Stay On Mission – 13th August 2018

Woe to you who are complacent in Zion. Amos 6:1
4. God’s perspective.
These challenging words from Amos deal with two very human things that can so easily prevent us from staying on Mission with Jesus. The first, that I have been looking at over the past few weeks, is apathy or complacency, the second is, in many ways, even more dangerous than the first – it is pride!
Later in Amos Chapter 6, we read:
The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself—the LORD God Almighty declares:
“I abhor the pride of Jacob
and detest his fortresses;
I will deliver up the city
and everything in it. Amos 6:8
It is clear that God is angry with His people. In fact the word used here is ‘abhor’ which means: ‘To regard with disgust and hatred’.
The pride of these people that are so full of themselves is not something that God can simply overlook. But His people seem to be oblivious to How He is viewing them. Look at these words!:
You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.
You lie on beds adorned with ivory
and lounge on your couches.
You dine on choice lambs
and fattened calves.
You strum away on your harps like David
and improvise on musical instruments.
You drink wine by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Amos 6: 3-6
They had replaced the purposes of God with satisfaction in their own achievements. They didn’t care about what God wanted, their focus was upon themselves. They were so wrapped up in their own comforts and achievements and had become proud of their success. In the midst of this, they continued to attend the temple for worship but they weren’t truly worshiping because they had lost any sense of God’s perspective.
I find it impossible not to be hugely challenged by these words and am convinced that if you and I are to stay on Mission with Jesus it is vital that we do not allow anything other than Jesus to become the focus of our attention. We can so easily become proud of our achievements or the achievements of the church or organization we are part of and then forget that it is all about Jesus. We can focus on temporary benefits and forget about the eternal kingdom that is to come.
Jesus Himself is the greatest example of how best to stay on Mission, the apostle Paul writes about Him in the following way:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; (Philippians 2:6)
These are simple and uncomplicated words! It is not hard to understand them but ‘doing what they say’ is far more challenging!
This week, I encourage you to take some time to meditate on these words and be open with the Lord about areas in your life where, once again, you need to surrender in humility to His will and purpose.