Dear Beloved Readers,
Recently I have teaching on what it means to be a Family of God. When God sent me to the desert, He told me that the first work God has called us to do is build love bonds in our city. As believers we seem to have a problem often with offending each other or hurting each other to the point we are afraid to tell the truth or confront things in the true love of God.
Leader's become intimidated because they are afraid of the people's backlash, the members of God's house are afraid to be corrected because they believe the leaders are out to get them. Worse, they are afraid to trust outside of their own four walls and church. It is just to risky! A question arose in my heart that was prompted by the Holy Spirit. Why can we not truly develop the love bonds God desires us to have for one another?
In my pondering with the Lord, I thought perhaps the reasons for these things were a lack of trust, faith, or the hurts and wounds that are still in our hearts. Some of that is true, but I think God really spoke to me "the true underlying reason" of why we can't love one another as God has loved us.
The reason I believe God spoke to me is that we don't understand God's authority and government. In the world, most people see themselves better than they really are and others lesser than they are. This has filtered into the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible teaches us to "esteem others better" than ourselves. I believe our lack of doing this is the root reason we can't love as Jesus desires. We see ourselves righteous or more righteous than others. This is rooted in the pride of our heart. We unconsciously need to be number one. Our church must be the best church, the biggest church, and the most effective church in our city.
WE must be the “happening ministry in town.” WE bring in all the “hot Preachers.” This causes our lives and world to revolve about putting our needs first as Pastors, Churches, Ministries and even in our own homes as husbands and wives. We may try to put others needs first in theory, but in reality we fail miserably, and at the very most we do it to make us feel good about ourselves.
The issue that causes us not to walk in true love bond relationships is our lack of understanding God’s governmental authority. In a Kingdom, a King gets the highest regard and respect from His subjects, yet our King became a slave for us, and yet we reviled him in Isaiah 53. He became a man and took the lowest form of a slave as an example the book of Philippians tells us in Chapter 2.
He was born in a manger not to wealthy parents, and He was called a root out of dry ground that we would not desire him. He wasn't born in a palace of royalty, but He was the very royalty of God Himself. He told us His heart and His ministry calling. "I am a man under authority. What the father tells me to do, I do. What the Father tells me to say, I say, My Father has given me this honor to do so." WOW.
He says the "Father loves me and I love him because I obey what he instructs me to do." This is the very same word Jesus said to us, " If you truly love me, you will obey my commandments, and my commandments are not grievous."
His command to us was to take the lowest place amongst all men. Philippians tells us in Chapter 2 "Let the mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus though he was equal with God did not consider this equality to be eagerly grabbed, but humbled himself to become a man and even more to become a slave... and because Jesus stepped SO LOW, God gave him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of the Father."
Because Jesus stooped so low, and because He was completely submitted to the FATHER’S AUTHORITY, He is now forever our High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. He never questioned His Father’s orders, instruction and direction. He never tried to usurp His Father’s authority. He understood His place and His Father's place. He was and is the perfect Son, yet the Word says, "He is the first born of many brethren."
Understanding God's authority is where true love bonds can be built, without it, they cannot be established. God's authority told Jesus to humble himself and get underneath us, take our place of punishment, die for us so we could live? Would you do that? Love spoke it's very nature and heart from the manger to Calvary. Will we humble ourselves and esteem others better than ourselves as our Master requires?
As long as we have a wrong opinion of ourselves when we are exalted in pride, we can never truly enter or possess the kingdom. Why? Because we have our own kingdom to live in and run! Where we are King and God is not. We live in our own little kingdom. It is an ugly kingdom of selfishness, self seeking, self righteousness and self filling.
It is the opposite of God's Kingdom. In the Kingdom of Keeping “our own lives,”we rule and reign, and we are truly tyrants to all those that are around us when they don't bow to our whims and desires. We exalt the throne even in church and say, "who is the Pastor to tell me this, or that?" Who are you, you are controlling me so "I can't do what I want."
The state of Christian marriages today is not good. Many marriages are failing in divorce because they have not come to grow in the knowledge of WHO LOVE IS, and WHAT TRUE LOVE IS! Our lives presently wrap around our own needs first. Our spouses do the same thing to often and put their needs first above God's need or their marriage partners.
Yet the beauty of marriage born of God is that two shall become one. God causes two people to give up their lives totally for the Lord first and His desires, and then give up their life for their mate so the two of them can serve the Lord together completely. In that sacrificial love for the Lord and each other, God blends them together in true love-bonds that can never be broken. Paul writes in Ephesians, "This is the mystery of Christ and the church."
God has given us a new commandment John chapter 15 tells us, "Love one another as I have loved you! If I (Jesus) forgive you, you must forgive EVERYONE, EVERY TIME just as I HAVE FORGIVEN YOU, NO EXCEPTIONS. If I (Jesus) forget a wrong suffered, you must forget every offense done to you.
If I (Jesus) am patient with you and love you at your worst and lowest place, you must do likewise to all those who come into your life. We don’t have the right to pick how we love, when or where we love, or the cost of love when we are under God’s Governmental Rule of Love.
We love others in true love-bonds because He commands us to love one another exactly as He had loved us. NO EXCEPTIONS! We are to love without any sense of obligation or pay back to those God sends us, including our families. We can only pray that they will receive that love and enter into that love-bond relationship with the Lord themselves and with us. By demonstrating the true love of God they can experience what LOVE IS, yet better WHO LOVE IS!
This type of genuine love bonds only comes from being under God’s authority and the Royal Law of love. It must rule over your entire life every second of the day. It requires you to be under God’s government. If you truly come under that authority and government then you will bring forth the true fruit that will remain.
The fruit of a life totally surrendered to the Master is demonstrated by our giving up the right to our life to lovingly and willingly serve our Lord in this Royal Task of Love. Our only desire will be to live a life that will please Him who loved and died for us. If that means doing the lowest task, or never having a position in the church, or even a ministry as you would have desired, you would be willing to accept His will and love wherever God placed you to serve.
If you truly Love Him you will obey His commands. He has given us the Holy Spirit to shed abroad that very love in our hearts completely. He has given us a love that will win the worst and hardest hearts and makes them new. It is in this sacrifice of love's surrender that true governmental authority can be established in our lives.
It is in that authority of love that He will set the captives free through us. God's true governmental authority in a believer's life releases the very flame of God's Holy love to meet the needs of a lost and dying world.
This same governmental authority produces genuine and perfect love-bonds with Christ, one another, and with all others that will accept this gift from God through your poured out life. We must become broken bread and poured out wine for the nations just as Oswald Chambers wrote in My utmost for His Highest if the world is going to behold the Glory of God!
Will we, God's people allow this kind of submission of heart to God's governmental Divine law of love to burn in us with Holy Fire? Will we come under God's authority that will esteem others better than ourselves no matter where they are or what they do? Or will we murmur and complain about people? Will we be jealous of the things they have or how God blessed them?
Will we say to God, "That He is not fair?" Will we be judgmental against other parts of the Body of Christ we don’t understand or agree with in everything, or will we surrender to the Royal Law of love and become their servants and intercessors? Will we take the lowest of all places in the love of God and for His church or will be just ANOTHER MINISTRY OR PHARISEE?
What are we going to become Beloved? Will we be the real deal, men and women of God born again and led by His Spirit or will we be C.I.N.O.'s (Christians in name only?) Only genuine and true love-bonds born from the Governmental Kingdom of Love can prove to the world we are His disciples. Jesus said, "They will know you are my disciples by the love you have one for the other!"
So what will it be, Beloved Reader? Will you come under God’s governmental authority and yield entirely to His will? Will you be His love-slaves or bond servants of the Lord? That is the choice God has set before us today if you can hear what the Spirit of God says to the church.
Will we truly allow God to teach us how to come under His true governmental authority? Will we develop true love bonds for all those God will bring into our lives and ministry? Will we love Him as He has loved us? Remember, "no greater love than this, that a man will lay His life down for his friends? What will it be Beloved Reader the choice is yours and mine?
Let the Royal Law of Love capture your heart today! It will lift you up from the kingdom of this world into the POWER AND BEAUTY OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND CHRIST!
I hope this touches your heart.
In His love and your service forever,
Pastor Henry
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