When the Lord clips off dead things, we hardly even notice it, but when He starts pruning off things that are alive….it really hurts. Initially.

This is a personal story of correction that I have recently received and had to go through. Now that the initial shock and pain of the afore-mentioned pruning have somewhat subsided, I want to share this experience with people so they can make their own adjustments and avoid the pain and discomfort of the Father cutting living things from the branches of their tree. As I said, pruning hurts.

Several months ago, the Lord spoke to me and said this: “Jack, I want you to pay close attention to all of the seemingly difficult relationships in your life because there are specific things that you need to learn about Me that you can learn no other way than navigating these relationships.”

When He said that to me, He brought to mind three specific people who have consistently resisted my teaching and leadership. They have been disruptive in meetings, abrasive, prideful, gossiping, and accusing. They make others uncomfortable, and in two cases, several people have come to the elders and leaders and said they don’t want to be in a group where these individuals are attending. And now, that becomes a problem that leadership must address.

After the Lord pointed out these people, I began to watch them closely and pray for them constantly. All the while asking the Lord, “What are You saying to me in these relationships, Lord? What are you trying to show me?

After the third time, this certain individual accused me of being a false teacher to the elders and the lead pastor, the Lord revealed to me that this person had an unclean spirit of pride and accusation. I initially got excited because when the Lord revealed that there is a devil, that means I get the honor of casting it out. So, I said Lord, thank You! (Thinking that this was the thing he wanted to show me by paying attention to these relationships.)

That wasn’t the case.

I said, “Lord, show me the when and where, and I will cast the devil out of this person.” The Lord then spoke to me and said, “Jack, you don’t qualify to minister to this person.” Man! I felt like the Lord punched me in the gut. I’m not kidding, it felt like a low blow initially.

He went on to say, “Jack, your heart is not right toward this person. In your mind, you think they are a nuisance, you have dismissed them as being immature and ignorant, you see them as a problem to deal with instead of a child that I dearly love and died for. Love is the ONLY license available to minister to others with My authority and the only way I want you to minister to My children.”

At this point, I was feeling so downcast that I was just glad that God stopped talking. Every word He spoke was revealing how far from the truth I had strayed. With every word, I felt the pruning shears lopping off another living part of me that I had been feeding and causing to grow, yet never belonged on my tree. I knew that everything He said was true. I saw immediately that I was not loving them, so I was disqualified from exercising His authority over devils, sickness, or any other demonic influence that may be tormenting their lives.

Love is the license to operate in Kingdom Authority. If we don’t have the love of the King flowing from our hearts to others, we don’t possess the authority of the King to destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 

Faith works by LOVE. If love is not the foundation from which all of our ministry flows, then we don’t have the right to minister in His name at all.

Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

1 John 4:7-11 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 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. 10 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. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

GOD IS LOVE! Try to wrap your head around that statement for a moment. It doesn’t say that God loves, it says HE IS LOVE. If we deny Him His right to love us, and love others through us, we are denying His nature, we are quenching the Holy Spirit, and we are robbing ourselves and others of the blessing and purity of experiencing the Father’s great love.

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. 2 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. 3 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.

According to this passage, if we don’t have HIS love toward others flowing out of us, we are just an empty noise maker. We are nothing. And it profits us nothing.

Luke 6:32-37 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 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. 35 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. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. 37Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Yeah, that scripture there had me crying alligator tears for a little bit.

How do We Rise to this level of Love?

This is what He showed me:

1 John 5:2-4 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 

Look at this verse carefully, especially verse 2. Our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ is measured by how much we love God and keep His commandments. Our love for others will never rise above our love for God. And our love for God is measured through obedience to what He says through His written word and His spoken word.

The greatest way we can show our love for God’s children is to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Which brings us to the gospel of Mark and the New Testament commandment.

Mark 12:29-31  Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

This passage in Mark actually explains the reasoning and the dynamic behind 1 John 5:2-4. In Mark 12:30, we are ALL called to love God with all of our being. But verse 31 says that we are only required to love our neighbor to the degree that we love ourselves.

The point is, our love for others grows as we love God and keep His commandments. If we focus on loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we will not need to focus on loving others because it will be an ever-increasing overflow of our love for the Father. And if we get off track, if we need pruning, we are in the right position to receive it.

I had a thought, I believe it was from the Lord. Since we know from 1 John 4:8 that “GOD IS LOVE”, He inspired me to think of John 1 in a different way. Check this out.

John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Love, and the Word was Love. 2 Love was in the beginning with God, who is Love. 3 All things were made through Love, and without Love nothing was made that was made. 4 In Love was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And Love shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent from Love, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Love, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Love, but was sent to bear witness of that Love. 9 That was the true Love which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 Love was in the world, and the world was made through Love, and the world did not know Love. 11 Love came to His own, and His own did not receive Love. 12 But as many as received Love, to them Love gave the right to become children of Love, to those who believe in Love’s name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of Love.

The Word Becomes Flesh

14 And Love became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld Love’s glory, the glory as of the only begotten of Love, full of grace and truth.

I don’t think that is adding to or taking away from scripture. In fact, it helped me tremendously. Love is full of grace and truth. When we approach others to minister to them, let’s make sure that the grace and truth meters are pointing to full. By this, we will know His love is present and ready to be expressed.

JESUS IS COMING!

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