When
we have a spiritual experience of some kind, how do we test if it is an
experience from God? We have talked about five tests over the last two weeks.
This week we will look at the last two tests.
The
Question: How does this experience affect my view of and relationship with the
world?
When
the Bible uses the word “world”, it has three meanings depending on the context
in which it is used.
The
world can mean the earth that God created, nature. A real experience with God
will give us a greater appreciation for God’s creation and Him as our Creator.
It should lead us to see nature as a cause in our lives to praise God
continually.
The
world can mean the values and philosophies that deny the truth of God.
1
John 2:15-17
Do
not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the desires of
the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life – is not from the
Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its
desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
We
are not to love the values and philosophies of the world because if we do, we
cannot know the love of God in our lives. The values and philosophies are based
on the desires of our natural impulses or the desires of what our eyes see or
our human pride and arrogance. These are all from the values of the world and
not the Father. The values of the world are passing away and if that is what we
are living based on, we have no eternal hope.
If
the experience is really from God then it will lead us away from the values of
the world and draws us closer to God and the truth.
The
world can also mean the people of the world.
John
3:16-17
For
God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the
world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through
Him.
If
the experience is really from God, then it should enable us to love people.
We
are told by God to love:
Other
Believers
Our
Neighbors
Those
Who Are Our Enemies
Our
model for this attitude is Jesus. Jesus from the cross prayed that the Father
would forgive those who were responsible for Him going to the cross (that
includes me and you).
A
real experience from God will lead us to love others as He loves us.
Raise
the Roof and Remove the Walls is being in awe of God’s creation and loving
God’s human creation and rejecting the values and philosophies that reject God
and accepting the truth of God.
The
last test is: How does the spiritual experience affect our attitude toward sin?
If
the experience is truly from God then it will be based in grace and the grace
of God will turn our heart away from sin and toward holiness.
Titus
2:11-14
For
the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us
to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the
appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave
Himself for us to redeem from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a
people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.
The
experience should lead us away for ungodliness and worldly passions.
The
experience should lead us toward self-controlled, upright, and godly lives.
A
spiritual experience from God will lead us to hate sin and to desire to live in
communion with God.
Raise
the Roof an Remove the Walls is living in a loving, obedient relationship
with Jesus and hating sin because it hinders us from experiencing intimacy with
God.
A
true spiritual experience that comes from God will:
Draw
us closer to the Father
Focus
our daily lives on Jesus
Fill
us more fully with the Holy Spirit
Give
us a truer view of who we are
Enable
us to love fellow believers more strongly
Empower
us to relate to the world in a way that pleases God
Lead
us to hate sin and love godliness
We
can know our spiritual experiences are from God by using these tests.
Knowing
God as We Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls,
Joe
No comments:
Post a Comment