Israel's apostasy and subsequent judgment are detailed, highlighting their departure from God's law and their reliance on foreign alliances rather than divine help. The sermon emphasizes that this pattern of spiritual adultery and idolatry is not unique to Israel but has also infiltrated the church throughout history, leading to a corrupted profession of Christianity. The core lesson is that true worship and fellowship with God are found in spirit and truth, not in physical locations or rituals, and that forgetting God leads to a loss of joy and ultimately judgment. The message concludes by urging believers to remember their Savior, maintain fellowship with Him, and live as a living sacrifice, lest they too forget their maker and face the consequences.
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to the Lord and ask his blessing upon them as well as upon ourselves. Beloved and blessed Father, how we thank thee for the joy and the privilege, the honor that thou has given to us to come into thy holy presence. We are not forgetful that once we were far off, we know how we value the blessed truth Ye who were once afar off have been made nigh by the blood of Christ. We think of those priceless words that one of thy services written, So nigh, so very nigh to God that nearer I cannot be, for in the person of his son I am as near as he.
And we thank thee for the encouragement of thy precious word, saying, Let us draw near, with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, and having our heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. We thank thee together for the ground of our approach. It is perfect. It is in thy beloved Son, and through his precious blood. We would also be conscious of the importance of the manner in which we draw near. With sincere heart, having been cleansed judicially by thy precious blood, Lord Jesus, and even the cleansing, moral cleansing of thy precious word upon our daily path.
We thank thee for the occasion that brings us once again to study thy blessed and thy holy words. Father, we thank thee for the amazing fact that we are studying in the book of the prophecy that is before us. has been confirmed in the New Testament as being written for our learning. There are spiritual and deep spiritual lessons, as well as other types, for us to enjoy. We bow before thee in heart and say, Speak to my slow Lord Jesus, granting that we may hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of God carry the words into our hearts, consciences, and lives, for the glory of our Savior.
As we often and weekly sing, Make the book live for me, O Lord. Then we do lift our hearts in petition for thy dear people, many whom thou lovest are sick. We commend them all to thee. All time would never permit, being able to name so many, but all remember those that have already been mentioned, We pray for Bill that thou will remember him, especially his wife, for the need of strength in the trial, and thy good hand of healing and recovery according to thy will. There are so many others, Lord. We think of one today that is near eternity. We pray for that one and the family, for their comfort, strength and encouragement in the time of trial.
We pray for our absent members, some that are withers, have gone away perhaps for the holiday. and we ask thy blessing upon them where they are. Others, Father, for reasons we know not, may not meet with us today. Bless them where they are. Draw them close to thyself. We pray for the dear ones that have gone and left us to go to the home in Pittsburgh. We thank thee for the remembrance we have of them, their faithfulness and the enjoyment of their fellowship together with us in and around the Word of God. We put all thy people in thine hands. We couldn't take care of them, Father. We couldn't even take care of ourselves.
But now we've blessed thee. We're all in the hands of the one who said, I give unto my sheep eternal life. They shall never perish. Neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father who gave them to me is greater than all. Neither shall any pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Remember thy people through the world. Then we would not omit the fact there are loved ones, there are friends, there may be neighbors for whom we are praying for their salvation. Oh, Father, reach them before the Lord Jesus comes back, for then it would be much too late for them if they reject Christ.
In this scene there is no opportunity to do so hereafter. And thus we pray, remember our prayers for the loved ones who were still out of Christ and bring them to thyself. We ask it all as we look to thee now for the teaching of thy word in the power and by the grace and health of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We're still in chapter eight of the prophecy of Ozea, and I would like to read in chapter eight, and I believe your page number is still number nine, and we're hoping to get into number ten also. But I would like to read in chapter eight, the latter section, beginning at verse eight, where we left off last week at the end of verse seven.
And from verse eight of chapter eight and the prophecy of Ozea, we find the Lord continuing to speak through his servant and speaking of Israel. Israel is swallowed up. Now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure. for they have gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself. Ephraim has hired lovers. Ye though they have hired among the nation, now will I gather them. They shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes, because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin.
Altars shall be unto him to sin. I've written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing. They sacrificed flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it. But the Lord accepts us them not. Now will he remember their iniquity and visit their sins? They shall return to Egypt, for Israel has forgotten his maker, and build his temples. and Judah have multiplied fence or defense cities, but I will send a fire upon his cities, and he shall devour the palaces thereof.
May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing of his precious word. Now, in order to correlate our preceding study, please note your lesson sheet on page number nine. And as we have at the heading of the chapter or the heading of the sheet, in this chapter... We have the record of apostasy by Israel, and also it being followed by judgment. One of the most amazing things, and I would like to pass it on for your thoughtfulness, one of the most amazing things is to realize the great departure, moral and spiritual, of this dear earthly people of God from Himself.
The record is a very sad and a very dark one, and I'm sure that you and I can realize, as we study these prophetic prophecies, particularly the minor prophets, as well as the major prophets, they deal in a great way. They deal with the apostasy and the departure of God's earthly people. Let me repeat something I've said in the past, and it's worthy of remembrance when you read the prophets. The reason that God raised up prophets for Israel and to Israel was because of their spiritual departure. Now may I point out primarily the knowledge of God and the teaching of his word was to be given to the people of Israel through the priesthood.
By the priests the knowledge of God and of his truth was to be made known through them to God's earthly people. Now what actually took place was the priesthood failed. And when the priesthood failed, the king and the people followed in like manner in departure from God. And God raised up the prophet. Name them all as you go back in the Old Testament historical book, as well as in the prophetical book. He raised them up to seek to bring them back to himself. Every prophet was a voice whereby God was speaking to the heart, to the conscience, and the lives of his earthly people if he could bring them back to himself.
Now may I apply the fact, though they departed from God, as we have noted, the same experience has taken place in the history of the church. Now, may I remind you, and I need this remembered for myself too, you and I are living at the end of the present period of grace, the church age. But if you and I could read and would read the secular history, a good volume of church history, and you don't need to do that to find it out, but if you do read a good volume on church history, you'll find...
Then when you come to the second and particularly to the third century of Christianity, the leadership failed. And idolatry appeared. And out were rituals that have still been carried on, particularly in the Roman persuasion, which really had their origination. They originated... Now, listen to this carefully. You know where they originated? Way back in the days of Nimrod. in Babylon. And even when the leaders of the church failed, the devil was smart.
He seemed to have known that Christianity would go westward from the land of Israel, not eastward. And when the failure began, he had his priesthood. In fact, King Cyrus of Persia, who drove out the Babylonians, he drove out all the priests of Babylon. They fled, hundreds of them, and they settled in Asia Minor. That part of Asia Minor, there was the first great place of the gospel reached among the Gentile heathen. And they carried on their pagan rites.
the inculcated into the pagan religion and the heathen religion, their own heathen practices of idolatry and worship, and thus it infiltrated into the church. And there came, and if you remember our study in the book of the Revelation, do you remember that at the end of the church age, and after the church's raptures, there be a false church upon the earth, of which the beloved apostle John says, the mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots. Now look, in our study of Ozea, God's accused his people of spiritual adultery as well as literal adultery that they were carrying on, and harlotry.
Likewise in relation to the church, it may not be literal, but it is spiritual adultery that is infiltrated and caused the profession of Christianity to apostatize. And let me go back to the name that God gave to Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots. And that takes in every corrupt profession of Christianity, not just Rome alone, everything else. For if I may state rightly now, when the Lord Jesus comes for his church, All that would be left of any profession, and there will be a profession left. Empty.
Apostate. And it will incorporate in it all the religions of the world. You know as well as I do that according to the book of the Revelation in chapter thirteen, the last worldwide dictator will incorporate religion into his political power. They did it long ago. Nimrod did it. Nebuchadnezzar did it. Attempted to, as you may know, from Daniel chapter three, by the worship of the golden image. And it's always been the same. And Constantine the Great in that third century of Christianity, he did it successfully. And he incorporated even a profession of Christianity and raised himself to an elevated place.
And you will always find, note, the political power will seek to control the people by a religious power. You might ask why. In order to control their consciences. To control the consciences of the people. So one can recognize when it comes to apostasy. Don't relegate it only to Israel. It has happened in the church. And at the end of the age it will consummate in the greatest idolatry. Not just in one land. But in the whole world, in the worship of the beast and his image, the whole world, Israel included in its profession as a nation, but the whole world together will be in a state of apostate idolatry, denying the claims of Judaism and denying the claims of Christianity.
So, beloved, I just throw that out. Don't relegate the application of our study to the past alone. Once it's been so often and frequently stated in secular writings, history repeats itself. Now we go to our chapter and please note, and after the apostasy, we find in the section beginning as well as Satan on your lesson sheet under number two paragraph, the apostasy results in judgment. No verse eight, as we look at it very carefully. Israel is swallowed up. Now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.
Now note particularly that last phrase. They shall be like a vessel wherein there's no pleasure. And can I, do I need to state, history is true. You can't find a nation in the world that enjoys the Jews. Throughout the history of their dispersion, the Gentiles have never appreciated them. Oh, yes, they've used them. Worse than that, they've abused them. And they've been like a vessel wherein there was no pleasure. Same today.
Let me just say for a moment, how many nations can you mention that even now? as any thoughts of kindness toward the Jews. Our own dust, to a great degree, thank God so far. It will not always be that way. For may I remind you of the prophetic words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew twenty-four, speaking to his earthly people of that day as he spoke to his disciples, representing the Jewish nation, and gave the prophecy of the end of the age as they asked him, what would be the end? He said, Ye shall be hated. Of all nations for my namesake. Now look.
Hosea wrote long ago. A contemporary probably of Isaiah about another fifty years before Christ. And here God prophesied through him. You'll be swallowed up by the nations. But they'll not enjoy it. They'll not enjoy it. And how true it is. And now go on to the next verse as you find verse nine particularly. And ten. I want you to know. God says what they have done. They've gone up to Assyria to get out there, the northern kingdom above Israel. A wild act alone by himself. Didn't consult me. Can I point out something for you?
As a believer in the Lord Jesus, don't try to do things by yourself. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding. acknowledge him in all thy ways he will direct thy path and what God is accusing them of is that you did it on your own you never consulted me now guilty we sometimes are of that too by himself he tried to make arrangements to get the help of Assyria and like a wild ass he went up there hallowed and he hired he paid to try to get help from the nations around And then as you go to verse nine, ten rather, yea, says God, though they have hired among the nations, yet now will I gather them, they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes.
Let me read you paragraph on your lesson sheet. You have the comment there. They went in up to Assyria, seeking love and favor, forming unnatural alliances with the Gentiles, giving presents, And as we have it, by himself, endeavoring to obtain help from everyone, but not from God. Therefore the help will fail, and God would gather the Assyrians against Israel for judgment. Oh, beloved, please let me... Here's a good moral spiritual lesson. I think of the words that Paul, by the Spirit, writes in Hebrews chapter thirteen...
Quoting, as we well know from the Old Testament, one of the songs, say, The Lord is my helper. I shall not fear what man can do unto me. And what a joy to recognize. God wants to be our helper. And, oh, beloved, I suggest to you, to myself, too. Well, I think of another statement. When the Lord is on my side, whom shall I fear? David says, I will not fear against ten thousand who may be against me when the Lord is on my side. And one can recognize, if the Lord doesn't undertake, we will fail. Can I reemphasize that?
If the Lord himself doesn't undertake, and let me quote the words of the Lord Jesus from John fifteen, When he said, without me, you can do how much? Nothing. Nothing. And I'll bless the real life with God. Well, I think of what the Lord said to his disciples on another occasion. With God, all things are possible. And, beloved, I commend to you as well as to mine own heart and my life and your life. Always seek the help of God. His help cannot fail. Yours will, and so will mine, when undertaken by ourselves.
Now look at me at verse twelve. On your lesson sheet, unfortunately, I've got the wrong reference, verse thirteen. It should be verse twelve, I think. But anyway, as we go into verse eleven, rather, first of all, we go to verse eleven, and we find one of the great reasons for judgment here. Because the Ephraim, and again, just for repetition's sake, Make clear whenever you read the name Ephraim, it means the ten tribes of Israel. God gave that name to the ten tribes because of the rebellious character and nature that was so typified even by the tribe of Ephraim long before.
He said, Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin. Altars shall be unto him to sin. Now what does God mean? Here he's accusing them of building up many altars. I've got a reference there in Deuteronomy chapter twelve. I hope you'll turn with me to it. The book of Deuteronomy chapter twelve. I'd like you to read what long before in the Decalogue of Moses, the Pentateuch, Moses himself wrote, regarding, and the words of God, regarding their responsibility. as a nation when they would come in their land.
Now, let me repeat again, we'll be back in Deuteronomy with another reference later on. But let me remind you that when you read Genesis all the way through, and particularly when you read the book of Numbers and the book of Deuteronomy, you have the recapitulation of their history as God brought them out of Egypt through the wilderness and then into the promised land. Now, before Moses departed out of this life, You can read the latter chapters in the book of Deuteronomy, and you find divine instruction for the conduct and the behavior and the responsibility of God's earthly people towards his law that he had given them.
Now please note as we read chapter twelve, verse five and six. First of all, five and six, Deuteronomy chapter six. Note these words. And I'll begin at verse four. Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God. You've got in verse... Let me go verse three. I'd better do that. Ye shall overthrow their altars. Now these were the altars of the heathen, which they would find in the land and did find in the land of Canaan. You'll break their pillars, burn their groves with fire, where they worshipped and carried on their life-sentious idolatry, and ye shall heal down the graven images of their gods.
You shall destroy... You shall destroy the names of them out of that place. You shall not do so unto the Lord your God. Now there you see God's instruction for the destruction of everything that pertains to the idolatry of the nations that God commanded them to wipe out. Their names, their altars, their groves, their pillars, their institutions that they had built. Destroy them. Now please go further. But he said, You shall not do so unto the Lord your God. But unto the place, now emphasize the word place, unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his adaptation, excuse me, shall ye see?
And thither thou shalt come. And thither ye shall bring your burnt offering, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hands, and your vows, and your free will offerings, and the firstlings of your herds, and of your flocks. Go down to verse thirteen and fourteen, for brevity's sake. We have Moses writing even further, and saying in verse thirteen, Take heed to thyself, that thou offer not thy burn offerings. In every place that thou seeest. You get the thought? God says I've got one place. Just one place for you to make your offerings when you're in the land.
Now go to verse fourteen. But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burn offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command it. Now, you know, briefly speaking, without going to further scripture, God chose the place, and the place ultimately was Jerusalem. Now, let me confirm that with a conversation that the Lord Jesus had in John four, with a woman of Samaria at the well there, and she had pointed out to him the great temple that was built on Mount Geruzim by the Samaritans.
Four hundred years before Christ. And she said, this is the place where we worship. You Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where we shouldn't worship. And the Lord Jesus told abundantly and plainly, You know not what you worship. For salvation is of the Jews. And the Lord confirmed the fact. She was in the wrong place for worship. Let me give you another illustration. Remember in chapter eight of the book of the Acts, when Philip the evangelist was sent by the Holy Spirit to talk to the Ethiopian eunuch?
And the record states why he was there. He had been to Jerusalem, what for? To worship. That was God's appointed place. Now go back to your verse in Hosea. And you notice what God has to say to them, what they had done. You built many altars. Look at your reference on your lesson sheet. We find that the great reason for judgment in verse eleven, the contrary to God's command, they had multiplied altars throughout the land by which they sinned against God. Those very altars were deceptive. and seducing forces to draw the people further into sin.
Now, may I... Lord, I wonder if I could give an analogy. We've got a lot of church buildings around the world, aren't we? Forget them. I mean that carefully. Carefully. And let me say bluntly. And on the ground of Scripture... You cannot point to any literal locality for the place of Christian worship. Let me in John's Gospel with you, please.
John's Gospel, chapter four. Let's go back to the conversation that the Lord Jesus had with a woman at Sikar's well. Isn't it a strange thing? He talked about to Nicodemus in chapter three about being born again. He never mentions it to the woman. She starts talking to him about worship. And he carries on the conversation. And if you look in chapter four of John's gospel, please let me read the words of the Lord Jesus. Now, how precious to recognize the truth that he tells her as they speak of worship. You go down, if I may, let me go to verse twenty, where she mentions our fathers worship in this mountain.
That was Mount Gerizim. Ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus said unto her, Woman, Now note the words. Believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship, ye know not what. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is. when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him. Now may I say frightening, and I mentioned a very interesting incident when I led a dear man to the Lord in my car many years ago back in the nineteen twentieth and led him to the Lord and began to talk to him about the scriptures as long as we were writing between one place in New York State and Buffalo to which he was going.
But he was a man who was evidently a clean fella, but except he didn't know the Lord. He thought he was good. He hadn't committed murder, he told me. I said, well, did you ever sin? Well, I guess so. Anyway, leading into the Lord, he told me, he said, you know, he said, I go over the country. He pebbled goods. He wasn't just a fellow that was begging all the time. But he sold certain things to keep himself going. He said, you know, sometimes I feel I want to worship God. He says, and I feel I can do it on the outside instead of having a building to go. I said, you're right. Your worship depends on you and me, the spiritual condition of the heart.
In fact, I commend you to the fact. Do you need a certain hour of the week to worship? Sometimes I'm amused when I look at some institutions with a billboard saying public worship. I wonder how much of the public really worships. It's the heart. It's the heart. And the place in heaven, and let me quote the words of Paul in Hebrews tan, having therefore brethren boldness to enter where? The holiest by the blood of Jesus. By that new and living way which he has consecrated for us.
Through the veil. That is to say his flesh. And having an high priest over the house of... You want somebody with a official title? You've got one. And it isn't a man. It isn't a preacher. The Lord Jesus. He's the great high priest. And we're encouraged to draw near. Can I put it bluntly? Plainly and lovingly. Where do we worship? We worship in heaven. In spirit. Through faith by faith. Go out and look. Please let me think. And I'm sure it may be true. It's generally true.
I don't care where you go. Among God's professing people. When you seek to worship, let it be that your own heart is in fellowship with the Lord. You worship? No matter. What may be the condition of those around you. By the Spirit you enter into the presence of God. Maybe go even further. When you pray. Where do you send your prayers? Thank God we don't need a confessor. And we don't need a priest to be the go in between. We've got the priest. It's the Lord Jesus. Our high priest.
Beloved, let me please say I do it lovingly. If Israel at all is all over the land, let me ask you something. How many so-called churches you got in Charlotte? I remember when I first got acquainted with Charlotte, I heard it was next to Glasgow, Scotland, it was a city that had more churches per capita for people than any other city in the world. That doesn't imply you've got true worship. And Israel had altars all over the land. Sacrifice him. Go to the next verse, please. No, watch as we go on. Verse twelve. He says, I've written to him of the great things of my law, but they were counted as strange, a strange thing.
A strange thing. My beloved, I say it lovingly. But if you were to tell most Christians they didn't need a building to worship in, Look at the little cross-eyed. Sure, we thank God for the convenience. Appreciate it. But I want to tell you, I want to say frankly, when I come to be with God's people for worship, I'm not trusting that building to be the place of worship. My worship goes up to God and my Savior in heaven above. Now that may be counted as strange things, but I defy you to make it any different from the word of God.
You know what God said of his earthly people on one occasion through one of the prophets? They draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And beloved, let me put it this way. Israel, building altars all over the land, just went further into sin because their hearts were far from God. And they counted his word as strange things. Now go to verse thirteen. And we follow on and see what they were doing. They had offerings. They sacrificed flesh for the sacrifices of mine offering. And they ate it. In other words, let me point out to you.
Regarding what they were doing. I'll just mention it. Instead of turning to the scripture. But in first Samuel chapter two. Well I think I've got a note there if you please. on the letter E. Even their offerings were used to make profit on the flesh they could sell. What God is accusing them of? He said, their burn offerings were to be consumed on the altar holy. But you know what they were doing? They were commercializing. And you've got an example in First Samuel chapter two. I haven't written down the... Yes, I've got the reference on the letter E. First Samuel chapter two, verse twelve through seventeen, and let me repeat what it is.
Remember it records the days of Eli. He had two sons. Eli was the high priest, two sons, Huffley and Phineas. And both those fellows were immoral. And in their immorality... They desecrated their calling as the sons of the high priest, and they officiated at the altar. But they not only did that, but when any Israelite brought an offering, they demanded, and they took the best part of the meat for themselves. It's supposed to be for God.
They commercialized it. You know, the result, what God did for those two boys, it was slain in battle, and it deserved to be. Their father Eli, who failed to reprimand them. Also fell and broke his neck as he heard the sad news of the Ark of the Covenant being taken into captivity. But God's telling Israel, he said, you supposedly bring that to me. You bring it to me, but you take it for yourselves and you eat your salad or you eat it. Now know what God says at the end of that verse in verse thirteen. But the Lord accepted them not. Now will ye remember their iniquity and visit their sins?
They shall return to Egypt. Can I read that paragraph on the letter E on your lesson sheet, the last sentence? They sought their own satisfaction only. And God could not accept their offerings. And you've got an example that God accused them even later on in the book of Zechariah chapter seven, to which we will not turn. But it's a similar scripture. when even in Zechariah's day. May I point out, please? Zechariah lived on a few hundred years later than Hosea. He lived in the days after the Babylonian captivity, and when the temple was rebuilt under Haggai, Zechariah and Nehemiah, as well as Ezra, in the post-captivity days of the Babylonian time.
And Zechariah, in chapter seven, of that prophecy, he had a delegation of Jews come to him. And that delegation of Jews wanted to ask the prophets, should we continue our path? What they had done when in captivity, they had imposed on themselves, trying to show God their attitude, so-called, they imposed on themselves certain facts. It was not according to God's word, It was self-imposed, and they were so doing it, to try and get the favor of God for their restoration. And when the prophet gives them the answer from God, God tells them, I had no use for those facts.
They meant nothing to me. You didn't even live right. And he says, as long as you didn't live right, I couldn't listen to you. But you'll find in the next chapter, God speaks of the fact someday there'll be no fact, and nothing but feasting and joy when the Messiah comes. that God says I could not, I would not accept those sacrifices. Please let me say very frankly, as Christians, let's be very careful that God will accept our worship and our sacrifice of praise, which we give him. Genuine. Let me quote the words of Hebrews ten again. Let us draw near with a true, sincere heart.
Having our conscience that's heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, bodies washed with pure water. The suggested truth, not only under the precious blood of Christ, but the cleansing of the Word of God in our lives as we walk with Christ below. Can I say this? Don't expect God to use a dirty vessel. Even today, as well as in Israel long ago. God requires a clean vessel. And here in Israel, he says, I've got no use for you. I've got no use.
Now he goes on to say at the end of the verse, I'll remember their iniquity. I'll visit their sin. They shall return to Egypt. Now note the last verse. The whole reason for the whole chapter of judgment and even what may follow. For Israel has forgotten his maker. has forgotten his maker. Oh, wait a minute. We've built a lot of temples around now. Oh, wait a minute, says God. That doesn't mean a thing to me. Have you forgotten me? You've forgotten me? Oh, beloved, can I say lovingly and earnestly I need the exhortation to?
I think of the words of an old him. Let me quote it. Gethsemane, can I forget? Or bear thy conflicts thee, thine agony, and blood-like sweat, and not remember thee. Remember thee in all thy pain, and all thy lustre me. Yea, while the breath of pulse remains, I will remember thee. She loved me. Well, we come into God's presence. Who's the person that should be upon our heart? His name upon our lips, the adoration of our souls, upon him alone. The Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus.
I think of my dear wife, trouble one night she couldn't remember the twenty-first ground. I found her disturbed in mind, trying to find her Bible. She said, I've forgotten that. I looked at her and said, have you forgotten the shepherd? No. A lot of people know the psalm, but they don't know the shepherd. Look, Israel forgot their nation. He redeemed them out of Egypt. He brought them across the Red Sea. Through the wilderness. He put them in the land. He blessed them. He said they forgot it. Oh, beloved, how much it's true of even in our Christian testimony today.
Who's forgotten the law? Well, we give you this thought. Don't forget Him. And if you let Him be your heart's object, everything else will fall into proper perspective. I don't think you're going to cure all the problems, but your heart will be right. Your heart will be happy. Your life will be blessed. Him. How many people do you have to live for? One special one. And if you live for him, he'll take care of living for all the rest of them. Even though you may not always like them, yet you should love them.
And there's a lot of difference between loving and liking. Oh, yes. When it comes to Christian affection, though you may not like them, you should love them. I remember when my first grandchild came along, and he wanted to get in my toolbox, I'm not much of a carpenter or anything like that. So he wanted to play with my tools. So I found out I better buy him some hammer and blocked for himself. I bought him a nice wooden hammer, blocked that he could hammer. And the first thing that he hammered was my wife's favorite, African violet plant. And I noticed she loved him, but she didn't like him. There is a difference.
You may not like what other people do and what they may be. The Lord is a Christian. The Lord says, Hereby shall all men know that ye are my disciples when ye have loved one for another. So if you can't like them, please know you should love them. For after all, you can recognize if you forget him, you're not going to do it. But if you remember him, if he's before the heart, you'll be blessed. And to be a blessing to all. Oh, beloved, look, don't get your eye on the wrong man.
Not even on any man, any woman. Lord Jesus. The old him. I love that old him. Keep your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will stay strangely dim in the light of his glory in the earth. Look, you cannot apologize. if you forget the Lord. You'll take the blame. You'll dare the judge. And one of the great sins, frankly, one of the great sins of Christianity in its profession, they've forgotten Him.
They've forgotten Him, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's so easy for the flesh to become proud and the exaltation of man to take the place of the only one who's worthy to be worshipped and praised and loved. Don't forget it. Don't forget it. Grand indeed that we might remember. We should remember him. The temples don't do it. They've built many temples. Now look also. There's a reference in the last verse of Judah. And the Lord says, his father is Judah. He mentions the tribe of Judah now.
They multiplied. Now they did multiply temples. Look. Please note the distinction. Israel, the ten tribes, they built temples all over the place. Altars all over the place. Judah? No. They had the city. They had God's appointed place. Jerusalem. They had God's appointed temple at Jerusalem. They had the order of worship and rituals and sacrifices and so on in the right place. But for their protection, they were not depending upon him. They made their cities strong. To defend against the enemies that would come.
In other words, they strengthened themselves instead of depending upon God. Or may I state, Whether it was the ten tribes or whether it was Judah, their dependency should have been on God for his health. And here's Judah, strengthening their cities, making them stronger in fortifications. What did God say? I'll send a fire upon those cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof. Let me read the last paragraph on your sheet number nine. God was forgotten. We may ask the question, why all this? Why all these prophecies of gloom and disaster? Why, why?
And the answer is simple. Israel had forgotten his maker. They followed their own way so long and let God out of their plan. They ultimately had forgotten God. They had even built temples to idols and fortified their cities, but neglected their only true source of help, God. And in this, both Judah and Israel... were implicated and God's judgment was sure and certain to fall. Oh, beloved, let's take home to our hearts and our consciences. Don't forget God. Don't forget God. Look, every Christian is responsible to the Lord and to the Lord himself.
I would never come and tell you what you ought to do. The Lord himself you should listen to. His voice. Remember what he said in John's hand? My sheep hear my voice. And I know them, and they follow who? Me. I'd like to say, don't you follow me? Follow him. There's only one person with authority. and with power, and with perfect right, who can say to you and to me, follow me. Jesus calls us all the tumult of this wild life's restless sea.
Day by day his sweet voice boundless, saying, Christian, follow me. Let me ask you a question. Are you and I following him? God help us. His rock. One is well written. And now we need to know it. To do his will. Though the path be right. Teach me from my heart to say. Thine will be done. I put before you. And I need it in my own heart and conscience. The responsibility of doing his will. Not your own.
Nor any other person. God. And I beseech your brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies. A living sacrifice. Now, when it comes to a sacrifice, it's not a dead one for the Christians. Living sacrifice. Cost you something. A living sacrifice wholly accessible unto the Lord, which is your reasonable, intelligent service. Be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind. that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Now may I say lovingly, please may I say it very earnestly, it will cost you something.
A dear brother, I recall in the city of Miami when we were having a Bible reading in a home on one occasion, way back in nineteen thirty-two, I think. I recall him telling of a young girl that found the Savior, and he happened to be ministering from Romans twelve, one and two. and presenting the truth of the believer, yielding his and her life and party for the Lord's glory, whatever may be his will. And she took the message to her heart, and she sought to yield herself day by day. Now, may I say, it's not just merely once and for all. You better do it every day. I think a dear old AC Gable, I'm saying, well, on one occasion, he said every morning he got up, he presented himself again to the Lord.
for the day. But she wrote to this dear brother friend of mine, and she said, Brother, why is it since I yielded my life to the Lord, holy, if I hope I have, I've never had so much trouble. I laid it down, as it were, on the altar for him. Why so much trouble? He wrote back to her, I remember him saying, My dear young sister, when you laid your life down on the altar, you forgot there was a fire underneath it. Well, you'll find it. There is a prize, but it would. In other words, that's why Paul said, not a dead sacrifice, living sacrifice.
God helps us to do it. Go into chapter ten. At least we'll go on the threshold. Chapter ten, as we look in chapter nine rather, and page ten on your lesson sheet. And here we come further. What we have in the chapter is Israel's catastrophic judgment. And the chapter tells not only God's rebuke against his sinning people, but the definite features of their coming catastrophic judgment. Let's look at verse one and two before we leave. I know what God says. Rejoice, now, though, Israel, for joy, as other people. In other words, you're going to lose your joy. You're going to lose your joy.
No, that's not a believer. When you and I disobey God, disobey Israel, we're going to lose our joy. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say unto you, rejoice, lo, all to the Philippians. But like Israel, if we are disobedient, don't expect to have the city to remind you of, dear David, his sin of adultery and his sin of murder against Uriah the Hittites. And he said to God, he prayed, Restore underneath the joy of thy salvation. He had lost his salvation, he lost his joy. And so you can realize, Israel, God said, You're going to lose your joy, for you've gone a whoring from thy God.
Thou hast loved a reward upon every corned flour, flour, flour. In other words, they were living for the material things. The flour and the wine press shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her. Note the paragraph on your sheet, please. God saying there would be the loss of joy? Oh, can I repeat it? You know, this is a very practical lesson. The loss of joy. I remember a dear old hymn. It's so nice to be old and reflect. You can really go back and remember lots of things. The older you get, if your memory don't fail. But I do find this, and I say it in love.
The older I get, The further back I go in memory of many precious things pertaining to God. It was an old hymn. Where is the joy that once I had when first I knew the Lord? How many Christians have to say that? Oh, the joy when he first saved me. And yet it wanes. Was it his fault? Oh, no. Never could be his. It's on this side. And here is Israel. They've gone away from their God. There's no joy. You're living for the miserable things of this life, the corn, and all that you can find, the new wine.
It'll fail. It'll fail you. Let me read that paragraph, chapter, on page ten. There would be lots of joy. At this time Israel was enjoying natural prosperity from their productive fields. and rejoicing in an abundant harvest, as we saw in verse, can in verse eleven. But how could there be true joy when they had forgotten their maker, their prosperity would disappear and their joy? Oh, beloved, really, the soul can only prosper when we're in fellowship with God. Any quote, have you got your New Testament?
Go to first John chapter one before we close. It'd be a good point to close on. The first epistle of John chapter one. And let me read the words of John beginning in chapter one there. The opening of the word. Where we find John saying that which was from the beginning. Which we have heard. Which we have seen with our eyes. Which we have looked upon. And our hands have handled. Of the word of life. Now please note. The word is in capitalized letter there. And what John is referring to is the Lord Jesus, the one whom from the beginning when he first met him, we've heard him, we've seen him. Yes, we've looked upon him, gazed upon him, and even our hands have handled him.
For the life was manifested. We've seen it. We bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard, declared we unto you. that ye also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. Listen, Christian, I want you to get a distinction. Clear. There is the fellowship that is greater than the fellowship of Christians. And of course the fellowship of Christians should be in the proper perspective from Scripture. But the fellowship that is greater is with the Father, with his Son.
I enjoy Christian fellowship. There's no one that can enjoy it better. But I know that more important is my fellowship with the Father and with his Son. For if I'm out of fellowship with him, the Father and the Son, I'm not going to be much good to you Christians either. But please know John starts us in verse four, as we call it with him. John says, And these things write me unto you. Why? that your joy may be what? Poor. That your joy may be poor. My beloved, may I say very frankly, you want to be and I want to be a happy, joyful Christian?
Look, don't go around. I think of an incident I read about. A dear little girl found Christ as her savior. She went home. How happy if she could be. She had taken him as a savior here for giving her sin. And she was so happy. She ran into the house and there was her old grandpa sitting. And he was a very religious character. He was more religious than perhaps spiritual. But anyway, she comes in singing and happy and almost dancing for joy. And he asks, what are you doing that for? Oh, and she says, I've found Jesus as my savior. I've taken him as my savior. She looks at her in a grumpy way.
He says, that's no way to act when you get religion. Poor little kid. Oh, it took all the wind out of her sails and the happiness out of her heart. She walked out of the house, into the barnyard where she led. And as she did, she went nowhere to the fence, and here came the old mule over to her. And she looked at that old mule. Oh, she said, donkey, have you got religion too? Ah, beloved Lord. Oh, you get the moral. You'll get them all, you know. Who can be happier than a believer who's in fellowship with the Lord Jesus and the Father?
Don't forget them. Oh, there we should be. I think of a dear old hymn, and I close in the quoting of it. Nearer, still nearer, close to thine heart. Draw me, my Savior, so precious thou art. Follow me, oh, fold me close to thy breath, and shelter me straight in that haven of death. Beloved, look, what a lesson. Israel forgot their maker. Let you and I not forget our precious Savior. No one love him more, shall we say. Oh, beloved Father, how great is thy word? You've answered the prayer of our opening hymn.
Make the book lift to me, O Lord. Show me thyself within thy word. Show me myself and show me my Savior. Make the book with to me. How we pray for one another.