Text: Amos 4:12
Title: "Prepare To Meet Thy God"
Subj: The God we must prepare to meet

Intro: The Bible says, "Prepare to meet thy God" This is the solemn warning to all people!

There is a future meeting that all men must keep! "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27).

All, from the highest to the lowest, from the richest to the poorest: all the men, all the women, all the children; all of you! Your President will keep this meeting! Your high church people will keep this meeting! Your gypsies will keep this meeting. Your street beggars will keep this meeting! And you will keep this meeting!

The Bible says, "Prepare to meet thy God" This is the solemn warning from a holy God!

The prophet Amos, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, penned these words 2700 years ago to the Nation of Israel. But, you say, we do not live back there, and we are not the Nation of Israel! That's right, you are not the Nation of Israel, but you are 2700 years closer to meeting God! You have forgotten that these are not just the words of the prophet Amos, but the words of the eternal, all powerful, unchanging God. It is He Who is angry with sin and sinners every day! And He is just as angry at your sin today as He was angry with their sin 2700 years ago! Ps. 7:11 says, "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day."

The Bible says, "Prepare to meet thy God" This is the solemn warning to you!

But God is just! Not only does He warn us in His Word of coming judgment, but He uses the circumstances of life to bring us to repentance and faith. Amos chapt. 4 spells out 5 judgments God used to draw those people to Himself. 1. Lack of food (v6) 2. Lack of water (v7-8) 3. Plagues of insects/diseases on plants (v9) 4. Human diseases, murder in the streets, stealing, and death (v10) 5. The abominable sin of sodomy (homosexuality) and its results (v11). Have you suffered any of these judgments? God is warning all to repent! God is warning you to repent!

Therefore, the Bible says: "Prepare to meet thy God"

Amos 4:1-13 -- "Prepare To Meet Thy God" -- prayer

I. THERE IS A MEETING TO PREPARE FOR (v12c)

A. "Meeting" = encounter: come face to face with: to stand before

B. There Will Be a Time to Meet

1. For those of you who refuse the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, the time of your meeting is after your death

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" Heb 9:27

2. For those who have received Christ as Saviour, the time of your meeting will be after the "catching away" (rapture) of the saints.

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" 1 Thes. 4:16-17

C. There Will be a Place to Meet

1. For those of you who refuse the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, the place of your meeting will be at the Great White Throne

Rev. 20:11-15 (turn)

2. For those of you who have received Christ as Saviour, the place of your meeting will be the Bema Seat of Christ

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" 2 Cor. 5:10

D. There is a Preparation to be Made

1. "Prepare" = be ready, be arranged, be ready. In view of something in the future, get your house in order!

a. Unrepenting Sinner: Prepare for calamity if you continue in your sinful ways!

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable ("disgusting"), and murderers, and whoremongers ("sexual sinners"), and sorcerers ("drug users, followers of magic"), and idolaters ("worshippers of false gods"), and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" Rev. 21:8

Note: Sinner, when you die you will go straight to Hell, not because of something you did, but because of something you did not do--receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour!

"He that believeth on Christ is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God" John 3:18

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" John 14:6

b. Repenting Seeker: Prepare for forgiveness if you call out to Christ

1) Realize and admit that you are a sinner

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23

2) "Repent" = Change your mind, about God and your sin!

3) Believe that Jesus Christ died in your place. Place your trust in Him and Him alone

"Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" Acts 20:21

4) Receive God's free gift of eternal life.

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" Romans 10:13

3. Christian: Prepare for the Judgment Seat of Christ while there is still time

a. Remember what Christ has done for you!

b. Repent!

c. Return!

"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent" Rev. 2:4-5

Dear Friends: There is time to prepare and grace to repent!

II. THE GOD YOU WILL MEET (v12)

A. There is a God! (v12c)

Isaiah 43:10-12 (turn)

1. And there is a fool

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good" Psalm 53:1

a. The fool ("one who is senseless") denies the obvious! The fool denies the obvious because the fool is corrupt ("spoiled, ruined, rotten") on the inside. The fool is corrupt because he or she loves abominable iniquity ("disgusting sin"). The fool says there is no God--no wonder!!!

Isn't it funny that you will believe a fool before you will believe God?

2. And for the rest, there is none that doeth good!

Note: You must prepare to meet "thy" God and this is the starting place, the realization that there is a God, a personal God without beginning or ending. A God Who created you for His purpose and pleasure. You are not an accident or a mistake! And it is the one true God Who will demand a personal accounting of your life when you stand before Him. Perhaps the greatest disappointment for men at the Great White Throne will be to learn that God is, and always has been, God.

Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please God: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."

B. The God You Will Meet is a Triune God! (v12c)

1. "God" = Elohim, the plural name for God

Note: Though we may not understand it, the Bible reveals that God makes Himself known as a Trinity of 3 Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God has chosen this means to make Himself known to His creation. This revelation is for God's glory and our benefit! Each member of the Godhead has a distinct role in God's plan and purpose for you.

a. The Father represents provision. b. The Son represents sacrifice. c. The Spirit represents conviction.

C. The God You Will Meet Has the Ability To Do All He Says (v12a)

1. He can bring you to judgment, or He can deliver you

2. He can bring cursing or He can bring blessing

D. The God You Will Meet Has Given You Ample Warning (v12b)

1. He has warned nations and He has warned individuals

2. He has revealed Himself in creation and in Jesus Christ

Concl: God has warned you to Prepare To Meet Your God. He has revealed to you that He is the God you will meet. You will not stand before some man like yourself! You will not stand before some false idol that you or another has created! You will not stand before the leader of some false church or cult. You will stand before the face of the eternal, almighty, everlasting God. And He has the power to cause you to stand and the authority to bring you into judgment! He has promised to do all He has determined to do, and He has determined to punish the sinner and his sin.

Are you prepared to meet your God? Will you, by repentance and faith, received the gift of Jesus Christ? You can do it tonight!

Christian, are you prepared to meet your God. The judgment seat of Christ will not be a S.S. picnic, but a time of deep sorrow and shame for the life you have lived. Will you come in repentance with confession to make things right with God, and then with others?

I. HE IS GOD! (v12b)

Note: You must prepare and this is the starting place of preparation. The realization that there is a God, a personal God without beginning or ending. A God Who created you for His purpose and pleasure. You are not an accident or a mistake! And it is the one true God Who will demand a personal accounting of your life when you stand before Him. Perhaps the greatest disappointment for men at the judgment seat will be to learn that God is, and always has been, God.

Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

A. Who He is not!

1. Not some man that He should lie

Num. 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie..."

a. (2 things) God is not a man

1) And man is not a god!

b. Men are liars!

Psalm 58:3 "The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies."

1) Are you following some liar instead of God?

a) Says you are too bad to be saved?

b) Says you are too good to be lost?

2. Not some idol carved by man, that neither sees nor hears,

1 Cor. 8:4 "...we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one."

a. Are you worshipping some idol instead of God?

B. Who God Is (v12)

1. He is the one true God, and the only God!

Isaiah 43:8-13, 15 (turn)

Note: Before you can be prepared to meet God you must realize that He is the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of everything, including you! You must realize that He is a jealous God Who will not share His glory with you or any false god of man's making. You either worship and serve the one true God of the Bible, or you are worshipping and serving the founder of all other religions--Satan.

Prepare to meet your God!

2. He is Elohim, the plural name of God (v12) ("God")

a. One God made known in 3 Persons, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The one true God is a trinity (tri-unity) of Persons, because the one true God has chosen to be, and to reveal Himself as a trinity! The first book says,

Genesis 1:26 "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:..."

1) 3 Persons for 3 roles

a) The Father represents provision. At salvation God will declare you never sinned, or at judgment, God will declare you always sinned.

b) The Son represents sacrifice (His death for your sin, or your death for your sin)

c) The Spirit represents conviction (man's inner knowledge that what God says is true)

Note: Before you can be prepared to meet God you must believe that He is one God in 3 Persons. No Trinity, no salvation! No Trinity, no escape from eternal damnation! God will not be a God of your making!

Prepare to meet thy God!

3. Lord (Jehovah) (v13)

a. Eternal, ever-present, self-existing One

"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM:..." (Ex 3:14)

b. Unchangeable

Mal 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I change not..."

Prepare to meet thy God!

4. God of Hosts (v13)

a. God of the universe, controller of all created agencies

1) God of every created thing

2) God of every order of angels

3) God of every nation of mankind

Dan 4:35 "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?"

Note: "He is the universal sovereign, and doeth according to His will, everywhere, always, and without appeal" (P.C.) He will do with you exactly as you have done with Jesus Christ, His beloved Son!

Prepare to meet thy God!

5. He is the complete God in Himself (v13)

Note: That is why there is no other god! No other god is needed!

a. His Name (all He represents, all He is, all that identifies Him)

1) His name identifies the One with Whom you have to do! The One Who you to prepare to stand before! You need look no further for another God! The God you are going to meet and give an account to is the God of the Bible. And the Bible reveals Him completely, and therefore, you will be and are without excuse!

"Prepare to meet thy God"

I. He is God!

II. HE HAS THE POWER TO DO ALL HE DETERMINES (v13a)

A. Formed ("shaped") the mountains

1. The most solid and everlasting of His works (P.C.1-5)

Psa 90:2 "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."

B. Created ("brought into existence") the wind (v13)

1. The most subtle and immaterial of His works

Job 28:25 "To make the weight for the winds; and He weigheth the waters by measure."

C. Declares to man what man is thinking (v13)

1. He knows your thoughts before you form them into words

Jer 17:10 "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."

D. Made the morning turn to darkness (day passes to day) (v13)

1. He has power over the universe, He sustains the day, and brings the night

Col. 1:16-17 "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."

a. He can turn delight (light) into despair (judgment) and despair (darkness) into delight (salv.)

E. Treads upon the high places of the earth (God stepping into history, and treaded heights of the earth. He rules the earth with unlimited omnipotence)

Deut. 33:26 "There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in His excellency on the sky."

"Prepare to meet thy God"

I. He is God! II. He has the power to do all He determines.

III. HE HAS THE DETERMINATION TO DO ALL HE PROMISES (v12a) ("I will do")

Num. 23:19, "...hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?"

A. Sworn by His holiness (v2)

1. Holiness is what sets God apart from sin. He is separate from sin, and therefore must be separate from sinners.

2. God is just, and justice demands punishment for sin.

B. He will take you away with fishhooks (v2)

Note: This world, and its trouble, is sometimes pictured in the Bible as a sea. Here God uses a picture of a fish being violently dragged from its place of assumed safety and prosperity. You will not have to find the fishhook, the fishhook will find you. You will not have to bite the fishhook, the fishhook will bite you. God will sink it deep into your flesh, like a barbed hook, and it will be impossible for you to dislodge. He will drag you up from whatever depth you are caught. Your friends or family can't save you, your money can't save you, your job can't save you, your false gods can't save you, your self-righteousness can't save you, your works can't save you, your religion can't save you, nothing will save you from the grasp of God's fishhook. You will be caught and dragged flipping and flopping and gasping for air to the shore of eternal judgment.

C. He will take away your posterity (those that come afterward) with fishhooks (v2)

1. Your sins have continuing consequences

Numbers 14:18 "The Lord is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation."

"Prepare to meet thy God"

I. He is God! II. He has the power to do all He determines. III. He has the determination to do all He promises

IV. HE DESIRES TO WARN YOU ONE MORE TIME (v12b)

A. "Prepare" = in view of something in the future, get your house in order, get ready! There is time to prepare and grace to repent!

Heb 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment"

Note: The prophet Amos did not know what form God's ultimate judgment was to take, but the N.T. clearly reveals it as an eternity apart from God. God had already taken away their bread so they would seek Christ, the bread of life. God had already taken away their water so they would seek Christ, the living water. God had already taken away their crops so they would see that "man does not live by bread alone." God had already caused the death of their young men so they would realize the shortness and uncertainty of life without Christ, Who alone is the way, the truth, and the life. God had already judged the wicked practice of Sodomy so they would turn to Christ, the sinless One. But if you are unwilling to change, you had better prepare to meet God just as you are, guilty, sinful, and condemned.

1. Sinner: Prepare for calamity if you continue in your ways

2. Seeker: Prepare for forgiveness if you call out to Christ

a. Repent. Change your mind about God and your sin!

b. Believe that Jesus Christ died in your place & wants to save you

c. Receive God's free gift of eternal life.

3. Christian: Prepare for the Judgment Seat of Christ while there is still time

B. "To Meet" = to stand before

Rev 20:12 "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God..."

C. Thy God (you will meet YOUR god!)

Concl: God has warned you to Prepare To Meet Your God. He has revealed to you that He is the God you will meet. You will not stand before some man like yourself! You will not stand before some false idol that you or another has created! You will stand before the face of the eternal, almighty, everlasting God. And He has the power to cause you to stand and the authority to bring you into judgment! He has promised to do all He has determined to do, and He has determined to punish the sinner and his sin.

Are you prepared to meet your God? Will you, by repentance and faith, received the gift of Jesus Christ? You can do it tonight!

Christian, are you prepared to meet your God. This will not be a S.S. picnic, but a time of deep sorrow and shame for the life you have lived. Will you come in repentance and confession to make things right with God, and then with others?