WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:00.400 Church. 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:06.480 I'm glad uh to be with you guys this morning, but I'm gonna invite you to open up your Bibles to Hosea chapter number one. 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:07.919 Hosea chapter number one. 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:11.039 It's one of those smaller books, the kind of the end of the Old Testament. 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:16.000 So it's gonna it might take you a little second to find it, but Hosea chapter one is where we're gonna be starting this morning. 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:24.239 I also want to let you guys know about something I'm super excited for, and that is our group semester starting up next Sunday, if you can believe it already. 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:25.839 How many guys are excited for groups? 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:26.399 Woo! 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:30.960 How many guys, just a raise of hand, have ever been involved in any sort of group here at the church already? 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:31.679 Any sort of group. 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:32.880 Growth group, community group. 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:34.000 Yeah, it's a really great time. 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:40.079 Now, if you don't know what groups are, groups start up on a semester basis, and we're gonna start up starting next Sunday. 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:44.000 Growth groups uh meet together around a specific Bible study or a topic. 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:45.920 This semester we have a lot of them going on. 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:50.719 We have like studies about the book of Ephesians, the book of Jonah, the book of Romans, how to read the Bible. 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:54.640 And it's a really great study if you want to grow in your knowledge of the word. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:56.560 We also, though, have community groups. 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:59.359 Community groups meet around a shared interest or activity. 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:05.200 My wife is part of the volleyball group that's pictured up there that they just meet once a week and they play volleyball over at one leg. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:08.400 It's a great time to get to know other believers and find community. 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:09.200 I'm excited. 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:10.879 I signed up for the young adult group. 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:12.959 I got gray hairs, but they still let me in. 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:14.480 So, you know, it's all good. 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:29.280 But really, I'd encourage you with this that if you really want to grow in your depth of biblical knowledge, or if you really want to find Christian community and find Christian friends, I encourage you to sign up just for one group this semester. 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:29.920 Just one. 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:31.680 Find something that works within your schedule. 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:38.959 And if you'd like to sign up, you can go to sassoonchurch.com under the groups tab, or you can talk to somebody at the next steps and information table on your way out. 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:42.079 Well, guys, we're gonna be in Hosea chapter one this morning. 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:47.200 And Hosea is not a part of the Bible that gets talked about a whole lot, honestly, right? 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:48.400 Uh and there's a reason for it. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:49.599 We'll get to that in a second. 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:54.079 But if you grew up in church, there's probably some parts of the Bible that you're a little bit more familiar with. 00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:58.640 I like to call these next couple parts the G-rated parts of the Bible. 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:00.640 Things like Noah's Ark, right? 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:07.200 There's a two of each animal, there's a big boat, there's a rainbow, they're all hugging, it's all good, it's all really nice and easy. 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:09.280 Those are the types of stuff that you hear in Sunday school. 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:12.319 And then there's stories like um Daniel in the lion's den, right? 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:17.039 There Daniel, he got thrown into a pit, and by the end of the time, he's just like petting all the kitties and all that stuff. 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:18.240 It's a good time, right? 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:21.520 There's stuff in the New Testament too, like how Jesus heals people. 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:25.199 He heals the blind man, he heals the paralytic, he heals the lame. 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:29.759 But today, today is not one of those parts. 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:33.680 In fact, and I mean this with like 100% like honesty. 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:39.759 If you've got kids in the service today, this might be like one of those Sundays where you might want to go check out Kingdom Kints instead. 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:44.319 Because we're gonna talk about some pretty heavy subjects, because the Bible talks about some pretty heavy subjects. 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:55.439 Today's Bible story has themes of marital infidelity, prostitution, and a woman being sold into sex trafficking. 00:02:55.680 --> 00:03:04.080 It's it's really harsh and it's really uncomfortable, but that's because the Bible is describing real life events. 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:16.879 Sex trafficking didn't begin with Jeffrey Epstein, it has existed as long as sin has existed in this world, as long as evil has existed within the hearts of men, things like that have been a reality. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:23.680 And the Bible doesn't shy away from these uncomfortable subjects because the Bible talks about the world that we live in. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:28.719 There are parts of the Bible that inspire us, that encourage us, right? 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:30.560 That make us feel good. 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:37.840 Hosea, though, is one of those passages that can make people feel a little uncomfortable. 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:47.520 But we don't shy away from it because we believe the Bible is true from beginning to end and has things that God wants to speak to us about from beginning to end. 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:59.680 It's uncomfortable because God tells one of his prophets, a man that was a representative of him to the nations, to go and marry a woman who would be unfaithful to him. 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:04.960 Not because he didn't know, but because he did know. 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:11.199 And this whole thing, this whole thing, even though it happened in real life, I believe with certainty that this was a real life event. 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:17.360 It is a living picture, it is a living metaphor of God's relationship with his people. 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:20.639 And this isn't just the story of Hosea and his wife. 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:26.160 It's not even just the story of God and Israel, it's the story of God and us. 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:29.040 The book of Hosea is a love story. 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:33.040 It's a messy, messy love story, but it's a love story nonetheless. 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:39.279 And it shows us something special about how God feel towards us, how God feels towards us and his love towards us. 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:45.920 And I believe the book of Hosea really teaches us this: that God's love is a love that comes looking. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:48.560 So today let's look at Hosea's story. 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:54.079 Let's look at our story, and let's look how God's love is looking for us too. 00:04:54.240 --> 00:05:02.240 As we open up to Hosea chapter one, we realize that we can know that nothing about you surprises God. 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:04.800 Know that nothing about you surprises God. 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:05.759 What do I mean by that? 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:07.600 Well, let's take a look at what the text says. 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:09.519 Are you guys ready for the word of God this morning? 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:10.480 Let's get it. 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:10.959 Let's get it. 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:11.360 Here we go. 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:13.120 Hosea chapter 1, verse 2. 00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:20.079 The Bible tells us this when the Lord first spoke through Hosea, he said to him, Go and marry a prostitute. 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:21.120 Now hold up. 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:22.879 Hold up, hold up. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:24.319 I know I just read it. 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:28.399 I know it's the Bible, but like, like let it sink in for a second, okay? 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:34.160 The Lord, God, I mean, he spoke through Hosea, his prophet, his seer, his mouthpiece, right? 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:51.839 He said to him, Go and marry a prostitute who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution, because the nation continually commits spiritual prostitution by turning away from the Lord. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:53.920 I told you guys parental advisory for this message. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:55.920 I gave you guys a fair warning about that. 00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:00.720 God tells his prophet that he used to go and marry a woman who was a prostitute. 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:06.160 I mean, you thought you heard of bad pastors' wives in today's day and age, but like that ain't nothing, honestly. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:11.759 He got into this marriage knowing that she would cheat on him. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:15.120 He doesn't say maybe she'll bear illegitimate children. 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:22.000 She says, She will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution, right? 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:25.519 That's not an ignorance, that's an intentional decision. 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:29.439 And God knew about it and told Hosea, This is what you're gonna do. 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:32.560 Eventually, though, his wife bears a son. 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:38.240 And we see in Hosea chapter 1, verse 3 so he went and he married Gomer, who he obeyed the Lord, he obeyed God. 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:44.959 Gomer is the name of his wife, she was the daughter of Didlaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:48.000 The story starts off pretty okay. 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:53.759 He obeys the Lord, he walks into the ways of the Lord, and he goes and he marries Gomer, his wife. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:57.519 And they have marital relations and they have a child. 00:06:57.680 --> 00:06:58.800 She bore him a son. 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:03.040 But this is where the language shifts a little bit as we continue to read into the story. 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:13.199 Because when it talks about how the next few children are conceived, they have three total children in all, the language shifts. 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:14.240 Check it out. 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:18.560 It says, She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:22.560 The previous verse, it talked about how she bore a son to Hosea. 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:26.639 But notice now there's somebody missing in this whole equation. 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:31.040 If you taught your kids birds and the bees, you know it takes two to tango, so to speak. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:38.879 But Hosea, her husband, isn't involved at all with the creation of these next two children. 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:50.560 It's just as the Lord said Gomer went, and because of her prostitution, she had sex with men other than her husband and conceived two illegitimate children. 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:57.199 And I know it's Bible, and I know it's like, you know, this is the holy word, but like, think about it, really, right? 00:07:57.839 --> 00:07:59.600 This is a relationship. 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:00.800 This is real life. 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:11.040 Can you imagine the heartbreak that you would feel if you were Hosea living with somebody, loving them, giving everything that you can to provide for them? 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:20.560 And then at the end of the day, you knew, you knew that they ran off with another guy and had sex with them behind your back and bore illegitimate children. 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:26.079 God says, that's what Israel has done to me. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:36.080 This whole story is a metaphor, it's an object lesson, it's a real life thing, but it is a metaphor, it's a living picture of the same way that Hosea loves his wife. 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:40.799 God loves Israel, and God loves us as well. 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:47.360 The Israelites, they have run after other gods, it explicitly says Baal, Molech, Dagon, Ashtaroth. 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:50.559 They have run towards other gods, storm gods, pleasure gods. 00:08:50.639 --> 00:09:05.120 They have sex in the temple prostitutes, they sacrifice their children so that they can have rain, even though God was the same God who liberated them out of the land of Egypt, who established a covenant with them, who said, You will be my people and I will be your God. 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:14.799 He paid the price, he liberated them, and now that they are in the promised land, their hearts have started to drift away towards other gods. 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:21.919 But God knew when he made that covenant that that's what they were going to do. 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:23.919 God is an all-knowing God. 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:27.679 He knows everything, past, present, and future. 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:33.440 He knew that they would be unfaithful, but he still chose to have a covenant with them. 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:43.600 He still said, Even though I know, even though I know your heart is going to drift and go towards other gods, that continually you are going to be in the issue. 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:56.879 You're going to be a thorn in my side because you continually spit in my face and you continually disobey my laws and kill my prophets, even though the Israelites knew that they were going to do that, and God knew the Israelites were going to do that. 00:09:57.120 --> 00:10:01.759 He still went and he still said, I will be your God and you will be my people. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:05.360 And here's the thing. 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:16.080 When Jesus went and died for us, he knew that we would still struggle with sin too. 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:21.919 He knows he is the all-seeing God, the all-knowing God. 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:25.519 Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. 00:10:25.759 --> 00:11:06.639 And when he went up on that cross, when he finally laid his life down, when he sacrificed himself and he bled dying on a Roman cross, in that moment he knew everything in the past, everything in the present, and everything in the future that we would do that when our hearts start to drift away from God, when we define morality on our own terms, when we succumb to our own temptations, when we do it because we think nobody's watching and we can just get away with it, he knows it, he knew it, and he still decided to sacrifice himself on our behalf anyway. 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:15.919 The same way that God told Hosea, hey, this woman you're marrying is going to cheat on you, will bear illegitimate children. 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:22.799 God knew, Hosea knew, but he still married her anyway, because there's no surprises with God. 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:28.480 And when Jesus was carrying up that cross to Mount Calvary, he knew that we would fail him. 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:35.759 He knew that we would rebel against him, but he still went and he still died for us anyway. 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:50.720 Every compromise, every time we start to drift, every act of defiance, every moment that we think that we can get away with it, he knows about it, but he still chooses to love us anyway. 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:55.840 He still cares for us and he still died for us so that we could receive forgiveness. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:58.159 God's not surprised when we fail him. 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:00.720 God's not shocked when we defy him. 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:07.440 So here's the question: why do we try so hard to hide it? 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:10.320 Why do we try so hard to conceal it? 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:14.720 He already knows he's an omniscient, all-seeing, all-knowing God. 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:18.960 So why do we try so hard to put up a mask up in front of other Christians? 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:23.200 Why do we try so hard to put a mask up like everything's all right in church? 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:28.399 When he knows how we just drift away from him. 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:30.879 Why not just come clean? 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:33.279 Because he already knows anyway. 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:36.399 God's not surprised when we fail him. 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:38.960 God's not shocked when we sin. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:43.759 He knows and he still loves us anyway. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:49.279 That's not ignorance, that's an intentional decision, that's a love that comes looking. 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:56.080 So, with the burden of that knowledge, knowing everything we know about God, what what should we do then? 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:04.399 I would encourage you to do this to name it, to confess it, to turn from it and run to him. 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:06.720 He already knows anyway. 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:08.320 There's no point in hiding it. 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:14.399 So if you come feeling dirty, if you come feeling guilty, if you come feeling burdened, just just name it. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:18.080 Just name it, confess it to him because he already knows. 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:22.320 Turn from it and run straight to him. 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:24.879 Because he already knows anyway. 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:29.360 Hosea didn't discover his wife's unfaithfulness later. 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:34.639 He walked right into that marriage knowing that it would happen, but he still chose to love anyway. 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:35.919 Don't misunderstand. 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:38.399 This kind of love is not an excuse for our sin. 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:40.639 I'm not telling you right now, well, he knows already anyway. 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:41.600 He's gonna love you anyway. 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:42.559 Go and do what you want. 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:44.559 That is not the message I'm preaching today. 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:55.759 What I am saying, though, today is this when we know our sin and we know the destructiveness of it, and we know how it makes God feel about it, it shows us how dangerous it really is. 00:13:55.919 --> 00:14:01.039 And in chapter two, we have to realize that sin takes you further than you think. 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:04.399 Sin will always take you further than you think. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:08.960 Hosea chapter one introduces us to the people involved in this whole story. 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:13.600 We meet Hosea, we meet his wife Gomer, we meet their three children, right? 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:16.879 But Hosea chapter two takes a turn. 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:21.679 You see, what happened was one day Hosea wakes up in his bed. 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:28.480 He turns over, he reaches over for his wife, and she's not there. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:32.559 She's got three young children at home. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:38.639 One of us is two of them illegitimate children, but he loves them like they're his own anyway. 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:44.639 So he's left alone with three kids, and she's run off. 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:48.799 Chapter two takes the structure of a poem. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:15:01.279 It's a poem of lament of how Hosea feels about this betrayal, about Hosea feels how much he loves his wife, but yet she's run off after other men anyway. 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:09.519 And it's a poem of lament of how God feels when his people turn away from him and run to other things as well. 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:12.720 Let's check it up in Hosea chapter 2, verse 5. 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:15.919 It says, Yes, their mother is promiscuous. 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:26.480 She conceived them and acted shamefully, for she thought, I will follow my lovers, the men who give me my food and water, my wool and flax, my oil and drink. 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:31.120 All the things that are listed here, all the things that are bolded right there are material things. 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:32.320 Food and water. 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:34.159 They're necessary for sustenance. 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:40.000 I mean, she's hungry, she's got to eat, she's thirsty, she's got to drink, there's luxuries up there, wool and flax, oil and drink. 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:42.159 There's all those things that are just material things. 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:46.639 She was craving material pleasures, the things this world can supply. 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:56.320 Because even though, as powerful as love is, as powerful as a marital relationship love is, love does turn into action, but love is an emotion. 00:15:56.480 --> 00:16:00.000 Love is something we feel it cannot be grasped. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:04.399 It can't, you can't pay the bills with love, so to speak, right? 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:17.039 So she knew, she had an understanding of how much Hosea loved her, but because she couldn't grasp it, because she couldn't hold it in her hand, she wanted something else. 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:20.480 She thought there's more out there than I'm not getting right here. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:32.879 And so she went and ran after other men, other lovers who supplied her with pleasure, with who supplied her with satisfactions, who supplied her with the things of this world. 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:37.200 As enormous as love is, it's not something you can grasp. 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:45.120 And so she slipped through Hosea's fingers for something that would give her quick satisfaction. 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:48.799 And she left behind the man that loved her the most. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:56.720 Sin, and sin is simply defined as anything we think, anything we say or do that breaks God's law. 00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:03.759 Anything that we do that we know God says this is right, this is wrong, and we say, I don't know about that. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:14.480 Sin always makes promises, pleasure, freedom, fulfillment, control. 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:21.119 And for a time, for a time, it feels like it's right. 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:24.720 I mean, Satan wouldn't be able to tempt us if sin didn't feel good. 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:33.440 But it always, it never, it never delivers what it advertises. 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:39.519 Sin overpromises and under-delivers every single time. 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:43.279 We read the next verse, Hosea 2, verse 6. 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:45.759 It says this, therefore, this is what I will do. 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:52.640 I will block her way with thorns, I will enclose her in a wall so that she cannot find her paths. 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:56.799 She will pursue her lovers, but not catch them. 00:17:57.519 --> 00:18:01.119 She will look for them, but not find them. 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:04.559 God says she's gonna chase, but she's not gonna overtake. 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:08.799 She's gonna seek, but she's not gonna find, like a dog trying to chase after a car. 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:10.480 I mean, it's trying its best. 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:13.839 I don't know what's gonna happen when the dog stinks, it's gonna reach up to the car. 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:17.039 It's gonna run and it's gonna run, but it's never gonna catch it. 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:18.880 It's like when you're running on a treadmill. 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:21.920 You're gonna go and you're gonna go and you're gonna go, but you're never gonna get anywhere. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:23.759 You're just running for the sake of running. 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:25.440 She's running in the rat race. 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:27.759 She's part of the system of this world. 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:29.759 She is going nowhere. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:32.000 She's chasing after freedom. 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:39.759 She's chasing after what she thinks will give her satisfaction and fulfillment and pleasure, but she's not going to find them. 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:46.240 She thought she was running towards freedom, but all she found was captivity. 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:55.519 She was trying to find pleasure, but all she found was the consequences of her actions. 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:02.160 Because sin always looks good, but it never shows us the consequences. 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:03.839 What do I mean by that? 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:06.799 How many guys and ladies like fishing? 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:08.559 How many fishers do we have in the room right over here? 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:09.119 There we go. 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:09.680 There we go. 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:11.519 We got some excited fishermen right there. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:12.319 Well, check it out. 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:14.240 To go fishing, you need a few things, right? 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:18.079 You need a fishing rod, you need a bobber, you need a hook, and what else do you need? 00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:20.079 You need bait, worms. 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:20.799 That's right. 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:22.000 So check it out. 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:25.200 If you go fishing and you cast your reel, right? 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:30.559 You cast your uh and you go and it's just a hook, are you gonna get any bites? 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:31.759 Probably not. 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:34.559 Probably not, unless it's a really silly fish. 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:37.519 Okay, but why is that? 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:45.119 Because when the fish see the hook, all they see is if I bite that, it's gonna be a bad time, right? 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:50.640 But when you put a little wiggly worm on there, when you put a little piece of fish on there, and we can show the picture up on the screen. 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:53.440 When you put a little thing on there, right? 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:56.160 The fish ain't looking at the hook. 00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:57.279 What's it looking at? 00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:01.200 What captures the attention, the eyes, the worm, the bait, right? 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:04.960 Because the fish, all fishes think about is where am I gonna breed? 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:06.000 Where am I gonna eat? 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:07.920 That's all fishes think about, right? 00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:16.000 So when it's looking for its next meal and it sees a little wiggly worm out in the middle of the water, it says, Oh boy, my next piece of meat right here. 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:18.960 I'm gonna go, I'm gonna bite down on that, right? 00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:23.359 And when it bites down on the worm that's attached to the hook, what happens? 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:26.720 That hook goes through the roof of its mouth, and now it's captured. 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:28.640 It ain't going nowhere. 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:38.000 That fish now is enslaved, it's captured, and when you finally reel it on up, it's in the frying pan the next day. 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:42.480 It thought it was looking for food, now it is food, right? 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:49.440 Here's the thing that we need to get from this sin will never show you the hook. 00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:53.440 Sin's not gonna show you the hook, it's gonna show you the worm. 00:20:55.440 --> 00:21:01.519 Pornography is a blight on mankind's connection with God at this moment in time. 00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:11.200 Both men and women, both men and women are running away from the God they love for a few minutes of pleasure on this thing right here. 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:20.799 It of course it never shows you the hook of the fact that scientists have done studies and addiction to pornography is just as addictive. 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:25.839 This is a chemical imbalance in your brain that is similar to addictions to cocaine and methamphetamine. 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:34.319 It never shows you the hook that addiction to pornography will always affect your relationship to the people that you love the most. 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:38.079 No, it's gonna show you a couple minutes of pleasure, and there you go. 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:39.359 There's no consequence of that. 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:41.839 There's no hook to that, but it's a lie. 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:50.000 When you lie, you always either get caught or you have to tell more lies to cover yourself up. 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:53.599 When you gossip, it always leads to broken trust. 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:59.759 When you lash out in anger towards somebody, you feel justified, but it always leads to resentment. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.759 In your relationships. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:12.240 When we're bitter at somebody, it always leads to us drinking poison, and the only person that we hurt is us because we decided my sense of justice was wronged. 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:14.319 I need to hold on to this thing. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:17.119 Sin will never show you the hook. 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:19.759 It always shows you what you think you want. 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:24.640 What started with, I just want this, ends with, I can't get out. 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:31.920 Gomer chased after a quick fix, after satisfaction, and we can chase for that quick fix of sin too. 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:40.160 We can walk away from the God that loves us, the God that died for us for just a quick few minutes of satisfaction on this thing. 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:44.000 But it always leads to consequences. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:46.480 And that's what happened to Israel too. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:52.240 They didn't listen to Hosea, they didn't listen to the prophets that God sent to talk to them. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:54.880 They flew away from God. 00:22:54.960 --> 00:23:00.079 They wanted away from God and it ended up to judgment and it ended up in exile. 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:04.079 Because what you thought brought freedom becomes bondage. 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:06.720 What you thought, well, like, oh well, whatever. 00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:07.920 I can just do what I want. 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:10.160 Ends up in you being enslaved. 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:15.920 What felt exciting will just lead you to feeling empty. 00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:31.119 In the same way you see the story of Jose and Gomer, you see the story of a woman leaving her husband, leaving her family, leaving behind uh everything that she had, leaving behind a home, a love that she could never comprehend. 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:37.039 We see stories like this, we see tales like this of people doing that, and we think, how could she? 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:39.279 How could she do that? 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:41.279 She had everything. 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:43.680 How could she walk away from that? 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:54.799 But it's stories like this, it's parts like this in the Bible that cause us to hold a mirror up to our faces, that cause us to have a moment of introspection, a moment of self-reflection. 00:23:54.960 --> 00:24:02.240 And we have to ask ourselves, why do I, why do I keep running to things that have never loved me back? 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:10.799 Instead of running towards the God that loves me, and demonstrably so through the death on the cross, the God that took the initiative to come die for me. 00:24:10.880 --> 00:24:17.039 Why do I keep running to things, to pleasures, to objects that have never loved me back? 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:30.079 And that's when we realize in this story we're not Hosea, we're not the prophet of God, we're the prostitute, we're Gomer, we're the ones who suffer the consequences of our own actions. 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:33.680 But God's love is a love that comes looking for us. 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:36.400 He's not gonna force his way in our heart, though. 00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:39.039 We have to let ourselves be found by him. 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:47.519 And we have to realize that in him, in him is what we've been looking for all along, anyway. 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:58.240 And if the story ended here, if the story ended here, it would be completely justified. 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:02.799 Hosea was left by his wife. 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:05.839 His wife suffered the consequences of her own action. 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:09.599 By the time we reach chapter three, she's being sold in a slave market. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:17.599 And if we ended right there, everything would be right in this world because she suffered the consequences of her own actions. 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:19.759 She got what she deserved. 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:22.720 But the story doesn't end there, guys. 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:25.039 There's still chapter three of Hosea. 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:30.160 Judgment isn't the end of Gomer's story, and it's not the end of our story either. 00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:36.079 Because when we read chapter three, we learn that we can embrace a love that comes looking. 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:41.279 Hosea chapter three might be one of the most beautiful passages in all of the Old Testament. 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:52.240 It starts like this The Lord said to me, Go and show your love to your wife again, even though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:58.079 Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, even though they turn to other gods. 00:25:58.319 --> 00:26:03.839 So I paid fifteen shekels of silver and about seven bushels of barley to purchase her. 00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:09.680 Like I said, by the time we reach chapter three, Gomer is being sold in a sex slave market. 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:19.440 Whether it's through debt or exploitation, it doesn't matter because she now has a price tag around her head. 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:33.920 The prophet of God, the holy man, the mouthpiece for God of the nations, had to walk through the town, everyone knowing what type of woman his wife was, everyone knowing what his wife did to betray him. 00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:45.599 He had to walk through the town, go into the brothel, into the prostitution ring, into the place where sex slaves were being sold, and he had to purchase back his wife. 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:49.759 And on top of it, this wasn't even a good deal. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.319 Because what happened was this is that, can we put up the last verse actually real quick? 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:55.200 Check out the price. 00:26:55.279 --> 00:26:57.440 It says 15 shekels of silver. 00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:00.880 15 shekels is about 300 bucks. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:10.400 And but the thing to understand is this is that typically in the Bible, in those Near Eastern times, the price for a slave, for a human slave, was 30 pieces of silver. 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:13.599 Remember, when Jesus was being betrayed, how much was he betrayed for? 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:14.799 30 pieces of silver. 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:16.400 That's the going rate price. 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:24.960 So Gomer went to these men who claimed that, hey, we'll give you pleasure, hey, we'll give you sex, hey, we'll give you food and water and flax and wool and oil and all that stuff. 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:26.240 We're gonna give that all to you. 00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:33.920 By the end of the time that they that she had spent with them, they chewed her up, spat her out, and said, half price, she's damaged goods. 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:36.000 Throw in some barley, we'll call it a deal. 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:45.839 So now, so now what will Hosea do? 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:48.720 Put yourself in his shoes. 00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:54.079 You were betrayed by this person, cheated on by this person. 00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:58.960 They bore children that you knew were born through illicit means. 00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:05.039 She had sex with men, different men, and twice she had children that were theirs, not yours. 00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:09.599 She took your love and threw it away. 00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:12.400 She said, What you can give me, it's not enough. 00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:14.640 I need to go seek after other guys. 00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:18.960 Think of how Hosea felt in this moment. 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:22.880 Think of how you would feel in his shoes at this moment. 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:25.839 You paid the price, 300 bucks and some barley. 00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:39.119 You went, and now the door was open, and right in front of you in chains, in the filth, in the brothel, as a sex slave, was the person who betrayed you. 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:43.359 What would Hosea do? 00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:54.079 The word of God says, I will allure her, and I will speak tenderly to her. 00:28:54.960 --> 00:29:01.119 He wraps his arms around her and says, You will dwell as mine. 00:29:03.119 --> 00:29:12.799 No condemnation, no humiliation, a tender love, a love that comes looking. 00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:27.759 Even though biblically within his right, because she cheated on him, he would fully have been in the right to divorce her because he was in the right, he paid the price, he was fully in the right of saying, You're gonna be my slave the rest of my days. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:30.240 You're gonna live in my house, but you're not gonna be my wife. 00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:31.519 You don't deserve to be anymore. 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:32.480 You're gonna be my slave. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:37.200 He was fully in the right to be able to do that, but he chose a different route. 00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:45.680 He didn't let her be defined by her actions, he let her be defined by her relationship. 00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:47.680 He chose another route. 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:49.200 He chose love. 00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:51.440 And it wasn't forgiveness. 00:29:51.680 --> 00:29:55.119 It wasn't just forgiveness, it was a restored relationship. 00:29:55.440 --> 00:30:02.000 Remember, at the end of the day, at the end of the day, that's Hosea's wife, man. 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:05.200 That's the one who he said, till death do us part. 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:10.240 That's the one he said, that's gonna be the woman that I'm gonna I'm gonna be with until the day I die. 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:13.279 Doesn't matter what happens, he made a covenant with her. 00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:18.079 And he said, at the end of the day, that's my wife, and that's exactly how I'm gonna treat her. 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:30.240 And when God treats us in that way, when God discovers us in our own filth, when God discovers us in the actions of the consequences of our own actions, what does he say to us? 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:33.599 He doesn't say, you can come back, but it's never gonna be the same. 00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:38.160 Even though he would be fully justified in doing so, he doesn't say that. 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:40.000 What does he say towards us? 00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:47.039 He says, I will love you forever, and nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:57.680 Because God doesn't define you by your actions, he defines you by his relationship to your relationship to him. 00:30:57.920 --> 00:31:07.279 And the Bible says, when you have put your faith in the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ, that you have become a child of God. 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:13.599 You have become a co-heir with Christ, you have been adopted in the family, and you can call him father. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:20.000 And when we do that, when we become God's child, he treats us like we're his child. 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:29.279 He treats us that because of the blood of Jesus, we are a member of his family and he will always relentlessly pursue us. 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:32.400 You might be thinking, Well, where are you getting all this Jesus stuff? 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:33.200 Where are you talking about? 00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:37.200 Well, I'm glad you asked because Hosea chapter 3, verse 5 explicitly mentions him. 00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:42.799 The Bible tells us afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and who? 00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:44.640 David, their king. 00:31:44.880 --> 00:32:04.000 Here's the thing to get all the Old Testament, all of the book of Hosea is pointing to a singular person who would come, who would crush the head of the serpent, who would come and redeem mankind, who would show them the way, who would be born of Bethlehem, born of a virgin, everlasting Father, eternal God, who would be of the Davidic line, who would rule on the heavens and the earth. 00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:08.319 This is the one person, the Messiah, and it's the person of Jesus Christ. 00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:10.480 He's the main character of the whole Bible. 00:32:10.640 --> 00:32:20.000 And when the whole of Hosea and the whole of the Old Testament is pointing to this one person, we ought to pay attention. 00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:23.200 We don't come looking for him. 00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:33.359 Like Hosea, he took the initiative. 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:40.559 But unlike Hosea, Jesus didn't pay with 15 pieces of silver and some barley. 00:32:41.119 --> 00:32:42.559 He paid with his blood. 00:32:45.119 --> 00:32:49.119 He made the sacrifice and we reap the benefits from it. 00:32:49.359 --> 00:32:57.759 At the cross, Jesus purchased back people who had sold themselves out to lesser lovers, to approval, to sex, to success, to control. 00:32:57.839 --> 00:33:04.079 And instead of shaming us, he invites us into a new relationship, a new definition of who we are. 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:09.839 The Bible says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:12.960 The old has passed away, and see the new has come. 00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:18.799 And the Bible tells us that if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. 00:33:18.960 --> 00:33:20.960 Can I get a hallelujah for that? 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:27.200 He doesn't just rescue us from slavery, he restores us into a relationship. 00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:43.119 And there are people in this room who are carrying a heavy burden, who are coming feeling shameful, dirty, who are coming feeling something that you know you have hidden from everybody else, but you feel the moving of the Holy Spirit, and you know that you feel the conviction of your sin in your life. 00:33:43.599 --> 00:33:46.160