Creflo Dollar - Is Your Currency of Love on Empty? - Part 1
If you have your Bibles, go with me to the book of Romans chapter 13, verses 7 through 8 in the New Living Translations. We started a series where we talked about the debt that will pay off all debts. And when we talked about that, I mean, just last night, got a testimony Taffi sent me of a young lady who had $150,000 in debt and it was canceled. And this series is not even talking about money, it's talking about love. And so, there must be something to this thing that we're looking at. So, I'm gonna talk about part two of this teaching, but I wanna call it something a little differently while we'll continue with the debt that cancel all debt. I wanna call this teaching this morning, "Is Your Currency of Love on Empty"? Are you on E?
Notice what it says, verse 7 and 8, "Give to everyone what you owe them: pay your taxes," I say, I say, I say, pay your taxes, "pay the government fees to those who collect them. And also, you owe respect and honor to those who are in authority". So, regardless of who's the president of the United States of America, you owe respect and honor. Verse 8 says, "Owe nothing to anyone," wow, "except". So, he says, "Clear up all debts and obligations you have with any person except this one debt that will not be paid, will never be paid". "Except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of the law".
So, according to this, we should owe no man anything except love, and you got to wonder why. Because love shows the world who God is. Love shows the world who God is. Love is the supreme matter which the godly man and the godly woman must concentrate on. Our concentration has to be on this issue of love. If you discovered you had five more days to live, your focus and concentration, of course, needs to be on this above everything else. And there's a reason why. Why is God wanting us to continue to focus on paying and being obligated to pay this debt of love, where every man is your creditor, where all of humankind is your creditor? If you'll notice in Romans 13 and 8, he says something at the end we need to take care of as well. Right now, I'm just tying loose ends from last week. He says, "If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law".
Why would we be even interested in fulfilling the requirements of God's law? I mean, we're no longer under the law, but we're under grace. But there is the law of love that's still in the New Testament. Why did you bring that up, that, "If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law"? You see, in what way does love fulfill the law? In other words, that's what we need to settle. In what way does love fulfill the law? You see, where love is, the things which the law forbids do not occur. When love is in that place, the things that the law forbids do not occur. It's almost like, that when you love your neighbor, you put the law out of work. Mm. There's no need for the law because when love is in place, you put the law out of work because there is nothing for it to condemn. Yeah, I need to do that again. That shocked your system, right?
See, the only people that are trying to keep 613 laws might be the people who don't have love in place, because when love is in place, the law is put out of work. It is expelled because there's nothing to condemn from that point on because love is in place. You see, you can pay off your house loan, but you can never come to the point of saying, "I have loved enough". You will never come to the place where you can say, "I have loved enough". And when you come to realize this, this is where you spend a lot of your prayers at. It ain't, "Show me how to get this, show me how to do this. Show me how to get a promotion". It's all about, "I need to get this love in place", because you're gonna discover when this gets in place, a lot of stuff lines up.
Let me show you something in Luke chapter 5, verse 1 through 11 in the NLT. Luke chapter 5, verse 1 through 11. It's the most important message I've ever talked for in all my life except, because we getting ready to look up, our redemption draweth nigh and you're not gonna be able to go to heaven. Talking about how many times you came to church and all of your works and all that other kind of stuff. There's a reason why this is the preeminent thing that we must focus and begin to care about. Look at this illustration. Verse 1, he says, "One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water's edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and he taught the crowds from there. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets to catch some fish.'"
Notice the response. "'Master,' Simon replied, 'we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, I'll let the nets down again.' And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to break, or tear". Think of that. How many of you would like to have a net breaking harvest? Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you. You pay this debt of love, you're gonna start moving from just enough to more than enough and your net gonna start tearing. Why is your net gonna tear? Because the stuff coming out of that net, you're gonna be able to share it with somebody else. It's the same illustration, "My cup runneth over". What do you do with what's running out the cup? You share it with somebody else. You keep this debt of love going. "A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking".
Oh, my God. A boat sinking harvest. I declare that over you right now. I declare that over you right now that when you get blessed, those who are connected with you gonna get blessed. And we are going to begin to experience a boat sinking harvest. I never, I declare that the members of this church, not just one, not just two, because one not gonna be able to take it all, two not gonna be able to take it all. You gonna get yourself full and then spill out on somebody else, and they gonna do a spill out on somebody else, and they're gonna spill on somebody else. And before you know it, we are all showing up with a boat sinking, net breaking harvest. So, "When Simon Peter realized what had happened," he sound like Collipark, "What had happened was. And he fell to his knees," now watch this, "he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, 'Oh, Lord, leave me.'" I ain't no good. "'I'm such a sinful man.' For he was awestruck..."
You understand what I'm saying? He was blown away. Some of y'all gonna, you gonna get blown, what God is getting ready to do in these last day, you're gonna be awestruck. It's gonna be, "For he was awestruck by the number of fish they caught, as were the others with him". Watch this, now. Watch this. "His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, 'Don't be afraid! From now on you'll be fishing for people!'" Yeah. I'll do it, Lord. He say that over you. You're gonna be fishing for people. Alright. Now, watch this. Now, this is what got me. "And as soon as they landed," with all the stuff that God brought into their hands, "they left everything and followed Jesus".
See, I know some of y'all ain't clapping now. When I was talking about that boat sinking harvest... see, but what you don't understand, the same Jesus that broke the net the first place, the same Jesus that sunk the boats the first place, why would we stay there with the stuff when we can leave and go with the source? Why stay with the things when we can have connection with the source? I need to close my Bible, just go and go home. You can live off that for the rest of the week. Like I said earlier, supernatural love. Look at Jesus loving. This is all love. Love has action. Supernatural love always produces supernatural results. Somebody says, "But pastor, I don't know if I have supernatural love". You do.
Romans 5 and 5. We'll look at it a little later. He says the Holy Spirit came in and he poured his love on the inside of you. The day you got saved supernatural love has been poured on the inside of you. Why did he give you supernatural love? Because some things are gonna be difficult to love in human love. Some things you can't love in human love. Some things are too hard to love in human love. But remember, you have something more than human love. You have supernatural love, which means you can love what's not lovely, and you can love what's ugly, and you can love what's hard to love, and you can love what's too difficult to love because he gave you his love, glory be to God. He's not expecting you to pay this debt with your love. He wants you to pay this debt with the love he gave you, a love that won't run off and a love that will continue to move you into net breaking, boat sinking harvest. Let me gather myself because I'm about ready to tear up something.
I had a miracle this past Tuesday in my physical body that wasn't supposed to happen. The doctor said, "Well, you know, it is what it is," and I just thought about paying this debt of love and I can't tell you what it is, but Taffi know what it is, and I know what it is, and that's all who need to know what it is. But God healed whatever he healed when that man said, "That's messed up, that's broken, that won't work no more. Forget this". Ha! But when you pay the debt of love, you will get a net breaking, boat sinking, iron swimming, oil not stopping, tax in the mouth of a fish. So, I'm no longer 98% healed, I'm 102% healed. So, excuse me while I shout hallelujah. We see the power of God in many different ways.
Now think with me just for a moment. We see the power of God in a whole lot of different ways. We see the power of God, you know, when he fed the multitudes; multiplied fish and bread. We see the power of God in the Word of God in healing the sick, raising the dead. We see the power of God when he was walking on water and a host of other things that showed the miraculous power of God. However, a power that moves a person from a state of sin and fear, and all the problems of the world, and he moves that person to a place of peace, and joy, and hope, now that's what I would call the real power of God. And the real power of God, ladies and gentlemen, is the power of love. That's the real power of God.
I'm not look... listen, and please don't misunderstand me, I am no longer looking for the circus acts. Me prophesying your address, your last name, and where your mom and them came from. To me, that ain't the real power of God. The real power of God is a transformative power that can transform you from fear, can transform you from sin, can transform you from the problems of the world. And all of a sudden you're in peace, and you're in joy, and you're in hope. That's the real power of God. There's got to be a reason why God continues and consistently talks about this love walk being above everything else. The power of love is eternal.
Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verse 8. The power of love is eternal, in the NLT, everything else will fade away. Other anointings will fade away. Prophecy will fade away. Tongues will fade away. He said in verse 8, "Prophecy and speaking in unknown language and special knowledge, it'll become useless. But love will last forever"! It is eternal. The power of love is eternal. It never passes away. The power of love supersedes every other form of power. Every other form of power is superseded by the power of love. You see why it means little that when you have the power to heal, but you ain't got the power to love, how little that means to God. The power to blow your breath and everybody on the right side fall out, but you ain't got the power to walk in love.
You see how little that means to God? And so, we've taken all those others anointings and we've turned them into shows, and circuses, and fables, and people show up for shows, and circuses, and fables, but they might not show up if you're talking about love. But if I tell you, "Show up," and I'm gonna lay hands on 1,000 people with cancer and all of them... no, no, no. I appreciate all those other anointings, but this anointing is eternal. In fact, this anointing is the battery to all those other ones. Y'all ain't listening to me this morning. It supersedes every form of power and only love has the ability to overcome human faults. Love has the ability to overcome human faults.
You deal with any other power, you'll tell people, "Well, see, the reason why, when you lay hands on somebody don't nothing happen, is because of their faults". But love overcomes the fault. The power of love can overcome the weaknesses. The power of love can overcome the failures. The power of love can get you healed when you don't deserve it. The power of love will anoint you to be able to heal somebody and you don't deserve it. Look what he says in Colossians chapter 3, verse 12 and 13 in the NLT. Colossians 3:12 and 13 in the NLT. He says, "Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience," all that's love. He says, "Now, when you clothe yourself with this, make allowances for each other's faults". Church folks don't do that too much. "Make allowances for each other's faults".
You know what church folks do? They looking out for a fault so they can somehow, in self righteousness, exalt themselves above you because you got a fault. They had a fault last week, but they ain't told you about their fault. He said, "Make allowances for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. And remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others". I'm talking about paying the debt of love. Love is the power to be transformed, power to be transformed. So, we gotta be patient with folks because you're in the process of being transformed. I don't need to beat you up right now because you're in the process of being transformed. That's just like, if I see you with half your makeup on and rollers in your hair; you ain't finished yet.
Don't be talking about how somebody, "Oh, baby, you don't look good". She ain't finished yet. You saw somebody at church and they had a human moment and they end up cussing you like... ah. Wait, wait, wait, wait. God ain't finished with them yet, now. You got to understand how they used to cuss. That little three letter word was nothing compared to what they used to. God had to transform them out of them five letter words and them compound cussing words, and got them down to them three letter words. So, you don't know how far God has brought them while you're trying to point a finger at them and judge them. You gotta make allowances for everybody's faults.