Rowan Tilbury: From Alcohol and Atheism to the More Greatly Desired
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- From alcohol and atheism to faith in the One True God, Rowan’s story bears testament to the truth of Psalm 19: that living by the great law of liberty is more rewarding than anything this world has to offer.
Psalm 19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Contact Rowan:
firmafoundations.rowan@gmail.com
To hear Josh's testimony:
• My Journey to Biblical...
For more information:
www.earthenvess...
info@earthenvessels.org.au
Thank you for sharing your testimony, brother Rowan. I listened to this last week actually and your reply to me in the comments of a recent Earthern Vessels video prompted me to go back and listen to you again. Like yourself, i'm a baby born again Bible believer who was led by the Holy Spirit to God's trurh. I have come out of so much deception even after my initial awakening.
I was baptized a baby in Catholicism, raised and educated in Fiji. I came out of her when i was in my mid 20's, turned atheist most of my adult life but also kinda new agey which sadly most New Zealanders are. I too loved heavy metal music and anything rock. I'm now 53, alone on a very narrow path and I have no one to fellowship with here in Whangarei but i've a sister in Christ from the US i'm so thankful for who has supported me since my relationship of 34 years ended in Febuary. He rejects Bible truth. She is going to baptize me when she visits in 2026.
Thank you for reaching out to me. God bless.
Beautiful testimony brother Rowan. I'm glad to be a part of the earth vessels group myself. They are a true family sent from THE MOST HIGH GOD! GOD br praised for HIS marvelous work in your life and the lives of all who HE uses as a vessel to pour out the truth to all the world!
Thank you Chris for this lovely testimony with brother Rowan. So well and beautifully produced and a real pleasure to look at, as always. God woke me up at 5am today, so I was able to catch it early (since you're on the "other side" of our amazing flat world 😆). I am still watching it but just now I couldn't hold my thoughts any longer and so I am leaving a comment.
Thank you Rowan for your testimony. What a beautiful place you live in. I could (so far) relate to so much of what you said, and it's just amazing to see the Lord work for all of us. And how similar these stories often are just shows that God is really going after those "black sheep" that can't manage to fit in with this absurd world and society, and so instead we just wreck and destroy ourselves with tons of sinful and ungodly ways of coping. He is so merciful and gracious. Thanks and praise be to Him.
Just now you shared your experience about the whole trinity issue... and it made me think back to the beginning of my journey, when I simply read the NT with "innocent, un-indoctrinated eyes" and it was so clear and simple: God the Father is God Almighty, and Jesus Christ is the only-begotten Son of God. As you say, a child can understand this. In my first 9 months after I met Jesus, I was entirely alone with God and His Word all this time. I didn't have anyone to talk or even chat with online and no one could persuade me to believe in all these church traditions (well Satan harassed me in my mind and so I actually had to research thoroughly about this demonic lie, but that was really good because by doing that I found the Advent message 😁). When you just simply read the Bible, you would NEVER come up with this nonsensical three-in-one-God and what you said about praying to a triune God just felt like "Man, this isn't right!", I can totally testify to that as well. God didn't create us as reasonable beings but expects us to understand unreasonable things. 1+1+1=1 is unreasonable, to say the least.
Anyway... I am just so pleased to see that God is working so effectively in these last days... it's like He's leading people to truth in the blink of an eye, and others who are already 10, 20, 30 years in the faith have not even come to these realisations (yet). We can be really grateful that we serve such a wonderful, almighty God and His only-begotten Son.
To Him be all the glory! God bless you both, brothers.
But I do think that the sin of not keeping the 4th commandment on the 7th day is forgivable if the person is living right before God but unwittingly doesn’t realise this truth, but actually has the heart to receive it, and would receive it, if only they knew it was true.
Great story and conversation. Thank you
Brother Rowan, Thank you for sharing a beautiful testimony of a loving God who pursues us with relentless love. I can identify with so much of your journey. God bless and love to all
Wow, thank you Rowan for your refreshing testimony. It is a journey well recognised by myself also with all the changing of your groups you felt you belonged to. Yes God is leading you and He will never leave you nor forsake you. Blessings to you and to Chris as well. What a wonderful interview.
What also struck me (when I finished watching) was that God nudged me towards the flat earth right before my baptism as well. I was confronted with it for the first time in around April 2021 and my baptism finally happened late May 2021. (Funnily enough, I was also praying hard for baptism in the name of *JESUS CHRIST,* and after 10 months in finally happened! God is good) I am not sure anymore if I was already convinced of it at my baptism because I know I struggled for a few months (not because I thought it was too ridiculous, honestly at this point in this fake Matrix, there's nothing that would surprise me 🤦♀) but rather because there are too many people in our movement who don't do proper research about it and so I was anxious that it might be a Roman deception and then of course the EGW quotes..... But thank God He really brought it home to me and I am just so grateful and happy that He has given me eyes to see and ears to hear... what a wonderful truth that makes you appreciate God even more!
I was a bit all over the shop as an excited new believer, so much so, that I actually forgot to turn up for my own baptism. Wow.
It’s ok. I’ll turn up for my funeral. I’ll be dead on time.
I had been pestering the pastor of the little church I was attending to get baptised and when he finally got round to it, I somehow forgot it. Weird.
But shortly thereafter they did a re run and I duly got baptised in a spa pool. It was a great blessing.
From then on I just loved attending baptisms, particularly seeing people baptised in the sea. They were bless-ed occasions for me. What a sight seeing the glory of God on those occasions.
About 2 years after being born again I realised the truth of the 7th day sabbath and it was quite a wrench, leaving the fellowship of the Sunday keepers.
On day one, when I got born again, I started off with a hiss and a roar leading a righteous life and thought I was impervious to temptation.
But along the way to my shocked horror, years later, some sin crept back into my life, which was lust, although compared to many unbelievers I was a saint with a halo, flashing on and off like a neon light.
Now I’m 75. Got born again at 40. And although initially I was sure I was saved nevertheless as time went by, I only hoped I was saved.
And this was because my life wasn’t holy enough. It wasn’t as holy as it could have been, because my repentance wasn’t actually at 100%. Maybe I was only at 95% although I wasn’t completely aware of it at the time. But I wasn’t completely dead to sin.
However when I eventually went to 100% which is only about 3 or 4 years ago I regained my bless-ed assurance of salvation.
And I think that provided we are trying to be holy, knowing that it’s possible, striving for it, it’s therefore pleasing in God’s sight.
Today I’m pleased to say that through the mercy of God I have no lustful thoughts towards women. It’s a wonderful place for me to be. Thanks be to God.
Think I saw you answering my comment in that one anti-SDA video last week. I just discovered this channel and it is quite wonderful. Our stories have a lot of similarities it seems. I am certain that it is God who has been guiding me to this direction, and if there is any confusion or doubt, I will do like I have done to get this far: Pray about it and continue my Christian walk as well as I can with the knowledge I have. God will guide honest and patient hearts.
@@3AMJH The bad internet connection seems to have eaten my reply. Yes, that was indeed me 😊 I don't know if you saw it, but I answered you properly on that other video by now. Your approach is definitely the right one, pray and be patient and trust in God. He will always guide us and show us things, if we are open and willing 😇🙏
@@NoonyNewborna Thank you for the encouragement, Noony. I did not see the other comment yet, as for some reason RUclips did not notify me of it. I will check it out after the next Sabbath, as it starts in 4 hours here in Finland, and I have to start my preparations. God bless, and see you around in another comment section, perhaps. :)
So glad I found this channel ❤️
Is there a link or the name of that Freemason documentary of which he speaks of?
ruclips.net/video/XhBs6HpFKs8/видео.html
Please, does anyone have links to “Mark and Helen’s flat earth” videos?
youtube.com/@in2theblueministry929
@@earthenvesselsministry thank you 🙏🏻
Wonderful. With regards to baptism, Jesus said we are to be baptised in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit- Matthew 28:19. Not sure why anyone would not want to be baptised in this way since it's Biblical?
Yes Mat 28:19 does use the threefold name. But I do not believe that what Jesus said was a formula that must be used at baptisms. If it was a formula, then why the are all the baptisms recorded in the New Testament performed in the name of Jesus and none under the threefold name?
Acts 2:38 Repent and be baptized every one of you *in the name of Jesus Christ* for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8:16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized *in the name of the Lord Jesus* .)
Acts 19:5 When they heard this, *they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.*
Jesus was therefore trying to teach something in Matthew 28:18 rather than prescribing a baptismal formula that must be uttered at baptism.
Researching the history of this verse is also quite revealing as it appears to have been edited after the Council of Nicea. Prior to that there is little to no evidence of any verse referring to baptism being anything other than in the name of Jesus.
@@m24_4 That is interesting and I had not heard that before. But even if the verse was added it does not teach a trinity just as 1 John 5:7 does not teach a trinity when read carefully.
In Matthew 28:19 it says that we are to be baptised in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Ghost. The word “name” also means authority and character. So this verse teaches that upon baptism, we recognise the authority of all three powers.
The Father and Son are in heaven physically. But through the agency of the Spirit they are present everywhere on earth.
When Annanias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Ghost they lied to God (acts 5:3,4). Because the Holy Spirit is the representative of God on earth which works through various ways such as ministers like Peter who they thought they were lying to.
This is not because the Holy Spirit is some third being or person as the trinity teaches, but because it is an agency of the 2 divine beings (the only 2 divine beings that exist) that are not physically present on earth. The Spirit is the omnipresence of God and Christ (who is the minister of the church on earth) and we recognise the authority of all 3 upon baptism.
@@m24_4 That could be said about any verse in the Bible. Dangerous slippery slope.
Blasphemy is one someone claims to be God or to have the attributes of God, like the power to forgive sins. So one way someone can blaspheme the Holy Spirit is by claiming to take the place of Christ here on earth. Christ said He would send the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, but the pope's claim to take the place of Christ in the earth. That is blasphemy. Unfortunately I don't hear anyone address the sin of blasphemy in this way.
I agree that blasphemy is to claim things that are the prerogative of God alone such as worship and the forgiveness of sins such as the pope does. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is a specific sin. Notice the verse Jesus mentions it in below:
…All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against
the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the
Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it
shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
Matthew 12:32
So why is speaking a word against the Son of Man forgivable whereas to sin against the Holy Ghost unforgivable? The reason is that the Holy Spirit speaks directly to the conscience. A man could reject Jesus without clear knowledge of what he was rejecting, but once a person rejects the voice of God to the soul, there os no greater avenue God can use to reach a man. Notice that what Paul did was done ignorantly:
1Ti 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained
mercy, *because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.*
But once the Spirit Jesus spoke to Paul on the road to Damascus, there was no more ignorance Paul could have pled. If he had turned against that light he would have committed the unpardonable sin. A few verses before Mat 12:32 the Pharisees were claiming that Jesus cast out devils by Satan. In this they were attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit, and thus moving toward the unpardonable sin.
And though I’ve never really thought much about the trinity thing I have for long time thought that the unforgivable sin is denying the deity of Jesus Christ. And as the Bible says it’s the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit , I’ve concluded that as Jesus is the Holy Spirit it therefore means that denying that He is God who came here to be with us, is the unforgivable sin. And I can see it. I can see that because of all that God did, becoming that supreme sacrifice, and denying that Jesus is God in human form is a sin that cannot be forgiven.
Even that can be forgiven. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not one in the same person. The Holy Ghost testifies of Christ and His being the Way.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is something entirely else, brother. When you read that passage in context (Matthew 12:22-32), you can see that it was claimed that Jesus drives out the devils by the power of Satan, not by the power of God. To attribute God's working through His Holy Spirit to the powers of darkness is what is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. For example, when someone comes to Christ and is converted miraculously and has all these (positive) life changes by the power of God's spirit, and then that person would turn around, fall into his old ways (for example taking drugs) and claim to his fellow druggies "All these changes were not of God, the devil must have ridden me! I'm back to taking these drugs with you, guys!" - THAT would be most blasphemous. And the reason why there is no "forgiveness" for this sin, is found in Hebrews 10:26:
"For if we sin wilfully after that we have *received the knowledge of the truth,* there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins - Hebrews" 10:26
You see that there is no possible chance of coming back to the truth, once we already accepted it and lived it, if we wilfully go back into our old sinful life and claim that all this was nonsense. It is not that God is out to punish you for that foolishness, it is simply that you have wandered off beyond saving because how will Christ reach you anymore if He had already reached you and you turned against Him with ill will? How can your love for Him be kindled again, when you come to such a terrible conclusion and place to be in?
Of course I am not saying that backsliding Christians are lost, please don't get me wrong. A lot of Christians had years and even decades of drifting away from God and living in the world, but some big impact brought them back (like discovering that the earth is flat, because that seems to have done the trick for a lot of backsliding Christians). What I am saying is that you deny your previous Christian experience wilfully, quit purposefully and even slander God and His working in your life, even though you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.
Hope this is a blessing to you. God bless.
@@Kristy_not_Kristine Both the Father and the Son are present everywhere at the same time through Their Holy Spirit. Both the Father and the Son have 2 forms. 1. Their spiritual presence. 2. Their Physical presence.
Spiritual presence:
Joh_4:24 God is a Spirit: ...
Mat_18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Joh_14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
This presence is with all of God's people everywhere at the same time.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 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.
Joh 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
This is Christ's personal spiritual presence in each obedient individual at the same time.
Physical presence:
Dan_7:9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
Mat_28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
Rev_1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
The Unpardonable Sin:
1Jn 5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
Mat_12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
Luk_12:10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.
What constitutes the sin against the Holy Ghost? It is willfully attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit. For example, suppose that one is a witness of the special work of the Spirit of God. He has convincing evidence that the work is in harmony with the Scriptures, and the Spirit witnesses with his spirit that it is of God. Afterward, however, he falls under temptation; pride, self-sufficiency, or some other evil trait, controls him; and rejecting all the evidence of its divine character, he declares that that which he had before acknowledged to be the power of the Holy Spirit was the power of Satan. It is through the medium of His Spirit that God works upon the human heart; and when men willfully reject the Spirit and declare it to be from Satan, they cut off the channel by which God can communicate with them. By denying the evidence which God has been pleased to give them, they shut out the light which had been shining in their hearts, and as the result they are left in darkness. Thus the words of Christ are verified: "If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matthew 6:23. For a time, persons who have committed this sin may appear to be children of God; but when circumstances arise to develop character and show what manner of spirit they are of, it will be found that they are on the enemy's ground, standing under his black banner.
The works of healing done before them, works which no man had ever done or could do, were a manifestation of the power of God. But they charged Christ with being in league with hell. Their talent of speech was used to abuse the world's Redeemer, and the recording angel wrote their words in the books of heaven. They attributed to satanic agencies the holy power of God, manifested in the works of Christ. Thus the Pharisees sinned against the Holy Ghost. Stubborn, sullen, iron-hearted, they determined to close their eyes to all evidence, and thus they committed the unpardonable sin. {RH, January 18, 1898 par. 7}
The continual rejecting of God's Spirit upon you is cutting off the Spirits influence. This is the way God reaches us. If we cut that off, we are lost forever.
Shared in love, Seeking Light, Noony, and Paul. Bless you all.
@@NoonyNewborn Thank you for your reply.
Yes that certainly makes sense.
I think that those who once knew God perhaps even experiencing the born again experience, but actually turn against God and become satanists, or atheists fighting against God, have no way back to the truth.
Perhaps it’s appropriate to say that this is the unforgivable sin. We know that Satan cannot be forgiven.
And we also know that there was a time when all the angels in heaven were holy. But some of them, after the forsaking of their holiness, their first estate, became irredeemable.
And whilst the Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy, nevertheless they were the blasphemers, because they were making the blasphemous statement that Jesus was not God in the flesh.
Jesus is with us now but not as flesh and blood but in spirit form, the Holy Spirit.
And our course those who fear God have the angel of the lord encampeth round about them, who cannot be seen, but also doing a great work on our behalf.
And perhaps without the Lord’s explanation of the parable of the sower, whereby He explains that some would receive with joy the good news, but later fall away, we might be inclined to think, that without this explanation, their born again experience might be sufficient to save them.
But I can see that those who lead a type of Godly life, acknowledging God and Jesus Christ, but deny the deity of Jesus Christ, cannot be forgiven for this sin because it’s blasphemy.
And this blasphemy is a terrible rebellion against God. It’s a refusal to acknowledge God in the form of a man.
And this refusal is refused because they don’t feel important worshiping God in the lowly form of man. Interesting topic of conversation isn’t it.
@@tompinto8692 Thank you Tom.
That’s very well expressed and I agree with you 100%. Very nice.
I have for a long time realised that the denial of the deity of Jesus Christ, is an unforgivable sin. And I came to this conclusion as follows.
I realised that by God going to all this trouble, although the word trouble is insufficient to fully express this, of deciding to become the man Jesus Christ, and be sacrificed in a cruel way, on the cross to save us, is an incredible sacrifice.
The greatest of all sacrifices.
I say this because it was God Himself who was this supreme sacrifice.
And to not acknowledge this and deny that this was actually God Himself, who was sacrificed, is the worst of all sins.
It’s a step too far.
It cannot be forgiven.
I see this so clearly.
Anyway my Aussie friend.
Have a Happy Sabbath in Australia from me in NZ.
The same 5 hour video did it for me! God bless you!
22:05 🤙