Be Quiet.

Never do we fully realize just how loud we are in life as when we are instructed to be quiet in spirit.

May God help us to be quiet.

*******

'A Quiet Spirit

 “Let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (1 Peter 3.4).

Granted that this is a word directed towards the sisters, it nonetheless is spiritually applicable to the brothers as well. “To aspire to live quietly” (1 Thess. 4.11). This is the duty of every Christian. Modern Christians talk far too much. Sometimes their unuttered words surpass in number those that are spoken.

Confused thought and endless speech set our spirits to wandering away from the control of our wills.

A “wild spirit” often leads people to walk according to the flesh. How hard for believers to restrain themselves from sinning when their spirits become unruly. An errant spirit invariably ends up with an error in conduct. Before one can display a quiet mouth he first must possess a quiet spirit, for out of the abundance of the spirit does the mouth speak.

We ought to carefully keep our spirit in stillness; even in time of intense confusion our inner being should nevertheless be able to sustain an independent quietude.

A placid spirit is essential to anyone walking after the spirit: without it he shall quickly fall into sin. If our spirit is hushed we can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit there, obey the will of God, and understand what we cannot understand when confused. Such a quiet inner life constitutes the Christian’s adornment which betokens something manifested outwardly. '    The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee

Spirit Oppression

Truly spiritual oppression occurs when we are looking towards self and away from God.  We may believe we are putting God first, but our mouths can speak great things without any heart love involved.

Isa 29:13  Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me…

Eze 33:31  … for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 

Mat 15:8  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 

With our spirit oppressed we can still put on all the trappings of our faith without any real substance. To unleash our spirit from oppression we have to use our will, our power of choice to recognize where we are truly looking- at ourselves and not at God.

How can we expect God to live in us when we have no room in our lives for Him because we only see ourselves and all involved with ourselves and not God.

You think you don't look at yourself because you don't like yourself? Wrong. Negative attention is still attention and just as harmful as good attention when we are looking inward constantly.

We have needs, we have desires and we refuse to give up those needs and desires because we justify them as being normal and acceptable and irrefutably ours to possess. We claim our so called right, our entitlement to our attention, after all we state outright we were born this way.

We wake up in the morning and instantly assess our state of being. The process is so fast and automatic to us we barely notice it is taking place. Do we feel any pain? Do we feel rested enough? Are all systems go- as in nothing remarkably out of ordinary taking place? The answer to these barely noticed questions will guide the beginning of our waking hours. Pain? Yes, pain- take steps to relieve that pain, indulge in self-pity for the pain (it is totally acceptable for all who are in pain isn't it?).  No pain? Take a deep breath, sigh with a bit of relief this is a good thing. Tired still after waking? Indulge in self-pity, after all that bone-tiredness isn't going to be easy to shake.  Truly we tend to be focused on ourselves as we wake up and rise out of bed to be about our day. We may throw a prayer in the morning mix, but even that prayer may have a tendency towards requesting help for ourselves and all our irritations- deemed completely legitimate. You yell at me that it's normal to be self-focused, we are who we are and can only deal with ourselves and no other.

Justifying our self-centeredness and calling it normal and acceptable is a horrific satanic deception.

Our lives could be truly classified as being 'living hells' and still we are to look Godward, not self-ward. The 'living hell' we are experiencing is not an invitation for self-indulgence, but yet another indication for us to live for the treasure we are laying up in heaven and not for the here and now.

Can we indulge self when indulging God? Have you ever tried to give two people all your attention at once? Quickly you'll realize it's impossible the moment one reacts in the slightest way. You can't give two ALL your attention, you can only give them both some of your attention. The Word of God tells us that we can't serve two masters--

Mat_6:24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

You say that's not true, that you can love two masters without despising either of them? Again, as soon as one master differs from the other and asks a more difficult task you will make a comparison and then will begin the seed of dissent however tiny inside you.

We can't serve ourselves and God.  You saying serving God is serving yourself and that is true, but serving yourself is not serving God. This is possible because God alone is good, God alone has the power, God made possible so much that we could never come close to making possible.

Our spirits will be oppress as long as we indulge in self-focus. May God open our hearts and minds to understand our state of being every single day, and may we commit ourselves to God's will not our own, looking always to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith! Rejoice! Rejoice in Christ, all else is temporary to eternity. Christ gives us all we need to live for Him.

*******

'A Joyful Spirit

“My spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1.47).

Towards himself a Christian should have a broken spirit (Ps. 51.17), but towards God it should be one of rejoicing always in Him. He rejoices not for its own sake nor because of any joyful experience, work, blessing or circumstance, but exclusively because God is his center.

Indeed, no saint can genuinely rejoice out of any cause other than God Himself.

If our spirit is oppressed by worry, weight and sorrow it will commence to be irresponsible, next sink down, then lose its proper place, and finally become powerless to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

When pressed down by a heavy load the spirit loses its lightness, freedom and brightness. It quickly topples from its ascendant position. And should the time of sorrow be prolonged, damage to spiritual life is incalculable. Nothing can save the situation except to rejoice in the Lord—rejoice in what God is and how He is our Savior. The note of hallelujah must never be in short supply in the spirit of the believer.'  The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

Lowly & Poor

'A Lowly Spirit

“It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud” (Prov.16.19)

“He who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor” (Prov. 29.23).

“And also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble” (Is. 57.15).

Lowliness is not a looking down on one’s self; rather is it a not looking at one’s self at all.

As soon as a believer’s spirit becomes haughty he is liable to fall. Humility is not only Godward but is manward as well. A lowly spirit is demonstrated when one associates with the poor. It is this spirit alone which does not despise any who are created by God. God’s presence and glory is manifested in the life of the spiritually humble. A lowly person is a teachable person, easily entreated and open to explanation. Many of our spirits are too arrogant: they can teach others but can never themselves be taught. Many possess a stubborn spirit: they stick to their opinions even if they realize they are wrong. Many are too hard in spirit to listen to an explanation for a misunderstanding. Only the humble have the capacity to bear and forbear. God needs a lowly man to express His virtue. How can a proud man hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and then cooperate with God? No trace of pride should be found in our spirit: tenderness, delicacy, flexibility—these shall be the norm. A tiny bit of harshness in the inner man may hinder fellowship with the Lord, for this certainly is most unlike Him. To walk with the Lord the spirit must be lowly, forever waiting on Him and offering no resistance to Him.

Poor In Spirit

“Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matt. 5.3).

The poor in spirit views himself as possessing nothing.

 A believer’s peril lies in his having too many things in his spirit.

Only the poor in spirit can be humble. How often the experience, growth and progress of a Christian become such precious matters to him that he loses his lowliness. The most treacherous of all dangers for a saint is to meditate on what he appropriates and to pay attention to what he has experienced. Sometimes he engages in this unconsciously. What, then, is the meaning of being poor? Poor bespeaks having nothing. If one endlessly reflects upon the deep experience which he has passed through, it soon shall be debased to a commodity of his spirit and hence become a snare. An emptied spirit enables a person to lose himself in God whereas a wealthy spirit renders him self-centered.

Full salvation delivers a believer out of himself and into God.

Should a Christian retain something for himself his spirit immediately shall turn inward, unable to break out and be merged in God. '

The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

Broken Spirit

Our world today seems to be all about fixing broken spirits. Fix those who are broken down in any way. It sounds marvelous, but it is incomprehensible in reality as long as we live in this sin-filled world. A lot of people don't believe this, a lot don't believe in the Bible in its entirety. People love to pick and choose the parts they want to believe and ignore or refute the rest. They'll explain away the things that are contrary to their desired beliefs.

When we encounter hard truths it is so easy to talk our way around them, pad them to our desired comfort level and leave it at that. But to face hard truths, to accept hard truths this is a much harder thing to do and according to God's word few are going to be able to do it. Is it any wonder many will read the following and reject it outright because it calls for sacrifice that they aren't in any way willing to make.

For those who read the following and comprehend the truth of it, most importantly the truth in GOD'S WORD, they will submit fully to God and His will -only by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Of our own we can do NOTHING other than choose to submit to the only One who can do ALL things and through Him we will do all things.

Php_4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

The Spiritual Man- by Watchman Nee

'A Broken Spirit

Psa 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

A broken spirit is one which trembles before God. Some Christians do not sense any uneasiness in their inner man after they have sinned. A healthy spirit will be broken before God—as was David’s—upon once having sinned. It is not difficult to restore to God those who have a broken spirit.

An Afflicted Spirit

“But to this man will I look: to the afflicted and contrite in spirit, and who trembleth at my word” (Is. 66.2 Darby).

Isa 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. (KJV)

The spirit with which God is delighted is an afflicted one because it reverences Him and trembles at His Word.

Our spirit must be kept in continual reverential fear of the Lord

All self-reliance and self-conceit must be shattered; the Word of God must be accepted as the sole guide. The believer must possess within him a holy fear: he must have absolutely no confidence in himself: he must be as one whose spirit is so stricken that he dare not raise his head but humbly follows the command of God.

A hard and haughty spirit always impedes the way of obedience.

But when the cross is working deeply a believer comes to know himself. He realizes how undependable are his ideas, feelings and desires. Hence he dare not trust himself but trembles in all matters, acknowledging that except he be sustained by the power of God he shall unquestionably fail.

We must never be independent of God.

The moment our spirit ceases to tremble before Him at that precise moment it declares its independence from Him. Except we sense our helplessness we shall never trust in God. A spirit which trembles before Him shields one from defeat and helps him to truly apprehend God. '

A Repentant Spirit

Psa_34:18  The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Psa_51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Isa_57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Isa_66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Excerpt - The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee

'A contrite inner life helps one to confess instantly and to not hide those little points others have noticed in him as being unlike the Lord. God saves those who possess a contrite spirit; others He cannot save for it requires contrition to know His mind. People who cover their faults and excuse themselves do not have a repentant spirit; hence God cannot save them to the uttermost. How we need a spirit susceptible to the correction both of the Holy Spirit and of man, a spirit willing to concede to having lived below par. And then we shall daily experience the salvation of the Lord.'

Mat_9:13  But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Mar_2:17  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Luk_3:3  And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins

2Co 7:8  For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. 

2Co 7:9  Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 

2Co 7:10  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 

 2Pe_3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

A sound mind... no fear.

A sound mind.

How many people today believe they have a sound mind? Seriously. We've become so caught up in the world and its ways, a world ruled by evil, that very few people believe they have a sound mind. Do we even know anyone with a sound mind? This world is filled with damaged people. Damaged emotionally, mentally, and some even physically.

We've got so incredibly many names for the various problems associated in the mind. We've got medicines that alter our mind's chemistry in order to correct problems going on right there in the brain. We talk about natural means to fix mind problems and so on and so forth.

A sound mind.

What constitute a sound mind? A mind without fear. 

Is your mind free of fear- all fear, the tiniest bit of fear.

Fear has many forms. From fear we get worry, from fear we get all sorts of mind problems. Fear can be the root of many problems that are emotional and mental.  You say you have fear of nothing? Then tell me, do you have any worry at all? You say you have no worries, well do you have concerns?  Ah, you say concerns are normal and natural and all people even with the soundest of minds have concerns. I say, a tiny bit of fear can be equal to what we call concern.

I know many people will argue that it is normal for us to be concerned about things, I would even say it because that's what we've been taught. We are taught that concern and worry are normal so we accept them, and even encourage them. We use the idea of them to placate ourselves so we can tell ourselves we're fine, we're normal, we have a sound mind.  We rebel against the thought that we shouldn't be concerned, worried, upset, because we've completely accepted it as normal.

2Ti 1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 

1Jn 4:18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 

Mat_6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Do we listen to any of this? Do we listen to the word of God? Do we believe the word of God?

Or are we tormented in any way? If we are tormented by anything, the least of things then we are allowing fear to reign in us.

Through the Spirit in our spirit may we live in Christ Jesus our Lord and the belief He would have us have of Him.

Gold or Faith?

Gold.

You have just been given a brick of gold.  How do you feel about that brick of gold? Seriously, use your imagination. Someone anonymously gives you a brick of gold- it's all yours to do with as you please. So you take that gold brick and you put it away somewhere safe to contemplate the situation. What do you imagine your first thoughts of that gold will be? How much it's worth, what you can do with the money you might get from it, these are logical thoughts for someone who has suddenly received something of such great worth. Would you forget about it? Would you not think about it? Would you ignore the fact that you have a brick of gold in your possession? Seriously, would you completely go on as if you didn't have that gold?

I know many people live in different situations, but me in my own situation can't imagine forgetting I have a gold brick in my possession. That gold would be very important to me.

We know that people do a lot of things when money comes into play. Some ruin their lives over the possession of money. Others think nothing of ruining other people's lives over money.

The point I’m trying to make here is money is important but only in its proper place. There are many things more important than money. And yes, I'm speaking as a person who isn't poor. I'm not rich, but I'm not poor. Some might say that it is easy for me to say something like that because I'm not poor, but it's not easy for me to say that because I'm not poor, it's easy for me to say this because it's the truth- God's truth.

One of the things more important than money is- the TRIAL OF OUR FAITH. 

Notice please, I didn't say faith in and of itself, I said - TRIAL OF OUR FAITH.  I'm not belittling faith by saying that, I'm saying the Bible says this--

1Pe_1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold…

The trial of our faith.

What is the trial of our faith?

1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 

1Pe 4:14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 

1Pe 4:15  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. 

1Pe 4:16  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 

The trial of our faith is…  suffering as Christ suffered.

Being reproached for the name of Christ.

Psa 66:10  For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. 

Psa 66:11  Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. 

Psa 66:12  Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. 

Being brought into the net.

Affliction laid upon us.

Men ruling over us.

Fire and water trials.

Think about it for a moment… we are tried in many different ways, and we are tried to God's glory. We can't comprehend WHY, we may only feel the horrors of the trial without having understanding.

So often you hear people exclaim- how could God let such an awful thing happen to this or that person, and there is no answer other than He has His reasons and we will trust in those reasons without comprehension. That isn't an answer that is good enough for a lot of people. They want to blame God for the awful trials they undergo or others undergo, they don't want to trust in God because the trials are too horrific. It is a trial of faith for sure- all the awful things we go through and the trial of our faith is more precious than anything else. Our trial of faith is truly having our belief in the love of our God tested to the furthest way possible.

Please, Father in Heaven, please keep us during the trial of our faith no matter what form it takes and how severely we are tried. Please be our hope, our strength, our sound mind, please be for us all we cannot be on our own.

All through Jesus Christ our Lord may we be YOURS!

Amen.