Hi all,
Most Christians desire to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit; here are some practical steps:
Teachings on the web:If you can't see Jesus talking about roller coasters being in heaven...
Set that idea aside. Measure what that person said against the other (false) words they've said, and then set it aside. It's speculation and can't be proven this side of heaven. If a person says Jesus appeared to them in a dream and set a rapture date. It's speculation.
What they claim will be revealed, so let it work itself out. Paul wrote the same in Galatians 6:3-5; that if a man thinks he is something when he is nothing, let him walk it out and it will become apparent over time, for that person must bear their own burden. That's their walk, stay away from speculation.
When you hear something your mind questions, immediately shift your attention to your spirit. Can you see Jesus doing what they said He said, in the gospels? Can you see Jesus teaching such a complicated formula in the gospels? Does it agree with the simplicity of what He taught and what we see in the 30 years of Acts? Is what they say seen in Acts? Does Paul address the topic in his letters? Or Peter, James, John, Jude?
Do you sense a grievance, or nothing, or joy and a resonance? Joy, peace, resonance is the Spirit of truth witnessing (testifying) to that truth. If you can't perceive a grievance, then it means to use common sense, scripture, and logic. Those are moments He wants us to learn, grow, become responsible for our own faith.
If you feel a grievance, then no further investigation required. Reject it, mark them as off balance, and set what they say aside in your mind.
Moving from common sense to revelation from the Father
In Matthew 16:13-17 Jesus asked the disciples who the people were saying He was. That is common sense. That is being aware of society around you. But this should be noted. He asked:"Who do men say that I, the Son of Man (Messiah) am?"
Jesus first asked what some of the voices out there were saying. They were in touch with the people, and Jesus wanted to know what the gossip was. This shows we need to be aware of our society and culture. "Who do people say that I the Son of Man am?" Jesus identified Himself as the Son of Man in His question, which is a term for the Messiah, which they all knew from Daniel 7:13-14. In those verses the Son of Man comes before the Ancient of Days (Father) to receive a kingdom without end.
So by asking what they said while stating He is the Son of Man, He placed it within the context of the spiritual truth they already knew- He is the Messiah. That was the foundational, deepest truth they knew. That is a great lesson for us; We can hear speculation, but we are never moved from the deeper truth we know. That places speculation out on the periphery of our lives; Something to be aware of, but not moved by popular culture.
They answered:
"Some say you are John the Baptist, some Elijah, others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets." That is speculation. Stop right there. Now use common sense:Does it make sense that Jesus, who had been seen with John before he was killed, would be John back from the dead? Does it make any sense He would be Elijah or Jeremiah reincarnated or back from the dead? No!
What the people said in their speculation violated common sense. The disciples knew what people were saying, and rejected it. It didn't make sense. The Peter moved from common sense to revelation:"You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!"
Jesus had already positioned His question with the statement He was the Messiah (Son of Man). So we see Peter rejecting speculation from the voices out there, to form his life around the revelation from the Father He had received:You are the Christ. Early on, Peter intellectually believed Jesus is the Son of Man. But he considered all 'voices'. He heard the speculation of many voices, sought the Father and rejected those other opinions to receive revelation in his spirit from the Father that Jesus is the Christ.
Yet today, people will willingly lay aside common sense, will lay aside their own research of scripture. For instance, the error of the 'Courts of heaven', which has largely died down thankfully, as people have realized the error. Does that teaching sound like it would fit in Jesus' teaching in Matthew, Mark, Luke or John? No. It isn't logical. So now we check chapter and verse. We find "Seeing that we have Jesus who has gone into heaven for us...let us come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:12-16 This and many other NT verses that speak of us being one in Christ and Christ in us, team with logic to reject that formula of the Courts of heaven as off-balance.
And once error is rejected, peace in your spirit returns, which is yet another way to know what you rejected was worthy of rejection.
Violating common sense; The sin of presumption
One woman had hands laid on her eyes for healing because she didn't want to wear glasses (not because of any medical condition), and stomped them to pieces in front of the congregation to show she was healed. The people rejoiced loudly. However, as she drove home from church she was pulled over by a policeman for weaving all over the road like a drunk driver. She was nearly blind without her glasses. It turns out she wasn't healed. She thought she was 'in faith' breaking her glasses and 'in faith' thinking that would complete her healing and 'in faith' driving home as she was sure it too would bring about the healing.
A well-liked young evangelist got cancer. But because he was a 'man of faith' he declined treatment, 'believing God' he would be healed. He wasn't. If he had listened to common sense he would have received treatment as it was caught early, and lived a full life.
Another woman from the 1970's complained to Francis Hunter (who, with her husband Charles, held well known 'healing' meetings) that she had been casting calories out of her desserts but had still gained 10 pounds (4.5k) and didn't know what she was doing wrong. Some think the devil is behind everything, refusing to be practical by taking responsibility for their own life and situation.
Another ran out of gas in their car, so they added bottled water to their tank thinking that since Jesus turned water into wine He would turn water into gasoline. He didn't.
Before Jesus multiplied bread and fish, He had the people organize, commanding they sit in groups of 50's and 100's. Before He turned water into wine, He asked what resources they had, and when told, commanded the 6 water pots be filled with water; THEN He turned the water into wine.
Jesus is not your business partner to the extent you can skip due diligence and expect Him to miraculously do what you should have done. We move from common sense to revelation, and that common sense is founded on previous revelation. So if a person says the world will end in May because the moon aligns with the ancient calendar, or if the rapture is on this or that date, or if the rightful President will sweep in and arrest the wrongly elected President on inauguration day, or if Jesus tells you that you can pray for the whole world to be saved and all will be saved, or if someone says they are Elijah sent to warn people - you recognize these things and things like it violate basic common sense. If you don't perceive a grievance in your spirit at such things, you build on logic - these don't make sense. Then you check scripture so that all 3 testify of the error:Your spirit and the Spirit of Truth within, logic, chapter and verse.
The new subject next week is along these lines:Teachings of demons, man, and God.
Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]
Most Christians desire to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit; here are some practical steps:
Teachings on the web:If you can't see Jesus talking about roller coasters being in heaven...
Set that idea aside. Measure what that person said against the other (false) words they've said, and then set it aside. It's speculation and can't be proven this side of heaven. If a person says Jesus appeared to them in a dream and set a rapture date. It's speculation.
What they claim will be revealed, so let it work itself out. Paul wrote the same in Galatians 6:3-5; that if a man thinks he is something when he is nothing, let him walk it out and it will become apparent over time, for that person must bear their own burden. That's their walk, stay away from speculation.
When you hear something your mind questions, immediately shift your attention to your spirit. Can you see Jesus doing what they said He said, in the gospels? Can you see Jesus teaching such a complicated formula in the gospels? Does it agree with the simplicity of what He taught and what we see in the 30 years of Acts? Is what they say seen in Acts? Does Paul address the topic in his letters? Or Peter, James, John, Jude?
Do you sense a grievance, or nothing, or joy and a resonance? Joy, peace, resonance is the Spirit of truth witnessing (testifying) to that truth. If you can't perceive a grievance, then it means to use common sense, scripture, and logic. Those are moments He wants us to learn, grow, become responsible for our own faith.
If you feel a grievance, then no further investigation required. Reject it, mark them as off balance, and set what they say aside in your mind.
Moving from common sense to revelation from the Father
In Matthew 16:13-17 Jesus asked the disciples who the people were saying He was. That is common sense. That is being aware of society around you. But this should be noted. He asked:"Who do men say that I, the Son of Man (Messiah) am?"
Jesus first asked what some of the voices out there were saying. They were in touch with the people, and Jesus wanted to know what the gossip was. This shows we need to be aware of our society and culture. "Who do people say that I the Son of Man am?" Jesus identified Himself as the Son of Man in His question, which is a term for the Messiah, which they all knew from Daniel 7:13-14. In those verses the Son of Man comes before the Ancient of Days (Father) to receive a kingdom without end.
So by asking what they said while stating He is the Son of Man, He placed it within the context of the spiritual truth they already knew- He is the Messiah. That was the foundational, deepest truth they knew. That is a great lesson for us; We can hear speculation, but we are never moved from the deeper truth we know. That places speculation out on the periphery of our lives; Something to be aware of, but not moved by popular culture.
They answered:
"Some say you are John the Baptist, some Elijah, others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets." That is speculation. Stop right there. Now use common sense:Does it make sense that Jesus, who had been seen with John before he was killed, would be John back from the dead? Does it make any sense He would be Elijah or Jeremiah reincarnated or back from the dead? No!
What the people said in their speculation violated common sense. The disciples knew what people were saying, and rejected it. It didn't make sense. The Peter moved from common sense to revelation:"You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!"
Jesus had already positioned His question with the statement He was the Messiah (Son of Man). So we see Peter rejecting speculation from the voices out there, to form his life around the revelation from the Father He had received:You are the Christ. Early on, Peter intellectually believed Jesus is the Son of Man. But he considered all 'voices'. He heard the speculation of many voices, sought the Father and rejected those other opinions to receive revelation in his spirit from the Father that Jesus is the Christ.
Yet today, people will willingly lay aside common sense, will lay aside their own research of scripture. For instance, the error of the 'Courts of heaven', which has largely died down thankfully, as people have realized the error. Does that teaching sound like it would fit in Jesus' teaching in Matthew, Mark, Luke or John? No. It isn't logical. So now we check chapter and verse. We find "Seeing that we have Jesus who has gone into heaven for us...let us come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:12-16 This and many other NT verses that speak of us being one in Christ and Christ in us, team with logic to reject that formula of the Courts of heaven as off-balance.
And once error is rejected, peace in your spirit returns, which is yet another way to know what you rejected was worthy of rejection.
Violating common sense; The sin of presumption
One woman had hands laid on her eyes for healing because she didn't want to wear glasses (not because of any medical condition), and stomped them to pieces in front of the congregation to show she was healed. The people rejoiced loudly. However, as she drove home from church she was pulled over by a policeman for weaving all over the road like a drunk driver. She was nearly blind without her glasses. It turns out she wasn't healed. She thought she was 'in faith' breaking her glasses and 'in faith' thinking that would complete her healing and 'in faith' driving home as she was sure it too would bring about the healing.
A well-liked young evangelist got cancer. But because he was a 'man of faith' he declined treatment, 'believing God' he would be healed. He wasn't. If he had listened to common sense he would have received treatment as it was caught early, and lived a full life.
Another woman from the 1970's complained to Francis Hunter (who, with her husband Charles, held well known 'healing' meetings) that she had been casting calories out of her desserts but had still gained 10 pounds (4.5k) and didn't know what she was doing wrong. Some think the devil is behind everything, refusing to be practical by taking responsibility for their own life and situation.
Another ran out of gas in their car, so they added bottled water to their tank thinking that since Jesus turned water into wine He would turn water into gasoline. He didn't.
Before Jesus multiplied bread and fish, He had the people organize, commanding they sit in groups of 50's and 100's. Before He turned water into wine, He asked what resources they had, and when told, commanded the 6 water pots be filled with water; THEN He turned the water into wine.
Jesus is not your business partner to the extent you can skip due diligence and expect Him to miraculously do what you should have done. We move from common sense to revelation, and that common sense is founded on previous revelation. So if a person says the world will end in May because the moon aligns with the ancient calendar, or if the rapture is on this or that date, or if the rightful President will sweep in and arrest the wrongly elected President on inauguration day, or if Jesus tells you that you can pray for the whole world to be saved and all will be saved, or if someone says they are Elijah sent to warn people - you recognize these things and things like it violate basic common sense. If you don't perceive a grievance in your spirit at such things, you build on logic - these don't make sense. Then you check scripture so that all 3 testify of the error:Your spirit and the Spirit of Truth within, logic, chapter and verse.
The new subject next week is along these lines:Teachings of demons, man, and God.
Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]
RSS Feed