"An Encounter With God" - God's Touch

Encounter:To come upon or experience especially unexpectedly.To meet especially by chance.

1 Samuel 10:26 26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.

There can be no life without an encounter with God zacheus!! come down today i’m staying at your house!!Saul!! On his way to dasmascus to persecute some saints thiinking he’s doing God a service Good kknocks him off his beast, blinds him and redirects him. Jacob!! is a man that gets hold of God and refuses to let Him go until he receives the blessing.

There can be no life without God Himself touching that area of our lives.

I. T-ransforms Def.

Jacob @ Bethel I won’t let go till you bless me.

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17).

A. The touch of God brings forgiveness of sins to those who repent and believe. It brings cleansing and power to those who yield themselves totally to God.

B. The transforming touch of God makes everything new. We receive a new life in Christ Jesus, new desires, new activities, and a new hope of eternal life (2 Cor. 5:17).

. If anyone: This is a promise for anyone. Anyone! It doesn’t matter what class, what race, what nationality, what language, or what level of intelligence. Anyone can be a new creation in Jesus Christ.

b. Is in Christ: This is a promise for anyone who is in Christ. This is not a promise for those who are in themselves, or in the religion of men, or in someone or something else. This is for those in Christ.

II. O-rdains

c. He is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Paul here teaches the great principle of regeneration. Jesus Christ changes those who come to Him by faith and who are in Christ. The saved are not “just forgiven.” They are changed into a new creation.

i. It is unfair for us to expect those who are not in Christ to live as if they were a new creation. However, it is not unfair to expect a changed life from people who say they are Christians. “I know no language, I believe there is none, that can express a greater or more thorough and more radical renewal, than that which is expressed in the term, ‘a new creature.’” (Spurgeon)

ii. However, being a new creation doesn’t mean that we are perfect. It means that we are changed and that we are being changed.

d. He is a new creation: Who makes us a new creation? This is something God alone can do in us. This isn’t just “turning over a new leaf” or “getting your act together.” Yet the life of a new creation is not something God does for us but in us. So, we are told to put off… the old man and to put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24).

II. O-rdains

2 Corinthians 5:17

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

John 15:16 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. A. Many Christians fail because they do not work for God. Some think only ministers are to witness to the unsaved and win them to Christ.

B. The touch of God ordains all Christians into God’s service. Everyone can share something for God—a smile, a prayer, a helping hand.

III. U-nifies

Psalm 133:1 133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Ephesians 4:2,3 4 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

A. Many churches fail because their members do not work together; they are divided. Some pull in one direction, and others in another direction.

B. The touch of God brings harmony and love. It enables us to accomplish God’s work in “the unity of the Spirit”

IV. C-onquers

Romans 8:37 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

A. Many Christians give up too easily. They throw up their hands and quit when they are persecuted, rebuked, or when they fail to get their own way.

B. The touch of God gives us courage to conquer. Christ furnishes the strength which enables us to “keep on keeping on

Philippians 4:13 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

V. H-eals

Molestation, Disapppoinment, Thought It Would Work Out. Beneath The Surface.

Matthew 8:3

3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.A. Many have never experienced divine healing because of a lack of faith. We cannot expect to please God or receive blessings from Him without faith (Heb. 11:6). B. The touch of God brings physical, mental, and spiritual healing. We receive God’s touch through reading His Word, praying, believing, accepting, and obeying (Matt. 9:29).

1. Encountering God Repositions You on the Path He Set for You.

2. Encountering God Will Heal the Inner Parts of Your Heart.

3. Encountering God Will Change the Trajectory of Your Family and Those Closest to You.

4. Encountering God Makes You To Be a Greater Ambassador for Christ.

5. Encountering God Strengthens and Affirms the Power In You to No Longer Struggle With Sin.

1 John 3:6-7 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. 7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.

7. Encountering God Establishes a Deeper Hunger for His Presence and Glory to Exist, in Every Area of Your Life.