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Just lately I have begun to see that a continuous life in the Spirit has to be governed by the Lord alone. Anything else I chose according to my old fleshly habits led to death, even my own thought life. Before going further by giving you another example, I decided to paste one of two short excerpts from T. Austin Sparks which clearly revealed the truth of my experiences afterwards to me. TAS said,
“You cannot presume upon God, you cannot take anything for granted in this matter, you have got to recognise that you must come back to the Lord every time for every fresh step. There must be a fresh yielding of heart, clearing of the ground, and making sure that you can take the second step on exactly the same basis as you took the first: that you are in exactly the same position for the next move as you were in the last one, and that it is the Lord and there is no fleshly element in this thing at all.” (1)
Dear brothers and sisters, it seems to me that our old nature loves rituals and habits, even regarding spiritual matters. If God allowed me to do one particular thing in the past, I kept doing it until He thwarted me, even strongly, as it happened this week. As for me, I have had the strange habit of checking out other Christians’ blogs, websites, or even social media (which I basically do not like) in order to check out whether these specific Christians could break free from deception and were able to find the real Jesus eventually. Of course, I prayed for them before, partly even years ago, but I wanted to know whether something had changed indeed.
Well, I sensed an approach by the enemy even a few hours before it happened. I recall I also had a few disturbing dreams in the night. Nonetheless, you never know from which side you will be attacked until it really happens. On Monday in the evening then, when I was sitting all alone in the living room, I followed my peculiar habit once again. God did not mind in the past, therefore I did not ask and checked out the first blogger.
Nothing had changed there. Yet I found a link through a reblog on this blog which led me to another more popular blog I had avoided for years. The reason was that that other blogger was a very skilled artist in publishing beautifully written half-truths through which a few people I have known have been led astray, too. Before delving into the reblog on its original site, I had an internal impression as if the Holy Spirit had told me, “Nothing has changed here, Susanne. No need to read it.” Hmm… I perceived this subtle voice, but my self-will was stronger. Actually, that entry was truly fancy stuff, a sophisticated interpretation of a biblical story which enravished most of the commenters on there. However, I saw a severe lack of the fear of God in that writing, combined with a subtle ridiculing of the person of Jesus Christ. That hurt me. I left that blog soon, but then…
For one and a half days hell broke lose. I got severely attacked through anxieties, fears, depressive feelings, I wept for hours about pains that seemed to have been healed by the Lord before. In fact, I did not get it. What was the reason for this onslaught by the enemy? Why did God not help me? Actually, it was really, really bad. I prayed often and I asked others to pray for me as well, yet nothing helped me out of there. The darkness had somehow wrapped me in until during fellowship on Tuesday in the evening I felt the internal “nudge” to talk about my experience and impression of that blog. As soon as I had mentioned the blogger’s name, the dark veil lifted at once and the burden on my heart was gone.
As grateful as I was for having been freed by God so surprisingly, this painful occurrence made me wonder for some time. It was not that clear to me how to avoid a similar spiritual fall from ‘heights’ next time. It was only this Friday evening as Jesus drew my attention to my thought life once again. There was a time about six years ago when our Lord had begun to teach me about how evil spirits approach us and submit us to themselves. At that time I had ignored His leading, too, and opened the (real) door when two Christian writers had rung our doorbell. Although I felt an immediate, “No, I don’t want to receive these guys!” I thought about how “unchristian” my thinking was. But my own reasoning then was completely wrong as hell broke loose for even two weeks afterwards!
God knows with whom we should have fellowship and whom we should avoid. This truth is often misunderstood by more liberal Christians who tend to think that loving our enemies might mean to submit to their influence on our lives, too, by being tolerant in any way whatsoever. But that is not walking in the light and in the truth, either. Love and truth should always go hand in hand. Although we should love all human beings, especially our enemies, our spirits should only be governed by God alone. “Get thee out from among them!” That is what God told me concerning that blogger, too. I had no leading and therefore no protection (i.e., the whole armor of God) to go there, even only on the internet.
The closer we come to God, the more we must listen to Him, which means to deny our flesh by taking up our crosses daily. That does not mean that what God once allowed is always allowed, or what God once was against will remain that way forever, it is all about following the wind of the Holy Spirit whenever and wherever it comes from. I could see this truth one day later as God led me to a former blogger who had experienced a great downfall. I felt grieved to see this and prayed for him once again, knowing that that prayer had been God’s will at that time because despite grief I felt His peace as well. Therefore, I am now pasting the second quote from TAS below that confirmed my very experiences.
“The enemy likes us to take the things of God out of their time. It may be that the Lord is going to call us there to go through that thing, and the enemy wants us to go through it now and it always brings fear and havoc, but when God’s time comes you have got peace. Things have got to be kept to their time by prayer. It is something that ought to be taken into account, that in the heavenlies the times of God should be held to, against a precipitate movement on the part of the enemy.” (2)
As for the why we should take up our crosses at all, I found a compelling insight by P.W. Faunch who was a fellow Christian of Sparks. Dear brothers and sisters, there is a reward awaiting us…
“The Lord Jesus, the Captain of our Salvation, who is the overcomer from the very moment that He intimates this purpose of His to the disciples, He begins to show the way by which He will get to the throne. And He intimates therein the way by which His disciples will get to the throne (Matt. 16:24). There is a question there of voluntary choice – “If any man would come after Me…”. The Lord does not compel any of us to come after Him: “If any man…” but “If any man would…”; there is something the disciple must do: not simply trust the Lord, but also deny himself. Not simply trust what Christ did on the cross, but he must “take up his cross and follow Me”. The further we go in spiritual life and conflict, the more the Lord opens this to us and the deeper rooted we find this principle to be, and the failure of the recognising of it. The failure on our part here and there on obeying this active principle accounts for the defeat which we may sometimes experience.” (3)
(1) https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/004901.html
(2) https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/004894.html
(3) https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/004895.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 
Thanks for sharing your experience of God tuning us in ever closer to walking by His Spirit instead of by our own strong self wills, Susanne. What He allowed once is not always what He will allow in the present. This is what happens when we desire to walk in the the fullness of Truth, Jesus Christ who prayed, “Father, that they might be one even as we are one,” One with the Father and the Son.
I also went through some experiences this week that caused me grief. First, on Tuesday I was called to the bedside of a brother who I have had fellowship with over the last several years. He had been suffering from cancer and the reason I had not heard form him for over a month was that he had contracted Covid in the hospital and was in isolation. By the time I was allowed to see him, he was already comatose. This also added to my grief. Bob would often call me and ask what the Lord had been saying to me or what was “on my prayer docket.” He would even come over from time to time with a pot of beans or stew that he had made too much of for himself. Well, he died Tuesday evening of bacterial pneumonia. I spent the next few days grieving in my heart over the loss of this brother and remembering all the grief that he had gone through while he was alive.
So, to deal with this grief I finally decided to go visit another Christian I have known many years. At first the visit was good, but soon he started asserting to me rather strongly his favorite doctrine which the Lord had showed me was false many years ago. The more assertive he got, the more I felt accused. Out of weakness I went along with the conversation thinking, “Well, he might have something the Lord wants me to see.” Susanne, I can see how we both got sucked in during this same time by “an angel of light.” Light– enlightenment– an angel of enlightenment. Satan surely can come to us as an angel of enlightenment in a weak moment when we should be seeking the enlightenment that comes only from the Holy Spirit of whom Jesus said,
But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26, KJ2000)
“The Comforter… shall teach you ALL things.” In a moment of weakness our souls seek comfort, but do we always seek first the one who is the Comforter? Do we believe that it is HE who shall teach us all things… all things we need in our spiritual walk with the Father? “He shall… bring all things to your remembrance… I have said unto you,” It seems that we went against what Jesus had shown us regarding these people in the past and in so doing we did not find the comfort we were seeking. At least I know that this is true in my own case. These truly are perilous times, times of great deception among the people of God. I thank Him for the fellowship and the prayers we share as the Spirit of Truth speaks through one another. And so often it is the same things at the same time. STST
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You are very welcome as to the sharing, Michael. I knew we both had a hard week, yours even harder because of your friend Bob’s suffering and death. I went through different trials, too, the one I mentioned in the blog and a few more, including my hubby’s eye surgery on Thursday (which went pretty well as it seems).
You wrote something that hit me as I had realized that, too (STST).
“It seems that we went against what Jesus had shown us regarding these people in the past…”
Exactly! Although I was not seeking comfort – maybe, rather some distraction from those trials I just mentioned – I could have known better. Perhaps it has been the same for you: I tend to hope that people might have been touched by God, and thus having repented, they are now taking another direction in their spiritual walk. And, of course, I want to SEE that God REALLY did something in their lives… yet maybe, only in my timing? 🙄 It should have been enough for me that God said, “No, nothing has changed.” But curious me wanted to find out on her own… and then I had to suffer the consequences for not having been obedient to the Lord.
I recall it was in summer when Jesus made me aware of this particular Scripture that says,
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (Js 4:7 ESV)
From the context (verses 5 to 10) we might see that God opposes us when we trust in ourselves, which is pride. He wants to see us humble by submitting to His will. However, our flesh hates that since we in our old nature want to choose for ourselves! Also, it is HIS Spirit that dwells in us, we are now His possession so that we should not do what we did in the past before He sealed us with His eternal pledge. Even if we want and try, we cannot resist the devil when we have not submitted to God before.
Today I saw that this ‘submission’ happens by walking in the spirit. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit,” as Romans chapter 8, verse 1 (KJV) says. You were the one who reminded me of this Scripture a few months ago, Michael. Condemnation and accusation always come in when we walk after the flesh. God shows us by allowing these attacks that He only protects us with His whole armor, which is in Christ, when we follow His leading closely. If we do not heed His advice or commands, Satan has an easy game with us. But through these pains suffered we learn to rather listen to His subtle voice more often.
Yes, Michael, our fellowship is truly very precious! Satan knows that, too, and therefore he attacks us both so often by trying to separate us through any means possible. But thank God, He has always helped us out of any mess!
“By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.” (1 Jn 3:20 ESV)
Your friend and sister in Christ forever,
Susanne
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God is all about order and there is an order in that passage from James you quoted, (1) Submit ourselves unto God then, (2) resist the devil and he will flee from us.
The same is true of the one in Romans, (1) walk after the Spirit in Christ Jesus and (2) we will experience no condemnation from the devil because of our flesh having the upper hand.
And in 1 John 3:19-20 it starts out with “By this…” So I checked out verse 18 to find out, By what? It says,
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” Oh boy! It is so easy to just say to someone that is hurting, “I really love you brother. I will pray for you.” Love in deed and in truth and then “whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart.”
Thanks for the reminders, Susanne, and thanks for your prayers.
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You are so welcome, Michael. 🙏🏼🕊️👍🏼 Yes, I saw this context about real love in 1st John as well. It gets clearer every day, without Him we can do nothing, just as our flesh profits nothing, either.
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Susanne, it seems that what we have been through in the last week or so regarding our learning obedience to the leading of God and not falling victim to the leading of our old adamic natures, continues. This morning I read the following from T. Austin-Sparks that fits in with “Stuck In Our Souls, Or Governed by God.”
“‘The anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit – just as it has taught you, remain in Him.’ (1 John 2:27 NIV)
“The School of Christ; that is, the School where Christ is the great Lesson and the Spirit the great Teacher; in the School where the teaching is not objective, but subjective; where the teaching is not of things, but an inward making of Christ a part of us by experience – that is the nature of this School. “Ye shall see the heaven opened.” “He saw the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descending upon Him.” What is the meaning of the anointing of the Holy Spirit? It is nothing less and nothing other than the Holy Spirit taking His place as absolute Lord. The anointing carries with it the absolute Lordship of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit as Lord. That means that all other lordships have been deposed and set aside; the lordship of our own lives; the lordship of our own minds, our own wills, our own desires; the lordship of others. The lordship of every interest and every influence is regarded as having given place to the undivided and unreserved lordship of the Holy Spirit, and the anointing can never be known or enjoyed, unless that has taken place.”
https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/001039.html
“An inward making of Christ in us BY EXPERIENCE” is the school of Christ, not a bunch of objective book learning or sitting at the feet of a person that we admire who titillates our souls. We learn not by doing it right or objectively learning what is right or wrong, but by failing and repenting of that thing in us that makes us fail. Funny, but the person I have spoken of above wanted me to go on line and listen to one of the old school “faith teachers” and if I did and claimed my healing I would not have to walk in all this pain and weakness in my body. Yet, the Lord has once again reminded me that if “the anointing you received from Him remains in you… you do not need anyone to teach you… just as it has taught you, remain in Him.” REMAIN IN HIM! Don’t go wandering around looking for help from a human teacher, evangelist, pastor, etc. that does not remain in Him but rather manipulates people by the power of their own souls! This is an antichrist (Grk. antichristos – instead of Christ). As John wrote just before this verse,
Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. (1John 2:18-20, ESV2011)
Soulish religious people go out from the fellowship we have in the Spirit as His saints and rise up above us by the power of their souls. They are unteachable by the Spirit. We see this all through Christian circles. This truly is a time of mass deception of the people of God. We are in the last hour of this dispensation. Our only hope is to keep abiding ever deeper in Christ as we are taught by the Spirit. Thanks for sharing your subjective experiences with us, Susanne, even your weaknesses. ⭐ Like Paul said,
“… a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Cor 12:7-10, ESV2011)
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Oh boy, this devotional from TAS truly fits our painful experiences last week, Michael. Very well put by Sparks! ⭐
I agree with what you wrote above, yet what you expressed here really hit me. You said,
“Soulish religious people go out from the fellowship we have in the Spirit as His saints and rise up above us by the power of their souls. They are unteachable by the Spirit.”
That is exactly IT!! The highest fellowship we can have is in the Holy Spirit. From this fellowship we can only drop out by giving in to our souls’ (and bodies’) desires since, “Who does not want to be healed?” However, I have seen in the past how many people followed this ‘Christian healing movement’ which is charismatic by nature and, as we both know, this branch of Christendom is driven by another spirit than God’s Holy Ghost. Once these Christians have fallen ‘down’, their souls begin to rise up (like Satan did), even and especially over those who are led by the Holy Spirit. That is very, very sad to observe! 😦
Thank you for sharing this inspiring contribution, my brother! You are welcome as to my openness, even as to all my weaknesses.
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Susanne, you wrote, “…this branch of Christendom is driven by another spirit than God’s Holy Ghost. Once these Christians have fallen ‘down’, their souls begin to rise up (like Satan did), even and especially over those who are led by the Holy Spirit. That is very, very sad to observe!”
Oh yes! Seeking after signs and wonders. Jesus said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.” The evil comes when we are driven by our soulish desires, feeding our flesh. The adultery comes when we run after men who will give us what we want when God refuses to feed our soul driven desires. This kind of believer follows Jesus just as those who wanted to make Jesus their king because He fed them… Loaves and Fishes Christians. “I need, I need, I want, I want, give me, give me, give me!” When He intentionally refuses to cave into their spiritual desires, they turn on Him and anyone like Him who preaches the need to take up our soul killing crosses if we are to be one of HIS disciples. Here is where the spiritual adultery comes in. They forsake the Lord who laid down His life for them and go running after men and women who will tickle their ears and give them what they want. Not to worry they will not be denied for long, mega-churches and mega blogs are there to feed their flesh. Paul told the elders of the church of Ephesus,
“For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. ALSO (OUT) FROM YOUR OWN SELVES men arise (rise up), speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears. (Acts 20:29-31, KJ2000)
It didn’t take long before this not only happened in the churches, but it became the model for all church leadership… Out from the congression, a rising up and a ruling over the flock of God.
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Amen, very well put, Michael! 🏆🏆🏆
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Wise advice, as always, Susanne. ❤ ❤ ❤
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Thank you, Anna. ❤ ❤ ❤
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