THE INNER ROOM - "Learn and Grow - to Maturity". Please read the 1st Post.
- Thread starter Bondman
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PRACTICAL NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
MESSAGE #92
WOULDN'T WE WANT TO BE OBEDIENT?
Got a surprise as I was reading this morning: came across a verse in Acts Ch 5 that I don't remember seeing before. The apostles had been put in prison - again!- but the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and let them out, telling them go and preach Jesus again, which they did. After finding the prisoners gone, the high priest and the chief priests sent to have them arrested once more! They were brought before the council and the high priest was MOST annoyed with them again for continuing to preach Jesus to the people.
The response of Peter and the apostles was pretty predictable: they preached JESUS to the council members!! (there was no shutting these guys up!) In the process of the message they spoke these words: "And we are witnesses to these things, and the Holy Spirit is also, Who God has given TO THOSE WHO OBEY HIM."
Wow... that surprised me! Yet, if you stop to think about it, our obedience starts even at the moment we come to Jesus for salvation!! We have to OBEY the following instructions (commands) from the Lord God in order to get saved! - CONFESS our sinfulness, REPENT of our sin, ACKNOWLEDGE that Jesus died for our sins, RECEIVE Him as Saviour and Lord over all of our life (give our whole life to Him), and be BAPTISED in Jesus' Name. Without obeying these things we stay in our sins, destination: HELL!!
After I thought that through, it seemed ABSOLUTELY REASONABLE for the apostles to say that the GIFT of the Holy Spirit comes to those WHO OBEY HIM! So does that mean that the gift has a CONDITION - that of being OBEDIENT to the LORD? I reckon it does! Because in the New Testament the concept of OBEDIENCE is a 'given' for all genuine Christians. It's the NORM!! IF YOU LOVE GOD, THEN YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY WANT TO OBEY HIM!! So much so that if you're not an obedient Christian, I'd lovingly but strongly suggest you check that you ARE a Christian! Can't mess about with this, folks - hell is an APPALLING place, and it IS FOREVER... Here's God's WARNING:
Romans Ch 6:16 Do you not know that to who you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves who you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
Let's all choose the way of OBEDIENCE to our wonderful GOD!!
- BM, with his Mrs
TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY
FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN!
I've gotten extra ill again, guys!
And for the very first time since I started ministry on forums, the Holy Spirit is now not giving me enough EXTRA energy (which I have to have) in order to manage to do this work amidst my constant chronic sicknesses.
So, again for the first time, I'm not sure that I can actually keep going with it, and am thinking, considering, and praying about what to do from here.
Love to you all!
- BM
And for the very first time since I started ministry on forums, the Holy Spirit is now not giving me enough EXTRA energy (which I have to have) in order to manage to do this work amidst my constant chronic sicknesses.
So, again for the first time, I'm not sure that I can actually keep going with it, and am thinking, considering, and praying about what to do from here.
Love to you all!
- BM
Dear Heavenly Father,
I come to you right now in deep prayer for Bondman. I am so thankful for the energy that you have provided Bondman to give your messages to all of us here on this Forum. Even admist his own suffering, he followed and walked through the suffering and continued to pour out blessings and love to others. He has been so faithful in his obedience to you heavenly father. I pray Heavenly father as we all pray that if Bondman is to continue to share your messages through the Forum, that you show how that is to be done that he be given the strength to do what is to be done now, that your will be done dear Heavenly Father. I am soooooooo thankful and praises to you Heavenly Father for the Inner Room and the messages that have been given and for how you helped me understand your words that were written here and how you gave me the strength the wisdom and guidance to be obedient to apply them to my life. You are an awesome God and we know that you will provdide the answers that are needed during this time.
Amen
Faithwoman
Ok Fluffy, I am good.. but not good at mind reading.. please share... I want to know...I know that I know that I know...
Faithwoman
Hey, Faithwoman! One day, when I was praying for Bondman and Nettie, God showed me the two of them jumping out of bed and doing the jitterbug. He has not shown me anything different since, but instead has confirmed it. So, every time I post something dancing in the Inner Room, its to let Bondman know I am still standing for his healing.
There is a deep 'knowing' inside of me that wont let the idea go. Its happened before, God gave me a 'knowing' about something and I stuck with it, and it happened!
There is a deep 'knowing' inside of me that wont let the idea go. Its happened before, God gave me a 'knowing' about something and I stuck with it, and it happened!
So, every time I post something dancing in the Inner Room, its to let Bondman know I am still standing for his healing.
There is a deep 'knowing' inside of me that wont let the idea go. Its happened before, God gave me a 'knowing' about something and I stuck with it, and it happened!
My fellow coffee partner, I am standing right there with you. I find it hard to believe and cannot believe that Bondman's end is near.. there is a breakthrough coming.. whatever that is.. bring it on Lord, we are ready! Praise the Lord!
Faithwoman
PRACTICAL NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
MESSAGE #93
THE NEW COVENANT (TESTAMENT), BETTER THAN THE OLD - Part 3
... continued from Part 2 ("Don't Try to Mix the New and Old Covenants")
SweetSurrender said:
10 BECOMES 9
Great post! A number of quite important matters you've raised! You may read The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17. And as I said near the end of Part 1, in the New Testament we still have 9 of the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament to keep - the one that's not anywhere commanded in the NT is keeping the Sabbath. It was the 4th Commandment.
OT = "YOU MUST!"
It's MOST important for us to understand the difference between the NT and the OT rules, regulations, laws and commandments that the Hebrew people HAD TO KEEP! Every one of these, from the greatest to the smallest, were of the "YOU MUST DO THIS" kind!!! And if you did NOT, you paid the PENALTY for not doing so! - some of these being death, including being stoned to death. EXAMPLES: Exodus 31:15 (for doing work on the sabbath). Deuteronomy 13:6-11 (for tempting someone to serve a God other than the Lord). Leviticus 24:16 (death by stoning for anyone who swears using the Lord's name - just as well for millions that THAT rule is still not around today I reckon!!)
Read just these few verses in the above examples (if you're game! *hee!*) and maybe you'll very quickly decide that living under the new Covenant of the New Testament is really pretty good, and is what you'd much PREFER to do! - rather than to place yourself under the old Covenant of the Old Testament, as many today still do!!!
NT = LOVE, AND PLEASING GOD!
Fortunately the New Testament IS where we LIVE today, and after keeping the sabbath is excluded, the other 9 are still there for us to keep... BUT... NOT because He has DEMANDED THAT WE KEEP THEM, but rather Because we LOVE Him!!! The New Testament is PERFECTLY CLEAR ABOUT THIS: our MOTIVATION FOR OBEYING OUR WONDERFUL GOD is LOVE - not "YOU MUST".
This leads to how you said: "if the new commandments are to love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself, all the rest would follow, I think." Absolutely! Because of my deep love for my Lady I seek always to PLEASE HER. That's simply a 'given'! Similarly, because of my deep love for the Lord, I seek always to PLEASE HIM!! Again that's a given!! Can you see the incredible RELAXATION of life this allows us who are SO VERY FORTUNATE to be living in the time AFTER Jesus came to earth for us! Sure works for ME!!!
ADULTERY IS BAD
Now to adultery which is strongly spoken against in the NT, starting with Jesus as early as in Matthew 5:27-28 where He actually made the matter of NOT committing adultery EVEN HARDER than previously!! Check it out and see! (and recognise how sensible and reasonable and just plain RIGHT Jesus' new commands are as well!!)
PREACHERS AND TEACHERS
Finally, why don't Pastors preach this? Many complex reasons; may have come from their training, and may include things like lack of knowledge and understanding - and even lack of commitment (yes, a Pastor is just a man also, and can suffer this problem just as readily as we can). We must not JUDGE them - but we MUST be VERY aware that not all preach TRUTH, many NOT even terribly close to it, which of course is incredibly sad. The END OF ALL OF THIS places the responsibility RIGHT BACK ON ME AND ON YOU TO SEEK THE TRUTH FOR OURSELVES: to READ His Word, to ask the Holy Spirit to REVEAL THE TRUTH to us as we do, and to seek out those who DO know and teach the TRUTH of GOD!! The Lord is asking you: will you DO this??
- BM, with Mrs BM
TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY
FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN!
I'll keep this in my prayers. :groupray:
God's_Child
Account Closed
Me too
Thankyou so very much Jeff and Tania!
I've had a restful and quite interesting day. God has been showing me a number of really good things (one I didn't like very much because it was a failing... *thankyou, Lord, for showing this to me!*)
That all the above happened is perfectly simple: always does when God's people pray. (Man, I love you guys!!!)
- BM
I've had a restful and quite interesting day. God has been showing me a number of really good things (one I didn't like very much because it was a failing... *thankyou, Lord, for showing this to me!*)
That all the above happened is perfectly simple: always does when God's people pray. (Man, I love you guys!!!)
- BM
PRACTICAL NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
MESSAGE #94
HOW TO READ THE SCRIPTURES (AND HOW NOT!) - Part 1
Those who've read my Messages here will know how very strong I am that every DOCTRINE (belief) and PRACTICE (living out the doctrine) BOTH in our LIVES AND in the CHURCH must be solidly based on the SCRIPTURES! Because of this some may want to call me a 'literalist', but I'm not. I simply wish to read the Word of God that's THERE! - and after I have, to be able to see and understand WHAT GOD IS SAYING!!! That's it. THAT'S the bottom line!
The only way to know what God is saying is by the Holy Spirit, who helps and enables you to SEE and to UNDERSTAND. What happens is that as you read and as you study, the Spirit of God shines His light onto the Word like a torch, to enable you to SEE what otherwise you cannot! If you read the Scriptures without Him then you'll NEVER understand what they say!! When He REVEALS - and that's certainly what He does! - then you can read the words that are there - and you UNDERSTAND, they become CLEAR! You "SEE" THEM!
There's nothing magical about this, it's just GOD! He is my Revelator by His Spirit. It astonishes me how clear the New Testament has become to me as I read the black writing on those white pages! And here's the next thing: UNLESS A BELIEF, A TEACHING, A DOCTRINE, A PRACTICE IS CLEARLY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, THEN I AM NOT INTERESTED IN IT!! - BECAUSE IT IS NOT GOD'S WORD TO US!!!
Not for many hundreds of years in Christendom has there been such widespread MAKING UP AND MANUFACTURING OF BELIEFS in so many churches as we are seeing today. So much so that I'm utterly sorry to have to say that it's highly likely your church is doing this. Some of these false beliefs may seem unimportant. Here's an example taken from a post on this forum. The person has the gift of speaking in tongues and stated that when you do this the devil doesn't know what you're saying.
Clearly the person had been TAUGHT this by her church. Does the Bible say this anywhere? NO! So CAN the devil understand what I say when I speak in an unknown language? I've no idea - because the Bible doesn't tell us one way or the other! PLEASE NOTE: just because the New Testament DOES say that a tongue speaker is speaking to God is NOT the same as saying that the devil can't understand what you're saying. Maybe he can... THE TRUTH: "speaking to God" means exactly "speaking to God". Nothing more, nothing less. That's the SOLE information God has given us! AND WE CERTAINLY MUST NOT MAKE UP NOR ASSUME THINGS THAT THE BIBLE DOESN'T SAY!!
So is this error really UNimportant? NOT IT'S NOT, AND HERE'S WHY. What I observe in particular churches around the world is that once you find one error like this, there will virtually ALWAYS be others! That is, I have to wonder how many OTHER Scriptural errors this person has been taught, probably more serious than this one. I'll share more of these in following Parts. And then after that, there's much worse to come!!
continued in Part 2...
- BM, with his Lady
No man can ever know all the truth - only GOD can!
All I can do is constantly depend on the Holy Spirit to show me
THE Truth from His Holy Word. If you ever see what
looks like wrong Scripture please tell me.
Hey, Bondman! Did you realize that the Inner Room has almost reached 1000 posts?!?!
Now, in the other forums we have been in, 1000 posts meant that thread was done, and had to make a new one. Such as The Inner Room II. Does that apply here, too?
I didn't realise and have no idea what happens, hon. Guess we'll have to get Bo or someone to tell us! *cups his hands; calls loudly to the nearest Mod!!*
Just as a matter of interest, Father's Day here in Oz is not till September!
I don't think she'll mind me telling this here, but when my daughter and family were church-planting in Japan for many years, sometimes I'd get a card from her now (Japan is the same as you guys) or maybe she'd remember NOT to send one - but then quite understandably forget in September. Bit of a silly world, hey!
PRACTICAL NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
MESSAGE #95
I WAS STRUGGLING...
It can be so easy for things to go WRONG in our Christian walk! *maybe you've noticed, hee!* Sometimes we don't realise they have. Other times we do realise, but can't see what to do about it. And this can just happen! Don't let it 'throw' you - it's part of the Christian experience! For example, I've written many times how we should not struggle in our life as Believers, but instead rely upon the Holy Spirit to make our lives work.
Quite recently I went through a period where I was struggling - but apparently was NOT 'SEEING' that I was!! The problem I had was an important matter of faith... and I knew I should have faith... I'm a man of faith... but I sure was having trouble with faith on this particular Christian matter! I believe the more important a thing is, the MORE LIKELY we are to be tempted to struggle.
So I struggled on - and of course the more I struggled the WORSE things got for me!! (a great lesson there!) At last I got desperate - which is a really, really IMPORTANT WORD for us fair dinkum Christians - and spent a serious time with the Lord, something I should have done piles earlier, and lo and behold the Lord got through to me that: I WAS STRUGGLING!! EEERP!!...
I relinquished control of the whole thing, gave it back to Him. I said to Him: "YOUR will be done, Lord! THAT'S ALL I WANT!! Nothing else! I don't have to be this or that, or try to be this or that, but just put myself TOTALLY INTO YOUR HANDS, and trust YOU with this whole thing." I stopped struggling, and relief came to me fairly quickly. But man, this sure goes to show how hard it can be to live the Christian life, and how incredibly easy it is to get tricked, trapped, and tripped up - without even realising. I'm now quite relaxed about this matter, just quietly trusting HIM, knowing that His will will be done, and so that is all ABSOLUTELY a-okay!!
I hope this may be something of an encouragement to you. It seems that no matter who we are it can be sooo easy to be... well, pretty Spiritually dumb!!
Much love!
- BM, with his Mrs
No man can ever know all the truth - only GOD can!
All I can do is constantly depend on the Holy Spirit to show me
THE Truth from His Holy Word. If you ever see what
looks like wrong Scripture please tell me.
Indeed! (I was stunned at how "thick" I was being! )
I love your point that even if we're unsure what the stuggle is actually about - give the whole she-bang to Him anyway!! Hey, THAT'S GOOD!!!
PRACTICAL NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
MESSAGE #96
WHAT GOD HIMSELF SAYS ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES - Part 2
... continued from Part 1 ("How to Read the Scriptures (and How Not)!")
I understand that this series of Messages may make some uncomfortable or even upset, if what I'm writing seems to be striking at the heart of what your church teaches and what you personally believe. I am NOT speaking lightly here, but advisedly and very deliberately. Before God Who I love and serve, this is something I MUST do.
I am a man of PEACE and LOVE. I've endeavoured to here teach those things that can bring you close to God and His love for you, and to the peace that truly does pass all understanding! However the time has come when I must speak up, no matter the consequences, regarding where God's truth is being trampled on and countless numbers of people lead away from His truth. Should the result of this series I'm writing be that I am asked to leave, or be misunderstood, or rejected, or worse, this will not ever distract me for one second from the work God has called me to do.
I TOTALLY and IRREVOCABLY stand for the following:
1. GOD HIMSELF SAYS THAT all of Scripture is the inerrant Word of the Living God. The Verses below say the Scriptures are INSPIRED by God, and good and profitable in our Christian lives for an amazing 4 things:
2 Timothy Ch 3:16 Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable (1) for instruction, (2) for reproof and conviction of sin, (3) for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for (4) training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action),
and as a direct result of these 4 things we get 2 great RESULTS or EFFECTS flowing from them (I hope you can handle these, cos I sure CAN!!):
17 So that the man of God may be (1) complete and proficient, (2) well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
"Complete and equipped for every good work" surely works for me!!!
2. Effectively God also directly and specifically says that all of Scripture MUST NOT BE MESSED WITH in any way!! His dire warnings are 2 in number:
Revelation Ch 22:18 I [personally solemnly] warn everyone who listens to the statements of the prophecy [the predictions and the consolations and admonitions pertaining to them] in this book: If anyone shall (1) add anything to them, God will add and lay upon him the plagues (the afflictions and the calamities) that are recorded and described in this book.
19 And if anyone (2) cancels or takes away from the statements of the book of this prophecy [these predictions relating to Christ's kingdom and its speedy triumph, together with the consolations and admonitions or warnings pertaining to them], God will cancel and take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the city of holiness (purity and hallowedness), which are described and promised in this book.
So, DARE to ADD anything to the Bible, and you get (all) the afflictions and calamities recorded in the Bible!
Or DARE to TAKE AWAY ANYTHING from the Bible and you lose life (lose heaven - therefore end up in hell).
Coming are actual and common examples of doing THOSE TWO DIRE THINGS!!!
... continued in Part 3 "What the Bible Does NOT Say (and DOES!)
- BM, with his lady-love
No man can ever know all the truth - only GOD can!
All I can do is constantly depend on the Holy Spirit to show me
THE Truth from His Holy Word. If you ever see what
looks like wrong Scripture please tell me.
So, does that mean not to add or subtract from the book of Revelations? I thought it meant the Book of the Bible, but it sounds like it is talking about the Book of Revelations. 
Also, does this mean in the Mormon Church, that only Joseph Smith, who wrote the Bom (Book of Mormon), will be punished for changing God's word, or will any Mormon who believes in the Bom be doomed. What say ye? That's kinda scary beings I once was one. Of course I never believed that Joe Smith was truly a prophet. I knew something was fishy. :fish:
Also, does this mean in the Mormon Church, that only Joseph Smith, who wrote the Bom (Book of Mormon), will be punished for changing God's word, or will any Mormon who believes in the Bom be doomed. What say ye? That's kinda scary beings I once was one. Of course I never believed that Joe Smith was truly a prophet. I knew something was fishy. :fish:
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