The Value Of Experiences

Hi everyone. It is a new week again and we will proceed in our look at Galatians 3.

“I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? …Does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?”Galatians 3: 2 & 5.

After expressing shock at their folly, Paul then pointed them back to their previous experience - the reception of the Spirit among them-, an event that occurred by faith in the message of grace that they had heard. Though the book of Acts doesn’t record this, we can conclude that the experience of the Galatians was not different from others recorded e.g. the Samaritans in Acts 8, Cornelius’ household in Acts 10 and some unnamed disciples of John in Acts 19. He also went further in verse 5 to refer to their on-going experience of the move of the Spirit among them. 

The point he was making was that both their initial experience and their on-going experience of the Spirit had not come through strict observance of any codes of conduct but through faith in God’s message of grace. Since that was their experience, why then were they being “foolish”?

Our consideration now isn’t the foolishness of the Galatians but here we see how past or previous experiences can be useful for the Christian in present living. When we look closely at scriptures we find that learning from experience was a common feature of the lives of men and women of God in times before ours.

Jacob set up a pillar at Bethel (Genesis 28:18 & 19). Samuel, God’s Prophet set up a stone between Mispah and Shen, calling it Ebenezer (1^st Samuel 7: 12). The pillar and stone were to serve as reminders of the wonderful experiences they had enjoyed with God. Each time they went by those erected monuments, they were reminded of the greatness and power of God, even in succeeding generations. 

David had never fought a giant before he faced Goliath in the valley of Elah but he drew on his encounters with the bear and lion (1^st Samuel 17:34-37) to have confidence in facing the Philistine champion. Peter in his second epistle (2^nd Peter 1:17) made reference to his experience on the mount of transfiguration and John in the prologue of his first letter (1^stJohn 1:1-3) referred to the experiences he had with Jesus when He was on earth. In Acts 15, Peter drew on his previous experience in the house of Cornelius in making a contribution to the discussion on issues concerning Gentile believers. 

The problem generally has been that people usually elevate their experiences above the word of God but we shouldn’t throw away the baby with the bathwater. It is good to chronicle and cherish in our hearts some experiences in our spiritual journey like Mary treasured her experiences after the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:19). 

I remember for example the day I got saved. I just knew that day deep down in my heart that Jesus had come into my soul and so when I read Romans 8:16 "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" it made absolute sense. I remember with so much joy the day I preached my first message in a dark room lit by lanterns as an SS1 boy. I remember the first time I preached in a lecture theatre in University of Ibadan. I will never forget the first time someone wrote back to me thanking God after she had been healed of an illness when I had prayed for her at a programme back in University of Ibadan too.

  

I do not celebrate the events or the experiences in themselves but I see them as monumental stages in my walk with God. I can look back and trace the hand of God in my life. And sometimes the Spirit of God crystallizes a spiritual reality to our hearts by pointing us to an experience we had in the past just as it happened to the Galatians. At other times, those experiences become useful when we share them with other people to illustrate the undeniable reality of God's powerful grace.

If you’ve not been doing so, start to cherish your experiences in God folks. Even if you don’t write them in a journal, “file” them in the recesses of your heart. 

My song for the week is 'Finished' by Jermaine Leong and the New Creation Worship. 

It’s Christmas this week. I will post a special piece for that later in the week so please come back to the blog for that. Have a beautiful week.

"Finished" by Jermaine Leong and New Creation Worship