Sunday, July 19, 2009

Ground Zero Theology by Robert Ricciardelli

Joyce and I recently chatted with friends about what the Lord has been showing us. Here was Joyce’s reply that I whole heartily agree with;

“God has been reducing my theology to loving Him with all that I am, and loving others with His love. “

Matthew 22:37-40
37Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.


Jesus gave His life to fulfill all the law, and all the commandments that we could never fulfill, and then presented us with His new commandment, that we love.

It seems like theology and doctrine that does not bring life needs to be reconsidered. We have created quite a mess in the messed up mindsets of doctrine, theology, and religion. We have had a severe famine in the agape love of God, the very thing Jesus said was everything.

1John 4:19- We love each other because he loved us first.
It is time we come down to ground zero of our faith as He takes us from the pinnacle of powerless religious activities to becoming ambassadors of His divine nature, and His Glorious Kingdom.

It takes God to love God!
Our love can only join His as we engage in loving Him and loving others in His “Most Excellent Way.” Everything of the Kingdom originates with God. Father is Agape… He is Love. The essence of the Kingdom is returning to the Father, His love in the purest form, 30, 60, 100 fold, for His glory.

I have heard of a ship that is now built that is fueled with Plutonium. The Ship does not need to be refueled for 35 years. The Plutonium of God is His agape love, and as His people we need to be fueled for every good work, by His divine agape.

Jesus plus nothing is Everything!
Jesus said that if you had seen Him, you had seen the Father, and that He and the Father are one. By His obedience, death, and ressurection, we have been included in the mix;

John 17:22-23
22“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me, and that you love them as much as you love me.

Jesus was the Incarnate of the Father and now has established us as the Incarnate of the Father to bring His government to the earth. How is this done? By His Agape presence within us and His Agape presence as we relate to a hurting world.

The Kingdom of God does not need or want revival. It just is… Revivals often turn into man centered and man controlled environments, and then they end. They are not bad, just inadequate in light of His Kingdom. The Kingdom has no end, so that is what I am pursuing.

Matthew 6:33
Seek first the Kingdom of God, and live in His righteousness, and Father will give you everything you need.

Religion loses its plutonium, (agape) and functions on principles… Gifts that the Lord has given us can be operated outside of love, and can manifest through personal agenda’s in the form of manipulation and control.

Faith plus anything without Love is Dead

Galatians 5:4-6 I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love

May we all seek after His “Most Excellent Way”, the way of His Kingdom, and an authentic visitation that overwhelms us in the embrace of His Agape…..

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous19 July, 2009

    This is amazingly simple yet extremely profound!
    Thanks for feeding your congregation all over the world.

    JPF

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous27 July, 2009

    What was it that Job was walking in during the days when he delivered the oppressed from the devices of evil? (See Job 29)

    Wasn't it love that caused Moses to sit in judgment hearing all the things that came to him
    by the people of God?

    He did that out of love for God didn't he?

    Didn't Jethro the priest of Midian out of love for God, give Moses a wise word from the Lord?
    (See Exodus 18:19-23)

    And didn't Deborah out of love for God minister
    to Israel under the palm tree? (see Judges 4:5)

    Didn't Solomon out of love for God make a porch
    in his house where he might deliver? (see I Kings 7:7)

    And didn't Jehoshaphat set judges in the land
    to deliver, out of love for God? (see II Chron 19:4-7)

    Didn't Isaiah prophecy out of love for God in
    Isaiah 58:6? (see also Isaiah 10:1,2)

    And didn't Jeremiah prophecy in Jer 22 out of his love for God, to save Israel?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous27 July, 2009

    Correction:

    Jeremiah prophesied to Judah in Jer 22, for at that time the kingdom was divided.

    He did it out of love for God, for God was with him.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Terrific post. Tweeted. Blessings,
    Robin

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'd say He hasn't reduced anything. To love is an enormous undertaking. How do we "love" our neighbor? It entails so very much. If you focus on Love, you can only get deeper and deeper into the "theology" of what true Christian love is all about. The Kingdom of God, as we pray in the Lord's prayer, must be here ON EARTH as it is in Heaven. I disagree with your point that it just is. We are put here on this earth to build His Kingdom. Our churches need Reformation, and that is what we must pray and work for.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Circumcision can be just about anything can't it? Could it be what brand of motorcycle I ride
    if I ride in a motorcycle club? Genuine acceptance might depend on such a thing. But then it's not really genuine is it, unless a certain brand of motorcycle has the power to make a man right.

    What if a man is in a church that says, "We believe Jesus is God.", and the man says, "I believe Jesus is the Son of God.", and one says
    "Jesus is both God and the Son of God.", and the man says, "I don't necessarily agree with you as I believe Jesus is the Son of God."?

    Q. When did Jesus become God?
    A. He's been God from everlasting.
    B. He's been the Son of God from eternity.
    C. When men began to worship Jesus (and right
    fully so) men began to develop their theo-
    logy for the acceptance of men.

    What's the best answer?

    Isn't Jesus all that God is? (discern this)

    ReplyDelete

Please click Follow above to follow blog