Be Strong on Doctrine and Reject the Occult

One of the first things I was surprised by post-baptism was that the Holy Spirit independently validated the Bible to me. It was like God was saying to me, "yes, this is true". Since then I've also listened to, read and watched a few Christian teachers. The only ones I watched on youtube that the Holy Spirit validated on more than one occasion were VERY strong doctrinally and also dispensationalists. These are teachers that go against the usual, popular ecumenical grain and who also take the Bible literally, rightly divide the Bible.

These teachers definitely knew their Bible and stuck to its doctrines however unpopular it made them among conventional folk or lukewarm Christian believers.

All that validation of something I would have labeled "archaic" in my pre-born again days was unexpected and surprising to me as a new believer. The Bible was making lots of spiritual sense and the pauline texts also gave me a sense of fellowship I'd never encountered before.

Be Clear on Good Doctrine

I agree with Mike Winger (a pastor with a youtube channel) when he says that if you reject the doctrine, you are actually turning away from Jesus. You cannot turn away from doctrine and love the real Jesus. E.g The Jesus from the gnostic texts I'd read years ago is saying completely different things. The texts lack the mind-blowing revelations and God's Spirit-inspiration of the Bible.

Prior to my Baptism, I HAD to walk away from certain things in order to find God. Turns out, it is all stuff God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit of the Bible do not like and even detest --- stuff like false Spirituality, advaita/nonduality, shamanic stuff, idolatry of worldly knowledge, books, possessions, mysticism and more. I had also walked away from practicing IFS therapy -- something I was starting to prosper in.

Scripture Helps Us with Discernment

It can be very hard to walk away from people but we would be wise to do it if the Holy Spirit urges us. Recently, I had to set a strong boundary with a friend who got back in touch with me. A friend who says they love God and Jesus but used to be heavily involved with something that God hates.

It turns out this person was still involved with the occult; into ascended beings, past lives, mysticism and communion with "gods" -- feeling very blessed, being prosperous and doing great in life. Like in many, there was a belief that people cannot know Truth but only our own perception of Truth.

Thanks to the Baptism, I know in myself that God is True and the only source of Truth, being the Creator of the Universe and loving all souls. And it IS possible to know his will, at least, through the real Jesus Christ.

A loving God would not only leave clues to those who do not know or hear him but be very clear about His message.

So back to this friend...

None of my warnings about the occult seemed to have any effect on this person. It all fell on deaf years. In fact, I was quoted scripture supporting their love of (false) light and was told, condescendingly so, that I was "well on my way" to some higher truth.

Jesus gave us the most powerful thing, the ultimate Truth -- everything we need for eternity-- so why follow 3rd rate, fallen spiritual entities rather than the Creator? To do so is a love of signs and wonders surely, rather than love of God Himself, in action. It is loving the bliss and allowing the manipulation of one's soul-ish plumbing + neurochemistry by spiritual entities, rather than actually loving God/Jesus/Holy Spirit who strictly warns against those things and finds them, in the words of the Bible, abominable. When something is an abomination, it is abhorrent to God. Something completely disgusting and unpalatable. So why would anyone continue to do that if they loved Jesus and wanted to BE, let alone continue to be in a relationship with Holy Spirit?

Last year, the Holy Spirit revealed to me how all those things are actually akin to "cheating" on God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit and His unconditional love towards us. I was physically disgusted by it all and almost threw up. I had the same reaction after reexamining certain tenets of the Catholic faith I was brought up in as a child and which I abandoned in my early teens.

Many love blissing out MORE than loving God. Many the love of the "spiritual knowledge" of the occult/mysticism rather than the will of our Creator. Many put the Self above God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit.

During our communication, there was also an increase in spiritual warfare for some reason, which lessened when I became clear on what was happening. It completely stopped when I set the boundary and walked away.

I believe God brings people into our lives for a reason. By this person briefly coming into my life, I was able to see I still had residual doubt coming from unanswered questions to do with Advaita. Those questions are no longer there. Furthermore, I had the practice of setting a boundary to protect my own relationship with God - walking away from something that was clearly against God and also harmful spiritually.

God patiently corrects me all the time and I'm definitely still affected by my flesh/soul/ego albeit slightly less so, thanks to God. I've learnt I have to be active in this process of following God by turning away from the flesh and its idea of spirituality until it is second nature, The guide for that is God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit and the definitive guidebook is the Bible.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. -- 1 Peter 5:8

So Saul died for his unfaithfulness; he was unfaithful to the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance, and did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord slew him and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. -- 1 Chronicles 10:13f

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. -- Galatians 5:19-21

All content on this account is my own unless otherwise credited.

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