Experiencing God |
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Elder
Phillip N. Conley |
III John
11, "Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that
which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that
doeth evil hath not seen God."
This morning, potential continues to go unrealized. While no
one will ever maximize their talents and capabilities to
their fullest extent, I fear that many times we "sell
ourselves short" by failing to seize mightily upon the great
power and strength that has been showered upon us from the
Almighty. Granted, this power and strength is not ours
naturally, but it has been freely given and should be used
to His praise, honour, and glory. This great power and
strength comes from the implanted faith that God deals to us
in regeneration, and from that faith we can do great things
that were previously not possible or even considered.
Natural man considers the things of faith to be absurd, but
to the faithful, watching servant, these things are right
and just before God. The Apostle John gives us the basic
layout of how a man gets closer to maximizing his potential
in experiencing God and His power.
One of the primary things that John is known for is being
the "Apostle of Love." While he exhibits many of those
qualities, John also shows a persistent proclivity in his
writings to truth. II and III John especially focus on the
importance of truth and its non-negotiable necessity. Part
of the truth that he professes is unashamed adherence to
that which is good and complete intolerance for evil. Though
we would like to focus on the second sentence of this verse,
notice how absolute his first sentence is. Many claim that
God's word is too hard to understand and/or way too
complicated to figure out. Though some of the visions and
prophecies are cloudy, many of the passages and lessons are
just as simple as this. I suggest that their claim to
complicatedness of God's commands is really shade being
thrown towards concepts that they would rather not follow.
John simply and absolutely states that we should cleave to
good and abhor evil. No exceptions. Non-negotiable.
The second sentence thought is what really captures our mind
this morning. From this absolute principle that precedes it,
John makes a rather grand observation. The first part of the
observation is that anyone that does good is of God. This
principle harmonizes with many other places in Scripture
that distinguish between man's Adamic nature and the nature
of Christ that comes in regeneration. Natural man does not
incline towards God nor have any regard for His commands. (I
Corinthians 2:14, Romans 8:7) Therefore, if someone does
good, that is evidence that the nature of Christ is already
given much like John's point in I John 5:1-2. One of the
common arguments that our people get against the doctrines
of election and predestination is as follows: "So you say
that God before time elected and predestinated His people.
Nothing can change that. Nothing alters who is or who isn't.
So, election is like this great big circle with the elect in
it, and everyone else outside it. But, what about the guy
that wants in the circle? You say he can't get in, because
he's not one of the elect." My simple reply to this line of
reasoning is, "Your circle's not big enough." If someone
ever has a desire towards God or does that which is good
according to His commands, it is evidence that he is of God
and thereby shows His election and God's work upon and
within him.
As I grow older, it becomes more and more apparent to me how
hideous that false doctrine can be. It is hideous not just
for its erroneous concepts but also the consequential damage
that it produces. For example, if I was an absoluter, I
could never be outraged with murderers, not could I even get
bothered if people divided churches. After all, if it was
fixed, then it had to happen right? Friends, that is one of
the most sallow situations that I could imagine a child of
God being in. Utter hopelessness about life. In keeping with
our current line of thought, consider what someone -
especially a minister - would have to think who did not
believe in the doctrines of grace. How would a minister feel
wondering if those that he ministered to daily would be with
him in heaven or not? Those that I preach to regularly are
the same people that I fully expect to see in heaven some
day. There is no wondering or quaking within my spirit about
their eternal health. How can I have such hopeful resolve
about this matter? I see them do good. The good that I see
evidences their gracious state, and I can preach to them
freely in liberty of the Spirit knowing that they have in
heaven something reserved that fadeth not away. What a
blessed peace!
The second portion of John's observation is not exactly what
one might expect. He does not draw a contrast of opposites.
Had he done that, the verse would have read this way, "He
that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil is not of
God." That is a contrast of opposites. Rather John gives us
a different perspective by way of warning. Remember his
first sentence that is absolute in its resolve. What happens
when someone does evil? They do not see God. This is a
condition that unfortunately does not only plague those
unchanged souls in the world. Even a child of God born of
the Spirit carries around vestiges of his carnal nature.
Paul described it as a body of death in Romans 7. Because of
this corrupt nature that we still have, we can destroy much
good by doing things that are evil.
As a side note, I will say that though I am thankful to say
in full assurance that those I minister unto are those I
expect to meet in heaven, I cannot say the opposite with
equal force. I have met and continue to meet people that
seem interested only in themselves. Their lives are such
that I cannot see any love, joy, peace, etc. that would
indicate a spiritual nature. However, I cannot say in full
assurance that I fully do not expect to see them in heaven.
When someone exhibits kind grace and charity, I say, "They
are a child of God." When someone exhibits none of these
things, I say, "To my best evidence, I really don't know."
Anyone that knew the dying thief until his "11th hour" would
have likely said he was hell-bound. Yet, even cases not that
extreme can leave us not knowing based on the lifestyle
pursued. That is why I am supremely thankful that the gavel
does not rise and fall under my arm. (II Timothy 2:19)
This road of doing evil is one that unregenerates and
disobedients can alike go down. Since both can travel this
road, John did not lump them together in an eternal state,
but he did lump them together in a fellowship state. Workers
of evil do not see God. The word "see" here is best
understood as "experience." The word "see" can have many
different connotations, but due to God's nature,
experiencing Him is what is most fitting in this thought. To
experience God is to see His hand and watch care upon us.
One of my favorite examples of this is found in Mark 4 when
Christ stills the storm and waves of the sea. Mark takes the
time to tell us that there were many little ships on the sea
that night, but only those in the boat with Christ could
assuredly say where the deliverance came from. All the ships
benefited, but those with Christ saw the source. This
country of ours has been blessed for many years with freedom
and liberty, but many living here do not see where the
deliverance comes from.
Children of God living in malice and strife can fail to see
God for long seasons. King Saul went astray to the point
that God would not even answer his prayers. Sampson failed
to see God as his strength to the point that he naturally
did not see anything else again. Solomon spent many of his
latter years in abject disobedience failing to see God's
hand and having to lament the vanity of all things under the
sun from the book of Ecclesiastes. Many of God's children
today miss the great opportunities and blessings of
experiencing God through His church, word, gospel,
fellowship, etc. due to the wicked lifestyles that they
pursue . So much time running to waste! So much loss of
potential!
Evil is so easy to slip into. All it takes is too high an
opinion of self. When we raise our thoughts of who we are
above what they should be, we automatically by extension
lessen who God is in our minds. If we are pretty good in our
own eyes, He is not as needed or valuable to us. When a
man's ways please himself, he is headed on a road leading to
destruction and peril. Have you heard people today espouse a
belief in God but deny the necessity of church or worship?
Has anyone lately promoted the idea of doing "your own
thing" even if it flies contrary to the Bible? These
mindsets garner the affection of the natural mind that loves
promotion of self, but they will hinder us from experiencing
God and His power. Though we may still be blessed in a sense
based on those we are around, we will not understand how or
in what way we are blessed. The governor of the feast in
John 2 knew that they had wine - and really good wine at
that - but he had no idea where it came from. The servants
knew because they did that which was good by following
Jesus' commands to the letter. They experienced the blessing
of not only the miracle but an understanding of its nature
and source.
Today, miracles happen all around us. One of the most
profound in my opinion is when a frail man of the dust is
blessed to open a very old book and bring forth things both
new and old to the edification of the hearers and the glory
of God. The preaching of the gospel is a miracle on the same
level as healing the sick (Matthew 11:5), yet so many miss
the experience and/or fail to see that it is of God. Does
this mean that everyone that scoffs at the necessity of the
gospel and its power is necessarily damned to hell? Not at
all. It simply means that everyone walking down this path is
going to miss experiencing God in a special way.
My life is full of wasted filler. Mediations and studies
have been ruined. Fellowship has been severed. Yet, I can
blessedly find other times when I experienced Him very
profoundly. These times serve as markers and reminders to
draw nigh to Him. Though we will all see Him with our own
eyes some sweet day, let us put away evil here so that we
can experience Him and His power while we walk here below.
His hand is not slack, nor His arm shortened. He is able to
do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think.
Therefore, let us strive to go higher and higher in our
service to Him. The moment we think we "have arrived" is the
moment that evil has crept back in to rob us of seeing Him
while we are here. For whatever time I have and however many
days I will be on earth, I want to see and experience His
power. Being blessed by His hand is wonderful but
understanding how it came is truly priceless.
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