Hope and Forgiveness in Times of Judgement (Part 2)

This man by the name of our territory. A great man of God of yesteryears between Tory was a young man he had no faith in God.

He had no faith in the word of God as a matter fact he was hostile to the gospel as a young man his mother, who was a godly woman who prayed for him on a regular basis tried as gently as possible to witness to him, but finally got tired of his mother's prayer in his mother's witness and he sat there I said I'm sick and tired of hearing about my sins and your prayers. I'm out of here so that I can't be bothered anymore with this God of yours anymore with tear filled eyes and a broken hearted, only a mother can understand the mother followed him to the gate and she pleaded with him to change his mind. She pleaded with him to come and return back home, but he would not be detracted and she finally frantically, she called out as he was walking out and she said son you're going the wrong way but when you come to the end of your rope and everything seemed hopeless call upon your mother is God and he will surely help you some time passed since that moment in Tory left home and was living alone and continued deeper into his waywardness. One night he was in a hotel room, unable to sleep.

He was weary he was exhausted. He was tired he was of all the problems that were pressing upon them from every direction. Everywhere you turn, he saw no hope, and finally he reached to a gun that he kept with him and he was about to end it all up and right at that moment he remembered the words of his mother saying to him when you come to the end of your rope and everything seemed to be helpless call upon your mother's God and he will surely help in Tory went on his knees and he cried out to God that is that all God of my mother. If there is such a being, I need your help and if you help me I will follow you for the rest of my life and God used RA Torrey to lead thousands upon thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ. Why am I telling you this story simply is this it manifests one of the great truths of the Scripture, that in the very darkest hour in the darkest part of life. When you cry out to the Lord, the Lord will show you where the switches is often at the deepest moment of despair when you cry out to God.

Out of desperation, he will aluminum your way.

It is often in the times of our top helplessness cried to God and God will help you. It is often in the depths of brokenness of life, when we cry out to God, he brings you healing it is often at the height of desperation. We call upon the Lord, he comes in and begins to act. It is this incongruous fact that's in the Scripture that is declared here in the book of Hosea chapter 2 verse 15 turn to it with me please if you have your Bibles to the book of Hosea we have started a series of messages from the book of Hosea and we began to see how this man of God. This prophet of God. That's called of God to speak to a generation that is not unlike our generation to speak to a culture that is not unlike our culture how this man of God is called of God to experience pain and brokenness in his life with a firsthand so that he can sense the heart of God. So you can understand how God feels and there are commonalities between this time and hours and what God was putting Hosea through he was saying to him by you experiencing unfaithfulness on the part of your life. You understand how I feel about my people who pay me a lip service. Now you understand how I feel when my people whom I blessed so richly act with indifference toward me.

Now you can feel and understand how God feels when my people who receive all of my blessings and then they turned their attention from me and they place a security on the blessings they place our confidence on the blessings instead of the blessed now you understand how I feel and so Hosea married a woman by the name of Gomer, just as God meritorious rail. It's a figure of speech, of course, it's a figurative language, but you understand it. Gomer turned out to be an unfaithful wife running after other men just like the people of Israel turned out to be unfaithful people running after the gods of payment, the God name bail and asked her. Gomer had three illegitimate children, one named Jezreel judgment. Every name has a meaning and that has a daughter, God said call her Laura, I will have no mercy. Then the third one came and got sick call hello I me, not my people and every one of those has a meaning and has a significant God is about to judge Israel. God is not going to have mercy upon Israel.

God is going to call Israel, not my people anymore then becoming to Hosea chapter 2 and there you find that this part of the urgency despite of the desperation despite of the depths that Israel had sunk into God still stretching out his arms and say you're a parent, I will forgive you, God, stretching out his loving hand in here streaking in the words of Hosea whose asking his children to entreat his wife Gomer to come back to turned back from her adultery turned back from her soon to turn back from her rebellion of God is saying to Israel. You two can prevent judgment by coming to meet you too can involve my mercy once again to complete for my grace once again you to come come to me in repentance and faith and I will forgive you. In fact, all of that message is summarized in verse 15 that the valley of a core become the daughter of hope, what is this valley of a Koran. Surely some of you are asking. And I'm delighted that you are because I'm very anxious to tell you this valley of a court, Israel Nostrand really think of something that I can make it relevant for you today so you can understand it in modern terms, and I really couldn't think of a perfect example. But the closest I can get his Pearl Harbor. You cannot help but think of the horror of that place and what happened on that day Pearl Harbor conjures violence in and conjure suffering and all kinds of pain, the value of 1/4. Israel was like that great of course, why what happened there. When the people of God come out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. After the waste in the mud making bricks and God save them out of that slavery took the first in the desert and because of the lack of faith they wanted around for 40 years and then Moses dies Joshua comes in and God uses just what to think the people of God into the promised land, and when I come into the promised land. What happened there was a border town by the name of Jericho and that Watertown was so fortified fortresses, it would has high walls. Nobody has ever penetrated Jericho before, but God said, I am going to help you take over this town supernaturally, miraculously, with my own power. You go to move in and they do they shout in the wall falls and they go in and the takeover Jericho. God said oh by the way before you gain I want to tell you something. The spoils are not yours. Whenever you see the spoils in the city of Jericho… Should it is sacred unto the Lord, don't do anything with that no let anybody touch it. It is not yours. That's the injunction of God is the command of God, but when they got into town. What happened was a man there by the name of Aiken son of Connie regarding the town and then he saw a bunch of gold and he saw them shining in the sun and then he saw a bunch of other treasures and he said man alive him and he was drooling and he looked around… Nobody was looking he went out again and attendant.

Nobody can see us is it all the stuff where I can really be retired for life now is a great I don't have to work anymore. I mean this is a lot of old operation so he takes the stuff nobody saw him and he did it in his tent.

He forgot about the in the sky is watching you see we all alone nobody can see you got can see in the very privacy of your own heart when you think nobody knows.

God knows he knows your thoughts before you think he knows your words before you speak from so what happened the people of God go from this huge town that they took in the supernatural, miraculous way into a tiny little town called I by the way, do not try to pronounce it the way I do get tonsillitis spilt AI tiny little town just the way it's built smallest as the letters in it only a few hundred people and the people of God go in there and they get absolutely decimated hundreds of them hundreds of die hundreds of the people of I decimated the people of Israel. Joshua, the prophet of God will not work this because it is God. What is your promise, hippocampus, God is all Joshua. Joshua, my friend had you prayed to me out of revealed to you earlier that there is a scene in the camp is a sin in the camp. One man on your team has been unfaithful to me. He has broken my injunction has broken my command you say what I do matters. You better believe it. You cannot do anything without God is watching you.

Number one, number two. Sin always followed by trouble may take a long time but is always trailing trouble always trailing soon so what happened Joshua cries to God in repentance because the people to repentance.

Then Aiken, the son of Carmine's foot in the Valley of acorn and he and his children get stoned to death is all that is disgusting. While I agree with you, so it is when the knife of a surgeon cut the tumor. The cancerous tumor out of a body is painful to send either had to be drastically dealt with all it's going to deal a blow to God's people want to stop here and tell you something vitally important. You cannot be unfaithful to the Lord, you cannot lower your own spiritual temperature without affecting yourself.

You cannot be unfaithful to the Lord, you cannot lower your own spiritual temperature without affecting your family.

You will be unfaithful to the Lord, you cannot lower your own spiritual temperature without affecting the whole body of Christ.

Somebody will say wait a minute I wasn't know it isn't. If you surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The Bible said you are not your own. You are bought with a price you belong to Jesus when you belong to God's family. You've got to live by the rules of the head of the household and from the time of Joshua on that Valley over any core conjures horror in the mind of the Israelites term to represent disobedience.

It came to represent hopelessness of sin, it came to represent the trouble and the judgment that always follow sin.

In fact, the word acorn means troubling as a means what God is saying. Through Hosea to the entire nation of Israel who turned their back on God.

Listen to what he saying to them is saying. Your unfaithfulness is bringing you trouble your unfaithfulness and your lack of commitment to me. The only God of the universe is bringing you judgment your unfaithfulness is bringing you hopelessness and pain and I'm relieving with you now. So when it comes it is not delay your faithfulness is bringing you times of desperation in my neck look like it now, but it is coming when God is saying listen at the lowest point of desperation and helplessness. At the very middle of the Valley of acorn, God is still ready to give hope and forgiveness.

And when Gomer says I will arise and go back to my husband God is saying. At that point hope will shine again and when Gomer says I will go back to my husband a door of hope will open up again when Gomer repents of her sin, regardless of how long she had sunk God is going to give them a door of hope again what God is saying is this, that when Israel acknowledges Jehovah alone to be the God will save them when Israel stops starting with bail flirting with the gods of the Canaanites, God is going to withhold judgment when Israel repents of ignoring God.

God is going to bless you unity to hear something that's from me, not from the word of God. I'm not going to give a chapter verse always make a difference in the distinction between loan thinking in my own feelings when the word of God said I'm going to tell you something that some of you are going to like but that's all right I love you anyway. Until we as a nation repent of believing that it is the administration in Washington of the Congress of the Senate, other unbearable economic policy that is blessing us. We are under judgment and that is why in verse two, chapter 4, he said God is the only one who blessed us. Listen, God bless this nation.

I know I asked him if he had bless this nation more and greater than any nation on the face of Europe. You know why because the founding fathers made a covenant with God and we are the generation who are the covenant breaker and God is saying. Judgment is around the corner blessing is not from the White House is not from the Congress, your blessing is from me and cease giving credit for my blessing to the gods of this world. Here in verse two, three and four of Hosea chapter 2 Hosea asks his children his employees.

With your mother just as the prophet himself is pleading with Israel to come back to God. Just as you and I know the Lord and love the Lord ought to plead with our fellow countrymen say come before it is too late. Even in the valley of a core will open the door of hope, says the Lord Jesus. Of course this is the whole chapter is prophetic about the coming of the Messiah and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and those who not call this people now are his people, but the point still the same that it is only at the point of desperation. When we come to God he forgives us, listen the particle Somerset cocky.

He told his dad. Basically, in effect, he said I wish you were dead because in the Middle East. You never ask your father to give your inheritance until he dies when he came and asked for his inheritance before his father died. That's exactly what he was say I wish you were dead. It was not just indifferent toward his father as we are toward God. He actually hated his father he wanted out of there when you got all this cash and he went out and he said man. Now I'm set for life, and then ended up not eating only the pigs which is absolutely unheard of for a Jew, he was eating the food that the pigs were eating and the duck pointed came at the point of desperation. He said I go to my father. Father received it with open.

It is when we repent this when we dismiss our pride.

It is we will come to humility and heartbroken before God that he forgives us.

I want to tell you we as a nation have not come to that point yet we have not come to that point to it but were getting there fast and I believe God is going allow us to come to that point, I can't help but hear the voice of God to be saying to America.

America turned to me, turned to me, turned to my word, stop being hostile to my beloved son, the Lord Jesus Christ stop outlawing him but somehow I feel that just as Israel did not listen. Just as Israel did not repent and then they immediately after this prophecy, they suffered the horrors the absolute horrors of the Syrian exile. Somehow I feel in my bones. We are going to turn to God into the book of Hosea chapter 2 verses 5 to 13.

I see three things in our culture that we have in common with Hosea's day three things literally leap out of the pages of the Scripture. First of all, back then as it is today. God is marginalized.

You don't have to be a great theologian to know that God does not like to be marginalized. God has become irrelevant. Back then, as he is now the economy and the stock market began the measuring stick for their blessing and was doing very well back then as it is today nature and the worship of nature has replaced the worship of God, the creator of nature back then as it is today. Noah focusing on the astrology though focusing on the lining of the star and the reading of the horoscope. All that has replaced the word of God. Back then, as it is today better will dethrone Yahweh, the God of the universe just as The Pursuit of Happyness is dethroning our God from the sculpture.

Secondly, the second commonality between our culture and Hosea's culture is this sex and sexual pleasures have been raining supreme versus seven and eight of chapter 2 the influence of bail upon God's people is a God, God's people involved in all kinds of pagan orgies all kinds of temple prostitution. This is what life is all about back then as it is now pornography is a multibillion-dollar industry and I can't understand all these feminists who talk about feminist can they not understand the degradation that pornography is creating two women in our society. There is a silent conspiracy here. I don't understand it, the God of illicit sex is ruling supreme on the television screen is 1/3 commonality between our day and Hosea's day's in verse 12 and 13.

It is syncretism. Now those of you who have heard me long enough to know that I don't use big words very often enough. I try to avoid them or I don't know how to pronounce them anyway. Very simple Bible loving Christian values. One, because that's only way I can explain it to you. Syncretism is what is syncretism syncretism is the mixing and the merging of one religion with the other you know what new age theology is ruling supreme in many churches across America today and they baptized it and giving it a Christian name. I want to tell you that probably this philosophy is the most flourishing philosophy across the land and across the world. The world over everywhere you go you gonna find them. The only hostile to Christians talk about religion in all the religions of the world, and they receive you with open arm. I think there's more acceptability of religion in the world to them. Religions than any time in modern history, but mentioned that you believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven and you will be called every name in the book that you tell Barbara Walters or Sam Donaldson that they are eternally lost without Jesus Christ, and they would call you an extremist mentioned health of 85% of those who control the secular media well their own admission not believe in God but then they will glorify religion but they hate the uniqueness of Jesus Christ mentioned to them that there's only one way to heaven and it is through Jesus Christ and I will call you on Yahoo from the dark ages when Southern Baptist brethren just voted to affirm biblical mandate for the home all secular media going crazy calling them extremist and taking aspect of the dark ages. What is happening these days is what is happening in the days of Hosea. Watch how the secular media would tear into Reggie White simply because he spoke the truth about sin. He spoke the truth about righteousness, and all, but they glorified. Forgiving $1 billion as a sacrificial offering to the gods of the environment in the universe. Our day is like the days of Hosea. There are so many people who are controlling the media today who honestly believe that the freedom of speech amendment is for everybody in the nation except for the Christians call to my prayer is all caught. Don't let the judgment that fell upon Israel fall upon the smell but somehow I'm sensing the board to be setting if I did not spare my chosen people.

Why would I spit America only reason he would spare us is when his people, his people, God is not expecting much from the peg when his people, and humble themselves and cry to God. You and I know better, and if we do know better.

You better come here before God in prayer, calling upon the Lord saying all God from the valley of a course. Let there be a door of hope are people in the days is almost like the days of Noah. And no matter what Noah says people were just absolutely living for yourself. Couldn't careless betting think it's flood is going to come and then when it came it was too late.

Let me share this with you as I bring this message to conclusion number one God suffers when his people are unfaithful. What do I mean by God suffers when his children are unfaithful to him because his love is different from our love very different. You got understand if a person that I love is untrue to my love.

I suffer why because I lost that love God does not suffer in the same way as we do. God suffers because the one who sees told him is suffering is the love pastors got the self in it somewhere. There's none of that in God's love. Remember when Jesus was going into Golgotha carrying the cross. He saw the women were weeping, and he turned to them and he said daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me but for yourselves and for your children. God suffers in our unfaithfulness to him because we suffer in our unfaithfulness to him with a we know it or not. Secondly, God cannot tolerate sin their whole denominations. Hall churches from the pastor all the windup they believe that God doesn't really care about sin anymore. We are all sinners. They say it doesn't really matter. Yes it does the Bible from cover to cover says God does not tolerate sin because sin defeats the purpose of love.

Those who teach that God does not care about sin and that he tolerate sin know what they're actually saying this saying God is not really a lover of our soul's is what they say, whether they admit it or not and that is why it is a lie to say that God doesn't care about sin because sin hurts us deeply because sin blasts and destroys those whom God loans. That is why he cannot tolerate sin and be true to himself furtively. God will always love and plead with sinners to turn to him. God is always anxious to restore a repentant sinner, again and again you see it in this chapter. Chapter 2 in the book of Hosea.

You see it again and again he said to Hosea go back go back go back to Grover she might return this time try again. Keep on loving her. What is God saying God is telling us something about himself. Even though the woman has sunk so God said you go again because no one but no one but no one can sink so low as to go below the mercies of God, what a great God we have his love reaches as low as soon will take us he saves from the got almost to the uttermost. That's God.

God's desire is to restore the repentant sinner, please hit me right I'm getting ready to close as a father and all of you parents understand what I'm going to tell you it is impossible for us not to forgive our repentant children, how much more our loving heavenly father. Even in the valley of a core there is a door of hope. When you enter today.

Some of you have never come and submitted to the authority of Jesus Christ.

Some of you did not understand that without Jesus, you've had it enter into the door that is open for you today while you got the chance. Those of you who know this truth and live in practice, this truth will you lead others to it today will you pray and intercede that our neighbors and our friends and people in our community and our nation will enter into the door of hope before it becomes too late.

My precious friends I poured my heart out to you as faithful as I know how proclaiming the word of God, but don't judge me by my words that the Scripture to heart. If you've never invited the Lord Jesus to come into your life. Repentant turn to him today if you have been an indifferent believer.

You've just added Jesus's name to the list of your priorities is not occupying the center focus our invite you in Jesus name. To do that today. If you have not begun to intercede for our nation have not begun to intercede for those who don't know Jesus, I pray that you do that today. Father God, you know, our hearts, there is no secret that can be kept from you, even though might keep them from each other but father God, I pray that you will open our hearts to you today.

Father God, I pray that in the name and the power of Jesus and in the greatness and the strength of his Holy Spirit our lives be changed at this very moment the father God, that we may grow to know you and love you between my growth to love our neighbors and our friends who don't know you that we will take the message of hope everywhere you would take us a father.

We know that the time is short. We pray this in Jesus name, amen.

Thanks for listening to this message from Dr. Michael. You sat recently featured on leading the way. If you'd like to know more about us, please visit LTW.org that LTW.Ward