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welcome to everyone it's always good to have these nights where the uh people from sui Reformed Baptist Church can join with us for these joint services and as well it's a great privilege to have Pastor Ryan Mal jars from Armstrong and his family he's going to preach to us tonight feel like our wayward children have come home where they belong so it's a great blessing it's always encouraging to do this we did this in in our churches in Southern California months that had a fifth Sunday we'd have what was what we called quarterly meetings and it's just a blessing to be able to do that here in British Columbia with other Reformed Baptist Churches other confessionally minded churches people that believe the the things most surely believed Among Us so great time for Fellowship a great time for worship and of course afterwards there is some food and and drinks and everything upstairs so after the service is concluded we'll give thanks and then we'll go up there and have some food well for our call to worship this evening you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 145 Psalm 145 we'll read the latter half beginning in verse 14 Psalm 145 beginning in verse 14 the Lord upholds all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down the eyes of all look look expectantly to you and you give them their food in due season you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing the Lord is righteous in all his ways gracious in all his works the Lord is near to all who call upon him to all who call upon him in truth he will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him He also will hear their cry and save them the Lord preserves all who love him but all the wicked he will destroy Jo my mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord and All Flesh shall bless His holy name forever and ever amen we'll turn with me in your hym books to Psalm 122 Psalm 122a as in Alpha we'll stand as we sing together we are in your we are standing in your together alling the Lord Praise [Music] jce be your forever in your to well [Music] andal for the of for my for sing I pr for the Lord house for the Lord's House I will ever your I will ever well let us pray our blessed God and Holy Father it is a joy and a privilege to gather together on this Lord's day we thank you for the Fellowship of the Saints we thank you for the public worship of our living and true God the psalmist said he'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the tents of wickedness and certainly your blood-bought Spirit-filled children can amen that we give praise to you and glory and certainly our hearts are filled with joy as we approach such a great and glorious God as we come to the father through the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit we pray that you would be honored and glorified and worshiped we ask that you would encourage and strengthen and build each one of us up in our Most Holy Faith that you would continually knit our hearts together in terms of the The Fellowship of The Gospel that we share as churches and as we consider your handiwork in the establishment of these church plans we give you praise and glory and adoration we thank you tonight most high that we can gather in this way we thank you for the church in Suri thank you for pastor Kirk Patrick and the faithful labors undertaken by him we thank you that you sustain that you bless and that you are adding to that church such as should be saved we thank you as well for pastor malar and for the the work there in Armstrong and it encourages us to consider how you are blessing week in and week out that the people of God are growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and savior and that the Saints are are continually abounding in love for you and in love for one another as well God we pray for the work in dren we thank you for those brothers and for that fellowship and we pray that a solid and confessional and faithful Church would take root in that community and that they would shine as lights in that part of the world holding forth the word of Truth we thank you as well for our Brethren our in Honduras God we ask that you'd bless those men who labor Faithfully in the word and Doctrine continue to look with grace and mercy upon John and Melena and just strengthen and sanctify them as well we thank you for the new Fellowship the Brethren that we have in in Elder at Kenya God we pray for pastor naft and the coming travels and the ministry that he undertakes and God bless his fellow Elders Remy and Moses Lord we rejoice in what we see Christ doing in this present uh present evil age that in the midst of the chaos and the difficulty and the trials and the hardships nevertheless Christ is building his church and the gates of Hades shall not Prevail against it we gather together tonight as one body in Christ Jesus our lord and we pray that as we sing and as we pray and as we reflect upon Holy Scripture as our brother preaches may you fill him with the spirit may you fill each of us with the spirit that we may receive with glad hearts that that glorious word of God God Almighty may we just stand in awe at the glory of your gospel at the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of of Hell deserving Sinners we acknowledge that in the fullness of the time God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those under the law and we Rejoice that you have counted Us in that blessed lot that you have chosen Us in him before the foundation of the world that in time your spirit opened our hearts and gave us understanding and granted us The Graces of faith and repentance to close with our blessed savior truly it is a joy to be counted among the elect of God Almighty we ask now that you would forgive us and cleanse us from all of our sin we know there is remaining corruption in our hearts we know it from The Book of Romans and from Galatians we see it the examples of our of our beloved forefathers in the faith we know it experientially so we confess that transgression to you now trusting only in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse us as the psalmist said if you Lord should Mark an ities oh Lord who could stand but there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared and may that even be the result tonight that as we understand that glorious forgiveness of sins through the blood of the righteous savior may we respond with that reverence that fear that awe that we would draw near to you and that we would glorify your great and awesome name and for any and all who've come here tonight dead in their trespasses and sins we pray that you would awaken them you would cause them to reflect upon the reality that they are estranged from from the living and the true God but may they hear that glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ we know that the voice of God is able to shatter the ceders of Lebanon We Trust you're able to do the same with Harden Hearts uh in Rebel Sinners and we pray that you would make men willing in the day of your power and be glorified in this place tonight we pray for our nation we pray for more churches to be raised up and planted we pray for more faithful gospel preaching we pray that you would indeed have mercy upon this land the land truly celebrating what what the prophet Isaiah condemned in his own day wo to Men Who call good evil and evil good we look from C to see in this nation and we see all manner of rebellion and lawlessness and transgression against your word and we pray that you would send forth your spirit bless the preaching of that word may it run swiftly and be glorified and may it always accomplish the purpose for which you sent it and we long to see your churches full not simply for a number's game but we pray God in heaven that you in love and mercy would reach down and save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto you through Jesus Christ Our Lord be glorified in this land be glorified as well amongst the persecuted church we know so many do not have the Liberties that we presently enjoy and yet father they nevertheless they continue to go forward in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit may they know you and may they know your presence in the midst of these trials and afflictions we thank tonight of Myanmar we just commend those brethren to you and to the word of your grace we thank you that you protect them in the Orange Grove we thank you for the ministry and the leadership of Peter and his faithfulness there may you prosper him and may you cause him to continue to to know that that joy of the Lord as his strength we pray as well for the situation in the Middle East we pray as well for the situation in Eastern Europe we know there are many things going on in the world today and yet we know that you are over all things that you are working out your purpose and plan that you are doing what you do for the glory of God most high and for the good of those who love you those who are the called according to your purpose so Lord help us to rest in that fact help us to be still and know that you are God and help us to find our joy in Jesus Christ Our blessed savior so God be with us now and we ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen we can turn with me again in your hym books to number 405 hymn 405 we stand as we sing [Music] together the church preious my of [Music] God the all for my tear shall fall for my PR my [Music] highest of love and prise Jesus our our and our K share and TR shall to shall be the well you can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy for our scripture reading through the Old Testament in our evening worship we're in Deuteronomy chapter 10 Deuteronomy chapter 10 I'll begin reading in verse one at that time the Lord said to me heue for yourself two tablets of stone like the first and come up to me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke and you shall put them in the ark so I made an ark of aaal wood hewed two tablets of stone like the first and went up the mountain having the two tablets in my hand and he wrote on the tablets according to the first writing the Ten Commandments which the Lord had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly and the lord gave them to me then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark which I had made and there they are just as the Lord commanded me now the children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Ben Jaan to maera when where Aaron died and where he was buried and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his stad from there they journeyed to good uh goodgod and from goodgod to j jbba a land of rivers of water at that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to Bear the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to stand before the Lord to minister to him and to bless in his name to this day therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his Brethren the Lord is his inheritance just as the Lord your God promised him a as at that time as at the first time I stayed in the mountain 40 days and 40 nights the Lord also heard me at that time and the Lord chose not to destroy you then the Lord said to me arise begin your journey before the people that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them and now Israel what does the Lord your God require of you but to fear the lord your God to walk in all his ways and to love him to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and to keep the Commandments of the Lord and his statutes which I commanded you today for your good indeed Heaven and the highest Heavens belong to the Lord your God also the Earth with all that is in it the Lord delighted only in your fathers to love them and he chose their descendants after them you above all people as it is this day therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart and be stiff necked no longer for the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords the great God Mighty and awesome who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe he administers Justice for the fatherless and the Widow and loves the stranger giving him food and clothing therefore love the stranger for you are strangers in the land of Egypt you shall fear the lord your God you shall serve him and to him you shall hold fast and take Oaths in his name he is your praise and he is your god who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen your fathers went down to Egypt with 70 persons and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of Heaven in multitude amen well let us pray father thank you that you are such a great and glorious God thank you that you care for your people thank you that you have blessed us so richly as the Apostle Paul says with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus we rejoice in that and we pray tonight that as We Gather you would be glorified that our minds and our hearts would be drawn to the truth as it is in Jesus that you would indeed prepare our hearts to receive that word that you would fill us with the spirit that these things would affect us for good that you would further conform us under the image of your beloved Son and God bless in each of our churches with growth and Grace but as well God we do long to see more and more people come to to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ give us that boldness with the word of Truth give us that courage in a crooked and perverse generation give us that Zeal Father in heaven to see the kingdom of Jesus Christ extended through the proclamation of the Gospel of free Grace we ask God that you would add to your number add to the number such as should be saved and that you would be glorified we pray for this province we pray that you would be merciful here to our cities where our churches are located give us wisdom give us Grace give us help God as we seek to minister and as we do hold forth Your Truth again bless our brother and fill him with the spirit may his heart be encouraged may his family be encouraged may they have a safe trip when they return home and God just continue to undertake their in Armstrong and bless that local body and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we can turn with me again in your hym books to 213 213 we'll stand at As we sing together glor to Father glory to glory to God the spirit God Al mighty hallelu hallelu glory be to glory be to love us us all and S glory be to us us with hallelu hallelu [Music] praise glor to the angels glory to the church glory to the king of Nations PR hallelu hallelu to the king of glory sing Glory blessing praise Eternal the of angels Glory gra creation prise hallelu hallelu praise mighty king of [Music] King well good evening everyone it's good to uh be together again it's good to so happy to hear that the Sur church was coming when Pastor Butler said oh we had we're going to do that when you're here it's great so it's so good to uh to see everyone again uh you can turn in your Bibles back to the book of Hosea the reason I say back there uh for those who weren't here this morning this morning we looked at Hosea chapter uh 2 from verse 4 14 to the end of the chapter today we're going to or this afternoon we're going to look at Hosea chapter 3 the entire chapter five verses there so I will read uh what we looked at this morning again though from verse 14 just so we understand the context in which this uh this passage is taking place here today that we're going to look at so Hosea chapter 2 beginning at verse 14 this is the restoration of Israel as God's uh essentially divorced bride therefore behold I will Allure her will bring her into the Wilderness and will speak Comfort to her I will give or display her Vineyards from there and the valley of achor as a Door of Hope and she shall sing there as in the days of her youth as in the days when she came up from the land of Egypt and it shall be in that day says the Lord that you will call me my husband and no longer call me my master for I will take from her mouth the names of the Bales and they shall be remembered by their name no more in that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field with the birds of the air and with the creeping things of the ground bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the Earth to make them lie down safely I will betroth you to me forever yes I will betroth you to me in righteousness and Justice in loving kindness and mercy I will betroth you to me in faithfulness and you shall know the Lord and it shall come to pass in that day that I will answer says the Lord I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the Earth and the Earth shall answer with grain and with new wine and with oil and they shall answer jezrael then I will sew her for myself in the earth and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained Mercy then I will say to those who were not my people you are my people and they shall say you are my God then the Lord said to me go again love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans so I bought her for myself for 15 shekels of silver and one and a half homers of barley and I said to her you shall stay with me many days you shall not play the Harlot nor shall you have a man so too will I be toward you for the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or Prince without sacrifice or sacred pillar without ephod or teraphim afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their King and they shall fear the lord and his goodness in the latter days amen well let us pray together Our Father in Heaven again we come before you and we thank you that we can have this this time again on your Lord's day to worship you together and to examine your word together and father we pray that that now would be a time where we can hear from you through the preaching of the word and Lord we know that's only possible when you are here to with your spirit to fill us and to bless each one of us and we appeal to you Lord for the power of the spirit and preaching your word for the power of the spirit in in applying it to our hearts Lord that you would give us attentiveness and help us to push aside all the distractions of the busy lives that we live and to hear and to to sit and and focus and hear what does the Lord have to say to us today and Father we ask that if there be any here Among Us this afternoon who are not in Christ that the power of the spirit would work mly in hearts and that and that the Sinners would see the Savior in all his glory with his arms open saying come unto me all you labor and I will give you rest and that they would flee in faith to the Savior for their salvation and father above all we ask that you would be glorified here now and it's in Christ's name that we ask this amen so for for those who are not here this morning just we we looked at the second half of chapter 2 in Hosea and God is re restoring Israel the nation that was his his special people he had taken them from nothing we read that again today in in the consecutive reading in Deuteronomy it taken them from nothing and he had he had planted them in this beautiful paradise uh of the promised land and he had given them a law that they needed to follow but they violated that law they broke that law and therefore God exiled them and they were cut off that relationship was broken and no longer were they his people he said and and no longer did he have that compassion towards them but he was going to make a way of reconciliation and he does so first by by alluring them in verse 14 of chapter 2 he allur them and he and um and he what he does is he shows them what what he could offer them this Abundant Life that he was that he could offer to his people and they would they they would respond to that in in faith and then they were betroth that was the legal ceremony where they they legally became that relationship was restored legally and and then after that God takes them and he plants them in uh in this land that he promised them that he showed them through this the door of hope he gave them a glimpse of the life Abundant Life that he could offer after this betrothal ceremony he goes he prepares he builds this Kingdom that he promised this of Abundant Life and then he takes his people and he plants them in the in the land and they dwell with him forever there well we saw how all this points us to the gospel as I said this morning when we look at these texts like this we're not looking through a window into see to to see how God interacting with Israel as a nation we're looking in a mirror to see how God is interacting with us as his people as image bearers and um and and we because we have broken his law we were taken Adam and and Eve formed Out of the Dust planted in this beautiful garden life with God there given a law to obey but they violated that law they were exiled out of that garden and back into the Wilderness the barren Wilderness cut off from God no access to God but we we saw how that that how it's it's teaching us about so this passage is teaching us about ourselves we have access back to God we there is a way in which God God has provided for us he he he offers us eternal life in through the gospel through the word here that you can have this life this Abundant Life back again what you what you had and what you lost by virtue of your sin you can have it back again and and um and and by Faith by and by grace accept that offer we're betroth we're we're we're legally his Justified we call that justified legally God's and then we are planted in the land so we're looking in a mirror we're not looking through a window at political Israel we we're seeing how does this apply to us well that's that's if you know much about the or anything about the book of Hosea you you know this story between Hosea and his wife Goomer and she was she was unfaithful to him and and we you have the same story being played out in this relationship between Hosea and his bride Goomer he he takes Goomer he brings her into his household uh things things start off well but then she becomes Unfaithful and um we'll see how that story uh story takes place but we have to um and we'll see how that that story is going to yes it was there to teach Israel but what they were doing to God but ultimately it's teaching us about what we've done to God and to they will see that um the the reconciliation of that so so Hosea had married Gomer things started out fine they had a child together named Jezreel things were things were good they had the they had the intimate knowledge of one another they things started out well they had a child but then Goomer left him and she went for after other gods or other lovers I should say sorry forign uh other different lovers that she went with played the Harlot with committed fornication with she had children as a result of those relationships and in the beginning of chapter 2 essentially we see a court case where Hosea files for divorce and he says I'm going to remove my compassion my protection my my Mercy is what our our English translations um say there that I'm going to remove that Mercy from you but that's all everything in that word is is what what a husband ought to be towards a wife the care the the the protector the one who watches over and and he says I'm going to remove that from you because why low Amy that you are no longer my people again remember this is also taking place or pointing us to God and Israel's relationship so so we have God cutting off Israel but Hosea has cut off Goomer he has divorced her and he's left her on on her own well today we come we we all see the restoration of that relationship in chapter 3 God tells God tells Hosea that you are to take this woman back you're to restore this relationship and we'll see how that points us to the gospel again here so in the in the first two verses we have this the display of unconditional or of unconditioned love I might say in verse three to four we have a call to Fidelity and then verse five the promise of consummation so verse one the Lord says to Hosea go again and love this woman who's loved by a lover and is committing adultery so Goomer here she's she's described as a woman who's she's been loved by somebody else and and she's she's an adulteress the Hebrew Bible literally just the the King James tells it says lover here she's loved by a lover it just literally means she's been loved by someone else she has she has uh she's violated herself by having relations with someone other than her husband and God says you need to to you need to take this woman back you need to go and love her she is she's she's from his perspective unlovable unworthy and God says you need to go love her she's been unfaithful to him not just not just once over and over again but take her back Hosea why why would why does Hosea do this look at the second half of the verse just like to love of Yahweh for the children of Israel who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans God says God says do this just like the love that I have towards Israel the the love that I display to Israel that I have for Israel is the same love that you need to show to this woman Israel they they're unlovable they've violated my Covenant they have they have committed spiritual adultery over and over and over again and they they had the the the audacity we might say to go after other gods to go and serve other gods after all that all that Yahweh had done for them in in rescuing them out of Egypt and bringing them into this promised land yet they dare to go after other gods they looked to other gods it says here and and it tells us they love the raisin cakes of the pagans there that's a it's an interesting reference there there's not much indication in the Bible about what these raisin cakes indicated although there's a reference in Isaiah but there's something to do with uh with with uh playing a part in the religious worship of the false god some some uh think that maybe perhaps it was an aphrodesiac and um which is which is could be true seeing as there was a lot of fornication involved in Baal worship uh especially there then um that that they would go for is or for Baal worship they thought that they believed that Baal was the god the fertility God that Baal could offer life he could offer something something better than than Yahweh did he he was the one who who gave life life and the way and because he was the storm God which meant he brought the rain upon the upon the land and when the rain uh when the rain came then the and the the crops would grow and they would have this Abundant Life that so they attributed this to to Baal and the way that they did that there was a lot of fornication involved in that in the worship because they thought they would go down to the temple they would fornicate with the with the the priests and the priestesses there male and female prostitutes working at the Temple of Baal and that would please Baal then he would send the he would send the rain uh upon the land there so that's probably what's indicated here by these raising kaks something to do with that there um this the the the the part and parcel of the fornicating debauchery of Baal worship but God says here in spite of that in spite of that of that wickedness I still love them in spite of the fact that they violated my Covenant they justly deserve to be cut off forever that was the terms of the Covenant you break the law you are cut off forever Justice it God it was completely Fair completely right of God to cut them off but he says in spite of that I still love them and we have to ask the question how can that how can that be and the answer is because God's love is is not conditioned by something outside of who he is I know that's a that's a that's a pretty heavy statement but his his love is not conditioned by anything outside of himself because God is infinite we would all agree to that God has no limits no bounds nothing can nothing can limit him nothing can change him nothing can condition who he is as a god of of love nothing can can change that so his love cannot be limited his love cannot be changed his love cannot be conditioned by something outside of who he is and we have to realize this we've every single one of us has broken God's law every single one of us has has violated the terms of that Covenant God made the Covenant and told Adam the day that you eat of that tree you will surely die the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil indicating the the knowledge of Good and Evil that he had written on his heart he violated that when he uh by his sin violated that term the terms of the Covenant every single one of us has done that we've we've sinned against our creator we've gone after other gods maybe not Baal maybe not molok and and Marduk those Gods but we've served other things most likely was just our self that we were serving but we've done that we've we've fornicated we've lied we've cheated we've stolen we've coveted we' we we took his name in vain we broke every single law that God has and we've done it over and over and over we are just like Goomer we're just like Israel we there's there is the same now outwardly that looks different for every every person young people you might think well I'm not I haven't done that much you know very very bad things it doesn't matter it's because it's coming from the heart that is against God and and a heart that is sinful towards God we've all we're all there but God loves you a love that is not conditioned by what you've done in violating his his law but by who he is now I know when we we sometimes we we we get a little bit nervous when we think of a of a sinner an unsaved Sinner and God's and saying God loves you but the Bible tells us that God has a special love toward mankind as His Image bearers that he is willing to accept those uh those back who are who are his turn to Titus Chapter 3 for a moment where we we see that Titus 3 uh verse4 but when the kindness and the love of God our savior toward man appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his Mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the holy spirit in verse four it tells that the kindness and the love of God our savior towards man love towards man in the Greek is one word philanthropia we still use that word today philanth philanthropy love for man God has a has a love for men and what what do we need to understand from that never has there being one sinner who's too sinful for to be a recipient of God's Amazing Grace and and to be a recipient of God's love there has never been one sinner whom God says you're too sinful for me you have sinned too much you violated my law too much and you are not and and I won't you and you cannot be a recipient of my love God God does not say to anybody you need to First go and make yourself a little bit better make yourself a little bit more lovable so that I can love you no his love his kindness his Mercy his goodness does not depend on the state of the sinner they can't because of who he is it is it is unconditioned love unconditioned love a love that and and a love that was willing to do whatever was necessary to restore that relationship because God's unconditioned love does not mean that he takes you back and that there aren't conditions to be met that he just takes you back and pretends that that that that nothing happened there are conditions to be met but there are covenantal conditions that have to be met violating that the Covenant had consequences that needed to be met that's the that's what what um we need to understand here when we violated that Covenant there's consequences and the and the the Bible tells us the the that when we sin against God the wages of sin is death the wages of sin sin is not clean yourself up not make yourself a bit more lovable the wages of sin is death when you've sinned the condition that needs to be met is death and that's what God was willing to do pay for those consequences himself back to back to Hosea verse uh chapter 3 verse two so God has God has told Hosea go find this woman love her in the way that I would love Israel so verse I bought her for myself for 15 shekels of silver and 1 and a half homers of barley it says here he bought her we got to ask the question well then what what happened to Gomer that she needed to be bought now remember remember what I said earlier go Hosea had told Goomer he says I'm going to remove my compassion from you I'm going to remove my protection from you that that the mercy the love you're no longer my wife removing that from you you and Goomer Goomer didn't want it anymore either she thought she could find it elsewhere turn back to chapter 2: 5 their mother has played the Harlot she has conceived she who conceived them has behaved shamefully and she said I'll go after my lovers who who give me so they give me my bread and my water and my wool and my linen my oil and and my drink she thought they'll take care of me they'll protect me and and I'll go and I'll go to them they'll provide for me what Hosea is no longer willing to provide I'm going to go find that in uh in my illicit lovers there and that's and but as as soon as Hosea removed his protection from her they turned on her and no no longer would did they did they love her verse 7 of chapter 2 if you're still there she'll chase her lovers but she will not overtake them she'll seek them but she'll not find them she she'll say I thought you loved me I thought you were I thought you loved me these these foreign illicit lovers but she won't she won't find them instead they will they will they will turn on her and it doesn't tell us in that chapter but there's a at the end of chapter 4 we see that there's other places as well that indicate that the the the her illicit lovers turned on her we know specifically that's what happened to Israel look turn to Lamentations chapter 1 Lamentations comes after Jeremiah chapter 1 the first verse and following how lonely sits the city that was full of people how like a widow is she who is great among the Nations the princess among the provinces has become a slave and she weeps bitterly in the night her tears are on her cheeks among all her lovers there's none to comfort her all her friends have dealt treacherously with her and they have become her enemies Judah has gone into captivity Etc there so Israel we know they were they were went after these foreign Gods God gave them over and those Nations whose gods they serve turned on them and captured them Assyria Babylon brought her in and and turned on her and slaved her instead so it doesn't tell us it doesn't tell us here but but from the context we can we can assume we don't know whose lover who whoever the lovers were but we can assume they've turned on her and they've made her their property now and since Goomer has been is being compared to Israel there's a pretty good there's a good chance that she had been going down to the baale temple and that she had been fornicating there she had been going down and and fornicating with the with the male prostitutes and the male priests down at the Temple of Baal well once Hosea removed his his love his protection from her exiled her out of his uh out of his household she wasn't under that care and protection anymore those Priests of Baal saw that and they took her and they turned on her and now they've made her a sex slave working in the in the temple there she now she's enslaved to the very thing that she was attracted to enslaved to the very ones that she fornicated with so we can imagine Hosea goes down to the temple of baale and he says I'm here for Goomer and they say oh Goomer we yeah we have her you want to fornicate with her as part of your your worship with Baal and so that you know baale will bless your land and he says he says no says Goomer was my wife and I love her and I'm here to take her back to be my wife again and the answer is well that's that's going to cost you she belongs to us now and because he loves her and just like Yahweh told him to she spends he spends sorry the money to buy her to redeem her from her captors and it tells us that he he bought her for 15 pieces of silver and one and a half homers of barley some uh some translations will will will um translate the word leth which which is translated as a half here as more of a measure of oil um or wine so he he's paying for her with silver with barley and with with wine perhaps what's the significance of what he's what he is the of the of the payment here this this price of of her for her Redemption well previously through the book and through the rest of the book and the rest of the Old Testament the the uh concept of silver and gold and Grain and barley and wine it's all part of that that the Abundant Life that that the Lord offered it's it's abundance it's it's life it signifies life that that the Lord provided so so for Hosea to have Goomer back as his wife he has to make a payment out of this abundance out of we might say out of his livelihood so um but you can see where this is going here for for Yahweh the Lord to have his bride for Christ to have his bride back it cost him not his livelihood not Material Goods it cost him his very life remember what I said covenantal conditions the wages of sin is death life must be given and Christ was willing to do that the very so we we we see here our sin has earned us death the very thing we were attracted to when in the Genesis narrative when Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the tree indicating to us a violation of the law of God they they saw that fruit they they it was it was pleasurable to the eyes and and it was it was good to taste and it was just going to it was so attractive it was going to fulfill something more it was going to it promis something other than what Yahweh was offering and they took it but what happened the very thing that we were attracted to now and looked so promising and looked like it was going to fulfill some sort of some sort of of gratification to us instead turns on us and it and now it holds Us in its grasp now we're enslaved to sin we're enslaved to sin and the demands of sin and our sin demands the payment of death to free us from its grasp life must be given and that's what God provides in Christ the payment to free us from the bondage of sin the thing that we went after and turned on us and enslaved us God provides that payment on the cross God himself we saw that this morning uh briefly we looked at that but God himself in the person of the son having assumed Human Nature taking our sins upon himself paying in full the payment with of his life so that we could be released from the bondage of sin don't don't ever lose the Wonder of that Brethren don't ever grow cold to that gospel message that that Christ did that in our place condemned he stood in our place again think of Hosea think of Hosea going down to the Temple of Baal where's going she's in she's she's in some dark dirty back room in the back somewhere there she is she's stripped naked she's she's she's exposed she's dirty she's enslaved in the sex trait as a result of her own actions but he loves her he loves her so much in spite of the mess she's gotten herself into and he pays he pays of his livelihood to have her back for himself again that's what Christ did Christ came into this broken world uh of darkness and there he finds US naked stripped bare exposed dirty enslaved to the very sin that we chose that we went after but he loves us he loves us so much in spite of what we got ourselves into so much that he's willing to give his very life so that he can have that relationship restored and his people back greater love hath no man than this than to lay down his life for his friends you are my friends Jesus said John 15 13 it's just exactly like what he said in chap in uh in verse 15 of chapter 2 uh sorry not verse 15 um verse 19 that he would he would he would do this he would purchase his bride in this incredible Act of justice and and and and righteousness but yet loving kindness and mercy that that to in order to redeem his bride to purchase his bride for himself Justice and mercy that that's what meets at the cross there so that we can be freed from the power of sin no longer forced to work in the spiritual sex trade we've been we've been freed from that he purchased us he bought us bought us out of that and and and there's then if we understand that there's massive ramifications for how we live our lives after that if we've been freed out of that we've been we've been Redeemed by the life of our savior out of the sin that we are enslaved to Broken free of that well then why would we go back and Dabble in that again why would we go back there look at look at verse three and he says to her you shall stay with me many days you uh sorry you shall stay with me many days you shall not play the Harlot nor shall you have a man and so too will I be toward you so he buys her takes her back she's his again she's under his care under his protection she's part of his household his his kingdom we might say but not right away is that relationship back to what it was at the beginning it's not consummated right away there's he's he there's a there's a time before it will be consummated there's one one uh English version that I would probably never recommend but it translates this verse this way you will have to remain faithful to me although it will be a long time before we sleep together now that's not you know necessarily A you know as literal as the text might be but that's what's being indicated in this verse here you will have to remain faithful to me even though it will be a long time before we sleep together so she's not in bondage anymore she's she's freed from that but she's not to go back and and Dabble in that harlotry that she was uh that she was saved from and rescued from she needs to be faithful to her husband until that marriage is consummated until until they are together again look at verse four for the children of Israel now we're now we're back to the nation of Israel again they will abide for many days without king or Prince without sacrifice or sacred pillar without ephod or teraphim so so now the now we're looking at Israel again and the analogy pointing us to uh to ourselves so even though Israel is is going to be restored back to the land again it's going to be a very long time before they are with their King with their leader with the son of David on the on the throne with them again and it says here there's going to be no sacrifice or sacred pillar no ephod or teraphim there's some Paralis parallelism going on here sacred pillars and teraphim those were divination tools those were things that were were part and parcel of worship of the foreign Gods interaction with the underworld that that was connected to that uh to that the worship of these false gods there is um so they're not to and they're not to engage in that type of worship they're not to they're not to try and communicate with the underworld with some with some spiritual being other than uh than Yahweh their God they are to remain faithful to Yahweh but there's also he says here there's also not going to be um any sacrifice and there's not going to be any ephod those were those two things were part of uh religious worship for the nation of Israel they provided communion and they provided a an intimate access to God for Old Testament Israel and God says you're not you're not going to have that now there's you're not going to have that that that uh unique intimate relationship that came via the sacrifice and via the uh the ephod with me right right now you don't you're not going to have that anymore but they still had the law they still had the law and they knew what was required of them to be faithful just because they did not have these other ways of communication with God they had the law they knew what was required to be faithful and having been freed from the slave slavery they now that that they were in they were to live according to that law that's where we are right now Brethren that that points us to ourselves our relationship with Yahweh is not consummated yet we saw that in a lot more detail this morning the relationship is consummated when we enter Glory with him when he comes and returns for us at the end of the age that we might we might die before that happens and we enter what we call the intermediate state but that final consummated state is when when Christ returns to this earth he takes his people and he plants them in the earth and they dwell with him the veil is removed they see him face to face and we dwell with our King in the new heaven new Earth that's the consummation right now we are in this betrothal stage and what and what is required of us is faithfulness we are we are to we have his word and and we know what is required of us we are to live according to that until he returns we're to be faithful to him and to him alone we're not to go dabble back in the very sin that we've been rescued from we would think it horrible and and atrocious for Goomer after such an incredible and amazing Act of love that where Hosea would go and purchase her from from such such a a wretched situation we would think it atrocious horrible if she would go back willingly go back to the Temple of Baal and fornicate there again at that Temple well we should think it horrible that after an amazing Act of love where Christ gave of his very life to rescue us from that sin that we would go back to that again that's why we're called to Holiness that it's not legalism Brethren what having been saved from that we are to be faithful we would not say it's legalism to uh for you know for Goomer to not go back and work at the at the wh house again and say oh Hosea is going to going to love you anyways of course not she belongs to him again she she needs to be faithful to him well we belong to Christ we are to be faithful to Christ but here's the thing though we we know that every day we do sin every day we return to the wh House of sin and and it it doesn't tell us here but we could just we can imagine Goomer after this she goes back down to the Temple of Baal and Hosea goes again so he he he goes down there and he brings the receipts and he says She's Mine I've I've paid I've purchased her she doesn't belong here anymore and he takes her home again and he cleans her up every single day we do the same thing Brethren that's every single day the story is repeated we end up at the wh House of sin Christ shows up and he brings their receipts he he says he says PID in full those receipts say paid in full behold my hands and my feet and see the the the prince of the nails there and and see the whole in my side the receipts that he has paid in full and we are his we no longer are held captive at that wh House of sin his compassions fail not they are new every morning great is thy faithfulness Lamentations 3 God God we we sin we end up at the wh House of Baal it's not okay we it there's no there's no um no one saying that's okay we we ought not to yet we do that yet Christ comes every time and says the they are mine I don't say this so that you go out and sin I say this so that you you so that you know when you sin you have an advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous who who will love you and he will take you back and and he will be faithful to you in spite of your unfaithfulness to him that is our that is our Christ and one day he's coming then he will take us to Glory with him into his kingdom his household and we will dwell with him forever and then there will be no more sin there there will be no no more opportunity to to sin and to violate that relationship verse 5 the consummation afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their King and they shall fear the lord and his goodness in the latter days after their restoration Israel went they went back into the promised land and they lived a long time without a king on the throne many days many years and unfortunately what happened when David their King David's greater son Christ when he came there they they rejected him and they killed him and and they fa their final judgment because of that now does that mean that this prophecy wasn't fulfilled then does it mean that that that God was wrong or that God was not true to his word no it's because the old the Old Testament tells us that this Messiah this this son of David who uh who was who was coming he was going Usher in a New Covenant uh a a new uh a new relationship that he's going to usher in the Covenant that this Covenant is pointing us to and he's going to and as as we've been seeing all along here that was God's God's plan his the plan of that old Covenant and of God's relationship with Israel was to bring in the New Covenant and God's relationship with his true bride the church that's that's um so so it's not that God that God was was unfaithful to his promises it's that it was this promise was ultimately fulfilled in the Messiah in Christ coming and ushering in this new covenant here that's where we and and and that's where we find ourselves today now awaiting the arrival and the return of of our Messiah he came he redeemed his bride From Slavery he betrothed her he he he he we saw this morning he he promised say he guarantees that he's going to come back nothing's going to hinder that he's going to he's going to come back and he's going to he's going to now he's gone to prepare a place but he's coming again it's been many days 2,000 years ago he left us to go and build this Kingdom and he's building it right now and he's and he's preparing it and he's but he's coming back it's been many days and we don't know how many more days it will be before he returns but till then verse verse three be faithful to him be faithful to him as we await his return and and let us let us pursue Holiness let us like a like a bride adorning herself for the for the bridegroom to to return and with anticipation let us Adorn ourselves with with good works and sanctify sanctification cleaning up our lives yes we do this by the power of the Holy Spirit absolutely but we we we Adorn ourselves we we are excited for his return and and uh and and in the anticipation of his arrival this morning we saw that we are to be encouraged by the fact that that we're betrothed to the Creator nothing can separate us from that and we're to be so we're to be encouraged but we're to be excited as well at the thought of of going to dwell with him in this glorious New eden-like Creation that awaits Us in this or and in in Paradise with him but here we see also that we are to be faithful to him while we wait don't go dabble in the in the in the the very thing for which he died to save you from Spurgeon I think it's Spurgeon says don't trifle with the um I should have wrote it down and should have tried to quote it from memory but don't trifle with the very thing that slew your best friend and that's what we need to understand here we are to be faithful to him but let us let us let us live for him and let us never forget that amazing Act of love and compassion faithfulness where Justice and mercy me at the cross where Christ purchased us for himself and an unbeliever if you're not in Christ here now and this goes for children youngest to the oldest if you do not believe believe you are you are you do not belong to this Kingdom you are still apart from him but I hope you see what a what a a a good and a loving and a merciful god this is he's offering full and free salvation from the uh to to to those who are enslaved in their sin he says he offers that he will free you from that and that as we saw this morning that he will not just free you from that but give you Abundant Life in glory God God loved he he's he's a god of love he loved the world in God so loved the world in John 3:16 God loved the world in this way is is the is is the is the probably the better translation that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life I hope you don't find yourself here today comfortable and and and happy to be enslaved in uh in in sin happy to be like may maybe G are happy to be working at the at the the wh House of Baal I hope you don't find yourself now like that I hope that you see that this is bondage I hope you have a desire to be freed from from this and so that you might have this abundant and eternal life with him and the way to be freed from that the way to be to be rescued out of that is simply to look to him for salvation trust that he will save you and and he will that that we can't save ourselves we need to be freed from this but we can't do it we're held in bondage because of that because of the demands of justice but he says look to me and be saved all you ends of the Earth for I am God and there is no other that then then you will get to experience the the infinite goodness and the love of God for an eternity uh of bliss in glory with him that's that's what eternal life is that's what makes eternal life so so amazing it's not not the it's not the the beauty of of a of the the palm trees of Eden of a new Eden like paradise that we live in it's what does the hyw writer say the lamb is all the glory of emanuel's land we're there with him experiencing the the an eternity of the infinite love of God but if you choose to remain in your sin if you think you know there's no need that that to be freed from this I I'm happy to to just be here this doesn't really feel like bondage and and and you need to realize there's a Time coming when that opportunity to be rescued is no longer there and the end of that bondage leads to to the absence of any goodness that there might be any of the goodness that God is offering right now even the goodness of of life as you know it now there's so much goodness here there's joy there's friendships there's there's there's happiness there's good food there's there's so much goodness here yet but there's a Time coming when any goodness that of God is removed and you're forever separated from that goodness forever separated from anything good and you will only face bad wrath the the wrath of his anger against your sin and for the rejection of the Savior think of the Israelites the it they the there the Messiah came and they rejected him and they perished in the most as a nation perished in the most horrific way in 70 AD when the Romans descended upon Jerusalem you can read the account in Joseph it's horrible horrible things that are unimaginable unimaginable millions and millions of people thrown into the fires of gehenna in the valley of ham there their bodies burning and smoldering well what did Jesus say hell is worse than that the fire never burns out the worms the maggots never never die it's continual Eternal death that awaits those who reject the Messiah he Heaven is described in the Bible as as no sadness no crying no pain no sorrow it's pure Bliss well well hell is the opposite of that it's the removal of any of anything good it's only sadness it's only crying only pain only sorrow it's pure it's Terror hell is real hell is hell is a place that you go to experience what the absolute absence of any goodness looks like right now as I said you experience a lot of God's goodness but in hell it there is there is no goodness the world the world says hell ain't a bad place to be the world says all my friends are going to be there there too but that is an utter lie there there's no such thing as a friend in hell hell there because a friend is a good thing in Hell there is no goodness I understand that make no delay flee to the Savior while there's hope stop playing games you're gambling with your with your soul your life for eternity you're thinking that you're going to that you some God how some God somehow deserves to give you one more day to live and then another day and then another day you don't deserve that and stop gambling with your with your eternity today is that day of salvation trust in him look to him and he will deliver you from the bondage that you're in realize you are in bondage that leads to Absolute destruction Look to Him He will deliver you from that then go on your way rejoicing your your relationship with your maker has been restored and you're bound for Glory Be be excited be encouraged and be faithful let's close there in prayer oh Lord we we thank you for this passage of scripture again and what a glorious display of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ that we find here in the life of Hosea Lord I pray that you would take this message and that you would press it on our hearts that we would that we would be encouraged that we would be excited and that we would be uh again given a new resolve to be holy to walk in Holiness to be faithful to you Lord while we await your return where we get to go to enter into Glory with you Lord I pray that that if there be Sinners here who are unsaved that are still in that in the bondage of sins in the whouse of sin Lord that you would that you would press it upon their hearts to see that reality that that that there is utter destruction coming their way but today there is the offer of rescue from that and that they would see that Christ is that only way and that they would trust in him and him alone to free them from their sin Lord and that and that you would draw them to you and that they would they would come willingly made having been made willing and that you would save them to the uttermost and that they would leave here go on your way rejoicing for your sins have been forgiven and Lord It's in Jesus name we pray this amen we can take your hym book and turn to Psalm 134 Psalm 134 will stand as we sing together you all of the Lord his to stand by all to his oh bless the Lord his let worship him with the you from [Music] his have Earth bless be his great and holy the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen let us pray our gracious God and Father we thank you for the Lord's day we thank you for the rest that we have in our blessed savior we look forward to that consummated Glory we look forward to his return again in glory to judge the living and the dead we pray that all in this room all in our families our friends would be clothed in that righteousness and cleansed in his Precious Blood ready to meet the Lord who comes we ask now that you would bless our time of Fellowship we give thanks to you for the food we give thanks to you for your kind provision we know that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God you have filled us with that word we thank you as well that you give us physical tangible food to enjoy to nourish to strengthen and may we eat and drink now for the praise and glory and honor of Your Great Name we ask through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we can be uh seated for a brief time of meditation after the Music Stops you may go upstairs and help yourself to what God has provided