serve to live and live to serve: February 2007

A SPECIAL WORD

Thank You Lord...i recieve, i believe, i am thankful.

(A Word given 27 Feb 2007)

NEXT STEP - Going Deep in LOVE

Wow, it was a wonderful Week Of Sanctification and the Lord met us in a Deep way as He deposited in our hearts and spirit again, a deep Passion for His Word of Truth. A Truth that will set us Free, a truth that convicts and confronts but a Truth full of Grace and His Mercies. So then, where do we go from here….what is the NEXT STEP?

John 17:6-11 (NIV) 6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name — the name you gave me — so that they may be one as we are one.

NEXT STEP – Going Deep in Love….Love for One Another.

The Lord wants to move us forward, from SANCTIFICATION to UNIFICATION.
.....From SALT to LIGHT.

John 17:23 (NIV) I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Is this “a Prayer that is YET TO BE answered” or is it “a Prayer that is BEING answered”. i believe it is the later but through His Prayer in John 17, it is clear that the UNITY of His loved ones is uppermost and closest to His heart - having encountered and being Sanctified by the Truth of His Word.

John 17:16-17 (NIV) 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Going Deep in the Word must result in us Going Deep in Love for One another. This really have been the underlying theme and call of the Lord in His last moments on planet earth. Beginning at John 13 the call to wash one another’s feet, having set the example himself. As He continue to encourage His disciples and preparing then for the end picture, He gave a “New Commandment” – to Love one another so that by this will all men know that we are His disciples. ....So how then can we Go Deep in Love for one another?

We can find some key pointers in John 15:1-17, where Jesus spoke about what it means to be “abiding in Him” and how this will help us to grow in this process of GOING DEEP IN LOVE - love for my brothers and sisters in the Family of God.

So how???? How do we handle diversity, differences and disobedience and Go Deep in UNITY.

1. REMAIN IN HIM.
– the Centrality of the Cross, addressing the issue of Direction.

John 15:3-4 (NIV) 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

A One kind of God…..the Only Savior of the World.

2. REMAIN IN HIS WORD.
– the Consistency of the Word, addressing the issue of Diversity.

John 15:7 (NIV) If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

A One kind of Word….the Only Dynamic Living Word of God.

3. REMAIN IN HIS LOVE.
- the Compassion of His Love, addressing the issue of Differences.

John 15:9-10 (NIV) 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

A One kind of Love….the Only Unconditional Agape Love.

From SANCTIFICATION to UNIFICATION:

“A NEW COMMAND I GIVE YOU: LOVE ONE ANOTHER. AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, SO YOU MUST LOVE ONE ANOTHER. BY THIS ALL MEN WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER.” John 13:34-35 NIV