3ABN On the Road

Alluring

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Ty Gibson

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Series Code: OTR

Program Code: OTR000422


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.


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Revised 2014-12-17