The Holy Spirit within is not silent and is our promised guide.
There are 2 spirits in this world God placed us in, according as it is written in the Holy Scriptures. 1 Spirit, is
the Holy Spirit of God that God gives to them that obey Him according to Scriptures. The "other spirit", is the spirit of this world that worketh in the Children of Disobedience. The Holy Spirit promotes the Righteousness, definition of Holy and Just and Clean that comes
from God the Father and shown to men though His Holy Scriptures that Paul said were Trustworthy, "
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works, whose Words Jesus said to Live By. The other spirit promotes the religious judgments, traditions and seductive philosophies
of man, in many cases, as Jesus teaches, from men who call Him Lord, Lord, or that "Come in His Name, Teaching that HE is the Christ. Paul warns of this as well, concerning men who "Transform themselves" into Apostles of Christ.
Neither spirit is silent and guides those who choose to listen to them.
Of course we have personal communion with Him as Jesus did, and it is quite normal to receive personal revelation - Paul prayed for the faithful to receive exactly that.
The "Faithful", that Paul prays for would be "
them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality". Those who "yielded themselves" to God and their bodies "
as instruments of righteousness unto God", "
that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance." Those who "
put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And became renewed in the spirit of your mind; And put on the new man, which after God (not the religious traditions, judgments and philosophies of man) is created "in righteousness" and true holiness. (As defined by God, not religious men of this world)
Those who turned away from the spirit of this world, "
Wherein in time past they walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
As it is written, "Be Holy for I am Holy". You would do well to look up where God made this declaration so as to better understand what His Definition of "Holy" is. As opposed to adopting the definitions promoted by this world's religious system.
This does not mean we don't hear Him as we read the Bible, it is typical for a new convert to have an enormous thirst for reading Scripture made alive by His indwelling Spirit. I read nothing but scripture for over 5 years. No other written input.
And yet you promote the popular teaching of this world that Paul as a Pharisee,
was zealous to walk in the commandments of God, not the commandments, traditions and judgments of man
as Jesus taught. The Rich man also said he abided by all the commandments of God since his youth even after the Prophets told him, "
If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;".
So clearly there is the influence of a spirit here, but not according to
the knowledge of the truth, as defined by the Holy Scriptures.
This is why, in my understanding, that even though Zacharias, Simeon and Anna, (Luke 1&2) read the exact same Scriptures as the Pharisees and Scribes, they were given by God the Holy Spirit of Truth, while the Pharisees and scribes who read the exact same Scriptures,
"were not thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,"
As a result Zacharias and Simeon and Anna knew and believed in the Prophesied Messiah before He was even born, while the promoters of the mainstream religions of the world at that time, didn't know Jesus when HE was right in front of them.
When the influence of the spirit of this world would induced Zacharias to ponder, "Does it really matter if a man obeys God's Commandments or not"? Zacharias, like Abel, ruled over this spirit, and "Yielded Himself" a servant to obey God, as Paul teaches. While the mainstream preachers of that time, like Cain, protected and preserved the spirit, and it reigned in his mortal body.
If you believe this understanding doesn't align with Scriptures, please make the case.
I guess you have to challenge and discredit folks who question your theology - nothing new there.
I am instructed by the Holy Scriptures to discern this world's religious philosophies, and "test the spirit" that is behind them, whether they are wrought in God or not. It is not about you Carl or me. We have all been deceived, which is defined, in my understanding, as believing something about God that is not true, according to the Scriptures. Rather, it's about the religious doctrines, traditions and philosophies that are promoted by the "Many" who come in Christ's Name, that the Jesus "of the Bible" told me to "Take Heed" of.
The mainstream preachers of Jesus time, the Pharisees, were also offended when the Scriptures exposed a doctrine or tradition they promoted, that was wrought in man, and not in God. Many, as Jesus teaches, "hide from the Light" so as to preserve their traditions and philosophies. But the Faithful "SEEK the LIGHT" for the very purpose of exposing the wickedness they know dwells within them. You can read this for yourself in John 3: 19-21. But unless a man "believes" enough to become a "Doer" of the Christ's Sayings, and not a hearer only, this man's house will not stand in the storms of this life. And when this man stands before the Christ face to face in the judgment, he will see what is coming and will plead his case, "But Jesus, don't you know who we are? Why we built massive religious businesses and invested in the healthcare industry, all in your Name. We cast out demons, and got folks off drugs and a life of crime, all in your name? We created our own high days, judgments and preached to the people of this world, "all in your Name". But What is it that the Christ expects from those who Call Him Lord, Lord?
Duet. 10:
12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
So even though these men believed they were "serving the Lord", Jesus points out that they were not, but it was too late for them. I believe hE gave these warning because it isn't too late for us.
I welcome the discussion about what is written in Scriptures and discerning popular doctrines. I can't help that you might be offended by what the Scriptures actually say, but I understand because I too was offended when I first studied for myself, what is actually written.
The Jesus "of the Bible" says that all who fall on Him will be broken. That isn't a very good marketing strategy for this world's religious system to persuade folks to join and support their religions. But as Paul said, what he lost, her counted as dung.
I hope you might consider that there are 2 spirits, and choose to walk in the Spirit of God, not the spirit of this world.
