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Good evening New Life Baptist Church. We're there in Hosea chapter 8. So we're actually starting now, the second half of the book of Hosea. Of course Hosea's got 14 chapters and we've gone through the first seven. So look at Hosea chapter 8 and verse number 7. It says, for they have sown the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind. The title for the sermon this evening is Reap the Whirlwind. Now I'm not sure if you've heard that statement before. I have. I think I even, from my memory, I remember hearing that for the first time. This wasn't even within the Bible, within the context of the Bible. Some people sometimes will use this phrase to reap the whirlwind, even in today's vocabulary. And so this comes straight from the Bible. But let's understand what this is referring to. So let's start there in verse number 1. It says, set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant and trespassed against my law. So God here is speaking to Hosea. The first thing I want you to notice is that he's asking for Hosea to use his mouth as a trumpet, you know, to lift up his voice. Another passage that's quite familiar or similar to that passage is in Isaiah 58 verse number 1, which says, cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins. And so the Lord, you know, asks of his prophets and his preachers from time to time to lift up their voice, and he's asking Hosea here, you know, to set the trumpet to thy mouth. It's not saying that, hey, pick up a trumpet and use that to preach to the people. No, he's saying use your mouth like a trumpet, lift it up, be loud, be clear, make a sound so people can hear the word of God. And then it says, he shall come as an eagle. Now, I believe this is referring to the Assyrian, you know, armies that are coming to take the northern kingdom to captivity, but then it says they shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord. Now, quite often when we look at this term, the house of the Lord, you know, especially in this day and age, we often think about the temple, because the temple which was in Jerusalem, of course, was the house of the Lord. But don't forget Hosea is preaching to the northern kingdom. And Jerusalem was the capital city of the southern kingdom, where the house of God was located. So the question begs, you know, well, what is this house of the Lord? Is Hosea preaching here to the southern kingdom as well? Let's keep going. Why is he preaching against the house of the Lord? Why is it that this eagle come against the house of the Lord? Why are the Assyrians going to come? It says because they have transgressed my covenant and trespassed against my law. Now, there is another house of the Lord that's mentioned in the Bible. This was before the temple. You'll say, well, that must be the tabernacle. Well, it's even before the tabernacle, if you remember. We've studied through the book of Genesis as a church before, and the very first house of the Lord or house of God, what was it? Well, you may recall that it was the city of Bethel. And Bethel means house and El, a reference to God. Bethel, you know, means the house of the Lord or the house of God. All right? So actually, the house of God here is actually referring to the city of Bethel. You see, the city of Bethel was located in the northern kingdom. You say, well, are you sure about that? Well, keep your finger there, and please turn to Amos chapter 3. Amos chapter 3, because you may recall when we studied through Hosea, I believe it was chapter 2, I had mentioned to you that Amos was another prophet, you know, that prophesied against the northern kingdom at the same time as Hosea. He was a little bit older than Hosea, but he was a contemporary of Hosea. They were both prophets of God preaching against the same kingdom. And in Amos chapter 3, if you look at that, Amos chapter 3 in verse number 13, Amos prophesying, he says, Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hosts. Look at verse 14, that in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. And so you can see that Bethel, or the house of the Lord here, had these temples. And if you can study this in your own time, and I'll show you some reference to this later, but these temples were not a temple to serve or sacrifice toward the Lord God of the Bible. These altars were there to sacrifice to the false gods, to the idols that the northern kingdom had set up. And so you can see that Amos as a contemporary of Hosea was prophesying as well against Bethel, the house of God, because of their wickedness, because they had broken the covenant with God, they had turned toward and worshiped false gods, worshiped idols. We'll soon see what these altars that I mentioned here in Amos were used for. Go back to Hosea chapter 8 in verse number 2. Hosea chapter 8 in verse number 2, the Bible reads, Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee. And so as this eagle, or as the Assyrians come, and the judgment of the Lord as the Assyrians come, and the judgment of God is fallen upon this nation, Israel is going to start crying to the Lord. Hey, we know you God, right? Are you going to do this to us? Hey, we're supposed to be your people. And so they start to refer to God as someone they know. Now as soon as I read this passage, it reminded me immediately of Titus. And if you're fast enough, you can turn to Titus, otherwise just listen in as I read it to you. And in Titus chapter 1 verse number 10, Paul is writing to Pastor Titus, to the bishop there, and he's basically warning Titus of these false prophets that are going to come and bring in strange doctrines, strange teachings. And in Titus chapter 1 verse number 2, sorry, number 10, it reads, For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially they of the circumcision. And so Paul is warning Titus, look, there's plenty of people that are going to come and enter the church, and they're going to be vain talkers, they're going to deceive the people, especially they of the circumcision. So especially those that are the Jews, okay? And of course, when we look at the Northern Kingdom here, of course, you know, when talking about the Jews, that's referring to the Southern Kingdom, hey, but they're the, you know, the Northern Kingdom were also people that were circumcised, right? They made a show of themselves about the flesh, they thought of themselves as the people of God, because they had a physical circumcision, hey, but they were lacking the spiritual circumcision, those lacking the circumcision of the heart. But if we drop down to verse number 16, it says, they profess that they know God. So they profess that they know God. Hey, what were the Israelites saying in the book of Hosea, they were saying, my God, we know thee. But God says about them, that they profess that they know God, but in works, they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work, reprobate. So this is about reprobate, false prophets, right? They claim to know God, they profess to know God, but in their works, they deny God, right? In their works, they're doing wicked things. They're abominable, they're disobedient, and they cannot do any good work. And so this is the same, you know, when we read Hosea, we see, you know, the Israelites here saying, hey, we know God, you know, don't take that to mean that, hey, actually, God's not being fair to them, that somehow they are being good and spiritual. Hey, there's a lot of people in this world that claim that know God, and they're far from God, you know, that they're not saved, and they're, you know, potentially reprobate, or they're just unsaved and they're in false churches and receiving false teachings. They claim to know God, but they don't know God. Hey, even believers, even God's people can, who actually do know God, you know, through Jesus Christ, through salvation, can also be people that by their works, you know, not show themselves to be people that actually know God. You see, to know God is to know His Word. To love Jesus is to do His commandments, okay? The more we know the Bible, the more we do the works of God, the greater knowledge that we can have of God. When you depart from God's Word, when you depart from your faithfulness toward Him, you're going to lose that knowledge that you should have of God. Back to Hosea, chapter 8, verse number 3, Israel have cut, cast off the thing that is good, the enemy shall pursue him. So that which is good that Israel has cast off, of course, is the Lord God, is the ways of the Lord, and when they cast off God, God will allow the enemy to pursue those people. You know, if you cast off God in your life, if you, you know, separate yourself from God, you know, you stop walking in fellowship with God, don't be surprised when the enemies, your enemies, start to pursue you, because sometimes God will just allow His hand of protection, His hand of blessing to be removed from you, to draw you back to Him, right? To face some challenge, to face the enemies, that you may return back unto the Lord. Verse number 4, they have set up kings, but not by me, they have made princes, and I knew it not, of their silver and their gold, they have made them idols, that they may be cut off. So you can see here in the house of God or in Bethel, they had set up these idols, and I told you how they had set up these altars to worship and to sacrifice toward false gods. So that part of the verse is quite easy to understand, the silver and the gold they've made up, idols, but notice again that they've set up kings, but not by me. And so what's good about the book of Hosea? We learn a lot about, you know, just the, some of the history of Israel, and so I hope you don't mind that as we go through this study in the book of Hosea, that we do spend a lot of time going back and looking at the times, looking at the different kings, looking at, you know, what's developed, why is Hosea saying certain things, because it does provide us a bit of a historical study as well, which is great. So what I'll get you to do, if you can keep your finger there, and go to 2 Kings chapter 15 please, go to 2 Kings 15, and let's understand what is being referred to here as kings that are set up, but not by God, alright? So 2 Kings 15, 2 Kings 15, 2 Kings 15 verse number 8, it reads, In the 30th and 8th year of Azariah, king of Judah, did Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reign of our Israel in Samaria six months. And so we have this king Jeroboam who's reigning in Israel, right? Look at verse number 9. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done. He departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. So what happens to this king? Verse number 10, And Shalom, the son of Jabesh, conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him and reigned in his stead. And so you can see this guy Shalom, who's not, who doesn't follow that dynasty of kings, you know, he's not following the lineage of King David, right? This guy, you know, out of nowhere, comes out, kills the king, and then sets himself up to be the king of Israel, all right? So he did not follow proper protocol, where it will be the descendants of the former kings that would reign, and this guy has no, you know, kingly dynasty, right? And he sets himself up, okay? So that's what it refers to in Hosea, where it says that, you know, they've set up kings, but not by God, right? They're doing their own thing. Now drop down to verse number 13 there in the same chapter in 2 Kings 15, verse number 13. What's the end of Shalom? Well, it says here, Shalom, the son of Jabesh, began to reign in the ninth and thirtieth year of Uzziah, king of Judah, and he reigned a full month in Samaria. For Menahem, the son of Gadhi, went up from Terzah and came to Samaria and smote Shalom, the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him and reigned in his stead, all right? So Shalom only reigns for a month, okay? He conspired against the king, he kills the king, he sets himself up, he's reigning for a whole month, and then some other guy, Menahem, kills him, and he sets himself up to be the king of Israel. And again, he's not following any, you know, dynasty, he's not following the pattern that, you know, God had him planned for the kings, and so these are examples of kings that set themselves up, not according to God's ways, and so the Lord God is angry at Israel, right, for allowing this to have taken place. Let's go back to Hosea chapter 8 and verse number 5. Hosea chapter 8 and verse number 5. It says, Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off. Let's pause there for a moment. The calf here is the golden calfs that they set up to worship. So in Bethel, they had set up these golden calves, right? That's why they set up these altars. They were not sacrificing to God, they were sacrificing to these calves, just like in the times of Moses and Aaron, when Aaron, you know, created a golden calf, they had done the same kind of things again in the land of Israel. But this time, instead of Bethel, the house of the Lord being referred to, now Samaria has been referred to, because again, Samaria is the capital city of that entire nation. And so Samaria is being held to account by God. Again, verse number 5. Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off. Mine anger is kindled against them. How long will it be ere they attain to innocency? And so what I believe this is referring to is that Samaria was claiming to be innocent of the worship and sacrifices toward the calf that was happening in Bethel, okay? But God is saying, no, hold on, you're the capital city, you know, this is the city where the kings are set up, this is the capital city where the governors are set up, you know, you can't just say, well, you know, this evil, this wickedness is going on in some little town over there, but hey, you know, we're innocent with what's going on. No, okay? If God has set up, you know, a governance, government and, you know, there's authority, and you know, then you're accountable to what happens on the land. You know, even if wickedness is taking place in other places, they were meant to do due diligence, you might understand this in the books of Moses, that if they were worshipping some false god, they were to go and figure out, hey, are they worshipping some false gods? And if they were, they were to be put to death, okay? But, you know, Samaria had not done this, they had not, you know, done what God expects from them, and so they were accountable, they were also responsible for the sacrifices that were taking place in other places on the land. And, you know, keep this in mind for those of us that are in authority. So when it comes to fathers and parents, when it comes to, you know, myself as a pastor of a church, or, you know, if you're in a situation where you have authority, and under your authority, there is wickedness taking place, okay? You know, you can't just play the innocence and say, well, that's not my fault, God, right? I mean, if someone in our church is committing, you know, grievous sins that requires them to be kicked out of the church, you know, and I don't carry through and do that, well, I can't just say, well, God, I'm innocent, you know, it was that member doing it, it was that member doing it, you know, and it wasn't me, Lord, no. You know, if you have authority, you're required by God to take responsibility for that action, right? If you're a parent and your kids are doing wicked acts, you can't say, well, God, I'm innocent, it was my kids. No, you're the head of the home, you know, dads, you know, so you're accountable to those that God has put under you. And Samaria was accountable to God, because Bethel was within the governance that God has put, you know, you know, in that land, you know, the kings and the governors that were in the land, they were responsible not just for Samaria, but for everything that was going on in their land. And so, you know, this idea of I'm innocent, well, you can be innocent, if it has nothing to do with you, but if it's people that are under your authority, you're not innocent, and you have to take, you know, responsibility and accountability to take care of those things that are not pleasing to God. Verse number six. For from Israel was it also, the workman made it, that's the golden calf, therefore it is not God, but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces. And so when it says there that it's for from Israel, was it also, it's saying that this golden calf was made in Israel, okay, it's not like they went to the Gentile nations, and they got images and idols from those places, it's not like these nations came and gifted them these idols, these idols were being created in, you know, supposedly the Holy Land, it was being created in Israel. And God is saying, look, you're not innocent, you guys have created these idols, they haven't come from elsewhere. Verse number seven. For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind, it hath no stalk, the bud shall yield no meal, if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. And so when it says they have sown the wind, now we understand the context of this, you know, the Lord's teaching the principle or the law of sowing and reaping. And so while this Northern Kingdom nation was worshipping false gods and sacrificing to false gods, God is saying, look, you're sowing to the wind. So you know, it's kind of like what they're doing is empty, empty, it's worthless, it's vain, right? You know, if you were to sow to the wind, it'll blow away. And so there's no prophets. And so God is saying, look, all this worship that you're giving to these false gods, all these altars that you're setting up, all these calfs, these idols that you're setting up, it's all worthless. It's all being blown to the wind, you're sowing to these things. But here's the truth of the matter. Even though it doesn't profit them anything, even though it's worthless, the fact that they've gone ahead and sown toward that, they will reap something in return. So they've sown to the wind, what are they going to reap? It says in verse number seven, and they shall reap the whirlwind. So they're going to reap the whirlwind judgment of God when the Assyrians come and take them into captivity. All right, so all that emptiness, all that waste of time is simply going to result in God's swift judgment coming through the hands of the Assyrians. Let's keep going there in verse number seven, it says, it hath no stalk, the bud shall yield no mule. So it's saying like, it's kind of like if you're sowing seed, and the wind's just blowing it away, it's not landing where you ploughed. And so maybe some of it's going to land where you plow, but God's not going to allow what they're doing to be fruitful. There's going to be, yeah, the bud's going to yield no meal, right? It's got no stalk, it's not going to really, there's not going to be this great harvest for Israel, they're not going to profit from what they're doing. But then it says, if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. So God is saying, look, even if you do profit a little bit from what you're doing, the strangers, well, that's the Assyrians, they're going to come and take it all anyway, they're going to swallow it all up. Now, this idea of reaping what you sow, this is a biblical teaching, you're going to find this taught throughout the whole Bible, from Old Testament to New Testament. And you know, sometimes when we go door to door sowing in, you might come across somebody that is a bit new agey, or maybe someone that is into Eastern mysticism, you know, maybe they're into Buddhism or Hinduism, these kinds of things. And sometimes when I go and I knock on the door, I'm sure some of you have experiences as well, and we come talking to them about God and heaven, people at the door often say, well, you know, I believe in karma. Have you heard that before? I've heard that a few times. I believe in karma. Now, you know, let me just read to you what karma basically is. All right. I had to look this up. You know, a very basic definition is this, you know, karma is the law of cause and effect in the ethical realm, the law of cause and effect. So the idea is this, you know, if you do bad things, they'll say that you're going to live an unhappy life. And if you do good things, you'll live a happier life. Okay, so it's kind of like you reap what you sow to some extent. But of course, karma is rubbish. Of course, it's nonsense. Okay, because they've got this idea that there's sort of this universal law out there, this yin and yang law. And, you know, it's a faceless power, it's a faceless law. And so when people often tell me, well, I believe in karma, I don't really believe in God. You know, the first thing is when you talk to someone at the door, you're not trying to make them, you know, you're not trying to offend them as soon as you meet them, right? You're not trying to be hostile toward them. You know, more often than not, I'm trying to find some common ground. You know, if we find some common ground, usually the person I'm speaking to at the door is going to feel a little bit more comfortable. All right. So for example, if someone says, Oh, well, I'm a Catholic, I often say, Well, you know, you believe in Jesus, you know that he died on the cross, and that he rose again from the dead. And they'll be like, Yeah, I said, Yeah, we believe that, too. But let me explain to you why he had to do that. So often I'll find that common ground, make them feel comfortable. Oh, okay, we're on the same page here. And then that'll sometimes open the doors to obviously give someone the gospel. When it comes to karma, I don't just say, Hey, look, that karma stuff is rubbish. I would just say to them, Okay, yeah, yeah, a lot of people think that way. And the Bible has a very similar, I'll say, I'll say it like this, you know, the Bible has a very similar principle, which is you reap what you sow. But the difference we've come I'll tell them is, you know, you believe there's some type of universal law, whereas the, you know, the doctrine of reaping what you sow is controlled by the Lord God. Okay, it is, you know, the Lord God has power and influence over this, there is somebody that we can talk to in relating to this, there is someone that is actually that controls the law of nature that controls the universal laws. It's not just some, you know, you know, you know, magical power that's out there in the world, but there is actually somebody, you know, in charge of making sure that you reap what you sow. And I'll often open like that because I feel like well, that's somewhere where we might have some common ground a little bit, and then try to use that and say, well, you know what, you know, you reap what you sow, you know, we're sinners, and we're going to reap because we're sinned against God. And, you know, we reap death, and we reap hell and the lake of fire. But, you know, and then we get into the good news and, and that kind of thing. So I'll often use this as a way to just open up the conversation, as I said, find that common ground. You know, it wouldn't be all that different with Paul, when he was in Athens, and he went to Mars Hill, and he preached to, you know, he found an idol there, an idol to the to the unknown God. And so it wouldn't be much different where Paul's trying to find some common ground. Well, there's a there's an idol here of a God that you say you don't know, you know, you say there's there's possibly a God that you you have no idea who it is. Let me tell you about the unknown God, let me tell you about the God that you don't know. And so it's kind of the same idea, you know, Paul tries to find that common ground. And then he goes and teaches the gospel from there. But what I want to take out of this brethren, is we have to be careful about what we sow toward. You know, if you sow to the wind, you're going to reap the whirlwind, you're going to reap God's judgment, you know, you sow to vain things, you sow to things that are corrupt, you sow to things that are of the flesh and of the world, you know, expect God to bring his whirlwind judgment in your life, when you sow in places that God does not want you to sow. Can you please keep your finger there. And let's go to Galatians chapter six. Let's go to Galatians chapter six and verse number seven. Galatians chapter six and verse number seven. Galatians six seven reads, Be not deceived, God is not not. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. But he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. And so we're seeing once again, the flesh versus the spirit, right? We're seeing that if you sow, and if you know if you're not sure what I'm referring to, don't forget when you when you're trying to plant a harvest, first you plow the ground, then you take the seed and you plant the seed. Well, that process of planting the seed is known as sowing the seed, right? You're sowing the seed. And here's the thing you can sow in your Christian life, you have a choice. Am I going to sow to the flesh? And of course, this flesh is contrary to God. In this flesh, we have a sinful nature. This flesh wants to rebel against God. Or do we sow toward spiritual things? Do we sow to the Holy Spirit of God that can reveal greater truths to us? And you know what our lives were probably sow into both. Sometimes we sow into the flesh, sometimes we sow into the spirit. Should we sow to the flesh? Of course not. Because if you sow to the flesh, you're going to reap corruption. All right, it's harmful for you. If you seek sinful pleasures, if you seek things that are contrary to God's will, if you seek things that, you know, gives you no profit, it's just vanity, the things of this world, brethren, you know, you're chasing after all the Hollywood movies, and you're listening to ungodly music and, and you're reading, you know, sinful things. And, you know, if you fill your minds with things that are, you know, that only feed this flesh, brethren, you will reap corruption. God is not mocked. All right. But you can reap to the spirit. So you can sow to the spirit, and you reap life everlasting. So instead of having a temporary pleasure of the flesh, you know, what you what you're going to reap, will be reaped in everlasting life. You know, God's going to reward us in heaven, we're laying up treasures in heaven, we know that one day we're going to be with the Lord God in heaven, we're going to face our Lord God, and what we've done for him on this earth will be rewarded up in heaven, up there in life everlasting. So that is the best place to lay up your treasures, brethren, where the moth, you know, has to go again. Anyway, lay up your treasures in heaven, and you know, the Lord will make sure that you are rewarded, you know, for what you've done. And so you need to keep this in mind, because we do have we do have that battle between the flesh and the spirit, the old man and the new man. And one of the great illustrations that I love very much is the illustration I've heard many times, where, you know, if you have, let's say, two dogs, right, and you sow to one dog, you know, to one dog, you show it love, you take care of it, when it's sick, you take it to the vet, when it's hungry, you feed it. And then you have another dog, okay, you have another pet dog that you might hate, when he gets sick, you don't take it to the vet, when it's hungry, you don't feed it, what's going to happen? Those two dogs are going to grow up differently, aren't they? The one that you looked after, the one that you sow to will be stronger, and the one that you didn't sow to, the one that you didn't feed will be skinny and sick. Well, what if these two dogs got into a fight? All right, who's gonna win? Of course, the stronger dog, the dog that's been fed, that dog's gonna win the fight. And brethren, this is how you win the battle against sin, right? If you're sowing to the flesh, you're going to make the flesh, you know, stronger than the spirit. In fact, actually, you make the flesh weaker. Remember that Jesus Christ said that the, you know, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, okay? So it's actually, it's the weakness of the flesh that causes us to give in to temptations, but that's when we sow to all the flesh, when we give the flesh what it wants, all right? You're going to cause the flesh to win in the battle of temptation, when you're being tempted to sin, when you're being tempted to do that which is wrong, if you spend all your time sowing to the flesh and you're not sowing to the new man, well, the flesh is going to be in that position to win that battle, okay? But if we sow to the spirit, you know, we're mindful of spiritual things, we're reading our Bible, we're praying, we're going to church, right? We're going soul-winning, we're doing what God requires from us, brethren, then the spirit's gonna be very strong, and when we're tempted to sin, the spirit will be the one that has victory, right? And so this is a very important doctrine that you need to understand. If you want spiritual victory, you need to sow to the spirit and not to the flesh. Let's keep going during Galatians, chapter 6, verse number 9. It says, and let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. And so reap into the spirit, sorry, sow into the spirit is well-doing, and it can become weary. It requires a lot of work, but the Bible tells us don't faint, right? Because there's come in the due season where we will reap what we've sown. Verse number 10. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. So what is another great way for you to reap to the spirit? Well, if you do good unto all men, especially if you do good to those that are in your church, those that are in the household of faith, to other believers, all right? So, you know, just doing nice things, just serving one another, just being good to one another, just being encouraging to one another is another way that you can sow to the spirit, and the Lord's going to reward you in heaven with that life everlasting that we receive, all right? Can you now turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 11? Ecclesiastes chapter 11. So be mindful where you sow, all right? We want to sow to the spirit, not to the flesh. But also, don't delay your sowing. Don't delay in your service to God. Don't put it off. Don't say, well, I'll do it tomorrow. I'll do it next week. You know, I'm not ready to go sow-winning just yet. I'll do it next month. I'll do it next year. Don't be that way. Ecclesiastes chapter 11, verse number 4. Ecclesiastes chapter 11 and verse number 4. The Bible reads, he that observeth the wind shall not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap, okay? So it's using the illustration of a farmer. If the farmer sees that the weather conditions are not good for sowing, he's not going to sow, right? If he thinks that, you know, there's going to be heavy rain at this point in time, it's going to destroy the crops, there's bad weather along the ways, he's not going to sow and he's not going to reap, right? And so sometimes you might say, well, you know, I'll serve God, but just not yet. The conditions aren't just right, you know? It's 2020, it's 2021, COVID-19, you know, now's not the time to serve God. Well, if you don't sow now, you're not going to reap. Verse number 5. As thou knowest not what is the way of the Spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child, even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. So God's saying, look, you don't know that, hey, if you go and sow, it's going to be destroyed. There are a lot of things that we don't know. Yes, we make decisions on the weather, but we really don't know how the weather's going to turn out. I mean, how many times, you know, is the weather forecasted to be a certain way, but it doesn't end up being that way, okay? So we can make educated guesses, okay? But at the end of the day, we don't know what the future holds. In fact, we don't even know how, you know, what the spirit of man is because it's invisible, it's intangible, but we know we have a spirit. Hey, you know, even scientists today do not exactly know how a baby is formed in the womb. They know what happens, but how it grows, where the bones develop from, how does this happen? Between a seed and an egg, all right? I know it's written in the DNA, but, you know, these are mysteries even to scientists today, all right? And so God is saying, look, you don't know everything, right? Therefore, verse number 10, sorry, verse number six, therefore, in the morning, sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand. So keep sowing even in the evening. For thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. So God is saying, look, instead of not sowing, you know, make sure that you do serve God and make sure that you sow. Hey, in the morning, sow toward that which is good. Sow that toward the spirit. In the evening, keep sowing. Keep sowing toward the spirit, okay? Because even if you feel like, you know, the conditions aren't quite right, the time is not just, you know, right now for me to serve God, God will make sure you don't know. You know, God will see it through. God can help your hand be profitable. God can help you have success. And God may very well bless you, you know, in a time where you would otherwise have felt, well, now's not the time to serve God. You know, it's kind of like my decision to come down to Sydney. You know, I knew coming down to Sydney was going to be a little bit challenging, all right? Because, you know, the spread of COVID is a little bit greater, of course, than what it is on the Sunshine Coast. I knew the restrictions were going to be harder. And so, you know, we're facing some, you know, restrictions here. I knew there were going to be some challenges at the border, potentially, you know, these are things. And I could say, well, you know what, now's not the time to go to Sydney to serve the brethren. All right, the conditions aren't that great. I'm not going to sow in this area right now. I'm just going to stay in Queensland, where things are a lot more comfortable, things are a lot more relaxed, you know, that'd be the best place for me to be. I could take that attitude, right? And I could look at the current environment and say, well, you know, now's not the time to sow to Sydney. But you know what, wherever, you know, God has you, you know, God wants you to just serve Him. God wants you to just forget the environment that's around you. Okay, obviously, be aware of your circumstances. You don't have to be ignorant, but understand that every opportunity is an opportunity to serve God. It's always an opportunity to sow to the Spirit, right? And you don't know exactly how God will come through and reward you, how He will cause you to be productive. All right, so the teaching there, basically brethren, is don't delay, okay? Use every opportunity to sow to the Spirit. You know, Ephesians 6 15 says, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And so when it comes to giving the gospel to people, hey, we're sowing the Word of God, right? When we go out and give the gospel, we need to be prepared at every opportunity. It's not just a door to door sowing, okay? It could be the interactions we have in the workplace, interactions that we have with family, those opportunities that come up. You know, if you ask God to open up opportunities for you, He will. And you need to use those opportunities, brethren, to preach the gospel, to sow the seed of God's Word in someone's life. You've got to be prepared for every situation. Can you please go to John 4, verse 34? John 4 and verse 34. John 4, verse 34. Quite often when you think about sowing, just like I spoke about, we think about, you know, sowing God's Word, preaching the gospel, going soul winning. John 4, verse 34. I just want to give you a reminder of Jesus Christ here. When we go soul winning, don't forget that soul winning is a team effort. It's a team effort, okay? John 4, verse 34. And I believe this will encourage you, especially if you've not been very fruitful lately, if you've not been reaping all that much as you go soul winning. But John 4, verse 34, reads, Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white or ready to harvest. And hear that reapeth, receiveth wages, and gathereth fruits unto life eternal, that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. Brethren, don't forget, you know, when you go door to door soul winning, and you've maybe gone several weeks, and you've had nobody saved, you've not reaped the harvest just yet, but you're finding out brother so-and-so's got a salvation here, sister so-and-so's got a salvation there, they're reaping, hey, you're required to rejoice together, right? It says, both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. It's a team effort, brethren. Verse number 37, and herein is the saying true, one soweth and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor. Other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors, ye are entered into their labors. You know, many times when we see someone saved, in many occasions, they're just low hanging fruit. It's like you come to someone's door, and they're just ready. You know, they're not really confused or anything, you know, they're not really challenging you on anything, they're just ready to hear God's Word, they want to know what God's Word has to say, you give them the gospel, they believe it, they call upon the name of the Lord, and they're saved, right? Sometimes the sowing can be so easy at the door. You know why you reaped and you felt like it was no labor? Because someone else had sowed before you, okay? Somewhere, somehow, a man of God was used, you know, for that person to receive some of God's Word, you know, that the seed of God was sown, you've come along later on and just reaped the harvest, okay? It's a team effort, praise God, right? But don't forget, when you go, and you know, there are some places on the Sunshine Coast, it almost feels like you don't get to sow all that much, it's more like you're just plowing the ground, like it's a hard ground, right? Hey, but we are sowing God's seed when we're leaving the Bible verses, things like that, and again, you might get out there and be discouraged, but don't forget that one day, look, it might not even be you. It might not even be a member in your own church. One day, you know, another believer might be going through, walking through the same place that you sowed God's seed, right? It could be six months after, it could be a year after, it could be five years after, it could be 10 years after, but a believer comes along and gives someone the Gospel that you've sowed to, brethren, and that person believes in Jesus Christ and is on his way to heaven. I'm sure there are people that we've sown to, there are people that we felt were, man, they received God's Word, but they just couldn't get saved, and sometimes you get discouraged. Why couldn't they just call upon them, Lord, right now? Well, don't be surprised that when we get to heaven, where some other believer, maybe members of another church, right, of a Bible believing church, came through, gave that person the Gospel, reaped the harvest because the labors that you did, and so, brethren, it's never a waste of time to sow. It's never a waste of time to give people God's Word, because if you don't see them being reaped there and then, it's very possible that sometime in the future, another person may come through, reap that harvest. I'll tell you, there's going to be a lot of rejoicing in heaven, not just the salvation you've seen, but also for those that you weren't expecting that are in heaven because of your hard work. All right, let's go back to Hosea. Hosea chapter 8 and verse number 8. Hosea chapter 8 and verse number 8. Let's go back to Israel, and let's have a look at how they reaped that whirlwind. What does that whirlwind look like? So they had reaped to things that were, they had reaped, sorry, they had sown to the flesh, right? They had sown to corruption. They had sown to the wind, right, and God's judgment, God's whirlwind was on its way. Verse number 8. Israel is swallowed up. Now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure. So God no longer has any pleasure. He doesn't look down at Israel and say, well, what a nation that I'm pleased at. No, they're going to be scattered amongst the Gentiles and they're going to be nothing. Verse number 9. For they had gone up to Assyria. A wild ass alone by himself, Ephraim have hired lovers. Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes. All right, keep your finger there and let's go to 2 Kings 15. We're already wearing 2 Kings 15. Maybe I should have told you to keep your finger there, but let's go back there. 2 Kings 15. We looked at 2 Kings 15 earlier and we're looking at these illegitimate kings setting themselves up in Israel. You may recall that. But in 2 Kings 15, we see that in the reign of Menahem in Israel that the Assyrians did come and they did pose a threat for a period of time before the captivity. This is some time before the captivity here that Hosea is preaching about. And I just want to show you when God says they were like this wild ass alone by himself or they've hired lovers, right? So in the past, they've tried to make peace with Assyria. And I'll just show you that example there. In 2 Kings 15, verse 19, 2 Kings 15, 19, the Bible reads, And Paul, the king of Assyria, came against the land. That's against the northern kingdom. And Menahem, that's the king that God did not set up, right? And Menahem gave Paul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand. And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even so all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and stayed not there in the land. So for a temporary period of time, Menahem was able to appease Paul the king of Assyria to not come and destroy them, all right? And so Menahem had in his own attempts tried to make peace, tried to keep things stable, right? That God's judgment would not come earlier than what God had planned as it were. And so when God says that they were a wild ass, that's of course a donkey, right? That's alone, meaning that they're a rebellious people, right? They'd rather go and buy peace than go depend on God, right? They'd rather go and, like it said, you know, hire lovers, you know? It was just a hiring. You know, this wasn't a permanent thing. Assyria would eventually, you know, take them into captivity anyway, no matter how much Menahem tried to appease them. You know, eventually it wouldn't work and, you know, they would be taken into captivity. Let's go back to Hosea, verse number 11. Verse number 11. It says, because Ephraim have made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin. All right, the best way I understand that verse there is that the altars that they had set up to commit sin would kind of testify against their sin, right? So when God's judgment were going to come, if the people were going to say, well, why God? We don't deserve this. What God would be like, point to the altars and say, well, that testifies against your sin, right? Verse number 12. I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing. That's quite amazing, right? God has given us His word, He's given us His Bible. The Bible says that these are great things in my law, but to them, these were the people of God. They were supposed to know the scriptures, right? But to them, it was counted as a strange thing. Now brethren, this gives you a good idea as to how much you love the Lord, or whether you're walking in His ways, or whether you're reaping to the flesh or to the spirit, okay? You can be a believer, you can be saved, you can be going to church, but you know, to many Christians, God's word is as a strange thing, right? They read God's word, it's like, wow, that's unusual, that's strange, I'm not going to do that, that's not my way, that's not my culture, that's not the Australian way, and so God's word is like this strange thing, you know, and that kind of, you know, that's a good self-test, right? When you read God's word, is it to you a great thing, or is it a strange thing? But you know what? Those that love God, those that are growing in knowledge, those that have a fear of God, and those that are trying to serve God, and those that are trying to read to the spirit, when they read God's word, to them, it is a great thing. And so brethren, is God's word to you great things, or is it to you a strange thing? Verse number 13, they sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it, but the Lord accepted them not. Now will He remember their iniquity and visit their sins, they shall return to Egypt, all right? So they're sacrificing to these calves, to these idols, and so God does not receive that worship, right? They're not worshiping, they're not sacrificing to God, and because of that, they're going to return to Egypt. Now of course, when we think about Egypt, we think about the fact that they were there for 400 years before they were birthed as a nation, and they were, as it were, in captivity, right? And you know, God had to do amazing miracles through Moses to deliver the people out of the land of Egypt. And so it's not saying that they are literally going to go back to Egypt, because we know they were taken into captivity by Assyria. The principle there, or the symbolism I should say there, is that just like they were in captivity in Egypt, so too they're going to be in captivity by the Assyrians. Verse number 14, for Israel have forgotten his Maker, and built of temples, and Judah have multiplied fenced cities, but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the places thereof. All right, so you notice there that in verse number 14 it refers to Israel, how Israel has forgotten God, and then it refers to Judah once again. We've seen this a few times already in the book of Hosea, where Judah's judgment will not happen for another 120 plus years, okay, after Israel's judgment. But God is constantly firing this warning shot at Judah, all right, and God's saying, look, Israel is going down. Judah, pay attention, all right, and so God is just firing a warning shot to Judah, you know, not to suffer the same fate as Israel, but unfortunately they did not listen to the warning shots, and they still were taken in captivity, not by the Assyrians, by the Babylonians, all right. So Judah did not listen to that warning shot, but listen, we should listen to it, all right, we are God's people as well, and we need to be careful as to what we're going to reap toward. So in conclusion, can you please turn to Psalm 126, Psalm 126, and verse number 4, and we know that Israel ended up being taken into captivity by the Assyrians, and Judah into captivity by the Babylonians, all right. Now when we read, when we turn to Psalm 126, verse number 4, we're going to read a portion of scripture which most often in a Baptist church they'll teach us in relation to soul winning. Now I believe one application is definitely about soul winning, okay, but let's have a look at the immediate context. What are we looking at here? In Psalm 126, verse number 4, Psalm 126 and verse number 4, it begins by saying, turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. So we have God's people here singing a Psalm, asking God to turn their captivity, right, they've been taken captive, and of course this is, you know, referring to the southern kingdom here of Judah, where they were, they were, they were a nation that did return back into the land when they were in Babylon for 70 years, all right. And so you can see how the reference of captivity here points to this Psalm being a Psalm that was written, you know, not in the time of King David, but during a time of captivity, right. And then it says in verse number 5, so if God would just turn again our captivity, if we can just return back to our land, it says in verse number 5, they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that go forth and weepeth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. And so God, you know, is making a promise here, you know, through the psalmist that when they turn, when God turns their captivity, when they're back in the land that God wants them, you know, if they just brought their seeds, if they brought, you know, came with tears, they came, you know, been repenting of their disobedience toward God, and they started to plant, they're going to have the harvest once again, that God's going to bless them once again in the land. And without doubts, they're going to bring his sheaves with him, all right. He's going to reap what he sowed. Brethren, let's listen to this, right. If you, as it were, in captivity, you know, you might be taken captive by a sin, you know, by, you know, the power of darkness, somehow in your life, you'll reap into the flesh. You know, this is a great psalm to read, you know, turn again our captivity, O Lord, ask God to help you to free you from this sin, from these bad habits that you may have that's only going to reap corruption in your life. You know, and ask God to help you to take God's precious seed, you know, to soul, to spiritual matters. Yes, to soul winning. You know, we go door to door soul when we preach the Gospel, there's a guarantee that we're going to see people saved, all right. If you're not seeing people saved, you know, either God lied or you're just not doing it right. Maybe you're not going out in the Spirit of God. Maybe you're not doing a good job presenting the Gospel. You know, we need to be people that are prepared to preach the Gospel. We need to be a people prepared with the seed that God has to go out there and sow the seed. You know, the more you sow, brethren, the more you're going to reap. It's guaranteed, all right, but it's not just soul winning. It's just in other places in our life, in our spiritual life, we sow to spiritual matters. We're good to the brethren. We show love for the brethren. We're going to reap great rewards. You know, God may very well bless us in this life, but we know for sure He's going to bless us and reward us in heaven. So please keep that in mind. God bless. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, I want to thank you for teaching here. Lord, help us be people that are mindful as to where we sow the Word of God or where we sow to spiritual things, Lord. Help us not to sow to fleshly desires, Lord. Help us not to sow to sinful things that cause corruption in our life, Lord. I pray that you would help us to be people that are mindful to use our time wisely, Lord, that we will take the seed of God's Word and that we would apply it in the right places in our life. God, help us to listen to the warning shot that you gave to Judah. Help us to be a people that will not be taken into captivity by the power of sin. Help us, Lord, to have victory over these challenges that we all face. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you, brethren.