0:00

firm a foundation

0:03

ye saints

0:05

of the Lord

0:08

is laid

0:10

for your faith

0:12

in his

0:15

excellent work. Dr.

0:18

J. Vernon McGee often said that our faith is

0:20

in the book, the blood of Jesus and

0:22

the blessed hope of his soon return. In

0:24

this study on Through the Bible, we're going

0:26

to explore that blessed hope in the most

0:28

unlikely places. It's the Old Testament book of

0:30

Amos is where we're heading. I'm

0:32

Steve Schwetz holding open the doors of the

0:34

Bible bus as you hop aboard and

0:36

in just a moment we're going to begin

0:38

Amos chapter 5 beginning in verse 18. Now,

0:41

you might be thinking that the highway that

0:43

we're traveling on through Amos has a lot

0:45

of potholes in it. Well, if so, you're

0:47

going to appreciate this travel warning from Dr.

0:49

McGee. I recognize

0:51

that this is

0:53

a little bumpy ride that we're

0:56

going over right now. That

0:58

is the highway is, Amos is

1:00

not being easy on us

1:02

at all. And he

1:04

happens to be one of

1:06

God's great prophets. And

1:09

as we've indicated before, it's

1:11

been interesting that the liberal

1:13

has been attracted to him because

1:15

he dealt with so many

1:17

issues that were social

1:19

problems in his day. But

1:22

when he dealt with them, he said that

1:24

if they didn't correct them, that there'd

1:27

be judgment. Now the liberal never

1:29

tells that. And I

1:31

believe that that type of

1:33

philosophy pervades our entire

1:35

contemporary culture today. That our

1:37

expression is, take it

1:39

easy. Our expression

1:42

is, have a good day. Our

1:45

expression today is, you

1:47

should be happy as a Christian. As

1:53

you open your copy of God's Word, let's

1:55

visit with a fellow listener who writes

1:57

from this time behind bars in Beaumont, Texas.

2:00

His letter is a little longer than our usual

2:02

one, but I think you're going to enjoy it.

2:04

Every night at 1 a .m., I listen to you

2:06

on the radio. I haven't missed a program in

2:08

three and a half years. I have

2:10

a neighbor who is not a Christian,

2:12

but who stays up at night like

2:14

I do to listen. He got interested

2:16

in your study in the last few

2:18

chapters of Daniel. Because of our security

2:20

status, we stay in solitary cells 23

2:23

hours a day and can't go to

2:25

church or participate in any Christian events.

2:27

If it wasn't for Bible teaching programs like

2:30

yours, the brothers in faith in here would

2:32

have a horrible time trying to stay

2:34

focused on the truth. If I

2:36

had money to help with the support of the

2:38

Bible bus, I would do so because of

2:40

your program's value to us. You say

2:42

that you value a man's prayer, so

2:44

That is what our band of Christian brothers

2:46

is doing in support. Keep up the

2:48

good work and keep telling us about other

2:50

brothers and sisters around the world who are joining

2:53

the family. We'll keep praying for God's word

2:55

to go into the whole world. May God bless

2:57

you all. Wasn't that a great letter? And

3:00

you know, we really do value the

3:02

prayers of all of our listeners and we

3:04

are so grateful for your presence on

3:06

the Bible bus with us. And by the

3:08

way, through the Bible sends free resources

3:10

to prisons and prisoners to help brothers and

3:12

sisters like this grow in their walk

3:14

with the Lord. Another brother, this one named

3:16

Allen in Washington, D .C., wrote this. I

3:18

wanted to tell you how important through the

3:20

Bible and Dr. J. Vernon McGee are to

3:23

God's work in my life. Every morning I

3:25

drive to work at 5 .30 a .m. and

3:27

I get to hear Dr. McGee unpack some

3:29

scriptures and my faith grows. This is

3:31

a major part of me learning how

3:33

to live a godly life. I'm almost

3:35

25 years old and was born again

3:37

a year and a half ago at

3:39

Virginia Tech. Since then, I have been

3:41

on fire for Jesus Christ and hungry

3:43

for good influences. Every day I'm

3:45

in God's Word. I learned something that makes me

3:47

give up a little more sin in my life.

3:50

Thank God that His grace is enough for

3:52

me. May God bless you all. Well,

3:55

I love what He said about the word continuing

3:57

to root out sin. So thanks for sharing with

3:59

us, Alan. And Jeff from Missouri

4:01

tells us this. Well,

4:22

don't you love hearing how these three men are

4:24

growing in Christ and learning what it means

4:26

to walk with Jesus every day? And

4:28

by the way, we did send Jeff a

4:30

pack of those Bible bus cards. And if

4:32

you'd like your pack as well, you can

4:34

call us at 1 -800 -65 -BIBLE and we'll

4:36

send them out to you. Now, like these

4:38

gentlemen, we'd love to know how our time

4:40

in God's Word is impacting your life. Would

4:42

you send us a quick note in the

4:44

feedback section of our app or write to

4:46

us at Box 7100, Pasadena,

4:48

California, 911 -09. In

4:51

Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C,

4:53

6B1. Or send an email to

4:55

BibleBus at ttb .org or call

4:57

and leave a message at 1 -800

4:59

-65 -BIBLE. We love to hear how

5:01

God's work end in your life,

5:03

and maybe we'll even share your

5:05

story with our listening family in

5:08

an upcoming study. Let's pray

5:10

for one another as we begin. Gracious

5:12

Heavenly Father, we are so grateful for the

5:14

gospel of Jesus that transforms us into

5:16

new creatures. And Lord, we surrender

5:18

our lives to you and ask that your

5:20

word would bear much fruit in us, and give

5:22

us ears to hear now in Jesus' name. Amen.

5:28

Now let's dive into Amos chapter 5 verse

5:30

18 on through the Bible with Dr.

5:32

J. Vernon McKee. Now I

5:34

come today to the fifth

5:36

chapter of Amos. I put

5:38

in it verse 18. Now

5:40

this is the chapter in

5:42

which we have labeled it.

5:44

Israel will be punished in

5:46

the future for her iniquity.

5:48

And he spoke in the

5:50

last chapter. Israel has been

5:52

punished in the past for

5:54

her iniquity. Now, we've been

5:56

looking in these first verses

5:58

that God pleads with them

6:00

to seek him so that

6:02

judgment could be averted again

6:04

and again. He repeated, you

6:06

remember that invitation, seek

6:08

the Lord, seek

6:10

him, and again and again

6:13

he may disappear to

6:15

them. Now, in this

6:17

last section here, he

6:19

gives them the warning of

6:21

approaching judgment. because you

6:23

see some of them had

6:25

become very pious and In verse

6:28

18 I read woe unto

6:30

you that desire The day of

6:32

the Lord to what end

6:34

is it for you? The day

6:36

of the Lord is darkness

6:38

and not light Again, we have

6:41

that expression the day of

6:43

the Lord Joel is one of

6:45

the first of the writing

6:47

prophets and he's the one that

6:49

introduces that subject and every

6:51

one of the prophets after him

6:54

has something to say about

6:56

it. And we need to

6:58

be very careful, because I'm sure

7:00

many of us always thought the

7:02

day of the Lord was the

7:04

millennium. I'll be very frank with

7:06

you. I was taught that at

7:08

the beginning, that the day of

7:10

the Lord was the millennium. Well,

7:13

Joel was very careful, and

7:15

Amos now who is the

7:17

prophet in the northern kingdom,

7:19

as Joel was in the

7:21

southern, to make clear that

7:23

the day of the Lord is not

7:25

like its darkness. In other

7:27

words, the day of the

7:29

Lord begins with judgment and moves

7:31

on to the coming of

7:34

Christ to the earth to establish

7:36

his kingdom down here upon

7:38

this earth. Now there are

7:40

great many commentators, and I say

7:42

great many, I don't have too many

7:44

on Joel, But I have several

7:46

that feel like that the people were

7:49

becoming rather cynical and they are

7:51

really ridiculing the day of the

7:53

Lord. Now, I don't see

7:55

that here at all. In

7:57

fact, I don't see how that

7:59

interpretation could possibly be true.

8:01

I see it on the opposite

8:03

side that a great many

8:06

of these people became very pious.

8:09

You see, they were going

8:11

through the ritual the mosaic

8:13

ritual, but they were also

8:15

worshiping idols. In other

8:17

words, it was just religion

8:19

to them. That is all

8:21

that church going is to

8:23

a great many people today. There's

8:26

nothing vital, nothing real, there's

8:28

no reality to go through a

8:30

ritual. And that's the reason

8:32

so many church services are so

8:34

dead. And I mean dead

8:37

is because of the fact that

8:39

you have there nothing in

8:41

the world but a ritual that

8:43

you're going through. Now it

8:45

may be beautiful, it may

8:47

appeal to your eyes, it may appeal

8:49

to your ears, but does

8:51

it change your life? Is

8:53

it transforming? Is it

8:55

something that you take out, wick

8:57

you into the marketplace that you

8:59

can live by? There are

9:02

a great many people, and I

9:04

want you to hear this very carefully,

9:06

and I'm saying it very carefully

9:08

today. There are great

9:10

many people of very pious

9:12

today. among those that are

9:14

pre -millennial and pre -trip. We

9:17

say, oh, if the Lord

9:19

would only come, well,

9:21

do you really want him

9:23

to come? Or are you using

9:25

the rapture of the church

9:27

as sort of an escape mechanism?

9:30

It is to get you out of

9:32

your trouble down here. It's to

9:34

deliver you from your trouble. It's like

9:36

the fellow that I tell you

9:38

about when I was in seminary. When

9:41

we were studying Hebrew, and

9:43

we'd come out from the dining room

9:45

of the evening, and he had to

9:47

look up. We had a

9:49

hard Hebrew lesson for the next day,

9:51

as well as a Greek lesson.

9:53

And he would say, oh, if

9:55

the Lord would only come tonight. Well,

9:58

what was he after? He didn't want to

10:00

stay in Hebrew. And I never

10:02

shall forget, when he graduated, he

10:04

was to graduate one night. He

10:07

was to get married the next night. and

10:09

then go on his honeymoon. And

10:11

I never shall forget the

10:13

night before graduation. He

10:15

came out and he looked up and he

10:17

says, I sure hope the Lord won't be

10:19

coming now for several days. Well,

10:21

my friend, may I say to you,

10:23

I'm afraid of great many of us. Look

10:25

at the rapture like that. This

10:28

man Amos said, you pious

10:30

folk are just going through the

10:32

religious ritual and you're worshiping

10:34

idols. The day of

10:36

the Lord is not something that

10:38

you ought to desire because

10:40

it's not light, it is

10:43

a day of darkness and not

10:45

light at all. You go through

10:47

a great tribulation period when the

10:49

day of the Lord comes. What

10:51

you want to do is to

10:53

jump into the millennium. Now let

10:55

me be very careful and say

10:57

something. For those of us

10:59

today who believe the church

11:01

will not go through the great

11:03

tribulation period, my friends,

11:05

some of us, are going to

11:07

think we got into it after we

11:09

get to heaven. You know why? Will

11:12

you listen to what Paul

11:14

had to say? Now

11:17

I'm reading 2 Corinthians 5

11:19

verse 9. He says,

11:35

This is the Baema. This is

11:38

not the great white throne at

11:40

all. Here is where Christians come,

11:42

for what reason? That everyone

11:44

may receive the things done

11:46

in his body. According

11:48

to that he hath done

11:50

whether it be good or bad.

11:53

Is this salvation? No. Paul

11:56

says there's no other foundation any

11:58

man can lay. But

12:00

you can build on that. And

12:02

you can build with wood,

12:04

hay, and stubble. You can build

12:06

with gold and silver, precious

12:08

stones, but every man's work, not

12:10

his salvation, not his person, every

12:13

man's work shall be tested

12:15

by fire. Now, if

12:17

any man's work survives

12:19

the fire, he'll receive award.

12:21

But suppose it doesn't. Paul says

12:23

he'll be saved, but so as

12:25

by fire. And that's the reason

12:27

I make the statement oftentimes that

12:29

A great many people there saved.

12:32

I grant that, but they're going

12:34

to smell like they were bought

12:36

at a fire sale when they

12:38

get to heaven because everything they

12:40

did down here, they did in

12:42

the flesh. They did

12:44

it for some earthly reason, for

12:46

some present satisfaction. And I

12:48

want to be very frank and

12:50

say this to you today, that

12:53

Vernon McGee is, he's getting toward

12:55

the sunset. I'm no longer on

12:57

the young side. like a kid

12:59

myself sometimes to think I might

13:01

be. But I want to say

13:03

this to you very candidly. I'm

13:05

wondering how I'm going to come out up

13:07

there. You say, oh, you have the through

13:10

the Bible. And so many say I'm going

13:12

to get a great reward. You

13:14

don't know me like I know myself.

13:16

If you did, you turn the radio off.

13:18

But wait a minute, don't turn it

13:20

off. Because if I knew you like, you

13:22

know yourself, I would want to talk

13:24

to you. You see, friends, I

13:27

lie. that we've lived down

13:29

here as believers is to be

13:31

tested today. And it's pious

13:33

nonsense to run around today and

13:35

pretend to be so interested

13:37

in the coming of Christ. When

13:39

some of us get to

13:42

heaven, we'll think we didn't miss

13:44

a great tribulation because notice

13:46

what Paul said after he gave

13:48

the statement that we'd all

13:50

be tested at the aim of

13:52

Christ. He says, knowing therefore

13:54

the terror of the Lord. we

13:57

persuade man. And I'm trying

13:59

to persuade you today, friend, that

14:01

when you appear in his presence, if

14:04

you think that he's going to

14:06

pin the nice little Sunday school medal

14:08

on you because you didn't miss

14:10

Sunday school for 15 years, I think

14:12

you're wrong. I don't think that

14:14

that's going to come up. I think

14:16

that the life that you live

14:18

in your home, your witness

14:20

in your business, your social life,

14:22

your contact with the opposite

14:24

sex, These are the things that

14:26

are going to come before

14:29

the judgment seat of Christ and

14:31

the things that were done

14:33

in the body down here. Do

14:35

you want to go up there now? Have

14:37

you got everything straightened out? Paul

14:40

says if we would judge ourselves, we'd

14:42

not be judged. And that's

14:44

the reason today I'm trying

14:46

to keep everything confessed up.

14:48

I'm running short accounts with

14:50

the Lord today. I'm confessing

14:52

everything. You know why?

14:54

Because if I don't, He's going

14:56

to straighten it out up there

14:59

someday. When you lost your temper

15:01

and you gave a wrong witness,

15:03

and today you've gossiped and said

15:05

something about a believer, do you

15:07

think that when you get in

15:09

the presence of Christ, that He's

15:12

going to pat you on the

15:14

back and say what a nice

15:16

little fellow you are? He's going

15:18

to straighten that out. Things

15:21

have to be made right in

15:23

heaven, friends. And that's the

15:25

purpose of the Judgment Seed of Christ. And

15:27

believe me, Amos is putting it on

15:29

the line. He says, cut out this

15:31

nonsense you desire the day of the

15:33

Lord. It's not light.

15:35

It's darkness. There is a

15:37

great tribulation you will go

15:39

through. And there is the

15:41

Judgment Seed of Christ. And

15:43

I don't think it's going to be

15:46

as pleasant as some folk think it's going

15:48

to be. Now, verse 19, as

15:50

if a man, this man

15:52

here, Amos, and I

15:54

have to say again how I

15:56

admire him. He's one of

15:59

the most dramatic preachers that you

16:01

have in the scripture. He

16:03

uses figurative language. He uses

16:05

the idiom of the earth. He

16:07

draws his illustrations from nature and

16:09

he makes striking statements. Now we're

16:11

coming to one and we've got

16:14

quite a few more to follow.

16:16

He says, as if a man

16:18

did flee from a lion and

16:20

a bear met him. Here's a

16:22

man that's out hunting or in

16:24

the woods is probably Amos had

16:27

been and there's a line down

16:29

the trail back of him and

16:31

he starts around running the opposite

16:33

direction and now he sees a

16:35

bear coming toward him. In other

16:37

words when you say that you

16:39

want the Lord to come and

16:42

your motive is that you want

16:44

to get out of your troubles

16:46

down here then it's sort of

16:48

like jumping out of the frying

16:50

pan into the fire. I think

16:52

that is our bromide that we

16:54

use today. And now

16:57

he's got another. Our leaned his hand

16:59

on the wall and a serpent bit

17:01

him. What's supposed a man sees? The

17:03

lion coming and the bear from the

17:05

opposite direction and he takes out up

17:07

over the hill and he gets to

17:09

his home and he goes inside of

17:12

his home and it was made out

17:14

of these rocks in that day. and

17:16

he puts his hand up on the

17:18

wall to sort of rest and get

17:20

his breath, and here comes out a

17:22

serpent and bit him. Well, it'd been

17:24

better if the bird got him or

17:27

the lion had gotten him than to

17:29

have the poison of the serpent in

17:31

him. So he's saying here, you

17:33

better be very sure about

17:35

the life that you're living

17:37

for God down here, because

17:39

salvation is not in jeopardy.

17:41

Christ paid the penalty for

17:43

your sins. But your

17:45

sins as a believer, if

17:48

they're not dealt with down here, and

17:50

you don't make them right, he's

17:52

going to make them right, friends. He

17:55

has to do that. He's

17:57

holy and righteous and just. And

17:59

heaven is a place where things are

18:01

right. And therefore, you

18:03

and I'll have to be

18:05

right when we get there. That

18:07

is something a great many

18:09

do not realize today. Now verse

18:11

20, he says, shall not

18:13

the day of the Lord be

18:16

darkness and not light, even

18:18

very dark, and no brightness in

18:20

it. You go through that

18:22

period, and that was the period

18:24

that is yet to come

18:26

upon the nation Israel. It's

18:28

a period actually of

18:30

judgment, and we'll deal with

18:32

it later in a more detailed fashion,

18:35

but it's labeled the day of the

18:37

Lord, but that doesn't end it. because

18:39

in the day of the Lord you

18:41

have the second coming of Christ and

18:43

the millennial kingdom here upon earth. Now

18:46

verse 21, he

18:48

says, in speaking for God

18:50

now, I hate, I

18:52

despise your feast days,

18:55

and I will not take delight

18:57

in your solemn assemblies. Though

18:59

ye offer me burnt offerings and

19:01

your meal offerings, I will

19:03

not accept them. Neither will I

19:06

regard the peace offerings of

19:08

your fat beasts. Take away

19:10

from me the noise of thy

19:12

songs, for I will not

19:14

hear the melody of thine hearts."

19:16

Now, here is the thing that

19:18

he's saying that we have been

19:21

repeating here. Back of these

19:23

people going through the ritual

19:25

were lives that were dishonest

19:27

and we're going to see

19:29

the three national sins that

19:31

that nation was guilty of.

19:34

And it's the sins that

19:36

have destroyed all nations and

19:38

their sins that will destroy

19:40

our nation. But God's people

19:42

need to recognize that their

19:44

faith must be real and

19:47

faith is not fake or

19:49

fable. It's reality.

19:52

It's laying hold of a

19:54

person and believing is not

19:56

deceiving. A great many people

19:58

say, well, if you believe

20:00

why it's because you're blind,

20:02

it's a blind faith. Well,

20:04

if it's a blind faith,

20:06

forget it, because God doesn't

20:08

accept that. Faith has to

20:10

have an effect upon the

20:12

life. Faith without works

20:14

is dead, James says. And

20:17

that a living faith will produce

20:19

that and that we've been saved

20:21

to produce good works. Paul says

20:24

all of this. is important now

20:26

these people they were living lives

20:28

of sin they were engaged in

20:30

idolatry and yet they were going

20:32

through all of this and God

20:34

says i despise it i have

20:36

no use for it had you

20:38

ever stopped to think that many

20:41

of the song services that we

20:43

think are so enthusiastic you know

20:45

a group of people singing their

20:47

heart not in it but a

20:49

big mouth is in it do

20:51

you think maybe God has accepted

20:53

it what do you suppose he

20:55

would think If he came to

20:57

my church or your church, what

21:00

would be his viewpoint? Well,

21:02

we better not deal with that. Now

21:04

he says, But let justice

21:06

run down like waters and

21:08

righteousness like a mighty stream.

21:10

Have ye offered unto me

21:12

sacrifices and offerings in the

21:15

wilderness forty years, O house

21:17

of Israel. But ye

21:19

have borne the tabernacle of

21:21

your moloch and chion. your

21:23

images, the star of your

21:25

God, which you made to

21:28

yourselves. Now, apparently the

21:30

people in the wilderness, they went

21:32

through a ritual, but when they

21:34

would meet these heathen people, why

21:36

they wanted to take on their

21:38

gods, and you find the

21:40

worship of Moloch was where

21:42

children were put in the arms

21:44

of a red -hot idol, and

21:46

made a sacrifice, and

21:48

the screams of those children

21:50

were terrible. But that

21:53

was the human sacrifice. Now,

21:55

God says, you can come

21:57

to church on Sunday and

21:59

go through the ritual of believing

22:01

in me. But when

22:03

you are worshiping Moloch during the

22:05

week, when you are worshiping

22:08

this idol of covetousness, when

22:10

you go out after the

22:12

almighty dollar, it was

22:14

like Cardinal Woolsey. Remember when

22:16

Henry VIII took away from

22:19

him Hampton Court? and was

22:21

about to do away with

22:23

him. Fortunately, for Cardinal

22:25

Wolsey, he died a natural death,

22:27

but he wouldn't have had he

22:29

lived. And on his deathbed,

22:31

he said, if I had

22:33

only served my God like I've

22:35

served my King, and

22:37

a great many Christians will have

22:39

to say that on their deathbed.

22:42

I have served the God of

22:44

Moloch down here. I have served

22:46

the idol of covetousness. I've served

22:48

The idol of sin down here,

22:50

the things of the flesh, I

22:53

worship those things, and

22:55

I have not served my

22:57

God. Now friends, I

22:59

don't care how sweet the music

23:01

is going to be, and

23:03

what nice words the preacher will say at your

23:05

funeral, but you and I are going

23:07

to stand at the judgment seat of Christ, and

23:10

I want to be very frank

23:12

with you. That disturbs me somewhat.

23:15

I want things straightened out down

23:17

here as far as I'm concerned.

23:19

Now, listen to him here. He

23:21

says, verse 27, therefore,

23:24

will I cause you to

23:26

go into captivity beyond Damascus,

23:28

that is, beyond Syria, saith

23:30

the Lord, whose name is

23:32

the God of hosts. Now,

23:35

you see, Israel is

23:37

to be punished in the future.

23:39

What will be this? There

23:41

to go into captivity. and

23:43

there to go into

23:45

captivity beyond Damascus and

23:47

beyond Damascus was Nineveh.

23:49

The Assyrian would take

23:51

them into captivity. Now

23:54

next time we come to another

23:56

one of these very wonderful chapters,

23:59

chapter six, and

24:01

this is another one of the

24:03

great judgment chapters. So until

24:05

next time, may God richly bless

24:07

you, my beloved. Did

24:15

you hear what Dr. McKee just said? A

24:17

wonderful chapter about judgment? Well,

24:20

it's true. When we see God's wonderful

24:22

character, we know that He can't put

24:24

up with sin. So God,

24:26

rich in mercy, warns people to turn

24:29

around. And we'll hear more

24:31

as the Bible bus continues down this

24:33

stretch of road in Amos. Until then,

24:35

if we can help you find a

24:37

Bible study resource to deepen your knowledge

24:39

and love of God's Word, well, call

24:41

us. 1 -800 -65 -BIBLE is the number.

24:43

Or visit the website anytime over at

24:45

ttb .org. One resource that I

24:47

highly recommend is our digital book, Briefing

24:49

the Bible. I keep it on my

24:51

iPad for quick reference. And it

24:53

contains all of Dr. McGee's notes and

24:55

outlines, as well as charts and other

24:57

study materials for every book that we

24:59

study in our five -year journey through

25:01

God's entire Word. And it's free. You can

25:04

download it at ttb .org. And we've

25:06

even got you covered if you want to

25:08

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25:10

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25:14

if you'd like to be in touch,

25:16

visit ttb .org or call 1 -800 -65 -BIBLE

25:18

or send a note through the feedback

25:20

section of our app. I'm Steve Schwartz

25:22

praying that God blesses and keeps you until

25:24

we meet around His Word again. We're

25:51

grateful for our committed listening family

25:53

who faithfully pray and invest in through

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