Hope and Forgiveness in Times of Judgement (Part 1)

This is a message from leading the way with Dr. Michael.

You sat we pray that it will encourage you in your walk of faith.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. you Seth for leading the way, please visit LTW.or was speaking with a woman who told me about her darkness of depression which is going through about pain and the horrible feelings that she is experiencing as I probed a little further and become very apparent to me that her deep emotional pain stems from a severe feeling of betrayal this woman for 25 years or more nearly 30 years.

She dedicated her life for the upbringing of her three often nieces she took care of them as they were growing up. She tutored them. She comforted them she motivated them she encouraged them she did all that are secured all her life committed to just helping those three girls. The grower, and as the way the world is all over, not just in this country when they grew up when they got married and they got busy with our lives are literally, whether intentionally or not, turned her back on her and her confusion gave way to anger, which turned inward and developed into a full-blown depression that I could not help but think that the trial and rejection can cut a wide gaping wound that betrayal and ingratitude can truly create a deep and painful legacy in one's life. I could not help but think that betrayal and unfaithfulness can hurt more than a shotgun wound probably. There is no worst feeling than the rejection of love.

Probably there is no worst agony then a betrayal of trust.

Probably there is no more demoralizing experience than self giving and self-sacrificing that I met with indifference or non-appreciation and I could think of no better example of a human illustration of this type of betrayal. Of ingratitude.

This type of unfaithfulness than the life of the prophet Hosea.

This man of God. This prophet of God. Hosea called by God to speak to a generation that has turned its back on God. Hosea was called of God, not just to preaching words but to experience what God is experiencing with unfaithfulness experience what God is experiencing. When people taken for granted his blessings for granted.

Hosea is called of God, not just to proclaim the word of God, but he was called of God to know what what God feels like.

When this people take all of his blessings and then pay lip service to a nodding acquaintance with him once a week. Hosea was not just a preaching prophet. He was a practicing prophet Isaiah was not just a talking prophet. He was a walking prophet. He was not just a leading prophet.

He was experiencing profit. Now there are some people, unfortunately, in the Christian church would think that Christianity just words. There are some who think that leadership in the church is an easy thing in the adjuster you get up and you do your thing and that you receive recognition and maybe some prestige. The reality is this. Please for me right.

Neither the Christian life nor the Christian ministry that is not live is worsening. No wonder the apostle James warns against the desire for wanting to be Christian leaders. You know why because he said there very few are willing to pay the price tag that goes along with leadership and desire had a tragic marriage is tragic marriage and having three wayward children reflected the tragedy of Israel and its unfaithfulness to holy and living God.

Hosea Mary's in an adulterous woman by the name of Gomer Y because God wanted Hosea to know what it is like for God to experience rejection by his people and desires unfaithful wife is the exact replica God said of the unfaithfulness of God's people desires pain is a miniature model of God's pain before I get carried away with. Just for a moment to give you a little bit of a background about the book of Hosea.

First of all, it's in the Bible becomes right after that it was in the Old Testament that it was written between 785 BC and 745 BC, give or take few years are here and there. I want to remind you that after the death of King Solomon the son of King David. His two sons and their foolishness aided in the split of Israel into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom that was known as the kingdom of Israel, those of the Yankees and then the southern kingdom is known as the kingdom of Judah, but just to help you remember had a mean one way or the other because I can tell you. Both kingdoms were going to hell in a basket. Adjuster mothers will go in the first this turnaround on about his mother. Southerners who were living in the Bible Belt enough in the kingdom of Judah. You know what they held out a little longer than the Northerners, but they too have fallen into apostasy and very have risk God's rejection of both kingdoms and but God says in chapter 1 that he is going to remember the kingdom of Judah for just his own purpose, namely the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ through the tribe of Judah and bringing of the Messiah through them. Hosea lived in the northern kingdom in the kingdom of Israel those days sometimes seem to the average Bible reader that there are so removed from our time. I wanted to listen to me very carefully. Please because I want to declare to you that those days the days of Hosea in many ways resembling our day, every single passing day that those days like our days. There were days of the plotting morality. There were days of rejection of moral absolutes. There were days in which the equivalent of the gala. Paul was saying or showing that large number believe in God that large percentage went to church that vast numbers call themselves religious people that many people were talking about in the secular media talking about religion.

Talking about spirituality. They even talk about where but throughout all of that humbug.

The real faithful ones were very few.

The real believers were small remnant for all intents and purposes, God was saying that his people. They living a lifestyle that is worse than the lifestyle of the Canaanite pagans those people, like the vast majority of our population.

They paid God the lipservice, but they rejected his moral absolutes. They knew that Yahweh demanded obedience, but they outlawed him out of schools very realize that faith makes a difference in society. But they insisted to take prayer out of school and make it illegal to tell you something when I'm going to tell you come straight out of history and history has a habit of repeating itself.

When ever God is rejected Satan moves in their unknown utilities.

There are no third person since God was kicked out of the schools who replaced him guns and murder and violence when the 10 Commandments were pulled out of the walls of the schools what replace them free condoms, security. When God's word is outlawed, the occult and cephalic activities have taken over when murder in the womb becomes acceptable and will not be long before murder outside of the womb will become except those days there were not unlike our days and that is why I'm gonna ask you please please take note of how God dealt with them then and how God is going to do with us now because throughout the series of messages from the book of Hosea. I want you to see the natural consequences of breaking. I wanted to see the natural consequences of unfaithfulness to God.

I wanted to see the natural consequences of denying God. I wanted to see the natural consequences) God lipservice.

I want you to see the natural consequences of self absorption. God set the Hosea go take a harlot for life that needs explanation Hosea is writing toward the end of his life as a Holy Spirit, inspiring him to write his life story. What had happened so in retrospect he realizes that Gomer was a harlot but when the manager she was not. When a manager.

She was a wonderful woman, just as Israel began with God in obedience and in love and entered voluntarily willingly into a covenant with God. God was saying to Hosea, I want you to know how unfaithfulness feels to me and asked myself why did Hosea have to endure the pain of unfaithfulness. Why did he have to endure the heart ache of betrayal and I have come to certain conclusions and it's this that brokenness is the only way that you will understand the heart of God, the true brokenness you will comprehend the nature of sin. The true brokenness you can fathom the strength of God's love is true brokenness that you begin to understand the heart of God. It is true brokenness that you will understand the enormity and the sinfulness of sin and the horrible nature of sin. It is true brokenness that you will understand and comprehend the incredible incredible unfathomable strength of God's love. Look with me. Chapter 1 please of the book of Hosea. First of all Hosea's brokenness and terrible experience through which he is able to comprehend the heart of God.

In other are some Christians who think that they can grow in the knowledge of God that they can grow in their walk with God when they are going from one mountaintop experience into the other.

That is not true mountaintop experience.

No one will not last for very long. Mountaintop experience might give you a fuzzy and warm feeling, but is never lasting for true growth in the knowledge of God, you have to go to the Valley you can truly understand the heart of God.

When you are in the low places in life you can truly know the heart of God. When you feel limited when you feel vulnerable, you can truly grow in the knowledge of God, you can truly know God asked when you are at the lowest moments in your life. Hosea could never have comprehended how God feels understood how God suffered the pain that people bring into God's heart could never have understood how God feels toward his unfaithful people who are receiving all the blessings from his hands and receiving blessings and receiving blessing and not focusing on the blessings not the blessing you could never have understood how God felt until he himself married to unfaithfulness and ungrateful spouse or someone said that brokenness is the only diet that will reduce a fathead bee that is with Mary, it is only brokenness that you will know God and you will know how God feels but also through brokenness, God can use you because only tell you in all honesty, brokenness can do one of two things. It can either make you better oak and make you better.

The choice is yours because I believe that it was only through the breaking of Jacobs natural strength subpanel that he came to the place of spiritual power. It was only through the breaking of the rock of horrid mimosas that cool water flow that quench the thirst of God's people.

It was only when Gideons chosen 300 the pictures, which is a symbol and a type of breaking of themselves, but the light shone and Liz were absolutely confounded.

It was only when Jesus took those five loaves in Brooklyn and distributed them that they are multiplied and used the feed more than 5000 people.

It was when Mary took that beautiful, expensive alabaster box and get that that pent-up perfume filled the house was only when the Lord Jesus Christ allowed his body to be broken with lawns and nails and spear.

That redemption poured forth by crystal stream from which sinners could drink and live eternally in brokenness you know God, but secondly and brokenness.

You comprehend the nature of sin. The two greatest sin of the Christian church is that we have done two things. Number one, we have lost the sense of the awesomeness and the magistrate and the splendor of God, and we have undermined the sinfulness of sin, we have undermined the horrible nature of sin. We rationalized it would tranquilized if we counsel lines up with all kinds of thing except deal with it now. You cannot read the story of Hosea without coming face-to-face with the agony of his heart in order to fill you in this day of sexual promiscuity and marital infidelity. In these days of easily broken marriage vows we do well to see how sin creates havoc in the heart of God. How sin creates pain to the heart of God. Hosea probably spent many a sleepless night weeping over the unfaithfulness of his wife. Hosea probably agonized for days on end.

Probably Hosea body shop with convulsion and inner pain but through it all he was able to comprehend the sinfulness of sin. The horrible nature of sin. What sin does to the heart of God. You know this has nothing to do with her unfaithful woman and the faithful husband really has nothing to do with this distant imagery because God is a faithful spouse in this relationship and is a perfect one has nothing to do with male-female agenda.

You can have an unfaithful husband's will that affect us more often the case that it is in normal situation so that has nothing to do with the Bible presents the Lord as the husband of his people. The Lord Jesus Christ. Here's the bridegroom and the church is the bride that she imagery here is a perfect spouse, you cannot comprehend the sinfulness of sin until you are on the receiving end of sin.

I really believe that some of you will know that you cannot understand how God feels about the nature of sin and about your indifference toward him until you've experience indifference by someone you love. You cannot understand how God feels about your unfaithfulness to him and lie unfaithfulness to hear until you've experienced the unfaithfulness of the deer in the near you cannot understand how God will abide in gratitude to him until you've experience in gratitude of others even especially those toward whom you have shown love the recipients of your love and affection, but it's only in brokenness can you comprehend the nature of sin. And that is why I love our confession because you see David control point in his life when he was confronted by his preacher, Nathan about his sin and he came to the point of his life and all of a sudden the door and told him he didn't only sin against Uriah, but he sinned against a holy God. And that's why the words of the confession of Psalm 51 you see him crying out to God and saying all against you.

God, sin and brokenness. You will understand how God feels in brokenness. You comprehend the nature of sin. Certainly, only through brokenness. Would you fathom the strength of God's love is incredible to me when you think of this wayward wife and wayward children, Gomer and her three children there were given some ominous names on the horrible names Jezreel, where all the violence and the bloodshed is associated with that name gives him Lord, the word law in Hebrew means no, means mercy, no mercy. Little Amy no, you're not my people, incredible words but to see these terrible names that God tells Hosea to call his children and his telling him what God is going to do with Israel, and how because Israel continuously broken the covenant again and again that the going to be rejected by God, but if you read on, you will see how that despite of sin in spite of unfaithfulness the Spider-Man gratitude. God is always ready to forgive those who turn to him. Notice, this theme comes on again and again and again throughout this book. Hosea was given the privilege of looking down in history and prophesy that while God is rejecting Israel because Israel rejected God while God called him Laura, what God called him who I may not my people, and yet he is saying that one day one day one day it's coming when God is going to show his incredible mercy is going to show his incredible love is going to show the depth of his love by coming down from heaven himself, not sending somebody coming down from heaven and then dying for their sin and you and I are privileged to be the chosen people of God. You and I are privileged to be called the children of God.

We were not his people become his people.

We had no mercy to give us mercy. That's the fulfillment of that prophecy in the book of Hosea, Peter was thinking of the book of Hosea when is saying these words with me read them. In times past were not my people, that is no way but now my people, who had not obtained mercy, that is Laura, but now have obtained mercy, God suffers in the presence of sin, but his love is so deep and so wide that he keeps the door opened, no matter what you have done. He keeps the door open… Come I've been waiting for you turn to maybe repent your mom told that the earth and the sun are part of a galaxy that contains more than 100 billion planets or stars. In addition to our cosmic system. There are billions of other planets spreading out through what appears to be unending space and for convenience scientists in a call use the term light years when they are referring to lease an enormous distances that is so hard to understand. And since light travels about 6 trillion miles a year.

You can see how far away those solar masses really are, in fact, the nearest major galaxy is to billion light-years away. But here's the good news. Are you ready for. Here's the good news of the summer. Psalm 108 verse four declares Psalm 108 verse four declares the Lord's mercy is great. Even then, this expansive universe.

In fact, God's mercy God's grace is too expensive to be measured by light-years despite of the mercy of God is one thing that God does not appreciate it when his mercy is taken for granted that his grace is taken for granted and ignored as we go to see in this message from José and that is why one day God is going to reveal his complete justice when he judges the world but I want to tell your followers you, I would plead the mercy of God, not the justice back to the woman who was in deep depression over the unfaithfulness and the ungrateful nieces Lassiter is not amazing on preparing a series of messages from the book of Hosea. Let me tell you about Hosea, let me tell you about God. I said to her that what you are experiencing is what God experiences toward the unfaithfulness of his people toward him and God can use your brokenness and your pain if you let depositor that what you are experiencing is a very relentless of the nature of sin, but also you can experience the power of God to love through you again. The services conclude, you know my heart any more than I would know your heart. I want to say to you, those of you with the Holy Spirit have spoken to 12 experiencing brokenness right now. Listen to the voice of God because he saying. Trust me, trust me to walk with you through it. I know how you feel. Allow me to use you and use your brokenness to some of you.

The Holy Spirit is saying you have been taking my love for granted.

You have been taking my mercy and grace for granted. Stop.

You have grieved the heart of God long enough sees sheer indifference toward God sees sheer indifference toward God's work.

Stop your lip service to God and to his church turn and be renewed today to some of you.

The Holy Spirit is saying something else is saying that you have lost your way, but out of love. He wants you to hear his message of infinite love his open arms of forgiving you when you repent. The Bible said today is a day of salvation. The hour is now, don't put it off. Don't put it off years ago. Somebody said that impression without expression leads to depression and I want to invite you today. If you have been convicted. Make an expression of that conviction and site Holy Spirit on responding to voice between you and God has nothing to do with me has nothing to do with the person next to you is between you and God.

God loves you if he has spoken to you respond to him today. Heavenly father you see the very secrets of our hearts is nothing hidden from you, you know, a through and through, and therefore God when we come to you. We come to is an open book. Father, we thank you that you spoken to our hearts that you brought conviction to our lives and father. Whatever it is that you have convicted us of.

We pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to strengthen his father. We confessed he we can do a thing without your power.

We cannot do a thing without your strength. We cannot do a thing without the Holy Spirit of God empowering us to ask for special strength that he may dwell in us, in a special way in a powerful way in a new way that father God we will walk in the holiness and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and that he will respond in obedience in his name. Upper