Title: “Pressing on to Know the Lord” Script: Hosea 6:3
Type: Thematic Where: GNBC 1-5-25
Intro: What are you absolutely certain of? What do you KNOW with complete certainty? The sun will rise in the east and go down in the west? A common 1st year psychology experiment to test conformity often used involves presenting a clearly true statement to a class, but previously instructing half of the class to deliberately say it is false when asked, observing how many students in the remaining half will conform to the majority response and also say it is false, even though they know it is true. What do you know that you know that you know? What are you unshakeable in? I hope it is Christ!
Prop: Exam. Hosea 6:3 we will be challenged to know God.
BG: 1. Hosea was an 8th cent. prophet who lived and prophesied just before the destruction of Israel in 722 BC. He preached to the northern kingdom. 2. Hosea was commanded to take a wife who would become a prostitute as an example of God's relationship with Israel. Hosea was to manifest God's patience and love. 3.
Prop: Let’s heed the challenge to know God this 1st Sunday of 2025
I. The Inherent Danger of Not Knowing God – Hosea 4:6
A. Hosea Chastised the People of Israel for their lack of knowledge of God.
1. Examine what the prophet declares earlier in the book.
a. Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” The term "destroy" (BDB 198, KB 225, Niphal) means "to cut off" and thereby to cease to exist. The people were guilty, not because they did not understand, but because they knowingly turned away and refused to obey God. This was especially true of the religious and political leaders.
b. The ignorance of and lack of practice of true faith among Israel, was the primary cause of those sins which drew down such heavy judgments upon the nation. Because Israel rejected the knowledge of God they were destroyed. Hosea is saying here: “The people are as good as dead/destroyed…” because of lack of instruction by both prophet and priest. Illust: I shudder to think of the condemnation that will be leveled in eternity against this generation of pastors and priests who have failed to warn their flocks of the reality of a Christ-less eternity. Oh, there have been great symposiums on the environment, consultations on racial and economic injustice and inequity, endless deliberation and dialogue on inclusion and sexual orientation, advocation for and against immigration, and most recently a gossipy gabfest by Christian conservatives against an insignificant and miniscule element within the right of their ranks. Quit squandering your breath and time and preach salvation in Christ!
2. Information Alone Does Not Equal Knowledge.
a. Illust: Increase of information. Generally speaking, prior to 1900ad, information was said to double about every 100 years in the West. In 1945 the amount of information in the world was said to have doubled every 25 yrs. By 1982 the amount of information in the world was doubling at a rate of about every 13 months. In 2024, however, according to many credible sources, the rate of information doubling is now about 12-13 hrs!
b. In the midst of this terrifying rate of change God remains constant, and it is for our salvation: Mal. 3:6 declares: ““For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” Information may double every half of a day, yet the WOG tells me: “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever…” (Heb. 13:8).
B. The Absence of Knowledge of God is Deadly.
1.Hosea’s Warns Israel of the Deadly Consequences of Their Lack of Knowledge.
(Illust – Mary – got a mini trampoline. Warning tag: May Cause Death. Set up carefully.)
a. Illust: We’ve all heard the statement: “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” It means that having only a small amount of information about something can lead to overconfidence and poor decision-making, as people might believe they know more than they actually do; it's often used to caution against acting on limited knowledge.
b. What was the great sin that led to both Israel and Judah’s destruction in the OT? Some will say it was due to not celebrating the Sabbath years and years of Jubilee (Lev. 25&26; II Chron. 36; Jer. 25). That is true. Some say it was because both kingdoms played the harlot with various false gods and idolatry (II Ki.17:7ff; Is.40:1ff). That is true. Some say it was because of the “bloodguilt” of both nations. That is true. Both nations committed idolatry, child sacrifice, and ritual prostitution. All were abominations to the Lord. Might I suggest that although all of these contributors to exile were grievous sins, they were the effect or the outcome and not the root cause. What was the root cause? Simple…Judah and Israel's great, long-standing, and most basic sin was neglect of the Word of God! It was the neglect of God’s Word that led to destruction.
2. Israel’s Leadership had Abdicated its moral authority.
a. Illust: “How did this happen? How did Israel and Judah come to be in such a state of entrenched, unrelenting idolatry and immorality? They were God’s special people. Covenant people. Witnesses of miracles. Given God’s Law. In order to understand how things came to be in such a state in the time of Jeremiah, we need to go all the way back to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 17, beginning at verse 14. Now God had spoken these things roughly 600 yrs before Hosea. (Read Dt. 17:14 ff) God commanded every king of Israel and Judah should write down, for himself, his own copy of the Scriptures. The kings of Israel and Judah were to be men of the Book. They were to be totally immersed in the Word of God. It was to be their rule of life, and way of life. But after David's time, very few of them did this. God not only commanded that each king should write down his own copy of the Scriptures. God also commanded that the entire Law should be read to the entire nation, every seven years, during the Feast of Tabernacles. for hundreds of years before Jeremiah came on the scene, the leaders of Israel and Judah had largely departed from the Word of God. The kings made no copy of it. The priests neglected it. The Scriptures were not taught to the people. The written Word of God was thoroughly neglected. (Dr. Paul M. Elliot, TTW)”
b. Men of Good News Bible Church: Illust: Consider the life of Solomon. The wisest man who ever lived. I Ki. 4:30-34. Visited by God in dreams. He was given special wisdom and insight by God. He was an amazing scholar and builder. Greatest temple and other projects. Master of the natural sciences -biology, botany, entomology. He was a philosopher 3k proverbs. Musician 1005 songs! Studied psychology. Financial genius. Had a beautiful wife…make that 1k! A true “Renaissance man” if ever there was one! And, he made a mess of his life! Started good but became distracted by many things and did not prioritize the WOG! The end of his life was one massive train wreck. Are you prioritizing the WOG?
C. Applic: Neglect of the WOG is the enemy of our souls. Do you read the WOG daily? Do you avail yourself of the opportunity of SS/SCL?
II. Let Us Know God. Hosea (Hosea 6:3)
A. What Does Hosea mean when he challenges his hearers to “Know the Lord...?”
1.Never lose site of the wonder that God allows us to Know Him.
a. The Lord is a faithful, covenant-keeping God. He is true, just, gracious, merciful, kind, loving, and holy. To “know” God is to acknowledge Him. It is an avowal of agreement regarding Who He is and what He has done, is doing, and will do. If you were to ask, most individuals would affirm that they “know God”. However, do they “know” God, or do they simply and most likely, inaccurately, “know” about God?
b. To “know” the Lord means to personally become acquainted with Him on His terms. Here’s the deal…God is not “The Big Guy in the Sky”. He is not your heavenly grandfather! (Illust: I am now a grandfather 9x over. My grandparenting is very relaxed from my parenting! A lot of infractions are glossed over by “Papa” that were not by “Dad”.) The Bible, however, tells us that we are separated from our Heavenly Father by sin (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). Not a single sin or transgression is “glossed over by God”, but each and every sin may be expiated by Christ! PTL! WOG says we’re dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). It tells us that we must REPENT of our sins. “Repentance” refers to an event in which an individual attains a divinely provided new understanding of their behavior and feels compelled to change that behavior and begin a new relationship with God (Heb 6:1 ; Acts 20:21 Then, by FAITH we trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ for our salvation. Eph. 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” Let me ask you dear one, do you “know” God? Not your mother or grandmother! Do you know God?
2. Consider the Wonder of the Thought That God Wants to Know You and that We Can Know Him.
a. Illust: Sometimes in the Spring and summer when Carol and I are walking beside Sycamore Dr., we’ll see great lines of ants. Diligent about their business. Reminds me of the Proverbs 6:6-8! ’m sure it doesn’t even cross their minds to ask: “Why does Chris Arch keep blocking out the sun? We need to tell him we are fed up with the way he towers over our lives and sometimes crushes us under foot.” Ridiculous. No comparison between an ant and me. No comparison between his brain and mine, its instinct and my understanding. Maybe if I were an entomologist I could, perhaps, I could better detail the vast differences.
b. The gulf between God the Creator and ourselves as creatures is immeasurably greater than the figurative ant and me. We’re talking about the God who spoke the cosmos (Gen. 1:3, Ps. 33:9) into being in all its vastness and diversity, the One whose imagination is of such genius that He created the seemingly endless variety there is in the world. Usually, when we talk about that, we’re thinking only about the world that we can actually see. We take it for granted that we know what we mean when we say “God.” As long as we do that, we never really feel the sheer wonder of what it actually means to be able to say, “I have come to know God.”
B. How Do We “Know the Lord”
1. We Know God Intellectually.
a. As Christians we are to know God intellectually. I know what some of you may be thinking…” Now hold on a minute, pastor. I’m fine with just Jesus and me and my warm and fuzzy feelings.” “I don’t care and I have no desire to be a theologian.” Tough, you already are a theologian. The only question that remains is what type of theologian you are going to be? Good or pathetic? Late great J.I Packer famous text of same title, Knowing God book on His attributes. Maybe this year read.
b. Illust: When a young man and woman fall in love, it’s healthy and natural to want to “know” all about the other person. Illust: Kind of like when Sister Encarnacion is speaking with Ignacio in “Nacho Libre”. The lovestruck monk declares: “You gotta be kidding me! Everything you just said... Is MY favorite thing to do... EVERY DAY!”
2. We Know God Experientially.
a. Illust: Do you realize there is no invitation in Islam to “know” Allah? There is no desire for fellowship with the god of Islam. There is no closeness. No fellowship. No friendship. The sad and harsh truth is that he could care less about you as an individual.
b. Let me ask you dear one, do you know the LORD experientially? “Now wait pastor, that sound a little too charismatic for me. I don’t want my faith to become emotional.” ( I bet your marriage is a joy!) What are you doing to challenge yourself to better know the Lord? SCL/SS? Daily Bible reading, prayer. Tithing, Home Group, Mission trip, take a class, teach a class, share Christ with…
C. Applic: Do you know God? Does God know you?
III. Effort and Involvement Are Expected in Knowing God. (“Let us press on to know the Lord…)
A. Are You Putting Effort into Your Relationship with God?
1.The Prophet challenges his listeners to respond to the Lord.
a. “Let us press on to know the Lord…” Both of these verbs speak of a desire for an intimate, personal relationship with God. “press on” – Only time the Hebrew word is used in the OT! “pursue” – like the idea of chasing after. There is obvious effort here. “Pressing” requires effort and implies resistance! Running after or chasing after God in 2025. Illust: REW often reminds us that a year from now we will be somewhere. Up to you and me if going to grow. Up to you and me if going to add value to lives of others.
b. Illust: The world in which we Christians live is fraught with pain, grief, wars, strife, idolatry, and persecution, to name a few. When we study the Bible, we can’t help but get to know its Author. And when we know Him more, we trust Him and love Him more. Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), and we trust Him in all circumstances. As the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
2. Notice Hosea’s encouragement
a. “Let us…” Christianity is both individual and a community. The Church is a necessity. You are part of a group. You are part of a team. We are to live purposefully. We receive encouragement when we run the race of our faith together. We are to receive correction when in error. The race of our faith is an endurance event and not a sprint. Illust: Running or cycling – in a majority of races if one person is leading a pack, but running or riding solo, the pack will normally overcome the efforts of the single racer.
b. Let me take a moment to ask older men or women believers…what are you doing in the church to help younger men or women, many of whom have no faith mentor, to “Press on to know the Lord?” I know a lot of older believers who have the attitude of: “I put in my time and now its my time to relax and serve myself.” No. Titus 2:3-5 tells you older women of your God ordained unique ministry: “teach younger women to love their husbands and children, to be wise and pure, to work in their own homes, do good and be submissive to their husbands.” Titus 2:2 tells us older men: “Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience.”
B. Remember there is a Blessing in the “Pressing”! Read 6:3b
1. The Blessing is Rooted in the Very Nature of God.
a. “is as certain” – 3 English words = 1 Hebrew word. “kuwn” – faithfulness, firmly established, fixed and certain. Hosea is telling the people that God’s faithfulness in manifesting Himself to those who press on to know Him is as certain as the dawn. Illust: You know, that ever since I watched the musical, “Annie”, I’ve never once worried about the sun coming out tomorrow! 😊 Actually, I have never ever worried about that before or after Annie. The prophet is giving a message of assurance to a repentant people. You desire and make the effort to know, live for and honor God, and it is assured as the dawn that God will come to you and make Himself known to you. Dear one, in Rev. 3:20, the Lord Jesus declares: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will fellowship with him, and he with me.”
b. Hosea again compares God’s character to a recurring natural phenomenon Israel experienced and relied upon. Illust: The great Scottish Bible scholar FF Bruce was “the Dean of Evangelical Scholarship” in the mid 20th cent. Once wrote an article on the Spring rains in Palestine. In it he described the regularities of these rains that watered the crops of Israel, without which there would only be famine and death. There was no irrigation in that arid climate. Farmers were completely dependent upon the Spring rains. Hosea is telling us that God’s basic desire is fellowship with humans made in His image. This was/is the purpose of creation! Although His anger may last to the 3rd or 4th generation (Dt. 5:9) His love endures to a thousand generations (cf. Deut. 7:9). God's settled, reliable, gracious character is the hope of mankind! You can know Him!
2. God Promises to Refresh His Covenant People if they Pursue Knowing Him.“like the rain, like the Spring rain watering the earth”—(Joel 2:23). First, "the rain" generally is mentioned; then the two rains (Dt. 11:14) which caused the fertility of the land, and the absence of which caused the greatest calamity: KJV "the latter rain" which falls in the latter half of February, and during March and April, just before the harvest; and "the former rain," literally, "the darting rain," from the middle of October to the middle of December. As the rain fertilizes the otherwise barren land, Hosea is saying that God’s favor will restore a hopeless and lifeless people. You too, today. God seeming very far away? God will refresh your relationship with Him if you determine to “know” Him.
C. Applic: “Henry David Thoreau, in, Walden, told of a powerful custom of the Mucclasse Indians. Each year, they had a village clean up called a "busk." 1st they would make new clothes for themselves as well as furniture and cooking utensils. They would keep all of these new things in a building outside of the village. When everything was ready, they would begin cleaning. Every corner of every house was scrubbed. Every stick of furniture was thrown out. Every child's toy went to the garbage heap. Even the food left over from winter was thrown out. All of the refuse in the village was gathered together into a pile in the center of the village. The chief set it on fire. Would toss own clothes on the fire. Every last bit of garbage burned. 4th morning, they washed and bathed, and dressed in their new clothes. Meet at center of village and chief started a new fire and from the flames. Each family took burning sticks home to start their own fires.” (Perry Greene) The old was gone, life was beginning again! Jesus Christ is the true Person and place of renewal. II Cor. 5:17 (“If anyone is in Christ he is a new creature…”)
