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 Re: Learning to "Rest in the Lord" - or "The Waiting Room" experi

This is indeed a tough thing to do! Doing nothing for God is like a sin for many of us. I too, am going through a period where Im not doing sooooo much for God, and feel i have to wait. While reading your text, i felt that before God does bigger things, he will do something . I see an operating room. I see you lying on the bed there. It is a very big white room. Something Holy about it. You are very relaxed. Spirit tells me you are healing. This is a very important time for the Holy Spirit in your life. Be at peace. Let Him have time with you. You are not to worry about ministry. Test this, and if you believe it is from God, be encouraged.

 2006/4/22 13:21









 Re: Learning to "Rest in the Lord" - or "The Waiting Room" experi


Hi Rahman,

I haven't read all the posts yet, but I noticed you said you could find only 3 sermons on rest.

Here is an excellent one from O'Neill, before he was officially on SI. It may not be what you are looking for, but it is worth reading just for its clarity.

RESTING IS THE REQUIRED OBEDIENCE

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=4446&forum=35]https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=4446&forum=35[/url]

 2006/4/22 21:35
roadsign
Member



Joined: 2005/5/2
Posts: 3777


 Re: silence in the rest

Mike wrote:

Quote:
Along with the fear you mentioned Rahman, perhaps my biggest and the one most grievous is just a misrepresentation of the Lord. So many speaking of Him and even more bewildering in His stead, with such an ease as to put forth their own interpretations of what He is doing



Ah, yes, we have an evangelistic fervour to proclaim our convictions – eager to take a stand for truth, certain that we are defending our Lord. I suspect that tendency is absorbed from our religious background – a message we constantly hear: WE are called to be God’s ambassadors, to change the world, to turn the wrong into the right. And so, our message becomes our identity. Yet we are blind to cold pricklies and weedy patches in our message. It needs to be fine-tuned through the work of God in our lives.

We hear little about a preceding time of rest in the backside of the desert. Moses’ burden for his people burned within him, and so he acted prematurely by killing the Egyptian. The desert experience had to come first. And then a brand new Moses came forth forty years later.

So too our burden must first be broken up in the desert – where are put into solitary disablement. We must have our “40 years” of rest and silence. And then, in God’s timing, he will birth his divine work within us, using us in a way we cannot accept yet, a humble and “small” way, a way which is so opposed to our fleshly sense of worth. We must be stripped of our evangelistic fervour. The capitol ‘E’ in Evangelistic is reduced to a small ‘e”. (I am preaching to myself here.)

A difficult aspect of rest is silence , that is - being quiet, not speaking, not responding when everything inside is screaming for expression – to defend truth (as we see it). As Rahman seemed to indicate, there are times when God muzzles us. I have had many such times, and am slowly learning that it comes from God. In the past, I it would frustrate me. I would feel guilty for not “speaking out”. I would ask myself or God, “Why could I not say those words that were on the tip of my tongue,” or “ Lord, why did I fail to think fast enough of a proper response to that comment? Why didn’t you put the right thought into my mind? Why did I say something stupid instead?” And I would kick myself for failing God. (really, for failing MYself. )

Yet, at times God seems to loosen the muzzle and I say the right thing. But also many times I blurt out absurdities which I later regret. Those (many) times cause me to run as fast as I can towards the cave of silence. I seek to hide in shame. And then I appreciate God’s muzzle.

The humiliating silence feels like defeat. Yet it is a needed death process. “I must decrease, he must increase.” This feels unpleasant until we our self is sufficiently crucified. This seems to be a constant, ongoing process – many times around the same mountain. But it's worth it. As our minds learn to silence the constant, obsessive thoughts and mental churnings, we become still, and can then hear the quiet voice of God.

I suspect that we in ourselves will never succeed in crucifying our tendencies to “jump the gun” – until God works in us. And until God works in others in the same way, we will never be able to "set them straight". We will just waste a lot of energy coming against a strong resistive force.

Oh, how I praise God that he knows how best to handle us.
Diane


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Diane

 2006/4/23 8:08Profile
Rahman
Member



Joined: 2004/3/24
Posts: 1374


 Re: Learning to "Rest in the Lord" - or "The Waiting Room" experi


Hi ALL ... :-D

i praise God for the beauty of this fellowship, and what YOU ALL have shared concerning "learning to rest in our Lord" ... i've bookmarked your site sister D, and the link you provided sister Dorcas, for future reading ... Bro. Mike i'm also taking under consideration what you've posted ... i understand what you meant when you posted "It can be quite humbling to find that a great deal of the time they may not.", but i pray our Lord to be even more humbled by the fact that it was/is Him leading me to do/say ... Many of us experience the humility that comes along when God can finally show us that we've been barking up a wrong tree, a 'self" tree, but few are we who come to such awsome humbling as to find out that we were right, and it was/is our Lord manifesting Himself thru us ... That's the humbling experience i so desire, but of course i'll take whatever humbling He sends my way for at this point i'm resting in Him ... Bro Dave i hear this that you've posted "You are not to worry about ministry." ... In this "Waiting Room" the door in front of me is like one of those old fashioned office doors with that type of glass in it that obscures, but behind it i can see all kinds of light and lightning movements - very bright, and i know it's God moving on the other side of this door ... i want to be on that other side because i see ministry there, the new season of work ... The old season, including this waiting, seems preparatory of me for what's on the otherside of that door ... You best believe that if learning to rest in Him is what's required for my going thru that door, i'm all about being comforted in our Comforter! ... 8-)

But regardless of all else i'm telling you this is something great and wonderful our Lord has brought me to, in that it's even affected my sleep ... At one point i'd noticed that my dream activity, mainly of stressful situations, had increased and i'd awaken not rested - But not of late, i find myself sleeping like a baby ... Whenever anything pops up now regarding what i've had a tendency to stress over (which is pretty much where am i going in You Lord) i just say "I trust You Lord", and for the first time in my life i can honestly say i mean it ...


Sis D you wrote;
"We get a lot of gratification from our efforts. As good as they may be, even divinely ordered, they can subtly become a dependency for us."


i've had to search myself on this one, and i think i can safely say that i've gotten no gratification out of my efforts (except maybe that i've done, even tho i didn't want to, because i believe God told me to) ... All the past work i believe our Lord gave me to do i see no fruit from whatsoever ... In fact probably the major reason i've found it so hard to rest in our Lord is due to this ... But then the Word tells us that man may be used of God to plant and water, but only He can make it grow ... So i'd become pre-occupied with nagging God as to when He'd make grow what i believe He had me do ... And to be more precise when would He make manifest what i believe He had me do to vindicate/substantiate my having done it ... Back to "self" again ... :-?

Another point you touched on that robbed me of my rest in our Lord was my always questioning Him (and myself) if what i was hearing to do in fact was "divinely ordered" ... i had no rest in this when i was doing it, and when i heard "cease" i had no rest because all my energy then went to "when Lord will You manifest what i believe You've told me" ... Some have alluded that this work i was doing was of myself, and that caused me unrest in that i began thinking that if i were taking myself on such a grand delusion that's lasted 20+ years then i was in dire need of serious psychiatric help ... This is what has somewhat baffled me with this scripture our Lord has just recently brought to my fore ...

Heb.4
[10] For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.


i don't quite know what God's saying to me here ... Have i been ceased from a work He gave me, or have i been ceased (finally) from a work i gave myself ... But in this place of His rest i leave the final answer of this to Him, for what's most important for me to get from this verse is that whatever it was, it is now ceased ... So if my past mission was of God, He will manifest it to fruition ... If it wasn't, then praise Him that i'm covered under Rom. 8:28, and i can still go on in my new found rest in Him for i'm done with it now (therefore no further need to wonder of psychiatric help) ... :-P


Pss.91
[2] I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.

Isa.12
[2] Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation.

Blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ!

 2006/4/24 13:13Profile
roadsign
Member



Joined: 2005/5/2
Posts: 3777


 Re: Creativity is born in rest

Quote:
All the past work i believe our Lord gave me to do i see no fruit from whatsoever ... In fact probably the major reason i've found it so hard to rest in our Lord is due to this

I’m not convinced that there was no fruit. What about the fruit within you - the kind of fruit scripture talks about? I suspect that there has been a lot of fruit-growth in the process. Perhaps God wishes you to lay your work on the altar - your Isaac. Maybe it is your first fruit offering to God. I suspect that much fruit is ripening in that process.

In the life of the Russian composer, Shostakovich, there was a period of time when he wrote primarily for his desk drawer. At the time Lenin controlled the kind of music that was acceptable. That was very stifling to the composer. He wrote “proper” music but he couldn’t and wouldn’t stop writing what was on his heart - even if it could not be performed at the time.

I think of Fanny Crosby who wrote some 8000 hymns and even more poems. She couldn’t stop, though someone once tried to make her stop. It was within her, and needed to be expressed. (though, who needs that many hymns and poems!! ) She didn’t analyze if it was intended for watering or planting, or if it was practical, or whatever.

I think that we can freeze ourselves up if we are constantly sifting our efforts through the grid of “evangelism” or ‘God’s will” I was trapped in that for too long. That’s how people end up as evangelical salesmen, and compromise what God has truly put within them, yet convinced they are doing “God’s Will”. That reminds me of our music industry and it’s sad. Beautiful, deep, honest, and creative expression is replaced with a lot of shallow dribble. It is the will of the masses, but surely doesn’t impress our Lord.

What sells or even what’s “working” is not synonymous with what’s fruitful or what’s God’s will.

Does God not allow room for the freedom of expression, as part of the gift of free choice? If we are submitted and surrendered to him, can we not trust him to help keep us moving in the right direction? Surely, God’s legs aren’t too short that he can’t catch up to us if we get too far ahead. I believe that trusting him to be a good heavenly parent brings us rest, and also keeps us from the psychiatrist.

Over the years, I’ve been plagued with a fear of myself – worrying about getting outside of God’s will. That is a nightmare way to live. It is better to be an unbeliever. They just create and do whatever freely, without all the anxiety of wondering what God thinks.

Quote:
i don't quite know what God's saying to me here ... Have i been ceased from a work He gave me, or have i been ceased (finally) from a work i gave myself ..


Do I hear another echo of my own thoughts? I wonder if this is even an issue with God.Is rest about our activity or about the state of our conscience? Is God not interested in what we CHOOSE to do freely – as our expression of worship – not doing it because we feel obligated do the “right” thing, but because we really want to? I think of the women who poured perfume on Jesus. She just did it! I doubt she even asked him if it was okay (his will) or proper? She had a lot of nerve – or was it that she was so free that she did just what she really WANTED to do – as a heart-felt expression of worship? And THAT is what thrilled the Lord.

Was your creative offering not a pouring out of yourself – “wasted” on Jesus?


Quote:
If it wasn't, then praise Him that i'm covered under Rom. 8:28, and i can still go on in my new found rest in Him for i'm done with it now (therefore no further need to wonder of psychiatric help) .


Amen! God’s love for us doesn’t change even when we flounder like a toddler – still learning with faltering steps – still coloring outside the lines at times.

I think that authentic creative expression of any kind comes from a place of rest – rest from anxiety, people pleasing, people fearing, pressure, cultural trends, religious expectations. In its best, it portrays the authentic relationship we have with our divine Creator - which can only be sustained in a place of rest.
Diane


_________________
Diane

 2006/4/25 7:24Profile
Rahman
Member



Joined: 2004/3/24
Posts: 1374


 Re: Creativity is born in rest

Sis D you wrote;
"I’m not convinced that there was no fruit. What about the fruit within you - the kind of fruit scripture talks about? I suspect that there has been a lot of fruit-growth in the process. Perhaps God wishes you to lay your work on the altar - your Isaac. Maybe it is your first fruit offering to God. I suspect that much fruit is ripening in that process."


Sis D when i spoke of fruit i wasn't speaking of within myself but without, tho yes there has been much growth within me and i thank God for it now (but it was very painful in the process) ... "Perhaps" and "maybe" rate right down there with "if" for me in terms of clarity, and it's the seeking of clarity (seeing for sure) that became a major cause of my increasing un-rest, but i surly don't put it past God to give us something and then require it as a sacrifice back only to show us if we love Him more than His gift ... God's funny that way (and i don't mean this disrespecfully) ... It's like a conversation a brother and i had in which we came to understand that God's definition of such things as love, fairness, discipline, grace, obedience, etc. are light years apart from our own puny self absorbed human definitions ... The OT gives prime examples of what i used to think of as the tricks God played on His chosen vessels back then, one in particular that i've given much concideration to concerns Isaac ... i've always found it interesting that God made a promise to Abraham regarding his son that took so long Abraham gave up hope, and more alarming in the process at one point attempted to aid God's promise and produced Ishmael ... See in my past i've heard promises from God, some have suggested that i've heard promises from myself, but that's neither here nor there for me now for within this rest God and time will tell which ...


Sis D you continued;
"I think that we can freeze ourselves up if we are constantly sifting our efforts through the grid of “evangelism” or ‘God’s will”

"Over the years, I’ve been plagued with a fear of myself – worrying about getting outside of God’s will. That is a nightmare way to live. It is better to be an unbeliever. They just create and do whatever freely, without all the anxiety of wondering what God thinks."



i understand where you're coming from here but i take the exact opposite tack ... i wouldn't have had any problem at all if what i believe i've heard from Him regarding my ministry, The Called, America's economic demise and revival was delivered from a burning bush, Gabriel or a Damascus road experience, but they were'nt ... i heard these things in my spirit ... What i need to clarify here is that our Lord took a former JW, saved me and initially taught me in a Baptist surrounding, then sent me to a Pentecostal surrounding ... Talk about culture shock! ... Everything that happened to me in that surrounding i questioned, because i saw a whole lot of what was termed spiritual as overly emotional ... So the first time in that surrounding i heard what i believe to be the voice of God in my spirit it totally scared me, and then to react to the point of carrying out what i was hearing really gripped me with fear (but eventually i went on and did) ... i don't sift what i hear thru "evangelism", in fact i don't even know what that means, but i sift everything that i believe i'm hearing God say for me to do thru "is it His will" - and if His Word agrees then eventually i will move ...

For me "not worrying" about getting outside of God's will would be my nightmare, and for me there is no experience in our Lord, however unpleasant it may be, that would merit the better situation being an unbeliever ... i believe why our Lord called me (and others) in the first place, with the message of much needed repentance amongst His Body, is because a whole bunch of His leadership, and subsequently those led, have not worried enough over whether we're outside of God's will ... And so they've created freely of themselves, without any anxiety as to what God thinks ... This is dangerous enough when the world does it, but deadly when the Church does does it as is obvious today ...



Sis D you continued;
"If we are submitted and surrendered to him, can we not trust him to help keep us moving in the right direction? Surely, God’s legs aren’t too short that he can’t catch up to us if we get too far ahead. I believe that trusting him to be a good heavenly parent brings us rest, and also keeps us from the psychiatrist."



Amen, "submitted and surrendered" the two key elements we must choose to do in His being able to move us along (expediently) in the right direction ... i remember a little while back when a SI member told me that i needed to cut myself a break ... My response was apparently that's what too many of us saints are doing already, and since i didn't believe i'd set myself on the course i was on then in the first place, it wasn't up to me to take a tasty-break on my own ... Little did i know then that He'd soon give me one, and that He'd have to teach me to take it ... Praise Him! - and you're right, as the perfect heavenly Father He knows how to bring each of His children to rest (keeping us from earthly shrinks) if we'd but submitt/surrender to His rest ...



Sis D you continued;
"Was your creative offering not a pouring out of yourself – “wasted” on Jesus?"


i don't quite know what you mean by "creative offering" ... If you mean that i created something to do for our Lord as an offering to Him then that's not what i believe i did, and i truly hope and pray that i've not been that twisted a Christian to have done so for all these years ... i've not wanted to do many of the things i felt led of our Lord to do, particularly when it came to delivering "words" to pastors ... Most pastors i've come in contact with are good at delivering God's "word" to the flock, but not so good with one of the flock delivering God's "word" to them ... But i, in His blessed rest, leave the verdict so far as still out in God right now as to whether He will prove my actions of Himself or myself in future ... i've heard "cease" and "fret not" and i'll be doing neither from now on, especially in light of Rom. 8:28 ... As one called according to His purpose, and i certainly believe that i am, i can't lose one way or the other in what i believe He's had me do so far ... Even if it wasn't Him He'll work it out to both mine, and His own good ... And i can certainly "rest" in, and "trust" Him in that! ...


Sis D you ended;
"In its best, it portrays the authentic relationship we have with our divine Creator."


i think this is a very good definition for "resting in the Lord", and i agree whole-heartedly ...

Have a very blessed day in our Lord Jesus Christ ... one and all! ... :-D

 2006/4/25 10:31Profile
roadsign
Member



Joined: 2005/5/2
Posts: 3777


 Re: Being "wasted" for Jesus

Quote:
Diane said: Was your creative offering not a pouring out of yourself – “wasted” on Jesus?"

Rahman responded:
i don't quite know what you mean by "creative offering" ..


Rahman, you've given me lots to think about. I will address those thoughts later, but for now I would like to expound on one thought: That of being "wasted" for Jesus:

It seemed wasteful to pour an entire bottle of expensive perfume on Jesus' head. None of the perfume could ever be retrieved. Why, even the bottle was broken! The perfume did nothing more than make Jesus smell nice for a day. A dab would have been enough. Surely the costly perfume could have been used for the kingdom in a more economic way. It was worth a year’s wages! What a waste! A waste of an ENTIRE year of labor!

We have a natural tendency to assume that we're worth more than merely being 'wasted' on Jesus. Why, we could be something useful for Him, by doing something productive with our time, gifts, talents, and efforts. However when we are eager to BE something for Jesus, we focus on ourselves. We are like the perfume - still sealed up in the bottle, yet unbroken. When we lose ourselves, what we do, or what we did, we are like the perfume spilled out, irretrievable, no longer useful. It feels like a dreadful loss. We resist this as much as we resist death - because really, it is a death process. It is dying! It is losing ourselves! Forever!

When we sense ourselves being poured out and “wasted” we react by mustering up all our energy in an effort to hang on – to prove to others that our efforts were NOT a waste. We justify ourselves. We may even dull the pain of loss by imagining ourselves being successful. We want to convince ourselves, if no one else, that we are indeed someone significant, and our efforts are worthy. We cannot bear the thought of being “wasted”.

Only after we stop striving to BE something useful, we discover that we were never called to BE, but to BELONG! It is so simple! That is what we are anointed for - to belong to Christ. He becomes our center, not us. We receive new life - Christ’s life in us. And his life flowing through us is immensely productive - from His point of view, though not necessarily ours.

At various points in our spiritual journey, we are tested with the challenging question: Are we willing to watch our “year’s wages” go up in smoke – never to be seen again? Only when we have truly let go, only when we no longer grieve our loss, then we will be at rest – content merely being like a broken bottle of “wasted” perfume.

Diane

more later....


_________________
Diane

 2006/4/26 8:30Profile
Rahman
Member



Joined: 2004/3/24
Posts: 1374


 Re:



Sister D you wrote ...

- It seemed wasteful to pour an entire bottle of expensive perfume on Jesus' head.
- None of the perfume could ever be retrieved. Why, even the bottle was broken!
- The perfume did nothing more than make Jesus smell nice for a day. A dab would have been enough.
- Surely the costly perfume could have been used for the kingdom in a more economic way. It was worth a year’s wages! What a waste! A waste of an ENTIRE year of labor!


i've pondered these statements and while they are true i just can't seem to tie them to my experience ... Whatever i've done in my past season whether it proves of unction by our Lord, or myself, i don't concider a waste either way, especially in light of my even newer found rest in Rom. 8:28 ... All that has transpired in my saved life thus far must have been necessary for me to get to, or as i like to think of His getting me here to this place of rest ... Perhaps (ughhh that word again) at the onset of my being saved i wasn't capable of intering into His perfect rest then ... Lets say perhaps i thought myself so unworthy of just plain grace i unconsciously thought i had to do something for our Lord - something great in the way of works! ... If that was the case then still i have to put my actions on Him (for if it wasn't Him then i'm a lot more capable than i realized), as i did initially pray fervently to be used of Him, and i did seek the gift of prophecy (even tho i wasn't sure then what it was) because Paul said we should because it was of benefit to His Church ... Perhaps our Lord took advantage of what may have been my early misconception to His use, and my future growth, by putting me to work until He could bring me to the point i am now ... Or perhaps, as i've come to believe, He placed in me a pre-disposition that once i recognized Him for who He is i went all out (in my first love passion/zeal) to break all that i possesed of His gifts, talents, etc. that He'd given me from before the setting of the foundation of this world to break upon Him at the point of His bringing me in ... Others may concider my past efforts futile, or wasteful in light of not seemingly have served any good purpose, but i honestly don't ...

i think that a great many of the folk Holy Spirit directs to SI are extremist in the sense that placing a little dab of themselves on Jesus just ain't enough ... It's breaking ALL of oneself on Him, or none at all, either hot or cold, no lukewarmness ... As i also think that the reason a lot of SI'ers find it so difficult in organized religion/denominations is because the status-quo is so comfortable in luke-warmness ... We long for "hot" collective fellowship, worship, praise and prayer to our Lord in the action of Holy Spirit breaking us over our Lord's head! ... That's why so many of us are so Revival oriented ... But alas such a seeming extreme to much of the Body today echoes the same sentiments of the disciple back then, instead of a recognition of our opportunity to being broken over our risen Lord as an annointing to His second coming ...


Matt.26
[6] Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
[7] There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
[8] But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
[9] For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
[10] When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
[11] For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
[12] For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
[13] Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.


i have to admit that in my youth there was a glimmer of "self" attached to my seeking, and it was that of wanting some recognition ... But i was soon to be made very aware that the type of message, and experiences i would carry/have got me a kind of recognition i hadn't bargained for, but the more i then tried to run away from it the more it seems our Lord sought me ... It was not a fun time ...


Now this is the part of your post that i can identify with ...


Sis D you continued;
- We justify ourselves.
- We may even dull the pain of loss by imagining ourselves being successful.
- We want to convince ourselves, if no one else, that we are indeed someone significant, and our efforts are worthy.


Been there, done this ... These are some of the things that eventually cropped up after so much rejection, and what our Lord has had to free me from in order to come into His rest ...


But this one i still have trouble applying to myself ...
- We cannot bear the thought of being “wasted”.


Even if my past actions prove to be of myself i know that all i did i did out of faith, and toward His glory and the good of His Church ... Rom. 8:28, after John 3:16, is a most favorite scripture for me ... i know that nothing is of "waste" or "wasted" in the life of "the called" ...



Sis D you continued;
"Only after we stop striving to BE something useful, we discover that we were never called to BE, but to BELONG! It is so simple!

That is what we are anointed for - to belong to Christ. He becomes our center, not us. We receive new life - Christ’s life in us. And his life flowing through us is immensely productive - from His point of view, though not necessarily ours."


Amen ... i can say that i understand this now ... But you say "it's so simple" ... Was it always so simple to you, or did our Lord have to bring you to this simplicity thru much complexity?



Sis D you ended;
At various points in our spiritual journey, we are tested with the challenging question: Are we willing to watch our “year’s wages” go up in smoke – never to be seen again? Only when we have truly let go, only when we no longer grieve our loss, then we will be at rest – content merely being like a broken bottle of “wasted” perfume.


In terms of what i believe i've heard our Lord say He had in store for my life i can truly say that "now" if none of it comes to pass i'm ok with it ... What's important is where i am now, where He has me now, and that's in His rest, which truly is the most comfortable place i've been in Him thus far! ... My new years motto is "Lord, Your will be done" ... Whatever He wants, does,
does not do, is fine with me ... It's like finally this huge recognition has dawned on me that He's in complete control, and all things transpire by His timing ... i trust God!

Blessings in our Lord Jesus!

PS - Sister D i have a question ... Your web-site is amazing, and i believe by the unction of Holy Spirt ... But would you call your site your own "creative offering" or an unction by Holy Spirit (thru you) to the uplifting of other saints?

 2006/4/26 11:19Profile
roadsign
Member



Joined: 2005/5/2
Posts: 3777


 Re: my web site

Quote:
Sister D i have a question ... Your web-site is amazing, and i believe by the unction of Holy Spirt ... But would you call your site your own "creative offering" or an unction by Holy Spirit (thru you) to the uplifting of other saints?



My site is my “thought processor” as well as my creative expression. Many of the articles arose from personal bible studies. Many were aided by divine revelation – like dreams/visions/ experiences/ discussion etc. And I would say that God helped me along by putting certain ideas or scriptures into my mind, helping me “stumble” across the ideal reading etc.

However, God did not do the work – as should be obvious. I don’t want to give God the “credit” for all the mistakes, bad sentence structure, weak thought line, and possible doctrinal errors. I am in training. Only a few years ago, while I was going through my anger-at-the-church stage, my writings would get quite tainted by my feelings. I hope most of that has been cleaned out by now.

Some might look at my site these days, but I suspect not many. That’s okay. It leaves me time to fix up articles. If God wants to send anyone, that’s up to him.

My earlier writings need a lot of redoing. Just a few years ago I couldn’t write a coherent sentence. Perhaps because of my long illness, I seemed to be left with a weakness in the area of speaking and writing, even worse than my high school days. Actually earlier today I was kicking myself for being so bold as to submit to you a link to an ebook that needs editing. I was thinking of skipping supper so that I could fix it before you got there.... Ha ha... oh well.

Amazingly, guess what I do now more than anything? I even write for the local paper and get a lot of warm fuzzies.

So as you see, God is helping me along. But his more important work seems to be in my mind, not on paper.

Yikes! It’s going to take me a while to respond with all my thoughts to your thoughts…. More later….

Diane


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Diane

 2006/4/26 17:42Profile
Graftedbranc
Member



Joined: 2005/11/8
Posts: 619


 Re: Learning to "Rest in the Lord" or "The Waiting Room" experien

The Lord's rest is not to be in a situation where all our circomstances are at peace. 2 corinthinians makes this abundantly clear.

The Lord's rest is the inward rest we have in Him. He is at rest, His work is finnished, He is ascended and is imparting Himself as rest in those who abide in Him.

We enter into His rest by entering into the Holy of Holies. That is, to be in our spirit, which is His dwelling Place and experinecing Him as our rest.

This rest exists in the midst of our tumultious circomstances. It is not the alievation of problems, of hard circomstances, of difficulties, of persecutions, or anything outward. His rest is experienced when we abide in Him. We experience by the rich supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, rest in our environment, peace amist unrest, joy amidst sorrow, and patience in tumult.

The reality of Christ is experienced when we abide in Him, lay hold of Him, and press forward into the Holy of Holies living in His Presence in our regenerated spirit.

Graftedbranch

 2006/4/26 18:42Profile





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