Hosea 10:1 - 15 Seeking Time
12 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."
I. THE CONDITION THAT DEMANDS REVIVAL!
13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.
(a) Their Condition
An Empty Vine 1 Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself:
A Divided Heart 2 Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty:
A Rejected King 3 For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD;
A Broken Covenant 4 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant:
A Departed Glory 5 for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.
A Sense of Shame 6 and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.
(b) Their Condemnation 13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity;
ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.
Psalm 118:9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
II. THE COMMAND THAT DESIRES REVIVAL!
1. Sowing Time 12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy;
Be Aware of the Seed... Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Be Aware of the Soil... Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Be Aware of the Season... John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me,
while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Be Aware of the Spoil... John 4:36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
2. Searching Time 12 break up your fallow ground:
Evan Roberts, in 1904 Wales revival, gave the following process for seeking revival: (1) confess all known sin to God; (2) deal with and get rid of any “doubtful” area of your life; (3) be ready to obey the Holy Spirit nstantly;
(4) confess Christ publicly.
There were over 100,000 people led to saving faith in Jesus Christ during that Revival
3. Seeking Time 12 for it is time to seek the LORD,
(a) The Preparation for Seeking God - break up
(b) The Priority of Seeking God - "it is time"
"God does nothing except in response to believing prayer." John Wesley
"Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers." Sidlow Baxter
“I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.” Charles Spurgeon
"Prayer is the secret of power." Evan Roberts
“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Martin Luther
(c) The Privilege of Seeking God - "the Lord"
"If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.”
(Robert Murray McCheyne)
1John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
(d) The Promise in Seeking God - "till he come"
4. Singing Time 12 till he come - He will come
(a) Personally till he come
(b) Presently - Malachi 3:1 "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts."
(c) Powerfully
One sat alone beside the highway begging, His eyes were blind, the light he could not see.
He clutched his rags and shivered in the shadows, Then Jesus came and bade his darkness flee.
When Jesus comes, the tempter's power is broken; When Jesus comes, the tears are wiped away,
He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory, For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.
From home and friends the evil spirits drove him, Among the tombs he dwelt in misery;
He cut himself as demon powers possessed him, Then Jesus came and set the captive free.
(d) Profitably - Rev 22:12 "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me,
to give every man according as his work shall be."
Rev 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
5. Saving Time 12 and rain righteousness upon you.
Because of:-
(1) Life's Brevity - James 4:14 "For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."
(2) Death's Certainity - Heb 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die,
but after this the judgment:"
(3) The World's Apostacy - 2 Tim 4:3-4 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."
(4) The Soul's Eternity - Luke 16:23 "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."
(5) Christ's Mercy - "Behold I come quickly"
III. THE CONTINUANCE THAT DECIDES REVIVAL!
We are to continue breaking, sowing, and seeking until revival comes.
