Is it right to seeking the Experience of God? – Asking for a Damascus Road

There are such mixed views about seeking after the experiential. Many shy away form the topic altogether because there have been so many occasions when it has become the focus of meetings, hype and distraction. But with our eyes fixed on our Lord, we must note that the entire bible is filled with the experience of the supernatural, of God. And most significant and important, the radical transformation that occurred as a result of these experiences that has changed the world for the glory of God and the furthering of His kingdom. Don’t believe me? Look at Paul, at Moses, at Isaiah, at David, at Gideon. Keep looking and you will find nearly every major leading character has had the same thing happen. It appears that those especially called to a place of publicity, persecution, authority or all the above, are transformed by and walk in a place of supernatural revelation and an experience that gives them the ability to stay steadfast and true to God. It creates a fear of the Lord, a hope, a perspective, a greater love and revelation. God calls us to intimacy with Him and He calls us to relationship. How can we have a relationship with someone if there is a whole aspect missing? The idea of physicality with God is one of almost taboo and yet let us look:

Romans 12:1-3

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

“Christians use this passage mostly when sending off a new missionary to a post overseas or when someone is doing some kind of ministry that involves self denial…I’d like to suggest that this passage is (however) also speaking about our physical bodies’ role in recognizing and working with God. Let me develop this in the life of King David, the man perhaps most acquainted with the presence and the glory of God of anyone in all of history.

David had 30-40 years in which he came freely before the actual manifested presence of God that was upon the Ark of the Covenant. God’s glory radiated visibly from it. The bible makes it clear that David was immeasurably impacted by God’s presence, as a result he wrote;

“My flesh longs for you…” (ps 63:1b)

Was he speaking purely metaphorically? I don’t think so. He was declaring that he had been so affected by the presence and the glory of God that his body itself ached and cried out for more. What’s true for David is true for us. In the same way that you and I hunger for food or thirst for water, our physical bodies, not just our emotions, intellects and spirits, can ache for God. And if we can hunger for God physically, then we can be satisfied physically…God has put it within our makeup the capacity to recognize Him and His activities with our physical bodies [senses].”

-Bill Johnson “Supernatural power of the transformed mind” pg 133

Proverbs 6:16-19

16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers

Senses. Physical bodily senses. If they can displease God and be used for evil then surely…?

Romans 6:13

Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

"Understanding began to come to me. I realized that our five senses are the entry points and the access points of all the worldly and demonic influences that we come up against every day.

These are also the very places for the Holy Spirit and the power of God to be released in us. The problem is that we are yielding our five senses to the wrong areas and not to the Lord.”

Gary Oates “Open my eyes Lord” pg 43

Believe me yet?! The bible, the New Testament in fact, calls us to experience God with our physical senses, to interact with Him not only emotionally, spiritually, mentally and intellectually, but physically.

It is also important to see the role of physical experience of God in transforming our mind by giving us a vision and a fixing point giving us the ability to withstand:

"’Where there is no vision/revelation, the people perish/cast off restraint, but blessed are those who keep the law.’…As Christians, we are called to be a people of vision. We must learn to set a goal or a target in front of our eyes to gaze upon. It is only when we aim at something we have a chance at hitting it!”

- Jim Goll “the Seer” pg 46-47

The vision that Elijah, Elisha, Jacob, Zecheriah, Daniel, had, sustained them. Experiences can be the means by which (NOT the only means) the Lord gives us a vision that will sustain us through what is to come. It can also transform our very being and mindset:

“Jacob was seeking with all his might and found the face of God. He was not willing to give up. The struggle produced something heavenly in Jacob. His life was never the same after the encounter with the angel of the Lord. He found strength he didn’t know he had. He was transformed.”

Gary Oates “Open my Eyes Lord” pg 112

To seek an experience, as long as we are seeking the face of God first and only, is not a wrong thing. It has the potential to change our life as dramatically and unrecognizably as Paul and the potential to alter the course of history to the same degree for we have the same Spirit, so does the next conclusion stand to reason even if it’s a little scary?...If what is true for Paul could be true for us if we get revelation of whatever it is he saw or experienced….

…are we willing to ask God for a Damascus road experience?

Acts 9:1-9

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

Fear of the Lord rightly causes us to tremble in His presence. The idea of asking for such a life transforming encounter and the possibility that God may in fact answer that prayer, fills us both with uncontainable excitement and also terror. It is right to be afraid in the presence of God, oh woe to those who would try and enter His presence cocky or self righteous! Lower and lower still beloved! Stay low! However, we can trust Him. We can trust Him with everything, He is our Daddy and there are bounds He will not cross:

“Again I was resisting what God was doing and I started backing down [from the heaven experience]. I realized that He would only take me as far as I was willing to allow Him, but I was the bottleneck. I put the brakes on. I was the one who would determine how far I went with Him. Because of insecurities and fear of the supernatural, I had somehow drawn a line in the sand with God.”

The way to experience God? To pray the prayer of Romans 6:13. To surrender ones body entirely and completely to the works of God. Pursuing a purity and a holiness that we called to, no compromise. Jesus says that those who are pure in heart will see Gods face. We have got to decide what we want and then run after it whatever the cost:

“David makes a solemn request in Psalm 86:11 (NIV) “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your Truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name”. A divided heart can keep us out of God’s presence.…This is about COMPLETE SURRENDER. It’s a call to 100% commitment to Him. It’s saying to the Lord: ‘I want everything You’ve got…I’ll pay whatever the price. I want intimacy with you!”

Gary Oates “Open my eyes Lord” pg 42, 115

Which leads me to where I have been living recently…

(see my next post)