An Encounter With Jesus

AN ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS IS PAINFUL

Scripture: Ex 2:23-3:8 Read Text:

-->God heard the cry of His people.... There is no cry, doesn’t matter how low deep inside the heart, that God does not listen too...

-How many people there are who long for someone to pray for them b/c they do not feel adequate before God to pray... their lives are filled with the grime of sin that makes them feelunworthy

-Satan takes you so far into the mire of sin and after he has messed up your life he comes up and says: ....don’t you try to look up to God.... You messed up.... you are not worthy!

=-->There is no cry of a child of God that He won’t listen to...
>Not that God condones our way of living...
>but there is not a sincere cry of a child of God that He won’t listen to.==>If you ever wander away without friends.... and a dark past that torments your life... and there you feel to cry unto God..... Cry unto Him....

==>Something that intrigues me is what God says here to Moses: “He heard the cry of His children and He remembered......”

Ex. 3:6-9

==>If one day my children stray... They need not forget they can -cry unto the Lordhave you ran away from theFather?... call on God....

Moses Was In the Desert:
-Dry -skeletons -vipers -venomous bugs -parched land
==>Is your life feeling like a desert?God goes after His child no matter if he finds himself now in the midst of a parched land...
-->There was a mission for Moses even though Moses was running from God.... Satan tried to destroy Moses, yet God had a plan....

==>The Burning Bush: No bigdeal in the desert... is normal with the heat..... but after a while Moses saw something strange....it doesn’t get consumed..... and curiosity was awakened...
==>And God will use whatever at his disposition.... He will use simple curiosity that someone will have just to come and find out what is going on....

-->When all is going well we could accept Jesus.... but we seldom do..... we usuallywait when all is falling apart.... when business is failing..... when marriage is failing.... when children go wild or go astray....when work is getting the best of us....
-->So many times we need to have a desert experience so that God can finally get a hold of us and bring us about that we might behold His plan for our lives....

Remember Saul of Tarshish?
On the desert road to Damascus he hadto eat dust as he was knocked off his high horse.....

-->Here he deals with Moses...... there on the Damascus Road He seeks Saul......
-->God is always looking for people......
==>and when God is pleased with the crowds that gather to hear His word, He is more interested in individuals.....
->How long has God been looking for you?.... have you been studying for a while... or just visitingfor a while?...... Now God is calling! Why go to the desert of life?

==>Moses could have never become such great leader unless he had this personal encounter with God

==>Since the garden of Eden God has been calling and mankind always running....
-->Like Adam, we have been creating trees to hide from God......(Enumerate the Trees we create)
(Procrastination prejudice work familyspouse politics)

==>Have you been involved in assisting and helping but you are not willing to enter into a contract with Jesus?
==>An encounter with Jesus is painful.... and by nature we run from pain b/c it is the result of sin...

-->Therefore we tend to run to avoid pain: What painAnd he comes to the River Jabock and runs into the angel of the Lord....
a. And the angel wrestles andJacob doesn’t want to let go b/c he needs a blessing
b. And the angel asks the question.... What is your name...
c. The encounter with Jesus it is a painful one
d. And for the first time he responds with his real name..... And the angel stops him...
e. You are now Israel....
Does God want to torment you when He asks you to come to him? He wants to bless you and transform your life.......