With Bands of Love

[0:00] pizza and salad. I did say salad too. But you can skip the salad. All right, please find in your Bibles Hosea chapter 11.

[0:13] Hosea chapter 11. Again, in the minor prophets, we find ourselves. And I'm going to pull out another one of those one-liners in this time. Or we were in chapter 10 of Hosea with breaking up your fallow ground saw that Jeremiah and Hosea both used that line.

[0:34] But this Sunday morning, we're in Hosea. And we're going to read through the entire 12 verses of the chapter and kind of comment, make sure everybody is understanding of what's going on here.

[0:46] Sometimes the prophets can be a bit obscure in the language and it's the content, the timing, whether it's future, past, or what's going on.

[0:59] And so we'll try to help you to get a good grasp of what this passage is about. And there's this little line in there that just has always stood out to me. And I looked around, I saw this is stuff that kind of, it's just one of those things like people put on plaques, or that's not the word, just painted on wood, things you put up in your house.

[1:23] So let's see this in verse 1 of chapter 11. Hosea writing here says, When Israel was a child, then I loved him and called my son out of Egypt.

[1:38] That verse is one that Matthew applies to Jesus Christ. And he says prophetically, whether we picked it out or not, that's a reference to the son of God being called out of Egypt when Joseph fled to Egypt to escape Herod.

[1:54] And so that's in Matthew chapter 2. There's a prophetical application to Jesus Christ. But here Israel as a nation, God looks at them as a child. And we'll see that again here in this chapter as a son.

[2:06] And he called them out of Egypt. Verse number 2, As they called them, so they went from them. Ephraim is another term or name, one of the sons of Joseph, but used for Israel collectively.

[2:26] And that's all over these prophets. God speaks or refers to them as Ephraim. I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms. But they knew not that I healed them. I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love.

[2:39] And I was to them as they that take off the yoke on the jaws. And I laid meat unto them. There's an analogy of a father and a son. There's an analogy of a master and his beast and being kind to them and caring, not cruel or harsh.

[2:55] And verse number 5, He shall not return into the land of Egypt. That's where he called them out of. But the Assyrian shall be his king because they refuse to return. And God's going to give them into captivity to the Assyrian, to Babylon that's coming in their future.

[3:12] And there's a prophetical reference there as well to the Antichrist and the Assyrian that shows up in the minor prophets especially. And so while we're reading history, we're also reading future stuff.

[3:23] This is the way God made this book. It's amazing. In verse number 6, The sword shall abide on his cities and shall consume his branches and devour them because of their own counsels.

[3:33] And my people are bent to backsliding from me. Though they called them to the Most High, none at all would exalt him. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel?

[3:44] How shall I make thee as Adma? How shall I set thee as a Boam? Mine heart is turned within me. My repentings are kindled together. So God's struggling.

[3:55] The people are bent to backsliding. They've rejected him. They won't come to him. And they deserve his judgment, but he's struggling with it. He's struggling with giving them the judgment versus the love he has for them as his own children, as his own son, as he said in verse 1.

[4:11] And his heart's turned within. My repentings are kindled together. Verse 9, he says, I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger. I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not man, the Holy One, in the midst of thee, and I will not enter into the city, meaning to show up in anger and to destroy them.

[4:30] They shall walk after the Lord. He shall roar like a lion. When he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west, that is those in captivity. They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt.

[4:41] This is a future reference now to the second coming of Christ. And as a dove out of the land of Assyria. And I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord. So there's a promise of the restoration of Israel, all future stuff.

[4:54] Ephraim come past me about with lies in the house of Israel with deceit. But Judah yet ruleth with God and is faithful with the saints. Now it's an interesting ending to all of this because that didn't last.

[5:08] The end thought there, Judah yet ruleth with God and is faithful with the saints. Judah fell just like the northern tribes of Israel fell. And Hosea is primarily preaching to those northern tribes.

[5:21] And the analogy of them committing adultery on God is prevalent back in the previous chapters. He gives several analogies through this book. And God eventually just sends them to captivity.

[5:34] But Judah below to the south is still reigning with God. They had more good godly kings than Israel ever did. And sadly though, he references it here.

[5:45] He shows it in Ezekiel very strongly and Jeremiah very strongly that Judah just wouldn't, they followed their, what he calls their elder sister, Israel or Samaria, the capital of Israel.

[5:57] They followed like suit to their kinsmen up north and followed after other gods and fell away from worshiping God. And then Judah eventually, 120 years later after this writing, after being considered faithful, they fell away and ended up going into captivity as well.

[6:15] It's a sad commentary on the nation and on the divided nation and on how one followed the other and watched them be judged by God and then just went right into it anyway. But this passage displays in several ways God's compassion on his people and their rejection of him.

[6:32] And then his struggle, as I mentioned in verse 8, his heart turned within me, his repentings kindled together. Like he, they deserve his judgment but he loves them and wants to bring them back.

[6:43] It's this loving parent, the struggle to help them or to punish them and not know what to do and undecided. And so when verse 10 and 11 come, he looks to the future and says, they shall walk after the Lord and describes him roaring as a lion and we could run a chain of references on the second coming of Christ using that very analogy and description.

[7:04] And him bringing them back into their homes and dwelling them, he says, dwelling with them. Verse 11, I will place them in their houses. And it's sadly though, it ends back to the present with Israel being deceitful and then going to get their captivity and then Judah for the time being but falling away.

[7:27] And so that's the gist of the chapter. Whether you picked all that up or not coming through it, it's all in there. And in verse number 4 is the statement I want to draw out of this morning. God says this statement, I drew them with cords of a man with bands of love.

[7:45] I want to preach on those bands of love this morning that God drew his people. And I want to show you and notice that there's ways and areas in which God draws men. The picture that we've seen in this verse is of a master and a beast leading them with what would be a rope, a cord.

[8:03] Rather than some harness or something that he's going to command this beast with, it's something gentle. And he's leading them forward. He's not being harsh nor cruel.

[8:14] He's not whipping. He's not driving them. He's drawing them. As he says in the verse. And these are bands described as bands of love. And it's going to reveal his care and his concern.

[8:26] The compassion that God has toward us is calling them. And we'll see that all again in this chapter. Him calling them in verses 1 and 2 and 7.

[8:38] And God is calling his people and he's doing it gently. And he's just saying like Jesus Christ said, come unto me. Come unto me. Come on. Come this way. And I want to show you a better way. And Jesus Christ as the good shepherd seeks to lead his sheep.

[8:52] And sadly, we know the history here. They would not. And they refused to return in verse 5. But it's with bands of love that God attempts to draw out and to lead his people.

[9:03] And I want to preach on that this morning and show you how this very chapter has application in our lives today. Father, as we get into the scripture, please speak to our hearts. Please free us of all distractions.

[9:15] And Lord, help us to just dig into the word of God and to understand this. And Lord, I pray that you'd help me to preach it and to deliver this message. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[9:25] So in verse number 1, let me start by saying that with bands of love, God draws out of the world. Out of the world. In verse 1, when Israel was a child, then I loved him and called my son out of Egypt.

[9:40] Now, if you study your Bible at all, you know that Egypt is a type or a picture of the world. the language back there in Exodus is very negative toward what God's people experienced in Egypt.

[9:57] Oppression, bondage, cruel. They were servants or slaves. There was no liberty in Egypt.

[10:09] And God doesn't want to leave them there. He, in the, is a miraculous work. There was blood involved of the lamb, the sacrificial lamb, the picture of Jesus Christ, the two doorposts and the linal, and that picture and future picture of the cross that was unknown and unrevealed at the time.

[10:30] That through blood, through redemption, God led his people out of Egypt. And so it's a picture here of God with bands of love drawing out of the world.

[10:42] And this is going to be the picture of salvation. In 2 Peter chapter 3, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And God's not willing to leave anybody lost and just in the world to be the slave to sin, to spend their days in sin and to die and face his judgment and everlasting torment.

[11:03] That's not God's will for any man. And so with bands of love, God draws out of the world. He has no interest in damning a man's soul.

[11:14] That doesn't please him at all. And in Ezekiel, God says, I have no delight in the death of the wicked. None at all. It doesn't please me to punish or to judge a man for his sins.

[11:27] So God draws out of the world and he does it by doing one thing in particular. Look at John. Keep your place back here, but we're going to run some scripture, so be ready. John chapter 12.

[11:38] Look what God does to draw a man out of the world. Look what he points them to.

[11:50] John chapter 12 and verse number 32. Lord Jesus Christ speaking, he said, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

[12:06] That's a reference, a prophecy at that time to the crucifixion, Christ being lifted up from the earth. And what does that cross do?

[12:17] It draws all men unto him. And notice verse 33. This he said, signifying what death he should die. And so with bands of love, God draws all men out of the world.

[12:29] He draws them to Calvary. Come to Romans chapter 5. Just keep going to the right a little bit, to the book of Romans chapter number 5.

[12:42] When God draws out of the world, he points to Calvary, the greatest bands of love that have ever and will ever be displayed. It's where a Christian, I'm sorry, where a sinner can find God's love.

[12:56] Calvary. Calvary. That's the only place too, by the way. Romans chapter 5 and verse number 8. But God commendeth his love toward us.

[13:07] Look at that. He's commending it toward us and that while we were yet sinners. That's when he commended. You can call it the bands. He's extending that toward us to draw us.

[13:20] And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for, in place of, us, sinners. sinners. God commendeth his love toward us.

[13:32] Do you know where you'll find God's love for a sinner? Calvary. That's where it was commended toward them. That's where it was displayed. I'll show it to you again. Come back to 1 John chapter 3.

[13:43] This is actually a Bible doctrine. One that's pretty well perverted and not really explained or taught. But what is taught is that God is love.

[13:58] But what's not taught is that God displayed his love for a sinner at a place, at a point in time when he gave his son.

[14:10] Now look at 1 John chapter 3 verse 16. Hereby Hereby perceive we the love of God. This is an explanation. This is how we perceive or understand or know the love of God.

[14:23] Here it is. Because he laid down his life for us. He did that. That's the deity of Jesus Christ. Because he's the one that laid down his life. And it's called the love of God.

[14:35] Because he laid down his life for us. Look at chapter 4. 1 John chapter 4 verses 9 and 10. In this was manifested the love of God toward us.

[14:47] Because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.

[14:59] It's always a reference to Calvary. It's always speaking to the Lord Jesus Christ death on the cross when it talks about God's love for us. This is a Bible doctrine that people pervert or just ignore.

[15:12] Come back to Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5. And when God draws us draws sinners with bands of love he draws them to Calvary.

[15:24] That's where a sinner can find the love of God. For a man to get up and preach and say to a bunch of sinners God loves you. God loves you. And you can be his child and never takes them to Calvary something's wrong.

[15:40] And a sinner thinks well if God loves me and I know what I am you don't know what I am but I know what I am and he loves me like this then I'm okay. And I'm a good person anyway and I can pump myself up and confuse myself and never go to the word of God to find out what he said.

[15:59] Ephesians 5 and verse number 2. Do you notice that the word love is in the past tense loved?

[16:18] Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us. You'll find the love of God displayed in the past tense in this Bible when it's pointing you back to Calvary every time.

[16:32] That's not the only time but I'm not going to keep running you around for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Did he just give him?

[16:45] No. The context the reference is Calvary if you look through the previous verses in John 3 don't ever take verse 16 and say this is the greatest verse in the world and not look at the context. The context describes as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth that him should not perish but have eternal life for God so loved the world that he gave it's Calvary in the context it's always Calvary.

[17:12] The love of God is displayed at Calvary. In Galatians 2 Paul said that that God loved me and gave himself for me. So when you see the love of God in this Bible it's pointing either two ways it's either number one it's toward his children that are saved and it describes the love that God has for his sons or it's toward sinners and in that context it's always Calvary.

[17:37] A sinner cannot get to the love of God if he doesn't go through Calvary if he doesn't go through the cross. God draws with bands of love and that love is plainly displayed by the Lord Jesus Christ giving himself sacrificing himself on the cross for sinners with bands of love God draws out of the world let that be a picture of salvation.

[18:01] Now back in Hosea chapter number 11 with bands of love God doesn't just draw out of the world to save your soul but God also draws you away from the world.

[18:13] God draws away from the world unto himself and God draws with bands of love to spiritual growth and maturity. Look at chapter 11 in verse number 2 it says as they called them so they went from them.

[18:28] Now what's that talking about? It's talking about the prophets and the preachers that God sent. He says in these passages that he sent his men rising up early and calling or preaching and how often he sent unto them.

[18:43] Verse number 7 says my people are bent to backsliding from me though they called them to the most high none at all would exalt him. It's his prophets.

[18:54] Look at chapter the next chapter chapter 12 verse 10 I have also spoken by the prophets and I have multiplied visions and used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets.

[19:07] That's the they that is calling them his children and he's calling them unto the most high and instead of returning to him they're in verse 2 sacrificing unto Balaam.

[19:18] Sounds pretty worldly. They're burning incense to graven images sounds like the world. Even when he calls them out of Egypt they're still just picking up habits they learn from the world.

[19:30] Instead of worshipping and surrendering to the most high and exalting the most high in verse 7 they're following after the world and things they picked up along the way.

[19:43] But God doesn't want to leave them there. He calls them out of that. He calls them out of the world and then he draws them with bands of love away from the world unto himself. I call this the first salvation the second then transformation.

[19:58] With bands of love God draws away from the world unto himself and unto spiritual growth. He says in Exodus 19 when he brings them out of Egypt and crosses them over into their land he says you have seen what I did unto the Egyptians how I bear you on eagles wings and brought you unto myself.

[20:18] That's with bands of love God draws away from the world and unto himself. In Matthew 24 the Lord Jesus Christ wept over the city of Jerusalem and when he did he said how often would I have gathered thy children together.

[20:32] That's what I want to do is gather you all together and he likens it to a hen gathering her chickens under her wings and ye would not. But that's what God sought to do back in Moses' day that's what God sought to do in Jesus Christ and the ministry of Christ is to draw Israel unto him his children out of the world away from the world and unto himself.

[20:56] And God's still trying to do it today with you. He'll save your soul but he won't leave you alone. He won't leave you in that world alone or he'll bring you out of the world but salvation is just the beginning of what God seeks to do.

[21:10] In Philippians chapter 1 the Bible says that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. And the point is that he's just beginning when he saves your soul just the beginning of what his will and desire is for you his purpose as the Bible says.

[21:30] God seeks to accomplish something he seeks to use you he seeks to purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works not just redeemed one okay let me go look for another and leave you to yourself and to your sin.

[21:45] No God draws it with bands of love away from the world away from the world and he does so by transformation in Romans chapter 12 verse 2 he seeks to see a transformation by the renewing of your mind be ye transformed he says and so this is spiritual growth and maturity and it's in this passage as well look where we stopped and we stopped in verse 2 but look in verse 3 of Hosea 11 verse 3 he says I taught Ephraim also to go taking them by their arms that's a picture of a father taking the little child learning how to walk I taught them to go taking them by their arms doing so and directing their walk and their very first steps of life in that in that spiritual you might say that babe category of life of being a toddler or something and in that stage as a young believer God takes you by the arms and with bands of love draws you away from the world he leads you away from sin and he does it with his own hands guiding you and holding you up because as a young baby you're so easy you're so quick to fall so quick to not even perceive danger and understand that this is sin there's so much to learn there's so much so much ground to cover and so a young babe clueless

[23:13] I mean you take a little child who's just learning how to walk and let them go they'll walk right out on the road they'll just get their legs moving and just keep them moving and not really even know that I need to stop they'll walk right into a swimming pool if you don't take your arms and grab a hold of them and direct their walk and that's what God does with the bands of love draws away from the world who tries to guide your walk he tries to protect you knowing you can't you'll stumble so quickly over everything he tries to guide you away from stumbling blocks that's what God seeks to do just as a father guiding a young child we see that God's involved in every step every stage of your spiritual growth and maturity God drawing the believer through dangers through perils into a deeper walk a closer fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ he's trying to take you from a child ultimately to a soldier in that book that's the progression to a full grown soldier that can stand on his own but as a child with bands of love he takes you and tries to draw you away from the world unto himself into getting to know him he seeks your transformation your spiritual growth that father guides that child in Ephesians chapter 5 in verse number 1 he says be ye followers of God as dear children there's songs we sing in that song book says God leads his dear children along all the way my savior leads me and he leadeth me oh blessed thought with his own hand he leadeth me there's the picture of God caring with bands of love he leads us away from things that harm us and unto himself now thirdly

[25:02] I want you to see that not only in salvation and in transformation but with bands of love God also draws us to correction correction look at verses 5 through 7 Hosea 11 verse 5 he shall not return in the land of Egypt but the Assyrians shall be his king because they refuse to return and the sword shall abide on his cities and shall consume his branches and devour them because of their own counsels and my people are bent to backsliding for me though they called them to the most high none at all would exalt him because they refuse to return because they're bent to backsliding from me God's going to turn them over to the sword God's going to turn them over to punishment to correction and nobody likes this I mean who would like this this is such a negative vibe and an ugly feeling attached to this thought that God with bands of love to correction but yes absolutely yes come back to Proverbs chapter 3 this is Bible this is why this book lifts us up because we don't think this way on our own we don't like correction we don't like being told no we don't like punishment but my how badly we need it and when we get it from God it's evidence of his love it's evidence of these bands of love that God is drawing us to correction look at Proverbs chapter 3 and verse number 11 and 12 my son well that's who that's who

[26:37] Hosea is writing to he called my son out of Egypt same idea here my son despised not the chastening of the Lord neither be weary of his correction why is that for whom the Lord loveth he correcteth even as a father the son in whom he delighteth that's the bands of love that correction is evidence that he loves us look at chapter 13 in the Proverbs Proverbs 13 verse 24 he that spareth his rod hateth his son but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes the word betimes means before the time early he sees what could be and he tries to keep it from happening steering him away from it he that loveth him that is and God loves and with the bands of love he'll draw us to correction and as a Christian you may not like it it may not be pleasant but you need to learn to accept it and you need to learn to be thankful for it because it's so necessary to keep you from yourself to keep you from destroying your life and to messing things up that you don't have to mess up things don't have to turn out that way and you start leaning that way and you start going that way and God eventually sends the correction he allows you to reap some of what you've sowed and the idea is to say wake up you want more of this do you?

[28:17] because there's plenty more if you want it and the idea is that pain and that suffering it ought to cause the young one to turn and say I don't want that I'll fear you I'll obey you and with bands of love God doesn't leave you to yourself he draws you out of the world he draws you away from the world unto himself to spiritual growth but then he also when necessary draws you to correction and he's a faithful God to do that in Hebrews chapter 12 it says that God he chastens us for our profit for our profit he chastens us Hebrews chapter 12 verse 10 that we might be partakers of his holiness what a faithful God to not leave us to our sins and to ourselves God doesn't harm us he helps us that's the chastening of God we have a dog and he's if you've seen him he's a Shetland sheepdog a Sheltie and he's got tons of hair and he's got this big coat and he has a coat underneath and a second coat on top and he gets all matted up in that under his belly and all in certain spots and we try to dig it out but sometimes it just takes too much we send him to the groomer and pay somebody else to do it and we pay a professional and when he comes out of that groomer if they do a good job he comes out looking like a show dog

[29:45] I mean he's a purebred tricolor and it just his whole breast just puffs out full of fluff and when he's cut and trimmed right it really looks like a good dog for about two days and so how fun that is but that dog I took him last year probably the first time we went he needed it I took him over to I think Chatsworth somewhere to a petco over there somewhere and it was early in the morning there was nothing in the parking lot we were probably the first appointment of the day the store wasn't even open yet but they had the grooming open inside so I took the dog in over there and he and I walked around out in the parking lot waiting for the store to open and sat down and he was just fine as could be just walking around sniffing everything doing normal stuff and he went in got groomed and didn't like that a bit but then the next time I took him there to the same place he did not want to get out of the van and I thought get out of here it's been months you don't know where you're at you don't remember where you're going I thought no way get out of the van

[30:46] I took him out of the van and he got down and as we walked through the parking lot he's diving in between every car like he's going to get away and I yank him back and take him forward and then we got to that door that was like nope he did not want to go his ears are tucked his tail was down he was pulling away he was pulling away he was going anyway he did not want to go inside of that room and that dog I guess he did know that what was coming was something that he just he didn't care for something that wasn't pleasant to him he didn't want it but if he could see the difference of what that did for him it cleaned him up it got things on him off of him that were irritating him and he didn't even care he just didn't want to deal with it and I understand that but that dog needed it and that's what God does when he draws us and he even with bands of love cares about us doesn't want to see us keep messing things up and keep getting dirtier and dirtier and dirtier smelling he wants to see us get cleaned up he wants to help us he wants to the Bible describes there are people who say this this thing about us being trophies of his grace

[32:00] I don't want to call you like God's showpiece and make you think you're puffed up or something but you look so much better to him when you come out of the correction and when you receive it you come out looking so much better smelling so much better and all of the above with bands of love God knows what's best for us and he gives us what's best for us and it even shows in verse 8 that heart turned within him that those repentings kindling together because I don't want to even with my dog or with my kids or anything I don't want them to be hurting that brings me no pleasure but inside I know what's best and I know what's needed and it's love it's truly love that's inside that says I need to guide in this direction and if it's correction we need to learn to thank God for it because he's faithful to us as his children and loves us enough to do something about it so finally then with bands of love

[33:03] God does one more thing he draws us to our everlasting habitation in verses 10 and 11 of this passage says he looks to the future and he says they shall walk after the Lord he shall roar like a lion when he shall roar then the children shall tremble from the west they shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt as a dove in the land of Assyria and I will place them in their houses sayeth the Lord God looks past and now he looks past their rebellions he looks beyond it's hard for us to get this sometimes but he's in eternity you know writing this and delivering this message and it's nothing for him to see the past and the present and the future all at one shot and as God delivers this he's struggling with the oppression he's struggling with what they're deserving with what they're going to get and he just looks past it for a moment and says I'm going to put them in their houses they're going to follow me one day they're going to walk after the Lord and I'm going to place them in their houses and what God does is he sees past all of the struggle and the strife of their rebellion and of their punishment and he sees his intention for them in the end the big picture them dwelling safely in the land as he promised to do in the future kingdom and the same thing's true with you believer

[34:24] God draws us with bands of love outside of this life one day he's going to come he's going to call with a trumpet sound and he's going to call us to be with him it's not going to be us just saying I'm out of here I can't I'm going to do this no he's going to draw us out he's going to call us up come up hither with bands of love God's going to draw us to our everlasting habitation in the Psalms he's called the great shepherd that leads the sheep and although he leads through the valley of the shadow of death it ends by them dwelling in the house of the Lord forever that's why God came to us so that he could bring us to be with him you realize in 1 Peter chapter 3 the Bible says that Christ has also once suffered for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God that's why he came to pay for our sins to clean us up to bring us to God God looking past all of the nonsense all of the years of rebellion and sin and sees the big picture sees the end game bringing us with bands of love to our home our everlasting habitation there's been many an age saint that has experienced those bands of love in the end of their life many passing peacefully over to the other side as God calls them home

[35:50] I don't know if you've ever read the book I recommend you find it and read it it's called Dying Testimonies of the Saved and Unsaved and it's a book about the lost and some of the most wise and powerful men in the world and all they boasted and then it describes their deathbed experience as they're dropping off into eternity without Christ and it's not some sensational thing like I went to heaven for 10 minutes it's none of that garbage it's just true life experiences of sinners and of saved people and he describes testimonies of just some common folks on their deathbed that knew Jesus Christ and how they entered into life into eternity the bands of love the experience of that one day you'll be on your deathbed and it's not something you want to think about but it's coming closer than you know much closer than you believe or want it to be it's coming and that deathbed's coming and one day that Savior is going to call you and he'll lead you he'll draw you with bands of love to himself and you can be thankful and in that day you'll be so thankful that you had the truth and the gospel of your salvation and the sacrifice for your sins and you'll be able to walk into his arms and experience him for real so in salvation in transformation in correction and even in this case the habitation the everlasting habitation it's the bands of love that draw you home when that trumpet sounds

[37:26] I'm going to close here I just want to read one more little passage here in Ephesians and I'll just turn to it and read it and be done in Ephesians chapter 2 the Bible describes in verse 4 it says but God who is rich in mercy for his great love that's it those bands of love for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ by grace you're saved and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus it is the great love wherewith he loved us that all this was accomplished that Christ came that Christ gave him himself he bled he died he paid for our sins that he arose again that he quickened us together with him and then even raised us up who were dead in sins in verse 1 and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ the whole story the whole scene from start to finish is only because of these bands of love

[38:47] God drawing us if God left you without if he didn't have that love toward us and didn't display it and if he left you you'd be on your way to hell and maybe somebody's in here who is on their way to hell and thinks everything's fine and doesn't realize you can't get to heaven if you don't go through the Lord Jesus Christ you can't please God you can't get his attention he'll flick you into hell and not think twice about it if you reject his son you need the Lord Jesus Christ I'm thankful to have him I'm thankful to have experienced what the love of God really is not some fluffy cotton candy story from some fairy tale that people talk about God loving everybody and just hugging everybody and it's all good and hug the trees and all of that nonsense no God's God's love was displayed on a cross sacrificing his son well we don't know anything about that kind of love do we to that extent that's real stuff there and it's that love that great love wherewith he loved us that he gave his son to draw us out of the world unto salvation and then to draw us away from the world unto himself to a transformation where we end up getting cleaner and better and get to know him and serve him and love him and I'm looking at

[40:11] Ephesians 2 verse 10 now for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them he's got a plan for you a purpose and even when we don't follow through with that to correction the correction we need don't fight it accept it learn from it and then finally future he draws us to our everlasting habitation I hope you're ready I hope you're ready to walk with God in the future I hope that you know that you're saved that you're you're ready to die that you can't live until you're ready to die they say it's true let's bow our heads together this morning and as you bow your head without looking around I want you to consider the love that God has displayed toward you while we were yet sinners the love that God displayed toward you at Calvary have you experienced that love do you know that love or are you trying to please God by living a good life or by clinging to a church or by clinging to a way the way you were raised was good enough for them good enough for me have you ever received Christ have you placed your faith in the person of Jesus Christ and let go of everything else that is Bible salvation right there trusting the Lord

[41:40] Jesus Christ if you're not born again if you're not sure that you're saved today I'd love to sit down with you for five minutes and talk to you with the book opened in front of us and point you to how you can know you're saved you don't have to leave here lost you can leave here with full assurance by trusting what the book tells you a Christian understand that God's drawing you away from the world he's drawing you even to correction will you fight him on it will you be that stubborn beast who kicks and fights and doesn't want to go in or will you put your head down and say Lord wash me up clean me up I know you love me I don't want to fight you it's bands of love that father knows how to love don't fight it receive it it's what's good for you and then Christian rest in the truth that one day will be with him everlasting in our home let's stand together we're going to sing number 351 351 in the hymnal please join me in standing and as we sing you consider what the Lord would have you do not giving me love why appreciate

[43:25] HOW são fin