Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquila
Jesus said, "According to your faith so be it unto you."
I sincerely believe that we often place our faith on various things. Sometimes those are external standards. If our faith is rooted in these things due to teaching or personal conviction from self study, one can loose their anointing if their own heart begins to condemn them for what they've done...even if it's not a sin. Many who have studied the occult can tell you that witches also believe that spiritual anointing, or power, is in their hair...they often wear their hair long, straight, and uncut. In fact sometimes it's used in pagan rituals. They also wear long skirts and maintain a "natural" appearance. For example:
http://www.ahighersourcesupply.com/images/julia4.jpg
These witches often claim that their "anointing" wanes if their hair is cut or their appearance isn't all "natural". Here's a disturbing thought...what if some of our "Pentecostal traditions" are mistaken encroachments of witchcraft? We base much of our faith on them, and naturally if they are interfered with our faith is cut short...and the resulting lack of faith would bring lack of anointing.
I knew a man who sincerely believed that he shouldn't read National Geographic Magazine because of some of the pictures depicting unclothed tribal women. Well, one day he picked one up in a doctor's office and read an article about Tsunamis. Later that evening at church he was called on to lead prayer. His prayer was unsteady, broken, and un-anointed. He confessed to me that it was because he had read a National Geographic. I laughed and then he got VERY serious with me. I couldn't believe my ears...he actually believed that he had lost anointing because he read a National Geo. I looked at him thinking, "It's because your own heart is condemning you and weakening your faith." Is faith was in his performance and not in Jesus. If we put our faith in our appearance and not in Jesus...if that appearance doesn't line up...we loose faith and anointing.
Oh well...I'm sure you get the picture. I could be wrong. Just sharing some thoughts. |
If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart.
God may convict us but He will not condemn us.
Because we "feel" condemned by something does not mean that something is wrong. We are to go by the Word, not by our feelings. I just read a note I had written in my Bible next to
1 John 5:10-13:
D.L. Moody (1837-1899) said, "I believe hundreds of Christians are being deceived by satan now on this point. They don't have the assurance of salvation just because they are not willing to take God at His Word."
A former pastor of mine (who was UPC District Superintendent of Ohio) told us a story about when he was young. He was going to a Nazarene Church which preached strict adherence to "rules." They taught that we under the New Testament were supposed to obey certain parts of the Old Testament law such as the 10 commandments, but they taught that Sunday was now the sabbath. Since Sunday was the sabbath it was a sin to do any work on the sabbath and a sin to pay someone else to work on the sabbath so paying for a bus ride or buying anything on Sunday was wrong. He was going to a storefront church. One Sunday he and a friend were looking at a large pulpit Bible in their church. It was open to a passage in Hebrews and was marked about committing the "unpardonable" sin. It was a very hot day and they had quite a distance to walk to get home. It would have been a sin to ride a bus because they would be paying someone to work and causing that person to sin. So they walked the long distance toward home. Of course they were dressed in clothes that did not make the journey any easier. Finally, in desperation they stopped at a store that was open and bought an ice cream cone --a sin because they were paying someone to desecrate the sabbath by working. As soon as he took that first lick of ice cream he became very "convicted" and realized he had committed the "unpardonable sin." Now where did that "conviction" or "condemnation" come from?