THE VALLEY OF ACHOR, THE DOOR OF HOPE
Part 2

HOSEA 2:1
A. HISTORIC SETTING OF OUR TEXT
  1. Defeat and despair of God's people:
    1. Achan and the accursed thing.
    2. Israel before her enemies - Josh. 7:4, 13, 14
  2. Utter defeat of God's people in the days of Hosea:
    1. "Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone" - Hos. 4:17
    2. "Israel, who looked to other gods, and loved flagons of wine" - Hos. 3:1
B. THE VALLEY OF ACHOR, THE DOOR OF HOPE
  1. A wonderful promise:
    1. God will bring light out of darkness; hope out of despair; joy out of sorrow - 2 Cor. 4:6 EXAMPLES -
      1. The would-be suicide becomes a joyful Christian - Acts 16:24-34
      2. A criminal, while paying for his crime, becomes an heir of the kingdom of Christ - Luke 23:42-44
      3. Remember Bataan and MacArthur.
    2. Our strength is born out of weakness - 2 Cor. 12:9, 10 EXAMPLES -
      1. A little boy, crippled so badly that he despaired of life, learned to use the typewriter with his toes.
      2. Beethoven did his finest work after he had been stricken with blindness.
      3. Paul wrote his fourteen Epistles after his eyes made it difficult for him to see.
  2. The gospel of Jesus Christ points to the door of hope:
    1. Christ is that door of hope - John 10:1-16; Acts 4:12
    2. He takes away our sins - John 1:29; Matt. 1:21
    3. He transforms our lives - Col. 1:27; 2 Cor. 3:18
    4. Is He the door of hope to you?
C. WATER BAPTISM, THE DOOR OF HOPE FOR PENITENT SINNERS
  1. Satan hates the ordinance of water baptism:
    1. It is a public renunciation of a sinner's allegiance to the devil and his work.
    2. It is a public testimony of our new allegiance to Christ and His cause.
    3. Satan hates this and he fights it with all the forces at his command; I know this from experience.
  2. Water baptism is the door of hope because:
    1. It symbolizes the death, the burial, and the resurrection of our Lord - Rom. 6:1-6; Col. 1:12
    2. It is an outward ceremony of an inward experience -
      1. It is the answer of a good conscience toward God and our fellow man - 1 Pet. 3:21
      2. It is the putting on the Lord Jesus Christ - Gal. 3:26, 27
      3. It is the entrance into the spiritual body of Christ, the church - 1 Cor. 12:13
      4. It is the symbol of things new in our lives and our relationship with Jesus Christ - 2 Cor. 5:14-17
  3. The valley of Achor, the door of hope:
    1. What a symbolism of redemption -
      1. The cross was the symbol of a curse.
      2. But Christ has given it a new meaning; it now is the symbol of hope for sinners - Gal. 3:13; 6:14, 16
    2. Death and the grave were and still are the end of the transgressor.
    3. But the death of our Lord and His resurrection have changed it all; death no longer holds terror to the child of God; it is just resting until it is morning; it is a sleep in Jesus; and the grave has become the chamber of the saints to hide them for a short time until the wrath of God is passed over - Isa. 26:20


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