The greatest proof of spiritual health is a passion after Jesus Christ. This marvelous faith that we know is not tied to our emotions but to our knowledge of His personal grace in our heart. It starts in the head and heart and proceeds to the emotions. We have a God-breathed spirit that is created to be tuned in on spiritual reality. O, yes, it can be sidestepped into all kinds of religious emotions. Many of them are dangerous to our health. The Holy Bible is the guide to connect our spirit to His Spirit. I just received an email that charged me to read it with a completely open mind, laying all conviction aside. I tell people like that they are crazy. You are not going to get inside my head past the Holy Word of God.
Scripture plainly teaches that men are saved by the anointed Word of God. Having religious experiences by the varied theologies of today is leading a multitude astray. The glorious gospel is simple, so simple that God promises that even “fools shall not err therein” (Isaiah 35:8b). Open the Bible, lay it on the altar, and let your soul delight in His Truth. Ask the Father to allow His Spirit to guide and convict you. This simple method cannot fail if you are surrendered to Him.
An alcoholic of many years, who was living in the woods at the edge of a golf course, called me asking for help. From another city some distance away, I gave him advice over the phone. A sister provided him with a Bible and I convinced him to get on his knees right out in his little camping spot and open the Bible to Saint John. He was to read the whole Gospel of John two or three times with only one prayer. That prayer was, “I want to see Jesus.” A friend was golfing at that course weeks later and this man came out of the trees to carry his golf clubs. The man proceeded to witness to what appeared to be a bum. Quickly he told the story of my advice and testified of the saving power of the Blood. He has ministered to others since that day and still a new man.
The last thing an unconverted person needs to hear is a head full of someone’s theology. Every sinner must meet Jesus at His cross. Do not carry a sinner into Revelation or Genesis. Carry him to the cross. We all start at the point of guilt, we are lost souls. One great black minister said, “He meets us in on our ‘isness,’ not our ‘oughtness’.” The woman at the well was told of her sins but with compassion for her soul. Jesus said to her, “but the water that I shall give him (her) shall be in him (her) a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14b). She came with a pot and left with a well.
The Christian must never leave the place of “passion for Christ.” The darkness in the houses of God is the loss of vision for Christ. I have been saved fifty-six years this month (March 2008) and He is more real to me than ever. I sit here with hot tears after Him and He is wonderfully real. He wants you to “know Him,” not about Him. He is ever ready to reveal Himself. You do not have to chase Him or run down some strange road looking for some new thing. Such thoughts are a witness that you have looked past Him and are following some strange ideas. He is right there in the Holy Book waiting to walk right into the middle of your life.
The vision on the Mount of Transfiguration had one primary purpose. These three key disciples were being prepared to pass the vision of Him to others. Suddenly, they saw not just a man born of Mary; they saw God in the flesh and heard the Father out of a cloud confirm His divinity. They saw the Divine Son, the Beloved Son, the Sacrificial Son, and the Faithful Son. Soon, they saw the Crucified Son, the Resurrected Son, and the Ascended Son. The Holy Spirit then revealed the Exalted Son, the Reigning Son, and the Returning Son. No wonder they turned the world upside down.
If you can move beyond the simple and important truth about Him and surrender to His Lordship of your life, He will make Himself known to you. Knowing Christ is a supernatural experience. It may come quietly or it may come as in the man that rushed “into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God” (Acts 3:8b). New converts that have experienced Jesus Christ usually startle the sedate congregations that need startling. The emotion must never become more important than the passion of “knowing Him.”
