One sunny autumn day as an acquaintance and I sat in the living room we were gazing out of the window and admiring the beautiful colors. At some point in the rambling conversation my agnostic friend remarked, "You know, seeing the beauty of nature, one can't help but think somehow that there must be a God." Almost without thinking my reply was, "Yes, and you know something? He loves you." My friend was a little taken aback and replied, "Well, I don't know if I can believe that." How sad it is that so many people live out their lives merely speculating about the existence of God when He longs to make Himself known as a Person in the deepest and most intimate way. To many God is only an "it", the impersonal force behind nature. Truly God does reveal something about Himself through the created world, but one can know more of God than that. He has taken the initiative Himself that you might know Him as a Person who loves you and desires your fellowship. First, He entered into a covenant with a man called Abraham, whom He made fabulously prosperous. Through his descendants He established the nation of Israel and showed Himself strong and supernaturally evident in their midst by miraculous deliverance. Through long years He spoke to prophets by the Spirit about the coming of Messiah to bring the kingdom of God to earth. All of this set the stage for the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, God made flesh to dwell among us, the perfect expression of His nature. Now you may be asking, "How does a Jew who lived 2000 years ago make God any more real to me today?" Don't stop reading, because God didn't stop there either. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has made a way for you to receive a gift, the best gift of all, the Holy Spirit, God Himself. On the night before He died, Jesus told His followers, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever, that is the Spirit of truth." God has distributed His very own life and nature into persons who will receive Him. On the Jewish feast day of Pentecost, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and preached to thousands about this new life to come into human beings. He said, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." This is what Christianity is all about. It is not trying to be a good person, or doing good things. It is not merely holding to certain doctrines. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! It is surrendering and allowing the divine life of God the Holy Spirit to come into your heart and cause you to be reborn in the image of God. You'll never again have to speculate whether God exists. He can make Himself known and felt in power within you and upon you right this very moment. He is so real to me this night as I write this article, that I can literally feel Him blanket me with His warm presence from head to foot. I speak to Him every day both in English and in our own private prayer language, and He speaks to me. He tells me how much He loves me, giving me direction day by day. He helps me solve my chemistry problems when I remember to ask Him to get involved. He is my Helper. He is as real a person to me as my wife is, and He is also the God I worship and serve. But my faith does not depend on my sensing God. For those times when I sense nothing of His presence, I still know that He is with me and in me, because I believe His Word, which says, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age."
How does one get started toward a life of intimacy with God? You cannot wait to feel the Holy Spirit's presence in order to then believe in Him. The faith needs to come first. You must believe in Him apart from any physical or emotional evidence. There are really five steps to receiving any gift from God. First, you must find out about it in God's written Word or the preached Word. Second, you must become convinced that this gift is for you personally, and that it didn't pass away when the last apostle died. (Nothing God promises passes away!! Heaven and earth may pass away, but God's Word abides forever.) Third, you must ask God in faith to give you the gift. Fourth, you must believe that you have received those things you have asked for when you pray, apart from any physical evidence. Finally, you must act as if you have received, which means thanking God and acting as if the Bible is true. If you don't know if you are saved and going to heaven, you can apply this to yourself right now, asking for the gift of salvation. If you don't have this intimate relationship with God through the Holy Spirit, you can ask to be filled with the Spirit in the same way. If you need healing in your body or soul, ask God in the same way. Ask in the name of Jesus. This is supernatural Christianity.
@ copyright 1991 by Scott H. Northrup. All rights reserved.