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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 seven of Hosea chapter 10. The verse reads, "As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water."
If you go out to the beach and look at the water, you will see that the foam floats on top of the water. The prophet Hosea compares the king of Samaria (the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel) to foam floating on top of the water. Just like the foam dissolves as quickly as it is formed, God says that the government of Israel has no more foundation because it has rejected the laws of God. It is just like foam on the water, ready to be whipped away by the lightest of winds.
There is a verse in Psalm 11 which reads: "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Without the firm foundation of God's Word and spiritual principles in our society, our country will crumble just like the nation of Israel did many years ago. We must strive first of all to make God's Word the foundation of our lives and of our families, and allow that godly influence to spread into our churches, our communities, and our nation.
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-nine 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 boasting. The Bible says in James 4:16: "But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil." Jeremiah 9:23 says, "Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord."
How often do we take pride in our accomplishments thinking that we reached a goal or did something great by our own strength and power? Why is it that God warns us not to boast about ourselves or about our accomplishments.
One reason why is because most of our accomplishments are temporal. Did you just get a raise at your job? Don't boast about it. Don't take glory or pride in it. Just like you got that raise, it can be taken away from you. Or your expenses can increase and you will be back in the same situation. Did you just get a new car? Don't boast about it. Don't take pride in it. It is a material possession. Just like you received it, it can be taken away from you.
Another reason why we should not boast about ourselves or our accomplishments is because just as we can do good things, we can do bad things. How many times have we been shocked to see somebody who we thought had it all together mess up in a very bad way -- somebody who we thought was a paragon of virtue and righteousness and then we come to find out that they are a sinner just like the rest of us.
I like to see people like Tim Tebow and Lolo Jones and other great Christian athletes give God the glory for their accomplishments. That is something that we all should do. We have to realize that what we have done, we have not done on our own, but rather we have done by the power of Christ within us.
If you are guilty of this sin of boasting, go before the Lord right now and confess it. Ask God to give you a humble spirit that is eager to give Him the glory, praise and honor.
2. The second sin we will address today is the sin of not resisting the devil. James 4:7-8 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." Notice the word "resist". This is a word of action. It is a command. It is telling you to do something. When we don't resist the devil, we are disobeying God.
How many times have you stepped outside the house, or gotten in the car to go somewhere, and the devil started whispering stuff to you? Telling you to do things that you know are wrong? What have you done in those instances? Did you tell the devil no? Did you resist the devil? Did you say, like Jesus Christ, "get thee behind me Satan"?
Resisting the devil starts in the mind. Watchman Nee said, "The sphere of Satan's operation is in man's thought life. He will inject a thought, an imagination, which appears to be your own. Under this deception, you accept it and use it as if it were yours, though in actuality it is his." That is why you must do as the Bible says and "bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ". When a suspect thought creeps into your mind, before you act on it, you must seize it and hold it up the the light of Christ -- the Word of God -- to see its true nature. By stopping these kinds of thoughts at the door, you will be enabled to resist the devil more effectively.
Have you been entertaining thoughts that you know are from the devil? Are you resisting the devil in every part of your life? If so, go to the Lord right now and confess this sin, ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit, and then put on the whole armor of God so that you can withstand the onslaught of the devil. Resist!
3. The third sin we will address today is the sin of not obeying authority. The Bible says in Romans 13:1-2: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation."
In every sphere of life, you will have some form of authority (or "higher power") that you must obey. As a child, your parents are your God-ordained authority. As a wife, your husband is the God-ordained leader of the home. As a husband, Jesus Christ is your authority. On the job, your boss is your authority. In an educational setting, your teachers are your authority. As a citizen in a country, you are under the God-ordained authority of a government. If you are to live a happy, successful life, you must learn to live under authority.
Myles Munroe tells us that submission to authority is the key to living righteously. Listen to what he says in his book: "Understanding Your Place in God's Kingdom": "The word righteousness is actually from the discipline of law, not religion, and implies right positioning. To be righteous means to be in alignment with authority, to be in right standing with authority, to have correct fellowship with authority, to be in right relationship with authority, to be in legal or lawful alignment, and to fulfill the requirements of authority."
As Christians, we should be ready to assist and aid an authority whenever possible. We should not be engaged in such activities as undermining authority or criticizing the authority behind his or her back so as to create dissent among a group of people. We should remember that we are called first to be servants, not masters. When we demonstrate a true servant's heart, God will raise us up to the level that He sees fit.
Have you been resisting God-ordained authority in your life? When you resist God-ordained authority, you are resisting God himself. If you are guilty of this, go before the Lord and confess this sin to Him and ask Him to give you a humble spirit of submission.
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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.
Song: "Fresh Fire"
Song: "Walk Around Heaven All Day"
