All right, thank you, Andrew. I appreciate your leading those songs this morning. As you already know, John isn't feeling too well. Ever since last Sunday, he's been a little bit under the weather. So keep him in your prayers. I believe that he's got a sinus infection, but it's kind of affecting his eyesight and everything else. So just keep him in prayer, if you would. I appreciate him so much and miss him when he's not here. Believe me, I miss him when he's not here.

All right, you know, here at Living Church, we always hope church, we generally go book by book, verse by verse. And when John's not here, I don't preach very often. So I have been doing topical studies up to this point. But I'm going to do something a little different today. We're going to just start the book of Hosea. And then when I'm called on to preach in the future, I'll pick up where we left off. So we're not going to get very far into this book of Hosea this morning. But I just want to give you an introduction to the book of Hosea.

Let's look at Hosea chapter 1 and verses 1 and 2. The word of the Lord which came to Hosea, the son of Berai, during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel. When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry. For the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord. And I don't think we're going to get anywhere past that today. So let's just get into this.

The story of Hosea, just by way of introduction, is a story of salvation for a very undeserving people, a people who are unfaithful to the God who rescued them out of slavery in Egypt, who gave them their own land, and all the promises of a Messiah who would save them from their sins. And all too often, we as Gentile believers in the Lord Jesus Christ don't like to spend time in studying, reading, and studying in the Old Testament, because to our minds, it's written for the Jews. It has nothing to do with us in our understanding. And yet, all of the Gospels and the New Testament writers quote from the Old Testament constantly.

When Paul and Silas were preaching the Gospel in the Jewish synagogue in Berea, it says they received the word in Berea. They received the word. Now, remember, they're preaching in a Jewish synagogue. It says they received the word of God with great eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. So what scriptures was it that they were searching for? Well, it wasn't the New Testament, certainly because the New Testament had not been written at this point. So they were studying the Old Testament. They were going to the Old Testament scrolls, and they were looking to see if what Paul and Silas were teaching was really true.

And so it was certainly in Luke chapter 24, Jesus is walking after his resurrection with two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection. They were discouraged. These two disciples were discouraged, and they were confused because they had an idea of the Messiah, and they couldn't reconcile what was happening to them at this point in time. And so they were confused. They were discouraged. And Jesus said to them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into his glory? Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures.

And then in John chapter 5, the Gospel of John chapter 5, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees who are questioning him after he had healed a man on the Sabbath day. And the Pharisees were very upset with him. And Jesus' response to them was this. He says, you search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is these which speak of me. And so I think that if Jesus thought that it was important that we understand the Old Testament, and if the writers of the New Testament, all of them, think that it was important to be quoting the Old Testament scriptures, I think it behooves us to take some time to study it and to understand it.

Now, my own love for this book of Hosea started back when I was a new believer. I got saved in 1980. And one of the first albums that I got, not the first one, but one of the first albums I got was by a group called Lamb. And if you've never heard of Lamb, this is really old, so some of you probably never have heard of Lamb. But I encourage you to go and listen to one song in particular. It's called Comfort Ye My People. You can find it on YouTube. I had it playing this morning. It's such a beautiful, beautiful song, and it's taken almost word for word from the 14th chapter of Hosea.

When we lived in Minneapolis, we were going to Bible college, my wife and I, and we had a newborn baby. He suffered from colic. And if any parents here ever have children with colic, it is a miserable thing for that child because that child cannot rest. And so he would cry and cry and cry, and Wendy would get overwhelmed. I'd take him, and I'd walk and pace and pat, and he would just cry and cry and cry. But then one day, I took that album and I put that song on, Comfort Ye My People. As soon as it started, his tears stopped. He kind of looked up. Every time after that, when I would have him in that colicky state, I would put that song on. He would settle right down, and he would listen. It's just amazing to me.

No more will you turn to another for help, nor to yourselves. For in me you will find, nor will you say our God to another, for in me you will find mercy, is how the song goes. And we'll look at it at the end of this message. But it really brought me to understand, it introduced me to the book of Hosea, and I have had a deep love for this book ever since then.

The name Hosea means salvation. The word Hosea, and it's pronounced, I guess, Hosea in Hebrew, Hosea. It literally means salvation. You will recognize this because it is very similar to Yahashua or Joshua or Yeshua, Jesus, because they all come from that same root. The same root is the root of salvation. I'm reminded of Matthew chapter 1, in verse number 12, when the angel of the Lord said to Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he himself will save his people from their sins. 

As we get into this book further and deeper as we go, we're going to see a wonderful story of salvation. We are going to see the gospel in the Old Testament pretty clearly laid out. It's such a wonderful book. I hope that this will trigger your desire to go home and study it and to look at it, because you're probably not going to hear another message on this for a while until I have to preach again. So I'm only going to be able to give us an introduction this morning.

In chapter 1, or verse 1, it says, the word of the Lord which came to Hosea, the son of Berih, during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel. Now, the timing of this, first of all, Hosea was primarily a prophet to the northern kingdom. Remember, after Solomon, his son Rehoboam came to the throne. At the time, it was one kingdom. Israel was one kingdom. Rehoboam kind of came down pretty hard on the people, and Jeroboam I split off and took the northern kingdom with the 10 tribes with him and left only in the south Judah and Benjamin, and they were called Judah. 

From that point on, the kingdom was split between the two of them. It remained that way, even until it remained that way, Israel and Judah being completely separate. The timing on this, most scholars believe that Hosea began his ministry somewhere around 785 BC, and that his ministry actually spanned about 70 years. So it was quite a lengthy period that he was around. This would make him a contemporary with the prophets Jonah, Joel, Amos, Isaiah, and Micah. All right, so just interesting to note that all of these other books in the Bible, they all kind of relate together. I find it quite interesting.

Anyway, verse number two, in verse number two, it says, when the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, go take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry, for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord. Now, Hosea's marriage and the children they were to have were going to serve as a picture of God's relationship with Israel. 

I want to talk about marriage and what it stands for because marriage in this day and age has fallen into disrepute, and it has been perverted and twisted into something unrecognizable. I talk with many young people who disdain marriage. They don't want to be tied down. They want all the benefits of marriage without any of the responsibilities. So we have unmarried couples cohabitating. Let's just live together, and if it doesn't work out, no big deal, we'll just split and go our way. 

My generation embraced free love, as it was called, and had sexual relations with as many people as they could. And what is worse, they even bragged about the number of people that they would have sexual relations with. To make it even worse, the pressure, I don't know if those of you who are as old as me can remember, there was great pressure put upon you to engage in this kind of thing. If you were considered, if you were a virgin when you were in high school, you were considered a freak. 

I mean, this was unheard of. You have to be joining into this sexual revolution. It's just a part of it. So if you didn't, you were some kind of a freak. Come on, man, what's wrong with you? You know, something's going on. 

I want to read to you; you don't have to turn there, but 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 13 to 20 says this: Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord. And the Lord is for the body. Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be. Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For he says the two shall become one flesh. But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.

Now I heard a statistic a couple years back, and I know that's probably a lot higher than this now, but a number of years back I heard a statistic concerning marriage, and that is that about 50% of marriages now end in divorce. Okay, they start well and then within a few years, divorce. So 50%. And I know that that number is quite a bit higher now, but these are just the problems with heterosexual relationships. Now add to that homosexual issues, and it just seems to compound. That which was once kept secret and hidden is dragged out into the open to be openly displayed for all the world to see, and if you disagree with it, you are a homophobe. You are bigoted and unloving. Besides, you've heard this: love is love, right? Love is love. 

What difference does it make who I have sexual relations with? Love is love. And so this marriage institute is under fire on every side, and when the marriage institution crumbles, history shows and proves time and time again that the nation which is engaged in that is going to crumble and fall. 

The Institute of Marriage began way back in Genesis chapter 3. And let's go back there, Genesis chapter 3. And I suppose you're all wondering what in the world this has to do with Hosea. We'll tie it all back together here, I promise. In Genesis chapter 3, oh wait a minute, no, excuse me, chapter 2, Genesis chapter 2. The beginning of verse number 18 says this: Then the Lord God said, it is not good for a man to be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him. Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to every beast of the field. But for Adam, there was not found a helper suitable for him. 

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept. Then he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh of that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which he had taken from the man and brought her to the man. The man said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

So here we see that this is the very first mention in the Bible of marriage, that God instituted the marriage contract. Interestingly enough, it is monogamous and it's between a male and a female. I don't care what the rest of the world tells us; they can say what they want about marriage. God's institution is between one man and one woman. All right? It's not between a man and a man or two women or whatever else you want to call it. Marriage is between one man and one woman, and that is how God designed it. 

This is supposed to be a very passionate and a very exclusive relationship. Nobody is to infringe upon this holy institution that God has created. Nothing is to come between the man and his wife. God is jealous for us, and we can see the jealousy that rises up between people when they're having problems in their marriage. If one suspects one of having relations with someone else or there's an anger that rises up, and justifiably so. This is an exclusive relationship. This is something that God has designed and purposed. This is a part of the cornerstone of our society and across the societies of the world. When this institution is broken down, we come into big, big, big problems.

In fact, marriage was so important in God's eyes that in Deuteronomy chapter 24 and verse 5, you don't have to turn there, I'll read it for you. He says, when a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army nor be charged with any duty. He shall be free at home one year and shall give happiness to his wife whom he has taken. So how important is marriage in God's eyes? It's so important that he instructed the children of Israel that when it happened, they were to take a year off. That man was not to do anything except give pleasure to his wife. That's it.

Oh, how far we've gotten away from that in this day and age. I know that when my wife and I got married, we went right off to a Bible college. I mean, within a couple of weeks, we went from being engaged to being married and now being in Bible college. It was a very, very, very stressful time. God said that this was such an important thing to him, that this relationship be something that is strong and viable, that that man take an entire year off from doing anything. Not serving in the army, not going out and doing battle, but just spending time with his wife. That is how important it is.

Now, marriage is also used figuratively of God's relationship with Israel. Isaiah 54:5 says this: For your husband is your maker whose name is the Lord of hosts, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel who is called the God of all the earth. Isaiah 62:4 and 5 says this: It will no longer be said to you forsaken, nor to your land will it any longer be said desolate, but you will be called my delight is in her, and your land married. For the Lord delights in you, and to him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you. As the bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.

Did you ever stop to think about that? You ever stop to think that you are precious in the eyes of God, that he delights in you? I know that that's hard for us to understand and comprehend because we spend so much time thinking about how bad we've been. We spend so much time looking down and feeling bad about how I've screwed up or something like that, and yet the Word of God says that God delights in you. Isn't that something? Isn't that amazing? Those of you who are married, you know those first parts of your marriage, what a wonderful thing it is, and how you delighted in each other. What a wonderful thing it is. Praise God.

Now, it's also used in the context of Ephesians 5. Let’s go to Ephesians chapter 5, and I better put something in here so I don't forget. Because this marriage, marriage is also figurative of Christ and his church. John just preached on this a few weeks ago, so you'll remember it; it should still be fresh in your mind. But chapter 5, beginning at verse 21, it says, Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, he himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their own husbands and everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her, so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and blameless.

So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church because we are members of his body. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

So we have to understand that marriage, in God's eyes, it is to be a figure of Christ and the church. It raises this to a level higher and holier than just about any other institution that there is. This raises it to a very, very high level. Let's go to Revelation chapter 19, the book of Revelation chapter 19, beginning in verse number six. 

Now this is towards the end here. This is right before the, I believe it's just before the thousand-year reign of Christ. No, excuse me. This is after the... well, I don't know, let's just read it. Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder. You think it's going to be quiet in heaven? 

Anybody here think it's going to be quiet in heaven? The only place where it says that there's going to be silence in heaven was about a half hour before the women get there. Well, I mean, that's just in Revelation chapter 7; it says that there's a half hour of silence in heaven, so we just assume that that must be the half hour before the women get there. Bad joke, I'm sorry. Saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, write, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, these are true words of God. 

Amen. So there is coming a day when Christ is going to come for his church. In the Jewish customs, in the Jewish custom of marriage, they have what's called a time of betrothal, and that is where the marriage begins, is when they are betrothed. It would be kind of like our engagement, but in the Hebrew world, this is far different than engagement like we have. We’re, you know, in our engagement we're kind of testing each other out to see how we're going to do and if we're going to be compatible. In the Jewish system, you would betroth; you would be betrothed to the one that you are going to marry. Then the bridegroom would depart after being betrothed, go to his father's house and prepare a place for his bride. When the time was right, he would return for his bride and bring her back to his father's house, at which time the wedding feast is held. 

John chapter 14, verses 2 to 3, says this: In my father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you and myself, that where I am, there you may be also. So that little thing there in John chapter 14 tells us that Jesus is our bridegroom and that he has gone for now to go and prepare a place for us. 

I like what Keith Green said a number of years ago. Listening to Keith Green one time, he said it took six days to create this world that we live in. Oh, how beautiful it is, isn't it? It's gorgeous; some of the stunning views. He says that Jesus left to go and to prepare a place for us, and he's been working on that place for 2,000 years. If it took six days to create this beauty, can you imagine for a moment what that place is going to be like that Jesus has prepared for us? Glory to God. That's going to be a wonderful, glorious day. But we are considered the bride of Christ. 

Now we're going to go back to the book of Hosea now, and we're going to begin to tie some of this together. But what's important to remember, you know, and one other thing I just wanted to bring in, and that's Hebrews chapter 13, where it says that marriage is held in honor among all and the marriage bed undefiled because fornicators and adulterers, God is going to judge. We're going to see in the book of Hosea just exactly what they're talking about there. We are to hold marriage in a very, very high place, amen? Especially in this day and age, we need to hold this in a very high place. 

So let's go back to Hosea chapter 1 and verse number 2. It says this: When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry. For the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord. Now, one of the things that I really, really love about the book of Hosea is that in this we are going, the book of Hosea, we are going to find the gospel. This book is the gospel. The whole thing is the gospel. I see this as, if you'll indulge me, I see this as Jesus being sent to the earth to receive his bride. And what does he come back for? A harlot. He comes back for a harlot, a prostitute, somebody who has given themselves over to something else. There's nothing beautiful for him to have here, is there? There really isn't.

But he's sent to take himself a bride, and so Hosea, whose name is kind of like Jesus, comes to this earth to take a bride. All he has is a harlot. All he has is unfaithful, unbelieving, stiff-necked, hard-hearted individuals. In chapter 2, she leaves him. We're not going to look at it now, but in chapter 2, Gomer leaves Hosea and goes back to her old ways of harlotry. You can imagine, just think about this. God is inviting Hosea to come and to partake in the suffering which God himself is suffering. Because if anybody's gone through a divorce, they understand that this is a heart-wrenching thing.

As she leaves, Hosea, it says in chapter 3, loves her. In fact, God commands Hosea to, in chapter 3, he says, go and take a woman who is loved by her husband, this woman of harlotry. So Hosea is told to go and take her back again. He is to purchase her out of her debts that she has accumulated during her time of harlotry and to win back her fidelity. Can't you see the gospel going on here? Can't you see that God has got a picture of what his desire is for us? 

To me, it's just mind-boggling that God would take a people, a people who are not, and of course he's talking to the children of Israel. Remember, God took them out of the land of Egypt and said, you are going to be a people for my possession. At one point, God said that God, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. I can't remember exactly; it's in Deuteronomy somewhere, I don't remember exactly where it is, but God is a jealous God. 

He betrothed to himself the children of Israel. The children of Israel, shortly after they came out of the land of Egypt, began their harlotries. In fact, in Amos, the book of Amos, it talks about how the children of Israel not only took the tabernacle with them, but they brought the tabernacle of the god Molech. I can't remember the name of the other one, but brought their idols with them as well. Their harlotry began right away. That's the picture that we have; that’s harlotry.

But look at this, how this book kind of follows the gospel. Here you have Hosea, who's told that it’s time to go and take your bride, and that this bride is going to be a harlot. Now look at the book of Romans, for instance, Romans chapter 1. The gospel always starts, if it's really the gospel that you're hearing, it starts with the bad news first, folks. It always does because you can't really understand the glory of the gospel until you understand how badly needed salvation is. 

The book of Romans, chapter 1, beginning at the 18th verse, I think it is, and going through chapter 3, spells out for us just how bleak and dark the situation is. People talk about wanting to... we hear about it a lot in this day and age, the seeker-friendly churches. Folks, nobody seeks God. I don't care what anybody says. You didn't seek God. God sought you, just like God sought Adam and Eve when they fell. 

It wasn't Adam and Eve that went looking for God; it was God that came looking for Adam and Eve. You know you've fallen in sin. You know that you have fallen in sin. Now let me just back up here. I understand that I'm preaching from the Old Testament, and we are not under the law anymore, and I want you to understand that. What I am talking about is what you were, not what you are. What I was, was a sinner. I was deeply marred. I was depraved. I was disgusting, and I was destitute, and I wasn't seeking for God. God came looking for me, just like he comes looking for you. Just like he went looking for Adam and Eve. “Adam, where are you?” After they had sinned, after they had completely turned their back on God and did what they weren't supposed to do. They ran and hid. God came looking.

Isn't that the glorious nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ? That he came looking for you and me. He left the 99 on the mountain and came looking for that one that had strayed. That was you and me. Praise God. This is a glorious, wonderful gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

So he came to this world, and all he found was what was found in Romans chapter 1. If you want it, we're not going to read it. I'm not going to go into it because we don't have time for that this morning. But I encourage you, go and read those first three chapters of Romans, and you will see that all of mankind is completely and totally enemies of God. But that's the good news. That while we were still enemies, Christ died for us. 

Christ came, and he paid that debt for us. And so we're going to see as we go through the book of Hosea, we're going to see the gospel laid out before us. I believe it's in Hebrews. I believe it's in the book of Hebrews where it says that in chapter 3, I believe it is, or maybe it's chapter 4, where it says that they, speaking of the Old Testament saints, they had the same gospel preached to them as we did. The same gospel. 

You say, how is that possible? That was the law. Well, the gospel was proclaimed throughout the Old Testament. Many people believed. If you don't believe me, look at Simeon when they brought Jesus into the temple. As an old man, Simeon was one who loved God and was looking for the consolation. When they brought in Jesus, Simeon takes Jesus into his arms and says, Now Lord, let your servant now depart in peace, for I have seen your salvation. He was just a baby.  I have seen your salvation, and he is the light of the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. He loved God and accepted the gospel.

It says they didn't receive, in Hebrews, they didn't receive because the message they heard wasn't mixed with faith. The only way that we can come to God is by faith, amen? That's it. The only way we can come. The gospel is that we are saved by faith, not by anything that we do. Certainly in the book of Hosea, you're going to find that they didn't do anything worthy of being saved. In fact, quite the opposite. They did everything to be damned. 

I think that's kind of how it works with us as well, until we come to Christ. And you are a new creation. I want to... those of you who are in Christ Jesus, you are a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, all things are new. We are not under the law anymore. We do not struggle under the law anymore. We are not to struggle under the law anymore. It is not our master. We have been set free. 

Praise God, we have been set free. We'll see that as we get into this book, there's such a passion in Hosea as he prophesies. Oh, go and look at it, the 10th chapter, where he cries out in the midst of all this judgment that he's proclaiming. He says, oh Ephraim, Ephraim, how could I give you up? My heart is overturned; my compassions are kindled. You can hear the hurt even within Hosea as he dealt with his wife. 

There is that passion, oh, I can't give you up. I love you. That's the gospel, folks. That's the gospel. Jesus loves you, and he came and paid a price for you. I'll close with this. We're going to get out of here pretty good hour today. Turn with me to the 14th chapter of Hosea. The 14th chapter of Hosea, I don't know if you can see the gospel in this book. Go home and read it. But I think you'll find the gospel in this book. I think it's worthy to go and study the Old Testament and find it because Jesus is like a jewel that if you find him, it says that all the treasures of wisdom are hidden in Christ Jesus. 

Jesus said you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and they are those things that speak to me, but you're not willing to come to me. We have to look for him in the Old Testament, and it's worthy of looking. It's fun to look. When you find him, it's a glorious thing. It's a wonderful thing. Please don't be afraid of the Old Testament. Just when you're reading it, don't think that you are under its edicts and demands anymore because Jesus has set us free. 

Let's close reading in Hosea chapter 14. Again, you're going to hear the passion of the Lord for his people. Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him, Take away all my iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips. Assyria will not save us. We will not ride on horses, nor will we say again, Our God, to the work of our hands. For in you, the orphan finds mercy. 

I will heal their apostasy. I will love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily, and he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon. His shoots will sprout, and his beauty will be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon. Those who live in his shadow will again raise grain, and they will blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon. O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am a luxuriant cypress; from me comes your fruit. 

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things. Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble in them. Do you see the gospel in here? Because the old covenant, remember, was a covenant of do, do, do. If you will do this, I will do that. We know from Jeremiah chapter 31 and from Ezekiel chapter 36, God says that the new covenant that he is going to bring about for the children of Israel and of Judah, and we are partakers of that through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But he says that I will take away that heart of stone, and I will give to you a heart of flesh. 

Amen. In Ezekiel chapter 36, he says I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in obedience to my statutes. Praise God. This new covenant is... he says I will remember their sins no more. They're gone. Don't you hang on to them. Don't you wallow in them. Let them go because the Lord has taken them away. He has given us of his Holy Spirit. Romans chapter 8, such a wonderful... we're studying that right now on Thursday nights, but what a wonderful chapter because it shows the work of the Holy Spirit now for the New Testament believer.

The Holy Spirit is given for the purpose of doing the work of God, that work that God promised that he was going to do. We see it time and time again in the writings of the New Testament. He who began a good work in you will bring it to perfection until the day of Christ Jesus. Amen. Aren't you grateful for the new covenant? Aren't you grateful for the Lord Jesus Christ? 

I hope this will spark some interest for you in going back and reading through the book of Hosea. It'll probably be quite some time again before we get back into the book of Hosea, I hope, because I much prefer having John preach. But I hope that this stirs up some interest for you and it stirs up a desire in your heart to go and seek the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. He's found everywhere; you just have to look. When you find it, the picture is so beautiful. This picture in the book of Hosea is one of the most beautiful pictures of Christ and his dealing with Israel. 

Aren't you glad that he's not done with Israel? Aren't you glad that he said that he wouldn't wipe the name off the face of the earth? Like he said in 2 Kings chapter 14, God's doing a work with Israel today. They have gone deep in depravity. They have turned their back on God and they have walked away. But God's not done. The promises in Hosea are fulfilled for the children of Israel. But we now also are partakers and sharers in the covenants and the promises. According to Paul in the book of Ephesians, we are partakers with them, you and me. Amen? 

Let's have a word of prayer. Father, what can I say? You are so good. There's none like you in the heavens or the earth. Lord, we should have been cast away. We should have been... And yet you came, and you sought for us. You not only sought for us, but you died for us. You suffered and died to take away our sins and to prepare for yourself a bride. And so, Lord, we come this morning with the fruit of our lips to say thank you. There's nothing else we can say but thank you. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Continue that work in our hearts and in our lives to make us more like your son, to make us more like Jesus. Holy Spirit, take control of our lives. 

We long for that day when you will split the heavens and you will come and you'll call us home to that place where you have been preparing for us for the past 2,000 years. Lord, we long to be with you where you are. But Lord, while we are here, you have called us to go and to preach the gospel to all creation. We want to be found faithful when you return doing that very thing. We want to be those who are preaching the gospel, sharing the gospel to this lost and dying world so that we can fill up the banquet hall of heaven. And so, Lord, help us to do that, I pray. We love you and we thank you in Jesus' name.