Pentecost 8 Mark 6:7-13 “Sent Forth By Christ”
Amos 7:10-15 Ephesians 1:3-14 Mark 6:7-13
During the time that Amos lived, life in Israel was good. Amos was a shepherd and a caretaker of fig trees and had very little stress in his life. Surely Amos was happy taking care of his sheep, planting trees and basically living a relatively carefree life. Even if he was not rich or important in the eyes of men, life was good for him.
Under Jeroboam’s reign, the nation had gained territory and many throughout the land were prosperous and living the good life. Israel’s moral life however, was a different story. Jeroboam had appointed Amaziah as high priest in God’s temple but instead of worshipping God, they had erected a golden calf in God’s very house. Bethel, which means ‘house of God’, had become a house of golden calves. And because of Israel’s Idol-worship, Amos’s whole life of tranquility was about to be interrupted. Amos did not choose to be a prophet. Rather God called him and told His new prophet what to say. And as Amos was about to find out, God’s message is not always welcomed or accepted. And those who do not want to hear it often distort God’s message.
As far as we can tell, Amos had no formal training in the school of the prophets. He was a humble man with a general education who had been given a task to do by Almighty God Himself. Amos is known as a man that spoke out against the sins of his day where the poor were being downtrodden and alcohol flowed excessively. But even more so, Amos was known as the prophet who was warning God’s people to turn from their unbelief and idol-worship. “Seek the Lord and Live!” He would cry out as he warned the people of the coming destruction. (Amos 5:6) Amos spoke a simple message, Turn to the Lord in repentance and faith and be saved. But it was not a message that the people wanted to hear. And yet Amos knew he had an important message to speak and whether the people listened or not, the prophet was obliged to speak the word of God.
The apostles must have felt very much like Amos did when Jesus sent them out. Although they were aware of their shortcomings, they went out in obedience to their Lord. They carried the same message that Amos spoke; repent from your sins, and turn to God. Amos, the apostles and all the servants of Christ are sent forth always hoping to turn many from darkness unto God, and to heal souls by God’s message through the power of the Holy Ghost. During the time Jesus walked upon the earth, the nation had once again become extremely wicked and corrupt, perhaps more so than the time of Amos. So it was not surprising that Jesus began His ministry by calling the nation to repentance.
Repentance can only come about in a person, who knows the God who is willing to forgive. If a person is worshiping idols or gods that require sacrifices or good works to make up for the evil that they have done, then they do not seek out the God of forgiveness. But those who know they have caused offense against God will feel sorrow over their sins.
Paul calls this knowledge ‘Godly Sorrow’ and speaks about it 2nd Corinthians (7:10-11), “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.”
Repentance is a deep sense of the evil of sin as committed against God (Psalm 51:4) and a full resolve to turn away from those offenses and to lead a holy life. A truly penitent person has sorrow for sin, not only because it is ruinous to his soul, but chiefly because it is an offence against God. (Jeremiah 44:4)
Since God’s people have always gone through periods when they were not seeking the Lord, He sent prophetic messengers down through the ages to warn them of the terrible disasters, which would come about because of their wickedness. God sent messengers like Amos to warn the people and yet these disasters still came about because most people rejected God’s prophets.
As our gospel lesson states, the Lord had come in the flesh to preach forgiveness to those who would listen. Jesus and the twelve called upon the people to repent and reform their lives. It was the same message that Amos had spoken, “Seek the Lord and live.” Only now the Lord was indeed very close to His people. If fact, the Lord was seeking them in a very personal way.
Now they were in His gracious presence, and it was proper that the nation should turn from its sins and prepare to receive Him. But rather than turning from their sins and turning to Jesus, the chief priests and Pharisees gave the same reasons that Amaziah gave for seeking to rid themselves of Amos. They called Jesus a traitor against the Hebrews and a rabble-rouser who was conspiring against Rome.
But that was a deception. They themselves did not actually believe that from a national standpoint Jesus was a dangerous man. The real reason however was that our Lord was a threat to their livelihood. He did not contribute to their prestige among the people. They hated Him because He had told the truth about the God of salvation and the truth about their wickedness. In the same way the world considers Christians to be disturbers and rebels. Those who speak accordingly usually know very well that Christians are harmless, kindhearted people. But Christians are disliked and persecuted by unbelievers and are seen as troublemakers because they tell the truth about the God of salvation and rebuke them because of their sins.”
Amos knew this type of persecution. But Amos continued to speak the word of God, despite the unkind words and actions he received, not for his own gain but for the love of His God and the love of the Hebrew people. Our Lord Jesus Christ, very God of very God would also feel the hatred and rejection by many. And like Amos He would continue out of His love for all mankind to speak the truth and to offer forgiveness to all who would turn to Him. Even on the cross, Jesus offered that forgiveness, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” And certainly the apostles that were sent out to baptize and teach in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit knew that many will reject them.
But still they faithfully proclaimed the message about a forgiving God and His words of repentance, because they knew the love that He has for them and all who would believe in His Son.
What about you who are here today? Do you see the Love that God has for you in Christ Jesus? Jesus has died for your sins; He paid for every one of your sinful thoughts, deeds and unkind words upon a wooden cross. When you know that Jesus has suffered for your sins, that should move you to godly sorrow, a sorrow that goes beyond the problems your sins have caused for others here on earth, but a sorrow that includes the knowledge that Jesus had to die for your sins.
That sorrow need not cause you to mourn however, because the good news is that when you turn to God and ask forgiveness, He forgives your sins. He wipes them away as far as the east is from the west. The moment that you turn to God in repentance and faith, your sins are forgiven. Isn’t that Good News worth sharing with those around you? Isn’t that what God wants you to do? The only way we can ever hope to reach every individual in our community with the Gospel is that every Christian be a faithful witness.
Will some reject you? Unfortunately, yes. Many will not want to hear God’s message. We are not to dwell on those who reject God’s message however, but rather we are to move on to others. We do not need any fancy gimmicks or attention getters nor do we need a PHD in theology; we only need to tell them to repent from their sins and to believe in Jesus Christ. God only asks us to deliver His message--it is up to the Holy Spirit to open their hearts to believe.
There is still room in heaven, there will be room until Christ returns. Until that day comes, let us be faithful to our Lord and spread His message of love and forgiveness. In Jesus Name, Amen.