Returning for Renewal
Hosea 6:1-3
September 2, 2007
Morning Service
Introduction
In 1904 a young ministerial student named Evan Roberts, began to feel that God was sending an urgent message that He was going to pour out a mighty spirit of revival on Wales, which is now a part of Great Britain.
Roberts soon returned to his home church to preach the message of revival but his pastor was reluctant to allow him to speak. In a compromise, the pastor announced that Roberts would be speaking following the regular prayer meeting and any who wished to stay were welcome. Only 17 people stayed to hear Evan speak and most of them were teenagers and young adults.
When Roberts was finished speaking all 17 young people were at the altar on their knees crying out to God. They prayed until 2am that night and it was the beginning of one of the greatest movements of God in all history. By the end of the week, over 60 people were won to Christ and over the course of the next year and a half revival swept through the nation of Wales. Over 1,000,000 people were led to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
The revival was so great that the national culture changed dramatically.
• A rage of bankruptcies took place - All of the taverns and liquor stores went out of business
• Work at the coal mines was brought to a near standstill - The mules who pulled the wagons were so accustomed to hearing foul language from the workers that after the men were saved the mules no longer recognized their voices or commands
• The entire police force was dismissed for almost 18 months due to a complete lack of crime
• One of the few court cases that was actually brought before a judge was unusual. The defendant came into the court and admitted his guilt, the judge led the man to Christ and the jury closed the case by singing a hymn.
Our church has fallen on desperate times, but not because of attendance, money or lack of involvement. We are in desperate times because we desperately need a movement of God almighty and no one seems to realize it!
This morning I want to look at what happens when God’s people turn back to Him. If you have your Bibles open them to Hosea 6:1-3
1 "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. 3 Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth." Hosea 6:1-3
An Invitation to Return
"Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.
The invitation to return
Hosea opens this message with the word come as an open invitation to all of the people of Israel. It is important that Hosea ministered during a spiritually turbulent time in the nation of Israel. The kingdom of David was divided into two separate nations: the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom
The invitation was to live in the ways of God. It was an invitation to come back to the ways that the people knew were right.
The call to return
When Hosea uses the words “let us”, he speaks in clear terms here to communicate that those who needed to return to the LORD were not alone. In some way all of us are in need of renewal. We all have room to grow spiritually and to be refreshed by the power and presence of God.
More importantly Hosea tells the people to return to the LORD. Idolatry had become a standard practice in Israel and the people were worshipping idols instead of God. We have a difficult time understanding this. The people dropped their convictions and left their beliefs behind. How many times have you given up a conviction for convenience? How many times have you changed what you believe to gain some sort of benefit?
Idolatry is not only about worshipping pagan gods but it is also about no longer following God. How many times have you fallen to the worship of
* Drugs * Sex * Possessions * Alcohol * Relationships
Does God bring hardships upon us? Hosea is not saying that God Himself is the cause of our torn lives. Our turning away from God is the cause. Hosea said that God had both torn and injured them. He is not saying that God was being malicious or hateful. What Hosea is saying is that the people brought their situation upon themselves. God will sacrifice things in this mortal life to get your attention. He will use any means necessary to draw you back to Him. Sometimes this means that He takes people to the bottom before they will look to Him. The people had brought disaster upon themselves because they walked away from God.
He will heal our torn lives
How often have we been torn up by the messes that we get ourselves into? God will allow us to make our own choices, He never forces us to do anything we don’t want to do.
He will bind our wounded hearts
Each one of us has been injured in the course of life. Literally what Hosea is talking about is to be beaten up. We have all felt like we have been beaten up by life. Many walk through life with open emotional and spiritual wounds.
The promise that Hosea reminds the people of Israel here is that God will both heal the hurting and bring wholeness to the wounded.
An Initiation of Restoration
After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence
Hosea continues his description of what God promises to do for those who will return to Him.
Revival and Restoration
Hosea describes two different things with the same result. The word revive means to give life but not just in the sense of saving it. This is more than just rekindling life within a person like paramedics may do. It is the giving of physical with the promise of divine blessings upon that life. So we are given a life that not only holds the promise of health but also the promise of abundant living.
The second word that Hosea uses here is restore. God promises not just to give us life but to raise us up, to restore that which has been lost, to prove His faithfulness. When God brings restoration to us, it is to make things as they were meant to be. It is to give us back that which we lost and to ensure us a bold and wonderful life.
Living in His presence
The understanding of the Hebrew word here for presence is to be given the opportunity to see God face to face. We would be able to have the restoration of a personal relationship with God.
An Introduction of Renewal
Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.
When we acknowledge the LORD there are several results.
He will appear
The promise is that God will appear to us when we actively seek Him out. This means that whenever we are genuine in desiring God, He will show Himself to us. Hosea affirms this promise through the description of the promise. Look at what Hosea says there: as surely as the sun rises. Hosea is making it clear that if we seek God, He will appear. This is a fixed fact of life. It is something that we can count on just like the rising of the sun.
He will come to us like the winter rains
The winter rains played a vital role in Israel’s agricultural economy. The winter rains washed away the remnants of the previous season. For example, the rains would wash away the chaff from wheat left in the harvesting areas. They served as a way to clear the fields of anything left over from the harvest season and then prepared the fields for planting.
So how does this affect us? Before we do anything for God we must first be in a right position with Him. This means that there must be a cleansing in our lives. God does this in two distinct ways. The first is through the work of Jesus on the cross giving us the opportunity for salvation. Salvation cleanses us from the effects of sin. Just as the winter rains cleansed the fields of harvest. The second is through the work of the Holy Spirit indwelling us giving us the opportunity for sanctification. Sanctification cleanses us of the effects of the sinful nature.
He will come to us like the spring rains
The spring rains played a different role in Israel’s agriculture. The spring rains watered the ground for the planting season. This made the springs rains vital for the coming of new life. These rains were the renewing of the land for a new season of life. Spring rains made it possible the seeds to take on a new cycle of life and brought growth to the new plants. Without a good season of rain in the spring there would not be a good harvest.
Paul speaks of this same spiritual truth in 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
God gives the offer of new life to those who will actively seek Him. Jesus is God’s lifeline to a dying world. He brings a new beginning to those who will accept Him. Jesus brings to us the promise of new life. But there is more that God wants to do for those who believe.
Conclusion
You have been issued an invitation this morning. It is an invitation to turn around and come back to Him.
Do you feel like you have been beat up by the world around you? Are you hurting today because of choices you have made? God is calling and He will bring healing and wholeness to your life
Maybe today your life feels dry and lifeless. Maybe today you are in need of a downpour of the Holy Spirit on your life. Today God still promises to send the cleansing winter rains to wash away the old life. God still promises to send the life giving spring rains.
This morning you have a choice to make, no one else can make it for you. You are only as close to God as you choose to be.
