(Jan. 6) Restoring the (Jan. 6) Restoring the RepentantRepentant

Lesson Passages:Lesson Passages:

Hosea 13:4-6; 14:1-9Hosea 13:4-6; 14:1-9

Background Passage:Background Passage:

Hosea 13:1–14:9Hosea 13:1–14:9

“From a distance, the world looks blue & green, & the snow-capped mountains white..

From a distance, the ocean meets the stream, & the eagle takes to flight“From a distance, We all have enough, And no one is in need, and

There are no guns, no bombs & no disease, no hungry mouths to feed

From a Distance, we are instruments, marching in a common band

Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace, they’re the songs of every manChorus: God is watching us.. God is watching us.. God is watching us.. From a distance

“From a distance, You look like my friend, Even though we are at war

From a distance, I just cannot comprehend What all this fightings for

From a distance, There is harmony, And it echoes through the land, and

its the hope of hopes, Its the love of loves, Its the heart of every man

[repeat Chorus X 2]

Bette Midler’s song, “From a Distance”

What if anything is wrong with this song’s Picture?

One woman’s post, to this ‘ancient’ song:

How is this comforting? Doesn't this insinuate that God is so far away and detached from the world that he has no idea what is going on and can't possibly see things for what they really are? Isn't this song insinuating that God is so far away that He might as well not exist at all?Reply · Like · Follow Post · December 29, 2012 at 11:48am

There is obviously a “test of pain” evident, here – and in America, now. Many posted Comments were following the line “Why does God allow evil?”, after such as the recent Sandy Hook school shootings. Some believers were trying to appeal and answer. How can we help bring healing (restoration to God) back to our nation – our nation of sinners?

Bette Midler’s song, “From a Distance”

“…Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us, then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request , and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace…”

From Pres. Lincoln’s April 30, 1863 proclamation for prayer:

4 Yet I am the Lord your God from [the time you became a nation in] the land of Egypt, and you shall know or recognize no God but Me, for there is no Savior besides Me. 5 I knew (recognized, understood, and had regard for) you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. 6 According to their pasture, so were they filled [when they fed, they grew full], and their heart was lifted up; therefore have they forgotten Me.

Hear Bette Midler’s song, “From a Distance”

Like seeing the prodigal son (Lk. 15:11-32), God sees us from far off. He sees how we “party” in place of Living life for Him, and how empty that is.

By His Spirit’s conviction, we can sense our guilty separation from our sins, and agree with Him,

then to return humbly and receive His love, even though we know we don’t deserve Him -- He Loves us with His own Life!

1. Need of Repentance (Hos. 13:4-6)

1 O ISRAEL, return to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled and fallen, [visited by calamity] due to your iniquity. 2 Take with you words and return to the Lord. Say to Him,

“Take away all our iniquity; accept what is good and receive us graciously; so will we render [our thanks] as bullocks [to be sacrificed] and pay the confession of our lips. 3 Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses, neither will we say any more to the work of our hands [idols], ‘You are our gods.’.. For in You [O Lord] the fatherless find love, pity, and mercy. What has America increasingly relied on for ‘security’, instead of God?Have Christians also fallen into this trap? How so?

See Rev. 2-3 for Jesus’ warnings to many churches who were falling away from following Him.

To all of them Jesus in effect said, “Follow Me” – most churches needed repentance.

To those who would follow, Jesus promised His uniquely satisfying Love relationship, His own fellowship – forever!

2. Call to Repentance (Hos. 14:1-3)

4 I will heal their faithlessness; I will love them freely, for My anger is turned away from [Israel]. 5 I will be like the dew and the night mist to Israel; he shall grow and blossom like the lily and cast forth his roots like [the sturdy evergreens of] Lebanon. 6 His suckers and shoots shall spread, and his beauty shall be like the olive tree and his fragrance like [the cedars and aromatic shrubs of] Lebanon. 7 They that dwell under his shade shall return; they shall revive like the grain and blossom like the vine; the scent of it shall be like the wine of Lebanon. 8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have answered [him] and will regard and watch over him; I am like a green fir or cypress tree; with Me is the fruit found [which is to nourish you].

Those who repent, and continue to apply God’s grace into their lives, will please God (Heb. 6:7-8..17), by working to restore our nation.

3. Results of Repentance (Hos. 14:4-8)

9 Who is wise, that he may understand these things? Prudent, that he may know them? For the ways of the Lord are right and the [uncompromisingly] just shall walk in them, but transgressors shall stumble and fall in them.

God is calling us as His Church (believers), to lead the world back to Him (1 Pet. 4:17) It is hard, being barely saved, by God’s judgments!What’s the 1st attitude needed, to walk with God? (Prov.9:10,Ps.111:10).

Don’t lean to your own understanding (“man made”): trust Him (Prov.3:5-6)

Enter the narrow gate (Matt. 7:13) & don’t be fooled by fake passageways! To be saved, your route must find the narrow place that only God can help you pass thru – like the Squeeze of Rock City, TN:

4. Wisdom of Repentance (Hos. 14:9)

The righteous will Spiritually flourish, but evil men and fakers will go from bad to worse! (Dan. 12:3, 2 Tim. 3:13).Jesus’ paths for a Life that pleases God are a “stumbling stone” that lost people trip over! HE makes it painfully obvious. Yet, receiving Him, He gives an easy burden to bear (Matt. 11:30)!

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