Testing the Spirits Part 2

 

We will continue to examine how to test or try the spirits. We will look at how to know if the spiritual experience we have gone through is from God or not.

 

How does the experience affect our view of God’s Word, the Bible?

 

Does the experience lead you to believe what 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, “Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

 

Does the experience enable you to believe more fully in the infallibility of the Bible? Does it enable you to see the Bible as God’s Word?

 

Does the spiritual experience enable you to more fully believe what 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness”? Does it enable you to believe that the Bible is God-inspired, not man and is for helping us to know how to really believe and follow Jesus?

 

We have to take the view that anything that originates outside the Bible is suspect until it can be confirmed in the Bible.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is accepting the Bible as the authority of our lives and living based on that authority.

 

How does the experience affect how we view ourselves?

 

In Romans 3:23 we are told all people have sinned and come short of the standard of God. Then Romans 3:24 tells us we can be justified or forgiven of our sin and failure by grace as a gift from God. We are born with a nature or desire to sin but, by God’s gift of grace, we can be changed. Does this spiritual experience enable us to believe that?

 

After we have experienced salvation by God’s grace, does this spiritual experience lead us to see ourselves as righteous, holy, children of God; who God loves unconditionally? If it does, this experience is from God and that is where it will lead. If it is not from God, it will lead us to see ourselves as still in our sin and worthless people.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is accepting what the Bible says about us and letting God change us or living in the reality of the change God has already made in our lives.

 

How does this experience affect how I view fellow believers?

 

If this spiritual experience is from God it will lead us to love our fellow believers more deeply.

 

1 John 4:8-9 says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

 

If this spiritual experience is from God it will lead us to not isolate ourselves from other believers but desire more fellowship with them.

 

Hebrews 10:25

Not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

 

God wants His children to love each other and do life together as a faith family.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is loving our fellow believers and living in unity with them.

 

Not all spiritual experiences come from God. We need to know how to judge the ones that are and the ones that are not.

 

Knowing and Experiencing God by Raising the Roof

and Removing the Walls,

                                               Joe

Testing the Spirits Part 1

 

1 Timothy 4:1

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.

 

So, the question is, and it is a question that I have been asked many times: How can you tell the difference between what is God’s spirit or what is my desire or what is a different spirit?

 

I want to give some guidance over the next two weeks on how to decern God’s Spirit.

 

One test is how this spiritual experience affects our relationship to God, our concept of God, and our attitude toward Him.

 

Isaiah 42:8

I am the Lord; that is My name; My glory I give to no other, nor My praise to carved idols.

 

It needs to lead us to praise God as the Lord over all.

 

Revelation 4:11

Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.

 

It needs to lead us to honor and obey God as our Creator.

 

Psalm 145:3

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.

 

It needs to lead us to see and experience that God is great. That He is above everything else.

 

The experience has to lead us to have a closer and deeper relationship with God.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is worshiping and serving God as Creator and Lord.

 

A second test is how this spiritual experience affects my attitude toward Jesus.

 

Matthew 3:17

And behold a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

 

It needs to lead us to know that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is God the Son, God in the flesh.

 

Acts 2:36

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

 

It needs to lead us to know that Jesus is the Lord and Messiah who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin.

 

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

 

It needs to lead us to know Jesus as the way to heaven, the truth that leads us to salvation, the life that God created us to live, and the exclusive path to God the Father.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing and experiencing Jesus for who He really is.

 

A third test is how this spiritual experience affects my attitude toward the Holy Spirit.

 

Romans 8:6

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

 

It needs to lead us to know and experience that the Holy Spirit brings life and peace to us.

 

Romans 8:16

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

It needs to lead us to receive from the Holy Spirit the assurance that we are children of God.

 

Romans 8:26-27

Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing the powerful working of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.

 

Any experience that enables you to know God more, love God more deeply, and serve God more devotedly is from God. Any experience that does not is not from God.

 

Experiencing Closeness with God by Raising the Roof

and Removing the Walls,

                                                         Joe

Things God Hates

 

God is love. God loves you. Love is the core of who God is. The thing that God loves the most is us, His human creation.

 

He hates anything that harms or damages His human creation.

 

Proverbs 6:16-19

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

 

There are seven things that in this passage we are told that God hates.

 

God hates haughty eyes. God hates when we exalt ourselves. God hates that because He knows that self-exaltation is pride and pride leads us away from God and not toward Him. God knows that when a person depends on self instead of God it will bring that person to failure and even destruction. God tells us to depend on Him and exalt Him, not out of Him needing us to do that but because we need to do it. Humility leads to God; haughtiness or pride leads away from God.

 

James 4:6

But He gives more grace. Therefore, it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is humbling our lives under God’s authority and exalting Him.

 

God hates a lying tongue. God hates deceit, falsehood, sham. God knows that when a person lives based on lies it will bring destruction to that person’s life.

 

Jesus says in John 14:6 that He is the Truth. Everything that Jesus says is truth and that truth brings life and freedom. Lies brings death and bondage.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living based on truth and Jesus is truth.

 

God hates hands that shed innocent blood. When we love others, we will relate to them in love, not in hatred and will not bring harm to them.

 

Mark 12:31 Jesus says that we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

 

Matthew 5:38-39

You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, “Do not resist the one who is evil. But If anyone slaps you on the right check, turn to him the other also.”

 

Matthew 5:43-45

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

 

We as followers of Jesus are commanded to not retaliate but to love and pray for those who are out to harm and persecute us.  God hates when we retaliate with hatred because it doesn’t reflect who He is and turns people away from Him.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is treating others with love and respect, not hatred and harm.

 

God hates a heart that devises wicked plans. God hates it when people plan evil. This involves making plans to commit iniquity, willful sin.

 

God hates sin (missing the mark).

God hates trespasses (crossing the line).

God particularly hates iniquity (disobeying God and knowing we are disobeying God).

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is having a passionate love for God that leads to complete obedience to Him.

 

God hates feet that make haste to run to evil. God hates it when people do things that are evil because evil acts are good for nothing.

 

Galatians 5:22 tell us that goodness is a work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as followers of Jesus. Evil is the opposite of God. Evil are useless acts and good are acts that help others. God is good and wants His human creation to do good.        

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is moving to what is good and running away from that which is evil.

 

God hates a false witness who breathes out lies. Lies go against the character of God.

 

John 8:31-32

So, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

 

Truth, because God is truth, sets us free from the bondage that lies bring.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living free by living based on truth.

 

God hates one who sows discord among brothers. Other translations read “stirs up conflict in the community”. God hates disunity among the faith community of His followers.

 

Ephesians 4:1-3

I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 

God wants His people in unity.

Living in humility

Living in gentleness

Living in patience

Bearing with each other in love

Desiring to keeping the bond of peace in the Holy Spirit

 

We are to live in unity, not uniformity.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living in unity with our brothers and sisters in Jesus.

We are to love what God loves and hate what God hates.

 

Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls with God,

Joe

It is All About God Not Us

 

I am not a very political person. In fact, I don’t like politics. I studied government in college and am amazed at the wisdom that is evident in the way our nation’s government was put together. But I am not political. I am very thankful that God calls men and women to serve in elected offices and am thankful that we have the opportunity to vote.

 

With all that said, God really spoke to me on Monday morning as I read Isaiah 33. God brought two verses to my attention. These verses will not speak to a person who does not have at least a belief in God, but for a follower of Jesus they need to be huge.

 

I believe that the Bible is the word of God. I believe it is, as Hebrews 4:12 says, living and active, meaning it speaks to all time periods. So Isaiah was writing the book of Isaiah to the Jews; God was writing it to the world. 

 

The first is Isaiah 33:5. It says, “The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and He will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.”

 

Four things the Holy Spirit showed me in this verse:

 

God will be the one to bring justice and righteousness.

 

Wanting our nation to be a nation of righteousness and justice is a good thing and the desire itself comes from God.

 

The problem is our nation is looking to man and man-made things to bring righteousness and justice. It is impossible for fallen humanity to fashion anything that is not fallen outside of God. So, we need to go to God’s word to see how God would have us as a nation establish true righteousness and justice.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is asking God to establish righteousness and justice.

 

God will be the one to bring stability to our nation.

 

God is immutable. That means that God does not change. What is right is right now and always and what is wrong is wrong now and always. He does not move right and wrong, good and bad, or truth and falsehood around. God does not manipulate things to suit Himself or to prove Himself right. God is truth and what He speaks is truth and it does not change. Because God and the things of God don’t change, we can build on them and they will not collapse on us.

 

Everything other than God will change and, when they do, then we have lost our stability.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is having God as our foundation.

 

God will be the one to bring salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.

 

This COVID-19 thing has shown us that whatever opinion a person has, they can find on social media a verification of that opinion. One of the real frustrations most of us have faced in dealing with it is in knowing what is real and what is not.

 

This verse says God brings salvation, so He is our savior. God as my savior means He’s got it and I don’t have to worry or fear. It doesn’t give the license to do stupid risky things or to ignore others concerns. It does give me confidence and assurance.

 

This verse says God brings wisdom. I have not been impressed with our wisdom as human in dealing with the virus or the divide in our nation. God’s wisdom is needed to deal with each in a healthy and productive way.

 

God’s wisdom according to James 3:17 is pure, peaceable (we are really lacking this aspect), gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, produces good fruit, impartial, and sincere. We need this kind of wisdom.

 

This verse says God brings knowledge. We need knowledge. We don’t just need intellectual knowledge, we need spiritual knowledge. We need the mind of Christ to guide us through the issues we are facing in our nation.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is trusting God for salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.

 

A holy awe or holy respect of God is to be our treasure.

 

Luke 12:34 says, “For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.”

What I treasure, what I value above everything is where my heart, the focus of my life will be.

 

If my treasure is anything attached to this world, that is where my focus will be. If my treasure is God and the things connected with God, then my focus will be God.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is making God my treasure so my heart will be focused on Him.

 

The truth of verse 5 will establish in our lives when God becomes what Isaiah says He is in verse 22.

 

Isaiah 33:22

For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; He will save us.

 

God is the Judge and as Judge He determines what is righteous.

God is the Lawgiver and as Lawgiver He determines how we are to live out righteousness.

God is the King and as King He empowers us to be and live out righteousness daily.

 

God as Judge, Lawgiver, and King provides justice, righteousness, stability, salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. We are not to look to humans to provide these because humans cannot. Only God can provide these things for us personally, for our nation, and for the world.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is trusting God as our Judge, our Lawgiver, and our King.

 

With God as our Judge, Lawgiver, and King, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe