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WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING
The title of today’s episode: ARE YOU PLUMB?
Tucked away in the Old Testament is a book called Amos. It is a small book and like so many in the Old Testament. But it carries a lot of truth. Amos, like so many of the prophets, was sent by God to call Israel to repentance. Anytime a group of people forgets who God is they find themselves in a mess. War, famine, and disease are all side effects of a broken society. When a society embraces God, it is prosperous. America almost went too far; we were close to being destroyed.
A few years ago, everywhere you went you would see two bible verse, 2 Cor 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
They were both reminders that we needed to get our society back on track. As we watched America decline, some of us got the message God was sending. People paid attention to God’s leading and started to pray again in earnest. Prayer is turning around our country. We are not out of the woods yet, but we will see God’s power and glory. Revival is about to hit our land like a tsunami. God will not allow evil to win.
I was talking to a friend of mine about a situation with another friend. This person knows what they need to do. God has showed them, but they are not willing to be obedient, but they keep asking for prayer that God will change the circumstances. If we are not willing to do our part, we cannot expect God to do his. He will not override free will. We have to be strong enough to step out in faith and do what God has asked us.
We have to decide are we going to do what God asks, or are we going to walk in our free will and do our own thing? Israel would walk in God’s ways so far, then when the pressure of life lessened and they became prosperous, they would slowly turn their backs on God. They would turn to lesser gods.
As God gets us through the storm that we have facing us a nation and we get to the revival, we cannot allow the blessings to get us to the point of being complacent. We must continue to dig deep into the Word and to run after God with all of our hearts.
We do not want a repeat of what happened with the children of Israel. We do not need to turn back to bondage because things will look a little different. We do not need to return to the idols that were once at the forefront of our lives. Which brings me to the scripture I want to share with you.
Amos 7:7-9 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand. 8 And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: 9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Just as God showed Amos, he was about to get out his plumbline and use it to check Israel, He is going to check the church of today. Before the final harvest can be gathered, the church has to be ready to receive and disciple them.
Many phrases in our culture speak of being right. When people speak of walking a fine line, it is the place where two contrasting opinions meet. It is another way of describing the plumb line. I used to watch my grandpa build cinderblock walls; he would stretch out a line between two points and would hang a plumb line on it. That let him know that the wall was not leaning one way or the other. A plumb line keeps things balanced.
God’s word is our plumbline; it is what we measure ourselves with to make sure we are not leaning on our own understanding or on man’s religion. God is going to separate his sheep from those that say they are his sheep. We can see it happening with some of the mega church pastors and churches already. Sad to say, many more are going to fall because they leaned on their own ideas, charisma, and abilities. They are master manipulators that the enemy has used to deceive many. God has called to them and tried to turn them around. Some have listened but others love their kingdom more than God’s and they will fall. Denominations are splitting over liberal ideas and the truth of God’s word.
Now is the time to check the plumb line and make sure what you are building is not leaning on anything but Jesus Christ. We cannot be guilty of fence sitting or ignoring sin because we don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. It is better that they have hurt feelings than to end up in hell. We need to tell them the truth and do it in love, from a place of concern. We cannot go about it with a self-righteous and judgmental attitude and then say, “Well, at least I told them.” That is not the love of God. Even if we are loving toward them and show them concern, they still may turn away and reject our words. But if we do it from a place of God’s compassion, then we have done all we can do, except pray for them.
The word plumb means to examine minutely and critically, check the vertical as in a wall. To measure the depth of water.
A plumb bob is used by ships to check the depth of the water. This prevents the ship from scraping the bottom. The plumb line is used to check the to see that the wall is not leaning.
We use God’s word to check that we are growing deeper in the things of God. That we are not in shallow water to get stuck or damaged. We can use it to make sure that we are going up straight in understanding. That we are not leaning on our own understanding. Take God’s word and use it to make sure your life is plumb.
Until next time,
BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS
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