5/1/19 Miracle City Global
Kimble Love. Good evening everyone. Welcome to Miracle City. We’re about to enter into a time of praise and worship and we want you to be open to the Spirit. We also want to pray with the understanding that tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer throughout this nation. We want to come into agreement that a spirit of love and unity will fall on the body of Christ as we come together to lift up our communities and pray for this nation. That we would be of one heart, one mind and one spirit. To call forth the fullness of God’s purpose in this time.
I encourage you to be a part of that. If you can’t be boots on the ground at noon, then pray where you are. It’s going to be an awesome time. God is moving in mighty ways in our midst. I’m just so glad that we’re all a part of it.
Lord, we thank you for this night and we thank you for this day, and for what you’re doing in our midst. Father, I thank you that you have sent out your call. We have heard and we are responding.
Father, we plead the precious blood of Jesus over this land, over this community, over this work, over this ministry, over the families, over the officials that are over us, that are in authority. May you pour out your Spirit upon them.
Father, bless this nation. Raise up your righteous remnant to stand, to come into agreement with your purposes for this new era we’ve entered into. Show yourself mighty, Lord. Bring forth the fullness of heaven throughout the earth, and may we see your glory cover this land once again.
Father, we honor you tonight with our worship. We open our spirits to hear from you. Release the wind of heaven, the breath of heaven. Blow throughout this land and have your way in Jesus name. Amen and Amen.
Shofar
?Lane. Your heart won’t stop coming after me. Your love won’t stop. No I won’t be afraid. Just as long as you stand by me. Stand by me.
Anna. My fear doesn’t stand a chance when I stand in your love. I’m standing in your love.
Betty. Jesus. Love of God. Paul said, At my first defense no one came and stood with me but the Lord. He’s promised us, Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you. Romans 8 tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God that’s in Christ Jesus. He’s given himself to us. When we said Yes to Him, we became his permanent gift.
Lord, tonight as Kimble released the sound of the shofar, literally I felt our spirits awakened in righteousness. And the heavens were cleared, Lord, and you removed obstacles and hinderances, because this is your house. We acknowledge that the kingdom of God is in this place. It’s your kingdom, Lord.
We acknowledge you, Jesus. You are our focus and our fix. You are the love of God. You are love. You are the manifestation of love in the earth. We just honor you, Father. We honor Jesus. We honor Holy Spirit. We say, Come and have your way in this place tonight. We’re raising our gaze. We’re fixing our eyes on you, Lord.
?Anna. We’re raising our gaze and fixing our eyes on you, Lord. We focus on you.
Kevin. Lord, I come. I give you my everything, my King, cause you’re my everything.
Anna. Breathe your life into this place, this state, this nation. This is your land. Blow wind of the Spirit, breath of God on your people, on your land. Bring change.
Lane. You love me so well. I’m lost in your eyes. I just wanna get lost in your Jesus, in all you want and all you do.
Anna. There is none as beautiful as you. Just to gaze on your beauty. I get lost in your eyes. To know your embrace. And be recreated by your goodness. It’s flowing like wine, you love me so well. And I am lost in your eyes.
I was made to live in your presence. I was made to see you face to face. I was made for this, to give you glory, to tell your story. I wanna be a history maker, a speaker of truth, to send forth/show forth your light of truth throughout this nation. Cause I am awakening hearts. I’ll do just what you ask me to do. I’m awakening hearts. Shine your light in your land, in hearts, in places of jurisdiction.
Lane. You will be a history maker, a speaker of truth to all mankind. You are a history maker in this earth. Your light in us will dispel the darkness.
Anna. You’re the God of this city. You’re the King of these people. You’re the Lord of this nation. You are. There is no one like our God. Greater things are here. Greater things have come and it’s just the beginning. Greater glory’s here. Greater glory’s now. Greater glory’s time. It’s now time.
Betty. We worship you, Lord. You’re the object of our affection. We love you.
Anna. I love you. You’re where my help comes from.
Betty Love. Revelation 1:4-20 TPT. From John to the seven churches in western Turkey: May the kindness of God’s grace and peace overflow you from him who is, and who was, and who is coming, and from the seven spirits who are in front of his throne, and from Jesus Christ the Faithful Witness, the Firstborn from among the dead and the ruling King, who rules over the kings of the earth!
Betty. We declare it so even now. Even now in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Even now, at the east gate to the city, over Miracle City Global, Lord, over this city, over this territory, over this state of Mississippi, hahaha, over all 50 states and our U.S. territories, Lord, over this nation, we decree that you are the Lord God of the heavens and the earth; and your rule and your reign and your dominion—you are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And we honor you.
Now to the one who constantly loves us and has loosed us from our sins by his own blood, and to the One who has made us to rule as a kingly priesthood,
Betty. I want to decree and declare to each one of us in this room that we are a nation. Did you know that? We’re a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that we may declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. So in Revelation 1:6 it says that he has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve God.
In this translation it says, and to the One who has made us to rule as a kingly priesthood, to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and dominion throughout the eternity of eternities! Amen!
Betty. I want to decree and declare right now, in our lives, in our land, that he has dominion. From generation to generation, from eternity past to eternity present to eternity future. Can you agree with that? Yes. So right now we just release the dominion of the Lord God throughout our territories, tents, and treasuries, throughout our land, throughout our gates, throughout our cities, our states, our nation.
We decree and declare that righteousness exalts a nation and we release the righteousness of our God in Christ Jesus to every sphere of influence, to every mountain of society.
We’re going to do tonight what the Lord says to do. And he says to first offer up prayers for those that are in authority. So right now we want to just offer up a prayer for the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, Yay God, and First Lady Melania. Father, we thank you for our President. We thank you, Lord, for all those who are a part of the executive branch of government, for every cabinet member. Lord, for those that are in the West Wing that are in the very White House, Lord, wherever they serve.
Lord, we are lifting up the house, hahaha, The House, all those that are connected. Father, we thank you that those that are in authority, the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord to turn whithersoever you will. So Father, we pray that you would pour out your Seven-Fold Spirit upon our President, and throughout the land of governors and first ladies, Yay.
Father, we lift up to you our Governor Phil Bryant and Deborah Bryant, Father, we lift up to you every person in governmental authority throughout Mississippi and even in our nation. And Father, we pray that you would plumb line our governmental authority in righteousness.
Lord, don’t stop there. We pray for sheriffs throughout the land, because in the county they have the highest authority. We pray for mayors, the mayor of Hattiesburg and his family, Toby Barker. All of you are from different places, different cities, different territories, so whoever your mayor is, whoever your leader is in Petal. I know in Laurel it’s Johnny Magee. I just lift him up and his family right now.
We need to remember our executive, our legislative and, hahaha, our judicial branches of government. Supreme Court Justices. Lord, I thank you that you are giving people opportunity in this hour. Lord, you have decreed and declared revival, awakening, reformation, and transformation coming to the land that you love, coming to America. So Father, we ask that whatever you need to do in the hearts of those in authority, that you would turn their hearts unto righteousness. And Lord, that you would baptize them afresh. Those that know you, that you would baptize them afresh with your Spirit and with fire. That you would separate your people unto yourself and you would begin to pour out your Spirit and visit those in authority in dreams and visions.
Lord, we pray for the salvation of those that don’t know you. That the god of this age would be bound. And Lord, even now we release the light and the glory of the gospel of the kingdom of God. That a true spirit of evangelism would be released upon this nation and people that don’t know you would come to true repentance and turn and receive you as Savior. Hei.
Lord, we embrace the theme that you have given to our national leaders and those involved with the National Day of Prayer: Let Us Love One Another. So I pray for a baptism of love come upon your people. Lord, as we step into May 2, this Thursday, may we be so baptized with your love that people would remark, Look at those disciples, how they love one another.
Lord, your Word says, that as Jesus is, so are we in the earth. And Lord, I pray that we would be your ambassadors. I know apart from you we can do nothing. I pray in the name of Jesus right now that you would cause us to love you with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength; and that we would love our neighbor as ourselves.
And Lord, any place in our lives that is not perfected in love, drop your plumb line in us, Lord. Love of God, overflow; permeate, oh my soul. Love of God, overflow; permeate, oh my soul. Lord, we entered in on the eve Monday, on a 40 Day Focus on you, Jesus. Pure Love. I pray, Lord, that everyone of us in this place, those that are connected with us, would so encounter you, that you would literally pour out your Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of you in a way we have never known you.
That Holy Spirit of love, that you would so draw us into the Fullness of who you are, the heart of the Father and the love of Jesus, that we would be radically changed. Lord, anything that is vying for our attention or affection, any place of idolatry in our lives, any place where we’re more absorbed with the phone or a theme than a person, Lord, I ask you to restore relationship.
Lord, I pray that walls of hostility that have been built, even between members in the body of Christ—I don’t care what denomination—but if they’re blood-bought born-again believers, Lord, your Word says that you have destroyed that wall of hostility. Through your blood you have brought peace.
And Lord, I thank you for the ministry of reconciliation, first to you and then to our fellow man. Let us as the body of Christ be reconciled to you, Lord. Be reconciled to truth and righteousness. Be reconciled in your peace. Be reconciled in your faith, in your salvation, and in your Word. Do what only you can do in our hearts and in our lives, Lord.
Come and fill us again, Lord. Come and revive us again, Lord. Come Lord, and have your way in the hearts of your people. And we honor you. We honor your presence.
:7 Behold! He appears within the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the people groups of the earth will weep with sorrow because of him. And so it is to be! Amen.
:8 “I am the Aleph and the Tav, the beginning and the ending,” says the Lord God, “who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
:9 I, John, am your brother and companion in tribulation, the kingdom, and the patience that are found in Jesus. I was exiled on the island of Patmos because of the ministry of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
:10 I was in the spirit realm on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice sounding like a trumpet, saying to me: Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
:12 When I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, I saw seven golden lampstands. And walking among the lampstands, I saw someone like a son of man, wearing a full-length robe with a golden sash over his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool—white as glistening snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire! His feet were gleaming like bright metal, as though they were glowing in a fire, and his voice was like the roar of many rushing waters.
:16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. And his face was shining like the brightness of the blinding sun!
:17 When I saw him, I fell down at his feet as good as dead, but he laid his right hand on me and I heard his reassuring voice saying:
Don’t yield to fear. I am the Beginning and I am the End, the Living One! I was dead, but now look—I am alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys that unlock death and the unseen world.
Now I want you to write what you have seen, what is, and what will be after the things that I reveal to you. The mystery of the lampstands and the seven stars is this: the seven lampstands are the seven churches, and the seven stars in my right hand are the seven messengers of the seven churches.
So, Lord, as we have come to you tonight, and you have come to us, and we behold you in your glory, we know that as we behold you we are being transformed from glory to glory. Lord, as we open your Word tonight, open the eyes of our hearts that we may see the hope of the calling, that we may know the glorious riches that you have stored within us; and that we may know your incomparably great power toward and within everyone who believes. The same power that you used, Father, that you exerted when you raised Jesus from the dead is dwelling in us now.
Lord, cause us to be one with you. Let us embrace you in a way as you embrace us tonight with your love. Lord, remove the boarded-up places, ungodly beliefs, ungodly soul ties with people, places and things, any ungodly mindsets, any thing that has robbed us of the blessing that you want to bring and be in our lives. Lord, let us be refocused tonight. Let there be a reset and a realignment, not just for us, but for our families, for the body of Christ, and even for our nation.
Lord, where there has been division, where there has been hostility, let the voice of the blood of Jesus Christ speak over this nation. Lord, heal our land. We stand before you tonight as forerunners. According to your Word: If my people who are called by name will humble themselves and pray; repent and turn from their wicked ways and seek my face, I will hear from heaven and heal their land.
I thank you, Lord, for the healing of the land. I thank you, Lord, for the 70 days that we as a remnant have stood and are still standing. According to your word, Lord, you sought a man who would build up the wall of righteousness and stand in the land, stand in the gap, on behalf of the land, so that you would not have to destroy it. And you have found a remnant, Lord.
So as one we stand tonight and we say, Be it unto us according to your word, your will, and your way—what you have ordained: Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done. Release your redemptive plan on this nation once again. And we honor you and thank you for it in Jesus name. Amen.
The Lord has very clearly spoken where he wants us to go tonight.
The Love of God
Ronnie Floyd is the President of the National Day of Prayer this year. The theme is: Love One Another. It’s based upon the words of Jesus in John 13:34, which says, Love one another just as I have loved you. Love can change America, Floyd said, in announcing the theme to a gathering of leaders from across the country.
We need a baptism of love by the Holy Spirit that will immerse the entire church of Jesus Christ in America. And a baptism of love that will immerse all of America today. From the church house to the state house and all the way to the White House, we need to learn to love one another.
Father, I come into agreement with the vision that you gave the leader of National Day of Prayer, the very heartbeat. Father, I thank you that your heartbeat is love. We agree with your word in John 3:16, hahaha. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Father, you did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world. And we acknowledge our Lord, our Savior. We acknowledge you, Jesus. We acknowledge you as the greatest gift that the world has ever received. May the eyes of the blind be opened (to see), and the ears of the deaf be opened to hear.
Lord God, may the land that has been living in darkness, may your light dawn again on this nation. And may the love of God be so activated and functioning with every believer that we are literally changed from the inside out.
We agree, Lord, Let a baptism of Holy Spirit immerse the entire church of Jesus Christ in America. Lord, let a baptism of love immerse all of America today. We decree it, hahaha. And as we enter in, Lord, there will be prayer breakfasts opening in the morning in cities and counties and states and state houses. People will awaken the dawn with prayer, releasing your love.
And Lord, we are joining anointings and coming into agreement with every righteous gathering of believers. Lord, even those that are praying from their homes on National Day of Prayer, anybody that is offering up a prayer in your name, Jesus, we want to agree that righteousness exalts a nation.
And we want to ask you now, Lord, from the church house to the state house, and all the way to the White House, Lord, let us learn, to love one another. I’m reminded, Father, of Bob Jones, when he was brought into the heavenly realm, and the encounter that he had there with you. As there were two lines of people approaching Jesus, there was a line definitely not destined for heaven. But in the line when people were coming to encounter Jesus, the question that was asked every person in that line is, Did you learn to love? Now think about that. Did you learn to love?
So Father tonight, we here and those watching, and we as the body of Christ, Lord, may we learn to love. Open our eyes to see you, Jesus. Open our eyes to see you, God, because you are love. Yay. In Jesus name.
I want to start with Bible verses about relationship, because I believe that because we are reconciled to the Father through the blood of Jesus, we can be reconciled to one another. I am reminded of what was said in the book of John: Look at those disciples, how they love one another. And unfortunately in many areas in the body of Christ, you don’t see that.
I’m not talking about tolerating sin. There is a place where you speak the truth of God in love, but it’s always in love. Anytime you receive ministry, or you receive a word, a prophecy, it should always have a redemptive edge. It should always be in love. Love should be our motivating factor.
I Corinthians 13:1-8. If I speak in the tongues of men or angels but do not have love, I’m only a resounding gong and a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor, and give over my body to hardship that I may boast but do not have love, I have gained nothing.
Love is patient. Love is kind. Love does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others.
Let’s just stop right there. If we thought before we opened our mouths, what we were going to do, what we were going to say, how it was going to affect somebody else, there are a lot of things that ought not to be said.
It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.It never fails.
So for our theme to be love—Let us love one another—if the love of God is released in every gathering that is standing on the theme this year, think how it would affect our nation. And it will affect our nation. I decree it will affect the nation. It will affect unbelievers. It will affect our nation.
The Lord releases righteousness for 70 days, now is when we’re going to release the love of God. That’s amazing. It is the goodness of God. It is the lovingkindness of God that draws men unto repentance. The reason we came to him is because he loved us first. We don’t love him first. He loves us first. Isn’t that amazing? Yay.
Romans 12:9-10. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Sometimes I just want to take one scripture and say, Can we just live this for a little while? What if we just loved one another for a month? Everything we did in our homes—love one another. 12205
One of the greatest, life-changing experiences that I had in personal conversation was when I was about 24 years old. We had an exchange student who came and lived with us from Sweden. On her application she said that she was a believer, because exchange students want to find homes in America. And most people overseas, at least then, believed that everybody in America was a Christian. So if you put Christian on your resume, then that was maybe a shoo-in. But actually, she was agnostic.
So you have a nonbeliever that is living in your home for nine months. If we treated Jesus like he really is there, it would really change our conversation. Now, where I was raised and the way my parents raised me, you respect people. And when they’re in your home, you don’t air out your dirty laundry. In other words, losing it and getting mad and showing out, raising your voice and being ugly in front of company, is not acceptable. If you operate that way, and you begin to live that way on a daily basis, you begin to live I Corinthians 13 or you begin to do that. Would that I could say that it was Jesus that made me change. He did it for me. Because my prayer was, Oh God, help me not react, but respond.
Her being there totally changed me. God did it as a witness to her. And part of it was upbringing. Have you been around someone who acts ugly in public? It’s embarrassing. It does something to you even if you’re not involved in it. Fear, oh my gosh. It’s just not a good thing. It opens up. It brings in spirits. And God doesn’t want that for us. He wants love and peace and joy—righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost—to permeate us.
He wants us to walk in love. To live in love. He doesn’t want us to just love with lip service. He wants us to love with our whole heart. It’s just the truth. I believe part of the problem is that the body of Christ has not walked in love. We haven’t. There are some people that do but there are a lot of people that don’t. It’s divisive. There are walls. There is division. I’m not saying to change denomination. But I can tell you this, the 70 days when we entered into Communion with Briskilla, I got a global vision of the church. I got more than a global vision because the church is not a global church. The church is an eternal church. It’s the church in heaven and in the earth and it’s one church.
When God looks at the church, he looks at the Church, every true born-again believer. And the love of God is in you and me. We’ve been conceived in love. God’s whole plan was about love. God is love. When you start talking about the love of God, some people go blah blah blah, I don’t want to hear that love of God stuff. Well, you have missed the mark. You’ve missed the mark.
That doesn’t mean that we’re not warriors. That doesn’t mean that we’re not an army. That does not mean that we’re not an ekklesia, because you can bet we are. Because we’re in a war. But the core of our heart is love—loving God and being loved by him. Because you will not go out on the battlefield and fight for somebody you don’t love. You will not lay your life down for somebody you don’t love.
If you are a real mom and you’ve ever had a baby, and some of this will go for dads, when your child is little and they want you to hold them or rub their back or whatever, I never got tired of that with my babies. I never got tired of rocking my babies, because I just loved them. My hip, with Kimble and Anna, too. I had them on my hip. They were not little babies. Kimble III weighed 10 lb. 4 oz. when he was born and I would carry a 15 month to 2 year old on my hip. And I was probably about 20 pounds lighter.
So one morning I got up and the right hip was (out of place) when I stood up because of carrying the weight on it. Love. And that’s just (parent/child) love. Then when you start walking with the Lord and you go deeper with him and you’re aware that he is presenting himself with you, it will change how you act.
Mark 12:29-31. “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all our mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
I believe that if we love the Lord our God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, and with all of our strength, it is an automatic that you’re going to love your neighbor. And I really do believe that. You can’t love him with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength and not have him fill you to overflowing with his love. My encounter with the love of God just makes you want to love people.
This business of, I love Jesus but I hate his wife, well, then you really haven’t been perfected in love. That sounds like a cute little saying, but if you don’t love the body of Christ, you don’t have the love of God in you to the place where you need to have it. I’m going to say this.
There are liberal churches in this day and in this nation and around the world. I do not agree with their doctrine that deviates from the written Word of God, the foundational truths. But if they have said Yes to the Lord Jesus Christ and they are born again. They are born of the Spirit. This is the thing. They are part of the body. And they might be in a mess, but our part is still to love.
It doesn’t mean that we agree with people. We don’t agree with sin. We don’t agree with lifestyles. We don’t agree with what does not line up with the truth of God’s Word. But there is a right way to speak into those situations, and then there is a wrong way that does more harm than good. You speak the truth in love. There’s the key. If you’re mad when you’re doing the speaking, then you’ve already lost. Just saying.
So when you know you’re going to be in a situation and you’re going to speak into somebody’s life, process it out in prayer with the Lord.
I’ve been so mad at a circumstance or situation or stupidity, because people wouldn’t listen, even when they were counseled, This is going to be a train wreck. Don’t go marry that individual. Don’t go do that deal. I’ve seen people come out of the fire, be delivered from an abusive relationship, and go back in the same thing. Three husbands later or two wives later, you’re like, Hello! And then they’re going to do it again.
And then they’re going to come crying, Oh dear God, what have I done? And you want to just raaaahhh! Let’s just lock you up a little while until you get over this thing and come to your senses. Initially it’s not good to talk to them. I’ve found out even in the hard conversations, if you’re mad, tell them you’re mad. He already knows it anyway. Just blow it out where the wind can take it.
And then let Him birth a burden in you for that individual or for that people group. And when you become broken, and not mad, then you’re ready to talk about it. All of us have talked to people when we’ve been so upset. If we’re hurt, wounded, mad, it just doesn’t go well. Just stop, drop and roll when you’re on fire. Stop, drop and roll. Stop, drop and roll. Stop. Drop, prayer position. And just Roll it over on Him. It’s his deal anyway. We’re just the mouthpiece. So as the vessel who is delivering the word of God, deliver the truth of God. Just be a vessel. Me first.
Romans 13:8. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.
Proverbs 17:17. A friend loves at all times.
How many of you know what fair-weather friends are? I can tell you right now that Wanda Sumrall is not a fair-weather friend. She has been one of my best friends since 1989. Oh, you’re saying she’s one of your best friends? Yeah, I am. She’s not a fair-weather friend. I have other friends like that. It doesn’t matter if I bit the dust, sinned to hell and back, she’d still be standing there. She might not like it. She might tell me the truth. I can guarantee you she would. But she’s not going to go anywhere. She’s still going to be standing there.
She and her husband were one of the first calls we made when Kimble III passed. I was in a wreck on 49 years ago coming back from ministry in Jackson with an intercessor. Her vehicle was totaled. It was a deal. I told Kimble to call Terry and Wanda. We needed their van. Where are your calls? A friend loves at all times.
I pray you know this about Kimble and me in this body. We are a phone call. We will be there. If you need us to come, we will come. Now, we’re not going to worry the stew out of you. We don’t operate that way. We’re an apostolic house. But if you need us, or you need prayer, or you are bleeding, we are not fair-weather leaders. A friend loves at all times.
Romans 13:10. Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Who is your neighbor? Your best friend? No. Who is your neighbor? Everyone. I do believe there are things that the Word requires and asks of us, and we need to know the distinction between a believer and a nonbeliever. I think sometimes people have been misguided because they expected in helping people that they were fulfilling what the Word of God said, and it wasn’t addressed to the world. It was addressed to helping a brother or a sister. You be careful who you bring into your home. It’s balance.
Proverbs 20:6-7. Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them.
I Corinthians 13:13. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Ephesians 4:2-3. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
We had worship leaders who were with us at New Covenant, Mike and Vickie Danielson. Vickie had helped us with youth ministry at Grace. Just a long-time relationship with this couple. Terry and Kathy Marshall were also part of New Covenant and they visit here sometimes. Terry was helping Vickie on a work project and Vickie had a standard-shift truck on it’s last leg. They got on the hilly part of 16th Avenue in Laurel. The battery was bad and they were trying to get to a place to get a new one.
To start it, Terry told Vickie to pop the clutch as he was pushing and pushing and pushing on 16th Avenue. Terry was saying let off the clutch, let off the clutch 7 or 8 times and it would never start. He said, I don’t understand why it didn’t crank. He had pushed up hills and got to the next hill, lost his shoes, sweating down.
He said, You got the key on? She said, You mean I’m supposed to turn the key on? So he is standing at the driver window, barefoot on hot asphalt, in the middle of traffic, in the summer time, people everywhere, and goes: Love in, Love out. Love in, Love out. So next time just go: Love in, Love out. Love in, Love out.
I Peter 4:8. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Love in, Love out.
I John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
So if you really love, you really know him. I have really discovered that. Just encounters over the last two years, since Kimble III passed, encountering past friends and relationships that I knew he wasn’t a good influence on them and they weren’t a good influence on him. The love of God has superseded that, to embrace them and love them. In certain individuals I’ve seen relief, mercy, compassion, and freedom for me. Freedom. Because it’s a lot easier to let God love your ouchies and wounds away. And rather than being bitter, and blame-game—loving. And the thing about it is that it sets the person free. Especially if they feel guilty or responsible in any way. The thing about it is, that at the end of the day, if you’ve lost a loved one, they’re in heaven. My son would never want me to be angry at his friends. It’s the truth. Come above.
I John 4:11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
I John 4:21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Colossians 3:14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. So love is the uniting thing. We need unity in this nation, and it can’t be built on falsehood. But the love of God is the thing that will bind people together in unity, because it’s God.
I John 3:16-18. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
I think that’s important. Love in truth. Because when you do help someone, you need to make sure you’re empowering them and not enabling them.
I Corinthians 16:14 Do everything in love. Isn’t that amazing?
Scriptures about God’s Love
I John 4:7-8. Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love, does not know God because God is love.
John 4:9-12. And this is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
The only person I know you can live your life through is Jesus. It’s just the truth. You can’t live your life through a spouse. You can’t live your life through a child. The only one you can live your life through is Jesus.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. It’s like it completes the circuit.
Have you ever been speaking or talking to somebody and you could just feel the love of God overwhelm you for them? One of the things that I love so about the prophetic ministry is every time that I minister prophetically to an individual, I can feel the heart of God for that person.
There have been people that have said, I know that person and I know their lifestyle. You gave them a good word. How can you give them a good word? What about these prophets who give people a good word when they are ‘this’? Well, you know what? Betty Love, have you ever spoken correction to somebody? Absolutely. Have you ever had a corrective word for somebody? Absolutely. But it’s always redemptive.
And if I have a corrective word for somebody, the last thing I’m going to do is blast is in front of an audience. Because if God is going to correct me through somebody in a corrective word, I would not want it to be blasted before an entire congregation. I would much rather that individual pull me to the side and give me the word.
Now, have there been times that people have been required to do that? Oh yeah, there have. But you better be sure that you know that you know that you know. For the most part, the reason God is going to give a good word to somebody, that maybe in the natural doesn’t even look like they deserve that kind of word, is that it’s an opportunity to reach in and apprehend the person. Because it is the goodness of God, it’s the lovingkindness of God, to bring that individual to repentance.
The other thing is, that person might be the very next Billy Graham or whoever. You don’t know. And when that word goes forth, it apprehends them, because God could see what Peter was going to be. Jesus saw what Peter was going to be. He knew he was going to deny him, but in the first encounter he says, Go and tell the disciples and Peter. Because the Peter that had denied, the worst of the worst that had denied the Lord, was going to be the one who would stand up on the day of Pentecost and 3000 people were going to get saved.
What about Paul? Write him off? Murderer. God didn’t write him off. Because the Lord saw the end from the beginning. He knew what was written in the book. So I will not be manipulated by people to give an ugly word to somebody because you don’t think they deserve a good word from God. And if it is a word and it is corrective, and I’ve had those words before, you probably won’t ever hear it. You hear me? There might be another witness or elder or mature believer that I would call to stand.
And if you’re doing that kind of word, I encourage you and admonish you, bring a leader or somebody mature to stand there as a witness when you give that word. But not somebody that is going to go out and uncover them to the world. Because love covers. It’s just God. All of you know that’s the truth.
I John 4:16-18. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
I John 4:19. We love because he first loved us.
I would encourage you to read I John. John wrote the love book, now. He just did.
Father, we thank you for tonight. Lord, I thank you for family in this room, for everybody in this house tonight and those watching. Father, I thank you for one blood, one body, one Lord, one Spirit. I thank you, Lord, for the love of God, your love that unites us in the bond of peace.
Father, tonight I release the blood-covered light of Jesus Christ to cover the body of Christ in this nation. I pray that as we sleep, that you would so encompass us about with your lovingkindness, Lord, that it would be an opportunity to draw prodigals, to draw those that are away from you, to draw the broken to you, Lord. And as we awaken the dawn on May 2, Lord, may your love be poured out on a nation again. And Lord, may we be changed in Jesus mighty name. Amen and Amen. Love in, Love out.