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Will you kindly turn in the words of

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scripture to the book of the prophet Hosea

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in chapter 14, our subject this morning the

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prospect for penitence and we shall be basing

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our message on verses 4 to 7, but

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at this stage I think it is more

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important that we should read again verses 1

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to 3 in the chapter.

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Since you have your Bibles open before you,

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you'll be able to follow as we look

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at various aspects of verses 4 to 7

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as we proceed.

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Let me therefore read what really introduces the

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theme of the chapter.

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You remember that at the death of Solomon

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the one kingdom of Israel was divided into

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two.

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Solomon's successor could only persuade two of the

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groups, two of the twelve tribes to be

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loyal to the old things and to the

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Davidic rule Judah and Benjamin.

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Ten tribes rebelled and they became known as

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Israel the northern of the two tribes, of

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the two sections Israel in the north, Judah

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in the south now at this particular point

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in time Israel has been exceedingly rebellious against

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God that rebellion has taken the form of

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the worship of false gods and of course

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there can be no greater offense than that

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in the sight of God to elevate someone

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or something into the place that the only

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true God should occupy.

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Such was the sin of Israel along with

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that of course they sought to find some

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defense for themselves not being sure that God

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would defend them they would have to look

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elsewhere and so they looked to Assyria and

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to Egypt.

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They thought that by means of political alliances

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and the military prowess of these two nations

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they would be all right if trouble came

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they would have a place of refuge into

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that situation God sends his prophet Hosea and

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he calls the people back to repentance my

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friends if I'm not mistaken God is calling

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his people again and he has not summoned

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us here today other than that we should

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hear his word of summons to repentance.

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If like Israel of old we have wondered

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in any way from him the call of

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God still is return, repent listen to it.

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Return oh Israel to the Lord your God.

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Your sins have been your downfall take words

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with you and return to the Lord say

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to him forgive all our sins and receive

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us graciously that we may offer the fruit

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of our lips Assyria cannot save us we

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will not mount war horses we will never

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again say our gods to what our own

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hands have made for in you the fatherless

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finds compassion.

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Repentance finds its consummation in that threefold renunciation.

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Never again will we say never again will

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we say to the work of our hands

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you are gods, you are our gods.

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Assyria cannot save us neither can Egypt save

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us.

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Military power political strategy as well as our

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idolatries are impotent.

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Now that is the climax of the repentance

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to which God called his ancient people the

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question now is this where does repentance lead

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us to I have had many people over

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the years say that repentance is a very

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very hard searching experience and a very hard

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experience to go through and so it is

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it means a right about turn a turning

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away from your sins that God condemns and

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a coming right back to God humbly acknowledging

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that you've been wrong and that's hurting to

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the pride, to the ego.

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But where does it bring us to?

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Now that's what I want you to see

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this morning repentance may be hard and your

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heart may be thumping at the thought of

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it but when you and I return to

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the Lord in terms of the summons of

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this prophet and indeed of others and of

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New Testament apostles when we return to the

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Lord there is something that awaits us which

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eye has not seen and the imagination of

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man has not conceived what is it?

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Well let's come to it it begins with

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4a first part of verse 4 what God

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says he will do for those who are

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genuinely repentant.

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Now will you notice I have to leave

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that side of my message this morning I

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cannot underscore the significance of verses 1 to

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3 anymore may the Spirit of God do

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that.

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Assuming now that every man and woman every

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fellow and girl in our service this morning

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is repentant, penitent on account of sin and

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we want to turn back to God and

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we are doing it inwardly in our hearts

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and our presence here this morning and perhaps

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at this table means this that we're coming

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back to God from any wanderings of thought

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and spirit and attitude any rebellion of will

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we're coming back to God.

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All right, where will it lead us to?

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Oh look at these lovely words, I will

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heal their waywardness.

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Who says that?

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Well it's none other than the God of

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Israel says that the God who summoned the

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prophets and sent him out to call the

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rebels back says look you come back to

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me and I will heal your waywardness.

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Undoubtedly underlying the action of worshipping false gods,

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underlying confidence in political leadership and in military

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power per se, as apart from God or

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as alternatives to God there is a grave

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serious condition of soul and says the Lord

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through the prophet look he says I'll deal

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with that underlying waywardness of yours that thinks

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that men and people and military might and

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strong people in the land they can shield

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you, they can lead you, they can contrive

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something to save you in the dire hour,

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they cannot.

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If you come back to me I will

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heal that basic stream in your spirit that

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makes you wayward and rebellious and evil and

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entertain such notions of rebellion at any given

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time.

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Now my friends I think that there is

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something here that touches the raw spot in

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all of us this morning there is a

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diseased area in the mind and in the

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spirit of many of us who bear the

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Lord's name and we if we were honest

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enough we would have to say we have

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more confidence in men political man and military

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man than we have in the Lord God

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Almighty and it is no less a sin

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this morning in the 20th century than it

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was a way back in the 7th century

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BC or the 8th.

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Men are called of course to undertake a

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work for God in society and in the

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political field and in the military field and

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we need to remember them and to bolster

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them with our prayers may it please God

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to send more God-fearing, righteousness-seeking men

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and women into these areas but for men

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and women of God to withdraw their confidence

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from their God and repose confidence in the

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political field or in military power is a

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slur upon the Almighty when the tornado comes

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there is no one but God himself who

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can save you and he says I will

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heal your waywardness you come back to me

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in penitence and I will deal with that

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basic streak in your attitude in your spirit

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I will deal with it I will heal

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it now the actual treatment is not stated

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here and so I cannot deal with it

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as perhaps the prophet Hosea would if he

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had written about it but I want to

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remind you that a basic factor in the

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dealing in dealing with this kind of thing

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is simply of course to live in the

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conscious presence of God see the only people

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that have greater faith in something other than

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God or someone other than God are the

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people who do not really know God see

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if you know God in his glory and

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in his greatness and in his covenant and

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in his promises then you do not need

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you're not really tempted to have confidence in

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anybody else if you know God and so

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the way to deal with this basic skepticism

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and unbelief is this come back to God

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from the avenues of wandering come to know

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God come to live close up to him.

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Now on Wednesday night we were noticing that

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in calling the people back literally what Hosea

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was doing was this he was calling the

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people to come back right up to God

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as it were face to face eyeball to

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eyeball that you can whisper to one another

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near enough to whisper.

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Tell me my friend believing man and woman

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this morning have you ever been that close

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to the Almighty do you know God is

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God.

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If you don't you too will be tempted

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to rest in the power of some Assyria

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and to make idols of something or other

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and bow down and worship them the day

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will come your price will be given you

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as it was given Judas and that's the

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danger the only real answer to it is

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in the knowledge of God when you know

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him you know you have the answer to

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every problem Judas was tempted by 30 pieces

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of silver to sell his Lord do you

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think that the man who leaned on Jesus

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bosom at supper would have been tempted by

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30 pieces of silver to sell his Lord

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not on your life.

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John the beloved well why not John?

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Well for this reason John you see knew

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the Christ in a way that Judas didn't

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or they were both with him they could

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both tell you the color of his hair

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and something about his features and his height

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and how much he weighed and what he

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ate and what he liked of course they

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could but the one was only physically present

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with him the other was spiritually united to

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him.

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My dear men and women this morning listen

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it is not enough to know the doctrines

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of God you've got to know God and

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that's the answer to the temptation to apostasy

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of every kind it's to know him, really

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to know him when you turn away from

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him you say in effect I really don't

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know him look next, the next

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thing God says is I will love them

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freely.

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What a sweet little statement but how utterly

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profound.

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I will love them freely.

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I think it is Alexander McLaren, the late

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Dr. Alexander McLaren you know where he comes

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from anyway by his name.

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He's in the glory today many of us

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thank God for him I think it was

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he who said that at this point the

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dam is down what he meant was this,

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when men and women rebel against God there

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emerges a dam between them and God.

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The Lord God of Israel has a myriad

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things he wants to give his people, a

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myriad things he wants to tell his people

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a hundred thousand things he wants to do

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for us and in us and through us

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but there emerges a dam and the tide

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of blessing that God wants to give us

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is as it were held in abeyance.

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Oh there are trickles of benefits coming through

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but when you return in genuine penitence and

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renounce your idols really do so.

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And the dam is down and the tide

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of God's purposes the ocean of his love

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begins to flow again and you become inundated

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with it.

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That's the picture I will love them freely.

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You know brothers and sisters sometimes in our

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prayers we kind of try to coax God

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to love us we try to persuade him

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to do this and to do that you

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don't need to do that when you're really

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penitent God says so.

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You only need to do that when you're

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uncertain of him and if you're uncertain of

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him then you can be certain of nothing

272
00:16:35,690 --> 00:16:38,530
I will love them freely says the Lord

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nothing shall hinder me.

274
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I will come to them, I will put

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my arms around them I will caress them,

276
00:16:44,710 --> 00:16:47,550
I will kiss them, I will bless them

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00:16:48,890 --> 00:16:52,210
does that language make you uncomfortable?

278
00:16:54,070 --> 00:16:56,190
I know many people who are made uncomfortable

279
00:16:56,190 --> 00:16:59,650
by language like that and by some of

280
00:16:59,650 --> 00:17:01,410
our hymns that speak of this kind of

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00:17:01,410 --> 00:17:05,460
thing it isn't all that long ago when

282
00:17:05,460 --> 00:17:09,260
I was preaching somewhere and we sang that

283
00:17:09,260 --> 00:17:13,940
hymn which I love immensely especially when it's

284
00:17:13,940 --> 00:17:19,310
sung to the right tune Oh the deep,

285
00:17:19,490 --> 00:17:26,450
deep love of Jesus vast, unmeasured boundless, free,

286
00:17:26,990 --> 00:17:30,750
rolling like a mighty ocean in its fullness

287
00:17:30,750 --> 00:17:35,990
over me, underneath me, all around me is

288
00:17:35,990 --> 00:17:40,110
the current of thy love, leaning onward ever

289
00:17:40,110 --> 00:17:44,890
homeward to my glorious home above somebody challenged

290
00:17:44,890 --> 00:17:48,630
me about the appropriateness of singing a hymn

291
00:17:48,630 --> 00:17:50,310
like that because what does it mean?

292
00:17:52,540 --> 00:17:56,950
Oh my friend don't you know you good

293
00:17:56,950 --> 00:17:59,230
people who believe the book, who know the

294
00:17:59,230 --> 00:18:02,470
catechism who have the doctrines, tell me, tell

295
00:18:02,470 --> 00:18:05,430
me, don't you know anything about the torrents

296
00:18:05,430 --> 00:18:08,730
of God's love breaking in upon you into

297
00:18:08,730 --> 00:18:11,610
the wilderness of your life so that God

298
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becomes the supremely conscious one in your consciousness

299
00:18:15,970 --> 00:18:25,200
you see we've moved now into experiential religion

300
00:18:26,340 --> 00:18:27,800
and it's a great step.

301
00:18:29,060 --> 00:18:32,580
I didn't do it the prophet didn't do

302
00:18:32,580 --> 00:18:35,180
it, God said I will love you freely,

303
00:18:36,180 --> 00:18:40,200
no holds barred I'll be so intimate with

304
00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:44,400
you I'll do so much for you I

305
00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:48,500
will love you freely, absolutely freely do you

306
00:18:48,500 --> 00:18:51,140
know anything my friend, is there anything in

307
00:18:51,140 --> 00:18:53,800
your experience this morning that corresponds to that?

308
00:18:54,180 --> 00:18:55,980
Do you know God?

309
00:19:05,450 --> 00:19:07,790
now doctrine is all important in our Christian

310
00:19:07,790 --> 00:19:10,930
religion God has seen fit to reveal himself

311
00:19:10,930 --> 00:19:14,570
to us in words written as well as

312
00:19:14,570 --> 00:19:17,430
in the word incarnate and so knowledge of

313
00:19:17,430 --> 00:19:20,810
the Bible is important but some of us

314
00:19:20,810 --> 00:19:24,570
have gained the idea that Christianity is learning

315
00:19:24,570 --> 00:19:31,020
and repeating a textbook so that we think

316
00:19:31,020 --> 00:19:32,940
that we are it when we've learned the

317
00:19:32,940 --> 00:19:36,860
scriptures now please, please let no one say

318
00:19:36,860 --> 00:19:40,340
that the senior minister of Knox doesn't believe

319
00:19:40,340 --> 00:19:43,540
that reading and repeating of scriptures may be

320
00:19:43,540 --> 00:19:49,150
unimportant but I tell you, you can repeat

321
00:19:49,150 --> 00:19:53,470
the scriptures till you're dead and yet not

322
00:19:53,470 --> 00:20:00,750
know God loving you freely, yet not knowing

323
00:20:00,750 --> 00:20:03,310
the kind of intimacy with God that the

324
00:20:03,310 --> 00:20:06,970
prophet holds out here a doctrine is vital,

325
00:20:07,230 --> 00:20:09,530
it is basic, it is important God will

326
00:20:09,530 --> 00:20:13,090
do nothing contrary to his word, but over

327
00:20:13,090 --> 00:20:15,790
and above the word is the God of

328
00:20:15,790 --> 00:20:18,690
the word who is a living God, who

329
00:20:18,690 --> 00:20:20,710
is not in chains to his own word

330
00:20:21,550 --> 00:20:26,210
and he's alive, and he comes to one

331
00:20:26,210 --> 00:20:29,870
another and if some poor woman breaks her

332
00:20:29,870 --> 00:20:33,050
alabaster box of precious ointment at his feet,

333
00:20:33,430 --> 00:20:35,850
do you think he has no alabaster boxes

334
00:20:35,850 --> 00:20:39,550
of precious ointment to pour upon our feet?

335
00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:44,900
how poverty stricken we think of our our

336
00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:46,000
God must be.

337
00:20:46,940 --> 00:20:50,760
No, no, no things which eyes have not

338
00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:54,340
seen, ears heard, the heart understood or the

339
00:20:54,340 --> 00:20:57,660
imagination conceived of, are yet in the heart

340
00:20:57,660 --> 00:21:00,200
of God for those who repent and return.

341
00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:05,620
After all Jesus said, did he not this

342
00:21:05,620 --> 00:21:10,880
is life eternal, that they might know you,

343
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:16,960
the only true God and Jesus Christ whom

344
00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:19,520
you sent knowing him.

345
00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:24,260
Now you and I do not only need

346
00:21:24,260 --> 00:21:27,740
therefore the certainty that God loved us at

347
00:21:27,740 --> 00:21:29,540
a point in time where he did not

348
00:21:29,540 --> 00:21:33,400
withhold the only begotten of his bosom, but

349
00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:35,400
delivered him up on a cross to die

350
00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,920
in our place instead to redeem us from

351
00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,820
the curse of sin and eternal misery we

352
00:21:40,820 --> 00:21:43,960
need to know that, but brothers and sisters

353
00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,680
we need to know that God's love didn't

354
00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:51,780
die on Calvary you and I need to

355
00:21:51,780 --> 00:21:54,060
know that the river of God's love was

356
00:21:54,060 --> 00:22:00,510
not damned on Calvary, it's come flowing down

357
00:22:00,510 --> 00:22:04,870
the centuries and as the Holy Spirit came

358
00:22:04,870 --> 00:22:06,670
into the church and the fruit to the

359
00:22:06,670 --> 00:22:10,050
Spirit is love, into every part of the

360
00:22:10,050 --> 00:22:14,110
world into every age and time, his men

361
00:22:14,110 --> 00:22:18,510
his servants have gone bearing the spirit of

362
00:22:18,510 --> 00:22:20,690
grace and sometimes where his servants haven't gone,

363
00:22:20,810 --> 00:22:27,640
he's gone himself a love of God today

364
00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:29,840
is no less than it was on Calvary

365
00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,240
but it is for us to follow the

366
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:35,740
Word of God if we want to know

367
00:22:35,740 --> 00:22:38,460
it, know what it meant when he said

368
00:22:38,460 --> 00:22:41,280
of old I will love you freely.

369
00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,240
Now listen if he could say that and

370
00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:53,320
mean it before Bethlehem, before Calvary before Pentecost,

371
00:22:53,900 --> 00:22:58,720
brothers and sisters there's no reason why you

372
00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:04,740
should have to modify it now on the

373
00:23:04,740 --> 00:23:08,740
contrary Pentecost and all that has transpired since

374
00:23:08,740 --> 00:23:11,580
Jesus rose from the dead including his session

375
00:23:11,580 --> 00:23:14,500
at the Father's right hand means that the

376
00:23:14,500 --> 00:23:19,980
waters must flow, the ocean is abroad you

377
00:23:19,980 --> 00:23:23,320
return to me and renounce your sin and

378
00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:25,000
come back to me with all your heart

379
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,420
you shall surely find me.

380
00:23:32,780 --> 00:23:35,900
I must close with this last word I

381
00:23:37,340 --> 00:23:39,500
will heal their waywardness, I will love them

382
00:23:39,500 --> 00:23:43,940
freely I will be as the dew unto

383
00:23:43,940 --> 00:23:48,350
Israel have you ever contemplated that?

384
00:23:48,670 --> 00:23:50,750
I will be as the dew unto Israel.

385
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,540
The towel as it was called meant sprinkled

386
00:23:56,540 --> 00:23:57,220
moisture.

387
00:23:58,820 --> 00:24:01,180
The Hebrew word seems to have been used

388
00:24:01,180 --> 00:24:05,860
indiscriminately both of dew and of night mist

389
00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:09,580
moist air drawn in from the sea was

390
00:24:09,580 --> 00:24:13,200
largely responsible for the dewfall in Western Palestine

391
00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:17,420
especially in coastal areas and near mountain slopes

392
00:24:17,420 --> 00:24:19,800
and it's more than probable that the reference

393
00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,920
here is to night mist which one scholar

394
00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:28,480
describes as rolling masses of vapor brought from

395
00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:32,420
the Mediterranean which counteracts the dry heat and

396
00:24:32,420 --> 00:24:38,100
keeps vegetation alive I will be as the

397
00:24:38,100 --> 00:24:39,800
dew unto Israel.

398
00:24:41,100 --> 00:24:43,680
Clearly the ministry of this kind of dew

399
00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:45,320
was very evident.

400
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:50,200
First of all it was refreshing refreshing to

401
00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:53,820
man, to beast, to all nature alike and

402
00:24:53,820 --> 00:24:58,620
as it was refreshing it was softening it

403
00:24:58,620 --> 00:25:02,000
softened the soil so that you could sow

404
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:06,120
in it and if plants were already sown

405
00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:09,040
or seeds then the soil would still remain

406
00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:12,040
soft and pliable and something would grow under

407
00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:16,140
the refreshing of the dew and then of

408
00:25:16,140 --> 00:25:18,120
course along with that comes the third point

409
00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:22,120
it was a fructifying influence.

410
00:25:22,340 --> 00:25:24,720
You could expect fruit there might be no

411
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:28,320
excessive rain, real rains as they call them

412
00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:30,200
in some parts of the world, there might

413
00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,700
be none but if you had this sufficient

414
00:25:32,700 --> 00:25:37,440
saturating dew you could have a sweet green

415
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:47,060
garden behind your little house communion with God

416
00:25:47,060 --> 00:25:53,480
is the only sure means of spiritual refreshment

417
00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:59,040
leave your sin turn right around, come back

418
00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:05,320
to him beg pardon and acceptance, renounce renounce

419
00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:10,070
your sins in his presence and you'll come

420
00:26:10,070 --> 00:26:13,470
to know him and as you come to

421
00:26:13,470 --> 00:26:15,730
know him you will find that the more

422
00:26:15,730 --> 00:26:19,270
time you spend in his presence you'll receive

423
00:26:19,270 --> 00:26:22,250
something that can only be described as the

424
00:26:22,250 --> 00:26:30,290
dew it'll keep your soul fresh and your

425
00:26:30,290 --> 00:26:33,870
thoughts sweet I have a friend in the

426
00:26:33,870 --> 00:26:36,830
Anglican Church I suppose we've preached together many

427
00:26:36,830 --> 00:26:40,150
many many times during the year if ever

428
00:26:40,150 --> 00:26:41,830
we are together before we go on to

429
00:26:41,830 --> 00:26:44,510
a platform or to a pulpit he always

430
00:26:44,510 --> 00:26:46,830
says this whoever's with him this is not

431
00:26:46,830 --> 00:26:48,850
only for me but when I'm with him

432
00:26:48,850 --> 00:26:53,370
he says Glenn remember all our fresh springs

433
00:26:54,310 --> 00:27:02,070
are in him, he's got it all our

434
00:27:02,070 --> 00:27:04,210
fresh springs are in him, it's just the

435
00:27:04,210 --> 00:27:07,230
other way of putting this truth, I will

436
00:27:07,230 --> 00:27:09,390
be as the dew to Israel, are you

437
00:27:09,390 --> 00:27:10,270
dry this morning?

438
00:27:11,490 --> 00:27:12,890
are you hard this morning?

439
00:27:16,490 --> 00:27:18,430
do you want to enter into the singing

440
00:27:18,430 --> 00:27:19,470
of the praises?

441
00:27:20,130 --> 00:27:22,890
were those anthems touching anything in you?

442
00:27:22,950 --> 00:27:26,950
you wanted to praise God did some of

443
00:27:26,950 --> 00:27:28,930
you wish that we could just do something

444
00:27:28,930 --> 00:27:30,830
even more than we were doing?

445
00:27:31,630 --> 00:27:33,730
do you want to break the bounds?

446
00:27:38,270 --> 00:27:40,290
I will be as the dew unto Israel,

447
00:27:40,650 --> 00:27:45,330
refreshment and with refreshment a softening process so

448
00:27:45,330 --> 00:27:48,330
that whatever God wants to sow in the

449
00:27:48,330 --> 00:27:50,330
garden of our souls he can do it

450
00:27:50,330 --> 00:27:53,690
we're soft we're sensitive he can put any

451
00:27:53,690 --> 00:27:58,630
seed in your mind any thought and it

452
00:27:58,630 --> 00:28:02,310
is received you see there are some people

453
00:28:02,310 --> 00:28:04,310
who come to church and they're just like

454
00:28:04,310 --> 00:28:08,620
bits of rock now don't be cross with

455
00:28:08,620 --> 00:28:11,180
me but it's true I know it's true

456
00:28:11,180 --> 00:28:13,560
and we come to the house of God

457
00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:15,840
and we're not prepared to hear God though

458
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,660
he shout at us and call us by

459
00:28:18,660 --> 00:28:22,500
name but the penitent you see who's come

460
00:28:22,500 --> 00:28:25,700
really back to him it means this the

461
00:28:25,700 --> 00:28:29,020
abandonment of all other loyalties submission to him

462
00:28:29,020 --> 00:28:33,300
and now as the dew begins to saturate

463
00:28:33,300 --> 00:28:38,340
our souls we become pliable like the clay

464
00:28:38,340 --> 00:28:40,320
in the hand of the potter it's changing

465
00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,320
the metaphor it's the same basic truth and

466
00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:47,940
out of all this comes fruitfulness fruitfulness even

467
00:28:47,940 --> 00:28:49,840
when there are no rains it's not raining

468
00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:52,520
anywhere else but it's raining on my soul

469
00:28:53,180 --> 00:28:56,020
it's parched all around but my soul is

470
00:28:56,020 --> 00:28:57,820
wet with the dew of heaven do you

471
00:28:57,820 --> 00:29:07,220
know that I sometimes wonder however whether there

472
00:29:07,220 --> 00:29:09,520
isn't here in Hosea 14 5 a little

473
00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:14,180
gentle reminder that whereas God meets his people

474
00:29:14,180 --> 00:29:17,040
and communicates his love to them in torrents

475
00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:19,920
in the daytime literally or when all is

476
00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:24,590
well if it means that his dew also

477
00:29:24,590 --> 00:29:29,360
descends in the night time you see the

478
00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:33,240
dew does fall at night it's all dark

479
00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:38,080
nobody sees it nobody hears it but it's

480
00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:41,160
coming down and some of you are going

481
00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:44,620
through dark places at the moment and I

482
00:29:44,620 --> 00:29:46,180
believe that the words of the prophet are

483
00:29:46,180 --> 00:29:47,900
a reminder to you and to me it

484
00:29:47,900 --> 00:29:50,300
may be dark where you are and you

485
00:29:50,300 --> 00:29:52,000
may not be aware of the of the

486
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,380
mighty torrents of God's love breaking into your

487
00:29:54,380 --> 00:29:57,620
life but in the night time the dew

488
00:29:57,620 --> 00:30:06,560
descends and softens and fructifies and refreshes I

489
00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:10,140
will be as the dew unto Israel and

490
00:30:10,140 --> 00:30:12,360
then comes the response into which I can't

491
00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:14,640
go this morning let me just read to

492
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:20,570
you what happens now following what God says

493
00:30:20,570 --> 00:30:22,910
he will do I will is the relevant

494
00:30:22,910 --> 00:30:25,430
verb so far I will do this I

495
00:30:25,430 --> 00:30:28,050
will heal their waywardness I will love them

496
00:30:28,050 --> 00:30:30,170
freely I will be as the dew to

497
00:30:30,170 --> 00:30:32,890
Israel you see it's divine action so far

498
00:30:32,890 --> 00:30:36,770
now what okay says God as sure as

499
00:30:36,770 --> 00:30:40,090
I do these things listen he will blossom

500
00:30:40,090 --> 00:30:44,910
like the lily see the lily blossoming in

501
00:30:44,910 --> 00:30:49,270
its purity in its whiteness and its uprightness

502
00:30:50,650 --> 00:30:54,030
he like a cedar of Lebanon will send

503
00:30:54,030 --> 00:30:56,750
down his shoots the lily has no shoots

504
00:30:56,750 --> 00:30:59,490
the lily grows upwards but its roots I'm

505
00:30:59,490 --> 00:31:01,950
sorry its roots are not there she has

506
00:31:01,950 --> 00:31:05,870
very little roots and so says the Lord

507
00:31:05,870 --> 00:31:08,530
the character that I will build now is

508
00:31:08,530 --> 00:31:11,130
a character that has roots going down as

509
00:31:11,130 --> 00:31:13,410
well as growing up like the lily in

510
00:31:13,410 --> 00:31:17,510
beauty and in uprightness neither is that everything

511
00:31:18,150 --> 00:31:20,650
his young shoots shall grow out we've got

512
00:31:20,650 --> 00:31:22,630
the picture of a tree still and the

513
00:31:22,630 --> 00:31:24,430
shoots are going out the branches are going

514
00:31:24,430 --> 00:31:28,170
in all direction little shoots that have never

515
00:31:28,170 --> 00:31:30,870
come to anything now they begin to grow

516
00:31:30,870 --> 00:31:32,750
and there are no limits to them so

517
00:31:32,750 --> 00:31:35,510
you see there is beauty here the lily

518
00:31:35,510 --> 00:31:38,710
growing up the roots going down the branches

519
00:31:38,710 --> 00:31:43,810
going out and what then his young shoots

520
00:31:43,810 --> 00:31:46,890
will grow his splendor will be like an

521
00:31:46,890 --> 00:31:48,710
olive tree I can say nothing about that

522
00:31:48,710 --> 00:31:55,970
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon if

523
00:31:55,970 --> 00:31:57,890
you've been with the cedars of Lebanon and

524
00:31:57,890 --> 00:31:59,330
this is they are the same today as

525
00:31:59,330 --> 00:32:01,970
they were in biblical times all the trees

526
00:32:01,970 --> 00:32:04,910
in Lebanon the cedar area used to grow

527
00:32:04,910 --> 00:32:09,050
together and they were overlapping so that if

528
00:32:09,050 --> 00:32:12,110
you went through an area of territory where

529
00:32:12,110 --> 00:32:15,030
cedars grew if you went there on a

530
00:32:15,030 --> 00:32:19,810
warm summer's day you would find that the

531
00:32:19,810 --> 00:32:22,810
perfume was concentrated because there was no room

532
00:32:22,810 --> 00:32:25,270
for the air to pass through the foliage

533
00:32:25,270 --> 00:32:27,490
was so thick and it came down and

534
00:32:27,490 --> 00:32:29,670
it was as if the order was caged

535
00:32:29,670 --> 00:32:33,150
in it was concentrated and says the Lord

536
00:32:33,150 --> 00:32:35,890
what will happen to the person I'm describing

537
00:32:35,890 --> 00:32:38,250
he says his fragrance will be like that

538
00:32:38,250 --> 00:32:40,930
of the cedars of Lebanon he'll be condensed

539
00:32:40,930 --> 00:32:45,170
with a fragrance of myself and my son

540
00:32:45,170 --> 00:32:50,470
and my spirit he will dwell men will

541
00:32:50,470 --> 00:32:53,870
dwell again in his shade people will find

542
00:32:53,870 --> 00:32:56,710
him a shelter in a weary land people

543
00:32:56,710 --> 00:32:58,930
will thank God on behalf of this person

544
00:32:58,930 --> 00:33:01,070
there will be blessing through him to the

545
00:33:01,070 --> 00:33:09,980
needy and the weary hallelujah oh Israel

546
00:33:09,980 --> 00:33:17,430
return unto the Lord your God if you've

547
00:33:17,430 --> 00:33:19,730
fallen you have fallen by your own iniquity

548
00:33:19,730 --> 00:33:24,380
take with you words and say to him

549
00:33:24,380 --> 00:33:27,980
what the prophet bids us say plead as

550
00:33:27,980 --> 00:33:35,660
the prophet bids you plead forgiveness acceptance renounce

551
00:33:35,660 --> 00:33:40,380
the objects of your false faith which is

552
00:33:40,380 --> 00:33:45,440
a denial of God and just begin to

553
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,600
walk humbly with him and this is the

554
00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:53,980
dimension of things that you can expect the

555
00:33:53,980 --> 00:33:58,080
church at large this morning knows very little

556
00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:01,960
of this because we live in a day

557
00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:04,200
where not only the world is arrogant but

558
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:10,760
the church is arrogant men and women want

559
00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,199
their own thing and their own way and

560
00:34:14,199 --> 00:34:17,840
their own glory in the very church of

561
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:23,719
the almighty God and because of that we're

562
00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:28,560
only reading about these things whereas we ought

563
00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:33,340
to be experiencing them God grant us at

564
00:34:33,340 --> 00:34:37,860
his table to see again the extent of

565
00:34:37,860 --> 00:34:43,260
his love in history on Calvary purchasing our

566
00:34:43,260 --> 00:34:46,920
redemption but oh may God grant us to

567
00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:50,900
see and to recognize that the love of

568
00:34:50,900 --> 00:34:56,680
God was not damned up on Calvary it's

569
00:34:56,680 --> 00:35:00,680
penetrating and percolating down the years of time

570
00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:04,100
and the author of it the God of

571
00:35:04,100 --> 00:35:12,180
love who is love is here today open

572
00:35:12,180 --> 00:35:17,090
the sluice gate in order that he may

573
00:35:17,090 --> 00:35:22,730
pour out upon you his sweet refreshing grace