Sermon Tone Analysis

Spiritual Infidelity's Pain

Hosea 2+3

Morality, justice, loving kindness, and faithfulness.

These are all words and concepts that are familiar to our culture’s understanding, but are woefully absent from existing in it.

Immorality is not just the norm of our society, it is accepted, promoted, and awarded.

Our global culture seeks or is drawn to people or creatures that give in to incalculable base impulses just to be bad and yet, not feel bad about it.

When a society as a whole, accepts immorality as tolerant mercy and grace, promotes it by even requiring its youngest children in schools to know and practice it as normal, and turns the most ghastly examples of it into celebrities for our society to worship, give our wealth to, and emulate, then that society as a whole will in time be given over to its consequences.

The Apostle Paul in Rom. 1, speaking of the consequences of stubbornly rejecting God in unbelief, states in Rom.

1:28-32)

Justice is weaponized in our society in order to seize or maintain power, which is not justice at all.

The powerless of our society is now oppressed under the manipulation of man-made laws and statutes in order to further the agenda of those in power.

Proverbs gives warning of such practice.

Proverbs 22:8 (NASB)

He who sows injustice will reap calamity,

And the rod of his fury will perish.

Even Isaiah gives warning against such practices.

Injustice has now become the norm, it is the accepted necessary evil for what its practitioners consider the better end; thereby, somehow making it valiant rather than a travesty.

Loving Kindness is now a thing of eras gone by.

In this immoral and unjust society, everyone is encouraged to seek what suits themselves, what is self-fulfilling, what satisfies one’s own personal desires.

Somehow that is promoted as the greatest, most honorable morality that exists.

One blogger said, “It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and make your happiness a priority.

It’s necessary.”

(Mandy Hale: https://tinybuddha.com/blog/20-powerful-self-care-quotes-to-help-you-feel-and-be-your-best/)

The taking care of one’s self is not the problem, it is the putting of one’s self as priority, putting one’s self in the center that is the problem.

“My happiness is more important than anyone else’s, I am the center of my existence,” is the pervasive mentality of today.

This is spoken of in 2 Tim.

3:1-5)

An then there is faithfulness.

Aside from everyday examples in a myriad of relationship types, the war is no longer waged against marriage, it is waged against any type of monogamy at all, with or without marriage.

Any semblance of loyalty, individual commitment, covenant relationships is almost unheard of in society.

All societies of history are complex mechanisms, difficult to understand and even more difficult to combat.

Mankind does what mankind wants and influences others to do.

With all of this consuming the human mind, attention, and values, what is humanity left to do?

How do we respond?

What is most important for any and every human being in existence today?

God uses every necessary thing to bring you near, so you might know Him; so you might find true belonging and rest.

If you will, consider just 3 questions to answer, in order to avoid the inevitability of painful, Spiritual Infidelity:

Three Questions to answer:

++Do you acknowledge God?

++Do you know God?

++Have you come to God?

Do you Acknowledge God? (Hos.

2:5-8)

Do you Acknowledge God? (Hos.

2:5-8)

++Make sure you go after the right Master.

++Recognize who is the only source of good in your life.

Do you know God? (Hos.

2:9-23)

Do you know God? (Hos.

2:9-23)

++God uses what He must to bring you to Himself vv.

9-13

++God wants relationship with you vv.

14-19a

++God wants you to know what He is really like vv. 19b-23

Have You Come to God? (Hos.

3:1-5)

Have You Come to God? (Hos.

3:1-5)

++Accept the price God paid vv.

1-2 (c.f., 1 Cor.

6:18-20; “…bought with a price…)

++Stay with the God who stays v. 3

++Surrender to the God who’s good vv.

4-5

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” - Jim Elliot