Joshua and John, and they're 8 and 10. These young men are so advanced for their age. We used to take groups out and share the gospel with people on the street, and these two young men were always heading out front, always encouraging their mom and dad. standing is quite tremendous for their age. So he wrote on a connect card, like we have, and he said, Dear Mr. Holm, he said H-O-L-M. He said, Dear Mr. Holm, I hope you are doing well in Colorado. Please build up that church, soldier of church. Don't be scared to preach. And it was encouraging that note, and I'm always encouraged when adults speak to me about things that the Lord is doing, but it's so encouraging to see the young people, that God is speaking to young people as well. If you're listening, Joshua, we're in the book of Hosea, and Joshua, and Hosea are from the same name. It's actually where Jesus comes from. So we're going to see that today in the Scripture. And we're going to be back in Hosea 6. We're in Hosea. We're in the next chapter. So we're in Hosea 6. We're actually going to start... Is there something coming? Is that from me or somewhere else? It's a heater. You have to adjust it more. We're going to start the last verse in chapter 5. 5.15 and we're going to conclude with verse 7 of chapter 6 this morning. And as you're turning there to Hosea, I want to remind us of what Paul said in Romans, speaking of the prophets, speaking of the scripture. He said this in Romans 15.4. He said, for whatever was written in earlier times, So with that, let us read together, if you will, put in your copy of the Gospel of Mark. Chapter 5, verse 15. Here's the Lord speaking. I will go away and return to my place until they acknowledge their guilt He will raise us up on the third day that we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn and He will come to What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like the morning cloud, and like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets. I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offering. that you would allow us to be receptive. Lord, we can understand nothing except that you cause us to understand and reveal it to us. So I ask you to do that this day. That you may speak to each one of us where we are. Lord, that your word is powerful. Your word cuts, your word heals. So Lord, may it do so today. As we see in this scripture, we're going to see the gospel. We're going to see God's gospel here presented to us in Hosea. And first we come to the commandment of the gospel. We see this in verse 15 and then to the first three verses of chapter 6. It tells us, as we talked about last week, return to my place, until what? Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. This repentance is coming to him. In Proverbs 28, 13, it says this, whoever conceals his transgression, that is his sin, will not prosper. But he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy, the word says. And here he says, in times of affliction, Have you ever noticed when we're not in times of affliction and things are going really well, we may not seek the Lord. But in times of affliction, where do we go? We seek something, we seek a position, we need help. We might go to the wrong place as we saw last week. He went to the king of Assyria. But here he says, in their affliction, they will seek me. They will seek me earlier. It reminds me of in Psalm 119, David said, it was good that I was afflicted. It was good, can you say that, as a believer, that before he came to Christ, it was good that I was afflicted, it was good that I was troubled, so that I would seek God. Seeking Him, Isaiah 55, six, seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon His name, call upon Him while He is near. As we think about this, seeking Him early, those who have gone before us, those more advanced spiritually, those godly men and women who have gone before us, they would give all of the world to have sought God earlier. To have not waited so long to serve God. I hope that you can aim into that, those of you that are in Christ, that, you know, why did I wait so long? God is the one that calls. God is the one that beckons us to Himself. And it's in His perfect timing that He does call. But here we see the Gospel call. We see it especially in chapter 6, in the first three verses. He says, if we looked at it, we could look at it and say, well, is it all of the nations? Is it all of Israel? Well, we're going to find out from later on in the book that it wasn't, because many did not turn. Well, could it have been a remnant, a portion of the people that did return and say, come, let us seek the Lord, not the king of Assyria, not the world, but the Lord. I think it could be that, but I think also it's Yes. It's not a, let's do it later. It's come in the present tense, come now. Come forth. Come to God. He's calling us. You see, God wants to God speaking. He says, as I live, declares the Lord God. This is from Ezekiel 33.11, if you want to go back and look. Ezekiel 33.11 says this, as I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure at all in the death of the wicked. He says, return to me. Come, let us return to the Lord. Satan himself, the Bible tells us, until we return to God and are serving Him. But when we think about this, when we think about when God's time of mercy comes and He draws the sinner to Himself, He puts a mighty spirit of seeking into man. The Bible says no man seeks after God, but when God is calling and God is regenerating a person, that seeking happens for that true knowledge. And then it's God calling us. He's calling us to Himself as if He is sending us on a journey. As if there's a path through which God to understand His truth. He says here in verse 1 that He has torn us. He has torn us. Remember in the last chapter there was like a lion tearing at us. But He will heal us. And He has wounded us but He will bandage us. Why have you wounded me? Why have you torn at me? It's not punishment in this life. It's actually discipline. It's for proof. In fact, parents need to hear this too, that it's not punishment that is being inflicted, necessarily. It's discipline and training. There is punishment to be had in the life after death. Since it's appointed for man once to die, This tearing and wounding is actually discipline and rebuking. Listen to Revelation 3 verse 19 and 20. The Lord Jesus is speaking. He says, those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent, turn. He says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he will be with me. This is the Lord speaking. He says, come. You've probably heard this verse mentioned many times. Not always in the right context, but 2 Chronicles 7-14. Speaking of coming to God, it says, If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and come return to the Lord. David cries out in Psalm 41.4, Lord be gracious to me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you. You see, all sin is against God. When we sin against people, we don't offend our parents. It hurts our parents when we sin against God. We desire something that's not ours. We're sinning against God. But listen, Psalm 147.3 says that God, He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. We have this promise throughout the scriptures of this binding of wounds and healing, healing us. In fact, a name for God in the scriptures is Jehovah Rapha. Jehovah Rapha means that God We have gone to a surgeon. We have one brother that's going to a surgeon this week. Gone to a doctor. We go for what? We've got a problem, right? And the doctor, sometimes, depending on the situation, he must cut away. Some of you probably know. Proud Flesh. Anybody know what Proud Flesh is? For those of us in the animal world or veterinarians, Proud Flesh happens a lot with horses and cows. has happened and it hasn't healed properly, or maybe something came out of a stitch, something called crowd flesh comes up. And it looks like a big cauliflower, and it can be really ugly, and massive. So, there had been an injury, and it tried to heal, it didn't heal right, and the crowd flesh comes up. Now, I've heard of proud flesh most of my life. I know what that means, working with animals. But I never took it in context of the word. Why is it called proud flesh? Well, it swells up. It becomes swelling up, right? It swells up. It becomes bigger than an actual cup, where you notice it more. And you know what? It needs to be cut away, like our pride. It needs to be cut out. But I never thought about the meaning of proud flesh. My knowledge of the Bible says that that's probably a good name for that. But getting back to the surgeon. The surgeon must make a cross on that proud flesh. And then he must scoop it out and remove it. So that it does feel smooth and the skin comes back right. But what about this? Maybe you've broken a bone. Maybe you've broken a bone and you've been out and away again and it healed but it didn't heal right. But when you go to the surgeon and he looks at you and says, I've got some good news. God has to do that. He has to be that surgeon to come in and break us and cut so that he can heal. So that he can mend properly. When a doctor discovers a cancer, does the doctor just say, well, leave him alone, take care of himself? Take what's bad and kill it and spread it away. And so he cuts. This surgeon is like our God. He must cut sometimes, remove things from us. I had a surgery, a back surgery, and I have a rib missing, and a doctor came in and broke that rib off. They crushed it up and put it where it needed support in the spine. See, God is restoring us. He's restoring us like this surgeon. And we must go to this surgeon. Go to this one who can heal. Who has wounded us and torn us, but will mend. He will mend us. So I want you to mark this text. This text that He has torn us, He will heal us. Wounded, but He will bind us up. He will revive us. After two days. And raise us up on the third day. He will revive us after two days. You see, America, our country, is desperately in need of a revival. and a revival and a hunger for God. Then he says that he will raise us up on the third day. It speaks of resurrection. It speaks of resurrection right here. That Lord, I deserve to perish, but you told me here that there's revival. I cannot read this as a Christian. I cannot read this without thinking about the Gospel message. I cannot. He will raise up on the third day. Some commentators, and many well-meaning Bible commentators say, no, there's no hint of resurrection in this verse. I don't see how you couldn't see it in this verse. I don't see how you couldn't see allusions to what is to come. 3rd day in Scripture. Why is it? Why did he say the 4th day? We know that Christ was raised on the 3rd day. Speaking of being Reformation Sunday, Martin Luther said this. Martin Luther started the Great Reformation. And he said this about this passage. He said this passage is what Paul refers to I've gone back and looked to see where it talks about that Christ would raise on the third day. It's in dark shadows. It's not, you can't look and say, well, turn to this passage and it says that Jesus will, there will be Jesus, and He'll live a holy life, and He'll die, and die on the cross. No, there's very much allusions to the death on the cross. That He'll be in the grave three days? It's dark in the Old Testament. It's shadows. You remember Christ said, as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days, so the Son of Man will be in the ground for three days. Is that real clear? I mean, as a Old Testament Christian believer, hearing that, would you say, oh yeah, I understand that. Maybe, maybe not. greater than John the Baptist. John the Baptist was considered the greatest prophet. But you see, they had the word of God and God spoke through them, but they didn't have the entirety. in His Son. And God's Church here, when we speak about being raised on the third day and living before Him, God's Church must rise, must be resurrected, because Christ has risen. You see, if Christ has risen, none of us will rise, but we know Think about that. Knowing God. The God that created all of us. We can actually know Him. How do we know Him? We know Him through the Word of God. Through His Scripture that He sent. We know Him through His Son. This is the goal of our salvation. Did you ever think about that? That the goal of our salvation is to know God. To know Him more fully. He says, come, let's go to the Lord. Let us learn. Let us press on. This speaks of an urgency. His heart's aflame. Chasing after God. Hunger and thirsting for righteousness. It's a pursuit. Press on means let's go after. Pursuing, chasing after the Lord. I hope that you have that fire within you. If not, pray that God would give that, that you could chase after Him. Lord, teach me more. I want to know You more. More than yesterday, more than last year, more tomorrow. Lord, I want to know You. Listen to Jeremiah. I'm going to draw from Jeremiah in two verses here. Jeremiah 9. and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises mercy, justice, and righteousness on the earth. For I delight in these things, declares the Lord." And then he says this in Jeremiah 24-7, 24-7, I will give them a new heart to know me. For I am the Lord, and they will be my people, and I will be their God. For they will, listen to this, return to me. When you come to Christ and God draws you to Himself, and there is a new spirit within you, you don't automatically know all there is to know about God. In fact, no man will. If we were to know all there is to know about God, we would be God. But there is a progression. It's called sanctification of growing in the knowledge of God. Pressing on to know Him means to be a learner. Did you know that the word disciple means learner? Disciple means learner. If you're a Christian, you're a disciple. If you're not a disciple, you're not a Christian. All believers are learners, learning to know Him. And it speaks of pressing on. It speaks of not turning to the right, not turning to the left, but straight upwards. Like you have blinders on, focused on the Lord. I pray that you would make this your urgent desire, to know Christ wherever you are in your walk. Some of us may be new believers, some of us have been walking for a long time, some of us, some are in the middle. We're all in different spots. In fact, no single person is in the same spot. We can't continue to progressively know more and know more of Him. And to be like the earth. Here it says, as the spring rains water the earth. Be like the earth, soaking up the spring rains of God's knowledge, of God's Word. Like the good soil. It takes the water and gives it for nourishment. But you know what? We can also be like the rocky ground. We can be like the hard ground where the Word of God comes and the rains come I want you to know that I love you. depend on God's strength, but press on to know the grace of God. And note this, too, that God will provide the rains. It says He provides the spring rain and the latter rain. He provides that rain that nourishes our soul. And you know what? Those showers that He provides are so timely. It's just when we need it. It's when we're hungry and thirsty. When He rains down on us, that's more of that understanding and that knowing God, and more of that internalize more of it into our life. And then in verse 4, thirdly we see the reason for the necessity of the gospel. Here God is speaking in verse 4. God is speaking here. He says, Judah is the southern kingdom. They divide it. But he's speaking to the people of God. What shall I do with you? How many parents or maybe a spouse that has gone wayward that you're loving them so much and you're trying to call them home. And you say, what shall I do with you? Or you compare it to your kids. and goes his own way, and you hear you're lifting your arm, what shall I do with you? That frustration, now God is not frustrated, He knows exactly, but He's showing us in a human terminology that He's done all this stuff for Israel. I've given you my word, I've given you the prophets, and you keep going your way. I've sent the You keep going. I think about my mom and how when she raised me, I was a tough little kid. And I could hear her say, what shall I do with you? And I remember later her telling me that I drove her to the gods. Not by my headbanger, but by her. that God drew her to himself through me. But can you hear the parents saying this? Can you hear God saying this? That I've been so loyal, so kind and loving kindness, showing you that my We're going to get rained, and then it just goes away. That's how our loyalty is. Like the dew that's crossed the grass, and then the sun comes out, and boom, it's gone. That's how unfaithful many times you and I are to our God. He is a God, like I said, loving kindness, and we are unfaithful. Like Gomer was to Hosea, adultery. heart that God has given us so much and we continue on our own way. And next we see the gospel proclaimed and preached in verse 5. Verse 5 says, I've cut them, I've hewn them. Hewn them in pieces by the prophecy. Hewning is not a word most of us use, but it's to cut away like with an ax. God sends his revelation. We're going to send prophets, we're going to send messengers, we're going to send them again and again. What do the people do? What is there to do? Kill them. We don't want that. When you give us God's Word, we'll cut you down. God said more. You better listen to this one. Cut them down. I'll send my son. Cut them down. trying to bring us to Him. He said, I've hewed them, meaning I've tried to cut you as the prophets tried to sculpt you. In fact, think about a sculptor. Think about after we come to Christ, and God still sculpts us. Someone asked him, he says, how do you do this? How do you make it look so perfect? He says, I see my son. The Word of God. Preachers are to be puners, puners. They're to be cutters. Because the Word cuts, not their own. In fact, I like what Steve Lawson said. He said, the problem with preachers today is nobody's trying to kill them. See, they killed prophets. They spoke the Word of God. But if men are out there telling stories, Some of my Tahirah preachers, who make them feel nice and warm and fuzzy, most likely they're not preaching the word of God. Some say, that man, he makes me miserable. He speaks hard and stern. I say, go hear that man. He said, won't. He said, but he cuts. Yeah, the truth rattles our conscience. The word of God is like arrows in a man's heart, burning and wounding. Jeremiah 23, 29 said, Is my word not like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer which shatters a rock? You see, every time the word is heard, it's either for life or for death. There's no You're making a decision to follow that or not, and it's a life or death decision. The Word of God does cut. It's a device between bone and marrow. But I want you to know, too, that the Gospel also brings healing. The same words bring healing. The wounds it needs to and it does heal as God uses it. Charles Spurgeon, great preacher from London, he says this, I say that the Lord uses ministries of the cutting kind to make men uneasy in their sins and cause them to flee points of merit, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. That's what the Word does. It's like a mirror. It shows us what we truly are. When we think about preachers who truly preach the Word of God, one might say to this, well, that preacher makes me feel like a criminal. Go hear him again. He says, but he hits so hard. It does the work that God sends it out to do. God's ministers are his mouthpiece to his people. So know this, the true word cuts. But the true word also heals through God's spirit. It says that he heals us through the prophets and through the scripture. And through that, through the word, through the healing that God actually lifts up the shutters of darkness and reveals light into a dark room that is our own life. where we see clearly and see rightly not only who God is, but who we are, what our need is, our need of the Savior. And from there in verse 6, look at verse 6, we see the gospel outworking us. All of this is from the gospel. He says, I desire loyalty. That word is and knowledge of God rather than true, rather than word offerings. Here we see that God, He doesn't want us to go through the motions, do this and do that. He wants a heart He quoted this exact verse. He spoke it to the Pharisees. I'll read Mark's version, Mark 12, 33. He said that to love Him, love Christ, with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all birth, offerings, and sacrifices. He said that your knowledge of Him should have outworkings, the works coming out of your faith in Christ. But don't misunderstand this verse. He's not rejecting offerings and sacrifices. What He is saying is that they must be accompanied by godly practice, by obedience in life. You see, God requires both of these things. Not one or the other. But as we give ourselves in worship, that's what He requires. To worship Him in our whole hearts, turning to Him. To be like the little girl. The little girl was 6 or 7, and she'd been to her Sunday school class, and now she's in the service and the offering plate is coming around. one of my Sunday school classes that we're going to give our whole life. you, as Romans 12, therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service, offering our whole self. And then we come to verse 7. Verse 7 shows us the necessity of the Savior. Adam, they have violated the covenant. There they have dealt treacherously with me. Here's why we needed a Savior. You say, well, I don't get it. What do you mean by this? But like Adam, you see, Adam in the garden was in paradise. He was told to tend the ground and take care of God's creation. He was told not to do one thing. If he did all of those things, he would be in communion with God and walking with God as he did. But we know what happened. That was the covenant of works. Obey me. You shall walk with me. But within that covenant, there was another covenant that God had, and that's the covenant of grace. That He would send a Redeemer who would pay for our sins, pay for our rebellion. But when we think about it, I want you to understand how Adam was representing all of mankind. So we know that Eve took the fruit and gave it, and Adam ate it. But when Adam was told not to, Adam He was representing all mankind, so when Adam took the fruit, I sinned. Because I'm from Adam, and all are from Adam. But we needed a second Adam to come who would obey perfectly. And would actually pay for the sins that we had done. But that's very important to understand, and it's not to get confused with that, well, how am I not over Adam? He represented all mankind. He was the first man. Now, some translations will say that, but like man, they have violated the covenant. And I'm going to tell you why that is. In Hebrew, for man, it's adam. So many times, adam is translated mankind. But I don't think that fits here. Because like Adam, they violated his covenant. My question, did God create man good? Not you, man, but the first man good. Yes. Adam was created good and perfect and without sin. And you were not, because you inherited Adam's sin. In fact, when you do sin, all of you sin, me too, we are sinners. You see what I'm saying? My sin didn't make me a sinner. I was a sinner in my mother's womb because of the sin that Adam committed against God. It's so important that we understand this because if we can't understand the representation of Adam over all mankind, then we can't understand Christ. You see, Christ came and was able to represent all of those that turned In the greatest things, that He can take your sin and place it on Himself. And He can take His righteousness and give it to you. That's the second Adam. In God's plan of redemption. This was His plan from the beginning. And we might not understand it all perfectly today. But we will more and more as we come to know God. Romans 5-12, if you want to turn to it, you can, but Paul said this. This is very important to help you understand this. Therefore, just as through one man's sin, Adam, just as through one man's sin entered the world, The Lord God took man out and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and tend it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, From any tree of the garden you may freely eat, but from the tree of knowledge, of good and evil, you shall not eat. For on the day that you eat from it, you will certainly die. You will surely die. In fact, there was no death before sin. Before Adam sinned, there was no death. Okay? It's very important to understand, too, because you talk about all these scientists and evolutionists who talk about all these billions of years and finding fossils and things. They had to die to be fossilized. There was no death before sin. Okay? So, we can't get that out of order. I'm sorry I'm getting too Chapter 3. Here comes the fall. Here comes the serpent. He says, Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God really said that you shall not eat from any tree in the garden? The woman said to the serpent, From the fruit of the trees in the garden we may eat. But from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat from it, or touch it, or you will die. The serpent said to the woman, you will not certainly die. For God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil. and that it was the light to her eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise. She took from its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was there, and he ate. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked, and they sewed thin leaves together to cover themselves. Here's the fall. This is when sin came into the world. And no, they didn't die physically right at that time, but they died spiritually right at that time. and so did you and I. When Adam sinned, I died, spiritually. And that's how we can be made alive in Christ. That's why the Messiah had to come. And right after that, in Genesis 3.15, he says that one would come from the line of Eden, a seed of the woman would come, and he would crush the head of the serpent that had sinned. That was the promise We see more and more, the revelation of Messiah opening and seeing more and more and more until he comes. And now we see clearly, when God allows us to see clearly. Romans 15, excuse me, 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 21, For since by a man, Adam, death came, but by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all died, so also in Christ all will be alive. But each one in his own accord. Christ, the first fruits, and that those who are in Christ and His coming. You see, even from the beginning, God's plan. And then we come to the seventh point today in the last. Actually, the completion, or seven is the number of completion. We see the person of the Gospel, Born of water and spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom. You must be born again. Born by the Spirit. But listen. As we think about the Gospel. The good news of God. That's what the Gospel means. It's good news. The good news of God calls us to repent and return to Him. Seeking Him with all of our heart. salvation, and eternal life to be found in Jesus Christ. I said earlier that your sin actually proves that you have inherited a sin in nature. You ask what's wrong with the world? What's wrong with things? What's wrong with our country? It's sin. That's the problem. Sin that came into the world that causes death, that causes He had the cure for our divide. It is from a holy God to a sinful man, separation that there. God had a way that He could be the just and the justifier. Meaning He could still be holy and still punish sin. But that's where He punished His Son. The second Adam came, Christ. And He punished Him for me and you. So that we can be reconciled and brought back to God. Restored. Reconciled through the death of another. That man can be justified. What does that mean? That he can be shown righteous before God. Without sin. Because another has taken our place. He sees Christ now in the believer. He doesn't see our sin. So let us come. Let us return to the Lord, for He has torn us, but He will heal us. He has wounded us, but He will bind us up. He will revive us after two days. He will raise us up on the third day. There is salvation in no other name. Jesus said, Come to the Savior. I implore, I implore everyone listening to not live without God, but to come to Him. He made you. He made you and you will never be happy apart from Him. Apart from union with Him. Union with Christ. So we are to believe the gospel. Believe the good news that is set before us here today. Place our faith and trust in Jesus the Messiah for full forgiveness of our sin. to those outside of Christ. He says, look to me. Look to Christ and be saved. For you are meant for a relationship with God. And it can only be through the mediator, through Jesus Christ. There's no other way. So in your own sincerity, cry out to Him. Ask Him to reveal Himself more and more to you. Come to Him, come this day. Come at once and be saved. Amen. Father, I thank you for the word from the prophets, how you've hewed us, how you've cut us. Even today, through the words spoken 3,000 years ago, through the words of your Son spoken 2,000 years ago, to call. would seek after the lost, that you would save them, that you would put them on your shoulders and carry them out. Lord, we are in desparate need of you. Our sins have blocked away, but you can block them out. You have blocked them out by the sacrifice of Christ. Lord, we are ever, ever thankful Give us strength right now, Lord.