Our efforts to please God arise from our love for Him. Because
we love Him so much, we will begin to want more than anything to
do that which pleases Him, even if it might involve hardship.
Sacrifice will becomes easier once He brings us to the point that
we're so deeply in love that despite ourselves, we really can't
help but do that which we know will please the one we love.
The move of the Holy Spirit across the earth today is causing us
to become so enamored with our bridegroom, Jesus Christ, that we
are beginning to be made willing to do anything for Him, even if
it might involve treating our worst enemies with genuine
kindness, laying down our lives, or going to the ends of the
earth.
Of course, laying down our lives means more than simply being
willing to be persecuted. It means laying down our pride in such
a way that we will not hesitate to admit that we might be wrong
in our opinions and actions. It means thinking of others more
highly than ourselves. And even now, He is working within each
of us in a fresh way, granting to us such a burning love for Him,
that, increasingly. we will not be able to help but do that which
would please Him.
Throughout the Scriptures, the Lord has vouchsafed to us many
precious promises. But now, more than ever before, it seems that
the Lord is granting the things that have been promised to us for
millennia, but which, at least until now, had never really seemed
to reach the point of fruition or fulfillment. But now, He is
lavishly pouring out His Spirit upon us, drawing us closer to
Him, and giving us a new love for Him that we've never known.
So now that we are beginning to fall in love with Him, more and
more it is becoming the case that no act of obedience will be
impossible. No task will be too great to undertake. No
circumstances will be too difficult, and no suffering too severe
to undergo, simply because of the greatness of the love for Him
that He Himself is placing within us.
He is instilling within us this love for Him by revealing to us
more of His character, and demonstrating to us more fully the
greatness of the love that He has for us. We'll finally reach a
place in which we'll have no choice but to respond with gratitude
and love of such an intensity that we cannot help but change our
ways in accordance with His ways. Because of our love for Him,
we won't want to displease Him. This means that for us, it is
increasingly becoming a small matter to keep our promises to
others, even when it will be to our distinct disadvantage. More
and more, we're coming to the point at which we'll go the extra
mile for people--the place where we'll gladly turn the other
cheek, adhering zealously to the golden rule, simply because of
the great passion for Him that He's placing within us.
For many of us caught up in the current move of God, we're in the
throes of a heavenly romance. "I am my beloved's and my beloved
is mine." He belongs to us and we belong to Him. We are His
cherished possession, and at the same time, He, also, is precious
to us. When we are in love, we gladly do what appears to others
to be foolish things. But we do them because we are caught up in
a romance. In much the same way, He does for us what may seem to
others to be very strange. They are asking, "what is all of this
laughing, anyway. Who ever heard of people getting drunk in
church." But the very nature of romance is that it does not
follow logic or order. Instead, it acts out of passion for the
object of one's love.
The storms of life will begin to seem much less menacing when we
begin to get caught up in romance with Him. The only thing that
will really seem to matter is to please the one we love. And if
your love-gift to Him has been motivated by a true love for Him,
then it will be well-pleasing to Him for that very reason,
regardless of whether it may have seemed appropriate to an
outside observer.
Jesus was well pleased when Mary anointed his feet with costly
spikenard. Some of the bystanders felt that this action was an
unnecessary waste of money, and that she should never have done
this. The ointment could have been sold for a great deal of
money for the poor. But Jesus knew that Mary was acting out of a
pure heart of gratitude and love toward God. If you've ever done
anything out of love for God that seemed foolish to others, don't
worry. God is far more concerned about the state of the heart
than He is about externals.
And if the storms of life are raging all around you, just ask Him
to enable you to fall in love with Him to such a degree that your
worries will begin to fade into insignificance. He is the
center--He is the eye of the storm. There will always be storms
raging wherever the Lord is at work, but the eye of the storm is
the place of perfect peace and calm. If you follow Him wherever
He takes you, the storms will continue to surround what He is
doing, but you can remain in the eye of the storm if you follow
Him closely, regardless of how furiously it may be raging around
you.
Because God is placing within us such a deep love for Him, we
won't have to try to force ourselves to follow Jesus, but we will
begin to adore Him so much that we cannot help but follow Him
wherever He goes. He's igniting in us such a passion for Him
now, that no matter what times of trouble may lie ahead for the
Church and for the world, He will be ours and we will be His to
such an extent that outside circumstances, whatever form they may
take, won't matter to us nearly as much as they would otherwise.
The thing that will matter most to us is that we be pleasing to
our beloved.
It may be that the oil of the Holy Spirit is being poured upon us
at this particular time for a reason. Let's not take that for
granted. Let's collect enough oil that when darkness comes upon
the whole earth, we'll still have enough oil to continue to burn
brightly as the world fades into darkness. In the parable of the
ten virgins, all of them had oil, but the five wise virgins had
with them the extra measure of oil that they needed to meet their
bridegroom in the hour of darkness. So now that the oil of God's
Spirit is being made freely available to all, let's take
advantage of this and continue to allow ourselves to be filled to
overflowing as much as we can.
There's another important picture that God has given us with
respect to the outpouring of His Spirit, and that's the river of
God. In Ezekiel 47, the river of God proceeds from the house of
God. We, the church, constitute that house, and as is mentioned
in the first verse of that chapter, God is pouring out His river
of blessing from the house at the south side of the altar.
Now the altar is representative of consecration. The river of
blessing flows forth from that which is totally consecrated to
God. Consecration is not something that we can create within
ourselves, but it's a gift from God proceeding directly from our
love for Him. The greater that our adoration for Him becomes,
the greater will be our consecration to Him. Then, usually when
we least expect it, He begins to cause the river of His anointing
to flow. Sometimes this begins to happen on a large scale, often
beginning at certain places selected by Him, just as we've seen
in the past two or three years.
In Revelation 22, it says that the river flowing forth from the
throne of God is a river as clear as crystal. The throne of God
suggests His great power, while the river's crystal clarity would
suggest purity. The river flows forth from the purified Church--
the Church that has been washed in the blood of the Lamb and
purified by the work of the grace of God in our hearts, often
working within us as we have walked through the midst of the
refining fires of tribulation or suffering.
God does sometimes allow us to undergo suffering, but He always
has a purpose in allowing it. There are times when it is only
through suffering that He can mold within us Godly character.
But the development of His character within us is His high
purpose, and it is very, very important to Him. He wants us to
reflect His glory and His character, and He wants to strengthen
us so that we can be a living example to those who have only
begun to learn to trust Him and to walk with Him throughout the
storms of life.
In Ezekiel 47:9 it says that the river would bring life to every
living creature with which it came into contact. The anointing
brings life on all levels: spiritual, emotional, volitional,
mental, and physical. Supernatural events of this kind are
possible only because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. And God
has chosen those who have been washed in His blood to be
ambassadors of that life, or even conduits for it. That river of
life has definitely reached a new high-water mark. This new
level of the anointing seems to have had its origins in places
like Buenos Aires, Argentina, Toronto, Canada, and the ministry
of Rodney Howard-Browne. From these various sources, this new
anointing has been spreading everywhere, and it is even possible
to trace its progress in great detail. Everywhere that it has
gone, there has been new life. This new life is becoming
manifest in spiritual, emotional, and even physical healings. It
is contagious, and spreads wherever it goes, sometimes even
without any regard to the intentions of those who carry it.
Lining the river of God are trees bearing fruit which will not be
consumed, and whose leaves shall not fail, but which will be for
medicine, or, as it says in Revelation 22, for the healing of the
nations. In the presence of God, not only is there life and
fullness of joy, but tremendous fruitfulness and healing, which
has its repercussions throughout the entire world.
This river is certainly flowing now, although we may see even
greater levels at some future time. Nevertheless we're seeing an
astonishing new move of God throughout the world today which
might possibly be as great as, or even greater than, anything
seen in all of history. Nobody planned it. No human formula was
applied to bring it into existence. It simply happened because
God decided that He would do it. Some of us might think that we
can try to turn our backs on Him and go our merry way, attempting
to ignore what He's doing, but really, for most of us here
tonight, that would probably be impossible, because we love the
Lord with all of our hearts and minds and souls. We simply love
Him too much. More than anything, we want to be where He is, and
to be a part of what He is doing. We want to be where the action
is, and He has given us that very desire.
But there is a tremendous cost to following Him in this way. To
be co-laborers with Him in what he's presently doing might
require personal sacrifice. But because of the fire of love for
Him that He is placing within our hearts, no price will be too
high for us. No sacrifice will be too great, and no obstacle too
monumental. The zeal of the Lord consumes us. It is a fire
ignited by Him, which nothing can quench.
There is always a cost, but when all is said and done, the cost
of not following after the one we love with all of our hearts and
minds and souls is far greater. But we must not forget that we
must still pay the price. There will always be great reproach
upon a true work of God. Genuine revivals are always spoken
against, even by committed Christians and dear friends. Our
loyalties must be tested through the fires of tribulation of this
kind. We love our fellow Christians, but our love and loyalty to
God is uncompromising. We are consumed with passion for Him. If
there are those who encourage us to go back to business as usual,
we simply do not have the heart for it.
Richard M. Riss
Word of Life Christian Fellowship, Absecon, N.J., Feb. 18, 1996