I just finished teaching you a four-month-long series entitled, “The Miracles of Jesus.” I did this under the overall theme of “Supernatural Manifestation.” As I prayed over what to teach next, under the same overall theme, the Lord led me to teach on His love. I believe we are in a season where God wants to manifest His power in and through our lives. I believe this is a season for miracles, signs and wonders for us. I believe people who have never experienced the supernatural will do so in this season. But in order to do so, believing and receiving the love of God is critical.
The Apostle Paul, while teaching the believers in Galatia about the importance of living by faith in Jesus, and not by the works of the Law of Moses, said the following. “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love” (Gal 5:6). I will discuss this verse today as we launch a new series entitled, “God Loves You!”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- If you don’t acknowledge and embrace the Love of God towards you, your faith will never work, because you will inevitably make a mistake and think you have disqualified yourself from God’s best.
- If you base your faith on your performance, your faith will never be strong, because your humanity is flawed. But if you base your faith on God’s love and His unyielding commitment to you, your faith will be strong, because God’s love towards you never fails.
- For years I thought Galatians Gal 5:6 meant that my faith will work when my love walk (with both God and man) was strong and intact. This meant that down in my heart I believed that if I was not operating in love, my faith was going to fail. However, Paul’s entire letter to the church in Galatia is about human effort (the Law) vs. God’s effort (Grace). In context, Paul is not putting a requirement on us — to make sure our upward love towards God and outward love towards man is perfect — before our faith will work. No, Paul’s emphasis is on God and not us. Paul meant that our faith would work, that it would be strong and effective, when we are convinced God loves us! This is vitally important because knowing God loves you is what enables you to trust Him to the point where you can give up control and follow Him.
- Your faith will be strong when you are convinced that God loves you and that He wants to use you because He is so good, not because you are.
- If you attempt to live by faith without embracing God’s love in your heart, you will attempt to live by faith with your head and your performance. Living this way, many believers spend lots of time praying for things, making confessions, declaring this-and-that, but to no avail, because faith does not work from your head, faith works from your heart.
- God’s motivation to bless you and use you supernaturally is His love, not your faith. What caused God to make plans for you, to seek you out, to save you, and to then use you for His glory, is His LOVE and GRACE, not your faith or perfection. If you ever want to be used supernaturally, you must get to the point where you embrace God’s love, accept His grace, and pursue whatever He tells you to do, no matter how big it may be, by faith, because you know He loves you.
- Faith that is rooted in God’s love is faith that is focused on God’s tireless dedication to you and to the plans He made for you before the world began. This is the type of faith that unlocks the door to the supernatural.
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. I won’t experience Great Victory because I am so good. I will experience it because You are so good. You love me with an everlasting love. The more I learn about Your love, the more I fall in love with You over and over again. You loved me while I was yet a sinner. You made plans for me before the foundations of the world. You planned to blessed me, even though You already knew all the mistakes I was going to make. You looked at my life in advance — faults, failures, flaws and all — and You destined me for Your purpose anyway. You did this because You love me. Therefore, from this day forward I live my life by faith, and my faith is rooted and grounded in Your love towards me. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
