In the earliest days of my encounter with the gospel, I remember how my passion was wild and fire unquenchable. In few weeks and months I had the most amazing Christian experiences that cannot pass for coincidences. You know those kind of apt experiences? Seeing things or hearing things before they happen – the exactness and precision!
Fast forward to some other time when I got overwhelmed by challenges and I had become less involved with the Scriptures and prayers. It all began to feel dry and uninspiring but I knew better to think the problem was with the object of my faith. I knew it was a result of my own spiritual apathy.
Fast forward to another time when I decided to clear my head and just be more focused on spiritual things. Boom! The experiences that followed are forever etched in my memory and will never die. They are living and real.
Why the talk about experiences tonight? Because the word produces them! The entirety of the Christian faith rests on the experience of One Man – Jesus Christ. The first announcers and heralds of the message preached it as that which they had seen, touched and handled.
They were called EYE-WITNESSES.
Why the talk about experiences?
Because our relationship is with the LIVING GOD! And as it is with every relationship, there are bound to be experiences. The bible does guarantee that we would have real time experiences with God – of course while setting the boundaries for this; which is faith in His Word and devotion to prayers.
That was an aside.
Have you ever wondered why there seems to be an awakening, so to speak, at different times in history? What is often called ‘revival’ or an ‘outpouring’? Why did we have the dark ages and then suddenly light began to dawn on some others later? What changed?! Well, the answer is in the first two lines of this write up:
Sometimes, the inconsistency is as a result of lack of knowledge. Such that men have ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE. So, they pray and fast and commit themselves so much but they get nothing out of it all.
At other times, the inconsistency is as a result of the pride of knowledge. Such that men have KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT ZEAL. So, they know so much and feel so adequate that they stop relying on the Lord and His Spirit. Prayer is ditched. Fasting is explained away. Oh, Lord how many terrible explanations have I heard on the subject of prayer?
Where are all those believers who think fasting is not New Testament practice again or that it does nothing? Jesus fasted, Peter did, Paul did. Please do! Add to knowledge, spiritual disciplines and to spiritual disciplines, add consistency.
If you aren’t experiencing God as you should, it’s because there’s an inconsistency somewhere you need to address. Find it. Address it. And you’d discover God never moved an inch. It was you who did.
