The Faithful God’s Invitation

Introduction:

This message has been prompted by, 1 Corinthians 15:4 “And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” (Sword Drill)

What does the phrase “according to the scriptures” mean?

Paul is identifying that he did not originate the idea that Christ rose from the dead on the third day.

Rather, he identifies that he got this information from somewhere else, in the Old Testament.

But where?

Hosea 6:2 “After two days will he revive us: In the third day he will raise us up, And we shall live in his sight.” (Sword Drill)

Hosea is doubly emphasizing the idea of the third day here by poetically calling attention to what comes after two days.

We need some more context, so let me tell you about the guy whom this book is named after.

Background and Theme of Hosea

Hosea & his ministry

Hosea, whose name means ‘Deliverance’ (Lange), had a unique call to ministry: to get married. While marriage is a huge blessing and time for celebration, Hosea’s marriage to result in heartbreak as his wife chose not be his wife any longer. You see, God was going to use Hosea’s family as a living illustration to Israel of how God is always faithful, but Israel, like Hosea’s wife, is unfaithful (NAC).

The Faithful God, the theme of Hosea

He is the hero of Hosea Who always keeps His promises and refuses to let go of Israel, when Israel has forsaken and been unfaithful to Him..

Transition and Theme Statement: The Faithful God’s Invitation

Hosea 6:1 “Come”, and Invitation

Someone says to you, “Hey, come over to my house for this party!”

Invitations make us feel special, someone likes me enough to want me to come over.

Invitations are great and can be for anything from an invitation to a birthday party to a party celebrating someone’s success.

Transition: God doesn’t make this invitation because everything is ok with Israel and just wants to have a good time with them. Rather, everything with Israel is not ok, and, even, parallels our lives today.

We are unfaithful, just like Israel.

To be unfaithful means to turn away from God.

Israel did this by choosing a different god, the false god Baal (Lexham Dictionary; ISBE).

This choice evidenced a much greater problem: sin.

Their sin was only compounded by other problems, such as when Israel experienced having a lot of money, they took advantage of people who didn’t have as much money.

Similarly, in America and around the world, we evidence our unfaithfulness and sinfulness.

News of political corruptions points to a problem with people and sin.

News of compromised safety for children in schools points to a problem with people and sin.

The sin problem originated with Adam and we are all guilty (Romans 5:12).

Transition: The only remedy for the problem of unfaithfulness and sin is found in God’s invitation that we must accept.

Accept the Faithful God’s Invitation.

Because God is Faithful, He invites us to repent.

Unrelenting pursuit

This verse describes some harsh things that the Lord undertook to get Israel’s attention.

Yet it underscores both God’s faithfulness and His commitment to Israel: He won’t let them go, neither will He let you go.

God has evidenced His unrelenting pursuit of you by orchestrating events in your life in such a way that you would be here today to hear this message from Him that you also would repent.

Turning to God from everything else

Repentance is based on belief.

God has recorded this message for more than just a one time reflection.

God has left us with the permanent message of invitation that we may believe it and act on it in faith: accepting the invitation.

Because God is Faithful, He resolved our unfaithfulness.

By virtue of God’s invitation, it implies that only God can do this, we can’t change ourselves.

The meaning of verse 2 underscores that God is going bring about an event wherein in three days He will bring about the resolution for our sin that we can’t.

Only through Jesus’ perfect life, sacrifice, and resurrection can our unfaithfulness/sin be resolved and then we can enter in relationship with God.

Because God is Faithful, He invites us into relationship.

Knowing God is the mark of genuine repentance, that genuine change has taken place.

The invitation to know God goes further in that we are invited to know God more deeply, through the study of His Word.

Certain as the sun will rise the next day.

Joyful as the newness of the day causes us to rejoice at new opportunities.

Life giving (John 10:10)

As the rains soak the ground bringing new life to the grass and trees, so also being in relationship with God is life giving.

Not only does being in relationship with God give meaning to life, but we also have eternal life, wherein we have the hope of living with Him in His presence forever someday!

Proclaim the Faithful God’s Invitation.

Proclaim the Faithful God’s Invitation because He’s given us this command.

Through the recording of this message, we who have accepted God’s invitation are expected to share this message with others.

There is no other way for others to receive this invitation unless it is given to them!

Proclaim the Faithful God’s Invitation because He’s given us His message.

The Giver of the message, God, makes this message of His invitation all the more important.

We don’t have to worry about coming up with something original because the Lord has already given us what He wants us to say.

Proclaim the Faithful God’s Invitation because He’s given us Himself.

We are not alone when we give this message.

When you’ve accepted His invitation, you’ve accepted Him into your life.

God, through His Holy Spirit, lives within you.

You are never alone!

We, therefore, have confidence in sharing this message with others because God is always with us.

Conclusion:

There are some here today who need to accept God’s invitation, repent of sin and enter into relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Others of us have repented and entered into relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we must proclaim this invitation to others.