Turn back
Series: The Preacher and the Prostitute
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 1st March 2014
Passage: Hosea 12:1-14:9
00:00:00 --> 00:00:08 Gracious Father, as we come to your word now, we pray that you would send your spirit and that you would bless us with soft and tender hearts to your word.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:14 Rescue us, we pray, from hard hearts where your word just washes straight off.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 Bless us with repentance, we pray.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:19 Give us that gift tonight.
00:00:19 --> 00:00:20 In the name of the Lord Jesus.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:21 Amen.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:21 Amen.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:34 I'll be honest with you, I felt sorry for myself when last Monday I began to read through the final three chapters of Hosea in preparation for tonight's message.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:38 I thought to myself, not again.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:43 Another passage about sin, another passage about judgment.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:48 They have been the dominant themes throughout the three messages so far in Hosea.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 Sin and judgment, sin and judgment, sin and judgment.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:57 And then I thought for a moment, if that's how I feel, spare a thought for poor old Hosea.
00:00:57 --> 00:01:01 I mean, which is actually what his original name means.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:03 It actually means Hosea.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:05 It's no wonder we call him Hosea.
00:01:06 --> 00:01:11 For about 30 or 40 years, this was his message to the northern kingdom.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:21 God summoned Hosea to tell his people that they have rebelled against him and that they would face his judgment.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 And Hosea must have groaned at times.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:30 It's like the CDs stuck day after day after day after day.
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 Sin and judgment, sin and judgment, sin and judgment.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:39 But the message couldn't change because the people had not understood.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:45 Israel hadn't accepted the seriousness of their sin.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:49 It's like with their hard hearts, it just washed straight off.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:56 And so I wonder whether or not that is true of us too.
00:01:56 --> 00:02:02 For three weeks now, we have looked at the catalogue of Israel's sin.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 They were cavalier about it.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:11 But we've seen how serious God takes sin.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:17 We've seen his heart exposed, broken.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:22 We've seen the damage that our sin does to his heart.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:27 So has anything changed for you?
00:02:28 --> 00:02:35 Has your life changed in light of what God has been saying to you through the prophet Hosea?
00:02:35 --> 00:02:36 Through his word.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 How quickly we forget.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:45 How quickly we hear it and then just push it to one side.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 We might nod in agreement and say, yes, I agree with that.
00:02:49 --> 00:02:54 And even wonder at times how Israel could have been so stupid.
00:02:55 --> 00:03:01 And then go and put someone down behind their back within 10 minutes of leaving the building.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 Or in fact, not even leaving the building.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 And so we need to hear it again.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:09 And again.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:10 And again.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:11 And again.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 So have your Bibles open.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:19 We're up to chapters 12, 13 and 14.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:26 And it would be great if you could have God's word in front of you to come with me on this.
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 We're looking at the end of chapter 11, verse 12.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 We get introduced again to Israel's sin.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:40 This is another bit to add to the catalogue of sin.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:41 Chapter 11, verse 12.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 The house of Israel with deceit.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 That's God's charge against them.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:50 They're dishonest.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:52 That's it in a nutshell.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:53 They can't be trusted.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:54 They say one thing.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 They mean another.
00:03:56 --> 00:03:57 They're deceitful.
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 The evidence there is in their foreign policy.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:01 Chapter 12, verse 1.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 Ephraim feeds on the wind.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 He pursues the east wind all day.
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 It multiplies lies and violence.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:12 He makes a treaty with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.
00:04:13 --> 00:04:19 And so what's happening here is Israel is trying to be allies with two powers, two superpowers, if you like.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:21 They're at each other's throats.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:27 And so Israel's over here trying to form a partnership with Assyria against Egypt,
00:04:27 --> 00:04:31 while all the time sending gifts to Egypt to say, hey, we're on your side, guys.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 They're trying to keep them both happy.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 They're trying to sit in the middle, keep the balance there, sit on the fence.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 It's a foreign policy which is driven by self-interest.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:46 Any sense of truth or conviction is just pushed to one side.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:51 They tell either side whatever they want to hear, all to serve their own interests.
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 They are untruthful and they are deceitful.
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 They were just like their forefather Jacob.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:00 See it there in verse 2.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:22 Quite noticeably, God doesn't call the ten tribes of north Israel or Ephraim or Samaria,
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 which is what he's been doing right throughout this prophecy.
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 Here he calls them Jacob.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 Jacob was one of the founding fathers of Israel.
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 His 12 sons formed the 12 tribes of Israel.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 His name was later changed to Israel.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:44 But at first he was named Jacob, which means deceiver.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 That was Jacob.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:49 That was his character.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 He deceived his older brother out of his inheritance
00:05:53 --> 00:05:57 and he deceived his father-in-law out of a massive wealth.
00:05:57 --> 00:06:03 And God quite deliberately calls his people Jacob.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 Doesn't call them Israel here.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:09 He calls them Jacob.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 You are just like your forefather.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 You're deceptive.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 And they're also deceptive in their business practice.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:18 See there in verse 7.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 The merchant uses dishonest scales.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:22 He loves to defraud.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:26 And so Aunt Mary is assuming she's buying a kilo of flour.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 But in actual fact she pays for a kilo of flour
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 but gets about 900 grams instead
00:06:31 --> 00:06:35 because the scales have been adjusted before she gets there
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 to rip her off.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 They're lying and cheating their own people.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 And the word merchant there in the original text
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 is the same word as Canaan.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:52 You see, Canaan was the name of the land that God gave his people.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 As their special place.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 And the Canaanites were so well known.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:00 The people who used to inhabit it
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 were so well known as travelling merchants
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 that the word Canaan became synonymous
00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 with the words trader and merchant.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 And it's very significant here
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 for Hosea to use this word.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 God's people are not just deceptive like their forefather.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 They're even worse than Jacob.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 They are in fact just like the pagans.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:25 Just like the people that I judged and cast out of the land
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 you were the same as those people.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:28 You're no different.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 But you know, it just gets worse.
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 Because verse 8 I think is shocking.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:40 There is no sense of guilt for the people of God.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 Ephraim boasts,
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 I am very rich.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 I have become wealthy.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 With all my wealth they will not find in me
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 any iniquity or sin.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:55 You see, but God on the other hand,
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 remember we're looking at this from God's perspective.
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 He sees it.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:00 He's a God of truth.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:01 He sees the lies.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 He sees the deceit, the hypocrisy,
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 the dishonesty, the sin.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 He expects his people to be people of truth.
00:08:08 --> 00:08:11 And the life of God's people here in Hosea
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 is one big lie.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 They are not who they say they are.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 One big lie.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:26 Now apparently lies typically take place
00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 in a fifth of all conversations.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:31 Have a think about that,
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 how many conversations you've had today.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 The figure rises to one in three
00:08:36 --> 00:08:40 if the people talking are university trained.
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 So be careful of university trained people
00:08:44 --> 00:08:44 and especially us.
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 I'm assuming the more qualifications you've got,
00:08:47 --> 00:08:48 the bigger lie you are.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:48 Maybe, I don't know.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:54 But I wonder if Christians are any different.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 I mean, we should be.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 We should take lying
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 and whether truth is what comes out of our mouth seriously.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 How easy it is for us to say as Christians
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 that we believe the truth,
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 that we're a church that teaches the truth.
00:09:11 --> 00:09:15 We have a certain sense of pride
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 in being part of a diocese
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 that's committed to the truth
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20 and known for that.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 And yet in our daily lives,
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 in our conversations with one another,
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 we play fast and loose with the truth.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 How easy it is to tell people what they want to hear,
00:09:31 --> 00:09:34 to embellish a story in conversation,
00:09:34 --> 00:09:38 or to withhold key information,
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 to give the impression
00:09:40 --> 00:09:45 that's different than the original impression intended.
00:09:45 --> 00:09:48 And the list can go on and on and on.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 That to be people of truth
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 means that we are to be rigorously truthful
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 in all of our lives.
00:09:56 --> 00:10:00 not just to say that I am a person of truth.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 I believe the truth.
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 Of course, the worst kind of deception
00:10:07 --> 00:10:08 is there at the end of verse 8,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 what I read out before.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 This is the biggest lie of all.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:16 They will not find in me any iniquity or sin.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 The worst kind of deception is self-deception.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 This is the biggest lie here.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:23 I'm okay.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:28 Is there anything worse than self-deception?
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 You know, it's like,
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 based on my assessment of my character,
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 I'm okay.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 I mean, it's not really sin.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 When I embellish that story,
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 it's not really sin.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 It's not that serious.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 God won't take it that seriously.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 Hosea says he does.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:51 Really seriously.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:58 I wonder whether,
00:10:58 --> 00:11:02 as Hosea has been open in the last three weeks,
00:11:02 --> 00:11:04 whether you've been doing that.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 You know, have you put yourself in Hosea's shoes
00:11:09 --> 00:11:11 rather than Goma's shoes?
00:11:11 --> 00:11:12 You know, that is,
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 I can see how this word would apply
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 to so many people in this room.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 You know, there's so many people here
00:11:19 --> 00:11:19 that really need to hear,
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 yeah, they're Goma's all right.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 Unfaithful people?
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 Seriously.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 Or you know who Goma's are?
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 One of the big points of this prophecy
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 is that we are Goma.
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 God is Hosea.
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 We are Goma.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:44 We are the people of deep and committed unfaithfulness.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 That is who we are.
00:11:49 --> 00:11:53 Has that hit you, brothers and sisters?
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 Has it hit you yet?
00:11:55 --> 00:12:00 Let me read to you the best email
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 that I've received in a long time.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 This was written to me
00:12:05 --> 00:12:08 from one of the members of our church family
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 after the first sermon
00:12:09 --> 00:12:13 that I preached on this series in Hosea.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:16 And particularly the sermon
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 was focusing on the marriage of Hosea and Goma
00:12:19 --> 00:12:23 and all the ugliness of Goma's unfaithfulness.
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 Let me read to you.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 It was a sermon that cut me clean open
00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 and pricked the proud, arrogant part of my soul
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 that deceives me the most.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 When you began the sermon,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 my pride diverted me light years away
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 from conceiving the proposition
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 that I could be Goma.
00:12:40 --> 00:12:43 When you were halfway through the sermon,
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45 my pride kept me light years away
00:12:45 --> 00:12:48 from the possibility that I could be Goma.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 When you would nearly finish the sermon,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 my pride kept me light years away
00:12:54 --> 00:12:58 from the reality that I am Goma.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:03 It was not until you directly stated the obvious
00:13:03 --> 00:13:07 that my pride had nowhere to hide.
00:13:07 --> 00:13:10 I don't normally get overly emotional about things,
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 but I found myself in church about to cry.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:16 I felt acutely embarrassed at myself before God
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 and sad that after being a Christian for 15 years,
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 I had so effortlessly viewed myself
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 as removed from the relationship
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 between Hosea and Goma.
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 In particular,
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 it was the lack of mental wrangling required
00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 to deceive myself into viewing Goma
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 as someone quite different to me
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 that disturbed me the most.
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 It showed me how strong
00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 my natural default inclination
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 is to judge others before myself
00:13:46 --> 00:13:49 and to deny myself how really bad I am
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 at keeping my part of the bargain
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 in my relationship with God.
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 Just realising that I am Goma,
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 particularly hit home to me
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 the faithfulness of Christ
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 that he sustains, protects,
00:14:02 --> 00:14:05 and nurtures me despite my shortcomings.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 He paid a terrible price
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 so that he and I could have a relationship.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 I cannot imagine why he persists,
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 but he does as he promised.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 The sermon also forced me
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20 to re-examine my relationship with my family
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 and my faithfulness to them,
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 that the degree to which I am like Goma
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 in my relationship with Christ
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 is the degree to which that I am equally like that
00:14:29 --> 00:14:29 to my own family.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 It was hard medicine to swallow.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 The exquisitely beautiful thing
00:14:35 --> 00:14:35 in all of this
00:14:35 --> 00:14:38 is that there is no mystery for me
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 in how to deal with all of this.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 It is also scary
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 because it follows
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 that if there is no mystery,
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 then there's no excuse either.
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 To live and struggle
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 to follow Christ with his help,
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 to be obedient and humble before him,
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 being mindful of what lies at the heart
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 of why he purchased me,
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 is surely restorative.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:02 I read that email.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 We were on staff retreat at the time.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 I had to excuse myself.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 I went off away from the rest of the group,
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 sat in the corner under a tree,
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 and I just cried.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 I cried for two reasons.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:26 My friend helped me see the sin in my own heart
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 as they expressed the sin in their heart.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 And I just cried.
00:15:33 --> 00:15:36 You know, just nailed it for me.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 That's the first thing.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 And the second thing was that I,
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 in between crying,
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 I was just laughing
00:15:43 --> 00:15:47 with joy at the same time
00:15:47 --> 00:15:50 of what Christ has done for me
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 and the security that I felt
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 and the security that this person felt
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 at the same time
00:15:55 --> 00:15:58 as their sin was exposed.
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 It was so beautiful.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 It was so beautiful.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 What has been your response
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 as you've heard the word of God come to you?
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 This is the word of God through Hosea.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 Has it struck you yet that you are Goma?
00:16:16 --> 00:16:24 Hosea has helped us to see the seriousness
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 of Israel's sin and our sin.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 We're seeing sin from God's perspective
00:16:30 --> 00:16:33 and like no other book in the Old Testament
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 and probably the new,
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 let's just leave with the Old Testament.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 He rips open his heart
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 to show us what his heart is like.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 We make little of it.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 We explain it away.
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 We excuse it.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 We call things like little white lies.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 God has no such category.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 We justify it.
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 But God is angry.
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 He is a lover scorned
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 as Hosea is the picture
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 that Hosea gives us.
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 His holiness demands
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 that he must judge
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 and God's judgment is inevitable.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 We see it there in chapter 13, verse 3.
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 They will be like the morning mist,
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 like the early dew that disappears,
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 like chaff swirling from a threshing floor,
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 like smoke escaping through a window.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 Back in chapter 6, verse 4,
00:17:20 --> 00:17:24 it was Hosea who likened Israel's love
00:17:24 --> 00:17:26 to the morning mist that vanishes so quickly.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 That's what their faithfulness is like to God.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 It's like they're gone.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:33 And now it's shifted.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 It will be Israel themselves
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 that will vanish in an instant
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 like steam from a kettle.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 It's an image that speaks
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 of the effect of God's judgment.
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 They had forgotten God
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 and so God here,
00:17:46 --> 00:17:48 in verse 3, chapter 13,
00:17:48 --> 00:17:48 says,
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 I will forget them.
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 And that's what happened
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 when Assyria came in 722 BC.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 God said it was going to happen.
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 He meant it.
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 In the same way,
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 when he says that the Lord Jesus
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 will come and judge the living and the dead,
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 he will judge everyone who's ever lived
00:18:07 --> 00:18:07 and he will judge everyone
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 who's in this building.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 It will happen.
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 He said it.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 It's going to happen.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 And yet,
00:18:15 --> 00:18:18 as we saw last week,
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 God's judgment isn't the end.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 We are sinful people.
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 He is a holy God,
00:18:27 --> 00:18:30 but he is a God of infinite grace.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 And so it's not surprising
00:18:33 --> 00:18:36 in amongst all the gloom
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 of sin and judgment in these chapters,
00:18:38 --> 00:18:41 there are just like shafts of light.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 which just come down.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 They just give you just a bit of hope
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 that it's not all gloom.
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 And one of the shafts of light there
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 is in chapter 12, verse 6.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 You must return to your God,
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 maintain love and justice,
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59 and wait for your God always.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 What it's saying there is
00:19:01 --> 00:19:04 that there's an opportunity here, Israel.
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 There's an opportunity to turn back.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 It's not a done deal yet.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 Turn back.
00:19:08 --> 00:19:14 And that is how the prophecy ends
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 in chapter 14.
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 Chapter 14 is a call to return
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 to the Lord
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 before it's too late.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22 See it there in verse 1.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 Return, O Israel,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 to the Lord your God.
00:19:25 --> 00:19:27 Your sins have been your downfall.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:29 Sin is always your downfall.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 The word return there in verse 1
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 literally means to turn.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 It means turn.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 In other words, just turn.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 Turn and face God.
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 It's one of the great covenant words.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 It's used 25 times in Hosea.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 Not always positively, mind you,
00:19:47 --> 00:19:50 but it's used 25 times in Hosea.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 The great call of Hosea,
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 and in fact all of the prophets
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 in the Old Testament,
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 is turn, turn, turn,
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 and face your God.
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04 Stop putting him to your back.
00:20:05 --> 00:20:08 They consistently call God's people
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 to covenant faithfulness.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 Stop turning away from him.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 Stop turning to religion.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 Stop turning to other security.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 Stop turning to wealth.
00:20:18 --> 00:20:21 Stop turning to sex and physical desires.
00:20:21 --> 00:20:23 Stop turning to personal ambition.
00:20:23 --> 00:20:26 Stop turning to comfort and indulgence.
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 Stop turning to sin.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:30 Stop turning to anything else.
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 But turn and come.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 Come to your greatest treasure,
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 your God, your lover.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 And as verse 2 says,
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 take words with you
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 and return to the Lord.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 You see, God isn't wanting you
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 to come back to him
00:20:50 --> 00:20:52 with a whole list of things
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 that you must do.
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 He's not interested in, you know,
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 looking for you to do some more
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 religious ceremonies,
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 looking for sacrifice.
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 He wants you.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 This book of Hosea
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 is all about a relationship
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 with the living God.
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 And the image here
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 takes us back into chapter 3.
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 Remember it,
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 if you can cast your mind
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 back to the first sermon.
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 Hosea goes out
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 and he pays a price
00:21:17 --> 00:21:20 to redeem his unfaithful wife
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 out of the arms
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 of another lover.
00:21:22 --> 00:21:24 He actually has to buy her back
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 and he gives everything
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 that he's got
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 in order to buy her back.
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 And he's brought her back
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 out of the arms
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 of another lover.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:33 He brings her
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 into the family home
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 but he has no intimacy
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 with her.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 It literally says
00:21:38 --> 00:21:41 in chapter 3,
00:21:41 --> 00:21:43 I will wait for her.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 Hosea has done the work
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 of purchasing his wife
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 and now he waits for her
00:21:50 --> 00:21:52 to come to him.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 And he doesn't want her
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 to come to him
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 and cook his favourite meal
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 or to clean the house
00:21:57 --> 00:21:57 to try and somehow
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 make it up to him
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 in some way.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:03 He wants her to come
00:22:03 --> 00:22:05 with words like verse 2.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 Forgive all of our sins
00:22:08 --> 00:22:11 and receive us graciously
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 that we may offer
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 the fruit of our lips.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 Sorry.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:19 You see,
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 God's saying
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 return and come to me.
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 I'm not interested
00:22:23 --> 00:22:23 in your money
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 without your heart.
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 I'm not interested
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 in your worship
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 without your heart.
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 I'm not interested
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 in your service
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 without your heart.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:29 I'm not interested
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 in your prayers
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 without your heart.
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34 He wants our heart
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 because when he has
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 our heart,
00:22:36 --> 00:22:38 he has our money
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 and our worship
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 and our service
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 and our prayers
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 and our hands
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 and our feet
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 and all of our lives.
00:22:44 --> 00:22:52 you see return to fellowship with the father here requires exposure of my heart
00:22:52 --> 00:22:59 expressed in words of heartfelt admission confession and acknowledgement of the lord
00:22:59 --> 00:23:08 you see genuine repentance is turning away turning to god and away from other gods
00:23:08 --> 00:23:14 that's the picture of verse 3 of chapter 14 they have now turned their backs on a cereal
00:23:14 --> 00:23:22 that's what the call is turn your backs on assyria turn your backs on your idols and turn to me
00:23:22 --> 00:23:30 you see repentance is not mere words repentance is a daily decision it is a moment by moment
00:23:30 --> 00:23:38 decision it's an all-of-life decision for the person of god to turn to him rather than other loves
00:23:38 --> 00:23:48 and in returning to god daily we are making commitment to faithfulness to love and
00:23:48 --> 00:23:54 acknowledgement of god the three things that god accuses israel of not having towards him
00:23:54 --> 00:24:01 faithfulness love and acknowledgement of god
00:24:01 --> 00:24:14 so friends what what sins have you committed what sins are you committing if i can put it in the
00:24:14 --> 00:24:18 hosea image which gods are you in bed with
00:24:18 --> 00:24:26 how about that for an image which gods are you in bed with
00:24:26 --> 00:24:33 are they priorities that displace god so that you don't love the lord your god with all your heart
00:24:33 --> 00:24:40 soul and mind is there a small part of your life that you want to keep control of
00:24:40 --> 00:24:45 he could have most of it but this bit here is pretty much untouchable i need to keep control of that
00:24:45 --> 00:24:52 do you claim personal relationship with god but you slander his name by the way you live
00:24:52 --> 00:25:00 are you busy with personal personal ambition and self to ever let go and find rest with god
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 are they your sins
00:25:02 --> 00:25:07 then they'd be the sins that break the first five commandments
00:25:07 --> 00:25:17 or are they the sins against god that are against your neighbors perhaps the abuse of privileges and
00:25:17 --> 00:25:24 the lack of honor to your mother and father maybe it's a savage rejection of another person in the way
00:25:24 --> 00:25:32 that you speak about them think about them and put them down are your sins sexual has greed given way
00:25:32 --> 00:25:36 a deception so that you take more than your that is yours
00:25:36 --> 00:25:40 and you think it's by right
00:25:40 --> 00:25:43 are lying lips
00:25:43 --> 00:25:45 and slanderous tongue
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 you're failing
00:25:46 --> 00:25:51 or is it the internal motions of envy and jealousy
00:25:51 --> 00:25:53 that have you tearing
00:25:53 --> 00:25:55 yourself and others apart
00:25:55 --> 00:25:59 because you cannot have what god never intended for you to have
00:25:59 --> 00:26:05 all i've simply asked you to reflect upon in just that moment
00:26:05 --> 00:26:08 is the ten commandments given to israel at sinai
00:26:08 --> 00:26:12 have you broken the commandments of god
00:26:12 --> 00:26:16 if you have
00:26:16 --> 00:26:22 then join with me and return to the living god
00:26:22 --> 00:26:25 that's what hosea is calling us to do
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 return to him
00:26:26 --> 00:26:29 our confidence in turning to god is there in verse four
00:26:29 --> 00:26:32 these are magnificent words
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 and and for you
00:26:34 --> 00:26:36 who might be feeling
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 conscious stricken right now
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 feeling guilty
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41 these are tender
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 hearted words
00:26:42 --> 00:26:45 for the pricked conscience
00:26:45 --> 00:26:47 i will heal
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 their waywardness
00:26:49 --> 00:26:51 and love them freely
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 for my anger
00:26:53 --> 00:26:55 has turned away from them
00:26:55 --> 00:26:57 you see
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 remember what we saw last week
00:26:58 --> 00:27:00 god has turned
00:27:00 --> 00:27:02 all of his centuries
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 of pent up
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 held back
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 anger
00:27:04 --> 00:27:07 he's turned it away from us
00:27:07 --> 00:27:09 and he's unleashed it
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 on the lord jesus christ
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 on the cross
00:27:11 --> 00:27:16 jesus is the one
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 who paid the penalty for our sin
00:27:18 --> 00:27:22 he's the one who has dealt with all the consequences of our sin
00:27:22 --> 00:27:26 and if you put your trust in jesus
00:27:26 --> 00:27:30 god accounts righteousness to your account
00:27:30 --> 00:27:33 his righteousness to your account
00:27:33 --> 00:27:36 so there is no sin in your account
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 and when there is no sin
00:27:37 --> 00:27:39 there is no anger from god
00:27:39 --> 00:27:41 directed at you
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 where there is no sin
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44 there is no anger
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 there is no condemnation
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47 from god
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 to you
00:27:48 --> 00:27:52 my friends
00:27:52 --> 00:27:54 he is a fearful god
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 but he is safe
00:27:55 --> 00:27:57 and he is good
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 come to him
00:27:58 --> 00:28:05 there is only blessing for those who turn to him
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 in faith and repentance
00:28:06 --> 00:28:08 that's the point of verses 5 to 8
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 of chapter 14
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 your gracious father will pick you up
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 and he will restore you
00:28:14 --> 00:28:17 and so will you
00:28:17 --> 00:28:22 that's the point of the very last verse of this prophecy
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 hosea ends with a question
00:28:24 --> 00:28:27 what are you going to do
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 it says
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 who is wise
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 he will realize these things
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 who is discerning
00:28:32 --> 00:28:34 he will understand them
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 the ways of the lord are right
00:28:35 --> 00:28:37 the righteous walk in them
00:28:37 --> 00:28:39 but the rebellious stumble in them
00:28:39 --> 00:28:42 and so the word of god
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 through hosea has spoken
00:28:43 --> 00:28:46 and this word from god
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 has helped us to see
00:28:47 --> 00:28:50 our inclination towards sin
00:28:50 --> 00:28:52 and the intensity of god's emotions
00:28:52 --> 00:28:55 towards the unfaithfulness of his people
00:28:55 --> 00:28:58 it has nailed for us
00:28:58 --> 00:29:01 the universality of rebellion against god
00:29:01 --> 00:29:06 hosea has also revealed the uncharted depths
00:29:06 --> 00:29:08 of god's love and his commitment
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10 to love his people
00:29:10 --> 00:29:15 the god whom everyone in this room
00:29:15 --> 00:29:19 should meet in wrath and anger
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 has turned
00:29:21 --> 00:29:23 to meet us in mercy
00:29:23 --> 00:29:25 isn't that magnificent
00:29:25 --> 00:29:30 and so we're left with a choice
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 it says
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 heed the warning
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 be wise
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 and turn to god
00:29:34 --> 00:29:36 through the lord jesus
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 or ignore it
00:29:37 --> 00:29:39 and continue with a cavalier attitude
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 she'll be right
00:29:40 --> 00:29:50 seems like a pretty simple choice
00:29:50 --> 00:29:55 but israel didn't do it
00:29:55 --> 00:29:58 see chapter 13 verse 13
00:29:58 --> 00:30:01 see the awful picture here
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 pains as of a woman
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 in childbirth
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 come to him
00:30:05 --> 00:30:07 but he is a child
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 without wisdom
00:30:08 --> 00:30:11 when the time arrives
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 he does not come
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 to the opening of the womb
00:30:13 --> 00:30:17 the picture here is
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 an opportunity
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 for
00:30:19 --> 00:30:21 for israel to be born
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 into new life
00:30:22 --> 00:30:26 they're going through all the pain
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 of their sin
00:30:27 --> 00:30:30 new life is the option
00:30:30 --> 00:30:32 they have a look
00:30:32 --> 00:30:34 and they go
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 no
00:30:34 --> 00:30:36 we'll stay put
00:30:36 --> 00:30:41 and hope to
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 don't want to have to
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 gross you out here
00:30:43 --> 00:30:45 but in my former life
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 on a farm
00:30:46 --> 00:30:48 we had many issues
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 where
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 a
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 a cow
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 or a sheep
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 or something like that
00:30:52 --> 00:30:54 could not give birth
00:30:54 --> 00:30:56 and you either gave it
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 a c-section
00:30:57 --> 00:30:59 or you shot it
00:30:59 --> 00:31:01 because to leave
00:31:01 --> 00:31:03 the baby
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 inside the mother
00:31:04 --> 00:31:06 would cause
00:31:06 --> 00:31:08 an excruciating death
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 for both
00:31:09 --> 00:31:11 death is the only option
00:31:11 --> 00:31:13 no other option
00:31:13 --> 00:31:15 and israel
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 chooses
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 death
00:31:17 --> 00:31:20 it's astounding
00:31:20 --> 00:31:23 their hearts
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 were hard
00:31:24 --> 00:31:27 and centuries later
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 the writer to the hebrews
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 was concerned
00:31:29 --> 00:31:29 that the christian recipients
00:31:30 --> 00:31:32 of his letter
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 learnt the lesson
00:31:33 --> 00:31:35 of god's people
00:31:35 --> 00:31:35 past
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 who hardened
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 their hearts
00:31:37 --> 00:31:39 and did not
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 listen
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 or obey
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 the word of god
00:31:42 --> 00:31:44 it is a concern
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 god has
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 for every generation
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 of his people
00:31:47 --> 00:31:49 it isn't just
00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 the writer
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 of this letter
00:31:50 --> 00:31:52 penning some thoughts
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 in hebrews chapter 3
00:31:53 --> 00:31:55 it is the holy spirit
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 who says to us
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 today
00:31:57 --> 00:31:59 if you hear his voice
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 do not
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 harden
00:32:00 --> 00:32:02 your hearts
00:32:02 --> 00:32:05 that's the central
00:32:05 --> 00:32:05 issue here
00:32:05 --> 00:32:07 god doesn't want
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 us to be asking
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 first and foremost
00:32:09 --> 00:32:09 well what do i need
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 to do now
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 to make it up
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 with god
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 the issue
00:32:12 --> 00:32:14 is the heart
00:32:14 --> 00:32:19 our friends
00:32:19 --> 00:32:22 just reflect upon
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 this for a moment
00:32:23 --> 00:32:25 a hardened heart
00:32:25 --> 00:32:27 might no longer
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 love
00:32:28 --> 00:32:30 or have a love
00:32:30 --> 00:32:30 for christ
00:32:30 --> 00:32:32 as it used
00:32:32 --> 00:32:32 to
00:32:32 --> 00:32:34 a hardened heart
00:32:34 --> 00:32:36 might not
00:32:36 --> 00:32:38 love christ's word
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 and prayer
00:32:39 --> 00:32:41 and worship
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 and missions
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 and generosity
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 and living
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 for the glory
00:32:45 --> 00:32:45 of god
00:32:45 --> 00:32:49 a hardened heart
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 finds the
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 fleeting pleasures
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 of this world
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 more attractive
00:32:52 --> 00:32:52 than things
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 of the spirit
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 you know
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 once upon a time
00:32:55 --> 00:32:57 you had a passion
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 for those things
00:32:58 --> 00:33:01 and over time
00:33:01 --> 00:33:04 you're still here
00:33:04 --> 00:33:04 and you're going
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 through the motions
00:33:05 --> 00:33:07 but you're just
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 doing it
00:33:08 --> 00:33:10 prayer life
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 has become
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 formal
00:33:12 --> 00:33:12 and dry
00:33:12 --> 00:33:14 still praying
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 but it's
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 prayerless praying
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 still reading
00:33:17 --> 00:33:17 the bible
00:33:17 --> 00:33:19 but god
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 hasn't spoken
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 to you
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 for years
00:33:21 --> 00:33:23 it's like
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 a verse
00:33:24 --> 00:33:24 a day
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 keeps the
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 devil away
00:33:25 --> 00:33:27 god
00:33:27 --> 00:33:27 hasn't spoken
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 to you
00:33:28 --> 00:33:28 for years
00:33:28 --> 00:33:30 worship
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 is no longer
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 driven from
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 the heart
00:33:33 --> 00:33:33 we're just
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 fulfilling
00:33:34 --> 00:33:34 what we
00:33:34 --> 00:33:34 need to
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 do
00:33:35 --> 00:33:39 and i think
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 what hebrew
00:33:40 --> 00:33:40 says
00:33:40 --> 00:33:40 which is
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 what hosea
00:33:41 --> 00:33:41 says
00:33:41 --> 00:33:43 in verse
00:33:43 --> 00:33:43 12
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 it says
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 seek to
00:33:45 --> 00:33:45 it
00:33:45 --> 00:33:45 brothers
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 that none
00:33:46 --> 00:33:46 of you
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 has a
00:33:47 --> 00:33:47 sinful
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 unbelieving
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 heart
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 that turns
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 away
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 from the
00:33:50 --> 00:33:50 living
00:33:50 --> 00:33:50 god
00:33:50 --> 00:33:52 see to
00:33:52 --> 00:33:52 it
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 it says
00:33:53 --> 00:33:53 take heed
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 take care
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 look
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 at
00:33:56 --> 00:33:56 your
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 heart
00:33:57 --> 00:33:57 put the
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 word of
00:33:58 --> 00:33:58 god
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 against
00:33:59 --> 00:33:59 your
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 heart
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 and
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 look
00:34:00 --> 00:34:05 don't
00:34:05 --> 00:34:05 be
00:34:05 --> 00:34:05 careless
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 or apathetic
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 or dispassion
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 or attentive
00:34:08 --> 00:34:08 or i'll get
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 to it
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 next week
00:34:09 --> 00:34:12 be attentive
00:34:12 --> 00:34:12 to the
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 condition
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 of your
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 heart
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 we need
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 to hold
00:34:14 --> 00:34:14 the
00:34:14 --> 00:34:14 practical
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 mirror
00:34:15 --> 00:34:15 of god's
00:34:15 --> 00:34:15 word
00:34:15 --> 00:34:15 to our
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 hearts
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 so that
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 we take
00:34:17 --> 00:34:17 an
00:34:17 --> 00:34:17 accurate
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 reading
00:34:18 --> 00:34:18 of our
00:34:18 --> 00:34:18 spiritual
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 pulse
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 and keep
00:34:20 --> 00:34:20 turning to
00:34:20 --> 00:34:20 god and
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 repentance
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 and faith
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 keep doing
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 it day
00:34:23 --> 00:34:23 in day
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 out day
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 in to
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 stop making
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 excuses for
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 sin
00:34:27 --> 00:34:27 if your
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 prayer life
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 has come to
00:34:29 --> 00:34:29 all of a sudden
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 it's formal
00:34:30 --> 00:34:30 and it's just
00:34:30 --> 00:34:32 haphazard and
00:34:32 --> 00:34:32 doesn't feel
00:34:32 --> 00:34:32 anything
00:34:32 --> 00:34:34 don't stay
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 there
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 your
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 prayer should be
00:34:37 --> 00:34:37 god
00:34:37 --> 00:34:39 give me a
00:34:39 --> 00:34:39 tender
00:34:39 --> 00:34:39 heart
00:34:39 --> 00:34:44 so brothers
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 and sisters
00:34:45 --> 00:34:45 if you have
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 heard god's
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 voice dig
00:34:47 --> 00:34:47 deep into
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 your heart
00:34:48 --> 00:34:48 through
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 hosea
00:34:49 --> 00:34:51 it is
00:34:51 --> 00:34:51 your
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 merciful
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 god
00:34:53 --> 00:34:55 and father
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 and husband
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 and saviour
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 calling to
00:34:58 --> 00:34:59 you to
00:34:59 --> 00:34:59 come back
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 he's just
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 calling you
00:35:01 --> 00:35:01 to come
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 back
00:35:02 --> 00:35:05 do not
00:35:05 --> 00:35:05 harden your
00:35:05 --> 00:35:06 hearts
00:35:06 --> 00:35:07 wake up to
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 the deceitfulness
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 of sin
00:35:09 --> 00:35:11 turn away
00:35:11 --> 00:35:11 from it
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 and turn
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 to god
00:35:13 --> 00:35:15 and hold
00:35:15 --> 00:35:16 fast to your
00:35:16 --> 00:35:16 confidence
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 and your
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 hope in him
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 he is a
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 fearful god
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 but he is
00:35:21 --> 00:35:21 good
00:35:21 --> 00:35:23 he is
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 good
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 he is
00:35:25 --> 00:35:25 good
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 come back
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 to him