Personal

Experience
With God
 WHAT WE WILL LEARN

•Our need for it

•How to have it
•How it will help us
 OUR NEED FOR IT
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of
heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach
unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every
nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give
glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is
come: and worship him that made heaven, and
earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
(Revelation 14:6-7)
 OUR NEED FOR IT
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should
shew forth the praises of him who hath called
you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
1 peter 2:9
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OUR NEED FOR IT
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 OUR NEED FOR IT
Those who wait for the Bridegroom's coming are to say
to the people, "Behold your God." The last rays of
merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to
the world, is a revelation of His character of love. The
children of God are to manifest His glory. In their own
life and character they are to reveal what the grace of
God has done for them. {COL 415.5}
 OUR NEED FOR IT
For these things to happen, we need to
have a personal encounter with God.
 OUR NEED FOR IT
The teacher of truth can impart effectively only that
which he himself knows by experience. Christ taught the
truth because He was the truth. His own thought, His
character, His life experience, were embodied in His
teaching. So with His servants; . . .
 OUR NEED FOR IT
. . .those who teach the word must make it their own by
personal experience. They must know what it is to have
Christ made unto them wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption. . .“ {CT 435.1}
 OUR NEED FOR IT
It is our own character and experience that determine our influence
upon others. In order to convince others of the power of Christ's
grace, we must know its power in our own hearts and lives. The
gospel we present for the saving of souls must be the gospel by
which our own souls are saved. Only through a living faith in
Christ as a personal Saviour is it possible to make our influence felt
in a skeptical world. If we would draw sinners out of the swift-
running current, our own feet must be firmly set upon the Rock,
Christ Jesus. {CSW 99.2}
 OUR NEED FOR IT

“A Sower went out to sow his seed…”

Luke 8:5
 FOOLISH VIRGINS
The class represented by the foolish virgins are not hypocrites.
They have a regard for the truth, they have advocated the truth,
they are attracted to those who believe the truth; but they have
not yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit's working. They
have not fallen upon the Rock, Christ Jesus, and permitted
their old nature to be broken up. This class are represented
also by the stony-ground hearers. They receive the word with
readiness, but they fail of assimilating its principles.
 FOOLISH VIRGINS
Its influence is not abiding. The Spirit works upon man's
heart, according to his desire and consent implanting in
him a new nature; but the class represented by the foolish
virgins have been content with a superficial work. They
do not know God. They have not studied His
character; they have not held communion with Him;
therefore they do not know how to trust, how to look
and live. Their service to God degenerates into a form.
 FOOLISH VIRGINS
"They come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before
thee as My people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do
them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart
goeth after their covetousness." Ezekiel 33:31. The apostle Paul
points out that this will be the special characteristic of those who
live just before Christ's second coming. He says, "In the last
days perilous times shall come: for men shall be lovers of their
own selves; . . . lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." 2
Timothy 3:1-5. {COL 411.1}
 JESUS WANTS US TO DO IT
And when he was come into the ship, he that had been
possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be
with him.
Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go
home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the
Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on
thee.
And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how
great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did
marvel. (Mark 5:18-20)
 JESUS WANTS US TO DO IT
And when the woman saw that she was
not hid, she came trembling, and falling
down before him, she declared unto
him before all the people for what
cause she had touched him, and how
she was healed immediately.
Luke 8:47
 EYE WITNESSES
For we have not followed cunningly
devised fables, when we made known
unto you the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, but were
eyewitnesses of his majesty.
(1 Peter 2:16)
 HOW TO HAVE IT

Keep to the basics of Christianity

•Pray
•Study
•Witness
And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor
repent: for he is not a man, that he should
repent. (1Sa 15:29).
I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to
pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither
will I spare, neither will I repent; according to
thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall
they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD. (Eze
24:14)
God is not a man, that he should lie;
neither the son of man, that he should
repent: hath he said, and shall he not do
it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not
make it good?
Num 23:19
 HOW TO HAVE IT
All who are under the training of God need the quiet hour for
communion with their own hearts, with nature, and with God. In
them is to be revealed a life that is not in harmony with the
world, its customs, or its practices; and they need to have a
personal experience in obtaining a knowledge of the will of God.
We must individually hear Him speaking to the heart. When
every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before
Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of
God.
 HOW TO HAVE IT
He bids us, "Be still, and know that I am God." This is the
effectual preparation for all labor for God. Amidst the hurrying
throng, and the strain of life's intense activities, he who is thus
refreshed, will be surrounded with an atmosphere of light and
peace. He will receive a new endowment of both physical and
mental strength. His life will breathe out a fragrance, and will
reveal a divine power that will reach men's hearts.--The Ministry
of Healing, p. 58. {ChS 249.3}
 HOW IT WILL HELP US
•Safeguard against delusion
God help us to be Bible students. Until you can see the
reason for it yourself and a "thus saith the Lord" in the
Scriptures, don't trust any living man to interpret the Bible
for you. And when you can see this, you know it for
yourself, and know it to be the truth of God. . . .
…You will say, "I have read it, I have seen it, and my
own heart takes hold upon it, and it is the truth God has
spoken to me from His Word." Now this is what we are to
be--individual Christians. We need to have an individual,
personal experience. We need to be converted, as did the
Jews. If you see a little light, you are not to stand back
and say, "I will wait until my brethren have seen it." If
you do, you will go on in darkness. {FW 77.3}
The light of the body is the eye: if
therefore thine eye be single, thy whole
body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:22
Study to shew thyself approved
unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
2Ti 2:15
 HOW IT WILL HELP
US
•It Inspires Faith
James 2: 14 -
 HOW IT WILL HELP US
• It will save souls
Arouse every spiritual energy to action. Tell those whom
you visit that the end of all things is at hand. The Lord
Jesus Christ will open the door of their hearts, and will
make upon their minds lasting impressions. Strive to
arouse men and women from their spiritual insensibility.
Tell them how you found Jesus, and how blessed you
have been since you gained an experience in His service.
 HOW IT WILL HELP US
Tell them what blessing comes to you as you sit at the feet of
Jesus, and learn precious lessons from His Word. Tell them of the
gladness and joy there is in the Christian life. Your warm,
fervent words will convince them that you have found the
pearl of great price. Let your cheerful, encouraging words show
that you have certainly found the higher way. This is genuine
missionary work, and as it is done, many will awake as
from a dream.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 38. {ChS 124.3}
 HOW IT WILL HELP US
The church needs the fresh, living experience of members who
have habitual communion with God. Dry, stale testimonies and
prayers, without the manifestation of Christ in them, are no help
to the people. If every one who claims to be a child of God were
filled with faith and light and life, what a wonderful witness
would be given to those who come to hear the truth!
And how many souls might be won to Christ!--
Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 64. {ChS 212.4}
THANK YOU