Who's ready for good news today? Let's get right into the Bible.

I'm going to ask you to open your Bible to a little book that you may have never looked at before. It's in the first part of the Bible, which is called the Old Testament. It is the book of Amos.

If you can find Isaiah, just keep going a little bit and you'll find him. For the next few weeks, I'd like us to apply our hearts and minds to the voice of God to us today as recorded in this book of Amos. It starts this way.

"This message was given to Amos, a shepherd from the town of Tekoa in Judah. He received this message in visions two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash, was king of Israel. This is what he saw and heard: 'The LORD's voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem! The lush pastures of the shepherds will dry up; the grass on Mount Carmel will wither and die.'" (Amos 1:1-2, NLT)

A lot of words. A lot of strange words. We're going to have to dig a little bit.

 

But let me start with a story.

(Amos 1:2, NLT)

There are 50 states in the United States. The second biggest is Texas, which joined the United States in 1845.

One of the most powerful and influential leaders at that time was a politician, a landowner, and a judge. At the time of his death he owned 385,000 acres of land. He'd become one of the signers of the Texas declaration of independence, from Mexico.

 

He was known as a visionary who shaped the history and culture of Texas. He was known for fearlessness. He was known for standing out from the crowd.

There was a time when a friend who owed him money couldn't pay. So instead of money, the friend gave him 400 head of cattle.

Now, this politician and Judge also becomes a rancher. He was the only rancher who didn't brand his cattle. He would let them roam free. None of the other ranchers did it this way.

This man was always going his own way, even if it meant bucking the trends. Eventually, his name became synonymous with a person who is independently minded. This man who would not let anybody squeeze him into their mould—I'm sure you've heard his name.

His name was Samuel Augustus Maverick.

He is the original maverick.

I am so glad you are here. You are here for part one of a new series on the book of Amos. I'm calling it...

A Maverick Spirit.

 

The heroes of history were mavericks. They went out on a limb. They did what nobody else would do. Because they believed what nobody else believed.

It was a maverick named Anne Frank who saved Jewish children from the Nazi Holocaust.

It was a maverick named David Livingstone who walked the continent of Africa 4 times on foot to fight the slave trade, and to bring the gospel.

It was a maverick named Amy Carmichael who fought child sex trafficking in India, and saved little boys and girls from temple prostitution.

It was a pair of mavericks named William and Catherine Booth who wanted to help outcasts who are not welcome in traditional churches. So they reached out to thieves, prostitutes, addicts, street people, and the poor. They said, "hungry bellies, have no ears," so they fed them before they taught them the gospel. And so was born the worldwide mission that today is called the Salvation Army.

It was a maverick named Sojourner Truth. Born into slavery, she heard the gospel, "embraced God's righteousness," and got saved. She said, "From that day I made up my mind that Christ should have my whole heart." She escaped slavery with her infant son and in 1828 won the first legal case to declare her son free from slavery. She became a preacher, preaching to thousands in both the gospel and the evils of slavery. She met with Abraham Lincoln and influenced him to abolish slavery. She recruited troops for the Civil War. She established a transitional shelter for people exiting slavery. She was a living inspiration for the ideals of liberty and justice for all.

They saw the way things were, and they said things are not as they ought to be.

That's how it is. The world is broken. The devil is still on the prowl. His lies swirl around us all the time. And when the way things are is hypnotized and bewitched by the devil, it takes holy rebels to shatter the illusion, and set the captives free.

When the world cancels the gospel it takes a maverick to say, the gospel is still the power of God, and there is no shut down, lockdown, or clamping down that will silence his voice.