AMBIGUITY | Dr. Stephen Phinney: People who suffer from this demise typically have a damaged conscience. Not only that, but their lies confess they are harkening to the voice of demons.
You once again very clearly and Biblically sound called a sin what it is - a rebellious mind cannot be led by the Holy Spirit. Praise our triumphant Creator God that you have listened to His teachings and proclaim them in such a clear-cut manner, Dr. Phinney.
We need to get past our attempts to “set people straight.” Only the Holy Spirit can do that. We are to take every breath in prayer with the Spirit to be the instrument of His working in the world around us. Those souls belong to God and not to us. They must be considered God’s trophies and not ours. Our job is to pray unceasingly and be ready when he directs us. And then we must be totally willing to get out of the way when He goes silent. He knows that person’s heart like we never can and only He knows how to reach them. We just focus on our walk with the Lord and be willing to be used. On the one hand it relieves us of the responsibility for that person’s salvation. On the other hand, we have an oftentimes much hard task: that of aligning our life with His will.
I'll agree with this and have seen this one way or another most of my life. It definitely did not help me want to find answers via Jesus until nothing else worked. I dove in based on what I read in the Bible. Then I knew who in my life acted like a Christian should. I went to their church and though I was only there for about 10 months before moving, I gained a strong foundation that has helped me determine where God wants me and knowing when ambiguity exists. I've had my own strongholds (beliefs based on lies) to break out of. It always starts with yourself, and then you can help others when you know the truth.
This is brilliant! And I thank you so much for helping explain these matters with such clarity.
It is indeed very difficult if not frustrating trying to reach a brother or sister in ambiguity it's truly like demonic spirits cloud their mind and thinking unable to allow Heavenly fathers Holy Spirit to penetrate through, they are stubborn and unyeilding even prideful, and tell you off for sharing God's truths and are confused as well as confusing, refusing to accept the fullness of all God teaches, and ultimately it is our father in heaven whom allows these sorts of individuals to be given over to a strong powerful delusion that they should believe the lie, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Even sharing this passage of scripture 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 would deeply offend them and say one is not being loving or gentle, but prideful and haughty and lacking in humility and that we are then condemning them just for sharing God's truths in love or say it doesn't mean what it actually means. Then that actually makes me accept such accusations and begin blaming and condemning myself
Many will state God's truths are merely suggestions not ever truly having encountered the radical life changing transformational encounter of the power in Jesus Christ and God's Spirit. We are encouraged to carefully follow Jesus' doctrine, manner of life, purpose faith, long suffering & love with perseverance,& that evil men & imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being decieved, but we are to continue in the things we have learned and received and been assured of in Christ Jesus. Knowing that indeed all scripture is God breathed making us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture given by inspiration & is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for discipline which is in righteousness that we may be complete furnished completely unto every good work. And we will receive opposition from the ambiguous and knowing when to shake the dust off our feet and move on to those truly hungering and thirsting for God's righteousness.
I found this incredibly helpful in navigating through an age where the father of all lies promotes the mind of ambiguity leading to demonic strongholds and of repetitive sin, this ultimately thrives on specific and distinct interpretations that defend their sinful habits, permitting them to be vague with Jesus Himself.
So please all those who uphold our Heavenly fathers truths may we never stop reiterating nor speaking them or our personal testimony of encountering the living Jesus and having had a radical transformational metamorphosis of becoming a new creation through His continual indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit.
There needs to be rightful separation for the purification sanctity and sanctification of Jesus' body. May we please remain ever humble but never to cower compromise nor water down any of all Gods truths, even in the face of opposition hatred, anger or misunderstanding. But responding with calm and gentle answers, only He can enable us to wield His double edged sword to separate & divide the carnal soul from the spirit to reach & convict the spirit from God's Spirit.
Stand firm upon the rock who solidifies His truths. Show our enemies the Lord's grace and His peace through our Spirit-controlled responses
with wisdom, humility and compassion but with Spirit power boldness, firmness & directness....and in so doing, we will "heap coals of fire" upon their heads! Satan wants to provoke us through their hatred and opposition. Don't let him! Instead, shock our enemies not with angry retaliation..but with Spirit empowered LOVE! Win them over. The fruit of God's light is found in all that is good & right & true, Holy, pure, set apart in righteousness. Overcome evil with God's atomic weapon of good. Yet never compromising God's truths of righteousness Holiness & His hatred against sin, may such indeed be a holy fire that will consume all of God's adverseries. Hebrews 10:26-27
Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. Malachi 3:18
I am so happy you are my sister in Christ Jesus Wendy! Our father and all the angels in Heaven rejoiced when you were drawn back to His heart of love for you. I too was a prodigal and in my ignorance squandered our Father's inheritance on riotous living, became completely lost wretched & depraved swimming drowning in sins and yet Heavenly father wouldn't stop calling and drawing me back to Him, He kept putting His words in my mind in all that I was doing especially in my choice of sins and I at one point thought there was no way He could ever possibly forgive me. Yet He did & even made me a completely new creation in Him, baptised restored & healed me in His Spirit, His forgiveness love & grace, He became very real to me and revealed Himself to me in ways I had never known nor experienced before, He started engaging and responding and we began having such a holy intimacy of a two way responsive interactive relationship with Him. Everyday is living and alive in the newness of Spirit life. Receiving the gift of His Holy Spirit was so impactful radical & life transforming I started experiencing what truly living abiding in Jesus as the vine & what His indwelling and infilling truly meant, what the power of His holy Spirit miraculously does in us. He began revealing depths of hidden mysteries within His word by His Soirit with true spiritual understanding that had eluded & escaped me before and just deposited these truths by His Spirit. I was so amazed that I just thought to myself why do so many Christians never talk about this? He is beyond phenomenal & He is beyond compare. All those wasted years He has lovingly restored a day as if a thousand since being back with Him. I adore God's Holiness and being set apart and His process of sanctification is the outworking of His very love life and inheritance in us and through us. And accepting our full identity in whom He says we are in Him. Much of Jesus' & my sisterly love to you! 🫂💐🪔🔥
You once again very clearly and Biblically sound called a sin what it is - a rebellious mind cannot be led by the Holy Spirit. Praise our triumphant Creator God that you have listened to His teachings and proclaim them in such a clear-cut manner, Dr. Phinney.
So glad I 'found' you on Substack.
Shalom, brother in Christ!
We need to get past our attempts to “set people straight.” Only the Holy Spirit can do that. We are to take every breath in prayer with the Spirit to be the instrument of His working in the world around us. Those souls belong to God and not to us. They must be considered God’s trophies and not ours. Our job is to pray unceasingly and be ready when he directs us. And then we must be totally willing to get out of the way when He goes silent. He knows that person’s heart like we never can and only He knows how to reach them. We just focus on our walk with the Lord and be willing to be used. On the one hand it relieves us of the responsibility for that person’s salvation. On the other hand, we have an oftentimes much hard task: that of aligning our life with His will.
I'll agree with this and have seen this one way or another most of my life. It definitely did not help me want to find answers via Jesus until nothing else worked. I dove in based on what I read in the Bible. Then I knew who in my life acted like a Christian should. I went to their church and though I was only there for about 10 months before moving, I gained a strong foundation that has helped me determine where God wants me and knowing when ambiguity exists. I've had my own strongholds (beliefs based on lies) to break out of. It always starts with yourself, and then you can help others when you know the truth.
This is brilliant! And I thank you so much for helping explain these matters with such clarity.
It is indeed very difficult if not frustrating trying to reach a brother or sister in ambiguity it's truly like demonic spirits cloud their mind and thinking unable to allow Heavenly fathers Holy Spirit to penetrate through, they are stubborn and unyeilding even prideful, and tell you off for sharing God's truths and are confused as well as confusing, refusing to accept the fullness of all God teaches, and ultimately it is our father in heaven whom allows these sorts of individuals to be given over to a strong powerful delusion that they should believe the lie, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Even sharing this passage of scripture 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 would deeply offend them and say one is not being loving or gentle, but prideful and haughty and lacking in humility and that we are then condemning them just for sharing God's truths in love or say it doesn't mean what it actually means. Then that actually makes me accept such accusations and begin blaming and condemning myself
Many will state God's truths are merely suggestions not ever truly having encountered the radical life changing transformational encounter of the power in Jesus Christ and God's Spirit. We are encouraged to carefully follow Jesus' doctrine, manner of life, purpose faith, long suffering & love with perseverance,& that evil men & imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being decieved, but we are to continue in the things we have learned and received and been assured of in Christ Jesus. Knowing that indeed all scripture is God breathed making us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture given by inspiration & is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for discipline which is in righteousness that we may be complete furnished completely unto every good work. And we will receive opposition from the ambiguous and knowing when to shake the dust off our feet and move on to those truly hungering and thirsting for God's righteousness.
It truly IS demonic spirits clouding their minds. No “like” about it.
I found this incredibly helpful in navigating through an age where the father of all lies promotes the mind of ambiguity leading to demonic strongholds and of repetitive sin, this ultimately thrives on specific and distinct interpretations that defend their sinful habits, permitting them to be vague with Jesus Himself.
So please all those who uphold our Heavenly fathers truths may we never stop reiterating nor speaking them or our personal testimony of encountering the living Jesus and having had a radical transformational metamorphosis of becoming a new creation through His continual indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit.
There needs to be rightful separation for the purification sanctity and sanctification of Jesus' body. May we please remain ever humble but never to cower compromise nor water down any of all Gods truths, even in the face of opposition hatred, anger or misunderstanding. But responding with calm and gentle answers, only He can enable us to wield His double edged sword to separate & divide the carnal soul from the spirit to reach & convict the spirit from God's Spirit.
Stand firm upon the rock who solidifies His truths. Show our enemies the Lord's grace and His peace through our Spirit-controlled responses
with wisdom, humility and compassion but with Spirit power boldness, firmness & directness....and in so doing, we will "heap coals of fire" upon their heads! Satan wants to provoke us through their hatred and opposition. Don't let him! Instead, shock our enemies not with angry retaliation..but with Spirit empowered LOVE! Win them over. The fruit of God's light is found in all that is good & right & true, Holy, pure, set apart in righteousness. Overcome evil with God's atomic weapon of good. Yet never compromising God's truths of righteousness Holiness & His hatred against sin, may such indeed be a holy fire that will consume all of God's adverseries. Hebrews 10:26-27
Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. Malachi 3:18
Hephzibah , from a deeply repentant and remorseful returned Prodigal, I agree and I salute you. Wendy
I am so happy you are my sister in Christ Jesus Wendy! Our father and all the angels in Heaven rejoiced when you were drawn back to His heart of love for you. I too was a prodigal and in my ignorance squandered our Father's inheritance on riotous living, became completely lost wretched & depraved swimming drowning in sins and yet Heavenly father wouldn't stop calling and drawing me back to Him, He kept putting His words in my mind in all that I was doing especially in my choice of sins and I at one point thought there was no way He could ever possibly forgive me. Yet He did & even made me a completely new creation in Him, baptised restored & healed me in His Spirit, His forgiveness love & grace, He became very real to me and revealed Himself to me in ways I had never known nor experienced before, He started engaging and responding and we began having such a holy intimacy of a two way responsive interactive relationship with Him. Everyday is living and alive in the newness of Spirit life. Receiving the gift of His Holy Spirit was so impactful radical & life transforming I started experiencing what truly living abiding in Jesus as the vine & what His indwelling and infilling truly meant, what the power of His holy Spirit miraculously does in us. He began revealing depths of hidden mysteries within His word by His Soirit with true spiritual understanding that had eluded & escaped me before and just deposited these truths by His Spirit. I was so amazed that I just thought to myself why do so many Christians never talk about this? He is beyond phenomenal & He is beyond compare. All those wasted years He has lovingly restored a day as if a thousand since being back with Him. I adore God's Holiness and being set apart and His process of sanctification is the outworking of His very love life and inheritance in us and through us. And accepting our full identity in whom He says we are in Him. Much of Jesus' & my sisterly love to you! 🫂💐🪔🔥
The same completely back to you!!!
WEW
Thank you Jonathan, & yes very much so!