ARE YOU PREPARED TO STAND BEFORE GOD?
Amos 4:12 Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel.
It was not in joyful expectation that Israel was to prepare to meet their God. It was more of a warning than an invitation for celebration. In fact the the Lord tells them that, “Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord!”
The reason was Israel had turned from worshiping the Lord to idol worship. Following King Solomon's death a revolt took place. Solomon’s son Rehoboam ruled the Southern Kingdom and it continued to worship the Lord at the temple in Jerusalem, but Jeroboam led the Northern Kingdom and set up two golden calves for the people of his kingdom to worship. Many times God sent his prophets into Northern Israel to call them to repent of their idol worship and to return to him, but they would not. They basically thumbed their nose at the Lord’s prophets and the Lord. Even though they knew of the mighty miracles that the Lord had done for them when he led them out of slavery in Egypt, they had lost all fear of him. In many ways they didn’t see the Lord as any different that their idols made of wood, stone or metal. When their hearts turned from the Lord their minds became closed to him as well, even to the point that in their arrogance they challenged God to bring it on so to speak. They saw the messages of the Lord’s prophets as only hollow threats. Now the Lord had been mocked. The time for patience had run it’s course, and God was about to give up on them, and give the over to the idols that they served and worshiped. God was about to show them that their idols could not help them. The Lord is Almighty God and will not be mocked even by those that he one had chosen to reveal himself to the world.
Sad to say much of the world is at the same point that Israel was during the days of Amos. Although they have the opportunity to learn about the salvation of Jesus, few have become Christian. The world walks among the materialistic idols that Satan offers them and think nothing about it. If people can get away with sin it is applauded and even envied. Even the cry for repentance has seemed to vanished as the morning dew in many churches. Instead of looking to Jesus we look to ourselves. If we can just have a change of mind, then we will get a change of heart is today’s message. If our self worth satisfies our needs and appeases our emptiness for a initiate relationship with God, then they say what does it all matter? It matter to God in the days of Amos and it still matters to him today. God is a jealous God and will not tolerate disloyalty to him. He wants our loyalty, worship and certainly our love. God sees no place for adultery in a marriage, and he certainly doesn’t see it in our relationship with him.
Several years ago in 2012 when the Mayan calendar was about to end its cycle, many people thought the world might end. While they feared for their lives, very few came to the church wanting to become a Christian. They feared the thought of death and the pain that might come with it, but they didn’t fear the thought of having to stand before God and give account of their life to him. Hebrews 10:31 says, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Sooner or later everyone will have to fall into the hands of the Living God. This includes Satan, the powers of darkness, the evil of this world, the good people, bad people and Christians. It should be a sobering thought for everyone to have to stand before God and give an account of their life. No one can say that they have lived a sinless life with the exception of Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23 tells us, “All have sinned and fallen short the glory of God.” Not one person with the exception of Jesus has ever lived up to the expectation that God had in mind for us when he created us. As Hebrews 10:29-30 says, “How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ and again, ‘the Lord will judge his people.’”
If you are not scared at the thought of the day of the Lord and the thought of having to give account of your life to him you should be, because you will sooner or later! Israel mocked the thought of God’s judgment coming on them, and they lost everything including their lives. It is no little thing to even go through the day of the Lord as 5:18 tells us and the book of Revelation goes into detail about it. This is why God warned Israel and is warning us today that we need to be prepared to meet the Lord. If you are not ready you will be sorry! I have seen several people go through the death process and for those that didn’t have Jesus as their Lord and Savior it was not good at all. Until we make peace with God through his Son Jesus Christ, we will certainly have no peace at death.
God says, “For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins.” We may try to forget them if we can, but they are as real to God as the moment we committed them. Only by having Jesus cleans us our sins with his blood can we stand before God holy as God is holy. God looked to Israel and declared to them, “Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria.” Good or bad they were going to stand before the Lord to give account of their life to him.
Are you prepared to meet your God? If your have made peace with God through Jesus you are ready. Living a perfect life has nothing to do with it. We couldn’t live a perfect life without sinning before we became a Christian, and we will not live one after we become a Christian. We couldn’t do enough to undo our sins and we still can not. It is all about Jesus and what he did for us on Calvary's cross. He paid the price he didn’t owe, because we couldn’t pay the price we did. Forgiveness comes to us as a free gift for all who ask for it. All you have to say is, “Lord Jesus please forgive me of my sins and please come into my heart. Please help me to live my life for you. I love you and ask this in your holy name.
If you have done this your eternal journey with Jesus has begun. Talk to him daily, read the bible and find a good church that helps you to keep your eyes on Jesus!
Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus for loving us so much as to die such a terrible death taking our sinfulness, so we could stand in your holiness. We love you Jesus!
