"I will instruct you and teach you
in the way you should go ...
Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have
no understanding,
which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
else they will not come near you."
Psalm 32:8-9
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The Written Word of Love
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
“Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, ‘Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?’
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’” John 14:21-23
Prophetic Word of Love
“I will love you and manifest Myself to you, if you have My commandments and you keep them. If you love Me, you will keep My word and My Father and I will love you, come to you, and make our home with you. Love as I have loved you. By this the world will know that you are My disciple.”
Definition of Manifest:
reveal, obvious, clear, evident, self-evident, plain, apparent, visible, noticeable, palpable, unmistakable, transparent, unconcealed, undisguised, open, frank, candid, show, exhibit, express, disclose, demonstrate, unveil, uncover, display
THE CHURCH: 2014
Be on guard against the "accuser of the Brethren." He is a liar.
And Lord, teach us to pray effectively, redeeming the time, for the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:16
The Commandment of Love
“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
“But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Mark 11:25-26
Forgiveness is not an option, it is a command from the Head of The Church. And He doesn't want His child weighed down with sins for that would hinder prayer.
Why is all of this such a big deal?
Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to suffer. Not forgiving is a spiritual force that will block your faith.
Instead of faith moving the mountain, unforgiveness will move faith into a corner and hold it hostage.
Why? Because faith stands alone without love.
Faith works through love. Galatians 5:6
True Love
You were saved because God, who is love, first loved you.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:7-11
The entire Kingdom of God operates on the purity of love.
Love is God and God is love.
All of the precepts of God are based on love. All of the promises God has written down for us are God-breathed from love Himself. In order to access those promises so that they manifest in this earthly realm, the path into the supernatural, going up and coming down, must be clean and clear.
Love opens up and paves the path that faith moves on. Faith is a substance. Hebrews 11:1
“Whenever you stand praying — FORGIVE.”
The Oughts
“But they ought to have treated me this way…”
“They ought NOT to have done that to me…that was wrong of them…”
Look at it this way…
Jesus was beaten and crucified for you.
On the cross, He did not say, “Father, they should not have done this to me.”
I shudder to think what would have happened if He had thought or said that.
What did He say?
“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34
Jesus sowed love as He sacrificed Himself for our sins.
When you and I forgive, we sow a seed of love. That pleases the LORD.
Love is the highest force.
The Mirror
Rehearsing past pain over and over in your thought life and talking about it can develop into a root of bitterness. Read Hebrews 12:12-17. That pain will steer its victim on a dangerous path of collision. It is like a driver in a car that is going forward while his eyes are locked on the rear view mirror.
What mirror are we to be looking into?
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
“But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-25
Looking into the Glorious Word of Light with the intent to obey it will produce liberty …
The Blessing! This is the way out of unforgiveness and into The Blessing:
“…bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.” Luke 6:28
The Character of the Born Again Man
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
“But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the LORD.
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:12-17
Sowing the Seed of Love
If you are having difficulty forgiving someone, start with a simple prayer and rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit within you.
“As act of my will and in obedience to Your word, Father, I forgive.
I release that person to you. Heal me of that pain. Bless them LORD.
Thank you for helping me to walk in your love and power. In the name of Jesus.”
Simple prayer isn't it? Don’t underestimate its power and effectiveness. Your prayer of salvation was rather simple, yet it was profound in changing the course of your life. Romans 10:9
FEELINGS
The act of forgiveness does not depend on your feelings. Forgiveness is based on a decision, an act of your will that is submitted to do God’s will. Feelings are emotions. They are subject to change and should be dominated by your spirit.
When you stand to pray—forgive! That’s not a suggestion but a command from the Master. He knows much more than we do about unforgiveness and what it produces. He tells us to forgive for our benefit.
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Closing Comments: Manifesting Love
Saints, it takes humility to forgive. Our LORD and Savior is our example.
As intercessors, it is vital that we walk in love and forgiveness because our hearts plead for others: the salvation of fallen mankind.
Take an inventory this week. In prayer, ask the LORD if you are holding onto any past or recent offenses that caused you pain. Release and receive healing of them. Take communion.
(See recent Bible Study Lessons on the subject of Communion: March 11th – March 25th)
Do you have unforgiveness toward elected leaders that oppose our beliefs and values? We certainly do not agree with what some are doing, but to stand in the gap for them we need to have our hearts free of anger and offense so that our prayers for them will be effective.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son …” John 3:16
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PRAYING FOR OUR STATES…MANIFESTING OUR LOVE FOR:
The Glorious Church
The Lost
Elected Leaders
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