Hosea 14 & Joel 2

The Prognosis For:Forgotten God

Syndrome

Forgotten God Syndrome

CAUSES Full Stomach…Material Wealth…Pride

SYMPTOMS FickleLove…Empty Worship…

Sinful Presumption…Misplaced Trust

CONSEQUENCES of this disease

Great Loss… Joy, Privileges, Hope, Fruitfulness

Facing Judgement– We have seen the PRESCRIPTION for this disease

• REPENTANCE

Prognosisa forecasting of the probable course and outcome of a disease, especially of the

chances of recovery.(Dictionary.com)

Hosea 14:4-7I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon

Joel 2:18-27Then the LORD became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. The LORD answered and said to his people, "Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations. "I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things…

Joel 2:18-27 "Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done

great things! Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield. "Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. "The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil…

Joel 2:18-27 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has

eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

RepentanceRepentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ.

(Wayne Grudem)

Repentance Repentance is a discovery of the evil of sin, a

mourning that we have committed it, a resolution to forsake it. It is, in fact, a change of mind of a very deep and practical character, which makes the man love what once he hated, and hate what once he loved

(Charles Spurgeon)

Genuine Repentance

• Reflects Humble, Inner Brokenness• Relies Completely on God’s Grace• Requires a Specific Change of Direction

Hosea 14:3• Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride

on horses; and we will say no more, 'Our God,' to the work of our hands.

Hosea 7:11 Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense,

calling to Egypt, going to Assyria.

Hosea 8:9-10aFor they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone; Ephraim has hired lovers. Though they hire allies among the nations, I will soon gather them up….

Hosea 8:9-10aFor they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone; Ephraim has hired lovers. Though they hire allies among the nations, I will soon gather them up….

James BoiceIf our specific sin is covetousness or greed—one of the dominant sins of the western world—we must repudiate that sin. This means we must not buy that extra car, house, or stereo. If our greed is great, we must even give away what we have and adopt a simpler lifestyle. We must remember that it was to the rich young ruler that our Lord said, “Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). Perhaps ours is a sexual sin…

James Boice…In that case we must turn from it rigorously, because until we do, all forms of religious practice will be mere hypocrisy. The one thing we must not do is pretend that our specific sin—whether greed, immorality, anger, pride, gluttony, dishonoring of our parents, or whatever it may be—is not sin, or think that we can retain it while nevertheless serving God.

James SmithRepentance is a radical change of moral purpose implied in an honest renunciation of all sin and full surrender of heart and life to God. It is not just trimming the tree of sin, but cutting it down. It is not just turning over a new leaf, but casting away the old book

Summary…God’s People Rebel…

• Forget Him…Chase Other Lovers…• Prostitute Themselves…Rebel Against Him

God Responds to Their Rebellion…• He Pursues & Woos Them…• He Warns Them…• He Purchases Them• WHY? to Draw them to Repentance

God’s People Repent…• Humble Themselves…Trust in His Grace Alone… Change Directions for Life…

God Will..1. Heal Our Disease

2. Remove His Anger & Restore His Love

3. Restore All That Has Been Lost

Hosea 14:4 I will heal their apostasy; I will love them

freely, for my anger has turned from them

Hosea 14:4I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.

Joel 2:13-14..." Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?

James Boice That God often changes his intention to judge sin and instead “repents”

and shows mercy is a problem for some persons. They ask, “How can the unchanging God change his mind? How can God repent?” That may be a problem for our thinking, but it is important to note that it is no problem for God. God does not explain his repentance. He simply states that he does repent, and he holds this possibility out to get us to turn from sin. God is gracious. God does relent from sending calamity. He has delayed his judgments and turned back his wrath

Hosea 3:1 And the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a

woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins."

Hosea 2:16,19-20"And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me 'My Husband,' and no longer will you call me 'My Baal.'…And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD

Hosea 14:5-7I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon

Joel 2:25I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.

Matthew Henry See how ready God is to succour and relieve his people, how he

waits to be gracious; as soon as ever they humble themselves under this hand, and pray, and seek his face, he immediately meets them with his favours. They prayed that God would spare them, and see here with what good words and comfortable words he answered them; for God's promises are real answers to the prayers of faith, because with him saying and doing are not two things

John CalvinBy calling this army great, he shows that God has no need of strong forces to subdue men; for when he prepares locusts and insects, which are but little things, they snatch food from the mouths of men and leave them in want; though no one puts forth a sword against them, they yet pine away with hunger. The Prophet then derides here the arrogance of men, and shows that God needs not do much, when he intends to reduce them to nothing

Hosea 14:5I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon

Hosea 14:5I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon

Hosea 14:6his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon

Hosea 14:6his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon

Hosea 14:6his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon

2 Corinthians 2:14-15

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing

Hosea 14:7They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon

Donald Barnhouse“The pursuing love of God is the greatest wonder of the spiritual universe. We leave God in the heat of our own self-desire and run from His will because we want so much to have our own way. We get to a crossroads and look back in pride, thinking that we have outdistanced Him. Just as we are about to congratulate ourselves on our achievement of self-enthronement, we feel a touch on our arm and turn in that direction to find Him there…

Donald Barnhouse‘My child,’ He says in great tenderness, ‘I love you; and when I saw you running away from all that is good, I pursued you through a shortcut that love knows well, and awaited you here at the crossroads.’ We have torn ourselves free from His grasp and rushed off again, through deepest woods and farthest swamp, and as we look back again, we are sure, this time, that we have succeeded in escaping from Him…

Donald BarnhouseBut, once more, the touch of love is on our other sleeve and when we turn quickly we find that He is there, pleading with the eyes of love, and showing Himself once more to be the tender and faithful One, loving to the end. He will always say, ‘My child, my name and nature are Love, and I must act according to that which I am. So it is that I have pursued you, to tell you that when you are tired of your running and your wandering, I will be there to draw you to myself once more.’

James BoiceHe will give man the trees of the forest and the iron in the ground. Then He will give to man the brains to make an axe from the iron to cut down a tree and fashion it into a cross. He will give man the ability to make a hammer and nails, and when man has the cross and the hammer and the nails, the Lord will allow man to take hold of Him and bring Him to that cross; He will stretch out His hands upon it and allow man to nail Him to that cross…

James Boice and in so doing will take the sins of man upon Himself

and make it possible for those who have despised and rejected Him to come unto Him and know the joy of sins removed and forgiven, to know the assurance of pardon and eternal life, and to enter into the prospect of the hope of glory with Him forever. This is even our God, and there is none like unto Him.”