It is the ultimate freedom as well. There is nothing more sovereign in completeness than love.
COMMANDED TO LOVE – Derek Prince
My alternate title:
I’M JUST A POOL, FILL ME
James 2:8, “If you really fulfill ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself’, you will do well. So that law, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, is called two things: the perfect law and the royal law. It’s the perfect law because it includes all other laws. When you do that, you are obeying all law. And it’s the kingly law. And it’s the perfect law of freedom. This is very simple, but very profound. Nobody can stop you loving. If you have made your mind up to love, nobody can stop you. They can say all sorts of hard things about you; they can treat you in a very mean, miserable way. But they cannot stop you loving. So it’s the perfect law of liberty. Furthermore, it’s the perfect law because it contains all other laws. WHen you really love your neighbor fervently, with a pure heart, you keep all the other commandments. And it’s the perfect law of liberty. Who is totally free? The person who loves. Nobaody can stop you.
The perfect example of that is Jesus. They did everything to him: they beat him, they pierced his hands and his feet, they put a crown of thorns on his head, they gave him vinegar to drink, they abused him, they reviled him, but one thing they could not do was what? They could not stop him loving. He loved them to the end.
You see, if you love with that kind of love, nobody can stop you. It’s the perfect law of liberty. You are the only really free person on earth, because nobody can stop you doing it, what you want to do. Isn’t that wonderful? And there’s no shortage of people who need us. That’s one thing we cannot complain about. They’re not far from any of you. And they’re people who desperately need to be loved. They’re lonely, they’re not cared for, They have no answers… they’re desperate. And you don’t have to walk far from where you live to find people like that.
I’ve come to see that this is the purpose of God. It’s what God is waiting for.
There’s this fountain that God will sovereignly open up, it is not under your control, you don’t decide when it will happen. You see, there’s some things that don’t come without suffering. Suffering prepares the soil for that fountain.
Derek Prince recounts his experience in WWII, and that people who have been through tremendous danger and trials together develop very strong bonds. “Having been through it together, bonds people.” And I think Jesus wants to be bonded with us. And when we go through it together with him, we have a bond with him that cannot be broken.”
Will you make a scriptural commitment? Can you say ‘That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering.’ I realized that things come that way that cannot come any other way. God is a self-revealing God. He loves to reveal and share Himself. But I have realized that God has a deeper desire than that. He wants us to share what He goes through, to share His experiences with Him. When you go through the valley (of Bacca), you are sharing something very precious, very wonderful. You will come closer to the Lord than you’ve ever been. And that’s what God wants. He’s not interested in us suffering. What He’s interested in is sharing His suffering with us. It is a decision. How shall I express that decision? Lord, no matter what it takes, open that fountain in me. I don’t want to be superficial. I don’t want to be just a churchgoer. Lord, I want to be joy to your heart. I want you to be satisfied with ME. Not with what I do. But with me. I want to share fellowship with you in the deep places.
From Psalm 84: ‘As they pass through the valley of weeping, they make it to spring. The rain there also covers it with pools.” The word for rain there is the word that is used for the latta rain of the Holy Spirit, and I believe that’s where the latta rain falls. It covers the pools, it doesn’t cover every place: it covers the lowly places. And I have observed that, too. When the spirit of God moves, it’s the humble that get blessed. So people that have no claims, no pride, no self-righteousness; [saying] Lord, here I am, just a pool, fill me.”
Derek Prince, 4432 Commanded To Love