Creflo Dollar - The Value of Knowing God - Part 3
If you have your Bibles, go with me to the book of Ephesians chapter 3, verse 16 through 17. I'm just gonna pick up exactly where we left off at last week. We are talking about the value of knowing God. And the more and more we spend time with this, I'm not too sure if we really, as a church, as a whole, and not just our church, including the body of Christ, has really missed out on what Jesus was trying to communicate to us. We got involved in being very intensed about keeping the rules and regulations, and somehow that told us, well, God is satisfied with us because we're keeping the rules and we're keeping the regulations. And I've met some Christians who keep the rule, keep the regulations, do good works, and they don't even know God.
And so, I want you to pay attention to this and really place a high value on your intimate relationship with God. I think we've learned how to operate in the mechanics (five steps of faith, the three steps of prayer), but we've done that without knowing him. And this is so amazing, so precious. I don't think I'm gonna cry today. I might because I just keep digging deeper. But today you're gonna find out why. You know, "Where's all this coming from, Pastor". You're gonna find out why. Daniel chapter 11, in verse 32 and 33 (you don't have to turn there) he says, "They that know their God". "They that know their God shall do exploits".
Now, that "know" means they that know about God and they that know God experientially. They that know about God, of course, that's your study of the Word to gain knowledge about God, and they that know him experientially. And today we're going to begin to deal with that experience part. I want you to be aware of the experience that God is trying to get you to have with him. Not fables or stuff, but there is a particular experience that God wants you to have with him that's gonna open up the doors for everything. And when you get a hold of this, may it bless you with the blessing of peace, not only all week long, but for the rest of your life. My prayer today is that your life right now will take a turn; and from that point on, nothing the devil ever sends your way will ever work. Amen?
Something about experiencing God for yourself, something about experiencing him where you will know him. Well, Daniel says what will happen: great exploits will take place. But I don't want to leave that as a guessing game. I don't want you to religiously pick out things and say, "Well, God wants me to experience this, experience this". No, no, no, no. It's very specific, and we want to get to that point to see what that is. And so, let's begin in this verse of Scripture. I'm gonna read from 16 to 20, and then I'm gonna go to the NLT and the TPT. Verse 16 says, "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might".
Now, might is the ability to do anything. It's an anointing to do anything, "by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts". How? By faith, by faith, by faith Christ dwells in my heart. I receive that by faith. Christ dwells in my heart. The day I got born again, Christ dwells in my heart. Say that out loud. "Christ dwells in my heart". He said, "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love". Christ dwelling in your heart, that you may be rooted and grounded in love. Now, the first act of the Holy Spirit, Romans 5:5, he poured the love of God into your heart, giving you God ability to do what you could not do in natural ability. It's rough for you to love things in your natural ability to love.
You may find it hard and very difficult to forgive somebody that has betrayed you with just natural love, and spend all your life having a problem with them. But with the supernatural love of God poured on the inside of you, you're gonna do things that you were not able to do before. Go on. He says, "May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and the length, and the depth, and the height; And to know the love of Christ". Now, to know the love of Christ, this is not to know about the love of Christ, but to know and experience the love of Christ, to know and experience the love of Christ. Well, I know it's not just knowledge about him because he said, "This experience of love passes knowledge". So, this is not just what you know about him, "that you might be filled with all the fullness of God". And then in verse 20, "Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think".
I don't know about you, but I am ready for God to do above what I ask. But watch this. He says, "I'm gonna do above what you," watch this, "ask or think". Because sometimes God'll do something while you're thinking about it, before you even ask him. How many of you are ready to abide in that place? I want God to be able to do some things I'm thinking about, been thinking about this, and then I trust him to do these things. Glory be to God. "According to the power that worketh in us". I believe and intend to prove to you today that the power working in us is that love that has been deposited in us. And he goes on in verse 20... is that it, verse 20? All right, good. So, put a period there, so I know that's the end of that statement. Say, "Well, the Bible ain't got no period". Well, you need to correct it a little bit.
Now, go to the NLT. I'm gonna read the same thing in the NLT. And like I said, we're not in a hurry. So, I don't know when Jesus is coming back, so I'm not trying to rush through series. The NLT says this. "I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources". From God's glorious unlimited resources, think of that. Unlimited resources, "he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit". So, God's wanting to empower you. Say out loud, "God wants to empower me through his unlimited resources". And he's gonna do it through his Spirit that lives in you, right? All right, go ahead, verse 17. "Then Christ will make his home in your hearts". Oh, my God, I had to stop right there. I said, "Christ wants to make his home in me"? Not on Mount Sinai, not in the church building, not in the box with the Ten Commandments? Christ wants to make his home in your hearts.
Okay, so what do I need to be dong for Christ to feel pretty good about making his home in my heart? Watch this. Trust him. I need you to think about this. Do you trust God? Because to trust him means you're going to rely on him, lean on him. In the midst of all the things that are going on, how much trust do you have for God to deal and to help you with those situations? We mouth trust, and we say trust, but now it's time to demonstrate trust. Do I trust him? Do I trust him? Now, that doesn't mean trusting in God and then go do some foolish thing. "Well, I trust the Lord. I can't see, so I'm gonna drive 'cause I can't see". No, that's foolishness. Do you trust in him? Do you trust him in your heart? Do you trust him to be able to impart, through his unlimited resources, power on the inside of you?
Then he says, "Your roots," if you trust him now, "will grow down into God's love". The roots are designed to grow down into God's love. And when you grow in God's love, it'll keep you strong. Verse 18, "And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should", may you have the ability to understand, "how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is". Ah, that's deep. Do you have it? He says, "as God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, how deep is his love". I don't think you have a clue how deep his love is. See, your love is limited. You may be able to forgive at a certain point. And then after that? "What, you cussed my mama? No, I can't do that. Uh-uh, no". No, no, no, God's love is deeper than the level that you have come to. And he's trying to get you to understand, see, to the point, we get to this point where "This person is going to hell because they did that. That person, you know, God ain't gonna help them 'cause they did that. That person, well, you don't understand where they came from".
And you don't understand the love of God was released on three murderers in the Bible. 'Cause you just don't understand how deep that love is. You still want to be the accuser. You want to accuse people of their sins because you don't understand how deep God's love is. And once you understand how deep God's love is, you don't have to accuse somebody else of their sins because you'll know his love is so deep, he has washed you clean. Come on, verse 19. He says now, "May you experience the love of Christ", watch this, "though it's too great to understand fully". Okay, so what does he want us to experience? I just read it. He wants us to experience what? He wants to experience what? He wants us to experience the love of Christ.
It's so cool if I can go one by one and ask you, "Talk to me about your experience of God's love. Share with me an experience that you've had with God when you thought he wasn't close, when you couldn't feel him, when you didn't know where he was, when you asked him, 'Why did this happen'? when you ask, 'Why am I still here'? when you ask, 'Why am I still going through this'? And he showed up and took you, who didn't deserve it, who didn't have enough education, who grew up in the wrong part of the city, who were the wrong color, and he did something to you that blew your mind and blew everybody else's mind around. Can you talk to me about an experience of God's love"?
I want you to "experience the love of Christ, though it's too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and the power that comes from God". These Scriptures are so packed. And then verse 20, "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power". All right, I believe that his mighty power is the love that's working in you right now. It's the love that's working in you right now, "the mighty power that's at work within us to accomplish infinitely more than we ask or think". So, the mighty power, the mighty power that's gonna cause us to walk in exploits and do amazing things is that love that's been imparted on the inside of us.
Somebody says, "Okay, well, you know, love, love, love, love, you know, love, love, love". And we haven't gotten it in the church. This thing is deep, it is powerful. We can't understand it all, but I'm gonna do my best to give you some understanding in some areas that's gonna really help you out. Now let's just look at verse 20 in the TPT, and I'll get started. Somebody said, "I thought you started". No, I'm just trying to lay the foundation, see where y'all at this morning. Some of y'all look sleepy. Some of y'all look rejoicing. Some of y'all look like, "I just don't know". Some of y'all just looking. Now look at this, verse 20. "Never doubt God's mighty power to work in you". Wow. He's talking about love. He's saying, "Don't doubt God's mighty power of his deep love. Don't ever doubt it, as far as working in you and accomplishing all of this. He will achieve intimately more than your greatest request," more than your greatest request, "your most unbelievable dream, exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you".
All right now, let's break this down into pieces. It's full. The Apostle Paul, in verse 19, is speaking about experiencing God's love in a way that is infinitely greater than mere intellectual knowledge, experiencing his love that's greater. He said infinitely greater. It'll always be greater than mere intellectual knowledge. I will take experiencing God's love above any man's PhDD, MD, any day. I've seen it work in my life. As smart as that person was, the love of God working in me produces a wisdom, it'll take him another 20 years to get. We keep choosing the lesser, when God wants to give us the greater, but we won't consider God, which means our heart is hardened to the greater, because we give more attention to the lesser, and we give no attention to the greater.
We give no attention to God. We give no attention to God's love. And what we do is pick somebody in the world that's been successful, and we try to follow their plan and their protocol. And God's up there saying, "Hey, I've got something 20 times better". And then you say, "No, I won't consider you 'cause I can't see you. I won't consider you 'cause I don't know where you at". And God says, "I'm here. Didn't you receive me by faith in your own heart? I've got something greater". But we won't consider him, and now our heart is hardened to the greater while we are more sensitive to the lesser, and it's easier to try to imitate somebody else than to try to get a revelation and an experience of God's love and watch him open doors that your intellect would never be able to open. I'm there. I'm choosing God. I'm choosing God.
Homiletics, I'm glad I know it, I'm glad I understand it. Hermeneutics, I'm glad I got it, but I choose a daily communion and a daily personal relationship with God because I know he'll open up doors I can't open. I know he'll do things I can't do. He'll put instructions in my mind. I don't know where they came from. He'll give me wisdom and show me what to do when I don't know what to do. I consider him. Hey, glory. Mere intellect is not enough in the days we live in 'cause their intellectual explanations seem to change every day. It's interesting how people say we're following science. Science don't change. Why is yours changing every day? I need to experience his love. I need him to show me the greater. But God is saying, "How can I do that? You're so attached to the lesser. I can't give you the greater".
You go home and pray for a job making half a million dollars. And God said, "You've got to leave where you are first". And then you start asking questions. "You want me to resign from my job"? He said, "Well, you the one prayed for the job for the half a million. I've got it for you. It's already ready to go, but you stuck here 'cause it's safer, and it's more comfortable, and it's what you know, and what you understand, and I'm trying to get you to walk on the water. I'm trying to get you to come out here in the deep, but you're satisfied staying in the shallow water. How am I ever gonna get you where you want to be if you won't let me show you".
And so, his love allowed you to be fired. His love allowed you to get a pink slip. And you thought it was the worst thing in the world, and you're ready to sue everybody because you lost your job. But if you'll just hold on a minute in love, you're getting ready to experience the love of God because there's a door that's opened that you hadn't seen yet. It's down the street and around the corner, but you haven't seen it yet. You've gotta trust God! Y'all ain't hearing me this morning. I'm there, baby, I'm there. I'm there. My daily walk is not based on my mere intellectual piece. "Well, are you telling us to throw away our intellectual piece"?
Listen, that's just like saying throw away all your senses. You've gotta smell, and touch, and all those other things. You know, have some intelligence about how you do things, but submit your intelligence to God. God ain't saying just be stupid. "I want me a better job. I quit". And then you're like, two years later, "God, what happened to the exceedingly abundant blessing"? "First of all, I didn't tell you to quit, because you ain't ready for the exceeding abundantly. I've got some more laps I've gotta take you through before you're ready with this. You're impatient. I've gotta get that out of you. You're mean as H. I've got to get that out of you".
So, we go in these laps to prepare us for that ultimate place in God. God is never gonna give you what you're not able to receive. Some of you want big stuff, but you ain't even passed the test with the little. Be faithful of the little, and then you'll be able to be ruler of much. Everybody gotta go through something because that's what God uses to mature us. So, don't get mad at what you're going through. The Bible says, in this world you'll have what? Tribulation. But what? Be of good cheer. Why? Because the tribulation is here to promote me. They that live godly shall suffer persecution. Why? Because I need to be promoted. I need to be matured. I need to mature, I need to mature. You cannot allow the same tricks of the devil that he used to get you this year to be working next year.