“By this it is made clear who take their nature from God and are His children and who take their nature from the devil and are his children: no one who does not practice righteousness [who does not conform to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action] is of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother (his fellow [i]believer in Christ).For this is the message (the announcement) which you have heard from the first, that we should love one another,”. ( 1 John 3:10-11)
I spend the past several days recuperating from surgery yet it has been several days of basking in the love of the Father. He took me a journey back thru the past 10 years of the life I have lived and showed me where love was lacking – not in a condemning way but in a loving way as He said “See how love could have brought My light into the darkened times.
Back to when I first got ordained when I allowed the spirit of religion to come in an sit me on the horse of un-righteous judgment, up to the very spot where His Love broke thru in my heart causing me to for once start seeing people thru the eyes of mercy and grace even as He who is above all see’s. This was such a powerful moment as I felt the weight of His Love flow upon me and totally captured my surroundings.
He also pointed out the wrath of His love, as during this time hell had risen up in an attempt to derail His destiny for my life. Some may say, how can someone put wrath in the same line with love. Take for example the Love of God towards His creation – it was in a moment of wrath that He went to the cross, birthed out of love. Righteous wrath towards the works of Hell that had so un-prejudicially distorted His creation from the image of Himself, that imagine of holiness and beauty. You see the wrath of God is that which is a Holy Righteous kindled fire against sin and all that is unholy, bound and woven in darkness.
This was such a revelation to me that it began to crush me, the fleshly side of me that had incorrectly judged God’s wrath as something awful birthed in the throngs’ of punishment, when in reality it is something that destroys evil and restores life. It is this nature of wrath that the Father desires for His children to take hold of – that we would become so enraged with the injustice of sin and its hold in our own lives and that of the children of God as well as those that are lost that we, would march forth with the power and authority of Heaven and enter into a battle spiritual warfare to loose Hell’s grip on these individuals. Not allowing our anger to be miss guided toward the lost and blind, towards the individual that it has imprisoned, rather against the root, the very nature of Hell itself.
As the Lord took me thru these years I saw moments of His wrath against Hell, where His Word in all it’s majesty flew out of His throne room intercepted and destroyed the works of Hell that had come against my life – it was like a mighty river that rushed toward false words, words of deception as it totally washed away Hells power and influence. Yet in its wake it remained upon me – Here He said, “What you are seeing is My Grace upon your life, that I sent forth to rescue and empower you to stand firm”.
He even took me back through some religious establishments which I had been thru and as I went back to these times I saw what appeared to be a person, who kept covering and uncovering my ears. And it was as though I heard “This was My mercy overshadowing you – for in these places you heard both truth and deception – My mercy blocked your spiritual ears from receiving what was false and they we allowed to remain open to receive that which was truth”. I was so taking back by this and then a looked at what appeared to be a Bible yet on its cover was written the word “Mercy”. Then I understood, that by keeping myself in His Word, His Word became a shield of mercy which weighed out the darkness from the light”.
In my mind I was thinking “I thought these places were houses of the Lord and then I saw them as they were in the Spirit, like that of half lighted house, the Light of His Word did light them at times, but then the darkness of the world would come in and snuff out the light.
I honestly didn’t fully understand the battle between the two, as I believed that the Light over powers the darkness, thus the Light should prevail in these places, then I heard, “because of My love for My Bride, in Mercy I continue to send forth My Grace, the hearts of men grasp it for a moment, yet like that of stony ground the wiles of the carnal heart take control and distort My truth. Yet in My Mercy I shall continue to send forth My Grace for a season, that they who earnestly search for truth might grasp hold of her and not let go”.
Then I spent a time reflecting on the faces of those whom I had known over the past 10 years, most of these people I had forgotten about. Yet as I saw each one of them I noticed many of them were holding a cup and each cup was empty. When I asked what the cup was I heard, this represents their spirit, and each one was empty, each one needing to be filled up with My life, My presence, My love in truth.
These spiritual cups represented those who inwardly thirsted for My love, even though they may not have known what the thirst they felt was and you passed by each one, having been focused on your own needs you failed to see theirs. This caused my heart to sink for I had fooled myself during many of these years believing I desired to help people, yet now I saw what it was, a self righteous spirit had taking root in my life and blinded me to my own selfish agenda.
After this time, though only a few moments, it felt like hours, I went from seeing those faces to many faces sitting in a large crowd of people and I heard “My people flock to see their spiritual thirst filled each week, running into buildings, yet they leave empty and unsatisfied – Now look closely that you may see.
As I looked closely, I noticed that in the opposite hand from the empty cup, was a cup that was also empty in almost every hand, yet not in everyone for a number of them were filled and over-flowing. Then I heard “ My Spirit has poured into these peoples lives an overflowing supply –yet they are blinded to this truth and they themselves remain athirst for one can never sip from this cup unless they are filling another. Yet there are some who upon filling the cups of others with what I have poured into them find that My River flows forth and their own cups are filled, it is in this place of selfless love that they shall experience no lack, when they begin to walk in the same direction of My River’s current..
Then I was beginning to understand, people had flocked to what they thought was their supply, those things made by human hands and in the process of searching out what man had made, they missed the reservoir of God’s supply which He has purposely hidden in His Church – a Spiritual Body made up and fit together perfectly according to His design. A design, which when man and hell has attempted to re-create it is found void of Life, a spiritual desert. Yet when this Spiritual Body, this family of God walks in its truth, seeking and receiving its very breath from the Creator – it is vibrant, alive and fully able to reproduce.
And thru this whole process I continually saw the word LOVE. That it is His love which created everything, His love which was poured out to redeem everything and it is His Love which is the life food of His Bride, without it its members will shrivel up and die.
Yet when operating in, and completely and radically deposed of all self desire, it is alive, producing life and it expansion can not be prevented for it is like a Mighty River, flowing forth, Cities can not stop it, Nations can not stop. Not even the mountains reaching up to the skies can slow down its flow. For the dam of His River of Love was opened upon the cross and though the generations since that time have thought it had slowed down, it is a Spiritual River which has gone under, deep to where it is not seen by the natural eye.
There have been those in each one of these generations who have seen it, swam in it, lived and drank from it. For when a child of God sees this River with their Spiritual eye they are opened to the revelation of its power, they see the direction of its current. One need but look at the witnesses through past generations to see that even though it appeared and still appears in a sense to be running under ground, it is an awesome splendor weakening the polluted religious soil of this world and continues to be eroding away everything that has attempted to prevent its flow.
I feel like a light has come into my life that will never allow me to remain the same and it is my prayer that the Father will give me the words to open the eyes of those who have yet to see this River of Love that flows from the Throne of His Heaven. It is this River of life, this sustaining love that is written about in every book of the Bible.
When one but receives just one drop from it their lives begin to melt under its power – the wounds of the heart and spirit are healed. It is in this River of love that one sees the true reflection of who they are in Christ and though one is immediately aware that their thirst is being filled, they then at the same time develop a hunger to share it with others. They see the lost and thirsty about them and an urgency to fill their cup overwhelms them.
For even looking about, those who have drank from this River of love sees the reflection of others as they are seen through the eyes of He who has created them and longs to become intimate with them as their Father and they as to Him as His children. I believe this is the light of which John is speaking of here, for one who stands in the light of His love, he who stand having drank from the River of His love becomes infected, as though they are possessed with an overwhelming desire to love even as He has loved, they come into the full knowledge that we are to be His love here on earth.
For once you drink from this River of love, the pure love of God, you like John will be able to proclaim “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” And with this I pray that you do now drink from His cup of love my brothers and sister for His Word declares:
We know that we have passed over out of death into Life by the fact that we love the brethren (our fellow Christians). He who does not love abides (remains, is [j]held and kept continually) in [spiritual] death.. ( 1 John 3:14)
Let us walk in the obedience of our Lords doctrine:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35
I highest rank is that of servant,
Russ Welch
Radical Disciples - A Remnant Revolution 