Good morning. Welcome to Big Valley Grace Community Church. If you’re brand new, we’re really glad that you’re here. Warm welcome on behalf of all of us. My name is Joel. I’d love to meet you — I’ll be standing right down here after the gathering. I’d love to put a name and a face together and personally welcome you to Big Valley Grace Community Church. We’re really glad that you’re here and I hope that today is a really important and very encouraging day in your life.

When I was a child, I learned about music and began to study it, learning how to play instruments. When I became a freshman in high school, I discovered rock and roll. I learned how to play the acoustic guitar, the electric guitar, and the electric bass. I started hanging out with other people who did the same. We started using amplifiers and speaker cabinets and began to be a part of a number of bands. The type of bands I was a part of — we could use three things to describe them: too loud, moved around too much, and you couldn’t understand anything anybody was saying.

We began to play all throughout the community. There was one time we played at a church in our community. After we got done playing our music, a man came up to us and said, “Hey, you kids, I want to help you out. I see that you’re doing rock and roll and I’ve got some gear. I’d love to sell it to you real cheap if it’s something you’re interested in using.” We’re like kids — “Yeah, we’re gonna get some good gear. This is fantastic.”

So we go with this guy, give him our money, go to a house, and come back to the church. When we get back to the church, he goes into the bathroom and he’s in there for a really long time. I’m thinking, I wonder if that guy’s okay. When he comes out, he’s wobbling around and then bumbles past us and right out the doors of the church — and he leaves stoned.

And it was in that moment I realized: we just went to a drug house. We just went to a drug deal. We just helped a drug addict. We just bought him his drugs. And we just took him to the church so he could get stoned.

Man, I felt like a fool. I was a trusting young guy, but I was naive. And man, I got taken. I was in a location I thought I could trust, with people I thought I could trust, and instead I experienced lies, secrets that hurt me, and deception.

And lies, secrets, and deception lead to animosity. It was in that moment, young in my life, that I got one of those first tastes of animosity — and how animosity tastes so different than trust. Experiencing that animosity then leads to questioning the heart of people. Is this going to be a person of animosity? Is this person going to lie to me? Is this person going to hold a secret against me that’s going to hurt me? Is this person going to deceive me? And that kind of leads to a place of being very cynical, wondering: is there anyone I can trust, or is everyone going to be a person of animosity?

Going down that road can begin to impact the way we see God. Do we see God as being a person of animosity? Do we see God as someone who’s going to lie to us? Do we see God as someone who holds back secrets that are going to hurt us — who will deceive us? And we can begin to question the heart of God too.

In the passage we’re going to look at today, God is going to reveal himself. He’s going to reveal his heart. And as we look at this passage, as God reveals himself and reveals his heart, it’s going to lead us to see that God can be trusted because he always tells the truth and he loves us.

Father God, Lord, as we open up your word, would you use your word to reveal you? And as you are revealed through your word, would we come into contact with who you really are? And God, would your Holy Spirit be at work to reveal you to us and to help us understand you? I pray this in Jesus’ name, and all God’s family said, amen.

If you have a Bible, I want to encourage you to turn to the book of Hosea. Today we’ve been going through a series in the book of Hosea and today we’re going to be in Hosea chapter 11. If you need a Bible, we want to give you one — come to the prayer room after the gathering. It’ll be at no cost to you. We want to make sure everyone has a copy of God’s word.

In Hosea 11, I’m going to read it one verse and explain it, and then work all the way through the chapter. After I read and explain it, I’m going to come back around and show just a few ways this connects to and applies to our lives right now.

God is speaking through a prophet named Hosea to the nation of Israel — specifically the northern ten tribes of the divided kingdom.

Verse 1: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” So God is referring to when Israel was young as a nation. He’s referring to that young nation as a child, saying: “I loved the young nation of Israel.” The nation grew bigger and bigger and became enslaved in Egypt. And out of Egypt, out of enslavement, I called this young nation — this child whom I love. I called them out of Egypt, out of enslavement, and I referred to Israel as my son.

Verse 2: “The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.” So the true living God is calling to a young nation he sees as his child, whom he loves, whom he pulled out of slavery. And the more the true living God calls to this young nation, the more they move away from God — and not just move away from God, but move toward worshiping fake gods, false gods. That’s the reference to Baals and idols.

Verse 3: “Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.” Ephraim is referring to the northern ten tribes of the divided kingdom in the nation of Israel. And it’s saying: when the nation was young, I taught this nation how to walk. And when this young nation fell over, I was there to pick it up by its arms. I taught this nation how to walk, and when they fell over, I picked them up. And when they cried out because they needed healing, I’m the one who healed them. And they didn’t even know it was me.

Verse 4: “I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.” In our everyday language, we might use terms like bonds of love, cords of love, heartstrings of love. He’s saying: this is how I dealt with them. I used cords of kindness, bands of love. When they had a burden, I was there to ease it. When they were hungry, I got down onto their level and I fed them.

Verse 5: “They shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.” They were already enslaved in Egypt. I brought them out of slavery and they’re not going to go back to being enslaved in Egypt again. But they are going to Assyria, and Assyria is going to rule over them. And it’s because they’ve refused to return to me. This is the young nation I see as a child. This is the young nation I loved. This is the young nation I called out of slavery. This is the young nation I taught to walk, that I picked up by their arms when they fell. This is the young nation I healed when they were sick. I was there with kindness and love, I eased their burdens, I fed them — but they refused to turn to me.

Verse 6: “The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates, and devour them because of their own counsels.” Their cities are going to experience war. War is going to come. It’s going to destroy their cities. The walls around those cities, the gates that are part of their security — that’s all going to get torn down. And the reason it’s going to get torn down is because of their own counsel to one another. How they gave each other advice. How they gave each other wisdom. Because they told each other: “Let’s not follow the Lord. Don’t follow the Lord.” They counseled one another away from God.

Verse 7: “My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.” He’s saying: they’re so bent on turning away. No matter what I do, they just want to go the other direction. And as they go in the other direction, they think they’re going to call out to me. That’s not going to work. They are determined to move away from me and they’re going to call out. That’s not going to work.

Verse 8: “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.”

God is asking questions of himself. How can I do this? How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I do this to my young nation? How can I do this to my child? How can I do this to the one I love? How can I do this to my son — the one I taught how to walk, the one I fed, the one I bent down to heal when they needed healing?

Admah and Zeboiim are not towns near us, and they’re not towns near anyone, because they were destroyed when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. They were towns in that region and they don’t exist anymore. And he’s saying: “How can I treat you this way — to where I would utterly destroy you and you would be no more?”

My heart recoils within me. This is a very important phrase and we’re going to come back to it. My heart recoils within me. My compassion grows warm and tender.

Verse 9: “I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.” What would a man do in this situation? I’m not going to do what a man would do — because I am not a man. I am God. And I’m going to act very differently.

Verse 10: “They shall go after the Lord; he will roar like a lion; and when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west.” This is referring to the voice of the Lord going out. And when the voice of the Lord goes out, people listen. His kids are going to come.

They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt and like doves from the land of Assyria. And I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord. When the voice of God goes out, it doesn’t matter what country the kids are in. Because no matter where they are, when the voice of the Lord goes out, they are going to hear it and they’re going to come. They’re going to be returned to their homes. He’s going to remove them from their homes and they’re going to go to Assyria. But then there’s going to come a moment where he’s going to call and bring them back.

Verse 12: “Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit.” Animosity is built with lies and secrets and deception. Ephraim acted in a way that built animosity. The house of Israel acted in a way that built animosity. But what about the south? “But Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One.” So here’s how the northern ten tribes are acting — but the southern two tribes, they’re still walking with God, faithful to the Holy One.

This passage has some very unique, very rare language about God. And verse 8 is the key of it. In verse 8, God is asking questions of himself. How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I do this to my young nation? How can I do this to my child? How can I do this to the one I love? How can I destroy them like those towns that were destroyed?

My heart recoils within me. My compassion grows warm and tender. In this verse, we have very rare language about the inner workings of the heart of God. It is a picture of how the heart of God has justice and the heart of God has mercy. And when the justice and the mercy in the heart of God come together, it uses this language — these questions — as if somehow talking about a person. Which God is not a man. He’s God. But it’s using this language to try and help us understand what is happening in the inner workings of justice and mercy in the heart of God.

So I think a really good question we could ask is: what kind of heart is this? What type of heart does God the Father have toward us? When you think about God the Father, how do you think he sees you? What type of heart does God the Father have toward you? What do you think his position is toward you?

We’re going to look at three parts of this chapter.

The first is the first four verses. Listen to some of these words that help reveal what type of heart God the Father has. Verse 1: “When Israel was a child, I loved him and out of Egypt I called my son.” The heart of God the Father sees a child, sees someone who is to be loved, sees a son. And what do you think happens in the heart of a parent who has a child, loves that child, calls that child their son — and the more they call, the more the child goes away?

They just kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. “Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk.”

My granddaughter is learning how to walk right now. It is fascinating to watch a human learn how to walk. Every time I see her, she knows how to walk a little bit better. And you know how she’s learning? She’s running into everything. She runs into things and falls over, and we’ve got to pick her up by the hands. “It was I who taught Ephraim to walk. It was I who took them by their arms.” See the heart of God being revealed. “But they did not know that when they needed to be healed, it was I. I was the one who healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws.”

Let me just tell you — it does not matter how hard I work as a dad to do things for my children, I am nothing compared to mom. Because when they get hurt, they want mom. I am way down the food chain compared to mom. When they get hurt, they’re not calling for dad. It’s “Get out of the way, Dad. Where’s Mom?” Why? Because she eases their pain.

And God — the heart of God is being shown here. “I eased your burden. And when you were hungry, I fed you.” God overcomes our animosity by revealing his heart as a very involved dad. A very, very involved dad. And number one is: God has the heart of a caring father. Not just the heart of a father — the heart of a caring father. And he knows you need it. He knows I need it. He knows we need it.

Recently I was asked, “Who is your mentor?” And I responded with a pretty big list of people. I’ve had a lot of mentors in my life and I’m really blessed. But there are two names at the top of that list — pops and mom. Because my pops and my mom have been very, very, very involved as caring parents in my life.

1 John 3:1 says: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” This verse is describing that we have been adopted by God. And when we are adopted into God’s family, we now have the inheritance of the family of God. See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God. And so we are.

You have the opportunity to have your need for care met today, because God has the heart of a caring father. How would you fill in this sentence: I need God the Father’s caring heart toward ___. What would you put in the blank? And how does God the Father want to reveal himself to you regarding that situation?

The second verse from this chapter we’re going to look at is verse 9: “I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.”

I think God’s trying to tell us something. I think he’s trying to tell us he’s not like us. If we want to understand God, we cannot start with us — we have to start with God. Because God is not like us. So we’re a really bad starting point for understanding God — because he’s not like us. He’s very different. He’s saying: “I’m not like you. If you want to understand me, you’ve got to get to know me. Start with me.”

And God overcomes our animosity by revealing his heart as a very different kind of dad. He’s a very different kind of dad. Number two is: God has the heart of a compassionate father. And he sees that you need it. He knows that I need it.

Recently someone asked me, “How do you put up with so many people? I see you talking with people all the time. Don’t you just get exhausted putting up with everybody?” God put up with me. And then God put up with me again. And then God put up with me again. I have been in desperate need for God to put up with me over and over and over. And I’m so grateful God decided to put up with me. And I’m so grateful that God has the heart of a compassionate father — because I have been in desperate need of a God who will put up with me, to experience his grace.

Psalm 103:13 says: “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” This is a picture of how powerful God is under restraint. He has the power to wipe us all out. But he doesn’t choose to do that. He chooses to be compassionate. It is power under restraint.

You have the opportunity to have your need for compassion met today, because God has the heart of a compassionate father. How would you fill in this sentence: I need God the Father’s compassionate heart toward ___. What would you put in that blank? And how might God the Father want to reveal himself to you today — with whatever you put in that blank, whatever situation you’re dealing with?

The third part of this chapter we’re going to look at is verse 10: “They shall go after the Lord, and he will roar like a lion; and when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west.”

My kids say that I bark. They say that when I bark, it doesn’t matter where they are on the property — they know dad is calling. And this is saying that the Lord is going to roar like a lion. This is not talking about an actual lion. This is not talking about the king of the jungle. This is not talking about The Lion King. This is talking about the King of Kings.

The King of Kings. And when the King of Kings — when his voice goes out — it is going to roar. And when a lion roars, it gets the attention of everything around the lion. And when the voice of the King of Kings goes out, it is going to get the attention of everyone. His kids are going to hear his voice and they’re going to come, because the King of Kings just called and they’re going to come to him.

God overcomes our animosity by revealing his heart as a winning dad. He wins. He always wins. He’s the King of Kings. He always wins and he keeps winning. Number three is: God has the heart of a conquering father. And he knows you need it. He knows I need it. He knows we’re in desperate need of it.

Isaiah 31:4 says: “For thus the Lord said to me, as a lion or a young lion growls over his prey, when a band of shepherds is called out against him, he is not terrified by their shouting or daunted at their noise, so the Lord of hosts will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.”

Zero adversaries have overcome my God. Zero adversaries will overcome my God. My God has an undefeated record. And my God will always have an undefeated record. Because God has the heart of a conquering father. My conquering father always wins every time. And every day is an opportunity to go on an adventure with my God who wins — to see how he wants to conquer, to see how he wants to win.

You have the opportunity to have your need for conquering met today because God has the heart of a conquering father. How would you fill in this sentence: I need God the Father’s conquering heart toward ___. What would you put in the blank? And how might God the Father want to reveal his heart to you regarding what you write in that blank?

What type of heart does God the Father have toward us? Well, our Bible is full of explaining that question, and this passage has a lot in it. We’re just looking at three things. God has the heart of a caring father. God has the heart of a compassionate father. And God has the heart of a conquering father.

And when God reveals his heart toward us, there is a biblical term used to describe what we receive. And it is the term steadfast love — the Hebrew word hesed. And it takes a bunch of English words to explain what hesed means: loyalty, joint obligation, faithfulness, goodness, graciousness, godliness. God the Father reveals his heart toward us in steadfast love — hesed.

When God revealed himself to Moses, this is how he did it. Exodus 34:6–7: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

God initiates hesed — steadfast love. And when God initiates steadfast love toward us, it starts a chain reaction of blessing that happens in our life — we continue to be blessed because of the steadfast love of God.

In the book of Hosea, the word hesed is used multiple times. I’m going to share two of them. One is in chapter 2, verse 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.” God is speaking to a nation that has repeatedly broken the marriage covenant. And he’s saying to them, “I will show steadfast love to you.” God continues to show hesed. He gives another chance to be blessed.

In chapter 6, verse 6, we see the other side of it. God says: “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Not only will God show steadfast love to you — he desires steadfast love from you. This is describing a reciprocal relationship of steadfast love, hesed. And you have been called to hesed. You have been called to receive steadfast love from God. And you have been called to reciprocate steadfast love back to God.

And I want to challenge you to respond. Respond to God the Father’s heart by trusting in his steadfast love — hesed.

We are a community of people seeking to respond to the heart of God revealed in scripture. We want to respond to the heart of God. We want to respond to his steadfast love. We want to respond to his hesed. And we want to encourage one another to trust in God’s hesed — his steadfast love.

Psalm 13:5 says: “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” I have trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

What if God wants to do something with those blanks? What if God wants to do something with those places of animosity? What if God wants to take that animosity? What if he’s saying: “I will show you steadfast love — hesed. I desire for you to have steadfast love — hesed — back to me.” What if God wants to take those blanks, those places of animosity, and turn them into you knowing him in steadfast love? So that instead of those blanks and those places of animosity leading you to anger — because you have trusted in the steadfast love of God — my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

When we experience the steadfast love of God — hesed — it moves us away from animosity and it moves us toward trusting in him, because he always tells us the truth and he loves us.

Each week we’ve been challenging you to take one of these cards and answer a question. In light of your blanks, in light of animosity, I want to ask you this: who is God placing on your heart to invite to church? Don’t put your name on the card and don’t put their last name on it, but write their first name. Who is God placing on your heart to invite to church?

I want to challenge you to write their name on this card, because it will keep you accountable. You’ll be accountable to God because he’s going to know you wrote their name down. And you’re going to be accountable to your church family, because you’re going to take the card, place it on the prayer wall out there, and the church family is going to go out there and see that card and go: “Okay, God has placed that name on someone’s heart to invite to church.”

After you put your card on the prayer wall, I want to challenge you to grab one of these Easter invitations. If these remain on the Big Valley Grace campus, they are completely useless. These have no value if they stay here. But if you take this invitation off of the Big Valley Grace campus and hand it to someone and say, “I invite you to come with me to my church at Easter” — these invitations become very, very, very valuable.

And I want to challenge you: in the way that you have received steadfast love — hesed — from God, maybe God has an opportunity for you to give steadfast love — hesed — to someone.

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation.”

Father God, Lord, thank you for your word. Your word reveals you to us and we are in desperate need to have the true living God revealed to us. So God, thank you for your word. And God, I pray that you would work in us — that we would respond to your heart by trusting in your steadfast love, hesed. And I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, and all God’s family said, amen.

If you need prayer, our team will be ready to pray with you. If you’re new, I’d love to meet you. Church family, we love you and we’re going to see you again real soon.