By Jessie Penn Lewis
Brief Notes
Thoughts of impatience, pp. 158, 159. i.e. directly physical, not moral, and result of d.p. Remedy is regaining of normal condition, and refusal of d.p. as cause. Rom. 6: 11 must be kept as spiritual basis in all cases.
Daydreams in meetings, p. 158. Resist by active refusal of e.s. interference, and choosing to concentrate in attention.
Assurance of safety may be deception, p. 187. How then can a believer become sure? Only by seeking light from God, persistently, on all things, and definite reliance on Him apart from experiences.
Weakness, p. 91. Weakness is not given by e.s., but produced by them, by their counteracting man's own strength or force coming into action.
Terror of God; slavish fear, p. 112. "Awe" and terror are distinct. God inspires reverence and awe, as well as filial fear, but no terror.
The purpose of assertion, p. 193. The believer must counteract lies with truth and he says a thing aloud to counteract impressions on his own mind.
"Craving," p. 145. It may be said generally that all cravings whether they be in the physical realm, i.e., for drink, or in the soul-realm, i.e., for love, fellowship, etc., are not from God.
Self-discrimination, p. 57. Every believer should discriminate or "judge" himself; the true "self," or person, must come to the bar of the man's judgment. The basis of judgment must not only be the purpose of the will, or the desires of the heart, but ACTIONS and life. Perpetual discrimination, or self judgment, is not introspection.
Cessation of action, p. 86. The believer must never stop action for "God to act," i.e., stop the memory for God to remind. Men stop for e.s. to work, but never for God, who energizes the man to act. Sudden stoppage of mind is followed by mechanical words, caused by the interference of e.s., misnamed sometimes as "absentmindedness." See pp. 154-157.
Burdens, p. 280. False burdens may be the result of d.p. and will not pass away as long as looked upon as pure spirit-burdens. They will, on the contrary, develop and grow, especially if the man prides himself on his "burdens," proving the evil of their character. If relief comes after getting rid of a burden, the inference cannot always be drawn that the burden was of God, because the enemy can give burdens, and when obedience is yielded to the purport of the burden, it goes.
Identity of e.s. with believer's personality, pp. 145, 180. A letter speaks of a Christian worker with a "peculiar sense of not realizing her own identity, but feels like one in a dream." At times she would be thrown into "convulsions," yet is a devoted worker for Christ. Those who have this sense of no "identity," should definitely assert their personal experience. The e.s. in possession move such persons to constantly say "we" instead of "I". They should refuse temptation to plurality in thought and word. This sense of loss of personal identity can come about by constantly saying "not I" but Christ, until such a believer finds it difficult to use the personal pronoun at all. The suppression of personality in thought and language, gives place to e.s. to identify themselves with the person, since God does not identify Himself with believers in such a way as to make them automatons. See p. 85.
Symptoms of insanity and d.p. indistinguishable, p. 173. On account of this the person may be constantly accused by e.s. of "going mad." He must refuse such a thought at all costs. If there is natural ground, there is hope of its removal if e.s. are resisted in their attempts to drive the person to accept--or practically, by acceptance, give consent to their suggestion. The same may be said in regard to temptation to suicide.
Healing by "suggestion," p. 212. What is cured by suggestion was caused by suggestion.
Fear in casting out, p. 272. The refusal of all fear of evil spirits is absolutely essential for victory over them. There is no cause for true fear in view of the complete victory of Christ on Calvary, and His authority over all the emissaries of Satan. Any fear which cannot be got rid of is the result of obsession or possession.
Keeping under the body, p. 82. In some cases of d.p. "soul" manifestations dominate, and in others bodily ones. One form expresses every form of indulgence of the flesh, the other the utmost austerity and abstemiousness in food, sleep, and ordinary bodily comfort. Even in these cases the man is deceived in thinking all is under control, because the spiritual manifestations feed the senses in another form.
Talkativeness, p. 165. Dumbness or evil silence is a symptom of d.p. with the effect of periodical lack of control of speech, caused by passivity of the human speaking in order for God to speak. Cf. pp. 119, 120 and examples of the contrary causes on page 308.
Counterfeit speaking of God, p. 137. How the lying spirits counterfeit the speaking of God, was seen in one child of God who was suffering from what was though a "breakdown in health," but what she and her family afterwards knew was possession. Praying one night to know God's will whether she was to recover, a soft and gentle voice said, "To-day, thou shalt be with me in Paradise." Answering so quickly her prayer, she took this as the "Voice of God" and yielded herself to it, when there came the suggestion to drink some poison at hand. Under the supernatural power her judgment and conscience became passive, and she was found at the moment of drinking the poison, and restrained. This lady is now delivered.
