Sermon Title: Divine Encounter; Divine Change.
“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said,
“I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:1-5)
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Every divine encounter can be authenticated with divine change in a person’s life.
There are five integral components in every divine encounter with the living God.
The absence of any of these components compels suspicion that the encounter is at all, divine.
1. Divine Revelation – “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him...”;
2. Divine Identity – “I am God Almighty;”
3. Divine Command – “...walk before me faithfully and be blameless.”
4. Divine Promise – “Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
5. Divine Response – “Abram fell facedown...”
Many have claimed to have encountered God – choosing only to underscore His Promises without the difficult but life-transforming work of a proper response.
This is not only a mistake, it is the unmistakable exposure of human wickedness.
The linchpin of every genuine, divine encounter with the living God is the perception, acknowledgement and reception of His divine command that, when obeyed in utter trust, would result in the proper, divine response signifying an absolute and categorical surrender to the Will of God, which is accompanied with His divine Promise.
The crux of every divine encounter is not about following along for the sake of the blessing, but all about fellowship with the Blesser.
The Divine Encounter - which is, true fellowship with the living God – would inexorably lead to Divine Change in the believer’s life.
For at the heart of both the Divine Encounter and Divine Change - is God’s unchanging command to every believer, His every child – to walk before Him “faithfully and be blameless.”
The Command to “be blameless” is not God’s demand for moral perfection (Ref: 2 Samuel 22:24) – for He knows that we are saved, and justified, only through faith in Christ (Ref: Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:8-9); but rather, a Command to Abram to utterly give his life to follow God and in so doing, establish a right relationship with Him.
That especially in the challenges and trials, Abram would obey and trust the Almighty God to fulfill His Covenant that through him, “all peoples on earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:4)
True Worship
All to which, Abram responded in the only right way possible for a human being in the Presence of the One, True, Living God: “Abram fell facedown” before the Lord.
To fall facedown before the Lord is the absolute and ultimate recognition of His Lordship and Sovereign Will over your life.
To fall facedown before the Lord is to express the inward condition of utter love and desire for His favour through the outward posture of worship, reverence, and surrender before Him.
To fall facedown before the Lord is the right posture that invites His Holy Spirit to surround and saturate you with His Power, bestowing upon you supernatural authority and ability to live for His Glorious purposes. This is also a posture in which the devil is rendered completely ineffective in the life of the believer.
To fall facedown before the Lord is to declare, “Lord, You are the greatest; I am the least (Ref: John 3:30); Your Will is all I desire to fulfill, Your Commands are all I desire to obey, and Your Love is all I desire in my life. Indeed, “hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9b-10)
Abram’s response was so right before the Lord that He “said to him,
“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” " (Genesis 17:4-5)
Abram’s life was going to get even more challenging.
As all Old Testament names are signified, Abram’s name was not only a noun, it is a form of title and meant to describe the purpose of his very existence.
With Ishmael as his only son, and not of his wife, Sarai; Abram – which means “exalted father” – lived an existence fraught with critics and cynics of the perceived insignificance of his existence.
To carry a name that was misaligned with your life is akin to having the terrible fortune of not only a mistaken identity, but a marginalized existence.
Everywhere Abram went, he would literally be called: “exalted father”.
It is not difficult to imagine the phony concern of the incredulous neighbors or the town folks maliciously gossiping amongst themselves saying, “What kind of name is that? And why is he exalted if he has but the one son...? I have more sons than you do, “exalted father”, shouldn’t I be more exalted?”
If you can’t even live up to your name, you best be prepared for a life of obscurity and oppression.
That was when his name was Abram.
Now, it has been changed to Abraham.
Imagine this scenario where Abraham calls for a meeting of all his family, servants and workers to announce the change of his name.
From “exalted father”, they were now to look him in the eye and call him: “father of many nations”; even as they thought about the underwhelming legacy of his sole son, Ishmael, born not of his own wife, but from an Egyptian servant girl, Hagar.
For one who was questionable as an “exalted father”, how would he ever be the “father of many nations”?
It was simply unimaginable and ridiculous!
Life was about to get more challenging for Abraham.
But at this moment, he remained facedown before God.
He remained utterly trusting and obedient toward his God.
He remained utterly prostrate and surrendered before His God.
He remained utterly yielding to God’s way forward for him.
He remained utterly relying on God and in relationship to Him.
God’s covenant with Abraham is really His covenant with both Abraham and Sarah.
He was to be the “father of many nations”, Sarah was to be the “mother of nations”. (Genesis 17:15-16)
The marriage covenant between God, Abraham and Sarah would lay the foundation for the covenant from which their descendants would commit to walk before Him “faithfully and be blameless” and become God’s blessing to all the peoples of the world.
It is thus, imperative for the Church – within which, every believer of Christ as descendants of Abraham and Sarah - (Ref: Galatians 3:29) to obey God’s Divine Command to establish a relationship with Him through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour – by conscientiously walking before Him faithfully and blamelessly.
For indeed, through the Church, God has, and will continue to “bless all peoples on earth” (Genesis 12:4)
From the Spirit’s conception of the church after the Resurrection of Christ, the earliest disciples experienced the same divine encounter that was authenticated with divine change in each of their lives.
1. Divine Revelation – “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating...” (Mark 16:14a)
2. Divine Identity – “...he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.” (Mark 16:14b)
3. Divine Command – “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15)
4. Divine Promise – “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:16-18)
5. Divine Response – “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” (Mark 16:20)
The response of the earliest disciples was certainly divine as they unreservedly preached the Gospel everywhere in utter obedience to the Lord and in the reality that “the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
That is how we must, too, walk before the Lord faithfully and be blameless – living out, and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever He leads us to.
In fact, God articulates His Command to us in the passage known as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) which contains precisely every integral component of an authentic divine encounter.
1. Divine Revelation – “Then Jesus came to them...” (Matthew 28:18a)
2. Divine Identity – “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18b)
3. Divine Command – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20a)
4. Divine Promise – “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b)
5. Divine Response – ?
Where’s the divine response in this text? Who is supposed to respond?
We are!
The Lord has revealed to us the framework and pattern of an authentic encounter with Him.
The question is – are you willing to encounter Him?
Just as every Divine Encounter contains Divine Promises, the only right response that we must be prepared and willing to give must be birthed out of a heart of utter trust and a life of utter obedience to the Lord’s Divine Commands – as we live daily falling ‘facedown’ before our God in holy reverence and absolute surrendered-ness.
Are we willing to accept His change of your name; a change in title that describes your life’s purpose and gives meaning to your life?
Are you willing to cast aside your private dreams and accept His change of your destiny?
Regardless of what you perceive yourself to be – based on your relationships, vocation or even passions; that you would first and foremost see yourself as a child of the Heavenly Father, disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, and vessel of the Holy Spirit.
The divine response to God’s Commands and Promises is riveted in the only posture that truly reflects a right relationship with Him – to fall facedown before the Lord.
Any objection to this posture of reverence, worship and love for God is a clear sign that you are unwilling to be in right-relationship with Him, unwilling to surrender to His Holy Will for you; and unwilling to trust Him, nor be used by Him as His holy vessel.
Beware this condition; for it reveals staleness in your spirit that if left unchecked, would certainly be cut off from the vine, “thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:6)
The name and title: “disciple of Jesus Christ” is certainly not easy to live out; but if you are willing to “fall facedown” in utter surrender before Him, our Lord Jesus Christ has promised that He would personally walk with you all the days of your life!
Encounter God daily; trust Him and obey His Divine Command to live out and preach His Gospel – and through this, we are found truly walking before Him faithfully and blamelessly.
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Thank You for revealing to me that in every Divine Encounter with You; there must be evidence of divine change in my life – that I would be transformed into the likeness of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Grant that I may have the courage, strength, resolve and wisdom to utterly trust You, and obey Your every Command that would come with every encounter I have with You.
Help me to surrender wholly to Your Holy Will as I perceive, acknowledge and receive every Divine Command through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Teach me never to revel in Your Promises without first making every effort to obey and fulfill Your Commands in my life.
Lord, make my heart’s sole desire is to fellowship with You; to worship You – that my life would be inevitably and indelibly changed to be holy as You are holy.
That I may daily walk with You “faithfully and be blameless” – through which “all peoples on earth will be blessed” as I live out and preach Your Gospel.
May I daily fall facedown before You in worship – absolutely recognising Your Lordship and Sovereign Will over my life; expressing my utter love and desire for Your favor; imbuing the right posture that invites Your Holy Spirit to surround and saturate my life that I may be empowered to be a holy witness of Christ Jesus; and declaring unreservedly to the world that You are my greatest love and worth.
Lord, thank You for the revelation that through Your Covenant with Abraham and Sarah, the Church has now become the new anthropological expression and framework of Your Sacred Space here in the world; and through every true believer and disciple of Christ, You will continue to “bless all peoples on earth” (Genesis 12:4)
As did the earliest disciples, may we personally experience You, Lord Jesus, and may our transformed lives be holy evidence of Your Sovereignty and Lordship over all Creation to all the peoples on earth.
May I live – along with Your Church – solely for the sake of going into all the world and preaching Your Gospel to all Creation; that I may fully experience Your Promises fulfilled through the lives that will be saved and transformed through Your Spirit’s Power to drive out demons, speak in new tongues, be protected from the works of the evil one, and heal the sick in Jesus' Name.
Lead me each day, Almighty God, to fall facedown before You; and in so doing, receive Your Spirit’s Power to surrender to Your Holy Will and serve You as witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that I am first and foremost, Your child, and at the same time, a devoted disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, and supernatural vessel of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, may I encounter You daily, that I may more resolutely trust and obey Your Divine Command to preach Your Gospel; and in so doing, walk before You faithfully and blamelessly.
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said,
“I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” (Genesis 17:1-5)
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Every divine encounter can be authenticated with divine change in a person’s life.
There are five integral components in every divine encounter with the living God.
The absence of any of these components compels suspicion that the encounter is at all, divine.
1. Divine Revelation – “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him...”;
2. Divine Identity – “I am God Almighty;”
3. Divine Command – “...walk before me faithfully and be blameless.”
4. Divine Promise – “Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
5. Divine Response – “Abram fell facedown...”
Many have claimed to have encountered God – choosing only to underscore His Promises without the difficult but life-transforming work of a proper response.
This is not only a mistake, it is the unmistakable exposure of human wickedness.
The linchpin of every genuine, divine encounter with the living God is the perception, acknowledgement and reception of His divine command that, when obeyed in utter trust, would result in the proper, divine response signifying an absolute and categorical surrender to the Will of God, which is accompanied with His divine Promise.
The crux of every divine encounter is not about following along for the sake of the blessing, but all about fellowship with the Blesser.
The Divine Encounter - which is, true fellowship with the living God – would inexorably lead to Divine Change in the believer’s life.
For at the heart of both the Divine Encounter and Divine Change - is God’s unchanging command to every believer, His every child – to walk before Him “faithfully and be blameless.”
The Command to “be blameless” is not God’s demand for moral perfection (Ref: 2 Samuel 22:24) – for He knows that we are saved, and justified, only through faith in Christ (Ref: Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:8-9); but rather, a Command to Abram to utterly give his life to follow God and in so doing, establish a right relationship with Him.
That especially in the challenges and trials, Abram would obey and trust the Almighty God to fulfill His Covenant that through him, “all peoples on earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:4)
True Worship
All to which, Abram responded in the only right way possible for a human being in the Presence of the One, True, Living God: “Abram fell facedown” before the Lord.
To fall facedown before the Lord is the absolute and ultimate recognition of His Lordship and Sovereign Will over your life.
To fall facedown before the Lord is to express the inward condition of utter love and desire for His favour through the outward posture of worship, reverence, and surrender before Him.
To fall facedown before the Lord is the right posture that invites His Holy Spirit to surround and saturate you with His Power, bestowing upon you supernatural authority and ability to live for His Glorious purposes. This is also a posture in which the devil is rendered completely ineffective in the life of the believer.
To fall facedown before the Lord is to declare, “Lord, You are the greatest; I am the least (Ref: John 3:30); Your Will is all I desire to fulfill, Your Commands are all I desire to obey, and Your Love is all I desire in my life. Indeed, “hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9b-10)
Abram’s response was so right before the Lord that He “said to him,
“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” " (Genesis 17:4-5)
Abram’s life was going to get even more challenging.
As all Old Testament names are signified, Abram’s name was not only a noun, it is a form of title and meant to describe the purpose of his very existence.
With Ishmael as his only son, and not of his wife, Sarai; Abram – which means “exalted father” – lived an existence fraught with critics and cynics of the perceived insignificance of his existence.
To carry a name that was misaligned with your life is akin to having the terrible fortune of not only a mistaken identity, but a marginalized existence.
Everywhere Abram went, he would literally be called: “exalted father”.
It is not difficult to imagine the phony concern of the incredulous neighbors or the town folks maliciously gossiping amongst themselves saying, “What kind of name is that? And why is he exalted if he has but the one son...? I have more sons than you do, “exalted father”, shouldn’t I be more exalted?”
If you can’t even live up to your name, you best be prepared for a life of obscurity and oppression.
That was when his name was Abram.
Now, it has been changed to Abraham.
Imagine this scenario where Abraham calls for a meeting of all his family, servants and workers to announce the change of his name.
From “exalted father”, they were now to look him in the eye and call him: “father of many nations”; even as they thought about the underwhelming legacy of his sole son, Ishmael, born not of his own wife, but from an Egyptian servant girl, Hagar.
For one who was questionable as an “exalted father”, how would he ever be the “father of many nations”?
It was simply unimaginable and ridiculous!
Life was about to get more challenging for Abraham.
But at this moment, he remained facedown before God.
He remained utterly trusting and obedient toward his God.
He remained utterly prostrate and surrendered before His God.
He remained utterly yielding to God’s way forward for him.
He remained utterly relying on God and in relationship to Him.
God’s covenant with Abraham is really His covenant with both Abraham and Sarah.
He was to be the “father of many nations”, Sarah was to be the “mother of nations”. (Genesis 17:15-16)
The marriage covenant between God, Abraham and Sarah would lay the foundation for the covenant from which their descendants would commit to walk before Him “faithfully and be blameless” and become God’s blessing to all the peoples of the world.
It is thus, imperative for the Church – within which, every believer of Christ as descendants of Abraham and Sarah - (Ref: Galatians 3:29) to obey God’s Divine Command to establish a relationship with Him through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour – by conscientiously walking before Him faithfully and blamelessly.
For indeed, through the Church, God has, and will continue to “bless all peoples on earth” (Genesis 12:4)
From the Spirit’s conception of the church after the Resurrection of Christ, the earliest disciples experienced the same divine encounter that was authenticated with divine change in each of their lives.
1. Divine Revelation – “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating...” (Mark 16:14a)
2. Divine Identity – “...he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.” (Mark 16:14b)
3. Divine Command – “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15)
4. Divine Promise – “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:16-18)
5. Divine Response – “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” (Mark 16:20)
The response of the earliest disciples was certainly divine as they unreservedly preached the Gospel everywhere in utter obedience to the Lord and in the reality that “the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
That is how we must, too, walk before the Lord faithfully and be blameless – living out, and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever He leads us to.
In fact, God articulates His Command to us in the passage known as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) which contains precisely every integral component of an authentic divine encounter.
1. Divine Revelation – “Then Jesus came to them...” (Matthew 28:18a)
2. Divine Identity – “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18b)
3. Divine Command – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20a)
4. Divine Promise – “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b)
5. Divine Response – ?
Where’s the divine response in this text? Who is supposed to respond?
We are!
The Lord has revealed to us the framework and pattern of an authentic encounter with Him.
The question is – are you willing to encounter Him?
Just as every Divine Encounter contains Divine Promises, the only right response that we must be prepared and willing to give must be birthed out of a heart of utter trust and a life of utter obedience to the Lord’s Divine Commands – as we live daily falling ‘facedown’ before our God in holy reverence and absolute surrendered-ness.
Are we willing to accept His change of your name; a change in title that describes your life’s purpose and gives meaning to your life?
Are you willing to cast aside your private dreams and accept His change of your destiny?
Regardless of what you perceive yourself to be – based on your relationships, vocation or even passions; that you would first and foremost see yourself as a child of the Heavenly Father, disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, and vessel of the Holy Spirit.
The divine response to God’s Commands and Promises is riveted in the only posture that truly reflects a right relationship with Him – to fall facedown before the Lord.
Any objection to this posture of reverence, worship and love for God is a clear sign that you are unwilling to be in right-relationship with Him, unwilling to surrender to His Holy Will for you; and unwilling to trust Him, nor be used by Him as His holy vessel.
Beware this condition; for it reveals staleness in your spirit that if left unchecked, would certainly be cut off from the vine, “thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:6)
The name and title: “disciple of Jesus Christ” is certainly not easy to live out; but if you are willing to “fall facedown” in utter surrender before Him, our Lord Jesus Christ has promised that He would personally walk with you all the days of your life!
Encounter God daily; trust Him and obey His Divine Command to live out and preach His Gospel – and through this, we are found truly walking before Him faithfully and blamelessly.
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Thank You for revealing to me that in every Divine Encounter with You; there must be evidence of divine change in my life – that I would be transformed into the likeness of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Grant that I may have the courage, strength, resolve and wisdom to utterly trust You, and obey Your every Command that would come with every encounter I have with You.
Help me to surrender wholly to Your Holy Will as I perceive, acknowledge and receive every Divine Command through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Teach me never to revel in Your Promises without first making every effort to obey and fulfill Your Commands in my life.
Lord, make my heart’s sole desire is to fellowship with You; to worship You – that my life would be inevitably and indelibly changed to be holy as You are holy.
That I may daily walk with You “faithfully and be blameless” – through which “all peoples on earth will be blessed” as I live out and preach Your Gospel.
May I daily fall facedown before You in worship – absolutely recognising Your Lordship and Sovereign Will over my life; expressing my utter love and desire for Your favor; imbuing the right posture that invites Your Holy Spirit to surround and saturate my life that I may be empowered to be a holy witness of Christ Jesus; and declaring unreservedly to the world that You are my greatest love and worth.
Lord, thank You for the revelation that through Your Covenant with Abraham and Sarah, the Church has now become the new anthropological expression and framework of Your Sacred Space here in the world; and through every true believer and disciple of Christ, You will continue to “bless all peoples on earth” (Genesis 12:4)
As did the earliest disciples, may we personally experience You, Lord Jesus, and may our transformed lives be holy evidence of Your Sovereignty and Lordship over all Creation to all the peoples on earth.
May I live – along with Your Church – solely for the sake of going into all the world and preaching Your Gospel to all Creation; that I may fully experience Your Promises fulfilled through the lives that will be saved and transformed through Your Spirit’s Power to drive out demons, speak in new tongues, be protected from the works of the evil one, and heal the sick in Jesus' Name.
Lead me each day, Almighty God, to fall facedown before You; and in so doing, receive Your Spirit’s Power to surrender to Your Holy Will and serve You as witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that I am first and foremost, Your child, and at the same time, a devoted disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, and supernatural vessel of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, may I encounter You daily, that I may more resolutely trust and obey Your Divine Command to preach Your Gospel; and in so doing, walk before You faithfully and blamelessly.
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.