The Whole Counsel With Pastor Thom

The prophet Zephaniah preached during a moment of choice in Israel’s history. For more than fifty years the nation had drifted spiritually under the leadership of Manasseh and Amon. Idolatry filled the land and complacency filled the hearts of the people. Then God raised up King Josiah, a ruler who desired reform and repentance. During his reign the Lord sent Zephaniah to call the nation back before judgment fell. His message still speaks with urgency today because every person must choose whom they will serve.

Habakkuk is not a record of sermons preached to the people. It is a record of a conversation between a prophet and his God. It is one of the most honest conversations recorded anywhere in Scripture. It reminds us that faith does not become silent in the face of questions. Faith brings questions into the presence of the Lord.

One of the greatest dangers in the Christian life is not always open rebellion against God. Often the greater danger is believing lies that make sin appear acceptable.Throughout history people have convinced themselves that wrong things were right. They have justified greed, pride, and selfishness while still claiming to follow God.The prophet Micah was sent by God to confront a nation that had begun to believe lies instead of truth.

There are moments in life when we find ourselves in places we never imagined we would be.Sometimes those places are created by the brokenness of this world. Sometimes they are the result of the choices of others. And sometimes, if we are honest, those places are the result of our own decisions.The story of Jonah reminds us that even when we find ourselves in dark places, God is still present, God is still working, and God is still pursuing His purpose.

The heart of the book of Jonah is not about a fish but a fleeing prophet and a faithful God.Jonah is about a heart that drifted from obedience. It is about a man who allowed something else to define him more than his calling. It is about compromise, discipline, identity, and mercy. And if we are honest, we will find ourselves somewhere in this story.Because all of us have had moments when the Word of the Lord was clear and we went the other way.

Before we ever step into the book of Jonah, we must understand something foundational. The story of Jonah is not ultimately about a storm, a ship, or even a sea creature. It is about the Gospel. It is about the heart of God toward sinners.

The book of Obadiah is small enough to miss if you are turning too quickly, but it is strong enough to shake you if you are listening carefully. This little book, only twenty-one verses long, carries a weight far heavier than its size would suggest. It is not filled with narrative drama. It does not record miracles. It does not introduce us to a towering personality like Elijah or Isaiah. Instead, it gives us a single, focused message, a word from God against a nation called Edom.And yet, if we listen closely, we discover it is not only about Edom.·      It is about pride.·      It is about resentment.·      It is about revenge.·      It is about justice.And ultimately, it is about the condition of the human heart.

The final words of Amos remind us that judgment is real, but judgment is not the end. God always has restoration in view. God always has a future planned. Even in the darkest warnings, there is hope on the horizon.Amos ends his prophecy by lifting the eyes of the people forward and saying, in effect, “It will be bad, but it will not end bad. A new day is coming.”

In Amos we see that one of the most dangerous spiritual conditions a person can be in is not rebellion, but routine.  It is possible to be surrounded by the things of God while remaining distant from the heart of God. One can sing the songs, bow the head, give the tithe, attend the services, and yet never truly encounter the Lord.The prophet Amos was sent to a nation that believed itself secure, blessed, and religiously faithful. Israel was enjoying peace and prosperity. Their worship calendar was full. Their altars were active. But God saw something far deeper than their ceremonies, He saw hearts untouched by repentance.

Amos shows us something that most people would rather avoid. It is uncomfortable. It interrupts routines. It challenges assumptions about what faith looks like in ordinary life. It is the overlooking of the afflicted and poor and the responsibility of those who know God when they encounter it.We live in a world that is both connected and distracted. We can see suffering across the globe in seconds, yet we can scroll past it just as quickly. We know about hunger, poverty, loneliness, anxiety, depression and worry. At the same time, we are busy with work schedules, family needs, financial pressure, health concerns, and exhaustion. It is easy to say, “I care,” while quietly doing nothing but the just the common “I’ll pray for you” comment.The prophet Amos was sent into a situation that sounds familiar. Remember, Israel was doing well by outward standards. The economy was strong. Cities were growing. Religious life was active. Worship services were still happening. Songs were still being sung. Offerings were still being given. From the outside, it looked like a nation under blessing.But God saw something different. He saw a nation growing comfortable while the poor were being crushed. He saw people who spoke His name but did not reflect His heart. He saw worship that sounded right but lives that were wrong.And God sent Amos to speak when everyone else preferred silence.

Amos prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah king of Judah and Jeroboam II king of Israel. Both kings presided over long reigns marked by military expansion, economic growth, and political stability. Trade flourished. Borders expanded. Religious activity increased. Yet Scripture reveals that justice was perverted, the poor were exploited, and worship was reduced to empty formality.God sent Amos not from the halls of religious leadership, but from the fields of ordinary labor. His message reminds us that God does not measure faithfulness by comfort, success, or tradition, but by obedience, holiness, and truth.

The book of Joel confronts us with a truth we often try to forget. God is not distant from the affairs of His people. He is not a silent observer who merely watches history unfold from a safe distance. He is actively involved. He speaks. He warns. He disciplines. He restores.There are seasons when God speaks softly through His Word. There are moments when conviction comes quietly in the stillness of prayer. But there are also times when God raises His voice through circumstances that cannot be ignored. When comfort dulls conviction and routine replaces reverence, God will often use disruption to awaken the soul.

There are seasons in life when hope feels unreasonable. People reach a point where they believe the story is finished, that the damage done cannot be undone, and that restoration is no longer possible.Many people project human behavior onto God. We assume He becomes tired of forgiving. We think grace has a limit. We believe mercy eventually runs dry.But Scripture reveals something altogether different. The God of the Bible is not a God who merely reacts. He pursues. He does not wait for people to return to Him. He goes after them.The book of Hosea is not primarily about marriage, adultery, or family dysfunction. It is about covenant love. It is about a God who remains faithful even when His people are faithless.Hosea’s life becomes a living parable. God does not simply preach a message through Hosea. He weaves it into the very fabric of his life so that Israel can see, feel, and understand the cost of divine love.

Have you ever been somewhere so lost, so isolated, that you wondered if you’d ever make your way back? In Hosea we can look at how God promised that exile would not be the end of Israel’s story. Even when their rebellion was great, His restoration would be greater.

Have you ever been called out for something? There is nothing quite like that feeling. Being called out for something you did not do is embarrassing but being called out for something you did do is far worse. The book of Hosea is God calling out His people, not for something imagined, not for something exaggerated, but for something painfully true. Israel had run out on God. They had worshipped other gods. They had taken His blessings and given the credit to idols.Being accused feels awful. Being exposed feels worse.But in Hosea 2, God is not exposing Israel to destroy them. He is exposing them to restore them.The chapterr is raw. It is confrontational. It is personal.It is God saying to His people: "I love you too much to let you stay like this."

Names matter. They say something about who we are, where we come from, and sometimes even what our family hoped for when they named us. Some of them make us proud. Some make us cringe. But every name has a meaning. Hosea 1:3-11, we meet three children whose names were given not by their parents but by Almighty God. God used the names of these children to preach a message to a nation that had wandered from Him. And these names still speak to us today.

Have you ever had a job that was really difficult? A truly hard job or task is one that asks you to take risks, to put your life, your reputation, or your comfort on the line. In the Old Testament, there was another job that was equally difficult, that was being a prophet of God. God had given the Israelites a nation and promised that if they obeyed Him they would be protected and blessed. But the people constantly turned from God to worship idols and commit acts of sin. Eventually, the great nation of Israel was split into two kingdoms: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. In time, both nations were conquered by foreign powers.During these dark and challenging times, God sent prophets. The role of a prophet was to deliver God’s messages, messages that could bring comfort or warning. Sometimes, these messages were welcomed; often, they were ignored or rejected just like Hosea, a prophet who had a difficult and unique assignment from God. 

The true measure of a life is not found in how many years a person lives, but in how that life is lived for God and the influence it leaves behind. Many people live long lives, yet their memory fades quickly because they lived only for themselves. But when a person lives fully devoted to God, that life echoes far beyond their time on earth.

Just as the statue of Venus de Milo and other treasures can be buried and forgotten, the Word of God can be ignored and left unopened in our lives. Yet when rediscovered, it brings life, direction, and transformation. God's Word is the hidden treasure that brings life and transformation

King Josiah, one of the most remarkable kings Judah ever had. Remember he was only 8 years old when he became king and started his rule.  But by the time he turned sixteen, something began to stir deep inside him.The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 34:3 “For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.”Did you hear that, while he was yet young, he began to seek after God. He didn’t wait until he was older. He didn’t wait until life settled down. He didn’t wait until someone else led the way or until things fit his mold or thoughts of how things should be. He sought the Lord early.

History records that some of the greatest leaders arose in the bleakest hours. Josiah’s “tap on the shoulder” came when he was only eight years old. Imagine that, just a child, yet placed on the throne of Judah, surrounded by corruption, idolatry, and national decline.The Word of God says in 2 Kings 22:1–2 "Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left."Even in the darkest of hours, God raised up a young king who chose to walk in righteousness.This is the lesson we must not miss: our past does not dictate our future, and our present surroundings do not have to define our faith. God is still able to raise up men, women, and even children who will shine as lights in the darkness. God can raise up a faithful heart even in the darkest of times.

The story of Elisha is one of power, miracles, and faithfulness to God. But what is remarkable is that his influence did not stop when his life ended. His bones still carried a testimony, still carried power, still carried a legacy.This passage challenges us with a sobering thought: What will outlive you when you are gone?Hebrews 11:4 reminds us of Abel: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”Your life can still speak long after your lips have been silenced. Because even in death, a life of faith leaves legacy and power.

The Bible reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” And yet, if we are honest, we often see our problems more clearly than we see God. We see the bills, the sickness, the enemies, the struggles, and we panic. But this passage teaches us that if let God open our eyes, we will realize we are never outnumbered, never outmatched, and never alone.It is like night vision goggles. A soldier puts them on and suddenly he can see what was hidden in the darkness. That is what faith does for us. It allows us to see the unseen hand of God working all around us. Spiritual vision overcomes natural fear.

Naaman, the mighty warrior. A great man… but a sick man. A man of valor… but a leper. And what he discovered is what many of us must discover: God’s cure often offends our pride before it heals our soul. God often works through humility, not grandeur.

One of the great tragedies of modern life is that we are often too busy, too cluttered, and too distracted to make room for God. We fill our schedules, our homes, and even our hearts with everything under the sun yet leave little space for the Son. But the Shunammite woman teaches us that when you deliberately make room for God, you invite His presence, His blessings, His peace, and even His miraculous power into your life.The story in 2 Kings 4 is not just about a woman and her son it is about what happens when a believer makes space for the presence of God. When you make space for God, He fills it with life. 

Life often brings us to desperate moments where we face impossible odds. In this passage we encounter a widow in dire need. Her husband, a servant of the Lord, had died, leaving her not only with grief but also with overwhelming debt. The creditors were coming to take her sons. It was in this moment of despair that she cried out to the man of God and discovered that God’s provision always matches the measure of our faith.

Have you ever been in a place where you felt completely stuck? In this passage we see thre kings who knew that feeling. They had soldiers, horses, weapons, and an alliance between Israel, Judah, and Edom but they were stranded in a desert with no water.When you’re dry, when you’re thirsty, when you’re worn out it doesn’t matter how many resources you have without water, you’re in trouble.Our passage today will show us that faith prepares us for God’s miracle before it sees one.