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Divine Encounter: The Secret of Generational Handover
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Not every generation possesses the ability to carry forward the grace and relationship with God from the previous generation. There is one critical foundation that every generation and every individual must press into: divine encounter.
When we examine Scripture, we see that the first generation under God from which grace could successfully pass to the next was Abraham. In Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 onwards, we learn how God spoke to the fathers by the prophets in various ways. But after the fall of Adam, God looked for a generation that could successfully carry His grace and relationship to the next generation. Many walked with God, but none could transfer that grace until Christ came.
"God who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets has in this last days spoken to us by his son whom he has appointed heads of all things through whom also he made the world who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his son and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had by himself ped our sins sat down at the right hand of the majesty on God."
Christ was able to carry that grace not just to one person or one family, but to the twelve, to seventy, and to all of us.
Hebrews 11:1-4 shows us the generations that had a great relationship with God but could not pass on that grace:
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and for it the elders obtained a good report. By faith we understand that the words were framed by the word of God. So that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible."
The first was Abel. He offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, and obtained a testimony that he was righteous. God testified of his gifts, and through faith, even though he is dead, he still speaks. But Abel could not carry on the grace because his brother killed him. God's attempt to establish a new family ended there.
Next was Enoch. He walked so greatly with God that God took him without seeing death. Before his translation, he had this testimony—that he pleased God. Yet there was no one to carry on. His son Methuselah did not have that same relationship with God.
"By faith, Enoch was taken away. So he did not seek death... but before he was taken he had this testament that he pleased God he pleased God but no one no one to carry on no one to carry on in that same level of grace and and and pleasure with God."
Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he that comes to God must believe that He is and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
When God looked at the world and saw how terrible and destructive it had become, He determined to start over. He found one man: Noah.
"By faith Noah, being warned of things not yet seen moved with godly fear prepared an ark for the saving of the household by which he condemned the world and became the heir of the righteousness which is according."
Now the family and children could not carry on the grace. We do not hear of them walking with God in the same way.
The first person who was able to break that pattern and successfully transfer grace was Abraham. For the first time, we see the names of succeeding generations mentioned:
"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place where he will receive as an inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going by faith he dwelt in a land of promise as in a foreign land dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob."
With Abel, Enoch, and Noah, succeeding generations are not mentioned. But with Abraham, we see Isaac and Jacob named. Where did this transfer happen? On Mount Moriah. Genesis 22 records how Abraham, through his willingness to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, transferred that grace to his son.
Isaac entered his own walk with God. He was not merely living on his father's inheritance. In the kingdom of God, there are no grandchildren spiritually—only children of God who must press into their own encounter with Him.
When it came to Jacob, he too had his own encounter points where everything changed. He had encountered God previously at Bethel, but that experience did not define him permanently. It was at Peniel where his name was changed and where his life was fundamentally transformed.
A divine encounter is not a great healing, though a great healing can become the beginning of a divine encounter.
Jesus healed ten lepers, yet only one came back to thank Him (Luke 17). If a divine encounter were merely a healing, surely all ten would have pursued a deeper relationship with God.
But consider Mary Magdalene. In Luke 8:1-3:
"And it came to pass afterwards that he went through every city and village preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the 12 were with him and according to the 12 there were certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Mary called Magdalene out of whom had come seven demons and Joanna the wife of Chuza Herodos steward and Susanna and many who provided for him."
These women had healing encounters with Jesus that marked them for life. They were at the cross when Jesus was crucified. Mary Magdalene and two others were the first to see the risen Jesus. A healing encounter became a divine encounter that defined them for life. From that day forward, they had a personal relationship with God that marked them out for life.
A great deliverance is not a divine encounter, but it can become one. We have seen people delivered from great trouble say, "We will not go back the way we came. We will stay with this God."
Consider the demoniac in the Gadarene country. After his deliverance, he wanted to follow Jesus. Jesus told him to go back and preach to his own people. That man became an evangelist, evangelizing the entire region, because he turned his deliverance into a divine encounter.
Walking with great men and women of God who are walking face to face with Him does not automatically amount to a divine encounter—but it can be the beginning of one.
Gehazi was the assistant of the prophet Elijah. He had a front row seat to miracles, signs, and wonders. He was present at the healing of the Shunamite woman and her miraculous experiences. Yet this same man ended up as a leper, judged because he saw all these things but did not allow them to convince him to have an encounter with God.
In contrast, Joshua walked with his master Moses. He was with him constantly, carrying his supplies. When Moses was called up to heaven to have an audience with God, Joshua kept pressing in. When you want to have an encounter, when you want to go beyond merely watching, no one will stop you. The kingdom of God belongs to as many as are desirous, as many as will go far with God.
Joshua's encounter defined him for life. When the twelve spies were sent (Numbers 13-14), and ten returned with a negative report, Joshua and Caleb stood firm:
"These people are like nothing unto us because God is on our side. It doesn't matter how big they are."
The other ten had seen the Red Sea open. They had walked through on dry ground. Pharaoh and his army were washed away by the river. Yet this great miracle did not create an encounter in their hearts. They remained unchanged, as if to say, "Moses and God, you do your own thing. We'll just mind our own space." But for Joshua and Caleb, that great miracle became a divine encounter—the beginning of a lifelong walk with God.
Elisha walked with Elijah and asked for double the grace that was upon him. Why? Because he saw God walking with Elijah. He was so captivated by it that he did not want to return to his old life, even though he had been doing very well running a great business enterprise.
Elisha walked with Elijah for ten years. When the time came for Elijah to be taken up, Elisha asked:
"Give me double portion of your anointing."
Elijah responded:
"You have asked a good thing... If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so unto you."
That was how Elisha pressed in and was able to carry on. Walking with people who are walking with God, including parents who are walking with God, can be the source of a divine encounter if you press into it.
A great miracle is not a divine encounter. If it were, the Israelites who left Egypt would have entered the promised land immediately. What greater miracle could there be? The Red Sea opens before you. You walk through on dry ground. Pharaoh and his entire army pursuing you are washed away by the river.
Yet they did not have a divine encounter. They continued as the same people they were. It was as if they said to Moses and God, "You do your own thing. We'll mind our space." There was not a divine encounter in their hearts.
But for Joshua and Caleb, that great miracle became a divine encounter—the beginning of a lifelong walk with God. For themselves.
A divine encounter is an experience, a miracle, or a relationship that brings a person face to face with God in such a way that it marks that person for life. It sets that person apart permanently.
Saul, who became Paul, met with God on the road to Damascus. From that day forward, people could not understand this man who had been so against Christians, killing them. That encounter marked him for life. He would never stop talking about it. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-15, Paul continually refers to his experience. That encounter fundamentally changed his life.
A divine encounter is an experience that sets you apart permanently. A person who has a one-to-one walk with God is so marked by it that the person talks about it all the time. The person uses that experience to build into a great relationship with God, keeps on growing and growing in every way.
This is what happened to Isaac. Isaac walked with his father. He saw the relationship between his father and God. He witnessed it until the day his father said, "Let's go and give God a sacrifice." In Genesis 22, as they walked toward the mountain, Isaac asked his father about the sacrifice. Abraham replied, "God will provide."
But Isaac kept talking with him, sharing his heart. His father told him what was about to happen. And Isaac's response? "You want to sacrifice me? That's fine. This is the God I know. He can bring me back to life if He wants to. He can do that."
That was a divine encounter. Isaac did not merely inherit his father's faith; he pressed into his own.
Rahab, the princess of Jericho, had an encounter rooted in hearing about the God of Israel. She read the story in the book of Joshua:
"That woman had heard about the Israel, God of Israel. And from that moment, she began to desire that God."
When the two Israelite spies came to her, she said:
"I've heard about your God. I've heard about the miracles. I want to know that God for myself."
She had heard how the God of the Hebrews opened the Red Sea for them and how He had broken all the kings. Her heart was already connected to that God. When the two spies came, it was as if she had been waiting for an encounter. She told them, "I want to be part of this," and they promised her salvation for herself and her family.
I want to encourage you, people of God, to have a divine encounter with God. Desire to have a divine encounter with God.
A divine encounter is not something that happens once and ends. It may begin with one encounter, but from that point onwards, you keep on having encounters with God. You keep going deeper with God. Your words and what you say express where your heart is. The things you do will express what your heart is.
Salvation is not an encounter with God, but it can become the beginning of an encounter with God. Hearing the gospel and giving your life to the Lord is a great start, but it should not be the end.
The first encounter recorded for Jacob was not at Peniel. It was at Bethel. As he was fleeing, God appeared to him at night and said:
"Don't worry. It's going to be well with you. You are going away now, but I will be with you. I will provide for you. I'll care for you. In this same place you will come and sacrifice to me."
But Jacob was not marked out at Bethel. He continued with his old trickery and schemes. It was only at Peniel, about twenty-one years later, that he had the encounter with God that defined him.
If there is anyone here today—in the sanctuary or online—who wants to give your life to Jesus, I will pray with you. But if you know Jesus already and want to go deeper, want to have a permanent, lasting encounter with God, place your hand on your chest as I am doing.
"I want to keep on walking with God. I want to keep going deeper and deeper."
Father Lord, I pray for everyone in this house this morning and online, including myself. We present ourselves for deeper and deeper walk with You, deeper and deeper encounters with You in the name of Jesus. We will not be light or flippant or just coasting. We will go deeper and deeper in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.
Our feet will be planted on higher ground. New experiences and a new walk with God on a greater level shall we all have in the name of Jesus.
