God's Vision & Restoration (Amos 9:11-15)

ESV Amos 9:11 "In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, 12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name," declares the LORD who does this. 13 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. 14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them," says the LORD your God.

Principle 1: New Testament interprets the Old Testament
Principle 2: Many Old Testament prophecies will be fulfilled spiritually in Christ and His church.
Principle 3: The Pharisees erred when they rejected Jesus because He did not literally fulfill the prophecies they thought had to be literally fulfilled. (In otherwords they misunderstood
the nature of the Word of God and took too natural of an approach to God's Word.
Principle 4: The judgment prophecied in Amos will not be final. There will come the blessing of God after all is done, and it will touch everyone! It will be universal.

ESV Daniel 2:29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30 But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. 31 ¶ "You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 ¶ "This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all--you are the head of gold. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure." 46 ¶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him.

Note that the earthly kingdoms in this dream were all natural earthly kingdoms. But the Kingdom of Heaven was not an earthly kingdom. There was nothing in the passage to indicate this. So even Jesus' disciples expected Him to set up an earthly army and overthrow the Romans physically. Yet they were all wrong. Jesus did establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, but it was in the hearts of his disciples, not on the real estate of their cities. It was a spiritual kingdom, not an earthly natural kingdom. Everything shifted.

And so it is with the prophecy of Amos. He is not talking here about the establishment of David's tent once again exactly as David had it set up.
(David's Tent refers to the Tabernacle of Moses that David brought to Jerusalem). He is referring to the organized singers who worshipped God 24/7 in the temple.
Talk about International House of Prayer and how it brings this very dynamic into being today.

So then how does the New Testament interpret Amos 9:11-15 for us? It is amazing because it is the key point used to decide a major debate in the early church...perhaps the largest debate the early church ever had. Should churches follow the law of Moses and have a religious circumcision rite for the baby boys among them or not? Are churches that stop keeping the Sabbath and who stop keeping the feasts of the Old Testament and the laws of Moses, are they sinning? Weren't these commandments given forever? Shouldn't we keep the ten commandments of God?

ESV Exodus 20:8 ¶ "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

ESV Acts 15:1 ¶ But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses." 6 ¶ The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will." 12 ¶ And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, "Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, 16 "'After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.' 19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues." 22 ¶ Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: "The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell." 30 ¶ So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

People say that everything rises and falls on leadership. Some people believe that without a vision, the people perish.

Who is the leader of the Kingdom of heaven? It is truly Jesus Christ. He is our leader. He is our vision caster.

What is his vision for His Kingdom?

The vision of Jesus for His kingdom is laid out right here in Amos 9:11-15. It is none other than 'all peoples'. It is nothing short of blessing for everyone everywhere. It is a universal vision which is captured in the expressions laid out here. He does not mean to rebuild the tabernacle of Moses and reinstitute the priesthood of Aaron along with the Old Testament sacrifices. No, Christ the lamb of God has come in the order of Melchizedek to minister a sacrifice which has power to deliver us from sin and death. That sacrifice, Christ on the Cross enables us to live a life of faith. The faith of our father Abraham. So we inherit the blessings of these prophets...prophets like Amos. And so James the apostle clearly sees this when the early church is debating the role of the law and cites Amos 9 to establish officially the 'law free' churches of the gentiles throughout the ancient world. They were no longer going to receive missionaries unofficially sent from Jerusalem who would tell them they must keep the Sabbath and be circumcised...and keep the feasts of the law. No they were free to enjoy the gospel of Grace.

So for us Amos 9 shows the glory of the gospel triumphing over all. It brings grace to everyone and we celebrate the vision then of the King of the Kingdom.

Our vision then, to grow a life giving community of hope for everyone, flows in harmony with this passage. It is line with the vision of our leader, Jesus Christ and what He is calling His church to do. It fits with His statement that 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples"

ESV Isaiah 56:7 these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples."

ESV Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

15 And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." 19 ¶ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.]

So we are growing a community of hope for all nations. It is a community of hope in a desperate world. A world that is apathetic to God, a world that is filled with greed and immorality and spiritual despair. We have the answer. The answer is in our leader, Jesus Christ. And so it is Him whom we cling to and to whom we garnish our allegiance. Let's join together to labor in His Vineyard, establishing all that He is establishing here and into the nations!

This means we have long range purpose in teaching children. This means our worship, our small groups, our Hope for all nations offerings, our outreaches/Helping Hands efforts, should be anchored in Christ's vision for His kingdom.