5:6-7, 10-15


Seek the Lord and Live!
I. Seek him in repentance.
II. Live by faith.


Last March, the National Academy of Sciences USA published an audio podcast entitled, “Where is God?” I decided to read the transcript and it surprised me somewhat. Instead of that question being used to cast doubt about God’s existence, it was a report about brain activity in individuals as they considered religious statements such as “God’s will guides my family,” and “God demands sacrifices,” and “God is angered by human sin.” Rather than finding one particular spot in the brain dedicated to thoughts about God, the researchers found that the statements sparked activity in well-known neural networks, places of the brain where we consider political beliefs, emotions, abstract concepts, and another person’s intentions.

It left the researchers wondering if they’ll ever find God in our brains.

I think they were looking in the wrong place. Our relationship with God is not so much a matter in our heads; it’s a matter of the heart. That’s where faith and love are. He wants first place in our hearts and he won’t put up with second place.

That was the issue between the Lord and his people during the days of Amos. The true God was not in their hearts at all. And it was time for God to deal with it. But the Lord doesn’t want a single soul to perish eternally without him. So he pleaded with them, “Seek the Lord and live!”
That’s an appropriate encouragement no matter what the time or the audience. As people who have the Lord in both our hearts and heads, let’s receive that encouragement. Seek the Lord and live!

Part I.
Looks can be deceiving. I’m sure you’ve learned that by now. Some of the most outwardly beautiful people in the world are also some of the most ugly inwardly. If we had to spend some time with them, I think we’d find that out all too soon. Some are vain, self-centered, materialistic and often immoral. They’re no fun to be around.

Outwardly, the nation of Israel, which was comprised of the northern 10 tribes of the Jews, was outwardly beautiful at the time of Amos, about 760 BC. The economy was booming. People were making loads of money. Amos mentions their lavish homes and productive vineyards. Much of the positive economy was due to the expansion of Israel’s borders. New territory meant new markets. Military strength provided an umbrella of protection for the trade of goods. It was a good time to be Jewish. On the surface, things could hardly be better.

But looks can be deceiving. Inwardly, Israel was rotten. Amos mentions Bethel. That was one of two centers for idol worship. Remember the golden calf worship at Sinai? That was 700 years earlier. But it was still around. Bethel had a golden calf and the people worshipped it as a representation of the Lord. Can you imagine that? They did exactly what God had forbidden them to do—make an idol and worship it.

Without the Lord in their hearts, things went from bad to worse. When the people weren’t worshipping an idol, they were bowing to the god of materialism. In other parts of Amos the Lord charges his people with living only to enjoy creature comforts such as beds made of ivory and enjoying wine by the bowlful. They lived for making money so that they could buy more things to enjoy. Unbridled greed.

In fact, they got so greedy that they no longer cared who suffered for it. Amos writes, “You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain.” Not every Jew was enjoying the economic boom. In fact, the boom had caused the divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots” to grow. Those with money lent it to the poor and when they couldn’t repay, they took everything they owned—a direct violation of God’s law. While the rich enjoyed their luxurious life in their mansions, the poor sat in the filth of the streets below, begging for bread. The Lord was not in their hearts.

And the rot in their hearts caused them to turn justice upside down. Amos says, “You who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground. You hate the one who reproves in court and despise him who tells the truth.” A society that no longer protects the innocent and punishes the guilty is a society that soon crashes in on itself. And that’s exactly what was happening, not in some heathen nation, but among God’s own chosen people.

They left the Lord with no choice. He threatened to “sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire, it will devour, and Bethel will have no one to quench it.” “Joseph” was another name for the nation of Israel. The fire would come in the form of the Assyrians who would destroy Israel’s capital and deport all the people.

There was only one escape. “Seek the Lord and live.” But what does that mean? In this instance, to seek the Lord meant to repent. For these people it meant to destroy the idol worship and worship the Lord alone. It meant making the Lord number one in their hearts and to trust in his forgiveness. It meant recognizing that they deserved a far worse punishment than simply exile at the hands of the Assyrians. They deserved death in hell. But the Lord would save them from it through the Savior whom he had promised to send them. That’s seeking the Lord.
Seek the Lord and live! Seek him in repentance.

Materialism. Corruption. Injustice. Oppression of the poor. Sounds like life in the USA in 2009, doesn’t it? But those are just the outward signs of hearts that are rotten inside. And merely shouting to other people, “You need to repent” isn’t the solution. That’s exactly what the Pharisees claimed when Jesus was on this earth. Everyone else needed to repent. They didn’t. What’s more, I can’t repent for a nation. I can’t even repent for someone else. The only one I can repent for is myself. You can only repent for yourself. But that’s what’s needed. Can any of us claim to be without sin? In fact, we’re guilty at least to some degree of the same sins that Amos lists here in our text. Add to those sins our impure thoughts, our jealous and discontented hearts, our hasty judgment of others, and we have plenty for which to repent. And that’s seeking the Lord. He wants a heart that confesses our sins and turns to him for forgiveness. Seek him!

Part II.
You hear a lot about hope these days. People hope that things will turn around for our nation soon. We hope that the unemployed will find employment soon. We hope our investments will recover soon. We hope, but we’re not sure.

For some, that’s all there is. Hope. But for you, there’s something far better. It’s called faith. And because that faith is in your God, you can be absolutely certain and sure.
I can’t tell you for sure about the economy, unemployment, or investments. But I can tell you for sure about your God.

We just admitted that we’re guilty of the same sins as these people of Israel. So how can we be sure their fate doesn’t await us? How can we be sure that God won’t send the fire of his judgment against us? What can we do to avoid it? Nothing. In fact, you don’t have to do anything.

How can I be sure? Because of who your God is. Amos writes, “Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy.” That doesn’t sound very reassuring. That’s because of the people to whom Amos spoke these words. Recall that they were idol worshipping heathens. If they repented, God would be merciful. Are you repentant? Then know with all your heart that God is merciful. He does forgive. How can I be sure? Because that’s who your God is. He does not delight in punishing. He loves to show his love and mercy to those who repent and trust him for forgiveness.

Your faith in the Lord is not merely an acknowledgement that he exists. Your faith is trust that he will do as he said he would do—to forgive you and to give you life with him in heaven. Your faith trusts God to do for you what you can’t do for yourself. That faith centers in what Jesus did for you. With that faith you have life—real life—life with God now and life with him forever.
But how can you or anyone else know that you have that faith? By what you do. Amos says, “Hate evil, love good.” Evil is anything, small or great, that opposes our God and his will. It can be as small as a white lie or as great as a murder. And good is what our God wants for us. It’s his holy will for us. That starts with trusting in him as our Savior and includes everything that he wants us to think, say and do.

Much of God’s will for us involves the way we treat others. He wants us to truly love others. Your faith in Christ bears the fruit of love toward others. Without faith in their hearts, the Jews of Amos’ day oppressed and took advantage of others. Your faith in God does the opposite. It shows itself by deeds of genuine love for others.

Seek the Lord and live! Live by faith!

Do you breeze through your day doing and saying and feeling all the things you know God wants you to do, say and think? Or, do you have trouble at times living the way God wants you to live? Could you use a little help being a better parent or spouse, employer or employee, family member or student, friend or relative? None of us does a perfect job of any of those. That’s where repentance is needed. And then faith comes in. Our faith is strengthened as we hear God’s word and receive his Holy Supper. With a stronger faith in Christ we have more power to live by faith. Seek the Lord in his word and sacrament and watch the blessings unfold in your life! Amen.