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This is the audio from the July 30, 2023 sermon, “Called By God: A Home of Hope”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Amos 9:11-15

Today I concluded a sermon series which is based from the Old Testament book of Amos.  If you’re wondering how applicable the message from this book of the Bible can be today, consider the following description of the world in the days of Amos.  See if this sounds familiar at all to the world we currently live in.

“A spirit of self-sufficiency and smug complacency thrived on material prosperity.  The rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer.  Idolatry, hypocrisy, moral corruption, and social injustices were everywhere.  The nation was truly on the brink of disaster.”  (Irving Jensen)

While the book of Amos is filled with warnings and proclamations of the dire consequences of sin, it really is a message of hope.  God makes it clear through the message delivered by Amos that disobedience has consequences, but God will always shine a light on the way home.  No matter how near or far we are, when we turn toward God we find He illuminates a path to a home of . . .

• Help: (Amos 9:11-12)

  • When the consequences of sin creates a separation from God, it shouldn’t take long to realize we need help.  When it comes to being part of God’s family, He not only provides help, He does what we could never do — He does the restoring and rebuilding of all we have destroyed.  When we as individuals, and as the church, seek to reflect the image of God, we live with the help of God’s Spirit to become a home of hope as we learn to help one another within the body of Christ.

• Opportunity: — (Amos 9:13)

  • When we respond to God’s call to be in relationship with Him we find a home of opportunity.  God tells the people in the days of Amos that a time was coming when the harvest would be so plentiful that they would still be harvesting when the plowmen came to prepare the fields for the next planting.  We live in that time now and the harvest that is plentiful is a harvest of people for the kingdom of God.  When we follow God’s calling to be a home of hope, we find it when we experience and extend a home of opportunity to one another.

• Protection: — (Amos 9:14)

  • One of the great difficulties experienced by the people of God when they would stray away from Him is that they became vulnerable to raiders and bandits who would steal and destroy everything they could.  God speaks through Amos to proclaim a time when the people would be safe in their homes without worrying about their vineyards and gardens.  Unfortunately for those that think this would mean a protection from all physical harm or difficulty, that simply doesn’t align with the teachings of God’s Word.  The protection God offers within His home of hope is a spiritual protection through our willingness to put on the full armor of God.  When we follow God’s calling to be a home of hope, we find a home of protection from the many schemes of the devil.

• Eternity: — (Amos 9:15)

  • One of the great thieves of hope is our limited view of time.  We tend to lose hope because the thing we have hoped for doesn’t happen in the time frame that we had pre-determined.  When God speaks through the prophet Amos, He declares a home of hope in which they would never be removed.  That same promise was echoed by Jesus as He prayed for His disciples, and for us, that we would one day be where He is.  When we follow God’s calling to be a home of hope, we discover a home of eternity that can never be taken from us.

Today, will you pursue a home of HOPE?