Encounter

Key idea – Encounters with God are normal; we should look for them and expect them. Mary's experience is an extreme example, but God speaking with or meeting people is not unusual.

INTRODUCTION:

o Encounters can seem scary to us. Have you ever had that moment of realisation that you forgot something and froze as you processed the plan to retrieve it? Or have a fear of something and will go out of your way to avoid it.

Maria’s fear of birds encountered a bush turkey,

A friend said their mum, scared of spiders, spent 8 hours trapped in a room, missing work because a spider was above the door.

What is happening here could be considered a scary encounter for Mary

o An angel appears…scare number one

§ Do not be afraid – it seems like angelic visitors speak this phrase often when they arrive

Same words to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid” (Lk 2:10)

Luke 2:10 NIV

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

Like Malachi, do not fear the Lord,

Yet scare number 2 for Mary comes when the angel delivers the message that she will give birth

§ As we know, Mary is young, a virgin, and ‘engaged’ to Joseph

Today, we have already read about Mary and her encounter with God. Let’s consider a little bit of information about Mary from Lynn Cohick (Professor of New Testament and Director of Houston Theological Seminary) from Encounter episode 1

(show Enc Ep 1 Clip 1)

o “Mary, from what we can tell, especially from the beautiful song that is recorded for us in the Gospel of Luke, is that she's a very devout Jew. She seems to know Scripture well because there are echoes of the Old Testament in what she says. She is looking for God to act as many Jews were at this time. So I think we would imagine her to be overall a devout person with a genuine love of the God of Israel. Mary, Jesus's mother, was born in Nazareth, and that's where she raised Jesus. So it's her home area. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but raised mainly in Nazareth.”

A bit more about this series we are starting today

o It is entitled, “Encounter – People Jesus Met, Then and Now”

§ 10 episodes/weeks

· Filmed in Australia, America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Africa

§ Olive Tree Media material, developed by Karl Faase (Baptist Pastor), who also presented - Game Changer and Faith Runs Deep (which Guy has a spot on)

§ Kids church will also be doing this series

o We will be speaking to it on the Sunday, and then there is an opportunity to watch an episode in a lifegroup during the week with discussion.

In connecting the sermon on the topic with our life groups, it might bring to mind someone to invite to Lifegroup or an opportunity to share your own encounters with Jesus.

o The tag line in the Encounter series is, ‘People Jesus Met, Then and Now’

§ Then…is about people written about in the Scriptures

§ Now…you will hear from people and their experiences of meeting Jesus

The ‘now’ testimonies are a big part of this series

o There are about 30 testimonies shared over the series

o But we are also going to have a chance to share our own testimonies of OUR encounters with Jesus

§ Either testimonies of coming to faith or something that Jesus is speaking or doing now

Testimonies do at least three things

§ Gives God glory

· We are testifying to God’s work and glory

§ Reminds us of the ‘great things’ the Lord has done

· How often do we pray and then forget to bear testimony to God’s work?

· We grow our faith as we ‘remember’ the good things God has done

§ Builds faith in others

· As you hear another’s testimony, you think, “their breakthrough could be my breakthrough”

1. Encounters can get in the way of our plans

Do you remember a time when you were bumped off your course?

o You had a plan

o But then you got bumped off it

§ It may be in sport, work, or family

Mary is bumped off the course that she thought her life was heading on

If you have your Bibles with you, look again at Lk 1:26-28

I imagine that Mary had a plan for her life

o And in one encounter with God, nearly all those plans are thrown out the window

Yet we should not think of Mary as a victim

o Lynn Cohick, who we heard from this moring also says:

§ “This is not God imposing something on this frightened young woman. This is a woman who demonstrates an incredible love for God that we see in the song that she sings of praise later, which Luke tells us about; she's honoured to be part of God working in history.”

There is a danger that we can get frustrated when God’s plans seem to get in the way of our plans

o Can you think of an example of this from your life?

o There is an account of a couple that wanted to be missionaries. One person thought they wanted to go to one country, and the other person initially felt led to another country. The only thing that they both agreed on was that they didn’t want to go to India. And of course, the country that they ended up loving and serving for 15 years was India

§ They could have been annoyed or said no to God’s plan because it wasn’t what they wanted, but they didn’t do that and went with where God was leading.

Mary is ‘highly favoured’ (Lk 1:28), but that doesn’t equal an easy road in her setting

o She will, at the very least, face some difficult conversations ahead

§ With Joseph, her parents, his parents and potentially religious leaders in explaining this pregnancy

God’s plans and ways are very rarely the ‘easy road’, and we shouldn’t be ‘surprised’ by that (even though often we are)

o Think of what is written

1 Peter 4:12 NIV

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

2. Encounters open the way to great blessings for us and for others

Sometimes we use the phrase, ‘a sliding door moment’

o A moment where a life could have gone one way, but at the last minute, one door closed, and another door opened, and life went a different way than we thought it would

§ I experienced this when I felt the career I wanted, to become a park ranger, was slipping. I love connecting with God in creation and wanted that to be my job, spending time in the outdoors. I said to God, I never want to sit behind a desk (writing these words behind a desk).

I was told the industry was hard to get into, and you need experience to go with your knowledge, spending 3 years at Uni studying for it.

So I pivoted and did honours in mining restoration, thinking, well, there is good money in that, I even had a job interview in Kalgoolie.

Yet over those 2 years, as one door closed and I wasn’t sure where I was going, I believe God said clearly to me, don’t hide from what I am calling you to do, step out as a leader. Be a voice for me in the wilderness. I actually had a I will make you fishers of men moment; instead of restoration of the land, through Jesus seeing people restored in relationship with God, bringing people out of the wilderness into the oasis.

That opened the door into becoming a pastor, a path I feel so blessed to be on and walk with you in your sliding door moments.

· Mary had an idea of where she wanted to go

o And as we’ve just considered, encounters with God can get in the way of ‘our plans’

And yet Mary’s encounter opened her life up to a bigger life than she could ever have imagined

As we can see in this passage

Paul, in some ways, has this experience (Acts 16:6-10)

o Paul thinks he should go one way, but God stops him

§ And then later, Paul has a vision, and it is clear now where God wants him to go

Even when God directs us in ways we wouldn’t choose, the result isn’t ‘loss’, it is ‘gain’

Jesus says that as we follow Him, we receive life to the full

John 10:10 NIV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

o What does that mean?

§ Is it always ‘bigger and better’?

· And how does suffering and not being on the ‘easy road’ fit into that?

o Maybe it’s about a ‘fuller’ life rather than ‘bigger and better’

§ A fuller, or maybe you could use the word richer, life

· For ourselves

· For those we encounter

Let us consider what Paul says in Philippians 3:7-8 about his life and his ‘sliding doors’ moment

Philippians 3:7–8 NIV

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ

o Whatever were gains before I now consider loss for the sake of Christ

§ Even in the ‘giving up’ we ‘gain’

· God’s ‘maths’ is so different from ours

Even though Mary gave up something

o The blessing she received, and the blessing we received through her, was so much bigger coming out of her encounter with God

3. Testimony time…

one clip from the series…one live from the congregation

Remind what testimony is and isn’t

o Is not…

§ Saying we are perfect

§ Just about the ‘good’ times, but also the presence of Jesus in difficult times

§ That everything in every moment has worked out exactly how we would have liked it

o It is…

§ Giving God the glory for His work and presence

§ Reminding ourselves of the great things Jesus has done

§ Building up the faith of others

Testimony from the series

o We are going to watch one small part from the coming weeks episode about how one of the guests, David Bennett, had an encounter with God (show Enc Ep 1 Clip 3)

§ “I heard this voice say to me, do you want me? And I realized that this was God in that moment. And so, it was really hard because I heard the question again and again three times, and that the final kind of, do you want me? There was a reluctance in me like, well, who are you? I don't know, you. And I just found myself saying, well, yes, if you're real, I'm open.”

Little Fish is looking at that testimony as well this morning.

But we also want to champion what God is doing in our local congregation

o So if the holy spirit has stirred a recent sliding doors moment for you, please share it in the share time coming up.

4. Encounters don’t come cheap

Watching anybody good at their craft

o It may be a sports person, a musician, an artist, a tradesperson

§ Because they have paid the cost of study and practice, they know their craft better than most of us will ever be

Mary’s world became so much bigger…but it came at a cost

o Mary’s encounter came at a cost to her

§ Obviously not the ‘cost’ of practice, as mentioned, but it did come at a cost

§ In that moment, she chose to be dedicated to what God was asking of her

Luke 1:38 NIV

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”

There is a cost to this encounter, a cost to this ‘fuller’ call on Mary’s life

o Mary says the words…I am the Lord’s servant

(I encourage you to let those words hang for a moment and maybe even repeat them a couple of times for emphasis)

o I am the Lord’s servant is a profound statement

§ I’m giving up my own ways, and I’ll do whatever God wants

· I’ll choose not to try and serve myself, but Him

Jesus says that the way of following Him is the way of dying to ourselves

o Consider Jesus’ words in Lk 9:23-25

Luke 9:23–25 NIV

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

§ Take up your cross…this implement that you die on…take it up…every day…as you die to yourself

· That is the way Jesus says to find life!

Mary chooses to say yes to God’s word to her

o She chooses to submit to His leading rather than her own…I am the Lord’s servant

§ To die to her own wants, thoughts and desires and embrace Gods

· This is a great challenge to us today

It reminds me of Jesus on the night He was betrayed

Luke 22:42 NIV

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

§ This prayer is honest about what Jesus wants, but this prayer of submission to God the Father

CONCLUSION:

We can expect encounters

o Although we must emphasise that we don’t always get the encounters we expect

§ Peter Greig from the 24/7 prayer movement (show Enc Ep 1 Clip 4)

· “It's normative for human beings to hear God. The weird thing is when people die, and I've been leading a prayer movement now for almost 25 years, and we continually are hearing stories not just of people talking to God, but of God talking to people. And some of that is supernatural. It's, you know, angelic visitations, audible voices, but some is very natural. It's the still small voice. It's your conscience. It's all of that.”

We have heard testimonies today from…

o Mary

o David Bennett

o From me

o and soon, in our shared time, you may have a testimony

Time of reflection/response

As I invite up the band consider these two questions:

§ What is at least one thing that God seemed to say to me today?

§ What will I do with what I have heard?

pray