Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.14UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.12UNLIKELY
Fear
0.18UNLIKELY
Joy
0.56LIKELY
Sadness
0.49UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.62LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.27UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.76LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.8LIKELY
Extraversion
0.09UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.52LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.62LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Intro: I believe it was back in 2006, I was at the Cove in Asheville, NC and Pastor Erwin Lutzer spoke about “Why Bad Things Happen to Good People.”
He was not trying to tell us that Katrina happened because God was punishing the people of New Orleans for the sins of Bourbon Street, but neither was he ruling it out.
He simply taught that God is sovereign and that He has a purpose for everything that happens.
Tonight I want to talk with about “When Bad Things Happen To Good People”
When- adverb meaning “at certain times”
I use the word “when” because all that we will look at tonight has happened in the past to Israel to remind them of their disobedience in sin and God’s warning to get them to repent, unfortunately to no avail.
Now they will prepare to meet their God.
Text: Amos 4:6-13
Amos gives a history lesson of God’s dealings with Israel in the past.
He reminds them of sporadic hardships they brought upon themselves for breaking their covenant with God.
1. Famine; 6
Cleanness of teeth is not because they went and saw Karen at the dentist.
It was because they had no food to eat!
There was empty stomachs because of lack of bread.
They did not repent!
2. Drought; 7-8
Drought affects crops and drinking water which affects the people and the economy.
The most important time for water on crops is just a few months out from harvest.
If you don’t get the rain then, there will be no fruit on the vine which will decimate the economy and create or prolong a famine.
[8] People had to travel distances to other towns to get drinking water to survive.
One of God’s purposes of doing this was to make man think of why some were getting rain and they weren’t.
They should have turned back to God, but they didn’t.
God is the one who controls the rain, not the weatherman!
God decides where the rain will fall and when.
[Job 38:25-30]
They did not repent!
3. Blight, Mildew and Locusts; 9
God struck the vegetables, vineyards, fig and olive trees with scorching winds from the desert.
Parasitic worms brought mildew on the crops and locusts devoured the leaves of fig and olive trees.
This was a major setback to the national economy and the families of Israel.
Again the did not repent!
4. Plagues and Military defeat; 10
The LORD sent sickness and plagues among the people, the same kind of plagues that struck Egypt.
What God had delivered them from they invited into their lives.
The LORD sent war and military defeat and the slaughter of the nation’s young men
Plagues and war often go hand in hand.
The destruction of war brings about a lack of necessities, disease and death.
Diseases bring about plagues that can decimate a society more-so than the destruction caused by war.
Yet, no repentance!
5. Devastation; 11
Sodom and Gomorrah was totally devastated by fire and brimstone from heaven.
The Lord sent various catastrophes on the homes and cities of Israel throughout their history, even where the enemy burned them out.
Israel, like Lot and his family, was like a brand snatched from the fire, fortunate to be alive.
You would think their narrow escape would turn them back to God.
But not this stiffed neck people.
Yet you have not returned to me!
6. Prepare to Meet Your God; 12-13
Amos tells Israel to prepare for a confrontation with their God.
Even though Israel has sinned against God and worshiped other gods, He is still their God because He chose them out to be a treasured people among all the nations of the earth.
He is their God because of His covenant He made with Abraham.
[Ex.
19:10-19, 20:18-20] God first met with Israel out of His love and gave them the way to have an intimate relationship with Him.
And they were afraid that they would die!
Now Amos tells them to prepare for God’s wrath for they broke His covenant and they are accountable to Him!
[13] The God who created all things, who knows every thought and intent of man’s heart, who turns day to night and night to day, who owns all that man sees, is coming down from heaven to pay you a visit.
This visit will not be a pleasant one, but God will be treading grapes in the winepress of His wrath.
Close;
When bad things happen to good people, it may be God trying to get their/our attention, to turn from their/our sin and seek Him.
Israel was a good people.
Actually Israel was God’s people and yet He judged them.
So when bad things happen to you, the question that needs to be asked is, “What does God want me to see as a result of this calamity?”
“Do I need to repent of sin, or does God just want to draw me closer?”
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9