An Encounter with God
Turn to Isaiah 6:1-8
I. Something More Than A Shout (Introduction)...
I’m glad I go to a church where I can lift up the
name of the Lord right out loud! Amen?
I love singing songs, clapping and shouting in
church just as much as the next guy, maybe even
more!
But somewhere in your walk with God you have
to grow beyond just a singing and a shouting
relationship with God.
I’m not saying we have to quit shouting and
singing!
I’m saying that we gotta do more than just come
to Church on Sunday and Tuesdays to shout and
sing,
And go home and do nothing until it’s time to go
back to Church again!
Cause all the shouting and singing and stomping
in the world ain’t going to do us any good if we
don’t learn how to walk and live for God!!
And the only way to walk with God is to actually
walk with Him.
The only way to live for God is to live with God
in you!
What I’m saying is we have to have an encounter
with God.
We have to come into His presence.
And not just corporately but personally.
Cause if we don’t actually make personal contact
with God we’re just shouting at the walls. Amen?
If God’s not present in our lives we’re just
singing to each other. Amen?
Somewhere we have to reach the point that our
relationship with God is an intimate one.
A relationship that involves actually talking to
God or Singing to God on a personal level.
Not just singing about God to everyone else.
Amen?
I might talk about Michael Jordan. I might even
brag on his abilities,
but that’s as far as my relationship with
Michael Jordan goes.
I don’t really know him I know of him.
I don’t really speak to him I speak of him.
But Mrs. Michael Jordan knows him on a
personal level.
An intimate level where she talks and he listens
and he talks and she listens. Amen?
This is what I’m preaching about this morning!
Having an encounter with God, that’s more than
just an emotional encounter
I’m talking about having a true encounter with
our Savior!
II. An Intimate Relationship With God...
An intimate relationship with God.
How many knows that we are the Bride of
Christ! Amen?
And how many knows that He desires to have an
intimate relationship with us?
Well I want what Jesus wants!
I want to bring about that intamacy in my walk
with Christ. Amen?
I want to have an Encounter with Christ that
does more than just excite me,
I want to be changed forever!
I want a relationship with the Lord that isn’t
based on just my "lip service" to him but its
based upon my "heart service" for him. Amen?
See, Worshipping God isn’t just some routine
that we go thru.
Its not like playing the right note on an
instrument or singing the right tune in a song
but its having an actual encounter with the Lord
of Lord, and King of Kings!
We sing praise to come into His presence but
once He shows up that’s when we start to
worship.
That’s when we surpass all the shouting and
singing and just stand amazed.
And it’s at that moment as you stand in awe that
your life becomes changed forever.
III. Isaiah’s Experience...
Let’s look at what happened to Isaiah....
Isa 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isa 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
Isa 6:4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isa 6:5 Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
Isa 6:6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
Isa 6:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
Isa 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
In Isaiah, we read where the man of God had an
encounter with God.
Our text this morning clearly shows us what
happens to a person that has an encounter with
God.
One thing that stands out in my mind is when
Isaiah says : "I saw the Lord"
He didn’t have some kind of a nightmare or
vision inspired by too much pizza the night
before.
this was not a product of his imagination
-he was not making up some supernatural
encounter
But Isaiah had a true life-changing encounter
with the Lord of Glory!
Where he was praying, the door posts and the
threshold shook like an earthquake.
the room filled with the shekinah glory of God
I’ve been in services where the glory of God was
so real that there was a blue haze, holy smoke in
the sanctuary about 4 ft off the ground.
I’ve been in a revival where the fire department
was called out because of the cloud of smoke
covering the building.
And you know what was taking place?
We were having a life changing encounter with
God.
Because we were in the presence of an Almighty
God Amen?
Reality check: In my time in ministry I’ve seen
people lots of people have an encounter with
God but too many of these were just emotional
encounters.
encounters where they come to an altar or kneel
in a pew, pray, weep, cry, shed
tears, shout sing but then they get up and leave
just like they came.
They live and act the same way they did before.
But I tell you the truth this morning when I say I
believe when we have a true encounter with God,
it changes us!
-when we truly repent to God, we aren’t the
same anymore!
When we really come into His presence we
become like Isaiah saying woe is me.
Because In His perfect presence we realize our
imperfect state and we ask Him to purge us, and
bring about change.
And we put off the old and take on the new. Amen?
We take off our old self righteousness because
we can see that it is only filthy rags and we put
on His righteousness.
Too many Christians have an emotional
encounter with God and think that there’s
nothing more.
But there is!
When you have a true encounter with the Lord
of Glory Things change!
First of all you’re no longer an empty vessel
because the Lord will purge you and fill you with
His Spirit just like the smoke filled the room in
our scripture.
And then you’ll become a willing vessel like
Isaiah saying Here am I Lord!
What do you want me to do!
Just point and I’ll go!
Just speak and I’ll listen!
Just lead and I’ll follow!
We wonder why there’s not enough workers in
the Body of Christ!
It’s because too many of us don’t have that
personal intimate relationship with God that we
need!
IV. Emotional Vs. Spiritual...
They’ve just had emotional experiences and not
spiritual ones!
Now don’t get me wrong, we all need to get
emotional about serving the Lord
Because we have to be willing to give God our
feelings and emotions but we’ve got to be what I
call spiritually emotional!
See, anyone can get emotional and not be
spiritual,
But nobody can be spiritual and not emotional!
And when you’re emotional in the spiritual sense
it brings you to a special place.
And this isn’t a shallow place but it’s a deep
place in God.
Sometimes when you get to that place all you
can do is groan and moan in the spirit.
And words can’t describe what’s happening to
you But when you stand up, you’re different!
You’re not the same anymore!!!
The chains of this world have fallen off and the
Devil has lost his grip on your life.
You have a new purpose and desire to please the
Lord like you’ve never had before! Amen?
That’s an intimate encounter with God!
How many times have we seen people come to
an altar, shed some tears, pray for a long time,
show all kinds o f signs of remorse and then they
get up, go back home and never change a thing?
-they had an emotional encounter with God but
not a true life changing encounter with the
Master!
An emotional encounter will make you feel
better but it will not change your life.
V. Jacob’s Experience...
There is example after example in the Bible of
men and women who had life changing
encounters.
Jacob was a young man who loved the things of
God more than his brother Esau.
Jacob had some flaws in his life.
-he loved to get ahead at others peoples expense
-he was driven to succeed but at the cost of his
morals and integrity
One day, he played a dirty trick on his brother
and it caused him to leave home over it.
And he went to live with his Uncle Laban.
But Laban was worse than Jacob
So Jacob reaped what he had sowed. Amen?
After being away for many yrs, he became
prosperous and blessed and he decided to go
back home.
But on the way home, in a place called Peniel, he
came across his brother Esau and 400 armed
men looking for him
-Esau was going to get revenge for the tricks
played on him.
At this moment, Jacob realized he needed God.
How many times has the Lord allowed things to
Happen in your life in an effort to point you to
him?
he lets things happen to make us realize that w/o
him we are hopeless!!!
And Jacob knew without God he was hopeless.
but Gen.32 tells us that Jacob had a true
encounter with God.
He literally wrestled with an angel of God all
night long until he got blessed"
He said "I will not let you go until you bless me"
(Jacob was tired of the way he had been living
and he wasn’t going home the same way he
came- he wanted to be different)
He finally got blessed and God changed his name
from Jacob to Israel.
Israel means "God prevails"
(I want God to prevail, take control in my life)
(I don’ t want to go home w/o being changed!)
Song says: "You won’t leave here like you came
in Jesus name"
God is here to meet with us in an intimate way
This morning!
When you touch God, you will be changed!
all the bitterness, the grudges, the hurt will all be
gone all the pity parties and feeling sorry for
yourself will disappear
all the little words that find fault and cause
division will stop.
When God touches you, you’re changed!
You’re new! Old things are put away!
You can’t touch God and walk away the same!!!
your joy is renewed -your peace in God is
restored
You might still be walking but not quite like you
use to. Amen?
From that day forward, Jacob walked with a
limp.
When someone asked him "why are you
limping", he could say:
"I had an encounter with God"
When you have a true encounter with him, even
the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you
think is different! -it’s a spiritual walk!
And only the spirit knows the Spirit!
That’s why people that don’t have "spiritual
limps" don’t understand people that do!
-in fact they usually criticize them for what they
do because they haven’t got a clue
Folks! When you step out and decide to please
God and not people, get ready for an attack from
the enemy.
That attack may even come from some close
friends that haven’t had an encounter with God
yet!
It might even come from some church folks. Amen?
don’t get mad at them, just love them, be patient
and pray they have a life changing encounter
with God!
pray that they start thinking and walking
different!!
VI. A Bethel Experience Vs. A Peniel Experience...
Let me back up and tell you what had previously
happened to Jacob.
Before Jacob ever wrestled with God at PENIEL,
he was in BETHEL.
Remember he was on the run from his brother.
He was scared to death and feeling bad about his
old deceiving, selfish ways.
He stopped and went to sleep!
He had a wonderful dream and even a word of
promise from God.
-he had a vision of a ladder that stretched into
the Heavens
-God reassured him that he would take care of
him and provide for him
But his BETHEL experience didn’t change the
way Jacob lived.
He got up with all the promises of God feeling
better but he still lived and acted the same old
way he always did.
It wasn’t until PENIEL, that he had had enough!
He got desperate!!!
" " " " that he decide to get a close relationship
even if it killed him.
And he changed from Jacob to Israel!!!
he changed from being a cheat and liar to an
man of honesty
he changed from being a deceiver to a man of
integrity
God went from being #2 in his life to #1
PENIEL means "facing God"!!
Many of us here this morning have had a Bethel
experience with the Lord.
We’ve been born again, we love the things of
God, we want to go to Heaven
-we claim to be saved sanctified and filled with
the Holy Ghost
But have we had a PENIEL experience,
a true encounter with Lord yet?
Have you had a face to face encounter with the
Lord yet where it changed you?
As your pastor, I can almost tell you who has
and who hasn’t:
by the way you walk, the way you talk and they
way you live.
by the way you pay your tithes and treat each
other
People that have a true encounter with God stop
playing church and become a part of the church.
they commit themselves to the local church and
revival
they commit themselves to the work of God
VII. Spiritual Eye Opening (Cont.)...
We all need to be able to say "I saw the Lord"
It’s time like David said in Ps. 27:4 "its time to
seek him in his temple"
Spiritual-blindness is caused by Self-blindness!
-it will weigh you down to the point that you
can’t rejoice anymore
-you can’t see thru the fog of envy and jealousy
of all the good things going on
around you.
We need to ask the Lord this morning,
and I am talking to everyone,
to open our eyes so that we might see him more
clearly!!
People that have trouble living holy are still
looking thru human eyes and
not spiritual ones.
One of the biggest problems in Gods church is
people not being able to see in the spirit what is
going on.
-all wrapped up in their own desires and goals
-they get more involved in personal things and
drop out of church things.
When Isaiah had an encounter with God, he
finally said:
"Here am I, send me" -he got involved in what
God was doing
-he laid aside his own life to gain a spiritual life
I have prayed the prayer of II Kings 6:17 so
much lately for others,
I feel like I’m a spiritual optometrist.
Elisha prayed for his servant "O Lord open his
eyes that he may see"
If you want a strong and convincing testimony;
If you want a powerful influence on people as
you tell them about God;
If you want to be used by God;
you need to be able to say "I saw the Lord"
Its time we ask the Lord ourselves, "Lord Open
my eyes that I can see"
let me see the lost as you see them
let me see the vision of revival the pastor has
let me see ways that I can encourage others
let me see you Lord, more clearly so I can do
things the way you would do them.
VIII. Woe Is Me (Conclusion)...
the 1st thing that Isaiah said after coming in
contact with God
"Woe is me!"
When we enter into the Lords presence and
behold his glory, his majesty, his beauty, his
purity and holiness;
-when you encounter his mercy, his justice and
perfection, we come face to face
with our own sad reality of imperfection!
-his light lights up the sad flaws in our own life
In the light of his presence, we can see all those
things that are against his desires and his ways.
We immediately recognize the changes he wants
to make within us and all we can say is:
"Woe is me"
Example:
Have you ever been in a restaurant where maybe
the lighting is poor.
We drip or spill some food on our shirt, blouse
or tie.
We take some water and a napkin and try to
wipe it off and we think we’ve got it.
In the dim light of the restaurant, we think we’ve
taken care of the problem.
But later on when you get home and the lighting
is much better,
you see the problem is still there.
Not only is the original stain there but all the
other stains of us trying to fix it are there also. -
w/o proper light, w/o proper vision we end up
making the problem worse!
The same thing happens when we come before
the Lord in his perfect light.
The things we thought were so true measured in
the light of this earth and world are not
true and will only get worse with our own efforts
to fix them.
We have to go into his presence with an open
heart.
Instead of going around talking about changes
that need to happen in the church or at work,
why not try to go into the Lords throne room
with a desire to be changed yourself
Many people avoid prayer and fasting because it
reveals the flaws in our walk with God.
They resist changing! They refuse to admit they
need to change!
Thus they only have an emotional encounter
with God from time to time but they
continue to live, talk, and act the same way they
always did.
Entering into Gods presence makes us sensitive,
open, vulnerable to Gods all seeing eye!
In II Chron. 7:14 God is speaking to his people,
the church when he said:
"If my people who are called by my name, will
humble themselves and pray and
seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
then will I hear form Heaven and
will forgive their sin and will heal their land"
Stand:
Church!!!
We have to enter into his presence and admit we
are not perfect!
-that we have sin among us and allow him to
cleanse the church
-allow him to cleanse each and every heart in
this place
We have to be willing to say "Woe is me"
and then get to the place that we say: "Here I am
Lord, use me"
Allow the Holy Ghost to break up some hard spots and
then renew you, restore and remold you anew
This Morning Amen?
