Truth Testing

"This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them…” Amos 7:7-8

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Plumb Line:

It's a it's a weight on the end of a string. And when you pull the plumb line out, you hold the string and the weight hangs down. It is designed to show that which is exactly vertical. That is,  true, accurate, it is straight.

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The plumb line symbolizes the exact vertical nature of God's truth. It is precise, it is accurate. It is the truth of God's Word.

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And so the purpose of that plumb is twofold. First of all, to testify to that which is exactly vertical – exactly true. And also to test anything that is crooked, that needs to be straightened. Isn't this a great vision from the Lord to Amos?

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What is our response to this? It is to test our lives against the vertical truth of God.

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Cling to the Truth.

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With joy on our face and steel in our spine, We overcome adversity by clinging to the plumb line

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With joy on our face:

We don’t have to be grim – we can be true, we can be real, but we can be joyful. Why? Because His kingdom wins, His truth prevails, His church will triumph. So with joy on our face and steel in the spine, we overcome all adversity by clinging to that plumb line. This is what Amos will do.

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Hold unswervingly to the word of truth, even when culture tries to knock you down or kick you out. We give all of the attention and the glory to Jesus Christ, who has promised that His word will prevail. “The grass will wither, the flowers will fade. But the word of God…” the plumb line, it will endure forever!

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A Prayer for the Church

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Let’s pray. Commit your steps to him – this is what Scripture teaches – Commit your way to him and ask the Holy Spirit what action you need to take. 

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Father, thank you for the plumb line of truth which is held out into the midst of America. Thank you for the Plum Line that is in the Church, and in our lives. We pray that we would read it and hold it with accuracy to declare the exact vertical nature of Your truth. And Lord, we recognize that when that plumb line is held out, every single one of us has attitudes, beliefs, and practices that are out of plumb. So, Lord, I pray that you would help us to measure our lives by the exact vertical nature of truth.

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Bring our lives into alignment with your word, and then may we go out and hold that plumb line. I pray that you would give courage to my friends here. May they wear that smile on their face and steel in their spine by courageously and unswervingly, holding to the word of life. I pray this blessing upon them in the strong name of Jesus, whose kingdom is yet to come and will come with great power and authority, and Your Church will prevail.

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Thank you for the great promises of Scripture. We love You and we commit our way to You in the name of Jesus.