“The Plumb Line”

(Amos 7:1-9)

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. ²When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive!  How can Jacob survive?  He is so small!”

³So the Lord relented.  “This will not happen,” the Lord said.

⁴This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. ⁵Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop!  How can Jacob survive?  He is so small!”

⁶So the Lord relented. “This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.

⁷This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. ⁸And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”

“A plumb line,” I replied.

Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.

⁹The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”

Judges 21:25 (NKJV) – In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

God’s judgment always has a ________________ behind it.

Mark 12:28b-31 – Of all the commandments, which is the most important? “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: Hear O Israel, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these,”

What does it look like to truly love God?

1. Do I often find myself _________________ about God?

1. Do I earnestly desire to be ______________ to God?

Psalm 84:2 -- …my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

1. Do I feel _____________ when I sin against God?

Luke 22:62 -- …he went outside and wept bitterly.

1. Do I __________ God, even when it’s _________?

John 14:15 – If you love me, keep my commands.

1. Does it break my heart when others ___________________ God?

1. Do I ________ what God __________?

Proverbs 6:16-19 – There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

1. Do I _________ what God ___________?

Romans 12:9 (NLT) – Don’t just pretend to love others.  Really love them.  Hate what is wrong.  Hold tightly to what is good.