
There’s a place of knowledge, that is, having understanding and clarity of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, but there’s a place of you encountering the Lord.
We looked at how men in the Bible had encounters with Jesus. No one had an encounter with Jesus, and his or her life remained the same.
Encounters of the disciples on their way to Emmaus
Luke 24:13- 32
The disciples have been around Jesus, and the events they were talking about are also events Jesus had conversations with them about. He began opening scriptures from the books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, and into the prophets.
Their hearts were burning within them, yet they failed to recognize that it was Jesus. One critical aspect of encounters with Jesus is sensitivity, the need to remain perceptive.
Sometimes, His presence may not seem obvious; it might come across as an ordinary meeting without dramatic signs, yet an encounter can still occur.
Often, what appears unspectacular may carry the supernatural. People sometimes miss God because the situation doesn’t match their expectations. The Bible describes this as “the still, small voice.” Transformative moments are not always marked by grand events.
They had followed Jesus but hadn’t truly learned. This highlights the possibility of proximity without encounter.
A good example would be when the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus’ garment; many others were physically close to Him but didn’t experience His power. Her encounter stemmed from purpose, focus, and clarity. She understood the power available to her and reached out with intent.
Similarly, attending church or participating in services is not enough. What matters most is coming with a burdened heart, a clear purpose, and a desire for an encounter. True transformation begins with engaging with God’s Word, learning accurately and intentionally, and being open to receiving what God has prepared for us.
The disciples missed a foundational truth about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection because they hadn’t fully grasped His teachings. Despite being His students, they hadn’t learned properly.
They missed out on the truth of Jesus’s resurrection and his mission. They did not understand the mission.
The question for you this season is, “Are you properly learning?” “Is your heart open?”
We need to pay attention to the proper establishment of our faith. For Jesus to appear after resurrection and reveal himself to just 2 people, he was interested in just 2 people getting it right, such that when he was done with them, their eyes were opened.
Genuine and lasting encounters are actually built around the eyes of enlightenment being open, revelation.
This is what you experience when you attend conferences, and it seems like you had encounters; it was tied to emotions, not the knowledge of God’s word received, so it did not last. This is the reason why two (2) weeks after the conference, it fades away. The reality of the encounter disappears from your life. It looked like an encounter, but it was a mirage. God does new things in our lives, but there are encounters that are the springboard of our lives, unforgettable experiences. Don’t miss out on such encounters. It could just be a regular service. Any meeting you attend, ensure to attach so much value to it because it is an appointment with the Father.
Any activity you have the opportunity to do in church, take it with all seriousness because it could be the road to encounter for somebody. It might not look spectacular, but the supernatural is at work. It may be in a prayer session that all this can happen. Someone, on the other hand, can receive something major from the Lord and set him running. A spark can be kindled and turn out to be fire. Jesus had to do something familiar for them to recognize Him.
Don’t miss any opportunity with the Lord. The Bible says, while He was with them, He took bread. He has to do something familiar so that they would catch it. So if he had not broken bread, they would not have known that it was the Lord. His custom was to break bread.
If they had known he was the one while walking on the road, that means their attention would have been different.
When He vanished from them, they knew it was the risen Lord that spoke with them. The risen and the resurrected was the preacher. It would have been a major difference if they had known.This is why God has something to say. Attention becomes the currency to draw from the Lord. The Lord told Martha that she is anxious about so many things regarding her sister’s attention to the Lord.
Luke 10:41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things (KJV).
Understanding that the Lord of Hosts is the overseer in such meetings will warrant one not to treat such meetings with levity. This is why our attention, deliberateness and values will launch us into the next phase. This is why every service should be held with the mindset that we all want to have an encounter with the Lord personally.
Also, when a prayer meeting is called after another meeting is held we are not meant to complain about the time spent, in doing so we are already missing out on what God wants to do.
Mark 5:1-9 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
Because he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many…
There is so much to learn from here. The devil does not tell the truth. He is the father of all liars. There is no truth in him. Casting demons out from a person and asking the name of such devils should not make us believe that is truly their name. He did not interview the demons. In this way we are meant to cast them out. Jesus had a better understanding; he didn’t take time to dialogue with the demon; he just commanded that the spirit come out. The man eventually became a student of Jesus. He even started telling men about the wonders of Christ.
This man will speak of the kingdom of God from a standpoint of encounter. If men still have reasons to doubt your salvation, it shows that you haven’t had any encounter with the cross. Allow men to encounter the saving grace of God in your life. There is a need to be deliberate about having an encounter with God. Learning to put our faith in what the father has done in his son and through his son brings about your salvation.