Luke 6:27-36, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."
Mature Love
God says, "The sons of the Kingdom are My children and are growing into maturity within their hearts. Maturity involves the giving up of self. Those who possess the ways of My Kingdom are those who willingly give up self for the sake of his brother. There is no other way, My dear children, except to love your brother, and in loving you shall prefer one another over self. Regardless of what the mouth speaks, this is only accomplished by first loving your Lord, your God, above all else.
I peel back every layer to see clearly into the innermost hidden place of the heart. I see with a perfect vision. I beckon unto you, My Church, let Me take you into the season of mature and ripened fruit in My house. I am calling forth the Bride that is perfected in My ways of love. Do not be discouraged, My Bride, even in this you are growing and moving along in the swiftness of My Spirit. I have seen your willingness, and as your understanding increases, you shall shine more brightly and increase in Kingdom power. It's in the understanding of My love, to love."
In John 13:35 the Lord says, "And by this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Webster defines the word "fundamental" in the following way: of or pertaining to the foundation or basis; essential; a principle, law or article which serves as the groundwork of a system; essential part. With this definition in mind, the Lord saying that His instructions He gave in Luke 6:27-38 above, are the foundation that must be laid before we can become mature sons of the Kingdom. This selfless behavior is the solid foundation by which all else of the Kingdom must be built upon. It's totally impossible to be selfless without genuine love.
Real love produces the desire and the ability to bless others, void of any motive of personal gain. Just the opposite is true when the blessing is given and only the "outward" appearance is of selflessness. If there is a hidden motive in the heart behind the blessing, there will be a desire for recognition in return. Yet as God says above, He peels back every layer in our hearts to see the innermost hidden place. This tells us that He wants to reveal all areas, big or small, within our hearts that need to be refined. When we bless with the hidden intent to receive recognition and not out of a place of true love, we are as a clanging cymbal. A clanging cymbal isn't for the purpose to make a lovely sound for others; it's for the purpose of drawing attention.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing."
If we, the Church, truly desire the fullness of His inheritance in which we may be considered trustworthy sons and stewards, we are to have His love established as the foundation in our hearts. We long to attain and walk in the Kingdom inheritance. And we are quite often teaching and talking about it as being ours to lay hold of. It belongs to us! But we are to first recognize our inheritance is not for selfish gain. It's for us to be victorious, but not that we may attain it to focus on ourselves.
Sharing for the Benefit of Others
Our Father delights in blessing us beyond our wildest imaginations, so yes, of course there are rewards, blessings and perks of being the King's heirs. When the Spirit of the Lord fills us, He brings transformation to us. But He never intended for us to keep Him locked up within us, reserved only for ourselves. I have found when I get excited about something beautiful and fun or something new that works for me in an especially good way, I can't wait to share insight with everyone so they too can experience the same joy. That's exactly what the Lord wants us to do with all He has given to us--share every gift and joy we have found in Him! Now, not everyone I share my excitement with gets excited over the same things I do, but there are always a few who find the same delight. And when I come across those that do, it's an awesome time!
I remember one specific time when the Lord gave me a revelatory word while I was in church. It was at the beginning of when I began to prophesy publicly to the Body, and I had already prophesied once that morning. I felt as if I had been seen and talked enough for that day, so I wasn't going to give it. Then I heard the voice of the Lord speaking to me in a little different manner! He said, "I did not tell you that to keep to yourself." So, guess what? I gave it--quickly I might add!
Notice the Scriptures in Luke 4:18-19, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor, He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." These Scriptures speak of being equipped by the Holy Spirit--to do something for the benefit of someone else.
With that in mind, are not the gifts, the abundance, and the authority, even the revelation just as equally for the benefit of others and for the glory of God? If it were not so, Jesus would not have said, as we read in Matthew 10:7-8, "As you go, preach, saying, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."
It is the heart of the Father that we come to realize that if we are to die to self daily, then we must desire for Kingdom authority and power to be restored to the Church, not for the sake of "what I can receive from it," instead for the sake of "what can I give to 'others' from it." When we come to understand and apply this, that's when God's Kingdom will surely be seen on earth being made manifest through the Believers--us!
Preferring One Another
We like to believe we prefer our brothers and sisters, but do we really understand what it means to "prefer one another"? The Lord told me if I really prefer someone over myself, then I want them to have something better, not just as nice, but better than what I want for myself. Webster's definition of "prefer" is to put in a higher position, rank, or the like; to advance, exalt; promote. To set above or before something else in estimation, favor, or liking; hold in greater favor; like better. To bring, put, or set forward, or before one; to give a preference or priority to.
Let us not forget that our brothers and sisters, whom we are to prefer, are not just those dear and beloved friends that are very present in our lives. They are also those people who are strangers to us; they are the lovely as well as the unlovely; they are the ones who with gratitude will see our sacrifices in preferring them, as well as the ones who have no gratitude.
The Lord gave me this scenario and it was definitely an eye opener for me. We will gladly give up our chair for another person and feel good about having preferred our brother, but would we give up our last meal to prefer the life of our brother over our own? Maybe it would be easy for us if it were someone that we were close with, but what if it was that person who has no gratitude or who spoke slanderous things about us?
"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you." John 15:12-14
You may say it's a little extreme to talk about giving up your life for another. Yes, it probably is for most of us living in North America. During this present time period, we may never have to face the decision to give our life for another. For Christians in many other parts of the world, the decision to give their life for a brother is a decision they are faced with quite frequently. Selfless love is the true nature of the love of Jesus. It may not be the easiest or most comfortable path to walk, but with Christ in us, it's not an impossible path. It's the path of love Jesus walked for us.
"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners. Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8
The Lord is strongly beckoning His people by His Spirit to the place of walking in brotherly love. We are at a point in time that it is absolutely crucial for the Body of Christ to grasp the importance and the understanding of selfless love. The Body is being transformed into the Bride of Christ without spot or blemish and the Kingdom is about to be made manifest on the earth through the Body of Christ. Before this can take place, the Body as each individual member, must come into a place of walking in selfless love and be made ready as being "one" in Christ.
Functioning as One
Jesus prayed that His disciples, "be one, as You Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." John 17:21
We must truly function as one body--the Body of Christ. Each member of the Body is created in its own uniqueness so that it may be useful and productive in ways and areas that are not necessarily accessible to other members of the body. Consider this--which do you find to be of more importance to you--your foot or your hand? Even though they both have very different functions and appearances from one another, they both are of equal importance. The foot cannot fulfill the role of the hand nor the hand of the foot. In the same manner, the members of the Body of Christ may look quite differently from each other and may have very different functions. Yet each one is of equal importance, fulfilling a unique calling that cannot be fulfilled by anyone else.
When we begin to view one another through the eyes of love, we will see how special and valuable each member of the Body is. Yes, Church, we are about to enter into one of the greatest and most exciting times that the Body of Christ has ever known. The power of the Holy Spirit will be manifested in signs, miracles and wonders unlike any other time, and as a result, we will see the greatest harvest of souls being brought into the Kingdom of God than ever before. With joyful expectation we await these things! This much awaited time will be ushered in as the sons of the Most High abide with one another in the unity of brotherly love and disperse the selfless love of Christ Jesus.
When I shared this with my dear friend and ministry partner, Paige Norfleet, the Holy Spirit quickly brought the revelatory witness to her. I can't think of a better way than to conclude this article with the revelation that was given to Paige:
"This fundamental truth of love that God speaks of will be what clearly defines the Church of Jesus Christ and separates it from all other religions or doctrines of man. For those who have looked and questioned what is real and truly of God, this pure, selfless love will remove all doubt, and love will be what truly sets the Sons of the God Most High apart from those who merely profess His name and have a form of godliness."
He has spoken to us that "the trumpet makes a clear and precise sound." Love will echo the clear and precise sound of the Lord.
Amen!
Taffie Furr
Revelation of Jesus Christ Ministries
Email: revjcministries@yahoo.com
