Tags
authority, discerning the spirits, dreams, exhortation, experience, false spirits, following Jesus, Jesus Christ, peace, preaching, T.A. Sparks, teaching, the body of Christ, visions, Walking in the Light
Last week I had another vision I want to share with you.
This time I saw the devil, clothed in black with his face fully concealed, standing on a cliff below us. Jesus was standing at my right side. Satan was not aware of us watching him from above as we were hidden through a sort of cloud filled with bright light. Instead, Satan looked down into a valley of sorts. Then Jesus told me to look closer as to what was located beneath the devil. As I focused in on the direction the enemy was looking at, I saw a huge abyss opening up right before him. It was all gray, very deep, and stony. It also seemed to me the longer I looked, the deeper the abyss became. There was no green, no plant, no animal, no one, even no life there at all.
I need to admit that I have not been looking forward to sharing my own visions publicly on this blog once again because I saw in the past how many false spirits attacked me afterwards. There were commenters who eagerly wanted to interpret what I had shared in their still carnal ways. They tried to sneak into my blog through their confusing comments and thus get dominion over me. Then there were others who rather believed in their own dreams and visions than in the Living God whom they did not know at all. Instead, they interpreted the Bible as they saw fit.
It was not only lately that the Lord showed me how many Christians are increasingly being led astray by what they think must have come from God, whether their biblical interpretations, their own dreams and visions or those of others were concerned. Furthermore, I have observed that people come to my blog, read what God has given me to share, and then they go and use it for furthering their own agenda. Although I am always grateful when someone hears from God and is thus drawn closer to His heart, it makes me really sad when Christians who were inspired by what God has given to another Christian do not give any reference to where their newly found inspiration has come from.
This behavior reminds me of small children. You wonder why they can do something they could not do before and ask them, “Who taught you this?” And they answer, “Nobody! I learned it all by myself.” That seems to be almost funny to an adult who knows better. However, it is no longer funny when a grown up “child” keeps acting the same way. But what is even worse than that is that Christians behaving that way separate themselves from the Body of Christ! Regarding this, our Lord warned us,
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (Jn 15:4-7 ESV)
I know from my own writing that God always nudges me to mention anyone who shared a quote a with me, a Bible verse, a picture I did not take myself – whatever it is. If I did not listen to His leading here, I know I could not share in His peace any longer. You might still wonder what that which I just described might have to do with a false “Christian” authority. Well, if the Body of Christ is ONE, then we ought to submit to one another according to the gift and authority God has given each of us. If we prefer, by contrast, to consider our preaching and teaching of the gospel as our own individual business, we might not wonder when Christ who always gives us room for repentance one day cuts us off from Himself.
Dear reader, I am sitting here with a heavy heart since I am deeply saddened. It was very difficult for me to write this article. In closing I want to add a short quote by T. Austin Sparks that hopefully sheds some light on how the devil continuously wants to pull us down to his own level where he can control us through the self-complacency of our fallen Adamic nature.
”We are all conscious of this spiritual force that is focused upon Christians more than upon any others, to get them down, to get them to take a lower level or to accept a lower level, and then when they do that, that is not the end – still further down they go. Once you have started the downgrade, there is no end to it; once you have let go a little bit, you let go some more. The end will be overwhelming, submergence, thoroughly down.” (1)
I want to add a Scripture regarding this that just came to my mind.
“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thess 2:7-12 ESV)
(1) https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/003266.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 2021
Entering the Promised Land 
My dear sister, It is interesting how your vision of the devil fits together with that quote from T. Austin-Sparks. As in your vision, the more we look at the pit we are facing the deeper it gets. But what is the cure to this dilemma? I heard the Spirit tell me that the answer is, “Looking unto Jesus.”
“Looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2, KJ2000)
Jesus knew that there was a terrible amount of suffering ahead of Him which He could have been drawn into deep depression like the abyss you saw, without hope. But He saw the other side of that pit of suffering and felt the joy that was about to become His; thousands upon thousands who would come to know the Father’s love as He does by the sacrifice He was about to make. He endured it all for our sake and was obedient to the Father’s will knowing that He was the first born of many brothers and sisters in the family of God. Let us also know that the joy of the Father in His Son is also ours through Christ’s obedience. Amen.
Thanks for sharing this, ⭐
Michael
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Yes, Michael, I have been wondering about that ‘coincidence’, too. As if Sparks would somehow describe my vision… 🙄 Looking unto Jesus and asking Him to guide and protect us is always our only chance to avoid these many pitfalls Satan offers us every day.
Just to give a further interpretation of this vision here. If we are walking in the light with Jesus, we can see clearly what is lying right ahead of us.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn 8:12 ESV)
The Holy Spirit Jesus has given us is always prophetic as we can read at the end of the following Scripture.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (Jn 16:13 ESV – emphasis in italics added)
If we do not look unto Jesus and decide to go our own selfish ways, then we are standing there beside the devil on a lower level beneath our Lord. We start to walk in darkness and cannot discern where we go anymore. When such Christians share their visions, dreams and biblical interpretations, the anointing He has given us warns us about these false spirits so that we can avoid them.
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Wow, you shed some more light on the Holy Spirit’s mission to lead us into All truth as HE shines His light on the devil’s pitfalls, “He will declare to you the things that are to come.” Thanks for shining HIS light on this verse, my dear sister! Amazingly practical!
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You are very welcome, my dear brother. 😇
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It saddens me that you have come under attack, Susanne. That so called Christians should have been the instruments is even worse. The internet amplifies the voices of the misguided and unhinged. We are, of course, living in the last days. Scripture predicted that the hearts of many would grow cold (Matt. 24: 12). May God continue to guide and protect you, dear friend.
Much love,
A. ❤ ❤ ❤
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Yes, Anna, it is true that “[t]he internet amplifies the voices of the misguided and unhinged.”
Thanks for your prayer, my friend! ❤
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Yes, Susanne and Anna, so true. We live in a world full of offenses. Susanne, you wrote,
“There were commenters who eagerly wanted to interpret what I had shared in their still carnal ways. They tried to sneak into my blog through their confusing comments and thus get dominion over me.”
Jesus told us it would be so,
“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones [ those who humble themselves as a child and come to Jesus] who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” (Matt 18:3-7, ESV2011)
Those who are instruments of the devil’s temptations will be held accountable.
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Just now I have been wondering why such a child could be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven… The reason might be that this child allows Jesus Christ to dwell in him or her so that God can do HIS works through them. And God’s works are always the greatest, aren’t they?
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Yes, thanks for catching my typo, Susanne. To come to Jesus “as a child” of God involves the quality of children who tend to believe what we say without questioning. It is called “basic trust.” For instance, we have to teach them that the world is an evil place and to not take candy from strangers or worse.
To come to Jesus “as a little child” often is hard for us as we get older because we have become such skeptics from living in this world. Seeing what life is like in the Father’s kingdom where we can trust in Him, no matter what, can be an uphill battle for many of us who have been abuse in the kingdoms of men, especially when that abuse has come through “Christian” authorities in our past. I still remember those terrible years in the Catholic school system where nuns abuse their power over us as representative of Jesus as did the priests as representatives of the Father (“call no man father”). Later, sad to say, I found certain Protestant authorities to be of the same spirit. 😦 Yet, Jesus kept on loving me and drawing me into HIS heart through it all, convincing me by His unchanging love that His Father’s kingdom is a kingdom of unconditional love. No matter what comes our way in this life, He is our Strong Tower from the enemy and HIS love never fails.
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You are welcome as to the ‘typo fix’, Michael. You said,
“Jesus kept on loving me and drawing me into HIS heart through it all, convincing me by His unchanging love that His Father’s kingdom is a kingdom of unconditional love. No matter what comes our way in this life, He is our Strong Tower from the enemy and HIS love never fails.”
Well said, my brother. ⭐
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