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"A GPS For The Spirit" is a devotional that will help your daily walk! - Purchase it here.
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"Measured
by the Plumb Line"
Pastor J.R. Damiani
February 5, 2012
About 6 miles south of Bethlehem is the village of Tekoa. Tekoa was a place where not too much of anything happened. It was just a crossroad town. Today it´s about 5 acres of ruined village called Khirbet Taqua. There was a small-time shepherd in Tekoa named Amos. The word Amos means "burden bearer – or one with a burden". This man lived up to his name. He didn´t seem to have any rank or influence. He was not a professional preacher or prophet. He hadn´t even gone to the school of the prophets. He wasn´t a college graduate, but he knew God and God talked to Him! His flock of sheep was small and the desert lifestyle that Amos lived gave him much opportunity to think and to pray – and because of the time spent alone with God he had a communication that gave him clear judgment. The art of hearing from God and being heard of God is not developed in large crowds.
There´s a qualification that God looks for that we miss too often. The combination of superior education and the anointing of the Spirit is hard to beat, but if I have to choose between "enticing words of man´s wisdom, or the demonstration of the Spirit and of Power", I´ll choose the Spirit, for as Zechariah 4:6 tells us "it´s not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit". God asked for this poor man´s personal opinion. Twice the Lord spoke to him and asked "Amos, what do you see?" God cares what the common man thinks.
God sees and deals in potential and availability over ability all the time. God listens to those whom the world calls foolish. They have good eyes, a good mind and a good sense of values. God wants to know how things look to the average man. Amos represented the worker - the guy doing the average job, living in a small community. Amos didn´t have any connections. He didn´t belong to a special club, but God asked him for an opinion. Amos "what do you see" and I said "a plumb line".
In Webster´s Dictionary there are several definitions of a plumb line, and they all have to do with vertical direction. "A lead weighted line to indicate vertical direction." A plumb line is the common tool of a mason or a carpenter. To Amos it was a symbol of testing. He knew that his generation had to be tested and plumbed. It had to be subject to Divine measurement. Every generation is subject to this plumb line. We need to use it to measure our culture, our marriage, our free time, and our entertainment. God is very concerned about our vertical relationship. As a believer I have the responsibility of using God´s plumb line against our television, industry, against our education and institutions, against our government, and yes, even against the church!
Amos taught that against the brightness of God´s Grace, sin is black. Sin is sin! He taught that mere ritual did not please God. Israel thought that God was some vain Monarch who was pleased with service and tradition. Amos also taught that God´s dealing with men are for their discipline, not their doom. He did not forget God´s Grace! He preached and taught restoration! Thank God that He´s in the restoration business. He´s the healer of broken hearts and lives!
In chapter 8 verse 1 and 2 God has another object lesson for Amos. The question is the same: "Amos, what do you see?". A basket of summer fruit. In the Hebrew the same word is used for summer fruit that is used for "end". Amos saw the end. His nation was rotten with corruption. We hope for the best, we hope for improvements, but the facts are facts, and facts are sometimes unpleasant. God is asking us today to take inventory. What do you see? God is not ignorant of our Supreme Court decisions. He overhears the counsels of our educators. He wants to make sure that we are seeing things as He sees them.
God allowed Amos to show Israel a happy ending. Verse 9:14, "and I will restore my people. I will set them free from the captivity and the rut that they´re in. If they turn to me, I´ll forgive and forget."
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