Sermon Notes

ENCOUNTERS OF GLORY

OVERVIEW

• Introduction
• Glory Encounter
• Encounter with Jesus in the New Covenant
• Encounter with God’s Glory in the Old Covenant
• Consequences of Encounters
• Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

2 Corinthians 3:18
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the
same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a
mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of
the Lord.

The word ENCOUNTER always implies a negative meaning in all our lives. The English dictionaries
describe it as “Unexpected or have a special experience to see someone face to face”.

Let us examine two wonderful encounters from the Bible.

GLORY ENCOUNTER

Luke 2:32
31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the
glory of Your people Israel.”

This is a prophetic word by Simeon who was an elderly prophet waiting and praying in the temple of
Jerusalem expecting to see Lord Jesus Christ when baby Jesus who was just eight days old was brought in
to the church. The above scripture from the Bible reveals a face-to-face special experience with Jesus which
brought the glory of God among the gentiles. The birth of Jesus Christ has made the encounters with God
very easy for human mankind which was very difficult and only a few select people were able to experience
in the old covenant. However, God has opened a realm of God’s glory in the new covenant especially in the
church where we can have face-to-face encounters with Him.

Acts 22:3
3 “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according
to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.

Paul, the apostle was probably one of the greatest individual in the new covenant who had an exclusive
encounter with God.

Acts 8:1
1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at
Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Paul was brought up in Jerusalem from the age of three and was still in the city where he was fostered;
when at the age of fourteen understands the system to target Christians. He started to persecute the
community, kill people and later was a witness when Stephen was stoned to death.

Acts 23:16

16 So when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.

Paul knows the religious standards, worship and systems as he was in Jerusalem throughout his life. Still
for such a person who is vast experienced, he had an encounter with the Glory of Lord Jesus Christ on the
road to Damascus. God will open realms of Glory if we are thirsty for encounters in our life. Christian life is
a life of fire and not a cold or a lukewarm life which is always with expectancy of the glory of God.

Acts 9:3
3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.

Here in the above verse it says light, but the actual translation describes it as a glorious light brighter than
the sun light that shone around him. The encounter that Paul had was a realm of God’s glory. This is exactly
what every Christian should be praying for. We take the encounter that Paul had with Jesus as granted
which is a major struggle being traditional Christians, whereas the advantage with non-believers is that they
come to know of Jesus through encounters. People who were born into Christian families for generations
take the spiritual relationship with God and learning the word of God so lightly. Let us pray that we all have
encounters in our lives like Paul who knew the traditions.

ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS IN THE NEW COVENANT

Colossians 1:15
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Wearing a cross, having a photograph of Christ in our phone, carrying a picture of Jesus in the wallet or
having a certificate endorsing membership in a Church are not characteristics of knowing Jesus in depth.
Because the Bible says in the above verse that Jesus in the image of the invisible God. An encounter with
Jesus will fetch us the manifestation to know who this invisible God in our life is. All of us are created to
know God first in our life and only people who know God can inherit Heaven.

Matthew 7: 21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out
demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew
you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

It is not a demonstration of spiritual insight or power that saves anyone from judgement. A person can
seem like a Christian in the eyes of other people, yet still is an “evildoer” in the sight of God and be sent
away from His presence. Only those who do the will of Father and who are known of God will enter heaven.
What would be the fate of normal believers if Jesus does not know people who served God which is the
irony. It is the heart of God that everyone should be saved and no one should perish. We need to have an
encounter with God for us to know God and for God to know us. We should yearn and pray for an encounter
with God. All the pains, sufferings, problems, issues will be vanished and the glory of God will be
manifested in our lives if we get to know of the real true God Jesus Christ in an encounter.

ENCOUNTER WITH GOD's GLORY IN THE OLD COVENANT

Exodus 33: 11-12
11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but
his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.
12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom
You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’

When the Bible says God spoke to Moses face to face, it implies that God made an eye-to-eye contact with
Moses and spoke will full of Love whereas the other meaning is God breathed into Moses. We should desire
for such an encounter with God. Moses had a deep intimate conversation with God.

Encounter is a two way process of God letting us know how much He knows us. Encounter is a reciprocal
bilateral course of action when we not only get to know God, at the same time we get to know how much
God knows us. God knows each one of us by name. He will neither let us nor will leave us alone. God has come in search of us already and He is a God who came to this world seeking for that one lost soul. God
does not want us to be trampled by the demonic powers but wants us to be like Kings and Priests in this
world.

Exodus 33:13
13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and
that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”

In this encounter God tells that He knows Moses by his name but Moses prays that he wants to know God.
In the last 32 chapters God knew Moses in such a way that He saw and experienced all God’s great miracles.
Moses knew much about God while in the encounter in chapter 33 he says, help him to know God even
more if he found grace in God’s sight. We do not know God in depth the way God knows us. Relationship
with God is not only about blessings but it is about how much we really know this God which is the most
beautiful experience. We need to pray for encounters that we will get to know how much God knows us.

Let us not be traditional Christians at least in this generation being born, living and dying as a Christian
which is not the true Christian life but desire to have some glorious encounters with God.

Exodus 3:1
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the
back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

When we read Exodus Chapter 3 we come to know of a lonely, discouraged, broken Moses who is not in the
destiny that God had planned and created for him, which explains why He is so passionate and enthusiastic
about the Glory of God and encounters. Moses was tending the sheep of his father-in-law which is a pathetic
state to be in, when God had actually created him to be a leader and the King of Israelites. By nature men
would not like to accept any kind of financial favour from their father-in-law for their living. Here we see a
Moses who is an utter failure in all aspects of life. A person who is forced to take care of the occupation of
the Father-in-Law is someone who has nothing on his own or no accomplishments in life. Look at the state
of Moses who has failed miserably, been discouraged, in depression, lonely and not even in the destiny of
succeeding in his life. When we look at the background of Moses, we understand that he was born as a
Hebrew. The Bible says, God saved infant Moses when every child was being killed because he was
“beautiful”. The Bible in the language of Hebrews describes Moses as a Glorious Child who was extremely
beautiful that no one could kill him. His own mother nursed him and it was extraordinary that Moses was
not killed when all other children were being massacred elsewhere. He then grew up in the palace as the son
of Pharaoh’s daughter which entails him to be the princess, the next in line to the heir. Moses was trained in
all skills and wisdom who can be considered as one of the most handsome, rarest and smartest distinctive
personality of that time. He is all alone in the desert at the age of eighty from that wonderful life of power,
authority and beauty who is not even able to speak. He told God that he has a slow tongue and speech
because no one spoke to him for forty years. There was none to talk to him, encourage him, love or hug
him, touch him and have fellowship with him. He was totally depleted during the first forty years of his life.
We have a God of encounters in the Bible even when everyone forsakes us and even when we think it is all
over in life. There is a God who appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai in the burning bush where the glory of
God manifested and Moses was surprised to see the bush not getting burnt in that fire as he slowly walked
towards it when he hears the voice of God calling out his name. Moses was asked to remove the sandals
from his feet as the place was Holy. The Bible commentators argue that Moses was not born with a
stammering tongue but he forgot to speak as there was no one to talk to him for forty long years as he was
lonely. If in this case our God could come down to have an encounter in the old covenant, how much more
God will come in to our life in the new covenant.

Exodus 3:6
6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

The glory of God started to have a conversation with him and God introduced him to Moses as the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses being frightened hid his face which can be the first
reaction while having an encounter; while this is the same Moses as seen in Exodus 33:18 boldly walks up to
God and says, “Show me your Glory”. When the glory manifested, a man who hid his face transformed
himself as we read through the next thirty chapters, daringly asks God to show His glory.

Exodus 33:19, 20
19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before
you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20
But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”

No one who has ever seen God will live but die.

Matthew 17: 1, 2, 3
1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by
themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white
as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

The prayer in Exodus 33:18 was never answered in the Old Testament but in the New Testament the
encounter was with Jesus. We will meet Jesus as Jesus is ready to meet us.

CONSEQUENCES OF ENCOUNTERS

What Happened with Moses during the Encounters?

1) HUMILITY – Encounter with God humbled Moses. The Bible says if there was any man who was
meek on the face of this earth, it was Moses.

2) WORSHIP –

Exodus 34: 8

So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.

As the Divine glory passed before him, Moses bowed his head in adoration, worshipping God, and
not daring to look until the glory had gone by. It is thus seen that with his ardent desire to look into
the things of God he combined the highest and deepest reverence.

3) SUPERNATURALS IN LIFE –

Exodus 34:28

So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty
nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the
Ten Commandments.

People can never live without water. Here in the above verse we see Moses without food and water
for forty days and nights during the encounter with the Lord which is supernatural.

4) CHANNEL OF BLESSING TO OTHERS – Moses who was tending sheep suddenly becomes a
blessing to three million people.

5) TRANSFORMED INTO THE IMAGE OF GOD – Moses was transformed into the image of
God. Just like how Moses hid His face when the Glory of God came upon Him; the Bible says the
light on the face of Moses was so intense and bright that people could not look at him. Moses
became like Jesus.

CONCLUSION

The glory we experience is not temporary but continues to increase and transform us into the image of
Christ. It is a process of spiritual growth and sanctification that unfolds throughout our lives, manifesting
the ever-increasing glory of God in the New Testament Church. We experience peace, joy, love and strength
when we encounter God. Let us pray for an encounter in a way that we can feel God and His Glory.

GOD WILL BUILD THE BROKEN HEARTED