WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.339 Morning, Village. My name is Kyle Hernandez. 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:08.019 I'm one of the elders and leaders here. I have 00:00:08.019 --> 00:00:11.779 the privilege and honor to share the Word of 00:00:11.779 --> 00:00:14.960 God with you today. Our church is a place where 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:18.480 I deeply cherish. I deeply love and appreciate 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:21.679 each and every one of you. I'm seeing God's hand 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:25.820 working in this place, His Spirit moving. I'm 00:00:25.820 --> 00:00:28.820 so humbled to be a part of it, and I'm so grateful 00:00:28.820 --> 00:00:31.379 that I even have the opportunity to be up here 00:00:31.379 --> 00:00:35.579 with you. I'm grateful that my family came today. 00:00:38.219 --> 00:00:42.460 That speaks so much love. They came last minute 00:00:42.460 --> 00:00:44.060 because we were all hanging out at a barbecue 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:49.939 last night. I feel so grateful and loved. My 00:00:49.939 --> 00:00:52.859 wife is going to come up here and kick us off 00:00:52.859 --> 00:01:07.329 with reading the Scriptures. Hosea chapter 11. 00:01:09.370 --> 00:01:13.189 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out 00:01:13.189 --> 00:01:17.109 of Egypt I called my son. Israel called to the 00:01:17.109 --> 00:01:20.829 Egyptians even as Israel was leaving them. They 00:01:20.829 --> 00:01:24.849 kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings 00:01:24.849 --> 00:01:29.790 to idols. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, 00:01:30.010 --> 00:01:33.849 taking them by the hand, but they never knew 00:01:33.849 --> 00:01:38.980 that I healed them. I led them with human cords, 00:01:39.060 --> 00:01:43.620 with ropes of love. To them I was like one who 00:01:43.620 --> 00:01:48.000 eases the yoke from their jaws. I bent down to 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:52.079 give them food. Israel will not return to the 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:55.120 land of Egypt, and Assyria will be his king, 00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:59.980 because they refuse to repent. A sword will whirl 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:03.480 through his cities. It will destroy and devour 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:06.890 the bars of his gates. because of their schemes. 00:02:07.769 --> 00:02:12.449 My people are bent on turning from me. Though 00:02:12.449 --> 00:02:16.009 they call to him on high, he will not exalt them 00:02:16.009 --> 00:02:21.810 at all. How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can 00:02:21.810 --> 00:02:25.650 I surrender you, Israel? How can I make you like 00:02:25.650 --> 00:02:30.770 Adma? How can I treat you like Zeboam? I have 00:02:30.770 --> 00:02:34.490 had a change of heart. My compassion is stirred. 00:02:35.370 --> 00:02:39.210 I will not vent the full fury of my anger. I 00:02:39.210 --> 00:02:43.430 will not turn back to destroy Ephraim. For I 00:02:43.430 --> 00:02:48.810 am God and not man, the Holy One among you. I 00:02:48.810 --> 00:02:52.870 will not come in rage. They will follow the Lord. 00:02:53.069 --> 00:02:57.289 He will roar like a lion. When he roars, his 00:02:57.289 --> 00:03:00.590 children will come trembling from the west. They 00:03:00.590 --> 00:03:03.210 will be roused like birds from Egypt and like 00:03:03.210 --> 00:03:06.830 doves from the land of Assyria. Then I will settle 00:03:06.830 --> 00:03:10.129 them in their homes. This is the Lord's declaration. 00:03:11.270 --> 00:03:14.689 Ephraim surrounds me with lies, the house of 00:03:14.689 --> 00:03:19.210 Israel with deceit. Judah still wanders with 00:03:19.210 --> 00:03:23.569 God and is faithful to the holy ones. This is 00:03:23.569 --> 00:03:38.090 God's word. That's my wonderful wife. She read 00:03:38.090 --> 00:03:40.310 that so beautifully, baby. Just come up here 00:03:40.310 --> 00:03:44.770 and finish reading this. They already heard me 00:03:44.770 --> 00:03:49.870 in their first service. Let me start with a little 00:03:49.870 --> 00:03:54.689 recap with the book of Hosea. Hosea is set in 00:03:54.689 --> 00:04:00.789 18th century BC, 8th century BC, a time of political 00:04:00.789 --> 00:04:06.189 instability. and spiritual decline from the northern 00:04:06.189 --> 00:04:09.509 kingdom of Israel. While the Assyrian empire 00:04:09.509 --> 00:04:12.830 was growing in power, Israel was plagued by internal 00:04:12.830 --> 00:04:18.610 corruption and widespread idolatry. The prophet 00:04:18.610 --> 00:04:22.310 Hosea's message was a warning that Israel's unfaithfulness 00:04:22.310 --> 00:04:25.310 to God, which is linked to a wife's infidelity, 00:04:25.649 --> 00:04:28.269 would lead to their destruction at the hands 00:04:28.269 --> 00:04:36.230 of the Assyrians. Hosea holds a special place 00:04:36.230 --> 00:04:40.230 in my heart. His message deeply impacted me. 00:04:42.930 --> 00:04:46.290 When I reread the story after my own years of 00:04:46.290 --> 00:04:53.610 running from God, when I first came to faith, 00:04:53.810 --> 00:04:57.790 God radically changed my life. I experienced 00:04:57.790 --> 00:05:01.889 his love, his truth. I finally found what I was 00:05:01.889 --> 00:05:07.139 looking for in life. filling me with hope, filling 00:05:07.139 --> 00:05:15.639 me with joy and a family, a church family. However, 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:19.060 I slowly began to drift away through circumstances 00:05:19.060 --> 00:05:24.779 of life, not staying in the word and some bad 00:05:24.779 --> 00:05:29.040 choices I made along the way. And most of all, 00:05:29.079 --> 00:05:35.589 I didn't put God first in my life. Somehow I 00:05:35.589 --> 00:05:38.829 became ungrateful. I forgot what the Lord has 00:05:38.829 --> 00:05:44.250 done for me. So when I reread Hosea, I could 00:05:44.250 --> 00:05:46.209 relate to the Northern Kingdom's backsliding. 00:05:48.670 --> 00:05:51.589 Because I also had a season from strain for my 00:05:51.589 --> 00:05:55.930 faith. I didn't even realize how far I actually 00:05:55.930 --> 00:06:02.779 drifted. I felt like, I felt lost. I didn't even 00:06:02.779 --> 00:06:05.480 recognize myself, the man that I used to be. 00:06:07.540 --> 00:06:11.480 I wasn't living life, but life was just living 00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:16.759 me. I had forgotten the boundless love and promises 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:21.620 of God that I had once experienced. But God's 00:06:21.620 --> 00:06:25.259 love for me endured. He gently restored me through 00:06:25.259 --> 00:06:29.899 a series of nudges, undeniable revelations from 00:06:29.899 --> 00:06:34.290 Scripture. And even the movie, The Case for Christ, 00:06:34.569 --> 00:06:37.589 there's a part at the end where Lee Strobel came 00:06:37.589 --> 00:06:40.810 to Christ, and you could feel God's presence, 00:06:41.009 --> 00:06:44.009 and he was in tears. And I remember that moment 00:06:44.009 --> 00:06:47.810 when I first met God on a Friday night, and somehow 00:06:47.810 --> 00:06:54.470 I forgot that even happened. So when I reread 00:06:54.470 --> 00:06:59.470 Hosea, I saw a glimpse of myself in the northern 00:06:59.470 --> 00:07:03.500 kingdom. which gave me a little bit more compassion 00:07:03.500 --> 00:07:09.120 for the people of that time period. Hosea's life 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:13.360 as a modern prophet became a living sermon. By 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:16.759 marrying an unfaithful woman, he felt the pain 00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:21.860 and betrayal that God feels. It's through his 00:07:21.860 --> 00:07:25.860 personal experience that his message had become 00:07:25.860 --> 00:07:31.560 so powerful, a message of God's boundless love. 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:35.480 Right now, I'm going to give you a modern -day 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:39.500 illustration that parallels Hosea the prophet. 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:49.220 A man from England was in a love and marriage 00:07:49.220 --> 00:07:53.939 until his wife was drawn into free love and the 00:07:53.939 --> 00:07:58.339 drug culture of the 1960s. When her lifestyle 00:07:58.339 --> 00:08:01.420 led to a severe illness after she separated from 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:04.180 him, his church community advised him that he 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:06.740 had every right to divorce her, even on biblical 00:08:06.740 --> 00:08:09.779 grounds. But this man chose a different path. 00:08:10.019 --> 00:08:13.439 He located his gravely ill wife, brought her 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:16.740 home, tenderly cared for her until her ultimate 00:08:16.740 --> 00:08:20.600 death. He chose to honor his sacred vow before 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:24.699 the Lord rather than his own happiness. He showed 00:08:24.699 --> 00:08:27.629 God's faithfulness to his wife. even though she 00:08:27.629 --> 00:08:34.870 was unfaithful. You see, church, spiritual faithfulness, 00:08:34.889 --> 00:08:40.509 it's not a feeling. Sometimes feelings are a 00:08:40.509 --> 00:08:46.450 part of it. But when Jesus chose to go on the 00:08:46.450 --> 00:08:49.250 cross for our sins, he didn't feel like going 00:08:49.250 --> 00:08:56.639 on the cross. He even prayed to the Father. For 00:08:56.639 --> 00:09:02.299 this cup to pass. But he did so for our redemption. 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:13.120 Because he loves us. Love unconditionally. Is 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:18.679 what we're called to do. To redeem the undeserving. 00:09:19.100 --> 00:09:21.679 And uphold a covenant even in the most difficult 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:30.129 challenges. Can anyone relate? Have you ever 00:09:30.129 --> 00:09:34.649 loved someone and wanted the best for them only 00:09:34.649 --> 00:09:40.850 to have them fail or reject you and reject your 00:09:40.850 --> 00:09:45.570 best efforts to help? Have you kept trying only 00:09:45.570 --> 00:09:48.970 to realize that the help that you give them only 00:09:48.970 --> 00:09:54.669 enables their self -destructive behavior? And 00:09:54.669 --> 00:10:01.889 your only option was to pray, trust God, and 00:10:01.889 --> 00:10:04.629 let them suffer the consequences of their choices. 00:10:09.669 --> 00:10:13.490 Perhaps it was a rebellious teenager, a family 00:10:13.490 --> 00:10:19.409 member with a bad addiction problem, or even 00:10:19.409 --> 00:10:23.860 an unfaithful spouse. Have you given unconditional 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:27.879 love to someone who took it for granted and discarded 00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:36.639 your every efforts to love and help them? I'm 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:41.419 sure many of us have. Today, we're going to dive 00:10:41.419 --> 00:10:45.039 into God's heart, a heart that is pained by the 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:47.659 unfaithfulness of his people, but also filled 00:10:47.659 --> 00:10:53.350 with his boundless love. His love is boundless. 00:10:54.149 --> 00:10:59.950 It is never ending. It is merciful. It is unrestricted, 00:10:59.950 --> 00:11:04.529 and it is limitless. If you're taking notes, 00:11:04.649 --> 00:11:09.850 point one, God's love for Israel as the son. 00:11:11.529 --> 00:11:15.750 Verse one, when Israel was a child, I loved him, 00:11:15.769 --> 00:11:20.690 and I called him my son. I called him my son. 00:11:23.450 --> 00:11:25.870 God's language here, it shifts from a husband 00:11:25.870 --> 00:11:30.570 and wife relationship. From chapter 1 to 11, 00:11:30.789 --> 00:11:34.669 he has the context of an unfaithful spouse, the 00:11:34.669 --> 00:11:37.389 way Israel is treating him. But now he's making 00:11:37.389 --> 00:11:40.409 it even more closer, even more deeper. He is 00:11:40.409 --> 00:11:46.330 saying, using the framework of a son. It's very 00:11:46.330 --> 00:11:50.669 personal. The Hebrew word for son conveys a closeness. 00:11:51.080 --> 00:11:53.700 A precious belonging. God is saying, this is 00:11:53.700 --> 00:12:03.000 mine. This is my son. And this is my son. It's 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:09.259 rooted in Israel's history. I called my son out 00:12:09.259 --> 00:12:14.519 of Egypt. Let's refer to what happened in Egypt. 00:12:16.970 --> 00:12:21.289 It's a historical event of God calling the nation 00:12:21.289 --> 00:12:23.909 of Israel out of slavery in Egypt during the 00:12:23.909 --> 00:12:27.210 time of Exodus. This event established Israel 00:12:27.210 --> 00:12:33.350 as God's firstborn son, whom he rescued from 00:12:33.350 --> 00:12:37.330 bondage and made them his chosen people. And 00:12:37.330 --> 00:12:40.549 those people were chosen, the Jewish people, 00:12:40.690 --> 00:12:44.740 to bring in the Messiah into the world. which 00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:48.879 is our Lord and our love, Jesus Christ. In Exodus 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:56.320 6, 6. Therefore, tell the Israelites, I am the 00:12:56.320 --> 00:12:59.139 Lord. I will bring you out from the forced labor 00:12:59.139 --> 00:13:01.559 of the Egyptians, and I will rescue you from 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:06.200 slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched 00:13:06.200 --> 00:13:12.730 arm and great acts of judgment. God remembers 00:13:12.730 --> 00:13:16.029 that he freed his people from slavery. He made 00:13:16.029 --> 00:13:22.590 them a nation. He brought them out of their bondage 00:13:22.590 --> 00:13:30.509 from Egypt 500 years before Hosea's time. There 00:13:30.509 --> 00:13:33.350 were people with no rights forced to build feral 00:13:33.350 --> 00:13:36.769 supply cities and even subject to a brutal edict 00:13:36.769 --> 00:13:45.179 of having their male infants killed. But God 00:13:45.179 --> 00:13:48.220 used Moses, who despite being raised in privilege 00:13:48.220 --> 00:13:53.419 and killing an Egyptian, was raised by God to 00:13:53.419 --> 00:13:58.019 be an instrument of their freedom. It shows that 00:13:58.019 --> 00:14:02.659 God uses and does imperfect people to do his 00:14:02.659 --> 00:14:10.299 will. Thank God for that. He's so good. There's 00:14:10.299 --> 00:14:13.799 also a prophetic reference here. In the New Testament, 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:17.679 Matthew 2 .15, Matthew connects Jesus' childhood 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:21.440 directly to this Old Testament prophecy in Hosea. 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:26.399 Matthew uses it to show that Jesus' life fulfilled 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:30.320 the Old Testament prophecies. This passage describes 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:33.000 how Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus fled to 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:37.220 Egypt to escape King Herod, ordered to kill all 00:14:37.220 --> 00:14:42.509 the male children in Bethlehem. You guys? See 00:14:42.509 --> 00:14:46.750 a commonality here? There's always a force trying 00:14:46.750 --> 00:14:56.370 to destroy the line of Christ. After Herod died, 00:14:56.590 --> 00:15:01.549 God instructed Joseph in a dream to return to 00:15:01.549 --> 00:15:04.970 Israel, thus fulfilling the prophecy, out of 00:15:04.970 --> 00:15:12.230 Egypt I called my son. Even the most conservative 00:15:12.230 --> 00:15:15.350 scholars believe this as a direct fulfillment, 00:15:15.690 --> 00:15:19.389 highlighting Jesus' identity as the ultimate 00:15:19.389 --> 00:15:27.629 son of God. My next point, point two. Israel 00:15:27.629 --> 00:15:32.710 rejected God as father. As seen in Hosea 11 .2, 00:15:32.950 --> 00:15:39.570 Israel called to the Egyptians. Even as Israel 00:15:39.570 --> 00:15:43.090 was leaving them, they kept sacrificing to Baal 00:15:43.090 --> 00:15:48.870 and burning offerings to idols. They kept sacrificing 00:15:48.870 --> 00:15:54.289 to Baal. Let's look at what Baal was like. Baal 00:15:54.289 --> 00:16:01.490 worship was a demonic practice of worshiping 00:16:01.490 --> 00:16:07.820 a fertility god. Their rituals included child 00:16:07.820 --> 00:16:13.100 sacrifice and crude acts of immorality. That's 00:16:13.100 --> 00:16:17.700 unspeakable. Which directly went against God's 00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:24.139 covenant. Rejecting the very first commandment. 00:16:24.259 --> 00:16:29.960 You shall have no other gods before me. The very 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:34.840 word Baal means master and overlord. It's a... 00:16:35.129 --> 00:16:40.690 termed rightfully only belonging to our creator 00:16:40.690 --> 00:16:47.409 God. Burning offerings to idols. Remember the 00:16:47.409 --> 00:16:50.529 altar of incense in the holy place of the Lord's 00:16:50.529 --> 00:16:53.190 tabernacle where only the high priest could go. 00:16:53.309 --> 00:16:56.610 The altar of incense was a symbolic temple that 00:16:56.610 --> 00:17:00.330 God had them made after they were delivered from 00:17:00.330 --> 00:17:06.019 Egypt as God's representation on earth. constructed 00:17:06.019 --> 00:17:10.440 in this temple had very deep meaning and symbology 00:17:10.440 --> 00:17:12.859 that they were supposed to learn and teach them 00:17:12.859 --> 00:17:19.339 as they come out of Egypt. So the burning of 00:17:19.339 --> 00:17:22.759 incense in the holy place, it symbolized the 00:17:22.759 --> 00:17:28.119 prayers of the people ascending to God. But here 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:31.740 was Israel, God's chosen son, burning incense 00:17:31.740 --> 00:17:35.900 to a false god. It just shows how far they drifted. 00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:40.380 Continuing to reveal the grief in God's heart, 00:17:40.579 --> 00:17:48.859 verse 3. God is remembering that he taught them 00:17:48.859 --> 00:17:52.940 how to walk. It says in verse 3, it was I who 00:17:52.940 --> 00:17:56.039 taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the hand, 00:17:56.180 --> 00:17:59.700 but they never knew that I healed them. God is 00:17:59.700 --> 00:18:02.700 remembering it was I who taught Ephraim how to 00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:05.299 walk. Being a good father, he gave them the law 00:18:05.299 --> 00:18:11.299 and the prophets to guide them. As slaves, they 00:18:11.299 --> 00:18:14.579 had a slave mindset. They didn't know how to 00:18:14.579 --> 00:18:17.819 function outside their former overlords. God 00:18:17.819 --> 00:18:21.000 provided them a way to live and a way to have 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:25.599 right relationship with God. Just imagine teaching 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:28.779 a child to walk. We've got a lot of mothers in 00:18:28.779 --> 00:18:32.930 here, and they've done it several times. How 00:18:32.930 --> 00:18:36.509 much time does it take? How much care does it 00:18:36.509 --> 00:18:40.710 take teaching them to walk? You're grabbing them 00:18:40.710 --> 00:18:44.509 by the hand, encouraging them, try to grab their 00:18:44.509 --> 00:18:49.269 head before it hits the ground. Well, the kids' 00:18:49.410 --> 00:18:52.210 heads are durable these days. I don't know. Maybe 00:18:52.210 --> 00:18:57.849 it's the milk or something. It just takes a lot 00:18:57.849 --> 00:19:00.430 of effort to teach kids how to walk and a lot 00:19:00.430 --> 00:19:05.920 of encouragement. And motivation. And God does 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:08.400 that with us today, and he was doing it for the 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:12.500 Israel. It's beautiful imagery God is using here. 00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:16.660 But you know, it's a different story when they 00:19:16.660 --> 00:19:20.099 learn how to walk, right? They end up running 00:19:20.099 --> 00:19:23.839 out the front door, trying to chase a false idol 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:28.720 like an ice cream truck. Don't give those kids, 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:30.500 if you do give them, if you give them, I'll buy 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:32.220 them ice cream once. You know, that's all it 00:19:32.220 --> 00:19:36.599 takes. They'd be chasing after the UPS man trying 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:46.680 to get ice cream. God watched over them. He gave 00:19:46.680 --> 00:19:49.819 them his law. He gave them his prophets, like 00:19:49.819 --> 00:19:54.240 Moses and Hosea. And he even guided them with 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:58.279 his very presence in the tabernacle. In Nehemiah 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:05.630 9 -12. You led them with a pillar of cloud by 00:20:05.630 --> 00:20:09.670 day and with a pillar of fire by night to illuminate 00:20:09.670 --> 00:20:15.569 the way they should go, providing a cloud by 00:20:15.569 --> 00:20:18.690 day and guidance and shelter for the sun and 00:20:18.690 --> 00:20:22.509 fire to give them light and warmth for their 00:20:22.509 --> 00:20:26.910 travel by night. See, God's love was tangible. 00:20:27.309 --> 00:20:29.890 Not only did he free them, not only did he give 00:20:29.890 --> 00:20:32.329 them his law and the prophets, but he was also 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:36.819 there, guiding them. They could see him in a 00:20:36.819 --> 00:20:40.640 small way. The real God is unseen, but he made 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:44.900 this tabernacle for them to have a physical mindset 00:20:44.900 --> 00:20:50.579 to connect with. Continuing in verse four, I 00:20:50.579 --> 00:20:53.000 led them with cords of human kindness, with ropes 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:58.180 of love. To them, I was like one who eases the 00:20:58.180 --> 00:21:02.490 yoke. from their jaws, and I bent down to give 00:21:02.490 --> 00:21:06.349 them food. I love how the NIV expresses it this 00:21:06.349 --> 00:21:10.430 way. I led them out with cords of human kindness, 00:21:10.470 --> 00:21:13.869 with ties of love. To them, I was like one who 00:21:13.869 --> 00:21:19.150 lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent 00:21:19.150 --> 00:21:25.490 down to feed them. Giving a little kid a lollipop, 00:21:25.490 --> 00:21:30.289 you know, it's this beautiful imagery. The phrase 00:21:30.289 --> 00:21:38.430 child to a cheek. God just uses his soul parental, 00:21:38.630 --> 00:21:45.250 and he so loves us, and he still does. He remembers 00:21:45.250 --> 00:21:47.789 feeding the manna from the wilderness when they 00:21:47.789 --> 00:21:52.309 had no food to eat. God's love was tangible. 00:21:52.730 --> 00:21:56.410 It was personable. It was opposite of the heavy 00:21:56.410 --> 00:22:05.660 yoke they had in Egypt. In Hosea 11, five through 00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:08.700 seven, Israel will not return to the land of 00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:12.140 Egypt and Assyrian will be his king because they 00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:15.319 refuse to repent. A sword will war through his 00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:19.619 cities. It will destroy and devour the bars of 00:22:19.619 --> 00:22:24.480 his gates because of their schemes. It's interesting, 00:22:24.619 --> 00:22:28.299 verse five, he will not return to the land of 00:22:28.299 --> 00:22:31.029 Egypt. Like, ain't they trying to avoid Egypt? 00:22:31.150 --> 00:22:34.170 Didn't they get out of Egypt? But this scripture, 00:22:34.490 --> 00:22:39.190 it kind of has a double meaning here. It could 00:22:39.190 --> 00:22:43.069 be viewed as a rhetorical question. Will they 00:22:43.069 --> 00:22:47.430 not return to Egypt? Like, will they not return 00:22:47.430 --> 00:22:50.869 to Egypt? Or it could be sometimes they won't 00:22:50.869 --> 00:22:55.789 be able to flee to Egypt. You see, they were 00:22:55.789 --> 00:22:58.710 supposed to be separate. people from the world, 00:22:58.750 --> 00:23:02.990 but yet they always had these unauthorized boundaries 00:23:02.990 --> 00:23:07.630 and partnerships and agreements and military 00:23:07.630 --> 00:23:11.130 alignments with Egypt. And they would run to 00:23:11.130 --> 00:23:13.289 Egypt sometimes when they were in trouble. Even 00:23:13.289 --> 00:23:18.009 our Lord went there when he had to flee the infants 00:23:18.009 --> 00:23:23.049 being killed. But he was a little baby though. 00:23:29.769 --> 00:23:32.829 He will destroy the bars and gates. Bars and 00:23:32.829 --> 00:23:35.930 gates represented security protection for Israel's 00:23:35.930 --> 00:23:39.029 cities, and they would lose this because of their 00:23:39.029 --> 00:23:42.170 schemes. Consider the crucial role of gates in 00:23:42.170 --> 00:23:45.230 medieval castles. Have you ever watched something 00:23:45.230 --> 00:23:49.549 similar to Braveheart, where they're doing an 00:23:49.549 --> 00:23:52.269 invasion, and they're coming in with a battering 00:23:52.269 --> 00:23:54.109 ram. The first thing they do is tear down those 00:23:54.109 --> 00:23:57.720 gates. That's the strongest part of the castle, 00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:00.140 the most important part. God is telling them 00:24:00.140 --> 00:24:05.440 here he's going to destroy their most hard part 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:08.039 of the city, their most secure part of the city. 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:10.339 Sometimes God does that in our life. The thing 00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:14.680 we hold on to the most will be taken down if 00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:23.000 it gets in the way of loving our God. My people 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:27.049 are bent from it. on turning from me. They call 00:24:27.049 --> 00:24:33.190 him, though they call to the most high God, he 00:24:33.190 --> 00:24:38.829 will not exalt them at all. God never refuses 00:24:38.829 --> 00:24:44.069 a repentant person. But here, although they are 00:24:44.069 --> 00:24:48.869 calling on him, they are truly failing to honor 00:24:48.869 --> 00:24:54.779 him and exalt him. Their actions contradict their 00:24:54.779 --> 00:24:58.460 words. So as Christians, this speaks a lot to 00:24:58.460 --> 00:25:01.700 me because there's a lot of times, especially 00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:04.559 me being a trucker and being in that life, I 00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:07.460 want to say that joke too. I got the perfect 00:25:07.460 --> 00:25:10.720 punchline, but they also know I'm a Christian. 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:14.380 So it's very important as Christians that our 00:25:14.380 --> 00:25:21.460 language and our faithfulness they line up. The 00:25:21.460 --> 00:25:24.420 more we get rooted in Christ, the more those 00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:29.259 two things will get closer together. Kind of 00:25:29.259 --> 00:25:34.599 like a little baby walking. God is so good. He's 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:43.000 so patient, so loving. Point three, God shows 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:48.099 Israel compassion. God says, how can I give you 00:25:48.099 --> 00:25:52.099 up, Ephraim? How can I surrender you, Israel? 00:25:52.299 --> 00:25:54.880 How can I make you like Adamah? How can I make 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:57.759 you like Zeboiim? My heart is conflicted. My 00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:02.079 compassion is stirred. Adamah and Zeboiim were 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:04.059 two cities that were destroyed with Sodom and 00:26:04.059 --> 00:26:08.200 Gomorrah. God is saying he has too much compassion 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:11.539 to destroy them like Sodom and Gomorrah. By comparing 00:26:11.539 --> 00:26:13.950 them to Sodom and Gomorrah in some ways, it's 00:26:13.950 --> 00:26:16.130 very clear he has the right to destroy them. 00:26:18.170 --> 00:26:20.230 Sodom and Gomorrah didn't have his law. They 00:26:20.230 --> 00:26:22.230 didn't have a tabernacle. They didn't have the 00:26:22.230 --> 00:26:26.730 things that Israel had. So he had every right. 00:26:27.970 --> 00:26:30.490 But let's take a look at what Sodom sins. We 00:26:30.490 --> 00:26:33.970 often think of unnatural relationships, but Ezekiel 00:26:33.970 --> 00:26:37.829 16, 49 gives us a broader description. Behold, 00:26:37.890 --> 00:26:42.880 this is the guilt of your sister Sodom. She and 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:45.599 her daughters had arrogance, abundance of food, 00:26:45.700 --> 00:26:50.200 and careless ease, but she did not help the poor 00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:55.900 and the needy. Sodom's downfall came from a life 00:26:55.900 --> 00:27:02.900 of luxury and laziness. In some ways, like our 00:27:02.900 --> 00:27:06.900 nation today, a lot of our problem is that we 00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:10.420 have too much and we're not doing enough, even 00:27:10.420 --> 00:27:15.869 in our churches. You know, where some churches 00:27:15.869 --> 00:27:25.349 are just, they're missing the mark. We don't 00:27:25.349 --> 00:27:27.289 want to be a church that just pursues comfort 00:27:27.289 --> 00:27:32.789 over pleasing our God. Even though it's nice, 00:27:32.829 --> 00:27:34.789 I love the setup and all the work, but it's, 00:27:34.789 --> 00:27:42.119 you know, it's a heart condition. Verse 9 declares, 00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:44.900 I will not vent the full fury of my anger. I 00:27:44.900 --> 00:27:47.500 will not turn back to destroy Ephraim, for I 00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:50.660 am God and not man. The Holy One among you, I 00:27:50.660 --> 00:27:56.880 will not come in rage. God has every right to 00:27:56.880 --> 00:27:59.720 destroy them, but he remembers them as a child. 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:03.839 He says he is not like man. He does not punish 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:06.799 us as our sins deserve, and he is compassionate 00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:13.490 and full of love. I'm so grateful he's not like 00:28:13.490 --> 00:28:17.670 us. He is so forgiving and compassionate, and 00:28:17.670 --> 00:28:22.390 he never gives up. He never stops pursuing. It's 00:28:22.390 --> 00:28:28.509 because he loves us. Verse 10, God promises, 00:28:28.849 --> 00:28:33.849 they will follow the Lord. He will roar like 00:28:33.849 --> 00:28:37.569 a lion. When he roars, his children will come 00:28:37.569 --> 00:28:42.970 trembling from the west. I love this. Just as 00:28:42.970 --> 00:28:46.970 a baby cub finds their mother's roar, God is 00:28:46.970 --> 00:28:51.970 calling to his people to come home. It's beautiful 00:28:51.970 --> 00:28:54.269 imagery. I could just see something like Lion 00:28:54.269 --> 00:29:04.970 King singing. And then all the little baby cubs 00:29:04.970 --> 00:29:16.819 coming through the jungle. But this lion has 00:29:16.819 --> 00:29:20.140 a deeper meaning than just the imagery God is 00:29:20.140 --> 00:29:27.519 showing. In Revelations 5, 5. Then one of the 00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:31.180 elders said to me, do not weep. Look, the lion 00:29:31.180 --> 00:29:37.019 from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has 00:29:37.019 --> 00:29:40.500 conquered. so that he is able to open the scroll 00:29:40.500 --> 00:29:45.960 and its seven seals. Look, the lion from the 00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:53.099 tribe of Judah, the root of David. This roar 00:29:53.099 --> 00:29:58.220 of the lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ, 00:29:58.500 --> 00:30:02.240 who will forgive and bring us back. God will 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:05.039 not leave them in exile and slavery. He will 00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:09.519 not leave me. He most certainly won't leave you 00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:13.819 there. He is boundless in love, and he never 00:30:13.819 --> 00:30:16.619 gives up on his children. He never stops pursuing 00:30:16.619 --> 00:30:19.799 until you're ultimately home with him. Verse 00:30:19.799 --> 00:30:22.700 11, they will be roused like birds from Egypt, 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:26.000 like doves from the land of Assyria. Then I will 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:28.740 settle them in their homes. This is the Lord's 00:30:28.740 --> 00:30:33.240 declaration. Verse 11 refers to the roused like 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:37.349 birds and doves. represents Israel finally returning 00:30:37.349 --> 00:30:41.230 home from their exiles in Egypt and Assyria, 00:30:41.369 --> 00:30:50.049 finding their way back home. To them, it was 00:30:50.049 --> 00:30:52.730 the northern kingdom. It was their physical home. 00:30:53.009 --> 00:30:57.509 But to us, today, it is our eternal home with 00:30:57.509 --> 00:31:02.670 Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who ultimately 00:31:02.670 --> 00:31:07.509 fulfills this promise. He is the one who will 00:31:07.509 --> 00:31:10.329 gather all believers, both Jew and Gentiles, 00:31:10.349 --> 00:31:14.910 from every nation and bring them home. Just as 00:31:14.910 --> 00:31:17.349 the Israelites were settled in their physical 00:31:17.349 --> 00:31:20.529 homes, we will find our true internal home and 00:31:20.529 --> 00:31:23.890 rest in Christ. When he returns, he will gather 00:31:23.890 --> 00:31:29.109 the faithful from all corners of the earth. Jesus 00:31:29.109 --> 00:31:32.109 is the ultimate fulfillment of what a true Israelite 00:31:32.109 --> 00:31:35.059 should have been. He lived a perfect life of 00:31:35.059 --> 00:31:39.160 obedience, honoring the covenant that Israel 00:31:39.160 --> 00:31:44.140 continuously broke. And he calls us to follow 00:31:44.140 --> 00:31:49.819 his example, to live a life of faithfulness until 00:31:49.819 --> 00:31:55.039 we are ultimately brought home with him. In Revelations 00:31:55.039 --> 00:32:01.099 21, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. 00:32:01.630 --> 00:32:04.150 For the first heaven and the first earth had 00:32:04.150 --> 00:32:08.349 passed away and there was no more sea. Our ultimate 00:32:08.349 --> 00:32:11.769 home is with Christ. And in the end, there's 00:32:11.769 --> 00:32:13.529 going to be a new heaven. There's going to be 00:32:13.529 --> 00:32:16.049 a new earth where God is going to restore all 00:32:16.049 --> 00:32:19.049 things. He's going to restore our pain, our struggles, 00:32:19.230 --> 00:32:23.730 our failures, and the utopia that we so want. 00:32:24.349 --> 00:32:28.880 We will get in him and him alone. And he's going 00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:31.460 to make a more beautiful earth. He's going to 00:32:31.460 --> 00:32:33.759 take away all the things that are bad and fill 00:32:33.759 --> 00:32:36.140 them with good. And even how good his heaven 00:32:36.140 --> 00:32:43.000 is, he's going to make it even better. It also 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:46.400 says he will wipe every tear from their eye. 00:32:47.279 --> 00:32:50.799 He would wipe the pain. He would wipe their struggles. 00:32:51.019 --> 00:32:54.299 He will wipe their hardships, their regrets, 00:32:54.559 --> 00:33:04.640 their failures. All things new. This is the ultimate 00:33:04.640 --> 00:33:16.339 restoration. What is God saying today? Is he 00:33:16.339 --> 00:33:23.740 calling you? Inviting you to come home? Is he 00:33:23.740 --> 00:33:26.339 moving in your heart, but something's holding 00:33:26.339 --> 00:33:31.079 you back? I want to remind you. that God's love 00:33:31.079 --> 00:33:34.859 is boundless. He patiently endured my rebellion 00:33:34.859 --> 00:33:39.039 and my backsliding. He'll never give up on you. 00:33:39.819 --> 00:33:43.180 He's always pursuing the lost. He is always pursuing 00:33:43.180 --> 00:33:46.880 the prodigal son to return home. It is God who 00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:51.980 made us, and we belong to him. He created us. 00:33:52.079 --> 00:33:54.759 He gave us his son to die in our place on the 00:33:54.759 --> 00:33:58.319 cross, and yet some of us still openly rebel. 00:33:58.940 --> 00:34:01.680 Some of us still resist his love, resist his 00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:06.619 truth. But hear this, God's not condemning you. 00:34:08.159 --> 00:34:12.880 He's not throwing your past in your face. He 00:34:12.880 --> 00:34:16.780 is loving you and asking you to love him in return. 00:34:18.460 --> 00:34:23.579 If you don't know him, come to him today. Find 00:34:23.579 --> 00:34:28.159 his great grace. his mercy, his truth, and his 00:34:28.159 --> 00:34:35.739 love. He is the author of reality. For John 1, 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:42.280 1 John declares that if we confess our sins, 00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:46.780 he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our 00:34:46.780 --> 00:34:50.519 sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:34:51.519 --> 00:34:55.340 By his blood, we are made clean. Clean by his 00:34:55.340 --> 00:35:02.300 sacrifice, we are made complete in him. If today 00:35:02.300 --> 00:35:09.599 your love has grown cold for the Lord, he wants 00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:13.599 you to know that he loves you. His love is enduring. 00:35:14.980 --> 00:35:22.300 He'll never give up on you. Let's strive to be 00:35:22.300 --> 00:35:26.719 the people of God. true disciples of Jesus, with 00:35:26.719 --> 00:35:30.619 our hearts open to his love, let's be the church 00:35:30.619 --> 00:35:33.440 that he wants us to be. Let's be the church that 00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:35.639 makes a difference in this generation. Let's 00:35:35.639 --> 00:35:38.159 be a church that represents Christ, where we 00:35:38.159 --> 00:35:40.719 get healed, we work on our problems, that we 00:35:40.719 --> 00:35:43.159 become what the Northern Kingdom should have 00:35:43.159 --> 00:35:49.320 been. Well, we got a good start. We got a long 00:35:49.320 --> 00:35:52.780 way to go, but God is working. And I'm so grateful. 00:35:54.879 --> 00:35:58.639 Let's be the church that truly, truly loves him 00:35:58.639 --> 00:36:04.280 and puts in the practice lovingly obeying our 00:36:04.280 --> 00:36:04.639 Lord.