Perfect Love Without Fear (Part 1) – Learning to Receive Christ’s Love

You have to be chosen. You have to be predestined, chosen. After you’re chosen, what happens? What has to happen? You have to be called. And having been called, you have to hear. After you hear, of course, you’re justified. After you’re justified, what are you? Sanctified. After you’re sanctified, what are you? Glorified. Now, you are all of those things.

Now then, the Lord wishes to pour out that love on you. Can He do it? Not yet. He can’t do it. He is inhibited. There still has to be something. Now then, I come to this point. Are you forgiven? Is it important? No, it’s not. Forget you’re forgiven. Yes, it’s important, but forget it. You’re forgiven. You can stand there all your life being forgiven. I used to be… I don’t mind saying this: a Baptist. Baptists spend their whole life rejoicing in salvation. The best thing to do with salvation is to rejoice in it for a while, then forget it. It’s got to be that way.  I am forgiven, but forgiveness must not become an experience that turns into a doctrine.

Now, are you forgiven? You have been forgiven. Forgiven of what? Everything you’ve done. What about right now? What you’re doing? What about what you’re going to do? Yeah, it’s been cleansed already. It’s cleansed just a little before it’s done. It’s like the old question: which gets there first, the bullet or the hole?  Which gets there first, the forgiveness or the sin? Brothers, I’ll tell you: forgiveness gets there just before sin does.

Now, still we have not yet merited His love. I am talking about meriting the love of Jesus Christ. You have to be chosen, called, justified, hear him, sanctified, and glorified. That’s all wonderful. I want to come back to the day of the resurrection. Where did Jesus Christ get His bride? Where did He get His bride? From the world. From the tomb. Out of His side. All of those are correct. Now, then, I would say Mary Magdalene, who is part of the Lord’s bride, and I’ll say right now, Mary Magdalene…His bride. From where did she originate? From the world. And yet, brother, what happened to the Mary Magdalene who was in the world? She went into the grave. Did she ever come out? She never came out. She is gone. Jesus Christ cannot find her.

What did come out of that tomb? Something came out of His side. The first thing that came out was Jesus Christ, the first fruit of the new creation. When He came out of that tomb and looked around, can you see Him standing there in front of the tomb? What can He see? Nothing. Can He see Jerusalem? Can He see all the simple folks running around in the streets down there? No. Why? They don’t exist anymore. What? Gene, that’s absurd. Of course they exist. Don’t be so sure.

I tell you, I don’t have a scientific bone in my body, and I don’t understand what I’m about to tell you, but I’m going to tell you anyway. Throughout creation, scientists have noticed that everything has an opposite. They’ve never found anything but what there is an opposite. There is a proton, there’s an electron, and they start from there. You take the magnets; there’s the positive pull and the negative pull. So they have come up with the absolute fact that there is matter and then there is antimatter, and they have somehow proven it. They’re very dumb.

They have actually said that right here in this galaxy are, of course, the nine planets, and in the nine planets there’s Earth, and in this little planetary system of ours made out of matter, it is very possible that antimatter is existing in exactly the same spot. That there are non-matter people walking around, and anti-gravity existing. An anti-universe lies here where the universe is, and they can be in the same spot at the same time, never see one another, and never collide, because they’re different. Well, science, in its foolishness, has simply discovered the new creation.

Lying here in this spot, can the scientist see that other universe? No, they cannot. Can that other universe see that scientist? No. Well, let me tell you something. When God looks at this spot, He no longer sees the matter. He doesn’t see the old creation anymore. He sees only the new creation. What did He see? If God looked from heaven that day, what did He see? He saw the Lord Jesus Christ. Did He see anything else? Well, not yet; let’s not rush it. Let’s enjoy this for a moment. He saw the Lord Jesus Christ. Did the Lord Jesus Christ see anything? Nope. Because Mary Magdalene hadn’t arrived at the tomb yet. He had not yet seen the first of the new creation. He had a scar, and He knew that His bride had been taken from His side.

The first time He saw her, she was in that tomb…and she came out. How did she come out of the tomb? Running. That’s how she came out: running. And what did she do? She embraced Him. She embraced Him. Let me ask you this question. Who showed affection first? Now, be careful, this is a trick question. When He called her name. Somehow, He pronounced that name…in love. She didn’t turn around or hesitate. She didn’t turn around, fall on her face, and worship Him as God. He could have said it in a way that would have made her do that. Is that not true? Mary. He could have said it in a way that would have made her turn around and want to love Him…but then hesitate. She turned around because of the way He pronounced her name, and she was utterly free to love Him back.

Now then, I tell you something happened there: two or three things happened that merited the love. What was one of them? She turned around. She heard His voice. She responded. I tell you what was so beautiful about Mary Magdalene. I think you all know where I’m going. Do you remember the day she poured the oil on His feet? What did He say to her? “Your sins are forgiven; go in peace” …and where did she go? After the Lord. There was something that Mary Magdalene did. Sisters and brothers, Mary Magdalene believed she had the right to turn around, run as fast as she could, embrace the Lord, and be loved by Him. That is the one great requirement beyond salvation to merit that love. You have got to believe that you have the right to be loved. You have got to believe that.

How many of you have a hard time believing that? Will you raise your hand? Okay. Put it down. How many of you have had a hard time believing that at some point? Did she come to the Lord? She came to the Lord. Did it please Him? Yes, it pleased Him. It worried Him a little bit for a moment because He wasn’t sure He’d ever get out of there; she had such a grip on Him. How do you come to the Lord? Running. Freely.

It is impossible to come to Him except by faith; by believing. Did you really come out of the Lord’s side? You believe so? In the English vernacular, to say “I believe so” means I have some doubt. Okay, I’m going to ask you again. Did you really come out of the Lord’s side? Wonderful. Are you perfect? Why are you perfect?