Loving God and Loving People — Gary Wilkerson

Hi, my name is Gary, and I'm a recovering Pharisee, and you're all supposed to say hello, Gary. That's the Obviously I have not been at any AA meetings have you? It's a joy it really is it's a blast to be with you.

This is a Joyful place the Spirit of the Lord is here. People are getting along with one another and not a great place to be. It's probably a real different experience than your church. I'm teasing I'm teasing you, but it is great.

Well, and what a wonderful message last night. Just so powerful and Provoking to our hearts of the reality of God's grace and his love and then here this morning It was just I was telling pastor Carter.

It was like I'll just get up and say hi for a few minutes it was just there's so much already to chew on and to Devour in our own hearts and give thanks for God for what he's been saying to us. It's great to be here at summit.

This is a wonderful place. I've been here many many times and it just keeps getting better and better. It's like it's like the wine of the Holy Spirit just keeps getting better and better the Spirit of God just increases here More and more and the students that are coming out of here I've worked with many of them and different ministries around the world and even at my own home church God has done some incredible things for the students here.

We just love them. We love being here with you. Let me pray and then let's just go into what God would have me to say to us here. This morning in this place father, I just Man it's just so good to be with you.

You're you're we sang this morning and we get to claim this Incredible thing. I am a friend of God Lord as a traveler on the world. You let me experience people that strive to to even say that they could be Accepted by God or strive to earn God's favor from many religions around the world even sometimes Christians.

But I thank you that you've exposed to us your love and through that love you said to us we are friends of God. Oh father. Bring before you the the words that you put on my heart. Let them be pleasing most of all to you.

Lord, I didn't come here to to impress anybody. I didn't come here to try to get an applause of man. I thank you for revealing that that idol in my own heart in the past of Looking to impress people. Lord, I would rather I would rather leave this pulpit utterly having failed in what I thought I should say then to then to try to appease people or please people and having in done so Not blessed your heart father.

So I'm here to bless your heart. Just to be a servant of yours to say what you want to say to say it in the way you want to say it. To accomplish your purposes in this place to to let you shine till it to hide behind the cross and let Jesus be Exalted in this place.

Thank you. Thank you for you are worthy for you alone are worthy God. There's there's no no one worthy Lord. Even we hear the greatest sermons in the world the man or woman preaching that is not worthy to be praised or worship.

But you are Jesus. You are praise worthy and we give thanks for that in Jesus name. Amen. Amen, first Timothy, excuse me. Second Timothy chapter 1 verse 7 Bible says for he has not given us a spirit of fear.

Freedom From Fear Through the Father's Love

One translation says he hasn't given us a spirit of fear or timidity. But he's given us love power and a sound mind or another one says or a spirit of self-discipline. He's not giving you a spirit of fear but he's giving you a spirit of love and he's giving you a spirit of power and he's giving you a spirit that has a Sound mind.

I believe the first thing that God wants me to tell you here today is is the simplest thing you'll ever hear and I'm becoming the older I get that you you think the more complex or more theological or more doctrinal or more intense you get in in discerning different Aspects of Scripture, but I find myself as I get older I'm getting more simple and I just like the simple things of the gospel and and I believe just simply.

This is gonna be really simple, I think God sent me here to say that the Father God loves you alrighty. Thank you for coming. That's enough. It is that's enough. I mean I preach another hour, but I won't say anything better than that.

We may not discern it. We may not grasp it. We may not drink it in but the Father God loves you. And he loves you. He he he he's given you this spirit that is. Talking about Jesus said it's good that I go away because if I go away.

What a weird thing for him to say and what a weird thing for us to understand. It's good that Jesus goes away this man. Who was the most perfect man ever the only perfect man ever to walk on the face of the earth could do signs and wonders.

And miracles and astound crowds and and change nations and it's good that he goes away. Why cuz he's gonna send the Holy Spirit. And he says and that spirits gonna come and he's gonna be a comforter. Well, that's a good word.

But why would he need to send a comforter? Well because he knows we're gonna be uncomfortable. He wouldn't need to send a comforter if he didn't think we're gonna be a little bit uncomfortable and and oftentimes I think the greatest thing that causes discomfort is that we don't know that we're a little loved by the father.

That that that your Abba father Thinks of you and he and he and he and he delights in you. Psalms 137 I think it's verse 17 says How precious are the thoughts you have for me? Another translation says how precious are the or the thoughts you concern yourself with me about in other words God.

That that blows me away. God thinks about me. I Mean, I you know, I was like when Nick was talking earlier about the little dance he was doing. I won't try to do that. That's an Irish jig there. I don't want even attempt.

But you know like trying trying to get God's attention. Hey God, I'm here. Would you pay attention to me, you know? But here's what God is saying and no you don't need to strive to get me to pay attention.

I'm already thinking about you and the psalmist goes on to say All these thoughts that God has concerning you. They're too numerous to count. That's a lot of thoughts that God has about you. From the previous verse that says that in your mother's womb you're being formed and created by God.

He's thinking about you your your plans your future your relationships. Your your your your abilities your gifts your callings your your the heart of the matter. He's putting all that into us and he's thinking these thoughts about us and then he goes on to psalm 139 18 goes on to say that if we were to count all the thoughts that God has about us and how precious they were.

They would be more numerous than the sands of the seas. That is one heck of a lot of thoughts that God has about you and I started thinking the other day. What if what if we just knew like five of them?

Like five grains of sand we could pick up and goes here's one thought God has about you. He thinks you're wonderful. No, no, stop saying like that. No, he needs to know. You know, he's God thinks we're miserable lousy.

No good ne 'er-do-well sinners and and that's his thought about us. But you know by grace he'll come and you know. Think kind of nice thoughts about us like we'll we'll we'll hide behind Jesus. I've never gotten a lot of thrill out of that, you know.

And I was taught that from a childhood that that you know, when we stand before God God's not gonna see us. He's gonna see Jesus and say okay because I see Jesus you're acceptable and work Jesus is gonna be kind of like standing up there, you know, and here's God and here's Jesus.

I Don't want him to see you. It's like and you know, you peek out behind Jesus a little bit and he pushes your head back and and God doesn't see us. He sees Jesus. It's like I don't. I wouldn't mind him seeing me.

I'd like to see him. I wouldn't mind a hug. You know wouldn't mind a little face-to-face. I think that's what we get to be in heaven. We see him face-to-face. And so so Jesus not only covers me by his blood and cleanses me and calls me his friend and Puts his heart within me, but he makes me acceptable to God.

And so God when he thinks of me now, he he you know sometimes he's thinking in terms of correction and there's sometimes he's thinking in terms of rebuke and Sometimes there's challenges in my life that he has to straighten me out on.

But his thoughts for me how precious the psalmist said they're precious because they're good thoughts if if the thoughts were One more move like that and I'm striking you dead. I don't think the psalmist would say how precious are his thoughts of me.

I Think you say how dangerous are his thoughts of me? No, but they're precious and if you could just know one of them wouldn't any great. That that he loves you. That's a beautiful grain of sand that he's called you that you're precious in his sight that you're dear to him that he loves your Company that that his plans for your life that he's called you to great and marvelous things that you're his friend.

He likes to walk alongside of you. He has a special purpose in your life. I know the plans I have for your plans for good. These are grains of sand that he's thinking and could you imagine just if and most of us know five or ten or twenty in?

Our lifetime and yet he says that they're the more multiple than the sand of all the seas. That all the grains of sand in the world Couldn't contain we could count all those up and still not have over counted the amount of grains of sand that God has for you the Father's love it's it's it's it's when we understand the Father's love for us.

It takes the new covenant that we're teaching here and moves it from the head to the heart that 18-inch journey. That is someone for some of us. It's the hardest journey of all is that we understand it now not just by By by the theological terms that it gives to us and I'm that kind of guy I mean I read I read about two books a week.

I love studying. I love and when I when I started trying to get more Understanding of the new covenant. I you know I got new covenant unveiled by I can't remember his name. He's an author so I got that new covenant unveiled this and I got a W Tozer's the two covenants.

And I got I inherited my dad's library. And it's got John Owen and Wesley and and all these guys. It's got all this stuff about new covenant William Blake all these great writers from the Puritan times and and I have all these books on my desk and they're like you know and I'm just and I'm thinking of you know like the like Nick was saying today like the the the Abrahamic Covenant and then no way no attic Covenant and the Davidic Covenant and the Arnold Schwarzenegger Covenant, and it's just like I'm Wow.

What is all this stuff? You know and it's and. And I just want the G's G's attic Covenant. You know the Jesus Covenant. And and Jesus makes it so simple I love you is the is the crux of the new covenant that he has his great love for you.

And as I had all these books and trying to study all this stuff around there I just one day in my study the Lord just said do you want to do you want to do me to reveal a little bit? More the new covenant.

He said absolutely and all of a sudden. I heard this song Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so little ones to him be long. We are weak, but he is strong then yes, then that word. Yes hit me.

Soon as I soon as I could say yes to that song. I'm beginning to understand the new covenant. Soon as I could say yes, he really does yes. This is not just my brain. Yes. This is my heart that says he absolutely loves me that that that the new covenant is not just a doctrine or theology.

It's the Son of God Poured out his love on the cross. It was God the Father who said he loves us so much that he gave his only son. It's that benevolent heart of the father the father it's if you. If you if you knew the father's love it would change everything.

It would be the key to that that gift that he says in Timothy that he cast out all fear. We live in fear because we don't know the father's love for us. We do and so it's a fear. Did I please him? Did I say that?

Right? Did I say that wrong? Did I impress people that I did I did I preach? Well, did my church think I'm doing okay is and do I feel like I'm doing okay? It's it's all about our own self judgment. And it's not about God's judgment of us using the word judgment and maybe in a different way than some of us might understand.

It's God's God looks at us through the love of Jesus Christ through his love for us. I just love you. You're my children. One more time. The father loves you. He really he really does. He just he loves you as hard as for you.

He's not against you. He's proud of you. He's he's on your side. He's he. He's not there with a stick to beat you try to you know, get you to behave better. Although yes, he he does long for a holy walk with God, too.

But that love draws me into a holy walk with God without fear so the perfect love cast out all fear so it's not until I know that I'm loved by my father that the fear can be cast out and if the fear is not cast out, there's never going to be a Response to and a walking in and a joy over the new covenant grace of Jesus Christ.

It just won't be there because fear will be ruling you and you can't have fear in your heart and the grace of God in New covenant in your heart working simultaneously. The one will push out the other perfect love cast out all fear.

The new covenant is is in its essence is father's love for you. Jesus has love for you and that moves out fear from your heart and when fear is moved out from your heart and you know. That the father loves you you're set free.

You're really free and I'm not talking about the free from drug addiction. Yeah, that'll set you free immediately from you know. From Jesus has love can set free for an addict and he can set free an adultery can set free anybody.

But even for Christians in the church who are not free they can be set free by understanding how much the Father God loves them. And then that freedom is amazing. It will change your ministry because now you're not.

You're not trying to control things. Fear always is controlling. I'm trying to control my elders. I'm going to try to control my what you know. What happens in the pulpit trying to control what happens in the altar?

You're free to move in the Holy Spirit because now you don't have to control the Holy Spirit. Because a lot of even us who come from the Pentecostal traditions we say, you know. Hey, we believe in the Holy Spirit and we want the Holy Spirit here.

This is as long as he behaves himself. You know, just sit it sit over there and on that section be nice. Don't don't get out of order. You know, like we're commanding the Holy Spirit be decent in an order.

Hey, I wrote that I Know I know decency in order the Holy Spirit knows decency in order and and and it's not the same thing. We know sometimes we're not of our fear. We're trying to control things and so it is so important that.

That that that even this next day or two that you're here together that you would just pray God. Would you once again just show me that father's love? So that I don't have to live in fear anymore. I don't have to live in fear of what people think of me.

I don't have to live in fear of the the church growth attendance. I don't have to live in fear of of anything the mortgage on our church building isn't gonna get paid or for our ministry. We don't have to fear any of that.

You have an Abba father who's good. And he's called you into the ministry. He's gonna give you all the grace you need all the power you need all the authority you need all the financial blessings that you Need all the buildings that you need.

He'll give you everything according to his riches and glory because he loves you. Jesus just really loves you and Once you get that then you can move into a ministry. That's not fear based, but that is love based.

Ministry Rooted in Love Rather Than Performance

Being loved by God Can create in us an opportunity in an environment around us. But we're beginning to operate now in in that kind of freedom that we have from God a freedom to love other people. And the more and more that's what I that's really what I want out of life.

I just want to I just want to be loved by God and I want to really love God with all my heart, and I really want to love people and that that that's a. That's a battle for me. I don't know this for you.

It's like I love ministry. I love preachings people that I'm not quite so sure about. You know and and but God has I say that but but at the same time also saying God has put Supernaturally a baptism of love in my heart.

More more and more I find myself like like you know in the waters that that the Old Testament talks about at first. It's ankle deep and then knee deep and then up to waist and then you're before long.

You're being carried away by these waters. I find that's what the Holy Spirit's doing in my life. I think you're probably experience that too the more you understand that the Father loves you the more you're free and the more you're Free you can treat people With with love rather than trying to make sure you're saying something right to them or the conversations going away.

Where you're looking like you're smart. You know or at least you're intelligent. That's why I've had for many years a hard time remembering people's names. Because when I walk up to somebody I've not met before I'm not thinking about them.

I'm thinking about what's the first thing I'm gonna say so I could make sure I sound smart. You know at least don't go like my name is Gary you know it's it's and so we're not other centered because of the fear.

When when the Bible says he's not giving us that spirit of fear if we walk in that spirit of fear. We're we're walking into a room and we're saying here. I am what am I how am I perceived? What what are people gonna think of me?

But when the Spirit of God takes away that spirit of fear you walk in a room and you go there you are. You see the dynamic difference in that that's that's your whole life change there your whole life changes from here I am what do you think of me?

What do I need to do? What is everything okay? I'm a little bit afraid about this experience that I'm having it all it moves away from that totally into that. Ah there you are. I've been looking for you.

I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to pray for you. I wanted to hear your heart. I wanted to bless you. I wanted to to give you this gift. Just it doesn't it change things. It really changes things and so more and more we get from ankle deep up to waist deep up to the fullness of of this river of the living water of God.

That calls us to give away our life to other people so last few Months we've been a transition to my wife and I I didn't introduce my wife Kelly's Kelly. Would you mind standing? This is my wife Kelly.

Hi Kelly stand up. We've been married. We've been married 39 years almost you know yeah 39 years. I'm not great. That's true, and she is amazing. She's really special. I mean, it's just really you're cool.

You're wonderful. You're you're great to be around. You're my best friend. You're what you're wonderful company. I really love you Kelly. Sorry. Whoo. I've never done that in a sermon before. Wow you just it's just.

You know yeah, and God gives you a gift like that for 39 years. Man, that's it's incredible. What was I saying? Thanks a lot. I don't know I wasn't listening. Oh Yeah, so so in the last I looked over to Kelly so in the last since January.

There's been transit and I've been a pastor my life. You know 35 almost 40 years of pastoring and so. This past few months I've given more of the leadership of our church in Colorado over to one of my associates.

And he's taking lead there my wife and I are getting to travel around the world now particularly doing pastors conferences. And it's been amazing so we were just in a conference in Armand. With the joy of having pastor Carter share there with us just a dynamic Message that he's got for pastors and in crisis and in need they're in difficult these guys are working and operating in such difficult Situations like one pastor.

He's a pastor in Damascus. And he's talking about the bombs that have been going off in the city and just destroying buildings and him in his church. They go into these buildings and find Little kids that maybe their parents have died in this Carnage and they take the little baby out and they adopt them and and here's this guy and you know what and then on.

Not not only is he surviving and thriving in this church growing in the midst of that, but he's also totally blind. And then I was and he won't leave. Everybody's telling you got to leave there. You got to get out of there.

It's too dangerous. I'm not leaving. This is where Jesus called me to be. And and so to be able to minister to people like that. It's just it's a thrill. It's wonderful and while we were at this conference in Jordan I Was I was kind of staying at the hotel and I was preparing my notes and writing my sermons out.

And and then I would wait for the car to come pick us up and it would take us to the hall where we were Meeting and I would preach or listen to the others preach these pastors. We have a worship service and I go back and say Lord I need another word for tonight Lord just and I pray and then I'd maybe go eat some dinner and and Get picked back up at the hotel and go back to the conference at night.

And and after about the second day of the conference, I thought to myself Oh my goodness here. I am in a country with like six million people who are Muslim that most of them have never even heard the name Jesus let alone had him explained to him and As joyful and as called as I am to go to these pastors conferences.

I'm walking by waiters and Bellman and People on the streets and I went. I had Wore my shirts out because it's so hot there I had to go buy a new shirt and I was in the in the checkout counter and I thought all these people I'm passing By to go talk to pastors about things.

They've heard ten times already if not a hundred times and and and Lord just said Your ministry is not in an assembly hall or in a church building. Your ministry is not for Sunday morning from 9 to 11.

Your ministry is not when you gather with pastors your ministry is to everybody you meet everywhere you go. No matter what kind of faith background no matter what kind of religion you are called you're calling because I love you.

And I was getting fear out of your heart because of that now you go everywhere I tell you to go and there's no there's no meeting times. There's no start time and then I'm glad I'm done with that session.

Or that's that's okay. You're never done with ministry. You never start ministry over again. You're just all with you. You're not you're not doing ministry. You are a minister. You are a minister and so I just kind of went.

All right, God that that's got to be you because I'm like a theologian at heart and I'm a teacher. That's those are my gifts and now you're talking about something about. You know sharing Jesus with Muslim people and and I went okay, you know I'm gonna do this but I really don't know how and we're just and then it got real simple.

It was really amazing just sending my hotel not preparing a sermon anymore. But just thinking about I'm gonna pass by probably 12 15 20 people today. They don't know Jesus and I want somehow to be able to just stop and talk to them a little bit about Jesus.

Just as if nothing else just can I pray for you? Can I tell you God loves you and I said God, how do I do this? Because it's just not natural to me. A lot of people are naturally evangelist. You've been around those people.

They're obnoxious. They are because they just like I was in an elevator one time with a guy and and we went we went up and He was saying did you know that Jesus died for you? And he came again and he's rosin again.

I'm from the grave and he's coming again. And unless you repent of your sins I'm a Christian. I'm we're working together and I realized oh he was talking to other people in the elevator. He was using me as a conversation piece.

That was his witnessing tactic. I thought these guys are so obnoxious I'm just saying that's not me. I'm not that's not the guy I am. And and so but but but I felt Lord said hey, I'm your father and I love you and and fear is gone.

So it's gonna be a safe place. It's not gonna be an unnatural kind of a forced like I got her I got a witness to three people you ever read those. Those those life stories to people like he wouldn't go to bed until he led two people to Christ.

Yeah I'd be I'd be awake a long time. I'd be sleep-deprived. I'd be dead. And so so it just wasn't natural to me and but but my father is good. And he just simply said to me. Well, let me baptize you a fresh in the Holy Spirit.

And I said, okay. What do I do? I need to go like to a Benny Hinn thing and have him like blow on me and I Lay down for an hour and I can walk up and now it's like a power now. It hit me at that I was imputed to me or whatever the impartation to me like and Lord just said no.

That's what when I do so no, I just did it. I gave you a fresh baptism the Holy Spirit. I Didn't feel it. I didn't say anything in Scripture about you having to feel it. I said I give it to you. It's a gift gift of the Holy Spirit.

And so so I said, okay. I like that I'll receive that and then I got an elevator and walking up the guy is a college guy there an Arab college guy and I Said man, I just want you to know Jesus loves you and he goes hmm, and then we can got off his floor.

I said is that it? He didn't fall down in his face and say I need God it was like. And the Holy Spirit just said no, that's that's exactly what I wanted you to do. I went up to Mount I was calling elbow, but he bowed knee bow not not my elbow Mount Nebo where Moses was and this and this guy standing next to me and I said, where you from?

He goes I'm from France. Oh, not a lot of Christians in France. I'm a Christian. You need to become a Christian. You need to know Jesus and it's like Okay, and that was kind of it and then I got on an airplane and went back to after the conference was over I went back to flying into Denver and still not fully grasping this thing and I got into Denver and And as we were landing I was Man, that was long.

That was three weeks. We were in Italy and Germany and Netherlands and and our many I'm on Jordan and I'm exhausted. I just haven't slept on the plane. I haven't slept the night before very well he's all night flight and I'm glad I'm done for a little while and you know what the Holy Spirit said then right?

Yeah, I just told you two to three days ago. You're not it's not a done. There's not a done time to this thing. This is you this is you will be my you shall receive power and when that power comes upon you shall be my witness.

Okay, God, this this is this is part of if I'm gonna Preach the New Covenant that I want to live the New Covenant and living out that New Covenant if I understand the New Covenant affects me. I Don't just sit in church every week and hear another sermon about the New Covenant go like yeah, that's good preaching.

I like this preaching on the New Covenant. It affects me. It makes me different. I'm a different person. I I'm freer. I love God more like I understand God's love for me more I I want to love people more.

I want to love my church more. I want to I want to pray for people in need and so I got off the plane Lord said now you're just beginning. Okay, this isn't this is getting to be an exciting journey. And so went back and it's late night went sleep woke up the next morning our Refrigerator was empty.

So I went to the grocery store and I was checking out and I was doing this whole thing. Like Holy Spirit, you just baptized me afresh. So so, you know, I want to do it. Do it. What do I do? What I you know, who do I talk to and I'm like, I got my grocery shard and people walking by I'm gonna Grocery cart.

I'm walking like are you the one should I talk to you about Jesus? You know, and this is really kind of silly but I'm like like, you know, I don't need you know I don't need like, you know peanut butter.

But I'm like look soon at the peanut butter like oh what kind of peanut butter is this? You know, it's like well somebody stop and want to get peanut butter too and we can have a relationship built there out of.

Just nobody talks to me at the peanut butter counter. And So I'm checking out and I'm thinking okay. It's got to be the lady of the checkout counter I'm gonna tell her about Jesus and I'm just like. And then finally the little girl she's just a little teenager probably maybe maybe 20 years old and she looked kind of little Discouraged and press and she says sir, can I help you out with my groceries and I'm like Does this body need help?

I mean I'm totally capable of pushing a grocery cart out. You know, I didn't tell her that but I'm that's what I'm thinking I can you know I may look weak to you but Strong enough to get groceries out of the grocery store and I say no, I'm fine and I get the car and all sudden it hit me just like This is the baptism of love is on you and I and you just love that little girl and I just said hey actually Could you help me?

And she goes yeah, so she's pushing the cart out and as she's pushed the car I said, you know The reason I asked you to help me is just as we're going here I just the Lord told me to tell you that and how much God loves you that Jesus loves you so much and you can Just see her.

She's looking at me like you know, who are you what and and and then we got to the to the to the car and and. And she started talking about her mom a little bit and some of the struggles. They were having difficulties and just you can see the tears rolling up around just put my arm around her said Let me just pray for you, you know, Jesus just love on this girl.

Just love her. Just give her mercy. Give her grace show her your heart. So she's just like thank you. She was so excited. I'm gonna like Wow. This is actually fun. It's actually fun. It's not I Used to when I was in a youth group, they'd send us on mission trips.

I hated missions trips. Because you'd have to go. I was I was it. I was in Canada at the Olympics and they gave us these tracks and said don't come back until you give all these tracks away. And when you got back they would give testimonies I led so-and-so to Christ, you know, and and it's like you know, I had these tracks and I walk out the door and I look and coming down the street is the No, like the Hungarian wrestling team.

I'm gonna I am NOT giving those monsters a track because. So there's like 20 of them there's 20 tracks go in the trash that's 20, okay. And so it's just like those that forced kind of evangelism thing.

All right, I'll be honest with you. My dad even did like it was we were living in Texas at the time and it was kind of is before Times Square Church Started I was back to New York and he was gonna give away a million of these little books called two of me and he Got like 400 people from across the city and and there were like and I was one of the team leaders and we were given these tracks people and then we were going to give a hundred give a million tracks away to people in the city and I would Get my team together my wife and I would give tracks, you know, here's your 50 and here's your 50.

Here's your 50. Okay, we'll meet back at lunch and and I just go in a coffee shop. Just sit down like drink a drink a diet coke or something. It's like These New Yorkers are crazy. I'm not gonna go talk to them.

So so I'm the guy I'm not. I'm not a poster child for Be baptized in the Holy Spirit and go forth and preach the gospel to all the creation. I'm not the guy. Okay, and so. But I'm just sharing like some new things that God's doing in my heart with you.

And and the only reason I'm sharing is just cuz I'm really super excited. I'm really stoked about I'm so excited. It's just it's like this stuff. That's not me is becoming me. It's like the things that are impossible for me God's doing them through me because of his father the father's love setting me free from fear when I'm free from fear I can go up to people with love now rather than fear like I know what are you gonna think of me?