Let's hear God's word to us today.
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
But the more they were called, the more they went away from me.
They sacrificed to the bales, and they burned incense to images.
It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms.
But they did not realize it was I who healed them.
I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.
Will they not return to Egypt?
And will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?
A sword will flash in their cities.
It will devour their false prophets and put an end to their plans.
My people are determined to turn from me, even though they call me God Most High.
I will by no means exalt them.
How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Adma?
How can I make you like Zeboim?
My heart is changed within me.
All my compassion is aroused.
I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God and not a man, the Holy One among you.
I will not come against their cities.
They will follow the Lord.
He will roar like a lion.
When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.
They will come from Egypt trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria fluttering like doves.
I will settle them in their homes, declares the Lord.
So, Connor, do you want to come up and I'll pray for you and for us?
You need to flicker.
Okay.
Let's pray.
Father, thank you for your word that we have been able to read.
And now we ask that you would give to us your Holy Spirit,
enabling us to listen well and enabling Connor to communicate effectively and clearly.
We pray that the words he speaks would be words from you,
words of God that speak into our hearts,
teaching us and reminding us of who you are and how we should respond to you.
So, Father, help us.
And may not one of us leave this building
without an encounter with you afresh
and being changed by you.
Father, help us all, we ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Thanks, Johnny.
My dad was asking me how long it was going to be,
so I told him I'll keep it under the hour
just to make sure that he doesn't leave.
We all know it's going to go more than that.
Amen.
Once upon a time, there was a carpenter.
He used to make toys.
He had no wife, but more than anything in the world, he wanted a child.
He knew that he would love this child as best he could
One night after he had finished building a wooden puppet
He found himself wishing upon a star
That the puppet would become a real boy
So that he could have a child
You've probably never heard this story before
Sure enough, that very night a blue fairy came
And gave the puppet the gift of life
He was able to walk and talk
Though he was still made of wood
The fairy also gave him a cricket as a conscience
To guide his path in a tough, troubled world
Well, the next morning when the carpenter awoke from his slumber
He was ecstatic
He finally had a child
And just like he knew he would
He loved that child more than his own life
He got everything the child needed
A bed, clothes, education
And plenty of hugs and kisses
Of course, this is the beginning of Pinocchio
A beloved children's movie
But the story we're looking at in chapter 11 of Hosea
Begins in a very similar way
The only difference is
This is a real life love story
Of a father to his children
If you were listening carefully to Johnny
As he was reading through it
You would have noticed there's almost like a sandwich effect
In this chapter
It starts off talking about God's love
It then moves into maybe something a bit more difficult
Ralph introduced it to us earlier
God's discipline
And then goes back to God's love
And God's mercy
So the sermon this morning
Will hopefully have that same sandwich effect
Verse 1 we read
When Israel was a child
I loved him
The story in Hosea is even more wondrous
Than the story of Pinocchio
Because while the blue fairy gave Pinocchio life
And Geppetto was his father that loved him
In Hosea
God gave life to the Israelites
And was their father that loved them
It wasn't just words either
In verse 3 we learn that it was God
Who taught Ephraim or Israel to walk
He took them by the arms
And healed them
Up to this point in the redemption story
We've seen that God pulled Abraham
Out of idol worship
And promised to make him and his children
Into a chosen nation
That would experience God's love and blessings
The Israelites are these children
They're the chosen nation
And boy have they experienced God's blessings
He gave them land and a place to live
When they had none
He gave them victory over enemies
When they had no right to win the battles
He rescued them from slavery
When they turned back to him
And helped them to plunder their captors
He gave them kings
That allowed them to prosper as a nation
And become the envy of all other nations
Verse 4
I led them with cords of human kindness
With ties of love
To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek
And I bent down to feed them
What an image of our God
As such a loving father to those Israelites
Who were constantly rebelling against him
And the Lord did indeed bend down
And they were constantly in the midst of them
With bread from heaven
When they had no food
What blessed children they were
What blessed children we are
Nobody here is like Pinocchio
When he was just a puppet
That couldn't walk, talk or think
Everybody has the gift of life
Not enough of a blessing
How many of us have spent the night homeless?
How many of us have been so hungry
We had to resort to eating out of bins
Or thievery to survive?
How many of us have had to endure
The horrors of war?
How many of us have had to experience
A mass shooting?
How many of us have been educated?
How many of us have friends or family
That love us and that we love?
We are blessed children
We are the envy of many nations around the world
That don't experience these blessings
But we, like the Israelites
Like Pinocchio
Ignore our blessings
And take advantage of the Father's love
The first day Geppetto trusted Pinocchio
To go to school
To give him a bit of freedom
And an education
He bumped into the wily, honest John
And decided it would be best
To turn away from his father
To disobey his conscience
The Israelites, we see in verse 2
That the more they were called
The more they went away
From me
They sacrificed to the bales
And they burned incense
To images
After all God had done for them
They turned away from him
The more he pursued them
The more they wanted to do their own thing
The more blessings he gave them
The more they replaced him
With other gods
The more God has mercy
On us
The more we feel like
We don't need him
The more blessings we receive
In our lives
The more we think
We accomplished it ourselves
The more grace he bestows
Such as relenting from his wrath
The more we turn away from him
The more he delays his judgment
On this wicked world
To give people a chance
To turn to him
The more we turn
To other gods
Made of wood
Worthless
The gods of sex
Like the Israelites
Went whoring after
In our passage
The gods of money
And security
The gods of family
And friends
The gods of freedom of choice
The gods of self
The gods of conscience
A person's own moral sense
Of what's right and wrong
Name your own God
That you have turned to
In replace of the one
True God
Every single one of these
Gods I've mentioned
Are good
When they're not put in place
Of the Lord God
Sex is a glorious gift
From God
When performed between
One man
And one woman
In the confines
Of marriage
Money and security
Are needed
To survive
Family and friends
Are an amazing blessing
From our father God
Freedom of choice
Is another blessing
When we align
Our choices
With what the Lord
Teaches
The self
Is of great worth
When we view ourselves
As God does
Fall in children
Whose value
Comes through
What Jesus
Has done
On the cross
The conscience
Is a great thing
To guide our path
In a tough
Troubled world
When we make it
Adhere to what's
Stated as morally
Right and wrong
In God's word
However good
These things are
Or can be
None of these gods
Deserve to be
In place
Of our father
Who created us
And loves us
More than anything else
Verse 7 says
My people
Are determined
To turn from me
We find good things
From God
And manipulate them
So that we don't
Have to feel like
We're under authority
So we can feel like
Adults in control
As opposed to
The children
That we really are
We are determined
To be rebellious
We'll take a look
At the consequence
Of this determined
Rebellion
The end of verse 7
Even though
They call me
God most high
I will by no means
Exalt them
This is heartbreaking
This is the same
God speaking
That has just told us
About how he led
Israel by the arm
And taught her
To walk
The same God
Who lifted Israel
To his cheek
And kissed him
Lovingly
Now he is not able
To take pride
In his children
His children
Have disobeyed
Turned away
So badly
By running after
Other gods
Gods that allow
All kinds
Of sexual rituals
And self-harming
We read from
Other parts of the Bible
The more the Lord
Called them
The more
They turned away
So
Now it's time
For his children
To be disciplined
Verses 5 and 6
Will they not
Return to Egypt
And will not
Assyria
Rule over them
Because they refuse
To repent
A sword
Will flash
In their cities
It will devour
Their false prophets
And put an end
To their plans
God has tried
Being merciful
And gentle
He has sent prophets
To tell them
To return
To their God
Including the writer
Of this book
Hosea
He has blessed
Them in the land
That he graciously
Gave to them
When they were
Wanderers
In the wilderness
The only way
They will turn
Back to God
Is through
Hardship
And discipline
By his hand
Flick back
To chapter 5
With me
Just a couple
Of pages
It's God
Speaking
Again
Same as in
Chapter 11
It's just after
He has performed
A judgment
Against Israel
So chapter 5
Back about
Two pages
Maybe
And down to
Verse 15
The last verse
In the chapter
Then I will return
To my lair
Until they have
Born their guilt
And seek
My face
In their misery
They will
Earnestly
Seek me
Everything
God has done
It's so
His children
Will earnestly
Seek him
Well after
Pinocchio
Went with
Honest John
He got caught up
In a traveling show
Where he was
The star
He had no strings
To hold him down
And so
Mr. Stromboli
Recognized a cash cow
When he saw one
All the while
Pinocchio's conscience
Jiminy Cricket
Was trying to
Dissuade him
From the actor's life
And continue
His education
But what does
An actor need
With a conscience
Anyway
Pinocchio ignored
The voice speaking
What was Marley Wright
And got caught up
In the money
And fame
It wasn't long
Before he realized
He should have
Listened to his conscience
And that's when
Things got ugly
Mr. Stromboli
Showed his true colors
And locked Pinocchio
In a birdcage
Telling him
He would perform
Every night
And make him
Lots of money
But thankfully
In his hour of need
Jiminy rocks up
With the blue fairy
In tow
The blue fairy
Asks Pinocchio
A couple of simple questions
As to how he landed himself
In this predicament
And why he wasn't
At school
Like he told his father
Pinocchio's conscience
Advises him
To tell the truth
But again
Pinocchio ignores it
He lies to make himself
Look better
And all of a sudden
The consequence
Of turning away
From his father
The consequence
Of disobeying
His conscience
Becomes as clear
As the nose
On his face
God's word
And God's instructions
To us
Are good
When we turn away
Or disobey
There will
Be consequences
That we won't
Be happy about
When I started college
I went out
With my friends
During freshers week
I got drunk
I started a fight
With some random guy
My friends quickly
Had to bring me
To the hospital
Where I discovered
My jaw was broken
In two places
Turned out
This random guy
Was a boxer
I was on a liquid diet
For two weeks
Because they had to
Have my jaw
Wired shut
I'd like to say
I learned my lesson
And never got drunk again
But just like
The Israelites
It takes a few goes
For God
To get through to me
God tried being merciful
Where I had close calls
With cars
Lightly going over
My ankles
But it wasn't
Getting through to me
Discipline
Was needed
And it was the only way
I would listen
Discipline
Is a loving action
From a loving God
I could have done
Even more serious
Damage to myself
If it wasn't
For God's discipline
Dragging me back
To him
When we're going
Through tough times
The first thing
We should ask ourselves
Is there sin
In my life
There won't
Always be
This life has fallen
And it's very very hard
But the first thing
We should be doing
Is checking
If our hearts
Are right
With God
Just like
The Israelites
Being taken captive
Just like
Pinocchio's nose
And just like
My many drunken injuries
Disobeying the conscience
Of God's word
Has consequences
However
Like Ralph
Informes earlier
The primary consequence
Of our guilt
And disobedience
Has been paid for
By God himself
Only Friday night
I was at a gig
It was three tribute bands
I'd never seen tribute bands
Before
But basically
These bands
Have decided
To
Give up
Any chance
Of a career
For themselves
And they
Only perform
Songs
By one band
As I was listening to it
I was like
These guys must
Really love
This band
If they're willing
To give up that
And every
Single
Rehearsal
Every single gig
They're going to be playing
The one band songs
Over
And over
As I was walking away
It struck me that
Do I take
God's love
For granted
He has proven
His love
Just like the guys
In the tribute band
By giving up
Way more than
A career
He gave up
The heavenly realms
He gave up
Perfection
To be like
Us
These guys
Wanted to be like
Their favourite band
God gave up
Everything
To be like
Us
Even after
All
We've done
After all the
Disobeying
Turning away
And putting other
Things
Before our God
Who loved us
From the beginning
And has done
Everything
For us
Even to the point
Of giving up
The glory of heaven
To come down
As a human
And die the death
That we deserve
Even after all this
He still shows
Mercy
And compassion
For the rebels
For you and me
Verse 8
How
Can I give you up
Ephraim
How
Can I hand you
Over Israel
How
Can I treat you
Like Adma
How
Can I make you
Like Zeboiim
My heart
Is changed
Within me
All my
Compassion
Is aroused
In the midst
Of Israel's
Betrayal
The Lord
Has compassion
The Lord
Loves his
Children
And the
Discipline
Must come
For their
Own good
The discipline
Must come
So that his
Children will
Repent
And turn back
To him
The discipline
Had to come
In order for me
To accept my
Responsibility
As a child
Of God
The discipline
Has to come
To all of us
To ensure
That we will
Finish the race
Strong
And receive our
Crown of glory
In the end
This discipline
Does not come
Easy
To God
All his
Compassion
Is aroused
And he only
Does it
For our
Benefit
Verse 9
I will not
Carry out
My fierce
Anger
Nor will I
Devastate
Ephraim
Again
For I am
God
And not a
Man
The Holy
One
Among you
I will not
Come against
Their cities
Israel
Deserves
Destruction
They deserve
To be destroyed
And never
Thought about
Again
But the
Lord
In his
Holiness
Cannot
Allow this
He has
Made a
Promise
To Abraham
That they
Would be
A great
Nation
And that
The world
Would be
Saved
Through them
He is
The holy
One
Among them
He is
There
In their
Midst
And in a
Few hundred
Years
After the
Writing of
Hosea
He will
Physically
Come down
And experience
All the
Pain
And suffering
And anguish
That they
Experienced
And so
Much more
Jesus did
Not receive
Discipline
From God
None of
These struggles
Were because
Of his own
Rebellion
He is the
Only person
To ever
Walk this
Earth
That did
Not need
God's
Discipline
He is also
The person
Who experienced
The most
Suffering
In his
Life
More than
Any other
Person
He could
Have changed
It
He had
The power
To stop
It
Why didn't
He
I'm sure
If you were
Given the
Choice
You would
Get rid
Of all
Your
Suffering
As we're
Going to
Be
Learning
About
From next
Week
Onwards
Jesus
Could have
And didn't
Why
Because
Every time
He looked
Upon the
Face
Of those
He loved
Other people
His compassion
Was aroused
He remembered
His father's
Promise
To Abraham
He remembered
How he led
His people
By the hand
And taught
Them to walk
And heal
Them
This is
The God
We worship
God the
Father
God the
Son
And God
The Holy
Spirit
That still
Resides
With his
People
Today
Have you
Accepted
God's
Compassion
Have you
Understood
What it
Cost God
To give
Up his
Only son
And what
It cost
Jesus
To go
Through
All those
Trials
And the
Ultimate
Trial at
The end
To be
Separated
From his
Father
Who he
Had a
Perfect
Relationship
With
Have you
Asked the
Holy Spirit
To help you
Live a
Life that
Honours
The sacrifice
That Jesus
Made for
You
Have you
Repented
And turned
Back to
Your father
In heaven
Who has
Loved
You
Disciplined
You
And is
Waiting to
Throw his
Life
Saving
Mercy
At you
Like Pinocchio
When he was
Freed from
His cage
All he
Had to
Do to
Receive
His
Mercy
Was
Accept
That he
Was
Wrong
Accept
That there
Was
Nothing
He
Could
Do
To remove
Himself
From his
Predicament
That he
Himself
Had landed
Himself
In
And accept
The free
Gift of
Help
From the
Blue Fairy
Like I
Had to
Come to
The realisation
That I
Was damaging
Myself
Physically
Mentally
But most
Importantly
Spiritually
I had to
Understand that I
Was breaking
My relationship
With my
Loving
Father
Who had
Done
Everything
For my
Good
I had to
Accept the
Free gift
Of forgiveness
That has
Led and
Will lead
To eternal
Life
With my
Loving
Father
My
Father who
Will always
Be there
To work
Things out
For my
Good
Everyone
In this
Room
Needs to
Make a
Choice
Are you
Going to
Continue
In your
Destructive
Rebellious
Patterns
Or will
You accept
The free
Gift of
Life
And forgiveness
That Jesus
Has provided
Will you
Change your
Life
So that you
Can experience
All of
God's
Blessings
As he
Intendeth
It begins
With accepting
The free
Gift of
Forgiveness
Being offered
To you
From your
Loving
Father
Verses
10
And 11
What a
Brilliant way
To finish
What we've
Been looking
At this
Morning
They will
Follow
The Lord
He will
Roar like
A lion
When he
Roars
His children
Will come
Trembling
From the
West
They will
Come from
Egypt
Trembling
Like sparrows
From Assyria
Fluttering
Like doves
I will
Settle them
In their
Homes
Declares
The Lord
It has
Worked
God's
Plan of
Salvation
And rescue
Has worked
His people
Are repenting
And coming
Back to him
They're
Recognizing
Their folly
And that he's
The only
Source
Of true
Life
True
Life
That's
Everlasting
In God
They no
Longer
Have to
Be
Captives
He will
Settle
Them
In their
Homes
Pinocchio
Accepted
The free
Gift
Of
Rescue
From the
Blue
Fairy
And out
Of
Gratitude
Promised
To be
Good
From now
On
If you're
Familiar
With the
Story
You know
It didn't
Quite go
Swimmingly
For him
After that
He met
With many
Temptations
And perils
But through
It all
The blue
Fairy
Was looking
Out for
Him
And brought
Him back
From the
Dead
In the
End
If we
Accept the
Free
Gift
Of rescue
From God
Through
Jesus
Out of
Gratitude
We need
To recognize
The importance
Of giving
Love in
Return
Of
Recognize
The importance
Of living
A good
Life
A life
Pleasing
To our
God
And Savior
This is
Done by
Staying
Close to
God
And his
Commands
Always
Every day
Talking to
Our father
Through prayer
And listening
To him
Through the
Bible
As we
Come into
This
This new
Year
There's no
Better time
To make
Our
Resolutions
The first
Thing we
Need to
Do
Like the
Israelites
Needed to
Do
Is turn
Back
To God
Without
Him
All our
Resolutions
Will come
To naught
And while
Life will not
Go swimmingly
All of the
Time
We can be
Confident
That in
The end
We'll be
Brought back
From the
Dead
And raised
To life
With our
Loving
Father
And he
Will spend
Eternity
We will
Spend
Eternity
Being loved
By God
And showing
Our love
In return
To God
To summarize
God loves
Us and
And always
Has
We take
Him for
Granted
And turn
Away
Constantly
To
The Lord
Then out
Of love
Disciplines
Us
He doesn't
Give us
What we
Deserve
But has
Mercy on
Us
All so
That we
Will turn
Back
To him
Don't
Wait another
Minute
To turn
To God
For the
First time
Or turn
Back to
Him
Don't let
Him down
After all
He has
Done for
You
Through his
Son
Jesus
Give your
Life
Your whole
Life
And wait
And see
What wonders
He'll make
From it
If you
Remember
Nothing else
From this
Morning
Remember how
Pinocchio
Made so
Many mistakes
Yet his
Father and
The Blue
Fairy
Consistently
Loved him
The Blue
Fairy
Allowed the
Consequences
Of Pinocchio's
Rebellion
To happen
So that he
Would turn
Back to
His
Father
Our
Father
God
In
Heaven
Sometimes
Needs
To
Discipline
Us
But it's
Always
Done
So that
We will
Turn
Back
To him
And enjoy
The blessings
Of his
Love
As he
Always
Meant
Us
To
From the
Beginning
Let me
Just close
In
In prayer
And then
Ralph
Will
Come up
To sing
Our
Final
Song
Father God
Thank you
So much
For your
Love
You
Love
You
Love
You
Love
You
Love
You
Love
You
Love
You
Love
You
Love
Us
I pray
That not
One person
In this
Room
Would take
That for
Granted
In the
Week
Ahead
I pray
That we
Would all
Come to
You
And beg
Forgiveness
For the
Times
We
Haven't
Appreciated
You
As we
Should
Thank you
That Jesus
Took the
Ultimate
Consequence
For our
Sin
We may
Need to
Be disciplined
But we
Will never
Lose
Our
Salvation
We
Can be
Confident
That if
We have
Accepted
Jesus
Sacrifice
For us
On the
Cross
That we
Will be
With you
One day
In heaven
We
Will
Receive
Our
Crown
Of
Glory
No matter
What
We have
To go
Through
In this
Life
In Jesus
Name
Amen
Thanks Ralph