I am blessed with heaven’s best, and so is every believer who confesses that Jesus is the Son of God. In this message, which launches a new teaching series, the pastor shows that the more we receive the love of God, the more beautiful everything else becomes, and that God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Saying “I am blessed” is not wishful thinking; it is agreeing with what He has done.
Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline and practical steps for living in God’s love this week.
Sermon at a Glance
This I am blessed message was posted on January 21, 2025, and runs about 66 minutes. The pastor opens a new series he calls blessed with heaven’s best. It follows his earlier teaching on the divine exchange in Isaiah 52 through 54 and on the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. The goal of this series, he says, is to open up to the love of God and let Him show us the phenomenal life He has for each of us.
He works mainly through 1 John 4 and Ephesians 1 to show that every spiritual blessing flows from the love of God, and closes with an invitation to receive Jesus and be filled with His love.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Speaker | The pastor (not named in the recording) |
| Series | I Am (Blessed with Heaven’s Best), opening message |
| Main text | 1 John 4:15–19; Ephesians 1:3–6, 15–21 |
| Key theme | Receiving the love of God as the environment of every spiritual blessing |
| Length | About 66 minutes, ending with a prayer of salvation |
One Theme Through the Whole Bible
The pastor begins with a conviction that runs through every series he teaches: the Bible does not contradict itself, and it has one theme, the gospel. Even the Book of Revelation, he says, is simply the revelation of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1). Jesus is found throughout the whole Bible.
The Pharisees and Sadducees missed Him. They pressed the administration of the law above people, above compassion and above love, and Jesus told them they strained out a gnat and swallowed a camel (Matthew 23:24). He told them they searched the Scriptures thinking they would find life in them, when the Scriptures testify of Him (John 5:39).
This new series, then, is not about toiling and sweating to live a perfect life. Every life is different, and Paul said that comparing ourselves among ourselves is not wise (2 Corinthians 10:12). Let God perfect what concerns us (Psalm 138:8) and complete what He started in us (Philippians 1:6). It is all about Him.
The pastor is cheerfully honest about himself: “I ain’t all that in a bag of chips and neither are you.” He likes to call believers the special needs class of heaven. That is fine, he says, because all we need is to want Him and love Him.
The Love of God Makes Everything Beautiful
Here is the first big idea: the more you see the love of God, the greater everything else becomes. In this world we say one woman’s beauty makes others pale. But the pastor says the more he accepts God’s love, the more beautiful his own wife becomes. God’s beauty does not make other things look dull; it makes everything look better.
His proof is the experience of being born again. The greens were greener and the blues were bluer, and suddenly there were a thousand shades of green in the woods. The beauty of Christ within us makes everything else more beautiful. When believers later get crossways with people and start complaining, he says, they are backing away from the love of God.
That, he teaches, is why heresy is so dangerous. He says the word heresy means to draw away from God, and he points to Romans 8:15: we have not received a spirit of bondage to fear. Telling people God does not heal today, he says, is the real heresy, because it causes people to back away from the things of God instead of running to them.
When our affections settle on the things of this earth, He seems duller and the world grows darker. So Colossians 3:1–3 tells us to seek those things which are above and set our minds there, because our life is hidden with Christ in God. “He’s brilliant,” the pastor says. God created us to need an environment of love.
He uses rocks in a farmer’s field as a picture. Rocks soak up moisture the crop needs, and seed sown among rocks has no root and withers when the sun comes up (Matthew 13:5–6). Jesus is the water of life; out of the believer’s heart will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). But rocks in us soak up the water meant for our blessings.
Away from His presence, we stop seeing Him as He really is and start seeing only problems. But with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Joshua and Caleb said, we are well able, when others backed away in doubt and fear (Numbers 13:30). Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).
An Environment of Love: 1 John 4
The pastor reminds the church of an earlier series on the blessings of God, when every message they sang, I am blessed, every day of my life. This series, he says, looks at heavenly, spiritual blessings rather than temporal ones like health, prosperity or promotion, even though all of those are tied to it.
1 John 4:15–16 says whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God. What do we have to do to receive all this? Simply say, I believe Jesus is the Son of God. Then we abide in Him and He in us, and we have an environment of love.
He makes a distinction between stupid and ignorant. Stupid, he explains, means you have the knowledge and refuse to act on it; ignorant means you do not know. Many people do not love themselves because they do not yet know the love of God. That is why he values exegetical teaching that ties the Scriptures together, rather than teaching that only hypes people up.
He also addresses how a God of love can hate. Everything Scripture says God hates, the pastor teaches, is something that keeps people away from His love, such as sowing discord among brethren (Proverbs 6:16–19), because division causes people to back away from fellowship.
What can take that environment of love away? Not bad people, a bad situation at work or a problem at home. Only our own backing away and looking at the problems instead of at love. He shares a lesson from his early pastor, Glenn Smith: when you read the word God in your Bible, read the word love. “Love so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16).
I Am Blessed With Every Spiritual Blessing
1 John 4:17–19 says love has been perfected among us so that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; perfect love casts out fear. We love Him because He first loved us. The pastor says he did not give his life to the Lord because he loved God; he did not know Him. He loves God now because of what God did for him.
Boldness in the love of God matters, he says, because it lets us receive healing, blessings and provision without drawing back. Prosperity is more than money. Waking up in a warm home on a morning of sixteen below is prosperity, when some have no roof over their heads. The more you grow in the love of God, the more you appreciate the little things and thank Him for them.
Immature believers, he notes, are always looking for someone holier to pray for them. But as He is, so are you, and your prayers will be answered because He loves you. He mentions the church NTC built in Pakistan, now four years old and outgrowing its building, where believers face persecution yet keep growing because they find the love God has for them.
Then he opens Ephesians 1:3–6: blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Jesus prayed that we would be one with Him and the Father (John 17:21–23), and His prayers were always answered. “It makes your brains go tilt,” he says, which is why only love brings this revelation.
The pastor teaches that the more we understand the love of God, the more revelation of His righteousness comes, and that “righteousness is what produces the blessing of God and grace is what delivers it.” God chose us to be holy and without blame before Him in love. If you think you have failed, he says, big shocker: He loves you. Keeping that focus takes the wind out of the devil’s sails, because the good fight is the fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12).
Predestination, he insists, does not mean some are chosen to be saved and others are not; it is God’s will that all be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). The difference is who says Jesus is the Son of God. And it is His good pleasure to give us all things that pertain to life and godliness, so that we partake of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:3–4).
The pastor applies this to marriage. He has been married over fifty years and loved his wife deeply on their wedding day, but he loves her far more now, not only because she is special, but because he grew in the love of God and began to see her in a greater way. Love is patient, kind and never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4–8).
Finally, we are accepted in the Beloved. The pastor says the same Greek phrase appears when the angel told Mary she was highly favored (Luke 1:28). All His favor is ours. We do not have to beg for healing or provision, or fast to make God act. Religion says you must work your way out of your mistakes; the gospel says receive His love.
The table below follows his contrast between fear-driven religion and the environment of love.
| Area | Living from fear | Living in God’s love |
|---|---|---|
| Prayer | Finds someone holier to pray for you | As He is, so are you; your prayers are answered |
| Mistakes | Tries to compensate with good works | Knows you are forgiven and without blame |
| Healing | Goes from one minister to another | Accepts His love: He loves me, why wouldn’t He heal me |
| The devil | Makes too much of him | Knows he is nothing to you |
| Other people | Sees problems and faults | Sees their talents and gifts |
The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation
In Ephesians 1:15–21, Paul thanks God for the Ephesians’ faith and their love for all the saints, the evidence that they really meant their confession. He prays for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Since God is love, the pastor reads it as revelation in the knowledge of love, the love of God.
People would be healed much faster, he says, if they would simply accept the love of God. He has known people who went from evangelist to pastor to prophet seeking healing, then concluded it must not have been God’s will. It was not God’s will, he says; it was immaturity. If God loves me, why wouldn’t He heal me? He compares it to what he would do for his wife.
Paul also prays that we would know the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. What makes God rich? You do. God did not make man because He was lonely; love needs an object. If you will not receive the love of God, the pastor says, you are in the family but not in the family business. Knowing the love of God makes us compel people to come in (Luke 14:23), not repel them.
The same power that raised Christ and seated Him far above all principality and power works toward us who believe. He recalls the church’s founding Scripture from 39 years ago, Philippians 1:27–28, about standing fast so that the enemy sees his own perdition. In the love of God, he says, you know the devil is afraid of you. We are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37).
He tells a story from his early years in Bible college. He was asked to reach a young woman staying with a rough biker group. He went in, prayed over her and found himself praying loudly in tongues. Afterward a huge man asked if he spoke Finnish, because he had heard him say that Jesus Christ is Lord and gave His life to save and deliver us. The man wanted that, and about 30 people in the house prayed to receive Jesus.
Love That Lifts the Load
Everyone has a breaking point, the pastor says, so those who are spiritual should restore others gently, considering themselves (Galatians 6:1). Be kind and tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32).
He shares that a dear friend in ministry, Terry, had just passed away at 92. This man always taught on the love of God and would cry through his messages. The pastor once sat in a meeting where some pastors criticized his friend for preaching on love too much. He stood up, called it a snake pit and told them to repent and embrace this godly man and his wife. Too often, he says, we point fingers and add to people’s burdens instead of lifting them.
Even at work, if your boss is harsh, stay at your post and ask how to let the love of God be seen. You may have no authority to change them, but you can pray for all who are in authority (1 Timothy 2:1–2), including those who run businesses. The spirit of the world is lustful, he says; love is helpful. If you see a brother in need and shut up your compassion, how does the love of God abide in you (1 John 3:17)?
Living Blessed This Week
The pastor closes by asking everyone to pray: confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, make Him Lord, and ask the Father to fill you with the love of God so that you can make a difference in this world. Here are the practical steps drawn from the message:
- Read God as love. Try his early pastor’s habit: wherever your Bible says God, read love.
- Say it out loud. Declare, I am blessed with every spiritual blessing, and confess daily that Jesus is the Son of God and you abide in Him.
- Clear out the rocks. Notice complaints and fears that soak up the water meant for your blessings.
- Thank Him for common things. A warm home on a bitter morning is prosperity; thank Him for it and say, I am blessed.
- See others through love. Look for the talents and gifts in your spouse, coworkers and church family.
- Lift a load. Pray for your boss and ask how God’s love can flow through you to someone under pressure.
Timestamped Outline
- 0:00 A new series: one theme, the gospel
- 1:21 Straining at gnats; searching the Scriptures
- 2:32 Blessed with heaven’s best
- 3:51 God’s love makes everything more beautiful
- 5:04 Greener greens and heresy
- 7:24 Colossians 3: set your affections above
- 9:48 Rocks that steal the water
- 12:18 Joshua and Caleb: we are well able
- 13:31 1 John 4: God is love
- 17:00 An environment of love
- 19:21 Love perfected: boldness, not fear
- 23:11 As He is, so are we; the church in Pakistan
- 26:36 Perfect love casts out fear
- 28:50 Ephesians 1: every spiritual blessing
- 33:47 Predestined to adoption
- 37:35 Accepted in the Beloved
- 39:55 The spirit of wisdom and revelation
- 43:48 Compel them to come in
- 47:55 Far above all principality and power
- 49:52 The biker house story
- 54:34 Everyone has a breaking point
- 56:07 Remembering a friend who preached love
- 1:01:29 Pray for those in authority
- 1:04:26 Prayer of salvation
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “accepted in the Beloved” mean?
The pastor teaches that the Greek phrase behind “accepted in the Beloved” in Ephesians 1:6 is the same one the angel used when he told Mary she was highly favored. Being accepted in the Beloved therefore means being highly favored by God. All His favor is ours, so we do not have to beg Him for healing, provision or promotion. It is His good pleasure to give it.
Why does the pastor say God made man?
He says God was not lonely, because if He were, He would always be lonely. God made man because love needs an object to be affectionate to, to be observed and known. Believers are the riches of His inheritance, the ones through whom His love is seen in this world. Refusing to receive His love, he says, is like being in the family without joining the family business.
Does this series ignore health and provision?
No. The pastor says this series focuses on heavenly, spiritual blessings rather than temporal ones like health, prosperity or promotion, but that all of those are tied to it. As we grow in God’s love, boldness replaces fear, and we can receive healing, provision and debts cancelled without drawing back. He adds that prosperity is far more than money, which is only a tool.
Scripture References
All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:
- 1 John 4:15–16 — God is love
- 1 John 4:17–19 — perfect love casts out fear
- Ephesians 1:3–6 — every spiritual blessing
- Ephesians 1:15–21 — wisdom and revelation
- Colossians 3:1–3 — set your mind on things above
- John 17:21–23 — that they all may be one
- 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 — love never fails
- Romans 8:37 — more than conquerors
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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