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That Amos does not issue this warning, War

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be to those who are at ease in

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Zion.

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He does not issue this warning to the

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drunkards, to the adulterers, to the God-haters

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of his day.

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This is issued to those that are spiritually

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complacent.

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They're indifferent toward God.

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Tragically, in our own culture of affluence, we

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live Christianity on a lounge and we forget

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that it was born on an old, rugged

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cross.

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We have become so consumed with pleasure that

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we see the life of self-denial a

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threat to our happiness, and certainly something that

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is unnecessary for eternal salvation.

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It was Charles Spurgeon who warned, Doeth that

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man love his Lord, that would be willing

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to see Jesus wearing a crown of thorns?

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While for himself he prays a chapel of

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laurel?

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Shall Jesus ascend to his throne by the

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cross, and do we expect to be carried

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there on the shoulders of applauding crowds?

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Be not so vain in your imagination.

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Count you the cost, and if you're not

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willing to bear Christ's cross, go away to

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your farm and to your merchandise and make

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the most of them.

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Only let me whisper this in your ear,

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What should a man profit, be profit if

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he should gain the whole world and lose

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his own soul?

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You recall the hymn writer, George Bernard, who

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penned the words to that blessed hymn, The

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Old Rugged Cross.

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One of those stanzas goes like this, Oh,

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that old rugged cross, so despised in the

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world, has a wondrous attraction to me.

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For the dear Lamb of God left his

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glory above to bear it on dark Calvary.

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Milton, my theory is today that the cross

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of Christ has lost that wondrous attraction to

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the average professing Christian in the church.

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Stanley, the cross no longer possesses that attraction.

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It is looked upon with such contempt within

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the church in this day and hour that

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many are ashamed of it.

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Those who sought to forget the ultimate judgment

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of God by immersing themselves in the affluence

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of the mountain of Samaria here in our

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text are like the vast multitude in the

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church of North America.

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Our generation has attempted to remove coming judgment

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from its thinking and preaching so that lost

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people are made to feel comfortable in church.

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Now, please don't misunderstand me.

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I think we need to minister to lost

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people.

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I think we need to go out of

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our way to accommodate them and help them

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in the spirit of gentleness.

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The servant of the Lord must not strive,

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but be gentle unto all men.

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But I tell you, friend, sometimes it seems

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as if many churches are watering down the

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influence of the Word and apologizing for the

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effect that their lives have upon people that

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are dead in trespasses and sins.

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Our generation has attempted to remove judgment from

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its thinking and preaching so that these lost

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people feel comfortable in church.

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Tragically, many, not a few, but many are

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sleeping the sleep of spiritual death because of

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the unwillingness of preachers to proclaim the reality

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of impending doom.

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Listen to me, brethren.

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The day the tsunami came and swept tens

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of thousands of people away during Indonesia and

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the surrounding countries, many people were unconscious of

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the potential devastation because they were intoxicated on

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pleasure.

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That is the picture we have here in

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Amos chapter number 6.

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Now, I want to make this very simple

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this morning.

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I agree with Spurgeon there is a blessing

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in brevity, but I want to share with

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you some things that God is burning on

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my heart, and I trust that He in

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turn will burn upon your heart this morning.

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First of all, I want us to consider

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what it means to be at ease in

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Zion.

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That's our text, verse number 1.

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Woe to them that are at ease in

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Zion.

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What is the definition?

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What is an applicable definition?

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But what is, first of all, the biblical

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definition of being at ease in Zion?

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It means to be careless or secure.

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You see, the idea here is these people

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were resting on their religious laurels, their religious

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traditions, and their prosperity, and this affluence had

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bred a deadly complacency.

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John Gill said Zion was a stronghold, the

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city of David, the seat of the kings

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of Judah, where their court was kept and

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the princesses and chief men resided and thought

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themselves safe, the place being well fortified with

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walls, towers, and boards.

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At ease here is referring to an easy,

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prosperous, comfortable circumstance of life.

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That is a picture of our churches in

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North America.

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The idea is that they were resting on

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the laurels of their own tradition.

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Now, what does it mean more personally to

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be at ease?

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Listen carefully.

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When one is at ease, they neglect God.

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They neglect God.

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You know, my problem with coming to conferences

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like this is that oftentimes all this does

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is jumpstart some cold, carnal people that have

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been that way for years.

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Can I say this to you?

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If you've been cold and carnal, if you've

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been dabbling in things that are wicked and

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abominable in the sight of God, if your

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life has been the living example of a

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hypocrite friend, I tell you, perhaps you don't

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need a touch of God or a Bible.

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You need to be born again.

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I agree with J.C. Ryle.

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Where there is no holy living, there is

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no holy ghost.

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And if you're in Christ, I tell you,

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he will make you holy.

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Doesn't mean you're perfect, friend.

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We're not talking about perfection.

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We're talking about perseverance.

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We're talking about rising up when we do

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stumble, when we do sin, when we do

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grieve the Holy Spirit.

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But to stay in a constant state of

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complacency and apathy for month after month after

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month and year after year is not a

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good sign that we've ever been born again.

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Perhaps you're sitting there today and you're a

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stranger to the grace of God because God's

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grace will make you holy, make you like

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his beloved son.

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What does it mean to be at ease?

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It means to neglect God.

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It means to live indifferently toward him.

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It refers to a people who profess to

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know Christ but live carelessly.

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There is a neglect of prayer, holiness, obedience,

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family worship, and the life of consecration.

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You see, when one is at ease, biblical

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truth is not altogether denied but neglected.

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God's word no longer governs what they do,

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where they go, what they watch on television,

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or how they think.

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Guarding their hearts, their tongue, and their time

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is often looked upon as legalistic.

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They desire a Savior that delivers from hell

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but not one that delivers from self and

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sin.

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It's interesting, friend, that one of the purposes

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of Jesus dying on the cross And by

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the way, oftentimes we only glean the benefits

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that man receives in Christ's death on the

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cross.

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But there are stores of redemptive purposes in

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Christ laying down his life on the cross.