A hands on experience of God’s love is what you were made for: God spoke the rest of creation into being, but He shaped mankind with His own hands so He would have someone to pour His love on. In this closing message of the series, the pastor shows how the Holy Spirit makes that love real, why God loves us according to His own character rather than ours, and how Zephaniah 3:17 pictures God rejoicing over His children with singing.
The message also introduces the next teaching on the manifestation of the Spirit. Below you will find the full video, a structured summary, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps you can take this week.
Sermon at a Glance
This message was posted by NTC Ministries on August 30, 2022. The pastor describes it as the last message of the Hands On Experience of God’s Love series and a first introduction to a new series on the manifestation of the Spirit of God. It runs about 62 minutes.
He moves through Peter’s restoration, the groaning of creation, Zephaniah’s picture of God singing over His people, a warning against loving the world, and four facts about the Holy Spirit, closing with a testimony from the church’s building project.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Speaker | The pastor of NTC Ministries (not named in the recording) |
| Series | Hands On Experience of God’s Love (closing message) |
| Main text | Zephaniah 3:14–17 and John 16:12–15 |
| Key theme | Receiving God’s love through the Holy Spirit, according to His character |
| Length | About 62 minutes |
Created by Hands, Made for Love
Everything except mankind, the pastor reminds the church, God spoke into existence. With people He said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26), and then He fashioned man with His own hands. Not trees, whales or the family dog: only people. Love had to be hands on with us, and everything God wants for us was established in that act of creation.
He recalls a Bible college teacher in Dallas saying God created man because He was lonely. Immediately, he says, the Lord spoke to his heart: “I’m not lonely, but I’m love.” Then Malachi 3:6 came to him, where the Lord says He does not change. If God had been lonely before creating us, He would still be lonely now, because He cannot change.
God is sovereign and needs nothing from outside Himself. But love needs an object to express itself. That, the pastor says, is why people marry: love rises up in the heart and has to find someone to pour itself on. He jokes that at twelve, when he first felt that love for the girl who became his wife, the only way he knew to relate was to punch her in the arm.
Many husbands, he says, still relate the way they did at hunting camp with the guys. Love has to learn to relate to a new object, and the same was true of the apostles, who needed a hands on experience of the love of God.
From Friend Love to the Love of God
The apostles walked with Jesus for three and a half years, yet they could not relate to the love of God. When Jesus rose and Mary Magdalene told them, they did not believe her. The pastor explains that love is what triggers faith, because faith works through love (Galatians 5:6), and they did not yet have that love.
Peter had publicly denied Jesus three times, and he went back to fishing. Jesus prepared a meal on the shore, John recognized Him, and Peter swam to land. Then, in John 21:15–17, Jesus asked three times whether Peter loved Him.
The pastor explains the words. Jesus asked with agape, the love of God, and Peter answered with phileo, the love of a friend. Each time Jesus simply said to feed His sheep or His lambs. By the third question, Peter was irritated: Lord, You know everything; You know I love You as a friend. That was all he knew how to give.
Then Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father. Romans 5:5 says hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The man who had denied Jesus was empowered by that love, stood up boldly and preached, and multitudes gave their lives to Jesus (Acts 2:14). That, the pastor says, is love hands on, expressing itself through a man.
When we give our lives to Jesus, we come alive in another kingdom. We still live under the government of this world, but we are under the greater government of heaven, and the Holy Spirit is our governor.
Creation Waits for the Sons of God
We look at a sunrise or a bird and see how great creation is, but what we see is the corrupted version, not what God made. Romans 8:19–21 says creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God, not for God Himself, because it was subjected to futility not willingly and will be delivered into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
He uses pets to illustrate. To your dog, you show through love and care what God is like, and his own dog knows she will be fed every day. Animals with no relationship to people fear them and run. In the same way, people without a relationship with God through Jesus fear Him and hide, thinking that if they walk into a church the roof will fall in.
But God wants to express His love to them. When we receive it, we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and we cry, “Abba, Father.” Even under the old covenant, David could say the Lord is his shepherd and he would fear no evil (Psalm 23:1–4). Without that intimate relationship we question God. Nothing is wrong with God, the pastor says; the problem is our receiver.
As many as are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Romans 8:14). The apostles saw the dead raised and the sick healed, yet did not grasp the love of God, while the worst sinner who gives his life to Jesus can receive that love immediately and know God more deeply than they did. David praised God because he was fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
So how can we admire trees and birds and then call people rotten? You cannot get bitter and sweet water from the same spring (James 3:10–11). Everyone is made in God’s image. When we do not focus on His love, we also think less of ourselves than we ought (Romans 12:3). Jesus said to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34), and the Holy Spirit is a well within us so that love can pour out.
A Hands On Experience of His Rejoicing
The love of God, the pastor explains, is determined by the character of the one who loves. We tend to think God loves us according to our character, but that is impossible. Thank God, he says, He loves us according to His own: a perfect love that keeps no record of wrongs, always gives, never withholds and is always kind. Our faith works through that love, and when we look at ourselves instead of at God, we fail to receive.
He reads Zephaniah 3:17: “The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Two different Hebrew words are translated joy here, and the pastor explains both.
- Simchah — to be blissful, gleeful, exceedingly glad, full of pleasure and rejoicing.
- Guwl — to spin around under strong emotion, to dance and whirl with excitement while singing.
Under the old covenant, he says, the blood of animals covered sin on the mercy seat so God’s mercy could still reach a sinning people. When Jesus came, His blood did not cover our sin; it removed it. He became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21), and He has removed our transgressions as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
That is why the pastor teaches that once you give your life to Jesus, God no longer sees you as a sinner. He is not examining you with a magnifying glass. Romans 5:17 says those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life. That means we must stop staring at our own shortcomings, and at other people’s too, because as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).
God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), and since the cross this rejoicing can be a reality for every believer. When we clap our hands and shout to God with the voice of triumph (Psalm 47:1), we are responding to a God who is already singing and dancing over us. All we have to do is reach up and say yes.
The pastor adds that he loves his wife more now than ever, yet it is the same love; he has simply learned to let it flow. The love of God is the nucleus of every other love, so he invites the church to lift their hands and ask for a fresh hands on experience: Father, show me Your love.
Reading the wider passage, Zephaniah 3:14–17, he notes that the Lord has taken away your judgments and cast out your enemy, and that you shall see disaster no more. We admire the best of nature, he says, but look at people for the worst. Instead, refuse to keep looking at evil. He changes the channel until the weather report comes on rather than let negative news be sown into his life.
Do Not Love the World
The pastor then reads 1 John 2:15–17: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” English has one word for love, he jokes, so a man can say he loves the Packers, loves nachos and loves his wife in the same breath. Greek has several: agape, the love of God; storge, family love; phileo, the love of a friend; and eros, sensual love.
Not loving the world does not mean withdrawing from everything you enjoy. It means no attachment should ever speak louder than God’s voice. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are passing away, but he who does the will of God abides forever. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8), so that is where he chooses to invest his life.
He recalls a movie in which a boy on a little league team asked his coach, whose devotion to the Boston Red Sox was costing him the woman he loved, what the Red Sox had ever done for him. The pastor turns the question on the church: what has fishing, hunting, basketball or golf ever given back to you? He calls himself a woodsman from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula through and through, yet when he gave his life to Jesus, he set aside time for what mattered more.
Four Facts About the Holy Spirit
All of this comes through the Holy Spirit. In John 14:16–17, read from the Amplified Bible, Jesus promises another Comforter: counselor, helper, intercessor, advocate, strengthener and standby, who will remain forever. The pastor explains that the Greek word means one called alongside to aid, guide, comfort and encourage. Jesus is Lord over the church, he says, and the Holy Spirit is Lord in the church. 2 Corinthians 3:17 adds that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
He finds a picture of the Spirit in Joseph’s story. Joseph’s brothers told Jacob his son was alive, and Jacob would not believe it until he saw the wagons Joseph had sent from Pharaoh’s court, loaded with provision (Genesis 45:27). The pastor calls the wagon a type and shadow of the Holy Spirit, who brings heaven’s store into our lives.
God walked with Adam in the cool of the day, and Jesus prayed early in the morning. So in the morning, before the TV, phone or work, he prays from Psalm 143:8–10, as he reads it: “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love.” When the Spirit leads, he says, it is level ground. Religion tells us to work to earn favor; love lets us simply receive it.
From John 16:12–15, where Jesus refers to the Spirit as “He” again and again, the pastor draws four facts:
| Fact | What the pastor teaches | Scripture he uses |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The Holy Spirit is a person | He is God, not an influence; many reject His baptism because they miss this | John 16:12–15 |
| 2. He deserves the same reverence | Honor Him as you honor Jesus and the Father, and return to your first love | Revelation 2:4 |
| 3. He administers heaven’s storehouse | He reveals what God has prepared and freely given to us | 1 Corinthians 2:9–12 |
| 4. He glorifies Jesus | He is grieved when we draw attention to ourselves | 1 Corinthians 2:13–14 |
On the second fact, he points to Ephesus, commended for its labor but rebuked for leaving its first love (Revelation 2:4). On the third, 1 Corinthians 2:9–12 says eye has not seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love Him, but He has revealed it by His Spirit.
He illustrates with the church’s septic permit. A regional official rejected site after site until the ground was declared too dug up. After an elder sensed they should contact an elected official, a senator’s office arranged a site visit, and a neighboring acre came up for sale just in time. He prayed on his knees before they dug, and the state officials said they had never seen ground like it in the Midwest and signed a permit for 1,400 people. That, he says, was a hands on experience of the Holy Spirit’s provision.
On the fourth fact, 1 Corinthians 2:13–14 says the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit. The moment we point to ourselves, the Spirit is grieved, so we must not grieve the Holy Spirit by whom we are sealed (Ephesians 4:30). The anointing, the pastor explains, pictures hands rubbing oil into a body. It is hands on every day, and through it we lay hands on the sick and they recover (Mark 16:18).
Living in His Love This Week
The pastor’s closing point is simple: God created us hands on, and He still wants a hands on experience of His love with each of us today. Here are practical steps drawn from the message:
- Ask first thing in the morning. Before your phone or the news, pray, “Lord, tell me again how much You love me.”
- Look at His character, not yours. When you feel unworthy, remember that God loves you according to who He is.
- Stop staring at evil. Turn off what sows negativity, and stop rehearsing other people’s faults.
- Check your attachments. Ask what your hobbies have ever given back, and make sure none speaks louder than God’s voice.
- Relate to the Holy Spirit as a person. Talk with Him, honor Him and let Him lead you on level ground.
- Replace “I can’t” with “show me.” When you reach an impasse, ask the Spirit to show you the way.
Timestamped Outline
- 0:00 Closing the series and reviewing creation
- 1:12 God hand-fashioned mankind
- 2:27 Not lonely, but love: Malachi 3:6
- 4:36 Faith works through love
- 5:46 Peter on the shore: agape and phileo
- 6:50 Romans 5:5: love poured out by the Spirit
- 9:14 Creation waits for the sons of God
- 11:43 We love Him because He first loved us
- 15:34 Do not curse those made in His image
- 17:46 God loves according to His character
- 19:27 Zephaniah 3:17 and the word simchah
- 21:38 The blood removed our sin
- 24:20 God dancing over you
- 26:38 Zephaniah 3:14–17: see evil no more
- 30:16 1 John 2: do not love the world
- 33:35 What did the Red Sox ever do for you?
- 36:56 John 14: the Comforter
- 39:11 Jacob and the wagons
- 41:33 Psalm 143: word of His love in the morning
- 44:41 John 16: four facts about the Holy Spirit
- 49:14 Reverence and the septic system testimony
- 56:56 The Spirit administers heaven’s storehouse
- 1:00:18 The Spirit glorifies Jesus
- 1:01:34 Hands on love and the anointing
Frequently Asked Questions
Did God create people because He was lonely?
The pastor says no. He tells how, when a Bible college teacher made that claim, the Lord spoke to his heart that He is not lonely but is love, and pointed him to Malachi 3:6. Because God does not change, a lonely God would have stayed lonely after creating us. God needs nothing, but love needs an object, so He made people to receive His love.
Why did the apostles struggle to believe Jesus had risen?
According to the pastor, faith works through love, and the apostles did not yet have the love of God in their hearts, even after three and a half years with Jesus. Peter could only offer the love of a friend. Once the Holy Spirit came and poured God’s love into their hearts, the same Peter who had denied Jesus preached boldly.
Does not loving the world mean giving up hobbies?
Not necessarily. The pastor says there are things he still enjoys, but he has let God’s love fill his life so that nothing speaks louder than God’s voice or talks him out of obeying. The test he offers is what the activity has ever given back to you, compared with a relationship with God that supplies everything and withholds nothing.
Scripture References
All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:
- Genesis 1:26 — made in His image
- Malachi 3:6 — the Lord does not change
- John 21:15–17 — “Do you love Me?”
- Romans 5:5 — love poured out by the Spirit
- Romans 8:19–21 — creation waits for the sons of God
- Zephaniah 3:14–17 — He rejoices over you with singing
- 1 John 2:15–17 — do not love the world
- John 14:16–17 — another Helper
- John 16:12–15 — the Spirit of truth
- 1 Corinthians 2:9–12 — revealed by His Spirit
How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.
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