brothers and sisters i need encouragement

sermonindex Aug 18, 2009

Yes i am struggling still but fighting and praying. I need some encouragement from maybe testimonies. Have any of you when the holy spirit was once in your life but maybe through sin or deep sin Gods holy spirit left you for maybe a couple of months or even years like me. Could you post your testimony of how God came back in your life. I am looking for forgiveness by christ but in a way i feel like i have been shut out of his kingdom forever at times. If you know and been in my situation could you please post something encouraging. I know christ is the truth but inside me it is not a present situation within me because of the decietfulness of sin, mine was sexual sin and to love someone more than God after i came into a relationship with him. If this be a warning to any of you do not continue into deep sin or any sin at all because it could suck you away from the lord , repent and even if it feels wrong or something you can't say no to say no to it anyways. I had once felt the grace of God but now for 2 years have not had it in my life, I can tell you from experience it is not worth it and i hate it and would do anything to have christ back.

sermonindex Aug 18, 2009

"A little while and you behold me no more, and again a little while and you shall see me, for I go to the Father."

(here's Martin Luther on this verse...I understand its 3 long paragraphs but the last paragraph will be worth it...you need the first two as background though before you get to the 3rd one)

""A little while," He says, "and you behold me no more," for I shall be taken prisoner and they shall deliver me to death. But it will not last long, and during this short time you shall be sorrowful, but only remain steadfast in me and follow me. It will soon have an end. Three days I will be in the grave; then the world will rejoice as though it had gained a victory, but you shall be sorrowful and shall weep and lament. "And again a little while, and you shall see me; and, Because I go to the Father." That is, on the third day I will rise again; then you shall rejoice and your joy no man shall take from you, and this will not be a joy of only three days, like the joy of the world, but an eternal joy. Thus the Evangelist John most beautifully expresses the death and resurrection of Christ in these words, when Christ says, "A little while, and you behold me not; and again a little while, and you shall see me; and, Because I go to the Father.

An example is here given us, which we should diligently lay hold of and take to heart; if it went with us as it did in the time of the apostles, that we should be in suffering, anxiety and distress, we should also remember to be strong and to rejoice because Christ will arise again. We know that this has come to pass; but the disciples did not know how he should be raised, or what He meant by the resurrection, hence they were so sorrowful and so sad. They heard indeed that they should see Him, but they did not understand what it was or how it should come to pass. Therefore they said among themselves, "What is this that He says to use, A little while? We know not what he says." To such an extent had sadness and sorrow overcome them, that they quite despaired, and knew not what these words meant and how they would see him again.

We must also feel within us this "a little while" as the dear disciples felt it, for this is written for our example and instruction, so that we may thereby be comforted and be made better. And we should use this as a familiar adage among ourselves; yeah, we should feel and experience it, so that we might at all times say, God is at times near and at times He has vanished out of sight. At times I remember how the Word seems neither to move me nor to apply to me. It passes by; I give no heed to it. But to this "a little while" we must give heed and pay attention, so that we may remain strong and steadfast. We will experience the same as the disciples. We cannot do otherwise than is written here; even as the disciples were not able to do otherwise."

sermonindex Aug 18, 2009

thank you brother. If anyone has any quotes from classic christian writers or their testimonies be my guest i need it.

L

Lordoitagain Aug 18, 2009

Psa 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

A good classic testimony for all times . . . in the same chapter, the same writer said:

Psa 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

David knew the same alienation from God. In Psalm 51 he repents for his adultry and murder, but later he is able to say that he found mercy and renewed strength.

A close friend of mine who had previously preached the gospel with great boldness fell in a similar way. After confessing and repenting and suffering for a few years, last night he preached again for the first time in a couple of years. God is a God of second chances! THANK GOD he is. When the severity of "thou art the man" conviction moves a person to genuine repentance, God extends His mercy and grace.

Psa 40:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Psa 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
Psa 40:3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

Think about the horrible pit and the miry, sticky clay that had him bound in hopelessness!

THEN he is singing a new song!

The first passage that I copied speaks of the eagle. Have you ever read or heard studies on the molting process that an eagle goes through? They lose their feathers and can't even get food, and they almost die, were it not for the mercy of other eagles bringing them food . . . then after such a season, they eventually come out of it renewed and soaring again!

It is not happen-stance that God used that illustration for renewal!

sermonindex Aug 18, 2009

thank you again, may i ask what happened to your brother during those time when he didn't preach with his walk with God?

L

Lordoitagain Aug 18, 2009

At times, he didn't walk with God. The slavery of sin had him gripped for a time (out of control). At times he would pray ask for forgiveness and feel good for a while, and at times he would sink into despair and feel hopeless. There was enough of the fear of the Lord deep inside of him that he knew that if he died or took his life, his misery would only be beginning in the torments of hell. He often felt trapped. His brothers were constantly trying to encourage him.

Sometimes that long time of misery is necessary so that the backslider will TREASURE what he had with God, and once restored will NEVER treat it lightly, but will be willing to die for it. Look at Peter. He wept bitterly, but before he'd ever deny Him again, he was crucified upside down (according to history).

About a month ago, I went to visit my friend. He was in such a pit of despair that he almost pretended not to hear me knock. To add to his God-forsaken feeling he had a mountain of debt glaring at him with no jobs in sight (construction).

Another brother and I prayed with him, but he only had his head bowed in respect. I believe that he felt that God wouldn't hear him if he tried. Later we were talking about the Lord, and he got "wound up" . . . as so many times before when he had walked in great victory . . . his heart poured forth with scriptures and wisdom from God's word, yet at the same time he felt alienated from God.

While listening to him fire his "gospel gun" like a machine gun (almost too fast for me to keep up with him), I broke. Uncontrollable tears streamed down my face. I asked him: "do you think that God has wadded you up like a piece of trash and thrown you in the trash can?" "GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE! You may have messed up His 'Plan A' forever, but as He is the Creator of all things, He can come up with a VERY GOOD 'Plan B'!"

Almost all of the "greats" in the Bible were working on a "plan B" or "plan C", or beyond (look at Samson). If we allow for repentance, as in Jeremiah 18:1-6, God can put us on the wheel and remold and remake our lives. If we do not allow repentance to work within us, Jeremiah 19: 10-11 will be our doom . . . "Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again"

Back to my friend . . . the next evening other brothers and sisters came and prayed with him. That night he was praying too. Since then, a steady rebuilding of hope has occurred. I believe that he has found the source of his strength again. The living water always meets the need!

Don't give up, dear brother. Let the repentance that has been working within you do its complete work in you until you are whole and standing on the other side of the Red Sea with no more connection to the Egyptians that once cracked the whip over your whincing flesh.

sermonindex Aug 18, 2009

That sounds like me very much. At times i feel as if i will soon be forgiven and feel hope but then other times i see my heart being hardened and feel damned forever i still feel as if i have been forgiven and my faith in christ is not completely their anymore but i want it. Thanks for that encouragement.

sermonindex Aug 18, 2009

Call out to the LORD... He is right there with you. *Read psalm 145* (A psalm of David)
Our heavenly Father is not ready to pounce on you for doing wrong, and to condemn you to death for failing, but in His loving kindness and tender mercies, is drawing you unto Himself. Look at David, in his deepest and darkest sins he wasn't a paragon of virtue, but His heart was one after God's and God knew this. (I'm sure your failings are nowhere near his!)
Keep turning to Jesus in your distress and failings, look to the cross, keep your eyes on Him and all the things of the world which seek to drag us down will not compare!
Your sister in Christ,
Joy

A great hymn:

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea;
A great High Priest, whose Name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb!
My perfect, spotless Righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace.
One with Himself, I cannot die;
My soul is purchased by His blood;
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God.

J

jimp Aug 18, 2009

hi, soon after my conversion i found myself in the ministry as an associate evangelist in a famous ministry. i never was a great or even good preacher but had honesty and zeal. one day my honesty about my thought life prompted me to quit and go back into the night club business. i told Jesus i was a good sinner but not qualified as a christian. many people came by and told me how awful i was and was kicked out of the church i had joined. i was told i committed the unpardonable sin and i began to loathe christians. a man came to me and asked if my name was jim and was i from balto. asked if he could buy my lunch and talk to me. he told me he was at the nobts and i thought oh no another one.hethen said that he was from my home and that God sent him to tell me how much He loved me, he said that He loved just as much as when i was preaching. the Holy Spirit came over me like a flood of love causing me to sob uncontolled in this restaurant. He filled me with His Spirit and i have been walking with him for 45yrs since that time. love has power and fear has torment. i now preach Jesus loves me this i know for the bible tells me so. len ravenhill once told me about people who know and love the bible of God but do not know and love the God of the bible.jimp

L

Lysa Aug 18, 2009

jimp wrote:
cut ....many people came by and told me how awful i was and was kicked out of the church i had joined. i was told i committed the unpardonable sin and i began to loathe christians... cut...
the Holy Spirit came over me like a flood of love causing me to sob uncontolled in this restaurant. He filled me with His Spirit... love has power and fear has torment.

I just shared this with someone else; but the obstacle that was hardest for me to overcome after I backslid was the church people not forgiving me. If you share your sins with them, they are the first to condemn you (the ones I dealt with anyway). I had to learn to focus on what the Holy spirit was telling me and that took a few years. I don't know what in the word happened to that Scripture "gently restore!" :-(

jimp wrote:
len ravenhill once told me about people who know and love the bible of God but do not know and love the God of the bible.

Spoken like a the prophet he was.

Thank you for sharing that... I needed that today!

God bless you!

K

Koheleth Aug 18, 2009

bible4life, Thanks for sharing your request and need. I have a story that sounds quite like yours and I can make my long story short so you just get the essentials. I just started obeying the gospel. That is not a theological statement, so don't try to analyze it. I just mean that I sought to obey the greatest commandment, to love God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength (and then of course it will follow to love your neighbor as yourself). I knew the Lord was holy, so if I wanted to go with the Lord, I also had to go the way of holiness. If you feel broken and ready, there can be no obstacle for you. If you are not there yet, get desperate. Time is short. It's as simple as that. All the best.

N

NoWhining Aug 18, 2009

To my great shame, I walked away from my Lord over money. I didn't knowingly forsake Him, but as He taught in Matthew 6, you can't serve two masters. And the love of money became my master. I walked in sin almost 20 years.

Last January, I wanted to return to the Lord. I missed His presence, His voice. So I repented of my sins, and put away everything sinful in my life, started back to church, the whole nine yards. But my walk with Him has been radically different. Where before I knew the joy of hearing His voice, and His teaching me from the Bible would literally burn in my soul, now I hear nothing. Many days I feel nothing. I fight pitched battles and sometimes feel overwhelming despair not knowing if I've sinned against Him, or perhaps I've been fooled and am a tare rather than wheat. Other Christians talk of the peace and joy of serving God, but I want to scream, " There is no peace! Where is the joy?" But I remember my disobedience, my betrayal, and then I cry out to God, that if I'm thrown into hell, I'll still love Him and serve Him with all I know. And I keep fighting. Then the victory, sweet victory comes. My enemy is beaten back again, for a short while.

Don't quit. Fight harder! Be a good and faithful slave for Christ. God's blessings to you.

sermonindex Sep 29, 2009

thank you all for your great love and prayers. I have been stronger as of late, oh but do i desire him more.

R

running2win Sep 29, 2009

Hello, Bible4life!
I know all the feelings you've talked about, and can identify with a lot of it... and the thing that
God used to bring me into real fellowship with Him was Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the LORD with ALL thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge HIM and HE shall direct thy paths."

For years I was leaning on my own understanding and "feelings". I would pray and ask for forgiveness, feel good for awhile, but then when the "good feelings" went, so did my ability to stand. I didn't "feel" forgiven, so I'd get discouraged and dive into my sin yet again. But God showed me those verses, and then showed me Romans 10:9-10

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the LORD JESUS (hallellujah!) and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised HIM from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

So I decided that I would stand up at church the next Sunday and proclaim to ALL my faith in Christ (even though I'd been a believer, although seemingly, possibly unregenerate... certainly lacking power over sin, anyway) and then I saw that I needed to stake my faith in what the Bible said... not in what I felt. And from then on I had total victory! It was in coming to that point of faith in what God says that I found power over sin and assurance of salvation. Now, it still takes deliberate standing on fait... sometimes I still don't "feel" like a Christian. I don't "feel" like God is with me... but I go to prayer with God's word in front of me and read it to God and I have found that "they that wait upon the Lord SHALL renew their strength"! It's faith dear friend! The Just shall live by faith! God bless! I hope this is helpful to you! PM me if you want anymore information about my testimony, I'd love to share more details.

Edit:
one thing I forgot to mention... as far as the condemnation that comes from the church... Jesus said "he that comes to me I will in no wise cast out!"... God loves you, and that is all that matters. You know your own sincerity before God and God sees that, and that's all that matters. I too had to come to the realization that "people are going to misunderstand me and misjudge me in life, and that's ok. I know my standing before God and that's all I need to be concerned about." So don't worry about what others think... God loves you! And that's what counts.

sermonindex Sep 29, 2009

Psalm 51:17 (New International Version)

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, YOU WILL NOT DESPISE

From your posts it sounds like you qualify. Hallelujia!!!! Receive these promises by faith and be patient.

Blessings.

cc-