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Please turn in your Bibles to Hosea 10:1-12:
Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images. Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images. For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the Lord; what then should a king do to us? They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field. The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it. It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel. As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water. The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
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O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them. It is in my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows. And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods. Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
As you know, we are in a long series titled "Break Up Your Fallow Ground: It Is Time to Seek the Lord" which is based on Hosea 10:12 which reads: "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." In this passage, Hosea urges the children of Israel to turn away from their sins, repent, and get right with God.
As we begin today, let's take a close look at verse six of Hosea chapter 10. The verse reads, "It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel."
You might recall that last week, we looked at verse five, and saw how the children of Israel were greatly concerned about the golden calves which they had set up to worship. The "it" in verse six is referring back to the golden calves. God says that those idols would be carried off to Assyria just as the children of Israel would be carried off to Assyria.
In the ancient near east, a victory over a nation was seen as a victory over its gods. Thus, by God allowing the golden calves that Israel trusted in to be captured and carried off by the Assyrians, He was vindicating Himself by showing the utter uselessness of the Israelite idols and the utter foolishness of the Israelites for trusting in them. Ephraim and Israel were put to 'shame' by this occurrence .
We must be very careful to only put our faith and trust in God. If we lean on anything or anybody other than God, God has the ability to take that thing or that person out of our lives to let us know that we need to trust Him and depend on Him alone.
Now, in this series of messages, we are addressing specific sins that folks in the church need to confess and repent of in order to get our hearts right with God, and so that we can ask God to send revival in our personal lives, our families, our churches, our communities, and our country. So far we have addressed fifty-six sins in total, and today, we are going to continue this series by addressing three more sins from our list.
1. The first sin we will address today is the sin of not being humble. The Bible says in I Peter 5:6; "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." A lack of humility in our lives can be demonstrated in many ways. For example, thinking that your thoughts and words are better or more important than others' is a sign of not being humble. Looking down on others is a sign of not being humble. To take pleasure in praise and compliments but to reject all forms of rebuke and criticism is a sign of not being humble. Feeling saddened when others are held up as exemplary instead of you shows a lack of humility.
I believe that one of the greatest problems in the church is people who refuse to be humble. Everybody is trying to be somebody and is trying to get into a position of power and authority. It has gotten so bad that people are making up titles and roles that are not even in the Bible.
We forget that Jesus Christ made himself of "no reputation". Jesus had no notoriety; He had no claim to fame. The Creator of the Universe came as a servant to the people whom He had created.
J. Lee Grady, the former editor of Charisma Magazine once wrote an article in which he rebuked Christian leaders who act like they are so important in the body of Christ. He gave five tips that will help people stay humble in their service to the Lord. Allow me to share those with you very quickly:
1. "Get over yourself" -- don't take yourself so seriously.
2. "Stay accessible" -- realize that you are not so important that you can't reach out to others.
3. "Keep it real" -- be authentic; be transparent; admit your own faults and struggles.
4. "Pour on the encouragement" -- make a conscious effort to make others feel valuable.
5. "Don't cling to power" -- when it is time for you to step aside for somebody else to take the lead, be willing to do so.
Do you struggle with being humble like Jesus was humble? If so, confess this as sin and ask God to give you a servant's heart in your ministry for Him.
2. The second sin we will address today is the sin of twisting God's Word. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:15-16, "And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction."
In these two verses, Peter mentions the fact that some of the things in Paul's letters are difficult to understand, and he says that some "unlearned and unstable" people twist these scriptures unto their own destruction. We must make it our business to "rightly divide the word of truth". This means that we should study the Bible thoroughly, and allow God's Holy Spirit to "guide us into all truth".
This is especially important during these times when false teaching is on the rise in many churches. Part of the reason why some people, and sadly even some preachers, twist God's Word is because they do not want to hear and obey what the Word of God has to say. Second Timothy 4:3-4 says, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."
God is very serious about His Word. Proverbs 30:6 says, "Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Deuteronomy 4:2 says, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you."
A prime example of people compromising the word of God to suit their own purposes happened just this past week. You might have heard that Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association removed an article from their website which described Mormonism as a cult that deviates from the Biblical teachings of the Christian faith. I personally believe that Billy Graham did not have anything to do with it, but Franklin Graham was behind that decision to score temporary political points to try and win a temporary election. And I believe that if they don't repent of this and apologize for it, it will hurt their ministry for years to come particularly with black Americans and Latino Americans who for the most part hold Billy Graham in high esteem.
The best advice that Billy Graham ever gave was in an interview with Christianity Today when he said that if he had to do it all over again, he would pray more and "steer clear of politics." I think that Franklin Graham and all preachers should do what Billy Graham said he wished he had done.
If you are guilty of twisting God's Word to suit your purposes, to manipulate others, or to justify something that you know is wrong, confess this as sin today, and commit yourself to rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
3. The third sin we will address today is the sin of worry. The Bibile says in Matthew 6:25-26: "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"
God's people should be the least worrying people in the world. If we truly have our faith and trust in Him, we should never have cause for doubt or disbelief. John MacArthur said, "Worry is the sin of distrusting the promise and providence of God, and yet it is a sin that Christians commit perhaps more frequently than any other."
When Christians worry, it demonstrates a lack of faith -- we really do not believe that God is Who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do.
Our trust in God is a testimony to the world that God is faithful and true. If the world sees us worrying and fretting, they will not be inclined to trust in the God we say we believe in. Having a spirit of worry and unrest is a bad reflection on our faith in Jesus Christ.
Do you have a spirit of worry and unrest? Do you have a lack of trust in God? Confess this sin of worry today, and ask God to give you a spirit of complete trust and faith in Him.
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In closing, I want to encourage you to not let any sin that we have discussed today or in previous weeks remain unconfessed. Allow God's Holy Spirit to examine every part of your heart and get rid of anything that is not in line with God's Word. Begin to break up your fallow ground by asking God to forgive you and cleanse you of your sins. Then you can enjoy the sweet fellowship of a relationship with God that is unhindered by sin and wrongdoing.
If the Lord should tarry his coming and we live, I hope that you will be with us next week so we can continue this journey of getting our hearts right with the Lord and getting back to serving Him. Break up your fallow ground: it is time to seek the Lord.
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Now, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, allow me to show you how you can be saved from sin and the eternal punishment of sin.
All you have to do is believe "that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" and you will be saved. And, like millions of others, you can come to know the risen Lord Jesus Christ for yourself.
John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
The Bible states in the book of Romans 10:9, 13: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
If you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me the following simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! I want to congratulate you on doing the most important thing in life and that is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read "What To Do After You Enter Through the Door".
God bless you and have a great week.
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in twenty-three foreign countries. He is the author of sixteen books. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry which publishes a monthly magazine called The Torch Leader. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts, The Prayer Motivator Devotional and the Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel's Report and the Second Coming Watch Update. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor's degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, and a Master's degree in Religion from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica for twenty-five years. God has blessed their union with seven children. Find out more at www.danielwhyte3.com. Follow Daniel Whyte III on Twitter @prophetdaniel3.
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