My miraculous visitation.....

[Gideons300]

I was saved by a true miracle on Christmas Eve, 1970. Having been a inappropriate content addict since I was a teen, and then 21, I had high hopes that my addiction would be a thing of the past. I was wrong. For the next 3 and a half decades, I was the poster boy for Romans 7.

Oh, I did not go down swinging. I tried everything I knew to finally walk as I knew deep inside a God wanted me to. I prayed, I fasted, I memorized large portions of the Word. I bacame a home pastor for my large Charismatic church. But in the end, my addiction had left me angry, judgmental, legalistic, disillusioned and tired of life.

One night, I reached my end. I literally had nothing else to try, to hope for, that would lead me to the ‘free indeed’ I saw so clearly in His Word. In tears and desperation, I cried out to God, not knowing what else to do. I had no more answers to try, no more resolutions to make, no more leaves to turn over. And then it happened.

God appeared to me. Yes, visibly. Now, before any asks what He looked like, let me say this. I haven’t a clue. His golden light, brighter than the sun, put me on my face. I dared not look up. And then He spoke. Yes, audibly.

He said ‘My son, for this I am well pleased with you.’

Confused? Yeah, me too. For 38 years, I had tried desperately to feel like God loved me. And no matter what Paul told us in Romans 8 that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus, it was all I ever felt. If I gave, even out of my lack, I should have given more. If I read ten chapters in the Word, it should have been twenty. Even mowing my own lawn made me feel like I was taking care of my kingdom, not His. Can you say ‘miserable’? That was me.

And now, at my lowest point of failure, now He comes and tells me He was pleased with me? It made no sense, none, until the next words He spoke....

“I knew all along that you could not walk the walk I had for you, but you did not yet know it.” Did you catch that key word yet? I finally knew it. I had finally, after almost four decades of trying to die to my sin-loving self, been brought to the point I had NO confidence in the flesh that was my prison.

And the Lord continued. He asked me a question....

“In all your trying to walk pleasing to me, did you ever do as I instructed you to do through my servant Paul?”

My mind reeled, but in an instant, He simply took my blinders off and let me see what He was talking about. The key to my cell door swinging open was found in Romans 6. And as I opened my Bible, I sat dumbfounded at the secret, the key to my being able to walk as an overcomer that was hiding from me in plain sight.

Here Paul tells us that there are two truths we must know.

1) When Christ died, so DID we.

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

I can hear them now. “That’s it?? That’s the secret?” LOL. Not yet. What did Paul say next? What was the response He asked of us to these two truths that were etched in the stone foundations of Heaven?

For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

Likewise (in the same way) reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:

but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Romans 6:10-13

I pray your ears are open. Hear this truth and your walk will never be the same. You see, I had memorized these verses. But..... never, not once..... had I actually done what those words from the Lord had been telling me. I had never reckoned that those two truths were MY truths. I had never appropriated the victory He had bought for us as MY victory.

So what did I do? Through my tears, my awe, my joy, my terror, I spoke. Out loud. LOUDLY out loud. I reckoned that the old me was dead. Not needing to die. DEAD. I reckoned that I was a brand new creature that sin had no authority over. I died to sin once...ONCE.... just as God had instructed us. And praise God, I yielded myself to God, but this time I did it differently.

Previously, I would try to give myself to God, but as the mess I knew I was. But that is not what God asked for, was it? He said that we are to now, because of what Christ had accomplished for us, yield ourselves to God in faith, faith that what He said was true was true for US, right now, this very day. We are to yield ourselves as those who are alive from the dead. Whoa.

And when I did, something deep inside began bubbling up inside me. God caused my faith to begin sprouting. I had finally held up my shield of faith and praise God, what I found was that satan’s arrows truly were extinguished. I tasted freedom that night for the first time, and it was.... and is.... glorious.

This is not sinless perfectionism of which I constantly share. It is truly the beginning of the sanctification process,not the end. I have far, far to go in my walk with the Lord. I pray the lack and weaknesses others still see in me do not hinder their belief that God can set them free as well. But I would be remisss if I did not also tell you that the changes that He has brought about in me stagger even my imagination as to what God can do by dwelling IN us.

I have much more to share concerning the last twelve years. I pray God continues to give me opportunity to share with you what He continues to show me and to teach me. Thank you all for bearing with this long testimony.

Know this. Your weakness, your addiction to sin, your knowing how unloving you truly are.... it is a gift from God. I can hear you laughing, lol. But a I am quite serious. Who is it that can believe such amazing things. Is it not to him who has no strength? To him who has come to the point that they have NO confidence in the flesh. What God has shown me He is now showing you. This walk of victory over the world and its endless pull, the flesh and its lusts and self-love, and the devil and his endless temptations and accusations, it is your birthright. Your weakness makes you perfectly fit to receive it.

Can our God be THAT good? Oh, yes dear brothers and sisters! Can He truly set us free indeed, despite our sinfulness? There is no doubt about it. Our God’s goodness is stronger than our badness. And should this not be self evident, seeing that He Himself told us to overcome evil with good?

God is about to do a work in our day that if our eyes did not see it, we would never believe it. He is going to separate the wheat from the tares, and prepare Hos own for a soon-coming wedding. And guys, we are going to look GLORIOUS!

Blessings to all.

Gideon

 

[EzekielsWheels]

I was saved by a true miracle on Christmas Eve, 1970. Having been a inappropriate content addict since I was a teen, and then 21, I had high hopes that my addiction would be a thing of the past. I was wrong. For the next 3 and a half decades, I was the poster boy for Romans 7.

Oh, I did not go down swinging. I tried everything I knew to finally walk as I knew deep inside a God wanted me to. I prayed, I fasted, I memorized large portions of the Word. I bacame a home pastor for my large Charismatic church. But in the end, my addiction had left me angry, judgmental, legalistic, disillusioned and tired of life.

One night, I reached my end. I literally had nothing else to try, to hope for, that would lead me to the ‘free indeed’ I saw so clearly in His Word. In tears and desperation, I cried out to God, not knowing what else to do. I had no more answers to try, no more resolutions to make, no more leaves to turn over. And then it happened.

God appeared to me. Yes, visibly. Now, before any asks what He looked like, let me say this. I haven’t a clue. His golden light, brighter than the sun, put me on my face. I dared not look up. And then He spoke. Yes, audibly.

He said ‘My son, for this I am well pleased with you.’

Confused? Yeah, me too. For 38 years, I had tried desperately to feel like God loved me. And no matter what Paul told us in Romans 8 that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus, it was all I ever felt. If I gave, even out of my lack, I should have given more. If I read ten chapters in the Word, it should have been twenty. Even mowing my own lawn made me feel like I was taking care of my kingdom, not His. Can you say ‘miserable’? That was me.

And now, at my lowest point of failure, now He comes and tells me He was pleased with me? It made no sense, none, until the next words He spoke....

“I knew all along that you could not walk the walk I had for you, but you did not yet know it.” Did you catch that key word yet? I finally knew it. I had finally, after almost four decades of trying to die to my sin-loving self, been brought to the point I had NO confidence in the flesh that was my prison.

And the Lord continued. He asked me a question....

“In all your trying to walk pleasing to me, did you ever do as I instructed you to do through my servant Paul?”

My mind reeled, but in an instant, He simply took my blinders off and let me see what He was talking about. The key to my cell door swinging open was found in Romans 6. And as I opened my Bible, I sat dumbfounded at the secret, the key to my being able to walk as an overcomer that was hiding from me in plain sight.

Here Paul tells us that there are two truths we must know.

1) When Christ died, so DID we.

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

I can hear them now. “That’s it?? That’s the secret?” LOL. Not yet. What did Paul say next? What was the response He asked of us to these two truths that were etched in the stone foundations of Heaven?

For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

Likewise (in the same way) reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:

but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Romans 6:10-13

I pray your ears are open. Hear this truth and your walk will never be the same. You see, I had memorized these verses. But..... never, not once..... had I actually done what those words from the Lord had been telling me. I had never reckoned that those two truths were MY truths. I had never appropriated the victory He had bought for us as MY victory.

So what did I do? Through my tears, my awe, my joy, my terror, I spoke. Out loud. LOUDLY out loud. I reckoned that the old me was dead. Not needing to die. DEAD. I reckoned that I was a brand new creature that sin had no authority over. I died to sin once...ONCE.... just as God had instructed us. And praise God, I yielded myself to God, but this time I did it differently.

Previously, I would try to give myself to God, but as the mess I knew I was. But that is not what God asked for, was it? He said that we are to now, because of what Christ had accomplished for us, yield ourselves to God in faith, faith that what He said was true was true for US, right now, this very day. We are to yield ourselves as those who are alive from the dead. Whoa.

And when I did, something deep inside began bubbling up inside me. God caused my faith to begin sprouting. I had finally held up my shield of faith and praise God, what I found was that satan’s arrows truly were extinguished. I tasted freedom that night for the first time, and it was.... and is.... glorious.

This is not sinless perfectionism of which I constantly share. It is truly the beginning of the sanctification process,not the end. I have far, far to go in my walk with the Lord. I pray the lack and weaknesses others still see in me do not hinder their belief that God can set them free as well. But I would be remisss if I did not also tell you that the changes that He has brought about in me stagger even my imagination as to what God can do by dwelling IN us.

I have much more to share concerning the last twelve years. I pray God continues to give me opportunity to share with you what He continues to show me and to teach me. Thank you all for bearing with this long testimony.

Know this. Your weakness, your addiction to sin, your knowing how unloving you truly are.... it is a gift from God. I can hear you laughing, lol. But a I am quite serious. Who is it that can believe such amazing things. Is it not to him who has no strength? To him who has come to the point that they have NO confidence in the flesh. What God has shown me He is now showing you. This walk of victory over the world and its endless pull, the flesh and its lusts and self-love, and the devil and his endless temptations and accusations, it is your birthright. Your weakness makes you perfectly fit to receive it.

Can our God be THAT good? Oh, yes dear brothers and sisters! Can He truly set us free indeed, despite our sinfulness? There is no doubt about it. Our God’s goodness is stronger than our badness. And should this not be self evident, seeing that He Himself told us to overcome evil with good?

God is about to do a work in our day that if our eyes did not see it, we would never believe it. He is going to separate the wheat from the tares, and prepare Hos own for a soon-coming wedding. And guys, we are going to look GLORIOUS!

Blessings to all.

Gideon

God bless you brother Gideon for sharing this testimony.

 

[Bobber]

So what did I do? Through my tears, my awe, my joy, my terror, I spoke. Out loud. LOUDLY out loud. I reckoned that the old me was dead. Not needing to die. DEAD. I reckoned that I was a brand new creature that sin had no authority over. I died to sin once...ONCE.... just as God had instructed us. And praise God, I yielded myself to God, but this time I did it differently.

Previously, I would try to give myself to God, but as the mess I knew I was. But that is not what God asked for, was it? He said that we are to now, because of what Christ had accomplished for us, yield ourselves to God in faith, faith that what He said was true was true for US, right now, this very day. We are to yield ourselves as those who are alive from the dead. Whoa.

And when I did, something deep inside began bubbling up inside me. God caused my faith to begin sprouting. I had finally held up my shield of faith and praise God, what I found was that satan’s arrows truly were extinguished. I tasted freedom that night for the first time, and it was.... and is.... glorious.

Yeah sure! I've been trying for years on message boards and everywhere else to try to get people to understand that as well. You've done a good job sharing the scriptures about it and really is the basics of understanding redemption BUT how so very, very few people understand it or get it.

I think I can rightly say the Lord revealed this teaching to me years ago through Watchman Nee, in his book, "The Normal Christian Life" Most of the book is about this very theme....That the Old Man is DEAD...not dying....but DEAD! WE are to reckon that he died on the cross WHEN JESUS DIED and our New Man arose then with him.

Really if one is going to resist that the Old Man is dead challenging the scripture which states it then on that basis how can they not likewise say Christ didn't die as well. The scripture says they both did, and Jesus was buried (put in the tomb and of which his water baptism was a type of) and we were buried with him. ONE DOESN'T BURY people who are alive!

Of course when people say dying to self that really needs to be categorized correctly or they spin off into error. It means the daily process of declaring and praising God for who and what we ARE in Christ Jesus and in so doing God causes his resurrection life to flow through us.

 

[1stcenturylady]

I was saved by a true miracle on Christmas Eve, 1970. Having been a inappropriate content addict since I was a teen, and then 21, I had high hopes that my addiction would be a thing of the past. I was wrong. For the next 3 and a half decades, I was the poster boy for Romans 7.

Oh, I did not go down swinging. I tried everything I knew to finally walk as I knew deep inside a God wanted me to. I prayed, I fasted, I memorized large portions of the Word. I bacame a home pastor for my large Charismatic church. But in the end, my addiction had left me angry, judgmental, legalistic, disillusioned and tired of life.

One night, I reached my end. I literally had nothing else to try, to hope for, that would lead me to the ‘free indeed’ I saw so clearly in His Word. In tears and desperation, I cried out to God, not knowing what else to do. I had no more answers to try, no more resolutions to make, no more leaves to turn over. And then it happened.

God appeared to me. Yes, visibly. Now, before any asks what He looked like, let me say this. I haven’t a clue. His golden light, brighter than the sun, put me on my face. I dared not look up. And then He spoke. Yes, audibly.

He said ‘My son, for this I am well pleased with you.’

Confused? Yeah, me too. For 38 years, I had tried desperately to feel like God loved me. And no matter what Paul told us in Romans 8 that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus, it was all I ever felt. If I gave, even out of my lack, I should have given more. If I read ten chapters in the Word, it should have been twenty. Even mowing my own lawn made me feel like I was taking care of my kingdom, not His. Can you say ‘miserable’? That was me.

And now, at my lowest point of failure, now He comes and tells me He was pleased with me? It made no sense, none, until the next words He spoke....

“I knew all along that you could not walk the walk I had for you, but you did not yet know it.” Did you catch that key word yet? I finally knew it. I had finally, after almost four decades of trying to die to my sin-loving self, been brought to the point I had NO confidence in the flesh that was my prison.

And the Lord continued. He asked me a question....

“In all your trying to walk pleasing to me, did you ever do as I instructed you to do through my servant Paul?”

My mind reeled, but in an instant, He simply took my blinders off and let me see what He was talking about. The key to my cell door swinging open was found in Romans 6. And as I opened my Bible, I sat dumbfounded at the secret, the key to my being able to walk as an overcomer that was hiding from me in plain sight.

Here Paul tells us that there are two truths we must know.

1) When Christ died, so DID we.

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

I can hear them now. “That’s it?? That’s the secret?” LOL. Not yet. What did Paul say next? What was the response He asked of us to these two truths that were etched in the stone foundations of Heaven?

For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

Likewise (in the same way) reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:

but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Romans 6:10-13

I pray your ears are open. Hear this truth and your walk will never be the same. You see, I had memorized these verses. But..... never, not once..... had I actually done what those words from the Lord had been telling me. I had never reckoned that those two truths were MY truths. I had never appropriated the victory He had bought for us as MY victory.

So what did I do? Through my tears, my awe, my joy, my terror, I spoke. Out loud. LOUDLY out loud. I reckoned that the old me was dead. Not needing to die. DEAD. I reckoned that I was a brand new creature that sin had no authority over. I died to sin once...ONCE.... just as God had instructed us. And praise God, I yielded myself to God, but this time I did it differently.

Previously, I would try to give myself to God, but as the mess I knew I was. But that is not what God asked for, was it? He said that we are to now, because of what Christ had accomplished for us, yield ourselves to God in faith, faith that what He said was true was true for US, right now, this very day. We are to yield ourselves as those who are alive from the dead. Whoa.

And when I did, something deep inside began bubbling up inside me. God caused my faith to begin sprouting. I had finally held up my shield of faith and praise God, what I found was that satan’s arrows truly were extinguished. I tasted freedom that night for the first time, and it was.... and is.... glorious.

This is not sinless perfectionism of which I constantly share. It is truly the beginning of the sanctification process,not the end. I have far, far to go in my walk with the Lord. I pray the lack and weaknesses others still see in me do not hinder their belief that God can set them free as well. But I would be remisss if I did not also tell you that the changes that He has brought about in me stagger even my imagination as to what God can do by dwelling IN us.

I have much more to share concerning the last twelve years. I pray God continues to give me opportunity to share with you what He continues to show me and to teach me. Thank you all for bearing with this long testimony.

Know this. Your weakness, your addiction to sin, your knowing how unloving you truly are.... it is a gift from God. I can hear you laughing, lol. But a I am quite serious. Who is it that can believe such amazing things. Is it not to him who has no strength? To him who has come to the point that they have NO confidence in the flesh. What God has shown me He is now showing you. This walk of victory over the world and its endless pull, the flesh and its lusts and self-love, and the devil and his endless temptations and accusations, it is your birthright. Your weakness makes you perfectly fit to receive it.

Can our God be THAT good? Oh, yes dear brothers and sisters! Can He truly set us free indeed, despite our sinfulness? There is no doubt about it. Our God’s goodness is stronger than our badness. And should this not be self evident, seeing that He Himself told us to overcome evil with good?

God is about to do a work in our day that if our eyes did not see it, we would never believe it. He is going to separate the wheat from the tares, and prepare Hos own for a soon-coming wedding. And guys, we are going to look GLORIOUS!

Blessings to all.

Gideon

And when I did, something deep inside began bubbling up inside me. God caused my faith to begin sprouting. I had finally held up my shield of faith and praise God, what I found was that satan’s arrows truly were extinguished. I tasted freedom that night for the first time, and it was.... and is.... glorious.

Yes, we have had similar experiences of try, try, try, as Romans 7, but when you come to the end of your rope, God fills you with His Spirit, Romans 8, and then you can say I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.

P.S. He spoke to me too, and those words seared into me.

 

[Gideons300]

Yeah sure! I've been trying for years on message boards and everywhere else to try to get people to understand that as well. You've done a good job sharing the scriptures about it and really is the basics of understanding redemption BUT how so very, very few people understand it or get it.

I think I can rightly say the Lord revealed this teaching to me years ago through Watchman Nee, in his book, "The Normal Christian Life" Most of the book is about this very theme....That the Old Man is DEAD...not dying....but DEAD! WE are to reckon that he died on the cross WHEN JESUS DIED and our New Man arose then with him.

Really if one is going to resist that the Old Man is dead challenging the scripture which states it then on that basis how can they not likewise say Christ didn't die as well. The scripture says they both did, and Jesus was buried (put in the tomb and of which his water baptism was a type of) and we were buried with him. ONE DOESN'T BURY people who are alive!

Of course when people say dying to self that really needs to be categorized correctly or they spin off into error. It means the daily process of declaring and praising God for who and what we ARE in Christ Jesus and in so doing God causes his resurrection life to flow through us.

How wonderfully refreshing to hear the truth you share. Yes, Watchman Née saw this truth, and lived the life to back it up. I have shared the message of who we are for 12 years as faithfully as I could, but it have only truly been in the last two years that I have actually witnessed seeds sprouting.

God has a remnant who will begin a grass roots wildfire of new life full of weak broken saints truly walking as overcomers. Just as God promised in Ezekiel 36..... an amazing chapter by the way.... the heathen will know that He is the Lord when He shall be sanctified IN US before their very eyes. Glory!

Thank you so much for sharing. It truly blessed me.

Gideon