SNS - Mr. and Mrs. Betterhalf Series

Mr. and Mrs. Betterhalf Series; Sermon 5

"Unfailing Love"
Pastor Craig Groeschel (guest speaker at Elevation Church)

• Society hasn't trained us for marriage, society has trained us for divorce.
• We will face bumps in the road.
• When there is good reason for divorce, often times God has something different.

Hosea 1:2-3 (NIV)
When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

• The number one marriage misconception is, "what I'm missing is better than what I have."

Hosea 2:5 (NIV)
Their mother has been unfaithful and has conceived them in disgrace. She said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’ 

• Don't trade the 80 for the 20; it's the most foolish thing a person can do.
• In a decent marriage a person is going to meet about 80% of their spouses needs and expectations.
• No one will ever be able to meet 100%
• Expecting someone to meet 100% of my (your) needs and expectations is setting them up for failure. Absolutely no one can do it.
• Don't believe the lie that what I'm (you're) missing is better then what I (you) have.
• Whenever the grass looks greener somewhere else, it's time to water your own yard.
• If it looks better somewhere else it's only because you can't smell the poop in the yard.
• What I'm (you're) missing is not better than what I (you) have if I (you) invest in what I (you) have.
• When God gets hurt He gets mean, jealous, and angry. He throws a fit. And He has a right to be because He is God and wants all of our hearts.

God's responses to spiritual adultery, and things we should learn from:
1. Righteous anger.

Hosea 2:8-10 (NIV)
She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold — which they used for Baal. “Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens, and my new wine when it is ready. I will take back my wool and my linen, intended to cover her naked body. So now I will expose her lewdness before the eyes of her lovers; no one will take her out of my hands.

• God says, you want to do life/marriage without Him...do it and see how it works out. It'll fail tremendously.
• Satan is not going to steal my future marriage!!!
• Even if there is grounds for divorce, God says not to give up that easily.
• I (you) have to fight for it!!

2. Unfailing love.

Hosea 2:14-15 (NIV)
“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.  \
- God will make the valley of achor (trouble) into a door of hope.

Two ways to have a great marriage:

1. Do everything right. [which is impossible]
2. Walk through the valley of achor (trouble) together until you find the door of hope.

• We don't always do everything right; we sin and we mess up. So, we "walk through the valley of trouble (whatever trouble it may be) together and on the other side there is a valley of hope.
• The best marriages work through the valley of {inset hurt, trouble, etc. here} together with God leading the way, and they always come to the door of hope.
• If I (you) continue to pursue God {especially when Randy and I pursue God together} we will always walk through the valley to the door of hope.
• There is always hope with God!!

Forgive and love as you have been forgiven and loved.

Hosea 3:1 (NIV)
The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes. ”

• Love Randy (your partner) as the Lord loves.
• Love and forgive the same way Jesus has loved and forgiven me (you).
• There are no guarantees, and even through we can't control the outcome God is very very clear on what we should do, and that is that we should love and forgive the way we have been loved and forgiven.
• Forgiving doesn't mean that I (you) become a doormat and don't make some changes; it does mean that no matter what Randy (your soulmate) does I (you) will choose to do what God does and love and forgive even if there are no guarantees.
• When the world says give up, God may say it's not time to give up yet.
• Always walk through the valley, because there will always be a door of hope on the other side.