LOVE, OBEDIENCE & POWER

Ephesians 3:17-19    Amplified Bible.   “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, 18 be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; 19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].

In 1 John 4:8 we find, “The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.]

John 8:42-43  Amplified Bible  “42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father [but He is not], you would love and recognize Me, for I came from God [out of His very presence] and have arrived here. For I have not even come on My own initiative [as self-appointed], but He [is the One who] sent Me. 43 Why do you misunderstand what I am saying? It is because [your spiritual ears are deaf and] you are unable to hear [the truth of] my word.”

I asked the Holy Spirit one time to give me a clear understanding of LOVE,   The Holy Spirit said this to me.  “Love is the highest good for the other person, regardless of your own personal cost.” And in the Amplified Bible there are 545 listings on what love means.  Out of Love comes Obedience. Jesus taught in John 14:15, “If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments.”  In John 15:10, “If you keep My commandments and obey My teaching, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”   And in John 14:21, “The person who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him [I will make Myself real to him].”  Do you really know the commandments of Jesus?

And Obedience is a very difficult word for us but is used 197 times in the Amplified Bible.  In Hebrews 5:8-9 we find the words: “Although He was a Son [who had never been disobedient to the Father], He learned [active, special] obedience through what He suffered. 9 And having been made perfect [uniquely equipped and prepared as Savior and retaining His integrity amid opposition], He became the source of eternal salvation [an eternal inheritance] to all those who obey Him,” Even more intrusive we find in Heb.13:17 the words, “Obey your [spiritual] leaders and submit to them [recognizing their authority over you], for they are keeping watch over your souls and continually guarding your spiritual welfare as those who will give an account [of their stewardship of you]. Let them do this with joy and not with grief and groans, for this would be of no benefit to you.

It then is up to us to find someone who can help you grow spiritually and ask them to assume a healthy and knowledgeable spiritual covering to help us to keep from making  spiritual mistakes which can be very painful and often deadly.   A Biblical Elder then is given of God then for our protection. I do try to have humility to listen to my many spiritual friends and brother elders but so far have not found a ministry center where I feel comfortable.  And at my age it is difficult to get away from home.   So here is a short list of what to watch for concerning evil advice. Eph.4:14 of 11-16.  1. seems detached from reality.  2. Biblical facts not in context.  3. Selective truth.  4. Lack of humility or remorse.   5. Avoids responsibility.   6.  Superficial friendships.  7.  Steals your time.  8. Double Life  (hypocrisy).   9.  Controlling.   10.  High Self Esteem.   Jesus teaches us to stay away from such friendships in Matt.18:15-17 (17.   If he (they) pays no attention to them [refusing to listen and obey], tell it to the [a] church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile (unbeliever) and a tax collector.  Matt. 10:33-35, “But the one who denies and rejects Me before men, that one I will also deny and reject before My Father who is in heaven. 34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword [of division between belief and unbelief]. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.  Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.”   1 Peter 3 is a wonderful chapter on how we are to relate to Godly authority for our protection.  Children to parents, mother’s to fathers, fathers to Elders, Elders to the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit to Jesus and Jesus to the Almighty.

So out of saturating ourselves in God’s Love we then become very obedient in finding and obeying
HIS commandments and out of our true obedience will then begin the flow of God’s supernatural power to fix us and to help others find Jesus and be fixed as well.  John 14:11-13. “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe [Me] because of the [very] works themselves [which you have witnessed]. 12 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, anyone who believes in Me [as Lord (master) & Savior] will also do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in My name [ [a] as My representative], this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified and celebrated in the Son.   So we seriously need to dump all the “Vain (Prideful) traditions” that are not supported by Holy Scripture and butcher the religious sacred cows and get on with helping the Holy Spirit build a Jesus Church as per the example in the Book of Acts & New Testament.

And all who Love, Honor & Obey HIM are Eternal Members.