Personal And Life Changing Nature Of Encounters Series

Encounter With God Part 2

Personal Encounter: A life Changing Experience

For a video version of this message, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xCZ-xRH3Yg

Last week we started on a series on Encounter with God. Last week we explored the Biblical Perspectives of God Encounters. We looked at four perspectives

1. If we are not watchful, we might miss the encounter altogether

2. Having an encounter with God is entirely up to us (Because He is always there and present)

3. God encounters are for everyone

4. God encounters are to be experienced everyday.

This week onwards we are going to look at the encounter itself, and how it is a life changing experience. From a leadership perspective, it could mean changes to your Vision, Character and Relationships. Every encounter with God is a deeply personal experience.

Last week while studying the first biblical perspective we looked at the first encounter that Jacob had with God. That is where we looked into his reaction, Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it (Gen 28:16, NKJV). This morning we are going to continue to walk with Jacob and see his other encounters with God and see what we can learn from them.

Overall, the Bible records five encounters with God for Jacob. This further proves our last week’s perspective that we saw, that God encounters are not a one-time experience. It repeats and we are invited to have that every day. We will quickly look at the five encounters of Jacob.

Jacob’s second encounter is recorded in Genesis Chapter 31. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.” (Gen 31:3, NKJV). The author does not give us any more details about the second encounter as he did for the first one. No dramatic settings. Just a direct communication from God. It is through Jacob’s narration to his wives that we know about the fact that this was part of a dream. (Gen 31:10-13).

His third encounter is recorded in Genesis 32: 24-29. This is probably the most famous, and the most dramatic of his encounters. This is where there is direct contact between Jacob and God. This is where he wrestles with God all night, and lets Him go only after He blessed Jacob. This is also where jacob ends up getting his hip bone broken and gets his permanent limp.

The fourth encounter is recorded in Genesis Ch 35, where the Lord asks Jacob to go back to Bethel, where he had his first encounter. Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.” (Gen 35:1 NKJV). This is again most probably a dream and the author does not give us any more details.

The last recorded encounter is found a little later in Ch 35. Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him (Gen 35:9, NKJV). We do not know the circumstances of this encounter either.

Going to the New Testament and looking at the life of Paul, we can see that he has had at least three direct encounters with Christ. The first one is the most famous one and we all remember that one. The one on the road to Damascus, first recorded in Acts 9:3-19 and retold in Acts 22:6-16 (where Paul was addressing the Jerusalem mob who wanted his head, and nothing short) and again Acts 26:12-18 (Where Paul is defending and witnessing to King Agrippa)

Paul’s second encounter is recorded in Acts 22:17-21, as told by Paul himself. This is again when he is addressing the Jerusalem mob. This encounter happens more than 3 years after the first one. In this Jesus comes to Paul when he is in a trance and commands him to leave Jerusalem to go and be a witness to the gentiles. This is despite Paul making a good case for being a witness in Jerusalem among the Jews.

Paul’s third encounter is recorded in Acts 23:11, where the author records that But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome” (Acts 23:11, NKJV). This is immediately after the Jerusalem mob fury and his address to the Sanhedrin that left the Sanhedrin divided. He was in prison and that is when Jesus appears to him and encourages him, with the promise that no harm will come to him because he has to witness in Rome just as he did in Jerusalem.

As we saw last week, the encounter with God is never a one-time affair and it continues. This is very evident in the cases of Jacob and Paul. We are going to examine two themes from these encounters.