Authentic, Life-Changing, Supernatural Encounters with God

SCRIPTURE

Judges 6:17–24 NKJV

17 Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. 18 Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.” And He said, “I will wait until you come back.” 19 So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. 20 The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. 21 Then the Angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. 22 Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.” 23 Then the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

INTRODUCTION

I am convinced that many in the church have never experienced an authentic, life-changing, supernatural encounter with God. At some point they prayed the sinner’s prayer and asked Jesus to come into their heart. However, they either were never truly born again, or they were born again but they are simply satisfied with a superficial relationship and do not desire a deeper walk with the Lord. I know this because of their fruits. I know this because they simply don’t have any spiritual life in them. They don’t have any fire. They don’t have a desire to pray. They don’t have a desire to study God’s Word. They don’t have a desire to praise. They don’t have a desire to worship. They don’t demonstrate the love of God through their actions and their attitudes. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got to have more! I want more of God’s presence in my life! I want more of God’s power in my life! And I am convinced there are many others who desire the same thing. We desire authentic, life-changing, supernatural encounters with God!

MESSAGE

Gideon Had an Authentic, Life-Changing, Supernatural Encounter with God

Gideon Experienced a Theophany

A Theophany is a visible or physical manifestation of God

More specifically this was a Christophany, an appearance of Jesus before His incarnation

Gideon changed his address from Verse 13 to Verse 15

But he was still not sure

Gideon Asked for a Sign

Gideon had some honest doubt

He wanted to make sure that it was really God that was talking to him

There is nothing wrong with stopping to confirm something is from God

We need to make sure that it is an authentic encounter with God

SEEK THE LORD!

Gideon Prepared a Sacrifice

This was an extravagant offering

A meat offering was the most expensive one could offer

An ephah of flour was enough to feed 10 men

The Lord accepted Gideon’s offering

God deserves our best offering of worship

SUBMIT TO THE LORD!

Gideon Built an Altar

He named the altar “Jehovah-Shalom” meaning “The Lord is Peace”

This is interesting since he is about to go into battle with the Midianites

He was looking forward to the peace that the Lord was going to bring after the battle

SERVE THE LORD!

We Need an Authentic, Life-Changing, Supernatural Encounter with God

Types of Encounters

Salvation

Baptism in the Holy Ghost

Deliverance

Healing

Anointing for Service

How to Experience an Authentic, Life-Changing, Supernatural Encounter with God

His Word

Prayer

Worship

Seek

Yield (Submission)

Final Thoughts

God desires to have a personal relationship with you individually.

God is a supernatural being and therefore we experience Him in supernatural ways.

Salvation is the most important first step in relationship with God, but we can experience God in new and exciting ways every day of our life as Christians.

The Baptism in the Holy Ghost is an experience separate from salvation that is available to every believer who seeks for it.

It deepens your relationship with God.

It increases your hunger for the Word of God.

It expands your understanding of the Word of God.

It brings the anointing upon your life.

It improves your prayer life.

It empowers you for service.

It gives you boldness to witness.

CLOSING