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What does it mean?
- Thread starter Unveiled Artist
- Start date
Eyes to See
Well-Known Member
Jehovah's holy spirit roves to and fro on the earth to look to act in behalf of righteous people. So his answers are given by means of the power of the holy spirit. The Bible is inspired by holy spirit. So one way God answers sincere people praying to him for answers is by directing them to the answers in his word the Bible. Jehovah can send his servants to answer prayers for you. He shows you he exists and cares for you in many ways. Many of these were already put in place before we came into existence. We all get water and food from the source of it, Jehovah God. Both spiritual and physical.
God is alive, he is a real entity. He has feelings like you and me. He sees and hears, although unlike us, he can perceive all things. God's word says:
The One who made the ear, can he not hear?
The One who formed the eye, can he not see?
The One correcting the nations, can he not reprove?
He is the One who imparts knowledge to people!
-Psalm 94:9, 10.
In the past Jehovah sent his prophets. Today he uses the Bible which has been faithfully persevered. And we have the privilege of having an accurate knowledge of the outworking of Jehovah's purpose toward mankind up to this time, which people in prior times did not have. When Jesus came to earth he revealed many truths that were previously hidden to mankind.
Jehovah is near to everyone. They just have to call out to him for wisdom and understanding and he will give it. And he does give it. One has to be wise to perceive when that happens. How do you know? Well God's holy spirit works within a person to reveal spiritual truths.
The Bible likens the operation of God's spirit on a person when learning the truth about him to the process of yeast. Yeast is put into a batch of dough and you cannot see the operation of the yeast but it ferments the lump. That is how holy spirit works. The changes in a person's heart may not be visible at first, but it is there at work. And it will bear fruit if the heart is rightly disposed for everlasting life:
"And again he said: “With what can I compare the Kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven that a woman took and mixed with three large measures of flour until the whole mass was fermented.”-Luke 13:20-21.
Jesus likened the kingdom preaching work of Jehovah's Witnesses to seed. And the heart was different types of soil.
Unveiled Artist, you see all types of hearts on this website. What type of heart do you have? What soil does it have? Look:
“Look! A sower went out to sow. 4 As he was sowing, some seeds fell alongside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil, and they immediately sprang up because the soil was not deep. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. 8 Still others fell on the fine soil, and they began to yield fruit, this one 100 times more, that one 60, the other 30. Let the one who has ears listen.”-Matthew 13:3-9.
The soil is the heart. The preaching work is sown in favorable hearts, and unfavorable ones. Some are rocky without much soil. They may at first pay attention to the word, but do not sound the truth deep into the heart so it does not take root.
Others hearts listen to the kingdom message but the sun rises and scorches the seed because it does not take root. Fear of the persecution may make one lose their joy at learning the good news. Other seed falls on hearts that are choked with thorns. These are the cares of this life. They may be so preoccupied with the cares and worries of mundane things they let them choke out the kingdom message.
Then there is kingdom seed that falls upon fine soil. This is the heart that is ready and receptive to receive God's message. And it grows! These are ones that allow God's holy spirit to operate on them and open their hearts to spiritual truths that lead to everlasting life. These are the ones that prepare their hearts to serve God. These are the ones that root out the weeds, and water their hearts and take care of them.
Learning the truth, and then staying in it takes work! Just like a real garden takes effort, watering, weeding, and patience!
What type of heart do you have toward the kingdom message? Don't worry about anyone else's heart which you have no control over. You have control over your own heart. You need to prepare it properly to serach for Jehovah. And his spirit will certainly make the seed of kingdom truth grow in your heart if you let it!
(Acts 13:48) When those of the nations heard this, they began to rejoice and to glorify the word of Jehovah, and all those who were rightly disposed for everlasting life became believers.
"I planted, A·polʹlos watered, but God kept making it grow, so that neither is the one who plants anything nor is the one who waters, but God who makes it grow. Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one, but each person will receive his own reward according to his own work. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field under cultivation, God’s building."-1 Corinthians 3:6-9.
The world of humankind alienated from God is the field. The kingdom message is the seed. The kingdom proclaimer casts the seed on many and diverse types of soil, not knowing upon what type of heart it will land. When a witness of Jehovah speaks to you about the kingdom they are spreading kingdom seed on your heart. The one who takes the time to teach you what the kingdom message is is the one who waters that seed. The own who makes the seed grow in your heart is God. If you accept the message, then you become God's field under cultivation. And will eventually become a fellow worker with us in the Christ.
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Brent Mcnealy
Member
I bought a domain and made a web page that simply describes what happened to me and a vision i had. www.dividedwaters.org I have always been very consertative and logical in thought and nature. A rationalizing being believeing nothing as certain unless it was proven. But sometimes things happen that remind me. A vision. A dteam. Strong coincidences in my day that defy probability. Dreams that explain things or are found later to have predicted my future. Etc.
There have just been too many things in my life that say there is something else out there controlling our future. An all compassionate Creator God if you will. Especially when I look for it with ernest prayer an open heart and good intentions. That seems to be a prerequisit to finding this Entity and getting a reply in a form that I can not logically deny It exists.
There have just been too many things in my life that say there is something else out there controlling our future. An all compassionate Creator God if you will. Especially when I look for it with ernest prayer an open heart and good intentions. That seems to be a prerequisit to finding this Entity and getting a reply in a form that I can not logically deny It exists.
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
I assume they didn't just based it on faith, though. Some people who convert to gods-based religions (I talked with a few pagans who believed in entity gods awhile back) probably have different means to know an entity exists.
For example, my mother doesn't believe in god's existence (not because of faith or opposition to theist standards and stereotypes). But she has said she has seen all her life with other people with her ghosts (she uses) or entities. People who held her down in bed, or appeared next to her window, or stared at her while she was working behind her desk. I don't believe she's delusional or anything like that. Now, she isn't religious so faith isn't her go-to nor is a enlightened experience. Just because it's a spirit doesnt mean it needs to be religious in nature.
I did ask her sometimes how she came to that conclusion but couldn't get much if any. I didn't ask her again since that's just what she knows is true. I have no reason to debate it.
Going off that, I would think those who believe in gods, demons (as some christians do believe demons attack them and all), they came to this conclusion on more concrete reasons than faith. I mean I know my mother loves me not just because she said it but because her actions show it. It's not just a feeling but the actual "words" and "actual" actions.
So, if god is an actual entity, I'd assume there is something more concrete than faith. Not why they believe but how they came to that conclusion.
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It comes down to the Acceptance of the Messnegers and their Message sent by the One God.
If one embraces any aspect of their Message, one can start putting together the full picture of what it is to know and love God.
Like the elephant story.
Regards Tony
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
True. A lot of theists say it's an experience and feeling but I assume many atheists pre-christian experiences were told god and refer to god as an entity of some sort. Maybe some atheists are right that god is an actual entity that they want physical evidence for.
I was mentioning to PureX about my mother seeing ghosts. She can actually tell you what they look like-clothing and all. All the ghosts she has seen (and those I think I've experienced but not seen as an entity) were people who died before. So, they are actual humans. While I don't get the logistics, that I understand.
But god. What does he look like? Is there an outline of his body? Does he touch people? I know some christians say they feel god's presence behind them or over them.
We can not see God. It is inspirations of the heart.
The Messenger is the 'Self of God' when they walk this earth, but they are like the Sun, we can see the light coming from them but we can not look directly at them as our vision would be burnt.
As such they give us a Message suited to our vision, and when we embrace that Message we can connect to the light that shines from it.
Jesus offerd that is how we are born again, born from the flesh into the Spirit, by accepting and following the Spirit which is the Message.
Regards Tony
I don't have a very good answer to that very good question.
My not-so-very-good answer is that it takes experience and inner silence from the demands of the ego to differentiate a heart-level and a gut-level connection.
And to me the intellect is involved as well. If someone is seen to be promoting adoration of himself or insisting on getting money etc, I avoid such a person.
Eyes to See
Well-Known Member
@Unveiled Artist
A nice music video came to my mind that helps explain the process God is using right now to help honest-hearted ones. I thought I'd share with you.
A nice music video came to my mind that helps explain the process God is using right now to help honest-hearted ones. I thought I'd share with you.
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
Is the inner voice from a source or entity?
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
Nice little video. I was trying to find, though, if JW (and christians with whom this applies) believe god is an entity. It's more out of curiosity.
Eyes to See
Well-Known Member
Well, he has a name. The Bible says it is Jehovah. He has a place he lives, the Bible says his throne is in the heavens. The Bible says he has feelings just like us. Jehovah is a person. The Bible says he is a spirit person. The Psalm I shared with you above was Jehovah reasoning with us. He said, if I created the eyes to see, don't you think I can see? If I created the ears to hear, don't you think I can hear?
God is a living being just like you or me. Learning this truth is one step in getting to know him better. John 17:3.
I'm not sure what you mean by "actual people" - but I'm going to assume you are referring to some sort of mythological literalism? Mythological literalism is an idiotic dead end that misinterprets the very essence and point of mythological stories. I'm not sure I can say much more about that without derailing in to an angry rant. I suggest reading Karen Armstrong's "A Short History of Myth." It's short, accessible, and will help put this rubbish to bed. Because at no point were the gods understood as literal humanoid persons walking around on planet earth with magical superpowers. It's a way of telling a story - a literary device (specifically anthropomorphism). This is basic, obvious stuff but because a few loudmouths from a particular religious demographic are obsessed with the stupidity that is mythological literalism, well... okay. I've derailed enough into angry rant.
In any case, yes, the gods are "actual people" in that they are other-than-human persons with their own nature and agendas. It's an animist mindset, that was fully pervasive in ancient cultures and is still present today in spite of attempts to eradicate it. These other-than-human persons can be the land, the sea, the sky, various animals and plants, various abstract concepts or ideas, and so on. We directly experience them on a daily basis and have relationships with them, whether or not we are mindful of this. In part because of that, Paganism have never really been about "believing in" things. We have relationships with the gods whether we want them or not or 'believe in" them or not. It's not what one "believes" but how one behaves, which in turn shapes the relationships.
For an essay that gets at some of this, Beckett wrote one recently over at Patheos here: Paganism as a Religion of Relationships
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
I have an off the topic question. I thought JW didn't believe in holy spirit?
syo
Well-Known Member
Who is ''them''?
PureX
Veteran Member
But whatever happened to her, she interpreted it as "ghosts". So obviously she already believed they were possible. And she allowed her experience, whatever it was, to convince her of it. And I think this happens to people all the time. We don't realize how the way we characterize an experience then defines it's "reality" for us. It's why when we humans discuss what we believe reality to be, with each other, we so often describe very different realities.
I think you'll get a similar 'non-response' from most people to that kind of question. For them, it simply is what it is.
Yes, but keep in mind that "evidence" is an interpretation of facts, not a fact in itself. We hear stories, we wonder if they're true. We make our decision based on "evidence", but that evidence is an interpretation of whatever facts are available, and that interpretation will vary from person to person.
I had an experience of God as a small child. At the time is had not doubt about how I interpreted the experience. But as an adult, looking back, I can see that I interpreted it as I did using the only ideological means I had available to me to interpret such an extraordinary experience. And I think we humans are doing this a lot of the time when we encounter something new and inexplicable to us. We fit it into whatever ideological paradigm we have available to us that can accommodate it. And sometimes that will be Ghosts, or demons, or gods, or aliens, because these are the only ideological paradigms we know of that can accommodate truly inexplicable and extraordinary experiences.
Logically we might say: "let it just be a mystery", but that isn't the way the human brain works. It wants and needs to understand. And it will do so by whatever means it has available to it. Even in spite of us.
Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
MonkeyFire
Well-Known Member
Imo make believe (the faithful) can't know it's own ending, when FAITH knows that is the ending.
Eyes to See
Well-Known Member
Well, before I wrote to you my reply about the seeds of the kingdom, the field of the world, and the soil of people's hearts, and gave you an explanation of Jesus' illustration, I prayed for God's holy spirit to help open your eyes to see what was being revealed. That is also an evidence of God listening to and answering sincere people who are searching for answers about the truth.
I have no doubt that you did receive a measure of holy spirit during your contemplating my reply to you.
It is pointless to try and help people see the truth from the Bible if God's holy spirit is not upon them. For it is God that opens your mind's eye to see what is being revealed. This is not a work that comes from man. So in turn it would be pointless to try and help you to perceive these truths if I did not plead to God firstly for his holy spirit. Always when making replies to people on this website, or taking the time to talk with them in other venues, your servant supplicates for God's holy spirit to both guide my words with wisdom, and open the mind of the listener. And I have had the joy and privilege to see many people be blessed with the holy spirit. Some have right out said they perceive God's spirit when I walk into their stores and talk with them and at other times.
I do not say this to brag, but to say it to help you see that faith in God is not of our own doing. It is God's holy spirit, which is very real, acting upon us. Faith is part of the fruitage of God's holy spirit, and it is impossible to have faith in God without his holy spirit.
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