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good morning everyone welcome back to free Grace Baptist Church and warm welcome to the visitors amongst us this morning few announcements before we get started so this morning we have the privilege of having Pastor Ryan malar preach to us most of us probably all of us know Ryan but if you're a visitor here this morning Ryan was sent out from our church to church plant in the north oan aen he's the pastor pastor of of the Reformed Baptist Church there in Armstrong so we look forward to hearing from you this morning Ryan bless you and uh this evening we are having a joint service with Siri reform Baptist Church as well so we've got lots of visitors today that's happening at 4:00 rather than at 5:00 to make time afterwards for a time of Fellowship so you're very welcome to come if you're a visitor and you didn't know about it haven't prepared don't worry join us there'll be plenty of food we're looking looking forward to a time of Fellowship after the service this evening uh Wednesday night bible study will be at 7:30 p.m. as usual so now let us turn our hearts to worship we're going to read from Psalm 145 the first 133 verses for our call to worship turn with me your Bibles to Psalm 145 Psalm 145 a praise of David I will sto you my God O King and I will bless your name Forever and Ever every day I will bless you and I will praise your name forever and ever great is the Lord and greatly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable one generation shall praise your Works to another and shall declare your Mighty acts I will meditate on the Glorious Splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous Works men shall speak of the might of your your awesome acts and I will declare your greatness they shall utter the memory of your great goodness and shall sing of your righteousness the Lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and great in Mercy the Lord is good to all and his Tender Mercies are over all his works all your Works shall praise you oh Lord and your Saints shall bless you they shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and talk of your power to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts and the Glorious Majesty of his kingdom your kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and your Dominion endures throughout all generations amen if you turn with me in your Salter Himel to Psalm 98 C 98 c as in Charlie and we will stand together as we sing this Psalm of worship sing to for the he has his right hand and our most holy to his in his love and mercy he has made Sal in the sight of every nation he rightous has Mercy for his people he has ever and is ande Sal he has to all sing sing PR of sh before the Lord of King with all your to the of your voice Lord [Music] is Al will the nation and his shall be may be seated let us turn to the Lord in prayer gracious Father in heaven we thank you for this beautiful day this glorious day a glorious day to enjoy the beauty of your creation that surrounds us a glorious day to Revel in the blessings of the new creation the new birth a glorious day to gather as your people corporately and to worship our great God together and it's a glorious day to fellowship with Believers from from Sister churches we thank you for the privilege of this day we pray that your blessing would rest upon all that we do and all that we say for your own honor and glory Lord we pray that you would bless Pastor malar as he comes up later to preach to us we pray oh God that you would Inspire and direct the words that he speaks and that he would share your heart to us from the scriptures that we might be edified and might be challenged we might be um sent on our way rejoicing this day Lord we pray that you'd continue to bless that old church up in Armstrong we pray that you would cause them to be a light a witness and a testimony to that location the north Okanagan we pray that you'd bless them with unity and with with growth not only in numbers but in maturity we thank you for the good work that you are doing there and Lord we pray that you'd continue that work for your own honor and Glory we pray for other sister churches we think of the church in sui this morning pray that you would bless Pastor Kirk Patrick as he preaches encourage that congregation we look forward to fellowship with them this evening we pray that it would be a glorious time together Lord we do pray that churches all across this country that are preaching the gospel would be blessed this day with the presence and the anointing of the Holy Spirit to call Sinners out of Darkness into Marvelous Light and to encourage and instruct the Believers in the faith we thank you for the good that you have done and the good that you are doing is in this nation of Canada we see Darkness around us but we see the light of the Gospel going forth and we know that you are in control of all things we know that the gospel is being preached all over the world and that you are building your church and we are joyful with that fact we pray oh God that you would continue to build the church in the most difficult of Nations where the church faces great persecution help your Believers to remain steadfast and and to continue to share the gospel and not to shrink back and Lord be with those that are suffering severe persecution and those that are in Chains this day be gracious to your church all over the world I pray oh God lord we do thank you that we live in a nation of relative freedom in spite of the darkness around us we pray oh God that you would be merciful to us and that you would restrain the hands of evil magistrates and bless those men in power that are that are believers we pray oh God that you would give us a peaceful and a and a and the ability to live a peaceful and a quiet and a Godly life in all sincerity and Lord prepare us for whatever you have for us in the future we thank you for your your kindness upon us we pray oh God that we would make every use of the opportunities that you give us in this nation bless our fellowship here this morning I pray oh God that you'd work in the hearts of the families and the children young people in this church continue to draw them to yourself oh God and I pray for those who are not able to be with us this day because of illness or other providential hindrance I pray you'd be merciful to those Saints and bless them this day with your presence and with uh the comfort of the Holy Spirit we ask these things in Jesus name amen amen for our next hymn we'll turn to 153 in the Himel 153 oh day of rest and gladness again stand with me as we sing and gladness oh day of joy and oh and [Music] sad high and holy through sing Holy Holy Holy to the great God you the creation the is for our salvation Christ from glorious was to oftion heav man of to Holy the his with your and and water fleshing gra ever from this our of we the rest to Spirit of the BL to Holy prises to father and to the church voice of prises to May seated please open your Bibles with me to the New Testament Gospel of Matthew as we continue our consecutive reading in the New Testament we're in Matthew chap 11 this morning and we will read the entire chapter Matthew chap 11 now it came to pass when Jesus finished commanding his 12 disciples that he departed from there to teach and preach in their cities and when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ he sent two of his disciples and said to him are you the coming one or do we look for another Jesus answered and said to them go and tell John the things which you hear and see the blind see and the lame walk the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preach to them and blessed is he who is not offended because of me as they departed Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John what did you go out into the Wilderness to see a re shaken by the wind but what did you go out to see a man clothed in soft garments indeed those who wear soft clothing are in King's houses but what did you go out to see a prophet yes I say to you and more than a prophet for this is he of whom it is written behold I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you assuredly I say to you among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist but he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he and from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force for all the prophets in the law prophesied until John and if you are willing to receive it he is Elijah who is to come he who ears to hear Let Him hear but to what shall I liken this generation it is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their Companions and saying we played the flute for you and you did not dance we mourned to you and you did not lament for John came neither eating nor drinking and they say he has a demon the son of man came eating and drinking and they say look a glutton and a wine bibber a friend of tax collectors and sinners but wisdom is justified by her children then he began to rebuke the cities in which most of his mighty Works had been done because they did not repent woe to you corzin wo woe to you Betha for if the mighty Works which were done in you had been done in Ty and siden they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and Ashes but I say to you it will be more tolerable for tyer and sidon in the day of judgment than for you and you capernium who are exalted to heaven will be brought down to Hades for if the mighty Works which were done in you had been done in Sodom it would have remained until this day but I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you at that time Jesus answered and said I thank you Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes even so father father for it seemed good in your sight all things have been delivered to me by my father and no one knows the son except the father nor does anyone know the father except the Son and the one to whom the son Wills to reveal him come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light amen let's pray thank you Father in Heaven that we have this privilege of coming to Christ not because of what we have done to earn his favor but because what of what he has done on our behalf thank you that we can come we can taste and see that the Lord is good and indeed his yoke is light his burden is light compared to the burden of sin that weighs us down when we are born and throughout our Our Lives we struggle with these uh difficulties that corrupt us and and destroy us but when we find Christ when he finds us he releases us from that burden of sin and his yoke is so much more pleasant thank you for your grace and your mercy we pray oh God that you would be with us in a special way this day in Jesus name amen for our final hymn we'll turn to Psalm 1 in the alter Himel Psalm 1 selection b as in bravo Psalm 1B and we will stand again to sing s fory God [Music] is his is GL SE highest are all is fresh and in all [Music] he sh the and all all for S rightous the will be man you may be seated well Brethren it's a truly a joy to be here with you again uh this morning to worship Our God together um it's hard to believe it's been almost a year and a half since the last time I was in the Pulpit here so um time sure does fly but the Lord has been very gracious to us very gracious to the church in Armstrong and uh we're just thankful for your prayers and your continued support of uh of all that's going on up there um you can turn your Bibles this morning to the book of Hosea Hosea chapter 2 Hosea chapter 2 this morning we're going to look at verses 14 to uh through to verse 23 but I will read the entire chapter so we understand the context of where we're picking up in verse 14 so Hosea chapter 2 beginning at verse 1 s we'll uh we'll begin at verse two bring charges against your mother bring charges for she is not my wife nor am I her husband let her put away her harlotries from her sight and her adulteries from between her breasts lest I strip her naked and expose her as in the day she was born and make her like a Wilderness and set her like a dry land and slay her with thirst I will not have mercy on her children for they are the children of harlotry for their mother has played the Harlot she who conceived them has behaved shamefully behaved shamefully for she said I will go after my lovers who gave me my bread and my water and my wool and my linen my oil and my drink therefore behold I will hedge up your way with thorns and wall her in so that she cannot find her paths she will chase her lovers but not overtake them yes she will seek them but not find them then she will say I will go and return to my first husband for then it was better for me than now for she did not know that I gave her grain new wine and oil and multiplied her silver and gold which they prepared for Baal therefore I will return and take away my grain in its time and my new wine in its season and I will take back my wool and my linen give given to cover her nakedness so I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers and no one shall deliver her from my hand I will also cause all her merth to cease her feast days her new moons her sabbaths all her appointed feasts and I will destroy her Vines and her fig trees of which she has said these are my wages that my lovers have given me so I will make them a forest and the beasts of the field shall eat them I will punish her for the days of the Bales to which she burned incense she decked herself with her earrings and jewelry and went after her lovers but me she forgot says the Lord therefore behold I will Allure her will bring her into the Wilderness and will speak Comfort to her I will give her her Vineyards from there and the valley of aor as a door of hope 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 that they shall be remembered by their name no more and in that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and 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 sow her for myself in the earth and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy and then I will say to those who are not my people you are my people and they shall say you are my God Amen well let us pray Our Father in heaven we do come before you now and we appeal to you for the power of your Holy Spirit now Lord that you would be pleased to Tabernacle Among Us that you would uh Aid and assist in the preaching of your word that you give Clarity of thought and of of speech father we pray that you Aid in the hearing of the word that you would open our hearts to receive the truth and the Glorious gospel that we find contained in this passage here and that and that you would edify and encourage your people here on this day that they would leave here rejoicing in God our savior Lord we pray that if there be any this morning who are with us who are not in Christ that the that the spirit would shine brightly into the dark hearts and illuminate them and and give them uh show them the Savior and that they would run in faith to him and and crying out for salvation and and finding their finding that salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ so father we pray that you would be glorified now and it's in Christ's name that we ask this amen well the book of Hosea is one of those Minor Prophets that we're probably a little bit more familiar with and uh and maybe perhaps only the first three chapters of the uh of the book simply because in it we find this very uh unique uh story relationship between Hosea and his wife Goomer there and that's and and after that we perhaps sometimes we may lose interest in the book because then after that God goes on for for about nine chapters inditing the Israelites for their sinfulness but this intriguing story between uh Hosea and his wife Gomer and we we see what happens just to give a bit of a recap there as is is Hosea is instructed to take goer his wife and he does that he brings her into his household he provides for her and um and things start off well but then she cheats on him with other lovers and she has children as a result of those illicit relationships and what happens then is that uh is that Hosea divorces her and that's what we find in the what we just read in the first 13 verses uh it's a it's a court case a divorce case happening and and he divorces his bride and but then but then we'll find out in chapter 3 which we're actually going to look at this evening in chapter 3 where God instructs Hosea take back your bride and it's it's a very dramatic story that's playing out but we we what we learned from Hosea is that this relationship is actually teaching is there to teach the Israelites about what they had been doing to God they were Gomer in the picture God had taken Israel he had he had brought uh brought them had chosen Israel as his bride brought her into the promised land of his his glorious Kingdom but they cheated on him as it were they followed after other gods they worshiped the Bales um primarily also the golden calves that jeroboam had set up but they committed spiritual harlotry so as a result of that God was going to divorce them God was going to Exile them out of that land but then he also promises that he's going to take them back to be his bride again that he's going to plant them back in the land they will be returned from Exile the way is going to be made for them to come back to this Promised Land but we have to understand the analogy does not stop there it's not simply uh simply Hosea and gmer pointing us to Israel and we're just to look at this as if we're looking through a window and watching how God is interacting with Israel we have to realize that this is this is a mirror we need to read this as a mirror where we are looking at ourselves where we see how God is interacting with uh with with us with mankind His Image bearers that um because God had created us in mankind for the purpose of dwelling with him dwelling with him in a in a in a paradise of the in the Garden of Eden is where we is where this all started there he he was he was placed Adam was created remember Adam was created in the dust of the Wilderness outside of the garden Genesis 2:8 I believe then God created the garden and planted man in that garden with him there in that in that Abundant Life that he had and Adam was to be faithful to his creator he was supposed to live according to the knowledge of Good and Evil that he had written on his heart he was to be faithful to that he had that intimate knowledge of God simple terms he had the law of God written on his heart he had to he was to live in obedience to the law of God but he was not faithful Adam and Eve they were they were not faithful to those uh to the terms and that relationship because they violated the knowledge of Good and Evil that they had the relationship was broken and they were exiled out of the garden back back um cut off cut off from from the from the life that they had in the garden God sent him back into the Wilderness from which he was taken and he says from from you were made from the dust you're back in the dust and you're going to go there and return eventually to the very dust from which you were taken now this is not just indicating that he was one day was going to physically die and his body would would Decay but indicating that he he has now been separated ated from God he's he's already been cut off and and and but eventually that's going to lead to Eternal separation from God Eternal uh Eternal death there and that's where every single human being finds himself because it's not just Adam and Eve who violated the law of God every single one of us has violated the law of God every single one of us has been exiled has been that relationship has been cut off we've been divorced if you want to use that language to to keep the analogy they're cut off from the Creator on the path to Eternal death now dying you shall die that was the curse and that's where every one of us finds ourselves apart from from Christ excuse me but and and that's the important thing to note is in Genesis chapter 3 this whole story that takes place we have we have a promise given to us as well Adam and Eve sinned Adam and Eve were were exiled they were sent out of the garden but there was a promise that one day life again would be offered that hope of of having the relationship restored by this one the seed of the woman who would come to crush the that Serpent and make that way and and free them from the from his grasp and make that way back to to that relationship with their creator and that's what we find in our text today that of of the Lord yahweh's way of of reconciliation with his bride and there is a there's a lot in this section and there's there's we're going to look at you know several verses 10 or 12 verses here and there's a lot going on here but so we're going to do sort of a high Lev flyover and we're going to see how we'll see The Gospel According to Hosea here this whole picture of how God is deals with us in this in the restoration of that relationship to him so in the first part of chapter 2 we we saw how Israel was going to be they would be cut off because of that unfaithfulness there and they were going to be cut off from the Abundant Life that God offered them God they they had Abundant Life In the Land wine and oil and and all these blessings that they had it it was it was such abundance there but they were cut off and then and and it was going to become a Barren lifeless Wilderness there and that's where we that's where we pick up today then where with uh with god with God beginning that process of restoring his bride now for us maybe before we get we get going we should understand it's going to helpful for us to understand what uh what marriage a marriage process looked like in the Old Testament uh similar to what we do today perhaps but but there are some things that we need to understand here so first a man would Court his bride and what that looked like was that he would uh or his potential bride we might say he would he would do so by making a proposal of what he could offer her he would propose uh the what type of what what he could provide for her what kind of abundance he could offer what kind of life he could he could provide for this uh for this this woman and if she accepted that offer then they were betroth they were they they became Legally Legally husband and wife there it was a legal ceremony vows were taken vows were made legally they became husband and um and wife but then he would leave and he would go and he would go to prepare that Abundant Life that he promised and that he offered he would prepare prep that life he would prepare his household his his kingdom we might say and once that was prepared he would come back and he would he would return for his bride and then he would take her and he would bring her home into uh into his household and then and at that point the relationship was was consummated and that's uh that's what we see here in the text today verse 14 through 15 we have the courtship and then in verse 16 through 20 we have the betrothal and verse 21- 23 we have consummation there so we'll we'll begin in verse 14 he says I will Allure her and bring her into the Wilderness and speak Comfort to her so we begin in the wilderness Wilderness as Barren lifeless Wilderness the state of death we might compare it to that's where we begin and God says from there I will I will give her her Vineyards from there from the Wilderness now we have to understand the word the word translated in verse 15 as give that's the typical translation but according to the Hebrew lexicon it's also also can be used to uh to to set forth to display or to exhibit so from the Wilderness he's going to exhibit her her Vineyards where she's in the wilderness and but she he's displaying The Vineyards for her and the valley of aor as a door of hope so this the the the valley of aor was the valley that the Israelites entered into the promised land uh when they when they first possessed it having come out of Egypt that was where the the sin with achen took place where after they had captured Jericho but remember Jericho was the first city they captured as they entered into that Valley which then LED them into the promised land here so so God says here that he's they they are they're in the wilderness they're they're they're they're cut off from God still but yet he's going to give them a look at the life that they uh that he can offer them they can have a look through this Door of Hope and they can see The Vineyards and they can see the abundant life that he's offering to her there the the life that they had lost by their unfaithfulness to him and he shows her that um that he's willing to offer this life again to them and they can see the they they they have a glimpse they have the The Proposal is given there look at this life that I can offer you Abundant Life in this land again is this something she would like to return to or is she happy to stay in the wilderness and in the in the slavery House of her oppressors well what's her what's her answer and in middle of verse 15 she will sing there I think this is a poor translation um actually if I think if you have an nesb in the margin notes it says the word simply just means to answer she will answer um there she will respond God offers this the his bride this the opportunity do you this of this Abundant Life in the land and she responds from the Wilderness and she responds to him and it it says as in the days of her youth as in the the days when she came up from the land of Egypt and and if we go back to um this is like she responds back like she did in the affirmative we might say back when they first entered into that marriage covenant when God when God rescued them out of slavery and and um in in Egypt then he entered into that marriage covenant with them and they that's Exodus 24:7 God had given them the law God had shown them the the the Covenant this is the terms of this relationship that we have and he told them about this Land of Plenty that he was bringing them to and it flowed with milk and honey and and he would give it to them and they would dwell with him there and they answered they responded all that the Lord has said we will do and we will be obedient to that they accepted that they accepted the terms of that Covenant they they they desired that we want you to be our God Yahweh and we will be your people that would be their response here as well now we have to see there's we have to notice and we'll come back to this in a minute but there's no giving of the law here very very uh very interesting we'll flesh that out in a minute there's no giving of the law here but the idea is that they will answer in the affirmative God is going to make this proposal do you want to this Abundant Life that I can offer you back in the land there and they will accept it and we see how this relates to to uh to mankind we've all sinned we're all in the spiritual Wilderness apart from God we're all we're all dying about to return back to the death and and utter cut off being cut off from God for forever there but God offers Abundant Life he offers eternal life there and and he he offers that to everyone everyone who is in who is in the wilderness in spiritual Darkness who is cut off from God he makes the offer this is what I can give you this is what I can offer you abundant life eternal life and what's what is required of us nothing's required just to Simply respond to answer to to accept that offer that's what faith in Christ is accepting the offer of Abundant Life that he that he can offer to us and that he's made available for us we know that God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life Jesus said to um he said that I've come that you might have life and you might have it abundantly that's what Christ offers to us and we are simply to to all we all is required of us is to receive that to accept that offer in faith now I intentionally skipped over a line in in verse 14 and and I and and it says in here that I will or and that I will bring her into the Wilderness and I will speak Comfort to her literally it says I will speak over or I will speak to to her heart and that's very significant very significant now I'm not going to we're not going to get into you know spend a lot of time on this perhaps here but but God says he says here I will speak over her heart I will I will I will ensure that she's going to accept this offer of eternal life this is what we call in theological terms we call the it the the effectual call the the gospel call goes out to every single person but God's people those who who are his are God God speaks to their heart as it were he he makes them willing to accept that offer they willingly accept it they they they willingly receive what Christ is is offering but they've been made willing God has God has spoken to the heart the the confession says it this way he effectually draws them yet they come most freely being made willing by his grace so that's a that's a it's a that's an important bit of of um of information here so we see so God God is God Woos his people we might say he calls them out he calls them he draws them with the with the offer of eternal life he by giving them a glimpse through this through the door of hope to see the Abundant Life he can offer and he makes them willing and he doesn't do so with with romantic charms but he but he does so by changing their heart making them want to leave that slavery behind that they are they're enslaved to in in this in this spiritual Wilderness and and to desire to join this glorious Kingdom of life and then comes the betrothal the the legal ceremony verse 16 and that day says the Lord that you will call me isi my husband and no longer call me be Ali my master B Ali so we always think in terms uh when we when we think in terms of bail we're always off most often almost always thinking in terms of the false god or gods of the Canaanites there but what the word actually just means is Master Lord uh owner it's very Sim very similar meaning to the Hebrew word adoni which we often translate as or always translate as Lord or Master as well very uh very similar so so why is she not going to refer to him here as um as Bali as my master my owner anymore well because a lord or a master an owner is um is someone whose laws you must obey in order to maintain that relationship a husband on the other hand is one whom the the bride entrusts herself to and for for safety and for provision and for providing everything necessary she entrusts herself to that to the nurture and to the care of her uh of her husband and he loves her not based on her obedience not based on her performance in any way that's uh and and that is important in the old Covenant that Mosaic Covenant God made with Israel Israel said B Ali my master we will obey you we will we will do those things so that we might have this life in the land but in the renewed relationship after they violated it and they were exiled in this when the relationship is restored it's they're not accepted by their obedience to him anymore no longer do is it is it B Ali my my Master but it's my husband it it is it is entrusting themselves into his care and his provision and his love for them as the as as their husband well it's the same thing for us EXC our our relationship to God we've we by virtue of being an image bearer of God we were to obey his law if we had wanted hope of eternal life we we had to obey his law well every single one of us didn't we broke that law we violated that law but how can we have that relationship restored by trying to obey the law again by trying to to earn and be obedient to him no we simply call him our husband We Trust we entrust ourselves into in in faith to his mercy and and and his provision his provision of this of Salvation from from where we are at and and the provision of eternal life that he offers us we we don't earn our Sal salvation by obedience we simply accept it by faith now that doesn't mean that we don't need to live in obedience to God's law that's not what that's not what I'm saying here but remember we're we're in the betrothal ceremony the legal ceremony where they legally become husband and wife this is this is the legal part of this in theological terms we would say this is justification justification is that legal transaction whereby we become we become that relationship is restored and we become United with God in this in this uh marriage Mar covenantal relationship here and then he goes on in verse 17 I will take from her mouth the names of the Bales that they shall be remembered by and they shall be remembered by their name no more so God says here while we're talking about the Bales uh you know about owners about Masters you won't call me b Ali anymore but but neither will you mention the names of the Bales and and remember them by their names he says remember them by what their name means Master owner you you won't be owned by them anymore you won't be enslaved to them anymore I'm going to free you from the bondage that you're in we know that's what we didn't I didn't touch on it too much but we know that's what happened when Israel sinned against God they went after the gods of the Nations the foreign Gods but what happened when God said you're not mine anymore and he let them over and he and he removed that Mercy remember his uh hosea's children were named low ruhama no mercy low Ami not my people when God said that to Israel and God removed that protection what happened all those illicit lovers that she wanted they turned on her and they enslaved her Assyria did that to the northern uh to the northern kingdom Babylon did that with the southern Kingdom and they enslaved them they turned on them but God says here no longer are they no longer will you say of them ba that you're not gonna you've been freed from that you've been you have been released from bondage well that's what that's what each one of us are we're enslaved to our sin we the very thing that we desired the very thing we went after enslaved us because of that they turned on us as it were but God says I will I will free you from that spiritual bondage that you're in we're going to look again we're going to see that in in chapter 3 this afternoon in more detail but there's one more thing God promises here in verse 18 as part of this um this betrothal ceremony he says and that day I'll will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field birds of the air creeping things to the ground and bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the Earth to make them lie down safely so so this is rooted in the in the creation narrative and then the Dominion Mandate of um that we find in Genesis now we don't necessarily have the time to uh to go in detail through all of this here but but um and and have a do a real study on the biblical Theology of these animals that that are listed here the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creeping things of the ground but we but suffice it to say we have to understand these uh these are creatures that all inhabit the Wilderness these these are all Wilderness creatures these are all creatures that are contrary to comfortable life to to to the to the to the comfortable and abundant and prosperous life that Yahweh offers to his people we see these these animals sometimes they're you know they're referred to as lions or bears wolves locusts flies snakes scorpions these are these are all animals that are contrary to Abundant Life contrary to what God is offering these are the animals that took over the Promised Land once and made it a Wilderness and made it an uninhabitable place when God exiled his people out of there verse 12 um of chapter 2 we see that the the The Vineyards turn into just a jungle a forest and the beasts of the field will eat them and they will take over that uh that Promised Land but God makes a uh a promise here Yahweh says to them that he says I will I will ensure these creatures will not uh will not harm you when you go back to live into this uh in this Kingdom again he's he's guaranteeing to them that nothing will come in the way of of this uh Abundant Life that he offer offers nothing is going to uh nothing can hinder that there he and he tells them that that bow and sword of battle I will I will shatter from the earth and make them lie down safely there's there's there nothing is going to be able to overcome them nothing is going to prevent them from from uh and and and he's and he is guaranteeing that he will carry this plan out there now again a lot of a lot more could probably be said about this but this is a reminder for us that um that when when we have faith in Christ when we have faith in Christ to save us from the situation we're in to save us from the spiritual bondage that we are in and we look to Christ and we and we accept that offer of Abundant Life and we legally become his and and and we join legally as as his bride he guarantees that nothing will happen to us nothing can separate us from his love that's what Paul Paul says in Romans chapter 8 you can see uh you can turn there if you want a reminder of that this is um this is a good reminder for us again especially in times when we see we see such wickedness around us such evil in the in the world he said you can look at verse 38 of Romans chapter 8 for I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our lord nothing nothing can hinder us when we believe in Christ when we become his nothing can hinder us from receiving the Eternal and the Abundant Life that he has promised uh to us this is the Christian hope this is this is the Christian hope that the Christian hope is not a subjective I hope this happens I hope that when I die that this turns out to be true no the Christian hope is this is guaranteed to you this is what you're looking forward to and and nothing is can hinder that we we're not hoping this turns out to be true but we have absolute confidence in our God that he will not lose us and and he will bring us to uh to this eternal and Abundant Life that he is promising to us that's the beauty of of of understanding our God is the creator there's nothing there's nothing nothing that can hinder this Paul gives this list here in Romans chapter 8 uh death life Angels principalities Powers any this the spiritual forces of of wickness wickedness but what what does he say at the end or any other created thing that's the important reminder here that everything that exists is is creature except for our God he's Creator and when you belong to the Creator you don't need to fear the creature no no matter how how powerful the creature may see may seem to be you do not need to fear Him and God will guarantee has is guaranteeing that he will bring you into this Abundant Life that he has promised turn back to Hosea again verse 19 and I will betroth you to me forever yes I will betroth you to me in righteousness and Justice and in loving kindness and mercy and I will betroth you to me in faithfulness and you shall know the Lord so this is the bride price I failed I think I failed to mention at the uh at the beginning there but the but the the the bridegroom would pay a price to um to what we call it redeem redeem the bride for himself he he he would pay a price and this here is is the bride price Yahweh this is what Yahweh is going to give for his bride so that she can be his and that and and she can dwell with him and he's going to purchase her for himself in or or with is maybe a better translation but with in in an act of righteousness and Justice and an act of loving kindness and mercy and an and and combined as as this act of of faithfulness of of of uh commitment we might say of that the faithfulness to his people an act of righteousness and justice but also an act of love and mercy well we know that brings us straight to the Cross doesn't it that's the cross is where God's perfect Justice was was and his perfect righteousness are put on display where all the sin of his people is paid for in full the this sin has been paid for remember God said that in the day you eat you will surely die Paul tells us that the wages of sin is death so if we've sinned against God Justice demands the payment be made well that's what happened on the cross the sins of all those people were paid in full and it's an amazing Act of of loving kindness and mercy why because on the cross it was not those people paying for their sins it was not them hanging there it on the cross it was he himself paying for the sins of the of his people he makes that payment to to satisfy his own Justice through through the death of the Incarnate Son of God the Jesus Christ when he assumed human nature upon himself went to that cross so that he could bear the sins of his people paid in and paay it in full righteousness and Justice being upheld but loving kindness and mercy wherein my place condemned he stood and sealed my pardon with his blood what an act of faithfulness he's as as it says in in verse 20 here that's how they that's how God's people are freed from the bondage of sin and and that's the the payment for their Redemption and again we're going to we're going to flesh that out more in chapter 3 this afternoon as we where where we really see that taking place so to recap then to where we are so far God proposes eternal life to his people they come in faith they accept that that offer that gift of eternal life then he beats draws them to himself he pays the bride price and he guarantees that nothing will break that relationship nothing can inhibit his plans for eternal life but then he also promises that he will consummate that relationship he will he will come back excuse me he will come back and bring his people uh into his household into his kingdom to dwell with him that's the end of verse 20 and you shall know know the Lord knowing the Lord that's the that is the way that the the Hebrew Bible uses the word know to indicate um intimacy of a marriage of a marriage relationship here the marriage bed that there and the and um that's the language being used here but we have to understand there's nothing sexual going on here let's not mix categories here it's the it's that intimate knowledge that man will have with Yahweh when he enters glory to be with him when he when he perfectly knows Yahweh again and he and he experiences God to the fullest he and he dwells with God in in uh in his household in with him forever that's then the relationship has reached it its apex it's and and it and it it's final it's and it stays there for eternity it um it is is a forever relationship after that time so God promises this is this is this is this is coming you shall know the Lord then we get to the to the actual consummation then verse 21 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 with new wine and with oil and they shall answer Jezreel and then I will sow her for sow her for myself in the earth so remember what I said after the betrothal ceremony the bride the the groom sorry would leave he would go back and he would prepare his Kingdom he would he would prepare his household for his bride he would ensure that that everything was in order to welcome his bride that he had everything he promised the bride was was ready and when it was when it was all ready then he would go back and he would get her and he would take her home and he would bring her into his household where she would come and dwell with him for forever well that's what Yahweh Promises to the nation of Israel here remember the land as part of the curse the land land had become Barren it was a Wilderness but God was promising that it would be that he would give them abundance abundant Abundant Life and he says here I will I will I will I will call out to the heavens and and the heavens are going to send rain on the Earth and the Earth is going to respond with with with beautiful crops of grain and and Vineyards and Olive yards and you're going to have grain and oil in abundance and and it's it's it's this glor Kingdom that I promised you and I'm he says I'm going to make it I'm going to build it for you he's going to he's going to to have everything ready that he promised there and then you will see it end of verse 22 and you and they will they will answer Jezreel jezrael is the Hebrew is the is is a name but it's but it means the Lord SWS the Lord plants so so the bride will see it and they will say wow jezrael the Lord plants he has he's done just what he what he said he will do he's restored what we once had and we lost because of our infidelity and our unfaithfulness but he has restored it he's given us exactly what he promised and then verse 23A he will take you and he will plant you in that life of abundance that Eternal abundant Kingdom he will plant you in there with him in glory and then he says and I will have Mercy on on her who had not obtained mercy and I will say to to them you who are not my people you are my people and you shall say you are my God this is the consummation of that relationship this is where this is the end where it reaches its goal God takes his bride and he brings them into the kingdom that he has promised this Kingdom of abundant and eternal life where they dwell with him forever and he he lavishes his his love upon him his care and his compassion and and his nurture and his protection everything that's bound up that's all bound up in that word mercy that we find here the the love of a husband for his bride and he and he lavishes that upon her you once were he says you once who were not my people you once who were cut off and I didn't and I had I had exiled you you are now again you are my people and you have this mercy and this love and and he says and I will plant you in the land we go to be with our with with God when we when we die we go to be with him in in glory the the The Wonder of that the amazement think about that we who who we we totally ruined everything we had that at the beginning we had we had the life in in Eden but we ruined it we we violated his law not just Adam and Eve every single one of us has done that same thing we followed we followed after the the footsteps of um of of the one uh of Adam and Eve our Our Father our our head um chapter 2 verse uh verse 4 indicates that actually for us this is a bit of an aside but but um in Chapter 2 verse4 I will not have mercy on her children go Hosea says to gomor or God says to Israel because they are children of harlotry the Hebrew word there does not mean there are children who've been born by harlotry born of harlotry verse chapter 1 verse uh verse two uses that language there she's going to have children who are born of harlotry here it is it is Children of harlotry meaning they're doing the same thing go hosea's children had followed after their mother and done the same thing well that's exactly what every single one of us has done we can't blame it on Adam and Eve we have followed right in the same footsteps as Adam and Eve and we have violated that law and we have committed spiritual harlotry we've ruined everything but the the Wonder the amazement we can have this back we can have it restored and we can have this we have the promise that this is that that we get to go to dwell with our God and and in eternity and we can say we can say forever you are you are my God this is this is this is amazing eternal life the abundance it's coming to us Brethren this is what we have in our future and this this is not this is not floating on on fluffy white clouds for eternity this is reality this is the earth renewed recreated restored we are and we are planted in the earth and we get to dwell with our savior we receive our glorified bodies back and the veil is removed and we can lay eyes Upon Our Savior as as real as you and I are sitting here looking at each other now where we will get to see our savior in glory in this glorious New Creation Heaven of of the new heavens and the new Earth and God and man dwelling together for eternity that's in our future right now we have we have the Glimpse through that through the door of hope we have a we can see what's in store for us of this abundant eternal life Christ is gone he's gone back to prepare a place for us turn to John 14 that's where he tells us that explicitly John Chapter 14 verse one let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to myself for where I am there you may be also and where I go you know and the way you know so take en courage Brethren be encouraged we're we're in the betrothal stage right now we leave legally we belong to him legally we are under his care and under his protection we have the and the relationship has been restored but we're not yet with him but we're going to be with him be encouraged take courage he's he's not going to he's not going to flake on us he's he's he is he's coming back he's promised that he will do this he will take us to be with him in glory there's a there's a a day coming the bridegroom he's going to arrive he's going to to arrive that the the sound of trumpets and he's going to bring his bride um his bride home to be with him and he's going to he's going to plant them in the world in this in the world that he is renewing in this glorious eden-like Paradise the veil will be removed and we we will know the Lord in eternity of bliss in his presence be encouraged be excited as well be excited imagine a bride think of think of a bride who's betroth to a husband he's made the proposal of what he's what he's going to provide for her she's accepted she's excited about this and and they betroth then and she uh he goes he goes away to get it all ready for well imagine the excitement imagine the excitement of a bride like that the love and the and the anticipation as she looks forward to to what uh to to to receiving all this and to being with um with her her husband when he comes for her the excitement that she would have are we like that brothers and sisters are we excited to to to know that our Christ is coming and he's coming for us and and we have the anticipation of that or have we have we lost our first love maybe you used to be excited you used to be excited to serve him and and and and but now that that relationship it feels cold maybe and it feels kind of lifeless well we know that we we know the problems not from God's side in that relationship God never changes his faithfulness never never changes it cannot it does not wax and it does not Wayne he remains faithful he remains loving the problem then is with us somewhere the the coldness there in in Chapter 2 we read uh we read it um this morning at the beginning Hosea says to goer he says put put away the the the harlotries from your sight and the and the and the adulteries from between your breast put them put them away there maybe maybe we're like Goomer if we've lost that if we've lost our first love we're like goer we have something still clutched between our breasts something that is that some sort of adultery that's taken uh that's taken place uh the place of our savior and we have it clutched between our breasts that we'd rather have than him are we like that that we maybe we're flirting with someone else we're betroth to him but we're flirting with with uh with with someone or something else other than our betroth bridegroom trying to find some sort of satisfaction in the in this lower world that's going to that that we might that might bring us some Joy but rather than bringing us joy it suck the joy out of our relationship with Christ and we've lost that excitement of belonging to to the Lord but I hope that that today we can have again take a take another Glimpse through this Through the Door of Hope here and and see what Christ has offered and and what he's done to guarantee that and that he and I hope that that encourages us and that Kindles that love again rekindles it or maybe fans the Flames or and and and gets it burning again the where the joy and the the excitement uh returns there and maybe I'll take it a step further is is that every every Lord's day we come to meet with our maker our our husband every Lord's day and and I and can I say this without sounding weird every Lord's day is like going on a date every Lord's day we it's going on a date with our betrothed husband the veil is still on the relationship is not consummated yet but we get to come we get to spend time with our betro husband we get to we and and we get to to to to come and learn more about him and to hear from him through the preaching of the word as he as he speaks to us and as we as we speak to him and we sing his Praises that's that's where the fire is rekindled if it's burning low anyone who's married here understands um the the importance of spending time together and going on a going on a date where you are not distracted Maybe by kids or or anything like that but you can have that time together to learn again about one another and to increase that love well that's what but that's what a church service that's why we have church that's why we have we're given the Lord's day where we can it's a it's a small taste of what's coming it's a small taste of of the of the Eternal rest and Glory that we that we have where we get to come we get to sing to our Lord he speaks to us through the preaching of the word so that we can get to know him better and so that that love can be can be and the excitement and the joy can return and can increase so so so don't neglect that that means of GRA gra don't neglect that it that that that means that God has given for the increasing of the knowledge of our savior growing in love and be encouraged as well by this Brethren Isaiah 54 verse 5 Isaiah says to the people your maker is your husband the Lord of hosts is his name your you and and and uh I'll flip it backwards the Holy One of Israel is is your Redeemer he's the god of the whole earth think of what he's saying here the one that you're betroth to is your maker the one that has redeemed you is the Holy One of Israel the god of the whole earth be encouraged when when you're betroth to this one your creator like the psalmist says Whom Shall I Fear Whom Shall I Fear there the as as Isaiah also says to to Israel your god reigns oh Zion your God Reigns don't don't be alarmed there's take courage press on till he comes to take you home he has guaranteed that he's going to do that he's guaranteed that nothing can thwart that so be encouraged don't look at the evil in this world and it's it's evil we know that we've seen that more and more increasingly more don't let that discourage you don't let that make you anxious and and and worried nothing can thwart God's plans nothing can can take you out of that relationship with him if you are in Christ if you're a believer in him but if you're if you're not a Believer here this morning you need to listen carefully you you saw the offer God has made the proposal again this morning you've seen you've been given a glimpse Through the Door of Hope to to the Abundant eternal life that God can offer you you've you've seen it again abundant eternal life as opposed to what the Wilderness barrenness destitute of anything good the the the what's coming your way is the terror of Eternal separation from from God but he can rescue you from that he's given he's given the the way you saw the way today clearly it's not through it's not through serving him as Master it's not by trying to obey his laws and and try to earn your favor earn his favor Again by your obedience to him as as your your bail your master your owner that's not the way it's not through your tears it's not through your humility it's not through your best attempts at keeping his law it's simply entrusting yourself into his care entrust yourself into his protection into into his love that he alone can and will save to the uttermost that he will take back back all those who come to him in faith he will he will save them to the uttermost all who come to God through him through Christ that's what faith is believe in him it's accepting that offer of eternal life as as made possible by the work of Christ and then you too if you believe on him you too join this glorious this glorious Kingdom you become legally his legally part of his household and he will watch over you and he will bring you then into that Eternal Bliss of Glory with him do not delay but believe on him well let us close there in prayer Father in heaven we are so thankful for your word we're so thankful for this this book of Hosea that gives us that the the gospel Lord the the way of Salvation father we thank you for for the encouragement again that we belong to not one God among many who may be overthrown at some time but we belong to the Creator our creator and we have nothing to fear Whom Shall I Fear father I pray that this would be a time this would be a means for the encouragement of your people here that that we would leave here excited to know to be reminded that we belong to the King of Kings and the Lord of lords that we would be uh excited to to meet him in glory one day and to dwell with and and and at the thought of of Living With You Lord For Eternity I pray that that would would spur us on and drive us on as we go through this life as we deal with trials and heartaches and disappointments Lord that we would continue we would look at look have our eyes Upon Our Christ seated in glory and knowing that that he is preparing this home for us and that and that would cause us to press on uh press on in in through the difficulties of this life father I pray that we would not be anxious by the the evil that we see around us but to know that that uh that we are we belong to the King of Kings so father bless each one of us now and it's in Christ's name that we pray this amen thank you Pastor Ryan look forward to hearing the conclusion of the sermon this evening this afternoon reminder to come back at 400 p.m. for that we're going to CL close our service by singing a doxology you have praise to our God stand with me as we sing [Applause] 568 praise him all PR Father Son and Holy Ghost you may be seated for a brief time of meditation and then your m