Pretty Confused

[Joseph_84]

rfprewitt,

I'm very sorry about your situation.

I myself had a situation recently and even when I got out of the bad situation, the memories of it still haunted me at at random times, but God has helped me forget these bad times.

There is power in praise and I am a huge advocate of praising God through music. However, there's great power in scripture also. The most recent times of trouble I experienced, I prayed for God to take the problems away. Before he did this he directed me to certain scriptures that basically told me that I was lacking boldness in my prayer.

hebrews 13:6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

So, if you know that it is in God's will for you to have something e.g; success. A huge part of prayer is confidently coming before God and saying to him: Lord, it is your will that I succeed in every area of my life. Any power that is working to divert my blessing, die in the name of Jesus.

When you approach prayer in such a manner, you will notice great results in your prayer being answered.

God Bless,

Joseph

 

[fwGod]

About a month ago, I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

its great that you have been baptised with/in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.

But then after that, I have just had this really horrible time. Now not even a month later, I'm ready to give up on everything. My relationship with God is in shambles.

why do we christians think that we're in a worse position with God when we sin.. than we were before we got saved?

when we were sinners because He so loved us, Christ died for us. how much more is that love available now that we are His children?

remember the scripture.. "nothing can separate us from His love"?

in this world you will have tribulation. but. be of good cheer. for Jesus has overcome the world.

He has already overcome the devil, all his wiles, and given you His armor with which to prevail over every test, trial or adversity that you will ever face.

I know about spiritual warfare.

and its helpful to you.

I don't have a pretty past.

your standing with God isnt based on having a "pretty past". its based on the power of the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross.

confess what Jesus did for you. blessed is the person whose sinful deeds have been forgiven and whose shortcomings, weaknesses of the flesh have been remitted.

what's important is what God says about us as His children, accepted in the Beloved.. and what we do every day as a new creature in Christ Jesus.

satan who is the originater of pride, the father of lies, the thief and the accuser of the brethren.. has no standing of righteousness to throw stones at us.

we are to submit ourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee from us.

How could I be so weak to fall away so quickly?

we dont have the luxury to coast on the fumes of yesterday's prayer and bible study time.

because the devil is serious in getting us to sin 24/7.. then condemn us over it immediately afterward.

More importantly...how do I get that back?

getting back is an act of the will to plead the blood of Jesus and receive cleansing of all unrighteousness.

then act like it. regardless of what sin you committed just minutes before you repented.

satan doesnt have any jurisdiction over us anymore. we dont have to listen to any of his accusations against us.

David said somewhere in the psalms - i hide the word in my heart that i do not sin.

and keep that baptism of the Holy Spirit fresh. yield to that utterance everyday. its one of the weapons of our warfare.

2corinth10:4-5
the weapons of our warfare are not (the same as the lower nature)., but they are mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds., and casting down reasonings and vain imaginations, and everything that seeks to exalt itself against the knowledge of God.
and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

our weapons are
praise,
confession of God's word,
the blood of Jesus,
the Name of Jesus,
the armor of God, and
prayer/praying in the spirit and the understanding.

these - together - or any combination thereof.. will still and silence all the evil wiles of the devil.

and if they dont seem to silence him or stop him fast enough to suit you.. act like he's been silenced and stopped anyway.
the important thing is to act on God's word, not on feelings., thoughts or memories of the past.

-

 

[rfprewitt]

Wow. Thanks.

 

[NacDan]

One of the most profound questions we ask ourselves is "WHY ME?" That question has come up many times over the last few weeks in the group I lead on Wednesday nights. What we've come to learn from sharing our experiences with each other is just how GREAT our GOD is. Each and every person that clings to God through the hard times has testified to the faithfulness of God.

The most heart wretching testimony comes from the couple that hosts our home group. They suffered through 10 (TEN) miscarriages before finally carrying their daughter to term. 10 babies they buried. But both of them will tell you how wonderful God is and how the whole experience brought them closer to HIM and made them stronger as a individuals and as a family.

Then there is the woman in my group who suffers from chronic depression and a host of physical ailments. When she first started coming to our group several weeks ago, she was always first to speak up when I asked if anyone needed prayer. I'd ask her, what do you want us to pray, and she'd have a 10 page list (hyperbole) of things for us to pray. Fortunately, someone in the group would usually discern what the "real problem" is, and we'd deal specifically with that need. The last couple of weeks, she's been the first one to get to group, and rather than asking for prayer, she's the first to lay hands on someone else and pray for them. She even was casting out demons last week!

Another young lady in our group (maybe 21) has some chronic degenerative muscle disease. She joined our group about 3 weeks ago. She also has chosen to draw nearer to HIM during this trial.

I could go on and on, but the point is that while we can't control the world around us, and we can't always prevent how people treat or harm us, we do control how we'll react to it. When we are faced with situation after situation after situation, we can chose to draw near to Him or we can turn away.

The Word says, "Dear brothers and sisters,whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything." Jas 1:2-4 NLT

Unfortunately, that statement only makes sense on the other side of the trials.

Couple of things to keep in mind:

1) God is not punishing you. You can be sure the situations you are experiencing are not punishments by God. Read Luke 13:1-5

2) Grace is freely given to us by God simply for the asking and we must freely distribute it.

Finally, the more I witness the Spirit, the more I am convinced just how severe the warefare really is. CS Lewis has an excellent book called "The Screwtape Letters" that is dead on how the devil tries to lure us away from Christ. Check it out.

Grace & Peace
Danny (DDG)

 

[rfprewitt]

Part of me thinks that God doesn't have to punish me...I punish me enough for the both of us. Then another part of me thinks "All I have to do is ask for grace?" Then I am reminded of the blessings that God has already given me, and I tell myself to shut up and quit my whining. Thre have been many good things. I have people who love me and care about me now. Shouldn't that be enough to get over the past?

 

[CarlRogers]

Part of me thinks that God doesn't have to punish me...I punish me enough for the both of us. Then another part of me thinks "All I have to do is ask for grace?" Then I am reminded of the blessings that God has already given me, and I tell myself to shut up and quit my whining. Thre have been many good things. I have people who love me and care about me now. Shouldn't that be enough to get over the past?

When you become baptised in the Spirit, you enter into a deeper spiritual realm and your become more effective against the enemy. The one thing that the devil does not want is for you to know the will of God and to walk in it, because then you will do a lot of damage to his kingdom of darkness.

You now have the potential to destroy great parts of his kingdom by using the supernatural gifts of the Spirit to encourage and build up other Christians and to win souls for the Lord.

Therefore, the devil will try and do everything he can to turn you away from being effective for the Lord. He will get at all your weak points, destroy things that have value for you, turn people against you, even those whom you love and respect. He does all this because he does not want you to carry on a Spirit filled life, moving in the gifts and ministries of the Spirit.

What you are experiencing is what every person who is Spirit filled experiences in the first little while of being baptised in the Spirit. But remember the sower of the seed. If the seed which has been sown in you has gone into good ground, you will go through this and out the other end a victor and a stronger Christian.

The devil would try and root out your seed and throw it on the path where it will not germinate, or in the shallow ground where the plant will spring up and then wither and die, or in amongst the thorns where it will be choked by the worries and cares of this life.

Make sure that your seed stays in the good ground, where the plants will spring up and bear much fruit for the Lord.

The others on this thread have talked much about resisting the devil, and they are dead right. You already have the victory with Jesus. Trust in Him and He will see you through this, and will restore everything you have lost.

 

[nephilimiyr]

Part of me thinks that God doesn't have to punish me...I punish me enough for the both of us. Then another part of me thinks "All I have to do is ask for grace?" Then I am reminded of the blessings that God has already given me, and I tell myself to shut up and quit my whining. Thre have been many good things. I have people who love me and care about me now. Shouldn't that be enough to get over the past?

Hi rfprewitt!

I'm also a new charismatic, I was baptised in the Holy Spirit 2 months ago and I have had the same experience as you. I'm thinking that what we got now is an even bigger bullseye on our backs for every principality and evil spirit to see.

Since then the temptations to committ some of the same sins Jesus has delivered me from has been very strong and I have fallen and in turn have been feeling very guilty. I've been falling into sin and confessing them to God and promising to repent only for the whole cycle to repete itself all over. The guilt over this has been unbearable to the point, like you, I feel defeated and like you have punished myself for it.

However! yesterday at church we had a guest singer. She brought some of her cds with her and after the service I went up and told her I wanted to buy one. We talked a bit and then, out of the blue, she just looked straight into my eyes and very lovingly told me not to be so hard on myself. I was a bit surprised that she was so direct so I just said "oh yeah", and she said "yes, that's what I'm seeing", and she moved her hand in front of her body as if telling me that she was seeing this in her spirit.

Well I took that word home with me and haven't felt better! I felt so at peace that I listened to her cd and went into really worshipping the Lord and now feel so energized, so new, so much at peace with myself.

I'm thinking you need the same word rfprewitt. Don't be so hard on yourself, just rest in Jesus arms and know that He loves you. Your sins have been paid for and there is nothing that can seperate us from Gods amazing love.

 

[mourningdove~]

The devil would try and root out your seed and throw it on the path where it will not germinate, or in the shallow ground where the plant will spring up and then wither and die, or in amongst the thorns where it will be choked by the worries and cares of this life.

I will add on to this, just to demonstrate how true this statement is!

Shortly after receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, I found myself being attacked with impulsive thoughts to destroy myself.

I'd be driving down the street, happy, minding my own business, listening to Christian music on the radio ... and then all of a sudden ZAP! This thought would cross my mind: "Why don't you throw yourself off a "something" ... like a bridge?"

And this thought would pop in and out of my mind - at the weirdest times.

After 2 days of this, I got abit frightened. God gave me the courage to approach a spiritually mature couple that goes to my church. They began to explain things to me.

And a wonderful thing happened - as I began to learn the truth about what was going on (-->spiritual warfare<--), and more about what really happened to me when I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (-->Holy Spirit Power<--), the impulses stopped and I was not afraid anymore.

rfprewitt - A Wonderful Thing has happened to you in receiving the Baptism. You have received Power for Living.

You have more access to the Throne of Grace than you yet realize - but, you see, the enemy is aware of this. That's why he's giving you such a hard time right now and throwing all the self-condemnation at you.

As you grow in your understanding of the Holy Spirit, things will get better ... tremendously better!
You will begin to walk in the victory that Jesus won for us at the cross! (Halleluia! PTL!)

After receiving the Baptism, it became crucial for me to get to "know" The Holy Spirit. Until receiving the Baptism, I did not "know" the Holy Spirit as a "Person". I knew Him more as a "power" from on High that would give me strength to do things, but not as a "Person".

But He is the 3rd Person of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So, just as we talk to the Father and the Son, we can talk to the Holy Spirit!

To get to know Him better, I spent some time looking up all the Scriptures about Him in the Bible. I also read some books about Him.

And I started just talking "to" Him, telling Him that I wanted to get to know Him better, sharing my fears with Him, asking Him to come more fully into my life, surrendering my heart to Him, and just saying: "Come, Holy Spirit, come".

He is always present in our lives, but I'm learning that He will come "more fully" ... where He is made to feel "welcome".

"welcome Him in", rfprewitt. He will teach you many things. He will protect you. And He will comfort you.

God bless you!

 

[rfprewitt]

Thanks. I thought I was just going crazy and failing at something else. Thanks for the encouragement. I will apply what I have seen here. One day at a time.

 

[momofonebaybe]

No worries.... Smile!!! God has you, remember that...

 

[rfprewitt]

thanks

 

[FLA2760]

About a month ago, I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But then after that, I have just had this really horrible time. Now not even a month later, I'm ready to give up on everything. My relationship with God is in shambles. I know about spiritual warfare. I don't have a pretty past. How could I be so weak to fall away so quickly? More importantly...how do I get that back?

Hi
My recomendation

 

[FLA2760]

About a month ago, I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But then after that, I have just had this really horrible time. Now not even a month later, I'm ready to give up on everything. My relationship with God is in shambles. I know about spiritual warfare. I don't have a pretty past. How could I be so weak to fall away so quickly? More importantly...how do I get that back?

Hi
My recomendation is that you get alone into a quiet place where you will not be distracted and ask God to help you realize the peace and joy of Christ that is part of your inheritance in Jesus. Your past is UNDER THE BLOOD OF JESUS and God has CAST YOUR SINS INTO THE SEA OF FORGETFULLNESS! YOU ARE A NEW CREATURE IN CHRIST. My brother and his wife are deeply involved in the Occult and I have been praying for their deliverance for 14 years now. I have shared the Gospel with them but got all the humanistic arguments that satan has perpertrated to blind the mind of unbelievers as well as active demonic resistance. I am telling you this because I have learned that when I get thoughts of defeat and negativity or the personal attacks come I PLEAD THE BLOOD OF JESUS OUTLOUD and take authority in Christ's name and bind all demons on earth and in heaven that are attempting to attack me. Jesus said WHATEVER YOU BIND ON EARTH WILL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN. I am believing that my brother and his wife will be delivered and gloriously saved in God's time. Remember that "GREATER IS HE WHO IS IN YOU THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD" Paul said we are "to take every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ"
God Bless

 

[Our Echelon]

I know dude.


Reading the Bible, Praying, TRYING to Repent isn't working.



what's up with that?

 

[knightlight72]

About a month ago, I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But then after that, I have just had this really horrible time. Now not even a month later, I'm ready to give up on everything. My relationship with God is in shambles. I know about spiritual warfare. I don't have a pretty past. How could I be so weak to fall away so quickly? More importantly...how do I get that back?

Satan is attacking you furiously more than ever since you have made a very public commitment to God.

It's ok to struggle, and feel up against the wall, as God is really the only one you can depend on. That doesn't mean everything will be rosy, it just means you will be having help with your struggles.

 

[lismore]

About a month ago, I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But then after that, I have just had this really horrible time. Now not even a month later, I'm ready to give up on everything. My relationship with God is in shambles. I know about spiritual warfare. I don't have a pretty past. How could I be so weak to fall away so quickly? More importantly...how do I get that back?

Hi

Sorry to hear you are having a hard time. But always remember, that regardless of appearances nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ

Romans 8:39 NIV
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:37 NIV
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

You are more than a conqueror