As a young Believer just starting my spiritual journey, I remember that I would walk in and through the presence of God effortlessly. I lived and breathed the supernatural. Signs and Wonders followed me everywhere! The anointing was powerful! Then I started my formal Bible training and was told those things no longer happen. So, I began to focus less on my experiential knowledge of walking with Jesus and more on increasing my cerebral knowledge about Jesus. Now, decades later, I am back to growing in the passionate heart knowledge of Jesus. The supernatural anointing is fresh and new every morning, growing stronger daily. I don't ever want this to be a memory. I want it to continue as a living reality!
However, the Bible warns of a time that "will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned to fables." (2 Tim 4:3,4; see also 1 Tim 1:10; Titus 1:9; 2:1)
Experiential Theology
Within the Church, there is a growing emphasis on experienced-based theology that validates belief rather than the Word of God validating the experience. Too little priority is given to the Bible, and too much emphasis is given to personal experience, personal revelation, and speculation that have no biblical precedence or historical foundation. For example, Christians tend to blame things on the demonic and overlook normal Christian growth and maturity which requires personal acknowledgment and repentance of sin from neglecting God's Word and living a holy life.
God's Word is absolute truth, but we must maintain humility concerning our "knowledge" because no human mind can absolutely comprehend it. To be safe, we should rely on what the Scriptures teach to understand our experience rather than our experiences shaping or adding to our perceptions of the Scriptures. It is of utmost importance to seek greater knowledge and understanding of God. However, knowledge, in and of itself, without the experience of touching God and being touched by Him in a very intimate and personal way, will fail to satisfy human reasoning because the hidden things of God are only found deep within the Spirit. Because He transcends the natural, God desires we also experience the supernatural with Him. Spending all our time learning about Jesus and not spending time with Jesus will lead to spiritual barrenness.
The Disciple Thomas is an example of one living in the sensory, soulish realm of empirical certainty, relying on feelings and personal experiences to believe. He wouldn't believe that Jesus was alive even after the other Disciples told him they had seen Him because he had to experience it personally. He told them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." Jesus chastised him for this and said, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:24-29 NIV)
Human logic, opinion, emotions, feelings, dreams, visions, experiences, clinical "evidence," church dogma, or the teachings of "spiritual" leaders can never be the basis for sound doctrine. The born-again Christian must learn to "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7 KJV). The Christian walk can't be established upon sensory spirituality or experiential exegesis based on the belief in the abstract and subjective "I hear - I see - I feel - therefore, it must be real" feelings, emotions, and experiences. The five senses: taste - feel - hear- see - smell - are all rooted in our flesh. The "I know it's true because I 'feel' it in my heart" approach to biblical truth only leads to error and deception. The Bible tells us that "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool.." (Prov 28:26 KJV) because the "human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked." (Jer 17:9 NLT). It must be God's written Word, the cognitive, the concrete foundation, to base all decisions and beliefs. The Bible must be studied from God's perspective - not ours.
The relating of experiences or "divine revelation" outside of the Word of God is what Paul calls "fables" (1 Tim 1:4). The minute we open the door and teach from the basis of experience, we lose authority and introduce confusion. We should consider experience but also note the limits of the knowledge which God has revealed. Experience does not add to the truth of Scripture. Believers should not be "tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Eph. 4:14).
Trust The Instruments
As long as I can remember, I have been passionate about flying aircraft, so I became a pilot. Soaring amongst the clouds where only Eagles dare is a thrill that words can't explain. When pilots are trained to fly, they are taught that they must trust the aircraft's instruments. If they rely only on sensory input, they could get into a situation they may not be able to get out of. The five senses are reliable only to a certain point. A pilot could have a "gut" feeling that something is wrong, but the ultimate confirmation is found by checking the instruments. While flying through clouds, they could "feel" as if they are flying straight and level when in actuality, they may be in a slow-turning spiral or even completely inverted, not realizing it because everything "feels" ok. But if they look at their instruments, they will know for certain if they are flying straight and level or upside down.
Airplanes are built using the scientific study of flight. If they were made based on observation or experience alone, they would never stay in the air or safely return to Earth. Just like building an airplane, a ministry or theology should be built on the science of Biblical study. We should never interpret the Bible in the light of our experiences but rather interpret our experiences in the authority of the Bible.
Trusting-Faith
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist together and for each other as infinite love that defies human description, understanding, or comprehension. Because They are love, They trust one another without hesitation and will do whatever the other asks.
Since God is love, He desires to have people who will trust Him no matter what they experience or whatever circumstance they find themselves in. God wants people who will worship Him because they want to, not because He does something to make them love Him or they "feel" His presence or get "Holy Ghost Goosebumps." The foundation of trust is love. In order to trust, there must be freedom. But God can't create faith, so He put into us an unlimited capacity to love and trust. Faith is something we must provide! It is based on freedom because faith requires it. Adam and Eve chose not to trust Him. The Bible says that the "righteous will live by his faith." (Hab 2:4-4 NIV) The Hebrew Word used here for faith is "Aman," where we get the word "Amen." The righteous shall live continuously by faith. We must enter into the state of "Amen" where no doubt exists. We must learn to walk by faith, not by sight, placing our trust in our Creator with every breath we take.
