| There are a significant number of conscientious Christians who sense that something is lacking in their spiritual lives. Though they love God and serve Him faithfully, they’re craving feelings beyond the inner-witness of the Spirit to signify that the Lord treasures them. The whisper of an inner-voice assures them that such desires are biblically sound. It urges that it’s OK to seek up-close and personal encounters with the tangible presence of God. It’s OK for you to yearn episodes wherein overwhelming sensations of the presence of the Almighty permeates your body, soul and spirit.
There is another group within Christianity that is far larger. They have the same longings and hear the same whispers telling them that their desires to feel God are legitimate. However, the voice of tradition indignantly huffs contradictions from within their minds. It reminds them that the need to feel anything is a sign of abject immaturity. Therefore, in obedience they set sail for the miserable seas of denial by suppressing their longings. I will expose the historical roots of this insidious position later.
Both Camps Jim
I can identify with both of the groups that I’ve described. For twenty-nine years of Christian service I secretly labored under the same yearnings. On one hand, I enjoyed a fruitful ministry. Many testified of sensing God’s anointing as I ministered to them from a full repertoire of the Holy Spirit’s gifts. On the other hand, I was secretly languishing in a desert of spiritual dryness. I rarely felt anything notable during my devotions or on occasions when others ministered to me.
Of course, I tried to rationalize my condition. In doing so, I shifted into the denial mode of the second group. I told myself that some people needed to feel things, but I didn’t. I was a mature man of faith who could be sustained solely by feeding on God’s Word. The charade continued until I visited the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship in Ontario, Canada in 1996.
My First Time
It was there that I experienced physical feelings of the tangible presence of God for the first time. Secular and religious publications had lured me to the site. I was intrigued by reports of thousands of people spontaneously experiencing physiological responses to the manifest presence of God. It sounded weird, yet strangely wonderful. I stepped into the sanctuary fully armed with an exaggerated sense of self-importance. My outer demeanor was that of a Bible scholar and authority on Church History who was there to check things out. Inwardly, I pled, “touch me Lord. Please don’t pass me by.”
For two days I perched like a hawk, waiting to pounce on the vermin of error. I noticed that at certain points during each service, the atmosphere of the sanctuary seemed to be suddenly transformed. It became saturated with the sense that pure love and total acceptance were descending upon each seeker and flooding every aspect of their beings.
As this awesome, invigorating force filled the room, people began to experience physiological responses. Some shrieked with laughter like joyful children who had never known a day of responsibility nor emotional stress. Others quivered as though light jolts of heavenly electricity were causing them to spasm. Many swooned, gently collapsing to the floor as their physical strength melted under downpours of unconditional love. Most simply sat with blissful expressions while soaking in the current of spiritual energy that was pulsating through the room.
Everything happened spontaneously without the least hint of hype from those on the platform. When the phenomena struck, they were as apt as those in the congregation to fall under its influences. At the end of the services thousands of people stayed behind for personal ministry. It was not slick professional superstars that ministered to them into the wee hours of the followingmornings. The prayer teams were comprised of normal folks from eighteen to eighty years of age. These were simply sharing overflows of the glory of God from the massive doses that had previously overwhelmed them.
Blessed Third Day
On the third day, I had my encounter with the Lord’s presence. I was rummaging through the lost-and-found items at the back of the auditorium. I had once been in the apparel business and was curious about what brands of clothing the visitors had inadvertently left behind. My mind was completely detached from spiritual thoughts. Suddenly, I began to have an Acts 19:12 encounter. The residual anointing on the seeker’s clothing literally smote me. Every faculty in my being was zapped with tingling sensations. I lost all strength and slipped to the floor weeping. I knew God was touching me, so I did the first religious thing that came to mind. I began to repent. To my amazement, every time I mentioned one of my many blunders, an audible inner voice countered with an affirmation of appreciation for something that I had done right. One-half hour later, I arose from the floor a changed man. From that day till this, I’ve been on the seas of expectation, island hopping to isles of the tangible presence of God.
Good Fruit
Obviously, the up-close and personal experiences that I’ve described satisfy the longings for intimacy with God of which I initially spoke. There are additional benefits. Dr. Margaret M. Poloma of the University of Akron has done an extensive study on the residual effects of basking in the glory of the Lord. The following are edited excerpts from her 1996 sociological survey titled, By their Fruits.
89% - Testified of intensified love for Jesus that eclipsed previous levels
88% - Spoke of increased love for their spouses
83% - Said talking to their friends and relatives about Jesus was a higher priority than it was previously.
34% - Have since become more involved in works of mercy
55% - Reported deliverances from satanic strongholds in their lives
81% - Had a fresh sense of God’s forgiveness
78% - Experienced inner or emotional healings
22% - Reported physical healings
6% - Experienced healing from a clinically diagnosed mental condition
71% - Stated that their home churches experienced positive benefits from exposure to the renewal
The Culprit
In my estimation, anyone who has been conditioned to believe that feelings are unimportant has been bamboozled, hoodwinked and robbed. The primary culprit is Greek philosophy, which has polluted Christian theology for centuries. This ancient philosophy of dualism asserts that man's soul/mind and body are separate entities. It questions the legitimacy of spiritual feelings. It certifies the intellect as the sole reliable source of knowledge. This insidious error erodes our sacred privilege to know and feel Father God’s love through intimate fellowship. When distilled into Christian thinking, it implies that emotional and physical feelings shouldn’t ever be considered as important in our relationships with the Lord.
This tainted doctrinal interpretation stands in direct conflict with the Scriptures. They reveal that man was created with the three interrelated capacities of spirit, soul and body. Whatever affects the spirit of a man has the potential to influence his soul and body also. God has designed the faculties of our bodies, souls and spirits in a manner that makes them inter-dependant. In order for our spirits to abide in restful satisfaction, the emotions of the soul and the feeling senses of the body must receive intermittent affirming stimulations.
Wives need endearing brushes on the cheek from the hands of their husbands. Husbands crave the endorphin rush spawned from words of appreciative approval. Children thrive when parents regularly hug them for no reason beyond the fact that it feels good to all concerned. We are created in God’s image and all of the aforementioned are shadows of His nature.
It’s for You
God does not change. He visited Abraham and Sarah and shared a laughter-filled meal with them (Gen 18:1-15). The pre-incarnate Son of God appeared to Jacob as a man and wrestled with him all night long (Gen 32:24-30). Surely, if all He wanted to do was give Jacob a limp, it could have been accomplished in an instant. Apparently there is something about God that causes Him to delight in physically feeling the embrace of those whom He loves. What a concept! He enjoys touching us as much as we enjoy being touched by Him.
The multitudes thronged to Jesus with purpose. They hoped to experience the feelings of His virtue flowing into them. It felt great and in addition it healed sick bodies and wounded souls (Luk 6:19). The Lord’s portion for you is no less. He is more than willing to grant you intermittent, up-close and personal episodes with His tangible presence.
Faith’s Response
Father, I do not want to live like a spiritual orphan any longer. I long for your presence. I invite you to get up-close and personal with me. Fill me and touch me with tangible sensations of your presence.
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