Encounters with God
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Introduction
Introduction
Many of you are probably wondering why we are standing outside tonight.
Why aren’t we inside the church?
Have you ever stopped to think what it was like in Biblical times?
I mean really think about it.
When Jesus walked on the earth, he and his disciples would often gather together outside, much like this.
This is the way that they would learn, grow, and encounter God.
Or how about during the times of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, before there was a temple.
Where did the fathers of our faith encounter God?
The church, beloved, is not four walls.
It is not a building.
It is not a pastor.
It is not a worship band.
It is not a style of music.
It is not a style of preaching.
The church is His people.
And wherever God’s people are, He is there in our midst.
He will encounter us.
Transition
Transition
Tonight, I want to look at one such encounter with God. It’s found in the book of Genesis, Chapter 28. Here we find Jacob, the son of Issac, the grandson of Abraham, and he has an encounter with God.
As we take a look at this like-changing encounter with God, I pray that we will see how God wants to encounter us, wherever we are and whatever the circumstances.
Jacob on the run
Jacob on the run
10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran.
After basically cheating his brother out of his birthright, Jacob is afraid that Esau intends to kill him. So he goes on the run and heads toward Haran
Jacob without a pillow
Jacob without a pillow
11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep.
There’s an old quote that says “A clear conscience makes a soft pillow”. It’s appropriate that Jacob sleeps on a rock here . After cheating Esau of his birthright and blessing, he has anything but a clear conscience.
God shows up
God shows up
12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
God shows up and appears to Jacob in the most remarkable way. But why? Not because Jacob was trying to be a good guy. Not because he was trying to do the right thing. No, he was running from the problems of his life and the God of his father. Yet, God shows up.
Here’s what God tells Him
Here’s what God tells Him
I’m the God of your past.
Gen 28:13 “13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants.”
I’m the God of your future.
Gen 28:14 “14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.”
I’m the God of your present.
Gen 28:15 “15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.””
Jacob’s Response
Jacob’s Response
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”
How many times have we been oblivious to God being in our midst?
He didn’t go to a temple. (It hadn’t been built yet!) He didn’t go to a place where he expected to meet with God, nor a place where his father or grandfather encountered him. The dude went to sleep, on the run, with a rock for a pillow, tired, achy, fearful, and god showed up.
Everywhere we go, we are in God’s presence whether we know it or not.
He’s the God of this church.
He’s the God of this field.
He’s the God of your school.
He’s the God of your home.
He’s the God of your workplace.
He’s the God of this city.
And he wants to have an encounter with you.
If you’re running or not, he wants to meet with you.
The House of God
The House of God
19 He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.
Check this out, Jacob names the place he has this dream. But he’s not just naming it. He’s renaming it. IT turns out it already had a name. Luz. Jacob calls it Bethel. Luz means “separation”. Bethel means “house of God”. Jacob was separated from God, but now he’s right in the house of God.
The same is true of you. There are people who, if they caught wind that you’re at a Bible study, would be shocked. They knew you ten years ago, or two weeks ago. But since then, you’ve moved from Luz to Bethel. And everything is changed.
Omce we were seperated from God. But now everywhere we go we can be in his house.
Whether you’re standing in a church, your school, or in a field. his Holy Spirit is everywhere, the whole earth is his, and he wants to have an encounter with you.
What happens when we encounter God?
What happens when we encounter God?
Our outllook changes
18 The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it.
19 He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.
Our journey change
20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing,
21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God.
Our worship changes
22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”
Our attitude changes
1 Then Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east.
If your Bible has margin notes, perhaps you see the phrase “went on his journey” rendered “lifted up his feet.” In Hebrew, the literal idea is that of “happy feet.” As we saw in chapter 28, Jacob’s conversion was seen in his witness and his work. Here we see true conversion in Jacob’s walk. As he heads to Padanaram, he does so with “happy feet.” He does so with enthusiasm.
Enthusiasm, or en theos, simply means “full of God.” An encounter with God—the Giver of joy, the Source of all true happiness—manifests itself in a changed walk. And such was Jacob’s case. But even though Jacob is saved, he’s not yet subdued. So in the chapter before us, as well as the three following, we’ll see God dealing with Jacob as He moves Jacob along on his spiritual journey.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Wherever you are in your walk with God, he wants to encounter you.
Wheer you are.
Wherever you go.
Whether you run.
Whether you fall.
He’s here, right now, in this field. The church is us. And he wants to transform us.
