Amos 8:11 The Silent Treatment

Amos 8:11 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD,
“when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the LORD.

I struggle to hear. A lot of times it is not a hearing problem, but rather it is an attention problem. Certain environments are crazy because I cannot hear the person beside me, but I can hear the conversation 20 feet away from me. There is a big difference between not being able to do something and not being willing to do something. This week’s sermon details how God has shown that He is gracious to both types of people, but in Amos 8:11 He shows that at some point He is going to stop speaking. Think about that. God telling you that He will not speak to you. God declared that there would be a famine of His Word. People would search high and low to find God’s word but would not find it. God’s relationship finally hit a point in which God declared He was done sharing His word with Israel.

Do you ever look at couples or families fighting and think, I would never be like that? You value your relationship so much that you wouldn’t let your relationship get to that point. What about your relationship with God? Have you ever strayed? I believe that if you saw a person fighting or in conflict with God, you would offer advice that would be centered on spending time with God in His word.

The people of Israel stopped listening to God. What advice would you offer to the people in the days of Amos? What would you suggest for a person to do today who is struggling in their walk with God?

How to read your Bible

1. Pick a time and place. Establish a time and place for doing your Bible reading. I suggest starting your day with scripture and prayer, but for others, reading at night is better. Find a place that allows you to focus on the Lord.
2. Pick a starting point. For a new believer that may be in the New Testament. I like to suggest the gospel of John for someone who knows a little about the Bible and Mark for those who are not familiar with the Bible.
3. Pick the right tools. I would encourage you to have multiple study helps with you. Helps can include a pen, notebook, and highlighter.
   1. The pen and paper are there for multiple reasons. You may be reading a passage and not understand something. Write it down so you can look it up or ask someone about it later.
   2. Distractions are a big hindrance to reading our Bibles. It seems like my mind begins to remember everything that I forgot or need to do when I start reading my Bible. So create a space where you can write down those thoughts, prayer requests, to-do lists, etc., but do not let these distractions take too much time away from your time with God. Write them down and then get back in the Word.
   3. I love using a dry highlighter to highlight passages, keywords, or phrases that stick out to me.
4. Pick a small group. It is important to find others to discuss the Bible with. Find a Sunday school class, Grace Group, or a Bible study group to learn with. Iron sharpens iron. While you need private time with the Lord, do not forsake gathering with others to learn from and to teach.

Psalms 28:1-2 To you, O LORD, I call;
my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you be silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.
2Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.