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Have you ever experienced God in a profound way? I know personally that it is certainly easy to get into the mode of God being on the sidelines of life. It is easy to forget how powerful He is and how He appears to be an indifferent or passive type of God who is not involved with us on a personal level. I write this piece today to explain just the opposite. Most of the problem with our perspective about God involves where our source of knowledge about God comes from in the first place. Most of us do not use the Bible to learn about God to discover His true nature. Therefore this creates the game of learning about God from others who may or may not have a firm foundation of the nature of God. This might be from a person, a book, or even a church that does not follow the Bible or strive to live out the message of the Bible. Sometimes this is on purpose, and sometimes it is through ignorance. This might take us on a path of confusion and perhaps even danger when seeking God without the actual word of God, which is the Bible. So to experience God on a personal level one must seek God through His word and to strive to obey His commands. Being close to the vine or close to God comes from seeking Him in a genuine way, striving to know Him more and more in a real and personal way.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:1-8
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:16-26
“Believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:21-24
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’.” Acts 17:24-28
So I carefully include these Bible verses to demonstrate how important it is to have a firm foundation in the Bible, because experiencing God comes from a true genuine desire to know Him in a personal way like a child desires to know their Father. Experiencing God comes from a true desire to live, worship and to serve Him in the way that God desires. It is not for thrill seekers whose main objectives are to experience the world in a new supernatural way or as a way to prove that there is indeed a God. People on this path will be disappointed, because God does not operate in such a fashion to fulfill our flesh.
So with that being said have you experienced God in a profound way? Have you caught a glimpse of His amazing power and love for us? The past few weeks have been interesting for my family and me. My wife and I are expecting, and she is 13 weeks along. Two weeks ago she had the symptoms of being itchy so she investigated the matter on the internet which educated her about a condition in which it is doubtful that she actually has. Well, considering the fact that my wife can become a bit paranoid about possible ailments, she decided to make an appointment with her OBGYN. It turns out that the doctor was available to see her a few hours later, and it was discovered that she had a blood pressure of 200/110. She was immediately rushed to the hospital in which they worked on this issue which would have led to a stroke. Was this blind luck that she became obsessive about her itchiness? I do not believe so. I view it as my God looking out for my wife in such a loving way. I praise Him daily about this miracle because it would have led to a major health problem or even death.
Have you experienced His divine presence through the Holy Spirit? I would have prayer get-togethers with a good friend of mine in his home. We would spend countless hours praying to our God primarily focusing on the repentance of our sins, giving praise, and asking for revival in our own lives. There was one meeting in which I cannot fully explain in words, in which I felt a deeper connection with God through His Holy Spirit. My mind reached a calming type state in which I felt an alignment of powerfully positive energy centering on my chest. I then felt a compression on both of my shoulders which felt like a loving gesture of security. My words came out differently when I listened to my prayer, and the words that came from my friend touched me deeply to my core. Every word seemed like a profound experience from the Almighty Himself. When our prayer time was over my mind felt lighter and the world around me appeared with more contrast.
Have you experienced the life changing power of the Gospel? I can remember this moment in time like it just happened today. I was sitting on my Pastor’s couch having a nice after dinner time discussion. The discussion eventually led into a natural discussion about sin and the power of Jesus to take away such sins. I had heard this message a million times throughout my life, but this time was different. This time it was directed at my life in which was I observed myself and how sin was destroying my life and the people around me. I finally understood how the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. It then connected how this powerful loving gift comes through faith in Jesus Christ. I realized that there was nothing we could do to earn our way into Heaven, but instead to freely choose to believe in Jesus for our eternal life through the atonement of our sins. My life has not been the same since. Life continues to have its ups and downs, but with the power of the Gospel it now has meaning and life. I continue to struggle with sin at times, but I know who I can turn back to, to get back on track. My life has changed and I desire to live my life with God leading me through it.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:1-8
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:16-26
“Believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:21-24
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’.” Acts 17:24-28
So I carefully include these Bible verses to demonstrate how important it is to have a firm foundation in the Bible, because experiencing God comes from a true genuine desire to know Him in a personal way like a child desires to know their Father. Experiencing God comes from a true desire to live, worship and to serve Him in the way that God desires. It is not for thrill seekers whose main objectives are to experience the world in a new supernatural way or as a way to prove that there is indeed a God. People on this path will be disappointed, because God does not operate in such a fashion to fulfill our flesh.
So with that being said have you experienced God in a profound way? Have you caught a glimpse of His amazing power and love for us? The past few weeks have been interesting for my family and me. My wife and I are expecting, and she is 13 weeks along. Two weeks ago she had the symptoms of being itchy so she investigated the matter on the internet which educated her about a condition in which it is doubtful that she actually has. Well, considering the fact that my wife can become a bit paranoid about possible ailments, she decided to make an appointment with her OBGYN. It turns out that the doctor was available to see her a few hours later, and it was discovered that she had a blood pressure of 200/110. She was immediately rushed to the hospital in which they worked on this issue which would have led to a stroke. Was this blind luck that she became obsessive about her itchiness? I do not believe so. I view it as my God looking out for my wife in such a loving way. I praise Him daily about this miracle because it would have led to a major health problem or even death.
Have you experienced His divine presence through the Holy Spirit? I would have prayer get-togethers with a good friend of mine in his home. We would spend countless hours praying to our God primarily focusing on the repentance of our sins, giving praise, and asking for revival in our own lives. There was one meeting in which I cannot fully explain in words, in which I felt a deeper connection with God through His Holy Spirit. My mind reached a calming type state in which I felt an alignment of powerfully positive energy centering on my chest. I then felt a compression on both of my shoulders which felt like a loving gesture of security. My words came out differently when I listened to my prayer, and the words that came from my friend touched me deeply to my core. Every word seemed like a profound experience from the Almighty Himself. When our prayer time was over my mind felt lighter and the world around me appeared with more contrast.
Have you experienced the life changing power of the Gospel? I can remember this moment in time like it just happened today. I was sitting on my Pastor’s couch having a nice after dinner time discussion. The discussion eventually led into a natural discussion about sin and the power of Jesus to take away such sins. I had heard this message a million times throughout my life, but this time was different. This time it was directed at my life in which was I observed myself and how sin was destroying my life and the people around me. I finally understood how the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. It then connected how this powerful loving gift comes through faith in Jesus Christ. I realized that there was nothing we could do to earn our way into Heaven, but instead to freely choose to believe in Jesus for our eternal life through the atonement of our sins. My life has not been the same since. Life continues to have its ups and downs, but with the power of the Gospel it now has meaning and life. I continue to struggle with sin at times, but I know who I can turn back to, to get back on track. My life has changed and I desire to live my life with God leading me through it.
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