Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

I’m a native New Yorker, and so it may be no surprise that I am a lifelong NY Yankees fan.

People who unreasonably despise the NY Yankees like to refer to the most dominant team in the history of baseball as “The Evil Empire.”

As the saying goes, “haters gonna hate.”

This week reminded me, however, that there might be another organization more worthy of that title.

I spent about an hour-and-a-half this week watching the 2019 Apple Keynote.

Their new products and features were on display.

And the problem, of course, is that I love Apple products.

They’re on my wrist, in my pocket, and right here on this pulpit!

They’re the best thing since sliced bread!

People who unreasonably despise the NY Yankees like to refer to the most dominant team in the history of baseball as “The Evil Empire.”

As the saying goes, “haters gonna hate.”

This week reminded me, however, that there was another organization more worthy of that title.

The problem, of course as you know, is that I love Apple products.

They’re the best thing since sliced bread.

So, what do I find myself doing this week?

(when you’re an Apple devotee, you get all of the emails announcing the new products.)

I found myself clicking on Apple’s website, checking it out.

Saying, oooh, aaah, that’s nice.

I want one of those.

I could just put it on the credit card.

Then, the voice in my head (I think it was the Holy Spirit) says, “you can’t justify spending $500 for this thing that you don’t need.”

Then I felt like Abraham negotiating with the Lord to try and save his nephew Lot from destruction in Sodom & Gomorrah (of course my motives were less pure than Abraham’s).

So what do I find myself doing as I watched?

I was saying, oooh, aaah, that’s nice.

I want one of those.

I could just put it on the credit card.

Then, the voice in my head (I think it was the Holy Spirit) says, “you can’t justify spending $1000 for this thing that you don’t need.”

Then I felt like Abraham negotiating with the Lord to try and save his nephew Lot from destruction in Sodom & Gomorrah (of course my motives were less pure than Abraham’s).

Well, what if I just trade in my iPhone X, and get the iPhone 11 and not the iPhone 11 Pro Max? Then here comes that voice again, “Nope.

You don’t need it.”

In a tongue and cheek way, I’m about to start calling Apple “The Evil Empire” because they’re so good at encouraging my idolatry.

They’re so good at making addicts.

But, you know, that’s the first step on the road to recovery in addictions.

It’s to admit you have a problem.

This is not to make light of reality of addictions.

You see, the addiction that every human being shares is an addiction to sin.

An addiction that leads us to search and strain for ultimate pleasure in everything but God.

If you were to read you would see how Israel’s addiction to her sin exploded in idolatry that led to her destruction.

And I’m grateful that Hosea’s message doesn’t end with the message of doom, gloom, destruction and devastation.

Hosea ends his message by showing them and us the road to recovery.

Make no mistake about it, God reaches the inside to heal and renew addicts.

The question is, can you see your addiction?

This last chapter has a sandwich structure.

You have these two slices of bread, a call at the beginning (vv.

1-3) and a call at the end (v.

9).

The meat in the middle is the promise of God (vv.

4-8).

We have a call to confession and repentance, a promise of healing and restoration, and a call to wisdom and discernment.

The point is not to give you a 12 step process, but my prayer is that we would both hear and respond to God’s call and to his promise.

We see the call to Repentance, the promise of Restoration, the call to Recognize the truth.

Repentance

Hosea says in v. 1, “Return O Israel to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.”

This is a call to repentance right?

He says, y’all need to recognize that you’ve stumbled.

Why have you stumbled?

Because of your iniquity.

Iniquity is that word that’s repeated again and again in Hosea.

The city of Bethel, which means house of God, Hosea renames, “Beth-aven,” which means house of iniquity.

He said to them back in 5:5, “the pride of Israel testifies to his face.

Israel and Ephraim will stumble in their iniquity.”

At the end of ch.

6 and the beginning of ch. 7, the LORD says,

Hosea says in v. 1, “Return O Israel to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.”

This is a call to repentance right?

He says, y’all need to recognize that you’ve stumbled.

Why have you stumbled?

Because of your iniquity.

Iniquity is that word we’ve seen again and again in Hosea.

The

city of Bethel, which means house of God, Hosea renames, “Beth-aven,” which means house of iniquity.

He said to them back in 5:5, “the pride of Israel testifies to his face.

Israel and Ephraim will stumble in their iniquity.”

At the end of ch.

6 and the beginning of ch. 7, the LORD says,

“When I restore the fortunes of my people, when I heal Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim will be exposed, and the wickedness of Samaria.

For they practice falsehood.

While the thief breaks in, gangs attack in the streets.”

Before restoration would come, the Lord would expose and shine a light on the ugliness of their iniquity.

They wouldn’t be able to find healing until they were confronted with how desperately sick they were.

And Hosea has been specific about their sin.

He wasn’t generic.

They practice falsehood, they are thieves, they love gang violence, they have no conscience, they rejoice over evil, they rejoice over lying, they commit adultery, they are they are alcoholics, they are mockers, they are treacherous, they’re out of control, they’re ignorant, they refuse to repent, they lack sense, they’re traitors, they are full of idolatry.

And that list is just from ch. 7!

Over the course of his ministry Hosea has been calling the people to repent, to recognize their sin and turn to the Lord, “Come,” he said in 6:1, “let us return to the LORD.

For he tore us that he may heal us.

He has struck us down, and he will bind us up.”

The people’s response throughout has been, “No.

We refuse to repent.”

So, his last word is to reissue the call; to expose the fact that they’ve stumbled.

Here in v. 1 he calls the people to a complete repentance, not giving God lip service.

And he does it a little differently than he has in other parts of the book.

And I love what he does.

He leads the people in a corporate confession of sin and repentance.

He says to them in v. 2, “Take with you words.”

That is, in your return to the Lord your God, take these words with you.

This is what you are to say to the Lord [Irwyn’s translation],

“You take away every iniquity and receive what is good.

So we vow our lips as bulls.

Assyria will not save us.

We will not ride upon horses.