“The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?”
A few years ago, two banners hung at the front of the sanctuary: the Lion banner hung on the left & the Lamb banner hung on the right. Each week, whenever I entered the room, those oversized pieces of fabric caught my eye. Today, years later, after the renovation of the church sanctuary, the banners have been taken down, rolled up, and stored. I think I will inquire to find out WHERE for these two banners were a reminder of the Savior Jesus who reigns forevermore.
The prophet Amos prophesied to the sons of Israel, to those children of God who were delivered from Egyptian captivity but who walked in sinfulness. Amos spoke the word of the Lord.
“You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth;
(The Book of Amos 3: 2-8 NAS)
Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?
Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey?
Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something?
Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it?
Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all?
If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble?
If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?
Surely the Lord GOD does nothing
Unless He reveals His secret counsel
To His servants the prophets.
A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord GOD has spoken!
Who can but prophesy?”
- We are called to live for God.
How are we doing with His calling?
- We are told to live a life that refrains from dishonoring God.
How are we doing with our faith-walk?
- We have read God’s Word that speaks of living life with a proper fear, a proper reverence of who God is as our Creator and Father.
How are we doing with our obedience to God’s Holy Word?
See the words of wisdom given from God to the wisest man who ever lived.
“There are three things which are stately in their march,
(The Proverbs 30: 29-30 NAS)
Even four which are stately when they walk;
The lion which is mighty among beasts
And does not retreat before any,
The strutting rooster, the male goat also,
And a king when his army is with him.”
The lion of Judah has roared!
- Will not the people fear His power?
The LORD has spoken from eternity, both before His creation and about His end of ages!
- Will the people of God not prophesy of Jesus’ second coming?
We only need to read our Bible to see the beginning and the end.
The prophet Micah, wrote these words of God 700 years before about the birth of Jesus.
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
(The Book of Micah 5: 2-5a & 8a NAS)
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.
Therefore He will give them up until the time
When she who is in labor has borne a child.
Then the remainder of His brethren
Will return to the sons of Israel.
And He will arise and shepherd His flock
In the strength of the LORD,
In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great
To the ends of the earth.
This One will be our peace.
. . .
The remnant of Jacob
Will be among the nations,
Among many peoples
Like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep, . . .”
- The King of kings!
- The Messiah!
- The Lord of lords!
- The Prince of Peace!
- The Lion & Lamb of God!
- The One who reigns over all!
“The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?”
The apostle John was allowed for a season to live alone on the island of Patmos, where the LORD gave His servant John a vision, a revelation. We read and we who know the TRUTH are encouraged and given the revelation through the letter John recorded.
“I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.
(The Revelation to John 5: 1-7 NAS)
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice,
“Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”
And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.
Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;
and one of the elders said to me,
[said to John]
“Stop weeping;
behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah,
the Root of David,
has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”
And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders
a Lamb standing, as if slain,
having seven horns and seven eyes,
which are the seven Spirits of God,
sent out into all the earth.
and He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.”
The Lord GOD has spoken!
- Jesus Christ, the Lion & the Lamb is coming again!
- The Savior, the Son of God, will judge all of humanity!
- The Lord Jesus, the Messiah, will separate the redeemed from the unbelieving!
“The Sound of a Life Changing” by Matthew West proclaims the TRUTH of God’s salvation and reminds the children of God what must be our focus as we live our allotted days, as we walk upon the earth.
The Lord GOD has spoken!
- Will we in obedience—proclaim the coming day of the Lord?
- Will we tell the world—Jesus is coming again; you must be ready?
Thus, in closing, we are reminded by the apostle Peter, who wrote to the believers in Asia Minor & to believers living today, to encourage us in our faith-walk.
“Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?
(The 1st Letter of Peter 3: 13-15 NAS)
But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed.
AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION,
AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED,
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts,
[Believers must determine daily that they will not walk WITH the world
even as they walk within this world]
always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you
to give an account for the hope that is in you,
yet with gentleness and reverence.”