A Fresh Encounter With God

A Fresh Encounter With God

*** Watch: https://youtu.be/Av_GUr5qWI8

{Open your Bibles to Revelation 2, and we’ll be reading from verse one through verse seven.}

Today’s I’d like to continue looking at this whole issue of Revival. Now, over the past several weeks we’ve been looking at God’s call to revival from the books of Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah. Today, however, I’d like to look at it from what Jesus said to the church in Ephesus found in His letter to the church in the Book of Revelation.

“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitians, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.’” (Revelation 2:1-7 NKJV)

Now, our second pillar at Living Waters Fellowship is that of discipleship. And with that call should come a passionate pursuit of God’s presence, and a following hard after God. And the end goal of such a pursuit is so that we can have a fresh encounter with God.

God’s desire is for all of us to experience a fresh encounter with Him. But what does such a fresh encounter look like?

To answer this question let’s take a look at what a fresh encounter with God looked like in the life of the prophet Isaiah.

It was the year in which King Uzziah died. Isaiah was in the Temple when he either had a heavenly vision or was literally taken up into heaven where he said in chapter six, “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up.” (Isaiah 6:1 NKJV)

It was from this encounter with God that Isaiah realized his own and Israel’s unworthiness and sin saying, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5 NKJV)

After confessing this to the Lord, God cleansed him by taking a burning coal from off the altar and placed it upon his lips and then called Isaiah to be His mouthpiece to the world.

Having a fresh encounter with God will do two things. It will reveal God’s holiness coupled with our sinfulness. And in these encounters God calls His people to return to Him, which is what revival is all about.

When we look at the world it seems like everything is just growing darker by the minute. Wickedness is increasing, perversions are multiplying, and morals are disappearing. Essentially people are doing whatever they want, whatever is right in their own eyes, and when we look back at history and the Bible, we find this is a recipe for disaster.

But it doesn’t stop there. All around the world, especially here in America, which was founded upon God and His word, where religious freedom is touted, what we see are people, organizations, religions, and government opposing the Bible and those who hold to its truths.

And so, to have that fresh encounter with God, the first thing God is calling for, and from what we see in our text, is for our return to Him.

1. Return

“I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” (Revelation 2:4 NKJV)

Our nation is at a point of a moral and spiritual crisis; much like it was during the time when Isaiah experienced his fresh encounter with God.

Yet this shouldn’t surprise us. We shouldn’t be surprised by the spiritual darkness. Instead it should indict us. The problem isn’t that the darkness is spreading; rather it’s that God’s light is diminishing.

When light shines, darkness flees, and the brighter the light, the less darkness there is. And so the growing spiritual darkness in our land is because the light of Jesus Christ, the light that founded this nation is not shining as brightly as it should. Not only did Jesus call Himself the light, but He also said that we are to let His light shine through us.