Transcription
I got to close with this. Go real quick to Matthew 22. That's what I looked at in my Bible, pastor, when you offered your notes. I just wanted to make sure I knew where it was. I knew it was in my Bible. You know how people say, "Well, it's in your Bible." Look at verse 36, Matthew 22. "Teacher, which is the great commandment of the law?" You all know this, but let's just listen to this. Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with how much of your heart? How much of your soul? How much of your mind? This is the first and great commandment."
Now watch. You can't do that without seeing his first love. It's not duty. It's not diligence. It's like transformation. You're not transformed because of your diligence. You're transformed because you think different. You're transformed by the of your mind. You're not transformed because of hard work. You're not just transformed because of diligence. You're transformed because you see different and you believe different. Watch this. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it." So what'd he do? He made two commandments. One, it's all the same name. It's all about love. Watch. He just married the two. "The second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments, you can hang all the law and the prophets." It's incredible. People, don't be fast with this stuff. See what it's saying.
I'm going to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, and strength. Why? Because I see how he first loved me. And in seeing how he first loved me, I finally see me the way he has always seen me. And because I see me that way, now I have the eyes to see you that way. And that's why you care about people you don't even know. They all have the same value. If he sees me this way, he sees you that way. But if I don't see me this way, I see you some other way. Now you're just another face in the crowd, and I get to decide if I like you or not. Oh, come on. It's the greatest commandment. "Love God with everything you are. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself." What's he saying? Love your neighbor the same way he loved you. Ain't that what he's saying? He said, "Make sure you love your neighbor the same way he loved you."
This is why so many people feel guilty, condemned, and ashamed in the body of Christ. Because the enemy's strategy is to get us to go to church and never really be free from ourselves and our past sins and never really be free in the love of God. Please don't ever live in that lie. If you came in here today and you say, "Well, yeah, I've been struggling with some things and memories and past," just shake it off today in a confession of faith and say, "You know what? I'm done living there. What a lie. I can never love God. I can only need God if I don't see his love for me." And at what point am I just going to stop and say, "Wow, you really do love me."
You know, I got a word years ago for a lady. I walked up to her and and I said, "Hey, the Lord told me to tell you, he never tolerates you. He loves you." And she hyperventilated, crying. She said, it was the phrase of her life, "It's amazing. He puts up with me. I don't know how he tolerates me." And the Lord had me walk up to her and say, "He doesn't tolerate you. He loves you." There's a huge difference between tolerating and loving. So that would be a good word for this house. He has not put up with us. He has loved us from the beginning. Amen.
Will you stand to your feet with me? I want to pray over you. You told me 10:30, didn't you, pastor? I'm getting better in my later years. I'm getting better. I'm growing. I'm [Music] maturing. It's going to say 10:30 in a minute and then 10:31. We better hurry. Listen, this is this is beautiful. Please take this message personal and internalize it and say, you know what? He died on that cross for me. And when he died, he put his blood on the mercy seat and showed me mercy. And he doesn't see me for what I've done and where I've been. He sees me for who he's created me to be. Please just believe that today. Please let guilt, condemnation, and shame never again be a part of your soul or your life. Don't ever look back. Paul said, "The only way we're going to apprehend and grow into what he paid for is to never look back. Forget what lies behind." It's a one-step program. It's not multiple choice. I have the present and I have things to come.
Father, would you let your grace work in us in such a wonderful supernatural way? Would you let the fruit of our lives begin to reveal the truth of who you are? And in the midst of any circumstances, any adverse seemingly challenges, would you let these truths be the ones that dictate our hearts, our stand, and our response? I pray grace over this house and I ask for wisdom in this place and most of all the manifestation and the beauty of who you are in every person, in every life in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord. Amen. I'm ask you just to stay still for just a second. Here's what I I It would violate my heart not to say this, but it was jumping on me the whole time as Pastor Dan was preaching. I could see it in the spirit like our hearts were being pierced and we could realize, man, we got some things that we need to take care of.
But here's the reality. If you leave here feeling guilt, shame, or condemnation, you miss the entire message. And you sometimes we get this and in our mind we're thinking, man, I need prayer. I got to get these people to pray for me. I'm going to call two prayer lines, get the pastor on board, and get seven more people to pray for me. And if that's your thought, then you missed it completely. Cuz you don't need prayer. You need truth. Prayer doesn't set you free. Truth sets you free. And so the idea that you we even if we embrace truth, we're free. If we embrace prayer, it's real. It's it's just another reality that we haven't embraced truth. Because if we embrace truth, it'll change us. It'll transform us. My whole desire right now is that when you leave this place today, the thoughts of what everything that was preached, I promise you, Holy Spirit's going to bring it back to your remembrance over and over. And as he does, don't you dare feel guilt. Don't you dare feel shame or condemnation. You embrace truth.
Father, I thank you that you're changing me. That you brought this truth into my life so I could walk different next week than I did last week. Because the truth I received is what's transforming me and making me brand new. I promise you that's how we go from glory to glory to the image of Christ. Everything you heard today was truth. You understand that? And it's that truth that's going to make you free. Don't allow the devil to get on your shoulder tomorrow morning and say, "See, you could never be like Dan. You could never be like Pastor Matt." Come on. Because that's the lie of hell. And that's the way hell wants to speak to you. And what I want to challenge you with is don't you dare allow that. Father, I thank you that you are transforming me and by your grace, I'm going to walk out everything you created me to be. Everybody good with that? Amen. That was just really on my heart and it would have violated my heart if we didn't close with that. Bless you guys. Thanks. Uh, and now it's 10:32, but that's my fault, not Dan. Don't hold that against him. Amen. Bless you guys.