Crazy Love: God’s Relentless Love for Us

Today we’ll begin a sermon series entitled “Crazy Love”

It’s been said that love makes the world go round. I would go further, to say that love is the reason for existence. Without love, nothing would matter and nothing would make sense. The very concept of love is one of the most permeating themes in the world today. The Beatles sang about it: Their message to a hurt and frightened world was, “love is all you need.”

According to Amazon.com, there are at least 32,000 books currently in print with the word “love” in the title. There are over 11,000 popular albums/CDs with “love” in the title.

If you were to do a Google-search on the internet, you’d discover at least 121,000,000 web-sites that that use the word “love” as one of their key words. That word sure does get thrown around a lot! But in spite of how much we mention it, love has become a very confusing subject. When I read the news, check the internet, or scan magazines in the checkout lines, it’s clear that our society has a very poor understanding of love. Love isn’t something we simply feel, but rather it’s a committed journey thru highs & lows. With so many confusing, mixed messages about love, who is to say what love is?

The answer is simple—God!  God is love

 “God is love” does not mean that “love is God.” In other words, love does not define God; rather, God defines love. Much of what we call “love” in modern North America bears no resemblance or relationship to the holy, spiritual love of God.But when we get a grasp on how truly matchless, how pursuing, how encompassing God’s love for us is, there is no other way to describe it than as “crazy love”. One of the simplest & yet most profound definitions of love is found in 1 John 4:7-11 As we begin this new series, it is important to understand that God began this process of loving us before we ever returned the favor to Him!

READ - 1 John 4:7-11

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Today’s title - Crazy Love: God’s Relentless Love for Us!

As we reflect upon this, it’s crucial to discuss John’s description of God’s love for us!

First of all, God’s Relentless Love For Us Is… A PERSONAL LOVE

I think that A.W. Tozer said it best: “The love of God is one of the great realities of the universe, a pillar upon which the hope of the world rests. But it is a personal, intimate thing too. God does not love opulations, He loves people. He loves not masses, but men.”

One of the most powerful messages we can take to people today is that God loves them. Every individual person is important to God, and He loves each one.

G.K. Chesterton understood this truth when he said, “All people matter. You matter. I matter. It’s the hardest thing in theology to believe.”

When teaching His disciples, Jesus said, in Luke 12: 6-7

⁶ “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.⁷ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Isn’t that amazing!? There is not a single bird that falls from the sky without God’s notice;

And how much more important are we than a few birds? So much more import that God even knows every hair on your head. God’s love is universal, but it is also individual.

As Augustine put it, “He loves each one of us, as if there were only one of us.” The first characteristic of God’s love is that it is personal.

Secondly, God’s Relentless Love For Us Is… A PROVEN LOVE
God’s love for us was “manifested” (NKJV), or proven to us, through the life and death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary! You see, love is a verb; it requires actions, it’s demonstrated through behavior—and the love of God is no exception. It doesn’t do any good to talk about love & compassion without demonstrating it. God demonstrates His love. He’s proven His love for us. Do we stop to really reflect upon all that God did for us on the cross? Do any of us deserve that kind of love? We must understand that Jesus’ death was not the result of jealous Jews or hard hearted Romans. It was the result of a loving God, who in His wisdom, said there was no other way. Jesus chose the nails, to demonstrate just how far He was willing to go to win your heart. His love is an unconditional love; Love without strings… It is love without limits or bounds. It is selfless. It is love that builds the other up. It’s the selfless commitment to us, that Christ died for us before we chose Him (and even if we never do choose Him).

Thirdly, God’s Relentless Love For Us Is… A PERFECTING LOVE

The Apostle John goes on to say, in 1 John 4:12

¹² No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

Since God’s love is already perfect, the phrase “His love is made perfect in us” actually has to do with perfecting us. Another translation says, (New Living Translation) “But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us”

The word translated perfect actually means maturity or completion. In other words, God’s love completes us; It makes us whole, and gives significance to our lives. Without the love of God, we would never be complete. There would always be something missing. God’s love—as with all true love—is meant to foster the personal growth & development of the one He loves. That also tells us that God’s love is not selfish; He is genuinely looking out for our best interests.

One of the most powerful & hope-filled promises of the Bible comes from Romans 8:28

Everything that God does or allows in your life & mine is for our own good. That’s what agape love is all about—wanting and doing what is best for another person. And remember, God’s goal for your life is to make you like Him, To give you a heart like His, And transform you into the best possible version of yourself. And that’s what God’s love does when we let it into our lives—It changes us from the inside & makes us better than we ever could have ever imagined. In reality there is no other relationship we can have on earth that will truly make us complete; None other than the love of God. Truly, God’s love never lets go. It lifts us out of the muck & mire of sin, to reach unimaginable spiritual heights.

Finally, God’s Relentless Love For Us Is… A PRESERVING LOVE

Jesus did not die on the cross just to prove that He loves us, But that love compelled Him to that cross to save us & give us life! Jesus, driven by his limitless love, came into this world to pay that price of sin for us!

Colossians 1:21-23

From the very moment of creation, God let us know that he had something special in mind for men and women. Have you ever considered how beautiful this world must have been before our sin, greed and pollution marred it? We were created to be stewards or managers of the resources given to us at Creation. Sin separated us from God as well as eternity with Him! He died to save us from that sin. The price of sin was too great to overcome on our own strength we needed to be saved from ourselves and freed from the prison of sin!

Thankfully, we don’t have to look to our own merits to be freed. God’s perfect love PERFECTS us, then it keeps us no matter what we may face we can stand in faith knowing God’s will preserve us, because that is what He does. God’s love is the most powerful agent on earth, and is an unstoppable force for keeping us safe in His arms and His will.

Conclusion:

Would you like to know what the Bible has to say about God’s love for us?

·        Since I care for you so much don't worry about getting your needs met and don't worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:25-34).

·        Give your burdens to me and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

·        I've given you my Holy Spirit to be your Comforter and Counselor (John 14-16).

·        So don't walk alone; walk in my Spirit (Galatians 5:25) and trust in me and I will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:4-5) and bless you with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3).

We’re talking about crazy love—bless me? With every spiritual blessing?

Please know that as my child you are safe in my hands (John 10:28).

·        I am a refuge for you (Psalm 9:9).

·        Like a mother bird I cover you with my feathers in my nest (Psalm 91:1-4).

·        When you pass through rivers of difficulty you will not be swept away.

·        When you walk through fiery trials you will not be burned (Isaiah 43:2).

·        So when you must walk through the valley of the shadow of death don't be afraid because I am with you, comforting and protecting you (Psalm 23:4).

·        I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

·        When you are brokenhearted I will draw close to you (Psalm 34:18).

·        I'll cry with you (John 11:35).

Crazy love—He will cry with me? He cares that much for me? With so many different concepts of love — so many distortions of this powerful concept it is comforting to know that Christians need not be confused: “God is love.” God’s love is personal, proven, perfecting, and preserving — It’s crazy, unexplainable, undeserved, unsurpassable.

If something’s been missing in your life, or you sometimes feel unloved, Jesus invites you to experience the soul-changing love of God. It is only by the love of God that this life takes on real meaning, And we can find purpose in living. Wherever you are in life, know that God’s love is available to you, right here this morning. Please don’t leave today without experiencing His relentless pursuit of you Let Him into your heart—tear down the walls you’ve built and open up to Him Let His grace flood into your soul, and His mercy wraps its arms around You You’ll never be the same after you experience His crazy love