Any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced

Philemon 1:12-25
Any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced.
No longer as a slave, but better than a slave as a dear brother.
I do wish, brother, that  I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(Beginning)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.(End)
Paul asking Philemon to give Onesimus his freedom and send him back, in part for services Paul rendered to Philemon. Paul uses the conventions of the day: a gift given requires a gift in return. Hence his appeal: Philemon owes his christian life to Paul.
There is added pressure from the fact that this letter is to be read to the church in his house.
But Paul is confident Philemon will comply(執行) and 'set his mind at rest'. Everything is couched(措辭) in terms of praise and encouragement.
Why?
Do any favor should be spontaneous and not forced, so as to serve the Lord in the church.
This letter provides the clearest evidence of how Paul would deal with slavery within the community of Christ. It is not acceptable - and he intends the Christian community to be an example of what the world should be like. Although Paul does not specifically address slavery as an institution, his requirement lays a depth charge beneath it.
The brother in Christ is better than any identity in the world, so do good to our brothers.
How?
Any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced. With love to do the good things.

Make amends ans consent

Philemon 1:1-11
Paul heard that Philemon has faith in the Lord Jesus and his love for all the saints. Paul prayed that he may be active in sharing his faith, so that he will have a full understanding of every good thing in Christ.
Paul appealed to Philemon for Onesimus, who became Paul's son while Paul was in chains. He has become useful both to Paul and Philemon.
This is a personal letter from Paul to Philemon, one of his converts and a good friend.
Philemon was a man of some standing. A group of local Christians regularly met in his home at Colossae. One of his slaves, Onesimus, had deprived his master of his service by running away to the big city (Rome or perhaps Ephesus) where he could easily escape detection. There he somehow came into contact with the imprisoned apostle, and through him became a christian.
Paul loved this young man like a son, but he was Philemon's legal property. It was hard for Paul, and hard for Onesimus - who was liable to terrible punishment for what he had done - but he must go back and make amends(賠罪). Paul could not keep him without Philemon's willing consent(同意).
So he wrote this 'covering note' for Onesimus. And Tychicus went with him for company and moral support, taking the latest news and a letter from Paul to the Colossian church.
Why?
Philemon is under considerable pressure to do as he asks: Paul points out that he could have dictated(口述) where his duty lay, but he prefers to make a request on the basis of love.
Has faith in Jesus, then have love to all the saint. This is sharing the faith and understanding to do the good things.
Not only moral but also legal way to treat friend, Philemon and Paul loved one, Onesimus.
How?
Not only has faith in the Lord Jesus, but also has love to all the saints.

Let bear on my body the marks of Jesus

Galatians 6:11-18
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
Let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
Why?
At this point Paul takes the pen from his secretary to write the last lines himself. For him there is only one thing worth glorying in(在誇耀): the power of the cross of Christ to re-create and transform human live.
Like the brand burned onto a slave the scars Paul bears from his work for Christ show to whom he belongs.
Am I belong to Christ Jesus? Do I have the mark of Christ let people know whom I belong?
New creation life through Jesus Christ  in me is more important then any laws or rules.
How?
Let bear on my body the marks of Jesus

A harvest of death on the one hand and eternal life on the other

Galatians 6:1-10
A spiritual man should restore someone is caught in a sin gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing he deceives himself.
Take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.
Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
The Christian community cares and shares. Those who stumble are set right gently.
Burdens are shared. People harvest exactly what they sow in life: a harvest of death on the one hand and eternal life on the other.
So 'we should do good to everyone, and especially to those who belong to our family in faith.'
Why?
Have compassion to a man caught in a sin, does not mean agree to his sinful deed, so it is a warning that we may be tempted when we knew him more detail.
We are nothing before the Lord. Be humble but be encourage to do the good.
Carry each other's burden: share other's worry and pray for them, It will fulfill the law of Christ, love each other.
Do not become weary in doing good, for a man reaps what he sows. God will let us reap at the proper time.
How?
We should do good to everyone, and especially to those who belong to our family in faith.

Live by the Sprit

Galatians 5:13-26
You were called to be freedom. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love.
The entire law is summed up in a single command:" Love our neighbor as yourself."
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Do not do what you want.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Christians are not to be subject to the law but led by God's Spirit. When the life-giving spirit of God is in charge,human lives yield a rich harvest of love, joy, peace...
Why?
We have to make a decision which way I go 1)live by desire, 2) live by the law 3) live by the Spirit
Qualities as unlike what 'natural' human nature produces as can be.
It is clear that walking on which way leading in what fruit, Live by Spirit does not under desire and the law.
How?
Live by the Spirit, do not do what I want. This is my decision have to make. Not to be subject to the law but by God's Spirit.

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love

Galatians 5:2-12
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.
The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.
Why?
Freedom is precious - much too precious to throw away.
The issue is not so much circumcision as what it stands for. Paul is so incensed(激怒) by those who have unsettled his young converts that he could wish they would go all the way and emasculate(閹割) themselves.
Our freedom comes from the faith through salvation of Jesus Christ.
Circumcision or other custom or law are the yeast that does not have counts in freedom.
Don't let our regular worship or bible reading or prayer become a law and restrict our spiritual life to the Lord.
How?
Let my life connect to the Lord Jesus Christ and other faithful Christians.

Children of promise

Galatians 4:21-5:1
It is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.
Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is out mother.
Now you, like Isaac, are children of promise.
We are not children of the slave but of the free woman.
For freedom Christ has set us free stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Why?
Christ has set us free, but are not born from flesh but in Spirit.
Mt Sinai where the law was given to Moses
Those under the law are like the son Abraham had by his slave-woman, Hagar. But Christians are freeborn - heirs, like Isaac, to all God's promises.
How?
Let stand firm, we are born by promise, so we are free under Christ.

Until Christ is formed in you

Galatians 4:12-20
I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate(離間)you from us.
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth, until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed(困惑)about you.
Why?
The Galatians had responded eagerly to Paul's preaching. What happened to make them change?
Paul's loving, anxious concern is palpable in this passage. Can they really want to throw their freedom away?
Zealous is good for the right things, but it is wrong for no good.
God hopes all Christian that Christ is formed in us. Have faith that won't be shaken by any others.
How?
I will not be shaken, because Jesus is with me, these inside me is greater than outside.

Abba, Father.

Galatians 4:1-11
What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So your are no longer a slave, but a son; and since your are  a son, God has made your also an heir.
You are observing special days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
Days: Jewish feast days
Why?
Paul worried Galatians observing the laws and regulation, and wasted what He has told them the faith of the Lord set them free.
Child and slave is the identity when we are under the law, to learn something in God's house. When the Spirit of Jesus came into our hears, we are no longer a slave, but a son, The heir of God.
He is my father, my Lord, my savior!
How?
Don't always be a child to learning the law, but may eat the Spiritual food and be a son of God. We call Him, "Abba, Father"

By faith in him, we are all God's children

Galatians 3:15-29
What was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. A mediator, does not represent just one party; but God is one.
The Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
The law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now the faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
這樣說來，律法是為什麼有的呢？原是為過犯添上的，等候那蒙應許的子孫來到，並且是藉天使經中保之手設立的. 但中保本不是為一面作的；神卻是一位。
但聖經把眾人都圈在罪裡，使所應許的福因信耶穌基督，歸給那信的人。但這因信得救的理既然來到，我們從此就不在師傅的手下了。
律法是我們訓蒙的師傅，引我們到基督那裡，使我們因信稱義。但這因信得救的理既然來到，我們從此就不在師傅的手下了。
God accepted Abraham centuries before the law was given through Moses. So how can the law win people free pardon?
Why?
The law was like a child-minder t(he slave who escorts and protects a child, sometimes helping with the homework!) until the promise made to Abraham was fulfilled in the coming of Christ.
Now, by faith in him, we are all God's children - regardless of race or status or sex.
How?
By faith in him, we are all God's children. We are free under Christ.

Receive the Spirit by believing what you heard

Galatians 3:1-14
Two questions about our faith:
1)Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 2)Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham. (Gen 12:3)
Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law. "Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "the righteous will live by faith."
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.
你們受了聖靈，是因行律法呢？是因聽信福音呢？
你們既靠聖靈入門，如今還靠肉身成全嗎？
那賜給你們聖靈，又在你們中間行異能的，是因你們行律法呢？是因你們聽信福音呢？
聖經既然預先看明，神要叫外邦人因信稱義，就早已傳福音給亞伯拉罕，說：萬國都必因你得福
凡以行律法為本的，都是被咒詛的；因為經上記著：凡不常照律法書上所記一切之事去行的，就被咒詛
沒有一個人靠著律法在神面前稱義，這是明顯的；因為經上說，義人必因信得生
基督既為我們受（原文是成）了咒詛，就贖出我們脫離律法的咒詛.
Why?
Anyone willing to exchange Christian freedom for the Jewish law, says Paul, is a fool. These Jewish Christians talk about making the gentiles sons of Abraham through the rite of circumcision. But Gentile Christians are already Abraham's sons and heirs - because they share his faith.
God accepted Abraham centuries before the law was given through Moses.
Holy Spirit led us understood that the righteous will live by faith. So to the gentile may receive the blessing through faith as written in Scripture about Abraham.
神對亞伯拉罕的應許早在律法頒佈以前，所以因信稱義是真理。
How?
Receive the Spirit by believing what you heard!

Be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law

Galatians 2:15-21
We have to put out faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.(因信稱義。)
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Why?
Having once gained freedom through faith in Christ, how could they rebuild the system of law they had torn down? The Christian life is to be lived just as it began - by faith.
The real sin lies not in breaking Jewish food laws, but in turning back to the system of law.
We are justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, it is the foundation of our faith and to be a Christian. So as to all gentile that my be called Christian.
How?
Be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law.

Be couraged like Paul for the truth of the Lord

Galatians 2:1-14
Some false brothers had infiltrated(滲透) out ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.
God does not judge by external appearance - those men added nothing to my message.
Paul opposed Peter because he was clearly in the wrong. Because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. So that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
Paul's next visit to Jerusalem is either that of Act 11:30(over famine relief) or that of Acts 15(raising the issues which led to the Council). He has a private meeting to discuss his 'gospel for the Gentiles'.
Paul did not want to have his work invalidated, and he was afraid that his ministry might be hindered or even disapproved of by the Jerusalem leaders. But they fully endorse what God is so clearly doing through Paul.
But at Antioch Peter, for fear of the strict party men sent by James, went back on his former approval of a law-free gospel for the Gentiles. And others - even Barnabas, Paul's former partner in mission - followed his example.
Because of the Jewish food laws they would not eat with Gentiles. Paul had this out with Peter, in public.
Why?
Having once gained freedom through faith in Christ, how could they rebuild the system of law they had torn down?
False brothers are not follow the rule of Jesus Christ, but some men added custom.
Men usually afraid the force of group or crowd. Even they are wrong.
Paul got the truth from the Lord, so he won't disobey the way from the Lord, he had this out with Peter, leader of Christian in Jerusalem.
How?
Be courage in the truth, before recognize the truth read the Bible and follow the leading of Holy Spirit.

Paul teaches is simply what Christ himself revealed to him

Galatians 1:6-24
If we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
am I trying to please people?If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. 
But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 
There is only one 'gospel of Christ'. May those who say otherwise be damned!
He is not saying this to curry favour with people (his gospel may have been seen by the Judaizers as a soft option compared with keeping the law).
The only approvals he cares about is God's.
What Paul teaches is simply what Christ himself revealed to him.
There was no greater devotee of the traditions of Jewish religion than Paul, before his experience of Jesus on the Damascus road.
His brief autobiography underlines the fact that his authority comes from God. It does not need 'authorization' - though he was fully acquainted with the leaders of the Jerusalem church who presumably approved his God-given message(a they later also fully endorsed a law-free gospel for the Gentiles)

Paul, sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God

Galatians 1:1-5
Paul, and apostle - sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raise him from the dead.
The Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever.
Galatia was a huge Roman province extending almost from coast to coast through the mountain and plain of central Turkey. How much of it Paul evangelized we do not know. But Acts 13 and 14 record how he founded churches in the southern cities of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe o his first missionary journey.
Why?
Why did Paul write to them?
Paul wrote to address some serious problems inn the churches. No long after his first visit, other Jewish-Christian teachers arrived in Galatia, Paul had taught that repentance and faith were all that was needed in order to receive God's forgiveness and live the new life God had given them.
These teachers insisted that non-Jewish converts must also be circumcised and observe the Jewish lat-virtually become Jews. When Paul heard this he was distraught. He saw that it struck at the roots of the Christian message, Salvation - new life - is God's gift to all who believe. This teaching 'made obedience to the law just as essential to salvation as trust in the crucified Messiah'. Having begun on the basis of faith, to return to the law as the basis of Christian living undoes all. Christians are freed and free people, subject only to Christ's law. This situation led to the most strongly worded of all Paul's letters.
Paul's urgency is clear from the start. The abrupt assertion of authority and lack of any word of praise are most unlike him.
Bright point: Jesus gave himself to rescue us from the present evil age.
Meditation : Send from Jesus Christ and by God, not from men or by man. So we serve to the Lord or serve in Church, not for men or by man, but for the Lord himself.
How?
Serve the Lord for his love, his salvation and his glory.

Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims

Nahum 3:1-19
Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims.
All because of the wanton list of a harlot(妓女肆意名單), alluring(誘人), the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft.
You have increased the number of your merchants till they are more than the stars of the sky, but like locusts they strip the land and then fly away.
Everyone who hears the news about you claps his hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty?
She will share the terrible fate she inflicted on the Egyptian city of Thebes. At Thebes, city of Amun, state-god of Egypt, the treasures of centuries had been accumulated. The Assyrians took the city with fire and slaughter and plundered all its wealth.)
Nahum pictures the city as a prostitute, enticing the nations into submission.
Now she will receive a prostitute's punishment.
Though the nation is as great as a swarm of locusts they will vanish like a swarm that has flown.
The final verse are addressed to the emperor. All is now lost for ever.
Why?
God is in reign, who is the sovereign Lord, Niveveh down fall by his sins and sorceries, cruelty, etc.
For all its might, Niveveh fell quickly into ruin after the Babylonians took it, leaving no trace but a mound which is known today as Tell Kuyunjik,'the mound of many sheep'.
The ancient tell, now known as Tell Kuyunjik, was occupied from the seventh millennium BC. A deep excavation at the site, carried out by Max Mallowan, established a chronology against which many of the other sites in north Mesopotamia are compared.

Nineveh is an ancient Mesopotamian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
How?
The Lord is righteousness and will destroy all the evil cities and nations. No doubt the judgement of the Lord will come.

The majesty of Jacob is great

Nahum 2:1-13
The destruction of Nineveh. The scatterer has come up against you.
For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches.
Desolate and ruin! Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale!
The prophet's description uses every resources of sound and vision: we can see and hear, almost smell, the onslaught.
Once, God had used the armies of Assyria to punish his people.
Now the forces attacking Nineveh are his instruments. Blood and thunder; plunder and desolation; the den of the Assyrian lion is no more.
Nahum's scenes are vivid to the eye and to the imagination - even to the wailing slave-girls.
Why?
Vision and imagination of Nineveh was so clear described by Nahum.The
Restoring the majesty of Jacob for God is the Lord over all nations. Nineveh have plundered Jacob so they will be plundered and be ruined either.
How?
The majesty of Jacob is great and powerful than any others. He is the Lord!

God is good

Nahum 1:1-15
An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
Who can  stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger?
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
The Lord has given commandment about you;"No more shall your name be perpetuated(延續); from the house of your gods I will cut off the carved images and the metal image. I will make your grave, for you are vile.".
But where Jonah records the city's reprieve, Nahum predicts its destruction. The date is somewhere between the fall of Thebes to the Assyrians in 663BC and the fall of Nineveh to the Babylonians and Medes in 612BC.
Nahum seems to have been a Judean, but apart from this we know nothing about him, except that he was capable of writing some of the most graphic poetry in the whole of the Old Testament.
Nahum starts, not with Ninebeh, but with God: his power, his anger, his goodness.
God says that the days of Assyria, whose armies destroyed Israel and threatened Jerusalem itself less than a century before, are now numbered.
Every phrase speaks God's power, over earth, seas, rivers, mountains. Bashan's rich pasture and forest turn brown at his presence as if stricken by drought. The hills me;d. God is his people's powerful protector.
An overwhelming flood: Impregnable Nineveh eventually fell when floodwater breached her walls, making way for the attacking army.
Why?
The Lord is slow to anger, God has mercy to seiners, but God will by no means clear the guilty so repent for our sins and turn to the Lord.
God has great power and no one can stand before his indignation(憤慨) for the evil. But God is goods and God is the stronghold in the day of trouble, he know those who take refuge in him.
How?
God is good, God is my king, my Lord. Praise be to the Lord!

All the nations that bear God's name

Amos 9:1-15
Israel to be destroyed. Not one will get away, none will escape.
He who builds his lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the earth, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land - the Lord is his name.
Yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob, declares the Lord.
In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair it broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name.
For the nation as a whole, judgment will be inescapable. God will deal with them like any foreign nation. But for the faithful few the future holds unimagined blessing.
Why?
God's word will be executed, every sins will be seen by God's eyes. None any evil may escape before the Lord.
God is the mighty God, his name is the Lord.
God has mercy and love to his people, God keep his promise to his people who loves the Lord and honor his name.
How?
Let nations bear God's name. Let me honor God's name. Be strong and follow the Lord, obey his words.

Not a famine of good or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord

Amos 8:1-14
Highest view::A basket of ripe fruit: means the time is ripe for my people Israel; God will spare them no longer.
Turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your singing into weeping, make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads, make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.
Spot light::Not a famine of good or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.
Meditation::Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. Where is the word of God?
A Syrian goddess worshipped in Israel. Dan, in the far north, was the town where Jeroboam | erected(豎立) a calf-image to divert the people from worship in Jerusalem.
Why?
People like to think their 'little' sins too small for God to notice. But he sees everything: greed and sharp practice; short weight and sub-standard good. And the poor, who always come off worst, are his special concern.
Famine of hearing the words of the Lord, induces famine of physical goods.
Israelite in Samaria boasted and enjoy their religious feast everyday, it turn into morning.
How?
The word of God like the gold is precious, don't think little sins too small for God to notice.

Minister in chush is not a job but is a mission from the Lord

Amos 7:1-17
The Lord shows 1) preparing swarms of locusts after the king's share had been harvested and just as the second crop was coming up, 2) calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. Amos cried out, "Sovereign Lord, I beg you stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!" So the Lord relented.
The Lord setting a plumb line among his people Israel; He will spare them no longer.
Amos did not afraid the warning from Amaziah the priest of Bethel.
Amos answered Amaziah, "I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees, But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me "Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'
Sycamore: A kind of fig-tree; not the tree we call sycamore.
Gods prophet and 'official religion' meet head-on in the confrontation between Amos and Amaziah.
Amaziah will die in exile. The invading army will abuse his wife, kill his children and seize his land.
High view: swarms of locusts, fire and a plumb line
Spot point: The prophet has God's authority for his message and will not be silenced.
Meditation: Amos obey the word of God instead of the priest of Israel.
Why?
The prophet has God's authority for his message and will not be silenced.
Amaziah insinuates(影射) that prophecy is just a job. Amos replies that he has a different job and only prophesies because God has told him to.
Obey God's word is higher than any other job or custom.
How?
Minister is not a job but a mission to preach God's message and a shepherd of God's people.

Humble before the Lord and be aware to my heart

Amos 6:1-14
Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.
For the Lord has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits.
You have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness -You who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar(nothing) and say, "Did we not take Karnaim(horn) by our own strength?"
Why?
Israelite did evil things and boasted themselves.
Affluence and comfortable living insulate people from the real issues, and breed false security.
Self-sufficiency and pride have been the downfall of human beings from first to last.
Now the pride of Israel which God hates, will be brought low. Ruin and exile await God's people.
How?
Be aware of my heart, don't be pride and self-sufficiency, it will been the downfall of man.

Generous and tenderness to treat needy and poor men.

Amos 5:1-27
One ten of the army of Israel went out will left.   -- Higher view
Seek me and live; the Lord says to the house of Israel.
For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins.
Therefore the prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the times are evil.
Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.    --Spot point
The Day of the Lord is coming. The people of Amos's day used this expression to describe a time when God would act for them against their enemies. They looked forward to it. Shockingly, Amos says that on that day God will act against them because of their wickedness.
God doesn't like sacrifice but let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!   -- mediation point
Why?
This means, not yet more sacrifices at the nation's corrupt sanctuaries, but reformed living - a return to God's standards of justice and right conduct in public as well as private life.
Take care the needed person, give them food and clothes, visit the man in disease  and in prison.
How?
Generous and tenderness to treat needy and poor men.

Don't let religion be a mockery of the real thing

Amos 4:1-13
Warning to you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, 'Bring, that we may drink!"
Yet you did not return to me. even God has poured many disasters to them.
Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you.
For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth - the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name.
Why?
The luxury-loving women of Samaria who have 'fattened' themselves (like the well-fed cows of fertile Bashan), at the expense of the poor, will be led away with hooks, (The Assyrians actually did this to their captives.)
At the same time as they were crushing the helpless (those for whom God had special care, protected under God's law), the people still kept up the religious facade(表面). But 'insurance policy' religion is a mockery(蔑視) of the real thing.
How?
Don't let religion be a mockery of the real thing.

Hear, and testify the consequence of sin

Amos 3:1-15
Higher View: Everything happening has it's reason.
I will punish you for all your iniquities. Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?...
Spot view: God likes lion, who will not fear
The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord has spoken; who can but prophesy?
As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued with the corner of a couch and part of a bed.
Ponder point: Hear and testify, the Lord is a trustworthy God.
"Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob,....I will strike the winter house along with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end." declares the Lord.
Why?
Israel, the people who have known God's special love and care, the people he brought out of Egypt have broken their covenant-agreement with God. In consequence they must suffer punishment.
It is simple cause and effect, God has spoken: he will cat.
Of beautiful Samaria, with its great stone houses and exquisite ivory panels, only a trace will be left; just enough to show that the city once existed. And God will demolish the trappings of debased religion at Bethel.
Diseases, famines and disasters are coming which has the warning messages from the Lord. It is the signs that the Day of the Lord is near.
Transgression comes with death, iniquity comes with punishment.
Who fears the Lord will obey his commandments.
Everything will pass away when the day of the Lord is coming.
How?
Fear the Lord, hear his warning and follow his commandments. Listen and testify the consequence of sin.

Transgressions of Maob, Judah, Israel

Amos 2:1-16
For three transgressions of Maob, Judah, Israel and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because of....
Reasons: 1)burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom. 2)they have rejected the law of the Lord, and have not kept his statues. 3)they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.
He who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, declares the Lord.
By desecrating a corpse Moab has violated on of the most universal of all ancient unwritten laws. God will punish each and everyone. No doubt the listening Israelites were happy to hear their enemies condemned.
But Amos does not stop there. Judah too is condemned. Now the prophet is getting uncomfortably close to home.
Even so, nothing can have prepared his hearts for the shocking punch-line, the refrain that this time is for them: 'For crime after crime of Israel I shall grant them no reprieve'. This was the main purpose of Amos' preaching: to warn the Israelites that they too were under the judgments of God.
Why?
Hosea makes it plain that Israel's basic sin was in turning away from God to worship idols. But Amos emphasizes the moral and social decline which resulted. They have grown hard and callous in their dealings with others.
By famine and drought, blight and disease God had warned them where they were heading - all to no avail.
How?
Listen to the warning of God's word and the sign from the Lord!

Wrath of the Lord like fire

Amos 1:1-15
The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa - what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake.
Three sins of Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom,and Ammon, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. I will set fire to the walls of them that will consume her fortresses.
Amos was a layman: a shepherd and dresser of fig-trees. His home was in Tekon, about 20km south of Jerusalem, on the edge of the Judean desert. But God sent him as his prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel.His base was the religious centre of Bethel, where King Jeroboam I had set up a calf-image when the nation had first split into two rival kingdoms.
Amos lived in the reign of Jeroboam II, Israel's Indian summer of Prosperity and influence. Beneath its affluence, however, the nation was rotten. Amos was sent to denounce the social and religious corruption, and warn of God's impending judgment. But the people turned a deaf ear, as they did to his contemporary, Hosea. And the king's chaplain told him to get back to Judah.
Thirty years after Jeroboam's death, in 722/1, the Assyrians attacked from the north to destroy Samaria and take the people into exile. Israel ceased to exist. But the prophet's voice still sounds down the years, crying out for justice on behalf of the poor and helpless of every age and nation.
Why?
The Syrians are guilt of wanton cruelty; the Philistines of selling their own people. Tyre and Edom have transgressed the laws of kinship. Ammon's atrocities have been committed simply to gain more land.
God is set fire to consume those guilt nations.
How?
Wrath of the Lord like lion from Zion and like fire to consume every wicked man. Fear the Lord for his righteousness.

The Lord will be a refuge for his people

Joel 3:9-21
Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack. Let the weakling say, "I am strong!" Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there.
Multitude in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.
Then you will know that I, the Lord your God dwell in Zion, my holy hill.
Their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon. The Lord dwells in Zion!
Why?
Before the day of the Lord, there will be many wars and fighting.
Valley of decision: There God will decide their destiny.
Then God will make his home in a city and among a people at last made holy; and the whole land will share in this abundant blessing.
Jehoshaphat: means 'the Lord judges' - hence the alternative translations, 'Valley of Judgment', 'valley of Decision'
The day of the Lord is near, God's judgment will be made.   -- warning message
You will know that I, the Lord your God dwell in Zion.   -- all are clear,
The Lord will be a refuge for his people.  --- promise
How?
I knew that the Lord is my God and he blesses me, God is my refuge. Praise the Lord.

God will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance

Joel 3:1-8
In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes(財富) of Judah and Jerusalem.
The Lord has spoken to Tyre and Sidon and Philistia, "I will return on your own heads what you have done."
God will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel.
The nations will be punished for all they have inflicted(處罰) on God's people. Multitudes will be gathered for God's judgment.
Why?
Everyone have to face the judgment of what he has done.
In those days and at that time, it is the time of God, it is the time of the day of the Lord.
God will return the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, which are God's people and glory, churches. What we are suffering will be restored. This is promise from the Lord.
How?
God is my shepherd and my fortress, whom I fear! Be strong to walk the way of the Lord.

God promises a great outpouring of his Spirit

Joel 2:18-32
Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you.
Then you will know that I am in Israel that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.
And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Moved with pity and compassion, God promises to restore in profusion all that the locusts have taken. He will rid the land of the locust army he has sent against them.
More than this, God promises a great outpouring of his Spirit, not just on priests and prophets, but on ordinary people, regardless of gender, age, or class.
Why?
High point: rejoice in the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you.
Spot point: God's spirit will pour out on his people, not only priests.
Main point: The salvation messages has been sent to all people, but repent and pray to Him.
Peter, addressing a crowd of Jews gathered in Jerusalem from 'every nation under heaven', announces that this prophecy of Joel is being fulfilled.
Northerner: Locust hordes generally invade Palestine from the south or east. The military threat, however, was from the north. So northerner here may indicate a hostile enemy, rather than saying where the locusts came from.
How?
God's mercy and salvation with Holy Spirit pour upon not only priests but his people, who loves God and calls on name of the Lord.