The Secret of Spiritual Soul Rest in Christ

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abiding in Christ, death, discerning the spirits, eternal life, experience, joy, Lily, our cat, rest, resurrection power, soul, Soul Rest, T. Austin-Sparks, The Holy Spirit, the whole armour of God, walking by the spirit

This title I chose seems to be self-explaining because we could also say that our soul finds its rest in Christ alone. Does not sound like a secret, does it? But if we, after decades of believing in the Lord, have not entered His rest yet although we always wanted to, maybe, it is not that easy to get there? Perhaps there is ‘something’ that continually keeps us from entering God’s rest. But what could this ‘something’ be?  🙄 Before expounding a bit more on what I just hinted to, I want to share another experience with you.

Knowing God… and Being Known by Him

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being born again, commandments, dying to self, eternal life, experience, faith, following Jesus, God's love, heart, heart knowledge, intimacy, Jesus Christ, Judgment, knowing God, overcoming the world, spiritual growth, T.A. Sparks, the body of Christ, the cross

I chose the subtitle of my poetry blog that once sprang from 1 Corinthians, chapter 8, verse 3 also as the headline for this article because I believe that the most important thing for us Christians is to really get to know (read ‘love’) the Lord. If we have an intimate relationship with God Who is the Creator of everything, then there is no need for us to worry about anything anymore. Jesus Christ promised eternal life NOW to everyone who, by the grace of God, has been given an intimate knowledge of God in the Spirit. He said,

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (Jn 17:3 ESV)

On how to not “Walk by the Spirit”

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discerning the spirits, encouragement, experience, faith, following Jesus, gospel, grace, knowing God, sanctification, T.A. Sparks, the heavenlies, thought life, walking after the flesh, walking by the spirit

It was only yesterday in the evening as I was occupied with tidying up the living room when I asked myself this question, “When should I walk in the Spirit?” to which God’s immediate response was, “Now!” Honestly, that gave me a pause.  🙄 Although I recalled having prayed quick prayers when I was busy with similar mundane activities before, I rather thought about walking by the spirit whenever I was confronted with decisions of any kind as to what and how to do something. That means in particular, when I left the house I asked God about leading me. When I had to write emails or to do some phone calls, I asked Him to show me what to say and to give me His wisdom in all things. And I really thought that was enough. But no, it was not!

Who are the 144,000?

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ambition, aspiration, desires, discerning the spirits, dying to self, emotions, encouragement, entering his rest, experience, eyes of the heart, following Jesus, God's love, joy, light, love, mind, Mount Zion, peace, soul, suffering, T.A. Sparks, the 144.000, the Lamb, the mind of Christ, the will, walking by the spirit

Several Christians over the last centuries have had thoughts and ideas about who these particular people mentioned in the Book of Revelation might be. Even a cult (Jehovah’s Witnesses) claimed this whole group of believers for their own purposes. But can it be that easy?  🙄 Is there a single Christian denomination or a ‘Christian’ cult that would be able to comprise those 144,000 who seem to occupy a very special position, maybe, even the best position possible as to their closeness to God?  🙄

I saw in my last post where I mainly published longer excerpts from T. Austin Sparks that it does not make much sense to go on doing so. It seems I should offer some explanations combined with my own experiences or insights regarding all topics so that the whole article gets more vivid. Actually, I know myself how tedious the simple reading of facts without enlightening examples can be.  😉 So I decided to include only short excerpts by TAS where I thought it might be helpful and to also offer my own ideas as to the following Scriptures. As for these 144,000, the apostle John describes what he saw in the Book of Revelation.

In THAT Day…

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becoming one, encouragement, entering his rest, entering the Kingdom of God, eternal life, experience, God our Father, God's love, Jesus Christ, joy, Oneness, prayer, promises, The Holy Spirit, the new self, the promised land

It was only lately that our Lord made me aware of numerous Scriptures, both in the Old and in the New Testament, that point us to a specific moment in time. It seems I usually read over this wording, thinking “in that day” would mean in the majority of cases a date far ahead of us in the future. I decided to focus on only three Scriptures from the Gospel of John here. What they have in common is that they all present God’s promises having been fulfilled in us.

What No Eye Has Seen…

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entering his rest, entering the Kingdom of God, eternal life, experience, Fellowship of His Sufferings, God our Father, God's love, Jesus Christ, joy, new life, peace, poem, revelation, suffering, the dawning of a new day, the promised land, trials, visions, walking by the spirit, Walking in the Light

You might remember what the apostle Paul said about his overwhelming spiritual experiences, his visions and his thorn that kept him from being conceited. Paul wrote,

1 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.
3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—
4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.
5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses—
6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.
7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
9 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.
10 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. (2 Cor 12:1-10 ESV)

Entering His Rest

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controlling spirits, destruction, discerning the spirits, entering his rest, eternal life, experience, following Jesus, God's guidance, Jesus Christ, life, Resisting the Devil, spiritual power, the hard way, The Kingdom of Heaven, the narrow gate

Instead of writing another long-winded article in which I decribe my latest experiences with God, I am going to offer you a link to an older entry, see further below (*), which I just reread and edited a bit. As I described lengthily in my last blog, Jesus has started to set me free from all bondage that kept me from closely following His lead on a moment-by-moment basis. With ‘bondage’ I mean old habits, human tradition, and obligations of all kinds. You can hardly imagine how often I find another seemingly good work I have been used to, of which I now see that that has not been God’s will for me at all.

A True Revival or… Living A Deathless Life

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being born again, darkness, encouragement, following Jesus, freedom, Jesus Christ, joy, light, spiritual power, T.A. Sparks, the new self, the promised land, true faith

T. Austin Sparks wrote,

What is the supreme evidence of the living God being amongst us? It is that we know Jesus Christ as triumphant over the power of death in our experience: for, having met death in its full power, its full force, its flood-tide, He triumphed. It was the flood-tide of death that was encountered at Calvary; death, in all that death means, something far beyond mere physical death, even all the terrible, wicked power of spiritual death. The Lord Jesus went into the flood of iniquitous death, and death’s power was taken from it, and it could not overflow. He broke the power of death and its curse, and made death stand back. “He tasted death in the behalf of every man“.

Getting Old Ain’t for Sissies…. BUT GOD

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aging, blogging, diseases, dying to self, experience, faith, family, following Jesus, God's love, hope, love, marriage, my grandparents, my parents, the old self, World War II

My parents in the 1970s

I know it’s been a while since I published the last blog article (five months, oh well). Even just yesterday I was wondering whether I would be done with writing publicly as I have felt NO inclination to jot down my experiences with God for a rather long time. No time and no interest in blogging at all! Furthermore, I have experienced a very dry spiritual “blah time”. You know, these times when everything seems to be so “normal”, so arduous and boring that you might wonder whether you had known God at all.  🙄

Self under Arrest

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anointing, being born again, deliverance, discerning the spirits, entering his rest, esoteric movements, experience, faith, introspection, Jesus Christ, self-analysis, T.A. Sparks, the new self, the old self

Imagine you keep meeting your loved ones not only today but also… yesterday… and tomorrow. This is both grammatically wrong and seems to be a ridiculous statement, right? Yet how often our thoughts keep strolling about situations that happened in the past (and cannot be repeated!) and about what might take place in the days ahead (although solely God knows the future). Of course, we know that we should live in the moment right now, but can we? If you ever tried earnestly, you know that it is hard work to simply experience a few seconds without your mind trying to run away through space and time, so to say. The apostle Paul said, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (cf. Gal 2:20 ESV) What does that mean?