Creflo Dollar - How to Experience The Love of God - Part 4
Anybody that's ever tasted and experienced the love of God can't come out the same. You're not going around trying to look and see how much foolishness you can do. "Well, you know, God's love is deep, so I might as well go on and knock off, go on and do this and go on and do that, go on and do that". That ain't how that work. You've not really experienced the love of God. When you experience the deep love of God, you experience God doing something for you that you didn't think could be done. And when you experience that deep love, that's why I want you to experience.
When you experience that deep love... see, we've been captivated by, let's keep the rules. Let's do that. Let's do this. Let's do that. Let's do that. And sometime we're doing all the mechanics of Christianity without even knowing God. No, you don't understand God's method of transformation. You think all of the rules will transform you, and we have to work so we work so hard to be good because we think our goodness will deserve God's goodness. How many of you, be honest, before you got saved, can recall some goodness that came from God? You was high driving, could have had a wreck to kill you, and the goodness of the Lord sent some angels to come down there and rescue you. And you didn't have no God on your side. You didn't have no God on your side. And he showed up anyway with his goodness and a little change happened because you can't forget that.
And every time you think about it or hear God or go to church with your grandmama on Easter, you think about that time. See, God's just been planting seeds of goodness because one day, you're gonna be captured in his love. Hallelujah. And the things you used to do, you're not gonna want to do it no more. But your good works and your rule keeping has never done that. In fact, you've done some good works and when you didn't get congratulated for it, you got offended 'cause people didn't brag on your good works. Remember when we used to have fried chicken sales in the basement of the church, chicken sandwich for $2.35, glass of Kool-Aid for a dime, freezing cup for a nickel for the children? And you worked all Saturday and came to church jazzed to hear somebody brag on how awesome you are. I know it's true 'cause I remember my grandmama getting mad. No, that's not how that works.
Tonight, today, I'm trying to convince you, his love will change your behavior. His mercy will cause you to repent. Are you listening to what I'm saying? Look at something here. Matthew 22:37 and 40, look at this. This is something. Hallelujah. All these years it took us, what we're doing, we're just fine tuning some stuff 'cause God getting ready to show out through you. You gonna meet somebody just like what you used to be like. And you gonna sound like a prophet in their presence. And you're not really prophesying. You just telling them, "No, I know this 'cause I've seen this movie, and I know how it ends". Look at this now, verse 37. "Jesus said unto him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all that soul, with all thy mind.'" Look at verse 40 and verse 40 says, "On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets".
Now, that Scripture came from Deuteronomy 6 and 5, go there. He's just repeating what was a part of the Old Testament. He said, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy might". Okay, let's pause just for a moment. I would set you up and say, "How many of you love God like that"? And you raise your hand, and then I call you a liar. And then, you know, you get my point. I'm not gonna do that. Nobody can love God like that. You can't. The only person that could love God like that is Jesus. That's why the Bible says Jesus didn't come to destroy the law. He came to fulfill the law because there were some things we could not fulfill. This is one of them. You're not thinking about what he's asking for. Love the Lord with all your heart. You're not loving God with all your heart.
In your heart, you have love for everybody else. When you loving God with all your heart, that's it. With all your mind? No, you not. The stuff that goes through your mind on a daily basis, it's not building a nest in your hair but, boy, they're sure going through. With all your strength, with all your finances? Not even David, a man after God's own heart, could love like that. I mean, you deceive yourself and religiously try to talk yourself into saying, "Oh, yes, I do". No, you don't. No, you don't. I can get somebody to... what's that thing? Prank you outside, and they'd have to edit it afterwards 'cause all the cussin' you did. You don't love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and all your mind. I know you think you do, you don't. Nobody can do that, except Jesus. Jesus was the only one that could do that.
I used to think that could be done, but I mean, this is like real. This is not no love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind while you're at church. That's why the New Testament is all about God's love for you and not your love for him. The New Testament is about God's love for you and not your love for him. Read the New Testament in context. All it's talking about is God, and I'm talking about the... well, I don't want to get into that. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, I'm talking about New Testament didn't start until Jesus died and rose from the dead, and then the New Testament started at that point. Because a testator with the testament that he leaves can't come to pass until he dies. And then, you know, but Jesus died and he rose from the dead. You see, that's a whole series right there. The New Testament is talking about God's love for you.
1 John, I believe, 4:19 says, "We love God because he first loved you". You really think you have the ability to love God without his intervention? Romans 5 and 5 says the Holy Spirit, the first work of the Holy Spirit was not you jiggling, jerking, and falling. No, the first work of the Holy Spirit is pouring his love on the inside of you. How you talking 'bout you got the Holy Spirit and ain't got no love in you? Watch carefully. Watch carefully. Romans 8:38 and 39. I'm going somewhere with this. Stay on track with me. Stay on track with me. See, I want to make sure when you come to church, you eat, you understand, and you go live it. I can't holler, scream, then you holler scream back at me. And then I holler scream back at you, and you holler scream back at me. And then when church over with, don't nobody know nothing. And I don't even know what I hollered and screamed.
All right, are you there? So powerful. Watch this. "For I am persuaded". Gosh. "I am persuaded, that neither death, life, angels, demons, principalities, and powers, the things that are present, the things that are to come, nor height, depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord". It's not nothing will be able to separate me from loving God 'cause a lot of things have already separated us from loving God. What he's talking about is there's nothing in existence that will ever separate God's love from you. Think of that. There is nothing that can stop God's love for you. You know what? Probably only one thing, unbelief, you not believing it, but nothing else. Nothing you do, nothing you've done, nothing that happened, nothing that's going on in the world, the pandemic, the government, the mandates, the jobs, none of that is gonna stop the extension of God's love towards you. He's always gonna be moving stuff around to get his love to you. Oh, glory to God.
Some of y'all sitting, you know, in a rough situation right now, and I want to tell you God's love is on the way. Ain't nothing that can prevent his love where you're concerned. You might not have a job right now, but he working on it right now. He working on it right now, getting ready to give you something you've been praying for, better than what you had. He working on it right now. He working on you right now. He working on situations right now. He working on your children right now. He working on the stuff that hurts you, the stuff that used to hurt you. Ain't nothing gonna ever be greater than his love towards you. That's powerful. That's powerful. His love will separate you from sin, but your sin will not separate you from his love. His love will separate you from sin. Yeah, his love will separate you from sin.
God loves you so much, he's like, "I don't want you to continue to sin because sin has consequences. And if you keep doing this, this is gonna kill you. This is gonna mess stuff up. This is". So, his love, he loves you so much, he's working on snatching the desire for that sin away so it won't kill you. So, his love has the power to separate you from sin, but your sin doesn't have the power to separate you from his love. And we thought it did. We've heard it preached that your wickedness has separated you from God's love. Well, if that's the case, the people who were wicked in Nineveh, and they're God's mercy and love right there for those wicked people.
Luke 17:39, now this is gonna get it, 39 through 47. Watch Jesus here. Watch him. Luke chapter 7, verse 39 through 47. Luke chapter, there you go, 39, verse 39. All right, now, watch this. "Now when the Pharisees which had invited or bidden him saw it". And what they were seeing was this woman washing his feet with tears and using her hair to dry his feet, ministering to him. "So, when they saw it, he's spake in himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet". The Pharisee did. He was saying this to himself. He don't know Jesus could read thoughts. "If he were a prophet, he would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches him".
That's what we got in the church today. Look at what you're looking at. You're holding her hostage to what she used to do and who she used to be. But you're gonna find the love has changed her. He would have known who it was that toucheth him, "for she is a sinner". Let me give you all some news here. And the Pharisees, they were too. Next verse, "And Jesus answering and said unto him, Simon", he's answering. He said it in himself, and Jesus was answering him. That's so awesome. You sitting there thinking something, and Jesus answer you. "He said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on".
Say that. And he said, "There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, see thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she has washed my feet with tears, and wipe them with the hairs of her head. That gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou did not anoint: but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment".
He compares Simon to the guy that had five pence or to the other guy, this woman who was compared to 500 pence. He said, "Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven". You ain't even got to finish this. What was Jesus saying? "I forgave her of much. She gonna love much". Here's what he said. He says, "Which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little". So, here's what God is saying to us. "I came and got on the cross, was whipped with a cat o' nine tails, went to hell for three days and three nights after not ever sinning. And I forgave all of mankind. Everybody that ever went through the planet, I bought their forgiveness. I forgave you of much".
Here's his plan. The day you realize how much you have been forgiven of, you gonna love much. One of the reasons why Christians don't love much is they simply don't know how much God has forgiven us. You don't know how much he's forgiven you. If you knew how much he's forgiven you, he has... think, look at your life. Look at everything. He has forgiven you. Glory to God. Oh, glory to God. Listen to this. This is the best way I can put it. He's forgiven you of your past, your present, and your future sins. What? Oh, yeah. He has forgiven you of everything you've done in your past. And some people say, "Yas, amen". He's forgiven you of everything in your present. "Yes, amen". He's forgiven you of your future.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait a minute, Pastor Dollar. What you mean he's forgiven me of my future? What do you mean he's forgiven". When Jesus was on the cross dying, he died for your past sins, your present sins, and your future sins. If that were not the case, he would have to keep dying today. But he died once for all times. It has been taken care of. The day you recognize that is the day you love it. And every day you recognize what he's done and forgiven you of, you're gonna love him more, and you're gonna love him more, and you're gonna love him more.
And the day you thought you were certainly condemned and you saw the light of his glory rise up in your life after what you did, you're gonna love him more. And the day when you had the wreck and you could have died, and you should have died, and you would have died, but you didn't die, then you gonna love him more. And the day when the doctor pronounced that you were gonna die of the cancer or die of the high blood pressure or die of whatever it was, and you didn't, you're gonna love him more. The day when the baby needed a pair of shoes and, look, you had a light bill due, and you even had a gas bill too and your telephone was disconnected. You wait till your next paycheck, but it didn't come in because of COVID and all of this stuff happened. You gonna love him more 'cause he showed up, and he made a way where there was no way, and he caused somebody to encounter your life and to bless you and to do what you didn't deserve and you didn't work for. How do you take credit for a stranger that showed up because God sent him to meet a need in your life?
Somebody said, "He doesn't do that". Well, you better think again because when the apostle Paul was blind, God called somebody that was an enemy at one time to lay hands on him so he could get his eyes restored. Honey, God knows exactly what to do to cause you to want to love him more than you love him right now. But I'm trying to tell you, go ahead and look at the portfolio of his forgiveness and see how much he's forgiven you. You couldn't afford to do what he did. And he went to hell, your hell, the hell we were supposed to go to, and he forgave you. I got to love him. I got to praise him. I got to stay with him. I got my staying power because I can't believe a man would die for me before I was even formed into a fetus.
We don't get it. We're only asking God to forgive us of the rule breaking while we was alive. And you don't understand it wasn't you being alive and all the stuff you did. It's the fact that you should be in hell, but you're not. Why? Because of him, because of him. It's time for you to abandon yourself in his love. Hebrews 10 and 1 and 2 talks about as long as they bought those sacrifices, they were never cleansed and they were always guilty. But when Jesus shed his blood, they were able to be cleansed, and they were able to worship him, worship him without guilt and without condemnation.
You know what you're saying there? Hebrews 10:1 and 2, read it when you get home. He was saying they finally believed in what the blood of Jesus accomplished. Now, they can worship him in the beauty of his holiness. It's hard to worship God when you're still feeling guilty and condemned and shameful. And there are a lot of people that have stopped coming to church because most of the shame came through the pulpit. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself. God don't like ugly. Oh, he gonna get you. God's gonna get you. God's gonna get you. God's gonna get you". How many of you know if God wanted to get you, you'd have been got?