A Higher Loyalty
Notes
Transcript
6 For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Introduction
Introduction
What Is Loyalty (How To Be More Loyal) -
Personaldevelopfit.com
When it comes to what is loyalty, a loyal person thinks, says and does everything in a congruent manner. This is what it comes down to and is the easier answer. They don’t deviate. They are just as true to their word when times are good as when times are tough. A loyal person will have your back whether your popular or your the most hated. They aren’t swayed by other peoples opinions. They don’t change how they think about you just because other people are. They are truly a ride or die.
A person that shows loyalty to you does so with no personal agenda. It is pure selflessness in a sense to where they put your needs over even their own.
In my opinion, loyalty is so important because it aligns with your moral compass. Most every human being is good. When we are loyal, we tap into this moral compass. Even if it has been a long time since we have done so. And it feels good. It feels like we are doing the right thing. Because we are. I mean unless your loyalty is to a criminal. If you are are being loyal it is going to make you feel almost a sense of superiority because there is such a lack of loyalty in the world.
Loyalty is also incredibly important because of the fact that it can be rare. So when people get it from you, they will follow you to the end of the earth. They will respect you so much more and you will build loyalty with them. This is because it is showing such a genuine human emotion that people can’t resist wanting it and reciprocating.
And the people that don’t are not meant to be in your life. And by being loyal to the people in your life, you see the ones who reciprocate. If they don’t then you have done yourself a favor. By still acting loyal, close to your moral compass, and filtering out the people who don’t belong and deserve to be in your life.
What Is Loyalty To You? (Me)
One of most pure form of loyalty that I can think of at a time in my life was when I was fired from a job for being too loud at work! My friend thought it was not fair to be fired for this. I was taken to court for claiming unemployment at the time between when I was fired and the time I got a new job.
My friend was still working for the same company at the time. He came to court and testified against the management team and for me. Then when to work right after and had to see them at work! That to me is one of the most loyal acts I have ever had the honor and pleasure of experiencing. This is loyalty to me.
Transition To Body- The LORD up in heaven waiting for his people...
Transition To Body- The LORD up in heaven waiting for his people...
15 I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.
12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.
The people’s lack of knowledge (ignorance)
The people’s lack of knowledge (ignorance)
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.
Use of steadfast in the book of Hosea and in general in the OT…
Hesed
Hesed
besides the individual and the small, well-defined group we now find the entire people of Israel as recipients of Yahweh’s kindness, which manifests itself in the acts of God that are constitutive of Israel’s history and urge it forward. Yahweh in his kindness led and guided Israel (Ex. 15:13); since the deliverance from Egypt he has granted (gāmal) his kindness to Israel (Isa. 63:7). Since the desert period he has loved them with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:2f.). He has revealed his kindness for all nations to see in the history of Israel (Ps. 98:2f.; 117:2ff.) or in mighty natural phenomena (Job 37:13). Indeed, his kindness fills the whole earth (mālēʾ, Ps. 33:5; 119:64). Thus the community can “visualize” (dimmâ) the kindness of their God in the temple (Ps. 48:10[9]); they are called on to offer thanks for the kindness Yahweh has showed them (Ps. 107:8, 15, 21, 31).
The social nature of ḥeseḏ is maintained, however: God’s kindness towards an individual places that individual in a new relationship with his neighbor, a relationship based on Yahweh’s kindness; in his daily contacts with others he must keep the kindness he has experienced, he must practice righteousness and justice, kindness and mercy. Thus ḥeseḏ shapes not only the relationship of Yahweh with human beings, but also that of human beings among themselves.
Body
Body
Rationale For Repentance
Rationale For Repentance
Prophet is reasoning and speaking to the LORD’S, God’s, people
1 “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. 3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”
V1- The Lords Healing Discipline
V1- The Lords Healing Discipline
V2- The LORD Reviving Restoration
V2- The LORD Reviving Restoration
V3- Guarantee For Repentant Learners
V3- Guarantee For Repentant Learners
Response Of Frustration
Response Of Frustration
Now the LORD is speaking
4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. 5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. 6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
V4- Frustration From Fickle Followers
V4- Frustration From Fickle Followers
V5- Finality & Efficacy Of The LORD’S Word
V5- Finality & Efficacy Of The LORD’S Word
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
V6- The LORD’S Pure Undefiled Religion
V6- The LORD’S Pure Undefiled Religion
Godly Faithfulness (steadfastness/loyalty)- godly mercy & knowledge of the LORD- the LORD loves his people
covenant faithfulness- steadfast love & knowledge of Him over sacrifices & burnt offerings
Illustration:
1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.
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;
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.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Reality of Faithlessness (Towards the LORD)
Reality of Faithlessness (Towards the LORD)
Blood trail of broken lives left behind and around us...
7 But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me. 8 Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood. 9 As robbers lie in wait for a man, so the priests band together; they murder on the way to Shechem; they commit villainy. 10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Recipients Of Restoration
Recipients Of Restoration
11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed. When I restore the fortunes of my people,
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Transition To Close
Transition To Close
Illustration: Loyalty by Kendrick Lamar featuring Rihanna
It's a secret society
All we ask is trust
(All we ask is trust)
All we got is us
Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty
Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty
10-4, no switching sides
Feel somethin' wrong
You acting shifty, you don't ride
With me no more, I need
Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty
Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty
Tell me who you loyal to
Is it money? Is it fame? Is it weed? Is it drink?
Is it comin' down with the loud pipes and the rain?
Big chillin', only for the power in your name
Tell me who you loyal to
Is it love for the streets when the lights get dark?
Is it unconditional when the 'Rari don't start?
Tell me when your loyalty is comin' from the heart
Tell me who you loyal to
Do it start with your women or your man? (Mmm)
Do it end with your family and friends? (Mmm)
Or you're loyal to yourself in advance?
I said, tell me who you loyal to
Is it anybody that you would lie for?
Anybody you would slide for?
Anybody you would die for?
That's what God for
Because there is something else encoded in the text through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit…
2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.
“He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him.”
Hosea 6:2 NASB2020
https://www.bible.com/2692/hos.6.2.nasb2020
Close- Jesus Christ the epitome of Loyalty
Close- Jesus Christ the epitome of Loyalty
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Without Faith...
Without Faith...
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Postlude
Postlude
The LORD desires mercy and not sacrifice
9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.