Episode Transcript
If you take God's precious Word and turn the book of Hosea, the book of Hosea, maybe that will help some.
Hosea chapter 13, God willing we'll be expounding verse 2 this morning.
Hosea chapter 13 verse 2.
Hosea chapter 13 verse 2.
We left off in verse 1 last week where the Lord said, "When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel.
But when he offended in Baal, he died."
So let's go ahead and take God's precious Word and we'll look at that this morning, but we'll go ahead and begin in prayer.
Father, we thank you so much.
And I thank you, Father, for the opportunity to be able to bring your Word this morning, Father.
I thank you, Lord, for the meeting room that you provided us.
And even though it's not home and it's not the comfortable pulpit that I'm used to and it's standing a little crooked, Lord your Word is just as straight as it's ever been.
I thank you, Father, for the people who gathered here this morning, Lord, so we could meet and worship together and center around the truth of the Gospel.
And I pray your Holy Spirit, Father, God will fill each and every one of us this morning.
And I pray you'll teach your Word through me this morning.
And I pray you'll edify the saints, Lord, here and back home and abroad and wherever they're tuning in this morning, Father, to learn your Word.
I pray for each and every one of them, Father.
And Lord, glorify your name as Jesus said, "My Father worketh hitherto and I work."
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Hosea chapter two, I'm sorry, chapter 13, verse two.
Again, last week we were looking at where God said, "When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel, but when he offended in Baal, he died."
So when Ephraim trembled at God's Word, when Ephraim or Israel, it's a synonym, when Israel humbled himself, putting himself under the authority of God, he exalted himself above his enemies.
We learned that last week.
When we put ourselves under God, we put ourselves over enemies.
Nothing falls lower than a rebel.
And nothing is lifted up higher than a lowly servant of the Most High God.
But there came a time in Israel's history when he, that is the nation that descended from him, and Brother Sheper did such a great job pointing out this morning about the nation of Israel.
Is this my water sugar?
Yes.
Hi, wonderful.
Sister Anne, I don't have my Trump cup to drink out of this morning, so I apologize for that.
I just have to use a lowly bottle of water, a common bottle of water.
But there came a time in Israel's history when the nation that descended from Israel rejected their God, and they decided to choose a false god, a Phoenician false god, whose name was Baal, which they made with their own hands.
Verse 13, "And now," I'm sorry, verse 2, "And now," God says, "they sin more and more."
And this is a powerful statement that we should all take heed to this morning.
"And now," God says, "they sin more and more."
In the past, Israel sinned against God by worshipping Baal.
And now, God says, "they sin more and more."
If you have your Bibles open this morning, you don't mind writing in your Bibles.
Underscore, "more and more."
More and more.
So Israel sinned in one way when they offended in Baal, and now they sin more and more because of it.
When Israel trembled at the word of God, they worshiped God alone.
Once again, I loved Hezekiah's prayer this morning.
Brother Sheper, we absolutely loved the Sunday school this morning.
Hezekiah spread that letter out, and he put it before the most high God, the God of all the nations, the God who created heaven, earth, and God, who is God alone.
And when they trembled at God's word, they worshiped Him alone.
At that time during Israel's history, the public perception was that the God of the Bible was the one true God.
And beside Him, there was none else.
And then this particular thing happened.
There was a time in history that a line was crossed.
Up until that time, there had been a line drawn in the sand, and no one had dared to cross it.
None would either consider crossing it.
And if you would have suggested to Israel at that time that they should worship a false God, that they should worship Baal, well, you might have gotten stoned to death for mentioning that.
That would have been the law.
It would have been to stone you to death, and it would have been right for them to have stoned you to death.
And when I grew up, that's not the way it was in America as far as getting stoned, but as far as having that line drawn in the sand, it was.
There was this line drawn in the sand that we always grew up thinking this was a Christian nation.
We always grew up, again, we had prayer in school when I grew up.
We always grew up knowing that there was one God.
Yes, there was, you know, some nitwits out there that did not believe in God, but they weren't the norm.
They were the very, very small minority.
But we were a nation, one nation under God.
We naturally assumed that God created us.
We naturally assumed that the Bible was the Word of God.
Like Israel, there was that line that had been drawn in the sand by our forefathers, our founding fathers, that we as a nation had not crossed.
But like Israel, there came a time in our nation's history when we finally crossed that line.
There came a time in our nation's history where we embraced atheism and we began to reject theism.
We began to reject Christianity.
We began to reject the idea that God created us and we began to propagate the idea that we created ourselves.
As verse 1 puts it, they offended in Baal.
That's how they crossed the line.
They didn't cross the line by saying, "Well, God didn't create us, we created ourselves."
They didn't cross the line that way.
Now, they rejected by God by saying, "Well, yes, there is a God, but not the God of the Bible, not Jehovah God."
We're going to say that Baal's God, so they just crossed that line like that.
Either way, it's still rejecting God and substituting God for a God that is not.
In our case, by rejecting God and embracing atheism, we made ourselves God.
We created ourselves.
When the Scripture says, "It is God that created us, not we ourselves."
And once Israel crossed that line, it opened the nation up to a whole host of sins that they would otherwise have not been exposed to.
Once we crossed that line as a nation, it opened our nation up to a whole host of sins that we otherwise would have not been exposed to.
Here's a kingdom truth for you this morning.
Once you step across a fundamental truth, you are bound to walk on many lies.
Once you step across a fundamental truth, you're bound to step on many lies.
Once you step aside the truth of God's Word, you cross over that line onto something else.
As soon as you leave God's Word, you've stepped onto a lie.
And once you leave God's Word, you step onto one lie, you've opened yourself up to an endless list of lies because there's no longer anything to restrict your belief system other than your own wicked imagination.
And that's how come our world is getting crazier and crazier and crazier as we go.
Because, and when you look there in the book of Genesis before the flood came, the imagination of their heart was only evil continually.
Why?
Because they left the inspiration of God's Word, and now they're left to follow the imagination of their own evil hearts.
That's what Israel did.
For they could ever think about accepting Baal.
They had to first cross the truth of Jehovah.
And once they departed from that truth, it opened the floodgate up of sin in that nation.
God said, "Now they sin more and more."
And I tell you, America's problems began when she started flirting with the idea that there was no God.
And once she embraced that idea, it opened up the floodgate of sin upon our nation.
And now there is nothing to limit our sin but the imagination of our heart.
And we are open to all kinds of ungodly thinking today.
President Barack Obama, when he was president, he embraced black liberation theology.
And black liberation theology believes that the Savior essentially came to deliver the black man from the white man.
That's a lie.
You say, "Well, that's a crazy religion."
Did you know that's the same religion that the Jews had when Jesus came?
The exact same religion.
Again, black liberation theology, the Savior came to deliver the black man from the white man.
But when Jesus came, instead of delivering black people from white people, they believed that the Savior came to deliver Jewish people from Italian people.
Well, he came to deliver the Jews from the Romans.
He came to deliver the black from the white.
And none of that's true.
He came to deliver sinners from themselves.
That's what Jesus came to do.
They all failed to realize that Jesus didn't come to deliver us from one another.
He came to deliver us all from our sins.
And now we have a woman that's running for the White House, who is now in the White House but running for the top spot in the White House, who describes herself as, quote, "a black Christian with a Hindu family view."
Now, you tell me what that is.
Kamala, by the way, is another name for the Hindu-Gaudish Lakshmi.
Lakshmi.
Hindus have many, many gods that they worship, and many Hindus are hostile toward Christians.
They get persecuted in India.
And if that wasn't bad enough, President Trump picked a vice president who has a Hindu wife.
And they had a Hindu woman lead in prayer at the Republican National Convention, lead in prayer, the nation in prayer, to a false god.
And now they cleverly did not tell us which particular god she was praying to.
And I know why.
It's because they were probably hoping that we would all embrace it as the same universal kind of god, whichever god you choose your god to be.
And we'll all just pray to him.
I think God that has a kai didn't have a prayer like that when he spread that letter out.
Had he had that kind of prayer, Israel would have gone under.
Old Sinacrum would have conquered him.
Our god doesn't conform to the foolish concepts of men.
It's so sad to watch this happen to our nation.
But we learned from our text this morning here in Hosea that sin has a perpetuating effect.
They sin more and more.
Once you cross a line, once you lower a standard, you will sin more and more.
That standard will continue to get lower and then the country will tolerate it.
And then it will get lower and then the country will tolerate it.
And they'll continue to go more and more down the hole.
God said they sin more and more.
If you look back in your text now in Hosea, and have made them molten images of their silver.
They crossed the line of believing in God and now they're making them images of silver that they melted and poured into a mold.
That's what it's saying.
They went from worshiping a god who made them to worshiping a god that they made themselves.
That puts people in control.
Either way, it rejects god.
It puts people in control.
But how foolish can you be?
Recently, the whole world through these Olympics was exposed to the celebration of the false gods of ancient Greek mythology.
Which, by the way, was the same religion the Romans had.
Essentially, whenever Jesus came, they just called it Roman mythology.
It's the same thing.
And I hate that the world has fallen so far.
But I'm glad that we all got to see it.
I'm glad that we all got a little taste of what the world really wants deep down inside.
Do you know why the world hates Christianity and celebrates these false gods?
It's because they're gods they made themselves.
They get to make something that they can celebrate.
They get to make a religion that they control.
Gods that they control.
The infamous blue man that we saw in the opening ceremony, he was supposed to represent the Greek god of wine and ecstasy.
But the largest portion of their vile display was out of the sodomites.
Posing in their perverted sexual fashions.
One with a halo looking headdress.
Celebrating their lusts right along the side of the god of wine and ecstasy.
And while were these sodomites on display with that Greek god?
The cause of sodomites have become gods unto themselves.
That's what they become.
What did they choose to mock the last supper or at least give the appearance of it?
Because their perverted lifestyle is what they worship and celebrate.
It's their religion.
When you see those priests or those pastors so called that get up in these homosexual churches, why do they have rainbows on their religious apparel?
Because that is their religion.
That is what they celebrate.
Instead of allowing God to liberate them from their sin, they're liberating themselves from their god.
God said Israel's sin, making themselves mold and gods, look back in your text, and idols according to their own understanding.
Their own way of thinking is the way they made their religion.
Their own way of thinking.
Their own ideas.
Their own opinions.
In other words, they made themselves idols according to the way they viewed the world, according to the way they wanted their lives to be.
Instead of allowing God to make them in his own image, they made themselves gods in their own corrupt, in sordid image.
And then they displayed it to the world as if to say, "These be our gods which brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
You see, as believers, we recognize that we're born in bondage to sin.
As unbelievers, they recognize that as long as their religion and this world, they're in bondage to God.
In their religion, allows them to liberate themselves from their creator.
As our religion allows us to the gospel to liberate ourselves from the seed of Adam, to be born again and come back to our creator.
That's the difference.
And that's what we need.
Church, I don't care how nice and loving you are to this world.
You cannot win the world by your kindness and your love.
I got on the elevator just a moment ago.
There was a sticky track that we had put up in there.
Someone stuck it back up, but it looked like someone had peeled it off, crumbled it up, threw it down.
It was nice and straight this morning when I went to the baptism.
And it looked like it had been thrown and had been torn a little bit and crinkled up.
And someone had stuck it back up in a different spot in that elevator.
If it wasn't one of y'all, I guess it was one of the guests that saw it and put it back up.
But I was grateful for it.
And I put my thumb on a little bit harder to make sure it didn't fall back down.
And I saw that crinkle where someone wadded up.
And Tammy and I have seen people do it before.
We've gotten in elevators before.
We picked them crinkled up off the ground, spread them out and put them back up there.
But that's the world that wants to be liberated from our God.
And yet we have a message where people can be liberated from their sins, Satan and death back to their God.
Man, I tell you, I don't want to be liberated from God.
I see the mess this world is in.
The craftsmen of Israel's day, they made them these gods according to their own understanding.
Look back in your text.
All of it, the work of the craftsmen.
They're making it, not the work of God.
The Bible says that we are the work of God.
The Bible says the apostle Paul said we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God had before ordained that we should walk in them.
But we are God's workmanship.
But these idols were man's workmanship.
Religions carefully crafted by the imaginations of men, crafting what they deem as being worthy of their celebration.
There's one thing about the work of the craftsmen that we need to know though.
And it is all craftsmen eventually die.
All the people during this time in Israel's day, when they offended and bail, all those craftsmen, they died.
And their work is gone.
But us being the workmanship of God in Christ Jesus, the Bible says he who began a good work in you will be faithful to perform it to the day of Jesus Christ.
The fact that you have recognized your sin and understand that you're a guilty sinner, the fact that you have recognized that Jesus Christ came down to die for that sin, to redeem you from that sin, and that he is the only hope for mankind, that recognition in your heart is the work of God.
Your flesh didn't dream that up.
Your flesh didn't make you agree with God that you're a sinner.
Your flesh didn't make you believe the Bible to be the record of God's word.
And Jesus Christ to be the redemption that he provided the world.
That's the work of God.
It's your God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus.
Praise God, we make idols and God makes us.
Here's the key and truth for you this morning.
The work you craft can never craft you.
Oh man.
The work you craft can never craft you.
But the work of the gospel will craft every one of us, conforming us, transforming us into the image of God's son.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that idols and false gods are a thing of the past because they're not.
We have the same thing.
People may not be crafting the same images, but they are crafting images nonetheless.
Speaking of those gods, that God knew that they would be crafting.
And speaking of the people that who would reject them, and believe on his son, and believe on the one true God.
The Bible says in Romans 8 29 for whom he did for no.
He also be predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son.
That's God's workmanship.
That's not us making an idol.
That's God making us to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the first born among many brethren.
In the true religion, God makes us in his image.
In a false religion, man makes God in his image.
That's why there's such a struggle today between the Christian world and the anti-Christian world.
Because the world is trying to conform us into the image of the sons of the serpent.
Constantly trying to conform us.
Why are these transvestites getting up there with these books trying to have these children's story hours?
They're doing in churches too now.
I saw that the other day.
They're letting the drag queens come and have story hours with the children in churches as well.
Why are they doing that?
It's because the world is trying to conform us into the image of the seed of the serpent.
Corrupt, rebellious, and ungodly.
While God on the other hand wants to conform us into the image of his son, the seed of the woman.
They're in Genesis.
Incorruptible, obedient, holy.
And this war is going to continue to play out.
The seed of the serpent is going to try to get us to conform to the serpent.
The seed of the woman is going to try to get us to conform to the Lord Jesus Christ.
This war is going to continue to play out until the end of time.
Speaking of this very thing, in Revelation chapter 20 verse 4, the apostle John said, "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.
And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God."
Why were they beheaded?
Why are people in the church of Jesus Christ going to be beheaded for the witness of God?
Because we're going to be telling people about the one true God who's trying to conform us into the image of Christ while the world says, "No, we want to reject that God, and we want everyone to be conformed to our image."
And so they say, "Off with their heads."
We'll kill them one way or the other.
We'll put this God away from us one way or the other.
He says, "And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image."
Neither his image.
Man, that's good.
You know what that's all about?
The beast and his image.
You see, Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
And he's conforming us to his image.
And the devil comes in with these counterfeits, and we're going to say, "No, that's not the image we want.
That's not the image of our God."
And they're going to say, "Well, we'll have to have war with you."
And the Christians are going to stand true.
They're not going to accept this lie.
It says, "Which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads."
Why don't we receive that mark upon our foreheads?
Because we've already been marked.
The Bible says, "We're sealed by the Holy Spirit of God."
Or in their hands, "And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
The world will still be pushing its anti-Christian image in the end time.
But we who believe in Christ will never worship it.
Speaking of Israel's affection for these ungodly images, God said, if you look back in your text as we begin to close, "They say of them, 'Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.'"
Now, if you have your Bible in front of you, underscore, "Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves."
That's very important.
"Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves."
Why are they saying this?
Because they're worshiping these calves.
And what are the calves?
The calves are images.
Images of their false God.
Images of their false theological system.
And so they say, "Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves."
Let them kiss that idol.
Let them balance some mission to it.
Let them express their affection to it.
Let them kiss the calves.
They want the men who sacrifice to kiss these calves they made to pay homage to them.
Here's a kingdom truth for you.
"A world that preaches tolerance will ultimately demand obedience."
Let them kiss the calves.
Now, there's going to be a time, and there is that time, coming right now, we're watching it right now, where right now they're preaching tolerance, tolerance, tolerance.
And by preaching tolerance, they're saying, "Let us worship the calves.
Let us have our own religion."
And they're always telling us, "Separation of church and state."
That only works for Christians.
Everything else is free game and it's tolerance.
But once they get their tolerance, they then demand obedience.
Let them kiss the calves.
Let them kiss the calves.
You see that.
When you watch the people who go in, they sue these bakers.
They first preach for tolerance.
They told us back in the 90s, they say what two people do in the privacy of their own bedroom is none of our business.
And then people started believing that and they started tolerating that.
They say, "Well, that's none of our business."
And the next thing you know, those people who sit as none of our business, they go into the Christian business and say, "Now you bake us a homosexual wedding cake."
You know what they're doing when they say, "Bake that cake.
Kiss the calf."
Kiss the calf.
Accept us.
Bless us.
Acknowledge us.
A world that preaches tolerance will ultimately demand obedience.
They will start out by telling us that we should tolerate their image, but at the end of the day, they will demand that we kiss it.
Knowing this, God gives a warning to every one of them.
You ready?
It's in Psalm chapter 2, verse 10 through 12.
Psalm chapter 2, verse 10 through 12.
Listen to what God says to the people who says, "Kiss the calves."
Psalm 210, "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings.
Be instructed ye judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the sun.
Lest he be angry.
And ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little.
Bless her all day that put their trust in him."
I tell you what, all these people telling us to kiss the calf, one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
He says, "Lest ye perish from the way."
And he says, "Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."
You know what that is?
That's John 3, 16.
"Blessed are they that put their trust in him."
That is the covenant that God gave Abraham being fulfilled in Jesus when he said, "In you shall all nations of the earth be blessed."
And we receive that blessing by kissing the sun, by going to the cross and saying, "I acknowledge you."
"Who came to liberate me back to my God."
And we put our trust in him.
With that, we'll go ahead and close.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
We love you.
We miss you back home in Maybank.
But, boy, we're having a good time with our church service here.
Let me turn you around here and let you see our folks here in the God-blessed state of Kentucky.
Beautiful, wonderful people.
Not as beautiful as me, but they're pretty beautiful.
All right.
We love you guys so much.
God bless you.
And thank you.
And, Lord willing, we'll see you once a night at home.
