Are You Drawn With The Bands Of Love?

People, we're turning tonight in our Bibles.

Thank you, Lawrence. Turning on our Bibles to Hosea,

Hosea 11 · chapter mention

Chapter 11. Hosea Chapter 11.

Hosea 11 · chapter mention

We'll take time to read the chapter.

We'll read from verse one, the book of Hosea.

If you find Ezekiel and then come forward, Daniel, Hosea,

we're Chapter 11. Let's hear God's word.

When Israel was a child, then I loved him and called my son out

of Egypt as they called them. So they went from them.

They sacrificed unto Balaam, and burnt incense to graven images.

I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms, but

they knew not that I healed them.

I drew them with cords of a man with bands of love, and I was to

them as they that take off the yoke of their jaws, and I laid

meat unto them. He shall not return into the

land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they

refuse to return. And the sword shall abide on his

cities, and shall consume his branches and devour them,

because of their own councils. And my people are bent to

backsliding from me, though they called them to the Most High,

none at all would exalt them. How shall I give thee up,

Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee,

Israel? How shall I make thee as Adma?

How shall I set thee as Zeboom? Mine heart is turned within me.

My repentance are kindled together.

I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger.

I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not

man, the Holy One in the midst of thee.

I will not enter into the city. They shall walk after the Lord.

He shall roar like a lion when he shall roar.

Then the children shall tremble from the West.

They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of

the land of Assyria. And I will please them in their

houses, saith the Lord. Ephraim compasseth me about with

lies, and the House of Israel with deceit.

But Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the Saints.

Amen. My Lord will stamp with his own

approval and blessing this reading upon his precious and

infallible word. Amen.

Now my text tonight is taken from Hosea Chapter 11, verse 4.

Hosea 11:4

It reads, I drew them with cords of a man with bands of love, and

I was to them as they that take off the yoke of their jaws, and

I laid meat unto them. And I want to ask this question

tonight. Are you drawn with the bands of

love? The book of Hosea or Hosea's

prophecy stretched from 770 BC to 725 BC.

His prophecy lasted about 50 years and if you read the 14

chapters, Hosea 123 is a message about relationship, a real

relationship with a husband and wife.

The husband in this case is called Hosea.

He was a prophet of God. The wife was called Gomar, who

sadly was a prostitute. 2 real literal historical people. 1A

prophet of God and 1A prostitute.

Their marriage relationship was a picture of the relationship

that the Lord had with ancient Israel.

Now there's many acknowledges in the Bible depicting how the Lord

relates to us. A king to his subjects, a master

Potter to the clay, a loving father to a child, a shepherd to

his sheep, a merchant to his goods.

However, all of them together fall short of fully revealing

what the Lord is really after in a relationship with us.

The marriage relationship unfolds what He's after.

Hosea, chapters 4 to 10 is a message of God's judgement upon

Hosea 4 · chapter mention

us. Not just a relationship with us,

but God's judgement upon us for sin and wilful rebellion.

You see, sadly, our relationship to the Lord is like a bad

marriage. On our part.

There's unfaithfulness on our part.

There's cover up and deficiencies and wrongdoing and

shortcoming and lies and loss. And yet Hosea remained faithful

to his wife despite her unfaithfulness, despite her

adulteries. And in this way, he was a faint

picture demonstrating God's covenant faithful love to us.

Let's remember that sin pays wages.

Let's remember that sin always has consequences, painful

consequences in this life, for the way of the transgressor is

hard. And of course, painful

consequences, everlasting consequences in the world to

come in hell itself. And then in chapters 11 to 14,

we have a third message. We've got a message of God's

mercy for us in Chapter 11, verse one.

God is represented as a wise father and Israel is God's son.

And we're taught here how God loved his Son and called him out

of Egypt. You see, the Lord has been kind

and good to Israel despite Israel's past and present base

in gratitude time and time again, despite Israel's

unfaithfulness, despite provoking the Lord to anger and

sinning against him. What does God say?

When Israel was a child, then I loved him.

He tells us. I have called him I, I have him

in my heart and mind and, and I want to do him good.

Look at verse 8. How shall I give thee up?

Be free. How shall I deliver thee,

Israel? How shall I make thee as Atma?

How shall I set thee as Zebo? My heart is turned within me.

My repentance are kindled all together.

And then we come to verse 9. I will not execute the

fierceness of mine anger. I will not return to destroy

Ephraim, for I am God and not man, the Holy One in the midst

of thee. You see here in this opening

chapter of Chapter 11, the Lord is speaking, and here he's

reminiscing. He's remembering the early years

of Israel's history. Israel at this time was an

Egyptian bondage. Israel lived there in a terrible

state of slavery. Israel's in a a a dreadful

position. The people were slaves, the

these people were under the rule and power of Pharaoh over their

lives. The people were not free, they

were controlled. And what did God do?

God raised up a deliverer. He brought them out.

Remember the 10th plague, the death of the first born and how

death was defeated by the power of the blood.

He said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you.

Exodus 12 and 13. And God called at that time and

the Exodus, Israel to himself. He brought them across the Red

Sea. He he brought them into the

wilderness, and in the wilderness he was with them.

He went before them, pillar of cloud by day, the pillar of fire

by night. He led them, He, he, he fed

them, and yet they repaid his loving kindness.

By what? By sacrifices unto delim, as it

says in verse one. They burnt incenses to graven

images, and the more they were called and chosen, and the more

they were comforted by God, the more they went away from Him.

Let me illustrate. Suppose a boy meets a girl and

they're dating and they're courting, and the boy does all

that he can to please the girl. He dearly loves her.

He wants to spend time with her. He wants to do things together,

but she doesn't. She wants to do her own thing.

She does everything she can to upset him and annoy him.

She really doesn't want to talk to him when he talks to her on

the phone. She doesn't want to do anything

with him. And he's pleading with her.

And she says, ah, thanks very much for asking, but no thanks,

really. I don't want to do the coffee

morning. I don't want to do the lunch.

I don't want to go there or I don't want to go here.

Would that young boy be confused?

Would he be baffled? Would he wonder, Does this girl

that I'm in love with really love me and want me?

I believe he would. But yet that illustration peels

into insignificance when we think about our Heavenly Father.

He did everything to provide a Saviour for us to save us from

sin, to save us from hell, to save us from judgement.

He he he was married to us in the sense he brought us into

your right relationship with himself through union with

Christ. And yet so often we have done

exactly the same thing that Israel has done.

Listen to what he says in verse 2 verse three.

I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms, but

they knew not that I had healed them.

He says. I taught them to walk.

I took them by the arm, I LED them by the hand, and yet now

they're walking away from me. I gave them everything.

They were weak and feeble. They needed help and healing,

and I was the one who provided it all for them.

But they didn't lay that. The heart that brings us to

verse 4I drew them with cords of a man with bands of love and I

was to them as they that take off the yoke of their jaws and

they led me to name. Here's a wonderful text and I

asked the question tonight. Having set up the context.

Are you drawn by the bands of love.

Notice 4 things here very quickly.

First of all, the principle that is presented.

I drew them with cords of a man with bands of love and we're

learning here of the way that God draws people.

Remember there's some references found in the Old and New

Testament, found in Holy Scripture, found in Christian

experience. Song of Solomon, chapter one,

verse 4, draw me. There was a prayer of God's

people in John 6 and 44. The Lord Jesus said no man can

come to me except the Father, which have sent me.

Draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 12 and 32 I If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw

all men unto me. You see the words, I drew them.

It's a gospel term. He, he, he tells us of the way

that he draws them. Notice the words.

I drew them high with cords of a man, with bands of love.

You see, there's an implication here.

What does the picture imply? It implies a people separated

from God. Are people living far away from

him? Are people in idolatry?

Are people in iniquity, living in the way of sin, living in the

way of self? Remember Isaiah, the prophet

said All we like sheep have gone astray, and we've turned

everyone to his own way, and the Lord have laid in him the

iniquity of us all. All we, like sheep have gone

astray. We have turned each one to our

own way. That's the picture of people

separated from God. But also here's another

implication. People are adverse to turning

back to God. They hear preaching, they're

urged to repent and believe the gospel.

They're instructed, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are

heavy laden, and I will give you a rest.

But their heart and mind is full of resistance.

They they have a stubborn mindset that they're opposed to

God in this word. Why?

Because I believe they're dead in sin.

I believe they're darkened by sin.

I believe they've been diseased by sin.

As an Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive.

And not only that, but people are full of their own sinful

notions. They're not responding.

And the Lord says I drew them with cords of a man, with bands

of love. So that's the implication.

But there's an instruction here. I drew them with cords of a man.

That's a reference to gentleness.

He drew them gently, not by force, not by anger, not

striking fear into their hearts and lives He could have done.

But with cords of a man, you see, he's not pulling an ox, or

he's not dealing with a stubborn heifer who doesn't want the

move, or he's not dealing with a stubborn old donkey that doesn't

want the move. You see, if you're an ox or a

donkey or a heifer that didn't want the move, you, you would,

you would have to deal with it not gently, but roughly.

And of course, God can and does deal with people roughly.

He can break bones if he needs to, to get you to set up and

listen and pay attention to what he's saying, to draw you to

himself. But when he says I drew them

with courts of a man, this was a gentle, goodwill way.

Men were not conforced, not coerced, not not against their

will. He not only drew them gently,

but he drew them graciously. In other words, it was the

courts of a man in a in a very humane way.

He hears how the Lord goes about things.

He says I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love.

You see, his drawing power is in the power of love, the power of

sweetness, the power of gentleness, the power of love

that overcomes all opposition. In Galatians 2 and 20 we read of

Christ the Son of God, who loved me, gave himself for me.

See, Paul was always fascinated with those 3 words.

Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells

me so. And what does the Bible teach?

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have

everlasting life. And you see, whenever we come to

the Christ and the cradle, if I could use that expression,

remember, great is the mystery of God.

And as God was manifest in the flesh, and when you look into

the babe of Bethlehem, you're looking into the face of God

Incarnate. And, and then, and then we come

from the cradle to the cross and we think of the Lord Jesus dying

there in, in agony and blood, offering himself a once and for

all sacrifice for sin. And when we think of the Son of

God who loved me and gave himself for me, you see, we

cannot Plumb the depths of that. We cannot scale the heights of

that. We can't get our arms around the

breadth of that a once and for all sacrifice for sin.

The Bible tells us there in the Gospel of first John, in first

John and in chapter 4 we read there in the verse 9 he tells us

these beautiful words. In this was manifested the love

of God towards us because that God sent His only begotten Son

into the world, that we might live through him here in his

love. Not that we love God, but that

He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation.

The word propitiation means the covering for our sins.

Now let me ask you this, what do you know of this?

I have drawn you with the cords of a man with bands of love.

Have you felt the pulling power of God on your heart and mind,

encouraging you to seek the Lord while he may be fined, to to

come to him now to to only trust him?

You see, this is one of the ways that the Lord works.

You hear a sermon, you hear somebody testify, someone sings

a gospel song, someone comes and offers you a tract, someone

says, I'm praying for you. Maybe you feel a desire to open

your Bible and read a portion of the word of God.

Maybe you've even asked a Christian, would you pray for

me? Maybe you've asked for guidance

or counsel about some particular area of your life.

Maybe you've experienced a disaster.

Let it be a fall or let it be an illness or let it be the death

of the loved one. And, and, and all of a sudden

you've become afraid And all of a sudden you've remembered

there's a God in heaven with whom we have to do and, and you

feel inclined to do that God. And, and you're listening now

you're listening more carefully. You're paying the closest

attention. You're you're laying at the

heart. Maybe you've got the desire and

the thought comes into your mind.

Do you know I'd love to be saved.

I'd love to be a Christian. So I asked that has that ever

been true of you? Because that is the drawing

power of our God. That is God saying I draw them

or drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love.

There's not only an implication here, and there's not only an

instruction here, but there's an impossibility here.

See, you can't come of your own ability because you're without

strength. You're full of weakness.

You can't save yourself. Even though you hear the Word of

God and feel the power of the Spirit tugging at your heart,

and God's at work in and off your mind, you'll not come

unless the Lord's hand is upon you to draw you to himself.

The Bible says it is God that worketh in you both the will and

the do of His good pleasure. It's the Lord that enables you

to come. It's the Lord that calls come

and come now. That's the principle that is

being presented. Notice secondly, the person that

is mentioned. If you look at our text, it says

I drew them with the cords of a man with bands of love, and I

was to them as they that take off the yoke of their jaws, and

I LED meet upon them. Notice the word I, the personal

pronoun 3 times. Who draws us?

The answer is the Lord himself, Jehovah.

And what does he draw us from? Here's the answer.

He draws us from a life of sin, from sin's penalty and power and

pleasure. He draws us from a life of

unbelief, where we no longer doubt but what we believe.

He draws us from a life of foolish and vain pursuits.

He draws us from living for the world's witches and wealth.

He he draws us from a life of self will, wanting our way to

His way. Who does he draw us to?

He draws us to his lovely Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In our handbook we ask the question, is there anyone can

help us? One who understands our hearts

when the thorns of life are pierced until they bleed.

One who sympathises with us, who in wondrous love imparts just

the very, very blessing that we need.

And here's the answer to that particular hymn.

Yes, there's one, the only one, the blessed, blessed Jesus.

He's the one when afflictions press the soul, and waves of

trouble rode, and you need a friend to help you, He's the

one. And what does way does he draw

us? He draws us by his Spirit.

You see, this drawing is a spiritual movement that takes

place. It takes place in the heart and

the mind and in the soul. He, he induces us.

He, he initiates all of this by the power of a spirit.

And the Spirit who's come to introduces to Christ, draws us

to Christ. Let me illustrate.

Think of a powerful magnet. And I've got a magnet and I've

got a lot of shavings sitting on a desk.

And I put the magnet in the direction of the shavings.

The savings begin to move. They move in the direction of

the magnet. It's the magnet's power that's

drawing the shavings. And you see, you ought to feel

in your heart that you want to come to Christ.

You ought to have a desire. I want to be saved.

And that strange desire is the working and wooing of the Spirit

of God to introduce you to Christ.

I'm well aware the Lord can use the fear of death.

I'm well aware the Lord can use the threat of judgement and hail

to awaken sinners. But often times the Lord uses

the power of love. Paul says the love of Christ

constrain us. It wasn't a fear of death, it

wasn't standing at the judgement.

It was the love of Christ that constrained Paul to live the way

that he lived because he was overwhelmed, because this love

of God had been shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Spirit.

And, and he was fascinated. He was overwhelmed by by the

love of God. You see, the love of God is a

special love. The love of God is a

substitutionary love. The love of God is a sacrificing

love, the love of God's a a saving love.

And once that begins to get a grip on our heart, he he loves

me. Oh, the power of love.

The third thing I want to emphasise tonight is the power

that is exercised. Notice what he says as we go on

in the text and I was to them as they that take off the yoke of

their jaws. You've got to think of oxen.

You've got to think of an oxen forced service.

The oxes bound by the yoke in Eastern times, in eastern days,

a wooden harness was upon the ox with a with a bitterness mouth.

And and this ox that had this yoke upon it was a picture of

the children of Israel in Egyptian bondage and what an

awful bondage it was. And the God says to them, and I

was to them, as they that take off the yoke of their jaws.

And the word take off in the Hebrew means to lift off.

And when the yoke is lifted off, the oxen is set free.

And the oxen if he could speak was probably say Hallelujah,

that burden is lifted. You get a picture of a people

that the yoke has been lifted off them and they've been set

free and delivered. Here's the relevance.

Slaves in bondage under the yoke, in bondage to sin, accused

by a just and holy law, concerned about God's judgement,

and yet that yoke has been lifted off.

What a relief. See, the yoke is painful.

The yoke is burdensome and grievous.

But when it's lifted off, the pain and the grievousness eases.

And of course, not only is it relevant, not only is there

rest, there's relief and rest and rest of courses as welcome.

And here's the result. They're set free.

And the Lord Jesus said John 8 and 32.

If the Son shall make you free, he shall be free.

Indeed, sin pays wages, sin brings us into bondage.

The wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life, and

those who sinned and do sin are under God's judgement.

I think tonight of the alcoholic, as many Alcoholics in

Northern Ireland, young and old alike, the first drinks, the

worst drink. The drug addict will tell you

that the first taste of drugs was probably the wiggest and

worst mistake they ever made, the gambler.

But whatever the chief sin is and whatever your chief sin is,

and there's many of chief sins, whether it's lying or secret

porn addiction or full of pride and greed or jealousy or beating

one's wife, once you're convicted of that sin, I'm

convinced that it's a heinous thing that brings you under the

judgement of God because sin pays wages not only in this life

but in the world to come. And you cry for salvation, and

you cry, Lord, save me. Then here's the power that's

implemented. The sun comes and sets you free.

He lifts the yoke off you. That's the relevance.

You enjoy relief and rest, and you've got this result.

You've been set free. Sin no longer controls you.

The law doesn't rise up to condemn you.

The judgement of God is not going to damn you.

Why? Because you've recognised you

were a slave, sold under sin in bondage.

But you wanted to be set free. You wanted to be released.

You wanted to find rest. You receive Christ as he's

offered to you in the gospel. And here's the result.

To whom the sun sets. Free is free indeed.

We were singing. He's able to deliver you.

He's able to set you free from the yoke of bondage.

We should pray for the alcoholic and the drug addict and the

gambler that there's many of them in carried off many of them

throughout our community and beyond.

And we should pray that God would smite the state of Sinner,

and God would visit them with great conviction and convince

them that Christ can set them free.

Let me ask, have you cried? Have you been set free?

Have you cried out? Lord, save me, I perish.

See, that's important. Here's the power that's

exercised, but that power isn't exercised until you cry for that

deliverance. Notice one last thing, the

provision that is promised. If you look again at the text

that says, And I laid meat unto thee, let me pause there.

I believe that's a reference to the Lord's provision in the

wilderness for the children of Israel.

It's a reference to the manna. It's a reference to the queal

which they got during the 40 years wandering in the

wilderness. You can read about that in Psalm

Psalms 78 · chapter mention

chapter 78. It says in Psalm 78 and had

rained down mana upon them to eat, and had given them of the

corn of heaven. Man that eat angels food.

He sent the meat to the full. That's what the Lord did.

But when you come to Christ, and here's the spiritual analogy,

you discover a feast of good things or not just bread,

because Christ said in the bread of life, not just the milk of

the word, but meat. Isn't it a wonderful thing to

have a plate of meat? If you go down there to smoke

BBQ, you'll get a real feast of meat on your plate.

You'll hardly be able to eat it all.

I don't recommend you get the five selection.

Better just get in the three because you'll need a wee bag or

a wee box to bring it home. But you think of a feast, a

table laden with good things. You think with me as we finish

of the wonderful promises of God in the Gospel, every promise ye

and Amen to us, you're in Christ Jesus. 2nd Corinthians 1 and 20,

all 7300 of them, if Herbert Lockyer is right.

And what does God promise you tonight when you cry and he sets

you free, a full free and forever pardon.

Hebrews 10 and 17 and thy sins and iniquities.

I remember no more. All your sins of thought were

indeed, they're all gone. Your chief sins, your worst

sins, the most heinous things that you've ever done, things

that you've forgotten but come back to haunt you, they're all

under the blood. God puts them in the sea called

forgetfulness. Over there in the book of Psalms

and Psalm 32, He tells us, blessed is he whose

transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputed, not iniquity under

whose spirit there is no guile. I put it to you tonight, that's

one of life's greatest blessings.

You have the knowledge of sins forgiven.

You can lay your head in the pillow and say us well in the

soul, because my sins are forgotten.

Here's another blessing. Access to God's throne.

We can talk to God in prayer, He tells us.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that

we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4 and 16. We've been adopted into God's

family. God's our heavenly Father, we

are his children. You see, if God's our heavenly

Father and Christ is our Lord and Saviour, then we're all

brothers and sisters. We're related.

We're in the one family, in the family of God.

We have peace with God. Therefore, being justified by

faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have the peace of God. And the peace of God which

passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds

through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

The Holy Spirit indwells us, Holy Spirit leads and guides us

in the journey. The Holy Spirit can enfil us,

helping us to live a life of victory, a life of vibrancy unto

God, a life of loving service. Can I ask this?

Have you been drawn by the bands of love?

I want you to think again of what we were saying there.

Remember the principle that is presented.

I have drawn them and then think with me very clearly of the

person that's mentioned. I have done it.

And the power that He exercises, it's power to set men free.

And then here's His profession. I have led meat unto them.

Now is that a word for you tonight?

Have you been drawn by the bands of love?

You've got your eye in this principle, the drawing of God,

and you've heard this person speak to you.

I'm I've done this for you or I will do this.

And you've felt that power and that power has been exercised by

his Spirit. Tonight you enjoy all his rich

provision. And I've only scratched what

some of that provision is. It's like a, a feast of good

things. I have laid meat upon them so

they're not hungry. They're fed and they're

satisfied. They enjoy all that I have for

them, the rich resources of Christ.

I ask again for the final time, Have you been drawn?

Are you drawn by the bounds of love?

May the Lord take these few thoughts and bless them to you.

And I trust and pray that the Lord will apply His word in a

saving way.