Dr. John Goetsch: Gambling with God

let's go to the book of Hosea the book of Hosea and chapter 4 in your scriptures this morning if you'd like to follow along in the worship guide that received the scriptures are there for you that will read here's our text in the outline but Hosea chapter 4 and we'll start with verse number 1 and I'll read down to verse number 6 Hosea chapter 4 and starting with verse 1 here the word of the Lord he children of Israel for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land because there's no truth nor mercy nor knowledge of God in the land by swearing and lying and killing and stealing and committing adultery they break out and blood touches blood therefore shall the land mourn and everyone that dwelleth therein shall languish with the beasts of the field with the fowls of the heaven he the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away yet let no man strive nor reprove another for thy people are as they that strive with the priest therefore shalt thou fall in that day and the Prophet also shall fall with the in the night and I will destroy that mother my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because those rejected knowledge I will also reject thee and thou shall be no priest to me seeing thou has forgotten the law of thy God I will also forget thy children the legendary story is told of a man who made his living by juggling he was renowned he traveled far and wide across this country performing at various events particularly circuses and so on he was very skilled very agile with his hands and he could juggle just about anything in fact often in the crowd people would throw things at him and ask him to juggle or balance these things and he was just unparalleled in his ability to do so the man was consumed with his work with his job if you please he loved the crowds he loved the applause he loved the attention it fed him and wanted to me he wanted to be better and better all of the time his life was consumed with travel and and performance didn't have time really to get married or have a family or things of that nature and well into his middle-age he enjoyed the life that he was living was he reached that midlife point in time he thought you know I've been just about everywhere you can go I've performed in the greatest venues in the world I've received the applause of men maybe it's time for me to change a little bit he thought you know I've made enough money I could live anywhere I want to live I could go anywhere I want to go and honestly he was a little tired of the constant pressure of performing and the the people always wanting something bigger something better for him that he could do and so he decided to take his money he had made a lot of it travel he thought I'll get on a boat - now I'll travel the world and wherever I find a place that's quiet a place that I like a place where maybe I can settle down out I'll get off that boat and that's where I lived the rest of my life perhaps meet someone I can marry and have a family even perhaps he thought I need to take my wealth with me but he didn't want to carry his money with him obviously on this trip so he thought I need to buy something something of value something that I could I could cash in no matter where I go in the world and and receive my money back so that I can live and he he thought about that for bid and finally made his way to a diamond store and he bought a very rare and valuable diamond just about the size that fit comfortably into the palm of his hand a very expensive diamond he put hundreds of thousands of his dollars into this purchase placed it in a locked box and into his luggage and began his on board the ship the day's grew wearisome and tiresome as people were traveling by boat in those days and those days and weeks on the ocean often times were much the same day after day and one day someone said hey aren't you the guy that juggles aren't you the guy that's performed and they began to list different places and he finally admitted he was the man they said hey entertain us I mean we need something to entertain us on this boat here juggle this and he consented again he enjoyed the tension he enjoyed the crowd and so he he took the items and he began to juggle the people who'd and odd and they loved it and they would give him other things and he would he would juggle it and they wanted more they wanted something better something a little more daring something with a little more risk and I said do some more do some more and finally he was getting a bit agitated he said wait here I'll be back in five minutes he made his way to his cabin and unlocked his luggage took out that box and unlocked it and took out that very expensive and rare diamond made his way back to the deck they showed the crowd that beautiful rare stone and explained the hundreds of thousand dollars he had paid for it and he said you want to see something you want to see some risk he went over to the side of the ship and he leaned over the edge over the water and he threw that diamond into the air the crowd watched breathlessly as that diamond spiraled into the sky and then back down toward his hand and with ease with skill with agility he caught the diamond before it reached the water the crowd roared with approval and they said more more born so again he took that diamond reached over the rail and threw it a little bit higher this time the crowd gasps does it seemed almost disappear and now began its descent and they watched as he carefully and quickly snatched it before hit the water again they roared their applause more more more and the man now with a stern look took that Dame and reached over the edge of that boat and with every ounce of strength he had he threw it high to the sky the crowd watched now had disappeared for a moment in the glistening Sun and soon it appeared again and they watched as he was steady hand waited as that diamond approached this hand the bolt hit a wave it jolted the boat just enough to the left the diamond hit the edge of his fingers and slipped into the murky waters lost forever the nation of Israel had gambled with God's instructions here and lost you know it's never wise for us to have a controversy with God did you notice God's words in verse one hear the word of the Lord ye children of Israel for the lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land i've often wondered as God looks at America tonight if he doesn't have a controversy with us why was God upset with these people why was God at odds with the nation of Israel at this point in history well verse 1 tells us there was no truth there was no mercy there was no knowledge of God sound like the news no truth no mercy no knowledge of God and in their place we find in verse two there was swearing and lying and murder and stealing and adultery gambling that they could ignore God and embrace sin and get by with it what are we risking this morning at the casino of Life what of God's instruction today are we hauling into the air gambling somehow when we get ready to catch it it will be secure how much can we afford to lose all we think our lives our dishonesty our murderers our adulteries our inward blasphemy of God is all covered but the Bible says there's nothing covered all is revealed oh god don't notice my foolishness my secret sins are not hid from thee if we have forgotten the name of our God or stretched out our hands to a strange God will not God search this out for he knoweth the secrets of the heart Jeremiah said can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him do not I fill the heavens and the earth we think oh no one knows about my lies no one knows about my adultery no one knows that I stole that at the store nobody knows of my blasphemy my cursing of God nobody knows that's all in my heart but the psalmist said whither shall I go from thy spirit whither shall I flee from thy presence if I send into heaven thou art there if I make my bed in hell behold our there if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea even there so the hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me if I say surely the darkness shall cover me the darkness and the light are both alike unto thee the darkness height is not from the the darkness and the light are both alike unto thee my friend God's hand is on your boat and all he has to do is cause a little jolt in your life and suddenly all that you've gambled with is gone verse six of this chapter reveals four devastating losses that we suffer when we gamble with God's instruction we see first a lost foundation my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge now no structure will stand the test of time without a proper foundation here in the Antelope Valley we we live in a desert and I grew up in the Midwest of our country and things are a little bit different as far as constructing buildings here as opposed to where I grew up I remember when this building was being constructed this worship center I remember seeing those early excavations of the of the area here and these big machines came in and they began digging out all this inert they were piling up dirt everywhere these big mountains of dirt all over this campus and and they were digging this huge hole in the ground and I thought to myself wow I I thought I looked at those plans I don't remember having a basement I don't here are too many basements here in the Antelope Valley where I grew up basements are pretty common we go there during tornadoes or whatever and and and yet I didn't think the church had a I was building a basement and yet they were digging down and down and down and removing all this dirt and piling it up and boy I thought we were building the world's largest swimming pool right here on the campus a Lancaster Baptist Church then one day I came to work and they were putting all that dirt back in the hole all these mounds of dirt were disappearing they were putting it all back and I thought this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in my life we're paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to dig a hole and then fill it back when I inquired about if they said oh that has to be done because in the desert you have air pockets under the ground and if you don't dig that dirt out and then pack it down layer by layer by layer if you just put a slab on the ground and start building those air pockets they'll collapse at some point and the building will fall every building has to have a proper foundation can I say this morning ladies and gentlemen our lives need the foundation of God's Word the knowledge of God's Word Jesus told us in Matthew chapter 7 that whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and keepeth them I'll liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock and the rains descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and could not shake it because it was founded upon a rock but he said whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and keepeth them not I liken him unto a foolish man which built his house on the sand and the rains descended the floods came the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell and great was the fall of it may I ask you what are you building your life upon this morning what is the foundation of your life what room what do you revolve your life around what is it that you are building upon today is it your career your job your occupation is it your sphere of friends and family and and and those to whom you associate with is that your foundation what are you building your life on my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge what can you afford to lose this morning of the knowledge of God can you afford to gamble away his word in your life forever O Lord thy word is settled in heaven have you opened this book this week have you hid God's Word in your heart this week have you meditated on the Scriptures this week my word is a lamp of my feet you say I'm busy I've got so much to do I I don't have time I'm just thankful I could be in church for an hour today listen what are you building your life on my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge the grass with it the flower fall us but the words of our God shall stand forever heaven and earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away is your foundation the Word of God this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayst observe to do all that is written therein for them thou shalt make the way prosperous then thou should have good success these people gambled with the knowledge of God they threw it in the air and they lost a lost foundation but secondly we see a lost favor in verse 6 my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because those rejected knowledge I will also reject thee and thou shall be no priest to me do you need the favor of God do you need the blessing of God do you need God's help do you suppose you'll need God dance for a prayer this coming week or you handle it life on your own you're ok with just kind of going it on your own you'll figure it out you'll make it can you handle life on your own can you handle the tragedies on your own you're gonna handle death on your own Jesus said I am the vine you are the branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me you can do nothing friends we need the favor of God we need the blessing of God we need the hand of God upon our life for we're not sufficient of ourselves to think anything is of ourselves our sufficiency is of God except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it John said a man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven friends we are not self-made men every good gift every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning everything we have everything we enjoy everything that is favourable in our life is a is a blessing and a gift from God you can't leave this service without it you need his blessing you need his hand I'll tell you we're living in a culture today where you better have God just going to Walmart now I'm not joking there were some folks this week that needed him bad at Walmart we live in a culture you don't dare walk down the street you don't dare walk out of your house you don't dare do your job you don't dare do your ministry without the blessing of God these people had gambled with the favor of God they threw it in the air and lost a lost foundation a lost favor I think of Samson who and the Old Testament was a man under a Nazarite vow Samson was born of godly parents and God had chosen Samson to be a deliverer to the nation of Israel he was to be one of the judges that would finally delivered Israel from the Philistines so he was a Nazarite by vow he was not to drink anything or eat anything that came of the vine he was to never touch a dead animal or object he was never to have his hair cut but Samson disregarded that vow he got careless with it he gambled with it he drank he crouched loose and his morals one day saw a dead lion in the way and saw that the bees had made some honey there in the carcass of the lion and he took that honey because he was hungry he touched that dead object laughed it off me to riddle about it to trick the Philistines soon we find Samson sleeping in the lap of Delilah who's lied and deceived him now as he sleeps she cuts his hair the Nazarite vow throw it in the air and in verse 20 of Judges 16 she said the Philistines be upon thee Samson and he awoke out of his sleep it's a neat phrase he awoke out of his sleep which is what I'd like to see some of you do today awake out of your sleep he awoke out of his sleep and I said I'll go out as at other times and shake myself he realized he had thrown that Nazarite vow away he realized he'd gambled with the favor of God but he said it's all right I can handle this I can do it on my own he shook himself I'll handle this I'll take those Philistines I'll kill them but the Bible says he was not that the Lord was departed from him he thought I could handle this I thought yeah he thought I can do this on my own but he didn't realize the favor of God was gone and one of these days we will be awakened from our selfish sin so sinful slumbers as trouble and trial and travesty comes into our life and we'll go out as at other times we'll shake ourselves and we'll think I'll do it in my religion I'll do it in my experience I'll do it in my my my association with God in the past and you won't realize that long ago you threw the favor of God into the air and now when you need him he's not there he lost foundation a lost favor thirdly we see a lost family the last phrase of this verse six is one of the most devastating predictions in the Bible he says because now it's forgotten the law of thy God I will also forget that children did you read that what we think I don't I'm busy I don't need God right now I got too much other going I'll handle life I'll get through without it's right now God says when you forget me I forget your kids and you don't need a more glaring example than the United States of America in 1962 we decided we didn't need God in this country we're not gonna pray publicly anymore we're not gonna read the Bible in our public schools we're taking him out and today we scratch our heads and wonder what's happened that's how you what happened we gambled with our family and we lost you know there's something about family that kind of gets our attention doesn't it the moment ago when these kids are up here it's kind of scary you know they move around enough to where you think don't fall off of there you know and and when one of them kind of missteps we all go you know like especially what's your kid like there's just something about family there's just something about your child gets your attention when your family's hurting ones people you love are hurting there there's something that goes on inside of you and and you want to respond why because children aren't heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward and no matter how good life is when your family is hurting we hurt I'm gonna ask you something are you treating your family for what you're living for right now you may not think it's a big deal to reject God you made it think it's not a big deal to stay out of church you may not think it's a big deal to to not have a spiritual home but I'm telling you we're trading our kids lot and the Old Testament should have listened to Abraham Abraham was given him some wise counsel as his uncle but lot disregarded the old man I know where I want to go I know what I want to do and a lot pitch this tent towards Sodom and it's not long until Sodom is dwelling in that or a lot is dwelling in that wicked city of Sodom in fact he's sitting at the gate and the theologians tell us that that means he was he was holding some kind of political office there perhaps he was the mayor of the city of Sodom we don't know exactly but a lot is very comfortable now in the city of Sodom I don't even God's will I don't need God's direction I don't need God's favor God's foundation I don't need that stuff I know what I want I know what I need but when the fire and brimstone began to fall upon Sodom lot went out and spake unto his sons and law which had married his daughters and said up get you out of this place for the Lord will destroy this city but he seemed to them as one that mocked you see he had gambled lost olat became cultural oh he fit right in with the culture nothing peculiar about lot nothing holy about lot he was accepted by everybody in town but lost his family Eli in the Old Testament was a priest a spiritual leader but he got cold hearted he got indifferent got apathetic he didn't care how his sons were living he didn't care what was going on in the temple he didn't care about the worship he didn't he didn't care about those things and in the process he lost his family David got casual it was time for Kings to go to battle second samuel chapter 12 but david sat still in jerusalem and we know the rest of the story David got casual but he lost his family Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived and yet he loved many strange women the word strange they're speaking of women who were worshipping false gods and idolatry and Solomon loved those women and he got carnal and lost his family gambled and lost and finally we see a lost future the verse begins verse 6 with my people are destroyed everything we did yesterday and all that we do today will somehow affect tomorrow now we have the idea today that we think well you know I got to take care of things today I'm going to live for today I'm gonna be happy today I'm gonna meet my needs today I'm just gonna worry about now listen everything you did yesterday everything you will do today will affect tomorrow we may think it doesn't matter that I'm throwing away the knowledge of God doesn't matter that I'm throwing away the favor of God doesn't matter that I not diligent with my family but everything you're doing today is gonna affect your tomorrow I made a note when I wrote this message it was June 24th now I didn't look at this message again until a couple days ago I'm preaching it today Braden write it today I didn't prepare today and I didn't pray for the message today I'm just delivering it today you see what I did on June 24th affects my life two months later today what I do today will affect tomorrow than two months from now and in eternity there are two stories in the Bible of men who gambled when it's told by Jesus in Luke chapter 15 he said a certain man had two sons and the younger said unto his father father give me the portion of goods that fall us to me in other words this younger son was concerned about today I want my inheritance I want it now I don't want to wait till you die I don't want to wait till at the right time I want it endow I want to live for now I want to live for today I want to be happy right now I don't care about how much more I could have later I don't care about the future I want now what's mine the Bible says the father divided unto them is living not may days after the younger son gathered together all and took his journey into a far country and there wasted his substance with riotous living and when he had spent all there arose a mighty famine in the land and he began to be in want and he went and joined himself to a citizen of the country who sent him into his fields to feed swine he fain would have filled his belly with the husks of the swine did eat and no man gave unto Him and when he came to himself he said how many hired servants my father's have bread enough in to spare and I perish with hunger I'll arise and go to my father and I'll say father I've sinned against heaven and against thee and I'm no more worthy to be called thy son meet me as one of the hired servants so he arose and went in to his father but when he was yet a great way off his father saw him and had compassion on him and ran and fell upon his neck and kissed him and he said bring hither the the best robe and put it on him and shoes upon his feet and a ring upon his hand and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it let us eat to be merry for this my son was dead and is alive again and was lost in this pound and they began to be merry he was a young man that Campbell threw it all away until one day he came to himself Oh would you come to yourself today would you come to your senses today would you return back to God today get tired of just living for the now and for what successful to you and realized that your futures at stake your family's at stake the favor of God is at stake the very foundation of your life is at stake you must return to God for the next chapter Jesus told another story he said there was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which laid at his gate full of sores desiring to be fed with the dog with the crumbs from the rich man's table moreover the dogs came and licked his sores it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom the rich man also died and was buried and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom and he cried and said father Abraham have mercy upon me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame but Abraham said son remember that thou in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things likewise Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted and our tormented and beside all this between us and you there's a great gulf fixed so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thence you see here was a man that gambled with God about his soul he thought I'll deal with that later now is the time to make money now's the time to enjoy my richest now is the time to enjoy the now he gambled with his soul but one day the ship of life took a turn death came and what should I profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul what shall a man give in exchange for his soul are you gambling your eternity away this morning oh listen Jesus Christ invites you to come to him he said I'm the way the truth and the life you can come to the Father today and when you come to Christ today as your Savior he will save you whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved he'll give you eternal life you can do something today about your soul that will affect not just tomorrow but your entire eternity don't gamble with God

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

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Keywords: lancaster baptist church, lancaster baptist, baptist church, paul, chappell, paul chappell, pastor paul chappell, Dr. John Goetsch, gambling, Hosea 4

Id: o-cqNsbx2kQ

Length: 36min 10sec (2170 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 11 2019