Springhill Church

Topic: Encounter with God

  • Heroes – Part 4

    Hebrews 12:1 NKJV Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

    These verses follow the Hall of Fame of Faith and the people mentioned there are the witnesses being referred to here. These are ordinary people who trusted God to do extraordinary things.

    What if you could spend time with one of these Heroes of the faith, what would they say to us? How would they encourage us?

    Mary, the Mother of Jesus has a conversation with us and says….

    For when God asks you to do something outside your comfort zone…

    “Don’t miss your moment with God.”

    Mary would want to teach us what God moments are like:

    God Moments

    ✓ God moments often seem impossible.

    God is going to come with a plan, direction, or instruction…

    (Luke 1:31-34) You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

    Knowledge in the day and time we live can hinder us because we have a tendency to trust our knowledge instead of trusting something we don’t understand.

    Miracles happen when our willingness to trust God intersects with God’s plan.

    Mark 10:27 NIV Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

    ✓ When God moments come, just say yes.

    Luke 1:38 NIV “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

    How do you make it through days you don’t understand?

    Our hope must weigh more than our questions.

    Stay in faith and not what your circumstances or your head may be telling you.

    Mark 5:36 NIV Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

    ✓ Your God moment will open the door for God’s best in your life.

    Mary makes the decision to get out of Nazareth to avoid some ridicule and goes to see her cousin. Get around people that will believe with you…

    Luke 1:42-45 NLT Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed… (45) You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said.”

    When you do what God says to do even when it does not make sense, God will bless you!

    God has blessing for us on the other side of our obedience!

    John 2:5 NKJV His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

    Mary’s Words of Encouragement

    Here is how you cultivate some moments with God…

    1. “Stay connected to God.” (Be a worshipper…)

    Luke 2:16-19 NIV So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

    John 15:5 MSG “When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing.

    1. “Stay connected to your purpose.”

    You are not an ordinary person – you have a purpose…

    Luke 2:34-35 NIV Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.”

    2 Timothy 1:6 NLT This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.

    1. Stay connected to the people who encourage you.”

    Luke 1:56 NIV Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

    Hebrews 10:23-25 NIV Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

    John 19:25-27 MSG Jesus’ mother, his aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the cross. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her. He said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that moment the disciple accepted her as his own mother.

    How does Mary survive all of this and the horror of it all?

    1. “Stay connected to the bigger picture.”

    Realize that there is more to this life than just this life.

  • Heroes – Part 1

    Hebrews 12:1 NLT Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

    What if you could spend time with one of these Heroes of the faith, what would they say to us? How would they encourage us?

    Isaiah 30:21 NIV Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

    Some of us are at a place in our Christian walk where we are just trying to figure some things out. We need direction, we need encouragement, we need strength, etc. Isaiah would say to us:

    “An encounter with God changes everything.”

    You might be asking what does that look like and how do I have one of those?

    A God Encounter
    • Our greatest pain can be a catalyst for our greatest gain.

    Isaiah 6:1-4 NIV In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. (2) Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. (3) And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (4) At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

    • When we see God clearly, we see ourselves clearly.

    Isaiah 6:5 NIV “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

    We get stuck in our spiritual walk because we will not let God touch the deepest parts of our lives.

    • God removes our past so He can redeem our future.

    God doesn’t want to keep re-hashing your past. He wants to settle it once and for all.

    God will identify in us what needs to be changed but then He will walk us from that thing in our past so that we can move the glorious future He has for us.

    Isaiah 6:6-8 NIV Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. (7) With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (8) Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

    Isaiah’s Words of Encouragement
    1. “God wants to reveal more of Himself to you.”

    This is true no matter where you are in your walk in the Lord.

    Isaiah 55:6 NIV Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

    Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (12) Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. (13) You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

    Key: Go all in.

    1. “God wants to change you.”

    Isaiah 1:18-19 NKJV “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. (19) If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;

    1 Peter 2:2-3 NLT Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, (3) now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

    Key: Take the next step.

    1. “God has an assignment for you.”

    Isaiah 60:1-3 NIV “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. (2) See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. (3) Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

    Ephesians 1:4 NIV For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight…

    Ephesians 2:10 NLT For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

    Key: Discover your purpose.