{"id":9775,"date":"2018-10-05T13:00:35","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T10:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=9775"},"modified":"2018-10-05T13:00:42","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T10:00:42","slug":"can-you-feel-gods-presence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/can-you-feel-gods-presence\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Feel God’s Presence?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“You can\u2019t feel the presence of God. You don\u2019t have any mechanism to feel the presence of God. I\u2019ve never felt the presence of God; I don\u2019t even know what that means. But I do know this: He\u2019s here.”<\/p>John MacArthur, “The Promise of the Holy Spirit, Part 2”<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Recently I came across the quote above and it got me thinking about the relationship between our feelings and what we often think of as a felt presence of God in worship or in prayer. Do we really feel God’s presence in those times or is that nothing more than an emotionally conjured up state?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quote comes from on of John MacArthur’s sermons on John 14:15-17. If you’d like to take a listen to the entire sermon you can find it here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below is some of the\u00a0 larger context quote that helps understand where MacArthur is coming from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Christian mysticism, through the Middle Ages, and even until now, has always sought to find God in some experience, some feeling, some emotion; some means by which the senses imminence is present. This has become a popular notion in evangelical churches that there are ways in which you can feel God, in which you can sense God\u2019s presence.Perhaps the most popular one is music. If you get the right music, if the music is sort of musically seductive enough and emotionally energized enough, people will say, \u201cI just feel the presence of God. Don\u2019t you feel the presence of God?\u201d<\/p>

Well, of course, that is absolute nonsense. You can\u2019t feel the presence of God. You don\u2019t have any mechanism to feel the presence of God. I\u2019ve never felt the presence of God; I don\u2019t even know what that means. But I do know this: He\u2019s here. And more than that, He not only inhabits the praise of His people; is joined to His people in union all the time so that the church itself literally is in constant communion with God collectively; it\u2019s not only true that where two or three are gathered together, He is in the midst. But, this is true.<\/p>

And, listen; the Trinity lives in every Christian \u2013 the Trinity, three-in-one, in every Christian. There isn\u2019t some experience that you can have that takes you into some communion with God that you otherwise don\u2019t have. There isn\u2019t some musical formula that can induce some kind of fellowship with God that, without the music, can\u2019t happen. There certainly isn\u2019t a drug that\u2019s going to do anything other than alter your mind and make you think something\u2019s happening that\u2019s not.Every believer is in constant, unending, eternal communion with the Trinity. And I\u2019m not talking about when you come here, I\u2019m talking about when you leave here. I\u2019m talking about when you\u2019re all by yourself and you\u2019re driving along in your car alone, you are in the presence of the Trinity \u2013 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit \u2013 full and complete communion.I think this is somehow lost on many evangelicals. There are so many foolish ideas to correct in the church, but this is a big one. The idea that somehow this notion of feeling God, or sensing God, or communing with God has to be induced by some mechanical mean \u2013 foolish.”<\/p>John MacArthur, “The Promise of the Holy Spirit, Part 2”<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I believe in this context John is making a needed point. Too much of Christianity is led to believe that communion with God comes from an emotional feeling\/experience and that if we can produce that feeling then we have some how conjured up God and communion with Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Scripture MacArthur is preaching on in this sermon is John 14:16-17<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I will petition the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may remain with you to the age,the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him nor know Him. But you know Him, for He abides with you and shall be in you.<\/p>John 14:16-17<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Christ here is comforting his disciples with the truth that he will send the Holy Spirit, who is called the Comforter. At this point it was vital for the disciples to operate not based on a felt presence of God but rather on the truth of God’s Word and Jesus’ promise to them. This principle is true throughout Scripture. Again and again we are called to truth and to believe in that truth, this grounds us and gives us a foundation for living and dying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, the Spirit comforts, but again this isn’t simply giving us peaceful feelings but rather giving us truth that leads to a peace of mind. The comfort of the Spirit emanates from truth that we believe in his Word! That truth brings comfort because it reminds us of the promises of a great inheritance and eternal life for all who believe. The inner working of the Holy Spirit is essentially connected with the power of His Word and the heart changing effects it has in our life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who say they “feel” God’s presence may or may not feel his presence, they may simply feel the emotion of a song or a moment. There is danger in seeking this kind of feeling, we need to make sure that we are seeking the truth of God’s presence rather than the feeling of his presence. Furthermore, we must not measure the closeness of God based upon a particularly strong emotion or feeling. God is here, and as a believer I know that because he has promised to be in me until the end of the age (John 14:16-17) At times my feelings may agree with this, at times they may not, but it never changes the truth and it is to that truth that I must return again and again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, it seems to me that John MacArthur comes off rather categorical in his statement that we can’t feel God’s presence. Certainly he can’t be talking about circumstances like Exodus 19:16 or Isaiah 6:5 or Luke 1:12 or Rev 1:17 and I don’t think he is because these are all direct revelations of God to man in which He appeared in some visible way. The common feeling of this manifestation of God’s presence is fear and trembling. However, in the context of what John M. was referring to the common feeling is certainly not fear and trembling. So I would like to think that if he were talking about real manifestations of God’s presence then he would say that you certainly can feel it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need caution in our thoughts about God’s presence and in our understanding of feelings that may or may not be inline with the truth of God’s presence. While I understand the global church trend towards seeking experiences and feelings over truth, I don’t think I can make the same statement that MacArthur makes in this regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was surprised to find that one of MacArthur’s heros seems to disagree with him on this point. Take a look at what Spurgeon says on this same text:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“So the worldling says there is no Holy Ghost, because he cannot see it. Well, but we feel it. You say that is fanaticism, and that we never felt it. Suppose you tell me that honey is bitter, I reply, “No, I am sure you cannot have tasted it; taste it and try.” So with the Holy Ghost; if you did but feel his influence, you would no longer say there is no Holy Spirit, because you cannot see it. Are there not many things, even in nature, which we cannot see? Did you ever see the wind? No; but ye know there is wind, when you behold the hurricane tossing the waves about, and rending down the habitations of men; or when, in the soft evening zephyr, it kisses the flowers, and maketh dew-drops hang in pearly coronets around the rose. Did ye ever see electricity? No; but ye know there is such a thing, for it travels along the wires for thousands of miles, and carries our messages; though you cannot see the thing itself, you know there is such a thing. So you must believe there is a Holy Ghost working in us, both to will and to do, even though it is beyond our senses.”<\/p>C.H. Spurgeon “The Personality of the Holy Ghost”<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In response to the question,\u00a0“Can you feel God’s presence?” My answer would be that inasmuch as our feelings are a response to the truth of God’s Word can we feel God’s presence in our daily lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deeper I go into God’s Word, the more truth I learn, and believe, and incorporate into my life, the more I will experience feelings that emanate from the knowledge of those truths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In times of prayer as I reflect deeply upon the character of God I may be overwhelmed with feelings of awe. In times of worship as I focus on the saving work of Jesus Christ I may experience feelings of gratitude. In fellowship with other believers I may feel joy. These are feelings are the result of God’s presence through the Word and the Holy Spirit in my life. They are not in and of themselves proof of God’s presence but they should be the result of His presence. I do not seek experience, I seek God and His truth but I know that in seeking and believing that truth there should be corresponding feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps one of the clearest Scriptures that shows the relationship between God’s truth, His presence, and our feelings is 2 Corinthians 1:3-5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassions and God of all comfort,the One comforting us on all our affliction, for us to be able to comfort those in every affliction, through the comfort by which we ourselves are comforted by God.Because even as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.<\/p>2Co 1:3-5<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\n

“You can\u2019t feel the presence of God. You don\u2019t have any mechanism to feel the presence of God. I\u2019ve never felt the presence of God;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31],"tags":[515,514,95,398,221],"class_list":["post-9775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing","tag-emotions","tag-feelings","tag-god","tag-john-macarthur","tag-worship"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/ben-white-692414-unsplash.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3izZc-2xF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3657,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/22-did-john-macarthur-go-too-far-in-strange-fire-podcast\/","url_meta":{"origin":9775,"position":0},"title":"#22 Did John MacArthur Go Too Far in Strange Fire? -Podcast","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"February 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In this episode of Now is the Time I talk about John MacArthur's latest book Strange Fire\u00a0and the controversy surrounding it. I'm also giving away a free copy of the book, see the instructions below! You can also listen on \u00a0iTunes\u00a0or on\u00a0Stitcher I've always like John MacArthur, in fact I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/strange-fire.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/strange-fire.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/strange-fire.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13578,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/look-up-john-171-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":9775,"position":1},"title":"Look Up! John 17:1-5","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"August 30, 2021","format":"audio","excerpt":"Did you know that your body naturally follows the direction of your eyes? If you\u2019re walking, running, riding a bike or driving a car, it\u2019s important that you keep your eyes in front of you. If you don\u2019t you can easily get off track and you can get yourself into\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermons"","block_context":{"text":"Sermons","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Look-up-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Look-up-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Look-up-3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Look-up-3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Look-up-3.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Look-up-3.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6358,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/stop-thinking-about-heaven-as-the-place-you-go-when-life-is-over\/","url_meta":{"origin":9775,"position":2},"title":"Stop Thinking About Heaven as the Place You Go When Life Is Over","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"March 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"We have a problem when it comes to thinking about heaven, too often we think of it as the place we go when life is over and that's a big mistake. \u00a0 Recently I realized this problem in my thinking about heaven as I traveled home from my trip to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/DSC06915-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/DSC06915-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/DSC06915-001.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6321,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/70-shepherds-conference-2016-at-grace-community-church-take-aways\/","url_meta":{"origin":9775,"position":3},"title":"#70 Shepherds’ Conference 2016 at Grace Community Church -Take-aways","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"March 16, 2016","format":"audio","excerpt":"Last week the annual Shepherds' Conference took place at John MacArthur's Church in Sun Valley, California. I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to attend along with a group from my sending church and two Ukrainian pastors. In this episode of Now is the Time I share with you some\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Gospel Today"","block_context":{"text":"The Gospel Today","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/podcast\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/DSC06677.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/DSC06677.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/DSC06677.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5049,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/are-you-a-holy-person\/","url_meta":{"origin":9775,"position":4},"title":"Are You a Holy Person?","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"February 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"What do you think of when you hear the word \"holy?\" For many it calls up scenes of monks in meditative prayer who have given up the worldly life and all its trappings in order to devote their days completely to communion with God. For others it might conjure up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/photodune-880125-bible-s-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/photodune-880125-bible-s-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/photodune-880125-bible-s-001.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4051,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/32-the-problem-with-worship-experiences\/","url_meta":{"origin":9775,"position":5},"title":"#32 The Problem with Worship Experiences","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"June 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you noticed the emphasis many churches give to your experience in worship? I have and I think it's dangerous! In this episode of Now is the Time\u00a0I talk about why turning worship into an experience is a bigger problem then you may have thought. The experience trend The trend\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ministry"","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/DSC07077.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/DSC07077.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/DSC07077.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9775"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9778,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9775\/revisions\/9778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}