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MEDITATION GUIDELINES
How to Benefit from the Changing Power of God
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The Spirit of God has been poured out on all mankind.
But the anointing which you have received of him abides in you,
and you do not need any man to teach you:
but as the same anointing teaches you of all things,
and is truth, and is no lie,
and even as it has taught you,
you shall abide in him.
Be still, and know that I am God.
Jesus said:
"There is only one thing needed.
Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her" -
to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear his word.
Many different religions meditate.
What is different about this?
The difference between Christian meditation and all the other meditation flavors is that Christ is the one doing the work for us. We don't have to worry about techniques: i.e. incense, bells, chants, mantras, breathing, etc. - because we only try to be quiet and think on His name while we wait, listen, and watch; he does the rest. We go to him to learn and be changed by grace. Many forms of meditation teach to ignore all thoughts and all voices, but unless you obey the convictions and complete commands heard and understood, there is no spiritual progress. Obedience is the cross; obedience is to deny your own will and obey the will of God. And the reward for which we strive far exceeds anything the others have imagined; not only purity, which they seek, but after purification: union with God and Christ; dwelling in the Kingdom of Heaven while on earth; fellowship in heaven with Christ, the Father, the angels, and the spirits of men and women past made perfect; fellowship in the Spirit with fellow believers; and each of us having an office and function in the Body of Christ and His government on the earth for the rest of our lives here. This is where you learn from Him, get cleansed by Him, are led by Him, and come to know Him. The Holy Spirit or Comforter or Spirit of Truth will teach you about sin and righteousness, lead you into all truth, and teach you all things — if you get quiet, listen, think on the name of Jesus, hear, and obey.
If I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you.
And when he comes, he will convict and convince the world of sin, and about righteousness, and judgment.
Of sin, because they do not believe in me.
Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more.
Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
However when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.
.. and he will show you things to come....
But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit and whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you all things.
Compared to an expert in yoga or Buddhist meditations, my techniques are nothing; but they don't have to be anything, because it is Christ that does the teaching, not me who somehow makes myself capable by technique. Believe me, after hearing from many who have found this web site to guide them to their teacher within, technique is the least important; for we are taught and changed by the unmerited favor of God, grace, which abounds in sufficient quantity to those who humbly seek him with the name of Jesus in mind.
Whatever works for you to get into the Light, keep using it. We know people who have gone into the Light by a variety of meditation methods. One person using TM had the Light tell her that it would heal her. It was revealed to her that the Light was Christ, but that person rejected the Light to be Christ, because she had rebelled from a condemning fundamental christian sect. Rejecting the Light to be Jesus, she missed the opportunity to be healed of her sickness and the opportunity to attain union with God in his Kingdom.
The Inward Focus
Christ's physical life and sacrifice made our purity and union possible; the benefits of His earthly life are detailed in Why Light?
A common fear among people of the deficit sects is that any meditation is trying to make ourselves a pantheistic God, looking inward, rather than looking outward to God. However the fear is unfounded; Paul confirms Christ within, whom we seek to hear, see, know, and follow:
Do you not yourselves realize and know that Jesus Christ is in you?
Christ in you, the hope of glory
I will dwell in them, And walk in them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.
Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
Further Scriptural Basis of Waiting, Watching, and Listening for God
Jesus said: For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and does [practices] them.
He is like a man building a house, who laid a foundation securely built on a rock.
He can't make it any plainer! He said: come to him , listen to his words, and obey. By doing so, you receive Christ.
If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.
My Father will love him, and we will come and make our home with him.
The core message of this web site is from the above two teachings of Jesus:
Come, listen, obey what you hear (repentance), be loved by the Father, and He and Jesus then come to you with the Kingdom of Heaven.
Listen to and obey My voice,
and I will be your God and you will be My people;
and walk in the whole way that I command you.
Jesus said: "There is only one thing needed. Mary has chosen that good part,
which shall not be taken away from her" - to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear his word.
To hear his word it to listen to the word of God in your heart.
Everyone of the truth hears my voice.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
So you can see that hearing his voice and following him (obeying him) is critical to your future - critical to obtaining life: The words I speak to you are spirit and they are life. The promises are: if you listen to and obey the Holy Spirit, he will teach you all things, he will guide you into all truth, he will tell you of things to come, and you will know all things.
It is a cross to a man's will to sit silently, struggling to keep his mind from wandering; it is a cross to a man's will to obey what he is commanded and taught by the Holy Spirit; this is the cross of which you must deny yourself and pick it up every day to then follow Jesus. To follow is to obey. You cannot be his disciple unless you pick up your cross daily and follow his orders. Salvation is only received by those who follow the lamb wherever he goes - who obey completely the voice of the Lord, in whatever he commands. Do not be discouraged if you don't hear for some time. Even your waiting is to your credit: Let your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping on you. . For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by ear, nor has the eye seen a God beside you, who acts for the one who waits for him.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; (love, peace, joy, patience, kindness,...
for without Me you can do nothing. . Works without God's Love in us count for nothing.
To produce fruit, is to possess God's love; then your works are faith expressing itself through love.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a withered branch.... into the fire.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Abiding is the key to success. Studying the Bible only tells us what we must achieve and avoid.
To know the truth, you have to be taught by Jesus himself, personally, about himself. His living words must abide in you.
To abide in Christ, is to abide in his Light, in his presence, in his living word, (not read the Bible).
when anything [as in secret sins of your heart] is exposed and reproved by the light, it is made visible and clear; and where everything is visible and clear there is light.
the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts.
To abide is "to remain." We go to him and quietly sit waiting on him; and then we listen for him to speak to us and watch for what he shows us. When the Light appears, we spend time in the Light. His living Word penetrates us, separating spirit from soul, and the Light purifies us by the blood of Jesus. As we repent, we are changed and receive more of His Spirit. As we receive more of his Spirit, he abides or remains in us too. We become the possessors of Christ, not just professors.
To sit in silence waiting on the Lord is to bear the cross -
instead of thinking how you might please others.
Be still, and know that I am God.
Be silent, oh all flesh before the Lord.
Truly my soul silently waits upon God; from him comes my salvation.
In repentance and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.
The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
For more understanding on the necessity of learning in silence,
see: George Fox's outstanding Biblical justification and requirement Why Silence?
For the process and benefits, see Miguel de Molinos' wonderful Spiritual Guide, a critical reading, (also on the side bar). Since Molinos was a Roman Catholic in the time of the inquisition, it was impossible to meet as a group without being executed; so all of his guidance is directed to individual, private effort; which is particularly appropriate to scattered pilgrims, without a group.
For understanding and encouragement, read Isaac Penington's wonderful Letters.
Jesus came so he could destroy the devil and his works, sin, in us - if we go to him.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested [in us], that he might destroy the works of the devil.
So, seek, listen, obey. Seek, listen, obey. Persevere, and Christ will lead you through repentance to union and the Kingdom of Heaven.
He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him!
(Diligence is defined as continually attending to and striving to achieve a goal; laboring; persevering.)
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. .
If those who hear will obey, their progress will be swift.
Belief in the true gospel, and the cross to realize the promise, releases the power of God to purify you and make you one with Him.
Jesus said, Then will the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God) shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let him who has ears be listening, and let him contemplate, discern, and understand by hearing. .
The following extract of letters from the early Quaker notable, William Dewsbury, is an outstanding description of the workings of the Spirit to teach, convict, and lead to salvation, while waiting on the Lord in silence; he particularly relates the process in precise scriptural language:
All people who desire to know the living God,
let the time past suffice in which you have followed
men who have deceived you, and cease from them;
and turn to the true Prophet, whom Moses the servant
of the Lord declared, the Lord God would raise
up, Deut 18:15, his elect and chosen servant,
to raise up the tribe of Jacob, and to restore the
preserved of Israel; whom he has also given for a
Light to the Gentiles, and to be his salvation to
the ends of the earth. Whom Isaiah the prophet
also declared, the Lord would raise up, to open the fountain of life and salvation to all that thirst, Isa 55:1-3, and is now witnessed by all that
hearken to his counsel, who calls,' Ho!' to every
one that thirsts,' come you to the waters, and he
that has no money, come you buy and eat, yes,
buy wine and milk without money and without
price. Wherefore do you spend your money for
that which is not bread, and your labor for that
which satisfies not? Hearken diligently unto me,
and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight
itself in fatness: incline your ear and come
unto me; hear, and your souls shall live; and I
will make an everlasting covenant with you, even
the sure mercies of David.' " All people, look no longer forth; the glad
tidings of the gospel of eternal salvation is heard within, in this day of the Lord's mercies, in which
he is teaching his people himself, as was declared
by the prophet Isaiah 54:13, and is now witnessed
by all the children of light, whose minds
are turned within to wait on the Lord for his teaching,
to establish them in the covenant of life and
peace, who is performing his promise, which he
declared by his servant the prophet Jeremiah to
all that wait on him; namely,' This shall be the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel,
in those days, said the Lord; I will put my law
into their hearts, and write it in their inward parts,
and will be to them a God, and they shall be to me
a people; and they shall no more teach every man
his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the
least of them unto the greatest of them, said the
Lord; for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,
and their sins and their iniquities I will remember
no more.'
Therefore, every one that desires to know the
only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent,
turn your minds within, and examine your hearts,
search and try your ways with the light that Christ
Jesus has enlightened you withal, that shows you
in your hearts what is sin, that pride and covetousness, lying and swearing, dissimulation and
cheating, vain and idle communications, foolish
jesting and unbelief, are sins. These things you
know to be sins in your own consciences, by the
righteous law of God in the heart, that reproves
you for them in secret. There is your teacher, the
Spirit of the Lord within you; which, in this
mighty day of his power, he is pouring upon all
flesh, according to his promise declared by the prophet Joel 2:28-29, and is now witnessed by
his sons and by his daughters, who walk in the
light, and are led and guided by his Spirit within
them, which keeps the conscience void of offence
towards God and towards man. "Hearken, every one, diligently to the counsel
of the Lord, the light that witnesses for God in
the conscience; give up to be guided by it; then
you will need no more to be taught of men, neither
shall your teacher be removed into a corner any
more; but your eye shall see your teacher, and 'your ear shall hear a voice behind you, saying,
This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to
the right hand or to the left,' as was declared by
the prophet, Isaiah 30:20-21, which is now witnessed :—
and that is the living word of God within
you, which has raised desires in you towards
God. Every one in whom such desires are raised,
wait in the light and power within, which has
raised the desires; and the Lord will then
strengthen you, and give you power to wait on him
in the way of his judgments, until the carnal,
earthly, sensual mind, which has led you to delight
in lusts and pleasures, and in created enjoyments,
below God, is cut down and slain by the
word of God within which is a sharp and two-edged
sword, to slay down the first man, which is of the
earth, earthy; and then will you come to witness a
being 'the slain of the Lord.' The sentence of
death will be passed upon the first man that has
led you from God, and on all the strength, wisdom,
and righteousness you had in him; and in the
power of the Spirit, you will be brought, in the
true sense of the poverty of your spirits, to hunger and thirst after the righteousness of God in Christ
Jesus, to ge and love him, and to judge and deny self with his light, and in it to wait for his
power to guide you in every word and work."
William Dewsbury
The Environment for Success
You must return to your first love, the way you felt when you were first touched by the Lord - on fire. Kindle that fire again. Seek with all your heart. Hate your evil thoughts, profane words, and slavery to your pleasures; they are your enemies. You can't stop your mind from sinning, you can't control your tongue from sinning, but you can control you feet and hands; and you can learn to control your eyes, by practicing looking away from what tempts you. The fear of God is to turn away from evil. If you don't stop sinning by reaching out with your hands to commit evil, and running to evil with your feet, you are not sincerely seeking God - you have failed to repent from the basics under your control. Obedience to what you understand, and what you are able, leads to righteousness. If you deliberately sin, when you could have chosen not to, then you are betraying your sincerity in seeking God; and you can expect to receive little to no help, until you show a true turning away from the evil of which you are able. Dedicate yourself to be rid of you sins once and forever, through the grace of God that will save you completely from you sins. Focus on becoming pleasing to God. Seek God's direction in your life, confident that your life will then be lived to the fullest with the best possible results.
The Lord has told me several times in my journey to "keep seeking peace." He also said for anyone to be successful: "Your motive must be noble and pure." To be successful, your motivation for meditation, (wait, listen, and watch), must be to seek peace; it cannot be to seek financial gain, a more powerful personality, power, religious position, spiritual gifts,* money, or prestige. These are all rooted in the ego flesh, which the Spirit mortifies in the meditation process. You must humbly approach meditation willing to give up anything asked; eager to crucify your lusts and affections; willing to repent of any evil in your heart revealed; and hopeful of receiving his words, light, spirit and peace in return. Without this motivation, you will receive little, if any, help. If you approach meditation with reservations about something in your life you selfishly intend to retain, whatever you ask, you will hear little. If you approach meditation seeking specific answers to questions you have, therefore trying to set the agenda yourself, rarely will you hear.
*Do not seek gifts, seek the giver. If you seek gifts, you will not succeed. But if you seek the giver, you will be showered with gifts. William Penn said, "They, who seek power, are those who do not receive Christ in his convictions upon the soul, and therefore, they will always lack power; but those who seek his convictions, receive power, like those of old, to become the children of God, through the pure obedience of faith."
If you are serious about seeking God, you must make every effort to be honest: no lying, no cheating, no exaggerating, no omission of details that change your statements. If you slip in the moment, which happens even while trying, go back to the person and correct your misstatement; all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. When you are willing to give up anything, so that you can get closer to God, you have nothing to lie about any more; for one lies to gain or preserve, whether it is goods or pride.
This is not a 100 meter dash; it is a 100 kilometer marathon. A command to me, particularly appropriate to the start of your journey is: "Do not despise small beginnings."
To seek union with God is not always pleasant, especially the crucifixion of self. As Molinos says: He that would go to perfection by the means of sweetness and consolation, is mistaken. The soul that would be united to Christ, must be conformable to him, following him in the way of suffering on the cross. Jesus said that before beginning, one should first sit down and calculate the cost whether he has sufficient means to finish it? Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is unable to complete, all who see it will begin to mock and jeer at him. Saying, This man began to build and was not able (worth enough) to finish. He is telling us to not even start, unless we are committed to going all the way, including death of self through suffering and tribulation. This commitment comes from a deep hunger, a hunger established by God to draw you to him. He already has far too many, calling themselves 'christians,' who never even started, much less finished, building his temple to completion in their hearts. But we can testify truly, that having gone through much suffering and tribulation, the pain is nothing compared to the reward of knowing God. For God has created us to be loved by him and for us to love him. He is pure, clean, holy, righteous, merciful, truthful, faithful, peaceful, full of joy, and abounding in love for us - eagerly awaiting the opportunity to show his love for us. But to be in his presence and receive his love, we must be changed to become pure to able to receive his spirit in measure - our old wineskin can't hold the new wine - we must let him prepare us a new wineskin - so we can possess and enjoy the superior wine. From the voice of the Lord, "Trust him. He will lead you and watch over you continually. He will never leave you."
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. . Tribulation is not a hard day at the office, a car wreck, or some natural difficulty; it is unmistakably, supernaturally imposed.
For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.
. (There is much more on tribulation later in this section.)
The Lord has told me that "compared to the impoverished, third-world nations , very few in the prosperous, industrialized western world will be willing to completely sacrifice their selfish way of life." Don't sacrifice your eternal happiness for the transient pleasures of your lifestyle, however good it feels. Remember, pride of life results from lust's accumulations. Pride of life is the major problem for the industrialized nations; we imagine that we have the world by the tail. Presumption is the major spiritual error; we imagine that we can please God without crucifixion of the selfish spirit to its death.
His promise was: if you seek, as your FIRST priority, the Kingdom of Heaven and His Righteousness, all your other needs will be met. We can testify to the truth of his promise, that while seeking the Lord as our first priority in life, He has met all our material needs far in excess of our hopes. Rather than accumulation, your focus should be on giving from your excess; for it is more blessed to give than receive. You must practice generous giving. When you see a need that you can fill from your excess, fill it. Just react to what comes in front of you, or you can give to deserving charities such as our favorites: Girls and Boys Town and TheSmileTrain. By giving, you are practicing what you seek - love and death of self; but give in secret, receiving no recognition from man. Only your Father in heaven will know, and your treasure will become eternal.
And remember, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil, not money. Rich or poor can love money. Rich or poor can have little regard for money. Remember, it is written, give to the poor, and I will repay you. And, God loves a cheerful giver. Ease of giving comes with practice. Start slow and build as you feel the joy of giving. If you can't do this yet, wait until he shows you the root of your problem in your heart and takes it away.
Of course, everyone able should be employed, and so be in service to the creation; any honest job is honorable, which includes being a stay-at-home mom. We cannot be slothful, doing no work, living off the government or others' generosity. The slothful are close kin to the destroyer.
As long as you are in an honest occupation, remain where you are. The more changes in your life that you make, the more unsettled you become and the less you can hear Him because your mind is racing to accommodate your new circumstances. Don't relocate to a new job, city, country, or house unless necessary. Make as few changes as possible in your worldly life.
To single people: If you sincerely desire to seek God, you cannot be seeking a husband or wife at the same time, because that pulls you away from your primary goal. There is nothing wrong with marriage, but you cannot forsake all, while grasping for more; you cannot lose your natural life, while trying enlarge the same. When you attain the clear guidance of the voice of God, if it is best for you to be married, He will clearly tell you whom and when to marry; remember, God destroyed the old world by water because the sons of God were marrying people outside of the faith, to whomever they were physically attracted to. Before you begin, count the costs. If you have heard the call, don't be like those who said they were too busy with: a new wife, their business, their farm, or burying their parents. Long after George Fox had attained union and entered paradise, with no desire on his part, he was told by the Lord to marry Margaret Fell, also a prominent Quaker.
As you begin to deny your former evil activities in the world, the basis of your friendships will diminish. As you deny foul language, revelry, drinking, carousing, etc., your friends will become uncomfortable and begin to attack your commitment to goodness. You will no longer have anything to gain from socializing with them. For what fellowship can light have with dark or righteousness with lawlessness? Yes, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. Your former social friendships will necessarily disappear, else they will hate you and persecute you; or worse, drag you back into the world as you seek their approval. Are you trying to win the approval of men, or of God? This doesn't mean that you won't be kind and courteous to those of the world with which your occupation brings you into association; just that you will not socialize with them, because it would be painful and harmful to you. Do not be deceived. Evil companions corrupt good manners, morals, and integrity.
If you are preaching or teaching religion before being perfected and specifically authorized by Christ, to progress spiritually, you must stop. Every word you preach or teach that is not totally correct puts condemnation on you, and until perfected and authorized your teachings will not be true. Don't even talk about God or Christ until authorized by him. See To Religious Teachers and Preachers for more.
Strive to live a quiet and peaceful life. Seek peace with all men. The less conversation, the better. The less time with radio, TV, movies, CDs, MP3s, podcasts, books, magazines, newspapers, web surfing; the better. Whatever conversation you find yourself in, try to talk about love and family. Encourage and congratulate noble activities and good deeds that surface in conversation. Even compliment others for acts of kindness, repressing anger, and politeness. Don’t join unprofitable conversations, avoiding impurity and chatter spoken from pride (godless chatter), for they will increase your ungodliness. If the conversation turns to something profane, immediately leave; spare your ears, voice, and spirit.
A withdrawal from the world for a period of solitude can be helpful to see the world more clearly as it is. From the Lord: "withdraw from the world long enough to see the inconsideration and hate within it."
Pastimes are not harmful unless giving them up is painful. But, even if a pastime is not important to you, to others they are a major indulgence in their life. So, you may decide to, or be asked to, refrain from participating in them to: 1) avoid the appearance of endorsing them, thus being a good example to those who might indulge to their harm, and 2) not offend those of other religious persuasions, who think they are sinful - preventing them from hearing the truth as you practice it. Both cases illustrate the practice of being your brother's keeper.
See Coming Out of the World for more on what you need to do to succeed.
Simple Rules to Follow
Beyond your daily seeking through meditation, here are the starting rules that if you follow, you will do well.
Certainly we have to make every effort to give up the unlawful practices: lying, cheating, swearing, drunkenness, stealing, railing, sexual immorality, etc.
But in our culture
we are immersed in lawful pastimes - sports, TV, movies, web surfing, CDs, MP3s, podcasts, music, concerts, theater, races, bodybuilding, shopping, blogging, video games, etc. So where do we begin? You can't give it all up at once, or you will be an empty shell. What you give up has to be led by him, one step at a time, with him giving more hunger for him each step of the way. Titus 2:11-14 says: grace will teach us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts - how to live soberly, righteously, godly. Certain things must be turned away from with all your strength, particularly those that lead you to sexual immorality. Pornography addiction is the disease of the age and wherever it appears, it must be eliminated: magazines, calendars, books, TV, movies, web surfing, etc. If you are addicted to web pornography, at least get the sites off your Favorites list. Make it more than one click to failure; get rid of your credit cards - anything to block your ease of depravity.
But for the non-harmful pastimes: know they eventually will probably have to go, but wait for the Lord to lead you in their denial, when he gives you strength to comply and more hunger for him to fill the void created when you give them up. As the Lord has told me: "I don't want people to give up everything at once, without me leading them and filling them along the way, or they will end up an empty shell."
Regarding sports, bodily exercise that keeps you healthy is important and should not be classified as a pastime, providing you are not obsessed with winning or resulting pride of appearance.
From A Guide to True Peace:
The love of liberty is one of the most dangerous passions of the heart. If we follow this propensity, instead of true liberty, it reduces us to slavery. As our passions are the worst of tyrants, if we obey them partially, we must always be in a perpetual strife and contest within; and if we entirely give ourselves
up to them, it is horrid to think to what extremities they will lead; they will torment the heart, and, like a torrent, sweep all before them, and yet never be satisfied. True liberty is to be found only in him, whose truth shall set us free, and who shall make us experience that to serve him is to reign.
When our selfish nature is slain, we will receive the Spirit of Christ, so that we will be obedient in our love for God - and our obedience is by choice, God not having taken away our free will. Love never insists on its own way. But our love for God will make our obedience to his wishes to be the joy of our life.
Don't try to force others in your family to do the same seeking as you. If they are interested, great. If your wife or husband goes along with you, that's even better; you have the best of fellowship. But don't pressure anyone. Once they see you change; once they see your peace; they may want to follow. Whatever commands you get are for you only; don't assume you have an obligation to enforce them on your family members.
As evidence of your desire for the Lord to lead you to a sinless state and the Kingdom, you will have to leave your deficit sect. To continue to meet with your deficit sect, is contradictory to the truth and to the true gospel requiring repentance. To continue to meet with any of the deficit sects is to fellowship with people who deny the hope of purity through repentance, union, holiness, and the Kingdom. Instead of repentance with forgiveness, their God only forgives with no help or power for further repentance to help them change. To stay, you will either lose your peace or lose your integrity. The voice of the Lord said, "They must withdraw from their sect to be taught;" and "withdraw from your sect, not out of pride and prejudice, but separate yourself long enough to see its false rulings." To be able to hear Christ's teachings, you must quietly withdraw from you deficit sect because he will not build you up on top of a false foundation. See 'Sect's Services' for more detail. Also see Isaac Penington's writing as to why coming out of Babylon is necessary.
A KEY teaching that we received from HIM in meditation is: to defer (yield your will) to others - our children, our husbands, our wives, our friends. Practicing this alone can result in your significant spiritual progress. You should do this in all cases, unless it is immoral, dangerous, or of major consequence. This should be especially easy for wives who are to be submissive to their husbands, and children who are to obey their parents. We who are His, are charged to put ourselves last. Everyone should defer to other's wishes, for by doing this, we put to death our selfish will, which wants to put ourselves first. Instead, we put Him and his ways first. Love does not demand its own way.
And to those who say, we are advocating salvation by "works," by listening and repenting, I say, go to the Light and have Him show you what is in your heart; then you will know how much grace you still need. Only God can change us - we are helpless in our fleshly deplorable state- only the unmerited favor of God can rid us of our conditions. It is by grace, and grace only through our faith in Christ that we are saved; but saved, means to die to the flesh and live to Christ - not by imputation, but in reality. You must share his sufferings, die daily, be buried in the baptism of death, and have him resurrected in you. The cross is the beginning. The cross is not "works," it is only obedience, and to those who oppose it, they are headed for destruction, for their god is their belly (lusts and affections).
Techniques
You just try to be quiet so that you can hear the still, quiet voice. Any thought is on the name of Jesus. It is not a mantra to be repeated. When you find yourself off in thoughts, return to the thought of his name and then try to be quiet. Each time you catch yourself off in thoughts, return to thinking of his name, but don't repeat it over and over. Quietness it the key. His name is access to power and to get your mind back to what you are waiting on, to hear his words or see his understandings.
You can use techniques learned in different forms of meditations; just remember to bring your thoughts back to the name of Jesus. You must listen and obey all commands that you hear, providing they are complete, make sense, and are moral. When you get such a command, stop and write it down, then continue to listen. Other forms of meditation teach you to ignore all thoughts - this is exactly the opposite of what you must do - listen and obey.
Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,
And the LORD listened and heard them;
So a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear the LORD
And who meditate on His name.
I want to share with you the lessons we have learned in years of meditation. I meditate with my eyes closed. I know others who meditate with their eyes open. Eyes closed have the advantage that you see less to distract your mind; the disadvantage is that it is easier to go to sleep. George Fox walked all night alone; walking kept him awake while he listened and received understandings and commands from the Lord.
I reached a point in my meditations where I went to sleep within a few minutes, constantly. Even a lot of sleep did not remedy this problem. What did work, was to dig my thumbnail into the tips of my fingers; this pain (no injury) keeps me awake. Remember he said, the Kingdom of Heaven is seized by forceful men- meaning with maximum effort. If you are only mildly sleepy, praise for Him, when completed, can leave you sufficiently awake to continue your silence. Whatever works for you: coffee, COQ10 with tea, walking, etc.
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?
Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.
Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, [watching] blessed are those servants.
Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.
Rouse yourselves and keep awake,
Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; [spiritual poverty] Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.
(Jesus is the Bread from Heaven, the Word of God, heard from within - this is a strong advisory to get as little sleep as possible.)
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
Awake, you who sleep Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light. Ephesians
All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Behold, I am going to come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake.
So blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gate, watching at the posts of my door.
For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD.
I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches.
Again, whatever time you choose, make it a daily habit. And if you get awakened in the night, know it is probably God, summoning you to come to Him then. Go immediately, and don't worry about sleep. This is also a very big cross to your will, which desperately, from a lifetime habit, wants to stay in bed and sleep. Paul got little sleep. George Fox got little sleep. For years, He tried to get me up in the middle of the night; I was resistant and stupid, so my progress was slow. I noticed when I traveled overseas, and got little sleep, I heard messages. Now, I get 3-5 hours of sleep - being awakened and clearly instructed to get up when awakened.
Pay close attention when awakening; you will often get a single statement from Him at this time. You can also sometimes hear his messages during the day in your normal routine.
The Lord has recently told me, "Many people are saying, 'I don't have time.' I don't ask you to drop whatever you are doing and come to meditate." He has never interfered with what I have to do in my life; he knows we are busy with our jobs, children, houses, community activities, etc. He only asks you put aside some time for him.
It is probably best to pick a time in the early morning; when it is quiet, before you have the day's activities swirling in you head. Get up an hour earlier than you previously did; use weekends for intense seeking, and make holidays holy days, by spending the whole day or as much as possible in silent waiting on the Lord. If you are busy, setting a time in the evening will be too often missed because of conflicts arising in your day's requirements or because you are too tired. Some can meditate regularly at night; my wife was like this and could meditate for several hours at night. Whatever time you choose, make sure you listen daily. It is best to meditate in a chair without a head rest. Sitting up straight, you have less possibility of falling asleep, though still possible; and he can more easily awaken you, because any sleep fallen into will not be as deep as would be in bed lying down. If you try to meditate propped up on pillows in bed, it is far too easy to slink down or just roll over into a lying down position.
Occasionally when I first sit down to begin my meditations, I immediately "know" something he is telling me about myself; I feel it deep within me; it is an infusion. There are no words, but the message is understood in words. Once, as I sat down, I felt very guilty about something I had recently done; as I sat there marveling at this sudden and unexpected guilt that came out of nowhere, I heard his voice say, "consider yourself convicted." As you think about what you feel and know, you can put it into words of thought. It is usually a conviction regarding something he wants you to repent of, which if you own and repent, you will greatly benefit. If it is something you have done wrong, you feel shame and guilt. If it is a command or direction, you feel a strong desire to do that thing.
I have also noticed that it helps to focus on feeling the right side of your body, head, hand, etc. It slows the thoughts down. This is a technique from ancient Jewish meditations, where they tied phylacteries on their forehead and wrist before meditation to help their concentration. I just alternate between concentrating (just for 2-3 seconds at a time) on the feeling in my right hand and then switching concentration to the right side of my temple area, and back in cycles; breathing in while noticing the feeling on the right side of my forehead, breathing out feeling my right hand. Just moving your eyes to the far right side can stop thoughts when in a swirl. When you are swirling in thoughts, try it. It might work for you; but there is no one way. Just sit quietly as best you can. "Be still and know that I am God." When you find yourself swirling in thoughts, simply return to thinking on his name; this will be a way to remind yourself of your purpose.
You will eventually notice that you have a thought and then you form the words to express it in your mind. Your thought has already been heard; you are wasting effort trying to express it. Just keep quiet, without forming words to express the feelings or thoughts that pop up, and you will have made a major step. Try not to form words in your mind, even if your thought is bad, just let it be. Your silent feelings and thoughts, without forming words, are the beginnings of worship in spirit and truth.
Start by thinking on the name of Jesus. As you progress and become more aware of Christ in you, you can shift to thinking on Christ within you. (per George Fox)
Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Before waiting in silence for the Lord, I go over the Lord's prayer in my head. My wife uses it as an outline to expand the words of the prayer and form her praise to Him for several minutes, before going silent. It is a way to be reminded of the Father's majesty, his Kingdom to come in you, his will to be done by you on the earth, the request for your daily spiritual bread from heaven, his forgiveness to you, your obligation to forgive others, and to deliver you from evil. As you feel praise for him and his beautiful creation, express your wonder at his greatness and beauty. Praise him for giving us Jesus to show us the way, to purify us, and to bring us to him. Thank him for his drawing of you to him. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Take a few minutes before starting your silent waiting; some may find it very helpful to get focused on their task - silence, to listen and watch for the Christ's Word and Light. Eventually this praise and thanksgiving will be without words, just thoughts and feelings not formed in words: the worship in spirit and truth. When you catch yourself swirling off in thoughts, return to thinking on the name of Jesus.
Occasional fasting and less sleep weaken the body and thereby strengthen the spirit. I drink water when fasting; to go without water for more than 3 days is extremely difficult and can be dangerous. There are records of very spiritually advanced people who were able to go without water for longer than three days. A juice fast is not really a fast; it is a diet. The Muslim fast of daytime fasting only, eating at night, is not a fast. A fast is to go without food entirely for some period of time. If you want to fast, but want to learn more about it or worry about health hazards, the definitive book on fasting by Dr. Herbert M. Shelton is available on the web, (click here). George Fox and many early Quakers frequently fasted. Paul fasted. Jesus fasted. Moses fasted. It is hard, but worthwhile. You may want to wait for the Lord to tell you "Do not eat." If you want to fast, fast. If you want to wait for instructions, wait. I have done both. Fasting in obedience to the Lord's command is easier to sustain.
Dryness
To often sit and hear or see nothing is part of the process, dryness. For long periods of time, I got one message per month. You will probably do better. You will also get encouragement. This comes just at the right time. He is trying to develop patience. He is developing faith; he speaks at exactly the right time. He knows what is best. Don't second guess Him. He is always there. He will never leave you; this is a scriptural promise. Long periods of hearing nothing are being in the spiritual desert. He told me once "keep crawling through the desert." Don't think the process is not working; know it is. Read John, Peter, Psalms, Isaac Penington, and George Fox for keeping up your hope. You will find your favorites. Whatever builds your hope, read it.
Miguel de Molinos has an outstanding, encouraging writing on meditation and the secret benefits of dryness.
In the beginning of your meditations, it may take much waiting on the Lord before you hear his voice, but your waiting is to be rewarded:
No ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
Let your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping for you.
Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring.
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
So blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gate, watching at the posts of my door.
For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD.
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD;
we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation.
He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
These scriptures were a comfort to me when I began, without hearing for many months. My early mistake was to expect guidance as to what ministry he wanted me to pursue and where to move to; questions that could not be answered, rather than simply sitting to be taught about him and myself according to what He, my creator, had decided I needed to know.
I have heard from those who hear immediately. I have heard from others that have not heard for months - but when they do, they are thrilled throughout their being.
Usually, you don't hear from God, or get his guidance quickly. Your sincerity in giving up relying on yourself, and casting all your hopes on him is not be a casual try, but rather a dedicated effort. It may take months before you hear, but you will hear - if you persist.
Persistence, dedication, and wholly relying on God are the most important. In addition, here is a check list, just to be sure you are not being held back by one or more.
1) Be sure you are not holding anything back in reserve that you would not be able to part with if asked.
2) Be sure you are seeking His will for you only, not an increase in power, prestige, money, status, etc.
3) Be sure you are seeking in humility, aware of his infinite wisdom, power, knowledge, and purity - far above any man. If you go to God, thinking you are saved and special, entitled to privileges, you will not hear - that is not humility. You must go as an unsaved sinner, desperate to be rid of sin, desperate to be able to do the right thing, desperate to be pleasing to God - at any price - but trusting in his goodness and his mercy.
4) Be sure you are not still going to deficit sect services, Bible Study, prayer groups, etc.
5) Be sure you are not preaching, witnessing, or teaching others, until you are specifically told what to do and when to do it.
6) Be sure you are not turning away from those whose physical needs are not satisfied, and which you could satisfy with your excess resources. You must give liberally, to individuals or charities for the poor to progress.
7) Be sure there is not some obviously immoral habit you are continuing without making every effort to cease it.
Now, some suggestions.
1) When you awaken, wait about a minute of two before getting up or planning your day. Try to listen then for a message, which can seem like a thought, except it has no train to support it - it is totally off the subject you may have been thinking on.
2) When you are meditating, even if thinking, the Lord can superimpose his thoughts and words over yours. You can be tripping along in your thought train, (which you can trace backwards and see how one thought leads to another), and suddenly there is a completely different thought that occurs, which has not trail or train. That is often the Lord communicating with you.
3) If you are awakened at night, and feel pretty wide awake, get up and try to meditate.
4) Don't worry about dozing off. Keep sitting up and you will awaken, often several times. As you awaken, then is when you will most often hear.
5) Finally, try increasing your time. As the Lord once told me: "If the car is going nowhere, press on the gas pedal."
The voice will come before the Light. But you can have visions, like little dreams, with immediate understandings. This too is the Light's work within you.
It takes time, practice, and patience to learn to recognize the voice of the Lord.
His words are always kind, gentle, peaceable, easily accepted, without sarcasm, without bitterness, without condemnation, without harshness, pure, clean, humble, wonderful. There is never any emotional words, there is never any emotion in his voice; his words are plain, factual, wise, easily understood, easily accepted, and never leaving you guessing as to their meaning. The enemy's many voices are emotional, sarcastic, incomplete, condemning, harsh, fearful, and bitter. The enemy uses many voices: your's, friends, relatives, dignitaries, etc. Eventually you will hear Him. And once you begin to hear, you will hear with increasing frequency. He has a soft voice. Sometimes, you will not hear a voice, you will just suddenly know something immediately. George Fox called this an 'opening.' An 'opening' can be expressed in words, but it is a feeling that infuses your entire being, as feeling surrounded or immersed in the immediate understanding.
Reaction to Conviction
He will tell you things about Himself. He will encourage you. He is kindness. He will tell or show you things about yourself; some will be things that are ugly. But since he is your friend, you know that he is showing them to you for your own good. So you listen and watch. And you don't run; stand before the Son of Man. And you repent of what he shows you. And sometimes he gives you commands. You are hearing the Word of God, the living Word. And hopefully you will obey his commands and show him you love him by being obedient. Keep pen and paper nearby when meditating. Stop and write down those you get. Keep a notebook of commands and understandings received. He told us, "Why should I teach you if you don't write down what I tell you?" Then go right back into meditation. Review them periodically, and keep repenting. You will start changing; not as fast as you want to, but you will change. You will become more patient, less easily angered, kinder, more settled, more focused in life. Your desires for the things of the world will begin to melt away. As you follow his commands, your progress will accelerate. When you see your changes, still conscious of your decreasing failures, you will know, with gratitude, that he is changing you by grace - it is working! Your faith is increasing, because you hear the Word of God and because you are becoming more sure of what you hope for and more certain of Christ making changes in you, even though you don't yet see Him.
But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. 4
You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance
When you go to the teacher, at some point, you will see yourself wholly addicted to sex, as I saw myself. I could see how everything I did in life was to increase my prestige, power, influence, image, looks, etc. - all in hopes of making myself more attractive to the opposite sex. Until I was shown it, I would not have believed it.
That which shows him his sins, and troubled him for them, would show him his salvation;
for he who shows a man his sin, is the same who takes it away.
When meditating, and you are shown something ugly about yourself by the Light, don't draw back; realize it is the Light showing you your condition, and He is doing this to help you be rid of it and to become a better person; and that Christ has died for you so that you need not panic. Don't think about all you will lose, and draw away, but remain to focus on the Light that shows you your condition. And then, just when you don't expect it, strength will come; and whatever you have been shown, you will have strength to be different from then on. You may not see the Light. You may only see what the light is showing you. That is all you need. If you can't see the Light, just focus on the fact that the Light is showing you your condition. The Lord told me, "If a vision or understanding makes you sad, look at the cross." This is what George Fox called the first step to peace; he also said this process, repentance in the Light, "is the cross."
The Lord has told me: "there is no evil that I have not already had in front of my hands and eyes."
So when you see yourself, don't think you are the most evil person ever to live; you're not.
When you see the extent of your evil, as the Lord said: "everyone thinks he is the worst sinner to ever live."
This is how to kill (deaden, deprive of power) the evil desire lurking in your members: sexual vice, impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, and all greed and covetousness, for that is idolatry (the deifying of self and other created things instead of God).
From George Fox's Journal:
This is the word of the Lord God to you all; what the light does make manifest and discover, as temptations, distractions, confusions; do not look at the temptations, confusions, corruptions; but at the light which discovers them and makes them manifest; and with the same light you may feel over them, to receive power to stand against them. The same light which lets you see sin and transgression, will let you see the covenant of God, which blots out your sin and transgression, which gives victory and dominion over it, and brings into covenant with God. For looking down at sin, corruption, and distraction, you are swallowed up in it; but looking at the light, which discovers them, you will see over them. That will give victory, and you will find grace and strength; there is the first step to peace. That will bring salvation; and by it you may see to the beginning, and the "Glory that was with the Father before the world began;" and come to know the seed of God; which is the heir of the promise of God, and of the world which has no end; and which bruises the head of the serpent, who stops people from coming to God. That you may feel the power of an endless life, the power of God which is immortal, which brings the immortal soul up to the immortal God, in whom it does rejoice. So in the name and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty strengthen you.
When you listen to the voice and obey commands heard or understood from the Light, you are acknowledging this Teacher within you as Christ; you have received and acknowledged Christ. Just like when Christ asked Peter, "who do you say I am," and he said: 'Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God.' Christ said, Upon this rock I will build my Church - the rock solid understanding that he who speaks to you is the Son of God, which the gates of Hell cannot prevail against.
For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and does [practices] them, I will show you what he is like: He is like a man
building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent
broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or founded on a rock.
He builds his Church on a rock solid foundation. He builds himself in you on a rock solid foundation.
And if you come to him, listen, and obey what you are told to do, you will have a foundation which takes you past the gates of Hell with its storms and tribulations. And when you receive the light, the persecution intensifies, just as it did with George Fox; his temptations and opposition increased dramatically. Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.
This quietness process is an essential part of the mystical, missing cross of christianity. Christ told us what we must do to follow him: "you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me daily;" and "he who does not bear his cross cannot be my disciple;" and: "When you bear (produce) much fruit,
My Father is honored and glorified,
and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine." With the cross there is increasing peace, love, joy, gentleness, faith, purity, Holy Spirit, and death of self. Without the cross, there is only the old man of flesh and ego with dullness and disillusionment. No cross, no death, no rebirth.
See Silent Prayer on Sidebar for more explanation of the process.
The Lord's Watching Over Us
Don't look to the Lord for specific answers to one of your worldly problems; he knows your problems and will guide you if necessary, or he will fix the problems without you recognizing his work. Don't waste meditation time trying to get answers to specific questions in your life. Continue through life making the best decisions you know how, and everything will go well.
While we are seeking, the creator of the universe is watching over us, protecting us, planning for us, moving the world to our benefit, and always there for us. With this assurance, we know that everything that comes our way is his will for us; and whatever happens, even if it appears to be a problem at the time, we know as it is written, all things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to his purpose; and because we keep his commands, he knows we love him. So we know that everything that happens to us has been willed by God, to help us grow, and we have a peace that is based on the love of God to us. We can cast all of our worries and fears upon him, and depend on him to work everything out to our benefit. We have confidence that he is working for us, even when we can't see how it is happening; we know he controls the whole universe, and to work our life to his union, is effortless for him.
Do not take this watching over you to be safety for participating in dangerous activities by choice. Remember Christ was tempted to cast himself from the top of the temple, with the assurance that the angels would catch him; he replied, 'you shall not tempt the Lord your God.' From the voice of the Lord as a warning to everyone: drunkenness can make you so loose that you kill yourself. Drunkenness can result from drugs or alcohol.
He has to show us each and every problem we have, many that are hidden, and lead us (by moving the world around us if necessary) to feeling the pain of our problems - pain so great that when we are tempted, instead of a trigger to fail, it becomes a trigger to succeed. The sooner you understand that everything that happens to you has been arranged to help you grow, the sooner you will be able to forgive, and the sooner you will be at peace, rather than angry or resentful. This life is an illusion. God is far more powerful and at work around you far more than you can imagine. For those whom he loves and calls, he controls everything around them. (This arrangement of circumstances only occurs for those whom he loves and calls.) And if you have a deep hunger, he loves you and has called you. The hunger is his. It is his way of drawing you to him. So you will starve and mourn, and starve and mourn. But you will eventually be filled and comforted. It works. Trust Him. He created you. He is in you. He knows you much better than you do. He will change you to be like Him, leading you to purity and then to union with Him in the Kingdom within, where you walk by the Light of God.
He told me, "live in the fortress of faith where it doesn't matter if someone gives you a kiss or hits you with a baseball bat," knowing everything that happens to me is totally under his control and direction. So if I get hit with a baseball bat, he is teaching me the necessity of forgiving, to ignore it, despite the pain suffered and wrongness of the person wielding the bat. Your life is an obstacle course, designed by God, for you to crawl over and through, learning to forgive and love despite the pain and injustice. This life is a boot camp to produce a soldier of love, whose weapon is the sword of the Spirit, the living word of God. When you realize it is God who has allowed that person to be rude, ugly, and painful to you, you can easily forgive them because they are just an obstacle of potential resentment, whose offense is to be overlooked, (or if not overlooked, to produce the pain of resentment ), thus being used by God to help you spiritually progress.
Do not take his watching over you as justification for going into debt, thinking God will bail you out and wants you to enjoy life on borrowed money; for it is written, "owe no man any debt, other than love." If your pride gets you into some kind of worldly trouble, he will let you fall, to humble you; for it is written, "pride comes before shame." But, if humbled, it is his love for you that is still at work disciplining you; just keep seeking with added confidence of having been disciplined. For more on debt, see George Fox's Letter 200.
And as we are seeking, we have his promises to fall back on and be reassured, we have his words of encouragement whispered to us as we quietly seek him, we have his commands to comfort us that we are indeed under orders, we have his discipline to remind us that he loves us and will not let us fail, and we have the changes he makes in us as proof - as long as we keep coming back to Him and seeking him in solitude.
Ministry of Condemnation
If you make mistakes or commit sins while seeking, (and you will), just regret them, resolve to do better, and forget them. Learning is why we are here. Your mistakes teach you. Forget about committing "an unpardonable sin;" that referenced people seeing Christ's miracles and attributing them to demons - how could they ever seek him thinking he had a demon? That's the unpardonable sin, (unpardonable for the duration of your mistake), rejecting the Holy Spirit as a demon. Yes, it is possible even today to think the Holy Spirit is a demon, especially in meditation; you can mistake the conviction of the Holy Spirit as "the accuser of the brethren," assuming you are already a "brethren," which you are not until you have been purified and made one by Christ. Fox called this whole process of conviction, the Ministry of Condemnation. To think the convicter is the accuser is unpardonable, because you will run rather than stand and focus on the light which shows you your condition; stand still and focus on the Light that is showing you your condition, and finally strength will come, and you will be different, stronger in that area from then on. But if you run, you can go back, and not run; you get as many chances as you will take. When the Light shows you a problem, it is never in an upbraiding manner; it is gentle, immediately recognizable, but shameful - shame like a when a friend or a kind father points out a fault you didn't want to know about - but not harsh or critical - gentle, easily accepted, generating regret and sorrow on your part. After you are purified, you benefit from the Ministry of Life and Righteousness, but until then, you must be under the Ministry of Condemnation through the cross. For if the ministration of condemnation [be] glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
When man decided to eat from the tree of knowledge so he could judge good and evil like God, he became a selfish spirit removed from the image, direction, and presence of God. Each of us makes our own decisions with our mind as to what is good for us and what is bad for us. We all make different decisions based on what we think we want. Different people have different standards of conduct and behavior. We are selfish creatures looking for ways to increase our pleasures and comforts; we are like beasts on the prowl looking for their next meal. The Holy Spirit must show us how captive we are to our lusts, pleasures, habits, anger, pride, and self-gratification - and how this self-centered behavior is at the expense of others around us. The word and light show us the defects in our heart, one at a time, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. With our regret and sorrow for conditions exposed by the Holy Spirit, we receive help from the Holy Spirit to change. This conviction and condemnation of our beastly nature is the Ministry of Condemnation. When we have been sufficiently purged or purified of our selfish, sinful nature, then we receive the Ministry of Life or additional spirit from Christ; until finally we are restored to the image, direction, and presence of God.
So first learn the ministry of condemnation in yourselves,
that life may arise, before ministry in the spirit is known,
which preaches peace by Jesus Christ, where there is no strife.
Therefore wait to know the time of silence and mind that which condemns you.
From Fox's Letter 145.
From Letter 58: The teachers without exalt the carnal mind, but the teacher within destroys it.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
From George Fox's Letter 245
And as your ears are attentive to the Lord's voice, that speaks from heaven,
iniquity's mouth is stopped in you, the throne of iniquity is thrown down in you;
that is, the wicked spirit and power, where iniquity sits;
and the chambers of imagery are thrown down in you,
where all thoughts and imaginations are.
For the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth.
From the Voice of the Lord: "At best, your thoughts are a vain hiss."
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."
I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts.
So that we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), . So that we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart, . You must put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness, . This does not mean we continue to think with a new set of rules we have learned from the Bible. No; the carnal mind, which is inimical to God, must be destroyed so that we do not think for ourselves any longer. Instead, as a new creature, we rely on the promptings received from God, just like Christ did when he walked the earth; as he said:
I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true;
and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
And I know that His command is everlasting life.
Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.
the Son is able to do nothing of Himself (of His own accord);
but He [the son] is able to do only what He sees the Father doing,
for whatever the Father does is what the Son does in the same way.
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous,
because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
So, even Christ did not make his own decisions. Notice, Jesus said he only did the will of the Father, not his own. In Mat. 7:21, Jesus said: Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. So here Jesus tells us what is necessary to go to heaven - to do nothing of ourselves - to only say what we hear the father tell us to say- to only do what the Father shows us to do - to only judge how we are told to judge by the Father. So, we are not to think for ourselves - we are to only follow the promptings of the Father. We must have our carnal mind destroyed to the point that we speak and act from the promptings of the Spirit of God; this is the end of obedience - to think, speak, and act according to God's promptings. You have probably prayed the Lord's prayer a thousand times, saying "thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven," without a clue as to how it could be done. Now you know what it takes - and it is not easily accomplished - only with dedication to seek the Kingdom of God as your first priority, with perseverance, and with obedience to every command you hear.
If Christ did nothing except as he was prompted by the Father, how could we possibly think we could act independently, when we are far less than Christ? We also must have our carnal minds destroyed to the point that we only speak and act from the promptings of the Spirit of God. Perhaps now you are beginning to see the wisdom of not even speaking of Christ or God, unless you are specifically ordered by the Holy Spirit what to say, to whom to say it, and when to say it.
If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.1 Peter 4:11
Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man [forsake] his thoughts; Isa 55:7
Those who follow their own brains will weep and mourn; there will be great pain.
George Fox was described the Sabbath rest of the Christian, being a rest into Christ Jesus, saying: "Think not your own thoughts, for in Christ we are atop that nature where evil thoughts are, that nature [having been] taken away by Christ. So you should not think your own thoughts, do your own works, [or] speak your own words." At spiritual maturity, our thoughts, words, and works must come from God's leading.
A wise man once said, "all thought is worry, which is lack of faith." All thought is worry or plan for the future, still worry; and worry is lack of faith. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Man, who originally followed his creator in obedient love, became a rebel to decide his own way, taking thought ,thinking and judging what is good and bad for himself. When man is restored into the image of God, he ceases to make his own thoughts and decisions; instead returning to reverent, loving obedience to his creator, the creator of him and of the universe. Part of this restoration is to destroy the rebellious, self-seeking, self-gratifying mind. This is a lengthy process for most. And as the mind is destroyed, the Lord's guidance fills the void. As your meditations become deeper in silence, you will occasionally feel a quiet peace, a stilling of the mind; - and then remember the promise is for peace forever - a quietness and confidence forever - the harvest of righteousness. It is only when you taste this peace that you can begin to understand that you have lived under condemnation all of your past life; it is like a hammer has been striking your head all your life, but until it stops, you never knew it could be different.
To repeat: when our selfish nature is slain, we will receive the Spirit of Christ, so that we will be obedient in our love for God - and our obedience is by choice, God not having taken away our free will. Love never insists on its own way. But our love for God will make our obedience to his wishes to be the joy of our life.
Letter 60 .- To Friends, to keep in the fear of the Lord.
Every particular, mind that which is pure of God in you,
to guide you up to God, and to keep you in the fear of the Lord,
that you may receive refreshment from God alone in yourselves,
and grow up in the inward man,
nourished and strengthened by that which is immortal.
And delight in that which shows you the deceit of your hearts,
and judges that which is contrary to God,
and be obedient to that which is pure;
so you will see the Lord God present with you, a daily help,
his hand always ordering of you,
and as a shepherd always keeping the dogs from his lambs,
whom he feeds in green pastures, and waters with his heavenly dew of mercy,
who makes them all fruitful.
The cry of want and poverty shall be no more heard in the land of the living,
but joy, gladness, and plenty.
The wearied soul, that has lain in the pit and in the mire,
and lived in the clouds of temptation, and cried out for want of the Lord,
shall cry plentiful redemption, and say, God is our king,
who filled heaven and earth,
and the voice of our king is heard in our land.
So fare you well in the Lord!
And the Lord God Almighty keep you and preserve you in his mighty power.
George Fox
And this cross is suffered in private, outside any assembly of believers.
For when the blood of animals is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin, the victims' bodies are burned outside the limits of the camp. Therefore Jesus also suffered and died outside the gate in order that He might purify and consecrate the people through His own blood and set them apart as holy.
Let us then go forth to Him outside the camp [at Calvary], bearing the contempt and abuse and shame with Him.
From Molinos' Spiritual Guide: "The Lord said to a soul, 'This inward way is tread by few; it is so high a grace, that none deserves it; few walk in it, because it is no other than a death of the senses; and few there be that are willing so to die and be annihilated; in which disposition this so sovereign a gift is founded.'"
Doubts
It is easy to sometimes feel sorry for yourself, due to prolonged dryness or due to a failure on your part. Self-pity is damaging to your progress; so no matter how justified you sometimes feel in your self-pity, it is only a disguised doubt of Christ working for you when you can't see the results; doubt the doubt. I used to spend time in self-pity, until he said, "one thing is certain, this has to stop."
Doubts will come. My wife was told by Him when doubts arose to "drop thought." Don't entertain doubts. Don't write doubts down. Don't speak them out loud. Don't tell your fellow seekers your doubts. All of these just strengthen the doubts. He told me, "Eventually the Light will destroy all doubt." A wise man told me, "doubt the doubt." Cast all your cares and worries on Him. Doubt is the opposite of faith, so you can logically destroy doubt by doubting the doubts. Know it is just your mind, which is hostile to God. A wise Easterner wrote, "stop thinking because all thoughts are just worries - the opposite of faith." Jesus said, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life." George Fox wrote: Doubt not, faint not, question not.
The devil will try to get you to doubt the commands from Christ as really coming from Christ, hoping you will disobey the commands of Christ. Don't. Remember, the devil will not give you commands to depart from evil; that would not serve his purpose. Do not doubt your convictions and understandings of your evil.
George Fox also expressed the challenge throughout the journey to completion of your salvation: to walk the fence between presumption and despair. It is a fine line, one easy to fall off of in either direction. Presumption is to think you have arrived, start teaching without explicit authorization and command, and/or to relax from your persistent seeking. Despair is to believe that you will never make it; it is too hard; you are too wicked; or some other doubt. Either is wrong. When you find yourself falling off on either side, climb back up, and keep walking. Remember, it is God who is running the show; he doesn't fail. And remember, you must persevere by continuing to seek him daily, and with increasing frequency as you are able. Do this, and you will stay walking the fence until you reach home.
Until we can stop thinking, we are told to think on whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
The opposition will tempt you to despair over any mistake you have made. Don't!
The Opposition (testing in the process of purification)
In meditation the Lord's words and visions are always kind, clear, moral, loving, and understandable. He will never make a statement calling for you to try to figure out what he is talking about; his communications are easily understandable. If you get any message that calls for you to figure out anything, it is not from him, (i.e., a message such as: 'there is a big problem between us' does not tell me what the problem is - so if I listen to it, I will become fearful that almost anything could be the big problem - this is not the way the Lord teaches - he is always specific, clear, gentle, and easily understood). His communications come with immediate understanding. He never asks questions, (unless he gives you the answer in the same sentence), because that calls for you to make a conclusion - which could be erroneous. Everything from Him will also be moral as tested with scripture from the Bible. He said, "To know what the Bible says is wrong is worthy, all my great men knew the scriptures. " He told me, "If you don't thoroughly understand something, do nothing and wait for clearer understandings";and don't worry about an unclear message and what it might mean - it is not from the Lord. He also said to me, "only do what I tell you clearly what to do and when to do it."
I don't want to frighten anyone, but after the Lord has prepared you, an enemy will appear. The enemy does not want you to hear from the Lord and who will try to confuse you, discourage you, sidetrack you, play to your weaknesses, pretend to be Jesus, quote scripture, and generally be a nuisance to your efforts. The enemy is fallen angels, demons. Later they will subject you to Tribulation. But they are under control by the Spirit of God. Their work is to bring your lusts and pride to the surface so you can choose to avoid evil. It is a tough time of testing, but one whose rewards for completion greatly outweigh the efforts required. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, is as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour.
Temptations
From George Fox's Journal:
temptations grew more and more, and I was tempted almost to give up hope and quit. And when Satan could not succeed against me in that way, he placed traps and lures in front of me to draw me to commit some sin, by which he might take advantage to bring me to depression or defeat. I was about twenty years of age when these exercises came upon me, and for some years I continued in that condition in great trouble, and would have been very glad to get rid of them.
When I was in the deep, under all shut up, I could not believe that I could ever overcome; my troubles, my sorrows, and my temptations were so great, that I often thought I should give up all hope in despair, and it was very tempting.
Still, I was sometimes under great temptations, and my inward sufferings were heavy; but I could find no one to tell about my condition except to the Lord alone, unto whom I cried night and day.
the Lord showed me that the natures of those things which were destructive in the outside world were also within in the hearts and minds of evil men: the natures of dogs, swine, vipers, of Sodom, and Egypt, Pharaoh, Cain, Ishmael, Essau, etc. The natures of these I saw within, though people had been looking without. I cried to the Lord, saying, 'Why should I be in this condition, seeing I was never addicted to commit those evils?' And the Lord answered, ‘It was needful I should have a sense of all conditions, how else should I speak to all conditions?’
Then I could say that I had been in spiritual Babylon, Sodom, Egypt, and the grave; but by the eternal power of God I had come out of it, was brought over it, and by the power of it into the power of Christ.
The enemy will reason with you to do something wrong, such as "what you really need is more of what you lust after;" some twisted logic, like Jezebel in the Revelation Thyatira church who somehow convinced the other members that adulterous sex with her was good; perhaps some pitiful twisted logic like "cleansing in the church setting" or "transporting to purity or 'healing' through rapturous sex." Or, if you have a lust for alcohol or some drug, you will be tempted to believe that staying high on whatever brings you closer to God. They also use the logic that you need to get really sick of some habit before it can be eliminated; so you need more experience of falling to the habit in order to be able to repent. Don't laugh, we each have our weak points, and the enemy knows them. These are fallen angels. They still have power. They can read minds.* They know what is in your heart by listening to your thoughts. They appeal to your individual lusts and pride. It is your lusts and pride that tempt you, not God allowing you to be tested. They are the agents to bring them to the surface so that you can choose to avoid evil. They will persist in their appeal to your lusts and affections, until you choose without any reservation of your mind to shun evil; this is the test.
*Of the three men who visited Abraham, at least two were angels; the same two men were sent to destroy Sodom. In Job, the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. Satan left and the fire of God fell from heaven, and burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and a great wind from the wilderness smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, killing them. Don't underestimate the power of the fallen angels; reading minds is their least capability; yet greater is he [Christ] who is in you than he who is in the world.
Aside from tempting you to do something wrong, the voices from the other side are different in spirit: they are sarcastic, bitter, condemning, taunting, harsh, leaving you to guess what they are talking about; whereas the Lords' voice is kind, gentle, pure, easily understood, easily accepted, peaceable, complete, morally correct, encouraging - never with even a hint of sarcasm, bitterness, or condemnation - never incomplete leaving you guessing what he wants; instead His words are full of love itself - his spirit of Love - for he is Love. His will always be the same voice too. To distinguish the voice of the Lord vs. the others is to rightly divide the word of Truth.
The other side can intensify sexual feelings to a level you have never experienced in your life, and they do it at a time to tempt you to think you have an overwhelming attraction to some person or that you have an overwhelming need; that should you follow through on your feelings, you would dishonor your body in sin. They can turn up the heat. By even entertaining thoughts of your lust, (they hear your thoughts), or just touching someone, you give license to them to intensify your body sensations; but you don't have to give in to these feelings. They are an associative feeling to trigger the habitual response of the past; but despite these sometimes overwhelming feelings, they can pass too, without falling to temptation. It is hard to resist, but not impossible. As it is written, no temptation will so great that there will not be a way to avoid it.
UNDERSTAND THIS: When you are seeking, and you make a mistake while believing you are doing what God wants you to do, you are automatically forgiven; you made the mistake in faith; it was not intentional; so forget it, and keep going, no matter how horrible it appears. DON'T look back. Christ has you covered. It doesn't count. If you fail, you are not lost - only delayed. Just regret it, feel your weakness/addiction, ask for help, and keep on seeking.
One thing he made very clear to me: "he who practices adultery cannot be my disciple; but I do not judge someone coming out of such a relationship, unless they fail to repent;" so this has to stop before you can make any progress. He is speaking about faithfulness being important in a committed relationship; you cannot be unfaithful to man and faithful to God. When he was on earth; he sent the woman at the well out to preach, knowing she had five previous husbands and was living with a man unmarried. If you are in a successive marriage or you are not married, but living committed to your partner, he does not condemn you, nor disqualify you for receipt of his purifying power. If and when he wants you to change your marital status, he will tell you in no uncertain terms.
They can also control others around you to the point that they are unreasonable beyond your experience, severely tempting you to anger and rage; but remember this is done with the permission of God and is purposed to help you grow in forgiveness and love. They can turn up the heat. When you can accept that the evil done to you by others, is so that you can grow spiritually through forgiving them, you have made a giant step.
As George Fox said, "whatever your are addicted to, the devil will come to you (cloaked in another's person), to offer you whatever you want." People that you haven't heard from in years suddenly show up, offering you renewed friendship, distraction from seeking God, and temptation to your lusts, affections, and addictions.
Recognize, these temptations can help you become strong. Each time you say no, you get stronger. I, and several people I know, can remember when, in a time we did not seek God, we decided to get married and proposed; immediately afterwards, within minutes, beyond strange things happened. I had not seen an old flame for several years, and suddenly she appears in front of me in line to pay the restaurant tab. Another close acquaintance relates how he proposed, and then got into an elevator, where two women suddenly start paying him attention, even rubbing their hands on his chest; when he had never experienced such attention in his lifetime. Both incidents were beyond coincidence. Both designed to strengthen our resolve to get married, at a time when we were most able to resist distractions. So you can look at temptations as either a contribution to your downfall, or a strengthening of your moral fiber- depending on how you respond to them. As the master potter continues to mold the clay - eventually bringing you to Him.
Lust for things, people, and pleasures is an illusion. There is no lasting satisfaction. You get one thing you want, and you immediately start wanting something else. This is earth school - learning the emptiness in lust for possessions, pleasures, power, wealth, etc., until we decide to look beyond the visible for happiness. Perhaps you can relate to the false joy of Christmas - after the presents are opened, after the big dinner, after the music has stopped - how many times have you felt let down, empty, almost desperate for another fix - go for a walk, take a ride, visit somebody, have a drink - anything to fill the void that you can rarely identify? For worldly joy is transitory, while godly joy is permanent. From George Fox's Letter 245.
So hear his voice, everyone of you, that speaks from heaven,
whose voice shakes the earth, and not the earth only, but the heavens also.
The heaven imports joy: so all the false joys,
the lifted-up joys, or exalted joys, and joys in vain glory, and joys in the world,
of any outward thing or creature, and men or women ;
his voice that speaks from heaven shakes the earth and the heavens;
and these must be shaken and removed, both the heavens and the earth;
before that does appear that can never be shaken,
the noble, royal seed, elect and precious, before the world began.
Being heirs of him, come to inherit him;
in him you shall know that which cannot be shaken,
and there is the true joy, in that which is from everlasting to everlasting,
who is the beginning and ending;
here are not any either lifted up or fallen down to despair.
You must sicken of failure so much, that entertaining possible failure in your mind becomes sickening; so much so, that your desire to consider evil is overwhelmed by your revulsion to toward failure. Gradually, over a long time, the associative response turns around from being triggered to participate, to being triggered to flee.
This is like gold being refined. It is heated by fire until the dross rises to the top; it is scooped off. It is heated again until more dross rises to the top; it is scooped off..... again, again. Until finally, only pure gold remains. Purification.
When you realize your thoughts are being read, and when you realize you are being watched; it can be a little frightening. You can feel like a goldfish in a bowl, being watched. Christ once told me, "what man fears most is public ridicule." This is what we get: ridicule from a public others don't hear. It is tough. It invades our privacy - our private privacy. It is easy to get resentful. Reason with yourself. Understand it is part of the process. You feel condemned, but Christ does not condemn you; he allows this as part of the purification process. It ultimately results in purification and more trust for Christ. It is humbling. You realize how filthy and insignificant you are. The discipline can become a comfort to you, knowing you are in the pressure cooker, which few are privileged enough to experience. (Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff comfort me.) Yes, even the pain of the rod and staff can be reassuring. He will still give you messages and encouragement during the process so that you will not feel alone and abandoned. Several of the Psalms speak to being surrounded by mighty men, like bees, with burning darts, snares, evil words, etc. See Psalms 17, 23, 25, 31, 35, 38, 43, 44, 56, 64, 66, 71, 86, 88, 118, 120, 139, 141; and Job 16:9-14; which are some of the many that reference these supernatural adversaries.
By your steadfastness and patient endurance you shall win the true life of your souls. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know and understand that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,[flee to Christ, the rock, and trust in Him; the scourge will eventually pass].
Deceptions
There are also many voices of deceit to be heard while silent. Some will be voices of your friends and relatives. Some will be your voice. Remember, when they tempted Jesus, they twisted the use of scripture to try to convince him. They will do the same to you, but it won't make sense. If you follow your basic understanding of right and wrong and scriptural definitions of morality, you will do well. A few other points to remember:
1) Jesus does not ask questions; that is the role of the tempter, starting in the garden with Eve when he questioned her, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" George Fox reminded us of this in his Letter 212:
Doubt not, faint not, question not;
for Eve was deceived by the serpent, the questioner;
therefore keep over him in the power of God, and in that is the reigning.
And take not belief from the serpent, nor take meat from him,
but keep your fast from that which is in the fall;
for that brings from the Lord,
to feed upon the accuser and the tempter's food, that feeds unbelief.
And therefore keep your fast to the Lord,
and feed upon that which comes down from above, in which there is life;
and that strengthens the faith which has the victory.
A question calls for a conclusion. Jesus, our Teacher, gives us understandings and commands, not questions without answers.
2) Don't fall for them using your love for Him: "Would you do 'this' for me?" - when 'this' is something that is scripturally wrong. I know someone who had a painful vision of Jesus falling down while carrying the cross, and having great difficulty in trying to get up to keep walking; and then she heard a voice say, "would you do xxx to help me out?" - asking her to do xxx, which was morally wrong. See how far they will go to deceive you? Wrong is wrong. They read her thoughts and knew there was something in her that wanted to do something like that, so they tried to set her up. Remember, Jesus has not gone modern. He does not change with time or as the morals of society change. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Wrong is also wrong - yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
3) Common deceptions based on twisting the scriptures are:
-
since I have faith in Christ, I am free from the Law of Sin Death, and sin is not charged to me.
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since I am 'saved' by grace, I have the righteousness of Christ, without sin, I am free to live as I please.
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since I have been 'saved,' there is nothing I can do that will remove me from the favor of God.
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since I am 'saved' by grace, any work I do, including repentance, will place me under the Law of Sin and Death.
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since I am in the Light, that is the return of Christ. I made it. There's nothing else to receive, (not true).
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since anything not done in faith is sin, then anything done in faith is not sin.
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since to the pure all things are pure, there really is no evil to the pure - sin is only in the eye of the beholder.
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since love covers a multitude of sins, anything I do with love is not counted as sin.
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since God created everything and said it was good, then any drug that I use is good and is not sin.
Wrong, in all of the above. Anyone who practices sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, hatred, lying, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, envy, drunkenness, cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Wrong is wrong. When you are truly born of God, you will do none of these deeds of darkness above.
4) They will appeal to your pride by tempting you to teach or preach or witness before you are clearly told what to do and when to do it or before you have the words spoken with aid of the Spirit. Don't! This is the test to see if you, like Nimrod, are going to run ahead of your guide, rather than follow. You don't want to hear him say to you, "who has required this at your hand." Remember only respond to a full command of what to do and when to do it, and of course it has to be morally correct. Until you are authorized, don't even use the words 'Jesus' or 'God,' (unless you are fellowshipping with others of faith); it is using the Lord's name in vain. Teaching before you are clearly told to teach will halt your progress; that is why all of the many thousands of teachers and preachers, who have been touched by his spirit, never progress to union, and the Kingdom. Anyone who names themselves a 'Christian' without being under Christ's control in speech and actions, is scattering and a stumbling block.
The biggest temptation will be to correct the people of the 'deficit sects' who profess a strong love of God, through faith in the Bible. As George Fox said, "do not try to educate the wise." Christ said, "he did not come to call the righteous, but the sinner." He also said, "if you say you can see, your sin remains." You want to help them see their error; but wait - wait until you have the power of God going in front of you, leading you as to where to go and chaining down your listener so that they have to listen. Some will still reject the truth; but they will have heard your words of truth, clearly spoken from His spirit. From George Fox's Letter 48.
And again, I charge you all in the presence of the living God,
not to allow your minds to go out to contend
with them who are not of
the truth,
in that which is out of the truth,
both which are to be condemned with
the truth.
For the same mind will boast and get up,
which is out of the truth and reaches at things in the comprehension,
though it lives not in it, but is excluded out of the truth, and shall
not enter;
but is for condemnation.
And so to you all this is the counsel of the Lord God of power and of
peace,
that in peace you may be preserved to wait for
the spirit of grace, and of wisdom, and of understanding.
The world is His garden. He is the one with the plan. Until you are under his total control, you cannot help him, you will only scatter. He has told me: "Let no one think we don't see and hear all." He has all the thoughts, words, and actions of all men in his consciousness. It is his battle. Wait until you are totally trained; then do only what he precisely tells you to do and when to do it.
5) They will also tempt you by hinting at what you should do, tempting you to think it is the Lord testing you to see if you are willing to "step out in faith." You will get requests to do something, which are incomplete, leaving you again to fill in the blanks, trying to figure out exactly what it was you were "told" to do. This is not the way the Lord asks; his requests will be clear as to exactly what to do and exactly when to do it. And if you get instructions to do something that doesn't make good sense to you, don't do it, wait. If it is from the Lord, he will clear it up to where it makes perfect sense; if not, leave it undone, forget about it.
6) You will get countless visions from the other side. The visions come fast as you start falling asleep. Christ's usually do not. Try not to get so comfortable that sleep is easy; but then if you fall asleep, you probably need the sleep. If they can't convince you to follow the vague vision, they will try to keep your brain working analyzing them. Some of your visions will be crude. So the best thing to do is immediately ignore them. If they don't make immediate sense, throw them away; don't spend a second trying to figure them out. WE GET SO PARCHED IN THE DESERT, THAT WE BECOME DESPERATE FOR WATER. DRINK WITH CAUTION, remember Gideon's army, (only drink while keeping alert for the enemy). If you analyze a vision, you are at least wasting time, but the real risk is that you conclude that God wishes you to do something wrong, which of course he never will. The Lord's visions come with immediate understanding, requiring no analysis; they speak directly to a condition in your heart which you immediately understand and know. Ignore written instructions that you "read" in a vision; you cannot hear the spirit of the words when you read them, and this is a way for the enemy to fool you with kind written words which avoid the detection of their sarcastic, harsh, critical, spirits behind the words. Christ's words are always heard with a spirit of love, kindness, gentleness, softness, reassurance, positive, easily understood, easily accepted, never incomplete to leave you guessing, never questioning, and never suddenly contradictory to a string of previous understandings. Immediately ignore written instructions.
Some of your visions or dreams will be showing you what will happen to you in the near future; to show that he, who is speaking to you, is a prophet. But make no effort to fulfill anything you think is going to happen.
Below is a summary of the guidelines on how to not to be deceived by the opposition:
- Ignore all visions without immediate and clear understanding accompanying them. Do not try to guess what they mean.
- If you get a partial message, do not try to fill in the blanks or complete it to your best guess. If the message is important to you, you will hear it completely later. Do not worry, he will repeat anything that is important.
- Understand that all spiritual beings, including demons, can read your thoughts. That is how they tailor their temptations to your exact desires. They can hear your reasoning, they can hear your doubts, and then they respond to take advantage of even a tiny doubt in the wall of your determination.
- Understand that God allows the demons to tempt us into following our own lusts, so that they are brought to the surface, to either deny and grow; or fall to, suffer the pain, and eventually repent - with a loss of time.
- Do not comply with any instruction that is clearly defined as sin in the Bible. No matter how logical the reasoning to violate the moral laws might be, don't do it. Understand that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever - so godliness is the same, so sin is the same - nothing had changed, as defined in the Bible. Jesus has not gone modern, adjusting morals to conventional thinking. Society changes, Jesus does not. Sin is sin, and he would never lead you into anything that the Bible forbids.
- Never buy the logic that if you somehow debase yourself, you are demonstrating your humility and willingness to accept a lowly role. The Lord will never request you to debase yourself in some repulsive or immoral act. He will expose your lack of humility, destroy your pride, and bring forth true humility in you; but never through a debasement or immorality.
- If you receive a change in instructions, which violates your previous understandings, you are to ignore the new instruction; if it is the Lord speaking, he will lead you to understand, step-by-step, why any reversal he makes is totally logical. Until you have been led with the step-by-step reasoning, ignore any command that violates previous commands or understandings.
- Understand that any instruction you get, which does not make good sense to you, should be ignored.
- Disregard any vision with a message in writing. The Lord speaks with a discernible voice, or with a knowing of understanding that is immediately perceived - with no communication by writing or words appearing in visions.
- Disregard any instruction to go somewhere, do something (except repenting), or say something to someone - unless you are told exactly what to do and when to do it. If it is important, it will be made completely clear. Understand, you will be tempted to preach, teach, or witness long before you have been purified - don't fall for it.
- You will also be tempted to travel, move to a different city, etc. Stay settled. I must have been told a hundred times to move to various cities, or to travel to various cities - never with any clear reasoning why - or never making sense. These temptations are all related to your pride, to make you think you are specially equipped to do something for the Lord, long before you have been purified and have received a major increase in his Spirit.
- Never comply with any command that requires you to go into debt. Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another.
- Ignore any instruction you hear that is harsh, bitter, sarcastic, with crude language, in a joking manner, etc.
- Apparent miracles, (lying wonders), as discussed in the next section, do not cancel these warnings. They are only designed to confuse you into thinking that God is asking you to do something wrong.
- When you get a command that makes sense, is moral, understood, perhaps even echoing what you can recall having read in the Bible, this is the time to make every effort to obey to the best of your ability. The opposition will try to make you doubt that you really heard it from God, or that you heard it right. Don't doubt any moral command regarding your conduct and/or conversation, obey it.
- Understand, that whatever you are addicted to, someone will show up to offer you more. Do not think that God is rewarding you with a vacation from righteousness, it is just a temptation to be denied. You can be walking and find something that you have been addicted to, literally lying in your path - don't take this as a gift from God - it is only a temptation to be denied, thus making you stronger.
From Molinos, Spiritual Guide:
You are to know then, that temptation is your great happiness; so that the more it surrounds you, the more you ought to rejoice in peace, instead of being sad, and thank God for the favor. He does favor you. In all those temptations, and odious thoughts, the remedy that works, is to despise them with a stayed neglect, because nothing more afflicts the proud devil, than to see that he is slighted and despised, as are all things else that he suggests to us. And therefore you are to tarry with him, as one that perceives him not, and to possess yourself in your peace without fretting, and without multiplying reasons and answers; seeing nothing is more dangerous than to contest in reasons with him who is ready to deceive you.
The saints in arriving at holiness, passed through this doleful valley of temptations; and the greater saints they were, the greater temptations with which they grappled. No, after the saints have attained to holiness and perfection, the Lord allows them to be tempted with brisk temptations, that their crown may be the greater, and that the spirit of vainglory may be checked, or else hindered from entering in them, keeping them in that manner secure, humble, and concerned of their condition.
Don't let yourself get angry at the opposition; that is what the devil wants. For when you get angry, you have fallen to his ways. Rather than anger, your greatest weapon is to totally ignore them, which they hate, for it makes them ineffective.
Lying Wonders
Be aware, later as you get closer, you will be subjected to many "lying wonders;" These are supernatural "signs" to deceive you to believe they are from God. This is scriptural. They are to test you to see if you are committed to the truth. Don't consider the below signs an exhaustive list; as Molinos says: "the devils, like cruel executioners, have a thousand ways to torment the soul and body, the whole man being crucified within and without."
a) expect supernatural occurrences of noises, popping sounds, visions, flashing electrical lights, etc.
(visions can be writings and pictures on the carpets, visions on a wall, they can distort your eyes to see visions in nature,
some can have visions of demons taunting you, even ridiculing your faith - if not visually, definitely by voice)
b) expect their application of bodily sensations: heat, cold, freezing, skin burning, pain, pricks, water, fire, darts, vibrations, crawlings on you, sudden ringing in the ears, heart skips, heart racing up to 200 beats per minute for days, sneezing. These can be felt on any part(s) of the body, often the private parts. "Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."
Suffering - Tribulation (later in the discipling process, and the hardest part of the cross!)
When he deems you ready, you enter tribulation. This is part of the cross, to destroy the sinful nature within you through suffering.
This produces patience, forgiveness, faith, long-suffering, trust, humility, and even hope; for even pain can be reassuring of his love:
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff comfort me.
But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it. (Tribulation and suffering is the pressure; as you approach the gate, the pressure intensifies).
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. . Tribulation is not a hard day at the office, a car wreck, a death in the family, a divorce, or some natural difficulty; it is unmistakably, supernaturally imposed.
For this suffering to be effective, you must realize three things:
1) It is supernaturally imposed. It is not some natural disease. It cannot be cured. It cannot be stopped by anything you do.
2) Despite the afflictions to your body, no harm will result - except to your selfish spiritual nature.
3) It is pleasing to God for you to undergo suffering because you are laying down your life for him - the one true sacrifice.
I realize this is extremely strange and foreign to most readers. But remember, Jesus said to Peter: Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has asked excessively that [all of] you be given up to him, that he might sift you like grain. They were all turned over to Satan for testing. Satan will be allowed to test and sift you, (a slow process), as well as inflict suffering upon you to test, try, and develop love within you. When you can suffer with faith that the suffering is your cross, but nowhere as painful as the cross of Jesus; your pain is far, far less.
The same sufferings are being experienced by all your brothers in the world. . For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. . Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Fear none of those things which you shall suffer; behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.
God is frequently accused of creating evil by creating the devil. Here is what George Fox says from his Journal:
The Ranters pleaded that God had made the devil. I denied it, and told them, 'I had come into the power of God, the seed Christ, which was before the devil was, and bruises his head; and he became a devil by going out of truth; and so became a murderer and a destroyer. So I showed them, that God did not make him a devil; for God is a God of truth, and made all things good, and blessed them; but God did not bless the devil. And the devil is bad and was a liar and a murderer from the beginning, and spoke of himself, and not from God.'
The devil rebelled against God. My wife had a vision as to what happened afterwards. Jesus was standing in front of Satan. Jesus held out his hand, full of dust and said, "Do you see this dust Satan? I am going to make this dust greater than you, and there is nothing you can do about it." The dust is us. He formed man from the earth. He thwarts Satan's efforts to defeat us by using his evil to produce good; to produce sons of God that are greater than the very powerful fallen archangel Satan. You are now entering the process by which evil is used to produce a son of God, made from dust, but cloned with the Spirit of Jesus.
In Acts 14:22-23, Paul was establishing and strengthening the souls and the hearts of the disciples, urging and warning and encouraging them to stand firm in the faith, and [telling them] 'that it is through many hardships and tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.' From where do you think these tribulations will come? Not from our fellow man, at least not in this era of religious tolerance. The tribulation has to be supernatural; various sufferings and hardships poured on you from above. Vials of suffering poured from above. And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. . See the Tribulation Scripture References, to understand further how tribulation is part of the cross to be experienced by every generation.
Remember Jesus said:
'Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve and quicken it.
I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.
There will be two women grinding together; one will be taken and the other will be left.
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.'
Then they asked Him, Where, Lord? He said to them:
'Wherever the dead body is, there will the vultures or eagles be gathered together.'
So, don't panic and run, trying to save your life. Trust in God. He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him; but the Father scourges any son he accepts, because it is necessary for purification. And He uses the vultures or eagles, heavenly vultures, fallen angels, demons, to do it.
First, recognize that they are restrained by the Spirit of God. They are not going to really hurt you or do anything totally bizarre; I know this to be absolutely true from experience. The angel of the LORD encamps round about them that fear him, and deliverers them. And greater is he that is within you than he who is in the world.
Aside from our documentation, there are others who have trod this path and documented it. Miguel de Molinos (1640-1697), a Spanish priest who practiced inward silence to union with the Lord, who came to Rome where he secured the support of the Pope and a large following, later condemned by the Roman Inquisition and tortured to death, left his account (click) for your assurance. He was a also a major contributor to the Guide to True Peace, on this web site. The Book of Job documents his persecutions and is available with commentary for you to read and take comfort.
First, Before Suffering: They will try to get you to do something wrong; such as something you just thought about, by giving you a "sign" at the exact same time. They want you to think it is God giving you a sign to do something wrong. Don't fall for it. Wrong is wrong and is never of God. When they give up on that, knowing that you recognize the sign to be from them, they will use the same sign to judge your every thought and condemn you every time you have a bad thought, by their signs, (usually something done to your body or popping noises). Or, they will use a 'sign' to try to inhibit you from doing something right; they lie, and switch around, just to keep you confused; so you just have to ignore them. Scripturally, this is the "accuser of the brethren." Rev. 12:10 Don't get resentful. Any anger or resentment will just slow you down. Remember God does not condemn you for these thoughts; he knows you will have them until you you are finished. Even if you repeatedly get angry at God, he understands and forgives you, providing you keep regretting it too. And he is the one in charge of your progress, so trust Him to continue his peace, mercy, and grace to you; he never withdraws it. Be happy you have arrived where few have gone before you. This monitoring of your thoughts and condemnation will continue for a long time; but do not be discouraged, they will eventually disappear. The sooner you can ignore them, the sooner they will withdraw from you, at least temporarily.
After you identify one type of sign as evil, a new type of sign is tried to deceive you, and then another, etc. Compared to the miracles of God, these are cheap tricks. Don't fall for them. Ignore them. This is hard because you are so famished for God, and you will want so badly to believe that these "signs and wonders" come from God. He doesn't communicate that way. It is your pride that is working against you here; your pride wants to believe God has finally started doing miracles for your benefit and wants to rush to comply with the instructions, hints, or associations accompanying them.
Next, Suffering: When these supernatural signs become painful, and they will, sooner or later, rejoice that you have been worthy of discipline and persecution, for you are sharing in the sufferings of Christ:
Do not think it strange the fiery ordeal you are undergoing, but rejoice that you are participating in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. . The same sufferings are being experienced by all your brothers in the world. .
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. .
My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into many trials of any sort and various temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience.
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. .
This will be a shock. Even having read this beforehand, it will be a shock. You will be angry, full of doubts, desperate to get away, perhaps bitter. There is no place to go. They will follow you wherever you go. You will think you are being punished for something you have done wrong. You will not be able to imagine that God is allowing you to be subject to this. But, in the end, you have to trust God. You have to remember that he is the one in charge, not you.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
After the suffering started, during my "quiet sessions," I had terrible thoughts and words that went through my head. Thoughts as bad as you can imagine. It is easy to get bitter. Sometimes it was so painful to realize that kind of stuff was in me, that I was in deep agony. Recognize, there is a war going on inside of you. The Spirit of Christ is warring against your spirit, the spirit of Satan. This spirit within you will eventually be slain by Christ at his return to you, but until then, this spirit will probably curse and find fault with God. It will feel like you are the one thinking these thoughts; it will be very distressing; you will feel like you are unforgivable. You may want to fall on your sword to remove the dishonor or contemplate suicide; this won't help the Lord - he has brought you this far, let him finish the job. The fact that you find it distressing is proof that you don't will these thoughts; they are part of the war - nation against nation. Keep regretting your condition and know that Christ does not condemn you for this; he will win the war; the war is his. He told me there is no evil that has not already been in front of his hands and face. Remember his blood has paid for your pitiful state, and he will redeem you in the end. I doubt you could make the many and grievous mistakes I have made while seeking. But, He always forgave me, always encouraged me, and always gave me more. In time, grace destroyed the vast, vast majority of those thoughts in my head; but this called for, and worked to, patience.
When so many disciples deserted Christ after he said that to have eternal life, they must eat his flesh and drink his blood; the Lord asked the twelve, "You do not want to leave too, do you?" To which, Peter replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." That is the question: you have committed yourself to God and arrived at suffering; where else is there to go? Back to your old life of sins and pleasures? Back to the godless deficit sects? No, by now, that is a horrible thought. So, you buckle up (gird up your loins) and press on to the high calling of God with trust and faith that he knows what he is doing, even if you don't fully understand it. This is the cross. It is tough; but compared to his cross, it is a picnic.
A man must first be broken by God, before he is honored. It is only when a person is besieged by a supernatural enemy, sent by God, which he is helpless to fight against, that the person discovers how he is so easily resentful, angry, impatient, doubtful [loss of faith], and profane. Under the pressure of the adversaries, a man discovers what a low, selfish, angry beast he really is. It is a necessary humbling process. It is a necessary suffering. A man must see over a significant period of time how low he is, how selfish he is, how profane he is, how evil he is — and he must learn this so that he never forgets it. A man must be humbled, and it is impossible for a man to voluntarily humble himself; any such voluntary attempts to humble one's self only increases a man's pride. Only the hand of God can truly humble a man. His only hope has to rest in God's mercy; there can be no other escape. His only objective must become to be rid of his selfish, cursing, profane, hating, resentful self; so when it is finally taken away, he hates evil so much, that he would never even consider drifting back into selfish behaviors again. A man must be broken by God: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise; Psalm 51:17; and then he accepts him: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; Luke 4:18, Isa 61:1.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.
Indeed all who delight in piety and are determined to live a devoted and godly life in Christ Jesus will meet with persecution.
For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes...You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline. Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God's children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons.
In he says: [you] "who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. 1 Peter 4:16-19.
"Tribulation is a great treasure, by which God honors those that are his, in this life: therefore evil men are necessary for those that are good; and so are the Devils themselves, which by afflicting us do try to ruin us: but instead of doing us harm, they do us the greatest good imaginable. There must be tribulation to make a man's life acceptable to God; without it, it is like the body without the soul, the soul without grace, the earth without the sun. With the wind of tribulation God separates, in the floor of the soul, the chaff from the corn. Those souls are to be pitied, who cannot find in their hearts to believe, that tribulation and suffering is their greatest blessing." (from Miguel de Molinos)
For more scriptures, documenting how Tribulation applies to cross for all generations, see Tribulation Scripture References.
For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
When you bear (produce) much fruit,
My Father is honored and glorified,
and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
The fiery darts are annoying, but not severe pain. The darts have hit my wife and me for years, usually when thinking something wrong, but not always limited to that: sometimes just to aggravate us, just when we might have a minor disagreement; hoping to create a real argument.
My intense suffering lasted several months. No one could see what was going on. It was private. I could still function in life while it was happening. It was very, very annoying; not severe pain, but constant and very depressing. I was afflicted in my private parts, which I later learned was a common experience of David and referenced by Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Lamentations. But I was shocked; I didn't understand or expect it. Instead of rejoicing, I thought I had been betrayed; I couldn't have reacted worse. But, you will do better. Forewarned is forearmed; expect to suffer. Rejoice that you are worthy to suffer. It is necessary for purification and the development of faith, patience, long-suffering, and love. Condemnation with slight, but still annoying pain lasted several years.
Their whole purpose is to purify you, show you your weaknesses, and to test you to see if you are committed to the truth. When the Lord trusts you, he will give you more of his Holy Spirit. (See Faith and Freedom for the joy of what happens as you wait for union). This persecution can come to a climax of intense suffering and testing to see if you are really committed to not pursuing evil. But we all have to be tested. Peter was tested. You will be tested. I was tested without much knowledge, and I failed; but because I stupidly believed I was doing the will of God, I was forgiven. And eventually, I was tested again. The last time I passed; for in the Holy Way, even fools, shall not err in it and lose their way. . He gifted me enough of his Spirit to construct this web site under his supervision; he is using my failures to help you, and I feel the great honor and privilege to do so. You can read the details of all my failures in the record of my spiritual journey.
Every caution I have given you is the result of my learning them by at least partial failure. Despite me falling for far too many tricks of the devil, Christ never failed me; I kept coming back, and he stayed with me. The Lord will never leave you, if you stay committed to him. Even if you wander off, like a lost sheep, the good Shepard will come and get you and carry you back to be with Him. Read the full Molinos book for additional comfort.
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us. These sufferings are the hardest part of the cross, but again, thy rod and thy staff comfort me.
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he [it is] that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
"Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:"
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
The Interim Reward
Those who belong to Christ Jesus
have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
When you have suffered awhile in crucifixion and pass the test(s), Christ will give you more of his Spirit, Oh! Joyous day! That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, [the word of truth is not a book], the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise. ; if indeed you have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus, . Here is where we hear the good news of our salvation to come and receive the Holy Spirit of promise. And do not grieve the holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed to the day of redemption. . Who has also sealed us, and given us the earnest [down payment] of the Spirit in our hearts. . Remember! The Holy Spirit is only given to those who obey him, Acts 5:32.
You will know, beyond a shadow of a doubt. After the intensive testing, He told me the good news, "you are now in Christ," and "there is an open door placed before you that no one can shut." The world will look different to you. You will see Christ in all things. Everything will be beautiful. You will see Christ in all people. You will want to love everyone as you love Christ. Because of this love received, you will no longer fear God, only fear disappointing him. Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us. . You have complete trust and faith in God to bring you to union with Him in his Kingdom. See Faith and Christian Freedom for more on how your life changes. Your faith will be sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. This understanding gives you peace. You will be tempted to think you have it all. The opposition can create a fake Kingdom; all lights are golden; everything looks clean and bright through this golden filter; you are surrounded by a counterfeit field that seems to help your physical efforts; it went away when I stopped noticing it, but only after he kindly told me, "it is just another lying wonder." You will be congratulated for having entered the Kingdom. But you are still in the same dimension; you still see the world, just slightly differently.
The great bulk of your suffering is done, but you will have short bursts of the same to keep you on track and to be reminded of the consequences of departing.
There is much more, and you must dwell in the Light even more while continuing to give at every opportunity, exhibiting your love in giving to others through your powerful increased faith. Don't worry, you will have the inclination - just go with it. Keep seeking. The Lord told us, "many are so happy to arrive at this state; they think how wonderful everything is, and relax. Many die here." Don't. Follow orders. Keep oil in your lamps; abide in the light. You are 90% there. It is no longer you that sin, but the sin that remains in you, and it will decrease daily. He will pull away from you for periods of dryness. This dryness teaches us to walk in love, faith, and truth. His Spirit never leaves us, but his words of comfort do, for a little while; this lets us walk without holding his hand and tests us to see if we will stay faithful, stay foreign to our previous life of lusts and affections, and keep striving forcefully to enter the Kingdom. Remember, until you have literally run into his arms, you have not received the pearl of great price. Even though the open door has been placed before us that no one can shut, it is still up to us to keep striving to go through the door into the Kingdom.
But, at this stage you are definitely being led by the Spirit, telling you what to do and when to do it; this makes you a son of God who will live forever. And you now have both assurances of salvation: 1) through the aid of the Spirit, having been putting to death the sinful nature, and 2) having finished the great bulk of suffering, discipline, scourging by God. So you have great peace, knowing the completion of your salvation is assured with the arrival of the Kingdom.
This is the time that the Teacher within destroys your carnal mind; the fretful, worrying, doubting, faithless mind. And as this mind is destroyed, he builds your and faith and trust, which results in great peace; a peace beyond understanding. But this is not the final reward. He is preparing you to survive the next step.
And if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of the godless and wicked?
The Kingdom, the Return of Christ, and Salvation's Completion
BUT AS to the suitable times and the precise seasons and dates, brethren, you have no necessity for anything being written to you.
For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the [return of the] Lord will come [as unexpectedly and suddenly] as a thief in the night.
When people are saying, All is well and secure, and, There is peace and safety, then in a moment unforeseen destruction (ruin and death) will come upon them as suddenly as labor pains come upon a woman with child; and they shall by no means escape, for there will be no escape.
But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to overtake you by surprise like a thief.
For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we do not belong either to the night or to darkness.
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
Yea, Christ is able to deliver out of the six troubles,
and the seventh trouble, the perfection of trouble; he who is the perfection itself,
so he is the deliverer and mediator, and the intercessor,
that makes peace between you and God. G.F No. 279
And the Lord has promised to deliver his people in the six troubles,
yea, in the seventh, the perfection of troubles;
and therefore do not think time long, and your sufferings long,
for the Lord will lay no more upon you but what you are able to bear;
yea, upon his faithful people. G. F. 367
This is what Christ came to preach: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Look at all his parables. Most deal with the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the hidden pearl; not hidden in the scriptures, but hidden in understanding as to what it meant. Before Christ is revealed, the man of sin is revealed, showing you all manner of evil on the earth; this is the abomination of desolation, standing in the your heart's temple, where it should not. But this is end of your fleshly self, as Christ then comes and slays this residual spirit of Satan within you by the brightness of his coming, by his breath, and the splendor of his coming, by his crushing the head of Satan under your heel. The final judgment. The true baptism of the Holy Spirit: into the death of Christ. The sharing of his death. Jesus is resurrected in you to be your true Lord.
From George Fox's Journal:
You must have fellowship with Christ in his sufferings;
if you will reign with him, you must suffer with him;
if you will live with him, you must die with him;
and if you die with him, you must be buried with him,
and being buried with him in the true baptism, you also rise with him.
George Fox from the Cambridge Journal:
If you wait in what is pure in you, you will find and see, because God has given you a measure of his spirit, by which you can comprehend things and see the deceits. Now when the mind goes forth from that pure measure, which lets you see deceits, the simplicity is ensnared, and God is not in your thoughts any more; instead, the son of perdition in you sits in the temple of God, where he ought not to sit. With the birth of the Lord [in you], this son of perdition is discovered, and with the brightness of the Lord's coming [in you], he is consumed; that man of sin is revealed [in you], and so shall you witness the scriptures fulfilled. But you must wait in that which is pure, which will show you when your mind departs into disobedience, setting up Baal's priests (outward) before God, and that brings a distraction in the mind where there is a halting between two (you and God); for all of the troubles are without in the world, but Christ said that "in me you shall have perfect peace." Wait in Christ and mind him in yourself, (there is where you wait for his appearing). Keep focused inward, (stay seeking Christ within yourself), and do not follow the cries of lo Christ is here and lo Christ is there to distract you to outward seeking, you will have peace in a short time. You will later witness Christ, who is the substance of the prophets and apostles. The scriptures are shown to you within you (by Christ) to guide you to the Father, the Lord God of heaven and earth. By waiting for the Spirit of the Lord within you to guide your mind, you will find your strength renewed daily by the one Spirit that gave forth the scriptures. There is no confusion, but instead perfect peace. This Spirit baptizes into the one body, and this Spirit is the unity of the saints, who though absent in body, yet are present in Spirit, all being made to drink into one Spirit. This Spirit circumcises and puts off the body of sin from you, and you are sanctified through your obedience to the Spirit. You will come to witness the scriptures pure and clear, as they are without any mixture [of man's interpretations], as holy men possessed them and gave them forth. So holy men possess them and give them forth again and witness them again.
This is the appearance of Christ to you bringing his Kingdom and salvation. This is to see your savior, to see God. This results in Jesus resurrected in you, (by today's terminology, a spiritual cloning), and having His glorious Kingdom established in your heart. The world as you see it ends. It is gone. You will not see it again. You step into another dimension, and walk by the Light of God, not the sun or the moon. This is He and the Father with you in fellowship. You are not only restored to image of God, as were originally Adam and Eve, but you are elevated beyond their state, beyond temptation. We sit down in Christ to enter the rest; to enter the rest from fighting our enemies, like Israel entered the rest after they had purged their land of the surrounding peoples, only our enemies are spiritual: lust, rage, selfishness, envy, greed, covetousness, jealousy, lying, cheating, stealing, sexual immorality, profane language, and evil thoughts, etc. Salvation is to be delivered from sin and be protected from evil, sanctified from our enemies of sin; never to fall to temptation again.
That he would grant unto us,
that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
You will enter the rest, to cease from your own labors, to walk in the spirit, under the power and promptings of the Father, through Christ, with whom you have joined in union; the pure church, sanctified, washed by the water of the word, at the wedding supper. This is to have Christ as your King forever. This is to be a priest to God forever and being next to Him as you worship Him. This is to worship Him in spirit and truth. This is to love God and be loved by Him. This is to be translated into paradise, while still residing on the earth - step into another dimension of sight, awareness, and consciousness. Being sanctified, separated, protected. This is everlasting peace and joy. This is the prize of the creation; you are God's crowning glory. This is the ultimate step in the creation. This is why the world was created. This is the purpose of life. This is more than you ever hoped for, and you will be overwhelmed with still more. This is overcoming evil. This is winning the war. This is becoming one with Christ and the Father. This is becoming his agent on earth, a soldier under direct command from Him, and with Him and His power leading you. This is no longer you that live, but Christ within you. You have lost your life and found LIFE.
That he would grant unto us,
that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
Who has delivered us from the power of darkness,
and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. Col 1:13
2000 years ago, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you,
there are some standing here who shall not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."
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