On Christ the Solid Rock I stand

[joymercy]

All other ground is sinking sand

 

[Francis Drake]

don't trust emotions to tell you if God is real or not

don't trust emotions to tell you if God loves you or not

Then please define what you should trust.

 

[worshipjunkie]

Then please define what you should trust.

Jesus Christ; what we know about Him through what has been revealed to us in His written Word. The knowledge of who He is should always come before what we feel.

 

[Carl Emerson]

The disciples said after the resurrection encounter with the 'stranger' "weren't our hearts strangely warmed?"

Common evangelical teaching has been Fact first, then faith, then feeling. We were told never to reverse the order to be sure of keeping faith.

But what does the bible say?

1st John says from verse 20... "But you have an anointing from the Holy One and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth..."

and 27 - As for you the anointing you received from Him abides in you and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie and just as it has taught you - you abide in Him...."

Friends contrary to a lot of teaching and in fact C.S. Lewis in this case - the anointing is not head - it is heart. Our true certainty comes from the heart not the head. Our epi-gnosis or total knowing in the Greek is when His Word (the living word of Jesus) connects with our Spirit in our heart.

None of this however is emotion as emotion is a response of our human soul not our spirit.

Emotion indeed cannot be relied on, but His anointing in our heart can.

Many believers fail to experience this vital anointing that John spoke of because they have been introduced to faith by believers who hold to head teaching rather than heart revelation knowledge.

The anointing is where the authority is. The head gives consent (hopefully)

Sorry about the longish post but this is vital stuff.

If folks knew and experienced this there would be less contention on this forum.

Vital encounters with Him are stored in the memory of our heart.

Faith comes for hearing the Word of Christ... and this is spoken to our heart.

Blessings,

Carl Emerson.

 

[quietbloke]

Always trust in the Living God. Build on the Rock Christ Jesus!

 

[Francis Drake]

Jesus Christ; what we know about Him through what has been revealed to us in His written Word. The knowledge of who He is should always come before what we feel.

Sorry, but understanding of Spiritual truths does not come via our knowledge of the bible, ie. intellect.
It comes via the heart as the disciples on the road to Emmaus confirm.-
Lk24v32They asked one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us as He spoke with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Likewise with Peter, it wasn't his flesh and blood intellectual reckoning that revealed who Jesus was, but the Father via the Spirit.
Matt16v17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.

The Pharisees were the top bible scholars of the day, yet their knowledge brought nothing to them. They understood nothing because they looked to their intellect alone, and instead of life, they got death.
Jn5v39You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, 40yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.


Just as in the Garden of Eden, eating from the Tree of knowledge, even bible knowledge, can still bring death.
Before anyone can understand a word of scripture, and be fed from it, his spirit first needs to be made alive by the new birth, the Tree of Life.
And even after that new birth, he still needs to daily eat of the Tree of Life, otherwise the Tree of bible knowledge will remain fruitless.

 

[joymercy]

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”

Matthew 7:24-25.

 

[Carl Emerson]

Beautiful verse if we can hear it.

Reminds me of in Revelation we see repeatedly written "He who has an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying...

Scripture must be heard spiritually to be alive for us and this is a gift.

Blessings,

Carl Emerson.

 

[quietbloke]

Wonderful to build our lives on the solid Rock Christ Jesus!

 

[Carl Emerson]

Yep... the only way of Love and Peace.

Blessings,

Carl Emerson.

 

[worshipjunkie]

Sorry, but understanding of Spiritual truths does not come via our knowledge of the bible, ie. intellect.
It comes via the heart as the disciples on the road to Emmaus confirm.-
Lk24v32They asked one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us as He spoke with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Likewise with Peter, it wasn't his flesh and blood intellectual reckoning that revealed who Jesus was, but the Father via the Spirit.
Matt16v17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.

The Pharisees were the top bible scholars of the day, yet their knowledge brought nothing to them. They understood nothing because they looked to their intellect alone, and instead of life, they got death.
Jn5v39You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, 40yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.


Just as in the Garden of Eden, eating from the Tree of knowledge, even bible knowledge, can still bring death.
Before anyone can understand a word of scripture, and be fed from it, his spirit first needs to be made alive by the new birth, the Tree of Life.
And even after that new birth, he still needs to daily eat of the Tree of Life, otherwise the Tree of bible knowledge will remain fruitless.

These Scriptures do not show that emotion is the way of knowledge of Christ. For the most part, we cannot control how we feel. Many people feel nothing about Christ who desperately want to- are they incapable of knowing Him? Faith is an act of the will. The will assents to truths presented to it. "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)" Faith comes from the will in response to the word of Christ, not from feeling nice things about Him.

 

[Carl Emerson]

These Scriptures do not show that emotion is the way of knowledge of Christ. For the most part, we cannot control how we feel. Many people feel nothing about Christ who desperately want to- are they incapable of knowing Him? Faith is an act of the will. The will assents to truths presented to it. "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)" Faith comes from the will in response to the word of Christ, not from feeling nice things about Him.

We need to be careful not to tamper with the biblical definition of Faith. There is no mention of will i Rom 10:7. It is hearing in our Spirit. Our response to His voice in our Spirit however, can result in unbelief if we wilfully resist His voice.

It is normal to feel emotion when one encounters God, there are many scriptures that confirm this. The vital fact that needs to be understood, however is that His anointing in us is not emotion, but His voice in our Spirit. 1 Jn:2 20 speaks of this as our primary means of determining truth.

There is no way that scripture teaches that receiving truth has to be an emotionless experience.

When He speaks to our Spirit it can be quite overcoming and we might be rendered prostrate, overcome with joy, speechless for hours, awestruck. Lets face it any personal encounter with our Holy God is going to be full of emotion.

But yes the download of revelation that occurs is what carries His truth not our emotional response.

Reading the bible in itself and wilfully responding, however, does not result in faith. If this were the true, the Pharisees would have been full of it.

Blessings,

Carl Emerson.

 

[worshipjunkie]

There is no way that scripture teaches that receiving truth has to be an emotionless experience.

No, it doesn't. Neither does it teach that it will always be an emotional experience, that the intensity of feeling equals the intensity of conversion, or that we should listen to our feelings primarily in our walk with God.

 

[quietbloke]

Feelings come and go,but the Word of the Lord' endures forever. The Solid Rock is reliable and sure,a firm foundation for our faith,hope and love!

 

[quietbloke]

What a joy it is to lean on the Rock Christ Jesus,who gave His life that we shall live and rose again that we might live for ever!

 

[quietbloke]

What peace of God fills our hearts as we live on His solid ground!

 

[quietbloke]

'My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame,but wholly lean on Jesus' name' (Edward J Mote)

 

[rocknanchor]

Settled loooong-ago and tried many times since does not escape this truth for me, , Christ is my life! Hallelujah!

 

[quietbloke]

'On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand' (Edward Mote)

 

[quietbloke]

'I want to build my life on something that will last forever..