(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

All right, we're in Hosea chapter number 11, and this chapter's pretty short. It's 12 verses long, and when you read the book of Hosea, you hear a lot of the same things being reiterated over and over again. But Hosea 11 is a little different. He doesn't necessarily talk about the judgment that's gonna come upon them. He actually, in a sense, starts reminiscing of where Israel first started, okay? And I'm gonna get into that in just a little bit. But Hosea 11 is a very short chapter that emphasizes the backslidden state of the nation of Israel. Now, keep in mind that as we read the book of Hosea, a lot of the times, the nation of Israel symbolizes, I mean, you can take it symbolic of what's going on in the United States today, right? You look at the sins that are taking place in the nation of Israel during that time and what they're involved in, and you can directly relate it to what's going on in 2019 United States. You're like, man, that's happening today, right? But you could also look at it as a whole and see what's going on in Hosea and kind of directly relate it to individuals. You can relate it to individual believers and Christians and some of the things that they get involved in. And even throughout this entire book as we've been going over it, I'm sure you've thought to yourself, man, I've been involved in that, or I've had that kind of attitude, or I felt like God chastised me for a certain thing, just like in those days. We could basically, it could almost represent the individual believer as well. Now let me just say this is that when comparing and determining symbolism in the Bible, we need to make sure that everything that's being analyzed corresponds with the rest of the word of God, right? So what I'm saying is that we can never use parables or stories to determine what doctrines we believe. So you don't go to a parable, you don't go to a story in the Bible to figure out what you believe. You've got to go to the clear teachings of Scripture in order to determine what you're supposed to believe, what the doctrine is, and the stories in the parables basically bolster that teaching. You use that illustration, you use that parable, you use that story to shed light on the doctrines that are already clear in the Bible. Does that make sense to everybody? Now the reason I say that is because we're going to look at some things here that we can basically in a sense apply to ourselves that are symbolic of the individual believer. And the reason I say that is because in previous chapters we looked at Israel as being a what? A reprobate nation. Now there are certain characteristics of the nation of Israel that's symbolic of our country or of our nation, but it's not symbolic of a person who is a believer. Why? Because a believer can become a reprobate. So we've got to make sure that we understand the context, we've got to understand where to apply every doctrine, every story, every illustration, and do it properly. But as we read Hosea 11, we can clearly see that this can be referring to a believer. Why is that? Because here we see in Hosea chapter 11, he refers to them as a backslidden nation. An unbeliever doesn't backslide, okay? You know, only saved people can backslide. So obviously he's referring to them as a reprobate nation in prior chapters, but now we can take what he's telling them here and apply it to ourselves as individuals, okay? Now look down at your Bibles in verse number one. It says here, when Israel was a child, then I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. As they called them, so they went from them. They sacrificed unto Balaam and burned incense to graven images. I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms, but they knew not that I healed them. I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love, and I was to them as they that take off the yoke of their jaws, and I laid meat unto them. Now I want you to notice that what he uses, don't get confused here, because God will often use Israel and Ephraim interchangeably, okay? It's the same nation. So he's not talking about two different people, he's not talking about two different nations. It's referring to the same exact nation. Israel and Ephraim as a nation are synonymous one with another. So he just kind of uses them interchangeably there. But look at verse number four. It says, I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love. I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them. Now what is he talking about? Well, in the beginning of the chapter, he says that he was like a child unto them. And what it's referring to, it's referring to the early years of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. Because when it says that I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, he's referring to the fact that he delivered them from bondage. The bondage of Egypt is what that's referring to. Now this is obviously, you can apply this to an individual person, why? Because the generation that we see here in the Book of Hosea is not the same generation that came out of Egypt. Two different generations, right? Now we can lump them up together in the sense of they're worshiping gods, different gods, they're backslidden, they're committing the sins of their fathers, et cetera. But these are two separate generations, but God is basically clumping them up together and saying, hey, when Israel was a child, then I loved him and called my son out of Egypt. He's referring to that physical nation that he brought up out of Egypt. Now this story that he's referring to is a beautiful story. And in fact, it's a beautiful picture of our salvation, okay? Now what we're gonna do is we're gonna just briefly look at Exodus and what the Bible teaches there and how that's symbolic of our own salvation. Go to Exodus chapter 2. Exodus chapter 2, we'll go back to Hosea, hold your place in Hosea chapter 11. So he says there, I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws and I laid meat unto them. Why? Because he delivered them out of Egypt. Now a couple things for you to understand in order for us to understand what the application is here is that Egypt is often a picture of the world, Pharaoh is a picture of the devil. That bondage is a picture of just not being saved, okay? Look at Exodus chapter 2 and verse 23, this is the picture of that bondage there. It says, and it came to pass, verse 23, in the process of time that the king of Egypt died and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage and they cried and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage and God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham and with Isaac and with Jacob and God looked upon the children of Israel and God had respect unto them. So we see there that God looks down and he sees the people, the Hebrews there and what are they? They're in bondage to Egypt. This is a great picture of unbelievers who are in bondage and they're on their way to hell. Sin is gonna take them to hell. For example, we're out sowing today, I got to lead a guy to the Lord and his name was Gerardo and Chad and I were walking up to him and he was just leading up against a truck and he had something in his hand. We didn't know what it was but he decided to talk to us and by the end of the conversation, it was just, you know, pipe, smoking some weed is what he was doing, okay? And he had a pipe right there, it had weed in it and you can tell this guy was obviously a pothead, he's an older gentleman but he looked like his life has just been wracked by sin, just destroyed by sin. In fact, he looked like an individual who the neighborhood would know as being the neighborhood pothead. And the reason I say this because as I'm witnessing something, as I'm giving them the gospel, people are walking by just mocking him. Oh yeah, that guy definitely needs it right there, oh yeah. And as they're saying that, he's just like, yeah, like, I do, you know? Now this guy ended up getting saved whereas the other guy, the fool who's mocking him, the prideful guy who doesn't think he needs it himself, didn't get saved. He rejected Chad when Chad tried to go talk to him but this guy was humble enough, he's like, oh yeah, but he has sin in his life. Yeah, but God forgives all sin, okay? Yeah, he's in the bondage and his life is wracked by sin but you know what? God, because he saved him, has taken away the penalty of that sin. And I'm talking to him and as I'm giving him the gospel, he's giving me the right answers and it's interesting because sometimes we can be a little robotic when we give the gospel, we're just used to quoting the same verses, right? I go over Revelation 21a and about, you know, the people are gonna go to hell and I read it to them and he's kind of just like this so I don't know if he's really, like, coherent or if he's listening but as soon as I quote from Revelation 21, he's like, dang, everyone's going to hell then and I kind of wanted to laugh because I didn't expect that. I'm like, yeah, he's like, what are we gonna do then? How am I gonna get saved? That's everyone. He's like, that even says liar, that's everyone and he was, like, dead serious. Pipe in hand, faithful or Baptist Church tract on the other hand. So I continued to give him the gospel and, you know, it just didn't look like he was paying attention but then when I reviewed the questions, when I was giving him the questions, he answered every single question correctly and I remember thinking to myself, and by the way, this is a good tip right here, all right? Let me give you a tip for sowing. If you are not sure if the person's paying attention, by the way, pay attention if they're paying attention. Don't just try to get through the gospel plan. Pay attention and I'm thinking, I don't know if this guy is, I don't want to waste my time, you know? So I prayed thus within myself like Nehemiah did, not like the publican did, right? I played thus within myself and I was like, Lord, if this guy's paying attention, just give me, like, some sort of sign that he's paying attention and honestly, he just, as soon as I asked him a pretty, not a difficult question but a difficult question of an answer that I had already given to him prior that maybe, like, a really big time pothead wouldn't be able to answer, he gave me the answer, great, I mean, just perfectly, I said, okay. So I moved on, gave him the gospel and he got saved. Tears in his eyes and he's, like, wiping away the tears and stuff and he says, thank you so much for telling me of the gospel, you know, I really appreciate it and we give him some gifts. He was going to shake Chad's hand and Chad, like, handed him a gift and he was like, whoa, he's like, thank you, he's like, I really appreciate that. This guy's in bondage though. Now in this lifetime, you know what, unless he gets into church, unless he starts reading the King James Bible, unless he hears some hardcore preaching that'll preach the fire out of him, unless he grows in his love for the Lord, you know what, he's going to remain in that bondage throughout his entire life. But you know what, one day, I can rest assured and he can rest assured that he will be delivered from the bondage of sin. Why? Because when he dies or when the Lord comes back and raptures us, you know what, he is going to get the redemption of his body, he will no longer struggle with that sin. And that's the picture that we see here with the Egyptians, with the Hebrews and the Egyptians is that they were in bondage to Egypt. They were in bondage. Now God delivered them from that bondage, didn't he? And we see later on that they got back into that bondage again, which goes to show you that when someone gets saved, they can remain or go back into bondage. You don't have to turn there. I'm going to read to you from Galatians 4, 3, it says, even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son, maid of a woman, maid under the law, to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. So we see there that we were in bondage under the elements of the world. Christ came, died for us, we believed on him, and God, he took away that bondage. Now we have the potential to go back into bondage again, right? But we will never go back into the bondage of going to hell, right? We will never receive the penalty of our sin. The Bible says in Ephesians 2, verse 1, and you had to be quick and who were dead in trespasses and sin. Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, like Egypt, according to the prince of the power of the air, like Pharaoh, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in time past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Now you're in Exodus chapter 2, go to Exodus chapter 3. So we see there that the bondage, the symbolism of the bondage, now here's another cool story. This has nothing to do with the sermon, but I want to share it because it's pretty cool. So you know, Chad runs into this Sodomite Mormon, you know, and that didn't go over very well. But then the last door, we knocked on, or I knocked on this door, and this guy came in, you know, his name is George, and he was like, hey, I'm from Faithful Baptist Church, want to give an invite to our church? And he got the invite, he goes, yeah, I know who you guys are. I was like, oh, here we go, you know, it's like, got a story for me to tell tonight, you know? Because I thought he was kind of like against us or something, he just had that attitude. And then I was like, okay, well, you know, more important than church, are you 100% sure that if you die today, you go to, someone already talked to me about that. I'm like, all right, so where do you think you're going to go? He's like, they already told me about that, I know, I got the whole shebang. You got the whole shebang? He said shebang, right? He goes, I got the whole shebang already. I was like, all right, so where do you think you're going to go? He's like, I'm going to go to heaven. Just with a straight face. I'm like, okay, can you lose your salvation? Nope. Someone already talked to me from the church. Okay, yeah, I'm saved. I'm like, all right. So basically, he's just the guy who just has a monotone personality, but the guy's saved. So I kind of want to confirm if it was like one of our people, how do you confirm if it's someone from our church? Someone tell me. DVDs. DVDs. I was like, did they give you a gift? Yep. What did they give you? New man versus old man, which is exactly what we got. I'm like, all right, well, shut my mouth, you know. Well, hey, here's another one. We give them another DVD and we thank them and we went on our way, you know. What does it have to do with the sermon? Nothing. It's a story. Look at Exodus chapter three. So we see there that the bond, we looked at the bondage and what that symbolizes for us, but now we're going to look at the deliverer. Look what verse eight says, and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and large unto a land flown with milk and honey unto a place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hittites, excuse me, the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now therefore behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come unto me and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore and I will send thee, speaking unto Moses, unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. So we see here that Moses is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this isn't the only area where he pictures that. There's a strong symbolism in the book of Exodus in comparison with Moses and Jesus Christ. I preached a message a couple months back called The Witness of the Prophets and I explained the symbolism of Moses and Jesus Christ. This is just one of them. He was sent to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt, out of bondage. Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which is lost. The Bible says in John 8, 34, Jesus answered them, verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committed sin is a servant of sin, and the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the son abideth forever. If the son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. And guess what? The children of Israel, when they left Egypt, were free indeed. Romans 5 verse 6 says, for when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet peradventure for a good man. Some would even dare to die, but God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than be now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the savior of all men, especially they that believe. The Bible tells us that he's the propitiation for all sin, not just for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. So he came to save us just as Moses came to save all of the children of Israel. Now, go to Exodus chapter 12, Exodus chapter 12. Now there's a reason I'm going through this, and this will explain some things in Hosea chapter 11. So we see the symbolism there, they're in bondage, just as the individual is in bondage before salvation. We see that they had a savior by the name of Moses, just as we have a savior, which is Jesus Christ. And then we're gonna look at the actual salvation, when they got saved. Exodus chapter 12, verse 3. This is symbolic here, it says, speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying in the tenth day of this month shall they take to them every man a lamb according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house, and if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls. And every man according to his eating shall make your account for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish. A male of the first year, ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats, and ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two sides of the posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses wherein they shall eat it. I mean, just reading this. Jesus Christ is the lamb of God who came to the way to take the sins of the world. The whole congregation of Israel shall kill it, which is exactly what happened in the New Testament. The Jews killed Jesus, right? And they shall eat the flesh and that night, verse 8, roast with fire. What does that symbolize? The fact that he went to hell for us? Unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat it not of it raw nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire. His head with his legs and with the pertinence thereof, everything. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning, and that which remaineth of it until the morning, ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And ye shall eat it in haste, it is the Lord's Passover. Ye shall eat it in haste. Why? Because today is the day of salvation. Now is the appointed time is what it's teaching. Verse 12, for I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and I will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. Hey, the blood is important, regardless of what John MacArthur, oh, he said that 20 years ago. Yeah, but he said it. And I guarantee he still holds to that stupid doctrine today. The blood is important. It says right there that when God sees the blood, he's going to pass over us. We shall be delivered from the wrath to come. That is symbolic of our salvation. When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ's righteousness was imputed unto us, we're covered in the blood of Christ, we're washed in his blood. All our sins are washed away. The Bible says in Ephesians 1, 7, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. Not like John Nelson Darby where he just says, in whom we have redemption, that's it. Not through the blood, just completely takes out through the blood in John Nelson Darby's version of the Bible. No, here it says that it's through the blood. The Bible says in Colossians 1, 20, and having made peace through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. Now go back to Hosea 11. We can go on and on with the book of Exodus of things that we can see in relation to our salvation, how even them going through the Red Sea would be a picture of baptism. Them going into Canaan land is the picture of the believers going into just basically to have victory in their Christian lives. You know why? Why does that picture the Christian life? Well because there's multiple cities that you have to conquer. And you know what? It doesn't stop at Jericho. Gotta go get Ai. You gotta get all the surrounding cities and conquer and take the spoils and take the land for a possession. So we see there that that's symbolic, no. Remember that all that we see in the book of Hosea is in context of rebelling against the Lord by Israel, right? Their idolatry, their wicked practices, the rejection of the Lord. And he's basically in verse number four, he's reminiscing, he says, remember when I took you out, I was your savior, you know, I took you out of bondage. And I rescued you from all that. And it's sad to think that in the midst of all that, because they heard of all that took place. They heard, everyone's heard about that. Not just them, but the surrounding nations around them heard how God delivered them out of Egypt. They heard of those testimonies. And to see this generation just go back into idolatry is sad. You know, and that's symbolic of us that, you know what? We're saved and thank God that we're saved. You know, but God has given us a great opportunity to labor for him. God has given us a great opportunity to serve him. God has given us a great opportunity. You know, I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. That ought to be the attitude that we have, and never to have a desire to go back to the world. Now, obviously, there's temptation. Obviously, there's times when we're discouraged, or when fear settles in, or the old man, you've been feeding the old man a little too much. And he gets to a point where he's trying to drag you back into bondage. But you know, we gotta fight that every single day and recognize that we need to run the race that is set before us. Lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us, and run the race with patience that is set before us. Look at unto Jesus. Don't quit. Stick it out. You know, this is a worthy fight. This is a worthy cause. This is a worthy race that we are in. Don't go back to the world. Don't go back into sin. Stay in the race. But this is what Israel's doing. They went back. Now, look at verse number five. Very important. It says, he shall not return into the land of Egypt, and the Assyrians shall be his king because they refuse to return. And the sword shall abide on his cities, and he shall consume his branches and devour them because of their own counsels. Now, what is he saying here? Because what do we just got finished talking about? How Egypt is a picture of when they were in Egypt that they were not saved. So he's telling them, man, they've disobeyed. They're worshiping images. They're doing idolatry. So what's going to happen? Well, they're not going to go back to Egypt. What is that talking about? Well, that's symbolic of us. We're not going to lose our salvation if we backslide. He said, look, he's not going to go back into Egypt just like the believer will not go to hell if they commit sin. If they get out of church, if they backslide, if they, you know, you name it. Even if they get the nine and a half shoe from Brother Mejia from the church for being involved in the sins of 1 Corinthians 5, I can't kick him down to hell unless there's some unsafe, reprobate heretic. But I'm talking about safe people can't lose their salvation. And what he's saying there is, look, he's saying this, you're not going to go back into Egypt, but you will go back. You will have the Assyrians over you. What is that saying? You'll still be in bondage. It just won't be with Egypt. Now I'll get into that just a little bit. Now hold your place or go to Hebrews 10. But I think this is a great passage to show that we can never lose our salvation and thank God for that. You know, the Bible is very clear that once we're saved, we're always saved, that we can never lose our salvation. I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. It doesn't say, and they, you know, they might not perish, you know, it says they shall never perish. And he gives scriptures upon scriptures, heaps upon heaps to prove that we can never lose our salvation. Ephesians 1 verse 13 to 14 is one of the most strongest scriptures to prove that you can't lose your salvation. Why? Because after you believe, you're sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. So tell me this, oh ye that believe they can lose your salvation, if the Bible says that you're sealed with the Holy Spirit of God after you believe, can the Holy Spirit go to hell? It says you're sealed unto, you lose your salvation, no, until the day of redemption. And the redemption is talking about the purchased possession. What is the purchased possession? Our bodies. Because he's not only purchased our souls, he's purchased our bodies. And the Bible tells us that we're waiting to with the redemption of our bodies. That's how, that's why the Holy Spirit is there. One of the strongest scriptures to prove that right there, but look at Hebrews chapter 10 verse 32. But culture remembers the former days in which after you were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions, partly whilst ye were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly whilst ye became companions of them that were so used, skip down to verse 38. It says now the just shall live by faith. Now if any man, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in it. Now what does it mean when it says if any man draw back? If you backslide. You know we're supposed to be going forward in the Christian life. If you're not going forward, you're not staying stagnant, you're actually going backwards. Oh you know, yeah I'm coming to church but I'm not reading my Bible. Yeah you're probably backsliding that. You know, the Christian life is two steps forward, one step back because we're not perfect. But the goal is to constantly go forward, right? But it says there if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in it. That doesn't please God when you backslide. It doesn't please God when you're going back into sin, when you're doing things that are displeasing to him. That doesn't please him. Now look at verse 39. But we are not of them who draw back into perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Bam. He says look, if we draw back, we're not those who believe that you can draw back like you lose your salvation unto perdition. We're of them who believe to the saving of the soul. Regardless of what happens, I'm saved. And I'm thankful for that. Now go back to Hosea chapter 11 and that's why it says he shall not return into the land of Egypt. You know, we're not going to go to hell anymore. Now we'll experience a lot of hell here if we get involved in sin and things that displease God. Why? Because the Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 11 that he's going to chastise us. He's going to chastise us. He's going to punish us. He's going to allow us to go through afflictions with the purpose of us repenting, with the purpose of creating holiness within us. That's why he allows us to go through those things because he's chastising us. But at the end of the day, we still won't lose our salvation. Now look at verse 5 says, it says he shall not return into the land of Egypt and the Assyrian shall be his king because they refused to return. So guys, look, you're not going to lose your salvation, but you're still going to be in bondage to someone else. It's like the guy, if he doesn't quit smoking pot, by the way, now that he's saved, he has the Holy Spirit of God living within him, he has the power. He can understand the Bible, you know. He can understand what it, he can know the steps to conquer sin in his personal life. But if he chooses not to do those things, guess what? He's going to remain in bondage to the Assyrians. You know, you as a Christian, you're not going to hell if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but if you choose to do something that's displeasing to God, if you choose to get involved in fornication, in adultery, in drunkenness, guess what? Yeah, you're not going to go to hell, but guess what? You will be in bondage to the king of Assyria. You will be in bondage. Well, that doesn't sound as bad. Have you read the entire book? He's like, I'm going to make you desolate. What does that mean? I'm going to destroy you, okay? He's saying he's going to destroy them. And look, the greatest thing that can ever happen to any Christian is that they just die and go to heaven, right? Even a backslitting Christian, you know, you see some Christian destroying their lives, they're just involved in the worst types of sin. The best thing that can happen to that person if they're just unrepentant is for them to just die and go to heaven. Oh, that's so insensitive. What are you talking about? It's eternal life. They're separated from their carnal flesh that's causing them to displease God, destroying their lives, and they just get to go to heaven. I mean, that's the best thing that can happen to a person. Now, that's the best thing that can happen to me, but I don't want to go yet. I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to go early because the fact of the matter is is that if God's going to give me decades upon decades to live, I want to utilize it for the Lord. Because here's the thing, when I go to eternity, I'm going to be there for eternity. So at that point, you know, game over. No more trying to rack up rewards. So I want to utilize the time that I have here, redeem the time because the days are evil to rack up the rewards when I get to heaven. But I don't want to go now, you know. And here he's saying that the Assyrians shall be his king because they refuse to return. Now, I had you go to Hebrews, or excuse me, Hosea. You don't have to turn it on. I'm going to read to you from Hebrews again, from Hebrews 10, verse 26. It says, for if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful, looking for a judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries, he that despised Moses' law died without mercy under the two or three witnesses. Of how much sore punishment, suppose he, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under the foot of the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified in an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace. For we know him that hath said, vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense the Lord, and again, the Lord shall judge his people. Now we like to use that verse for our enemies, don't we? For reparations and stuff like that, like, vengeance belongeth unto the Lord, I will repay. That's true, but here, he's actually talking about his own people. He said, vengeance belongeth unto me, and then he says, the Lord shall judge his people. You know the Lord takes vengeance on his own people? That's not the kind of Jesus I ever heard of. Yeah, because you probably never read the Bible, or you probably never heard preaching like this that actually teaches you that God does take vengeance on his own people. Now, I don't want to be on the receiving end of that stick, so, you know, I want to make sure that I love God, I want to make sure that I'm obedient to his word, I want to make sure that I'm in accordance to the law of God, so that I don't suffer those things, and that I gain the blessing of God upon my life. But here it says, and then verse 31 says, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, and that is a true statement. The Bible also tells us in 1 Corinthians 5, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh. Go to Romans chapter 6, hold your place there in Hosea 11, we're going to go back to Hosea 11 after this. Hold your place there, go to Romans chapter number 6. By the way, as you grow as a Christian, learn to overcome sin. You know, I'm not saying, you know, learn to be sinless, because that's impossible, but we need to learn how to overcome daily sins, you know, bad habits, sins of the past, things that are just clenching onto you that you haven't been able to shake. You know, there comes a time when we need to grow out of that, and God has given us the tools, we have that which is necessary to overcome certain things, and I'm not talking about if it's like smoking pot, if it's smoking pot, I'll cure that real quick right now, you know what I mean? Let me just talk to you after service. I'm talking about, and by the way, it could be that, you know, secret sins that you have that you've been struggling with for years on end, or how about just bad habits of just bad character, laziness, that's a sin, lying, you know, being dishonest, that's sinful. You know, we can go down the list, pride, you know, down the list of just different sins that people struggle with day in and day out, you know, we need to make sure that on a daily basis, we're working to overcome those things, you say, how did I overcome that? Well, memorize scripture, you know, get away from the people that cultivate those sins in your personal life, because here's the thing, if you're around the right type of people all the time, you know, you're probably not going to do those things that you used to do before, you know, it's just the way, it's just the nature of the beast, that isn't necessary to take a whole lot of spirituality, it just takes common sense and some smarts, you know, get away from your buddies, I'm trying to win them to the Lord, but like for how long? Like since when? You know, it comes to a point where it's like, man, I got to stay away from these people because they're going to draw me back, and then God's soul shall have no pleasure in me. But, you know, memorizing scripture, coming to church, doing such things as that, you know, just exercising self-control, you know, what the Bible would refer to as temperance. Exercise self-control in your personal life to say, man, I'm going to die to that, I'm not going to do it, you know, stop, and by the way, one way to help you overcome sin is stop feeding the old man. Stop feeding the old man. Why? Because if you keep feeding the old man, when you want to do right, when you want to subject yourself unto the law of God, you're not going to be able to. Because the old man's been pumping all day, lifting weights, you know, doing their legs and deadlifts and whatnot, and it's stronger than the new man. You know, if you're constantly watching TV and watching worldly things, that's the old man just feeding himself, and when you want to do right, because you're going to want to do right because you have the Holy Spirit of God living within you, you're not going to be able to. That, you will live out the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak, and what that's referred to is the fact that the old man is strong, it's overcoming you, okay? You know, we need to learn to be spirit-filled Christians, and look, I'm certainly not the perfect example of that, okay? I'm flesh, I make mistakes, I fail, but I can tell you with an honest heart that I try my best to walk in the spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Why? Because I not only want to stay away from sin, I want to do great things for God. But look, if you're on this side of the spectrum, you're never going to get over here, you know? We need to make sure that we're battling here so that we can be vessels to honor me for the master's use over here, okay? To be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. You know, if you've been a Christian for any length of time, now is the time to start getting ahold of some of those things, okay? Look at Romans 6, verse 9, it says, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died into sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof, neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid, know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servant ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness. And Romans chapter 6 is a great chapter to begin with when it comes to the subject, okay? You know, be the spirit of God, and look, you say, well, what if like I don't feel like doing right, but I know how to do right? Make yourself do right. Make yourself do right. And make yourself do right for a long period of time, and guess what? You'll be back in the saddle. So it works. And by the way, that's part of, maturing is part of this process, because maturity says that I'm gonna do things, what I'm supposed to do, even when I don't feel like doing them, because I know that I'm supposed to do them. You know? By the way, we're supposed to do things because we love the Lord, but often, the love of the Lord wanes in us, doesn't it? We don't always love the Lord the way we ought to, but you know how you can get back into the love of the Lord, delighting yourself in the law of God, is by making yourself do that what you're supposed to do, even when you don't feel like doing it, and guess what? When you do it, after a while, you get your love back. After a while, you get your character back. After a while, you get your discipline back. After a while, you start feeding that new man to be able to overcome that old man, okay? Now, go back to Hosea 11. If not, what's gonna happen? The Assyrians are gonna be your king. Your flesh is gonna be your king. You know, your appetites, your fleshly appetites are going to be your king. And look, dads, hey, fathers, I mean, this is for everyone, but especially for us, why? Because we are responsible for other people. We got these little people that run around our house, you know? These little people that are looking to us as examples. We have a wife, you know, that we have to be an example to. So not just for our sakes, but for their sakes also, okay? Look at verse seven, it says, my people are bent to backsliding from me. Though they call them to the most high, none at all would exalt him. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel? How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboim? Mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. Now, two sets of thoughts here, verse seven tells us that they're bent to backsliding. What does that mean? They're just, they can't get things right. They're just always going back, always going back. That is reminiscent of the Christian who's just like this. They're in church for three months, two months, and then boom, they're out. They're in and they're out. Or you're reading your Bible for three days straight, you leave it for an entire week. You think of whatever spiritual discipline there is, it's like you're just off and on. What do you do? You're bent to backslide. You know, it's nice to meet people who are like up here, who are just always on fire, but it's good to just be right here, where you just love it, you're just trying to make it through. And then you have your peaks, but you kind of just remain right here, you know? And what is that? That speaks to the person who's not trying to do too much, so that they get discouraged and then just stop reading their Bible, and to the person who's not trying to do so little that they just don't do anything at all. They're not even in church. They're just right here, they're just trying to take care of the basics right here. And it's the basics which, the basics is what makes it count, okay? So as we see there, they're bent to backsliding. Now verse eight is a very strong verse right here. If you just, if you read it, you're gonna, you're not gonna, and you don't think about what he's saying in the names that he's mentioning here, you might not understand this. Look what it says. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel? He's not saying, how am I gonna rescue you, right, from the Assyrians? He's like, how can I deliver you? How many, no, you know, he delivered them from Egypt, but this is not the deliverance he's talking about. He's saying, how am I gonna deliver you unto them? Now notice that in the book of Hosea, he always uses some city to illustrate some spiritual truth, doesn't he? Remember Gibeah? If any of you were awake during that time, all right. You know, he says they corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah. Look back, go study what Gibeah did. Gibeah is a city that pertained unto the Benjamites, the Sodomites, and judges, chapter 19, who corrupted themselves. So that gives you a picture of how bad Israel was at this time, because they corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah. Well, we see two other cities mentioned here in verse eight. He says, how shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboim? Now, what is he talking about when he says that? Go with me, if you would, to Genesis chapter 10, Genesis chapter 10. So this understanding what Admah is and Zeboim will help us to understand how badly God wants to destroy Israel, okay? Now once you get there, look up here real quick. Let me share something with you. I don't know about you, but for me, when I've thought about Sodom and Gomorrah, for example, you know, we talk about Sodomites today, even the legal system uses the word Sodomized, which they get it from the Bible, because that practice comes from wicked reprobates that originated in the city of Sodomah or Sodom, right? And we'll talk about a reprobate, for example, we'll call him Sodomite, some faggot, you know, we'll say that guy's a Sodomite. He probably wasn't born in Sodom, but that guy's a Sodomite, okay? But you know, we never call him Gomorrahites, you ever notice that? I mean, you might do it if you wanna be cute or something and you're like, wanna be different. I wanna be peculiar, I'm gonna call him Gomorrahites instead. But it says that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. We don't hear a whole lot about Gomorrah. Let me read to you from Jude, verse 7, it says, even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. So let me ask you, did God only destroy Sodom? No, he destroyed Gomorrah as well, right? But not just Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities about them in like manner. You know, cities like Admah and Zeboim, look at Genesis 10, verse 19, and the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar unto Gaza, as thou goest unto Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboim, even unto Lasha. Now go to Deuteronomy 29, he said, well, you know, that's just coincidence. He just named them in that list, that's more of a coincidence, he just, you know, it doesn't mean that like they're like right there. Okay, look at Deuteronomy 29, verse 22. It says, so that the generation to come, verse 22, so that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you and the stranger that shall come from a far land shall say, when they see the place of that land and the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it, and that the whole land thereof is brimstone and salt and burning, that it is not sown nor beareth, nor any grass growth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and in his wrath. Now I don't know if the Admahites or whatever you call them were also Sodomites as well, but we do know this, they were involved in what they were involved in as well, simple for the fact that God destroyed them too. We know this, that they probably took pleasure in them that do them, because the Bible tells us in Romans chapter one that these are worthy of death, not only they, but also them that take pleasure in them that do them. What does that talk about? The city's about them in like manner. You know, Sodom was probably the epicenter of all that faggotry, but Gomorrah probably had some of that stuff in there too. You know, Admah and Zeboim probably had some of that stuff in there too. That's why they were overthrown as well. So look, don't get this attitude that when God is judging one aspect of the country, that we're better than them. We're probably Zeboim and Admah. We're probably like Gomorrah in comparison to that Sodom, oh man, San Francisco's so faggoty and so wicked, that Sodom, yeah, we're probably like Gomorrah though, just to let you know. Well, I don't know about Gomorrah, yeah, but we're probably like Admah, just to let you know that, okay? So before you toot your own horn as a patriot, that you know, we're so good over here, as an American patriot, you know, you better take heed and see that the Bible tells us that the cities in like manner are also destroyed, okay? So now what does this tell us about Hosea chapter 11? It tells us that that's, he's like, how can I do to you what I did to Zeboim? I mean, that's rough. He's like, how can I do to you what I did to Admah? How can I set you forth as Admah? Now hopefully the people knew the Bible in those days. They could really have like, whoa, do you know what he's talking about? He's not like talking about like he's gonna bless us or anything like that. They were destroyed, they were overthrown. They were destroyed in like manner. God wants to destroy us. That is a strong, strong statement that he's saying right there, okay? By the way, it goes to show us that he hasn't forgotten about Admah or Zeboim or Gomorrah. He's trying to say, look, I destroyed them too, and I'm trying to destroy you like I destroyed them. Now as a nation, we can apply this as a nation today, right? The Bible tells us this in Psalm 9, 17, the wicked shall be turned into hell, but not just them, and all the nations that forget God. So it says the wicked shall be turned to hell, but not just the wicked, even the nations that forget God. Turned into hell doesn't mean he's gonna transform into hell. It means he's gonna turn them into hell, you know, like turn you into the authorities. He's gonna turn them into hell is what he's doing, okay? But as an individual, this can happen to people as well. Even as saved people, you know, these bag hags and people who want to sympathize with the sodomites and with the reprobates, and they're just like, oh, we just need to love everyone. Okay, well, you can be like Admah then. You can be like Zeboim then. You can be like Gomorrah then. You know, you may not be a sodomite, but you might be a Gomorrahite. You might be a Admahite. You might be a Zeboimite. You might not be, you know, full-fledged homo. You might even be a saved person, but you can still be overthrown with the rest of them. Because the Bible tells us in Proverbs 13, 20, he that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be a fool? No. Shall be destroyed. So it's not necessary saying that the person who's hanging around with fools is going to be a fool. He's just saying, you're going to be destroyed too then. Why? Because God is no respecter of people. You know, one characteristic of our church that we never want to have is this bleeding heart for any type of faggot, any type of reprobate, any type of false teacher. Why? Because that is the attitude of Zeboim. That is the city of Admah. That is the attitude of Gomorrah. And guess what? They too shall be overthrown like everyone else. You know, we never want to have this sympathizing heart towards wicked people, you know. And look, if you're involved in that stuff, just act like, be like law and get out of there. You know, get out of there. Save you and your family, but don't sympathize with the haters of God, okay. Now look at verse 8 again in Hosea chapter 11. So that's a pretty strong statement right there. You know, and by the way, when you read the Bible and God says like as or just like and he names the city, don't just bypass it. Go back and study what that city was all about. I mean, God is not just throwing it in there just because he just knows all the cities. You know, it's like, oh, that's cute. You know, he's just throwing a little city in there or something. No, go back and check where that's stated in the Bible because something happened, some event took place within that city that God is recalling back to illustrate what he's going to do to the children of Israel or whoever he's dealing with at that time. Verse 8 says, shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel? How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as a boy? Mine heart is turned within me. My repentings are kindled together. By the way, it says right there that God is repenting, amen. So he says his repentings are kindled together. Why is that? Because he does want to show mercy. He doesn't want to overthrow them, but he's going to have to do it because he's perfect in his righteousness. He's perfect in his justice. He would just prefer for them to just get right with God and just start serving the Lord. Look at verse 9, I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger. I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not man. The Holy One is in the midst of thee, and I will not enter into the city. They shall walk after the Lord. He shall roar like a lion when he shall roar. Then the children shall tremble from the west. They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt and as a dove out of the land of Assyria, and I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord. Ephraim capaciteth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceits. But Judah yet ruleth with God and is faithful with the saints. So what are the takeaways from this chapter? Well, the takeaways is this. You know, we need to make sure that we are not set to backslide, okay? You know, obviously, we have moments in our life when we, you know, we're in the flesh or when we're feeding the old man, but we need to put that in check, you know, confess our sins, and he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Get back on track. You know, don't be set to backslide. Don't have this characteristic of always backsliding, always going back to the world, always going back to that which displeases God. But not only that, hey, let's not have the attribute or the characteristic of Zeboim, of Admah, of Gomorrah, or not like the Sodomites, but yeah, but are you like the other cities that were also overthrown in like manner? You know, God didn't have mercy on them. He destroyed them as well. Amen? Spry our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Help us, Lord, through our journey, through this life, as we seek to overcome sin and do great works for thee, as we seek to obey you, Lord, help us to increase our love for you. Lord, we understand we need a fear of God, but we also need a genuine love, a love that constrains us to do right, Lord, and I pray that you'd help us to balance both of them in our personal lives. And Lord, help us to continually apply the principles that we find in Romans chapter 6, but also even the principles that we see here in Hebrews chapter, excuse me, in Hosea chapter 11. And I pray, God, that you'd help us never to be sympathizers with the haters of God. Help us to direct that sympathy and that love that we have towards those who really merit it, those who are lost, those who are struggling, and those who are not trying to deceive people, but they're actually looking for the truth. And I pray, God, that you'd help us to do so. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.