We have received…the Spirit
who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to
us by God. —1 Corinthians 2:12
{CHAMBERS} “My experience is not what makes redemption real—
redemption is reality. […] When I am born again, the Spirit of God takes me
beyond myself and my experiences, and identifies me with Jesus Christ. […] My
experiences are not worth anything unless they keep me at the Source of truth—
Jesus Christ.[…] Never support an experience which does not have God as its
Source and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is
anti-Christian, no matter what visions or insights you may have had. Is Jesus
Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you place your experiences above Him? […]
Faith based on experience is not faith; faith based on God’s revealed truth is
the only faith there is.”
{ELGIN} What is it that draws you to attend a certain church? How much does the style of worship music
affect your attitude when you are there? What is your expectation when you are
there? I have known many people who
stopped attending a particular church because they did not get along with
someone or they were not getting anything out of it. We become part of a congregation for any
number of reasons. The only right one is that the Lord has led you there. And
if He is the One who said “come” then He is the only One who can
authoritatively say “go”. So often it is
our feeling – emotions – that drive our decision to leave. The point of assembling together on Sunday is
to corporately draw closer to God. To
offer up our devotion to Him. To hear a
word from Him through the preacher. To
learn from the Word of God. In other
words to draw closer to God and be refreshed spiritually. But so very often … we go to feel good … We
focus more on other people than on the God we have come to worship. Don’t let your feelings fool you. The source of our emotions is very often from
our flesh not our Spirit. A good test is
to think about why you feel the way you do .. is it because of what someone – a
human – said or did or looked? That is
not from the Spirit. Going to church should
not be a chore. At the same time its
primary purpose is not to make you feel good but to draw close to God. Don’t spend so much time examining other
church members, the pastor, or the worship leader … but examine your own
heart. To quote Rick Warren, “It’s not
about you!” Think about it.
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