Is walking in the "free indeed" Jesus promised actually possible.... in THIS life?

[Charlie24]

Okay. Let's examine that.

Gideon says he is a pastor and ministry leader. He says he struggled with the problem for 38 years some, during some or all of that time he was a pastor and ministry leader.Crying out was the thing that fostered change. That is what the op reports.

Are you now asserting a pastor and ministry leader does not know he can cry out to Jesus?

It has not been proven I was nitpicking.

Nitpick (def): engage in fussy or pedantic fault-finding.

Pick something I posted and explain how it is wrong. Otherwise, affirm it and let's discuss it relevant to the op.

I've found through my own experience that when a man reaches the absolute bottom of himself with sin, he will call out to God for help.

We can do one of two things when we see this happen to another.

Point the finger at what he should have done from the very start.

Or, praise God that he has found the truth he needed.

I choose to praise God that this Brother has found his deliverance.

 

[Gideons300]

Perhaps, but no one can know because no point of disagreement has been specified. How will we reach agreement in the forum unless those yet-to-be-identified points of supposed disagreement are identified and discussed?

Let's start with this: Did God direct you to post this op? If so, did He do so for your benefit or for ours?


Don't over-think this. Those are two very simple questions that don't require much, if any, commentary to answer.


Did God direct you to post this op?

If so, did He do so for your benefit or for ours?

I suspect you would like to wrestle this subject to death. My approach is.... he who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Nothing I can say will change the mind of the one determined to "discuss" when there is no hunger to walk in a deeper abiding in Christ.

Brother, let us just leave it at that. And please forgivecme if I choose to avoid getting into a mind confrontation with you, as it will end up profiting neither of us and simply sow confusion to readers who may be interested in what the OP is addressing.

blessings,

Gids

 

[Jermayn]

Some of the harsh and snarky replies are only creating division. Think about what you're saying and HOW you're saying it before you actually say it.

 

[Josheb]

I suspect you would like to wrestle this subject to death. My approach is.... he who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Nothing I can say will change the mind of the one determined to "discuss" when there is no hunger to walk in a deeper abiding in Christ.

Brother, let us just leave it at that. And please forgivecme if I choose to avoid getting into a mind confrontation with you, as it will end up profiting neither of us and simply sow confusion to readers who may be interested in what the OP is addressing.

blessings,

Gids

You "suspect"? You "suspect" negative things about another? How deeeply abiding in Christ of you.


The suspicions are unwarranted. No, you don't get to leave it at derisive insinuations if your goal is to walk in a deeper abiding in Christ.


My op-reply is valid.
No one has proven a single word of it incorrect.
Responses to my op-reply have been uniformly derisive. They have also been uniformly absent any proof of wrongdoing.
I have invited every single accuser to do two things: 1) prove the accusations and 2) get back on topic with the op.
No one has done a single thing to effect either of those two things.

You, yourself, said we will disagree and I asked you to show me where and you've refused to do so in favor of "I suspect..." and the irrelevant inability to change my mind, or the insinuation I or another has no hunger to walk in deeper abiding in Christ.

My entire op-reply is about deeper abiding in Christ.

But you're not actually discussing that.

No more comments about me or other posters. Doing that is not deeper abiding in Christ. This is your op about you and your efforts to abide deeper in Christ relevant to Romans 6-8. Great passage of scripture. Especially when attended to via Ephesians 4.

So I invite you - again - to do as I have invited all others: pick something, anything, in my op reply and discuss it. Discuss it with the goals of Ephesians 4 in mind. I can do that. Can you?

Show me.

 

[topher694]

I suspect you would like to wrestle this subject to death. My approach is.... he who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Nothing I can say will change the mind of the one determined to "discuss" when there is no hunger to walk in a deeper abiding in Christ.

Brother, let us just leave it at that. And please forgivecme if I choose to avoid getting into a mind confrontation with you, as it will end up profiting neither of us and simply sow confusion to readers who may be interested in what the OP is addressing.

blessings,

Gids

You've demonstrated more patience than me Gids, good for you.

I've seen first hand exchanges like the one that has been attempted to be instigated here cause real harm to kind, sincere believers. So, I feel it is at least worth while to point it out when stuff like this happens. However, that's been done now, so I'll follow your lead from here on out in this thread and leave it be.

Back to the subject... I think your testimony is a powerful example of the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. When revelation comes directly to the heart from God, it can do in an instant what head knowledge could never accomplish.

 

[Gideons300]

God has called us to, if possible. live at peace with all men. As we all see through a glass darkly to one extent or another, there will be times we see things differently. I suspect that will continue until the Lord takes off our dark glass blinders, LOL.

I have learned..... ok, ok, am STILL learning.... over the years that I can convince no one of what I am sharing. That is God's work. So to enter into contentious debate is truly fruitless and in some cases actually hurtful.

God has called us to treat others as we would like to be treated, even if.... no, especially if....we disagree strongly, and to do so in love. Occasionally I lose sight of that fact, but after a spanking or two, I get back on track. I am getting better at it. Progress!

blessings to all,

Gids

 

[Jesse Johnson]

@Gideons300

I really appreciate the testimony of your personal experience with righteousness by faith.

 

[nolidad]

This is my testimony as to not only the possibility of each of us walking as an overcomer, victorious over the world the flesh and the devil, but its sureness!

I have been a inappropriate content addict since I was 12. I got saved at 21 and thought it would end. It did not. Thirty-eight years as a Christian and I had tried everything. I had water fasted for 21 days. was a home pastor. Jail ministry. Memorized tons of the new testament. Accountability partner. Prayed constantly. Three services a week. Bot matter how I tried to get the victory, eventually I would return to the sin I hated. I was the poster boy for Romans 7 and of all men most miserable.

Eventually, I simply ran out of things to try. One night, I cried out to God, telling Him that His way was too high, too hard and I could not do it. Then it happened.

My room was filled with a blinding golden light. Did I see His face? No, for His presence put me on my face and tears blinded my eyes. Amazement, terror, joy, take your pick. And then He spoke to me. It was not what I expected.

"For this, my son, I am well pleased with you."

Confused? Yeah, me too. LOL. It made no sense. I had just confessed to Him my total inability to obey Him. I had longed to hear or feel like God was pleased with me for decades, and I never did. If I read ten chapters before bed, I should have read twenty. That part about there being no condemnation? Yeah, right. It was my daily bread because of my addictive sin.

My confusion was overwhelming, until Jesus spoke again. and what He said explained everything.

"I knew all along you could not walk the walk I had for you, but you did not yet know it."

Ah, that little word YET. I finally knew it. I wanted to obey Him in all things. I could not, no matter how hard I tried. I had come to the terrible, wonderful place where I had no strength. No confidence in the flesh. Totally empty. Totally looking away from MY strength. It is a hard place to get to, especially for a proud legalist like I was.

But Jesus was not finished talking.

"In all your tryings to walk pleasing to me, did you ever do what I instructed you to do through my servant Paul?"

He did not wait for an answer. He simply opened my eyes to my error. It was, not surprisingly, found in Romans 6. I knew instinctively that Romans 6-8 were key chapters to truly "getting" the gospel that sets us free indeed, but I had totally missed one key verse, and boy, had I missed it.



I will let you digest this and will write more in a bit.



blessings,

Gideon

Just remember you are a Romans 8 christian now! Christ is your Savior and is your deliverer. He has delivered you from this addiction. It is just we choose to walk back into them from time to time. Just keep 1 JOhn 1:9 active and rememer it!

1 John 1:9 King James Version (KJV)
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

He has cleansed you judicially already and as long as you keep confessing- He will cleanse you experientially. I can give you a thousand maybes or possibilities, but that is Gods' domain. Keep confessing and refuse to give in to the discouragement of the devil.

Remember our old sin nature is hard wired into us. Our sin habits are ours and will always be there calling us. We learn all our lives to walk above and beyond them and to consider the old man dead. It is a life long journey- do not give up!

 

[theoneandonlypencil]

You "suspect"? You "suspect" negative things about another? How deeeply abiding in Christ of you.


The suspicions are unwarranted. No, you don't get to leave it at derisive insinuations if your goal is to walk in a deeper abiding in Christ.


My op-reply is valid.
No one has proven a single word of it incorrect.
Responses to my op-reply have been uniformly derisive. They have also been uniformly absent any proof of wrongdoing.
I have invited every single accuser to do two things: 1) prove the accusations and 2) get back on topic with the op.
No one has done a single thing to effect either of those two things.

You, yourself, said we will disagree and I asked you to show me where and you've refused to do so in favor of "I suspect..." and the irrelevant inability to change my mind, or the insinuation I or another has no hunger to walk in deeper abiding in Christ.

My entire op-reply is about deeper abiding in Christ.

But you're not actually discussing that.

No more comments about me or other posters. Doing that is not deeper abiding in Christ. This is your op about you and your efforts to abide deeper in Christ relevant to Romans 6-8. Great passage of scripture. Especially when attended to via Ephesians 4.

So I invite you - again - to do as I have invited all others: pick something, anything, in my op reply and discuss it. Discuss it with the goals of Ephesians 4 in mind. I can do that. Can you?

Show me.

OP: *gives testimony about finally maturing in Christ and getting over an addiction*

Josheb: Okay so I'm glad for you and all...but here's why you're wrong and being very problematic.


So Christlike! I'm just in absolute awe. //Sarcasm

 

[Gideons300]

@Gideons300

I really appreciate the testimony of your personal experience with righteousness by faith.

Thank you Jesse. What I pray you realize is, what God opened my eyes to, the ability to walk as a brand new creature with the old me reckoned as dead, is the birthright of every child of God.

We hopefully will realize that we have been trying to kill, or to discipline, something that is already dead! God promises to sanctify us wholly, amen? To transform us into His image with us dripping with spiritual fruits. Right?

Yet, if we are honest, the process in our minds has become, wait for a LONG time, battle with the same sins and personality traits over and over, and must mean we are being sanctified, right?

But there is a missing piece! Faith! Faith as to who we are and who we are not. Sanctification is not growing from old natured people to new natured people. That is sheer impossibility. We must be new creatures in order to see God truly roll up His sleeves and show us what He can to.

And listen, dear saints, we ARE creatures. BUT..... the activation process is our holding up our shield of faith that we ARE new. When we finally get desperate enough to admit we will never be changed as long as we stay upon our current path an we arrive at the blessed place of having NO strength, it is then that we can do the ONE thing God has asked of us.... ONLY believe.

Bot believe in a general sense that all Christians are new creatures. Make it personal! Does it take boldness to do so? Well, more like desperation, LOL. But when I finally saw what I had lacked, that ai had never personally appropriated my nee nature and put it on, I did not hesitate another moment.

I spoke.. out loud. LOUDLY out loud, and declared MY declaration of faith as to what Christ had already accomplished in me. The old me was dead. I was no longer that sin bound man. I am a new creature.and sin is no longer my ruler. Christ is.

And glory be to God, when I did that, drew near to Him in full assurance of faith, so did He in return.

That, brothers and sisters, is YOUR birthright. He will clean you up, from the inside out. No more outside in religious stuff that simply does not work. And I promise you, if you will hold up your shield of faith and not waver, you will experience changes inside you that up till now you have only dreamed of.

many blessings,

Gids

 

[lsume]

This is my testimony as to not only the possibility of each of us walking as an overcomer, victorious over the world the flesh and the devil, but its sureness!

I have been a inappropriate content addict since I was 12. I got saved at 21 and thought it would end. It did not. Thirty-eight years as a Christian and I had tried everything. I had water fasted for 21 days. was a home pastor. Jail ministry. Memorized tons of the new testament. Accountability partner. Prayed constantly. Three services a week. Bot matter how I tried to get the victory, eventually I would return to the sin I hated. I was the poster boy for Romans 7 and of all men most miserable.

Eventually, I simply ran out of things to try. One night, I cried out to God, telling Him that His way was too high, too hard and I could not do it. Then it happened.

My room was filled with a blinding golden light. Did I see His face? No, for His presence put me on my face and tears blinded my eyes. Amazement, terror, joy, take your pick. And then He spoke to me. It was not what I expected.

"For this, my son, I am well pleased with you."

Confused? Yeah, me too. LOL. It made no sense. I had just confessed to Him my total inability to obey Him. I had longed to hear or feel like God was pleased with me for decades, and I never did. If I read ten chapters before bed, I should have read twenty. That part about there being no condemnation? Yeah, right. It was my daily bread because of my addictive sin.

My confusion was overwhelming, until Jesus spoke again. and what He said explained everything.

"I knew all along you could not walk the walk I had for you, but you did not yet know it."

Ah, that little word YET. I finally knew it. I wanted to obey Him in all things. I could not, no matter how hard I tried. I had come to the terrible, wonderful place where I had no strength. No confidence in the flesh. Totally empty. Totally looking away from MY strength. It is a hard place to get to, especially for a proud legalist like I was.

But Jesus was not finished talking.

"In all your tryings to walk pleasing to me, did you ever do what I instructed you to do through my servant Paul?"

He did not wait for an answer. He simply opened my eyes to my error. It was, not surprisingly, found in Romans 6. I knew instinctively that Romans 6-8 were key chapters to truly "getting" the gospel that sets us free indeed, but I had totally missed one key verse, and boy, had I missed it.
And that Brother, is the only way anyone is going to get set free. And currently believe get born again.


I will let you digest this and will write more in a bit.



blessings,

Gideon

 

[Jesse Johnson]

Thank you Jesse. What I pray you realize is, what God opened my eyes to, the ability to walk as a brand new creature with the old me reckoned as dead, is the birthright of every child of God.

We hopefully will realize that we have been trying to kill, or to discipline, something that is already dead! God promises to sanctify us wholly, amen? To transform us into His image with us dripping with spiritual fruits. Right?

Yet, if we are honest, the process in our minds has become, wait for a LONG time, battle with the same sins and personality traits over and over, and must mean we are being sanctified, right?

But there is a missing piece! Faith! Faith as to who we are and who we are not. Sanctification is not growing from old natured people to new natured people. That is sheer impossibility. We must be new creatures in order to see God truly roll up His sleeves and show us what He can to.

And listen, dear saints, we ARE creatures. BUT..... the activation process is our holding up our shield of faith that we ARE new. When we finally get desperate enough to admit we will never be changed as long as we stay upon our current path an we arrive at the blessed place of having NO strength, it is then that we can do the ONE thing God has asked of us.... ONLY believe.

Bot believe in a general sense that all Christians are new creatures. Make it personal! Does it take boldness to do so? Well, more like desperation, LOL. But when I finally saw what I had lacked, that ai had never personally appropriated my nee nature and put it on, I did not hesitate another moment.

I spoke.. out loud. LOUDLY out loud, and declared MY declaration of faith as to what Christ had already accomplished in me. The old me was dead. I was no longer that sin bound man. I am a new creature.and sin is no longer my ruler. Christ is.

And glory be to God, when I did that, drew near to Him in full assurance of faith, so did He in return.

That, brothers and sisters, is YOUR birthright. He will clean you up, from the inside out. No more outside in religious stuff that simply does not work. And I promise you, if you will hold up your shield of faith and not waver, you will experience changes inside you that up till now you have only dreamed of.

many blessings,

Gids

Amen, Brother!

 

[Gideons300]

Just remember you are a Romans 8 christian now! Christ is your Savior and is your deliverer. He has delivered you from this addiction. It is just we choose to walk back into them from time to time. Just keep 1 JOhn 1:9 active and rememer it!

1 John 1:9 King James Version (KJV)
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

He has cleansed you judicially already and as long as you keep confessing- He will cleanse you experientially. I can give you a thousand maybes or possibilities, but that is Gods' domain. Keep confessing and refuse to give in to the discouragement of the devil.

Remember our old sin nature is hard wired into us. Our sin habits are ours and will always be there calling us. We learn all our lives to walk above and beyond them and to consider the old man dead. It is a life long journey- do not give up!

Just remember you are a Romans 8 christian now! Christ is your Savior and is your deliverer. He has delivered you from this addiction. It is just we choose to walk back into them from time to time. Just keep 1 JOhn 1:9 active and rememer it!

1 John 1:9 King James Version (KJV)
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

He has cleansed you judicially already and as long as you keep confessing- He will cleanse you experientially. I can give you a thousand maybes or possibilities, but that is Gods' domain. Keep confessing and refuse to give in to the discouragement of the devil.

Remember our old sin nature is hard wired into us. Our sin habits are ours and will always be there calling us. We learn all our lives to walk above and beyond them and to consider the old man dead. It is a life long journey- do not give up!

Brother, I know you mean well, but what you are saying is simply the logic we have been fed. 1 John 1;9 is talking about a lost man who is saying "I have no need of a savior from my sins, because I do not sin!"

It is not talking about the child of God. How do we know? Because a few verses down, in Chapter two, John tells us that he is writing these things that we sin not. So, if we finally obey what Joh tells us, we are then deceived?? LOL.

And if you really want proof, read on into chapters 4 and 5. There are scriptures there that will set our pants on fire.

Satan has used 1 John 1:9 and Romans 7 as wrecking balls to our faith, but properly understood, we see rhat walking with no wilful sin is the only safe place we can go as children of God.

Let me ask you a question. Paul tells us that the power of sin over us is the law, amen? And how long does the law exercise its authority over us? As long as we live, right?

Ah..... but what if we are dead? The law loses its grip. Sin loses its power. Free indeed.

We are counseled to not only to cease from sin, but to bring every thought into submission to Jesus. whoa! If sin natures are still hardwired into us, as you say, then what good is the armor God provides. We have a traitor inside the armor!

Yes, we still have our fleshly bodies with fleshly appetites. We are asked to keep those bodies under, not bring them under. But ahhhh, our fleshly spirits are.... tou guessed it... DEAD. That is why Paul declares in Romans 8 that we are no longer in the flesh and owe it NOTHING!

No, guys, the lies of the enemy are finally being exposed. We can do ALL things thru Christ who strengthens us. We can walk with all the fruits of the spirit dripping off of us..... but only as we hold up our shields of faith that we ARE new creatures. And praise God, do we know what one of the fruits of the Spirit is. Self control!!! We thought we needed self control in order to get the fruits of the spirit! Silly us!

If we still are just sinners saved by grace, then how will God sanctify is wholly, body, soul and spirit? Let us finally let God be the God of miracles over us. He has freed us. Past tense. Our only job is to hold onto that truth, making it our shield of faith

He is about to amaze us. Like mind blowing. Glory!

blessings,

Gids

 

[Gideons300]

May I share a verse of scripture that will amaze you? There are two places in the old testament that tell about the coming new covenant and its benefits. One is found in Jeremiah 31, the other in Ezekiel 36.

"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."

Ok, that was Ezekiel 36: 25-26 and both Ezekiel and Jeremiah agree there. Till you get to the next verse....and Ezekiel lists a benefit not found at all in Jeremiah. Ready?

"And I will put my spirit within you, and CAUSE YOU to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."

Ezekiel36:27

Double whoa! Obedience, the backbone of the old covenant, has become a PROMISE in the new? Indeed it has. Is He not the God that causes us to will AND to do of His good pleasure. He sure is. And we have totally missed it. No more. Our lights are coming onl

And do you know how God ends His amazibg promise of a truly obedient heart?

"I shall yet be inquired of by the house of Israel, to DO IT FOR THEM."

Guys, it is time we sought the Lord to do it for us. We have proved again and again that we cannot truly obey Him in all things, and those who think they are succeeding are simply Pharisee look-alikes.

It is to the weak, to those who KNOW they have no real power to truly obey Him in all things, that will first see this amazing promise and cry our for it. From the least to the greatest.... and in that order. But ALL of God's children are about to awake, light their lamps, and experience being changed into His image from glory to glory. Glory!

blessings,

Gideon

 

[nolidad]

Brother, I know you mean well, but what you are saying is simply the logic we have been fed. 1 John 1;9 is talking about a lost man who is saying "I have no need of a savior from my sins, because I do not sin!"

It is not talking about the child of God. How do we know? Because a few verses down, in Chapter two, John tells us that he is writing these things that we sin not. So, if we finally obey what Joh tells us, we are then deceived?? LOL.

And if you really want proof, read on into chapters 4 and 5. There are scriptures there that will set our pants on fire.

Satan has used 1 John 1:9 and Romans 7 as wrecking balls to our faith, but properly understood, we see rhat walking with no wilful sin is the only safe place we can go as children of God.

Let me ask you a question. Paul tells us that the power of sin over us is the law, amen? And how long does the law exercise its authority over us? As long as we live, right?

Ah..... but what if we are dead? The law loses its grip. Sin loses its power. Free indeed.

We are counseled to not only to cease from sin, but to bring every thought into submission to Jesus. whoa! If sin natures are still hardwired into us, as you say, then what good is the armor God provides. We have a traitor inside the armor!

Yes, we still have our fleshly bodies with fleshly appetites. We are asked to keep those bodies under, not bring them under. But ahhhh, our fleshly spirits are.... tou guessed it... DEAD. That is why Paul declares in Romans 8 that we are no longer in the flesh and owe it NOTHING!

No, guys, the lies of the enemy are finally being exposed. We can do ALL things thru Christ who strengthens us. We can walk with all the fruits of the spirit dripping off of us..... but only as we hold up our shields of faith that we ARE new creatures. And praise God, do we know what one of the fruits of the Spirit is. Self control!!! We thought we needed self control in order to get the fruits of the spirit! Silly us!

If we still are just sinners saved by grace, then how will God sanctify is wholly, body, soul and spirit? Let us finally let God be the God of miracles over us. He has freed us. Past tense. Our only job is to hold onto that truth, making it our shield of faith

He is about to amaze us. Like mind blowing. Glory!

blessings,

Gids

1 John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Yes as we grow we should sin less, but if you think you will make it to sinless perfection in this life- you are deceived. I am not telling you to pooh pooh your sin, but I am telling you to trust God. When He saved you He knew ho wmany times you would fail after He gave you eternal life! But He saved you anyway!

If you wish to focus on your failure- that is your privilege, but I prefer to focus on teh one who forgives all my sins and teaches me daily how to walk better than I did yesterday!

 

[Gideons300]

1 John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Yes as we grow we should sin less, but if you think you will make it to sinless perfection in this life- you are deceived. I am not telling you to pooh pooh your sin, but I am telling you to trust God. When He saved you He knew ho wmany times you would fail after He gave you eternal life! But He saved you anyway!

If you wish to focus on your failure- that is your privilege, but I prefer to focus on teh one who forgives all my sins and teaches me daily how to walk better than I did yesterday!

Sinless perfection? You are right, that is deception. But can God keep us from falling? Absolutely!

But here is the deal. It is always "according to out faith be it unto us". We are freed from the power of sin. Period. We never "arrive" at that point. We are planted there, on the highway OF holiness. How do we stay there. We continue in the truth, abiding in Christ.

Ifcwhat you say were true, then abiding in Him is simply a pipe dream, because we are promised that if we abide in Him, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

Think for a minute. If walking in victory is impossible then our shields of faith actually cannot quench allcthe fiery arrows of the enemy, amen?

Has God not promised to not allow us to be tempted more than we can bear? Has He not assured us thst in every temptation He will make a way of escape, so that we moght be able to bear it without giving in?

How can we count it all joy when we fall into diverse temptations, if we know we will eventually fall?

God has promised cause us to walk in victory over the world, the flesh and the. devil. If we continue to sin, this is in no way the free indeed Jesus promised us.

Again, we never "arrive" at this point. We put on our garments of overcoming because we NEED them, not because we deserve them, LOL.

We must understand, our old natures never sin less and less. Our old natures ARE sin, for they are not of faith. And by an act of audacious faith, driven by hunger and desperation and a strong desire to finally walk pleasing to God in all things, we can.... we MUST put off our old natures, agree with God that the old us died when He died, and walk in agreement with God that we are new creatures.

Paul tells us we are to yield ourselves to God, but the old us will only do so when we are in the mood, lol. How does Paul tell us to yield ourselves??

As those who are alive from the dead! Glory!

Please understand. Being made free from the power of sin is NOT perfection. It is simply the place where we can finally center ourselves on the master potter's wheel so HE can do the work we could never do.

Are we instantly mature, dripping with spiritual fruits? Ha! I wish! But I promise you, if we will yield ourselves to God, believing we really are new creatures, to our amazement, Christ will begin growing His nature inside us, from the inside out.

blessings,

Gideon

 

[Bruce Leiter]

This is my testimony as to not only the possibility of each of us walking as an overcomer, victorious over the world the flesh and the devil, but its sureness!

I have been a inappropriate content addict since I was 12. I got saved at 21 and thought it would end. It did not. Thirty-eight years as a Christian and I had tried everything. I had water fasted for 21 days. was a home pastor. Jail ministry. Memorized tons of the new testament. Accountability partner. Prayed constantly. Three services a week. Bot matter how I tried to get the victory, eventually I would return to the sin I hated. I was the poster boy for Romans 7 and of all men most miserable.

Eventually, I simply ran out of things to try. One night, I cried out to God, telling Him that His way was too high, too hard and I could not do it. Then it happened.

My room was filled with a blinding golden light. Did I see His face? No, for His presence put me on my face and tears blinded my eyes. Amazement, terror, joy, take your pick. And then He spoke to me. It was not what I expected.

"For this, my son, I am well pleased with you."

Confused? Yeah, me too. LOL. It made no sense. I had just confessed to Him my total inability to obey Him. I had longed to hear or feel like God was pleased with me for decades, and I never did. If I read ten chapters before bed, I should have read twenty. That part about there being no condemnation? Yeah, right. It was my daily bread because of my addictive sin.

My confusion was overwhelming, until Jesus spoke again. and what He said explained everything.

"I knew all along you could not walk the walk I had for you, but you did not yet know it."

Ah, that little word YET. I finally knew it. I wanted to obey Him in all things. I could not, no matter how hard I tried. I had come to the terrible, wonderful place where I had no strength. No confidence in the flesh. Totally empty. Totally looking away from MY strength. It is a hard place to get to, especially for a proud legalist like I was.

But Jesus was not finished talking.

"In all your tryings to walk pleasing to me, did you ever do what I instructed you to do through my servant Paul?"

He did not wait for an answer. He simply opened my eyes to my error. It was, not surprisingly, found in Romans 6. I knew instinctively that Romans 6-8 were key chapters to truly "getting" the gospel that sets us free indeed, but I had totally missed one key verse, and boy, had I missed it.



I will let you digest this and will write more in a bit.



blessings,

Gideon

Thank you, Gideon, for your testimony. It's a little like Paul's testimony about his thorn in the flesh, "When I am weak, I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10). In my case, God convicted me of my selfish lust through Jesus' equating lust with adultery in Matthew 5:28. So I began to praise God with my mind for his creative power in making women whenever I saw one. Those thoughts have taken my mind off my selfish pleasure and in onto him as everyone's all-powerful Creator. Then, he sent me to seven different indoor pools in different places. His solution was the best one.

 

[Gideons300]

1 John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Yes as we grow we should sin less, but if you think you will make it to sinless perfection in this life- you are deceived. I am not telling you to pooh pooh your sin, but I am telling you to trust God. When He saved you He knew ho wmany times you would fail after He gave you eternal life! But He saved you anyway!

If you wish to focus on your failure- that is your privilege, but I prefer to focus on teh one who forgives all my sins and teaches me daily how to walk better than I did yesterday!

1 John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Yes as we grow we should sin less, but if you think you will make it to sinless perfection in this life- you are deceived. I am not telling you to pooh pooh your sin, but I am telling you to trust God. When He saved you He knew ho wmany times you would fail after He gave you eternal life! But He saved you anyway!

If you wish to focus on your failure- that is your privilege, but I prefer to focus on teh one who forgives all my sins and teaches me daily how to walk better than I did yesterday!

When do we finally afmit that after years of walking on this path, we are more religious perhhaps, but free indeed? No way.

There are millions in the world wanting to be free from their bad natures. And what have we offered them? Freedom from guilt perhaps. (but sadly, most Christians still feel guilty) But as to the ability to walk as an overcomer? We offer nothing, for we ourselves are still bound. And God weeps.

Why did the early church flourish as it did? Because men exclaimed "Behold how they love one another!". When was the laxt time you heard a lost person say that about the church? Yeah, me either.

All that is fixing to change. We are entering the valley of decision. We will be asked to choose. Who are we? The answer we give will determine everything.

Victory is being offered us. Do we want it or will we be like the Laodecians saying "We have need of nothing."?

The world sees our lack. We do not... yet. But praise God, when we do, and we will, and we cry out for our God to do for us what we cannot do, make us holy, to our utter amazement, we will discover that we are the blessed generation destined to enjoy the latter rain, the harvest, and we are about to blown away by what God has for us.

blessings,

Gideon

 

[Berean Tim]

I am sure I am sharing more than you bargained for, but I could not live with myself if I did not share what God shared with me. It has been thirteen years ago since that amazing night, and in that time, sin's power was broken... crushed... my hard legalistic exterior has softened to the point I can hardly recognize myself, and spiritual fruits.... love, joy, peace, etc., have actually begun to grow in me! Amazing God!

So what was it He shared? What had I missed in my understanding of Romans 6?

Romans 6... Here Paul begins telling us that there are two critical truths we were to KNOW as truth.

1) When Christ died, so DID we.

2) When Christ rose from the dead, so DID we.

Ok....so what? Most of us believe that, right? Where have we missed anything? When I look back on my own personal search for the truth that sets free indeed, where we are brought to a place we are not just forgiven but also no longer commit sins, I have to laugh.

I was like an old miner panning for gold. Everyday, I would go down to the creek to see if I could find a little nugget, and every day, I would have to crawl over the boulders that prevented my access. What do you think my response was when I finally had my eyes opened to the truth that the boulders were actually pure gold?

Ok, ready for the eye opener? Immediately after acknowledging these two truths listed above, Paul then tells us we must DO something! Whoa. And it was something I had read over and over... had memorized..... but never understood until God opened my understanding so I could DO it... the missing piece to our puzzle.

And what was it He told us to do through Paul? He told us that therefore, based upon the sureness of the above truths, to reckon our old man to be dead. Not dying, slowly, over four decades, but dead. DEAD.

Oh, I pray those who read this get it. We are asked to appropriate His death as ours. We are told to appropriate His new life as ours. This reckoning is our depositing these truths into our spiritual bank account. How? By faith!

Do we not see? We have believed the truths with our heads as nice wonderful truths, but there they profit us nothing, not until we, by faith, PUT OFF our old nature, consider it out of the equation, and PUT ON our new natures, believing we really are new inside.

Why do you think we are told we must be born again? Golden boulders. LOL.

Are we instantaneously perfect, brimming with spiritual fruits? Ha, I wish! BUT, when we finally come into agreement with God, that we... the old carnal us.... is dead, and that our life is hid with Christ in God, our sanctification process begins!

We do not get sanctified by slowly dying to our carnality and slowly growing into saints. NO. Here it is in scripture forcyou who are confused. In Revelation, in the last days, the saints will turn into overcomers by combining a) the blood of the Lamb (check) with ....are you ready?..... b) the word of OUR testimony! Glory!

Guys, this is the shield of faith God has given us. These are the robes of righteousness we are told to put on. We may possess shields. But shields not wielded do not to stop the incessant blows of the enemy, as our lives fully display. We may have nice new robes of righteousness, but until we put them on, casting off our fleshly nature as a dirty cloth, we cannot walk pleasing to God no matter how hard we try.

We as His people are about to be awakened to this truth. The tares will mock at the simplicity of this amazing truth. But I am witness to the fact what God shared with me works. Have I arrived? Ha! But I would also be negligent if I did not testify that what God has done these past years since my miraculous visitation is beyond my wildest hopes and dreams.

Putting on our new nature by faith is the beginning. KEEPING it on is imperative. Satan will come and try to pry those words out of our mouths, getting us to accept that we are.... sigh... just sinners saved by grace... but that is not who we are, nor who we have been since the day we were saved. We ARE new creatures, but up til now, satan has blinded us to the truth and unbelief has gripped our hearts.

That time is over. Ready for an adventure that your mind could not even have dreamed up? Abiding IN Christ 24/7? Impossible? Not according to our God. Who we believe in the end will determine everything. Let us cast off our unbelief that has limited the Holy One working in us from the inside out. I promise any and all who read these words, no matter how weak you may be, no matter how addicted you are to your besetting sins, God will roll up His sleeves and prove His strength to you, IN YOU, if you will but finally agree with Him.

The old you is dead. The new you, still wrapped in grave clothes like Lazarus, is ready to be revealed like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. Believe it and prepare to be amazed.



blessings,



Gideon

Thanks for sharing. Some may fail to see Grace in your testimony but keep going

 

[Josheb]

OP: *gives testimony about finally maturing in Christ and getting over an addiction*

Josheb: Okay so I'm glad for you and all...but here's why you're wrong and being very problematic.

I never said any such thing and I don't appreciate words I did not write put into my posts, especially if they are put there for the sole purpose of derision.



So try it again. Pick something I actually posted and prove it incorrect. Otherwise, affirm it and let's discuss it relevant to the op.