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Discovering the rest God has promised us..

G

gideons300

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God has told us that for the tired and weary, He would give us rest. We would find rest for our weary, worn out souls. But think about it for a minute. Are you not tired? Tired of the battle with your flesh? It is the classic black dog and white dog scenario. And it is exhausting.... and the battle is, when all is said and done unwinnable. Our fight is simply not to lose. That dopes not exactly inspire joy unspeakablde and full of glory, you know?

We are all, in our flesh, carriers of sin. Even if we do not commit outward sins, we are a never ending fountain of sin, of self nurturing, of rebellion and we never just get to rest. Our black dogs are formidable, tireless and relentless. Is our having to fight this battle the rest of our lives the rest that remains for the people of God? Really? Is this wearisome, never-ending war for supremacy inside our minds and hearts what Paul was referring to when he talked about "the glorious liberty of the children of God".

Is this what Jesus referred to as being made "free indeed" in John 8? When Jesus told us about what He promised to do for us, He said this about sin.

"He that commits sin is a servant to it...."

Ouch. But that is not the worst thing. He went on...

"...and the servant abides not in the house always."

Do you see? The real cost of our sin, of remaining as fleshly saints, ever battling, is that we do not get to ABIDE in Him. We visit, but we do not know the joy of being sons and daughters who live in the big house. We are servants and come in for a period of time, but our home is elsewhere. Forgiveness is wonderful, but oh, the loss of abiding in Christ? It is immeasurable.

Oh, how I wish I could spend time with each one of you, and look deep in your eyes and convince you with my words, with tears, with the Word of God and His promises, with my love for you, and with Jesus imploring you through me, that He is longing to abide in you, and you in Him! He wants to finally be one with you. Mot Jesus and you. Jesus in you. He wants to give you total rest from the battle. No more struggling to tie up your ever rebellious self. Glorious, never-ending rest from the black dog. The black dog is not you any longer. It is dead.

People will say "Yes, but will satan not continue to attack?" Are you saying you don't have to fight?"

Yes, in the new nature you do fight, but first, the fight is won and your fight is simply to hold the position of victory and not let it go. Secondly, it is now Christ in you, you and He as ONE, called the new man, not truly fighting, but now simply resisting satan, steadfast in the faith.

The faith in what? That we, our old nature is dead, not needing to be killed! And when you finally surrender to that, you shall find rest for your souls. Real rest. And why? Because you finally have ceased from your own efforts to kill your flesh, and have reckoned that Jesus did it already. You are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. Hid. Wow.

And if that is true, if Paul is right that we are no longer in the flesh... and owe it nothing, then do you see, dear friends, we have been fighting shadows, thinking them a part of US, when all the while our flesh is dead, and we have been exhausting ourselves fighting ourselves, beating the air and satan is tickled at his genius.

His time is over. His lies are about to be exposed for what they are, a way to paralyze us from walking in the light, drawing others to Christ by our light....no, no, His light in us. We are about to light our lamps. We have the oil, and now God is providing a spark.... truth. Now are you light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Finally! We have discovered the right order.

Be and you shall do.

We wrestle NOT against flesh and blood... against OUR flesh and blood. Now we understand that it is satan who is tempting us, not us. We are not the source. We are not a kingdom divided against itself. We are not a fountain bringing forth both good and brackish water. We are not a bad tree trying to produce good fruit. We have made our tree good, and praise god, a good tree cannot.,..CANNOT produce bad fruit.

Who enters rest? He who has ceased from his own works. He who sees the total futility of attempting to win an unwinnable battle by wrestling his flesh and surrenders by doing what God instructed us to do... to reckon our old nature as DEAD. Only believe.

Can I testify to you how wonderful this place of rest is? Can you even imagine the joy of being a former porn addict, bound to the gills, worn out by the ferocity of my flesh, and having a lustful thought come to my front door?

To be able to recognize satan trying to pass off those evil thoughts as my thoughts, resist his temptation and slyness steadfast in the faith,and to feel NO guilt, for I know the origin of the temptation is not me? It WAS me, it is me no longer. God has made me new, with a brand new nature.

Glory to God, it is amazing! To be able to smile, tell satan "nice try", close the door and go back to life without a ripple of condemnation or conviction to affect God's rest for me, and His abiding in me? Listen.That is what God has for you! That is what He is awakening us all to.

Wake up to how amazing the grace of God really is. Grace of God for forgiveness? You bet. Grace of God for our holiness and knowing how to possess our vessels in sanctification and honor? YES!! Light your lamp. Finally, walk together with God by agreeing with Him, trusting Him, believing that all of His promises for you are yea and amen.

You are light. Do you believe it? Will you receive it? Are you ready to admit it? Your fight with the flesh is unwinnable. When you finally recognize that fact and lose the battle, and admit to your God that no matter how hard you try, your flesh refuses to bow and that you hate that part of you, then simply ask for the faith to receive, to actually believe it is not you any longer. Right then, somewhere deep inside you, a tiny seed will begin to sprout.... overcoming faith.

You will have now finally combined the precious blood of the Lamb with the words of YOUR testimony, that it is no more you that lives, but Christ who lives in you, and the life, the wonderful restful life you now live, you live by the faith of the Son of God inside you.

You were saved. You have finally discovered safe. Will you close your eyes and simply ask God if such an amazing thing could actually be? You will be more than pleasantly surprised at the answer. Prepare to be blown away. Being light is quite amazing.... and 100% totally humbling.

I am praying for all. God is about to awaken His church, one by one. There is not a better time than today, this very hour, to step out of your old nature, where the fur never stops flying, where the battle never ceases, where we always are headed towards the rest, but never ever get to enjoy it. There is not ONE THING you have to do or for that matter even can do to get better prepared to believe. Ask, and receive, that your joy might be full, and your rest will become very real and very glorious.

Finally, a repentance not having to be repented of. :clap:

May the God of all comfort reveal Himself to you as such.
Many blessings to all. My prayers are for you and I covet yours...

Gideon
 

Neogaia777

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The way to combat sin, is not by aggression, or aggressively attacking and struggling, but it is more like "passive resistance" laying down in front of the tank of sin and saying "No" like Neo in the first Matrix, when at the end, he simply says "No" and all the bullets slow and stop in mid air and fall to the ground.

Just say "No" to sin and mean it, and take a stand, no need to fight it all the time, which I believe that approach sets one up for failure...

God Bless!
 
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Bramwell

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I am currently going through the four gospels, and making note of ALL of Jesus promises, and I plan on holding him (J.C.) to them...

That's not a bad idea, Neogaia, re going through the gospels, and making a note of the promises of Jesus. It seems like a helpful way to strengthen one's faith and understanding.

That said, it's worth noting that almost all promises in the Bible are conditional. That is, they are usually proceeded by the word 'if', indicating a condition must be met for the promise to be realized. And I don't say that to scare us away from claiming God's promises, either; just something to be mindful of (in terms of our part of the "promise equation").
 
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Neogaia777

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That's not a bad idea, Neogaia, re going through the gospels, and making a note of the promises of Jesus. It seems like a helpful way to strengthen one's faith and understanding.

That said, it's worth noting that almost all promises in the Bible are conditional. That is, they are usually proceeded by the word 'if', indicating a condition must be met for the promise to be realized. And I don't say that to scare us away from claiming God's promises, either; just something to be mindful of (in terms of our part of the "promise equation").

You mean like confession in prayer and repentance from sin and believing (having faith) in the Good News, the gospel (the Bible) and Jesus Christ?
 
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pescador

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Speaking personally, I have entered God's rest. I trust God because I have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and so I no longer struggle with sin. I am not saying that I don't sin but that I can relax, knowing that my sins have been forgiven. My life is motivated by the love and joy that I receive from my heavenly father, period.
 
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Neogaia777

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Speaking personally, I have entered God's rest. I trust God because I have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and so I no longer struggle with sin. I am not saying that I don't sin but that I can relax, knowing that my sins have been forgiven. My life is motivated by the love and joy that I receive from my heavenly father, period.

Well, if you no longer struggle with sin, then why don't you personally lay hold of all that Jesus has promised us (power and authority over the power of the enemy, the ability to perform signs and wonders and miracles just like Jesus and his apostles/disciples did) since you have met the prerequisites...?

Do you wonder and fantasize like I do, doing extraordinary things (miraculous things) through the power and authority of Jesus name, Jesus said that we would do signs and wonders greater than these (the miracles he himself was performing) and that's just one promise...

Don't you wonder? Have you ever tried it out? If so, or if not, why or why not?

God Bless!
 
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Boidae

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There is no promise

I'm not sure if you have read the rules of this forum, but if you're not a Christian, than you are not allowed to debate, or speak against God here.

There maybe be a forum somewhere on this site for non-Christian, but they I believe are for those seeking God, not speaking against him.
 
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Bramwell

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Well, if you no longer struggle with sin, then why don't you personally lay hold of all that Jesus has promised us (power and authority over the power of the enemy, the ability to perform signs and wonders and miracles just like Jesus and his apostles/disciples did) since you have met the prerequisites...?

With regard to the ability to perform signs and wonders... Jesus does say that certain signs (drive out demons, speak in new tongues, etc.) will follow those who believe. (Mark 16:17) But it should be clear that these signs are God's part of the Great Commission - not ours - and that it's really an adulterous generation which seeks such signs.

The false prophet described in the Revelation will deceive many through "lying signs and wonders". While signs can be helpful, they can never replace the simple truths communicated by Christ's teaching and example. So we have to keep that in perspective as well.
 
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1watchman

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We surely should not doubt God, by saying such as "holding Him to it", which challenge is not honoring God. We will find "rest" by humility and thankfulness to God for saving us, and if one is not saved that one needs to go back to Step One ---John 3:35-36 and 1 Jn. 5:10-13. Has one thanked the Lord for His promises and resting on that? We should NEVER challenge God.
 
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