ENCOUNTER VS EXPERIENCE

MEMORY VERSE: and the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man, Acts 9:7

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Sam 19, 1 Cor 1, Lam 4, Luke 24

I shared the dream that changed my life forever with a brother and he said ‘I want such an experience so that my life will be changed forever’. The dream was just an experience, my life changed when I encountered Christ. It is not an experience that changes a fellow but an encounter. An encounter is deeper than an experience. 

In Acts 9:1-7, Saul and co were en route to Damascus to arrest believers and commit them to prison. Something unusual happened as they traveled, a bright light shone from heaven and Saul fell. A voice began to speak – Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? At the end of the day Saul surrendered, he gave his life to Christ and became one of the greatest apostles. Everyone who accompanied Saul saw the light. Do you know it was only Paul that fell? They all heard the same voice but only Saul surrendered and gave his life to Christ. Not only that, only Saul had a change of name. Saul and co had the same experience, but only Saul encountered the One behind the experience.

Many hear the same message of salvation but only a few responds to altar call, why? Everyone in the church had the same experience but only a few encountered Christ through the message. An experience may change how we process information but an encounter changes the information we process. An experience may change when we go to places but an encounter changes where we go to. An experience may change how we say things but an encounter changes what we say. An experience may satisfy our hunger but an encounter creates a deep hunger in us. When we talk of salvation, we are talking of encountering Christ not experiencing Christ. 

PERSONAL REFLECTION: from the day i gave my life to Christ, what are the things I used to do that I no longer do? What are the things I used to say that I no longer say? Where are the places I used to visit that I no longer visit? Who are the people I used to walk with that I no longer walk with? Since I gave my life Christ what are the things I never used to do that I now do? What are the things I never used to say that I now say? Who are the people I never used to walk with that I now walk with? What has changed in my life since I met Christ?

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus

KEYWORD: An encounter brings about a change in personality but an experience only changes one’s perspective.

RECOGNIZING AND RESPECTING EXPERIENCE

MEMORY VERSE: Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set, Proverbs 22:28.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Num 4, Ps 38, Sng 2, Heb 2

BIBLE STUDIES: Esther 2:7-17

The story of Esther is a very popular one. Queen Vashti suddenly became too big to entertain her husband- King Ahasuerus. Because of her beauty, she forgot her role as a queen and began to take the advantage she had in the kingdom for granted. Since she was not serious and ungrateful, the king decided to replace her with a serious and grateful queen. During the search for a queen, everyone brought their daughters including Mordecai. He brought her young cousin who was like a child to him. The practice was that these young virgins would be trained for a year. They would be trained on how to behave like queens, how to attend to royal dignitaries and how to please the king. They will also be looked after physically.
All the virgins were put under Hegai- the king’s eunuch. After this training, each virgin is brought before the King to examine and choose. Before been presented to the king, each virgin had the opportunity to ask for anything she desired to take along with her – maybe shoes, clothes, e.t.c to the king’s palace. So each virgin requested for whatever she wanted. When it was Esther’s turn,she requested for nothing but what Hegai advised. At the end she found favor in sight of all who saw her.

No one knows the king like Hegai. This man had been responsible for training queens for quite a long time. Other virgins ignored the experience of Hegai and requested for what they thought the king would like but Esther sought for Hegai’s advise and did as she was told. At end she found favor in front of the king. This virgins saw themselves as too important to seek the opinion of an ordinary eunuch. In life wherever you may find yourself, humble yourself and learn from those you meet there. In your place of work, the most experience person there could be the cleaner who have been there for over twenty years. Forget about all your qualifications, humble yourselves and be her friend. To you she may be a cleaner but i can guarantee you that she is a custodian of great secrets – secrets of what led to the fall of those before you. Most of the people will look down on like drivers and cooks are not to be joked with at all. They know your boss and spend time with him more than other staffs. They know how you can present your request in a way that it is nice. You might be the most qualified in your department but don’t look down on the staffs you met there. If you don’t value their experience they would frustrate you. The problems many are facing in their places of work today are as result of not recognizing and respecting the old staffs. They may be old or junior to you in positions but they know a lot of things you don’t know. The virgins looked down on Hegai the experienced queen maker and they paid for it dearly.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me to humble myself before that will help me