WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.260 I'm going to invite you to turn to the book of Hosea. 00:00:02.860 --> 00:00:06.390 That's where we are and our new series together on recovery road. 00:00:06.760 --> 00:00:12.410 As we look at the life of Hosea and Gomer, and I'm going to tell you today, I'm just going to cheat. 00:00:12.680 --> 00:00:15.680 I don't know what cheating means, but if there's a lesson where you get to cheat, I'm cheating today. 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:24.340 I really am just picking my favorite verses out of Hosea and we're just communicating that as the story of Hosea is communicated to us. 00:00:24.560 --> 00:00:26.530 But here's really what I want to go with today. 00:00:28.240 --> 00:00:29.820 Gomer and Hosea. 00:00:29.860 --> 00:00:34.390 Their story together is an illustration of our lives with the Lord. 00:00:34.980 --> 00:00:42.660 And I want us to see how God uses our story no matter where it's been, to draw our 00:00:42.660 --> 00:00:49.900 hearts to him and be able to communicate that to the world and connecting other people to Christ and 00:00:49.900 --> 00:00:50.960 what he wants to do in their lives. 00:00:51.820 --> 00:00:59.240 And I think it's important to know because to be used of God, you don't have to be a 00:00:59.260 --> 00:00:59.960 perfect person. 00:01:01.220 --> 00:01:07.140 In fact, I would say if you've ever read the Bible, you would find that to be true, right? 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:14.240 If you've seen the stories of scripture, you find yourself saying pretty often that man, God is really good at using some messed 00:01:14.260 --> 00:01:21.320 up scenarios with some messed up situations, have some messed up lives for his glory and to 00:01:21.320 --> 00:01:22.180 be used by God. 00:01:22.180 --> 00:01:23.240 You don't have to be perfect. 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:30.800 And in fact, I think part of the recovery process for us as people, the healing process for us as people as found found in that 00:01:30.800 --> 00:01:38.000 um, God uses us in our brokenness to be open in the way that we show how Jesus 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:42.140 works in our lives, in the middle of our mess, so that he can do the same for others. 00:01:43.100 --> 00:01:47.200 And in fact, I think Paul, when he starts his book in second Corinthians, he starts this way. 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:55.960 Verse three, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies and God of all comfort who 00:01:55.960 --> 00:02:03.240 comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we 00:02:03.240 --> 00:02:07.160 ourselves are comforted by God. 00:02:07.160 --> 00:02:12.150 I think Paul here may be leaning into the sufferings people receive externally, but he doesn't. 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:20.040 He doesn't specify that the afflictions we received, men, it may even be brought on by self, but the God of all comfort finds us 00:02:20.040 --> 00:02:20.540 in that. 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:28.200 And through the comfort we receive from that God of all comfort are Avril able to comfort others going through those circumstances by the God of all comfort who comforts us. 00:02:28.380 --> 00:02:32.120 And so that's really what Paul communicates here. 00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:39.220 I think that's where Hosea goes in his story with Gomer and you know, jokingly well you can say if there's one thing 00:02:39.220 --> 00:02:46.260 that you learned about, about Hosea and Gomer is this, that you can feel better about yourself because there's 00:02:46.290 --> 00:02:49.880 someones whose situation is always worse than yours, right? 00:02:50.700 --> 00:02:51.320 Or not. 00:02:51.340 --> 00:02:56.060 Okay, that's a horrible, that's horrible example. 00:02:56.540 --> 00:03:03.840 but really what the story of govern Hosea does for us is to help us recognize it's not, it's not just you 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:09.400 that experiences hardship and brokenness in life, and that there's hope and recovery that can be found. 00:03:10.700 --> 00:03:17.720 And, I mean, you think about sometimes in life, the situations we find ourselves, we may even say 00:03:17.720 --> 00:03:21.560 it may be my gift is just how good I can screw up, right? 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:23.220 Like my spiritual gift is sinning. 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:24.910 I mean, where is there hope in that? 00:03:24.940 --> 00:03:32.060 Well, Hosea and Gomer is a great book to just present that for anybody and 00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:38.370 how there's hope and how there's grace and how, how we find recovery and healing in the Lord. 00:03:38.580 --> 00:03:43.520 And so when we started this series together, we looked at both characters in this. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:50.780 We looked at Hosea and we looked at Gomer and we really started with Hosea because we wanted to recognize, when we 00:03:50.780 --> 00:03:57.320 talk about, adversity we face as people, rarely, rarely does it just affect you, right? 00:03:57.320 --> 00:04:04.320 So if we do something that it's just a mess up, we fall on our face, we send whatever, it doesn't just tend to 00:04:04.320 --> 00:04:04.960 impact you. 00:04:04.980 --> 00:04:07.070 Sometime there's somebody on the other side, like a Hosea. 00:04:07.420 --> 00:04:12.000 He tries to come into our lives and love us through that. 00:04:12.040 --> 00:04:17.230 And it costs or affects them sometimes as much or maybe even more than the individual going through the circumstance. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:24.000 And so the question is, if you're approaching a situation that seems adverse and you feel like a Hosea, how do you get through that? 00:04:24.280 --> 00:04:31.540 And the answer for us, for us was this, it's that you don't always have to have the answer, but 00:04:31.540 --> 00:04:38.290 you know, the God who does, and there comes a place in our lives where we just look at certain truths that the Bible communicates to us. 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:41.340 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 00:04:41.340 --> 00:04:48.260 Philippians four 13 or first John four, four greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world where you've got to say, I believe it or I don't. 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:49.340 Right? 00:04:49.340 --> 00:04:54.500 And God can direct you in those steps in what we find in life. 00:04:54.500 --> 00:05:01.640 When we have an uncertainty and we connect ourselves to the God who does, we discover in that as God uses 00:05:01.640 --> 00:05:04.100 that adversity really as the place to grow our faith. 00:05:04.100 --> 00:05:05.860 Many times our prayer is get rid of it. 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:06.800 Get rid of it, get rid of it. 00:05:07.440 --> 00:05:14.700 But sometimes God's answer is no, I'd rather I want to walk with you through that because this is the place where you grow in your connection to 00:05:14.700 --> 00:05:19.180 me and understanding who I am in relationship to your life. 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:25.820 And so we looked at that from Hosea, but then we looked at Gomer and governor's life. 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:29.760 We marked this, she was a prostitute, right? 00:05:29.760 --> 00:05:32.240 That Hosea was told to marry her. 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:39.200 If you've not heard the story of this yet, Hosea is told to marry her as an illustration of our relationship to God. 00:05:39.380 --> 00:05:41.920 How God sees us interacting with him. 00:05:43.420 --> 00:05:50.740 We, Hosea was one where he loves his wife, but his wife turned towards other lovers and he continued to extend love towards us as an example of 00:05:50.820 --> 00:05:53.820 God's relationship to us. 00:05:53.960 --> 00:06:01.440 But what we learned from GeMar is this is that insecurity leads to idolatry and 00:06:01.440 --> 00:06:03.220 instability in our walk with God. 00:06:03.880 --> 00:06:06.180 But the solution for that is identity, right? 00:06:06.180 --> 00:06:07.150 So there's a lot of eyes there. 00:06:08.580 --> 00:06:15.660 and the way that we drew that illustration is starting from the garden of Eden where Adam and Eve had this harmonious walk with the Lord created for that 00:06:15.660 --> 00:06:18.380 purpose, reject God's sin. 00:06:18.380 --> 00:06:23.060 And in that they run away from God in their insecurity, toward their relationship with God. 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:25.270 They run away from God and they create idolatry. 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:28.220 They puffed themselves up in their own strengths. 00:06:28.220 --> 00:06:29.340 And God, we can handle this. 00:06:29.340 --> 00:06:30.770 They create first manmade religion. 00:06:31.060 --> 00:06:37.370 And when God comes in the garden and encounters Adam and Eve, after their sin, they start blaming each other and they turn on one another as it's their fault. 00:06:37.900 --> 00:06:44.080 And so there is this insecurity created idolatry and it gave him stability of the relationship with God. 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:48.320 But what God desired to do was create identity in him, regardless of them. 00:06:48.340 --> 00:06:50.480 And so regardless of their sin. 00:06:50.520 --> 00:06:52.170 And so I think it's important. 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:57.810 We're going to talk about sin this morning and we're going to talk about hope this morning. 00:06:57.960 --> 00:07:01.980 And I feel like sometimes as Christians we tend to do one or the other. 00:07:02.100 --> 00:07:04.500 We tend to overplay one and downplay the other. 00:07:04.700 --> 00:07:08.310 Like sometimes we talk way optimistic and never talk about sin, which is not healthy. 00:07:08.820 --> 00:07:12.370 And sometimes we talk about Santa and we never talk about the hope in Jesus, which is not healthy either. 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:21.700 And um, what's important to recognize in Jesus, his sacrifice is this, Jesus paid for your sin but 00:07:21.700 --> 00:07:22.760 it didn't stop there. 00:07:23.700 --> 00:07:26.360 He also imputed righteousness, right? 00:07:26.460 --> 00:07:32.280 Which means you find new identity, new purpose, a new home who family new kingdom in him. 00:07:32.440 --> 00:07:39.780 And both of those are significant to the life of the believer because if you, if you don't, if you walk with one and not the other, there is this unhealthy imbalance 00:07:39.780 --> 00:07:41.760 in your, in your Christian life. 00:07:41.780 --> 00:07:45.760 But understanding both of those in respects to God, ism is important because this is what it says to you. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:49.730 I could tell you, you're just worth so much this morning. 00:07:50.440 --> 00:07:52.780 and you are, you are, we're all valuable people. 00:07:53.400 --> 00:07:59.100 But answering the question why it was what makes it important, you're not worth something because we just declared that you're worth something. 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:03.080 You're not valuable just because we said you're valuable. 00:08:03.460 --> 00:08:06.040 You're not valued because of what you can do. 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:08.240 your creator designed you. 00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:11.120 There's, it's like there's nothing you do that impresses God. 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:15.240 It's like watching your kid, for the 15th time, say, dad, watch me and watch me, watch me. 00:08:15.280 --> 00:08:19.320 And all it does is jump off the couch and you're like, I've seen this one the first time, the 10th time, the 12th. 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:20.380 Like, it's not impressive. 00:08:20.960 --> 00:08:22.960 I can jump off into a circle in the air. 00:08:22.960 --> 00:08:24.920 Like, whatever you got, I got better. 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:31.230 You know, it's not impressive in that sense because God made you, but he also gave you a worth and value, which is what makes you a valuable person. 00:08:31.760 --> 00:08:36.140 Made you in his image and he demonstrated your worth by giving his life for it. 00:08:37.299 --> 00:08:38.390 That's where your value is. 00:08:40.419 --> 00:08:46.660 It's not based on your past, your present, or your future, your ability, your inability, what you've done, what you haven't done, what you're ashamed of doing. 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:53.400 It's in Jesus, which means it gives all of us, all of us hope, if God is a gracious God. 00:08:54.700 --> 00:09:01.820 And when we looked at, we looked at Hosea, we looked at Gomer, but the point of all of this, and when we're talking about recovery road, the reason we picked 00:09:01.880 --> 00:09:08.560 this title for this series is because of what Gomer represents, okay? 00:09:08.680 --> 00:09:14.650 And being a prostitute, we see in chapter three she even ends up in slavery. 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:19.720 Now, if you talk about maybe one of the lowest points of a person's life, right? 00:09:20.800 --> 00:09:27.800 I would say governor's there and walk away from this story still saying there's hope for Gomer. 00:09:29.040 --> 00:09:34.360 If there is hope for Gomer, there isn't a person in this world outside of the hope of Christ. 00:09:36.760 --> 00:09:38.980 There's hope for everyone because of Jesus. 00:09:40.100 --> 00:09:47.480 Well, it's important how that story intersects our lives in order to find that hope, but because of Jose's story 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:50.500 with Gomer, it's intended to communicate to everyone that there is. 00:09:50.760 --> 00:09:58.140 There is hope in Christ for us and so when God picked this story, he chose 00:09:58.140 --> 00:10:04.220 to use the story of a harlot, a prostitute for a special reason. 00:10:05.040 --> 00:10:07.080 I love, I love when even we're getting close to Christmas. 00:10:07.100 --> 00:10:10.150 You read Jesus a story like you read some of the people in Jesus's lineage. 00:10:10.760 --> 00:10:12.900 You're like, man, that's some shady deals. 00:10:12.900 --> 00:10:14.160 Go up here and this. 00:10:14.160 --> 00:10:15.220 This is what brought Jesus. 00:10:15.560 --> 00:10:20.370 It's crazy to see some of the lineage of Christ in the past and the people that God works through. 00:10:20.980 --> 00:10:23.980 In the story of Hosea, it's the same thing. 00:10:24.580 --> 00:10:31.970 God chooses I harlot to shock us because it's saying that Israel, 00:10:32.660 --> 00:10:39.220 it's saying to us in our lives we have this ability to be lulled to sleep from our need independency. 00:10:39.220 --> 00:10:46.230 We really have for Jesus, and so he uses this store to awaken us to how desperate we really are. 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:54.420 And then he uses this idea of harlotry also as a, as a substitute for idolatry, meaning 00:10:54.420 --> 00:10:59.720 in Israel's history just before seven 20 BC. 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:01.850 It's a little earlier than this, but it's around this time. 00:11:02.140 --> 00:11:03.080 Remember how the story goes? 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:06.430 I've shared this each week that Israel has been divided. 00:11:07.100 --> 00:11:10.140 They had three Kings after the three Kings, King, Jeroboam and Raya. 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:11.440 Boom, separate the kingdom. 00:11:12.180 --> 00:11:14.120 10 tribes go to the North, two tribes go to the South. 00:11:14.180 --> 00:11:15.340 So the civil war separates them. 00:11:16.060 --> 00:11:19.600 The 10 tribes in the North never have any godly King. 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:26.620 The message of Hosea is predominantly to them and God uses this harlotry because it's associated with idolatry 00:11:26.620 --> 00:11:28.960 and Israel in the North. 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:30.580 They worship all in ball. 00:11:30.640 --> 00:11:37.940 It was common to have temple prostitution going on and so then worshiping this idol, it was simultaneously saying heart are harlot 00:11:37.940 --> 00:11:41.130 and idolatry are interchangeable with one another. 00:11:41.640 --> 00:11:48.840 And so God is recognizing Gomer as an illustration really of all of us and our need for God, 00:11:50.700 --> 00:11:52.540 our insecurities lead us to trust. 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:55.200 In things really ultimately is not dependable. 00:11:55.200 --> 00:12:00.820 And so I would say like this in a very practical sense, man, sin is fun for a season. 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:02.640 I love the honesty of scripture. 00:12:04.140 --> 00:12:05.480 Sin is fun, right? 00:12:06.560 --> 00:12:10.900 For a season, but ultimately leads to destruction. 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:17.660 Sintel costs you lead you where you further than you want to go, it will cost you more than you want to pay. 00:12:19.800 --> 00:12:22.920 And so this story of harlotry is from minus. 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:25.180 We all lead into idolatry in our insecurities. 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:28.780 We trust in things that we aren't designed to trust in. 00:12:29.780 --> 00:12:37.500 We find security in wealth, in relationship, in power, in position, in politics, whatever. 00:12:37.500 --> 00:12:42.000 Just pick something that we all tend to lean into it. 00:12:42.020 --> 00:12:47.500 Like it helps us shape our identity and makes us secure in that it becomes an idol. 00:12:50.860 --> 00:12:58.100 So this idea of harlotry, it's recognizing our idolatry, which is often promoted by insecurity and trying to find something 00:12:58.100 --> 00:13:03.240 to depend in, but really ultimately it was created for the Lord. 00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:10.960 But the third point is where we want to go today because this is where our story intersects in the midst of the messiness of our life. 00:13:11.140 --> 00:13:16.400 And enables us to be a blessing to other people and how Jesus intervenes in our world. 00:13:17.160 --> 00:13:24.180 No matter how broken we may feel or no matter how tough things may be and uses us and can use us as an encouragement 00:13:24.180 --> 00:13:26.010 in the lives of other people, and that is this. 00:13:27.300 --> 00:13:34.400 The reason God chooses harlotry is really to position the darkness 00:13:34.400 --> 00:13:38.280 of sin, the gracious goodness of his life. 00:13:40.680 --> 00:13:47.980 Harlotry is for us to see the stark contrast to the goodness of who God is, and that's really ultimately from this 00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:55.280 book, what we should derive from it is that God chooses an example of utter despair to show 00:13:55.400 --> 00:14:02.640 his saving grace in light of who we are in the heart of humanity, in 00:14:02.640 --> 00:14:03.870 the midst of our sin. 00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:04.900 There is hope. 00:14:06.260 --> 00:14:14.100 It's saying to us as if to shock us that our sin didn't drive God away, rather 00:14:14.100 --> 00:14:17.000 it caused him to more heroically run towards us. 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:24.080 It's counterintuitive to religious thinking, but it's the nature of the Lord. 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:29.970 And so if I, if I took a few moments, I'm going to just give us a broad overview of the book of Hosea. 00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:31.420 So we haven't done this together. 00:14:31.420 --> 00:14:35.900 I want you to know how this book breaks down cause I'm not going through it verse by verse, chapter by chapter. 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:42.500 But when you walk away, I want you to know, have a clear picture of how this book breaks down in case you want to read it for yourself. 00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:47.640 But we said in the beginning of this book, it's written poetically, right? 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:54.980 And Jose is called the greatest lover all time because the extent that he demonstrates his love 00:14:54.980 --> 00:15:02.020 to someone who rejects him to the point that he buys her out of slavery, he sacrifices all that he has 00:15:02.020 --> 00:15:06.260 for Gomer and Hosea, chapter three, verses one, two and three. 00:15:08.520 --> 00:15:16.000 But in chapter two, if I want to just point out one of the theme verses of God than communicating himself to us through Hosea 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:19.670 and Gomer story, it says this, I will betray with you to me forever. 00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:20.420 This is the Lord. 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:28.440 Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice and loving kindness and compassion and 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:30.820 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:38.100 Then you will know the Lord in insecurity. 00:15:39.780 --> 00:15:42.680 What we seek after is to know someone cares. 00:15:43.800 --> 00:15:45.630 It's all gonna work out and everything's going to be okay. 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:56.100 Can I have that spot to rest, fill up whatever idle we can just to sort of somewhat 00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:59.520 satisfy that longing and need. 00:15:59.680 --> 00:16:06.980 But then the Lord comes in the midst of that sin of DOMA, and he says this about us, that there's righteousness and loving kindness and 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:10.040 compassion and faithfulness and justice. 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:11.660 And then he says something important here. 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:20.920 This phrase that he says at the end of this verse as a phrase, he continues to recite throughout the book of Hosea. 00:16:21.920 --> 00:16:24.960 And we said one thing word is to return. 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:26.900 God's calling his people to return. 00:16:27.640 --> 00:16:30.580 But another theme word, if I had to 0.1 out is the word. 00:16:30.780 --> 00:16:30.920 No. 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:39.920 In fact, that's it's used in this verse, verse 20 chapter five, verse four, chapter six, verse three, chapter eight, verse two, chapter 13, 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:40.460 verse four. 00:16:40.460 --> 00:16:42.270 And that's not even all, I just saw her a dozen times. 00:16:42.420 --> 00:16:43.580 This word no is used. 00:16:44.060 --> 00:16:51.060 And if you want to know what this word is, it's actually yadda, which is, cousin 00:16:51.060 --> 00:16:52.140 to Yoda. 00:16:54.380 --> 00:16:54.820 Hello battle. 00:16:55.540 --> 00:17:00.040 Thanks for laughing guys. 00:17:00.040 --> 00:17:01.200 Cheesier than I am. 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:05.079 All right, so yada, yada and yada is an important word. 00:17:05.339 --> 00:17:06.300 It's, it is this word. 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:08.930 No, but it's not just knowledge. 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:09.520 Okay. 00:17:09.940 --> 00:17:10.500 And that's important. 00:17:11.280 --> 00:17:14.680 This word know is an experiential relationship. 00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:16.540 It's a word for intimacy. 00:17:16.859 --> 00:17:19.359 And so it's to know God personally. 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:23.250 And this happens in your relationship with God as you interact experientially. 00:17:24.060 --> 00:17:27.960 It's something that, like we said in the beginning, you either believe it or you don't. 00:17:28.600 --> 00:17:30.260 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:33.260 That's a verse you discover as you walk with God. 00:17:33.520 --> 00:17:41.780 And so that's what he's saying in verse 20 that really where Israel is at is they don't know me, but 00:17:41.780 --> 00:17:45.880 this is what I want them to know about me and experience in me. 00:17:47.020 --> 00:17:47.860 This is who I am. 00:17:47.860 --> 00:17:52.660 This is God's declaration, what he represents in our position that's contrary to him. 00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:55.640 I still want you to know me. 00:17:57.580 --> 00:18:00.440 It's righteousness and this justice and this loving God. 00:18:02.220 --> 00:18:06.200 So God presents himself that way. 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:10.310 In the story of Hosea and Gomer chapters one to three, this book is 14 chapters long. 00:18:10.340 --> 00:18:16.460 Chapters one to three God is using positionally the story of Hosea and Garmin saying, okay, this is what I'm like. 00:18:16.760 --> 00:18:20.680 I'm like Hosea in this story with GeMar who rejects him, pursues other lovers. 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:22.020 This is me towards you. 00:18:23.060 --> 00:18:30.320 And then in chapters four to 11 God then lays that story out in chapters four to 10 he starts this cause and effect 00:18:30.320 --> 00:18:31.760 of Israel's unfaithfulness. 00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:38.050 This is Israel's response, four to 10 poetically written out, and this is, this is the result of that chapters four to 10 right? 00:18:38.580 --> 00:18:44.530 Then in chapters 12 to 13 I'm gonna leave 11 alone for a minute and chapters 12 to 14 he didn't does it again. 00:18:44.840 --> 00:18:47.740 Chapters 12 to 13 this cause and effect of unfaithfulness. 00:18:48.020 --> 00:18:55.020 In fact, he does a history lesson with his and he's like, not only is this where you are now Israel, but if I go back over your history, this is what you've represented 00:18:55.020 --> 00:18:58.220 is cause and effect of me pursuing you. 00:18:58.220 --> 00:18:59.620 You rejecting me. 00:19:00.540 --> 00:19:07.620 And at the end of those sections, chapters four to 11 at the end of the section, chapter 12 to 14 you see in chapter 11 and chapter 00:19:07.620 --> 00:19:12.960 14 God communicating something back to Israel. 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:14.230 And this is what he says about them. 00:19:14.420 --> 00:19:17.620 Chapter 11 how can I give you up Holy for him? 00:19:18.520 --> 00:19:22.700 How can I surrender you O Israel, how can I make you like Admah? 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:25.170 How can I treat you like Zibowa him? 00:19:25.260 --> 00:19:28.900 My heart is turned over within me and my compassions are kindled. 00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:33.700 And so just so you know, those two towns were towns attached to Sodom and Gomorrah. 00:19:34.180 --> 00:19:37.620 The reason he picked those two times rather than Sodom and Gomorrah is in the poetry of the Hebrew. 00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:38.580 It rhymes. 00:19:38.580 --> 00:19:41.210 It actually, it flows in the thought of the Hebrew passage. 00:19:41.780 --> 00:19:43.520 It's alliterated actually. 00:19:43.600 --> 00:19:46.440 And so he picks those two cities as a representation of Sodom and Gomorrah. 00:19:46.440 --> 00:19:53.480 But what God's saying is my nature is not to give up on you, but rather to continue to pursue 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:54.040 you. 00:19:54.080 --> 00:20:01.180 And so he informed attendees to showing this cause and effect in 11 he communicates this beautiful statement, Israel, despite all 00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:01.600 of that. 00:20:01.600 --> 00:20:10.000 And then he does the same thing in 14 return O Israel to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity which 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:17.460 is said take words with you and return to the Lord, say to him, take away all iniquity and receive us 00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:21.180 graciously that we may present the fruit of our lips. 00:20:22.780 --> 00:20:30.320 Let me stop there and say, so is there was recognizing their brokenness and they found a position now to come before the Lord and they're just confessing it to God, their 00:20:30.320 --> 00:20:31.400 need for him. 00:20:31.480 --> 00:20:33.340 The Syria they say will not save us. 00:20:33.840 --> 00:20:41.500 We will not ride on horses, nor will we say again, our gods, the work of our hands for in you, the orphan finds mercy, so 00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:48.820 saying we found security and other things rather now has an orphan who really doesn't have a Homer or 00:20:48.820 --> 00:20:50.020 finding security in you. 00:20:50.040 --> 00:20:50.670 I will heal. 00:20:51.020 --> 00:20:54.240 God says, then I will heal their apostasy. 00:20:54.620 --> 00:20:59.770 I will love them freely for my anger has turned away from them. 00:21:02.780 --> 00:21:10.260 What we see in the story, it's harlotry positions 00:21:10.260 --> 00:21:18.360 itself intentionally, purposefully, so the light and the gracious love of God in 00:21:18.360 --> 00:21:19.220 the midst of our sin. 00:21:21.080 --> 00:21:26.920 What we learned from this is Hosea is a story of God looking for us. 00:21:29.820 --> 00:21:36.880 The story of Hosea is all of our stories, excuse me, a Gomer, 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:44.180 I should say, it's all of our stories that could very simply biblically declare. 00:21:44.620 --> 00:21:46.720 Nobody in this room went looking for God. 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:50.980 Rather he came looking for you. 00:21:53.040 --> 00:21:58.660 I mean that is, that is the very nature of the names of Hosea and Gomer being defined. 00:21:58.660 --> 00:22:03.400 Remember Jose, his name means salvation and Gomer. 00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:04.760 His name means completion. 00:22:06.020 --> 00:22:12.680 That is not until salvation comes looking for completion, that she finds herself holistically secure in that love. 00:22:14.860 --> 00:22:20.220 So I can say it like this isn't, there's not a soul getting to heaven saying, God, I'm here because I'm that good. 00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:24.460 Rather it's because of his grace. 00:22:26.560 --> 00:22:31.600 There was no hope for rescue apart from Jesus coming for you. 00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:41.900 If I were to give it to us in a, in a biblical sense, if I just quoted a new Testament word, the way that Paul Paul paints that picture for us, it says this, 00:22:42.520 --> 00:22:48.660 when you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. 00:22:49.140 --> 00:22:51.360 He forgave us all our sins. 00:22:51.460 --> 00:22:53.080 So this uncircumcision is away. 00:22:53.080 --> 00:22:56.800 Israel identified there their relationship to God, and it's saying, really? 00:22:56.800 --> 00:22:59.260 You don't have one by the word debt? 00:23:00.080 --> 00:23:03.220 See, like if we read this verse this morning, you're like, this does not apply to me. 00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:04.500 I am plainly alive today. 00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:04.700 I would. 00:23:04.800 --> 00:23:07.680 Yes, yes, you are welcome this morning. 00:23:07.700 --> 00:23:09.040 I'm glad. 00:23:09.040 --> 00:23:09.140 I'm glad you're here. 00:23:09.280 --> 00:23:09.380 Right? 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:16.940 But when the Bible talks about the word dad, it's not meaning you know you're buried somewhere or are you, you've your life on earth 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:17.360 has ended. 00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:24.840 What it's saying is you are created a spiritual being for relationship and God, when 00:23:24.840 --> 00:23:31.960 sin happened, that relationship was separated and so to paint the picture of how that separation looks, the Bible 00:23:31.960 --> 00:23:35.000 says it's dead, doesn't exist. 00:23:35.900 --> 00:23:39.060 It's been ripped apart now to drive this point home. 00:23:39.100 --> 00:23:44.680 Let me just, I don't, I don't want to be uncouth, but I really want to paint what I think Paul is saying here in this passage. 00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:49.440 If we put it in practical terms, the reason he's saying dead is to say this. 00:23:50.060 --> 00:23:57.420 No one goes to a funeral and set somewhere in that service and says while looking at the casket, I 00:23:57.420 --> 00:23:58.940 think they might pull through this one. 00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:04.180 Do you know what that represents? 00:24:07.340 --> 00:24:07.740 It's death. 00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:19.020 The Lord in this position is getting us recognize without his intervention there is 00:24:19.020 --> 00:24:19.260 no life. 00:24:20.540 --> 00:24:21.180 Yeah. 00:24:21.300 --> 00:24:28.500 The story of Gomer is told in such a way so that people that are deadened in their hearts can recognize one, 00:24:28.520 --> 00:24:34.760 how much God loves them and desires for healing in their lives, but to also see how desperate our situation is. 00:24:34.860 --> 00:24:35.850 Because this is what the Bible does. 00:24:37.260 --> 00:24:43.700 When it gets to Romans chapter nine verses 24 to 26 it compares every Gentile to Gomer. 00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:48.760 It says to us, her story is our story. 00:24:49.820 --> 00:24:56.240 And Romans chapter nine verse 24 Paul has been talking about the Jews in this passage, but in verse 24 he switches from talking about Jew. 00:24:56.260 --> 00:25:03.150 And now he says in verse 24 specifically to the Gentiles, and he says, Christ has come not only for the Jew, but also for the Gentiles. 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:11.960 And then in verse 25 and in verse 26 what he does is he quotes the book of Hosea so that we get that point in 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:19.160 verse 25 he quotes Hosea chapter two verse 23 and in verse 26 he quotes Hosea chapter one in verse 10 so 00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:26.780 that we can recognize in this story of darkness, in this sport of despair, in a, in a position where a lady could not rescue herself, being 00:25:26.780 --> 00:25:36.100 a slave stuck in harlotry that could not escape God, rescues salvation 00:25:36.100 --> 00:25:38.880 and completion. 00:25:42.600 --> 00:25:43.560 That's heavy. 00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:53.540 So you see the graciousness of God in that story, Emerson, right? 00:25:56.960 --> 00:26:03.960 And there's imputed righteousness too, meaning in the midst of that, God wants to restore 00:26:03.960 --> 00:26:10.960 in such a way that he gives you a new identity, new position him for you to have a new kingdom, to live for a new reason to hold 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:18.950 your head high, a new purpose for which you live, your life, a new relationship connected to God that was formerly dead. 00:26:19.120 --> 00:26:22.040 That's where this story leads us. 00:26:22.040 --> 00:26:29.740 So Hosea is a story of the goodness and graciousness of God, but it becomes for us then a story of how God works through us despite 00:26:29.740 --> 00:26:30.180 our sin. 00:26:34.270 --> 00:26:42.480 Because when you look at chapter four, routine of Hosea in verse four, he says, aye 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:45.780 will heal. 00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:53.050 Sometimes we get in the Lifework. 00:26:53.380 --> 00:26:56.380 It feels so dark, right? 00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:01.780 Well, we really just need to hear those words from God. 00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:11.140 I will heal. 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:19.980 And when healing takes place, it restores you in such a way that no longer are you the person just 00:27:19.980 --> 00:27:26.600 seeking after the healing, but you become the person that's able to get up and demonstrate what Jesus has done. 00:27:29.360 --> 00:27:36.440 He's renewed us in his righteousness and compassion and mercy is, it's told us in Hosea 00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:38.420 chapter two in verses 19 and 20. 00:27:40.620 --> 00:27:45.900 Okay, so let me, before I jump completely into the imputed righteousness part, let me just, let me just point this out. 00:27:46.020 --> 00:27:48.260 For sin for us and just a Mo for just a few minutes. 00:27:51.700 --> 00:27:58.780 because all of us not knowing how to deal with sin, sometimes even Christmas fall in this trap, we try to downplay it for a moment and we say things 00:27:58.780 --> 00:28:01.640 like, well, nobody's perfect. 00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:02.280 Right? 00:28:02.320 --> 00:28:04.420 Well, nobody's perfect. 00:28:05.780 --> 00:28:07.200 that's our way of acknowledging. 00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:09.960 Yeah, I'm not, I can't live up to that standard and no one can. 00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:17.740 But it's also our way of acknowledging that there is a standard, there is a standard across 00:28:17.740 --> 00:28:20.600 the world, escape it or try to escape it if you want. 00:28:20.600 --> 00:28:24.760 But humanity lives life with a moral standard that seems stamped on us. 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:25.600 Right? 00:28:25.800 --> 00:28:28.540 I mean, nobody in this room is going to argue, rape is good and murders. 00:28:28.540 --> 00:28:28.880 Right? 00:28:29.660 --> 00:28:30.460 Why? 00:28:31.480 --> 00:28:36.840 Because there is the standard now we recognize for certain, nobody is perfect. 00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:45.420 But yeah, you study the life of an individual like C S Lewis, CS Lewis wrestled with this so much so that he recognized 00:28:45.420 --> 00:28:52.500 that living as an atheist or agnostic, that there had to have be a God because he said in 00:28:52.500 --> 00:28:58.340 people's lives, when you enter into an argument, no one really argues what is the standard. 00:28:58.360 --> 00:29:02.280 Rather what you argue when you argue with someone else's, how you are better at keeping it the neighbor. 00:29:03.020 --> 00:29:04.300 And so you're more right than they are. 00:29:04.300 --> 00:29:08.240 And so they need about half of you and lose the argument because you're more correct, right? 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:15.460 Because the standards already there and see us Lewis starting to recognize how could we embrace 00:29:15.460 --> 00:29:22.890 and see something so negative and dark and unless we understand what is good and right, and where does that come from 00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:26.960 other than the one who is good and right. 00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:35.520 In fact, Romans chapter three says this, now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law. 00:29:37.060 --> 00:29:44.080 I mean there is a standard, you're under it so that every mouth may be closed and all the may become accountable to God because 00:29:44.080 --> 00:29:47.520 by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. 00:29:47.940 --> 00:29:51.610 That's a bummer for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. 00:29:53.060 --> 00:29:55.560 And then he says this in case you're like, nah, I escape. 00:29:55.560 --> 00:29:58.900 He says for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 00:29:58.900 --> 00:29:59.560 Romans three 23. 00:30:01.700 --> 00:30:09.320 So he's saying positionally, just like Romans nine says, standard fall short, the 00:30:09.320 --> 00:30:11.760 graciousness of God really becomes crystal clear. 00:30:11.760 --> 00:30:16.860 And the position of the darkness in which the illustration of Gomer is communicated to us. 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:24.020 Now this is where it gets very important for us because this is where Christians and their own living, even though they might intellectually understand this fall off the 00:30:24.020 --> 00:30:28.060 wagon, or this is where religious people go astray and not understanding the gospel. 00:30:29.020 --> 00:30:36.180 Because what I'm not saying then is that, I'm not saying to you that your bad 00:30:36.180 --> 00:30:37.540 do better. 00:30:40.600 --> 00:30:42.200 That's not the point of the law. 00:30:42.260 --> 00:30:43.810 The point of the law is saying this. 00:30:44.080 --> 00:30:46.220 The pressure isn't to be better. 00:30:46.220 --> 00:30:46.720 It's a reminder. 00:30:47.100 --> 00:30:54.320 There is a God pressing on you that once you aware of his presence, the pressure we feel on the outside, 00:30:54.320 --> 00:30:54.820 isn't it? 00:30:54.820 --> 00:31:01.900 So that we recognize that we need to become better people, but rather fall on her knees and become God's people. 00:31:03.760 --> 00:31:05.460 [inaudible] Gomer couldn't save herself. 00:31:09.160 --> 00:31:10.750 And why is that important for you to recognize? 00:31:13.260 --> 00:31:19.560 Because that becomes your platform for the way you're able to communicate the goodness of Jesus in this world. 00:31:21.180 --> 00:31:24.500 Because I want you to hear when Jesus came into this world, listen, this is how he communicated it. 00:31:25.540 --> 00:31:32.740 Verse 17 in John chapter three for God did not send the son into the world to 00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:38.000 judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 00:31:39.100 --> 00:31:40.940 He who believes in him is not judged. 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:45.580 He who does not believe has been judged already because he's not believed in the name of the only begotten son. 00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:51.930 Jesus didn't come to condemn because you've already fallen short of the standard. 00:31:51.940 --> 00:31:59.040 Jesus came to save in 00:31:59.040 --> 00:32:06.380 that our weakness, our sin becomes the platform 00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:07.680 for God's glory. 00:32:07.760 --> 00:32:10.910 God's grace to be communicated through our vibes. 00:32:13.900 --> 00:32:18.620 And this is why it's important you ever grown up in a religious city. 00:32:18.680 --> 00:32:19.990 He made him see this to be true. 00:32:20.020 --> 00:32:28.040 This may even be true of you, that the reason you haven't been to church in awhile, it's 00:32:28.100 --> 00:32:30.050 because you've got around some religious people. 00:32:30.260 --> 00:32:36.420 When life was messy and when you needed compassion, you got criticism. 00:32:39.600 --> 00:32:43.420 We already know we fall short of the standard. 00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:47.240 All have sin. 00:32:47.400 --> 00:32:48.780 The Bible tells us, right? 00:32:50.360 --> 00:32:57.780 I think what people need in lives in many ways is rather than us become 00:32:57.780 --> 00:33:02.590 critics, we need to become students. 00:33:05.060 --> 00:33:12.120 And what I mean is when you hear the story of what's behind someone's life and led them down the path that they're, when 00:33:12.120 --> 00:33:19.680 you hear their story, you begin to see that you're maybe not too different from them and you're really one step away of making 00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:22.970 your life a Gomer like Gomer was okay. 00:33:26.540 --> 00:33:33.710 And it's when you see how their stores really aren't much different than yours, that you begin to have compassion on that situation. 00:33:36.140 --> 00:33:40.800 I mean, Jesus said it to us in Matthew chapter seven, right? 00:33:42.640 --> 00:33:49.720 How can you say to your brother, well, let me take the speck out of your eye and behold, the log is in 00:33:49.720 --> 00:33:50.640 your own eye. 00:33:54.440 --> 00:34:01.540 So he's saying to us, I don't think he's not saying that you can't talk about sin or what people are facing in life, but 00:34:01.540 --> 00:34:10.080 what he is saying is as you are not to position yourself as a person who's better than other people, if 00:34:10.080 --> 00:34:12.480 you start to feel that way, here's what you do. 00:34:12.540 --> 00:34:13.219 This isn't what Jesus says. 00:34:15.040 --> 00:34:16.550 look in the mirror and do a history lesson. 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:27.909 I mean that's what Hosea chapter 12 and 13 is Hosea chapter 12 and 13 is going go God going through the history of Israel because Israel stances, 00:34:28.199 --> 00:34:29.360 we're God's chosen people. 00:34:29.360 --> 00:34:30.969 We are good cause we are awesome. 00:34:31.500 --> 00:34:35.760 You know, I mean it just, I don't stink, but you do get beneath me and bow down. 00:34:35.780 --> 00:34:41.460 I mean that was there and God's saying, okay, let's, let's just walk down memory lane here for a minute. 00:34:46.820 --> 00:34:49.440 Look at who you are or what you've demonstrated. 00:34:53.080 --> 00:34:54.370 People aren't looking for more critics. 00:34:58.440 --> 00:35:05.500 People are looking for students, someone that wants to intersect with their lives and 00:35:05.500 --> 00:35:09.860 show them the goodness of who Jesus is, to rescue them from where they are. 00:35:12.080 --> 00:35:14.320 That's what Jesus did for you, right? 00:35:17.880 --> 00:35:22.980 When we expected a judge in Christ, she got grace. 00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:33.680 No, I think about ministering for the Lord. 00:35:35.660 --> 00:35:41.820 How'd you, I know Jesus calls us to live a Holy life and that's something I want to do. 00:35:41.940 --> 00:35:42.930 I want to walk with Jesus. 00:35:44.820 --> 00:35:52.110 I want to live in that new nature and that new identity and I also don't want to forget, 00:35:55.260 --> 00:36:02.220 I don't want to forget what Jesus has done this past week. 00:36:02.220 --> 00:36:09.480 I was going through this passage just looking for stories of how God 00:36:11.720 --> 00:36:13.240 intersected into my life that way. 00:36:16.440 --> 00:36:21.900 You know, last night I looking at this sermon, it still felt like Florida. 00:36:22.940 --> 00:36:30.040 I want you to remind me of something that just helps me appreciate your grace more 00:36:30.040 --> 00:36:30.540 in my life. 00:36:35.390 --> 00:36:42.540 And then as I'm laying down last night, I even pulled out a book that in the past is just tore me 00:36:42.540 --> 00:36:44.420 out over the grace of God and read through it. 00:36:44.500 --> 00:36:51.640 Just looking for more stories about us, grace and that I didn't share that with my wife but doesn't want to bed last 00:36:51.640 --> 00:36:58.700 night she tells me, well my friends from as being a child passed away and 00:37:00.440 --> 00:37:02.920 one of my other friends is in jail now because of it. 00:37:11.160 --> 00:37:19.960 People that, we're part of your past, apart 00:37:19.960 --> 00:37:22.820 from the grace of God would be a road that you're still walking down. 00:37:29.060 --> 00:37:36.440 It's an important story to think about because sometimes when we live like Jose is, 00:37:36.480 --> 00:37:41.730 or excuse me, governor's in this world and God transforms our lives and we want to be used by God to encourage others. 00:37:43.520 --> 00:37:44.910 It's not always an easy road. 00:37:48.040 --> 00:37:55.360 Cause when you look at Gomer, his life with Hosea, governor was a lady in slavery 00:37:57.120 --> 00:38:01.480 and Hosea was a man called to forgive her and love her, right? 00:38:02.340 --> 00:38:04.860 And then that forgiveness, he's the one paying the price. 00:38:05.960 --> 00:38:10.640 So to be an example for Jesus in this world sounds good and wonderful and transforming. 00:38:10.760 --> 00:38:12.380 But there's, there is a price that comes with it. 00:38:14.100 --> 00:38:15.400 I mean, for Jesus, it's his life. 00:38:16.520 --> 00:38:23.880 For Gomer as an illustration, chapter three verses one to three, he pays all that he has to purchase Gomer out, out of slavery and 00:38:23.880 --> 00:38:25.600 bring her out this life of prostitution. 00:38:26.160 --> 00:38:37.060 And God didn't say to go to Jose, do it when she deserves it, rather 00:38:37.060 --> 00:38:38.060 do it because I love her. 00:38:42.450 --> 00:38:49.500 I had a friend this past week tell me a story similar to how the Lord used 00:38:49.500 --> 00:38:51.760 him in the life of another to just encourage him. 00:38:51.760 --> 00:38:55.280 And this person came from like a subculture of Christianity. 00:38:55.420 --> 00:39:02.320 You know how sometimes that gets where you get so isolated that you've never seen anything bad on in the world. 00:39:02.320 --> 00:39:05.980 And he's kinda, he kinda was able to live that life in that arena. 00:39:06.080 --> 00:39:10.860 And so when he comes to know the Lord and matures in him, he gets to disciples. 00:39:11.080 --> 00:39:13.890 He has the disciple, somebody that the church to the his and disciple somebody. 00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:21.540 And the first person who brings him, was a goddess straight out of prison. 00:39:21.540 --> 00:39:23.940 And the first question he asks is, what were you in for? 00:39:24.520 --> 00:39:27.060 And the guy says, murder. 00:39:27.500 --> 00:39:29.260 So you just want to get your feet wet. 00:39:29.260 --> 00:39:29.670 Here you go. 00:39:30.040 --> 00:39:32.590 The first person to give you is someone out for murder. 00:39:32.780 --> 00:39:39.920 And he's like, he says in that moment, you know how everything inside of you is racing, you don't, you're looking for the right word to say and you feel like, you 00:39:39.920 --> 00:39:43.320 feel like it's time is going fast and you're just awkwardly staring. 00:39:43.320 --> 00:39:45.400 But really it's only lapse just a billionth of a second. 00:39:45.660 --> 00:39:52.720 And he's like, on the inside, I'm realizing I can say something to speak life to this guy, or I can say something that just speaks death to him rather than the healing of Christ. 00:39:53.080 --> 00:39:54.840 And he's like, man, I want to make this statement right. 00:39:55.820 --> 00:39:58.020 So he looks at him and says, you're a murderer Cole. 00:39:58.400 --> 00:39:59.110 I am too. 00:39:59.560 --> 00:40:01.900 I was like, what are you talking about? 00:40:01.980 --> 00:40:03.520 So he takes him to passages in the Bible. 00:40:03.820 --> 00:40:10.140 In Matthew five Jesus sermon, the Mount and James three where it talks about you who have angered in your heart have committed murder. 00:40:10.160 --> 00:40:16.390 And he just says this like mean he's done the action of murder, but the same sin that rest in his heart, rest in all of ours. 00:40:16.420 --> 00:40:21.080 And we're always just one step short of making a mess of our lives just like Gomer did. 00:40:21.080 --> 00:40:24.400 And so he could, he could connect him in that way because he shares the same heart. 00:40:24.520 --> 00:40:25.780 That's a need for the Lord. 00:40:27.720 --> 00:40:28.820 But I know it's not always easy. 00:40:30.660 --> 00:40:39.600 And can I tell you in that struggle, the only way I know to live life, truly 00:40:39.600 --> 00:40:46.240 forgiving others is to live with a reminder of how much you've been forgiving yourself. 00:40:49.840 --> 00:40:56.900 And Jesus is that place where our lives intersect with God in seeing 00:40:56.900 --> 00:41:00.040 our story being forgiven through him. 00:41:00.040 --> 00:41:04.900 So that in that God could use us as a tool to bring hope to the lives of others. 00:41:06.020 --> 00:41:13.220 And so what happens in the story then is we see our incredible worth and value, not because of anything we've done, but because of what Jesus 00:41:13.220 --> 00:41:20.380 has done and now in him, we're lavish this new identity in Christ that we get to live out for his kingdom, new purpose, new meaning, 00:41:20.500 --> 00:41:22.460 new life, new transformation in him. 00:41:24.540 --> 00:41:25.600 What was his done? 00:41:27.220 --> 00:41:28.920 Where we belong belongs in Christ. 00:41:30.740 --> 00:41:37.860 God gives us a new song to, one of the greatest things to help you in your 00:41:37.860 --> 00:41:42.580 recovery is that you get to move forward and get your eyes off of self. 00:41:42.620 --> 00:41:49.820 You notice sometimes when you just mess up the sulking in that despair and what I've 00:41:49.960 --> 00:41:57.060 done but when Jesus enters in, it gives you opportunity to lay the eyes off of self, to look outside of self, 00:41:57.060 --> 00:42:05.520 to see how Jesus can work through you and encouragement other people because what Christ does in you and 00:42:05.520 --> 00:42:10.660 as verse 14 says, you are healed. 00:42:12.980 --> 00:42:20.360 What happens in the healing of wounds is sometimes the scars remain, but if you know anything about scars 00:42:20.360 --> 00:42:22.160 is that they are always tougher. 00:42:23.300 --> 00:42:30.340 Having gone through it, right, the scar has the ability to heal itself in such a way that the 00:42:30.340 --> 00:42:33.240 skin is, can take double. 00:42:33.300 --> 00:42:40.420 The impact is what was previously there because of the wisdom that is gained through then I would say as it relates to God because of connecting it to Jesus, 00:42:40.460 --> 00:42:44.180 how Lord could use that in our affliction to encourage others in their infliction as well. 00:42:46.640 --> 00:42:48.450 So let me use this story as a closing illustration. 00:42:51.800 --> 00:42:54.300 There was a man by the name of John Newton. 00:42:55.200 --> 00:42:55.700 Never heard of them. 00:42:57.680 --> 00:42:58.660 Amazing grace, right? 00:43:00.180 --> 00:43:02.610 Not using this illustration, sing amazing grace. 00:43:03.460 --> 00:43:10.260 But um, but to talk about the man that was led to sing the song, amazing grace. 00:43:10.260 --> 00:43:16.680 I mean when you, when you sing the song of amazing grace, you see the heart of a man that has been to the position of Gomer. 00:43:16.700 --> 00:43:17.140 And John. 00:43:17.260 --> 00:43:24.430 John Newton was an individual that was a slave trader and he walked away from the Lord and he had a mom that would talk to him about Jesus. 00:43:25.060 --> 00:43:26.980 But he pursued a different path in life. 00:43:26.980 --> 00:43:34.620 And it wasn't until someone gave him the book, Thomas a campus's book, imitations of Christ that the Lord used that to work in his life to transform 00:43:34.620 --> 00:43:37.270 him, but to be to the end of his life. 00:43:38.080 --> 00:43:45.100 John Newton continued to go around and preach about Jesus to the world because he saw how Christ intersected in his story so that so that he could share that 00:43:45.100 --> 00:43:51.340 as a platform to allow the Lord to intersect with other people's stories and of his life. 00:43:51.340 --> 00:43:58.560 It says this, that when he was old, he still continued to preach to the point that he was almost unable to walk and 00:43:58.560 --> 00:44:05.600 he was nearly blind and they even had to have an assistant that would go up and stand beside of him to help him in whatever need that he had, whether he 00:44:05.600 --> 00:44:08.510 started to fall over or couldn't be heard. 00:44:08.820 --> 00:44:13.920 They said at the end of his life, he simply just whispered because no one could hear him or a anymore. 00:44:14.560 --> 00:44:15.290 But he was still speak. 00:44:15.720 --> 00:44:22.860 And one of his last messages, he gets up before the crowd and he just whispers, Jesus Christ 00:44:22.860 --> 00:44:23.800 is precious. 00:44:26.460 --> 00:44:29.980 And he followed up that profound line with another one. 00:44:30.080 --> 00:44:34.200 He said, Jesus Christ is precious. 00:44:36.660 --> 00:44:43.680 And the individual standing beside him to help him looks at him and kind of thinking maybe he's losing his mind 00:44:43.680 --> 00:44:44.920 cause he's repeating himself. 00:44:45.040 --> 00:44:46.900 Says, you just said that. 00:44:48.120 --> 00:44:49.280 And he says, I know I said it. 00:44:50.440 --> 00:44:51.360 I'm going to say it again. 00:44:52.960 --> 00:44:59.960 And they said the churches they gathered together in that building for worship, that the place just shook when John Newton said this specific 00:44:59.960 --> 00:45:05.760 cause you could tell he just said it with such deep compassion that Jesus Christ is precious, right? 00:45:09.100 --> 00:45:11.300 Cause that's the place that his story became new. 00:45:14.580 --> 00:45:16.620 That's the place where you learn to sing a new song. 00:45:19.120 --> 00:45:20.640 That's why you can sing words like amazing. 00:45:21.240 --> 00:45:28.280 Grace was such deep compassion today because they intersected the heart of a man that was so impacted by the grace of God that God gave him a new song 00:45:28.280 --> 00:45:28.880 to sing. 00:45:32.440 --> 00:45:38.570 Christ said it, imputed his righteousness to him and set him free and throughout history. 00:45:38.760 --> 00:45:44.600 Since that point, the church has sung that song as a sort of an Anthem of where we are in Jesus and this. 00:45:44.620 --> 00:45:47.170 So this is what it says to us when it comes to recovery road. 00:45:50.220 --> 00:45:51.360 We don't walk that road alone. 00:45:54.740 --> 00:46:00.600 We get to do it together cause of what the grace of God has done in our lives. 00:46:05.480 --> 00:46:12.960 So no matter how messy things feel, there's 00:46:12.960 --> 00:46:20.000 healing and Jesus and God wants to use the darkness of 00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:27.780 our lives to position itself against the glorious light of his grace as 00:46:27.780 --> 00:46:35.220 we walk down the road with him, others on a place to join in and the goodness of who God is and 00:46:35.220 --> 00:46:38.870 through that live in the promise that Christ heals.