My name is Brett. I am 39 years old with an amazing and beautiful wife, and 2 wonderful kids. I gave my life to the Lord when I was 12 years old. In my late teens I met the wrong girl and my priorities changed which left me putting God on the back burner of my life. I ended up experimenting with drugs and alcohol and living with her. She left after a couple years and I fell into a deep and almost deadly drug and alcohol addiction. God never left me. In fact He made himself very clear to me throughout those years. I was just to ashamed and addicted. A few years later I met my now wife. We both partied and lived in sin and she ended up getting pregnant. Addicted and not thinking straight I left her and started seeing someone else. Thank God that didn't work out. On the day our son was born we weren't together but I was there for his birth. I started the morning off getting high before we went to the hospital and made sure I had a pocket full of pills to get me through the day. I remember sitting in the delivery room watching the Andy Griffith show when I noticed a familiar presence enter the room. A few hours later as my son was being born I looked at my wife (just baby's mama at the time) and I became sober. My mind became clear. I instantly started falling in love with her. Moments later when our son came into this world the presence of God was heavy on me. At that moment I knew that if I didn't give my life back to God and serve him I was going to die. That very second I quit everything and began my journey with Christ in restoration and redemption. I have been clean and sober for over 12 years and LOVE being a husband and father and leading my household in Christ.
I look forward to joining into conversation with fellow believers in this forum. God bless you all.
I believe you that you were saved earlier in life and that God has never left you.
I believe you felt a presence enter the room, but since God has never left you, I do not believe that was God's Presence.
John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
The world receives spirits by seeing it or sensing them and so what you had experienced was not the Holy Spirit when He has been in you since salvation and has never left.
1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Some will say I am bold for posting this but do consider these scriptures for why I am sharing this and my concern for you.
We are not to believe every spirit but test them.
1 John 4:1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
The scripture of 1 John 4:2 above is the same thing as saying 2 Corinthians 13:5 below for where the Spirit of Christ is presently as being in us.
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how tha
t Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Now remember, this is about testing the spirits; not just for false prophets, but to know where the real holy Spirit from the spirit of the antichrist. Those who do not confess Jesus Christ in us, are testifying to that spirit outside of us.
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and
this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them:
because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
So the real Holy Spirit is indwelling within us whereas the spirit of the antichrist dwells outside of us and can come over a saved believer to seduce them into seeking that phenomenon again rather than go to the Son.
Some believers will testify to feeling "the Holy Spirit" come over them later in life bringing tongues which never comes with interpretation and so they assume it is for private use but in actuality, that kind of supernatural tongue has been in the world before Pentecost had come with the real God's gift of tongues for God to use other men's language to speak unto the people. In other words, there is a supernatural tongue in the world before Pentecost and still exists today that is just gibberish nonsense as found in the occult and the Bible confirms this.
Isaiah 8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
So not only saved believers are to test the spirits, but the tongues they bring.
1 John 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
There has been revivals where alcoholics and drug addicts have been delivered from this visitation of this phenomenon, but the earliest one involving alcoholics, when they do not get "drunk" in the Spirit any more, they went back to alcohol and so I have been hearing of drug addicts getting high on the Lord, but I have yet to hear if they went back to those drugs once those visitations stops.
So I hope the Lord will lead you to go to the Son in knowing He is within you always and that you can always rely on Jesus Christ for help all the time to keep you from your sins so you can follow Him.
Thank you for sharing, and I hope you will continue to walk with Christ after having received Him from so long ago because the Bridegroom will be coming soon for why the real holy Spirit will always direct your focus in seeking the Son whereas the spirits of the antichrist would seek to take that focus away from the Son to their visitations this fulfilling what antichrist means in scripture as "instead of Christ" or to be more precise "instead of the Son".
Colossians 2:5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
2 Timothy 2:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
1 John 3:3
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.... 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Jude 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
