Without God, With God, Escape from God

D

DEADn Sep 1, 2012

I seem to be seeing this alot and it seems like am assembly line. I was once in this place though I cannot say I am as passionate as I once was. I think it is because I have painful areas in my heart to get too involved in the church at the moment?

Anyway, This makes me wonder for those who fall under this umbrella if, when Escaping God, their hearts become more hardened then they were before. Every soul is different and some hearts will eventually come back while others take on the banner of rebellion and rail against God. I see it as an assembly line of manufacturing and I can't help but wonder if it is their own hearts to blame for deceiving them against God or is it the church they are exposed to that does it to them.

In look in the mirror at my own heart and mind I know it was my own mind and heart which deceived me. As I saw the reflections of what I thought was going on within the church around me, in life, I became disillusioned asking 'Is GOD really there?' 'If so, why do I see such apathy and such passionless hearts?'

For me, I know what is right and wrong even if I see 'good' individuals choosing to do wrong in God's Name. I have come to that point in which I know not to cross those lines of searing the heart -At least I think. It concerns me because there are many individuals which have and are passing on my similar trail who are not looking back and would rather BBQ God in their hearts than hearken To God. Does it make them twice the child of hell as before? Is it also the case that unless convicted by God to come back they are lost forever and if so do we fight with an eternal wall when we cross their paths and engage in Gospel conversation?

Without God to With God is ignorance to innocence of heart. But when that innocence of heart gets violated and seared and escaped from God what is the eternal significance of such a thing? I ponder this all the time.

John

L

learn Sep 1, 2012

post deleted because I realise it was not the question that was asked

sermonindex Sep 1, 2012

.......there are many individuals which have and are passing on my similar trail who are not looking back and would rather BBQ God in their hearts than hearken To God. Does it make them twice the child of hell as before? Is it also the case that unless convicted by God to come back they are lost forever and if so do we fight with an eternal wall when we cross their paths and engage in Gospel conversation?
Without God to With God is ignorance to innocence of heart. But when that innocence of heart gets violated and seared and escaped from God what is the eternal significance of such a thing? I ponder this all the time.

Dearest Brother John

Many saints have a heart which is wounded by the church as you say brother. It seems the most unlikely thing to say it, but the people who are able to hurt us the most are almost always those who are also able to love us the most. If this is ones own family then we will have a vulnerability to them, even as we ourselves need to be loved by them and to love them also. If it is the brethren then we are just as vulnerable because our love for the brethren is the proof that we are one amongst them. In time all such wounding will harden the heart both towards those who do the wounding as well as to God who is their heavenly Father as well as our own heavenly Father. If we didn’t find a way to resist the pain then it would eventually weigh us down and lay waste to our very bodies and souls.

I have also known this wounding experience and in the first few months it was almost unbearable. I cried to God many times and asked why I was being treated in such a way. God was merciful and I was able to realise that His love for me was greater than my need to be loved by others or to see others put their own hearts in order towards me. For a season I did feel as though I was headed on a sort of conveyor belt. I had no control and no answers to what I saw and experienced others doing. I also found that because I was unable to walk by faith for a season I did doubt the substance of God’s calling. The single reality which kept me was always coming back to the Father in heaven and remembering that He loved me with a boundless love and that He understood me far better than I could possibly understand myself. Just one moment of pushing into His presence, knowing that this pressing in was only possible because of Christ, was more comfort and more food for my soul than any amount of activity of my brethren could muster in a thousand years or defeat in ten thousand. It is eternal.

The fullness is with The Father brother. Look to Him and put aside even your own wounds and the hypocrisy of men. He is worthy.

sermonindex Sep 1, 2012

Dear Brother Andrew, that was Very good. Bless your heart, sincerely.

Brother, I've been crushed since birth [except for the Friends that GOD sent along the way] and it took until I was saved for over 30 yrs for The LORD to explain to me why.

One yr, not all that long ago - without my making it happen, these quick clip type of video shots would come into my mind of my past experiences with my family, etc. and I had nothing to do with them coming. They'd just come on their own and these shots covered quite a long period of my lifetime. It was a very painful period. As I said, it wasn't that many yrs ago neither.
Finally, after about two yrs of this happening, and me knowing that it was GOD making me relive my whole life - HE finally spoke and said - remember Joseph?

Not saying that I'm a Joseph, but HIS point was - Romans 8:28 being for 29.

He knew from before the foundations of the earth, that I would be His and He ALLOWED IT ALL to make me what He determined He wants me to be.

Only when I see all these hurts that come, through the eyes of Romans 8:28,29, can I bear up and not go on that pity trip that my flesh and physical weakness would like me to stay in.

GOD help us all to see that HE is GOOD and His purposes are Excellent beyond our imaginations - no matter What comes at us. Amen!

And GOD Bless all of you.

L

learn Sep 1, 2012

Deadn/John,
If you were to see my life, you would know I understand you perfectly. I suffered more than you could ever imagine way long before I became a Christian and after I became one it became so much worse.

After letting me be a brute beast for several years (I was already saved then), He decided to rescue me and in an instant I could forgive all those people that hurt me (with or without a cause). And these are people that cause me to snap and nearly become crazy and have thoughts of commiting suicide. Some of these people would malign and slander me without a cause, and if I were to sin, they would practically 'shout' at the top of their voices and gossip all over to put me down. You have no idea how bad it got--this was my only and last sanctuary and I have never done anything to them and yet these are their behaviours. But God will rescue you if you are His child.

Later on when hurts come your way, you learn to take it up to God to forgive others just as He forgives your trespasses. He is faithful and will do so.

sermonindex Sep 1, 2012

Brother, I've been crushed since birth [except for the Friends that GOD sent along the way and it took until I was saved for over 30 yrs for The LORD to explain to me why.
He knew from before the foundations of the earth, that I would be His and He ALLOWED IT ALL to make me what He determined He wants me to be.
Only when I see all these hurts that come, through the eyes of Romans 8:28,29, can I bear up and not go on that pity trip that my flesh and physical weakness would like me to stay in.
GOD help us all to see that HE is GOOD and His purposes are Excellent beyond our imaginations - no matter What comes at us. Amen! Anne.

Of the five people who are on my heart continuously from SI you Anne and John are two of them. Of these five brethren you and John are the most in my thoughts. It is a strange thing how God moves us and makes us comprehend others simply because He himself comprehends us. Of all the things we ought to be most confident in our daily lives it must be this confidence of the Fathers love. Romans 8:28-29 sets the unfathomable certainty of God’s love towards us and is equal to the Scripture which tells us that Christ was crucified from before the foundation of the earth. It is precisely because we cannot fathom how such love is possible that we weep when we do comprehend it. Whether we have done the offending or else have been offended the Fathers love was from the beginning towards us and to know it is to understand out of our spirits into our minds; from the deep wounds of the heart to the deep wounds of God’s love, that we are His. It was nothing to do with our own selves it is entirely a matter of God’s perfect and everlasting love. We begin to grow and learn how to walk for the sake of others and for Christ sake, when we understand that this same love is towards all men, but especially comprehended through the cross and the Lord’s own sufferings for all men. There is no other basis given by God for us to let loose the offence which we have pressed against others or which has been pressed against ourselves. The shaking of our shoulders is a mere exercise for our bodies, but to see as God Himself sees makes deep the stillness of our understanding minds though we may shed many tears. For this cause Christ shed His blood also.

The Lord Bless you Anne.