Faith in Forgiveness.

Yesterday we studied an excerpt from The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee, yet did not discuss any of it. Truthfully the excerpt is extensive and says so incredibly much it needs slow digesting, at least for me.

We know our Savior would have us to be His.

1Co 3:23  And ye are Christ's…

1Co_15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

2Co 10:7  Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.

Gal_3:29  And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Gal_5:24  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Can you say you are Christ's?

We need to be able to say we are Christ's.

Satan would have us DOUBT that we are Christ's. If we believe that we are embroiled in a spiritual warfare  then to comprehend that Satan can accuse us and make us feel guilty of sin to suit his purpose is paramount.

These words--  'The child of God should adopt a neutral attitude towards every accusation. He should not take any action before he is assured as to the source of it. He must not be hasty, rather, he should wait quietly for assurance as to whether it is indeed the chiding of the Holy Spirit or but the charge of the evil spirit. If it originates with the Holy Spirit, he will then deal with it honestly. The believer’s present waiting is due to his uncertainty and not to rebellion. Nevertheless, he absolutely must resist making all confessions to men which are motivated by sheer force from outside, for the enemy often tries to compel him to do this. Real conviction from the Holy Spirit leads us to holiness while the aim of Satan is solely to accuse.'

This is an ACTIVE spiritual life, this duty we have to comprehend our own sins. Are they real sins? Or is Satan stirring us up to believe that we have sins that can never be forgiven? Does Satan bring to mind our past sins that have long been forgiven just to stir up our feelings to try and lead us to despair? Does Satan try to get us to doubt God's forgiveness? Why do we heed Satan and distrust God's word? If we have truly repented and confessed our sins the God has forgiven us. Do you feel a sense of disbelief because the wickedness is so great and seemingly unforgiveable? Then you are doubting Christ's sacrifice and the power of that sacrifice. If the sin keeps haunting us we need to use our shield of faith against it and as soon as the haunting begins counter it with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. We need to ask ourselves if we've repented, if we've confessed, and then ask ourselves if we believe in the forgiveness our Savior offers.  If the answers are yes to all of those questions then we need to stop listening to the accusations. If we can't stop listening to them because Satan is badgering us, then when we hear the accusations we need to stop believing them.  If a person is accused of something they didn't do and someone relentlessly accuses them of it, do they ever believe they've done it? Maybe if they are tortured to that end, brain washed, they might through sheer mental and emotional distress, but otherwise you can't convince someone they've done something they haven't. We have to believe just as strongly that we are forgiven, we have to be convinced of it and nothing Satan tries to get us to believe can affect us, can get us to believe otherwise. Faith, we need that faith. And by the grace and mercy of our Lord we will have that faith.  We can't let ourselves be led by our feelings, but rather the truth as it is in our Savior Jesus Christ!

More on this tomorrow by the will of our Lord!

All in HIS amazing LOVE now and forever!

Amen.

Satan Accuses Us- Guilty or Not.

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Dan 9:4  And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 

Dan 9:5  We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 

Dan 9:6  Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 

Dan 9:7  O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 

Dan 9:8  O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 

Dan 9:9  To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 

Dan 9:10  Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 

Dan 9:11  Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 

Dan 9:12  And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 

Dan 9:13  As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 

Dan 9:14  Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. 

Dan 9:15  And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 

Dan 9:16  O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 

Dan 9:17  Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. 

Dan 9:18  O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 

Dan 9:19  O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. 

(Excerpt from The Spiritual Man  by Watchman Nee)

'The Accusation of Satan

 Satan has another way to assault those who set their heart on following the leading of the spirit’s intuition. This is by counterfeiting or fasely representing one’s conscience with all sorts of accusations. To keep our conscience pure we are willing to accept its reproach and deal with whatever it condemns. The enemy utilizies this desire of keeping the conscience void of offense by accusing us of various things. In mistaking such accusations as being from our own consciences we often lose our peace, tire of trying to keep pace with the false accusations, and thus cease to advance spiritually with confidence. Those who are spiritual ought to be aware that Satan not only indicts us before God but also to ourselves. He does this to disturb us into thinking we ought to suffer penalty because we have done wrong. He is alert to the fact that the children of God can make no progress spiritually unless they have a heart full of confidence; consequently he falsifies the accusation of conscience in order to make them believe they have sinned. Then their communion with God is broken. The problem with believers is that they do not know how to distinguish between the indictment of the evil spirit and the reproach of conscience. Frequently out of fear of offending God, they mistake the accusation of an evil spirit to be the censure of conscience. This accusation grows stronger and stronger until it becomes uncontrollable if not listened to. Thus in addition to their willingness to yield to conscience’s reproof, spiritual believers should also learn how to discern the accusation of the enemy. What the enemy charges the saints of may sometimes be real sins, though more often than not they are merely imaginary—that is, the evil spirit makes them feel they have sinned. If they actually have sinned, they should confess it immediately before God, asking for the cleansing of the precious blood (1 John 1.9). Yet should the accusing voice still continue, it obviously must be from the evil spirit. Here is a matter of serious consequence. Before one knows how to differentiate between the reproach of conscience and the enemy’s accusation, he should ask himself whether or not he really abhors sin. If this particular thing is wrong, am I willing to confess my sin and eliminate it? If we truly desire to follow God’s will, not having yet heeded the accusing voice, we can be quite confident in our heart for it is not in us to want to rebel against God. Then, having determined to follow God’s will, we should examine ourselves as to whether or not we have actually committed that sin. We must know beyond the shadow of doubt whether or not we have done it, because the evil spirit frequently accuses us of many unrelated items. If we have done it, then before we confess to God, we first must find out through the teaching of the Bible and the leading of intuition, whether or not this thing is verily wrong. Otherwise, though we have not sinned, Satan will make us suffer for it just as though we had. The adversary is skillful in imparting all sorts of feelings to men. He may cause them to feel happy or sad; he may induce in them a feeling of guilt or of none whatsoever. But a child of God should understand that his feeling is not necessarily accurate when he thinks he is not wrong, for often he feels right when actually he is wrong. Moreover, he may not be wrong even when so feeling; it may be just his feeling and not be factually grounded at all. Whatever he feels, he must test it out for sure so as to know where he really stands. The child of God should adopt a neutral attitude towards every accusation. He should not take any action before he is ascured as to the source of it. He must not be hasty, rather, he should wait quietly for assurance as to whether it is indeed the chiding of the Holy Spirit or but the charge of the evil spirit. If it originates with the Holy Spirit, he will then deal with it honestly. The believer’s present waiting is due to his uncertainty and not to rebellion. Nevertheless, he absolutely must resist making all confessions to men which are motivated by sheer force from outside, for the enemy often tries to compel him to do this. Real conviction from the Holy Spirit leads us to holiness while the aim of Satan is solely to accuse. He indicts us to make us indict ourselves. His motive is nothing other than to make Christians suffer. Sometimes after one has accepted the enemy’s imputation and confessed accordingly, Satan may next fill him with a false peace. This is no small danger for it deprives the believer of any real contrition over defeat. The reproach of conscience ceases once the sin is confessed and cleansed by the precious blood, but the accusation of the enemy continues even after what is accused has been dealt with. The former leads us to the precious blood; the latter drives us to despair, causing us to reckon ourselves irredeemable. The purpose of Satan is to engineer our fall through accusations: “Since we cannot be perfect,” sighs the believer resignedly, “then what is the use?” At times the accusation of Satan is added to the rebuke of conscience. The sin is real, but when it has been treated according to the mind of the Holy Spirit the accusation continues because the evil spirit has joined his indictment to the reproach of the conscience. It is therefore a matter of utmost concern that we preserve an uncompromising attitude towards sin: not merely yielding no ground to the enemy to indict but also learning how to differentiate between the reprimand of the Holy Spirit and the accusation of the evil spirit and learning how to distinguish what is exclusively the enemy’s charge from what is his charge mixed in with the reproach of conscience. We must realize most assuredly that the Holy Spirit never reproves further if the sin is cleansed by the precious blood and forsaken.'

Self-loathing, or pride- traps of self-focusing.

2Co_13:5  'Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith…'

We are to examine ourselves to what end? To KNOW whether or not we are in the FAITH.   We aren't to examine ourselves to judge whether we are good or bad.  If we examine ourselves to determine our own goodness, or badness, then we are convincing ourselves that we can be GOOD of our own self, and if bad of our own selves then we have the power to be good of ourselves and choose not to make ourselves good.  In TRUTH- only our Savior, only our GOD, only the Holy Spirit can claim goodness.  Jesus had this to say..

Luk_18:19  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

Why callest thou me good? (τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν)

But the true reading is, τί με  ἐρωτᾷς περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; Why askest thou me concerning the good ?

God is good, Jesus is good because He is a God, just as the Father is a God and the Holy Spirit is a God.

Jesus asks- Why ask me concerning good?  God is Good. 

When the man called Jesus a Good teacher he was in fact at that moment giving Him the title of God. And Jesus was letting that man know that in calling Him good, he had to recognize the truth.  The man did NOT argue with Jesus' reply. The man did not say that he didn't mean to call Him 'Good Master', the man knew. 

In truth only God is GOOD.  Not mankind. Not since we fell into sin. In fact all that we think might be good in us is filthy.

Isa_64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…

Truly we are NOT to examine ourselves for goodness!

Act 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

Act 2:39  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 

Act 2:40  And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 

Act 2:41  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 

Save yourself-  how is Peter instructing others to 'save' themselves? By REPENTING and being BAPTIZED in the name of JESUS CHRIST, receiving the gift of the HOLY GHOST.

They weren't being saved by BEING good, but by accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and repenting to receive Him and to receive the Holy Ghost- both OUTSIDE of self.

We do have a part to play in our salvation and that is turning to the ONE who saves us, not turning to ourselves.

Self-examination truly can be a vicious trap. Looking to our own goodness will only bring us despair or pride, both traps of Satan.  

But if we 'search for the source of our thoughts, feelings and desires' to KNOW where they are coming from- the soul or spirit we are truly doing something profitable, not detrimental to us. We have to get our minds OFF ourselves!  More on all this as we study further by the GRACE of God. We truly do need to know if our self-focus is to determine if God is working in us or Satan trying to lead us down his road.

'Believers ought to understand how the various parts of their being operate or they shall not be able to distinguish the spiritual from the soulical. When thinking, they should recognize the source of their thought; in feeling, they should detect the direction from which such feeling comes; and in working, they should be clear as to what strength they use. Only thus can they follow the spirit. We know our soul provides us with self-consciousness. One aspect of self-consciousness is self-examination. This is most harmful since it causes us to focus upon ourselves and thereby enhance the growth of self life. How often self-exaltation and pride are the consequences of such self-examination. But there is a kind of analysis of incalculable help to the spiritual pilgrimage. Without it we are incompetent to know who we really are and what we are following.  Harmful self-examination revolves around one’s own success or defeat, stimulating attitudes of self-pride or self-pity. Profitable analysis searches only the source of one’s thought, feeling or desire.'  The Spiritual Man- by Watchman Nee

Examine Yourself.

'Believers ought to understand how the various parts of their being operate or they shall not be able to distinguish the spiritual from the soulical.

When thinking, they should recognize the source of their thought; in feeling, they should detect the direction from which such feeling comes; and in working, they should be clear as to what strength they use. Only thus can they follow the spirit.

We know our soul provides us with self-consciousness.

One aspect of self-consciousness is self-examination.

This is most harmful since it causes us to focus upon ourselves and thereby enhance the growth of self life. How often self-exaltation and pride are the consequences of such self-examination.

But there is a kind of analysis of incalculable help to the spiritual pilgrimage.

Without it we are incompetent to know who we really are and what we are following.

Harmful self-examination revolves around one’s own success or defeat, stimulating attitudes of self-pride or self-pity. Profitable analysis searches only the source of one’s thought, feeling or desire.'

Excerpt - The Spiritual Man- by Watchman Nee

Tomorrow we are going to study this more in-depth and search the Scriptures for the TRUTH. We are so incredibly prone to focusing on ourselves just as the words above admit to. We are told to search our feelings, to know ourselves, to stroke our egos, to believe in ourselves… over and over we are told that real empowerment is centered on self, that it comes from within. Most people will know what I'm talking about, it's all around us. You can scarcely browse the magazine section at a store and not see self focused articles. We need to learn the truth of knowing ourselves, of examining ourselves and what it really means.

2Co_13:5  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

Lord, please help us as we search for truth, please let us know and live the truth You reveal to us! All through Jesus Christ our Lord, we thank you and praise Your holy name!

Sensitive Conscience.

Any who have been following the study for the last month or so should be able to comprehend the truth of our conscience.  The Bible tells us that our conscience is a very real thing.

Joh_8:9  And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

Convicted by their own conscience… we are convicted by our own conscience in many ways.

Read the following excerpt-

'The extent of spirituality is measured by the sensitivity to our conscience. Countless are those Christians who have disregarded their conscience in the past and are now unlively, merely holding some dead knowledge in their brain. May we be ever watchful lest we stumble into the same trap. Do not be afraid to be easily moved. Never fear to have the conscience exercised too much; only fear for it not to be moved enough. Conscience serves as a monitor for God. It informs us where something has gone wrong or needs to be repaired. We can avoid much destructive consequences later if we but listen to conscience earlier.'

The Spiritual Man- By Watchman Nee

Are you sensitive to your conscience?

Sometimes it can feel like a berating force within constantly condemning behavior and thoughts that are not of God.  When we listen to our convicting conscience instead of ignoring it, we truly seek forgiveness for those convicting thoughts and behaviors.  While we don't want to constantly be at odds with God's will, living in the world we do it is hard not to be. Satan is always trying to get us on his side and the closer it gets to the end of his reign, the end of his existence, the harder he is going to work to get as many people as he can on his side. He's not going to stop attacking. When he attacks and we are pricked in our conscience we need to seek God instantly, constantly never giving up hope of being His, wholly His.

We need to be sensitive to our conscience, not afraid of it, not resentful of it but aware of God using our conscience to convict us in order to teach us, to refine us so we can be His.

Please, Lord, please let us be convicted in our conscience of any wrong that needs forgiveness, of any act we need not to leave undone, of anything we must alter in our lives so we may live for YOU. Help us, we are so caught up in self-serving, please help us live for You!  Empty us of all that would keep us from you. May the Son of Jesus Christ bless us, and keep us in Him always! All through HIS LOVE!

Amen!

Obey God

This is truth-

Act 5:28  Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. 

Act 5:29  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. 

WE OUGHT TO OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN.

When we are convicted by God in our conscience to obey God rather than men, we must listen. Truly as we live in a world where evil is called good, and good is now called evil- we must follow God and not the dictates of the times we live in.  Just because mankind in a majority has deemed something acceptable does not mean God has deemed it so as well. People love to call the Bible old fashioned, filled with outdated, irrelevant knowledge, they do this because if they were to believe the truth it holds are still in affect then they'd be accountable to that truth. It is much easier for people to do away with the truth than to let it remain as an accusation while they commit evil.  God will allow our conscience to be convicted and if we have to talk ourselves OUT of a convicting conscience then we are fighting against God's will.

Satan will war against us and do all He can to lead us to NOT follow our conscience at all. We can kill our conscience, we can shut it up, we can fight against it, but by the GRACE of God we will NOT do any of those things!

We will obey God rather than men, and let our conscience convict us as God allows.

'Through our conscience God examines our motive—whether we desire to obey Him or we seek something else. Another thing one must guard against is the blocking of his conscience. It often loses its normal operation through a kind of blockage. When we are surrounded by those whose conscience is deadly numb, ours may be numbed also through their argument, conversation, teaching, persuasion or example. Beware of teachers with hardened consciences: beware of man-made consciences: reject all attempts of man to mold yours. Our consciences must be responsible directly to God in all regards. We ourselves must know His will and be responsible for executing it. We will fail if we neglect our conscience to follow that of another. '  The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee

Weak Conscience?

1Co 8:7  Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. 

1Co 8:8  But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. 

1Co 8:9  But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. 

1Co 8:10  For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; 

1Co 8:11  And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 

1Co 8:12  But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. 

1Co 8:13  Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. 

Rom 14:19  Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. 

Rom 14:20  For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. 

Rom 14:21  It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. 

'When one believer does what his conscience deems good he is obeying the will of God; but the conscience of another person may judge the same thing as evil, and he will be sinning against God if he does it. '  The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee

In the above verses we read of doing things that offend others and cause them to stumble in their relationship with Christ.  Truly we each as individuals have a walk with Christ. Just as we cannot judge another LEST we be judged, we cannot assume our walk won't offend another. Paul had a spiritual walk beyond my full comprehension. Paul understood the he could eat any flesh and not offend God, but he also understood others couldn't comprehend how that would be possible, they hadn't reached that level of spiritual understanding.  Paul would rather dumb down his own knowledge to help those with weak consciences. Those with weak consciences were those whose knowledge had yet to advance to the comprehension of those with strong consciences. Would Paul have dumbed down his own beliefs if it were not possible for those who were weak to grow stronger?

We cannot judge others and understanding even more fully that another's conscience understanding is not necessarily our own is very important. God would have us know our Spiritual walk is an individual walk of conscience with love and understanding for all others as they journey on with their own spiritual path.

May God give us all the comprehension we need to be wholly HIS. May we have all the knowledge we need to live in good conscience before God.  Help us, Lord, help us, without You we are absolutely nothing.   All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! Now and forever, amen!