The Relentless Love Of God, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ… I think once in a while when we are the victims of evil. We doubt God's love we say how could he love us in and allow something like this to happen don't really think about it you're not really even doubting God's law, but you're really doubting is God's goodness joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana going pastor Bill Gebhardt now is once again he shows us how God's word meets one of the most legendary theologians of the last century was the Swiss born German theologian Karl Barth, the conjugal love Barth's writings with his theological masterpiece called church dogmatics 13 volumes 9000 pages 6 million words, after giving a lecture at the University of Chicago in 1962 during the question and answer. Our young students stood up and I'm shorter sort of make a name for himself in that setting. As the great theologian the following question, could you summarize your life's work and theology in one sentence. Surprisingly Dr. Bart simply said yes I can, and then he said, Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so I lifetime of study one sentence, one truth, you know, as I thought about that but it's not surprising I thought of the apostle John.

John lives so much longer than all the other disciples the apostles. They were all martyred in his lifetime and John went on 30 years passed all of them in admin 55 or 60 years before.

After he walk with Jesus Christ that the John started writing his gospel is in his epistles. And there's one central theme to his gospel on his epistles. It makes his writing different is the love of God over 100 times in the Gospel of John in first, second and third John. He refers the love of God.

After all, it's John who wrote John 316.

He remembered those words of the Lord.

For God so loved the world in first John is John who wrote that God is love, and in first John chapter 3 in verse one. John wrote this see how great a love the Father has bestowed on us in that word see is the word Geraldo it means to perceive perceive how great a love goddess bestowed on us.

I believe that one of the great tragedies that occurs among God's people today is that you really don't perceive how great all of it is so many people. I think missed the central message of the Bible, God loves you. He always has any always will.

In fact, you cannot keep God from loving and even if you know this to be true cognitively. I believe the fully appreciated. You have to be able to move that from those 18 inches from your brain to your heart. Blaise Pascal, the great French philosopher said that it is the heart which experiences the love of God, not the reason I know for some of you you there probably circumstances in your life that you doubt God's love. I think once in a while when we are the victims of evil. We doubt God's love we say how could he love us in and allow something like this to happen but you know really if you think about it you're not really even doubting God's love what you really doubting is God's goodness we live in a fallen world is cursed. Not only are people sinful and all creation cursed, but there is free will involved in so evil has its day, but there's another time.

I think when many of us struggle with God. Loving us and not only when we are victims of evil, but when we are agents of evil. I can't tell you how often someone will say I don't know how God can love me because this is what I've done this in you can have certain actual which will give you consequences in life. There are certainly a principle of reaping and sowing. But I can tell you this.

There is never once can ever be the consequence in your life that God is going to love you less because of what you've done. God did not stop loving Adam and Eve. That was the original sin. I mean if you think about it. I think even you and I would probably say you know I think I can handle Waldo 600 Lauzon commandments of the Old Testament. I struggle with the 10 but I think I can handle one. You don't need of that tree can eat of every tree you want but not that one. I think I could do that. I'm pretty sure you couldn't. But the truth of the matter is they failed and if you remember then they hid then it says that God walked in the garden. Adam where are you.

The implication is pretty clear even after the fall, Adam, where are you Adam I love you. He kept loving Adam and Eve think of Noah. God's love for Noah didn't diminish that after he had finished the ark and all that faithfulness for all those decades. And then when it finally is all over.

He gets himself drunk and naked, and lays before his sons, God still loved him. Abraham after he was called by God when there was a drought in the land didn't trust God and decided to go to Egypt if he could to overcome the drought and then when Sarah didn't conceive at the right time you thought I come up with my own plan. I'll have sex with a handmade name Hagar and then twice on two occasions in order to save his own skin. He put Sarah's life in jeopardy. God still loved them, Moses murdered an Egyptian before ever having that going into ministry and then at the end of his ministry in direct defiance against God. He took a Stephanie just hit the rock and yet God still loved them. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then he organized the murder of Uriah the Hittite. Her husband, and he was a practicing polygamist and God still love them. Jonah was a big he was.

Prejudice, he hated the Assyrians for just being Assyrians, God says Joan I want to I want to make you an evangelist. The Assyrians and what I need you to do is I need you to go east and so Jonah went west.

God still loved them, and Peter was bragging look, Lord, I don't know about these guys who knows what they'll do.

But I can tell you one thing I'll never deny you any denied him three times and Jesus still loved him see nothing you do can diminish that. But in order to drive this point home, and I think the God it's such an important point he gives is perhaps the most vivid story ever to illustrate how God loves you. The relentlessness of God's love. Open your Bibles to Hosea the book of Hosea Hosea chapter 1. The setting is this. It's the northern kingdom. It's called Israel or Ephraim is the 10 tribes the north. It's not Judah and Benjamin to the South. There is a split kingdom their kings and Judah entered Kings in Israel. Some of the kings and Judah were not too good. Most of them know were all the kings in Israel were awful. God is so upset with Israel that he is about to take them into captivity by the Assyrians.

This is the eighth century BC, in order to warn them one last time, he sends to profits to the nation. Amos and Hosea and so what I say is this young prophet and his job is to take people who don't want to change and get them to change. It was a time in Israel of material prosperity, but they were spiritually bankrupt and so Hosea shows up on the scene. It's kind of interesting. The word of the Lord which came to Hosea the son of Mary during the days of your Zion Joe Thurman Ahaz and Hezekiah the kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, the king of Israel.

This is sort of like his calling is going to be and is the most unusual calling of all time.

And the reason is such an unusual calling as God says. Hosea I want to make a point here and I want to use your life to make it.

I want your life to be an object lesson. In fact, this is what I want. I'm going to have your relationship with your future wife to be just like my relationship with the nation Israel, and I am going to demonstrate to that nation, how I love them on the basis of how you love your wife. Well, that's not so hard is it well you don't know his wife yet it says when the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea go and take to yourself a wife of harlotry. He says for the land commits flagrant harlotry forsaking the Lord is says in the wind and he took Gomer, the daughter of the blame. I imagine like any young man Hosea, visualize what his wife is going to be like and back there. By the way, my almost all the marriages are arranged receiving of an arranged marriage, your father's going to send up is going to be arranging any almost always work out. So at one level Hosea must be thinking get this God is working this out for me. God's arrange my marriage.

It's now I know we all say that I'll be the first to say it you know God put my wife and my life. I get that but he didn't actually say to me will you see, I want you to marry Velma didn't say that he just now looking back in hindsight he put us together.

So if you're Hosea what you think it got arrange this. This is going to be great, but when he said to him, he settings the wife of harlotry that can only mean one of two things she's going to become a wife harlotry, or she already is a harlot. Some of the commentators think she might've already been a temple prostitute. The Hosea is an idealistic man, but he couldn't be more different than his wife Gomer.

You see, Hosea had he brought to this relationship.

The un-squandered treasurer of a young man's purity.

He took his relationship with God very seriously.

Gomer had none of the purity that are intended have a magic from Gomer's point of view I made and she swept off her feet by this young man. He's already famous is a prophet she's a harlot astounding. This young man of genius who had the heart of a hero when he had the passion of a poet can imagine how it felt for her and it says then that she conceived, and she bore him a son. Now, on the basis of what I think is happening. What's been illustrated. I have a hunch right from the beginning. Their marriage when bad.

I would imagine that there were nights when Hosea got back from prophesying and she wasn't home and imagine there were nights when we just laid awake and waited for his wife to return, but this looks like maybe there's finally something will put them together in a good way and she's going to bear him a son.

The dream of every young male Israelite.

I'm going to have a son. I imagine also that Hosea probably thought his mind.

There are so many great names. There are so many great names and are all going to end in Ya whether Albany ended L but I'm going to get God's name in here it's going to be great my sons going to have this great name that's not on the name him. The Lord said to him, name him Jazz real for yet a little while I will punish the house of J you for the bloodshed of Jezreel, and I will put an end of the kingdom of the house of Israel Jazz real is a name of shame. Jezreel is this part in northern Israel where you have a famous story of an evil king named Ahab if you don't know him you know his wife. Her name is Jezebel.

It's actually in Jezreel where Jezebel is pushed out of a window and hits the ground and before they can pick up her body. The dog Cedar. She was so evil and corrupt. It's in Jezreel where a very misguided and sincere man named Jay who killed 700 actually beheaded and put their heads in baskets 700 of the descendents of Ahab. It became a place of public shame and scrutinies is all by the way, you got a little boy I'm given a name in Jezreel who can imagine that if I was drawing a parallel today. The only thing I could think of this. You're a young Jewish man you marry a young Jewish girl and God's is the name that boy Auschwitz or.com place of tremendous shame and he does. He does exactly as God has suggested wellies not gunmen. It says in verse six and then she conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Now he has a little girl and again God says I'm going to name her name, her low rule, anytime you see the word Lord means no more negative.

Not in the strongest term in Hebrew. Her name means no mercy, no pity. What a great name for little girl no mercy come here. I like you to meet my daughter no mercy, no pity, just imagine the burden of that he says if I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel that I will forgive them. Verse eight when she had weaned low Rama she conceived, and she gave birth to a second son, and 1/3 child and now we really get some insight into says and the Lord said name him low AMI literally not my 10 Best Way to translate it. Not my child what a name. What a burden. Every time your father called you he called you not my child.

In fact, most commentators believe because shipper harlotry that none of these children were is that they were all born through harlotry and adultery. Three kids you have this whole idea of the Jezreel shame and disgrace longer llama, no mercy, no pity, and low AMI. Not my child, and then one day got worse. Gomer moved up she moves out and leaves Hosea as the mother and father of three small children that very likely aren't even his and although Gomer had left his home. She never left his heart.

Just imagine the gossip, then hated to hear about it, left Hosea, you know what kind never like that guy. He's one of those profits. It tells everybody else how to live what all but should be doing. He can even take your business at home. There's only when his kids and now she's sick of them.

She moved out. I imagine those are others who really liked Hosea and probably said what you would've said if you're honest with yourself. He'd be better off without her.

Good riddance.

Notice that's what we would say good riddance. Glad she's gone. But Hosea sees things differently. He sees a reality and he has a hope. This is in verse five of chapter 2 further mother has played the harlot she who conceived them has acted shamefully for she said, I will go after my lovers who give me bread and make my water in my will and my flocks in my oil my drink. She said I love it when men take care of me.

It was my business Hosea has what I would call a dream. Verse seven she will pursue her lovers but she will not overtake them, and she will seek them but she will not find them, and then she will say I will go back to my first husband, for it was better for me.

Then the now shook him back know what's interesting here is verse eight. Hosea write something and he says for she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain and the new wine and the oil and lavished on her silver and gold, which they use for bail. She is moved to another man, he can't really take care of her.

Guess who's taking care of her Hosea. This know what Haddon Robinson in his great sermon on Hosea what he writes. He says after she left Hosea, she passed from man to man until she fell into the hands of Amanda could not provide for her. The basic necessities of life in all that time. Hosea watch from a distance the downward path.

His wife are taken and find me when he realized that she was living with a mentor just could not provide the basics for life.

He went to the man knows the speculation obviously me said are you the man is living with Gomer, the daughter of the ball. What if I am I'm her husband. The men clutches his fist and was prepared for a fight and Hosea said no you don't understand. I love my wife and I wonder if you would do me a favor. I wonder if you would take some gold and some silver and by her the things that she needs the man stares he said at the prophet and then sees the money in his outstretched palm and he begins the think you bet there's no food like this fool.

He agrees to the preachers plan. By the way, what do you think Gomer do you think of her. In this because I needed to. You're going to be pastor Bill Gebhardt on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever missed one of our broadcasting or maybe you just like to listen to the message one more time.

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