Sunday Message: Love God. Live BOLD. - Part 1

Welcome to part one of the Love Guy Live Bowl series with the subtitle A Bold Life Here Flows From Knowing I'm Love There.

A Bold Life Here, where in the Promised Land, in the place where God has wanted you to be, the place He wants to set you up at, the place of your dreams.

And even if it's in seed form, like you're there, but it's not quite the thing yet.

Now that you're here, we've got you in the promised.

You've reached the perimeter, right?

You're beginning to take it.

You're there.

Being able to be bold here flows from I'm love there.

Join me.

1 John chapter 4, verse 7 through 19.

1 John 4:7–19

1 John 4, 7 through 19.

I'm gonna read it this time from NLT.

You know, I flow back and forth between the NLT, the KJV, and the Amplified.

Read from NLT.

1 John chapter 4, verse 7 through 9.

1 John 4:7–9

Difference.

Let us continue to love one another.

For love comes from God.

Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Once again, God is love.

I say love is love.

No, no, God is love.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we may have eternal life through him.

This is real love.

Not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loves us that much, we surely ought to love each other.

No one has ever seen God, but if we love each other, God lives in us.

And his love is brought to full expression in us.

And God has given us his spirit as further proof that we live in him and he in us.

Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes, I testify that the Father sent his son to be the Savior of the world.

All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them.

You have a God living in you.

You confess Jesus is Jesus is the Son of God.

We know how much God loves us, and we have power to have, we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

And as we live in God, our love grows more perfectly.

So we will not be afraid of the day of judgment, but we can take faith, we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here on this world.

Such love has no fear because perfect love expels or casts out all fear.

If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment.

And this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

We love each other because he first loved us.

We love each other, we first love us.

So put your finger there.

Let's go on a brief journey, okay?

As a recap, we have talked about this is week two of Bold Church, the bold church experience.

So we spent the summer talking about, we first started when we discussed the idea that prayer must change us before it changed our situation.

Prayer must change us before it changed our situation.

From that particular revelation, we started a journey to a place called there.

That we must, to get there, we must, to get there on this earth, we must go there in the secret place, in the heavenly places.

Without going there in the heavenly places, we will not be able to prove or know what it is, what it looks like, and where it is.

You just won't know because we wouldn't have not renewed our mind to have the mind, the anointing of mind, Christ.

Okay.

So we talked about dwelling there, being able to relate there, the language of there, standing on long enough so that the secret place, heaven, shapes us.

We begin to look, to smell, to resemble heaven.

It's almost like being around people on this earth.

If you're around certain people for too long, you're gonna look, you're gonna start having mannerisms like them, start copying their accent, their behaviors, you're gonna sound like them.

It's like, okay.

You're gonna say things, and you most important you'll be able to read them to know what they're saying.

Sometimes whether they even say it, why could you spend time with them?

God is no different.

The more time you spend with him, the more time you spend with him, the more you should look like.

So we ask the question can people tell you've been with him?

Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

Right?

Acts chapter 4, we see the story of Peter and James.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

They were drugged in front of the Jewish council of the day.

And so they performed a miracle.

And so it was interesting because the text literally says they knew they were unlearned me, but they can tell they had been with him.

They had been with him.

Does your life look like you've been with him or with them more?

Does your life reflect him or them?

Can people look at you and see Jesus?

See somebody at least on the road or on the path or the journey?

Or do you look like what you've been through?

Do you look like what the enemy has tried to make you as he tried to beat the word out of you?

This ultimately wants to steal, kill, and destroy, separate you from the word, separate you from meditating on the word of God.

Because if you don't meditate on the word of God, then what happens is we cannot see it on earth.

We cannot see it happen.

You cannot, we don't focus on the words of God there, you will not be able to bring it to appropriate it there and bring it here.

Or most importantly, when you see it here, when you you won't recognize it here.

You won't be able to recognize it to grab hold, to latch hold to.

Why?

Because we're not spending up time with him there.

So for that person who does, Mark 4 comes to mind.

You withstood the affliction, the persecution, the lust for other things, secrets of riches, the desire for other things.

You withstood that you resisted the devil, then he left, he left, you left.

Now you have your 30, 60, hundred fold.

So now that you have it, what do you do?

We say you live bold.

You live bold.

Meaning you not so much act like you've been there because you may physically have not been there, but in your secret place, your place of prayer, he has, he will show you.

He has, he does, like he prepares us.

He prepares us for there.

Now you may not have necessarily had the reps in real life there, but you're more prepared than you think because the time that you spend is not wasted time.

The experience that brought you to this point in faith and the natural, you're prepared, you're ready.

So what you do?

You live bold.

But before we live both, you have to be burst in his love.

So we like to say, love God, live both.

Love God, live both.

Love God, live both.

Why?

Because that's our mandate.

Our expression of our love for God is to live both.

So by not living both, we like to, it's it's pressure, I will give you that.

But it's like to say that we are diminishing or not fulfilling our love for God.

Explain that as we continue moving forward.

So, first part though, is love God.

We cannot live bold until we understand most importantly, God's love for us.

So the question is: do you know you are love?

Do you know you are love?

And this love looks like somebody wants to spend time with you.

They want to be around you, they want to touch you, they want to hold on to you.

You are loved.

You are love.

John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

Verse, let's start at verse 1.

I am the true vineyard.

I am the true grapevine, I'm sorry, and my father is the gardener.

He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes that branch that do bear fruits that will produce even more.

You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.

Remain in me and I will remain in you.

For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine.

You cannot be fruitful unless you remain in the vine.

So Jesus is saying, because it's in red, to be fruitful in your place called there or here now that you'll be there.

You must remain attached.

Is one of the biggest tragedies of the children of Israel when they be when they went there and God won this numerous times, is they lost their connection.

In this particular passage, John chapter 15, God is what I'm inviting us what I call an Ethernet relationship with Him.

John 15 · chapter mention

See, a lot of us want a Wi-Fi relationship with God to where it's like, hey, gotta be what's the distance I can be with you, you know, to still have you, but you know, still have my relationship with people because, you know, you can't be not fully committed, that's not fair.

But you know, you have to have some balance, right?

And so I'm like, you know, God wants a direct connection with us, an Ethernet connection.

Think about old school Ethernets, connecting straight from the wall to the source, not the wall to the thing and being the source.

No, no, he wants to connect straight to you from his spirit by the person of the Holy Spirit who connects us one to another.

But unfortunately, not a lot of us work to strengthen, to cultivate that relationship, like a gardener does their gardening.

They spend time, they research, they test the soil, they do different tests on the soil itself to make sure that the soil remains healthy.

So they not only treat the seed they want to do, but they want to test the environment by which the soil, which the fruit is going or the vegetable is going to produce.

How many times do we do that in our lives?

Do we make sure that the condition of our heart is good soil?

Because Mark Ford talks about that.

Good soil.

Good ground.

Is your heart good ground for direct connection with God?

Or is the presentation of what we've experienced, most of it is demonically inspired.

I will truly say that reverse not gives flesh and blood, but it keeps us from truly being and staying connected.

Or we look at the connection as being not safe, not wise, not smart.

So this is kind of where we have to consider ourselves.

Am I connected to the source?

Do I have my own connection?

Not saying don't listen to preachers and teaching men and women of God.

Don't have, not saying don't be happy in the relationship or be disciple.

But I am saying don't use that as a replacement for a direct connection in prayer, in praise, in thanksgiving, in giving of your time to have treasure as well.

Do not try to substitute that.

It ain't gonna work.

And please don't connect just once a week.

What if you charge your phone once a week?

Some of us will make it past one day.

What if you only ate once a week?

No, I know that's cliche, but it's very true.

You cannot simply eat once a week and expect to be performing at your tip-top greatest.

It's the same with God.

We cannot expect to overcome the non-flesh and blood battles that we face, but we rest not against flesh and blood.

Yes, flesh and blood may be utilized.

Like God uses people for his goodness and to bring heaven to earth.

The enemy uses people as well.

So they may be utilized, but the battle is not against the person's fire, the spirit which that person operates.

Because we know, Mark 4, still kill, destroy the word.

Our resoluteness, our steadfastness, our abounding toward the word.

He wants to get us away from it.

So we have to remain stable.

We have to remain connected.

We have to stay connected.

Whatever weight or sin that seeks to disconnect you, or most importantly, tell you that you are not loved.

Tell you that God doesn't love you.

Tell you that you are not worthy.

Tell you that you know what?

You are too far gone.

That is not what God says.

Don't take yourself further.

It's like that his love is conditional.

When Jesus died on the cross, he ushered in what's called a new covenant.

A new covenant.

One of the greatest differences between the old and the new is in the old, the Holy Spirit came upon and left.

Upon for a service, for a season, left.

Here or there.

Think about when they would build the tabernacle.

This one man of God, the Holy Spirit fell upon him to do silversmith or craftsmanship around the tabernacle.

Craftsmanship, yes.

The putting the stuff together for that service.

When the task was done, it lifted.

It's gone.

Unless you were the king, the priest, or the prophet, the Holy Spirit therefore sees.

Now he will never leave us nor forsake us.

We try to leave him in, forsake him.

But he promised that I cannot go out.

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

That's a promise that God has for you.

So now the question is: what is the enemy, what are the lies that he's trying to tell you?

They are the antithesis of the truth.

Or how has he distorted the word love so much to where when we God says, I love you, or God is love, then you don't hear God is good.

You hear that hurts.

You hear I'm about to be let down.

Why?

Because of what you've experienced.

Because of what you experience.

Because experience can, and I believe does shape belief.

And so that's why we have to strain what we've experienced by what has word says things should actually be.

And if we're not careful, then what we'll do is we'll force the filter of our experiences to be what it is, and it fixed it can never change.

I can never change.

No, that's not what faith says.

My faith says you can do, you can be, you can have, all that God says you can be, you can do, you can have.

Faith says none of us are too far gone.

So the question is, whose report will you believe?

Report of the Lord or report of your experiences alone.

Because there are people who have experienced alright with the word of God.

They've seen miracles, they've seen signs, they've seen wonders.

Not just canonizing the text, but in their lives.

And at least believe their testimony or think that God is good enough that He will do it.

If He's not a respectable person, He will do it for you.

Yes, the enemy wants to steal, kill, and destroy.

Yes, why can't he seiz you by the Spirit?

I do believe that.

Sees you by the Spirit.

So what are you trying to do?

He's trying to abort you.

He wants you gone.

So he shoots his best shot.

But it's like, but Reggie, if God so loved me so much, why is he allowing this to happen?

Which raises a very sensitive question.

It generally raises a sensitive question.

Because now it's like, why is this allowed to happen?

Well, first of all, I think that one of the things about the book of Job, one of the things we have to understand is that there is an enemy.

There is an enemy.

And if we believe that God is good, we gotta believe that there's an adversary who is completely, utterly evil.

And it is him that's at work.

And so now the question becomes okay, where was the agreement made to allow him to move?

You know, with trauma, that there are um both natural and man-made things that happen.

Think about um, yeah, these are managed to man-made that happen.

That there are things where it's like, okay, decisions that were made on behalf of you, whether it's structurally or relationally, decisions that were made that opens us up to certain attacks and certain areas, you know, mindsets, beliefs, understanding.

Possibly one of them, some of them, you know, we start there.

Secondly, that the harder one is I think about the disciples came across a man who was more mutant lame from birth.

So disciples immediately went to who sin.

Because if this out, if this is supposed to look like a blessing, it doesn't look right, they're seeing afoot.

And Jesus was like, it's for the glory of God.

Because he wanted to heal him, and which he did.

And so there are some situations like, okay, we are here where as we walk through this valley, what is going on?

And most importantly, are we able to recognize the bless, the curse, and call it what it is.

This is the curse, and not get comfortable in accepting things, it's a sister.

That's just the way it is.

No, no, no.

It may start it this way, but it does not have to end that way.

Impossible things shall be done.

And most importantly, I apologize that so many things have happened to you, and more importantly, things may have been done at the hands of people who say you love Christ.

So you couldn't necessarily get close to God because of them.

I apologize on behalf of the church.

I do.

That is not the will of the Father, it's not the will of the Father and it should perish.

But we see people perishing.

That's a conditional statement.

So how are we setting up and doing our part as the church to bring heaven to earth on earth as is in heaven?

This should look like heaven.

That was the will of the Father.

So as he went through, he sent his son.

What did he do to bring heaven to earth?

He'll live and set people free.

More people heal, more people live, more people set free, which is an acknowledgement of the disconnect of the earth from the vine.

The disconnect of the earth from the vine.

Creation is groaning for the manifestation of the glory of the sons of God.

And so it looks like this.

When Adam and Eve sinned, sin entered the world.

And so the Bible says we were born into sin.

Which one are we born into?

So we must be reborn or born again.

Right?

Not of flesh and not of flesh and blood, but of the spirit, right?

And so now we have this experience.

Situation in which it is very the fallen state of the world.

There are a lot of things that usually grieve the heart of the Father, it ought not be, it ought not be, it ought not be.

And if we're not careful, as believers, we can get so low to sleep as things as they are, that the idea of things changing, honestly, we lose heart and we don't want to fight against it.

We don't want to fight against it.

And so now it's like, hey, if we're not careful, we will neglect the reality that there are things on this earth, things that break the heart of Father.

That He wants to seek justice, love, mercy, wants us to walk humbly with our God.

He wants us to be provide food, clothing, shelter for people.

He wants his church to be a place of healing, deliverance, and freedom for healing, because there's a tree, healing foot tree for all nations.

That this fallen state because of sin.

Because of sin.

Because of the enemy being made, being glorified and magnified.

Because of darkness being given the gates of hell being encamped around areas.

And as a church, we've got to take the ground.

We've got to expand the kingdom.

Why?

Because it is the will of God that none should perish.

No one should perish.

And so how can we?

So we have to reframe what does love look like?

But he defines love in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verses 4 through 7.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7

Is there agape love, which is shed a bride in our heart?

And so we know that that's important because there are at least three for the definition of love in the Greek text.

One is is Eros, which is erotic love.

We may think about it as a lust, honestly, storhe, the love between parent and child, something like that, follow, philodapia, the brotherly love, and then agape.

That god like love, literally God-like love.

And so now we have to reframe what we call love, how God, who is love, defines love.

So if you look at this in a Greek construct, it says, Theo is agape.

Wow.

God is love.

So God is agape.

God is agape.

So meaning God is patient and kind to us.

Keeps on record of being wrong.

Keep on record of wrongdoing.

Some people, we know that they hold grudges.

And in their grudges, you can never get right.

They can never get better.

That's not how God is.

He is slow to anger and wrath as well.

Most importantly, he's not mad at you because the penalty that was for you put on his son.

He loves you.

But we've got God twisted because we're looking for behavior modification that we do it without honestly looking at the condition of the heart.

God loves you.

For God so loved the word that he gave.

He gave.

Now, God has expectations and standards for all of us.

But he does it in love.

He hopes for the best in you.

He believes for the best in you.

Actually, let's read it.

First of chapter 13, that's what themselves.

When we say love, God, or God's love in this context, what do we say?

We'll read out ALT once again.

Love is patient and kind.

Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

Does not demand its own way.

Is not irritable.

Keeps no record of being wrong.

Does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoice whenever truth wins out.

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.

That's love.

That's agape.

And that's what we're talking about.

Because the agape of God, we can live both.

But we have to be settled in that.

We have to be settled in that.

We have to build our life on that.

God loves me.

And God is patient with me.

He's kind with me.

Because far too many times, once again, we're not careful.

We hear love and we think all them other words.

God wants to take advantage of me.

God don't want me to have fun.

And God, da da da da da.

No, He loves you.

He wants to see your joy made full.

And so we've really got to really work on our view of love because, particularly, how God expresses.

Because if we don't major in that, then what happens is there are some things that we'll put up with.

I remember having a conversation with a person coming through high school.

They were in an abuse relationship.

We tried to tell her, tried to tell her, tried to tell her.

She won't listen.

But then she told me, hey, you gotta go through a bad relationship to get to appreciate the good ones.

It scared me because you know that some people don't make it out of bad relationships.

Or they're so scarred, it takes God Himself to resurrect what's left, to restore what's left.

No, you don't have to go on with your eyes till you see.

Now, those of us that did go through, thanks be to God for his redemption and restorative power, but we're not actively looking for the bad.

No, we want the goodness of God.

He gives a good giver.

So be careful.

Please.

Please, please, please, please.

Let's really honestly look at how people say they they love you.

Love is avert.

Love does.

Love is patient, love is kind.

We just read it.

And so these things become the filter in which we judge everything else.

Does that person love me?

Do they do dot that?

Or at least striving and getting better in these areas because they want to get better and to become love us the way that God loves us.

Or am I a person that's doing that?

So, most importantly, do I see God that way?

He loves me.

He's patient, he's kind with me.

And he has an expectation, as a picture, a vision for where we're going, where he wants me to be.

And he's gonna help me get there.

By the power of the Holy Spirit.

You can get there.

You are the person of God's dreams.

You are his poema, his handiwork in Ephesians.

We are his handiwork.

And just like most good poems, most good stories, they have an expected end.

Nine times of ten, it's good unless you have a cliffhanger, which lets you go to the second.

We ain't got all that.

Your story, it's only one life to live, it has a good and expected end.

To give you a hope.

For some of us, you need to receive that.

I don't care how your life started, how it begins, it does not have to end the same way it begins.

Your life can end how God says it is going to end.

Why?

Because the price paid on cabbage tree.

Because the price paid on cabbage tree, meaning that he made a way for us to go to the Father, to access a relationship with God.

Because that's what this is all about, having a relationship with the Father.

Even so much so when Jesus taught us how to pray, Matthew 6, our Father.

First two words, you're talking to your Father.

You talk to somebody who's patient with you, somebody who's kind with you, someone who hopes for the best believers, someone who keeps no record of your wrongdoing.

That's who you're talking to, who you invite to have a conversation with.

That's who you're talking to.

And so, in the safety of that relationship, you can bring your debts, doubts, worries, stresses, and fears.

Not only can you talk about that, you can have moments where you're worshiping, where you give him thanks, and where your confession, you're talking about your mind shift, your repentance, changing your mind about something.

You can ask him for stuff, you can pray for a talk about other people.

You can cry, you can just listen.

And you can take your authority, the belief that you're receiving when you pray.

These are all honestly found in Matthew 6.

Different types of prayer that Jesus demonstrates in that particular passage.

You're talking to your father, our Pater Imon, our Father, our progenitor, the creator.

Who are to him?

And you're seated with him in heavenly places as well.

To have a conversation with your dad.

That's what he invites us to.

He loves you.

He's so excited to hear from you.

So excited to hear from you.

There's nothing you can tell him that would ever make him less excited to hear from you to talk to.

And honestly, some of us need to hear that.

He wants to talk to you.

Conversation.

You speak, he listens, he speaks, you listen.

Hold your end of the bargain.

Hold your end of the bargain.

And not only that, he wants to hear from you, he has the capacity to change the situation for you.

He has capacity to change the situation for you.

So now you have situations where you go talk to somebody that can really do something about it.

And it's interesting because now, if you know you're talking to the people that can make the shift, it changes how you go to the conversation.

It's almost like because I had this conversation, I know it's gonna be okay because I know you have the power to make it okay.

And so when you leave, leave with confidence, leave with bonus.

And it's gonna be okay.

It's gonna work out for my good.

Why?

Because I've talked to the person.

I've already had that conversation.

So now I just need those things in place.

Those things that are, you know, whether it's so for instance, if you went to a particular company, you talked to the head of the company, there's a process you have to go through to do it the right way, right?

They may say a word and so, but you're literally waiting on, hey, um, let's do this.

I've had this conversation with them.

Let's let's go ahead.

Same way in this world.

We talk, we invite to spend time with the God the book points us to.

And he tells you not only is it gonna be okay, it's gonna work out for you good, I'm gonna work out for your good, that it's gonna be greater.

It's gonna be glorious.

So there's a confidence that, hey, oh, what peace we often forth, oh, what needless pain we bear.

Oh, because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

And you talk to somebody who loves you, because they love you, then he's already to move heaven and earth on your behalf.

He's already prepared to provide for the need before you even had it.

He's already taken care of.

He just wanted you to come talk to you so you sure you got to access it.

What he's already put into place.

Glory be to God.

But now from that place, we live bold.

What does that mean?

There's a confidence that comes with that.

You talk to the person that has authority over it.

So that you already know because it's a conversation, it just needs to get down to the right people.

Like, hey, your boss, whoever said this is gonna happen.

So you deal with them.

However, that looks, right?

You know how the people that come in, it's like I uh whatever they do on you side, fine.

But this is what I need them to have to see happen.

And I know it's possible because they told me it's possible.

And they told me they personally assured me I got the person's name, I got the ID number, da da da.

Talk to them, don't talk to me.

Because we have our father who loves us.

That's where we're coming from, and because of that relationship, we know he's on all the count on thousand heels.

He's already turned things around for our good.

So now, because of that, we can live bold.

Boldness is about believing God, or we can obey his word, we can live in power by his spirit, and we can disciple nations.

Believe in, obey, live in power, disciple the nation.

As we do this now from the love of God, from God love, who gives and who does.

Love does.

And as you do that, now we can move forward to see the impossible.

Because honestly, the impossible is strictly what he says coming to pass.

It's strictly what he's saying coming to pass really quick.

Really quick.

Luke chapter one.

Angel Gabriel is talking to Mary.

Luke chapter 1, verse 30.

Luke 1:30

30, 30, 37.

But with God, nothing is ever impossible.

I amplified.

And no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.

So, in context of what's going on, Mary was like, dude, I'm a virgin.

How am I have a child?

And the angel was like, nothing is impossible.

All you need is a word.

So if God said it, that within itself gives you the permission, the authority, the ability to get it done.

Why at his command?

At his word.

His words tell our dead, that word, stress, and fear what it's really going to be.

So the question is, do you rely in his dominion or you rely in what they say?

What you see, not what he says.

So he ties in the context the manifestation of what God says to God's ability, to his word.

Meaning you see words.

Even if you got a picture, a revelation, you see in pictures, it produces words.

Because if you the words create, or it's hand in hand.

Bible say dog.

You see dog, but you hear the word, and it creates the picture.

So if you have a picture, then you take it to your place of prayer.

Just reverse the process.

It still goes back to words.

His words create inner realities for us, divine possibilities.

And he wants to do that because he puts it into the heart of man to go get it.

Go get it.

And if he told you you can do it, you can have it, why let the devil in hell tell you you can't do what God told you that you can?

Yes, we understand.

Use afflictions, persecution, cares as well, desire for other things, receives or riches.

We know that.

But at the same time, you resist it because you've got a word from heaven.

And you fight for that word.

You protect that word.

Because we're believers.

It's all based on faith, right?

If you don't want to use faith, I'm sorry, it is not possible to please God without faith.

So that means it's going to take some faith.

It's going to take some faith.

So how do we do this?

How do we rest in love?

By faith.

By faith.

Because of what we experience, we may struggle to trust, love, receive love, come close to, or be real in relationships.

But God demonstrated his love through Jesus and has invited us into a relationship.

So now we are loved.

You are loved with an everlasting love.

A love that does, a love that shows love that bears fruit.

And so because he is, loves that way, we can love other people that way as well.

Right?

So receive his love.

Receive his love.

Build your courage around what he says.

And with a little bit of faith, you will see what he says come to pass.

That's other way he wants you to see what he says.

I'm like a ladder in the carpet.

I like the movie ladder growing up.

You gotta get on carpet and he can show you.

Some of you've already seen it here and here.

But he don't just want it to stay here, he wants it to be released.

Eyes haven't seen, ears have not heard.

Why could you haven't said or you haven't shown us?

Come on now.

Let's get it done.

That's gonna pause.

Thank you so much.

Look forward to talking about part two Love Guy Live Bo series.

A Bo Life Here Flows from knowing I am uh there.