OTC 18: Going Forth to Him

Love is known as the "greatest commandment." But if love must be freely given, how can you "command" love? In this episode we consider what the Law of Love is all about, why it is impossible for us to obey it, and how God empowers us to fulfill it in spite of our weakness.Chip Brogden is a best-selling author, teacher, and former pastor who shares "real, simple, truth" about a Christ-centered faith that is based on relationship, not religionIf you’d like to get additional teachings, audio recordings, books, and other Christ-centered resources to help you grow spiritually, visit ChipBrogden.com.

Love is known as the "greatest commandment." But if love must be freely given, how can you "command" love? In this episode we consider what the Law of Love is all about, why it is impossible for us to obey it, and how God empowers us to fulfill it in spite of our weakness.Chip Brogden is a best-selling author, teacher, and former pastor who shares "real, simple, truth" about a Christ-centered faith that is based on relationship, not religion.If you’d like to get additional teachings, audio recordings, books, and other Christ-centered resources to help you grow spiritually, visit ChipBrogden.com.

True faith leads to fearlessness – boldness, confidence, and assurance – that, regardless of whether I understand things, regardless of whether I like them, regardless of whatever thing I am faced with or forced to go through, God is Who He says He is, and He will do what He says He will do.

Why doesn’t God do something? Why doesn’t God heal me? Why didn’t God prevent this from happening? How long must I wait? How long before the answer comes? These are a sampling of complaints from the frustrated soul, sometimes breathed out in prayer to God, often muttered under our breath to no one in particular, and frequently rehearsed over and over again in our mind. When we look at our environment, we are rewarded with Frustration. But even a negative emotion like frustration can be used for a holy purpose. It is a journey all of us must take that brings us from Frustration to Faith.

As we draw near to the second coming of Christ there is a prophetic urgency that brings both the same promise and the same meaning that John the Baptist did when he says that the axe is laid to the root of the tree. He is coming to thoroughly purge His threshing floor. He's going to separate wheat from chaff. Also, in Malachi it talks about how, “He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them as gold and silver are refined.” He’s going to separate the dross from the pure. Separate sheep from goats, foolish from wise.Well, it happened once; and I believe it's going to happen again, and it is happening, as God raises up the same spirit and power of Elijah here in these last days: to warn God's people to "come out of her" so that they don't suffer the same judgment.

When you look to the Word of God – not to a man, not to a movement, but to the Word of God – you actually see that the condition of the church in the last days has already been prophesied. We know exactly what to expect. We know exactly what to look for. Not only has it been prophesied, but we actually have a spiritual parallel in the nation of Israel. We’ve been talking about John the Baptist, and how he prepared a place for the Lord in the wilderness, outside the camp. The whole story of John the Baptist reveals not only the spiritual importance, but also the prophetic significance, of the wilderness experience; and it teaches lessons you and I need to know as we also endeavor to follow Jesus outside the camp.

John the Baptist represents the spiritual journey of a person who is going outside the camp, outside of organized religion, and discovering the simplicity of Christ. John the Baptist had a profound revelation of Christ, and with that revelation came the realization that the religious system of Judaism could not be reformed or revived, but would have to be repudiated.