The Seven Levels of Judgment - Improper Response Part 2 — Dan Biser

Not knowing Him, crying out to Him, not hearing from Him, and not turning from our wicked ways, but continuing to provoke Him and continuing to ratchet up the judgments, improper. 2 Chronicles 7 14 is a contrast.

The Consequences of Improper Response

That which is right receives the response of God for favor. Improper response of those four things, which we've still not met, continues the judgment, provokes Him, and ratchets it on up. Now, having said that, let's go back to Hosea chapter 4 verse 6.

Destruction Through Lack of Knowledge

God's people, children of Israel, are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Right here we come back to what Jeremiah 8 7 said, and we begin immediately with this, where God, speaking through the prophet, the reason of this calamity is because my people don't know what's going on.

It is that you could define the issue at hand, is we don't know what sin is. Now, if you listen to the normal prayer meeting today, and you say, confess your sins, somebody automatically, in a vague state of spirituality, will say, God forgive me of all my sins.

Now, again, I thank God from a group, a mature group in the church today, if they would stand up and say, Lord forgive us of all of our sins. And God says, which sins? What sins? The idea of this is, is to identify where we have failed God.

But when we don't properly, we improperly recognize sin, it's because we don't know what's offensive to him, because we don't know the Word of God. Thou shalt, thou shalt not. We have a nation today, the church today, the evangelical church in the last 10, 15, 20 years, which have been arguing and fighting about prayer in school since the 60s, and they've been fighting about the Word of God in the public place, and they've been fighting about the Ten Commandments being posted in the government places.

All these things are an issue. But yet you ask the evangelical Christian today, you're upset because the Ten Commandments are not posted? Can you please take a piece of paper and write down the Ten Commandments for me?

Do you realize is that 80 to 90 of the people that are all upset about the Ten Commandments being removed can't even name the Ten Commandments? My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. What's your favorite Bible verse?

And you got people that have been in the church 40 to 60 years, and they can't even quote one verse? Thy word have I hid in my heart. Why? That I might not sin against God. Why is God's people sinning against him?

Because they don't know his Word. They don't know God. Lack of God, lack of knowledge of his Word, lack of knowing what is right and wrong. Now we've filled our minds with all kinds of knowledge. Trivia.

Trivial pursuit. Big game growing up. Everybody loved it. Jeopardy. Big game on television. Everybody loved it. Trivia. Knowledge. But what good does it do to have knowledge without application? You can be the smartest guy in the world.

No, have an IQ off the charts. Have an IQ of 180, 200, whatever you want to cry out for it to say a high IQ. What good does it do if you can't make an application in your life to that which is right in the sight of God?

Be a smartest man in this world and live improperly responding to God and die in your sins and go to hell. What has that wise man? Because you have rejected knowledge, the knowledge of God, the ways of God, the Word of God, presence of God.

Hear these words. I will reject you because of the improper response of God's people in North American churches. There are nations across the seas that don't even have a book of the Word of God, but they're thriving and growing because of their hungering after righteousness.

Hungering and thirsting after God. Because of what little that they do have, they make the most of it. But we who have been given everything underneath the sun have not done that which is right in the sight of God.

And because of that lack of knowledge about the things of God and the application of it in our life, God says I've rejected you. Ah, what a condemnation on the church of North America today. We will go down with the seven churches in revelation of condemnation.

This much I have against you. And every one of those seven churches can be found in a North American church what God, what Christ has against his own church. Because I, you have rejected knowledge. I also reject you that thou shalt be no priest to me, seeing that thou hast forgotten of all thy God.

I also will forget thy children. I want to make a statement that's going to bring some anger to you and resentment to you. But you want to know why there are so many parents and grandparents praying for their children and grandchildren and seeing such a departure in the church today?

Right there's your answer. The reason that the children are being swept away into lies and into hell and into the course of this world and that growing up with absolutely, even though you bank and you lay on that promise that you bring a child up in the ways that you would have them to go, when they're old they'll not depart from them.

But you're not seeing them come back to God. We're seeing an entire generation lost because you have forgotten the law of God. We, we left Bible devotional time in the family a long time ago. We left family altars a long time ago.

We left families coming together to church together a long time ago. We've left the law of God. We've forgotten it. And because now we're reaping exactly our improper response to God. That's a horrible verse and I'm here to tell you tonight that it ain't going to get much better as we go through these verses.

But it is again, if this would prick you enough, if this would agonize you enough, if this would break you enough, that we would respond properly instead of improperly, we'd see the power of God exerted in the church today.

Setting the Heart on Iniquity

Now I'm going to begin to move quickly through these verses. So I'm going to give you again the book of Hosea chapter four. We go down to verse eight. Improper response. They eat up the sin of my people and they set their hearts on their iniquity.

Setting your heart on iniquity is in direct contrast to setting your heart on God. Who shall send the Holy Lord? He that has clean hands and a pure heart. But does God, what does Christ speak about the heart?

How the heart proceeds adultery, fornication, murders, drunkenness, revelings, lies, all those sins that is mentioned there that says that none of those shall enter into the gates of heaven. How the heart produces those things.

They set their heart on iniquity. Where's your heart at tonight? I am a quiet cardiologist. I go into the homes, I preach as a pastor. I view and examine the heart of people and the news is that their hearts is set on sin.

The man, the woman, the child looks at me and says I can live in sin. I can practice sin. I can indulge in sin. I can play with sin and still come to church on Sunday and act holy is deceived because of a lack of knowledge of God and his ways.

God does not tolerate sin. It costs his son everything on Calvary. They set their hearts on iniquity. Improper response. So how do we pray? How do we begin to see in our hearts and our minds what's being spoken to us?

God make our hearts right. We must hate sin as much as God hates sin and how can you look at Calvary? How can you look at the wrath of God poured out on his own son? By his stripes we were made whole.

He bore the wrath of his father for the sins of the world. How can our hearts have any pleasure in sin when we know it costs Jesus? Improper response setting our heart on sin. Verse 10 chapter 4. Verse 10.

For they shall eat and not have enough judgment famine. They shall commit hoarders and they shall not increase because just as that contrasted that uh that contrasting word of. But when you make a statement he says.

But then there's a contrast there because it's the same kind of thing because they have left off to take heed to the Lord. Obedience. An improper response. When you read in the scriptures. Take heed unto yourself.

Take heed to the word of God. Take heed to your living practices. Take heed to your faith. Take heed to your time. Take heed to your actions. Because you're going to answer for it one day. But God's people because they have not taken heed to the things of God to the word of God to the ways of God to the Lord himself.

They left off what they've left off the practice of Christianity. Then what are they taking heed to money love self sins of the world lust of the world the lust of the eyes and the pride of life they have indulged in.

If you're not serving God spending time with God then you're spending time for the things that are against God. Proper being with God. Improper being without God. So we see it in verse 10. Down in verse 17 Ephraim is joined to his idols.

Idolatry and Divided Devotion

Improper response. First commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Ephraim is serving false idols. Second thou shalt not make unto me any graven image. Second commandment. They're making eyes and bowing down and offering sacrifices and burning their children in the fire.

And and spending their money on that and spending their time to that. And again if they're spending all that energy and all that time on a false idol then what are they leaving for God. Leftovers. God does not receive leftovers.

Ephraim is joined to his idols. Condemnation. Let him alone. God cuts us off from our improper response of worshiping this world and the things of this world. See it. Improper response. I spend more time in the television than I do in the word of God.

Improper. I spend more at 7-eleven and sheets and walmart and the dollar store than I do putting my ties in the offering plate. Improper response. I spend more time talking about sports and politics than I do about the kingdom of God and eternity.

Improper. Do we see it. Do you see it. More and more of these verses are before us. For this chapter 5 of Hosea verse 6 they shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord. But there's a difference.

They shall seek me. They shall not find him for he has withdrawn himself. Now you and I are given scriptures throughout Genesis to Revelation that are consistent. I want to jump back to Jeremiah real quick.

Seeking God with the Whole Heart

Jeremiah 29. And you shall seek me and find me. When you do it with all your heart back up there. Chapter 4. If your heart is not after God but after your iniquity then that's why you're not finding God.

Somebody comes to the church. They sit in the pew. They've been there for three weeks and then all of a sudden they're gone. You go and you talk to them and you say. Why'd you leave the church. Why'd you quit coming.

Well I didn't get anything out of it. Why. Why didn't they get anything out of it. Because they saw it but they didn't find it. How much Bible have you read. Well you know I sat down and I started to read the Bible the other night.

And I and I read six chapters. How many did you read the next night. Well I read three chapters. How many did you read the next night. Two. How many did you read. I stopped. Why. Because I saw it but I didn't find it.

Because they withdrawn themselves from him. Improper response. In this chapter 5 verse 11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment. Judgments and judgments that break judgments that destroy. Because why did this happen.

Because he willingly walked after the commandment. What commandment. He walked after the commandment to satisfy him. He walked after the commandment that satan whispered to eve in the garden hath God said.

And they walked after the commandment that was pleasing to their ears. But in their minds and their hearts they knew by conviction that it was not the word of God but the word of man. And they followed after a deception.

They followed after a lie. And you see that today in the churches of North America you give and God will bless you. You so you do the best that you can. Humanism. You do the best that you can. And that's all God requires of you.

That's a lot of hell. Get baptized and you'll be okay. Join the church. You'll be okay. Be a good person and you'll be okay. There's nothing good. No not one lies the commandment. Are you following after that.

It is is that God says you willingly walked after because it wasn't the commandment of the Lord. Chapter 5. Verse 15. The last verse in this chapter I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offense and seek my face in their affliction they will seek me.

Well I wish that that verse was true. I wish that that verse that in my in their affliction they will seek me early. Do you understand is that we have been under affliction for a long time with the land the government the church the life and death pestilences wars all kinds of catastrophes calamities and and these cataclysmic events.

We've seen it all in our lifetime in the last 20 years in our affliction. But we have not sought him. Improper response. That when you're being afflicted you don't. You don't try to make the affliction stop.

If I have a thorn in my hand and it is an affliction to me. I am an idiot if I don't take the thorn out you and I are in a place today that the church is in walking in this place right here. They have not sought his face.

And they have not in their affliction sought the lord. Chapter six verse one. Come let us return unto the lord for he is torn and he will heal us. He has smitten and he will bind us up. Now we see in this in this verse here that it is is that um they returned unto the lord.

I've marked this as one. That is a proper response they return. But an improper response that we'll see in other verses that correlate with this. They did not return. Matter of fact they turned away from god.

Instead of returning to god dog has returned to its vomit. Proverbs. And so they return to their folly. Chapter six verse. But they like men have transgressed the covenant. They have dealt treacherously against me against god.

Provoking God Through Covenant Disobedience

Men. How can the creation deal treat treacherously with the god who holds their breath in his hand. But have they not done. It has not. This society has not this generation done more to provoke the lord god to anger in dealing treacherously and transgressing against him and having no remorse about it.

It's all a joke. Ha ha. It's a joke. It's not going to be a joke. As that old song softly and tenderly jesus is calling. And in that third verse it is not going to be funny because of our improper responses.

When deathbeds are coming we don't see it enough because we have a lack of knowledge of the word of god. Chapter 8. Verse 14. Israel is swallowed up. Now shall they among the gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure no pleasure in the things of god.

And so we walk contrary to these things that are set before us. Chapter 9 verse. Have deeply corrupted themselves. Improper response. Deeply corrupting themselves as in the days of gibbon. Therefore he will remember their iniquity.

He will visit their sins. Why all these judgments. Because of our improper response of deeply corrupting ourselves. It's hard to find a holy man a holy woman of god. Today. It's hard to find those of the remnant that love the lord their god with all their heart.

There is so much corruption in the church. In the pulpits we look at that who shall ascend to the lord. He that has clean hands and a pure heart. And what's the words out of our mouth. Lord my hands are so filthy.

Lord my heart is so perverse. We are corrupted because we have not done these things. In an improper response has continued. Chapter 10. Verse 5. The inhabitants of samaria shall fear because of the cast of bethlehem.

The false cats. The jeroboam may for the people thereof shall mourn over it. And the priest thereof that rejoiced on it for the glory that of thereof because it is departed from it. And we see in that verse what god has set into motion.

Ichabod. The glory of god has departed. They brought in the false gold calf. Jeroboam said these are the calves that you shall worship at. And they bowed down and offered and worshiped those things. And the young man of god of judah pronounced against them that a king of judah shall come and overthrow these calves which was dosiah by name.

But what did it is when the more that they worshiped them. False calves. What did we read about every king of israel. He did evil in the sight of the lord as jeroboam the son of nebat who made israel to sin.

And they departed from the ways of god and god's spirit. Ichabod. And the glory of god departed from the children of his own people. Chapter 11. Verse 7. My people are bent on backsliding. Improper response.

Backsliding and the Need for Restoration

Backsliding. We recognize our sin. We come back to the lord for restoration. We don't continue in a perpetual state of backsliding as what you see in the church today. How many times do people walk down the aisle on a given sunday confessing the same sin today that they confessed last last week.

Perpetual backsliding. How many of those that would confess tonight to say i'm not going to make that sin anymore. And then tomorrow they go right back to it. Backsliding. They have continued in it. Chapter 12 of hosea.

Verse 14. Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly. Provoking god. Is that not the most foolish thing in all the world that you read in scripture. Why in the world would you want to get the wrath of god instead of the love of god or the blessing of god that they provoked him most bitterly.

Therefore shall he leave his blood upon him and his reproach. Shall his lord return unto him. What an awful verse that's found in the judgment of god because of an improper response by god's people in provoking him most bitterly.

Chapter 13. Verse 2. And now they sin more and more. Improper response. Not sin less. We sing that old hymn. More about jesus what i know. More of his love to other show. That's not the motto. That's not the church song today.

Church hymn today is more sin more pleasure more entertainment. And now they sin more and more and have made them molten images and idols worshiping those things above god. Verse six. Awful verse here according to their pastor.

So where they filled they were filled and their heart was exalted. Therefore have they forgotten me. Improper response. Don't forget god. You say oh. But the world has forgotten god. The church has forgotten god.

We forget why we're congregated together. We've forgotten the first principle of the catechism. While why are you given life to glorify god. We think it's to live for self because of humanism and dwelt within us.

We have forgotten god and his principles and his ways. Now. That's the book of osa. You see here. Improper responses by god's people. They get a response from god on the levels of judgment. And there's nobody that stands up and says oh time out.

We've got to stop this. Let's seek god. Let's call out to god. Let's turn away from our sins. Let's humbly and bow ourselves before the response. Improper responses is what you see in the scripture as it's repeated book of joel will come back to it in proper response.

Repeated Calls to Return to the Lord

Amos filled with improper responses. Chapter four. Verse six. In the book of amos we see this verse here several times. Same reference. Verse six. Verse eight. Verse nine. Verse ten. Verse eleven. Same phrase used at the end of it.

So let's read verse six. And i also have given you clean cleanness of team meaning not enough food to eat famine and drought in all your cities and want to bread and all your places. Starvation. Yet improper response.

You have not returned unto me. Proper response is what. Returning to the lord. Improper response. Not returning unto the lord. Verse eight. Yet you have not returned unto me. Verse nine. Yet you have not returned unto me.

Verse 10. Yet you have not returned unto me. Verse 11. Yet you have not returned unto me. Verse 12. Then prepare to meet your god. We have not returned to god with all my heart my soul body and strength.

We give god leftovers. Chapter four of amos. Condemnation on israel. Condemnation on the north american church that bears the banner of christ our lord and savior. Chapter six. I'm going to pick up the intensity here to continue to move forward here that chapter six of amos.

Verse six. That drink wine and bowls and anoint themselves with chief ointments. But they were not green for the afflictions of joseph. Lack of compassion. I often wondered in my own self. I'd see other people cry at certain things.

And i wouldn't cry and bother me. Why am i not broken. Why am i not weeping. Why is this not crushing me in this. And and it's a it's a sin. My eyes are dry as an old song keith green wrote. And it is is that there's no reason for us to have dry eyes today and living in such an improper response by god's people today.

And you and i are found in the scriptures in condemnation before god. And we go on callous and unmoved. And it doesn't grieve us that we've offended god. There's something wrong with that. We ought to be able to look at calvary and see that jesus.

It grieved the father to have to see his son go through that and to allow his son to go through that. It grieves him when he sees his own creation reject his sacrifice of his only begotten son. And it grieves him when we as his people after all he's done for us that we are not green over the condition of a lost generation going to hell.

It grieves. Why does it not grieve us. Improper response is a lack of grief lack of sorrow and lack of compassion. Jesus beheld the city and he wept over. We look at the city and we laugh at it. We think it's funny.

Rejecting Prophetic Correction

Chapter 7. Verse 12. After amos came and he preached and he spoke the words you read in verse 12 13. And amaziah said unto amos old al-sir a prophet teacher go flee into the land of judah and there eat bread.

And prophesy there. But prophesy not again anymore. Bethel where the two false golden calves were. Don't speak here anymore. Improper response. When you tell the man of god to stop preaching the word of god.

I have heard in my lifetime many preachers many churches they told their pastor don't you. If you ever preach on that topic again you'll be fired. And they held money and they held persuasion against them for whatever reason.

And the men of god compromised the word of god and it got him into trouble living a generation that says to the church just keep your mouth shut. Don't tell us how to live our life. And i have been told many a time in my lifetime is to say that's none of your business.

And i often answer back you're absolutely right. It ain't none of my business. Bad english ain't none of my business. But god made it his business. It ain't your life. It's his life. He gives you the breath of life.

He allows you life. And you are to use it for him and not for yourself. Now they might tell the problem. Go preach somewhere else. That's an improper response by god's people to the man of god. Now the man of god is not preaching the word of god.

He has every authority and right by the word of god to silence him and to remove him. When somebody stands in the pulpit and says jesus christ is not the only way of salvation the church has every right to remove that person for preaching in the gospel in the pulpit.

So it is is that we see a contrast here. Do right do right by the man of god. But don't tell him to leave and don't tell him to shut up. We see that in jeremiah they jailed him. Zedekiah refused to listen.

He went down into the ancient with those who remained remnant of judah. They didn't listen. John wesley buffeted beat brick stoned at him. I like the one place that he wrote to me he said. And they threw dead cats at me.

They didn't want to hear the word of god. And it was a bad response to the man of god. But john wesley preached the word of god and the spirit of god came. Despite the improper response by the people of britain.

Jonah’s Flight from God’s Command

One jumped now to the book of jonah. We see right off the bat jumping over obadiah. Uh only 21 verses. There just want to jump to jonah. Chapter one. Improper response. God comes to the word of god came to jonah.

Verse one. The son of amita of metia saying. Verse two. Arise and go to nineveh that great city and cry against him. Simple instruction. Go to nineveh and preach. Verse three. Improper response. But it's almost almost a deliberate thing in the king james bible when that word but shows up that there's a message getting ready to come.

But jonah rose up to flee unto tarshis from the presence of the lord. Improper response. God says go to nineveh. Jonah says no i'm going to go the opposite way. Improper response. By god's people. Repent now.

I'll take care of that next week. Confess now. I'll deal with that later on. In my own terms give that up. Die to self. No. I'm going to hold on to this. Improper response. God says one thing. And in contrast we take it another direction.

The book of jonah. Chapter four. Then he goes and he preaches to nineveh. After the experience with the whale. He preaches in chapter three. The king and the people respond. Proper response. We'll come back to that proper response by those people.

And god had mercy. Oh if we would just respond properly instead of improperly god would have mercy. But we won't before verse one. But there it is again. But it displeased jonah exceeding.