004 Hosea 1:4-5

This week we see that Israel was renamed Jezreel (yiśrā’ēl sounds much like yizrě’ēl) which means “God sows.” This would be like saying the reformed church is the deformed church. Normally with Sarai, Abram, and Jacob their names mean a promotion. Here we have an example of it being a demotion for the nation of Israel. Have you ever considered the importance of name changes in the Bible? 

The main point of the text and the sermon was that: The Lord sees what's going on in our hearts, and He bases His decision on what He finds there. As we learned by looking at the life of Jehu, appearances can be deceiving. Have you ever been deceived by someone you thought was a good Christian example only to discover later that they were not what you thought? Have you ever been guilty of doing the “Christian thing” with the wrong heart motives?

The application portion of the message dealt with Perfectionism. “The thing about perfectionism is that our desire for perfection is generally self-focused. We desire perfection as a means to be accepted or to control our fear of rejection or failure.”

In your pursuit of godliness, have you left Jesus behind? Are you more focused on your performance for him or His for you? Are you too busy being focused on “living for Jesus” that you think little about what Jesus has done for you?

What is the difference between “working for your salvation” and “working out your salvation” practically in your life?

What does it mean to you to know that you have a savior that was perfect not only in action but also in His motivations?