05 Seek the Lord and Live! – Thought Starters
“Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and thus may the Lord God of hosts be with you, just as you have said!”(Amos 5:14, NASB).
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[Thought questions for Seek the Lord and Live! May 1, 2013]
1. Making evil appear good and good evil. How was it possible for Israel to stumble in sin and make their relationship with God a mockery? Couldn’t they remember the mighty works God had done on their behalf? Are people today ever tempted to make something evil seem as if it’s not so bad after all? Which is the greater sin–seeing evil as good or seeing good as evil? Either way, how do these positions lead people from God?
2. A hollow religion. Were you surprised the first time you read or heard that God was disgusted about the way His people observed the religious ceremonies He had set up for them? Can you imagine God or one of His angels speaking out to you and your family in such a way? What would bring about a judgment of a false religion? Have you attended church hundreds of times? Thousands? Has any of the excitement of your early years as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian faded away? Is it too late to revive in your heart a rousing spirit of worship that comes directly from your relationship with Jesus?
3. Amos the unpopular prophet. Why do you think the children of Israel would never have elected Amos to come and preach to them? Do you think they had a feeling that they were going to hear what they deserved from him–and that they didn’t like it? In his prophecy against the northern kingdom, was Amos clearly placing himself on dangerous ground? What was Amaziah’s advice? How would you like to go to church Sabbath and listen to a sermon condemning you and your family of apostasy? (Notice how every line of this book is part of a poetic chant or a tapestry of poetic words.)
4. Searching for the Word of God. Which could you tolerate better–not having enough food and drinking water to survive, or not having access to the Bible? Were the Israelites in Amos’ day able to reach out to God and talk to Him? If so, why, then, was there a famine of God’s Word? Is there ever a good excuse to live a life without God? Can you imagine a time coming soon when people will be frightened because they don’t feel they have time to establish a strong relationship with God? What about babies and small children who may not live long enough to know Jesus? What is our responsibility in these times of approaching famine?
5. Ruins restored. Does your heart jump with joy when you read the “rest of the story” in Amos? How did God feel about restoring His people to their former state of prosperity and good will? Do you hear a familiar strain in the joyful refrain Amos shares with the Israelites? Remember when God encouraged His people to reach out to those in nearby countries and minister to them? Did this prediction come true? Does God repeat that promise to us today?
6. Think of these things. Is it possible to suffer from a “famine” of God’s Word while attending church every Sabbath? Can a person read and study God’s Word without obtaining the blessing or instruction God intends? Do we ever boast among ourselves about our superior knowledge of Biblical truth? What about that sort of attitude among those who do not share our church affiliation. Are we the most loving, caring people in the world? Are we welcome as neighbors in our community?
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often we regard our sabbath services like rituals.. but this lesson is constructive in a way which the prophet is telling us that we need to look beyond rituals.. our worship should go beyond the rituals so that we can exactly feel the holy spirit speak to us.
It's amazing how relevant the message through Amos to the children of Israel is to us today. May God help us to serve Him with all of our hearts and not play lip-service. Amen.
Seek the Lord and live is interesting news because the Lord loved us first and gave us an example about life and how we should behave. A funny thing today people see life as if they are the provider of life not realizing that God is the only provider of life. If we do the right thing, God multiply our days on earth, but if we keep on sinning, we shorten our days of life. This week's study opened the eyes of many people on earth who keep on sinning. Hate what is evil, love what is right.
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We can memorize all the verses in the bible but without love is nothing. God demonstrates his love for us by dying for our sins.
Some human right issues conflict with the word of Yaweh. What in the past was regarded evil, we embrace as Good. Homosexuality has been legalised. Countries that are resisting to legalise are denied aid by the developed nations. This is regarding evil as good.
While some of our jobs in the secular world are very noble, this is not the work that God has called us to do! He has told us to build up his kingdom on earth, he gave this same commision to his 12 disciples, but some how we think the work has changed, we spend 8 hrs a day building up the kingdoms of this world and leaving the work of God undone! No wonder theres a famine of the word, we dont really believe the prophets testimonies.Jesus never taught the disciples to build up the kingdom of Rome and rest on the Sabbath day! I'm afraid we got it all wrong, the church of laodicea!
Dear Kimberly,
As I understand it, seeking first the Kingdom of God does not mean that we should not work for a living. But it does mean that at all times and in all places, we should seek to do the work of Christ.
Being engaged in the work places provides opportunities to meet people and influence them for the Kingdom -- providing we look for these opportunities and have our hearts open to the Spirit's leading.
We are to go where the people are and to meet them on their own ground. All are called to be witnesses, while few are called to preach the gospel full-time.