HoHum:
Top 10 things people enjoy or delight in doing by James Chapman
1) Sleeping 2) Listening to music 3) Reading
4) Watching movies 5) Playing sports 6) Exercising
7) Making love 8) Playing games 9) Talking
10) Visiting old friends and family
WBTU:
A. What does God enjoy or delight in? His children “For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.” Psalms 149:4, NIV.
B. Like a husband and wife delight in each other. “No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married.” Isaiah 62:4, NIV.
C. Like a parent delights in their newborn baby. “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”” Zephaniah 3:17, NIV.
D. “For I delight in loving-kindness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings.” Hosea 6:6, Dby. Theme verse for today.
Thesis: From Hosea 6:6 let’s examine, in what does God delight for his children?
For instances:
Mercy- I desire mercy (NIV)
1) From God to us
God’s ultimate goal was not to sacrifice animals for sins. He did not delight in that (Hosea 6:6). The animals were just forerunners of the real sacrifice and that sacrifice is Jesus.
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2, NIV. Jesus takes away God’s wrath from us. Must punish and Jesus took the punishment for us.
Not getting what we deserve- Mercy.
What do we deserve? Condemnation but we get mercy instead.
“God... is rich in mercy” Ephesians 2:4, NIV.
Getting what we don’t deserve- Grace
The Hebrew word for mercy here in Hosea 6:6 can be translated differently such as loving-kindness, loyalty, faithfulness, goodness and favor. One of the definitions of grace is unmerited favor. All of these added together come very close to the context and meaning of the NT word grace. The idea is that God gives his favor upon the undeserving.
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--” Ephesians 2:4-8, NIV.
From us to others- Showing mercy and grace to others
On two occasions in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus told the Pharisee’s that mercy was more important that sacrifice.
A. In Matthew 9:9-12 gives the calling of Matthew himself by Jesus. Look up and read
1. The people during Hosea’s time were turning away from God, Hosea was trying to get them to see that God did not care about them going through the motions of religion, He wanted them to be sincere and He wanted them to be a merciful and gracious people.
2. The Pharisees were upset because Christ associated with tax collectors and sinners. But Jesus was more concerned about helping people than about doing what seemed socially acceptable
B. other instance in Matthew 12:7, where Jesus and the disciples were walking through a grainfield on the Sabbath and they are eating the heads of grain. Lawful for the poor to do but unsure about the Sabbath. The Pharisees complain about this infraction to Jesus and Jesus gives a defense of their actions. Not reading this section but vs. 7 Jesus says, “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”
1. The Pharisees were operating by the letter of Law, but Christ was focusing on God’s intent.
2. Christ said the disciples were guiltless. Christ’s quotation from Hosea 6:6 was a plain reference to the corruption and guilt of the Pharisees. The real trouble was not in Christ and his disciples but in the hearts of the Pharisees.
3. “because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” James 2:13, NIV. If we will not show mercy toward others, GOD WILL NOT SHOW IT TO Us EITHER! We will reap what we sow.
C. Man once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a 4 year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and jsut sat there. When his mother asked him what he had siad to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”
Knowledge of God
From God to us
God reveals himself to us through the Bible, the Word. Only through the Bible do we know that he is “The LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Exodus 34:6, 7, NIV.
God reveals himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14, NIV.
Goes beyond just facts and information. Hosea 6:6 gives us the motivation behind studying that knowledge. Do we know about the Lord or do we know the Lord? In many ancient languages, “to know” involves the full range of being human – the emotions, the will and the intellect. In Hebrew language, there is no distinction between head knowledge and heart knowledge. “Knowledge” is more than just facts, it is feeling as God feels. What is missing in Israel is sympathy for God. Israel does not suffer the pain of separation from God. Israel has no heart for God. And that is God’s greatest sorrow. Israel did not lack information. Oh yes, Hosea says in Hosea 4:6: “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge”, but it is not facts it is a life changing relationship with God that they lack. We have plenty of information about God. What Israel turned away from was a living relationship with God. And what about us? How many of us feel God’s feelings with Him, weep with Him,, agonize with Him? How many of us really know God in an intimate way? I know about Abraham Lincoln, and I know my wife. There is a big difference. Is God in our hearts and lives?
From us to others- passing on that mercy, grace and knowledge. Some may argue that expecting a toddler to stay with his parents and behave in church is unrealistic, unfair, and may even cause a child to dislike church for the rest of his life. They believe there is no beneficial learning that a little one can experience in an adult service. But who can refute the fact that children learn best by mimicking their parents? Because so much of life is caught rather than taught, a child can learn to love the Lord in adult worship. As he observes your attitude when singing praises, giving offerings, praying, reading Scripture, and listening to the preacher, the child will develop an impression of what is acceptable in worship. Plus, he'll experience an added sense of security in being with his mom and dad that can't be equaled anywhere else. As a result, rather than church becoming playtime in the nursery, it will become a time when your child learns to worship within the body of Christ.
So what?
From us to God
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men” 1 Timothy 2:1-6.
A knowledge of the truth- this is not just supposed knowledge where someone believes in Jesus like the demons in James 2:19 who believe and shudder. No, this is practical knowledge that we are sure that we know God and have Him in our hearts and lives.
Many people are looking for an experience. Most memorable experience is when we give our lives, souls and hearts over to Christ in repentance, confession and baptism.
“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3, NIV.
a story of a boy who arrived early on the first day of school and waited patiently at the door of his room. Next to arrive was a lady who was surprised that this youngster had arrived so early. "It’s locked" the boy said as the teacher tried the door. She began to fumble for her keys and the boy immediately brightened up. "you’re the teacher!" he said enthusiastically. "How do you know that?" she asked. The boy hesitated for a moment, then said "Ma’am, you have the key" Just as the teacher has the key to earthly knowledge so our Lord has the key to eternal life. Get to know Him!
