The Relentless Love Of God, Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ.

That's the price you see, that's me. Are you standing in the slave market as soon I have nothing to offer God. In fact, Paul says I am at enmity with God.

I view God is my enemy.

He views me the same. I want nothing to do with God, but he wants something to do with me 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. Let's join Pastor Bill got for now is once again shows us how God's word meets our world. She moves out and leaves José 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, José. You know what kind never like that guy is one of those profits.

It tells everybody else how to live what although I 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 like José 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 for their 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 Fort was better for me then and now to come 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 kisses 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, it 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 that was a 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 is 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 fool like this for. He agrees to the preachers plan. By the way, what do you think Gomer she would do you think of her in the story, because I need to tell you something your Gomer in the story at BU that be me.

You see she's thinking this man is provided. All these wonderful things for it was Hosea, we are willing to think almost anybody in everything for the great things in our life we want to thank all the people in, but it's God. You see, when a giving thanks to God at all. And there's something else though and that is that we live unfaithfully unfaithfully yet. We may not be temple prostitutes, but how many of us fall on idols. How many of us would do almost anything or make any kind of time or commitment to make more money. You know why we worship it. You see how many times have we been unfaithful to God. How many and yet God Hosea's as a provide. See you might ask yourself the question, does God really love me like that. He does at this point. Yes he does. He loves you just like that. You see, once you see it in a way that you and I understand marriage in a bad marriage. It makes a lot more sense to us now, so Hosea comes up with a new strategy.

And the reason for it is Gomer doesn't change. She stays who she is. So in verse 14 of chapter 2 he comes up with a new strategy, one that God often uses in our life. In verse 14 it says therefore behold, I will all bore her and bring her into the wilderness and speak kindly to her. That sounds really good. What's it mean I'm going let her alone. I was going to lure into the wilderness and my minor on it sounds like it's going be pretty good because it says then and then I will give her vineyards from there in the valley of Angkor as the door of hope and she was seen as in the days of her youth, and in the day when she camped in the land of Egypt and all something please is given of good stuff now. That's because we didn't take time to really look at the Scripture. It says that he puts her in the valley of a core it's called the Valley of trouble. He says I'm just going to take my hands off her and let her go and she's going to end up becoming in the Valley of a court, the Valley of trouble. Think about that. That's exactly the way the God goes with us on so many occasions I was going let you go ahead and do what you wanted to. I will let you loose in the wilderness and you'll be in the valley of a car you can do what you want to do anything you want to do that. You reap what you sow your face the consequences of your action. So what happened Gomer. She sunk even further. She never changed. She never got. She sunk even further and so she found herself with a man that said I you are useless to me.

Even for all the things that she brought all those other men. Apparently this man said at this stage.

This woman is completely worn out. I want nothing to do with her, so he decide to do something else with her very common in the world. He's going to seller as a slave and so is going to take her into the public center of the town in Samaria, the capital city and he's going to put her up an auction block and because she's a woman. By the way, she will be stripped completely naked and she will stand on the auction block, and somebody will buy her like you by an animal was amazing about that is, as the crowd gets together for the weekly auction they notice for the first time the prophets in the crowd. They seem he sticks out like a sore thumb is Hosea. Just imagine what their thinking how he came to see her get hers. She so despicable he came to see her the ultimate degradation sold as a slave to see what it says in chapter 3, verse one then the Lord said to me go again, and love a woman who is loved by her husband. Yet an adulterous, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, will they turned other gods nieces and love reason cakes loving reason cakes means that's one of the things you take and give as an offering to the pagan gods you love to make offerings. The pagan gods and then Hosea speaks for himself and he says so I bought her for myself for 15 shekels of silver, and a homer and 1/2 to imagine the scene he standing there and he's the first one he must shock everybody there.

They say here's this woman she's kind of worn out a lot of miles on her uses 10 shekels and then somewhere else and approximately 12 shekels since 15 shekels met someone else's 15 shekels in a Gomer of barley 15 shekels in a Gomer and 1/2 of barley sold sold as a slave. Just imagine what it wants, thinking what's he going to tutor but you know what he didn't buy her the punisher. He bought her to redeem while notice then what he says and then I said to her, you shall stay with me for many days you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man so I will also be toward you.

You never hear from her again. She changed think of when he went through, she changed it took a process of redemption for her to change that so much he loved her so much God loves you is a relentless love term with me in the New Testament to first Peter chapter 1 first Peter chapter 1 verse 18 and first Peter 118, knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold or barley. He said from your funeral way of life like Hosea had with Gomer inherited from your forefathers, you and I were bought redeemed with the precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished. The spotless blood of Christ. That's the price you see, that's me.

Are you standing in the slave market as soon I have nothing to offer God. In fact, Paul says I am in enmity with God.

I view God is my enemy. He views me the same. I want nothing to do with God, but he wants something to do with me. So the bidding begins and what can we do to redeem the word redeem is the word garage so her exile garage no means the purchase in the slave market to send some is going to purchase me. And guess who it's going to be it's going to be the son of God with the cross with his death would he do that because he loves me that much.

How can you love the unlovable.

It's exactly the way God loves us. Dietrich Orndorff says that we are incomplete. God loves us completely though we are imperfectly loves us perfectly. He loves every one of us, even those of us were flawed and rejected an awkward and sorrowful and broken, it doesn't matter to God. He loves us. That's astounding and that love means everything to with me for a moment to Titus chapter 2 in verse 14. Notice what Paul writes. He says who gave himself that's Jesus for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for himself a people of his own possession, zealous for good deeds. It took redemption to change the heart of Gomer, and I don't know about you but for me it took redemption. The change my heart as well. You see, if you are not overwhelmed with the greatness of God's love for you. You've missed something, is the motive of our very existence to many of us are in some kind of performance curve to lessons from this passage.

The first lessons for those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ and we say simply this, God does not love you because of what you do.

God loves you, in spite of what you do. God does not love you because of what you are, God loves you in spite of who you are nothing you can do to make God love you more than he does right nothing and nothing you can do to make God love you less.

You see, once you sort of get your head in your heart around that idea.

The response is gotta be exactly what God is looking for it to be love and gratitude and praise and thanksgiving. In other words, as Jesus said to the woman at the well. God is looking for you seeking worshipers. How can I not worship. He loves me and he was willing to pay the greatest price possible for me and I brought nothing to the relationship. There's a second lesson and that is maybe you've never really put your faith in Christ maybe never really been clear and that that it's your faith, and faith alone in Christ and Christ alone you've never been able to take advantage of his redeeming work on the cross for you. Let me say simply this without Christ it isn't that God is lost in your life, is that your lost in God is pursued you he pursued you up the mountain of Calvary.

You see, he pursued you into the grave he pursued you out of the tomb, and boy I would pray right now he's tapping you on the shoulder. This very day. He's whispering in your ear. I love you have redeemed you. I want a relationship with you. Let me pill you with another picture different than Hosea's God gives us metal from a mine in God gives us trees from a forest and then God gives the minor. This skill to go to the mine and dig up the metal and then God gives the lumberjack skill to go to the forest and cut down a tree and when the metal was mind and the tree is cut down, a blacksmith shows up and forms it into some spikes and then a carpenter shows up and takes the tree and forms and into a cross and when the cross is ready. God comes in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, and he stretches out his arms on the arms of the cross. And he allows those soldiers to pound with cool violence those spikes into his hands and his feet and then they taken a stand up the cross and the six hours on the cross in the three hours of excruciating suffering. Jesus Christ is crying out Eli Eli Lamas subplots the knee. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, and just imagine of my father's point of view, he is pouring out the holy wrath of God on the perfect Lamb of God as a father. Why would he go to the cross. Why would he pour out the wrath on him because God loves you.

You see, because he loves you even when you're not lovable. The great passage I'll close with his Jesus Christ, and we simply read John 316. I want to read it for you. Just a little bit differently. Jesus is talking to Nicodemus. It's his words and his words alone to substitute a couple words because were so familiar with this Jesus says to Nicodemus, and to us, for God so loved you for God so loved you, that he gave his only begotten son me so that whoever believes in me shall not perish but have everlasting life. That's about a simple form of the gospel that exist man if you do not know Jesus Christ in a personal way.

When an opportunity is crying out to you. I love you. You see it's not a matter of how good you are or how bad you were. It's just a matter whether you are willing to receive his love.

I can promise you this, when you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. I can promise you this, your sins are forgiven you been born again into the family of God.

Nothing will ever change that.

And you have something in your life you never even dreamed about. You have a life that means something a life of purpose a life it can be filled with peace and joy and hope. Jesus called an abundant life, all you have to do is receive it as a gift God loves you.

He always has. He always will spring father I think that these words, God loves you for some of us become so superficial. We hear them all the time so they don't mean much to us. I would pray that the story of Hosea and Gomer personifies the love in such a way in a real way that we see the kind of loyal love that you have for each and every one of us. Father, I thank you that your love can do for me but Hosea's love differ. Gomer father, I thank you that I don't bring anything to this relationship and you bring it all but I can promise you this because you loved me so much to give your very life for me. I love you so much that I give my life this is my prayer in Christ name for his glory for our group. Pastoral never on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever missed one of our broadcast or maybe you just listen to the message one more time. Remember the good a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online at that website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of our previous audio program is at Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible.

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