If faith works by love, then love is an essential component of receiving from God. Not only that, God’s love is both nurturing and corrective, yet most people focus only on the nurturing aspect. We must be balanced in our view of God’s love. As Christians, walking in love should be our primary focus and evidence of our union with Christ. But why is it sometimes, so hard to walk in love? Join Carl now for this first broadcast, in a series of three, as he discusses the three kinds of love and how they relate to our Christian walk…
Here is a complete transcript of the broadcast (below)…
Friend, we’re beginning another series here called Love the Way to Victory. Friend, it’s not your love. It’s God’s love. It’s the agape love that’s going to flow through you. Get your eyes off yourself. God’s love is intrinsic because God’s presence lives inside of you, right? You have the Holy Spirit. You have Jesus the Father. They all make their abode within you. So don’t be thinking, oh, I can’t do this and I can’t do that. No, access the power that is within you, friend, and know that your faith works by love. It is absolutely imperative you understand this message as you join me now live in D-Hop for Love the Way to Victory. So, tonight’s topic is Love, colon, the way to victory. Amen, hallelujah. How many people have got their love walk totally solved, sorted, never have any issues with the flesh, down, right? Nobody, amen. We’re all working on our love walk, amen, and then there’s always opportunities that just keep coming our way. To just love an extra time, amen.
Yeah, yeah, we’ve all been there. But it’s the love of God we’re talking about. God’s love, not our love. There’s three types of love spoken of in the word of God. We’re gonna get into it in detail. But there’s a specific love that comes from the Father himself, and that’s what we’re trying to tap into. So why is walking in love crucial to victory in life as a Christian? Will our ability to walk in love impact our ability to receive from God? Is forgiving the same as forgetting? That’s a tough one. Some people have been abused. Some people have had terrible things happen to them, and it’s not easy to forget.
But I believe that God can supernaturally help you rid the memories that are stored in your amygdala and reticular formation, parts of your brain that store memories. I believe that God can supernaturally wipe those memories. I had a mentor in Houston, a dear lady called Ann Vincent, and she would pray with Vietnam vets. She’d pray with guys who’d been to Iraq, and they would be, you know, they’d wake up in the middle of the night reaching for their firearm thinking they were still in the war. And so one by one she prayed with these guys, and it took a series of weeks, if not months, but eventually the PTSD, as they called it, was totally gone from these people. God can do that, friend.
He can wipe memories. That’s a part of his ministry. Is walking in love a suggestion or a command? Who wants to read John 13:34? We got an activation right now. Who wants to read that? The first person to read it gets a free water bottle. Do I have any takers? Do I have any takers? Do I have to start pointing people out? Do I have to start pointing? Who’s got a Bible here? Nobody? Oh, no? Okay. Brother Nolan has rescued us. As long as it’s not the Amplified. Commandment. Oh, man, the whole evening is wrecked. It’s a commandment. That means it’s not a suggestion. Right? Uh-oh, it’s a command. What kind of love is Christ talking about when he commands us to love one another? There’s eros, phileo, and agape. These are all Greek terms for love. Kenneth Hagin once said, our long-term debt will be love, and we’ll be paying on that debt for as long as we live. Paul said, owe a man nothing except to love him, right? Amen. So, the three types of love. Eros, phileo, or philo, however you want to pronounce that, agape.
Our focus for tonight is agape. Eros is a Greek term. It was the name for the god of love. It’s passion, it’s sexual, it’s generally selfish. Some could argue it’s where we get the term erotic. The eros love is vital for a romantic relationship. It’s requisite for a healthy marriage. We need eros. We’re not going to cast it out, okay? It’s all a part of God’s plan. But that’s not going to be the focus tonight. Then we have friendship. Love expressed in friendship, companionship, or loyalty. If you have a dog that loves you unconditionally. That’s phileo. It’s the friendship, amen. It’s the pussycat that’s there every morning, hugging you and, you know, pooping everywhere, and just rubbing up against you and saying, I love you, man. I still don’t know your name, but thanks for cleaning up my poop. That’s the love that an animal may exhibit, right? We can feel that friendship, that loyalty. A dog is a man’s best friend, amen. Then we have agape. Agape love. This is it, friends. This is the unconditional love that requires no response. It’s not conditional.
It’s rooted in action, specifically the desire to look out for the well-being of others. That’s the love we’re talking about. That’s the love of the Father. And it’s a supernatural love. We can’t concoct this by ourselves, okay? This is something that’s going to enable us to love our enemies. Whoa, time out. I got to love my enemies? Yeah, we’re going there. Okay, so, faith works by love, right? If faith works by love, then we really should stay in love, shouldn’t we? Because that means our faith walk is going to be hindered by our ability to stay in that love, right? Galatians 5:6, “But faith works by love.” Simple as that. Are the heavens like brass for you? Are you struggling to hear from God? Do you seem to be stagnant in your Christian walk? Are you in the same place you were several years ago? I suggest you check up on your love walk. It could be a hindrance. I’m not saying it is. I’m saying check with the Father, right? He knows, amen. He knows all things. Love is important.
These guys just got married. Faith and love, man. They’re deeply in love. Here they are. They can’t divorce themselves from each other. Our faith walk and love walk are married, and we need to check up daily on our attitude towards it. And you know, everything I’m saying, I’m talking to myself, right? I’m trying to live by the same word, amen? We’re all going to submit to the Word of God. We’re going to look in the same mirror, and we’re going to say, Lord, change our heart tonight if we need to. We could be shooting ourselves in the foot if we walk out of it. Satan tries to bait us into the flesh. You see, the law of sowing and reaping is in effect in the New Testament. How many believe that? Some call it karma. The world calls it karma, right? You do something bad, it’s going to come back and bite you later. It’s actually sowing and reaping. Galatians 6:7 talks about it, “Be not deceived, brethren. God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man shall sow, that shall he also reap.” And so that’s what the enemy does. He baits us into the flesh. We sow into the flesh, and then we reap corruption, right? But we can also ask for forgiveness, amen? And the mercy of God, all right? But that’s what he does. He tries to get us in the flesh. And you’ll say, well, I don’t know about this flesh business. Well, go tomorrow without eating all day, and you’ll find that your flesh has a voice.
Right? It’ll be screaming. I want that Good Times Burger Man with double fries now. In the name of Jesus. In the ‘nombre Jesus.’ Isaiah 43:25. This is so important, friends. As far as God’s concerned, forgiving and forgetting are synonymous. Now, like I said before, some people struggle to forget because the enemy torments them with embedded memories. I’m not talking about that. That’s something you’re going to have to work through. We offer ministry for that. We offer prayer with that. If you’ve had abuse, we will pray with you privately. We will work through that. I’m talking about the general disposition of people who are struggling to forgive. Now, remember what God said. Isaiah 43:25, “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and remembers your sins no more.” Can we get an amen for that? Can we get an amen for that? Laura, can we get an amen? Amen. Micah 7:19 says, “He will again have compassion on us. He will subdue and tread underfoot our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” This is the reference most people use for the sea of forgetfulness, right? They say, God, cast your sin into the sea of forgetfulness. This is the scripture most people use for that.
So that’s the good news. God forgets our sin. Now, is it true that he truly forgets our sin? He’s omnipotent, all-knowing. He’s very intelligent. I think he chooses to forget our sin because it’s covered in the blood, right? Now, if something happens to you that’s really bad, and you can remember that, you choose to forgive that person, and you choose to forget. It’s twofold, right? Because if you keep digging that stuff up over and over, it’s going to be a point of torment for you, right? The enemy, he likes us to relive the videotape. This is what this person said. He said it this way, and it was so rude, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and you deserve better than that, and you’re a woman of God, and yes, I am. I’m not. I mean, you are, but the point is, I’m giving an illustration. God has forgot everything, and he’s willing to forget everything, but the question is, he asks us, he commands us to do the same. Oh, man. Pastor, you just jumped on my toes right there. How dare you? He asks us to do the same. He wants us to forgive and to forget.
Amen, Cheryl? Amen. Cheryl’s looking at me like, is this in the Bible? Anything cast into the sea is lost forever, and just as God holds our sins against us, no more. God has knowledge. He chooses to forget. Now, here’s another example with Peter in Matthew 18, verses 21 through 22. Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Seven times in a day? Jesus said, I say unto you, 70 times seven.” How many times is that in a day? 490 times in a day. That’s every three minutes. That’s the level of forgiveness that we should be operating in. Hmm, sounds a little tough, isn’t it? The truth is, though, it’s the love of God that is indwelling inside of us that’s going to enable us to do the forgiving, right? It’s not something that’s in and of ourselves. So God is a forgiving God. He would not ask us to do something he wouldn’t do himself.
See, you flip it around. If God’s expecting us to forgive so often, he’s willing to forgive us so often, right? So when Satan has you on the mat, and he’s punching you 26 times in the face, that’s when you go, you know what? I’m a child of God, and I’m going to get off this mat, ask for forgiveness, and move on with my life. Amen? Because many people just stay on the mat, and they just get pounded and pounded with condemnation, and they’re condemned, and they’re like, oh, woe is me. Woe is me. I am just so wretched in the sight of the Lord. And then you come up with all these Old Testament scriptures. Oh, I am wretched. Smite me, oh smitey one. And all these other scriptures, right? When you’re in that mood. No, it’s time to get in the New Testament. Say 1st John 1:9, right? Lord, I ask for forgiveness. You cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I dust myself off, and I’ve got three, what is it? 489 forgivenesses to go. Amen. Today. Woo! That’s how forgiving our God is, right? Here’s the mechanic. He’s saying, you’re saved. How do we know we’re saved? We went to Jiffy Lube, and Jiffy Lube said, you’re saved.
Well, give me the proof. 1 John 3:14, “We know that we’ve passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death.” Whoa, whoa, whoa, time out. That’s pretty stern, is it not? This is 1 John chapter 3. The evidence that you are born again is that you’re loving the brethren, amen? That’s evidence. Jesus said you’ll know them by their King James quality Bibles, right? That’s what he said, no? He said, Matthew 7:16, “You’ll know them by their fruit.” The Pharisees were all about, you know, looking down on people and boasting about their tithes and I’m so pious I can remember the book of Leviticus backwards, etc., etc.
That’s not the measure that God’s looking for for a relationship with him. Galatians 5:22 says that love, this agape love, the unconditional love of the Father, is actually a fruit of the Spirit. But notice it’s the first one. The first one. It’s stemming from that love. From that love comes joy, peace, and then we’re able to long suffer towards others. Then we’re gentle. Then we’re good. Then we have faith, etc., etc. So wherever you see the love of God or the love of Christ in the Bible, it’s not of our origin. We are supernatural entities. When we got born again, the DNA of God infused with us and we became a new creature, amen? A new creature. Some contend that you can actually measure this DNA in a laboratory and some Christian scientists are trying to do that. Far out, dude. But slightly off topic, we are a new creature. Who reminds you of your sin? Yourself and the devil. They’re the two people. They’ll just keep reminding you, right? That little thing on your shoulder, tell it to shut up, amen? You have authority to tell it to be quiet, amen? People are looking at me like, what? Friend, that’s the end of part one of our live session. Join me again tomorrow for part two.
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