Crazy Love Part 1 - Pastor Dan

Its unbelievable to think about the CRAZY ways that people go to win someone’s affection!

We see on social media all the time… the wild extremes that people will go to… to make sure someone knows that they are loved!

Ex: Story of a guy who packaged himself in boxes and had him shipped to his fiance’s home and delivered to the front porch where she opened the box as he popped out saying “I love you!!!”

What about the person who had such a love for animals that he has his whole body tattood with Animal Spots…. 

Regardless of the method… people will go to EXTREME and almost CRAZY ways to express their love!

This morning, I want to show you how God’s love for his creation… YOU… gets wild and crazy and goes to extremes to make sure you get it!

I want to take a look at Hosea’s life and compare it to God’s love for us.

The name HOSEA… actually means.. “Salvation”

Sometimes God would give a prophet a message sometimes he would have them act it out. God wanted to demonstrate His relationship with Israel.

[Hosea 1:2] When the LORD first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, "Go and marry a prostitute, so some of her children will be born to you from other men. This will illustrate the way my people have been untrue to me, openly committing adultery against the LORD by worshiping other gods."

Gomer (His wife) flaunts her sin.

Do we and others of the human race… flaunt their sin?

The Bible teaches us that we must decrease so He can increase! Is that a normal way we act? OR… do we do the opposite? As we work really hard to INCREASE… so we subtly require God to decrease?

In reality… we are like Gomer. Yet… God demonstrates CRAZY LOVE!

1Imagine God asking you to do this! This is crazy!

1Why in the world would God ask someone to do this?

1You know what’s even more crazy? Hosea did it!

1There are three messages that we can get from Hosea’s marriage.

1#1 God’s love is crazy.

1Crazy? God is crazy in love with you!

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“Crazy Love” is the highest level of love that exists (this is not a theological term).

1 “Crazy Love,” is love that is so strong that you are willing to do whatever it takes to win that person or keep that person.

1Who can explain why God loves us?

1We say we should love someone that also loves us.

1We look for someone that will be faithful to us. But guess what God says?

1[2 Timothy 2:13] If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

   #2 God’s love is patient.

Hosea never denied what Gomer was doing. She left him, and gave herself over to prostitution.

Hosea could not keep her from doing what she did, but he patiently waited for her to hit the bottom, and then he went and bought her back! That’s crazy!

In the middle of our GOMER MOMENTS… God waits for you!

 [Romans 2:4] Don’t you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin?

 God is so patient with us, isn’t he.

No matter how many times we doubt His love, turn our back on Him, deny His existence, He waits for us, tries to win out heart over, and love us. That is crazy!

Romantic love is blind to everything except what is lovable and lovely.

But Christ’s love sees everything.

#3 God’s love is unconditional

1. We often give up on people.

2. Sometimes we write people off when trust has been betrayed.

3. But God is different.

4. In chapter three we’ll see that Gomer’s sin has worn her out, and now she is stripped and being sold.

5. The name Gomer means “perfect,” possibly a reference to her appearance and desirability.

6. But now her beauty is gone — ruined through hard living, and no one will have her except one man.

[Hosea 3:1-2] Then the LORD said to me, "Go and get your wife again. Bring her back to you and love her, even though she loves adultery. For the LORD still loves Israel even though the people have turned to other gods, offering them choice gifts." {2} So I bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and about five bushels of barley and a measure of wine.

1. Hosea will make her his wife again, a living symbol of God’s unconditional love for us.

2. It would have been easier for Hosea to just divorce her.

3. God asked him to do this because it is what God does.

4. Hosea was acting like God. God’s love is unconditional.

5. Can you see how Hosea’s actions differed from the dentist that recently ran over her husband because he was having an affair?

Jesus told a story about a Father who had “Crazy Love” for his son.

Story of the Prodigal Son.

The father in this story can be compared to our Heavenly Father, he is always waiting for us, always loving us.