Hope and Forgiveness in Times of Judgement (Part 3)

We have started a series of messages from the book of Hosea with seeing the similarity between his diet hours we saw.

First of all how God is trying to reveal his heart to the people of Israel by getting those I have to go through this miserable experience of marrying a woman who turned out to be unfaithful to him, and the more he loves the more unfaithful she becomes. And God says the Hosea of the people of Israel and Gloucester that this is your condition. No more. I love you no more. I bless you, the more I give you the more you get away from me.

What caused Israel to collapse. Rather, the end of the time of the prophet Hosea are the very causes that are at work right now to destroy our society. I wanted to look at them. There are three in number one, verses 1 to 6 is a deliberate rejection of the knowledge of God. Secondly, a loss of direction by the ministers of God.

Versus 7 to 10 certainly a definite abandonment of passion for God. Verses 11 to 19. A deliberate rejection of the knowledge of God. Look at verse six is what God said my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. As a result of this rejection of the knowledge of God. Society is characterized by deception and dishonesty and were trying a book that was written by two authors entitled the day America told the truth on the bottom line of the book is this that 92% of Americans live at least once a day. I pray together. That's not true, but here are the symptoms, deception, dishonesty and lack of integrity as part of the collapse of that's assigned. Look at verse two young people today tell a lie without batting an eye.

I'm told by my friends were in the legal profession that in the courts of law.

Many times people will stand up witnesses will stand up and swear to God that they will tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and as soon as I get on the stand ally. There was a day when a man's word was his bond. Today man's word means nothing. There was a day when marriage vows were meant for life today only for convenience, there was a day when loyalty and commitment meant everything. Today, loyalty and commitment go down of the sun at the end of the day and the reason for this collapse is because the knowledge of God was deliberately rejected. You know when the Nazis rejected the knowledge of God. We ended up with barbarians who had PhD's education did not do them any good. When the knowledge of God is rejected in the church, sentimentality, superficiality, entertainment will take their place.

When the knowledge of God is rejected in the home. Children will fill the vacuum with drugs and alcohol all yes please don't misunderstand what we have more knowledge today than any other time in history, but not the knowledge of God. In fact, more information has been generated in the last three decades, then the previous 5000 years put together all we are up to our ears with knowledge but not the most important knowledge of all the knowledge of God.

Somebody said that universities are full of knowledge. Freshmen bring little into it in the graduating seniors take none of it away and thus knowledge accumulating in the colleges and schools, and I often tell my children so the college education never hurt anyone who's willing to learn something afterward so I did go to the expense of good question how you love the old-timer said you know you don't have to listen to who's who to know what what here's what God is saying to this generation.

He's saying people are perishing for lack of knowledge. My people are being destroyed. Secondly, the people are being destroyed because of the loss of direction on the part of God's ministers versus seven all the way to 10 the priests said Hosea, who are to lead the people in the knowledge of God. Knowledge of the word of God. They've lost their way. They've lost directions. The clergy are lost Jesus out of the clergy of his day.

In Matthew 1514 there like a blind leading the blind imagine when I get into a ditch. That's what's happening in our society today. Look at verse seven of Hosea 4 and see if it does not describe our day to day. It says no more clergy increasing number on the increase in wickedness no longer increasing apostasy no longer increasing in disbelief no longer increasing the misleading of God's people. There are more clergy in this country per capita than any other nation on the face of the earth as they grow in number they growing apostasy. They growing their departure from the truth of the word of God, and God said in verse nine. Like people like Reese clergy who once thundered from the pool, puts the gospel of Jesus Christ. Today they will prevent how and the distrust of the gospel.

Clergy who once upheld the truth of salvation now preach sentimentality.

Clergy who once declared the word of God. They now declare the word of man clergy who once sought the acceptance of God above everything else in the world today. They will do anything for popularity in the world.

Clergy who once called sin. Sin today. They are calling it alternative lifestyle clergy who once declared that the absolute inseparability within the justice of God and the grace of God. Today they are preaching.

Cheap grace and saying God is not to judge anybody. Clergy who once the flock upon the word of God. The only thing that kinda need to have. Now there are preaching, psychology and sociology. Clergy who once people into the worship of God today are entertaining them in the name of God. Clergy who once pointed to the holiness of God.

The righteousness of God and the majesty of God, they are now humanized God for the sake of relevance. Clergy who once spent hours pouring over the word of God, spending hours in the studies announcement their time on marketing strategies and God is saying if the priests who are supposed to lead by example are in such a mass. What do I expect from the people in the pews. No wonder Israel was heading for the disastrous judgment of their Syrian exile, the horrors of which I would never be able to even talk about from this pulpit of what happened to the apple of God's I were to see God this patient and he calls and he lets his prophets speak and call and call and call to repentance and finally when the day comes, God says, I did everything in the New Testament. The Bible teaches that the fathers are the priests of their home and the priest ask a basically threefold number one is that they lead by example. Second, that the teaching words selling the order to intercede in behalf of those over whom they are serving my fellow fathers.

I want to tell you I know doing these things are not easy.

They are hard, but it is our job to instruct them to teach and to counsel our children.

It is our job to lead our children when the priests in the days of Hosea neglected the responsibilities society fell apart when the priests seems to lead the people there were destroyed when the priest allow other experts to crowd them out. People suffer when the priests do not lead they will ultimately follow the enemy of God. When the priests in the home. Do not diagnose spiritual responsibility seriously. The children will be lost. Societies collapse when a deliberate rejection of the knowledge of God takes place when a loss of direction by the ministers of God takes place. And thirdly, when there is a definite abandonment of passion for God there's one thing you can be sure about.

I wanted to listen to.

I'm going to tell you very carefully can be sure of this, some of you have seen it with your own eyes. I have it is absolute certainty that when people see us to conform to the image of God. They will conform God.

Their English if Senate is happening all around us, people the world over. They want something or someone to look up to. I have seen it in every corner of the globe. People the world over. They want to satisfy their inner hunger and the first by filling their faith in something or someone and then someone or some things very often is a parallel approximation of the true God. They called him God.

Listen to me. They call him God. But a God who suits their perception of God, a God who pleases them a God whom they can manipulate a God who has no definite standards.

A God who changes his standards. When they do a God who goes along with their wings (a God who is amiable and easy-going. The kind of God the talk about is God who is easily appeased and easily pacify. No wonder the prevailing philosophy today is that you have your God. I have my God knew the really saying.

In reality, and honestly know what they're really saying whether a note about this and your God, not God's. Remember that the self-made man worships his creator and he who falls in love with himself will have no rivals. Contrast this with Martin Luther, the great reformer who, in the midst of his war against the Pope and against all the corrupt church leaders. He said the following words is more afraid of my own heart than the Pope and the Cardinals. I have within me the great Pope self self. But the problem is wink at self invasion of our lives, we rationalize it. Of course nothing can make you lose your passion for God and for the kingdom of God like the God of self. Nothing can lead you to idolatry and cool your passion for the gospel. Like the God of self. Nothing can take away your passion and your love for the lost than self preoccupation look at verse 15 God calls Bethel, which means the house of God to cope with haven there's no such place as behaving is and what it was.

I got talking about with every means the house so that they why why does God call Bethel the house of God. He calls it the house of Benedict. I want to tell you why listen carefully because self worship can take place in a beautiful church building self worship can take place while you going to church self worship doesn't mind going through the religious pomp and certainly not all self worship can keep the outward symbols of Christianity. Self worship can still use all the Christian lingo self worship oh can read the Bible is to the people of Israel in Hosea's day, they didn't just turn their back on God and said we want nothing to do with Yahweh. No, no, no, no, they were too polite for that they too polite for that doll went to the temple on Saturday morning a nodding acquaintance to the Almighty, and the rest of the week. The worshiping bio I might as well not temple would've written the words of God.

The glory of God has departed, she would people think of idolatry and read about a dog in the Bible to think of Buddhism and Hinduism and all these people who worship instead.

No no no no, it has nothing to do with that idolatry was a word that God was speaking to his people Israel was not speaking to the Canaanites and the pagans. He was speaking to Israel.

Idolatry is something that is in the heart of the believer, you must understand that idolatry is preeminently religious. It really is the word I delivered means something carved or a carved representation of something else and idolatry is the worship of any representation of God.

When Israel came out of Egypt.

When Moses went up to the mountain when he got delayed until panic them, and this can wait for him and that they did not want to do file it with the errands and Aaron here is our gold melted together make a pool so we can worship you think they really want to worship a bull.

Want to worship an animal now this of God is God of power is the one who brought us out of Egypt. That is a mighty strong God is a mighty and strong in our minds is a pool so they met in every Air Force. This is Yahweh's bow to him. It's a misrepresentation of who God is. We have only one true representation of God and his name is Jesus imagining God from any other human perspective is idolatry is also running around referring to God as mother God are idolaters because this is a human projection of God. Those are running around and saying that God is only love is only love.

No judgment.

They are idolaters because they want a God who pleases their emotions also running around saying Jesus is one way sure is my wife but I'm thankful for that.

But is only one way among many others. They are idolaters because the misrepresentation of the image of God, those evangelicals are running around worshiping the pastors or evangelists or preachers. Let me tell you, that is idolatry. Because of best. These people are a false representation of God, anything or anyone who occupies a high place in your life in my life is idolatry and must be torn down. Is there well I have been praying for God to tear this idol that I love my life. I want to tell you something, God is not an answer that prayer stop brace I got there Don Adams in my life. You get to do you know why because you put the title and God is waiting for you until you tell that I is going to give you the strength for that I will not to come back but you have to tear down God did not put the island life. You did and God is waiting solicitous but I'll be praying for my son Robbie prayed for might've been praying for this and I been praying for the God is not hearing me on that idol in your life and God is waiting in his waiting in his waiting until you tear down that idol. There was a time in my life when model was to accumulate academic degrees. I thought I'm going to be a great professor. What does God do to get me to preach the simple gospel is in a great got I didn't need all these degrees are just my insecurity idols in my life whatever idol that you have built in your life, whatever it may be only you know when you're naked before God and God speaks to you and tells you what idol that you have placed in that high place, whatever it may be in until you're willing to say, God, I'm going to have this idol help me never to raise him up again. God is waiting for you to do that before he order the blessing if the Holy Spirit is pointed his finger to an idol in your life. I want to beg you before God destroyed now tear down now. God is more anxious to bless you than you realize.

But God does not like to be crowded out. He does not like to be dethroned. He said I am a jealous God.

Would you do that today. Father God. Only you know, and we know each individually what idols we have placed in our lives when we can pray for revival.

All we want and we can pray for this, and pray for that old God.

We know it is only when we tear these idols down that you will come with your special visitation come Holy Spirit strength in every heart decided to tear the idol down, whatever it may be. We thank you for the strengths that you going to give us because you are a gracious, loving heavenly father in Jesus name I pray. 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@LTW.org