Introduction

Good morning, everyone. Starting today, we will be looking at the Book of Amos. These scriptures are quite challenging for me, and I will try to explore them with you all. The first chapter of the Book of Amos speaks of For three transgressions of a man, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment.

Everyone has a core interest. If this core interest is not God and eternal life, but is all about this earth, then no one can touch it. A few days ago, we were driving to pick up a sister when we encountered a traffic jam. Two cars tried to merge into the same lane and squeezed together. One driver was an older woman, and the other was a young man. They started arguing and tearing at each other. The police came and told them to move the cars and let the cars behind them pass, but they refused to give way. Everyone has their own core interests that others cannot touch.

The reason people sin again and again is because they have core interests. Once these core interests are about worldly matters, they will sin again and again. People's core interests are untouchable, but their lives are closely related to these core interests. They think these core interests are elements that make them live well and cannot be touched, but the result is that they do not live well. Because they sin again and again due to their core interests, they do not care about their sins, but only about their core interests. As a result, they sin against God. After offending God, life becomes impossible. God will judge you and will not revoke the punishment. Today, we will briefly discuss these worldly logics one by one. For example, It is immoral for a businessman not to make money. This statement provokes God's wrath. When God's wrath truly comes, it is no longer a matter of morality.

That is to say, when a person's core interest is in this world, whether it is money or territory, it becomes a problem. For example, across from Hei Xia Zi Island in Northeast China is the Russian Far East. Historically, that piece of land was recorded as territory seized by Russia during the Qing Dynasty. However, the Russians erected a statue of one of their famous generals there. That unnamed Russian is a great hero to them, but a murderer to us, because he launched a war to seize our territory. In fact, the war was won, but it was lost in God's eyes. Things in this world are very interesting. Our hero is someone else's murderer. Therefore, whether it is China or other countries in the world, everyone has its own core interests. These core interests are very harmful. If a person's core interest is the Kingdom of Heaven, they would not do these things. It does not matter who occupies a little more or a little less.

Once a person's core interest belongs to the world, it seems like they are doing something great, but in fact, they are doing something that deserves punishment. The countries around Israel that Amos mentioned are actually related to Israel. We will look at each one to see that for three transgressions, and for four, God will not revoke the punishment. These three transgressions and four transgressions mean again and again. God will also remind them, but they just cannot hear. Now, let us also ask what our core interests are. Anything that makes you lose your temper or disturbs you is a core interest. If a person's core interest is the Kingdom of God in Heaven, you will find that their emotions are very stable, and they do not suffer much. They are not happy when they make money, and they do not care when they lose money. They do not feel that it is a big deal.

I. Damascus

Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. (Amos 1:3)

Gilead refers to the people of Jabesh Gilead, who commemorated Saul after he was killed. Damascus very successfully defeated the people of Jabesh Gilead, and not just once. The people of Jabesh Gilead were a remarkable small group of people. They collected Saul's body when he died, and David later rewarded them for this. That is to say, even though Saul was not good, the people of Jabesh Gilead were pleasing to God and did something that was right in God's eyes. However, Damascus attacked the wrong people, repeatedly attacking the people of Jabesh Gilead. God did not ignore the fact that Gilead was bullied, but God's way of handling things is different from ours, because God's view of people living in this world is very different from ours.

So I will break the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven, and him who holds the scepter from Beth Eden; and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,” says the Lord. (Amos 1:5)

This means that the consequence of taking advantage of others is that God will let them be exiled. We need to be careful about this. Both the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah were later exiled, and their countries were destroyed. From a human perspective, the reason for this tragedy is that the country was not strong enough. However, you will find that the strength of a country is not determined by that generation, but is related to whether the country has sinned. I will teach you a spiritual perspective: a country that appears to be very strong is not necessarily good. As the saying goes, The feng shui changes in turn; thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. That is to say, when a country is weak, if it endures hardship and repents sincerely, God will have mercy on it, and its national fortune may come.

Some countries become strong suddenly and then bully this one today and that one tomorrow, bullying people everywhere, and then they slowly become weak. If you want to immigrate, there is a lot to learn here. Do not move to the west side of the river. This year it is east of the river, and next year it is west of the river. If you happen to move to a place that becomes west of the river, you will have to go hungry. Damascus bullied people when it was strong. It seems that the strong bullying the weak is an unchanging rule in this world, but no matter how strong they are, they are not stronger than God. If they think they are stronger than God, God will definitely press them down. This is the law of history. If a place seems to be getting worse and worse and not in accordance with God's will, and they do anything for their own core interests, God will deal with them. You will find that this country begins to move westward.

When people become strong, they become arrogant and forget themselves, grabbing everything. Do not think that the wealth of some developed countries is related to their science and technology. One historian has researched that the wealth of countries is all plundered. Plundering is of course faster. If you plunder other people's money, you become rich all of a sudden. If you are strong, others cannot rob you. Damascus was once very strong, but thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. When this sentence was written, it was still east of the river, but not long after it was written, it became west of the river, and it was about to be exiled. Israel and the Kingdom of Judah were exiled, and Aram and Damascus were exiled. There are many places in this world that have had the same experience, becoming colonies. This is because of their core interests and a set of worldly logic.

Some people attribute these things to Christianity. A classmate of mine sent me a video saying that, according to their summary, the logic system of the monotheistic God of Christians has become the root cause of wars in the past few centuries. I found it strange. Jesus has never fought anyone, nor has he ever invaded anyone. Even when Jesus was arrested and nailed to the cross, he did not argue for himself. If Jesus was on earth with Peter and the others, and each of them was a mighty general, leading troops to overthrow the Roman Empire, that would be another story.

But in fact, Jesus did not do these things. Those people were wearing Jesus' hat, but they were not doing the work of Jesus. Jesus' core interest is a heavenly core interest, while the core interests of these worldly people are worldly core interests, which is like selling dog meat under the guise of a sheep's head. Unfortunately, the person who sent me the video did not have time to listen to me. There are always some strange logics in people. People should follow Jesus. Jesus is our Lord. Do not do the work that Jesus did not do. Let us do well the work that Jesus did.

II. Gaza and Tyre

Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they carried away captive a whole people to deliver them up to Edom. (Amos 1:6)

Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they delivered up a whole people to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. (Amos 1:9)

Both of these passages mention carrying away captive a whole people to deliver them up to Edom. Gaza and Tyre, which were mentioned, are located around the Kingdom of Israel, and are today's Gaza and Lebanon. Tyre and Gaza often could not defeat Israel, so they relied on Edom. Israel is the descendant of Jacob, and Edom is the descendant of Esau. Esau and Jacob were twin brothers. Gaza and Tyre had a good relationship with David when he was in power. However, they also had their own core interests, and they sinned again and again. Whenever they caught an Israelite, they would send them to Edom, which was also a very powerful country at that time. Some people think that Edom is cursed and should not be strong. However, do not be mistaken. Cain was very strong. Do not think that those with robber logic are not strong. If they were not strong, they could not be robbers. Cain and Lamech, who were recorded in the Bible, and those brave and famous people later were not blessed, but they were all very strong. On the contrary, God's people were weak, which is not surprising at all.

Recently, we have been gradually advancing on the spiritual battlefield, and we have a very clear understanding of Sodom and Lot. If we were Lot, our views would probably be similar to Lot's. What Lot saw was that Sodom's science was much more developed and stronger than Abraham's. Not only in science and technology, but also in living standards and per capita GDP, it was much stronger, as well as the most important entertainment and people's freedom. What Lot saw was similar to what we see today. When we look at Abraham, we see that he has nothing and is very backward, so we want to immigrate to Sodom. Although they came out of Haran together with Abraham, Lot felt that this was Abraham's promised land, not his. Sodom was his promised land. People see it this way, but when the sins of Sodom were full, God destroyed it with fire.

Do not thank God because a place is prosperous and its economy is well developed. If you do, you may be a Lot. This is what Gaza and Tyre did. If they could not defeat them, they relied on Edom. If they won, they would hand over the spoils to Edom. Then, let us see what their ending was like.

So I will send a fire upon Gaza, which shall devour its strongholds. I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,” says the Lord God. (Amos 1:7-8)

Now you can understand the relationship between the Gazans and the Philistines, right?

So I will send a fire upon Tyre, which shall devour its strongholds. (Amos 1:10)

What Gaza and Tyre were about to face was similar to the destruction of Sodom. Brothers and sisters, do not look at things with worldly eyes, because the logic of the strong is not a good one. Those strong people are very powerful. For example, Kazuo Inamori created three Fortune 500 companies, including Kyocera and KDDI Telecom, which he founded himself. Later, he was headhunted to manage Japan Airlines, turning Japan Airlines from a loss to a profit in one year. Kazuo Inamori is so powerful that many people admire him. But what I do not understand is that Japan Airlines is so big, how could Kazuo Inamori do so much in one year to turn Japan Airlines from a loss to a profit? In fact, it may not have much to do with Kazuo Inamori. People's eyes see that it only got better after Kazuo Inamori went there, but there may be other reasons. It is like a small shop that changed hands twice. Both times, it sold noodles, and the tastes were about the same. The first person did not have any business, but after the second person took over, many people lined up to buy noodles. The taste did not change, only a few pictures were changed.

Actually, it is not about who did what with whom, but about the qualities inherent in that individual. The exact reasons remain unknown, yet the logic of these strongmen is similarly opaque. Today, we are gradually understanding that when fire descends from the heavens, things change. There might have been success initially; five years ago, the properties of Evergrande and Sunac seemed promising, but those ventures may not necessarily succeed in the long run. If you live long enough, you will discern where the fire will fall. In other words, during a rising tide, everyone is swimming, obscuring true assessments; all seems well. Only when the tide recedes do we see who is exposed, caught without the proper covering.

It is only when the fire descends that you realize something is amiss. The problem is that one must transgress repeatedly before the fire is unleashed. The first offense might go unnoticed, akin to running a red light the first time. Perhaps even a few more times, but that does not guarantee impunity; trouble looms unpredictably. If one frequently consorts with worldly individuals like Esau, relying on one's own efforts under a curse, one will witness God's fire descending—albeit a different kind of fire.

Lot's wife looked back as the fire fell, disregarding the angels' warning, unable to relinquish her possessions and wealth. This single glance resulted not only in losing everything, but also in her transformation into a pillar of salt. If you visit the Dead Sea, you will see many salt pillars along the shore. Some might wonder how there could be so many resembling Lot's wife when he only had one. But do not assume Lot's wife is unique; this world is replete with Lots and Lot's wives. In my youth, I visited the Dead Sea, finding no fish due to its extreme salinity.

Why were the captured peoples handed over to Edom? Because Edom was too powerful. Esau was even more formidable than his grandfather Abraham, who had 318 servants, whereas Esau commanded 400—82 more than his grandfather. Not only did we consider Esau remarkable, but even Esau himself was perplexed as to how he could be under a curse. When he saw Jacob limping, wearing sandals, and a loose undershirt, resembling an unkempt landlord from a movie, he was even more puzzled. What curse? Jacob tried to deceive him for his blessing, but failed. This world is exceedingly deceptive, but when fire falls from the heavens, the deception is unveiled. Just look at those in Qincheng Prison, and what became of those who were once successful and infinitely glorious. One might be infinitely glorious today, but tomorrow is uncertain.

Three, Edom

If you see God's people still choosing to walk the path of the world, there is indeed a problem. Edom is Jacob's brother, born five minutes earlier. Esau's descendants are called Edom, because dom means red, also called Yi Hong. He sold his birthright for a bowl of red lentil stew, and still thought the red word was pretty good, so he called it Yi Hong. The transliteration is also called Edom, meaning both red and fire, and was even glad that he had sold his birthright. This bowl of red bean soup is unforgettable to him, and he is still powerful after selling it.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever: But I will send a fire on Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah. (Amos 1:11-12)

Originally, evil spirits on the body must be burned with fire. Edom repeatedly sinned, often pursuing the Israelites and Judahites who trusted in God with swords, and often bullied them. Originally they were brothers, but strangely they became enemies. In fact, this did not only happen to Edom and Israel, Esau and Jacob, but also to the sons of Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China, who killed each other. Zhu Di, the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Prince of Yan, also killed many of his brothers simply because they were his competitors. Looking at Chinese history, you will find it terrifying, just like what is said in the Seven Steps Poem: Boiling beans and burning beanstalks, beans cry in the pot. We are born from the same root, why bother each other so urgently? These are all determined by people's core interests.

When we all make friends, or get along with people, or talk about marriage, we must look at the core interests of that person. When we see that a person's core interest is power, be careful and stay as far away as possible. If a person's attachment to power will produce strange phenomena, it does not necessarily have real faith, and suspicion alone is enough to give you a hard time. Like Cao Cao, who is naturally suspicious, being with him is like accompanying a king as accompanying a tiger. So if a person's core interest is money, or cares about these things in the world, then you have to be careful. Looking around, you can see that everyone around you is like this.

Edom has long lost his brotherly love, because people do not put their hope in heaven. When people put their hope on the earth, God will not spare his punishment. This is God's way of judging people. Do not think that this is just talking about Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, and Edom. People like them will have the same experience, because God will judge, and will not let go of a single one, including ourselves of course. As for Moab, we have not talked about it yet. God really will not miss a single one. Everyone has to figure out whether they are the people punished by God, or the people blessed by God? If you are the person punished by God, then you have to be careful. If you run for your core interests time and time again, God's punishment will surely come.

Today, let us push our spiritual state to a higher level. What is our current spiritual state? Are we walking the path of Esau, Gaza, Tyre, and Damascus? Damascus is the Aramean, and Hazael and Ben-hadad are the kings of the Arameans. In fact, I have a characteristic, that is, these things cannot tempt me. My little wisdom allows me to avoid these temptations when I encounter them, because my core interest is God, and I see these things in the world relatively clearly.

Four, Ammon

Ammon is today's Jordan. Let's check to see if it is.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border: But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind: And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord. (Amos 1:13-15)

In fact, you expand your territory, and after you have expanded it, you do not even know what you are doing. Today, as Christians, we still have many worldly historical views and worldly logic systems in our minds. What thanks to Emperor Kangxi, Qin Shihuang, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty for expanding our territory. If you look at the dynamic map of China, it was only a small dot thousands of years ago, until the Qing Dynasty. We do not even know what the Qing Dynasty is. Later, we considered the Qing Dynasty as ours, and there are no more Manchus in the Qing Dynasty. Genghis Khan is also classified as ours, but the people of that era hated Genghis Khan to death, because he ravaged China so badly. However, as history evolved, Genghis Khan became the powerful one. People's view of history is really interesting.

Expanding one's own territory is the pursuit of many great men. If the Mongols were to say it, then China would all be theirs, because they once occupied it, so this is not clear. People in this world just do not think that one day they will die, but this logic is also quite strict, allowing Genghis Khan to have a dream of attacking Europe, Asia, and Japan. If he had a boat at that time, he could have attacked the United States, but he died before he could attack it. As long as a person takes worldly logic as his own logic, and worldly things as his goal, and takes it as his core interest, he will surely sin again and again, and still feel that he is very great. What I am saying may not be accepted by people, but it is really good for a person to see through the fact of living in this life. Living by the sword, expanding one's own territory, what is the benefit of dying in the end? Even if you build one world top 500 after another, there is no benefit after you die. Of course, you can be happy while you are building the world's top 500, and building it happily can also be considered joy in labor.

People are all Ammonites, Edomites, Gazans, Tyrians, and Damascenes. Even if you are an Israelite or a Jew, as long as you sin again and again, punishment will come. It is okay to commit a crime once, and it may be okay to sin again and again, but you do not know when something will happen. If something really happens, it will be troublesome. So today, let us gradually work hard to adjust and have the concept of eternal life, not this life but eternal life. The road to eternal life is to follow the path of Jesus. Jesus did not invade anyone, but later Christianity often invaded people. We all know this. The Christianity that Jesus did does not imitate Jesus, because Christianity has been assimilated by the concept of this life. The Lord Jesus was crucified in his 30s, and did not say that it was a pity that he died in his 30s. The Lord Jesus is eternal. If it were us, we would think it was a pity to be crucified in our 30s. This pity is quite vicious, because it is the logic system of this life.

Look at our reaction to the news. If a child is killed, we feel sorry for him for dying so young. We ourselves feel that this world is so good, and it is a pity to destroy it. Many things seem to be not quite right, because they lack the concept of eternal life. If you stand in eternity and look at the path Jesus took, he was really smart, and the path Paul took was also very smart. Why are people busy? Because they feel that these things are very important, but they have not really scrutinized them, and they are struggling, earning, robbing, and getting themselves exhausted. Why do people live like this?

When people slowly see through the things of this life, they will be like Jacob. Jacob lived for another 17 years with Pharaoh in Egypt. He lived for more than 140 years in this world. Jacob was too great. What he had been pursuing was to return to God. Good and bad things happened to him, but Jacob looked at them very calmly. His views on worldly things were different from ours. So if you want to walk the path of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, that is not the path of this life, but the path of eternal life.

Today, let us examine what the core interests of our lives are. If you come among us with a worldly logic system, it is good to be blessed as soon as you pray. But you will not go far, because you only want to get worldly things, but what we want to get is eternal life. Some people lose interest in serving, because there is always a tug-of-war with their core interests. Some people feel that they no longer have passion for their service, because service is not your core interest. Where does the passion come from? If service is your core interest, your pursuit and hope, and what you desire in your life, then you will definitely have the energy. He has the energy to do what he likes, and then he will spend his life doing what you should do.

In fact, a person is a good person, but he does not know what will happen after death, because he is thinking entirely for the things of this life. In the end, fire will come down and burn all your worldly dreams. If you want to build an earthly kingdom, even if that fire does not come down, that kingdom will have nothing to do with you after you die. So in this life, you will either be taken captive, or burned by fire, or collapsed by an earthquake, which is terrible. From now on, put our hope on eternal life, and we will not sin again and again. If he repeatedly commits crimes, it means that he is pursuing his core interests and his dreams. That's all for today's sharing. May God bless you all!