Monday: Experience
Read Romans 2:4 and Titus 3:4-5. How do we experience the goodness, forbearance, forgiveness, kindness, and love of God? Why is it important that our faith be not just an abstract, intellectual knowledge, but something we actually experience? At the same time, in what ways can our experiences conflict with the Bible and even mislead us in our faith?
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Experience is part of our human existence. It impacts our feelings and thoughts in a powerful way. God has designed us in such a way that our relationship to His creation, and even to God Himself, is significantly connected to and shaped by our experience.
It is God’s desire that we experience the beauty of relationships, of art and music, and of the wonders of creation, as well as the joy of His salvation and the power of the promises of His Word. Our religion and faith are more than just doctrine and rational decisions. What we experience significantly shapes our view of God and even our understanding of His Word. But we also need to see clearly the limitations and insufficiencies of our experiences when it comes to knowing God’s will.
What warning is found in 2 Corinthians 11:1-3? What should this tell us about the limits of trusting our experiences?
Experiences can be very deceiving. Biblically speaking, experience needs to have its proper sphere. It needs to be informed and shaped by Scripture and interpreted by Scripture. Sometimes we want to experience something that is out of harmony with God’s Word and will. Here we need to learn to trust the Word of God even over our experience and desires. We should be on guard to make sure that even our experience is always in harmony with the Word of God and does not contradict the clear teaching of the Bible.
| A faith in which love for God and love for others (see Mark 12:28-31) are the chief commandments is, obviously, a faith in which experience is important. At the same time, why is it crucial that we always test our experience through the Word of God? |
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What we know and what we experience is like the difference between religion and a relationship.
Difference between mind and heart, but if we don't have both we are missing part of the whole. Both in the old and new testament the essence of the gospel is love the LORD with all your heart, soul and mind.
Think of why the LORD compares His relationship with His people to a marriage.
There is danger in saying this feels good so it must be right.
What have seen is that our experiences shouldn't take us away from God but instead bring us closer and Him so that we can over come.
Now when I became an Adventist there was a phrase I did not understand for a very, very long time. I have heard this phrase only in Adventism. Jesus paid the penalty of second death. What is second death? What does it mean Jesus paid the penalty of second death? When I experienced the meaning of this phrase no Passion of Christ movie can ever come close to the agony my Savior experienced at the cross. He felt in his human nature the possibility of not being resurrected but died in faith. That pain is unimaginable to me.
Yes, many do not realize the risk of eternal separation the Triune God took, that is why Satan tried so hard to tempt Jesus, EGW tells that with the weight of the world's sin on His soul He couldn't see through the tomb and had to by faith trust the Father's promise!
DA pg 753
While the Bible speaks often of death, one death in particular, the “second death,” mankind knows little of. The phrase “second death” is found only in the book of Revelation, the first time in the letter to the church at Smyrna: “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death” (Revelation 2:11).
This verse does not tell us much about the second death, only that the way to avoid it is to overcome faithfully.
The "second death" is eternal separation from God and is described in more detail in Rev 20.
I say:
the righteous (by grace) die once - one resurrection to eternal life
the wicked die twice, are resurrection once at the end of 1000 years, then thrown into lake of fire
Indeed, no movie can hold the depth of agony our Savior suffered upon the cross. very well said.
Being "made sin for us" shares a incredible reality to contemplate. That Jesus became sin personified. Upon the cross Christ became a sinner as if He had done sins of commission and omission, and even felt the nature of sin that comes from others. His was a whole package in meeting sin and addressing it. In this fullness of being made sin for us it is with His stripes that we are healed.
The second death is eternal separation from God ( The Father ). That is the agony that killed Christ, not His wounds. Our physical death on earth is just sleeping until the resurrection. Hallelujah!
Fortunately for us, because Christ was sinless and submitted His will totally to the Father, the second death could not hold Him.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 King James Version (KJV)
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The lesson today was a bit challenging for me to understand. But thinking about experiences I've gone through, I can see how they can either draw you closer to God or away from Him. A couple of years back, I worked in a horrible job with individuals who were toxic. Eventually, God moved me on to a better job and I’m so thankful to Him. However, I periodically think, “Why did You have me there and for so long, God?” My trying to understand that bad experience can block me from Jesus and seeing His goodness if I keep dwelling on it. I have to consciously break my thoughts when they pop up and thank God for His goodness to me in all things. He’ll explain it all to me in Heaven if it even matters by then.
Jeanne;
I too was placed in a job I questioned God on. It was working as a health care provider in a prison. I was there for a reason. Over time I saw the reason. God never places us in situations He does want us to shine/learn in/from. You were placed in that job for a reason. Now-a-days, I do not ask for deliverance from the experience, but what God wants me to learn/do.
God wants a rational religion from us, right? Thus, this rational religion has to be based on something. Our base is the Bible. But without an experience, religion means nothing. Isn't it said that "a religion without faith is dead"? And a "faith without deeds is (also) dead"?
Read this,
JAMES 1:26
Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.
JAMES 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
1 TIMOTHY 5:4
But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.
Religion in the Bible just makes sense if put into practice. Now, in this "all is relative" world that we live in, if we don't have faith we don't have religion, and if we don't have action, our religion is dead!
What type of active religion are we having in the middle of this crisis? What are we, as 7th day adventists, doing to make a difference at this moment? Are we all locked up in our comfortable houses watching the church services on-line, or not even being able to congregate anymore because we are so tired on the weekend from the digital works that we have done during the week, even meeting with our Sabbath School Class on-line is stressful?
"It is a solemn statement that I make to the church, that not one in twenty whose names are registered upon the church books are prepared to close their earthly history, and would be as verily without God and without hope in the world as the common sinner. They are professedly serving God, but they are more earnestly serving mammon. This half-and-half work is a constant denying of Christ, rather than a confessing of Christ. So many have brought into the church their own unsubdued spirit, unrefined; their spiritual taste is perverted by their own immoral, debasing corruptions, symbolizing the world in spirit, in heart, in purpose, confirming themselves in lustful practices, and are full of deception through and through in their professed Christian life. Living as sinners, claiming to be Christians! Those who claim to be Christians and will confess Christ should come out from among them and touch not the unclean thing, and be separate..." Christian Service, EGW.
Zielak; Very well said. What have you don't during this Covid19 crisis to assist others. People could learn form your actions.
My experience, is with all the technology, ect. distractions in the world today, my thoughts are led astray from a pure and sincere relation with Christ. It is thoughts of Christ love, mercy and promise of a washing regeneration, a renewal of the Holy Spirit that draws me to a daily experience with Jesus Christ.
One unique aspect of experience is that, sometimes we have no control over our experiences. One that comes to mind is 'abuse' in any form. What we have control over is our reaction to the situation/experience.
Another important factor is that our experience/s normally have a great impact on our present and future. We should take the good and allow it mold the present and future in a positive manner.
I once heard that "A wise man learns from his/her own experience!" however, "A wiser man learns from the experiences of others!"
Good morning everyone. We need to be careful so that we don’t make our experience a doctrine. Just because God blesses me this way doesn’t mean that it is true for everyone. If we look at Saul’s experience, we can learn that it was ok to kill anyone who tried to be like God.
In Acts 9, Saul learned that he was fighting against God instead of fighting for Him. We need to look at our motives to see if it is aligned with God’s. Also, we must be careful that we don’t judge people because God’s Spirit who transcends human comprehension might lead someone in a different way. For example, the story of David and his friends eating the bread in the temple were wrong in the eyes of someone who didn’t know what they were going through would have judged them.
We need to be humble and ask God to enlighten us everyday. Let us experience His love everyday so we can please Him daily.
My concern on the topic of "experience" is that some believe unless they have an type of ecstatic experience they are not connecting with God. Also some gatherings whip people up into an emotional/hysterical state where they are susceptible to suggestions that by pass their logical brain lobe.
This where the influence of various types of music need to be considered.
I couldn't agree more. Music is a powerful tool that can evoke many and different kinds of experiences. A lot of songs these days are endless repetition, sometimes an uplifting of self, some fail to mention Jesus though we can assume they are referring to him, and deeply moving and really short on causing one to think of God.
This is so true! However, because of sin, most of us have distorted images of self. But God is the One Who is able to take that into a balance! By contemplation of His own love for us, may we get that balance necessary to heal what's wrong within us, so we can properly love ourselves in order to properly love others!
On experience and tradition -
Experience in itself is of no consequence until we assign value to it - judge.
Personally, I stay away from any type of tradition - personal and religious. At the least, I keep up my guard!
Do we seek to establish traditions in order to generate an experience? Does this experience, if engaged in (enjoyed) often enough, lead us to continue in that tradition?
It looks to me that establishing a tradition leads to an experience (designed to be good) which circles around to maintain the tradition to relive the experience and ends in dogma or rule.
I prefer to keep my faith simple.
After all, we are born again and do not need to establish again something that could become a stumbling block or an offence to ourselves or others. Rom.10:1-15; Rom.14:19-23;.
Righteous living is what we are called to engage in.
2 Tim.3:10-17; Rom.14:1 - 'Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations'.
The more the organized church establishes traditions to generate certain 'feel-good' experiences, the less we desire to look to the Holy Spirit to guide our lives and to refine us by the fire of the words of Scriptures.
Therefor, the result could be that it will be these church traditions, rules and experiences that keep us 'coming back for more' when we attend 'church', because they give us a sense of 'belonging' or 'comfort'.
I looked up references to 'little children' and the 'Kingdom of God' since I want to keep my faith simple - based on the scripture.
Throughout Matt.18 , Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of God in relation to how we receive and treat little children.
v.7: Woe unto the world because of OFFENCES! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
Math 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17 - v.17: Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
All references show how Jesus related to children; Children by age or by maturity of their faith, it does not matter.
The more rules, traditions and the desire to seek after experiences, the more we muddle the water of living by faith and 'Sola scriptura' in God's kingdom.
We do well to remember always, first and foremost, the rule (commandment) that Jesus highlighted above all others:
Matthew 22:37-40 -
Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Keep it simple!
Brigitte, I agree we need to be mindful of the reasons for our practices, regularly ask ourselves why we do church in a particular way and if the answer is because we have always done it like this then it is time to reevaluate the practice. The same in out personal spiritual life. We need to consider when does a regular practice become a custom or a tradition that is no longer meaningful.
Luke 4:16, Acts 17:2, Jesus and Paul as was their custom went to church on Sabbath, some regular practices are good.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death
Rev 12:11
Am I A Saint??
Today we are looking at experiences and how the shaped our christian lives. It is through our experiences that our testimonies were formed and shaped. No one can doubt our experiences as well as our testimonies.
I read all of your posts and some were very interesting!!
To Jeanne-I encouraged you to read the book "Help in daily living" your answer is there to your question.
I have a similar experience. I work on Sabbaths, I was asking the Lord to help me not to work on Sabbath but he had not removed me. One day at work (it was a sabbath) after the sound of bustling gripped me, I longed to be off. Then I heard a voice in my spirit saying, 'the problem is not with the people/things but with me, I need to overcome'. I pondered on those words "I need to overcome".
As I constantly pondered on those words I asked myself, how was Jonah sound asleep in the boat when all of that stuff were going on around him? Jonah 1:5
How was Jesus sound sleeps in the ship when the storm broke loose when all the disciples were so busy? Matt 8:24
Am I a Saint?
I was not born in the SDA church therefore I have experiences before I came into the SDA church. I got baptized and became a SDA, I have those experiences. I backslide and leave the church, experiences followed. Then I return to the faith, therefore I have buckets full of experiences.
Can humans hide from a Holy God? In my backslidden state I used to go to the cinema/movies with my boyfriend(now husband).He would go and get the tickets while I stood in the shadow so no one can see me, then he would signal to me to come quickly. We used to sit in the back so no one will see us. Leave as soon as it was finished. But as I sat there my spirit would be restless, it was those moments the Holy Spirit would ask me many times what I am doing there. After a while I told him I cannot go back with him.
The Holy Spirit speaks to everyone, Saints and sinners alike, even in our backslidden state. Therefore let us cont to pray for each others. Pray for those who come to church but walk is not with God. Even in my backslidden state I still used to go to church and participate in programs. I would asked myself, if I die while I was/is living is active sin, how would I face the judgment?
Let us pray for those who leave the church. The Holy Spirit is working on their hearts/minds but some are weak spiritually to return. Pray for others to accept the bible message of salvation.
Lyn, thank you for sharing your experiences, I would also like to be as open as you are to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as I go about my daily life.
Amen Sister Lynn.
While looking at something else, I found this and thought it was fitting for today's lesson.
From 5T 160-1: “It is your work to study and to imitate the Pattern. Was Christ self-denying? So must you be. Was He meek and lowly? So must you be. Was He zealous in the work of saving souls? So must you be. Did He labor to promote the glory of His Father? So must you. Did He often seek help from God? So must you. Was Christ patient? So will you be patient. As Christ forgave His enemies, so will you forgive."
Isn't this the experience we want?
To be carnal minded is death, to be spiritually minded is life.
Rom 8:1-17
Thank Shirley.
I just want to be a blessing to someone. The Christian walk and struggle is real. But it is by the help of the Holy Spirit and constant pray, bible study, fasting, and encouragement that we can overcome.
Don't like to hear the words, "I just can't make it" from no one. Always let them know Jesus has the power to help.
I would say that the of salvation is never to appeal to our emotions but out intellect. This is why God calls on His children saying, "Come, let us reason together."
Our decision to follow God should be more on understanding that feelings.