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Old 03-29-2008, 01:27 PM
Connie
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Yes, you are probably right about that, Jerry, they go too far into mysticism, in their zeal for personal experience of God. The same is true of Lloyd-Jones, who had experienced one of the revivals in Wales as a child, and once a person has experienced the supernatural power of God they tend to see those who have never experienced it as missing the whole point of the Christian life. Since I'm trying to undo the effects of the charismatic movement on myself, I have to think about the whole mystical thing too, because I've always been very attracted to it, and I'm sure that explains why I and many others ended up in the charismatic movement in the first place.

I'm finally convinced that the gifts of the Spirit are not for today, but it's hard to believe that personal experience of God and His power in some sense are not for today at all. Certainly we aren't to take our experiences as the basis for our doctrine or beliefs, since experiences can be counterfeited, but are we to give up on supernatural experiences and powers altogether as expressions of the Christian life? How do you understand what Jesus said here:

Joh*7:38
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Sounds pretty mystical in a way, wouldn't you say?