Brothers and sisters in Christ I again have felt the burden in my soul that I need to be right with God and make sure of my salvation. I truly believe right now if I faced God that I have no assurance where I would go. Please pray for my soul, I desire the Lord, but I feel satan is trying to pull me to the world and my heart keeps getting harder. Please pray for me, I don't want to be lost forever.
Just prayed for you...may God speak to you as only He can!
Brother I will be praying for you as well as the Lord leads, I actually want to thank you though because of your honesty in this post. You may not see this but what I see in your post is one who is working out his salvation with fear and trembling which is something many of us need to work harder on. :)
Has anyone noticed before it seems when you try to get closer to the Lord through repentance and forsaking the world you seem to fall away more, I just feel as if God is rejecting me more and more I try to get closer to him. My heart and conscious seems to get harder to him. This just seems to never get better. I preach a sermon and it seems wow maybe the Lord is still working, I lead 2 bible studies which in my current spiritual condition I don't think I should be, but all of this is going on and I am struggling to believe my faith and I have lost conviction towards sin almost completely and desiring to the world again, I just don't understand.
Hi,
A few words which have helped me when God felt distant: I read a quote from Districh Bonhoeffer "only the obedient believe - only the belivers obey". I realized, and continue.to realize I so often what to do my own thing and I need to keep on learning from the scriptures and actually put it into practice, rather than leaving it at an abstraction. For me at least it is a process.
The other thing from my Paster this week "first seek his face". I am guilty of getting into learning "about" God, and neglecting to having a personal.relationship with him. Prayer is easy when I am in crisis, but I don't always feel a desire for it at other times. I so need to develop this.
Lastly God is within you. You are the temple of the holy spirit. Continue to repent and believe. Trust God when he says he will not forsake you!
I think that one of the greatest gifts that Nee gave me was his remarks about "when GOD takes 'the feelings' away" so that we'll walk 'by faith alone' and not by feelings. I do believe that one sentence saved or kept me all these years. Every time He wants me to grow more, the 'feeling' of His presence leaves and I am pounded by the enemy like a thorn in the flesh - a messenger of satan - accusing that I'm not saved... blah, blah, blah. I'm being out-right and honest here because the greatest Saints I know on earth presently are being buffeted in one way or another. Nothing in this world is worth me going back to - satan knows our weak points though and for me it's a life-time of rejection and abandonment since birth. I'm in my eigth home now - and I'm getting old and am physically quite ill and the abandonment never ended. My family's not saved YET neither. I say YET because you know we have plans & have to keep the faith that they will be one day.
About 5 or so years ago, I was praying a very similar prayer as Isaac Watts prayed, as I was doing a paper on the Deity of Christ. I had all the verses printed up regarding "The Creator" from the OT & New and I turned from my computer and saw the cross and it hit me like an atomic bomb --- It just came out - "CREATOR GOD WAS ON THAT CROSS" ~ "CREATOR GOD WAS ON THAT CROSS" ~ "CREATOR GOD WAS ON THAT CROSS".
When I'd go to my church back home, I'd look up at the life sized cross and it would come over and over in my mind that way.
I believe that is the strongest thing that's ever happened to me and it's never lost it's magnitude nor keeping power. When every good feeling on earth leaves me, I go back to That - Creator GOD was on that cross.
Brother, I can't explain to you how physically & otherwise depleted I feel but I can relate in part to things that Richard Wurmbrand went through because of this ... and only for that empathy for the suffering, do I see any good out of this all. It's hard to think when you feel pressed in on every side - nonetheless 'feel' anything positive - like love, joy, peace, His presence --- so Something more than 'feelings' needs to "Keep us" ... Amen!
You may not 'feel' convicted - but you 'know' what is right or wrong to Do or not do. It's the doing that you Can control. We can't control whether we feel something or not but we can control the doing - by faith that "it will be worth it all when we see Jesus" to not give in or give up. Amen?
When we get our eyes off of ourselves and onto helping others, as you have been doing and just leave the feelings aside - "by faith" we are saved. By faith that He loves us - we don't give up or give in. To think that we'll be for all of ETERNITY, RESTING IN HIS LOVE will surely be worth anything that we give up, in this fleeting here and now - despite the cost. Even with just pea sized faith.
Every one I know is going through trials or buffeting and I know it's because "he knows his time is short" and this is 'part' of "the wearing down of the Saints" ... so we ALL must need be strong -- for Eternity's sake - so we can all meet each other too, in our Glorified bodies. PTL!! :)
Pray one for another - in Faith! Amen.
GOD Bless you!
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Psalms 136 & 104
Gen 1:26 And God said (when GOD 'said', was that The Logos? :), Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Psa 33:6 By the Word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
Jer 51:15, 16 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
Psa 102:25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
Col 1:16-17 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Isa 48:12, 13 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.
Isa 45:12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord
Jer 10:12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
Isa 42:5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein
Heb 1:10-12 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Jer 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee
Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Isa 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
Isa 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things;
that stretcheth forth the heavens alone;
that spreadeth abroad the earth
by myself
Isa 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens;
God himself that formed the earth and made it;
he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited:
I am the LORD; and there is none else.
I just wanted to point out the article in articles and sermons on faith by David Wilkinson. I found it really helpful, maybe it will speak to you.
I will pray that God will give you a time of refreshing, not for your salvation because I believe God has you in his hand,
My experience has been just like yours. I first heard the Gospel, believed and got baptized at the age of 15, and have spent the last 29 years in defeat and in bondage to alcohol and other drugs. The harder I try the harder I fall. I have followed dozens of preachers, read thousands of books and traveled all over the country chasing revival. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong or what I'm missing. So I don't have any help for you in the way of spiritual advice, but it might be comforting to know that you are not unique. The only thing I know is prayer: if we keep beseeching God for deliverance He will answer. I am going to a healing service tonight, and I will remember to pray for you.
thanks brother, I think the hardest part is not exactly that he hasn't answered, even though that is hard, but that I have become hard towards God and have hatred in my heart. I feel like their is another spirit in me that is hateful towards everyone and their is an evil rejoicing in me when bad things happen and I can't control it. I doubting the Bible and Christ altogether has been so hard. I have no love in my heart it is all forced, I have desire to pray anymore and even read scripture. I try to just try to believe but then those doubts overcome me. I fear scriptures in hebrews 6 and 10 in peter are for people like me, I just pray God is more merciful.
I went offline and called to check on my 92 yr old Dad. He lives in the building next door to me. He needs The LORD but he's fed his mind on "science" all of his life and it's hard for him to grasp "the simplicity of Christ". He tells folks that he's catholic, but he really isn't - just an "agnostic", he says.
Anyway, before I called him, I went offline to pray and your post wouldn't leave me alone, so I just prayed... Then I called Dad. He mentioned watching a lot of TV and said, "What else is there to do?" - I said, "Maybe read the Bible?" -- I didn't know what else to answer him with. I've sent him much when we lived away from each other -- but Thank GOD, he answered me with a different spirit than he did in the past - he said, "It confuses me." -- I got a shot of hope in my heart and smiled and told him, "We'll fix that." Praise GOD. Little by little since I moved here to be of help to him (I've been away from my family for 38 yrs) I'm seeing little rays of light now from his direction. Bless GOD! (Please keep him in your prayers if you would) and for me to have the physical strength to do whatever all I'm here for. Appreciated!!
So then, after he said that, I went to my book shelf to see if I had anything left that was written in larger print and easy to understand for a non-believer. Instead a book fell open that made my mind go back to your prayer again.
The book is called "Your Life In GOD" by R. A. Torrey, one of my favorite guys. It was chpt 5 that opened up. Boy, it sure blessed me.
I did a search online and found the whole of that chpt here -
http://www.gotothebible.com/HTML/Sermons/TorreyLooking2Jesus.html
Other than that John - I believe that somewhere along the way that you've swallowed a lie regarding yourself ... just my opinion ... and that every time that a feeling or thought that offends comes to mind, you should call it a lie and refuse to except it as coming from you - but as an attack of thoughts & feelings that want to convince you of these things, as originating from yourself. All anyone can do is hang on for dear life during these assaults on the mind and "do the right thing" regardless. Pro 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
I'll end it here and I pray you gain hope by knowing that there are people rooting for you during this period of temptation to doubt and are standing for you in prayer as well.
The LORD Bless you & Keep you.
Brethren, I believe we must be careful in pronouncing someone saved when we do not see enough fruit in their walk. Ultimately only God knows who is or isn't really saved, for He alone truly sees where our heart is, whether toward Him or toward the world.
That said, the Bible does promise that we can have assurance of salvation(1John5:13); especially recommended reading would be Johns writings, as well as our Lord's sermon on the mount.
Our Lord said a tree is known by its fruit and we will know them by their fruit. True believers are called to be "fruit inspectors" so to. If someone seems to show fruit I believe we are safe in saying that they seem to know the Lord, or even believe that they are saved. But I do not believe we are safe to say that we know for sure that they are saved, for we do not see their heart like God does.
If we do not see enough fruit in the life of someone who claims to know Christ I believe it is our duty to warn them if we know them or speak to them. This kind of warning is throughout Scripture. But by and large we have neglected that kind of warning and duty, to the destruction of multitudes of souls in our churches.
One of the greatest deceptions in this generation has been in the area of quickly pronouncing someone saved, simply for going forward at altar calls, saying a sinners prayer, going to church, reading the Word, knowing Christianese lingo, etc.
bible4life and wayneman, I cannot say for sure whether or not you are truly saved, God knows and will show you. bible4life I can say that I do not believe you or anyone like you has committed the unpardonable sin, else you would not even be concerned about it. There is still hope for you to be saved and have assurance.
I would simply encourage you to keep seeking knocking and asking Him to reveal Himself in truth to you. Find a place to get alone with Him and cry out to Him to give you the new birth if you do not have it, and to give you assurance of salvation when you receive it.
When your receive the new birth the chains of sin are broken and you are set free from the dominion of sin in your life(Rom.6:14). Not saying sinless perfection but a continual growth in love and holiness unto the Lord. I will be praying for you both. God bless.
P.S. I would also recommend listening to "True and False Conversion" by Ray Comfort and "Examine Yourself" by Paul Washer, if you have not listened to them.
Yes Oracio that is a good point. We cannot judge someone's salvation. I just think often satan will try to convince us that God isn't faithful to his convenant promises.
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