Beloved I post this to urge on those who are after a pure heart, and having the Lord Jesus live through them.
I have been a Christian for almost six years. Oh at first it was wonderful !!! Jesus was wonderful, I could not wait to tell everyone about Him. I moved to Santa Cruz to tell people about Him. Yet for the last at least six months, I have had no joy, no peace, no holiness. I struggled with lust, with the praise of man, bitterness, envy, gossip, oh you name it and it was there before me and God.
It had gotten to the place where I was very dry, withered I would say. I could barely pray, I could not really read the Scriptures,yet I went on every Sunday preaching to people about hoe to live above these things. Yes I was a hypocrite, and I carried this guilt day by day. It affected how I interracted with my wife, and with everyone else. I was putting on a show basically, a show of learned behaviour that I learned from reading good books and listening to good sermons, yet I was miserable.
Today, oh about 10 minutes ago, I know for certain that I received Christ and His Spirit. My heart is clean, and I have been crucified with Him. It is more than a feeling, it is like a deep truth in me, I know that I am in the vine now!!!!
All this is to say that we cannot toy with sin, and walk with God when He is so willing and ablee to cleanse us. Oh let us labour to enter into His rest.
Hallelujah!!!!

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patrick heaviside

Amen, I'm glad to hear that you have prayed through to victory as the old-timers would phrase it. It's a work of the Spirit and I praise for what He has done in your life.

I've been blessed this week by a wonderful website entitled [url=http://www.enterhisrest.org/]enter His rest[/url]. I was also blessed by something else I saw authored by the Wesley brothers (I'm not sure if it's a hymn or not) from [url=www.authenicchristianity.net]Authenic Christianity[/url].

My heart is at the point of crisis as to entering this rest as penned by Brother Seymour from Azuza Street but I trust that Jesus is going to do this work in my heart as well. I pray that the Holy Spirit will quicken these words by John and Charles Wesley. Blessings to you brother.

Part One

Lord, I believe a rest remains
To all Thy people known;
A rest where pure enjoyment reigns,
And Thou art loved alone.

A rest where all our soul's desire
Is fixed on things above,
Where doubt, and pain, and fear expire,
Cast out by perfect love.

A rest of lasting joy and peace,
Where all is calm within:
'Tis then from our own works we cease,
From pride, self-will, and sin.

Our life is hid with Christ in God;
The agony is o'er,
We wrestle not with flesh and blood,
We strive with sin no more.

From every evil motion freed
(The Son hath made us free),
On all the powers of hell we tread
In glorious liberty.

Safe in the way of life, above
Death, earth, and hell we rise;
We find, when perfected in love,
Our long-sought paradise.

Within that Eden we retire,
We rest in Jesu's name:
It guards us, as a wall of fire,
And as a sword of flame.

O that I now the rest might know,
Believe, and enter in!
Now, Saviour, now the power bestow,
And let me cease from sin!

Remove this hardness from my heart,
This unbelief remove;
To me the rest of faith impart,
The Sabbath of Thy love.

Part Two
I groan from pride to be set free,
From wrath to be released:
Take me, O, take me into Thee,
My everlasting Rest.

I would be Thine, Thou knowest I would,
And have Thee all my own;
Thee, O my all-sufficient Good,
I want, and Thee alone.

Thy Name to me, Thy Nature grant;
This, only this be given:
Nothing beside my God I want,
Nothing in earth or heaven.

Come, O my Saviour, come away!
Into my heart descend;
No longer from Thy creature stay,
My Author and my End.

The bliss Thou hast for me prepared
No longer be delayed;
Come, my exceeding great reward,
For Whom I first was made.

Come, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
And seal me Thine abode!
Let all I am in Thee be lost;
Let all be lost in God.

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Ed Pugh

Oh brother do push on. Do not despair, He will not forsake you in this. I do not even understand this right now, but like a child I am simply beleiving, and trusting Him to be my Life, and no longer I. Have you looked at

[url=http://www.howtolivevictorious.com]How To Live Victorious[/url]

I highly reccomend this site.
All in all, it just comes down to wanting Jesus to show you all the sin within, and let Him cleanse you. No more making excuses, or blaming others, but really getting down to business with the Holy Spirit.

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patrick heaviside

The Holiness Movement:

Holiness movement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Holiness movement is composed of people who believe and propagate the belief that the "carnal nature" of man can be cleansed through faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit if one has had his sins forgiven through faith in Jesus. The benefits professed include "spiritual power" and an ability to maintain purity of heart (that is, thoughts and motives that are uncorrupted by sin). The doctrine is typically referred to in Holiness churches as "entire sanctification," though it is more widely known as "Christian perfection."

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What does God’s Word have to say about Christian perfection from sin? Is it possible to be totally sinless in thought and deed? Lets find out

God’s Word tells me that I will never be perfect until I see Him like He is, at the rapture:
1 John 3:2 “ Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
1 Cor. 13:9-12
9. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Isaiah 64 tells us about the righteousness that each of us as believers personally possess. God sees our own righteousness as filthy rags!
6. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 7. And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.

Matthew5:26-48 tells me that to even think of sinning is the same as committing the act in God’s eyes. We are all held accountable for thoughts as well as our deeds.

To sum this up, God’s Word tells me that:
1. As a believer I will personally continue to sin by thought and by deed. It also tells me that if I have a relationship with Christ, that when I sin, I am to repent, and confess my sin, and continue my walk with Him.
It also tells me if someone tells me that they have not sinned, that they make God out to be a liar, and God’s Word is not in them:

5. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

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That about sums it up. The Holiness group continue to deny that they sin. We all still have the blood of Adam in our veins, and until the rapture the Holiness that we have is imputed to us by Christ, it is "put on" us by Him when we believe in CHRIST as LORD.

When they asked God what they could do to "work" the "works" of God, Christ responded that the "works of God" amounted to "BELIEF" in Him.

28. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29. Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.


Christ is the righteous one, Christ is the sanctified one. When we believe in Him, His righteouness and His sanctification is imputed to us. By our belief in Him, Adams inherited sin no longer stains us and we are no longer "in" Adam. We are now "in" Christ, and until the rapture, only have the down payment of the Holy Spirit in our Hearts. The big problem is that we still have flesh and blood in our veins, and the blood is that of Adam.

1st Cor. 15:50-53 tells us:
50. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
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God bless,

Stever :-)

I don't understand what you are getting at?

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patrick heaviside

Thank you so much for your testimony roaring lamb! I am so encouraged. To him that overcomes..........Praise God! I have been a Christian about the same amount of time, and have experienced the same.
Thank you for posting the poem habakkuk 3 you have no idea how much it blessed me today.

Remaining in His Faithful Grip,
(edited the part about the word rapture not being in the bible out. You're right! another topic)

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Ruth Westbrook

roaringlamb, thank you for sharing your heart!
It was blessing to me!
God bless you.
Kire

Amen though Bro. Stever.

Rapture is another topic... that could fill an entire forum on its own I believe.

Also, I think it not wise to discuss "sinless perfection." It only causes division.

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Scroggins

I hope you all realize that I am not talking "sinless perfection", but simply a clean heart and conscience before God. Basically Romans 8 in its fullness. I am not seeking to bring division at all, but hope to the hopeless who feel they can never be free from sin. As Brother Ravenhill would say, "a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument."
I can only testify that Christ has cleansed me, and set me free!!! Make of it what you will, just don't make it a point of argument.
To you for Him,
Patrick

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patrick heaviside

AMEN, roaringlamb!

we share the same testimony! i went thru the same exact things you went thru. praise God for this freedom! Lord Jesus thankyou for setting us free and making away for us to draw close to You!

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Lisa