Feeling Grace and His Holy Spirit

com7fy8

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I could learn to be quieter and have my alone time with Our Dad.
During our quiet time, we can become deeper in quiet inside ourselves. And then keep this way while we do things with God through the day.
 
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Anthony2019

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In my case, I have experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in different ways:
- I have experienced the feeling of my eyes being opened to the truth about Christ. I was reading a bible and some accompanying literature and it suddenly was revealed to me who Jesus was and what He did.
- When I came to faith for the first time, I had the feeling of fullness of joy.
- I remember when I went through a time of my life of deepest depression and hopelessness. I remember lying prostrate on the floor pleading with God to help me - and that same evening it was if the Heavens had opened. I was felt myself bathing in His love - the fear had totally gone and I was at perfect peace.
- I went through a period of doubt and uncertainty and after receiving prayer one evening at church, I had a feeling of boldness and confidence. I went home from church that evening not worrying in the slightest what would happen to me because I felt very safe and secure.
- When I was confirmed in my church, I had a new experience of my identity in Christ, a newer realisation that I was adopted into God's family - and a feeling of belonging and purpose.
 
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miggles

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I'm interested in surveying how people experience saving grace and the Lord's Holy Spirit.

I have vibrations in my nervous system to the point where most of my nervous system is quite literally dancing for joy. Other times I feel Him give me an insight after meditating on something or He sends an answer my way through some other activity. But the tingles of my nerves are quite indescribable. I get that feeling when I am in the presence of greatness and by helping others and being Christ like. I get the feeling when I feel Our Father giving me deep insights that I cannot say are individually inspired.

I'm just wondering if others feel this too and if they know they did something wrong when that feeling subsides for a time.
yes. i feel it. it's comforting.
 
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The Righterzpen

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I'm interested in surveying how people experience saving grace and the Lord's Holy Spirit.

The presence of God to me is experienced as an awareness. It's not a feeling or lack of a feeling. It's an awareness. An awareness that I "tap into" and sense God's presence regardless of where my emotions are at. I can be aware of God whether I'm happy, sad, angry, scared, confused or whatever.

That awareness has grown over the years as my understanding of Scripture and my understanding of God has grown.

Our emotions should not run our lives; yet we can not (nor should we try) to escape them.

"Feelings come and feelings go,
And feeling are deceiving.
My warrant is the word of God,
Nought else is worth believing."

Sensual Faith: Oh, God, You Make Me Feel Sooo Good! | Christian Forums

I read this thread:

Interesting; but I think you are confusing what is of the fallen world in regards to "the flesh" as opposed to what is (as you describe) by nature the "sensuality" of our existence.

Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity existed by nature of being human in a "sensual existence". His life too was filled with sensual experiences.

He felt joy, pain, peace, happiness, sadness, fear, anger, confusion, doubt.

He could smell flowers, taste food, would have gotten drunk if He consumed too much alcohol; was capable of relational emotions of friendship, love, compassion, pity, anger, distain, and hatred. In abstaining from food, He almost starved to death. He felt pleasure and pain; was capable of getting hungry, thirsty, tired, injured, ill, and even sexually aroused. He had to contend with earthly things like taking showers and using the toilet.

He was physically fashioned just as the rest of us; yet without sin.

So, how would you reconcile your view of what you call "sensuality" being "sin" with Jesus's (as well as our) earthly experiences?

(Again; to the OP - emotions should not run our lives; including our relationship with God. Yet we can not escape our earthly existence.)
 
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GenemZ

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I'm interested in surveying how people experience saving grace and the Lord's Holy Spirit.

I have vibrations in my nervous system to the point where most of my nervous system is quite literally dancing for joy. Other times I feel Him give me an insight after meditating on something or He sends an answer my way through some other activity. But the tingles of my nerves are quite indescribable. I get that feeling when I am in the presence of greatness and by helping others and being Christ like. I get the feeling when I feel Our Father giving me deep insights that I cannot say are individually inspired.

I'm just wondering if others feel this too and if they know they did something wrong when that feeling subsides for a time.
Are you a relatively new believer?

As we went through different phases in growing up, so it can be a parallel in entering into the new birth. Enjoy your stage of entering into the new life in Christ. There will come a time when what you are now experiencing will change. Just like how I stopped having fun playing with toys.

God created children with an ability that makes them feel happy... and then as we need to mature things change, demanding that we develop character by being tested. If we depend upon our emotions at that point? We will fail to grow...

Enjoy the phase you are in! :angel:

grace and peace
 
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ilovejcsog

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aiki

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So, how would you reconcile your view of what you call "sensuality" being "sin" with Jesus's (as well as our) earthly experiences?

In the blog, I clarified what I meant by fleshliness: a preoccupation with satisfying the impulses of the flesh, a very temporal short-sightedness, and a self-centered focus rather than a Christ-centered one. These are the things Paul draws out as marking the carnal person, the person operating under the dictates of the "old man."

Philippians 3:18-19
18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)


Romans 8:5-6
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those
who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded
is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

At no point in my blog post do I suggest that the common, unavoidable sensual experience of human living (that you described) is sinful. That's such an obvious fact that it didn't seem to me to require comment in my blog. My concern is that Christians believe that their natural sensuality ought to be accommodated - pandered to, even - in the realm of the spiritual and that the more sensual their spiritual experience is, the more truly spiritual it is. When I look into Scripture, however, I see much that contradicts this belief, which I laid out in my blog post.
 
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Daniel Roth

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In my case, I have experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in different ways:
- I have experienced the feeling of my eyes being opened to the truth about Christ. I was reading a bible and some accompanying literature and it suddenly was revealed to me who Jesus was and what He did.
- When I came to faith for the first time, I had the feeling of fullness of joy.
- I remember when I went through a time of my life of deepest depression and hopelessness. I remember lying prostrate on the floor pleading with God to help me - and that same evening it was if the Heavens had opened. I was felt myself bathing in His love - the fear had totally gone and I was at perfect peace.
- I went through a period of doubt and uncertainty and after receiving prayer one evening at church, I had a feeling of boldness and confidence. I went home from church that evening not worrying in the slightest what would happen to me because I felt very safe and secure.
- When I was confirmed in my church, I had a new experience of my identity in Christ, a newer realisation that I was adopted into God's family - and a feeling of belonging and purpose.

Wow. Thank you for this. You have provided a number of areas I could look at to see how the Holy Spirit has worked through me. Time to reflect on your words. Thank you very much, Anthony.
 
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Daniel Roth

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The presence of God to me is experienced as an awareness. It's not a feeling or lack of a feeling. It's an awareness. An awareness that I "tap into" and sense God's presence regardless of where my emotions are at. I can be aware of God whether I'm happy, sad, angry, scared, confused or whatever.

That awareness has grown over the years as my understanding of Scripture and my understanding of God has grown.

Our emotions should not run our lives; yet we can not (nor should we try) to escape them.



I read this thread:

Interesting; but I think you are confusing what is of the fallen world in regards to "the flesh" as opposed to what is (as you describe) by nature the "sensuality" of our existence.

Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity existed by nature of being human in a "sensual existence". His life too was filled with sensual experiences.

He felt joy, pain, peace, happiness, sadness, fear, anger, confusion, doubt.

He could smell flowers, taste food, would have gotten drunk if He consumed too much alcohol; was capable of relational emotions of friendship, love, compassion, pity, anger, distain, and hatred. In abstaining from food, He almost starved to death. He felt pleasure and pain; was capable of getting hungry, thirsty, tired, injured, ill, and even sexually aroused. He had to contend with earthly things like taking showers and using the toilet.

He was physically fashioned just as the rest of us; yet without sin.

So, how would you reconcile your view of what you call "sensuality" being "sin" with Jesus's (as well as our) earthly experiences?

(Again; to the OP - emotions should not run our lives; including our relationship with God. Yet we can not escape our earthly existence.)

Thank you. I am going to reflect on this. And to be fair, Aiki was merely trying to get the same thing across. I appreciate all your responses very much.
 
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The Righterzpen

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Thank you. I am going to reflect on this. And to be fair, Aiki was merely trying to get the same thing across. I appreciate all your responses very much.

Could be; but I run into a lot of people who get "legalistic" one way or another over display or lack there of of emotions. Which one has to be cautious about on either end of the spectrum.

For example:

At no point in my blog post do I suggest that the common, unavoidable sensual experience of human living (that you described) is sinful. That's such an obvious fact that it didn't seem to me to require comment in my blog. My concern is that Christians believe that their natural sensuality ought to be accommodated - pandered to, even - in the realm of the spiritual and that the more sensual their spiritual experience is, the more truly spiritual it is. When I look into Scripture, however, I see much that contradicts this belief, which I laid out in my blog post.

Define "unavoidable". Because then you go on to say that your concern is that people believe their "natural sensuality" be accommodated..... and "sensuality" equating to "spirituality". Yet.... how would you define that?

Going back to the OT, there were things people did as "acts of worship" that weren't sin; yet if you were there to witness them, it seems to me by the description of your blog post that you'd likely disagree. (David dancing in front of the ark of the covenant.)

Now there are modern "religious movements" that appear to be overly emotional that are just plain born out of false doctrine. And it's not the display of the "emotionalism" that's the real issue; it's the false belief. Like that "Toronto blessing" nonsense from.... I think it was like 20 years ago? Also people "slain in the spirit". If you look at all the examples of people in the Scriptures who fell over backwards; they were all under the condemnation of God. So yeah; "test the spirits" against the Scripture. There is a lot of nonsense out there.

People are "emotional". There's just no way around that; and some of the "publicly acceptable display of emotion" is culturally definable. Missionaries run into this all the time. I've seen African "Christian worship services" that look totally pagan to me.

So I guess the real question (beyond what lines up with Scripture) would be; motive? If someone's actions are motivated by wanting to show themselves "more spiritual" than others based on display of emotion; that's obviously a faulty motive.

And if that is simply what you were attempting to point out; then I would agree.
 
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Daniel Roth

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Are you a relatively new believer?

As we went through different phases in growing up, so it can be a parallel in entering into the new birth. Enjoy your stage of entering into the new life in Christ. There will come a time when what you are now experiencing will change. Just like how I stopped having fun playing with toys.

God created children with an ability that makes them feel happy... and then as we need to mature things change, demanding that we develop character by being tested. If we depend upon our emotions at that point? We will fail to grow...

Enjoy the phase you are in! :angel:

grace and peace

Thanks. Yeah. I'm just newly graced by God. Holy Spirit really working miracles in my life. I have my ears pricked up and heart inclined to The Word. I love my newfound faith because although I stumble Jesus still loves me and gets me back where I need to be.

I pray I never grow out of this child like love for our Father. I definitely fear disappointing Him and revere Him deeply. I am a grown man, but am born again.
 
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Daniel Roth

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A vote would have been a fairer option to add.

I wanted to but didn't know how to phrase it. I will pray on it next time before starting a post. Thank you for the reminder as I was concerned that I should have added one. I will be more discerning and less impulsive next time. Forgive me.
 
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GenemZ

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Thanks. Yeah. I'm just newly graced by God. Holy Spirit really working miracles in my life. I have my ears pricked up and heart inclined to The Word. I love my newfound faith because although I stumble Jesus still loves me and gets me back where I need to be.

I pray I never grow out of this child like love for our Father. I definitely fear disappointing Him and revere Him deeply. I am a grown man, but am born again.

You will not outgrow it..though it should mature and transform. It will and must get tested and even damped down a while, for the needed testing times that must come. You must find yourself able to trust and keep being led by the Spirit to correct thoughts you never knew you could understand... Then you will become transformed into a very stabilized love of the life you found - Yet, as long as you find and keep on getting good teaching (sound doctrine) and stay with it.

Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then
the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts,
so that they may not believe and be saved.

Those on the rocky ground are the ones who
receive
the word with joy
when they hear it, but they have
no root. They believe for a while,
but in the time of testing
they fall away.

The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but
as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches
and pleasures, and they do not mature.

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart,
who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering
produce a crop. Lk 8:12-15​

Having joy is no sign a believer will remain faithful. How you feel is going to change. I tell you this, because its best to be prepared. Jesus said a time of testing must come. Not just one time of testing. God keeps testing us when he upgrades our "spiritual software" to test to see if what we believed is accurate and true. Its a testing of our faith to see if its genuine.

Testing our "faith." Keep in mind. Our faith comes by hearing (perceiving and understanding) the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)

Faith is what we think. Not what we feel.

grace and peace...
 
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BroJim-95

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I'm interested in surveying how people experience saving grace and the Lord's Holy Spirit.

I have vibrations in my nervous system to the point where most of my nervous system is quite literally dancing for joy. Other times I feel Him give me an insight after meditating on something or He sends an answer my way through some other activity. But the tingles of my nerves are quite indescribable. I get that feeling when I am in the presence of greatness and by helping others and being Christ like. I get the feeling when I feel Our Father giving me deep insights that I cannot say are individually inspired.

I'm just wondering if others feel this too and if they know they did something wrong when that feeling subsides for a time.
I was born-again 28 years ago with an experience of indescribable joy. At that time, I was called to ministry. I am a seminary graduate and an ex-pastor. At 70 years old, my primary ministry is writing.

Spiritual experiences are similar, but the details differ because they are personally tailored by God. "The Religious Affections" by Jonathan Edwards is a widely respected, classic work dealing with emotions in Christianity which helps determine if they are genuine, i.e. Biblical.

My joy continues in a more enduring, steady form. Joy ultimately comes from Christ's presence in our lives. I preached a sermon last Sunday, "Joy in the Presence of Christ"; Text: Psalm 16:11; John 15:11.

Like you, by God's providence, I have frequently gotten precise answers to my questions, often almost immediately. This is supernatural. Christ said that "the Holy Spirit....will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you" (2 Peter 1:4; John 14:26). But Jesus plainly says that nothing which the Holy Spirit teaches is contrary to the Bible.

The Holy Spirit enables born-again Christians to become progressively more Christ-like (1 John 3:2-3). This is God's plan for our salvation (Romans 8:28-29).
 
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Daniel Roth

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You will not outgrow it..though it should mature and transform. It will and must get tested and even damped down a while, for the needed testing times that must come. You must find yourself able to trust and keep being led by the Spirit to correct thoughts you never knew you could understand... Then you will become transformed into a very stabilized love of the life you found - Yet, as long as you find and keep on getting good teaching (sound doctrine) and stay with it.

Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then
the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts,
so that they may not believe and be saved.

Those on the rocky ground are the ones who
receive
the word with joy
when they hear it, but they have
no root. They believe for a while,
but in the time of testing
they fall away.

The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but
as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches
and pleasures, and they do not mature.

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart,
who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering
produce a crop. Lk 8:12-15​

Having joy is no sign a believer will remain faithful. How you feel is going to change. I tell you this, because its best to be prepared. Jesus said a time of testing must come. Not just one time of testing. God keeps testing us when he upgrades our "spiritual software" to test to see if what we believed is accurate and true. Its a testing of our faith to see if its genuine.

Testing our "faith." Keep in mind. Our faith comes by hearing (perceiving and understanding) the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)

Faith is what we think. Not what we feel.

grace and peace...

Thank you for this. You are very wise and this is what I needed to read today. I am being tested. And it is being dampened a bit. Nevertheless I am determined to get back in His good graces. I can’t thank you enough for this post.
 
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GenemZ

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Thank you for this. You are very wise and this is what I needed to read today. I am being tested. And it is being dampened a bit. Nevertheless I am determined to get back in His good graces. I can’t thank you enough for this post.

You are not out of his good graces. When we are being tested that is a lie the devil will try throwing at us to confuse us. Then the Devil may try to get us into a works system, not God's grace. Grace and sound Bible teaching as God would have it.

I will suggest... Pray in Jesus name that you find a good pastor. A pastor who is on a path to have you to follow with him. To follow in his own spiritual growth, which is also for your sake by God's planned design.
 
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Daniel Roth

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You are not out of his good graces. When we are being tested that is a lie the devil will try throwing at us to confuse us. Then the Devil may try to get us into a works system, not God's grace. Grace and sound Bible teaching as God would have it.

I will suggest... Pray in Jesus name that you find a good pastor. A pastor who is on a path to have you to follow with him. To follow in his own spiritual growth, which is also for your sake by God's planned design.

Okay. I will do that. I need some proper guidance. Thank you. I will pray on that. Thank you again.
 
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