The Christian faith is one that clearly moves out of the natural and into the supernatural. When the Holy Spirit shows up, signs and wonders and miracles can and will most likely happen. As God's people and audience to God's immense power, how are we to respond to God's move?
There is no doubting the extraordinary move of God when we are in faith. But it's possible to react the wrong way to God's supernatural attributes and manifestations. When the Holy Spirit comes, it's a powerful experience. But there is a proper an improper way to respond to God's move. Those who react improperly often end up deviating into the mystical and weird to a point that it no longer becomes helpful.
Christians are never meant to be weird although we are called to move beyond the natural. So how can we tell when we've crossed the threshold from the Spirit-empowered to the weird and super mystical? Here are three telltale signs your faith has deviated into the weird and mystical.
1. There Is No Mission or Purpose
God's presence comes with a purpose. Because God is a missional God who has a will and direction in everything, it's not likely that He does anything without an end in mind. When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, He gives us a mission.
Acts 1:8 says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
God's Spirit comes to put us on a mission for evangelism, worship, edification or the giving of Spiritual gifts. When you have experiences that are void of a mission or purpose, chances are you're delving into an extra dose of weird that no longer becomes helpful to you or to the people around you.
2. There Is No Order
The Corinthian church was a congregation that had this similar issue. People were endlessly speaking in tongues, talking and making commotions during gatherings. But Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 14:33 (NIV), "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord's people."
Where God's presence is, there is order and system. To move apart from that order is only proof that we've missed the point and become too weird and mystical.
3. The Focus Is the Experience Not the Person
Hebrews 12:2 urges us, "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith..." In all things, our focus is Jesus Christ, not an experience or a feeling. Sometimes being filled by the Spirit of God becomes too much about us and our emotions. We base God's move on whether we cry, vomit, shake, manifest or drop.
While there is nothing wrong about these things and while they do happen many times, they are not the end goal of an experience with God. The end goal is to meet Jesus and grow in our relationship with Him.
