Divine Encounters, Part 1

If you want any way. Dr. Tony Evans talked about the nature of an up close and personal relationship with the Lord. God's person you know God's this is the alternative with Dr. Tony, author, speaker, pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas Texas and president of the urban alternative.

People with a vibrant faith are often called on fire Christian today.

Dr. Evans will tell us about what gets them lit and keeps them burning as he takes us to Exodus chapter 3 let's join him goal that we individually and collectively will have a divine encounter that we will run smack dab into deity into God that that experience will be life transforming far too many of us to have a relationship with God that is more like a flick of a candle than the brilliance of the noonday sun. We have church we have Christian knees with what we really need is a fresh encounter and experience with the most high God that many references in Scripture to men and women who encountered God and I thought we would look at just a few of them and gain some principles and hopefully some motivation to pursue a divine encounter.

One of the most famous encounters in Scripture is the encounter with God by Moses at the burning bush, some back story will help us to appreciate qualifying for the encounter.

Moses is pastoring a flock of his father-in-law's. She is in the wilderness. This is the same Moses, who grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. It was picked up out of the Nile River about Pharaoh's daughter brought in Pharaoh's house raised as Pharaoh's son and was an heir to Pharaoh's throne but I'm 40 years old and he had a misstep of 40 years old. Even though he had made a commitment to God, he blew it. He decided to go independently of God to take matters into his own hands and to depend on his own expertise and self-sufficiency to accomplish the program of God, of delivering his people, and out of that miscalculation. He committed murder. Assume that you really can't recover from. Because the person that the citizen against his government. His murderous act was discovered and he had to run for his life. When we find Moses in chapter 380 years old. There is a 40 year gap between his misstep and his encounter past 40 years between his failure and him running smack dab in the God during these 40 years.

He's in the wilderness, leaving sheep, he's no longer in the spotlight.

He's no longer the man is no longer this much. Only doggies is an outcast, keeping as far away from Egypt and Pharaoh as possible because his acts have a high price tag. I wonder whether there is anyone here today who are leaving sheep life is not working out like you had hoped it would something happen years ago and you still wondering what she if you could go back and redo it rehashing correct that you would if you could, but you can so you just trying to make it just leaving sheep you just doing the best you can with what you got and you're trying to make in life and it's been going on a long time. Moses is going on for 40 years from the time of his infraction to the time of his encounter someone to start off by giving you some good news, particularly if you're in a wilderness with some sheep in a dry place. If life has become dull and dreary as you perform your routine day-to-day task. As you watch the calendar simply go by,, day after day week after week, year after year, decade after decade. The good news is that even though there is a 40 year gap God had not forgotten Moses. So if you're still here.

That means there's no hope for a fresh encounter with God. Let's look at this encounter in the rivulet one a look at this encounter is because I wanted to inform your encounter that we are praying that God gives you and me and us. First of all, notice where Moses is, according to verse one. He's on the Westside of the wilderness and he came to the mountain of God, never mountain of God on Mount Sinai.

Mount Sinai is the mountain where the 10 Commandments were given God's presence would be manifested in a miraculous way. A few chapters from now, but it's called the mountain of God so before he ever experiences an encounter he's in God's vicinity. He's in the mountain of God for a lot of people. One experience with God who don't want to know where you locate if you want an encounter with God you got now where he is the mountain of God was his location.

The pursuit of God's person must mean you're willing to go into God's presence.

It says he came to the mountain of God. He did not get the encounter until he reached the location long as we insist on a long distance relationship that is precisely the relationship will have it will be absent of an encounter.

Now Moses is what to use New Testament terminology. He is a believer. Here's what we called a Christian, but he's one without an encounter is one just going through the routine now that he enters into the vicinity of the mountain of God.

God's location.

He has positioned himself for an encounter with told that the angel of the Lord appears to him. Now this goes on to tell us that the angel of the Lord is in fact God says and God said, Lord, is equated with God, or to put it another way, the angel of the Lord when equated with God is Jesus Christ operating in the Old Testament.

He is the manifestation of the second person of the Trinity, who is the spokesperson for the father of the Lord appears to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush. Now Moses in the wilderness he seen plenty of bushes on fire in the dry atmosphere of the wilderness brushfires happen all the time. This particular file was unusual because the fire was burning your and the bush was not being consumed. Many say that again he saw fire that is not what caught his attention. What caught his attention was the fire wasn't doing what flyers globally do, which is consuming that which is burning. Let me say this another way, what he saw was a contradiction he saw something taking place outside of the loan. One of the ways you know you are on the precipice of an encounter with God is when he presents you a contradictory situation throughout the Bible, you will see contradictions occurring when God shows up things not operating according to their normal flow. If a bush is on fire. It supposedly burning. We got a bush on fire and the wood is staying the same in whatever leaves on it not being consumed and this is not noble.

This is not how things roll when they see CC after he's gone into God's presence something that does not make sense when you say something happening in your life when you are pursuing God and it does not make sense. Why is this happening like this. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't add up when you need to do what Moses did, because when he saw that Moses said I must turn aside now and see this marvelous site, why the bush is not burned up. He didn't skip he investigated further.

He said I gotta understand what's going on there because this doesn't make sense.

Many of us have missed an encounter with God because we ignored the contradiction. We've ignored the thing that didn't add up to so the net Moses nothing, nor he investigates it. Remember, where is located. Even the mountain of God is in God's presence so he turns aside, I love verse four when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look God called God did not call him tell, he responded to the contradiction. Dr. Evans will come back in a moment to tell us about some surprising things that happened we pay attention to those contradictions.

First, so I want to let you know about a brand-new book by Dr. Evans just released a short time ago is called kingdom encounters a collection of stories about biblical characters who found God at times the least expected, usually in the middle of conflict and trials you discover why sometimes when God feels farthest away right where you need to be to have your life change. We want you to experience kingdom encounters of your own. That's why we are offering a copy of this brand-new book is our thank you gift when you make a contribution to help us keep Tony's teaching on the station where a 100% listener supported ministry. There's no way we can do that without your help, along with the book will also include CDs and instant digital downloads of all eight full-length messages in the series 20 began today divine encounters.

This special offer won't be around for long, so make it a point to visit Tony Evans.org today to get the details and make the arrangements or reach out to our resource Center at 1-800-800-3222. We have team members standing by day and night to help you. Again, that's 1-800-800-3222 with Dr. Evans will come back with more of today's lesson. After this too often it's an us versus them society even among believers. It shouldn't be like this and it can't be like this unity is key to spiritual victory and when believers stand shoulder to shoulder in prayer. Darkness is overcome in his book stronger together weaker apart powerful prayers to unite us in love. Dr. Tony Evans urges you to unite in prayer, providing a starting place and then inviting you to pray in your own words. Find out more about stronger together weaker apart visit Tony Evans.org principle that is stated in the New Testament that simply says when you respond to what God has done. He will give you more will be given he that does not have that which you have taken away which is another way of saying when God shows up. Don't respond to it and he will give you more for God is not about to waste when God gives you a contradiction that does not make sense that is not to be ignored.

Dismissal passed over is to be investigated, that is seeking a clear understanding of what has occurred, and it says when the Lord saw in other words, God didn't do anything until he saw some Moses that I must turn aside. That's what Moses said. But talk is cheap because you can say I must turn aside not turn aside lot of us and said I'm going to do this I will do this summer said I'm going fast, pray as you say, but God had to see it. When God saw him turn aside, it says he called them from the midst of the bush. Now Moses not know that this is God only knows his this is different. It only knows this is not normal but when he investigates the abnormal God now speaks to him. We start off with him being in God's presence. He's now trying to investigate a problem trying to make sense of this predicament. God speaks to him and says Moses. Moses would call that a Rhema word. This is when God calls your name. This is when you know he's talking to you Bratcher billing service and the sermon was for everybody, but you heard it for you.

It was though. You are the only person there you knew God was talking to you in your circumstance that safe. Rhema word is an utterance with your name on question is do you hear it for you. God calling your name in the situation you're in the wilderness that has been an extended place for you because there is a contradiction that does not make sense is when God grabbed your undivided attention because he wants to show up in your presence is God's. We call it a theology Shekinah glory. That is when he manifests himself that God exist even when you don't see his glory but to see his glory is to experience his existence. When you when you walk outside the areas everywhere. When the wind started blowing your experience moving air air is there when it's not moving, but when the air is moving the air becomes an experience that's bad, but now you're experiencing it. God is everywhere. He's I need presidencies everywhere present simultaneously, but Shekinah glory is when you experience when he is moving in the midst of it and he says Moses.

Moses, if you are seeking a personal word for God. This year in your personal wilderness in your personal circumstance, you must begin his presence. You must respond to the things that don't make sense until you hear them call your name to be in his presence in prayer and the word positions you in the mountain of God. And so now God meets Moses. That's what something that Moses couldn't explain, but it was also something Moses couldn't ignore the word of God now becomes word from God with his name on it.

Moses says here I am, you call me and I'm not running from.

I'm running to you I'm here I'm here in the midst of my contradiction in the midst of something I do not understand in the midst of something that makes absolutely no sense to me a bush that does not burn.

Now the Lord gives them more information because he responds to his name being called.

Do not come near you remove your sandals were spot on your feet, for the place on which you stand is holding Matthew read this too fast is be easy to miss something.

God is speaking from the bush, Moses is standing on the ground. Take off your shoes when you are because you in my territory right now. So the holy ground heat the bush the hologram with the place you will stand in which one can publish the total bill come to the bush.

In other words, I'm not going let you get this close to the fire which is usual. God has invited us is inviting us into is presence in bare feet. Must we take off our shoes. If you go into the mosque. The mosque is considered a holy place you been walking on the streets of Jerusalem you not about to bring all that dirt up in here. You gotta take off your shoes. You cannot have an encounter with God. If you are unwilling to deal with sin. If you are unwilling to acknowledge it.

Repent of it. If you're unwilling, you can get to the bush because before you ever get to the bush. Gotta be one of the takeoff issues. The accumulated dirt because this is holy ground.

Holy means to separated something that's sacredly separated. I want to separate you from your sins so that I can give you an encounter with the holy one, take off your shoes on the ground on what you standing is holy ground I want to set you on fire but I can't set you on fire which is usual, you cannot treat my location like it's any location because this is holy ground. This is the vicinity now. Notice how he spoke to Moses he spoke to Moses in a contradictory situation using an ordinary object to the bush was already there ordinary bush that's been invaded by a supernatural presence so I don't know how God is going to meet you. But any old bush will do use the most. Everything and set fire to to create the most ingenious contradictions in order to manifest himself. But if this is going to happen to you, and you cannot be in asbestos. Dr. Evans will come back in a moment with a final thought about what asbestos Christianity looks like as he wraps up this first message in his series divine encounters. Remember when you make a donation to help support Tony's ministry will send you this eight lesson centers are. Thank you gift along with the brand-new book, I told you about earlier kingdom encounters this special double resource combo won't last long, so don't wait call 1-800-800-3222 were someone on a resource team is waiting to help you.

That's 1-800-800-3222, or drop by our website Tony Evans.org. You can check out our huge collection of resources and sign up for Tony's free weekly email devotional again that's Tony Evans.org tomorrow. More from Dr. Evans on Moses personal encounter with God, and what we can learn from his experience right now though he's back to wrap up today's message with this final thought your people put on asbestos suits so that they don't File some of us will never burn from God because we were all evangelical asbestos. We really don't want to get that close to the fire. We really don't want God to rub off on us like that were satisfied with services because programs in preaching, but we don't want to catch fire. So we put on our asbestos suits and nonasbestos dresses become the church we leave on our shoes and wonder why we don't catch the alternative with Dr. Tony Irvin alternative is made possible by the generous confusion of listeners