moves of God – warning sign #1 – seeking experiences

Are we more concerned about seeking an experience than seeking God? It’s wonderful to feel thrilling things happen. I’ve been slain in the Spirit, shaked and quaked and experienced many other physical manifestations, had wonderful emotions while in the presence of the Lord, experienced dramatic physical healings, words of knowledge, seen dreams and visions, heard God’s audible voice . . . But as exciting as they may seem, those are just signs pointing to God. They’re not the destination! We cannot focus on experiences; we can’t live for experiences. It’s a huge mistake to base any part of our beliefs on our own or someone else’s personal experience. Can we examine our hearts and see if we can honestly say to God – “if I never feel Your presence again, if you never give me another blessing, I will still worship you because of who You are. You are worthy! I will still love you. I will still serve you. I will still devote my life to you.” Our feelings are not trustworthy; God is completely trustworthy! Jeremiah 17:9 says that “the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” We need to keep our focus on God and His ways, constantly, in every situation. We need to daily seek Him and study His word. We need to check out whatever we hear preached or taught, and whatever we experience, against the word of God. I hope you will check out what I’m writing here! The problem with seeking experiences is that they are temporary and subjective, and if we base our theology on experiences, then we will be very prone to imbalance and error. Only God’s Word is permanent and completely objective. His Word is the rock upon which we can stand firmly.

We had a neighbor on our street in Atlanta who worked for the treasury department, specializing in identifying counterfeit bills. She was trained to recognize counterfeits by looking at many, many authentic bills. Being very familiar with the real thing enabled her to instantly recognize imitations when she saw them. The more familiar we become with what is true and real and authentic, the less likely we’ll be lured away by anything false. We discover the truth by studying the Bible on our own and with others. The most dangerous deception is not one that is completely opposite to the truth – it’s one that is extremely close to the truth, with one little twist. When my family moved to Australia in 1971, we took a ship from New Orleans in the U.S.A. to Sydney, Australia. If the ship’s course had been off by just a couple of degrees, we would have completely missed our destination. When it comes to what we choose to believe, seemingly small errors can lead to really big problems later on.

I long for God’s Kingdom transformation to come, I long for people to turn to Christ by the thousands. I long for sin to be swept out of the city and for God’s righteousness to prevail. But I do not want to settle for temporary excitement that is not accompanied by lasting fruit. It’s as though God has invited us to eat with Him at the most amazing restaurant ever. We walk in and see the beautiful lighting, and smell the aroma coming from the kitchen. We drink in the beauty of the flowers on each table and the delicacy of the table linens. We admire the craftsmanship of the plates and silverware and the intricate designs on the glassware. At that point, we feel good, our senses have been stimulated; we are filled with pleasure. But if we spend all our time at the restaurant simply enjoying pleasurable feelings, we will miss the best part, which is to meet with God, to know Him. He is offering us the most intimate relationship possible. He wants our hearts to beat with His, to have the mind of Christ, to be one with Him. This happens as we spend time with Him and get to know Him. There’s no fast track or shortcut to intimacy with God. I think often God gives us a little glimpse of His Kingdom and we say, “oh this is so wonderful” and we are satisfied with that. God has so much more for each of us – but He is waiting to see if we are serious about our relationship with Him. He wants us to seek Him and not just pursue experiences. Each day is precious and a gift from God . . . let’s not miss even one opportunity to draw ever closer to the face and heart of our beautiful Creator and Savior.