Posted: 04/28/2007 at 7:56pm | IP Logged

His Love Call To His Bride

By Ron McGatlin

The reality of being spiritually in love with Jesus is the force that will change the world.

Once we understand that our natural affections and romantic feelings are a replica of the spiritual for making us aware of our relationship with God, the door is opened to the most fulfilling life with God possible in this world. How could we ever understand the love and longing of God and our passionate need for Him if God had not given us natural affection as a picture?

Re: (Genesis 2:18-25)

Adam was created and communed with God before having a wife.
Jesus was with the Father from the beginning and also had no wife.

God formed a wife for Adam from Adam's body.
God is forming a wife for Christ Jesus from His Body.

God instructed man to leave his original state and be joined to and cleave to his wife.
Christ Jesus left His original state in heaven to be joined to and cleave to His Bride/Wife.

The man and his wife are to be open, transparent, and intimate with one another.
Christ Jesus and His Bride/Wife are to be open, transparent, and intimate with one another.

The man and his wife are to become one flesh (one with one another).
Christ Jesus and His Bride/Wife are to become one.

Re: (Ephesians 5:22-33)

The husband is to deeply and tenderly love his wife.
Jesus loves the church (Bride/Wife) and gave himself for her.

The wife is to be subject, submit, and adapt to her husband.
The Bride/Wife of Christ is to be subject to, submit to, and adapt to Christ Jesus.

The husband is the head of the wife.
Christ Jesus is the head of the church (Bride/Wife).

Adam, made in the image and likeness of God, had no mate. Among all creation there was not found a suitable mate to receive the natural love within Adam. So it was with God. Man was created to become the spiritual mate to Spirit God. Human beings are the only beings in all creation formed in the image and likeness of God and suitable to be the object of His passionate love. The spiritual Bride is being formed from the Body of Christ just as Adam’’s mate was built up from his body. The longing of God for His mate is like the longing in mankind--His replicated image and likeness.

Experiencing passionate love and oneness with God

Probably the most frequent question that I am asked is in regard to how a person can move into the real passionate fire of the love of God and experience deep love and life-changing oneness with God? Pay close attention, that question is about to be answered.

There are natural hormones released within people that draw them into natural romance. Looking at the person of our affection and especially gazing into the eyes of one another releases a flow of hormones. As it is in the natural, so it is in the spiritual.

There are spiritual hormones released within our spirits that draw us to Jesus in passionate love. As it is in a natural romance, the presence of Jesus in the Spirit causes a release of spiritual hunger (hormones) that draws us to Him. His spiritual delicate, soft, sweet smile and the loving, longing look in His spiritual eyes cause an explosion of love within us. His love call is irresistible if we continue to look into His spiritual eyes.

The only way His call will be resisted is by turning our face away from Him and looking elsewhere. The love of the spirit of the world also has a powerful draw. If we look to the spirit of the world, we will be drawn with strong affection toward the things of the world and will move toward them and not toward God.

We must experience what it means to keep your eyes upon Jesus, look full into His wonderful face and fall in love with Him alone. Stop! This cannot become a trite religious slogan but a deep and real personal reality. Most who fail to fall in love with Him are already in love with another. They have another lover. Their spiritual hormones within are being stimulated, which creates a strong drawing to another spirit. Many things or spirits may be involved. However, they all relate to the spirit of the world or the spirit of religion. Many may seem noble and good or greatly pleasurable and temporarily rewarding. However, turning our face toward any of them will stop us from gazing into the spiritual face of Jesus and falling in love with Him.

The natural affections between a man and a woman in love are strong and life changing. If the man and the woman are good, righteous people, then the life changes will be good for both. However, if either or both are infested with evil in their hearts the life changes may be bad. If we are in love with the spirits of the world or religion, our lives will not be holy and righteous. Many have had bad experiences falling in love both in the natural and in the spiritual. Some have whole-heartedly looked into the face and fallen in love with religious stuff or worldly stuff that in the end left them with much pain. The spiritual hunger in them was released toward the wrong lover.

Due to past experiences, many people approach a natural or spiritual romantic relationship with great caution and fear. Some people react with caution and fear when the presence of God draws them toward Himself. Meeting His spiritual longing gaze and looking upon his soft, faint smile stirs their spiritual hormones and fear causes them to quickly turn away. Usually they turn toward something seemingly safer such as spiritual wilderness isolation. Some will turn toward an old familiar lover from the spirits of religion or the world.

Replacements for Jesus

Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, is the only head of the Body and the only Husband of His chosen Bride. The gathered called out people of God (the ekklesia) are His family. Due to the lack of the presence of Christ by the Holy Spirit, the religious church developed a system of governance apart from the true head and attempted to represent the head, Christ Jesus, to the people.

Among the many problems generated by this departure from the ekklesia system is that in many ways the leaders became replacements for Jesus. This has often led to the affection designed for Jesus becoming focused on them. The spiritual hormones were stirred and a romance developed with pastors and leaders with the affection that was intended for Jesus. Obviously anyone in that situation cannot fall in love with Jesus. They have another lover and Jesus will not push Himself on anyone. His love will draw us. However, the decision to turn toward only Him and away from others is one that we must make.

How people are hurt in church

The spiritual affection within us for Jesus causes us to be so in love that we give our all to Him. In the case of the replacements for Jesus, because of that affection people will give their all including their money, time, and loyalty. This really becomes complicated because the leaders and the system are not Jesus and do not posses His flawless character. No man or system is designed to do what only Jesus can do. They become tempted by the deep affection of people and may take for themselves from the people. The people can easily confuse the spiritual passion burning within them for natural affection and many immoral relationships develop to the painful detriment of all involved.

How people are healed in Jesus

Pain always works to make us bitter or better, depending on how we respond to it. If we respond in resentment and fear, pain will become bitterness and poison our life and harm others. If, however, we turn our faces toward the drawing love of Jesus and experience the true love of God flowing into our being, we can forgive everyone and everything that has previously harmed us and instantly our pain becomes an increased flow of passionate love. We have more love and more desire for Jesus because of the pain we have suffered and forgiven.

The world will be changed, not by armies and not by religion, but by the pure holy passionate love of Jesus flowing into His people and out to the dry thirsty people of the world. There is no other way. The passionate love of God that draws us into deep spiritual passionate love with Him and consumes our hearts and lives completely will conquer the world.

Rom 5:5: Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Rom 8:39: nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Keep on pursuing Him.
His love will never fail.

Ron McGatlin

archive.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

Posted: 04/29/2007 at 8:32am | IP Logged

When I look into Your holiness
When I gaze into Your loveliness
When all things that surround
Become shadows in the light of You

I worship You, I worship You
The reason I live is to worship You
I worship You, I worship You
The reason I live, is to worship You

When I've found the joy of reaching Your heart
When my will becomes enthroned in Your love
When all things that surround
Become shadows in the light of You

I worship You, I worship You
The reason I live is to worship You
I worship You, I worship You
The reason I live, is to worship You

Posted: 04/29/2007 at 11:12am | IP Logged

Thank You Ron for ministering to us In the Lord! I just hafta testify for a minute, The Lord"s Love Call! Oh my Goodness! All week! I"ve been hearing and recieveing this from the Lord! For day"s now! And feeling and experiencing His divine pressance saturate me! And everytime I experience this I Am overwhelmed, like words just cant explain! There"s just so much I wanna say or testify about this Love but I cant! I dont wanna talk too much I just wanna enjoy and absorb all this from the Lord! (still gettin filled) but I do want to say, Is this is my hearts desire! Out of all the things I prayed and asked God for I alway"s said, Lord I want you! I wanna know your Love! And its funny cause He spoke a word to me one day and said, Susan...You will know my Love! (he gave me a promise!) and I realized at that moment that I have had some experience, or glimpses, some revelation yet not enough! I still dont fully know or understand His Love? But He said I will! I"ve held onto this promise for a long time Ron, I remember for years, stuck in an abusive cycle, abusive relationships, I mean everyday for a long time being surrounded by hatefull people, who cursed at me and spoke angry words at me told me I was not good enough and not loved! There was no evidence anywhere in the natural that I could find for me to see the Love of God! Yet I still believed! I sat in my prison, and I dreamed! I dreamed about the Love of God! (How God speaks to me, How God will treat me) and I would go off into another world! This helped me to survive! Now I realize Love is alway"s right there, yet we must be open to recieve it and by faith! And I believe that in an instant when it comes we are changed and there"s no denying it! Also it seems to me that there are diffrent levels of Love? And lately it seems to me that there has been an increase even in the Body of Christ, Today as I woke I went to the word of God and recieved, 2 thess:1 Faith is growing more and more, and Love is increasing! Then the Lord brings me psalm:36 Your Love O Lord! Reaches to the Heavens! No coincedence! Then I read this!

Love from God for me is just someting I can"t figure out, (yet I dont have too) I do know that I just need to continue to experience this everyday! Just thankfull I can! (Now my heart burns for all to know His Love!) I hear a song...More Love! More Power! More of You In My Life!

(gee I didnt want to talk too much! But I just had to share this with you!) It"s Okay? Smiles! Let the Love of God consume us! Amen!

Posted: 04/29/2007 at 6:07pm | IP Logged

YOU ARE A BLESSING RON!!

(((HUGS)))) TO ALL!!

Posted: 04/29/2007 at 6:30pm | IP Logged

Thanks to all of you for your awesome comments.

Susan, the road to experiencing this passionate intimate love is through abuse and pain. When we seek to be intensely in love with Him and ask Him to show us how, the next thing we know people are despising us and abusing or seriously rejecting us. Usually, it is only later that we realize that in all this He is showing us how to be in love with Him by allowing all this unjust treatment. Until we have no pride or nothing left to defend and come to truly forgive from the heart all who have harmed us, we cannot know this intimate real love. The more pain the more love we will experience. Pain + Resentment = Bitterness.   Pain + Forgiveness = More Love.

Pain always works to make us bitter or better, depending on how we respond to it. If we respond in resentment and fear, pain will become bitterness and poison our life and harm others. If, however, we turn our faces toward the drawing love of Jesus and experience the true love of God flowing into our being, we can forgive everyone and everything that has previously harmed us and instantly our pain becomes an increased flow of passionate love. We have more love and more desire for Jesus because of the pain we have suffered and forgiven.

Ron

Posted: 04/29/2007 at 8:58pm | IP Logged

DO WE COUNT THE PRICE?

When my mind wanders

And I think of my loss

It matters not

When I think of the cross

Lord there is always a cost

To follow you

But when you died

There was no payment due

You had paid the price

For the sin of the world

For every boy

And every girl

What are we willing

To sacrifice

Is it too much?

Do we count the price?

When my mind wanders

And I think of my loss

It matter not

When I think of the cross

THANK YOU JESUS FOR LOVING US!!!!

Posted: 04/30/2007 at 2:55am | IP Logged

When I think of Our Saviour I see His Beauty, Oh how beautiful He is! I 'see' His Love coming down like rain and every single rain drop has His Name in it. This also makes me very very sad. I think: 'What a waste!' He is the One who is Worthy and yet, we people don' t see that, we don' t truly realize how beautiful He is. He is so Good to us! We waste His Love! Then this thought comes to my mind: 'Oh, I would LOVE to see a preacher in front of all the people he preaches to, weeping and crying and crawling because of all the waste of God' s Love and because of the ingnorence of us all'. We should all do that! We should all together cry on our knees, our faces down: 'Oh, God, Oh, Lord, forgive us our sins! Forgive us! Forgive us! You have loved us so much but we didn' t really want to come to you! We looked back, we thought about all the losses and costs that there would possibly be or had been! But there is no such thing as loss or cost cause your love, our Jesus, covers it all!

Song of Solomon 8:7 'Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.'

God Bless you all!

petra

Posted: 05/02/2007 at 4:17am | IP Logged

Thank you, Ron, for bringing more confirmation and peace to me in the place that I am.

Blessings,Deanna

Posted: 05/03/2007 at 4:50pm | IP Logged

Psa 37:4  Delight yourself in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Posted: 05/03/2007 at 5:27pm | IP Logged

AMEN, BROTHER RON..."WHAT THE RIGHTEOUS DESIRE WILL BE GRANTED"...AS I HAVE BEEN PRAYING & SPEAKING PS.103 HOLY SPIRIT HAS REVEALED HE GIVES US KINGDOM DESIRES WHICH IS, "HE SATIFIES MY DESIRES WITH GOOD THINGS"     PS.103:5...THIS IS BEING NO LONGER CONFORMED TO PATTERN OF THIS WORLD, BUT ONES MIND IS TRANSFORMED TO THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM, KINGDOM MINDSET!  GLORY TO GOD!!! CHANGING US FROM GLORY TO GLORY TO GLORY!!!  Love you ALL 

Posted: 07/27/2007 at 5:57pm | IP Logged

GOD IS LOVE!!!

IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE!!!!

Posted: 07/28/2007 at 2:21pm | IP Logged

I jusr re-read this...and had this thought

If we are deeply intimate with the Lord He will flow in us His love that He has for those around us who do not know Him.

It will not be religious or dutiful, but genuine

If I am not abiding in Him, I am dry and I am unable to give life giving water to those around me...hmmm I think my spirit is understanding this a bit better. I'm still chewing on alot. I hope to write when I can formulate it into words better...

Posted: 07/28/2007 at 3:39pm | IP Logged

IIt will not be religious or dutiful, but genuine

If I am not abiding in Him, I am dry and I am unable to give life giving water to those around me...hmmm I think my spirit is understanding this a bit better. I'm still chewing on alot. I hope to write when I can formulate it into words better...

</quote>

YES JANINE THAT IS RIGHT...

Posted: 10/30/2010 at 11:58am | IP Logged

HIS LOVE BURNS ALL THE DROSS!!!!

Posted: 10/30/2010 at 3:17pm | IP Logged

I have noticed over the years that the more I am around Jesus the more careful I am to not displease Him or disappoint Him. In that, obedience comes so much more easily.

When He has come to visit, it has been not so much as God, but as family, and a dear friend who is full of wisdom, posessing great authority. He is so approachable. Always ready with an answer.

Sometimes in conversation He will say something that hits me as really funny. I laugh and He laughs. He is not some strict authoritarian looking for you to make some mistake. He is Love and has personality. He enjoys a good laugh just as we do.

As an aside, I wonder if any of you have noticed how much emphasis is being put out in peoples messages and sermons lately on hearing the voice of God. That seems to be one of the messages of this "season".

Glory!

Posted: 11/21/2010 at 4:21am | IP Logged

Thank you Ron! Great message! Helped me tremendously! God bless You!

BUMP

Posted: 11/21/2010 at 8:55am | IP Logged

 Yes good word Ron , if only they taught intimacy in all the churches and the street ministries . like Moses said "I desire that all men would prophecy ".

 Hear God's voice , it only takes a minute for breakthrough !

Posted: 11/21/2010 at 1:38pm | IP Logged

 Wow ! Today the pastor was encouraging the people to journal to receive details from the Lord so they walk not in their own understanding but allow The Lord to guide their every step \o/ . Its about time huh ! He was teaching on Proverbs 3:5-8 ...