Experiencing the Depths of Grace – Part 2
Hosea, Gomer,
and Us!
The Book of
Hosea
|
Experiencing the Depths of Grace – Part 2
Hosea, Gomer,
and Us!
The Book of
Hosea |
|
July 19, 2015 AM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I.
Introduction
(Romans 5:6-10; 3:23,24)
A.
It is a
self-evident truth, that we all sin – whether you admit it or not!
1.
We all do things
that are clearly wrong (lie, steal, lust, rebel, hate, disobey, dishonour…)
2.
Even if sinful
things have become accepted, and the norm today, they still are wrong, and still
going to be judged by God one day!
3.
So, we all
definitely sin. Some more than others, some less. But we all break God’s laws
B.
And, we all fall
way short of the glory and perfection of God in heaven, completely unable to
restore ourselves – completely unable to earn forgiveness – completely unable to
repair all the damage that we produce!
C.
The truth is,
THAT is where WE live – way down here – far from God, separated from God, and in
trouble with God!
D.
Listen to Romans
5:6-10
1.
Rom 5:6
For when we were yet without strength, in due time
Christ died for the ungodly.
2.
Rom 5:7
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a
good man some would even dare to die.
3.
Rom 5:8
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us.
(Not for other people, but US)!
4.
Rom 5:9
Much more then, being now
justified by his blood (the loss of it when he died on the cross), we shall
be saved from wrath through him.
5.
Rom 5:10
For if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life.
6.
Isn’t all of
that awesome?! It is to me!
E.
Let’s ponder
Romans 3:23,24
1.
Romans 3:23 is
who we are – we are all familiar with it
a.
ALL
b.
Have sinned
c.
Come short of
the glory of God, and will miss ever reaching God on our own
d.
Like a Pole
Vaulting Jumper
2.
Romans 3:24
tells us who God is – not so familer with this verse
a.
A justifier,
protector
b.
Lover of such
sinful people
c.
Redeemer of
people so far in debt
d.
All at His own
expense – costs us nothing!
e.
When we should
experience His justice and wrath… And by the way, we will if something doesn’t
change about us!
f.
Yet, here is
where we experience God’s grace.
g.
Here is where
God finds us, loves us, and redeems us, and brings us back to Himself
F.
But wait just a
minute!
1.
Why kind of a
person would deserve such faithful, undying love that never stops trying to
bring us back?
2.
Absolutely no
one.
3.
That’s why it is
available to everyone!
G.
This morning,
and for the next few weeks, let’s take a look at just how LOW God’s grace can go
– how deep it can reach INTO OUR SINFUL life and minds and hearts
H.
And let’s see if
it can change the worst of people, like God promises that it can
I.
In this series
of studies, let’s discover three great truths
1.
Last time, two
weeks ago, we saw The kind of people that God loves (Hosea 1,2)
2.
This morning…
The kind of hurt that we cause God (Hosea 3-5)
3.
The amazing way
that grace heals (Hosea 6-14)
II.
Review (Hosea
1:1)
A.
God needed a
Prophet
– a very special preacher, to be an example
B.
Spoke to and
called a very special man, named Hosea
1.
Name means
Jehovah Saves – just like Joshua, and JESUS
2.
He was a prophet
who
a.
Preached and
warned for 60 years
b.
Lived through 6
kings (5 in Israel, and 1 in Judah)
c.
Was about to be
commanded to do the hardest things imaginable
C.
To love someone
who didn’t love him back. To remain faithful to someone who was unfaithful to
him.
D.
All so that
everyone can see themselves for who THEY really are!
1.
Too often, we
miss what God is saying in the Bible because we don’t see ourselves and our
sins.
2.
The book of
Hosea describes God trying to get people to see ourselves, our sin, and the
amazing grace that God extends towards us!
3.
I think you will
be quite surprised just how we truly are
E.
Throughout the
Bible, there is only ONE theme…
1.
God faithfully
loving unfaithful, unworthy people!
2.
Quite lying to
yourself that you are so good and so faithful to God
3.
If the truth be
known, we are all as an unclean thing.
4.
And WHY God
loves any one of us is beyond comprehension!
F.
So Hosea…,
a prophet of God, a godly man, a faithful man, a man who had waited on God to
direct his every step, and a man who trusted God to bring him a godly wife that
would serve God together with him… this
same Hosea, was directed to go, and find, and then love, and even marry a harlot
– a whore – an adulteress woman! A woman who did not love him, and who could
not be trusted to remain faithful to him!
G.
So Hosea Obeyed
(Hosea 1:3)
1.
As wrong as it
was. And it WAS wrong!
2.
As hard as it
must have been. And believe me, it WAS hard!
3.
He still went
out, into the highways and hedges, to the red light districts…
4.
He found a
woman.
5.
Her name, Gomer
- Her name meant, The End, Finished
6.
Truly married
her. Loved her.
7.
And for the
moment, she married him. Went through all the motions
H.
They Had Three
Children (Hosea 1:3-9)
1.
Call the boy
“Jezreel”
a.
The name meant,
“Judgment is Coming”
b.
Kingdom of
Israel shall CEASE!
2.
She had a second
child
a.
Loruhamah. “No
mercy!”
b.
God will now
utterly take Israel (the Northern Kingdom) away from all the blessings of God,
the land, the presence of God, and the promises of God
c.
Yet God will
remains faithful to the people of Judah
3.
Third son
a.
Loammi. “You are
not my people.” Israel is no longer God’s people
b.
I am not their
God anymore, so they will no longer be my people!
4.
Remember, this
FAMILY of five would move and live amongst the people of Israel
a.
And they would
hear those names being called throughout every day as they went shopping, and
working, and just walking
b.
Gomer!!! Get the
baby!
c.
Jezreel, get the
cows!
d.
Loruhamah! Make
sure you get some milk from the market!
e.
Lo-ammi! Be home
by sunset!
f.
Hosea! Wait up
for us!
g.
And the people
constantly heard…
FINISHED, JUDGMENT IS COMING, NO MORE MERCY, NOT MY PEOPLE, and JEHOVAH SAVE US!
I.
Why Did God Use
Hosea This Way? (Hosea 2:1-5)
What God Meant
By Hosea Seeking and Marrying an Harlot
1.
To get this
stubborn people to talk about Hosea and Gomer and their three children like
gossipers until they start to understand the parable! This messed up family
would be the talk of the town and of the entire nation!
The fastest news to travel is a scandal!
2.
To show the
nation of Israel…
a.
They really did
not want God
b.
They had no
interest in staying with Him, and loving Him
c.
They loved other
gods, other things, even themselves – just not Him
d.
They were all a
generation that had grown up without God!
e.
Just like today!
3.
The people
needed to see just how awful THEIR sin against GOD was!
a.
THEY,
Israel, as a nation, had played the
harlot on God!
b.
What an awful
thing to expose!
c.
They had gotten
bored with God, and left God, totally abandoned Him just like an unfaithful wife
walks out on her husband!
d.
Didn’t love God,
just played along. Just numb.
e.
Folks, there
really is no life or love outside of God’s love
f.
Shame
g.
She is addicted
to her way of life
h.
She is in love
not with the idols/men, but with what she can get out of the false gods
4.
And the people
needed to hear just how much trouble they were in with God
(Hosea 2:2-5)
a.
As a faithful
husband or a faithful wife used to be able to do!
b.
Nowadays, it
seems no one really fears the consequences of adultery
1)
It is part of
most every TV program
2)
Unfaithful love
is the only kind of love that seems to get all the attention in movies
c.
But God’s
judgment will be severe – Jezreel
d.
God will not
have mercy at that day – Loruhammah
e.
God will divorce
Himself from His people – Lo-ammi – at least for a while!
f.
They will lose
everything God ever gave them! God warned that he would Strip them of all their
beauty, outward riches, and even of Himself!
g.
What a dangerous
situation
h.
Fear God ladies
and gentlemen, FOR YOUR CHILDREN’S SAKE!
i.
Compare Laodicea
in Rev 3:14-19
J.
God makes a
promise… to KEEP His Promise! (Hosea 1:10,11)
1.
The promise of
God to Abraham, 1000 years earlier will still come true! God WILL REMAIN
FAITHFUL. But how?
2.
God will yet
make these who are NOT His people, into his people AGAIN one day!
3.
Make them not
just sons of Israel…
4.
But SONS of the
living God!
5.
And the divided
tribes will be one nation again!
6.
One head. One
king
7.
All one day. By
the day of Jezreel. By Armageddon!
III.
Background
(James 4:1-4)
A.
A strong rebuke!
1.
These are tough,
convicting words
2.
An old black
preacher used to say, “I jes’ says it like I see’s it!”
3.
Well, same here.
I am just going to say it like I see’s it!
B.
Written to
believers – to CHRISTIANS!
People who claim to follow Jesus Christ, who CLAIM to love Him supremely!
C.
Look at the
culture that Jewish Christianity in Israel in the first century had become
1.
Warring amongst
themselves
2.
Lusting for
things, possessions
3.
Killing,
murdering! How can that be? And yet it was happening!
4.
Demanding
things, never praying or asking
5.
They had become
just like the world around them
6.
And God calls
them Adulterers and Adulteresses!
D.
What are
Adulteress Christians?
1.
He is an
adulterer that removes his affections from his own wife, and sets them upon
another woman
2.
She is an
adulteress that loves not her husband, but places her love upon another man
a.
Flirting, being
happy with someone else but cold towards your husband or wife
b.
Spending the
majority of your time AWAY from your wife or husband, and with others
3.
So, such men and
women are adulterers and adulteresses, who, instead of loving God, whom they
ought to love with all their hearts and souls, set their affections upon the
world, and the things of it.
a.
Your TV
b.
Your hobby
c.
Your friends,
especially unsaved friends
d.
Your sport and
team
e.
Your computer
games
4.
Our friendship
with the world, our flirting, our attention, our affections…
5.
They are very
hurtful to the God we claim to love and follow
6.
Can anyone else
see that?
E.
Could this be
the reason for the Silence of God today?
F.
The lack of joy
amongst Christians?
G.
Can such people
truly be restored to God?
H.
The answer to
all three questions is Yes.
I.
Because as deep
as sin can go, God’s grace can go deeper!
IV.
Message (Hosea
Chapters 3-6)
A.
Another ‘Go’!
(Hosea 3:1)
1.
The first ‘Go’
was hard enough!
a.
At the first
‘Go’
b.
Hosea had been
commanded to go and get Gomer and love her and marry her
c.
He had had 3
children by her
d.
And now we find
out she has stepped out on him, and is gone
2.
And he is told
to Go yet again!
a.
Again?
b.
Love an
adulteress woman – a woman who loved other men – and not just ‘A’ woman, but his
own WIFE!!!
c.
Love HER again!
d.
Draw her back
again!
3.
How could God
ask such things of people?
4.
It would be just
too hard for most to forgive and keep trying
5.
So…
a.
Who exactly was
Hosea being asked to love again, and again, and again?
1)
A woman who
didn’t love him to begin with
2)
A woman who by
nature was unfaithful
3)
A woman who was
in someone else’s arms at that very minute
4)
A woman who even
had children by those wicked men
b.
So… who exactly
does the Jehovah God of the Bible attempt to love again and again and again???
1)
People who don’t
love Him to begin with
2)
People who by
nature was unfaithful
3)
People who are
in love and giving all themselves to another person, sport, thing, or other idol
at that very minute
4)
People who even
had fruit by those wicked things
6.
THAT is what God
wants us to see in ourselves!!!
B.
The Higher Cost
(Hosea 3:2)
1.
It was hard the
first time God commanded him
2.
Now it is even
harder
a.
The fact that
his wife had left him and did not want to be with him, freed him to divorce her
and seek another wife
b.
That is obvious.
That is why God allows divorce – because we humans are not superhuman
3.
And it
physically, materially cost Hosea to get her back
a.
GOMER should be
made to pay the price…
b.
And believe me
she already has!
c.
You always will
pay the piper, folks! Sin never is free!
d.
She was now so
mistreated, so abused, that she had ended up in debt to some man
e.
The price Hosea
had to pay was shameful
f.
This woman was
for sale!
g.
Her own doing –
not like the slave trade of the Muslims
4.
Hosea’s wife’s
price?
a.
15 silver coins
b.
A bushel and a
half of Barley – that is about 1 ½ buckets of grain
c.
That doesn’t
sound like much – half the price of a slave!
d.
But that was how
far Gomer had devalued her own life
1)
To lower than a
slave
2)
To someone who
was only used, abused and thrown away
3)
Trash
e.
The highest cost
was a lot of humiliation for Hosea – Hosea had to go and GET what was his
already!
5.
You all know of
the Prodigal Son in the Bible (Luke 15:12-16)
a.
Luk 15:12
And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion
of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
b.
Luk 15:13
And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took
his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous
living.
c.
Luk 15:14
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and
he began to be in want.
d.
Luk 15:15
And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent
him into his fields to feed swine.
e.
Luk 15:16
And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did
eat: and no man gave unto him.
6.
Well, you are
reading the story of God’s Prodigal Wife
a.
Took all the
best of her life – all that God had given to her – all the health and strength
and heart and beauty and talent, and strength
b.
And wasted it on
other men than her Husband
c.
She had walked
AWAY from her husband
d.
And now she was
losing it all
e.
She that had
scaled the top of pleasure and fun, had now gone all the way down to the bottom,
and was standing, shamed on an auction block!
f.
But it was at
the bottom that God had Hosea go and find his wife!!!
C.
A Necessary
Isolation
(Hosea 3:3-5)
1.
God didn’t ask
Hosea to just act like nothing had happened when he took her back
a.
Yes, he had to
seek her
b.
Yes he had to
love her again
c.
Yes he had to
forgive her
d.
But things had
to change – she needed help to change
e.
How was that
going to happen?
2.
A
Get Away for Gomer – a careful
separation – not a divorce
a.
Separated from
each other for a time
1)
From other men
2)
From even her
husband
b.
Not really
punishment, but something like Camp, like a Camping Trip – maybe best understood
as a grounding!
1)
Time away from
friends
2)
From your phone
3)
From the TV
4)
From all the
places and people that used to be such easy places to fall and sin
5)
Kids AND adults
do well when they have to actually do with very little instead of all the
“things” and people that they think they have to have to be happy!
c.
You may think
that is terrible – so cruel
d.
But let me ask
you what this wife had done?
1)
Violated her
marriage – brought other men into her bed!
2)
A marriage
covenant is a super serious commitment!
3)
What a joke that
the queers want to claim marriage!!!
4)
The sad truth is
so many marriages are flimsy pieces of paper anyway today
5)
The SAME is true
of Christians! No serious covenant with GOD ALMIGHTY!
e.
Why do we so
often ignore what people have done, and say that almost every form of chastening
and punishment is cruel?
f.
Could it be that
deep down we all are guilty and do not want to have to face such things????
g.
Gomer needed a
separation from everything for a while
h.
Just like Israel
needed the same kind of separation
3.
Abide
a.
Stay a certain
way for a while – alone
1)
No friends
2)
No lovers
3)
Not able to play
the harlot anymore
4)
No longer
available to other lustful men
b.
Israel would be
without…
1)
Without ANY word
from God for a while – turns out to be 400 years of silence. They would have to
go back to the written words they already had, and start obeying them!
2)
No prophet
giving them any words of encouragement
3)
No vision
showing them the way out of their pit they were now in
4)
No false gods
either – teraphim – no more false hopes either
5)
No help of any
kind
6)
Just kept apart
for this while, and left on their own
7)
And that is
exactly what happened for the 400 years before John the Baptist showed up and
started preaching again!
4.
This was God
working things out for good, like He always promises!
a.
It was the best
400 years for them, because it prepared them for the coming of their Messiah!!!
So that they would be ready to hear Him and follow Him and love HIM!
b.
Through all this
God promises not to permanently divorce Israel or go and get anyone else
1)
God promises
still to be for unfaithful Israel
2)
And God promises
to still be for you!
c.
Sometimes,
SOMEtimes, the silence of God is God’s way of helping to humble and quiet you
flesh and old bad habits
d.
Sometimes
aloneness, sorrow, lack, is for a purpose – not to leave you that way, but to
help reset your affections on things above (Col 3:1)
D.
A Serious
Problem – The Controversy
(Hosea 4:1)
1.
God calls it a
great controversy – a big argument - contention
a.
Dispute; debate;
agitation of contrary opinions.
b.
More than just a
difference of opinion, but something serious enough to put into writing.
c.
Like a lawsuit;
a case in which opposing parties contend for their respective claims before a
tribunal.
2.
What was the big
problem? (Luke 20:10-15)
a.
Total rejection
of God – dumped Him
b.
It is a deeper
crime to be unfaithful to God than to any created being.
c.
Israel had no
reverence of their husband – no
honour of him above themselves
d.
Israel had no
desire for truth, or for showing mercy, or to even get to know Him
e.
Wanted only
other lovers, and pleasure – wine and the popular idols of all the other
surrounding countries)
f.
The friendship
of the world is the love of that world; not the rocks and dirt and trees, but
the people, the way of thinking which govern it, the principles which reign
there, the ends that are sought, the amusements and gratifications which
characterize it as distinguished from the church of God. It consists in setting
our hearts on those things; in conforming to them; in making them the object of
our pursuit with the same spirit with which they are sought by those who make no
pretensions to religion.
g.
Is enmity with
God - Is in fact hostility against God, since that world is arrayed against him.
It neither obeys his laws, submits to his claims, nor seeks to honour him. To
love that world is, therefore, to be arrayed against God; and the spirit which
would lead us to this is, in fact, a spirit of hostility to God.
h.
Whosoever
therefore will be a friend of the world - “Whoever” he may be, whether in the
church or out of it. The fact of being a member of the church makes no
difference in this respect, for it is as easy to be a friend of the world in the
church as out of it.
3.
No longer could
God just act like nothing was wrong
4.
God was taking
Israel to Court
E.
Serious
Consequences
(Hosea 4:2-14)
1.
They already
were
experiencing the results of Galatians 6:7.
And it was only going to get worse!
2.
They had
ended up with no morality in their homes, on their streets – no limits
in their society
a.
They were
swearing, cursing each other
b.
Lying to each
other
c.
Killing each
other
d.
Stealing from
each other
e.
Stepping out on
each other – literal adultery going on everywhere
f.
The blood of one
murder was spilling out and touching the blood from another murder!
3.
The
society was languishing - withering
a.
No society can
exist long this way
b.
Left alone, it
only gets worse and worse – it does not turn around
c.
Could you live
very long in a society like that?
d.
Yet THAT is the
kind of society we all are living in TODAY!
4.
Loss of natural
resources
(animals, fish) – all disappearing!
a.
Scientists have
to keep re-engineering foods and crops to feed everyone
b.
The environment
is costing more and more billions to clean up
c.
The cost of
everything is going up and up – you just don’t know it yet! But it will hit us
like a tsunami!
5.
Israel was
headed for ruin as a nation (4:6-11) – and God was behind it all!
6.
Basically, the
nation will experience what they have made God to experience (4:13,14)
a.
Because they
have rejected God, God will now reject them
b.
Because they
have forgotten God, God will forget them
c.
Shame is coming
because they continually humiliated Him
F.
It Was a
Spiritual Problem
(5:4 - 6:1)
1.
Israel’s problem
was a SPIRITUAL problem
a.
Not a problem
with their environment, their upbringing, their education, their economy, their
genes
b.
A problem in the
most important part of them – their spirit
c.
They were filled
NOT with the Spirit of God
d.
But were filled
with the spirit of whoredom (4:12; 5:4) – a demonic spirit driving them away
from God
2.
They did not
know their God – didn’t even want to try to know Him (5:4)
3.
They were FULL
of pride (5:5)
4.
All of that
hindered them from ever being able to find God (5:6)
5.
So, Israel had
much to worry about
a.
God’s anger
(5:12-14)
b.
God’s silence
(5:15)
c.
God’s chastening
(6:1) – God tears at everything they will attempt to do
d.
All until they
got right with Him – then He will heal
G.
God’s Way to Get
Right
(6:1-7)
1.
Hear God’s
Invitation (6:1)
a.
Spoken by the
prophet Hosea, in tears, weeping, that HE had had to do the inviting to his OWN
adulterous wife
b.
Spoken to the
nation of Israel
c.
Jesus continued
to plea, invite (Mt 11:28-30)
d.
He pleaded with
anyone who had an interest in listening!
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” what I am saying and consider it!
e.
Spoke to all
people on an auction block of sin, SOLD under sin (Rom 7:14)
f.
We could never
return to God if he didn’t first invite us!
g.
Think about THAT
for a month! He WANTS us back!!!
h.
I don’t know why
he wants anyone in the first place, as wicked as we ALL are!
2.
Choose to Return
to God - “Let’s return” (6:1)
a.
We all know we
are away from God
b.
You have to be
willing to finally come home, on your own!
c.
No one should
ever have to drag you kicking and screaming
3.
Believe and
Trust (6:1,2)
a.
Just as God has
chastened and corrected us
b.
So will He heal
– what a wonderful promise!
c.
He will do this
because he is not like all the people you have known to let you down and stab
you in the back, and kick you when you are down!
d.
God MUST punish
sin – he would not be just and righteous and trustworthy if he acted like what
we do is OKAY to do!
e.
But God ONLY
seeks to restore what is ruined – not to completely destroy yuou like the devil
wants you to believe!
f.
Believe God –
that He is good, and only doeth good (Ps 119:67,71)
4.
Expect Change
(6:2-4)
a.
We fail because
we don’t expect to change
b.
And if it
weren’t for a really huge event, we never will change!
c.
What is the huge
life-changing event that can change and transform anybody – even hard hearted,
cold, unloving, unfaithful people???
d.
The crucifixion
of the perfect Son of God – the Messiah!
e.
The crucifixion
was a future event that no one could have even dreamed of
f.
But here was
Hosea being given a little view of
1)
Being revived
2)
Being
resurrected
3)
AFTER THREE DAYS
g.
Instead of you
and I being punished for our unfaithfulness…
h.
God’s Messiah
would be rejected, punished, and would die…
i.
IN THE PLACE OF
UNFAITHFUL, UNWORTHY people!
j.
The cross is the
event that changes people!
k.
When you
understand just what GOD was doing there!
5.
Continue On
(6:3)
a.
So many people
slow down, hold back, pull away, because they believe they have lost their joy,
are not having fun, or are not getting as much out of their “Christianity”
b.
But that is
backwards
c.
People lose
their joy because they have slowed down, held back, pulled away – backslid
d.
This principle
is oh so true in a marriage
e.
AND in our
relationship with our Saviour and God!
f.
God gives us
such assurance, and joy…
1)
If we follow on
2)
If we keep going
3)
Keep growing –
closer, and more like the person we love
4)
You can’ty just
live in the same hosue as someone and expect it to make you a good husband or a
good wife
5)
You have to work
at the relationship
6)
Work at
forgiveing
7)
Work at humbling
yourself
8)
Work at
listening
9)
Same with our
relationship with God!
g.
The joy of the
Christian life ebbs and fades based on our continuance
h.
Christ remains
faithful
i.
Your commitments
and your joy should NOT be like the morning dew!!!
j.
This was Paul’s
greatest desire (Philp 3:8-10)
1)
To KNOW the Lord
– more than head knowledge
2)
Intimately,
closely, heart to heart
3)
Not just a
desire, or a head belief, but a life long pursuit
V.
Conclusion
A.
Visualize Hosea…
1.
Hosea went
everywhere, throughout the countryside of Israel, preaching these chapters
2.
Over and over
and over, you could hear him in the markets, at the religious ceremonies, on the
farms, and in the wildernesses
3.
And right beside
him were his three children
4.
And his
unfaithful wife
5.
The people all
knew about Hosea’s family
6.
And as he
preached, they stopped and listened, and the words pierced deep into people’s
hearts
B.
Hear Hosea’s
words
– written by God into this Book for US!
1.
Oh that Hosea’s
words would pierce into OUR hearts
2.
Let us keep
listening as James confronts us as spiritual adulterers and adulteresses today
3.
Our friendship
with the world, our flirting, our attention, our affections
4.
They are very
hurtful to the God we claim to love and follow
C.
Are you like
Gomer?
1.
Naturally
uninterested in God
2.
Always going
away – backsliding?
3.
Hurting God like
an unfaithful wife or husband would hurt YOU!
D.
Did you know God
loves you even though He has been hurt?
1.
With an
everlasting love, and draws you to Him, again and again and again – constantly
going after you like a good shepherd?
2.
He seeks us, and
waits for us to want to seek Him back!
3.
Today, you can
be born again! Changed! Saved from the just and righteous wrath of God
E.
How about the
rest of us who ARE born again, saved… but not growing?
1.
Maybe not
enjoying God Himself, or His words, or his will?
2.
Not really
different than you always have been – no heart for Christ, for the Bible, for
soul-winning, for Church, for God’s people
3.
Things SHOULD
change when you get saved!
4.
Things WILL
change, when you follow, and match your actions to Christ’s!