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Daily Transcripts
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12/05/2015
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Hosea 1:1-3:5 ~ 1 John 5:1-21 ~ Psalm 124:1-8 ~ Proverbs 29:5-8
Today is December 5th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and it is great to be here with you at the end of this week. We’re fully intertwined in the Christmas season and we’re in the season of Advent on the Christian calendar – these four weeks before Christmas that has been observed for such a long, long time, more than a millennia where we consider the arrival, which is what advent means, the arrival of the Savior, and all of its mystery and enter into all that implies and all that has done for us. So we’re in the thick of it and we’re here at the end of a week and a beginning of a book. We finished Daniel yesterday, we’re beginning Hosea today.
Introduction of a New Book
The theme of marriage is often used in the Bible to represent God's love for his people especially in the Old Testament between God and those he was in covenant with, the children of Israel. It is a fitting metaphor because we often find God's people off with other lovers just like we find ourselves committing adultery as it were. God's reaction to this is very understandable, as a scorned, betrayed lover who deeply cares for his love lost. Nowhere in the Bible is this more clearly presented than in the book of Hosea which is a book of prophesy because God asks Hosea to use his very life as living prophesy. He instructs him to marry a prostitute named Gomer and this represents the idolatry, the adultery and harlotry of Israel. The couple has children and each child is given a prophetic name that speaks directly to Israel. Then Gomer is unfaithful. Hosea divorces her as God thrusts away Israel and in an about face Hosea goes in pursuit of Gomer once again. This woman who has been unfaithful, who has played the harlot actually has to be purchased back, which Hosea does, representing God's passion for his people even to the point of rescuing and even buying back that which he loves.
This is a beautiful picture of God's love for us in the book of Hosea. We also get a good picture of our betrayal when we chase after other loves. Most of us have probably experienced a broken heart or had a sense of betrayal in our lives. The book of Hosea gives us a good picture of what that looks like from God's eyes.
So we begin Hosea 1:1 – 3:5, reading from the New American Bible Revised Edition today.
Commentary
Okay, this passage in Hosea that we read today is one of my favorite passages in the Bible and I love coming to it every year. When I started reading the Bible every day and the Daily Audio Bible started to form and the community started to form, I was just reading the Bible with no agenda, just reading the Bible trying to better understand what it was saying in its context. I had always had this feeling that God was mad. Most people do because we know the ways that we fail and so we know that we would be disgusted and that he must be disgusted. I just always kind of thought he was disgusted with me, loved me, tolerated me, but just kind of ashamed of me.
I started getting into the readings in the book of Ezekiel and the book of Hosea and it wasn’t like I heard a big sermon or did some big study or anything, I just started reading what was happening in context in the stories and realized this isn’t just me, this is all of humanity. This has been going on for a very, very long time. This is our story for thousands of years.
God sends these prophets to speak and to tell what is really going on in his heart, how he really feels in a very, very vulnerable way. It is like you have the one true God, the all-powerful, almighty God speaking in a very vulnerable way and all of a sudden he is exposing his heart and how he really does feel and how he really does look in these pages. It shifts everything because you realize that you understand those emotions. You know how you would feel in the situation.
So we come into this book of Hosea and we see that Hosea is being used as living prophesy, like we were talking about before, but what he is speaking into is the fact that he has a love and it is his people and he has guarded and watched over them from the very beginning and assembled them together. He brought them out of slavery and transformed them into something completely new, gave them a new identity and then went with them for generations and brought them into a land that he promised to give them. This was going to be perfect. He was going to be their God and they were going to be his people. They had a culture and this was going to draw the whole world together and back to him. But the people wouldn’t do it, so his love wouldn’t do it, his love that he loved.
If you just break this down to an individual, let's say you’ve fallen in love with somebody and you’ve really, really walked through the fire with them, you were just friends and you really, really walked through and grew up together and really went through some seriously difficult things for years and years and you even fell in love and you had rescued them so many times. Finally you reach this place where everything was right, everything was good, everything was worked out, all the issues, everything and you married and it was good. It was good until they betrayed you. Even all through that rough patch it was still kind of being worked out, but they just kept on, kept on turning back to those addictions or kept betraying you or committing adultery on you, just kept running around on you essentially in one way or the other until finally in exasperation you're like my heart is broken because I’ve given so much of my life to this person but its not going to work. There’s just all of the torment that goes along with a story like that, all of the anger, all of the rage, all of the sadness, all of the deep despair, all of that hopelessness and then threaded through it hope, hope for change, hope for better, hope that it could work out and it just becomes a nasty, nasty story that is really, really hard to take, deep wounds, sleepless nights, all of that.
This is what God is describing. This is what he is saying has been going on in his heart for his people. When you begin to understand that, it makes so much more sense. All of sudden we understand this God that we serve and that we love. He is not this aloof, unpredictable, angry person. He's been going through a lot and it has been very difficult and lonely and he uses these prophets to speak of it.
It is like after all of that, all of the things that we just described going on where we would reach the point where we’re like this is just not going to work, I can’t put myself through this anymore, I’ve got to move on, as hard as this is, I’ve got to release this person, I’ve got to release them to God, I’ve got to get healthy, God just doesn’t reach that point where he is like okay, I’ve gotta get healthy. I'm letting you go. He does say those things, but he says them in the context of this is what you wanted. This is what you wanted and so now you're going to get what you wanted. But he just keeps pursuing. Here's what I'm going to do, he says. I'm going to start all over again. I'm going to take you back out into the wilderness where we spent our first time together and I'm going to court you and I'm going to give you bouquets of roses. I'm going to turn this heartbreak into hope and you're going to respond. I believe that you're going to respond like you did when you were young, when you were fresh out of Egypt. And then at that time when you realize this you’ll call me your husband and you won't be calling me your slave master anymore. I'm going to wash out of your mouth all the false names of your former lovers. In other words, we’re not going to talk about that anymore. We’re moving beyond that. You're not even going to whisper those names anymore. I'm going to wipe those memories clean. We’re starting over.
There is not a more profound picture of the heart of God because this is way before Jesus comes. He's speaking of redemption and he's speaking of a new start. He's not giving up. He's not abandoning. He's actually coming in the thick of betrayal. He's coming still. And then he does, he comes again in person and lives all of this out in the person of Jesus and dies to bring us back. At some point we really do, I really did, anyway, I really did have to wash away that idea of a vengeful, angry, unpredictable God that I'm supposed to love somehow. That is just not who we’re talking about here. That is just not the God of the Bible. That is just not God.
This is why I began using reframe as our word for the year, to continually shift what we think we know and exactly why in the book I said it really is all about you. It really is all about what you do next. This displays it perfectly: A God who has really been betrayed by the people that he has created in all kinds of big and really small ways and really brokenhearted over it but keeps coming. There is really nothing else he could do. It really does boil down to us and what we do next because he has given everything there is to give.
This is the almighty God we’re talking about! That's the crazy thing. This is the almighty God we’re talking about, the creator of your next breath, the one who knows how many hairs are on your head, the one who formed you in your mother's womb, the one who knows you and has known you before you even knew you existed, the one who has been there all along and has never abandoned you, but has certainly allowed you to make all the choices you’ve made. It does boil down at some point to the decision you're going to make next.
So in this season of Advent, whether you observe the season of Advent or not is really irrelevant, it's this point in time where we’re contemplating that the world is about to change because the Savior is about to arrive and it is a mystery certainly, but it is one story that shows the heart of God more clearly than any other, just like this one in Hosea today. In spite of our betrayal, in spite of our repeatedly cheating on him, in spite of our misrepresentation of him, in spite of our assumptions that continue to peel away and prove false about him, in spite of all of the things that we blame on him that he hasn’t done, in spite of all of this, he keeps coming for you. He keeps coming for me.
What are we going to do with that? Are we going to keep abusing that? In cheating on God, what are we hoping to gain? In betraying him, what are we hoping to get? You know what? I'm not trying to say look at your behavior and modify your behavior. When you’ve fallen in love with somebody there are things you just don’t do because you won't break their heart. You're not really feeling like you're succeeding based on some kind of graph that you’ve created on how you behave. Love is deeper than behavior. Behavior is informed out of love. So people have been chasing false God's and other lovers, betraying God all along, as have we. What are we hoping to get? Where would we arrive that we would say, “ah, now I have a deeper, richer love than the love of God for me. I have found on my own life abundantly and eternal. I don’t need God for that. I found it on my own. I crafted it on my own.” We just aren’t going to find it because it just doesn’t exist any other way. So at some point we do have to own it and understand that all of this has been gifted to us. It is all about us. It really boils down to what we do next with it.
So in this beautiful season, may we choose well – return to our first love and live in a loyal, faithful, life-giving relationship that has been offered to us all along. Everything we’ve been looking for has been here all along. May we live in it today and for all of eternity.
Prayer
Father, we do love you. We have betrayed you many times. You have come for us, every one of them. Mostly it’s because we’re looking for life and we have this false assumption that you're withholding it from us, but you're not. You're the one actually giving it to us, giving to us life, whatever we will take. So often we’re looking for something else and we’re actually killing ourselves and losing life in the process when you’ve come to give us life. So we once again are face-to-face with the reality of all this and we have a choice what we do next – walk away or return to you? This is what you’ve been saying to people for thousands of years. This is what you're saying now. We choose to return to you once again. We choose to love you with our whole hearts. We choose to give ourselves to you completely and faithfully and loyally. We choose to be with you because you’ve chosen to be with us. So come, Holy Spirit. Transform us. Continue to make us new. Take all of what has happened in the past away from us. We won't talk about that anymore because you’ve washed us clean. Let us move forward as new creatures. In Jesus’ name we ask, amen.
Announcements
Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website. It’s home base. It's where you find out what's going on around here. It's Christmastime, obviously, and that is what is going on around here. There are a number of things that happen around Christmastime in our community. One of them is we prepare for our annual Christmas party, our annual Family Christmas. It's beautiful. We go through the Christmas story together, but we intersperse that with just all kinds of calls from all over the world. So that's what we’re doing right now. Call in your holiday greeting and the sooner the better. Every year there are those that are like, “I kept meaning to do it and then I ran out of time.” Don’t wait! (877) 942-4253 is the number to call. It's a familiar number. It's the prayer line. Call that number and you can say whatever you want to say about the Christmas season to those that you have traveled this entire year through the Bible with. The only rule about all of this is that you don’t combine a prayer request and a Christmas greeting at the same time on the same call. If you have a Christmas greeting and a prayer request, just make them two separate calls. That will help us a ton. Actually it will get you in. If they’re combined, there is no way we can use them so don’t do it. Make it two separate calls if you have a prayer request too. But call them in and you’ll be part of the Daily Audio Bible Family Christmas for 2015.
The other Christmas things that we’ve got going on are the Christmas Box is available at the Daily Audio Bible Shop. They are going fast. So don’t wait on that. If you're an international person and you want it in time for Christmas, we can’t guarantee it now. I wouldn’t wait another minute. I mean, we’re shipping them, but it takes a while to get overseas. If you're in the United States, you have until the 17th, but they may be sold out by then, so I wouldn’t wait. They always do sell out.
We also have the Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards. We create them every year just for this community. They are not like big promo pieces for the Daily Audio Bible. They say Daily Audio Bible on the back wherever you would see Hallmark or whatever. They’re beautiful cards from this community to send to each other, to send those we love. Plenty of space to write a note in there and invite those that you love and care most about into the journey of the Bible next year with you. If you’ve been here all year, then you know a year in the Bible changes just about everything. What would that be like if those you care most about in this world went on the journey with you? What could that do in your relationships? So check that out.
Also the women's conference that we do every year, the More Gathering is available for pre-registration. We do that until the end of the year. It is an amazing thing. It is an amazing gift to give to the woman in your life or the women in your life that you love.
Ah, well, we’ve got a visitor. Hi Zekey!
[Ezekiel laughs]
What are you doing? You just coming in to crash the party?
[Ezekiel laughs]
I guess so. Well, anyway, the women's conference – check it out at www.MoreGathering.com and you’ll get all of the information there.
You excited for Christmastime, Zekey? You can’t just shake your head. People can’t see you. Are you excited?
Uh-huh.
You are? What are you going to get for Christmas do you think?
Bow and arrow!
A bow and arrow? You're just a mighty little warrior, aren’t you? You can’t shake your head. People can’t see you. You want something else for Christmas? You just gonna talk in shaking head language? Okay, well, let me finish this up since you're nice and quiet. If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible…
[Ezekiel laughs]
…you can do that at www.DailyAudioBible.com...
[Ezekiel laughs]
…because that's the website.
[Ezekiel laughs]
And there’s a link. It’s in the upper right-hand corner and if you click it, that will take you where you want to go. Thank you for your partnership profoundly. We appreciate your support of the community. The community doesn’t exist without it, so thank you. If you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.
As always, if you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to call.
And that’s it for today. I’m Brian and, Zekey, want to say your name?
I'm Zekey.
And we love you and we’ll be waiting for you here, tomorrow. Want to say bye-bye?
Bye-bye.
Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports
Morning Dabbers. This is Richard C. here from Auberry-Wodonga. Just sharing another couple of verses for those of us that struggle to see God's favor in our lives. We struggle to see God as a father __________, that God is perhaps a bit of a tyrant to us and we don’t feel good about ourselves. I struggle sometimes with anxiety and depression and the first thing I do is I turn to the scriptures because it is like a two-edged sword that divides spirit and soul and sometimes the spirit that is within us will mess our heads up and make us not think about God the way he wants us to and it divides the spirit and soul out so that we can actually then be accepting of what God has to say. So today the two verses of scripture that I have for you is 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? Am I whom you have from God? You are not your own for you were bought with a price, therefore, glorify God with your body. And also in Psalms 27:13-14: Where would I be if I did not believe? I will experience the Lord's favor in the land of the living. Rely on the Lord. Be strong and confident. Rely on the Lord. And those two words, be strong and confident, they are actually telling us that we can actually choose to be strong and confident. If you guys struggle with that, be strong and confident because God says you can.
Hello, my name is…I would like to be known as Intercessor in Delaware, and I’ve been listening to the Daily Audio Bible for a long time, but this is my first time calling in. I am so blessed with the Daily Audio Bible. I'm so blessed with the community and prayer warriors and those who call in their prayer requests. I pray for the many prayer requests that come in. I'm so touched by the community of love that is the Daily Audio Bible for people to pray for one another. During this time, my heart just wants to saturate all the homes with the word shalom. Shalom is such a wonderful blessing from God. I just want to give the meaning of shalom and that it will go into every household and into every need. For God has given this to us through Jesus Christ. It was paid in full. So I am praying the shalom over you which means completeness, fullness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest and harmony. I pray that over you. Remember Jesus Christ paid it in full so it is ours. I want to let you know that in Delaware, Intercessor is praying for you. I ask that you pray for my family as well. God bless you. Have a blessed day.
Hi, I'm Jason J. from Waco, TX. I wanted to call in to say thank you Brian for all the time that you’ve put into reading the Bible to all of us. I wanted to say I hope you have a great Christmas and I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving. To everyone else, thank you for supporting Daily Audio Bible. I am 11 so I don’t have a whole lot of money, but since you keep it up and support it, I can listen to it. So I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and have a great Christmas. Bye.
Hi DAB family. My name is Dee from Arizona and I'm calling to request prayer for my daughter-in-law's mom. She is undergoing surgery today. They are going to be doing a bypass on some veins in her leg and probably removing two toes. Please pray with me that she recovers well and that she will be able to walk and not lose the whole foot. I love you, DAB family. I’ve been a listener for four years. This is my first time calling. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you.
Hello Daily Audio Bible. My name is Ola and I'm calling from Canada. I just want to pray for everyone. The year is coming to an end. I pray Psalm 65:11 over you which says thou crownest the year with thy goodness and they paths drop fatness. I pray that the Lord would crown this year with his goodness for every family in the name of Jesus. And I just want to pray for you, Brian, for being the shepherd of this Daily Audio Bible. I pray Hebrews 6:10 that God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love. I pray, Brian, that the Lord would multiply you in all ways, the Lord would keep you and prosper you and cause his face to shine upon you in the name of Jesus. I pray for every family that is going through one kind of challenge or the other. I pray that the Lord would keep you. I pray Romans 8:37 in all these things we are more than conquerors, through Him who loves us. No matter how the year has been, I pray that the Lord would crown the end of this year with his goodness for you. You are more than conquerors. Hallelujah. God bless you Daily Audio Bible family. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Tamarie 12/06/2015 20:45 |
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