Go… Preach - Teach - Baptize !

Declare the gospel, while there is still “ time ” !!

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:” I've touched on this before, but it BEARS REPEATING.

There will come a point in ‘’physical time’’, that The Word of GOD will be removed from earth,

Or ~ from “ the world. The Voice of the Martyrs map categorizes countries where bibles are- (1) difficult/dangerous to obtain, (2) illegal or highly restricted, and (3) strictly illegal and only available through covert smuggling. A list of countries where the bible is, essentially, illegal: Afghanistan- Iran -Kazakhstan - Kyrgyzstan -Maldives -Mauritania -North Korea - SaudiArabia-Somalia -Tajikistan -Turkmenistan -Uzbekistan -Yemen -Algeria - BhutanBrunei -China -Cuba -Djibouti -Eritrea -Kuwait -Laos -Libya -Malaysia - Morocco -Oman -Sudan -Tunisia -Bahrain -Bangladesh -Central AfricanRepublic -Columbia - Egypt - Ethiopia -India -Iraq -Jordan -Kenya -Lebanon - Mali Myanmar (Burma) -Nepal -Niger -Nigeria -Pakistan -Philippines (Mindanao) - Sri Lanka -Syria -Tanzania -Turkey -United Arab Emirates- Vietnam. At some point, this Ban will become global, and be enforced like NEVER before. Yikes ! …Think about that for a moment...

No more real words of truth, of comfort, of hope. Gone. Removed. Illegal. Punishable by death if found in possession of... Any doctrine that has been learned up to this point, and is ingrained in memory, will be all you have left of The Word of GOD. GOD’S promises will remain ~ It's already happening... As of 2017, the Bible is officially (banned) in 52 countries. Remember, It's just a book, right? Coupled along with that, there is an ever-increasing movement to embrace false doctrine. In the Greek that is: ιστορίες που δημιουργήθηκαν. Which translates to -- " Stories made up".

Embracing worldly doctrine and systems has done nothing short of corrupting everything we do as a society, even personally. Doctrinally as well. When this wicked world system, the one world government and one world religion are fully established, the word of GOD ( for a time at least, )- will become deadly to one’s self if spoken of, displayed, portrayed, practiced, etc. satan & the beast system, the false prophet will NOT tolerate it, period. What a deplorable, horrible time that will be for those still here, ( during the great Tribulation ) One giant tyrannical coven. Yech…

I shudder at the thought.

(As for now,)- we still have THE WORD OF GOD ! We still have THE HOLY SPIRIT, The COMFORTER to teach us, and guide us, to “ COMFORT us.” Let us all use that precious time we have left to Promote The Good News, to proclaim CHRIST JESUS to ALL !

Luke 4:18

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

Mark 16:15

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

1 Corinthians 9:16

For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

1 Corinthians 9:18

What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.

Romans 10:15

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

1 Corinthians 9:14

Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

AMOS~ was a bit of an un-popular outsider - not a member of a recognized prophetic school; He was from Judah to the south-- --(but preaching in the northern kingdom); and was deliberately confrontational, during a time of prosperity, irritating the: “if it ain't broke, don’t fix it’’ crowd. And they did NOT appreciate this 'agitator' (Amos)- telling them they were doing WRONG in GOD'S eyes.. And him being from a (different) kingdom? (( They were likely saying: 'What does he know'....? )) Amos preached after Jonah, and his ministry overlapped a few years of Hosea’s preaching that continued after him.

The book of Amos was written about 760 B.C. We know this because he prophesied during the prosperous reign of Jeroboam II (793-753 B.C.) of Israel and Uzziah (790-740 B.C.) of Judah, and because he mentions an earthquake that archaeologists calculate to have occurred about 760 B.C. 38 years after they were prophesied. Like Hosea, Amos specifically prophesies against the Northern Kingdom. During this time, the nation of Israel (the northern kingdom) was marked by total apostasy, idolatry, immorality, and the likes. Amos prophesies against them ahead of their 722 B.C. destruction at the hands of the Assyrians. Amos’ name means burden. He was from Tekoa, about 10 miles south of Jerusalem. As many have noted, the first six chapters use the oracle or “word-based” prophecy format, whereas chapters seven through nine are conveyed through visions.

Amos

Chapter 8

1Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.

2And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

3And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.

4Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

5Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

6That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

7The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

8Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

9And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

10And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.

11Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

12And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

13In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

14They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

AMOS spoke strong words to the people of Israel, promising GOD'S Judgement. In 722 BC, Assyria would conquer the northern kingdom, obliterating them. Perhaps (they ) should have heeded the warning? Perhaps we ALL should heed the WARNINGS?? "What we celebrate is what we’re communicating as most important..." This is one of the simplest principles in any church, ministry, or even business. Whatever you celebrate, what YOU react to the most, is what (you’re telling people) [is] most important to you. If your church mainly celebrates the budget and offering, then people will (likely) evaluate your success and failures based on the bottom dollar. As a leader, if you’re mainly celebrating the worship attendance, then the congregation will be discipled into believing that is the measure of success – Which it's NOT! WE ARE TO BE SPREADING THE GOSPEL. "THAT" Brothers and Sisters -- IS The Celebration ! If that means being "UNPOPULAR" then, so be it. We are to be 'sewing seeds' - not winning popularity contest's. We are to be, "EDIFYING" ! What does edifying mean? Helping to build the church. The word used for “edification” in the New Testament is oikodomé, which translates literally as “the building of a house.” ( Who's house? GOD'S House. The church [body] ) Edification is to be applied to the whole-body, (the church body), (mutual edification). Mutual edification involves (helping one another along the road to Christ-likeness), and it requires the participation of [all] members of the church. Teaching and preaching improves our understanding of GOD; encouragement promotes conduct that helps to develops CHRIST-like character. And being 'silent' instead of "Rocking the Boat"-- does little or nothing.. When we exhort one another and hold one another accountable, we are prompted to engage in activities that promote godliness. ( Including keeping our ACTIONS in-check.) Accountability means we lovingly check each other’s spiritual progress. Christ-like service ensures that the needs of the church are met, and true fellowship is the interaction we have with each other on a deeper spiritual level. Ephesians 4:16, (states), that the church must work to edify itself, for the overall health of each member. JESUS’ last words before returning to heaven to await HIS return, were words of instruction. They were a “call to arms” so to speak. In Matthew 28:19-20 HE told HIS disciples to: +Go to all the world Preach the gospel +Teach everyone to obey everything HE commanded us to do +Baptize people into CHRIST so that they, too, can spend eternity in heaven Go… Preach… Teach… Baptize. All four words are action words; meaning GOD expects us to be active and intentional when it comes to carrying out HIS ministry to seek and save the lost. And by the way... Conduct yourself in public as if JESUS were right there with you… Because HE is.