Whatever we do and whatever we say, the Lord's love should be infused into it. I feel like that's where we're going as a people. All the other things like signs and wonders and speaking the Word of the Lord, and all those things that we've been taught for a long time are all important. But what I'm understanding is they're meaningless unless the Lord's love is infused in it.
And that's where it really touches people's hearts. There's a lot of people that are projecting themselves as professionals in their field, and maybe they are. It doesn't change people's hearts. It's what changes their hearts is when you get touched by His love. Success in the eyes of the Lord is touching somebody with His love, transforming their lives.
But this thing of God's love, I think that's what the early disciples had, is they were touched by His love, and they were able to touch other people with His love.
I believe this, that the creativity of God only flows through His love. We could speak a word that's real in every sense of the thing, and be sincere in it, but it's still going to be devoid of His life. I think His love and His life are synonymous. It's taken upon our own hearts the burden and concern and compassion that God would have in a given situation. If you love someone enough you could say anything to them no matter how strong and they would receive it. The plum line for everything Is the love of God.
Because like you said Ron, there's a lot of quote preachers out there men calling themselves apostles and prophets, etc A lot of people beat the flock with the Word. You can beat somebody with the Word. You can do a lot of things. It's only when the love of God is filling your heart that you can know you're really walking in the Spirit, I guess you could say.
What is driving us when we speak? What is motivating us when we minister? If it's anything other than the well being of the person we're speaking to, something's not right somewhere, and it's just going to be words; maybe good words; but we want the life of the Lord to flow in like what Dale was saying, the realm of spirit. Only the love gives us the clear perception to see things the way they really are.
One of the things we can do is freight everything we do with love. And the way that happens is you will know, as you speak, who is being edified, you'll know the reason for speaking.
You feel that you're just an agency for His Word, and you feel that there is something that you've given. You feel something that's gone out, and that's the Holy Spirit. You reach into the Father, draw His love, and you send it out.
Believers moving in small groups like this, and able to speak to one another in love and open the door for each other, is where things are going. As we come in to this place of recognizing who we are in the Spirit, and then speaking the Word that God puts in our hearts, we're building up the body of Christ.
We were talking about God's love and, to me, the participation of every member beginning to be the expression of God's love. And the atmosphere that you have in these small groups, I would say that you have much more of a tendency to feel God's love, to participate in God's love, and to be God's love to one another.
The atmosphere in a church; it's just the way it's structured; it's not conducive for the participation of the many membered body. And that's where God's going. I think what Ken's statement is very true. I think the large churches are disintegrating and will disintegrate because they're not producing what God wants.
They're not producing His many membered body because of the structure. But this is, this type of a meeting lends itself to everyone being able to open their heart, and just speak what God's put in their heart, and God's love can flow through that.
We say the kingdom of God, but it's the family of God, what is so important, how we minister to one another. God needs a family. He's wanted a family.
I marvel at how faithful the Lord is to His word. I marvel at how much love comes through His word to us. And I am so thankful that there is so much participation in these groups, because that's where the life is in the body that participates, where each and every joint speaks, each and every joint gives that which the Lord has given them.
It's shared amongst us all. It fulfills the Word given in the Scriptures that speaks to the nations and sets them free and come into a real walk with God and know His love, feel His love, and sense that, hey, there's hope!
This is Isaiah 61, starting with verse 1.The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, so the Spirit of the Messiah is upon me, and this is who we are.
The Spirit of the Messiah is upon us, because the Heavenly Father has anointed us to bring good news to the afflicted. This is the manifestation of the love, He has sent us to bind up the brokenhearted. To proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.
And He stopped there, but we're not stopping there. We're saying and the day of vengeance of our God, because that's today. To comfort all who mourn in Zion, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of the spirit of fainting.
So they will be called the oaks of righteousness. God loves righteousness, and that's a manifestation of His love, and the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. Oh God, that you be glorified. This is all a manifestation of His love flowing through us. And this is what we're saying, pour out all these things, because Your love is such a manifestation in the earth, and it's so desperately needed.
