A Spiritual Help for Tom Smedley

Tom Smedley is a moderator at crosswalk forums, an historicalist and rejects the spirit life in contrast to the soul life

In our conversation, this is Tom's direct response on Watchman Nee,

Tom writes - I outgrew Watchman Nee when God delivered me from being trapped inside my own mind, and graciously showed me that His Kingdom is too big to fit into my navel. I am a repentant survivor of "new age" thinking, a mode of sin that does more damage to the mind than hallucinogenic drugs. However, because of this lust for personal mystical experiences, I was for some time an ardent admirer of Brother Nee.

I would rather not descend into that maelstrom, thank you. Once you get sucked into the worship of mystical experiences, the rest of your life tends to fall apart.

You see, mystical experiences taste something like God, but aren't. The God of the Bible satisfies. He invites us to His table, debriefs us on our missions, nourishes us, and commissions us for further constructive activity.

Worshipped mystical experiences keep promising -- "You're almost there. Just a little bit more, and then you'll have it." The devotee of gnosis gets immobilized. Emasculated. Rendered passive towards the real world, and aggressive towards saints who adore the God of the Bible, rather than the prescribed sequence of mystical experience.

My response -  If one outgrows something to go into sin, is that really outgrowing? Watchman Nee is just a person, but if what he says is true, then how can you outgrow the truth or a person in the truth? Nee speaks extensively about the "trappings inside" one's "own mind" in The Spiritual Man, so why blame Watchman Nee? Now we know why the Bible says to remain blameless for you make yourself look like a fool if you are bearing false witness, e.g. "new age", "maelstrom", "navel" fitting, "mystical", pride of "I was for some time an ardent admirer" which a person should ask the question, why have you lost your first love? Don't harden your spirit Tom Smedley. Listen to what God says to the church of Ephesus. For it is in that first love that the Lord had first drawn you to that Nee's writing reflected to you in the Word of God originally. If you are a Christian, come back to that first love in the Word of God Watchman Nee was showing you once.

Note the many times Watchman Nee speaks of the error of emotionalism (mysticism). For example, in Revive Thy Work, "Many consider the Church to be nothing but a mystical, abstract entity; they do not realize that this entity we call the body of Christ is a reality. 1 Corinthians 11.29 mentions this very matter of discerning 'the body'." Many other examples of this are shown as Nee talks about the soul's emotionalism in The Spiritual Man; how man lives in the emotion of his soul rather than the intuition of his spirit. In Song of Songs by Nee, the first fried was highly emotional. Too many live in their emotion forsaking the spirit life. See PART 7 - EMOTION in The Spiritual Man.

As we can see we have blame after blame, but saying nothing, with no reason but blaming. Tom is accusing Nee of the very thing Nee writes about as a problem of mysticism. So the question is, why is Tom doing this? What is really going on underneath to cause him to blame Watchman Nee.

What happened to Tom? I do not know what happened but I do know that Tom admits he is a historicalist, and therefore these are his sins:

1) Tom thinks the millennium is right now of peace even though Hitler, nuclear holocaust, and the continual birage of attrocities throughout the centuries, like 7 million Jews killed in WW2.

2) Tom has no faith that Jesus Christ can return in Person to reign 1000 years in this (Zech. 14.4, Rev. 1.7, Acts 1.11).

3) Tom blunts the solemn warning at the end of this age (Tribulation) so he doesn't think he has to know the wrath of God.

4) Tom is ironically mystical himself allegorizing inordinately spiritualizing Jesus Christ reigning now, not realizing Satan is the god of this world right now, at least until he cast into the pit for 1000 years.

5) Tom treats the last book of the Bible as already fulfilled mostly, not as a book of prophecy for our future. If it were so then only learned historians could be saved.

6) Tom doesn't see the new city after the millennium as a literal city despite a 17 point proof by Watchman Nee that it must be so.

More evidence that Watchman Nee is not for the mystical is found it seems almost on every page of The Spiritual Man. Tom, now that you are in possession of this message, I encourage you to read The Spiritual Man and repent. I mean truly repent, not what you have now that causes you to sin by blaming and bearing false witness. Men say they are "repentant survivors" but it is really just the flesh trying to worship God. It is vanity. Watchman Nee would agree with you Tom, always trying to a get an emotional fix is not the way to go when you said "You're almost there. Just a little bit more, and then you'll have it".

Indeed, "gnosticism" is wrong, which will cause "emasculation", but recall how energetic Watchman Nee was. Even Dennis McCallum was confounded and perplexed why Nee had such vigor. It was because he was totally obedient to Christ abiding in the Holy Spirit in his life, non-gnostically. What would be gnostic is teachings of pride of historicalists who make something of the past so that only learned historians could know its deep truths. Do you see this sin in historicalism? It stands out like a sore thumb. This is very emasculating to say the least for it mistreats the little brothers and sisters in Christ no longer making faith a matter of quickening and renew the soul and spirit unto eternal life, but gnostic and totally imobilizing. It was very true what Watchman Nee said in his preface to The Spiritual Man, that if you treat this book as principles only it will be wasted, but if you treat it as life you will be greatly benefited. I confirmed myself that this 700+ page book is indeed the best work ever done on the redemptive design and dividing of spirit, soul and body.

Tom's problem is that he is worshipping God with his flesh which causes him to go into blame mode unwilling to give up his self life as he admits "rendered passive towards the real world" and this causes himself to be "aggressive towards saints [blaming profusely] who adore the God of the Bible". His historicalism divides the body of Christ with premillennialists. They go back and forth at each other. And he hardens his heart as you can see his fruit is blame, blame, blame despite the facts that prove he is wrong in so blaming. We shall know them by their fruit, whether that be bearing false witness or a rampage in their flesh of accusations and blaming.

Tom closes with his final accusation directed towards Watchman Nee "....rather than the prescribed sequence of mystical experience". Here Tom contradicts himself since he says in the same sentence not to be passive (note Nee talks uses the word, passivity, extensively in The Spiritual Man; also see Jessie-Penn Lewis's War on the Saints) and not to be aggressive, yet favors prescribed sequences of mystical experiences". He aggressively banned me for giving the loving truth of God. We must look at their fruit for it says much. First he says mysticism is wrong and then he says it is right, even in prescribed formats. Tom may be thinking that mysticism is not like gnosticism, yet seems to be accusing Watchman Nee of both. This therefore is a contradiction for he does not explain himself inconsiderately, all he knows how to do is blame. He seems confused and unable to make up his mind. Coy people who have something unrighteous to hide in themselves will tend to behave this way. That's Tom for ya.

Trust me, it is a blessing to get banned from crosswalk, an unspiritual so-called Christian forum. I am not sure what I was even banned for, it occurs so arbitrarily, but underneath we know why - hostility towards God as God is seen in partial rapture which exposes the 6 above sins of historicalism. That is that.

Troy Brooks