Missions Paul

It is the heart of God to set us apart from those around us who do not know Him.

As we go to ‘Church’ today bear in mind that the reason for its existence is to demonstrate being the body of Christ.

The people of God in Hosea’s day were facing everything they were not created to be.

“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.” (Hosea 11 v 5-7)

Flip these verses around to what should have been.

The Church is here to show the world a better way to live.

To demonstrate that they are flourishing and being who they were created to be. That they are not dominated but they rule.

They continually walk in repentance, correcting their walk, so they become like God.

Peace and love will be at the heart of their community and they will not be defeated.

They give themselves to the message of God. Knowing the voice of God is important. For they are not self-governing or self-leading.

The Church continues to pursue God and as a result they are helped by Him.

That’s the better way.

Who was the first person to teach you to walk? Can you remember?

Whose hands did you hold as you took those first few steps?

When you fell for the first time who swooped you up and rubbed your knee and ‘kissed it better’? Can you remember?

Who gave you not only food but treats of kindness? Who held your hand as you crossed the road?

Whose embrace did you first experience? Who lifted you up to their cheek so that you could hear them whisper ‘there there’ or sing some lullaby? Can you remember?

What is your earliest recollection of food being made for you? Who did that for you?

“It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realise 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.” (Hosea 11 v 3-4)

It was I.

But they did not realise it was I.

To those who are wondering if God will help them today or are asking if He will be in their tomorrow: He was there when you didn’t know so He will certainly be there now that you are calling on Him.

Maybe this morning we should not be like the ungrateful Israelites but we should stop and give God thanks for all He has done even when we didn’t know He was with us.

The message will not change.

“I call you back, return to me, come back to being the person I created you to be.”

One of my favourite films has to be the Lion King. It tells the story of Simba (Swahili for lion) who is to succeed his father, Mufasa as King of the Pride Lands, however ….

“Dad! Dad! You gotta get up! Come on, we gotta go home!” Simba nudges his head against his father’s face. It drops hard. He leaps up and tugs on his father’s ear. No response. Simba’s eyes widen and he frantically calls for help. Tears flood down his face. Out of the mist comes his Uncle Scar who scolds Simba. “Simba. What have you done?” Scar proceeds to feed Simba shame and doubts. “If it weren’t for you, he’d still be alive. What will your mother think?” Simba’s eyes widen with terror. “What am I gonna do?” Scar hisses in his ear, “Run away, Simba. Run! Run away and never return.” Simba flees and our hearts break at the sadness and injustice of this situation. Simba doesn’t know Scar murdered Mufassa. He doesn’t even know Scar was present during the stampede. He thinks it’s his fault, and his one source of “comfort” only confirms his worst fear: he killed his daddy. And so he runs. Runs far away from Pride Rock. He runs so he won’t have to face his mother and tell her what he did. He runs to forget about the stampede and the death of his father. He runs to escape his problems and responsibilities as the new lion king.

For all kinds of reasons and mistakes, sometimes not our own, we find ourselves away from where we should be. I am not speaking geographically but people run thinking no one can see, for they run away from things that are private, from devotion to God, from enthusiasm for the Church, from energy for worship, they back away from community. And yet even though they think only they know, the truth is eventually everyone knows.

“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 Baals and they burned incense to images.” (Hosea 11 v 1-2)

The more the prophets called them, the more they went from them. (ASV)

It’s not until he meets Rafiki, a wise crazy monkey, that Simba begins to see the light. And then he sees the ghost of his father, who tells him to remember who he is. Simba finally decides to return to Pride Rock, defeat his uncle, and take his rightful place as king.

Return to the place God has called you for. What has been served in this life to you may have led to defeat or disappointment and you may have made wrong choices but those experiences have no hold over you if you can still decide to return.

Promises and hopes may be lost – blessings, ministries, miracles, testimonies that belong to you. You can find them again. Maybe some were fantasy – but some were given by God, you made note of them. Get after them again, pray for them again.

Decide you won’t waste another day. Realise that what you do today has far reaching consequences for your tomorrow. Whatever you pursue today, tomorrow you will find.

I believe everyone can return to the place the enemy of their soul removed them from.

Maybe today you have to return.

A return to trusting God for your situation.

A return to walking with God.

Your starting point may not be a great one. But you need to start somewhere and here now, today. So why not step out towards your new life today? Maybe you need to make some decisions? Maybe you need to surrender your agenda? Moving a step towards God and putting your trust in Him. It’s a start. The start is a prayer away.

How much does God love you? Are you doubting you are loved?

The answer is found in chapter 11 of Hosea.

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” (Hosea 11 v 1)

We will see the beautiful heart of God for us and the whole world right here in this chapter.

Let me summarise what God says in this chapter; prayerfully read it slowly:

“How can I give you up?

Even if I could, I wouldn’t.

I called you and you came to me

But then others called you and you left me.

Yet I stuck with you then and I don’t intend to change my pattern now.

I taught you to walk, I led you, I bent down and lifted you up.

It is within your DNA to walk away from me.

Every time.

But I am committed to you. And that is final.

So I ask, How can I give you up?

How can I let you be ruined?

I cannot.

For I am not like you.

I am the Holy One, the different One.

And I am here with you.

I will win you back.

I cannot let go.

I will not let go.

I know you will return.

I am waiting.”

They went to bed that night blessed. The magi had gone but had left behind expensive and substantial gifts. This was a high time for Joseph and Mary. They were overcome with such provision – what are we going to do with all this, this is too much? Within hours they would realise that God had provided at just the right time for them. They would need the gifts from the Magi to get them through the next period of time, on the journey and staying in a foreign country, Egypt.
When it feels like God cannot change the events of your life, take a step back, turn back the clock, it may only be for a few hours, but turn it back and you will find that He has been preparing you and providing for you in all that you will need for this period of time.

Nothing about this story is safe.
Mary’s conception could have split the relationship for good.
Caesars census and journey to Bethlehem could have injured the heavily-pregnant Mary.
Herod is searching to kill their child.
If we were God we would have written a different story.
God is saying ‘I am fully in control in such circumstances. I can be trusted.’

The reason for telling this story is because of our next verse which is the opening of chapter 11 of Hosea: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” (11 v 1)

As Moses was called to go to Egypt and rescue Israel from slavery so Jesus was called out of Egypt in His infancy through this divine message to Joseph, to save mankind from the slavery of sin. God is in control of your life, He has you and He will not let go of you. But don’t imagine Joseph telling Mary, ‘Don’t worry Mary, this is all in Hosea’s prophecy’. When you are going through the trial, Bible verses don’t always come to your mind, no matter what the experts tell us. It is often looking back, as Matthew does, after the event, 50 years later, he sees the hand of God, the prophetic plan being fulfilled.

We walk by faith and when it feels like not even God can intervene He can and He probably already has.

How do we articulate our feelings of the atrocities done to the innocent people in Israel and Gaza? The first-hand news has rocked us to the core. It’s not the only horrendous story of course, sadly there are many and have been many. We will read the next few verses of something that happened which is not actually in the Bible story but Hosea obviously knew of it and so did the people.

“the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be devastated – as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children. So will it happen to you, Bethel, because your wickedness is great. When that day dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.” Hosea‬ ‭10‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭

It’s always the suffering of the children that shocks us. Whatever happened when Beth Arbel was set upon, it was the children that caught the headlines. Mothers fell with their children. This is not only the soldiers but the innocents that are in loss. 

In the same way … God says just like that day, there is coming a day of destruction for His people. And why? The House of God (Bethel) was not what it was created to be. 

Could it be that if the Church does not get right before God and remain true to the Bible and stop grieving the Spirit that judgment will also come?

And could it be that even if the prophetic messages speak of a new day coming and life will be better that “when that day dawns” it does so to further pain and not blessing?

Some won’t want to know of or read of such prophecy.

Is the Church waking up? God’s people in Hosea’s day didn’t.

Whatever you plant then that is what will grow. If you live a life of goodness then goodness will follow you; if you live with truth and integrity then no one will accuse you of benefiting by manipulation and lies; if you trust God with everything then you won’t be be disappointed when others let you down.

God has said that He could shower them with righteousness but what God can do does not mean He will and the conduct and trust of His people are paramount to His move.

“But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors,” Hosea 10:13

How are you investing, your time, money, your kindness to people?

What are you reaping from what you have sown? How would you sum up your blessings?

What is sustaining your life? Is it truth? Is it integrity?

Whose strength do you rely on? Do you do your own thing? Do you have crutches that support you?

Consequences, results, benefits are all simply the law of reaping where you have sown.

This has to be the central message of Hosea’s prophecy and certainly one of the important message for every generation. Especially for us in 2023.

“Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unploughed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12

Why is it time?

1. Because knowing God is not high on the agenda. Knowing about or of Him is not the same. In 4:1 Hosea says there is no knowledge or acknowledgement of the Lord. Like Hosea, alone in the marital home, or like the father scanning the terrain for his prodigal son, we have left (again), we have gone our own way (again), we have lost our knowing Him (again). When I look back on all the problems I have had to try and help within Church and I ask myself this question, ‘if the individuals concerned knew God more would this have helped to solve the problem?’ The answer is ‘YES’.
2. Because leadership is failing God’s people. Hosea has said in 9:15 that the leaders were rebellious. Last week a Pastor told me how in his town there is a church that has had a new minister. Since that appointment the minister set about asking every ‘evangelical born-again believer’ in the church to leave. Droves have left as a secular and liberal agenda has risen within that church brought about by leadership decisions. We need courageous faithful leaders today who will not remove the Bible from its central place in a believe’rs life and who teach the church to obey it. And we need gentle leaders who know how to shepherd.
3. Because it is God’s heart to bless. We will soon get to the end of the prophecy and in chapter 14 we see God’s heart which is for us to thrive and be fruitful. 

It wasn’t God’s heart for judgment and exile. It is God’s heart for revival. 

If you read any revival history you find a praying people. I was reading the other day of the life of Jeremiah Lambfear. In New York in 1857 he began calling people to pray at lunchtime. In the first week 6 people came; the second week 14 people came to pray; then 23 people; then 65 people then 200 people; then he decided to go 5 days a week still meeting at lunchtime to pray. After a few months there were 6100 people praying and then 6 months later the revival broke and as God began to move there were upwards of 10,000 a week coming to know Jesus. Scottish and Irish leaders were sent to New York and on their return they started prayer meetings and it led in 1858/1859 to the Ulster Revival which spread across the whole UK. It wasn’t the prayer meetings but it was hearts passionate for God to move who were willing to take their time to pursue Him. It was people who knew it was time to seek the Lord. This can still happen now in 2023. 

If we want His hand we need to seek His face.

If we don’t walk with God then life will only feel like work.

God tells His people that because they have left Him out of their life then it is going to get harder for them.

“Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; so I will put a yoke on her fair neck. I will drive Ephraim, Judah must plough, and Jacob must break up the ground.” Hosea 10:11

God’s people are likened to the animal which treads on the grain to separate the kernel from the chaff. The animal did not have to pull a plough and it could eat as it worked! Perfect!

BUT this was to end.

God was going to place a heavy burden on His people simply because they had turned their own way. 

It gets more difficult when we choose easier paths of comfort.

We lose blessings when we pursue our own gain.

Like Ephraim, even though we have been a disciple and trained to follow Him out of love, if we reject that, we will experience what we were never created to do.

Our discipleship and our love will be replaced with the need to be driven and pulling a heavy load. Our joy will leave us as we experience the burden that the desire for success brings. 

There are some people who don’t like messages of sin, repentance, holiness. In fact for some they want to remove those words entirely from their liturgy.

Hosea’s people were equally not happy hearing such a message from God. Gibeah has appeared before and God comes back to it so it is important. There was a sin at Gibeah that not only happened then but continued down the generations. And I see it still in 2023. It isn’t a nice story at all but neither are the stories of broken people today. I read a message the other day of how a man was ‘broken’ for 24 years because of the sin of another person of great responsibility and privilege. I believe we have and are still to enter into days of judgement for those who will not repent. There is a call, a warning from the Spirit and those who are spiritual deaf because of their lack of self-awareness and arrogance are at the point of no return. Not everyone emerges from exile the way they entered and some don’t emerge at all.

“Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel, and there you have remained.  Will not war again overtake the evildoers in Gibeah? When I please, I will punish them; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bonds for their double sin.” (Hosea 10 v 9-10

She was a concubine. In a fit of anger she ran away from her master and owner to her father’s house in Bethlehem of Judah. The man found her and wooed her back. On the way back to his home in the hill country of Ephraim, it became late in the evening and they needed a place to stay. They depended on the hospitality of the people of Gibeah, but there was no hospitality forthcoming. Finally, an old man offered them a place to stay in his home. That night a set of townsmen knocked on the door. They demanded the body of the male visitor. In order to appease the sexual hunger of the men outside, the old man grabbed the concubine and threw her out and shut the door. The crowd outside gang-raped her, abused her all night. When dawn broke they left her lying on the ground. When her husband came out he saw her lying dead at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold. It is a horrible story told in Judges 19 and there is no mention of God. Does He not care? Was it too shameful to even make an appearance or speak a word? Her memory calls out. It calls out to the psychological numbness of those around her, and it calls out to us down the centuries to amplify her silent cries. There are people crying today because of acts that are too shameful to even mention where the presence of God seems remote. We need to speak up and out. We need to step into the shame and feel the dirt and the pain and we need to stand for justice. For the greatest shame is on those who turn away from that cry. Will we speak up for those who have been impacted by the sin of God’s people? Or do we just want people to like us? Whenever God desires He will bring judgement for those who will not repent. It starts in the house of God (Bethel) which as we know became the house of iniquity (Beth-Aven).