Participants: Ty Gibson
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000422
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01:02 My Lord what a morning
01:08 My Lord what a morning 01:14 Oh, my Lord what a morning 01:20 When the stars begin to fall 01:27 My Lord what a morning 01:34 My Lord what a morning 01:40 Oh, my Lord what a morning 01:46 When the stars begin to fall 01:54 You'll hear the sinner moan 02:00 To wake the nations underground 02:07 Look into my God's right hand 02:13 When the stars begin to fall 02:20 My Lord what a morning 02:27 My Lord what a morning 02:33 Oh, my Lord what a morning 02:39 When the stars begin to fall 02:47 You'll hear the trumpet sound 02:52 To wake the nations underground 03:00 Look into my God's right hand 03:05 When the stars begin to fall 03:12 My Lord what a morning 03:19 My Lord what a morning 03:25 My Lord what a morning 03:38 When the stars begin to fall 03:59 I was in Rocker, Montana which is just outside Butte. 04:03 And I was there about lunch time 04:04 and I had knees bound and I was sitting there 04:06 eating my lunch in my truck. 04:09 When I crossed the CB, I heard, 04:10 "Hey, driver how about it, 04:11 give me a ride I'm needing to go East Billings, 04:14 I'm broke down." 04:17 I went ahead and eat my lunch 04:18 and didn't hear anymore in the CB, 04:20 and pretty soon he came on again. 04:22 "Hey, how about it, driver, I need a ride? 04:24 I'm broke down." 04:25 So I got on the CB, and said, "Yeah, I'll take you." 04:29 So this fellow come walking across the parking lot there 04:31 at flying hook and he got into my truck. 04:35 And before I even got to the freeway on the on ramp, 04:39 he introduced himself as John Peterson. 04:40 I introduced myself. 04:41 And he said, "What kind of a truck is this anyway?" 04:45 And I told, "This is owned and operated 04:46 by the Upper Columbia Conference of Seventh-day Adventist." 04:49 He says, "Oh, are you a Christian?" 04:51 I said, "Yes, sir, I am." 04:53 "Oh, no." he says. "Oh, no." 04:54 And he's reaching his pocket 04:55 and he pulled out his pocket knife 04:56 just exactly like this one of mine 04:58 and he laid on my desk, and he said, 04:59 "That's the only weapon I have, 05:00 that's all the weapon I've got." 05:02 I said, "That's fine to me. It's all right to me." 05:05 He said, "You're really a Christian?" 05:07 I said, "Yes, sir, I am." 05:09 Oh, man, my wife must be praying. 05:12 You know, I thought that was great. 05:14 And I wanna say something now here to Christian wives. 05:18 You know, you never know the influence 05:19 you have on your husbands, 05:20 because this guy as you'll learn was quite a fellow. 05:25 But one thing he never did even though 05:26 he'd done everything else the truck drivers do, 05:29 nothing--one thing he never did was 05:30 he never cheated on his wife. 05:32 His wife is a Christian, a Lutheran. 05:34 And she was praying for him, and he knew it. 05:37 And now he was in a truck with a Christian 05:38 and he was very uncomfortable. 05:41 And I said, "You know, if it bothers you 05:43 I'll be happy to let you out." 05:44 He says "Oh, oh, no, no." 05:45 He says, "I, I, I. 05:46 I suppose it's all right to ride with a Christian." 05:47 He says, "I just--just I never could be a Christian." 05:49 I said, "Really?" And so we started talking. 05:51 He said, "Why are you a Christian?" 05:52 I told him, "Because my Savior has forgiven me of my sins." 05:56 Well, he said, "God can't forgive me." 05:58 I said, "You're a Vietnam veteran, aren't you?" 06:00 And he said, "Yes, I am." 06:01 And he said, "I've killed a lot of people. 06:03 God can't forgive me." 06:06 This guy was so nervous. 06:07 He was sitting in my shotgun seat, 06:08 that's what they called it in the trucks over there. 06:09 He was bouncing around just like it was hot. 06:12 And he kept asking me over and over again, 06:15 "Are you a Christian? Oh, you're a Christian. 06:16 Oh, I can't believe you're a Christian. 06:17 Oh, you're a Christian." Over and over again 06:19 and finally says it, "Have you ever preached?" 06:24 "Yes, sir, I am." 06:26 And just to show you how the Lord's timetable 06:28 is always way ahead of everybody else's. 06:31 The Sabbath before, I had preached at Edgemere, Idaho. 06:34 And for some reason they taped it 06:36 and gave me a copy of it. 06:37 Now I don't know about you 06:38 but I don't like to hear myself talk. 06:40 You won't believe that. 06:41 Listen to me but I really don't like to hear myself talk. 06:45 And when I put the tape in, my voice sounds way high 06:47 and I hear all the mistakes I've made, 06:48 and you know, so forth so. 06:50 I hadn't even played the tape. 06:51 But I had preached on Matthew 9 06:54 and in particularly verse 13, 06:56 "Go on, learn what this means. 06:58 I'll have mercy, not sacrifice. 07:00 For I have not come to call the righteous, 07:02 but the sinners to repentance." 07:05 And as we talked and he asked 07:07 about whether I was be able to preach. 07:09 And he said, "Have you ever stood up there, 07:10 you know, upfront?" I said, "Yes, sir." 07:12 He said, "I mean up there where the preacher stands." 07:13 "Yeah, yes, sir, I've been there. 07:15 In fact, I have a tape. Would you like to hear it?" 07:17 He says, "Yeah, yeah, I would." 07:18 So I stuck in the tape player 07:20 and from then on the conversation 07:21 went something like this. 07:23 "Stop the tape! Stop the tape! 07:24 You mean to believe that you really believe that?" 07:26 And I said, "Yes, sir, I do." 07:27 Okay, start the tape, start the tape. 07:29 And we went through where Jesus heal the man 07:31 that was has the paralysis you know. 07:33 And then we talked about palsy and then demand that, 07:36 "Come in inside my daughter is unto death." 07:38 And they started to go and the woman was healed 07:40 and all these things in Matthew 9. 07:42 And each time, "Stop the tape, stop the tape. 07:44 You believe that?" "Yes, sir, I do." 07:45 "Start the tape, start the tape." 07:46 And over and over we went until we got to the time 07:48 when Jesus actually raised Jairus' daughter from the dead. 07:50 And he jumped out of that chair 07:52 and he walked back to my sleeper 07:53 and he says, "Stop the tape, stop the tape." 07:56 And so I stopped the tape. 07:58 He said, "Do you really believe that man 08:00 actually raised that man from-- 08:02 that little girl from the dead?" 08:03 And I said, "Yes, sir, I do." 08:05 And he sat down, for the first time he was quiet. 08:09 And he just looked out the window. 08:10 "Start the tape." So I re-start 08:12 to turn the tape back on. 08:13 He said, "No, wait. 08:14 I've got to think, I've got to think." 08:18 And while he was thinking, I was praying. 08:20 The Lord was touching his heart, 08:22 convicting this man if Jesus was able to raise the dead, 08:26 maybe He could forgive sins. 08:30 And as he sat over there 08:31 and I could just feel the struggle going on inside of him. 08:35 About that time we got to Park City. 08:38 That's just outside the Billings just west of Billings. 08:41 He said, "This is where I wanna out. 08:42 This way I gotta go." 08:43 And so I pulled in, the truck stopped there. 08:46 And I had not been able to get through 08:48 to the tape bottom of the-- the end of the tape. 08:50 And you know, like preachers always like to get 08:52 to the end of the sermon 08:53 because that's where the appeal is, right? 08:56 But we hadn't got past Jairus' daughter 08:59 being raised from the dead. 09:00 As he sat there thinking, he said, 09:03 "Well, I appreciate the ride." 09:04 Then I said, "You know, John if you make me a promise, 09:07 one thing I've learned over the road 09:09 when truck drivers make you promise they usually keep it." 09:12 I said, "If you make me a promise, 09:13 I'll give you this tape, 09:14 if you'll promise me that you'll listen to it." 09:17 "I promise." He said, "I wanna hear the rest of it." 09:19 So I gave him the tape. 09:21 And then I felt very impressed to say, 09:22 "You know, John, if you make me another promise, 09:25 I have a little tiny book I'd like to give you. 09:27 It's called "Steps to Christ." 09:28 I think you find a lot of hope in there. 09:30 It shows how God loves us so much. 09:31 He's willing to forgive us even our sins. 09:34 Yeah, I promise, I'll read it. 09:36 And then he said, "Now preacher, 09:37 I want you to do some for me." 09:38 He called me preacher from the time 09:40 he found out I was upfront. 09:43 He said, "Put your hand right there on my shoulder 09:45 and you pray for me." 09:47 I said, "John, I'll do that but that's not what you need." 09:50 "It isn't?" he said. I said, "No. 09:53 You need to pray to God. 09:54 You need to ask for forgiveness. 09:56 You need to talk to Him." 09:57 He said, "I don't know how to pray. 09:58 I've never prayed." And I said, "The way you've talked to me, 10:00 you talk to God just like you do to me." 10:04 "Well, I don't know, preacher." 10:06 I said, "Well, I'll pray for you. 10:08 But that's what you need to do is pray for yourself." 10:10 So I put my hand on John 10:11 and I had a prayer and he left my truck. 10:15 I don't know whatever happened 10:18 but remember John in your prayers 10:20 and remember we can all talk to God. 10:25 Well, that was a blessing that mission story, wasn't it? 10:29 Right here in the United States of America, 10:32 mission work taking place. 10:34 That's good to know, isn't it? 10:36 Well, I wanna wish you a happy Sabbath. 10:38 Are you having a happy Sabbath? Yes. 10:41 Well, look like you're having a happy Sabbath then. 10:44 I said happy Sabbath, would somebody say 10:47 happy Sabbath back to me. 10:48 Happy Sabbath. Well, that's nice. 10:52 We're gonna have a nice time in God's word this morning 10:55 and before we open this sacred word, 10:58 I wanna invite you to approach 11:00 the throne of God with me in prayers. 11:02 So would you please bow your heads for just a moment? 11:06 Father in Heaven, You are truly great, Lord. 11:11 You are beautiful beyond anything 11:12 this world has to offer. 11:15 And we want this morning to see Your beauty. 11:18 In Jesus' name, amen. 11:23 This morning, I want to share with you 11:26 a very surprising picture of God. 11:29 It's surprising but I want to tell you 11:32 that it is a very accurate picture of God. 11:35 And I know it's accurate, because it is a self portrait. 11:40 In other words, it is a picture of God 11:43 that He has painted of Himself in scripture. 11:48 Now this particular picture may catches us off guard, 11:53 because God is presenting Himself to us 11:57 in very passionate terms and even provocative terms. 12:02 The title of our message this morning is "The Alluring". 12:05 And as you're going to find out in just a moment, 12:08 this is actually a biblical word. 12:10 We're gonna read this word right in scripture as God 12:13 presents to you and me a picture of Himself. 12:18 Now the first brush strokes of this beautiful portrait 12:21 of our God are found in Ezekiel 16:1-8. 12:27 Now if you have your Bible, 12:28 why don't you look with me at Ezekiel Chapter 16 12:31 for just a moment and here you're going to see 12:34 something about the heart of God 12:37 that often escapes unnoticed. 12:40 The Lord presents Himself here as a man 12:44 traveling on a path and he comes upon 12:49 a certain juncture on this road. 12:52 And what does he see, 12:53 but an abandoned baby caste off into an open field. 12:59 Now the Lord says there in verse 4 13:02 that as He saw this baby abandoned in an open field, 13:06 He says, "That your navel cord was not cut." 13:10 Down in verse 5, He says, 13:12 "You're thrown or abandoned in an open field." 13:16 In verse 6 of Ezekiel 16, God says, 13:19 "When I passed you by I saw 13:21 that you were struggling in your own blood." 13:23 You were ready to die in other words. 13:26 And then I want you to notice verse 7, 13:28 God says, "I made you to thrive like a plant in the field, 13:34 and you grew and you matured, 13:36 and you became very beautiful. 13:40 Your breasts were well formed and your hair grew long, 13:43 but you were naked and bare." 13:45 Now notice verse 8 very carefully 13:47 and remember that this is God, 13:49 the creator of the universe speaking to us 13:52 and He says, "I passed you by." 13:54 There in verse 8, "I passed you by again 13:58 and I looked upon you and I saw 14:01 that it was the time for you to fall in love. 14:05 And so I spread My coat over your naked body 14:09 and I swore a marriage covenant to you 14:13 and you became Mine," says the Lord. 14:17 Now this is a very incredible picture of God. 14:21 He is introducing Himself here to you and me as a lover, 14:26 as a husband who is pursuing the love of His wife. 14:33 I want you to notice that He found this young lady 14:37 when she was just a babe, abandoned in an open field. 14:42 And God takes great care too. 14:44 He says there in verses 4 through 7 14:47 to trim the untrimmed umbilical cord of this babe. 14:52 God takes care to wash the body of this baby 14:56 with pure water He says. 14:58 And then He receives that baby up into His arms. 15:01 And then there is this picture of God 15:05 raising up this young lady into the full bloom of womanhood. 15:10 And when she becomes a fully mature woman, 15:13 what does God do but enter into marriage covenant with her. 15:17 God says, "I passed you by again 15:21 and I saw that it was time for you to fall in love 15:27 and so I entered into a covenant with you. 15:29 I made promises to you." As today's English version says, 15:33 "I promised to love you and you became mine." 15:39 Now these are very tender words, 15:41 very passionate words for the Almighty God 15:44 of the universe to speak concerning you and me. 15:47 It portrays God as a very, very sensitive person. 15:53 In fact, in this picture of God, 15:55 we seemed to be looking at God's emotional side. 15:59 And I want to just ask you this morning, 16:01 "Do you even believe that God has an emotional side?" 16:06 The Bible says that God made man in His own, what? 16:09 Help me out. In His own image, that's right. 16:13 So that means that God made us like Himself in some ways. 16:18 And if that's true, then the reverse is true as well 16:22 that we're not only like God, but He is like us. 16:27 Now of course, there are some differences. 16:29 He is God and we are not. 16:32 He is the sovereign creator of the universe 16:34 and we are creatures, but that does not detract 16:37 from the reality that in some very special ways 16:41 we are like God and therefore He is like us. 16:45 Well, how are we like God and how is He then like us? 16:49 Well, God has a mind, He thinks. 16:52 He pursues creative endeavors and He created us also to think, 16:57 to be rational creatures, 16:59 and to pursue creative endeavors. 17:01 But not only does God have a mind, 17:04 not only does God think thoughts, 17:07 but God also has a heart. God feels feelings. 17:12 God is an emotional person. 17:15 We often speak of the omnipotence of God 17:17 which means He is all powerful. 17:20 We speak of the omniscience of God 17:22 which means that He's all knowing. 17:24 We speak of the omnipresence of God 17:27 which means that He is simultaneously 17:29 in all places at all times. 17:32 But have you ever thought of God as omnipassionate, 17:37 because that picture also is presented in scripture 17:40 that God Himself is the epicenter 17:43 of all true and pure passion, 17:46 that God is in fact an emotional person. 17:49 I would go so far as to say that 17:51 God is the most sensitive person in all the vast universe, 17:56 that He loves with a depth of love and interest and care. 18:01 He loves with a love that far exceeds any human love. 18:06 In fact, every impulse of love that we ever experience 18:10 in this life is just the echo of a purer 18:15 and higher and deeper love 18:17 that resides in the heart of God. 18:20 And so it shouldn't catch us by surprise 18:23 that God paints a picture of Himself here 18:26 in Ezekiel as a lover. 18:28 As one who is pursuing a reciprocal love flowing forth 18:33 from our hearts to His. 18:36 Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher would have us 18:41 believe in a phrase that he himself coined 18:44 that God is the unmoved mover. 18:47 Have you ever heard that term before? 18:50 Socrates believed that God was the unmoved mover 18:53 which means in Socrates' mind at least 18:56 that God moves everyone in the universe 19:00 but He Himself ever remains unmoved. 19:04 Theologians have picked up 19:06 on this ancient Greek philosophy, 19:08 and have said that God is impassible 19:11 which means that God is incapable of passion or emotion. 19:16 In other words, God doesn't move 19:18 in response to anyone outside of Himself. 19:22 Now these theologians have taken certain scriptures 19:25 like Malachi 3 and verse 16 that says, 19:29 "I am the Lord and I change not." 19:33 And they have said, "See there is proof that God doesn't change 19:36 therefore God couldn't possibly be an emotional being, 19:39 because emotions come from the word 'emote' 19:43 which means to move, right? 19:46 So God couldn't possibly be an emotional being, 19:49 because God never changes. He never fluctuates. 19:51 He never response to anything external to Himself. 19:56 But the Bible actually teaches that, 19:59 that aspect of God's person 20:01 that is unchangeable is His character, His love. 20:05 God is love and that is an unchangeable reality. 20:09 God's character never changes. 20:11 But the very fact that His character never changes 20:15 is what makes Him so lucid and fluid 20:18 in His interactions with you and me. 20:20 God does move. God is passionate. 20:24 God is emotional. He is the matrix. 20:28 The mother if you will of all true emotion. 20:33 And the only reason why any of us are ever emotional. 20:37 The only reason we ever feel anything 20:39 is because God created us in His image and God feels. 20:45 In fact, Jesus said that He is touched 20:48 with a feeling of all our infirmities 20:51 in Hebrews Chapter 4 verses 15 and 16. 20:54 That means that every time we experience anything 20:58 God is impacted by it. 21:00 Desire of Ages, page 352 presents the idea 21:04 in these words not a sigh is breathed. 21:07 You know what a sigh is, don't you? 21:11 Not a sigh is breathed, not a pain is felt, 21:15 not a sorrow pierces the soul, 21:18 but the throb vibrates to the Father's heart. 21:21 In all our afflictions, He is afflicted. 21:24 And Jesus in Matthew 25 said 21:28 that anytime you do anything to another human being 21:31 it's like you did to, what did he say? 21:34 "To me." That's right. 21:36 In other words, Jesus is telling us 21:39 that He is so involved in every life 21:42 that He is so deeply moved by every person's circumstances 21:48 that God is so intimately connected with you and me 21:52 that it is virtually impossible for anything 21:55 to ever happen to you and me 21:57 or any other human being 21:58 that does not impact the heart of God. 22:01 God is incredible I tell you. 22:03 He is truly beautiful and He is a God 22:06 who is worthy of our deepest adoration 22:09 in our highest praise. God is truly good. 22:13 He is not just a mass of distant energy, 22:16 a force that resides somewhere in the universe. 22:20 Yes, God is powerful, but God is not power. 22:23 God is love, the Bible says. 22:26 And that's very personal. 22:28 That means that not only does God think but God also feels. 22:33 And so turn with me now if you have a Bible this morning 22:35 to Hosea Chapter 2 where God presents Himself to us 22:39 in these terms again. 22:41 And now this is not a picture of God 22:44 that is only presented in one or two verses in scripture. 22:48 In fact, you'll find throughout the Bible 22:50 that God portrays Himself as a husband 22:54 and His people as a woman, a bride 22:57 that He is seeking to enter into intimacy with. 23:00 Notice this picture in Hosea Chapter 3. 23:03 And I want you to notice first of all verse 1. 23:06 If you don't have a Bible with you 23:07 this morning, no problem. 23:08 I'm just reading the few verses 23:10 and you can just follow along carefully as I read here. 23:14 Hosea 3:1, "The Lord said to me, 'Go again.' 23:20 He is telling Hosea to do something. 23:22 "Go again and love a woman who is loved by a lover 23:29 and is committing adultery." 23:30 Notice these words, "Just like the love of the Lord 23:35 for the children of Israel." 23:38 "Notice the words, "Just like the love of the Lord 23:41 for the children of Israel." 23:44 What is just like the love of the Lord 23:47 for the children of Israel in this text? 23:49 In other words, God says to Hosea, 23:51 He says, "Hosea, go and marry a woman 23:55 who is committing adultery. 23:58 Love her with all your heart. 24:00 Pour all your energy into loving her, Hosea. 24:04 And when she commits adultery, Hosea, 24:07 you will be experiencing similar feelings 24:11 to what I experience as the God of Israel, 24:14 the God of the human race even." 24:17 In other words, God says, 24:18 "Hosea, listen, do you feel those feelings of pain, 24:23 those feelings of sorrow? 24:24 Do you feel in your inmost heart, Hosea, 24:27 what it feels like for the one you love with all your energy 24:31 to commit adultery against you? 24:33 Do you feel those feelings, Hosea? 24:36 Well, those are my feelings that's how I feel when my bride, 24:43 My people don't love Me in response to My love for them." 24:49 So did you notice in this text 24:51 that God actually presents Himself as a lover? 24:55 "Hosea, go and love a woman who has another lover. 25:01 You become her lover and you will be acting out 25:05 in a living parable the love of the Lord for the human race." 25:10 Now go back to Chapter 2 of Hosea. 25:13 And I want you to notice something fascinating here. 25:16 In verse 13 of Hosea 2, 25:19 at the later part of the verse God says 25:21 that "She went after her lovers 25:24 and she forgot me," says the Lord. 25:28 Now what kind of person speaks words like that? 25:32 God is obviously not a massive cerebral energy. 25:35 He's not just a mind throbbing somewhere in the universe. 25:39 God also obviously has heart, 25:42 because nobody speaks these kinds of words without a heart. 25:47 God says, "You have pursued other lovers 25:51 and you have forgotten me" says the Lord. 25:55 Now some of you here this morning you know 25:56 what it likes to feel forgotten by someone 25:59 that you love with all the energy of your heart. 26:02 You know what it's like to love someone 26:05 and to have that person wander away from your love, 26:08 and disloyalty, and distrust. 26:12 You felt those feelings some of you have and God says, 26:17 "Listen, the way I feel about the sin problem 26:22 is like I've been forgotten by someone I love very much." 26:27 We like to say that sin is the transgression of the law 26:30 and that is a Biblical definition, 26:32 but take it a step further when First John 3:4 says 26:36 that sin is the transgression of the law. 26:38 We must remember Romans 13:10 that says, 26:41 "The law is fulfilled by love." Right? 26:45 So the law of God is really a law that defines God's love. 26:51 So to break the law is to break that love to breach the trust 26:57 and loyalty of a love relationship. 27:01 Do you see that the law of God 27:03 is more than cold rules on tables of stone? 27:08 The law of God is a transcript of His character. 27:12 The law of God is the revelation of the way God 27:15 thinks and feels and behaves toward you and me. 27:19 God is love and the law reveals that love 27:22 and to break that law is not just to violate 27:25 called impersonal rules on a table of stone, 27:29 but to break that law is in fact a breaking of God's heart. 27:34 It is a violation of a love that God has for you and me. 27:39 And that's how He portrays sin in Hosea. 27:43 To Hosea He says, "Tell my people that I feel like a lover 27:47 who has been forgotten by the one He loves." 27:52 So what is God going to do? 27:53 How does He respond to the sin problem? 27:57 Notice what he's going to do in verse 14 27:59 if you have your Bible. 28:01 He says, "Therefore" and here's that word 28:03 that's in the title of our message this morning 28:05 that you saw in the program. "Therefore behold." 28:08 God says, "I will allure her." 28:12 I will allure her? Why would God use language like that? 28:16 What does it mean to be allured? 28:19 In our current contemporary English, 28:21 we don't think of the word 'allure' 28:24 in any kind of positive sense, do we? 28:26 Some people know it may associated 28:28 with illicit attractions for sexual indulgence. 28:33 Other people may just associate it with fishing, right? 28:38 But the word 'allure' is a Biblical word 28:41 and God uses the word 'allure' here and He says, 28:46 "You have pursued other lovers 28:47 and you have forgotten me 28:49 therefore I will allure you to Myself." 28:52 Now somebody just shout out loud, 28:54 so I can hear you, because I'm kind of far away. 28:57 What would be a synonym 28:59 that comes to mind for the word allure? 29:01 What does it mean to be allured? 29:02 What's another word? 29:04 To be drawn and that's a Biblical word, isn't it? 29:07 Do you remember what Jesus said in John 12:32, 29:11 "And I if I be lifted up from the earth, 29:14 will--what was the word he use? 29:16 Draw all to me." It's the same concept. 29:20 In fact, Hosea 2 is a messianic prophecy. 29:26 It is a prophecy of the coming Messiah Jesus Christ, 29:30 who will become God's alluring. 29:33 Who will become the attraction to draw the attention 29:37 of onlookers to the beauty of God's love and character? 29:42 The Cross of Calvary is God's alluring. 29:45 It is God exerting the best of His influence putting forth 29:52 all that He has to put forth even sacrificing His own life 29:58 to draw you and me back in 30:00 to a love relationship with Himself. 30:03 That's why Jesus came. 30:05 Jesus came to this world to be lifted up on the cross 30:09 and draw you and me to Himself 30:12 by the beauty of that event. 30:15 And what was so beautiful about the event of Calvary? 30:18 What makes it so alluring? 30:20 Well, Hebrews 9:26 says that Jesus will appear 30:26 one time at the end of the world to put away sin 30:31 by the sacrifice of Himself. Hebrews 9:26. 30:37 So what really happened at the Cross of Calvary? 30:40 What we see happening at the Cross of Calvary 30:44 is God sacrificing Himself 30:48 in totality with no reserve. 30:52 God didn't give material things to save you and me. 30:57 He didn't give stuff. He didn't give wealth. 31:00 He didn't give money. 31:01 He didn't give gold and silver. 31:02 He didn't even give the life of another created being 31:05 like an angel or an entire host of angels. 31:10 God didn't give things or others to save you and me. 31:16 Hebrews 9:26 says that He saves you and me 31:19 by the sacrifice of Himself. 31:23 He gave His own life so that you and I 31:26 could see how truly, madly, deeply, 31:29 passionately He loves you and me. 31:32 He is the divine lover of our souls. 31:36 And He loves you and me so much 31:39 that when push comes to shove 31:40 and rubber meets the road, 31:41 God literally would rather die than live without you. 31:46 God literally values your life and mine above His own. 31:51 And that's the essence of His character. 31:53 God is love and that could only mean one thing. 31:55 According to First Corinthians 13:7 and 8, 32:00 the Bible defines love like this. 32:03 It says, "Love seeks not its own." 32:07 That's the Biblical definition of love. 32:10 Love does not seek its own meaning what exactly? 32:15 Translate that into these words 32:16 that love is essentially at its core essence. 32:20 Love is other centered and it's focused 32:23 and selfless in its pursuits. 32:27 God is love simply means that God is selfless. 32:31 God is other centered and who are the others 32:35 that He happens to be centered upon and focused upon? 32:39 Well, that's you and me. 32:41 God literally loves you and me more than His own life 32:46 which is the most astounding reality 32:48 that human minds can ever contemplate. 32:51 To think that the creator of the universe 32:53 would literally value your eternal life 32:56 and mine above His own. 32:59 It takes our breath away. 33:02 And it calms us, deep in our hearts, 33:04 it makes us want to reach out to Him 33:06 and say, yes to His love. 33:09 And that's what Hosea 2 goes on to invite us to do. 33:14 In Hosea 2 after God says in verse 14, 33:17 "I will allure you to Myself." 33:20 I want you to notice verse 16 now 33:23 because here God describes a radical paradigm shift 33:27 that all Christians must sooner or later undergo. 33:31 I don't know where you are in your spiritual experience 33:34 but Hosea Chapter 2:16 describes where you're going to be 33:40 if you continue to fall in love with God. 33:42 Verse 16, God says as He has allured us. 33:46 He says, "And it shall be at that day 33:49 that is the day when I allure you 33:51 by my beauty at the cross. 33:54 It shall be in that day, says the Lord 33:56 that you will call me my husband 34:00 and you will no longer call me my master." 34:04 Isn't that incredible? 34:05 Here God holds before us two kinds of relationships, right? 34:10 A master-slave relationship and a husband-wife relationship 34:15 which are different by the way. 34:19 And God here points out very clearly 34:23 that He wants us by the alluring, drawing, 34:27 attractive beauty of Calvary. 34:30 God wants you need to be so attracted to Him, 34:32 so drawn to Him, so allured to Him 34:35 that we would fall in love with Him as a person 34:38 and in falling in love with Him 34:40 that we would have a change of perception 34:43 regarding our relationship to Him. 34:45 And what is that change 34:46 that He wants you and me to experience? 34:48 He says, "Once you see my love for you 34:51 and really drink it in and take that love as your own. 34:55 Once you see what the cross of Calvary really means." 34:58 God says, "You will no longer relate to me as a master, 35:04 but you will begin relating to me as a husband. 35:08 In other words, God says, 35:09 "I don't want you to have a relationship with Me 35:12 that is based on fear and a sense 35:14 of bondage and control. 35:17 I don't want you to have a relationship with Me 35:19 that is like a master relating to a servant. 35:23 No, He says, "I want you to shift your focus off 35:27 of the cold letter of the law 35:31 onto the beauty of my love for you 35:34 and I want you to begin relating to Me 35:37 as a loving wife relates to a loving husband. 35:40 I want you, in other words, to fall in love with me. 35:43 I want you to see my love for you 35:46 and allow that love to arouse and awaken 35:49 within you a love for me in return." 35:53 God wants us to enter into marriage covenant with Himself. 35:57 And so He proposes to you and me 35:59 as it were on bended knee in verses 19 and 20, 36:04 God says, "Behold, I will betroth you to Me forever. 36:09 Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice, 36:13 in loving kindness and in mercy. 36:16 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness." 36:19 That's God saying I will be faithful to you 36:22 in this marriage vow. 36:24 And you shall know the Lord. 36:27 you shall know the Lord. 36:28 When will we know the Lord? 36:30 When we enter into marriage covenant with Him 36:33 on the basis of His alluring, attractive love for you and me. 36:39 Build your spiritual experience. 36:41 Build your Christianity on the firm foundation 36:45 of God's love for you. 36:48 And as you build your relationship with God 36:50 on the basis of His love for you, 36:53 then you will truly understand what He means when He says, 36:56 "I will betroth you to me. 36:59 I will be your husband and you will be my wife. 37:01 I will be your spiritual lover 37:04 and you'll enter into a covenant with me 37:07 and the quality and depth of your spiritual experience 37:11 will be governed by love not by fear. 37:14 It will be governed by trust, 37:16 not by a sense of confinement and bondage. 37:20 You will love Me because I have loved you. 37:23 I will betroth you to Me forever. 37:27 And you will be Mine," God says. 37:29 And He says at the end of verse 20, 37:30 "You shall know the Lord." 37:34 And here God has chosen to use 37:36 one of the most intimate words in the Hebrew language, 37:40 "You shall know the Lord." 37:41 It's the same word that is used 37:43 in Genesis when the Bible says, 37:45 "Adam knew his wife Eve and she conceived 37:48 and brought forth a son." 37:50 In other words, God is using the marriage metaphor 37:54 to describe a heart and mind and soul intimacy with Himself. 38:00 You shall know the Lord, God says, 38:03 "As you come to Me in the light of Calvary's love." 38:08 In closing, I want to share with you the story 38:11 of a lady named Linda. 38:13 Linda was the kind of girl who looked forward to being married 38:16 all her life as a little girl as she grew up. 38:19 She wanted to be married so bad and then finally 38:22 as a young adult she met whom she thought 38:25 would be the man of her dreams. 38:27 His name was Herman which was very convenient 38:30 because she could refer to him as her man. 38:32 Isn't that nice, ladies? 38:35 And Herman was everything 38:36 she could have imagined a husband to be. 38:41 And Herman won her heart 38:43 and swept her of her feet 38:45 and finally, he proposed one day. 38:46 Herman said to Linda, "Will you marry me?" 38:49 And of course, she said very enthusiastically, 38:51 "Yes, Herman. Yes, I'll marry you." 38:54 And they entered into marriage covenant with one another. 38:58 They had their lovely honeymoon 39:00 and then at 5 a.m. I kids you not. 5 a.m, 39:05 Linda woke up in a start right in her bed, 39:08 rubbed her eyes, and looked at the end of the bed, 39:10 and there was Herman standing there 39:13 with a piece of paper in his hand 39:15 and he said, "Linda, the honeymoon's over. 39:17 Now real life begins and I have the first two week list 39:21 of your duties and responsibilities 39:23 I'd like to present to you." 39:25 And so Herman presented the list. 39:27 I just happen to have an authentic copy 39:30 of one of these lists. 39:32 I know it's authentic because I wrote it myself. 39:35 I didn't write it for my wife by the way. 39:38 I wrote it 'cause I'm not Herman. 39:39 But I wrote it for a book and here is what the first list, 39:44 the two week list said as Linda sat in bed reading 39:47 what life was going to be liked 39:49 from here on out with Herman. 39:52 5:30 a.m, Herman says that Linda must rise and shower. 39:57 6 o'clock begin breakfast preparation menu attached. 40:02 6:15, awake Hermie Cuddles 40:04 that's what he came to be known by Linda at least 40:07 at the beginning before the honeymoon was over. 40:10 Awaken Hermie Cuddles with a gentle kiss 40:13 and turn on the shower for him. 40:15 6:45, serve breakfast to the man of your dreams. 40:19 Don't forget the grape fruit juice. 40:21 7:15, begin breakfast, clean up 40:24 while your husband brushes his teeth. 40:26 7:25, meet your husband at the front door 40:29 with appropriate jacket in hand. 40:32 Pay attention to the weather 40:33 and say goodbye with a smile and a kiss. 40:36 7:30 a.m., finish breakfast clean up. 8 a.m. free time. 40:42 Isn't that nice of Herman? 40:44 8:15, free time is over, house cleaning begins, 40:49 cleaning list supply-- supply attached. 40:52 Mondays north rooms, Tuesdays east rooms, 40:55 Wednesdays south rooms, Thursdays west rooms, 40:58 and Friday, do not forget to clean the garage. 41:01 11 a.m., balance the check book. 41:04 12 noon, have lunch whatever you'd like 41:06 except marked items in the refrigerator. 41:09 12:30 p.m. miscellaneous duties. 41:12 On Mondays, take care of car maintenance, 41:14 appointments, and wash the car. 41:16 On Tuesdays, do the dry cleaning. 41:18 On Wednesdays shopping, see list attached. 41:21 Thursday, wash windows 41:22 and Friday, do all the yard work. 41:25 3:30, begin dinner preparation, see attached menu. 41:30 4:30, meet husband at the door with a smile and a kiss 41:33 and hang up his coat for him. 41:36 5 o'clock, serve dinner. 41:37 5:45, dinner clean up. 6:15, free time again. 41:43 6:45, draw bath for your husband. 41:47 7 o'clock, next day's ironing. 41:50 7:45, hand your husband his towel as he exits the shower. 41:56 8 p.m., neck and back massage 42:00 for the man of your dreams. 42:01 And at 9 p.m., lights out, pleasant dreams, sweetheart. 42:08 For 10 years, Herman prepared these kinds of lists 42:12 every two weeks for Linda. 42:15 And the man of her dreams turned out 42:16 to the man of her nightmares 42:18 as some of you are feeling deep inside right now. 42:23 And then after 10 years of marriage to Herman, 42:26 I hate to report to you 42:28 that Herman dropped dead from unknown causes. 42:35 Praise the Lord, right? 42:40 And Linda entered into a conflict of emotions. 42:42 She did not know whether to jump up and down 42:44 and blow multicolored bubbles or to mourn his loss. 42:51 She did the right thing and she mourned. 42:53 Then she went on with her life and she vowed she would never, 42:56 what do you think? Get married again. 42:59 But then after two years of being single, 43:01 Michael came along. Oh, man, he was so like Herman 43:06 in many ways and that scared Linda at first, 43:10 but he seemed different in some ways 43:11 and they got married 43:14 and then after the honeymoon at 5 a.m. 43:19 you can't blame her. 43:20 She automatically woke up 43:21 and went into karate stands on the bed. 43:24 And there she saw Michael standing 43:27 at the end of the bed with a piece of paper in his hand. 43:32 Déjà vu for sure and then she quickly grabbed 43:36 the list out of his hand thinking 43:38 it was a list like Herman's list 43:40 and ripped it in two and threw it to the ground. 43:44 Then Michael said "What's wrong? You don't like poetry. 43:47 I got up early and wrote that special poem for you." 43:52 She felt bad, of course, just like 43:53 you're feeling right now. 43:54 And she taped it back together 43:56 and read it and it turned out 43:57 that Michael was nothing at all like Herman. 44:00 In fact, he helped with all the household duties. 44:04 He served her breakfast in bed on occasion. 44:06 He remembered their anniversary. 44:09 Michael was definitely not like Herman. 44:13 Praise the Lord, right? 44:16 Ten years passed by and life was so sweet with Michael 44:21 and then one day, Linda was up in the attic 44:24 going through a box of old lists from Herman's time. 44:30 And she began to read these lists 44:32 and as she took the list in hand 44:35 and looked at it to her amazement 44:38 something dawned on her. 44:40 She looked at the list and as she read it through, 44:43 Linda realized in the quiet to her own mind and heart, 44:47 she looked at the list 44:48 and she said, "That is so strange. 44:51 Under Herman's ruthless rule, I could never fulfill the list. 44:55 I could never do these things to his satisfaction 44:58 and I always felt like I could never measure up." 45:01 But strangely enough Linda said to herself. 45:04 She said, "Michael never requires anything of me 45:07 and yet I do everything for him." 45:12 And that's the difference between being married to a man 45:18 who loves you versus being made married to a man 45:22 who merely is trying to control you. 45:25 And that is by the way the difference 45:27 between being involved in a Christian experience 45:31 that is based on the hard letter of the law 45:36 versus being married to Jesus in the light 45:40 of His beautiful love for you and me at Calvary's cross. 45:44 When we see God's love for us, duty becomes a delight, 45:47 sacrifice a pleasure and we can say with Jesus, 45:52 I do always those things that please God. 45:55 Have a great day and a happy Sabbath. |
Revised 2014-12-17