Can A Person Have An Encounter With The Living God Series?

CAN A PERSON HAVE AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIVING GOD SERIES?

PART 2.

EXODUS 3: 1-9.

I would like to share with you an encounter that Barbara and I had with the living Lord. We were having revivals and the church had asked one of the organization leaders to come and be our speaker. The church had fasted and prayed for this time of special meeting as it was a week where the church body was looking forward to being ministered to. We were also inviting unsaved people to the meeting with the prayer that they would find Jesus. On the first evening you could almost touch the Holy Spirit his presence was so strong. The service started and it wasn’t long until the Holy Spirit began to minister. I want to tell you that as were coming to the end of the service that the presence of the Holy Spirit was so strong that all I felt driven by the very presence of the Holy Spirit to my knees. I can still see myself there on that platform give praise to the Lord Jesus. The next morning I received a phone call from the leader of the organization and they requested that I meet with them as they had some concerns. At the meeting the speaker told about the service and as I looked at the leader of the organization I couldn’t believe my ears. He told me that he was upset with what he had heard and that if anything like that went on again that he would take away my credentials and I would be ask to leave the church. I kind of stammered as I couldn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to experience the presence to the Holy Spirit and be a part of a service where the Holy Spirit ministered to the Lord’s children. I remember asking why and I was told that the organization didn’t want to have a church that was known for having unusually services. They wanted the community to look upon them the same way the community looked upon the liberal churches. They didn’t want to be known as a Bible believing/preaching Holy Spirit empowered church. I went back home and told Barbara what happened. We decided that it was better for us to obey the Holy Spirit and risk being asks to leave that follow the plans of the organization. The church had a real encounter with the Living Lord God.

Today I want to look at Moses encounter. I want us to look at the excuses that he was offering to the Lord and see if any of them are ones that we may have used or are using.

I believe that the last thing on Moses mind was a divine encounter with the Living God. Moses who is 80 years old lived in the middle of nowhere looking after sheep for his father-in-law. He lived there with his wife and family. This scripture isn’t teaching that you have to wait until you’re 80 to have an encounter with the Lord. When I read the account of Moses and the burning bush I wonder how many times he looked up into the mountain and saw the burning bush before he actually made up his mind to go and see it.

Exodus 3:2-4a. The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!"

Let me ask you if you saw a burning bush and you could see that the bush wasn’t being destroyed what would you do.

Look at Moses reply. It is kind of o well I guess I should go over there and take a closer look. It is almost as if this is a daily occurrence for Moses. Can you picture Moses going home and his wife asking him how his day was and Moses saying not to much happen? That burning bush was still there. As I read this I realized that we might be like Moses. I don’t see Moses as being to excited over this. Now let me ask you another question what would need to happen in a service for you to be so excited that you could speak or you just couldn’t wait until you told someone. What I find interesting is that Moses is up on the mountain with the Living God; he hears the Lord speak and instead of enjoying his encounter with the Living Lord we find that he’s making up excuses so that he doesn’t have to obey the Lord.