Encounter with Jesus is transformational.
John 8:1-11, John 9: 1-11
Jesus was coming from a place of encounter; that’s why when they called him to judge, he judged accurately. When Jesus came to the temple, all the people came to him, and then the Scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who was caught in adultery, but they didn’t bring in the adulterer. They had to quote Moses’ law.
But the law of Moses in Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22-24 said the adulterer and the adulteress should be put to death, but they brought only the adulteress to die, which is injustice.
They wanted to set up Jesus, but he was coming from the place of encounter, so he didn’t misjudge. As a decision maker, always rise from the place of encounter so you don’t misjudge. Always do life with your encounter with God.
The woman at that short moment encountered Christ and knew that he was Lord. She acknowledges Jesus even in her state. And Jesus told her to “go and sin no more.”
Christ has not come to condemn us; he has not given us the spirit of condemnation. The woman was not condemned by Jesus but was set free.
An encounter with Jesus set the woman free. It caused forgiveness of sin for the woman, gave her the salvation she needed, and transformed her life.
Sometimes we go through some situations so that God will be glorified. Things happen in life, but we must not always attribute them to the devil. Eliminate that belief from your mind. The essence of the challenges that we go through is for the work of God to be revealed in us.
God wants to see how we go through the challenges and how we handle them. It’s how we handle the challenges that matters. It can only happen if you encounter Christ.
There are 3 ways to encounter Christ:
- The first way is through prayer. This can make you begin to see things beyond the natural realm. There is a level of prayer you get to that you begin to see solutions. Create time for prayers. Encounter means to meet personally.
- Another way to encounter Christ is through the word. This is divided into the written word and the spoken word. Reading and meditation can lead to an encounter with Christ. Spend time studying God’s word. You can also have encounters by the word you hear. That’s why it’s important to always be in church service because you don’t know the day of your visitation…and you are not to be selective. All church services are important. Some people have received direction in our Bible study (School of Life).
The early apostles said they would give themselves only to the word and prayer. As believers, we must give ourselves to such.
You should not be found only praying; you should give yourself to the word. The church stands on two legs: the word and prayer. One is not less than the other. The spoken word is as important as prayer. We will need to encounter things we have not seen before. This is why we must pray for our pastor as he preaches.
- Worship is also one of the ways we can receive encounters. It is spiritual. When you sing and worship God, doors open of their own accord. True worship possesses its own power. In worship, we seek His strength. This is why we must not be selective. That’s why we must not be found playing truant in our attendance to them.
Some people have legitimate reasons why they may not be in a service. These are called essential services, such as doctors, nurses, and so on. However, they still find their way into the service. They create time for God. This is why worship is not a fun fair. Worship is not spiritual. True worship allows us to encounter Christ.
The following are the benefits of encounters:
- When we encounter Christ, our lives will be transformed automatically.
An account in the Bible concerning the woman that was caught in adultery. She encountered Christ, and her life was changed. Christ told her to go and sin no more. An encounter with Christ cannot leave a believer the same. Those who encounter Christ are delivered; they get a new perspective and live the life of prophecy, and they receive joy, hope, peace, and joy.
- Secondly, there will be a deeper relationship with God.
- Thirdly, direction and purpose will be given to you. It does not leave you directionless. The encounter will create out of us a man of purpose.
- Furthermore, it gives peace and joy.
The believer who has encountered Christ received peace and joy. He is not bothered. The only connection between where you are currently and where you want to go is a bridge known as encounter. We must encounter Christ.
Lastly, empowerment for service. This can be seen in Luke 8:39.
He proclaimed,.he was empowered to herald the gospel as a result of his encounter with Christ.
The man who was born blind depicts the message of salvation. Jesus telling him to go wash in the pool is a symbol of his blood for cleansing. This is because some of the things Jesus came for was to give sight to the blind, heal the broken hearted, and preach the gospel to the poor. Luke 4:18
A man without Christ is a blind. Only Christ can restore sight to the blind. A man of service will always serve God fervently once he has encountered him. When you have had encounters to serve in the vineyard will not be a big deal.
An experience with Christ will transform you.