Ear Candy
Richard Nunez
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 4:38:14
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Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good Morning. Who in here likes to cook and bake your own stuff? Ok — I knew there were some. Why do you like cooking and baking your own stuff. It could be because it’s fun and enjoyable, especially when it turn into a family affair! When that happens or you turn to your pantry that’s packed with food, but there’s nothing to eat. That’s when the inventions come out — right. I mean sometimes these inventions can turn out very well, and other times they can be a complete disaster. Another reason why we might prepare our own meals is because it’s cheaper. Eating out, perhaps once a week isn’t all that bad, but it can get expensive. Another reason why we might prepare our own meals and baked goods is because we can have more control over what goes into our food. When we cook and bake, we really watch the amount of salt and sugar that goes in. I learned the average American has about a 17 — 12-ounce cans of sugar per week. That’s a lot of sugar! I know some of you don’t even drink soda. This amount sums up all the food consumed over a weeks time. Sugar is in everything we eat. That added up to about 130 pounds per year!
When we were getting our building windows installed, I heard the crew refer to part of the work as vegetables and desert. They started with the vegetables then moved on to the desert. We like the sweet stuff. Many of us like the vegetables, and many of us like the desert. We’re looking right past the peas to the cake.
Have you ever heard the phrase “eye candy”? It's a popular term that describes what is attractive and pleasant to the sight. Lots of lights. Lots of spectacle. Lots of fun. Appealing to the eyes. There is an increase of gospel messages that are sweet to the ears. They can cause us to feel good, what more. These sweet messages and studies never really challenge people to grow. These ear candy messages become the main course of our spiritual diets rather than strong meat that strengthens our souls. The thing is that too much sugar preaching will lead to truth decay.
Our passage this morning comes to us from Hosea. Hosea’s ministry followed what was known as the “golden age in the northern kingdom.” It was time a peace and prosperity. With this prosperity came moral decay and the worship if idol gods. I’ like to invite you to turn with me to Hosea Chapter 4, and let’s read together verses 1 though 6.
1 Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
and no knowledge of God in the land;
2 there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns,
and all who dwell in it languish,
and also the beasts of the field
and the birds of the heavens,
and even the fish of the sea are taken away.
4 Yet let no one contend,
and let none accuse,
for with you is my contention, O priest.
5 You shall stumble by day;
the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
and I will destroy your mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
because you have rejected knowledge,
I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
Pastoral Prayer
Pastoral Prayer
Hosea starts off with strong words. This chapter exposes Israel’s sins. It would be like throwing open the shades when you haven’t fully adjusted to the light outside. The northern kingdom had a broken covenant with God. The priests were guilty, the citizens were guilty. Everyone was in the same boat, and the time had come to face the music.
[Display Verses 1-3]
The accusation is simple and to the point. The first three verses is a cry out from Hosea. Hosea is telling the children of Israel to “hear the word of the Lord.” “The word of the Lord” contains in it everything we will need as sojourners. We’re only here for a very short season. Hosea knows this and is trying to communicate this with a call to attention. As we round off the first verse, we see the charge of the breach. Hosea says that, “there is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land.” The word faithfulness can be translated as truth. Which means “there is no fidelity, no honesty, no commitment to the truth of God. Steadfast love points to a type of love that is loyal. The loving and passionate God wants this type of love from His children. He does not desire a lukewarm commitment or love from them. The church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) was known to be lukewarm, and our Lord Jesus Christ didn’t want anything to do with them. Hosea also talks about “no knowledge of God in the land.” This means more than just having correct theology. “It describes those who know God through his covenant.” Yet these three traits are absent.
It doesn't stop there. The wheels keep turning and digging deeper in verse 2. We here that “there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery.” Through Moses, God gave humanity the 10-commandments. Isn’t cool that Moses had the first WIFI tablet that was able to download from the cloud. He never had to worry about a broken screen. Hosea is really calling them out here. They had broken half of the ten commandments. The God of the Scriptures, that many of us have come to know and love is a loving God but also a just God, which means the sin that has been committed cannot go unpunished. God simply cannot turn a deaf-ear or blind eye to what’s going on. In the light of this sin, justice is brought to bear. And, from the looks of it, the consequences are severe enough that “the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish.” God is addressing the Israelites as a whole, but calls out the priests in particular.
[Display Verses 4-6]
Unlike God, who has the authority and every justification to question his people, they have not moral basis to argue with anyone or to complain. The people were unwilling to heed the truth of God’s Word. Nevertheless, the focus on the priests. The issues stems from the sins of the leadership. These religious leaders failed in their responsibility of teaching the people to know God. And, because they are not walking with God, we see here the judgement that is handed down, where the Word of God says, “You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night.” The way Hosea uses the word “stumble” means “to describe disasters of those who do not walk in God’s ways.” The prophets are included here because they were ones who should be correcting and redirecting. This means they too have lost their bearings. All this means is that everyone is no longer hearing the voice of God clearly, and all possibility for corrective action has been lost.
You know when you start a new job or roll, there’s a time where we can claim that I wasn’t told or I didn’t know. That can only be for a certain time. We can’t claim that forever. At some point, there’s a time where we come under the umbrella of responsibility. This is where the northern kingdom. They cannot make the claim of I wasn’t told or I didn’t know. The nation had the Word of God. They had the instruction. They knew the importance of God’s Word. Their allegiance was to their human king, not to God. Many churches in our great country, the US of A, have exchanged the meat and potatoes with a type of sugar-coated gospel, essentially junk food. I’ve heard pastors say, if you don’t want people to leave your church, you cannot make them uncomfortable. You cannot talk about things like sin, differences between heaven and hell, judgement , etc. Essentially standing in the pulpit talking about any thing that makes people uncomfortable or otherwise feel guilty.
Folks, the reason why we need sermons like this is because 1) your soul is priceless 2) time is running out where Jesus can be found and 3) when you come to the time in you life where you are trying to get into heaven and can’t, and turn to ask why didn’t you tell me. That what’s going here in verse number 5. God is speaking that, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” We have three very important aspects contained within this phrase of just 8 words. The first aspect is: the door into God nature is opened. The God we have come to know, serve and love shows a side that is easily over looked. The words “My people” reflects the concern of God. God is interested and concerned what the Israelites are being fed. Just as God was concerned many thousands of years ago, He is still interested and concerned today. He is interested and concerned about what you are receiving. And, because they were not receiving a balanced diet there was a good chance they could be “destroyed.” The word destroyed means to come under judgement, lost, or to perish for all eternity. They perished because the didn’t know God. This is a link back to verse 2 where we had seen how they were breaking many of the 10 commandments. We are starting see how the lack of accurate teaching has not just affected them during their time on earth, but we also see the eternal impact.
The priests had ignored their duty to communicate “the law of your God” to the nation. The priests were the one who were basically responsible for the education in Israel. God’s claim was that they had not taught the people. They neglected them. And now the people stand threatened with destruction. Knowledge is meant to be passed on to educate the next generation. That’s what Matthew 28:19-20 is all about. I know many of you feel strongly about this passage in Matthew and you should, as it has a great deal about teaching.
Conclusion
Conclusion
I’ve heard it said, that “humanity's problem is not a lack of information about God but willful rejection of the abundant information available. Just as both people and priest encouraged with other’s sin in Hosea’s time, churches today often call pastors who will like them rather than help them to be like God.” Paul knew this to be true when he said:
3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
From God's perspective, the diagnosis and treatment have always been clear: Sin is the problem, and the blood of Jesus Christ is the cure. This was not a sweet message for Jesus. For him, it was a bitter cup (Matt. 26:37-46).
It wasn’t sweet when Jesus gave his brow to the crown of thorns pressed down. It wasn’t sweet when Jesus gave his back to the flogging that exposed flesh and bone. It wasn’t sweet when Jesus was forced to carry his own cross. It wasn’t sweet when the nails of sin pierced His perfect body, holding his hands and feet to the cross. It wasn’t sweet when Jesus said:
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Folks, we’re talking about the gospel story — a penetrating truth of what Jesus Christ had to endure so that would could be adopted into the family of God. The only way our sin can be dealt with is with the high cost payment of blood from Jesus Christ. Jesus gave his blood so we could be washed clean. This means Jesus had to pay with his life.
Jesus was never motivated by how His message would be received. He didn't chase after them. He didn't change His message to cheer them up. When they sought sweet words, He didn't give them tasty, sugary morsels. He gave them what they needed. He gave them truth. He gave them the life saving power of the gospel.
That same power is available to you today if you’ve never accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of your life. Today your sin can forgiven, where you can receive grace.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer