Tags
adultery, being led by the Holy Spirit, discerning the spirits, divorce, experience, false spirits, God's guidance, Indwelt by the Holy Spirit, remarried, separation from the world, sin, Spiritual Life, T.A. Sparks, this world, walking by the spirit
This question is not meant as an offense to anyone. Instead, I want to make sure that nobody misses out on something that would be theirs in Christ by their spiritual nature. So many struggles as to ‘keeping the law’ by living according to what is written in the Bible WITHOUT the power of the Holy Spirit could be avoided, I believe. T. Austin Sparks offers some very practical and helpful explanations on how we could discern whether the Holy Spirit is acting in and through us all the time or whether we might detect a lack of spiritual guidance in our everyday life. We do not need to worry if we cannot fully understand what TAS was talking about below. However, we might ask God to fill us with this divine life if we have not known it the way it has been described ourselves. Jesus affirmed this promise here as He said,
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk 11:13 ESV)
“The Holy Spirit is called “the Spirit of life” (Rom. 8:2). To have such a Person resident within is a very wonderful thing.
“And so, if He has all Divine intelligence, and we are in His school, living with Him, keeping fellowship with Him day by day, we shall grow in this intelligence, which no natural man has. We shall be growing in knowledge, growing in understanding, growing in ability to grasp the things of God, which no man, apart from the Spirit of God, can understand. I want to lay emphasis upon that. It is the Holy Spirit Himself. I know that Christians as such believe in the Holy Spirit – the majority of evangelical Christians believe in the Person of the Holy Spirit. They put the article there – the Holy Spirit – whereas others speak of ‘Holy Spirit’. It is a part of our Christian faith to believe in the Holy Spirit as a Person; to have some knowledge of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, His work and His power. And yet there is among Christians a lamentable lack of understanding of what it means to have the Holy Spirit really dwelling within. This is disclosed and manifested by the very fact that they can sometimes act and speak so contrarily to the Holy Spirit without seeming to be checked up by Him. It is truly astonishing how many Christians can speak in a manner in which the Holy Spirit certainly cannot acquiesce, and yet seem to be quite unconscious of the fact that the Holy Spirit disagrees with them. Many Christians can believe lies about others, and repeat them, and yet never register the Holy Spirit’s disagreement. There is something wrong here in regard to the practical expression of the indwelling Holy Spirit – for He is the Spirit of truth.
“Now the true Christian life means that wherever the Holy Spirit is in disagreement with anything that we say or do, or with the way we say or do it, we should be aware of it. At once we should register – not a voice, but a sense: the Holy Spirit saying, in effect, ‘I do not agree with you – that is wrong, that is not right, that is not true, that is not kind, that is not good, that is not gracious.’ There is a very great need for the reality of the indwelling Spirit to be expressed. It is not that the failure to recognise and sense and discern means that the Holy Spirit is not there; it simply means that, if it is like that, we are not walking in the Spirit. There is something needed on our part by way of adjustment.
“But, coming to the positive side, the true Christian life can be, and should be, like this. With the Holy Spirit resident within, when you or I say or do anything with which He does not agree, we know it at once. We have a bad feeling right in the middle of us, and we do not get rid of it. We have to say, ‘Evidently I was wrong in what I said, or did. Lord, forgive me and put it out of the way.’ If it has done someone any harm, well, let us try to put it right. That is a life in the Spirit. It is very practical.
“That is what happens when we become Christians. It begins like that. The beginnings are very simple. If you are still quite young in the Christian life, you surely must know something of this in simple ways. Perhaps you go to do something that you used to do, and something inside you says, ‘Oh, no, not now – that belongs to the past.’ That is a simple beginning, is it not? If you go on, you burn your fingers – because you are alive! If you were dead, you would do these things and not feel them. Because you are alive, you are sensitive.
“Yes, that is what happens when we become Christians. It is very simple; many of us know about it from experience. But it is important for the many who are coming to Christ in these days, who are at the beginnings of the Christian life, to know really what they have come into, really what has happened to them. They should be able to say: ‘Yes – well, I could not have explained it, I could never have put it into words or defined it; but I know what you mean. That is true to my own experience.’ But, you see, it is something more than just feeling. We need to understand, we need to be intelligent about these things. May God make us intelligent Christians – Christians who are going on in life-fellowship with His Spirit within, and growing all the time. God forbid that any young Christians, reading these lines, in five, ten or twenty years’ time should be just where they are now. That is not necessary, because of course – praise God! being born again is not the end of things – it is only the beginning!” (1)
God never contradicts Himself nor would He ever put up with continuous sin in our lives. If we are Christians who are being led by the Holy Spirit from within, we should know the answer to the following thought-provoking question,
Do we believe that people who committed adultery, got divorced AND remarried can be right when they claim to have done the will of God as they decided to remarry? 🙄
I am not saying here that there are no cases when divorce makes sense. What I am saying is that we must be cautious to not confuse tolerance toward the sinful life of non-Christians with opening up toward fellowship with Christians who still act as if they fully belong to this world. Rather, we should heed what the apostles John and Paul told us,
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 Jn 2:15-17 ESV)
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” (2. Cor 6:14-18 ESV)
(1) https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/001125.html
“In keeping with T. Austin-Sparks’ wishes that what was freely received should be freely given and not sold for profit, and that his messages be reproduced word for word, we ask if you choose to share these messages with others, to please respect his wishes and offer them freely – free of any changes, free of any charge (except necessary distribution costs) and with this statment included.”
All images by Susanne Schuberth 2018
Entering the Promised Land 
It has been my experience as a Christ one of 43 years that when I am heading into the wrong direction He says to me “where are you going “or He will say “We don’t do things like this anymore ” and I had better be listening!
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You are right, Ken. Mistakes might happen, but God always helps us out of our messes if we listen to Him.
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What Austin Sparks said reminds me of a sermon by Jim Cymbala and also a book I read and reviewed on my site called a tender heart. I also know what he is talking about as well. Also, I think it should be mentioned that we should not follow our emotions as they can be wrong. Some may think the above means to do that when it does not.
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Yes, Fred, following our feelings, even our highly praised gut feelings can be VERY wrong! As I verbalized the question about adultery-divorce-remarriage, I had at least four couples in the back of my mind. Those of them who claimed to be spiritual Christians were convinced that their relationship was a gift from God. Such big deception can make you cringe and cry… 😧
Today I was also tempted to follow my bad feelings as I found myself being mad at someone. The more my thoughts circled around what I needed and what I missed, the worse it got. I saw clearly that this was my old self nature, however, I also had to realize that I rather wanted to get my rights fulfilled than to refocus on God. As I finally struggled back to Jesus, the burden of being mad and disappointed disappeared into nirvana at once. Thank God! 👍🏻🕊🌿
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That bad feeling thing happens a lot for me. Also the divorce and remarriage thing. I know of an evangelist that did that and a lot of people were mad at him for doing it. Some even accused him of not being a real Christian. I don’t think I have mentioned his name on here and I don’t think I will as I know slander is wrong. We can speak the truth without slander. Anyway, That person thought he was doing what GOD wanted. It was his wife’s idea to get divorced. I don’t know the full story of the whole thing, however, I do think he didn’t want it but gave in to her. Less than a year later he got married used the verse that says it is not right for a man to be alone.
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Fred, I believe speaking the truth in love and slander are not necessarily the same thing. The apostle Paul warned other believers as he mentioned the names of those who left him as they found the world more attractive (Demas), of those who really caused him “great harm” (Alexander, the coppersmith), and of those who harmed the church itself (Hymenaeus, Philetus, and Alexander).
I believe it is important to warn others as I detect another false teacher who might deceive many. For me it is not about blaming them or being mad at them. My heart is grieved and I suffer under such a burden for quite some time until God gives me the chance to pray for those (mis)’leaders’ who got side-tracked. I also believe it can be more tempting to be a public figure than an umimportant private God seeker.
Not sure, but I think I know the person you are speaking about. The Bible tells us that one sin of which we did not repent will be followed by more and more sins. The evangelist you might be talking about has become famous for fighting against the tax paying system and they say he refused to pay taxes himself. Penalties seem to be awaiting for him. However, the apostle Paul admonishes us strongly in his letter to the Romans, chapter 13,
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,
4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.
6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.
7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Also, this public figure I was referring to got side-tracked by focusing on all this creationist-science-evolution stuff. Alas, it also seems he wants to get donations as well (on his blog). What a contradiction to God’s Word that he claims to believe in! 😦
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I apologize I was not accusing you of slander at all. I was making sure I wasn’t doing it. I know it is not the unforgivable sin as some suggest or say.
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No worries, Fred. That seems to have been a misunderstanding since I did not feel accused by you at all.
As a people pleaser I rather wanted to let people do what they did and preach what they preached. If God had not nudged, or at times even urged me to speak up regarding falsities in Christendom, I would have NEVER said one word, to be honest with you.
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Indeed you and I are a lot alike. Although I am a people pleaser I am also scared of sinning the one sin that can not be forgiven so when someone told me that sin was speaking against another Christian I didn’t want to speak out against them. I have learned that this is not the sin that can not be forgiven and this is also why I know a lot about that sin as I had to find out what it is. Which is also why I have a long post about it on my site although I think I may have it written in a confusing manner. Oh and if You have not seen it I have a reply to your comment on my site. 🙂
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Thank you, Fred. I will check it out. 🙂
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Susanne, as I read your blog I had to pause for a day and do some soul searching. I was reminded of the lyrics to this song by
(Jeannie C. Riley)
“How Can Anything So Right Be So Wrong”
My troubled mind had planned to tell you no
I’d stay here at home where I belong
Then the phone starts to ring and my heart begins to sing
How can anything so right be so wrong.
The words I planned to say I can’t recall
Your voice only makes my love grow strong
My conscience whispers no but my resistance is low
How can anything so right be so wrong.
My excited mind is searching for a reason
To get away again tonight from home
I know it’s wrong to cheat but our love I can’t defeat
How can anything so right be so wrong.
Do I dare say that many of us know the power that the devil has when it comes to appealing to our emotions and longings for fulfillment, especially when it comes to sexual things. His version of “love” can come on so strong that we loose our moral compass. Satan has brought down many Christian ministries with a common lie that makes everything seem so right, “She (he) is the REAL spiritual mate God has for me and we would have a spiritual union that God could really use to influence so many for Christ.”
The truth of the matter is that our spouses that God put us with in the first place are just the rock we need to scrape away many of our self-centered, self-seeking imperfections and nobody enjoys having this happen. And He can speak through them a word of wisdom that we need even if they are not saved! Like Bob Mumford put it one time,
“If you fix the fix that God fixed to fix you, He will just fix another fix to fix you!”
So often these divorced and remarried couples find out that they jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. If we would just stop and think about all the family conflicts, shunning, and heartache we would cause by leaving our spouses for another and quit thinking about our own creature longings and put our focus back on Christ we might start praying for HIM to deliver us from ourselves. THAT prayer He Will answer.
And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions… And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. (Luke 12:42-48, ESV2011)
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? (Heb 12:5-7, ESV2011)
Dear Father, deliver us from all evil, deliver us from ourselves. Amen.
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Michael, I had to restore your reply as I found it in my trash folder, once again.
Not sure I really got this Mumford quote. Too much fixing here! 😀
Like you, the soul searching thing I do, too, my brother. We both know how easy it is to be tempted by Satan who won’t stop doing so until God has purified our hearts completely. Yes, the devil offers some very good feelings as described in the song you pasted above.
Sometimes I think I am misunderstood when I insist on such matters like not having fellowship with Christians who live in continuous sin, i.e. who remarriaged although their ex-spouses are still alive, who regularly steal, who obviously lie, who ask for donations, or who focus on money and fame instead of relating to Christ as our center. My point is not that we were in any way ‘above’ them since we have the same wretched nature (Rom 7). My point is, instead, that God asks us to COME OUT from among them so that He can be OUR GOD who dwells and walks among us (2. Cor 6:14-18). Since as soon as we submit to ANY other spirit in those people whom we might even like naturally, confusion sets in, and we cannot discern God’s voice from others clearly anymore.
I say AMEN to your prayer, Michael! ⭐
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It is hard to come out when some say that is to not even be with your family or anyone for that matter. Seems like everything can be taken too far.
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Fred,
That sounds to me like the former cult we once joined. Back then they told us we had to be there where God was. And that was, of course, only in the cult where it was put about that God almost exclusively spoke through those in charge (pastors in particular). However, istn’t God omnipresent? 🙄
Today I would say it depends on God’s leading where He wants us to be when and with whom. It is a lie of the devil if someone tells us to not care about our families any longer. That is not only against God’s love. Jesus even rebuked the Pharisees and the scribes as He told them (see Mt 15:4-9 ESV),
4 “For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’
5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”
6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.
7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
Yes, everything can be taken too far. It is so easy to get side-tracked. Therefore, we all need the help Holy Spirit to get spiritually well balanced.
PS
Just another thought….. This COMING OUT, I believe, is mainly a spiritual thing since God never told us to leave the world, but simply to not be of the world anymore. We cannot avoid meeting people with strange, false, seductive or other anti-Christ spirits. Yet we can draw an internal line toward them if they try to submit our spirits to theirs. And sometimes it might be necessary to split up with others when God tells us to do so.
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GOD does want us to love our family and honor our parents. The only time you are not to listen to your parents is if GOD is telling you to do something and your parents are telling you to do something else. Ok, I may need to clear this up a bit as it can be confusing. If your parents tell you to sin do not sin is the basic form of what I said. This is not dishonoring your parents. “King James Bible -Matthew 10:37
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
”
I am referring to that as some use that verse against being with your family so I had to find out the true meaning which I alluded to above. I hope I am coming across clear I don’t always come across clear.
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Sorry for the long time of not moderating your reply, Fred. Like Michael’s first one above, I just found it in my trash folder.
I agree with everything you said here. You do come across clear! ⭐
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You have made a good point here, Susanne. It really is confusing when we receive Christians at face value as being in Christ (especially those in leadership) and open our hearts to them as part of the family of God. Yet it is this very openness and longing for fellowship that the enemy uses against us to suck us under his control and the delusion that these people are held captive by (and many use as the source of their power over others) . Yet, there is no “teacher” like experience.
“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Heb 5:14, ESV2011)
Dear sister, we have known each other for over four years and I know that you and I during this time have had our spiritual senses (discerning spirits) exercised over and over. Yet it is all part of how God matures us and readies us for “solid spiritual food” from HIS table that we might grow into the image of Christ.
It has been wonderful that Father has let us walk through this training together that we might encourage one another and lift one another up as needed in prayer. Thank you for who you are in Christ. ⭐⭐⭐
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Thank you, Michael. 🙂
Yes, God’s training over the last four years was, though sometimes hard, absolutely necessary and helpful as to the spiritual outcome we can see today. Freedom in Christ is submitting to Him alone, isn’t it…?
My brother, it has been a wonderful journey with you for which I am deeply grateful to God. Without suffering we learn nothing and since we suffered a lot, we must have learned a lot, too, right? 😉
Thank you for being the treasure you are, Michael! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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Thanks for “pinging back” to my blog, Fred. 🙂
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