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00:00:01
It's a Trap (Hosea 5)
22 Plays1 year ago
Sunday Message recorded 21January 2024
by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church -- Columbus TX
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
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Transcript
Introduction and Gratitude
00:00:06
Speaker
Well, it's been an exciting morning already. I'm so glad that you're here to enjoy the goodness of the Lord with us. I wanted to say congratulations, of course, to Brittany, her family, and to all of her friends and co-workers. Thank you all for being here. We're so excited whenever anyone visits. And if you're visiting, we're glad that you're here today as well.
00:00:30
Speaker
I want to thank my associate, Josh, for giving the message last Sunday from this pulpit. And I called him yesterday and said, hey, I've got a head cold. And Josh was like, oh no. No, he didn't. He said, no problem. You know, he was ready. And so even this morning, he said, how are you feeling? I said, I think God's grace is good. He said, all right, you know.
00:00:58
Speaker
But anyway, I told him, you know, I appreciate him so much because he not only preaches the Lord's message from the pulpit, he preaches it from his life.
Hosea: A Life as a Message
00:01:08
Speaker
And so it's such a joy to serve alongside of him.
00:01:12
Speaker
Someone like that is in the Old Testament, a prophet named Hosea. I don't know if you've ever spent any time in the Old Testament book of Hosea, but last year we started going through it. We got as far as chapter four. This morning we'll pick up in chapter five, verse one. But Hosea reminds me a little bit of that same idea.
00:01:36
Speaker
You know, because he was definitely preaching from his mouth, from his lips. He was definitely writing, so writing from his letters. But also, I believe that the Lord called him in a very unique way to preach from his life. That's why there's something important that is a connecting point for us on this side of the cross, on this side of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
00:02:01
Speaker
Romans five eight says, but God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You know, a lot of people tell you that they love you, but they may not demonstrate that they love you. But I want you to know that God demonstrated his love
00:02:21
Speaker
That's the same thing he was trying to say to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. There was the Northern Kingdom of Israel back then. There was the Southern Kingdom of Judah. So God was trying to say to them, even though you are rebellious, even though you are resistant, I still love you. And here's how I'm going to demonstrate that I love you. And so he showed them through Hosea's life.
00:02:47
Speaker
But they were involved in a lot of sinful activities, and the Lord watched it, the Lord saw it, and he was trying to tell them about it. And I think, what would he say to us today in the United States? Same thing. There's an Old Testament scholar named Derek Kidner. He wrote of this book in general, and especially of this chapter five in particular, these words. The sinner is the prisoner of his habits.
00:03:17
Speaker
that over time develop a stranglehold on him, a stranglehold.
The Snare of Sin
00:03:23
Speaker
Have you ever been in a stranglehold? That's why today I want to call this message, it's a trap. Because I want you to know if sin is looking really appealing to you,
00:03:35
Speaker
God is trying to warn you. God is trying to tell you it's a trap. Don't go for it. And so that's why I wanna give that title to it. But in our text today, as we start reading down through it, you're gonna hear a word that some of you will know, some of you have heard, but you may not know what it is. And that's the word snare. Snare. You know, snare is like a hidden trap made of wire and it has a noose.
00:04:03
Speaker
And whenever an animal goes through it, it'll catch that animal by the leg or by the neck, and that noose will tighten so that the animal cannot escape.
00:04:13
Speaker
It's a very vivid picture that you're going to hear in chapter five, verse one. When the Lord points at these rebellious people, rebellious priests, a rebellious king, and he said, you know what? You are acting like a snare. You're acting like a net. Also, there were men that would try to hunt birds back then, maybe pheasants, maybe ducks or geese, definitely different kinds of birds.
00:04:38
Speaker
So they would attract them to a certain part of the woods and they're ready for them because when those birds get there, then they trip the spring on that trap and the net comes over the bird and they can't get away. Perhaps that's the way you feel today. You know, humans can be like that as well. We can be trapped in our own sin.
00:05:05
Speaker
Jesus said in the Lord's Prayer, perhaps you've heard this several different places before, but in Matthew six, verse 13, one sentence in that Lord's Prayer says this, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. It's almost like he's comparing sin and evil to like a trap.
00:05:27
Speaker
And he's saying, we don't want to go there. We don't want to go around a trap. We don't be anywhere near a trap. And please deliver us from the sinful traps that are out there. I want you to know that this passage is not the only passage that uses the word snare. As a matter of fact, the Bible speaks of a snare 55 times, 12 times in Psalms, 10 times in Proverbs. The word trap is used 17 times in the Bible.
00:05:57
Speaker
But scripture exposes at least eight kinds of snares, that you and I, that we need to be careful whenever we're going through life. There are the snares of false religion, snare of immorality, the snare of anger, the snare of greed, a snare of debt, a snare of the crooked, a snare of the devil, and a snare of death.
00:06:23
Speaker
But what I'm saying is there are all kinds of different snares, but you're going to be introduced to a snare as we get started. But what I wanted to do was to kind of cut to the chase and tell you the main thing.
Freedom from Traps
00:06:35
Speaker
Satan is the one setting the snares for all of us, but the savior is the one who is setting us free from the traps. Once we even get in those, just like we heard in that beautiful testimony earlier,
00:06:50
Speaker
Do you know in Psalm 124 verses six through eight, here's what it says about the Lord. Blessed be the Lord who is not giving us as prey to their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers. The snare is broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.
00:07:18
Speaker
The northern kingdom of Israel was trapped. They were trapped in their own sin, and they couldn't get loose. In the fifth chapter of Hosea, the Lord will identify the traps and how they were hidden beneath the camouflage that man tries to use.
00:07:36
Speaker
But what I think Hosea 5 is gonna tell us today is you better take sin seriously. You better take it serious and you better remember there's only one solution to how to get free of the traps. Would you stand in honor of God's word? Let's go through Hosea chapter five. It'll be on the screen if you need it. There's a copy of God's word in the pew. We'd love for you to open that to Hosea chapter five, beginning of verse one. Here's what it says.
00:08:07
Speaker
Hear this, O priests, pay attention, O house of Israel. Give ear, O house of the king, for the judgment is for you. For you have been a snare at Mispah and a net spread upon Tabor, and the revolters have gone deep into slaughter. But I will discipline all of them. I know Ephraim and Israel's not hidden from me,
00:08:36
Speaker
For now, Ephraim, you have played the whore. Israel is defiled. Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of Hordim is within them, and they know not the Lord. The pride of Israel testifies to his face. Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt. Judah also shall stumble with them.
00:09:04
Speaker
With their flocks and herds, they shall go to seek the Lord, but they'll not find him. He's withdrawn from them. They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord, for they have born alien children, and now the new moon shall devour them with their fields. Blow the horn in Gibeah and trumpet, the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth-Avon. We follow you, O Benjamin.
00:09:34
Speaker
Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of punishment among the tribes of Israel. I may known what is sure. The princes of Judah have become like those who moved the landmark. Upon them I will pour out my wrath like water. Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment because he was determined to go after filth.
00:10:01
Speaker
But I am like a moth to Ephraim and like dry rot to the house of Judah. When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his womb, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to the great king.
00:10:19
Speaker
But he's not able to cure you or heal your wound. For I will be like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I will tear and go away. I will carry off and no one shall rescue. I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face.
00:10:42
Speaker
And in their distress, earnestly seek me." Let's go to the Father in prayer. Lord, we're here and I know that Your people, they're hungry. They don't want to hear from me. They want to be fed by You, by Your Holy Spirit, from Your Word. And so feed the flock. Also, Lord, we need to be equipped for life, to equip to resist these temptations that are all around us. So today I'm praying, help these words, O Lord,
00:11:09
Speaker
to equip your people so that they would not be defenseless, but they would have the word that would give them wisdom in how to combat sin. Thank you that the victory is found in Christ. All through this passage, we hear that over and over again, you are the answer. And so I pray that you would speak to every heart that's here today. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. You may be seated, thank you.
00:11:37
Speaker
There are many things that I feel this passage has for us to learn. So I just want to prepare
Idolatrous Snares and Warnings
00:11:43
Speaker
you. I don't think I will finish this message today. I think we'll have part two next Sunday. So I want to encourage you to please come again next Sunday. God is speaking constantly through His word. He was speaking to the northern kingdom of Israel back then. And I think this morning He's speaking to us. You are not here by mistake.
00:12:04
Speaker
God's trying to talk, but Hebrews 5.11 warns of something that can happen if we're not careful. Hebrews 5.11 says, about this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain since you've become dull of hearing. I'm not saying that anybody necessarily in this room is dull of hearing, but all I'm saying is it's possible.
00:12:28
Speaker
And that's why God starts this out when he's talking to them, but he may start this out by talking to you, to me, to all of us by these words. Hear this. So God's saying, I'm serious. I want you to listen to what I've got to say. So the first thing we see in verses one and two is this, that God's trying to caution, to caution about snares. They're out there. And so God's trying to warn people.
00:12:56
Speaker
The Lord is confronting over the idolatrous snares in both Tabor, which was in the north, but also in a place called Mizpah, which was in the south.
00:13:07
Speaker
And so God is trying to say, you better be careful. I'm telling you they're out there. Don't go near those snares. And the Lord is correcting for their senseless slaughters. Did you see that? You know, it's interesting. He says in verse two, uh, and the revolters have gone deep into slaughter, but I will discipline all of them. What is he talking about? A slaughter.
00:13:33
Speaker
Well, unless you really dug into it, you wouldn't know. So that's why I want to pass on to you what I learned. They were getting anti idolatry. And one of the things with false religion was they were into child sacrifice. So they wanted them to offer up children so that they would be offered to these false gods. God said in another place in his word, nothing like that ever entered my mind. I never wanted anyone to kill a child.
00:14:02
Speaker
If you wanna look about it more, I wanna give you some references from Isaiah, from Ezekiel, and from Jeremiah. Isaiah talks about it in Isaiah 57 and verse five. Ezekiel talks about child sacrifice to false religions in chapter 16 verses 20 to 22, but also again in chapter 23 verses 37 to 39, and Jeremiah also in 19 and verse five.
00:14:33
Speaker
But you know what God's response is? Whenever he sees that kind of thing, he says, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna discipline all of you, the whole nation, because you've allowed this to take place. You know, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the third Sunday of January. You know what today is, right? The third Sunday of January. He proclaimed the third Sunday of January of each year as the National Sanctity of Human Life Day back in 1984.
00:15:03
Speaker
Yes, I do thank the Lord, but you know what? Since Roe versus Wade in 1973, all the way through 2020, there's 63.6 million, 63.6 million babies that have been slaughtered, just like it's saying here, and the revolters have gone deep into slaughter.
00:15:28
Speaker
How many babies did they slaughter? How many babies have we continued to slaughter?
The Gravity of Unfaithfulness
00:15:33
Speaker
That would be like 106 babies will die during the time that we're here together celebrating the goodness of God. But what is God's response? How serious does he take that kind of unfaithfulness? Well, verse one says, for the judgment is for you. Verse two says, but I'll discipline all of them. You know, sometimes,
00:15:57
Speaker
a nation, a kingdom, a king, someone can cross the line. And that line is so serious to God. You know what he said in Ezekiel chapter 14 verse 14 and 20? He said, even if you've got Noah,
00:16:15
Speaker
And even if you got Daniel and even if you got Job to pray, the faithlessness of this land is so serious, God said, that I'm not going to back up. They would only save themselves from the judgment, but not the land from the judgment. So what I'm trying to say is God's warning. God's trying to say, be careful, hear this, don't dismiss this warning.
00:16:41
Speaker
But then we go to verse three, and there's something else that God is trying to say. How does he know what we're doing?
00:16:48
Speaker
You know how he knows what we're doing? He's conscious of it. He's aware of it. Look at verse three at what he says to these two kingdoms. You know, there's a kingdom in the north kingdom in the south, but he's saying to the northern kingdom in verse three, I know Ephraim and Israel is not hidden from me. So what he's saying is you may think you're hiding, but you're not hiding. He said, I know all about you. For now, O Ephraim, you've played the whore. Israel is defined.
00:17:19
Speaker
So I thought to myself, wow, that is so serious. You know, Josh mentioned this last time, but from the beginning, mankind has assumed I can just hide from God. I know where I can hide from Him. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God, but they couldn't hide from God. But do you know that all the way through the Bible, people have tried to hide from God. Even in the book of Revelation, which goes beyond our time, people are still going to try to hide from God.
00:17:47
Speaker
Revelation 6 verses 12 through 17 describes what's going to happen during the tribulation, during the sixth seal when it's opened. And the judgment is so harsh, it says that from the rich all the way to the poor, it doesn't matter who people are, they're going to try to run to caves because the judgment of God is going to be so serious.
00:18:10
Speaker
Listen, you can't run from God's judgment. So what's better than trying to hide from God's judgment, from the penalty of stepping into a snare? I'll tell you what's better. Instead of trying to hide, listen, be honest. Be honest about your sin. God is so willing to forgive if we will confess our sin rather than trying to conceal our sin. Concealing sin doesn't work.
00:18:38
Speaker
That's why in 1st John 1.9, he says, confess your sins. If we will confess our sins, he's faithful and just to cleanse us and to forgive us from all unrighteousness. But we have to confess. You know what confess means in the original language? It meant to say the same thing. When God says that's a trap, when God says that sin
00:19:04
Speaker
We say the same thing. I agree. I acknowledge you're right. So I'm going to turn away from that sin. I'm going to turn away from that trap and go the other way. That's why Proverbs 28 13 says, whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper. Don't, don't think you'll get away with it. But he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
00:19:32
Speaker
Let me give you one more before we close the message today. I think when you look at verses four and five, you can see what happens when you're caught in a snare and you can't get loose.
Blindness to Snares
00:19:47
Speaker
I had an image that I thought about putting up there.
00:19:51
Speaker
But I thought, you know what, that little bunny rabbit being caught by a snare on his foot, I'm gonna get hate mail over that one. So I said, I'm not gonna put that image up there, but you probably know if you've been around, you know, snares. But why does an animal even step into a snare? Why do we even give in to temptation? There's always bait. There's bait.
00:20:16
Speaker
And it caused you to be lured in there. What was it that lured them in there? I think it was idolatry, and I think it was immorality. Because the idolatry at those Baal pagan feasts that they had, they also had immoral practices that were a part of that. But why can't we see it? Why can't we see it? Why couldn't they see it? Oh, it tells us. Let's look at it once again. Look at verse 4 carefully.
00:20:46
Speaker
Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God, for the spirit of Hordom, that's the bait, is within them. And here comes the problem.
00:20:56
Speaker
and they know not the Lord. That's why we're blind. That's why we're blind to the traps that are out there in life. We can't see them apart from the Lord. That's why First Baptist Church, with love in our hearts, not condemnation in our hearts, love in our hearts, we're trying to get that word out as best we can. Please, it's a trap. Sends a trap, turn away from it, turn to God. He's where the freedom is found.
00:21:26
Speaker
So we're blind because of not knowing the Lord, but there's a reason why
00:21:33
Speaker
I think that we're bound. Why are we bound to a snare? When it gets you by the foot, what is it spiritually that's taking place? Two things. I think verse four and verse five, they expose it. You know, God's Word, it's really amazing how it can just turn the lights on. It can lift the veil. It's like, I didn't see that before. Well, look at verse four. Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God.
00:22:03
Speaker
Why would they not let go of their deeds? Have you ever heard how they catch a monkey? He puts his hand down in the little jar and he won't let go of what's in there. He wants to pull his hand out of the jar, but he won't let go.
00:22:18
Speaker
Why is it because of our deeds? Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. It's addiction. It's like we're trapped. We have to have that thing. And so only Christ can set you free. Only Christ will tell you, let go, let go and trust me. Surrender to me.
00:22:38
Speaker
You know, the other thing is found in verse five. I'm sure you've seen this. The pride of Israel testifies to his face. It's the pride. Sometimes people know they need to do something, but pride keeps them from doing anything. It takes humility to come to the Lord. And so I'm thinking, well, but you know what the worst thing about it is? Look at verse five.
00:23:01
Speaker
The worst thing about it all is the pride of Israel testifies to his face. Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt. Judah also shall stumble with him. You know what's really sad is that we don't say, don't come over here.
00:23:19
Speaker
So often we just stay silent. And so people will step in the same snare that got us. Why don't we open our mouth and say, don't come anywhere near this. That's why I'm appreciating so much. Brittany, your testimony is so clear. Don't go near this, please. He says, because you've done this, look at what is going to happen. And we're going to look at that more later.
00:23:45
Speaker
But one thing that happened was Israel, the northern kingdom, they made Judah, the southern kingdom, to stumble and fall. That's why it says that they're going to stumble with them. Them is the northern kingdom. You know, whenever we don't do something about this end problem,
00:24:05
Speaker
It has this way of recurring in the next generation and the next generation and the next generation until finally somebody says, you know what? I'm tired of this sin problem. I'm going to go to Christ and I'm going to ask him to set me free from what this problem, all the pain that is caused in my life.
00:24:23
Speaker
See, some may say, well, that's just an Old Testament concept. No, not really. Let me give you a couple of New Testament verses that refer to being a stumbling block to other people. Romans 14, 13 says, rather decide
00:24:39
Speaker
never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. See, that's my decision.
Sin's Legacy and Christ's Redemption
00:24:46
Speaker
Romans 14, 13 is saying, hey, Victor, you're a pastor, but just decide now, I don't want to put stumbling block in anybody's way. But then there's another verse, not only Romans 14, 13, but 1 Corinthians 8, 9 says, but take care
00:25:03
Speaker
that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. Sometimes we're saying, hey, it's okay, because I can just put it away anytime. But even though you could, will your children be able to? Will your grandchildren be able to? I think that what he's trying to say to them is, you really need to do something about this.
00:25:27
Speaker
You know, the really neat thing that I found in Galatians, I want to skip to the end, to that very last slide. Galatians 3 13 and 14 declares the curse of sin's trap was broken. It's not broken by you. It's not broken by me. You know who it's broken by? Jesus.
00:25:50
Speaker
You see, Jesus lived a perfect life. And whenever he died on the cross, he was dying there as the atonement for our sins. He died there as a substitution. It should have been me being penalized for every time I've stepped in a snare in my life. And there'd been lots of them. But here's the thing. He said, no, you know what?
00:26:12
Speaker
I'm going to take the stinger out of that snare. I'm going to take the pain out of that snare. I'm going to take the penalty of that snare. And so that's why Galatians 3, 13 and 14 says these words, Christ, Christ redeemed us.
00:26:27
Speaker
from the curse so that in Christ Jesus, we might receive the promised spirit through faith. You see, we just have to say, Lord, I'm so tired of going that way after self. So tired of doing what the world wants me to do. So tired of doing what the enemy wants me to do.
00:26:46
Speaker
I'm going to go this way and I'm going to follow you. Are you ready to follow Christ? Are you ready to say, Lord, I give up. I can't get out of the snare. I can't get out of the trap by myself. And Jesus said, I've been waiting.
Invitation to Trust in Christ
00:26:59
Speaker
I already broke the snare. If you'll just come to me and just simply cry out and say, Lord, please help me, help me get out of the snare, deliver me. That's what God's good about.
00:27:11
Speaker
Well, let's stand together. I want to lead us in a prayer and I'll be standing down here. The instrumentalists are going to come to lead us in another closing song, but this song is kind of special. It's special because here's what it means is we want to invite you. If you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we want to invite you
00:27:33
Speaker
to turn from sin and trust Christ. We want to invite you to say, Lord, I'm tired of this. I can't get out of this. Sin has me. And I know ultimately there's going to be a penalty for this. And so why don't we pray for those that are in this room that need so badly to trust Christ?
00:27:53
Speaker
to turn from sin, surrender to Christ, to put the complete trust in what He did for them, and to start following Him. Let's pray together. Lord, we never know who's here. I'm just so glad that so many are here today. I believe that we're not here by chance. It's not just luck or accident. I believe you wanted each one of us here. Maybe the reason we're here is because you had something to say to us.
00:28:20
Speaker
something very truthful, something very honest that you wanted to communicate. And so help us to have open receptive hearts rather than closed hearts that are resisting. Lord, some of us know very well the pain of a snare.
00:28:38
Speaker
We've got a lot of snares maybe in our lives, but Jesus, you're the deliverer. You're the savior. You already took care of the snares. You broke them for us so that we could be set free. And so Lord, use this time of invitation for people to just come and surrender to Christ. We put it in your hands in Jesus name we pray, Amen.
00:29:07
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.