Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 51

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion of the result of living by "Convictions from Above" continues:

They [Those who are led by God] are Reasonable. As the spirit of God leads men through their reasoning power, those thus led are always ready to give a reason for every position they take and every act they do. The life and work of George Muller, of Bristol Orphanage fame, is a remarkable illustration of this principle. His "Life of Trust "is one of the most exhilarating faith tonics of which we know. He states first that he was led to found his work on Scriptural principles. Then he mentions six solid reasons explaining why he took the course he did.

Dr. Watson, in his unique sermon on "The Two Veils," says:

"Dr. Steele, one of the most polished men in the world, prayed for sanctification for three weeks, and the thought kept coming up: 'Now, if God sanctifies you, He'll make you act oddly; and he was afraid he might have to shout in the street cars, or do some other singular thing.' At length the Spirit said to him: 'Don't you think that God has as good sense of what is right as you have? Don't you think that God knows as much about good behavior as you do? Do you think God will do anything foolish?' He saw that it was only a temptation, let loose of everything, and God baptized him with the Holy Ghost so wonderfully, that he could hardly eat or sleep for several days. And let me tell you, he has been one of the best behaved men you ever saw since that time, and has not done anything at all foolish."

They Meet with Opposition. The Holy Spirit often leads contrary to carnal inclinations and the opinions and protests of friends and relatives, and always counter to the world and the devil. Hence, opposition is inevitable. He takes up and carries on the work of Jesus, which is "to destroy the works of the devil," and they of course resist Him. Hence, all who fancy that they can be led by the Spirit and please everyone, are doomed to disappointment. As well might an army expect to do its duty, and at the same time please the enemy.

Depravity and the devil no more agree with the leading of the Holy Ghost than fire can mix with water.

They are Victorious. God is their leader. He always gives the victory to all who fully follow Him.

"From victory unto victory,
His armies He shall lead,
Till every foe is vanquished,
And Christ is Lord indeed."

They Rule Their Own Spirits. Appetites and passions bow beneath the mandates of their Divine Master, and led of God they feel that they "can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth." They love to follow their Leader, and expect soon to see the day when all enemies shall be put beneath His feet; earth, the old battlefield, burnt up and replaced by another wherein dwelleth righteousness and their King "crowned Lord of all."

They are Courteous. As the Holy Spirit leads none to be selfish, all who follow Him will be saved from selfish acts, and thus from all the discourteous ways which selfishness prompts.

A true Christian is in the best sense of that word a true gentleman. Rudeness, coarseness and selfishness being eliminated; gentleness, refinement and love are crowned in their stead, and though the outer garb may be coarse and language lame, yet the good breeding of heavenly parentage will appear in all who follow closely their unseen Guide.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 41

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion of "Impressions from Above" continues:

CHAPTER VIII
PRACTICAL, APPLICATION OF THE PRECEDING PRINCIPLES

If ye know these things happy are ye if ye do them. John 13:17.

Let us apply the preceding principles to a few practical matters such as are constantly coming up for decision.

1. A Call to the Ministry. A young man finds himself the subject of a strong impression to devote his life to the ministry.

He is an honest believer and anxious to make no mistake.

He knows that such an impression may come from Satan, or friends, or fancy, and desires not to be deceived on the one hand, nor to resist God on the other.

He commits all to God, asks for promised wisdom from above, and then proceeds to see if the leading bears the divine stamp: "S. R. P. R."

1. S. Is it Scriptural? It is evident that a call to the ministry is in harmony with the Word. So he does not need to tarry long at this point.

2. R. Is it Right for him to respond to such a call? If he finds that in so doing that his circumstances are such that he will be compelled to wrong his family, or his creditors, or others in so doing, that fact will settle the matter, either that the impression is not of God, or else that the time has not come to put it in practice. If, however, all is right he is prepared to pass to the next test.

3. P. [Providential] If the impression is of God the way will open for him to either begin the work or to prepare for it.

When God calls a person to preach he notifies the church of the fact, and she, if awake, opens the door for him. Sometimes, however, she is asleep, and hence does not hear this summons from her Head to this act.

I know of a young man whom God called to preach. The Word was "like fire shut up in his bones." His gifts were not as apparent on the surface as with some, and pastor and official board after considering his case, declined granting even an exhorter's license. He kept right with God and awaited providential indications. At once doors opened, and invitations came for him to aid in revival meetings. He did so. Great success attended his labors. Scores and hundreds were converted. The pastor and official board saw their mistake, and unsolicited, reconsidered his case, sent him local preacher's license, and he is now one of the most successful soul-winning pastors in the Michigan Conference.

The way always opens if the call is of God, for of all such it is written: "Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it."

4. R. Next comes the application of the final test -- Is it reasonable?

A person unenlightened by the Holy Ghost, and trained to think that success lies only in the accumulation of cash would say no.

But God's child, with divinely anointed eyes, will see things differently.

If he has no voice or other gifts for the work, either hidden or manifest, that will settle the matter; but if he has, and the above tests are all met, then this one will soon be settled. Given the fact of over 800,000,000 souls who never heard the gospel, the fact that God has revealed it as His will that they shall all be reached as speedily as possible, the fact that the demand for a wise, consecrated Spirit-baptized ministry, is always greater than the supply, that a perfect avalanche of souls is rushing to doom each year, with no energetic, adequate effort being made to save them; and common sense responds in the affirmative, and these four voices through which God speaks to men's minds unite with the Spirit's call, and the conviction that he must preach becomes so strong that, like Paul, he feels, "Woe unto me if I preach not the gospel," and if the "fullness of the Spirit" be claimed, it will soon become the delight of his life.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 27

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. His discussion continues:

The Holy Spirit is an unerring guide, and he who detects and turns from every wrong impression and fully follows Him will be led into "all truth."

It should be the aim of every Christian to overcome inattention and forgetfulness and be thus led. May we each so "try the Spirits," and "watch and pray," that, like God's people of old, we may see our "pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night," and thus led in a "plain path" be enabled to "stand perfect and complete in all the will of God."

In conclusion, let us again review the rightful tests of all impressions, and ever keep in mind that none should be acted upon which does not bear the divine stamps -- S. R. P. R.

S. -- Scriptural. In harmony with God's will as revealed in His Word.

R. -- Right. In harmony with God's will as revealed in man's moral consciousness by the law of God, which is written within his moral nature.

P. -- Providential. In harmony with God's will as revealed in His providential dealings.

R. -- Reasonable. In harmony with God's will as revealed to man's reasoning powers, illuminated by Holy Spirit.

All impressions which have not this stamp divine are as valueless as railroad tickets without the stamp of the issuing office. The reason why many people are thwarted in their plans and compelled to get off from trains of action upon which they are attempting to ride, is because they act upon impressions which have not this sacred seal.

When an impression has been tried, an is known to be of God, the whole soul should be thrown into it, and it should be firmly, boldly and persistently acted upon. The Christian then should "set his face like a flint," and turn neither to the right hand nor the left. His feelings may weep, his imaginations fade, perverted Scripture protest, his infatuations die in despair, his impulses and passions be disappointed, his appetites complain, his prejudices and preconceived notions be abandoned, his friends dismayed, his dreams, signs and chance happenings all prove false prophets, and "Satan rage, and fiery darts be hurled;" yet he will follow "anywhere and everywhere" that God may lead. "Delivered from every false way," he will test the blessedness of the words of the wise Christian philosopher who said: "Happy is he who is not led by mere sights and sounds; not by strange momentary impressions which may come from the disordered senses, from the world or from the devil, but by that clear light which illuminates the intellect, the conscience and the heart; which is ever consistent with itself and with God's Word and providences, and which has, in reality, for its author the Comforter, the Holy Ghost.

"He will also prove the preciousness of the promise which declares: 'The Lord shall guide thee continually and satisfy thy soul in drouth, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters fail not."' Isaiah 58:11.

Glory be to God that such an experience is possible for every one of His children.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 25

In a previous excerpt, Knapp stated that there are four features of "impressions" from God. These are Scriptural; Right (consistent with good morals); Providential (in harmony with God's will); and Reasonable. He continues with more on the 4th of these:

4. Reasonable. Impressions from above are always in harmony with a spiritually enlightened judgment. God has given us reasoning powers for a purpose, and He respects them, appeals to them, and all of His leadings are in unison with them. He will bring up all the facts in the case in such a way as to convince that His leadings are all in harmony with sanctified common sense. Indeed, when the first three tests above mentioned are met, reason can but accept the conclusions which they bring.

I have a friend who was frightened from receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, because Satan kept suggesting to her that if she did she would have to do absurd and unreasonable things. He "impressed" her that she ought to go and preach at a political meeting, talk religion to every one she met on the street and everywhere, and do kindred unreasonable things. He made her believe that these impressions came from God instead of him, and thus fearfully perplexed her. Satan took the fact that we are to do good "as we have Opportunity," and with it sought to compel her to force opportunities. An appeal to this test would have defeated him. God never requires an unreasonable thing. He invites us to "reason" with Him, and appeals to our judgments that His service is a "reasonable service."

God deals with us as with rational beings, and it is a consequence of that recognition of our rationality that He does not require us to act upon sudden suggestions or impressions, even if the come from Himself without our first subjecting them to the scrutiny of reason.

"Try all things," wrote John Wesley, "by the written Word, and let all bow down before it. You are in danger of enthusiasm [fanaticism] every hour, if you depart ever so little from Scripture; yea, or from the plain literal meaning of any text taken in connection with the context. And so you are if you despise or lightly esteem reason, knowledge, or human learning, every one of which is an excellent gift of God, and may serve the noblest purposes."

The Holy Spirit is our divinely appointed guide. We are to be led by Him. He speaks directly to our hearts and also through the four mediums mentioned. He never contradicts Himself. So there is always perfect harmony between His inward impressions and these four voices.

No impression should be acted on as from above which does not clearly meet these tests.

God never asks us to act on uncertainties.

To do so is a spiritual crime. "He that doubteth is damned if he eat," and this principle prescribes the doing of anything concerning the rightfulness of which there is doubt.

Impressions from above always meet all four of the above tests, and every impression which is doubtful should be rigidly and prayerfully tried by each.

If Scriptural, right, providential and reasonable, they may be taken as God's voice, and followed as confidently as the angel brought to earth the tidings of our Savior's birth. Otherwise impressions should be firmly rejected ere they lead into folly, fanaticism and final ruin.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.

Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp, 23

CHAPTER V
IMPRESSIONS -- HOW TO TEST THEM

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." -- 1 Thes. 5: 21.

"To the law and the testimony if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no truth in them." -- Isaiah 8:20.

God has made such ample provision for the guidance of His children that they may be just as sure that they are led by Him as that they are saved.

In order to do this it is needful to apply to every doubtful impression certain detecting tests. To do this sometimes requires keen spiritual sight, yet is a privilege which the least of God's children may enjoy. "His sheep hear His voice" and "follow Him," and we would not be commanded to "try the Spirits whether they are of God," if there was no danger from them, or if we were powerless to distinguish them. All impressions which are from above bear the four following distinguishing features. They are:

1. Scriptural. In harmony with God's will as revealed in His Word.

2. Right. In harmony with God's will as revealed in man's moral nature.

3. Providential. In harmony with God's will as revealed in His providential dealings.

4. Reasonable. In harmony with God's will as revealed to a spiritually enlightened judgment.

Many impressions are so evidently of God that they need no testing, but all that are any ways doubtful should be summoned before this infallible court of final appeal.

Every impression from above has upon it the Divine Stamp: S. R. P. R.

Excerpted from Impressions, by Martin Wells Knapp. Original publication date, 1892. Public domain. My source is here. The previous post in the series is here.