Unpardonable, unmentionable, unforgiven.

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

Good morning, I woke up this morning with a painful irritated, red right eye. It hurts and I wish it would go away. It happened last summer when I was riding our lawn mower a huge bee slammed into my eye and when I went to the eye doc, he told me that the bee took chunks out of my eye so that he could actually see the imprint of the bee on my eye ball. Don't know why it's acting up but I wish it would go away.

I read what you have written and I want you to know that I wrote the things I did because of what I went through and the miracles that I've seen God work in my once dead life. God can and I believe will work in yours. I don't know your circumstances but I trust God.

I certainly don't want to offend anyone especially when someone is feeling down......

Sorry, I have to stop this eye is too annoying, I've got to do something about it.

God bless

Norman

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

Thanks for the welcome. It's nice being here.

God bless.

Norman

[Nicodema]

Norman that has to be painful, with the eye. I've been dealing with a pinched nerve the past four days and it really hurts, so I know about pain! Anyway I do hope you get to feeling better soon. Take it easy today and take care of that poor lil eyeball.

Nico

[Nicodema]

I want to come to st louis, chrys. i will try. no promises or guarantees though... nico

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

Here is a sermon that I shared about a month ago. I hope you are blessed by it. When I share, I comment on it as I go, so I pray that God will fill in the comments that are not written here.

Title: This is for you

Scripture: John 6: 28, 29

Jesus told us by His life and words that the Father sent us a message in Him. With all that is going on in the world, many would like to know what that message is. If we only look at what goes on around us we may think that God doesn’t care about what happens here. It almost seems that He’s not involved with this world except when it comes to punishing us by an “Act of God” as insurance companies call them.

If we look at what goes on inside of us to find out what God’s message is to us, wow, what confusion can come out of that? Most people live their lives according to how they feel and their feelings are dictated by what goes on around them or happens to them. So if they see what happens around them as “Acts of God,” meaning that God is angry at the world because of all the sin and violence, they’re going to feel uninspired by the message they are interpreting.

If people look at the churches for that message, some will see child abuse, sham healings, money begging, emotional people who talk gibberish, angry ministers who point their fingers at anyone who is not like them and tell them they are going to hell to burn for ever unless they change and those who tell you anything goes, which is exactly what is going on in the world that are causing those “Acts of God.”

The Bible tells us that God sent His Son because He was the only One who could tell us what He has said. In the heart of man there is a desire to be accepted, loved, to be happy, be at peace and to live. Without God we will do anything to achieve our desires. For me it was alcohol. Made me feel good and at peace, it gave me confidence and I didn’t care if anyone loved me because I felt so good. Then came the morning when reality set in. So it becomes a repetitious self-defeating practice.

It is impossible to live in peace, love and joy while having a distorted picture of God and not knowing what He has said to us. We see God according to how our thoughts and feelings see Him. Thoughts and feelings are what make up our character. Our thoughts are confused because of sin and our feelings are shaped by the fear of death or our desire for self-preservation, at any cost. (Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.) Fear is an emotion and thus emotions rules most of us.

Think about this, if someone tells you that you need a heart transplant, what are they telling you? That you are going to die. In telling us that we need His Son to die for our sins, He is telling us that we are going die. He was telling us that we were doomed and that there was no other way to save us. The very fact that God sent His Son tell us that He cares about us. 2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 2Ti 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

That’s what God has done for us in sending His Son and it was not an after thought! In verse 9 Paul tells us that all of this is not according to our works. In other words, it is not our good deeds that give us merit deserve this from God. Last time I spoke about repentance and that it is a gift of God. Here’s part of what I read from SC, “They think that they cannot come to Christ unless they first repent, and that repentance prepares for the forgiveness of their sins. It is true that repentance does precede the forgiveness of sins; for it is only the broken and contrite heart that will feel the need of a Savior. But must the sinner wait till he has repented before he can come to Jesus? Is repentance to be made an obstacle between the sinner and the Savior?” Paul wrote that this plan of salvation was prepared before the creation of the world. There is nothing we can add to it.

Now listen to this from “Faith and works,” page 24-25“Man can achieve no praiseworthy exploits that give him any glory. Men are in the habit of glorifying men and exalting men. It makes me shudder to see or hear of it, for there have been revealed to me not a few cases where the homelife and inner work of the hearts of those very men are full of selfishness. They are corrupt, polluted, vile; and nothing that comes from all their doings can elevate them with God, for all that they do is an abomination in His sight. There can be no true conversion without the giving up of sin, and the aggravating character of sin is not discerned. With an acuteness of perception never reached by mortal sight, angels of God discern that beings hampered with corrupting influences, with unclean souls and hands, are deciding their destiny for eternity; and yet many have little sense of what constitutes sin and the remedy.

We hear so many things preached in regard to the conversion of the soul that are not the truth. Men are educated to think that if a man repents he shall be pardoned, supposing that repentance is the way, the door, into heaven; that there is a certain assured value in repentance to buy for him forgiveness. Can man repent of himself? No more than he can pardon himself. Tears, sighs, resolutions--all these are but the proper exercise of the faculties God has given to man, and the turning from sin in the amendment of a life, which is God's. Where is the merit in the man to earn his salvation, or to place before God something that is valuable and excellent? Can an offering of money, houses, lands, place you on the deserving list? Impossible!

There is danger in regarding justification by faith as placing merit on faith. When you take the righteousness of Christ as a free gift you are justified freely through the redemption of Christ. What is faith? "The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1). It is an assent of the understanding to God's words which binds the heart in willing consecration and service to God, Who gave the understanding, Who moved on the heart, Who first drew the mind to view Christ on the cross of Calvary. Faith is rendering to God the intellectual powers, abandonment of the mind and will to God, and making Christ the only door to enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

Do you remember the words of Christ? I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15: 5) Both the Bible and SOP tell us that we can do nothing to earn our salvation. No good works, no prayers no anything. So then you would logically ask; why then should we do good works? “The love of Christ constraineth us” 2 Cor. 5:14. Shouldn’t we be thankful to God for doing these things for us that we cannot do for ourselves? Here is what I see that God has done for us. He sent Jesus to show us who He is, and how much He loves us. He sent Him to unfold a full and completed salvation for mankind and in doing so He destroyed the lies of Satan so we could see God as He truly is. We are to see this and realize our greed, selfishness, filthiness and sin and then be moved as Peter was after he denied Christ.

We picture Jesus looking at us from the cross suffering the greatest loss in eternity, separated from His loving Father and the rejection of His beloved people and our sin caused it, yet He still loved us even though we didn’t love Him! This death was a real death and puts to death the lie that we go to heaven or a torturous hell when we die. It reveals that there is a torture that is called eternal separation or the 2nd death that Jesus went through when He cried out, “My God my God, Why have you forsaken me?” He wanted us (both good and evil) to see and know the love of His Father forever even if it meant that He Himself would be lost forever! On that cross Jesus was hurting so badly that He began to think that He Himself had committed the sins He was dying for. He did not see that He would rise again at that moment. All He could do was to trust in His Father. “Father into thy hands I commend my spirit”

This is for you, this is the message from God and God sent this message because nothing else could make a change in our lives. Dying to self is not something we can do on our own but God through the cross of Christ has made it possible for us to say, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Gal 2:20 The fear of death caused us to be selfish, fear of punishment never worked as is witnessed by the Israelites and fear of God makes us reject Him as the devil revealed by his lies. Only the love of God in Christ could save the lost and dying race and cause us to be born again unto a living hope.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph.2: 8, 9.

In the end we will all see that Jesus has done it all and we accepted this gift and became His workmanship. Then we will throw our crowns at His feet. Stop trying to be good and start doing the works of Christ. Then said they unto him, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said unto them, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” John 6:28, 29. This is a time for prayer, this is when we must ask God to help us and then believe Him and rejoice. How can we neglect so great a salvation as this? Today is the day of salvation, fall helpless at His feet and as He cured the paralytic at by the pool He will heal your soul. Rise, take up your bed and walk.

[LifeHiscost]

Quote:

---

Thank you again, LHC, you always have such soundness and compassion in your posts to me, I feel sometimes like you are my very own angel or counselor -- well, at least when I can understand what you are saying! Yesterday I felt it very hard to resist the devil, which is becoming blended in my mind with a familiar sort of "psychotic" frame of mind that overtakes me from time to time (I call it psychotic because it has symptoms of psychosis in it like paranoia, grandiosity, etc.) What I need to do also is listen to the Lord's explanations for things as well, even if they don't make sense to me. If the Holy Spirit is telling me my vulnerability or weakness at the moment is because I'm having an unforgiving spirit then I need to listen to that instead of trying to understand it because I might not be able to understand it sufficiently. He was telling me I was having an unforgiving spirit yesterday. Does this stuff ever get any easier? I feel so confused all the time and like everything I do or say is wrong and can or will be held against me in my own conscience. I just want peace, and to stop hurting, and to stop doing wrong all the time.

---

Thank you, Nico, for the compliments. And I accept them only as a channel used of God in answer to the prayers of your many friends on this forum who are praying for you, not the least of these being Jesus Himself.

[:"red"] "I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn't confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. " [/] John 15:15 NLT

You have given me a few more things I wish to comment on but will save it for another time, not the least being in answer to your question, "Does this stuff ever get any easier?" My answer is unequivocally yes, but I wish to give some texts that will make it more apparent the answer is from the Father instead of just myself.

[:"red"] "Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight]--" [/] Jude 1:24 AMP

Keep looking up!

Lift Jesus up!!

[NormF]

Dear Norman,

What a testimony you are sharing. I'm glad you are with us and that you are finding a place of comfort and a way to contribute. Pretty awesome. Isn't it good the way God never gives up on us? (Nico, that's for you, too.)

Once again, welcome aboard.

As one Norm to another ...

Regards,

Norm Finch

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

Hi Norm, God is amazing and it is truly good to be a part of this forum. I have been busy the last couple of days but have had just enough time to read some of the new post and post the sermon. My hope truly is that someone can gain a better understanding of God's love for us and how He works in our lives.

Norman

[Morning Glory]

Hi Nico,

Your post really struck a nerve with me because I have felt that desparate at times, too. My late mother would always tell me that it was satan who was telling me these despicable lies in order to discourage me. Remember, he isn't called the "accuser of the brethern (and sistern)" for nothing!!

With your indulgence, I would like to share my testimony.

Some time ago, a friend got cancer and eventually passed. We really weren't all that close, and I, unfortunately, didn't visit her nearly as much as I could have/should have. The morning that she died, a mutual friend called to tell me the news. The sense of guilt that I felt was so enormous that I thought that I would die on the spot. Then my mother's words came back to me. I very forceably and out loud commanded the devil to leave me alone in the name of Jesus and to vacate the premises. Or something to that effect. The sense of peace that filled me IMMEDIATLEY was unbelievable!! I have never experienced that before. I ended up having the best day that I had had for ages.

I would invite you to try that for yourself. I truly believe that satan does whatever he can do to discourage us, and he is really doing a number on you. Don't accept his lies as truth, because it isn't!! You KNOW that Jesus died to save YOU from YOUR sins. You have to remember that we are in a war, and that the enemy has the "advantage" of attacking us unseen. But, we know the tactics that he uses, and this is definitely one of them!!

Tell him to leave you alone, and have a Happy Sabbath!!

I care about you and am praying for you in this situation.

[DaveM1936]

I live 40 miles from St. Louis. I also am looking foreward to the GC. I too would welcome you here. If you are able to make it, please let us know.

I have no idea what to say to you about your concerns. I think Norman has said all that I could possibly say. Let me assure you that some of us have gone through experiences every bit as bad as you are now. I for one have. The scars will always be present for me. I have hurt many people over the years.

But I, with Norman, have learned to rewrite the bad tapes my mind loves to play. When these tapes remind me of the terrible things I have done, I replace it with one that says: "Nothing I can do will make the Lord love me less; nothing I can do will make Him love me more." I say to myself: I am never alone. Then I recount all the present blessings the Lord have given to me.

"You don't deserve them," my mind says.

"I know I don't. But that's the way the Lord is. He gives His greatest blessings to those who deserve them the least."

As for Judas, he had no desire to repent. He had spend 3 years fighting the Holy Spirit. He had never really been converted. In fact, Jesus did not call him as a disciple. Jesus spent every day letting His love draw Judas. The only difference between him and Peter was Peter's response to the look of hurt love in the eyes of Jesus. Are you aware that Peter had committed a greater sin than Judas. If Jesus freely and gladly forgave Peter, the greater sinner, then He would have gladly forgiven Judas.

Remember, I and Jesus are you friends, by our own choice.

I have several acquaintences who are bi-polar. Are you? PLease do not get angry with me. I have suffered from depression for 25 years. Depression is very similiar to being bi-polar.

Your friend,

Dave M

[Gerr]

Norman, your testimony made my eyes water. Thanks!

I too left the church for a time, but the story of the prodigal son, especially as related in COL gave me the courage to come back.

Gerry

[Gerr]

Nico, the word of the God who does not lie is that where sin abounded, grace much more superabounded!!!

Believe it, sister, cling to it, and the devils temptation that you have gone too far will eventually abate.

I too, left the church once, but the story of the waiting Father (prodigal son), especially as related in COL gave me courage to come back to God.

Gerry

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

Praise God Gerry it's good to have you back home. Isn't God amazing? Now I want to live a good life I want to learn more about my Father and my Brother and share with my family and those who are living under that cloud that can bring confusion and such pain to the heart.

I remember when I came back and it hit me that all the while I was out there, He loved me and wanted me to just come back! I love God because of what He does for me and at this point I love Him because He loves me.

I must go for now but will be back when I can

Take care and God bless you.

Norman

[Nicodema]

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and help. Please continue to keep me in your prayers.

Nico

[Nan]

Good to have you in these parts again Nico - will go on praying.

[Pockey]

Welcome back Nico! I'm glad to see you again.

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

Hi Nicodema, my wife and I and our 10 year old have been praying for you. We have also been praying for you at our church.

By the way, my eye is doing great now but it took a few days to get back to normal.

God bless you my friend

Norman

[Nicodema]

Norman, you and your little family sound like real jewels! Thank you so much for thinking of me. Of course, Nicodema is not my real name, but God knows who I am.

Happy Sabbath,

Nico