Amos 06: Walking on Thin Ice

Pastor Brandon examines the prophet Amos's warning about "walking on thin ice" – how Israel's complacency and false security were leading them toward judgment despite their apparent prosperity and success.

• Amos functioned as God's watchman, warning people of coming disaster with enough time to prepare
• The prophet addressed both Israel and his home nation of Judah, proving no one is exempt from God's standards
• God's patience should never be confused with His acceptance of sin
• Those who acknowledge their struggles and move toward God experience grace differently than those who rationalize disobedience
• Accountability with trusted believers is essential for overcoming persistent sin patterns
• Whatever you're struggling with, someone else has likely battled it too and can walk alongside you
• Radical changes may be necessary to break free from entrenched sin – "is your freedom worth it?"
• Ministry leaders need the same accountability and transparency as everyone else

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The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Chapters

• 0:48 Welcome to Walking on Thin Ice
• 3:06 The Prophet's Warning System
• 7:36 God's Word to Israel and Judah
• 12:04 Sin, Struggle, and God's Patience
• 17:21 Taking Steps Toward Freedom
• 19:44 Prayer and Final Encouragement

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:24

Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, amos, chapter 6, and today's title is Walking on Thin Ice. Walking on Thin Ice. I don't know if you've ever done this before.

Speaker 1: 0:40

I grew up in the Deep South, and so the idea of walking on an ice-covered lake just was not a thing. You know, any ice that would cover a lake down there would, first of all, be extremely rare, but it would also be extremely risky if it ever did Not. Going to do that, however, I have heard stories of people who have grown up in Michigan, wisconsin, canada, all kinds of other places where it would get extremely ungodly cold, and during the wintertime, you know, you would have ice houses. You know fishing houses, rather on the ice, and at the wintertime, you would have ice houses, fishing houses, rather on the ice. And at the same time, though, there would be this transitional season where it's no longer full winter, it's not yet spring, and there would be this transitional season where the ice was starting to get thinner and you could risk going out on the ice, but it was very risky and it could lead to disaster, which is where one of the phrases came from that we now say, walking on thin ice, which is walking in a dangerous situation. Well, that is what Amos is going to be yelling again from the rooftops as he continues to talk about this overall idea of the justice of God. So we're going to jump into all that in just a moment.

Speaker 1: 1:44

So you have your Bibles. I want to open up with me to Amos, chapter six. While you're doing that, make sure you take just a second to like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Leave us a five-star review on the podcast. It really does help and it's free to you. Also, make sure you go to the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook. It's an amazing group of people doing a wonderful job.

Speaker 1: 2:03

The more we dig, the more we find, and you can get links to all of that by going to thebiblebreakdowncom. And I want to pause and tell you something that's kind of an insider thing, and that is this when it comes to thebiblebreakdowncom, we are in the process right now of wanting to develop an online commentary that will cover all the books of the Bible, and it's not going to go, you know, all the way, as deep as you possibly can go, but it's to give you more resources and to really take some next steps in how I relate to God's word, and so I would encourage you to go to thebiblebreakdowncom and subscribe to the newsletter there Right now. What you're going to get is you're going to get an email with some of those resources every day, every day, but and I literally mean over the years this is going to be a years long process. We're going to be developing a free to you online commentary of the entire Bible, and the goal of it is is the more we dig, the more we find, and my favorite part about that is the comment section, because, just like on the YouTube videos, we have comment sections On those posts. We have comment sections, and I would love to hear from you Comments of what you're getting from God's Word, different resources that you have, because, once again, as we always say, the more we dig, the more we find.

Speaker 1: 3:16

Well, let's get into God's Word today, and, if you've been with us over the past few days, now we're going through the book of Amos, and the overall big theme idea of Amos is let justice roll. We got it from the Garth Brooks song, you know let the thunder roll, and it is the idea that justice is coming to the nation of Israel, and that's one of the things we've been saying is what is really unique about the book of Amos not only is it one of the oldest prophetic books written in the Bible, but also he is writing to the nation of Israel and he lives in Judah, and so it would be like writing to a neighboring nation. And the thing is is, even though Judah and Israel are part of the same big family, they have an on again, off again relationship. Sometimes they're friends, sometimes they're not good friends. And he is writing to them from an outsider's perspective, because he's not even a prophet, he's a shepherd that God has called to do this, and he is telling them hey, listen, you guys need to be careful. I know that even us, as Judah, we're doing business with you, but you're also doing a lot of things that does not line up with the plan of God. Your ethics don't line up with God's standards. You got to be careful, and I want to remind us, before we jump into this today, that remember the overall goal of the prophets.

Speaker 1: 4:36

The prophets are an amazing palate cleanser to the body of Christ, because the prophets were not sent to be nice. The prophets are the ones who see the enemy coming and they are calling a warning. They're the ones, as a matter of fact, ezekiel, he actually talks about this. He talks about the prophets being like people, like back in the day when you lived inside of a walled city. Right, let's say, you lived inside of Jerusalem was a walled city. You live inside that. Well, you didn't have GPS, you didn't have all these things we have today. You had, you know, eyesight. They didn't have gps. You didn't have all these things we have today. You had, you know, eyesight. They didn't have binoculars. Okay, it was a long time ago. The only thing you had to protect yourself from an invading army. I mean, you had like word of mouth, stuff like that.

Speaker 1: 5:19

But as far as in in the moment is, these guards would take shifts and you would have guards who would watch all through the night, all through the day, and their job was to look at the horizon and to see if an invading army was coming. That's why, a lot of times also, these walled cities would be built on hills so they could see much further around them, and their job was, if they saw an invading army coming, they got one job and that job is to sound an alarm horn a ram's horn, if you live in Jerusalem and to warn the people that bad news was coming, and to warn them with enough notice so they could get ready. Here's the thing. Can you imagine losing your job like this? You would lose your job if you were a soldier and you did technically sound the alarm. But you sound the alarm two minutes before they ring the doorbell. You know what I mean. They're right there at the city gate and you go oh, by the way, invading army. No, you lost. Okay, your job was to warn the people with enough notice so that they would be able to get ready. So therefore, the ones with the best eyesight were the ones who got that job.

Speaker 1: 6:26

And it's boring until it's not. It reminds me of what they say that the job of a pilot is. It is hours of tedious boredom followed by moments of sheer panic, and I've actually been in the cockpit of a plane as it has been going, taking off and landing, and those moments are panic. I mean they're crazy, but they're also a lot of fun when you're right there. That's the job of a prophet.

Speaker 1: 6:50

So many times, the job of a prophet is to say hey, we need to honor God, we need to obey him. And then, every once in a while, a prophet's like ah, watch out. And that's what Amos is doing. In chapter six, amos is telling them man, y'all walking on thin ice. So what he's doing is he's waving that flag and he is telling them to be careful. So let's read this together and let's see how God's Word will speak to us today.

Speaker 1: 7:12

Chapter 6, verse 1 says this what sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem? Now, remember he's been talking to Israel, now he's talking to his own people, because Jerusalem is the capital of Judah. What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem, you who feel secure in Samaria? That's the capital of Israel. You are famous and popular in Israel and people go to you for help. But go over to Calnea and see what happened there. Then go to the great city of Hamath, go down to Philistine city of Gath you are no better than they were and look at how they were destroyed. You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer. How terrible for you who sprawl over ivory beds and lounge on your couches Eating the meat of tender lambs from the flock and of the choice calves fattened in the stall. You sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp and fancy yourselves to be great musicians. Like David, you drink wine by the bowl full and perfume yourselves with fragrant lotions. You care nothing about the ruin of your nation. Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives. Suddenly, all your parties will end.

Speaker 1: 8:33

The sovereign Lord has sworn by his own name, and this is what the Lord, god of heaven's army, says. In other words, he's saying this is what God has said. It's going to happen. Here we go. I despise the arrogance of Israel and I hate their fortresses. I will give this city and everything in it to their enemies. And if there are ten men left in one house, they will all die. And when a relative who is responsible to dispose of their dead goes into the house to carry out the dead bodies, he will ask the last survivor, is anyone else with you? And when the person begins to swear no bye, he will interrupt and say stop, don't even mention the name of the Lord. When the Lord gives the command, homes, both great and small, will be smashed to pieces. Can horses gallop over boulders? Can oxen be used to plow them? But that's how foolish you are when you turn justice into poison and sweet fruit of righteousness into bitterness.

Speaker 1: 9:36

You brag about your conquest of Lodabar. You boast didn't we take Carnathium by our own strength? O people of Israel, I am about to bring an enemy nation against you, says the Lord, god of heaven's armies. They will oppress you throughout the land, from Lebo Hamath in the north to Araba Valley in the south. Wow, notice how he says this in the very beginning. He says you look good. You actually are the one that other people go to, but you are no better than these other places who have flirted with disaster and did not trust in me. So, in other words, he's warning them. He's saying listen, you are not going to be spared if you keep doing all these bad things. You keep on.

Speaker 1: 10:22

Verse 3, it says you keep on pushing away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions will only bring the day of judgment closer. Now, when it comes to this, there's two ways you can look at this If it's you or if it's someone that you know and love. If you know and love someone that they're walking on thin ice, but even though they know they're not doing what they should be doing, they know they're not honoring the Lord, but they still keep on saying, ah, it's fine, ah, it's fine, it's fine. You know what I mean. Then our job is to pray the mercy of God on them, because when you are purposefully according to God's word, what we just read, the principle that we can bring from this, is when you are not honoring the word of God and you push away every thought of coming disaster, when you know God's word says you should not do X, y and Z and you go, ah, it's fine, god isn't punishing me for this, then you know that not only is judgment coming, judgment is coming sooner. Let me give you an example.

Speaker 1: 11:24

I know somebody one time. I know well, I've known many people. Let me say two people. I knew one person who they were struggling with sexual sin. They were, they were struggling with it. This is, you know, bible breakdown. We're getting real up in here. They're struggling with sexual sin and I was talking to them and we were processing it, we were dealing with it and I was trying to be accountable to them.

Speaker 1: 11:49

And one of the promises I always make to people when I'm accountable to them is I will say I will never tell your secret. Your secret is safe with me. However, there will get to a point when I will pray that God will reveal your secret. If you will not, you know, if you're not taking next steps, like, if you're taking next steps, I'm here, I'm with it, I'm for you. I'm never going to tell your secret, and I've had people get mad at me for that and say, well, why didn't you tell me? It's a promise I make. However, I will pray for God to reveal it If you're not making those next steps, right, like like this is serious, right, your, your, your soul is on the line here, right.

Speaker 1: 12:19

But I've walked with people before and I want two people. I've got in my mind, years and years ago, one person. They were struggling with their sin, they were trying to get freedom, they were taking the next steps, they were doing all the things, but it was just hard, just hard, and I just saw endless grace in their life. I saw God do so many wonderful things in their life as they just continued to struggle. But they were struggling toward God, falling toward his mercy.

Speaker 1: 12:40

But then I've walked with other people who we would talk to one another and I would just tell them hey, listen, I can't walk with you anymore because you're not doing the things. You're not doing the stuff. I don't think you're struggling with this sin at all. I think you've got to the place where you think that you and God have struck some kind of deal and he's just going to wink at it and they've literally said well, no, it's just. I got other things I'm working on right now and I'm just going to get to that, because it's not my secret to tell. However, I'm no longer going to pray for God to not reveal it, if it's the only thing that's necessary.

Speaker 1: 13:12

I just got to tell you that, as someone who loves you, I just got to right, and I have seen the person who struggled both people had the same issue the person who was struggling and trying to get free. I saw them find freedom and forgiveness and it was beautiful. And I've seen people who thought they had somehow made a deal with God and that it was okay. Well, since God wasn't judging it, he must be okay with it. I saw them absolutely fall apart from the inside out. God didn't reveal it. They ended up confessing it because they completely just fell apart.

Speaker 1: 13:48

And so can I tell you that if you are walking with someone and they are in spot number two. It is time to pray the mercy of God on them and just pray and beg for them to start struggling with their sin instead of celebrating it On the other side. If it's you, can I tell you Jesus loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way. He knows what that sin will do. And can I tell you, god's patience is not God's acceptance.

Speaker 1: 14:21

Let's talk about sexual sin. Maybe you are in a situation where you think that God doesn't care about that you are indulging in sexual sin. He does, he absolutely does. God is merciful and he is patient to give us time to repent. If you will not repent, god will judge it, and so I beg you to allow the mercy of God to flow and to never let the enemy deceive you by lying to you, by telling you that just because God is patient means God has accepted it. That is not how it works. Every time that you sin and God doesn't reveal it. Let that be a moment where you celebrate God, because you realize that's how patient our God is. But then let it double down your effort.

Speaker 1: 15:09

And then can I tell you this, if you are sitting there going, okay, you're right, I do need to get a hold of this. I don't know what to do. Here's a couple things to pray and then we're going to be done for the day. Number one is pray and ask God to open your eyes to see an accountable brother or sister, depending on you know, men with men, women with women when it comes to accountability an accountable brother or sister that you can walk with. And then is your freedom, is it worth it to take a chance to talk to them and then put boundaries in your life?

Speaker 1: 15:42

Jesus said this. He said if your eye causes you to sin, cut it off or gouge it out. It would be better for you to enter into heaven with one eye than to go into hell with both eyes. Now, he's not saying literally cut off a part of your body, for heaven's sake. What he's saying is radical amputation, as in if you can only if you use your phone to access pornography, get a dumb phone. Is your freedom worth it? That dumb phone, those old flip phones, right, they're there, right? If you work in a business that you travel and when you travel you have trouble not calling escorts, get a new job.

Speaker 1: 16:19

Well, pastor, how can I do that? If you will take the step, god will open the door. Is your freedom worth it? Your legacy is worth it. And one more thing I just feel like, if you've been listening to this podcast, we've done over 200 episodes now. Worth it? And one more thing I just feel like, if you've been listening to this podcast, we've done over 200 episodes now. I've never done this before, but I feel this so strongly in my heart right now. This is going to be an episode. I've never done like this before, but I feel so strongly that the Spirit of God is putting in my life. I know that there are pastors and ministry leaders all over the world who listen and watch this podcast. I want to look right at the camera If you're looking at YouTube.

Speaker 1: 16:47

I don't say this to you, pastor your legacy is worth it that, if you are struggling, take the same steps. Reach out to a brother, reach out to somebody you can trust and start taking steps to freedom. You would rather be known as a pastor who struggled well than a pastor who exploded in all the worst ways and imploded his ministry. Your legacy is worth it. God will help you if you'll take the next step. Let's pray together right now, god, thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that your word is true. And, lord, just like Amos, who is sounding the alarm, and he is warning the people that bad days are coming if they don't take the right step, but at the same time, you are opening up the windows of heaven. That's my prayer today, lord. There's a strong word in your word today about taking those next steps. But if we will have the courage to take the next step, I pray that you will open up the right people. And I want to pray this, lord, for everybody who realizes it's time for them to get serious. And, lord, I mentioned sexual sin, but it could be anything that tries to take the place of you in our life. It literally could be anything. My prayer is today that you will open up our eyes to see the people around us that are trustworthy. Lord, I pray for those who are going to be approached over the next few days that they will be trustworthy and they'll realize me too. Lord, I pray you open their eyes in Jesus' name, amen, amen.

Speaker 1: 18:15

Usually I read the scripture, but I want to give you one more encouragement, and that is this Can I tell you, there have been times in my life when I have felt the need I had to go talk to someone and have them walk with me through something, can I tell you every single time and I didn't know about it, but every single time when I would open up to them and I would say, hey, listen, this is costing a lot. I'm giving you a knife to cut me with right, but I need to do this. You know what's always happened. They've always said this in some form or fashion. Me too. I'm telling you, whatever you're struggling with right now, god has either already put someone or he is in the process of putting someone in your life who's already been through it. So they're going to understand like you can't even imagine.

Speaker 1: 18:56

I've also had to happen in my life. I've had people and I've got to the point now where I've lived long enough that I've had people in my life that I know the meeting. When it happens, they're fumbling, they're nervous, someone who's usually carefree now feels kind of tight and tense, and finally they say hey, pastor, can you walk with me? And I know you're not going to understand this. Blah, blah, blah. And I go no, no, me too, I'd be glad to. So I can't wait to hear what happens. God's word says in Amos, chapter five, verse 24,. He says instead I want to see a mighty flood of justice and an endless river of righteous living. I love you, I'll.