Faith and Experience
Effective preaching of Jesus Christ produces Christian experience in believers.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes that true preaching of Jesus Christ must lead to genuine Christian experience among believers. He argues that if preaching fails to foster spiritual growth and maturity, it does not faithfully represent the Christ of the Scriptures. Tozer highlights that Jesus invites us to experience Him personally, urging believers to come to Him with determination. He references Psalm 34, illustrating that just as we taste food, we are meant to experience the goodness of God in our souls. The essence of knowing Christ is rooted in the experiential relationship we cultivate with Him.
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I insist that the effective preaching of Jesus Christ, rightly understood, will produce Christian experience in Christian believers. Moreover, if preaching does not produce spiritual experience and maturing in the believer, that preaching is not being faithful to the Christ revealed in the Scriptures. Let me say it again another way: the Christ of the Bible is not rightly known until there is an experience of Him within the believer, for our Savior and Lord offers Himself to human experience. When Jesus says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden," it is an invitation to a spiritual experience. He is saying, "Will you consent to come? Have you added determination to your consent?
Then come; come now!" Yes, our Lord gives Himself to us in experience.
David says in Psalm 34: "0 taste and see that the Lord is good." I think David said exactly what he meant. Surely the Holy Spirit was saying through David: "You have taste buds in your soul for tasting, for experiencing spiritual things. Taste and experience that God is good!"
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Christian Experience
- Faithful preaching produces Christian experience
- Unfaithful preaching does not produce spiritual experience
Key Quotes
“The Christ of the Bible is not rightly known until there is an experience of Him within the believer.” — A.W. Tozer
“You have taste buds in your soul for tasting, for experiencing spiritual things.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We must consent to come to Jesus and add determination to our consent.
- We have the ability to taste and experience God's goodness through the Holy Spirit.
- Faithful preaching is essential for producing spiritual experience in believers.