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Major Kingdom/Apostolic Articles
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Freedom to Love - By Ron McGatlin
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed, John 8:36.
Religion brings bondage. Christ brings freedom. The bondages, restrictions, strife, and control of religion will only draw people until they meet the real love of God in Christ.
Hearts and lives are being filled with the love of God by the flow of the Holy Spirit bringing forth the character and nature of Christ (the very life of Christ) within.
When Christ from on high flowing through the manifest presence of God meets with the Christ within great joy and abundance of life bursts forth. Peace that goes beyond understanding settles upon the soul and joy unspeakable and full of glory overwhelms the circumstances of life and the very life of heaven is brought forth into the world. The love of God overfills us and is poured out to those around us. The overflow of God touches the world and evil must eventually give way to good.
The world will not be won and evil will not be overcome by religion. Only the pure love of God flowing through completely dedicated vessels who love not their lives to the death, will overcome.
Freedom in part is seen as the lack of external controls imposed by others. Religion always has a hierarchy of ruling people who impose there will with restrictions and performance demands. The world may in general seek to cast off all connections and commitments in an attempt to obtain the condition of unrestrained autonomy and the lack of being under authority of any form in their lives.
For the spiritually immature, external boundaries are needed but the people must be released as they mature. Continuing overbearing control will prevent the process of growing into a mature inner dependency on the love and guidance of God. Thus the person remains spiritually immature or retarded and will continue to submit to overbearing religious controls and may never experience the true love and resulting freedom in God.
Cult type activities evolve from the need of the spiritually immature people to be externally controlled. A hierarchy of human authority is established to rule over them under the guise of "spiritual authority". The people who should have matured in the love of God but are yet retarded in spiritual growth will allow, if not welcome, the control which often becomes abusive. The religious cult type activities include manipulation of the people by leaders who know how to apply pressure and to alternately reject or humiliate and then acknowledge, applaud and promote to control the religious followers.
This pattern is not just prevalent in those weird people somewhere in the desert or mountains or in some foreign culture. Most of the institutional church is to some degree yet involved with this wide spread religious pattern. Some are more veiled than others and may be impossible to spot by the people who have not yet truly experienced the real love in the manifest presence of God.
Great change is coming and is already now flowing upon some of God's people. As people are coming into the presence of the intimate love of God they are being broken in their soul and spirit. Selfish desires are fading and the Holy Spirit is pouring the love of God into their hearts. The character and nature of Christ is being formed within and their eyes are being opened to the religious stuff they have lived in but couldn't see before.
They are lovingly but firmly removing themselves from the religious order and becoming active in worshiping, praising, and intimately relating to God. It becomes natural for them to share the love that they have become with others. They are gathering in homes, the market places, the streets, conferences, small churches, parks and wherever.
The key is the real manifest presence and love of God. If the love of God is not flowing it does not matter how gifted a minister may be it will lead only to some form of religion.
The love of God is the key.
Follow God - Follow Love.
Lots of Love,
Ron
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