Why an ENCOUNTER with GOD matters?

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS AN ENCOUNTER?

Encounter, by definition, means to experience or `be faced with.

unexpectedly be faced with or experience (something hostile or difficult).

1. ENCOUNTER means to meet face to face, unexpectedly.

2. An encounter involves an element of surprise, of suddenness.
3. It means, to meet someone or someone in a way that you have not
expected it to be.
4. An "encounter" does not mean a secondhand report about a person or a
situation; it means a face-to-face meeting.

Did you ever “hear” about a person you’d never met, what he looked like,
what he did —and then you met him, and somehow the picture you had
formed in your mind didn’t fit at all? For better or worse, you were
confronted with reality!

So, to ENCOUNTER GOD means to meet Him face-to-face and expect that
something unexpected will happen as a result of that encounter! It is a divine
appointment which is marked by His presence, His power, and His deliverance.
When you encounter JESUS, you are forever changed by the experience.

Main Course

1. You need an encounter with GOD to start a relationship with GOD.

⁃ If you don’t see flashes of lightning or hear the audible voice of God, that
doesn’t mean you haven’t encountered Him!
⁃ It’s because at some point in our lives we’ve encountered His love, His
grace, His mercy and tasted His goodness, we are all here isn’t it?
⁃ God is planting a seed in your heart. This seed is the beginning of
something beautiful.

2. Encounters with GOD builds your faith

“Your relationship with God starts with an encounter but continues by faith.”

Seeds are never meant to stay seeds; they are made to grow. Likewise, faith isn’t
meant to stay a seed in your heart but is destined to grow. In order for a seed to
grow into a healthy tree you need good soil and water.
life isn’t always going to be easy. In those “wilderness seasons” you NEED faith to
continue.
Encounters are like the water for your heart, they increase your faith.

Let’s look into some of the popular Encounters with God recorded in the Bible to
build our faith and to create a hunger for more of GOD

The Scriptures show many instances of individuals who had their own special
encounters with God.

⁃ Consider Jacob, who after wrestling with the angel at Peniel said, “I have
seen God face to face” (Genesis 32:30). After that experience, Jacob’s very name
was changed, he forever after walked with a limp as a reminder of the night he
wrestled with the angel of the Lord.

⁃ Saul’s encounter with Jesus, His name is changed to Paul. Read Acts 8:3,
Acts 9:1-2

Who was Saul?

Devout Jew, religious, persecutor of the Christians because he saw Christianity as
a threat to Judaism 

He persecuted, killed and imprisoned many Christians. But even though he was
that bad, God still wanted saul to have an encounter with Him.
Acts 8:3 (NIV) But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house,
he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. 

⁃ Abram becomes Abraham. It’s interesting to see that GOD first changes
our identity, that’s what the cross does. Our names are changed from slaves to
sons and daughters of the most high.
⁃ In the New Testament, person after person was radically changed as each
came into contact with Jesus. Because of encountering Him, sick bodies were
healed, tormented minds were set free, blind eyes were opened, and even the
dead raised to life.

My favorite of them all is found in John 20:1-18

John 20 New International Version (NIV)

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene
went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
2
So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved,
and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where
they have put him!”
3
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but
the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and
looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter
came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of
linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head.
The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other
disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
9
(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the
dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying (weeping). As she wept, she bent
over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’
body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have
put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did
not realize that it was Jesus.
15
He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
(Whom are you seeking?)
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me
where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means
“Teacher”).
17
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go
instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your
Father, to my God and your God.’”
18
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!”
And she told them that he had said these things to her.

3 lessons from Mary’s Encounter with Jesus

1. Intentional, Hunger, Desperation, Brokenness and Humility

Mary was desperate for JESUS. Something about humility, brokenness, hunger
and desperation GOD loves.
They attract Heaven, it attracted JESUS. Jesus didn’t show himself to the proud
(Pharisees) to prove himself right or prove them wrong.
Jesus says in
verse 17 - “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go
instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your
Father, to my God and your God.’”
That means Jesus had other plans, but He changed his calendar to meet Mary.
This is what hunger for GOD does.
2. Focus

Being still, fixing our gaze on JESUS.

Mary didn’t seem to be impressed by the angels, though there were 2 angels.
Probably the first time in the bible where angels didn’t have to say “don’t be
afraid.” All her focus was on JESUS alone.

Focusing takes work. We have to choose to still our minds from everything that
wants to steal our attention. Remember, our goal is to be face-to-face with God.
That means our focus has to be Him, not our situations or even ourselves.

3. Persistence and Patience

With intentionality and focus, it's relatively easy to have an encounter with God.
He's already promised that when we draw near to Him, He's going to respond
(James 4:8). But if you're like me, one encounter isn't enough.

Peter and John go into the tomb, scans the place and head back home, but not
Mary. She had to find out about Jesus.
Verse 15 - “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and
I will get him.”

A dead body is really heavy for one person to carry and she was willing to do that.

18
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!”
And she told them that he had said these things to her.

#whateverittakes
What are the results of an Encounter?
The effects of an Encounter are many and varied, depending on what God
specifically does in your heart. You may experience a freedom that you’ve never
known before, a new confidence in God’s love for you, a fresh infilling of the Holy
Spirit, and boundless joy in the goodness of God. But whatever happens we find
that many people experience the following changes:
 Repentance— (Psalm 51:3-4)—At the Encounter, most people will come
face-to-face with their own sinfulness and need for forgiveness. Revelation
of the cross leads us to salvation.
 New direction— (Matthew 4:18-20)—When Peter and Andrew, ordinary
fishermen, encountered Jesus, their lives took a drastic new direction. They
left behind all the old and familiar and launched out into the deep waters of
following the Lord. It can be the same for you. The Encounter is an
opportunity for you to start on a new course, no matter what your past has
been like.
 Transformed Heart (Genesis 32:1-8, 27-28)—When Jacob had an encounter
with the Lord, his relationship with his brother Esau changed. Even his very
name changed. You will be forever changed in your innermost being if you
will allow the Lord to have His way with you at the Encounter.

God has promised, "When you seek Me, you will find Me." Seeking is an action
word; searching for something until you find it.
You will seek me, and you will find me when you search for me with all your
heart. – Jeremiah 29:13

"You were created for encountering God, and you will never be satisfied until you
continually live in the experience for which you were created".

Questions for team devotions

1. What if you encounter God today…what would you do?
2. What have you done with the encounters you have had with God?
3. What’s an encounter with God you’ve had that has marked your life?