Love & Honor by Jesse Shamp

​The Lord has spoken to me a great deal this year regarding love. I do believe this is a fresh word for the Body at this time. The Lord has been giving me a greater understanding of the purpose of love than ever before. He has spoken to me about love towards others, and love towards His bride. God loves His bride, and how we talk about His bride matters to him. How we discern the members of His body, or His bride matters to him.  We must see God's bride the way that he does: through the eyes of faith, patience, and love. Remember, there is always someone that is counting on you to believe in them! Don't let them down!

• GROWING IN LOVE

"May the Lord cause you to increase and excel and overflow in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you." (1 Thessalonians 3:12 AMP)

Everything that we do and say must be filtered through the eyes of God's love, even when it comes to those who are not saved. They are in need of the love of Christ and the power of Christ. It could be said that miracles, signs, and wonders are expressions of God's love toward His bride and toward the lost. God longs to bring the harvest in through the demonstration of His love to the world through you and I. Paul said that through the truth spoken out of love, we will grow to become mature in Christ (Ephesians 4:15). Paul also said that love knits the hearts together (Colossians 2:2). The gospel + love is the recipe for unity. God's greatest desire is for us to grow together in Christ with love and respect for one another.

• THE GREATEST ANOINTING

The greatest anointing is not the anointing on an individual; it is the corporate anointing. It comes from a culmination of different anointings coming together.

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all in one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting" (Acts 21-3).

As the disiples gathered together, the fire fell, and a corporate anointing came. The church was birthed and something changed in a nation. 3,000 souls were saved as a result of this great anointing! I believe the key is that they were all in one accord; they were in agreement, as the early church was in one heart and mind (Acts 4:32). This same anointing came in Acts 4 also. Though we have experienced a level of the corporate anointing, I long for the day when the body of Christ comes to this place collectively. When the five fold ministry gifts come together in unity, we will see whole cities overshadowed by God's glory! Isaiah asked the question: Can a nation be born in a day? (Isaiah 66:8). I believe the greatest corporate anointing is yet to come, as the body of Christ comes to together in unity and agreement on the word of God, honoring one another in love. Love is a great place to start with seeing the fulfillment of this great anointing! We are all connected as we are members of His body. We are a family in Christ. Though there are different offices and different functions as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 12, we all need each other. No man is an island to himself. We need all the different flavors of those anointings and offices! They are precious to the Lord! We can take more ground for the kingdom collectively, rather than individually. This is why unity is so important. This greater anointing will never come without honor, love, and appreciation for one another. One can put a thousand to flight, but two can put ten thousand and to flight (Deuteronomy 32:30). We are truly stronger together than apart.

We must grow in the precious fruits of love and patience. We must know the enemy's strategy. We are not ignorant of his devices (2 Cor 2:11). His strategy is to bring dishonor and division. It is to bring the wrong form of discernment, which is accusation or faultfinding. Do not side with the enemy in accusing your brothers and sisters in Christ. The Bible says that faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). When we are truly motivated by love, we err on the side of honor, grace, and love. Honor is one of the greatest signs of maturity and humility. David truly modeled a lifestyle of honor. I truly believe that God is raising up a generation of Davids that are truly seeking the heart of the father that understand the importance of love and honor!

In His Love,
Jesse Shamp

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