Susan Smith is Talk Wisdom's guest blogger today. The following is a copy of her April 5, 2008 newsletter which is emailed each week to subscribers. In this edition, Susan discusses many important facts about Christian faith, including how the Holy Spirit works in our lives; how Scripture leads us in truth; that the kingdom of God is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy; that it takes time to mature in our faith; and the importance of deliverance from sin for salvation. Lastly, she describes what transpired during a recent encounter over Easter weekend with two female Jehovah's Witnesses.
Read, enjoy and be blessed!
Christine
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Last week we talked about seeing God’s glory. The Holy Spirit often seems elusive. There are times when the Holy Spirit is working powerfully in our lives and it seems indefinable and mysterious. Often it is “after the fact” that we learn it was God all along who was molding and making us as the potter molds and makes the clay. The Lord does not hide truth from us, He hides truth FOR us! His desire is for us to seek His kingdom first.
The kingdom of God is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (ROM 14:17). The kingdom of God “consists in justice and peace and joy—and all in the atmosphere of the Holy Spirit” according to William Barclay’s translation. All scripture is divinely inspired and is useful for teaching the truth, for refutation of error, moral correction and for training in the good life (2TIM 3:16). It does not matter what translation of the Holy Bible you read. God’s written Word is true.
What a blessing we have here in the United States where multiple translations of the written Word of God are available. Who imagined even fifty years ago that these translations would be available all over the world today via the Internet? God does amazing things with the Internet. There are web sites and Christian blogs that are proclaiming God’s Word and His glory throughout the world every minute of every day. Jesus said “I will build my church” (MAT 16:18) and He is doing just that. The Lord is building His church His way and this is happening with or without you or me. Praise His Name!
There have been occasions when my flesh has puffed up with pride when others tell me I have a powerful testimony. Nothing good dwells in my flesh (ROM 7:18). Spiritual pride is a very dangerous sin. Can you grasp this? When anyone is set free from sin, then that person must accept by faith that he or she has become a slave to righteousness (ROM 6:18). God has made Jesus our wisdom, our goodness, our way to holiness and our liberation...to ensure if anyone is proud, he must be proud of what the Lord has done for him and if we boast, then we are to boast in the Lord (1CO 1:30-31). It is so easy to ignore this scripture especially right after one has been delivered from a specific sin.
Deliverance or salvation from sexual sin or drunkenness is not a greater miracle of God than deliverance from gossip, slander, angry outbursts, jealousy, envy, hatred or any other fleshly sin (GAL 5:20-21). Do you understand? Salvation from the power of any specific sin does not assure spiritual maturity. There is no guarantee of spiritual maturity just because the power of God has delivered you from some explicit sin. I have seen spiritual immaturity in my life many times since the Lord delivered me from homosexuality and drunkenness. Deliverance from fleshly sin is only the beginning of abundant life in Christ!
We grow in our knowledge of God and the Messiah (JOH 17:3) just as we grow in physical maturity from childhood to adulthood. Are you growing in spiritual maturity today? Spiritual growth is not always at the same speed and sometimes it is in the wrong direction. Knowledge of God and the Way we must walk come little by little, precept must be upon precept (ISA 28:10). There is a definite order in which we grow, because God is not the author of confusion (1CO 14:33). The Lord will not show us the next step until we have obeyed all He has given us today.
We should not expect ourselves to have a maturity beyond our years nor should we expect those younger than we are to have our maturity. We are without understanding and we are not wise when we measure ourselves by ourselves and compare ourselves with one another (2CO 10:12). We are foolish to use others as our standard of measurement. Jesus is the only perfect human being who has ever walked on earth. How do we measure against the Messiah? He has a perfect relationship with God.
Did my visitors on Easter weekend have a relationship with God? I saw them coming up the street and two ladies rang my doorbell. One woman had gray hair and she looked old enough to be the younger lady’s grandmother. When I opened the door, the young woman said, “We are handing out literature.” I smiled and told them they were welcome to come in. They thanked me and reluctantly entered my living room. I motioned toward the couch and told them to have a seat as I sat in a chair.
The older lady thanked me as she sat down and then she said, “We are Jehovah Witnesses.” I smiled and said “Praise the Lord. His Name is Jehovah. He is King of kings and Lord of lords.” She then said, “We believe Jesus is the son of God.” I smiled again and said, “God has given Him the Name above every name and at the Name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” My enthusiasm came from within. God had answered my prayer before the doorbell rang when I asked Him to fill me with His Spirit.
It was a joy to speak the words that came out of my mouth and this encounter reminded me of the long application interview for graduate school at the university with Dr. Bolte. The words simply came out! I did not think about what to say and it seemed as though my brain had been bypassed. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (MAT 12:34). God continues to transform my life by the renewing of my mind (ROM 12:2). We are commanded to be transformed by this renewing and it is an act of God. We cannot transform our own lives or renew our minds. God does this by His grace. It can be continuous. We are commanded to be filled with the Spirit (EPH 5:18). We must seek God if we want to be transformed and if we desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
It was almost as though God waved a “caution” flag in my mind when the older lady spoke again. She said in a different tone of voice, “So you believe in the Trinity.” The word “Trinity” cannot be found in the written Word of God. We are not to go beyond what is written (1CO 4:6). God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is a difficult doctrine for many to grasp. In Jerusalem, I had a Muslim friend tell me that Christians believe in three gods. Orthodox Jews believe God is Spirit and He cannot be flesh; therefore, they reject Jesus who Christians believe is God incarnate. I do not believe there is a person on earth who completely understands the Trinity, but I believe the Bible teaches the reality of the Trinity in both the Old and New Testaments. The Trinity is a spiritual revelation of God that I accept by faith.
The young lady sitting on the couch had said nothing, but I could tell she was listening. I told my visitors I believe God is three characters in one. Sharing my time in Israel was easy. I told them the Orthodox Jews recite a prayer everyday called the Shema: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One” (DEU 6:4). Then I asked the older lady if she had children. She answered, “Yes” so I said, “Then you are a mother, a daughter and a wife...three characters, but you are only one person. I believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
It was a surprise when the older lady began to rise from the couch and she said, “Well we won’t keep you.” With excitement in my voice and a big smile I stood up and said, “But I want to keep you just as God wants to keep you. May I pray for you before you leave?” “No ma’am” the gray-haired lady said in a louder voice as they moved toward the front door. The younger woman held out a piece of literature and I said “no thank you” as I opened the door. I told them I read the living Word of God. “It divides between our souls and our spirits. It convicts us of sin.” When we stepped on the porch I again asked if I could pray for them.
The older lady again said, “No ma’am” and she added, “We are Christians too!” Then I implored once more, “You will not let me pray for you?” She said, “No ma’am!” The goodbye seemed sad as I said, “God bless you and have a wonderful day.” As they walked down the sidewalk there was sorrow in my heart. They chose to walk away.
The Bible tells us: O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the source of living water (JER 17:13). Have you ever walked away? I have. Praise God for His mercy. Have you ever shown contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads us toward repentance? (ROM 2:4) I have.
Is your name written in the Book of Life (REV 20:15) or will it be written in the dust today? God cursed the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The serpent eats dust (GEN 3:14). Do you ever feel as though an enemy is eating away at the land of your life? “If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2CH 7:14). Do you want to be well?
We are created for God’s glory (ISA 43:7). We are told to “fear not” many times in the Bible. Remember when God commissioned Moses to bring the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt? This was long before Moses asked to see God’s glory. Moses asked God “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” The question was not important. God’s answer was. God said, “I will be with you” (EXO 3:12). There was no fear when my door was opened for the “witnesses” on Easter weekend. There was no question of who “I” was. God was with me and I saw a glimpse of His glory. Praise His Name! ~ Susan Smith
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11 comments:
JWs won't allow non-JWs to pray for them. They believe they are Christians, but that you are not. But I imagine that you likely felt the same. ;)
Anonymous,
Do you know whether or not what you stated is a fact?
The reason I ask is that this has not been my experience. The first JW woman that I let in my door over 23 years ago was always willing to pray with me.
We ended up parting company when she objected to the following beliefs (supported by Scripture):
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 3:22; Psalms 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14
Yes, I know with certainty that this is a fact. My father is an elder in his JW congregation.
You are probably confused with one aspect of my post. I didn't mean that JWs won't pray for, or over, another person. They will NOT, however, allow a non-JW to pray with, or over, them. The JW woman you encountered was quite willing to pray with you (as long as she was the one praying). If you offered to pray for her, I'm sure she would refuse. If she didn't she could be disciplined by her congregation for it.
Ah! I see. Important distinction. That explains the abrupt refusal of the JW ladies to allow Susan to pray for them at her home.
So, anonymous, have you broken free from your father's JW congregation? Would you care to share your story?
I had a recent encounter with JW's at my door and wrote about it in this post.
I have found that this commentary, The Biblical Basis of the Doctrine of the Trinity is very helpful in refuting the objections of JW's to the fact that God has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
However, no matter how much evidence that I have given to JW's who come to my door over the years, their indoctrination into the Watchtower cult is very, very deep. It is a stronghold that seems to be very difficult for them to come out of.
The one woman who came to my door 19 years ago (sorry it wasn't 23 yrs.) has since died. The last time that we met, I told her that only one of us can possibly be correct in our beliefs. She said something like, "If I'm wrong, I hope that God will understand." It appears that my counter-witnessing may have stirred her heart a bit. I spoke with her a few times by phone after that, but then we lost touch completely. Years later, I learned that she had died. If I recall correctly, I think she died from pneumonia. She was fairly young...only in her 30's, I think.
When JW's come to my door, I sometimes think that my sharing of God's truth from the Bible might be falling on deaf ears. But I share the truth anyway. We are told that God's Word never returns void. Therefore, the rest is up to God.
I excommunicated myself when I was 19 years old. This caused me to be shunned by my parents, sister, and friends. I am not even invited for family funerals. My grandfather died last year and I was told I was not welcome as I am not longer a JW. It is very much a cult.
I think the one that that experience as taught me is that your church must allow you to question authority, doctrine, and everything else. If you are not allowed to question what you are taught, then there is likely something very wrong. The JW community does not permit any criticism or deviance from their official doctrines.
On the one hand, I think that you were very fortunate to get out of that cult at such a young age.
If you went to my previous post and read some of the comments there, you would have seen the tremendous damage that was done to several individuals who were trapped in the cult for years.
How terribly sad it is to know that you have been shunned by your relatives. That is (unfortunately) one of the tell-tale signs of being in a cult...the total rejection of one's family members.
Since you have escaped the JW's where do you now stand regarding the Person of Jesus Christ?
I admire our former pastor because he often stated during his sermons that if anyone in the congregation caught him saying something that did not agree with God's Word, he wanted us to tell him about it! Checks and balances are necessary. No one is infallible - except Jesus Christ!
When the plumbline of Scripture is utilized, along with Sola Scriptura, biblical hermeneutics, and proper exegesis; then the authority of God's Word prevails (rather than man's attempts to twist them). Also, utilizing these Bible scholar kinds of tools greatly lessens the chances of finite man falling into heresy and/or apostasy.
If you are not allowed to question what you are taught, then there is likely something very wrong.
Very true! I happen to love it when JW and the mormons come to my door. The mormons have gotten the message, but the JW's are three elderly black ladies doing more for a lie than most Christians do for the truth. They drop by at lest twice a year. It amazing they never even flinch at the Gaurd Dog on Duty sign, the barking etc.. and walk right up to my porch. Maybe they can't read ;)
No, Mark, they can read. JWs LOVE to be victims. They feel it proves their theology. If you're bitten by someone's dog you almost become a martyr in the JW community. No joke. ;)
wow! did not know that. However, I am familiar with that type of mentality, I usually just trust my wife when she says be nice to them and get the dog off the porch type look.
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This morning, I wanted to discuss how Susan handled her encounter with the JW"s. Personally, I think she did a brilliant job. Why? Because she allowed the Holy Spirit of God to work through her and helped her recall to mind specific Scripture verses and ideas that are solidly biblical.
Susan started her essay by asking the most important question:
"Did my visitors on Easter weekend have a relationship with God?"
Isn't that the question that pastors generally ask visitors and congregants on Sunday morning; just before giving the invitation to salvation?
Did you notice how Susan wrote that they "reluctantly" entered my [her] living room? How interesting! Perhaps it was because they had been turned down at the entrance to so many homes before they reached Susan's? Perhaps they realized that they might be in for a challenge against their beliefs?
Notice what happened next:
The older lady thanked me as she sat down and then she said, “We are Jehovah Witnesses.” I smiled and said “Praise the Lord. His Name is Jehovah. He is King of kings and Lord of lords.” She then said, “We believe Jesus is the son of God.” I smiled again and said, “God has given Him the Name above every name and at the Name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” My enthusiasm came from within. God had answered my prayer before the doorbell rang when I asked Him to fill me with His Spirit.
Susan agreed with what they initially shared. She agreed as long as what she was saying was biblical.
But this agreement between them didn't last very long. We all know that it should not have lasted. The JW's beliefs are skewed from the genuine revelation of the Scriptures.
Note what happened next:
It was almost as though God waved a “caution” flag in my mind when the older lady spoke again. She said in a different tone of voice, “So you believe in the Trinity.”
This reminds me of Paul in Acts when he told the men of Athens that they were too superstitious because they worshiped "an unknown God." Paul preceeded to tell them about this "unknown God."
The truth has a way of cutting to the soul and spirit when shared with others. The older woman was led to "cut to the chase" in her objection to Susan's belief in the Trinity.
I loved reading about Susan's "caution flag" thought. You see, when a person studies the Bible for many years, he/she often knows the areas of contention regarding other religious or cultic beliefs.
The Holy Spirit holds us accountable when error is being pushed upon us.
Susan answered her objection to the reality of the Triune nature of God perfectly:
I told my visitors I believe God is three characters in one. Sharing my time in Israel was easy. I told them the Orthodox Jews recite a prayer everyday called the Shema: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One” (DEU 6:4). Then I asked the older lady if she had children. She answered, “Yes” so I said, “Then you are a mother, a daughter and a wife...three characters, but you are only one person. I believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Notice that the older woman immediately wanted to leave!! Wow! She knew that if anyone was going to be convinced in that battle over the Triune nature of God, it might just end up being the young woman who was with her!
Isn't that a great thought?
Susan mentioned that the young woman was listening intently to everything she was saying! Perhaps the older woman didn't want that knowledge exposed to her JW "pupil" while listening to the truth that Susan was sharing!
We may never know how Susan's encounter with the JW"s helped both women. The older woman seemed totally set in her ways and obviously, outrightly rejected what Susan shared. But what of the younger woman? I would surmise that a seed for the true gospel of Jesus Christ was definitely planted!
Notice that Susan asked to pray for them three times!
The older lady again said, “No ma’am” and she added, “We are Christians too!” Then I implored once more, “You will not let me pray for you?” She said, “No ma’am!” The goodbye seemed sad as I said, “God bless you and have a wonderful day.” As they walked down the sidewalk there was sorrow in my heart. They chose to walk away.
If they were genuinely "Christians too," then the older woman would NEVER have turned down the opportunity to be prayed for!!
As Susan said...there was sorrow in her heart as they chose to walk away.
So many people do that very thing...they walk away from the only One who can save them from their sins. They walk away from the only One who can give them new life now, and eternal life evermore.
Susan, you did all that you could for those women! Praise God that you were obedient to God's Word, Jesus' command to "go out and preach to all nations; praying in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Praise God that your efforts planted a seed in the heart of the one young woman, if not in the hearts of both.
Thank you for allowing me to share your awesome newsletter with readers at Talk Wisdom. Many have been blessed by your words here!
Love & God Bless in Jesus' name,
Christine
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