1 July 2012 - ENCS

Today the "Encounter" series did at ENCS start
Talking about prayer, Pastor Larry did his part
With God, routine is never the way
He performs miracles every single day
Encountering God should make us transformed
Look to Elijah and Moses, we can be reformed
The text today was taken from Exodus 3:1-4
Moses and the burning bush are the story's core
Moses saw the flames and then from God heard
Pastor Larry shared three insights about the Word

First is that God reveals himself in a supernatural way
This often occurs when we stop and earnestly pray
Pastor referred to Acts two verses three and four
The Holy Spirit filled all those who walked in the door
For they had prayed from deep in their lungs
So the Spirit came to them in fiery tongues
Similarly, we should let the Spirit in us burn
For we should never away from God turn
Within us, God and the Spirit always dwell
That is why at all times we know "all is well"
Often we don't listen when God does speak
But we really need to if His path we do seek
Pastor mentioned Moses, Elijah, and Paul
Humans like us, they prayed through it all

Second is that God wants for us to look
That is what Moses did in the Exodus book
To the burning bush, he went over to see
That was much better than turning to flee
From seeking God, nothing should us distract
Distractions are from the enemy, that's a fact
Being too busy is often used as a reason
But putting it mildly, that is akin to treason
He wants for us to look to Him in prayer
He will then respond, do not despair
After Moses went to the bush, God did speak
With God's strength, Moses became unique
To the Lord, the people Moses did draw
Focusing on himself would have been a flaw
Pastor also referred to Daniel nine verse three
Daniel fasted and prayed to God, we did see
In chapter ten, to Daniel an angel did appear
Saying that all of Daniel's words God did hear
We don't have all the answers but should not grieve
For God tells us to pray to Him and in Him believe

Third is that God sees and speaks when we pray
God knows our names and destinies, Pastor did say
And for every child, woman, and man
God has in mind a very specific plan
From verse nine of 2 Chronicles chapter sixteen
God looks for "fully committed hearts", it is seen
Good things will happen when we fervently pray
"Pray incessantly", 1 Thessalonians 5:17 does say
For God will hear us and so often astound
He is able to turn lives and nations around

In summary, Pastor referred to Acts 4 verse 31
The place was shaken after the praying was done
In the same way, he wants our lives to be shaken
When we allow the Spirit within us to awaken