An Encounter That Changes Everything- Walking in the Fear of the Lord

An encounter with the living God doesn’t just inform us—it transforms us. When we become

aware of His presence, everything changes.

Introduction

 Transformation doesn’t come from information, effort, or good intentions.

 It comes from awareness of God’s presence.

 When God draws near, we don’t just learn about Him—we discover the truth about

ourselves.

 True encounters with God never leave us the same.

Personal Reflection

 Many of us have reasons why our lives shouldn’t look the way they do today.

 If life were based only on past decisions or patterns, hope would be limited.

 But an encounter with God changes everything.

 God’s presence doesn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up—it does the work in us.

 Like Peter in Luke 5, awareness of Jesus reveals our hearts before it changes our

behavior.

Scripture: Luke 5:8 (NLT)

Shared Human Experience

 We often explain, excuse, or defend why we are the way we are.

 Over time, we settle—into habits, patterns, and distance from God.

 We can confuse effort with surrender and belief with intimacy.

 The real issue is often a lack of daily awareness of God’s presence.

What Encounter Does: Luke 7:36–50 — The Sinful Woman and Simon the Pharisee

 Simon treats Jesus casually.

 The woman responds with reverence, humility, and costly worship.

 She doesn’t speak, explain, or defend herself—her posture says everything.

 She “did not stop” worshiping because awe doesn’t fade quickly.

Four Truths About Encounter

1. Encounter Reveals What’s Really Inside Us

 God’s presence exposes the heart, not just behavior.

 Exposure is not condemnation—it’s an invitation to healing.

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12, Luke 8:17

Key Insight: The fear of the Lord begins with honesty, not hiding.

2. Encounter Reveals Who We Belong To—and the Cost

 We cannot save ourselves, yet God still chose to redeem us.

 Salvation is costly—and deeply personal.

Scripture: Psalm 49:7–8

Key Insight: When we understand the cost of grace, casual Christianity becomes impossible.

3. God Draws Near to Posture, Not Performance

 God is not impressed by proximity or religious activity.

 He responds to humility, reverence, and yielded hearts.

Scripture: Isaiah 66:2

4. Encounter Leads to Union, Not Distance

 Jesus invites us into deep, abiding relationship—not surface belief.

 Encounter doesn’t end with forgiveness; it leads to fellowship and transformation.

Scripture: John 17:21–23

Key Insight: What we stay near, we become like.

Awareness vs. Atmosphere

 It’s possible to sing about God without acknowledging His presence.

 There is a difference between knowing about God and being aware of God.

 Awareness brings weight, reverence, and response.

Personal Application: Walking in the Fear of the Lord

1. Welcome Conviction: Conviction is invitation, not rejection.

2. Let God’s Word Search You: Allow the Word to transform, not just encourage.

3. Slow Down to Be Aware of God

4. Refuse Information Without Transformation: Ask: Is my faith changing how I live—or just

what I know?

Closing Vision

 What if we became a people who didn’t just attend church—but trembled at God’s

presence?

 What if we lived with daily awareness, not yesterday’s encounter?

 God is present. He is not holding back. He is inviting us closer.