Encounter

God is good! This is a personal testimony to the Goodness of God. A little over two years ago, we basically had no worship team. The team that had served us so well for many years was depleted and discouraged due to difficult family challenges, loses and disappointments. We prayed, fasted and sought the Lord for help. We asked other churches for help and support. We were in the process of receiving support from four churches on a rota basis, when God suddenly intervened. The solution did not come from outside, it came from within. God provided a leader from within, encouraged our existing team, and helped us build a new worship team.

Fast forward to last week Sunday, our worship team was invited to lead "Encounter" - a praise and worship night at Welcome church in Woking, a church of about 1,200 people.  That's amazing isn't it, but that's not the end of it. As about 600 of us began to praise and worship God last Sunday, I saw all inhibitions holding people back from joyous worship give way to "undignified" dancing, jumping and exuberant praise. People fell on their knees in tears worshiping the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I saw young and old filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Children joined in, the atmosphere was charged with the presence of God.

Two of our new converts who came to Christ in the last few weeks were full of joy, dancing and praising God. Then the unexpected happened. One of them starting praying for the other. He prayed in tongues in such a way that one of our young adults, who has been mentoring him became so undone and burst out in tears. Overwhelmed by it all, he said, "I can't believe it, God is so good." Could this be the start of revival amongst us? Is this what it looks like when we encounter God? Could this be what we've been praying for all these years? 

Can I encourage everyone who reads this piece to lean in for a new and significant encounter with God, even in these days. In these days of chaos, wars and pure evil, God is still interested in being amongst His people. This is not an Exodus 3 (burning bush), moment when just one man (Moses) met with God. No! This is an Exodus 24 moment, when the leaders of Israel "saw God, ...ate and drank" (Exodus 24:9-11). It is a Hebrews 12 moment, when we come to "Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem....to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly...to God, the Judge of all... to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant... and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." (Hebrew 12:22-24).

This is not a "man" moment, it is a God moment. We must not turn this encounter into people worship. The Israelites turned a God moment into a Golden Calf moment. Instead of dining with God, they revelled and dined with idols, and were damned for it. Let's not do that. Let's not idolise any one. Let's give all our worship to Him!

Our worship team was amazing last Sunday in Woking. To be honest, they are always amazing and we are so proud of them. They did us proud, I wish we were all there. No doubt there will be lots and lots of commendations, and rightly so. I am sure and even expectant that more and new doors of opportunities for ministry will begin to open up to our worship team, and church. But they (we) must not become big headed. Our goal must be for Christ to be seen, not us. In the words of John The Baptist, "He must increase and I must decrease". 

Let me finish with the exhortation of Hebrews 12. This is the moment we must "be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." As we gather every Sunday and midweek, let us come expecting to meet with God. Let us individually prepare our hearts for supernatural encounters with our maker, so that individual burning bush moments will turn into Hebrews 12 Mount Zion moments of thousands upon thousands of angels joining us in joyful and holy assembly. Come Holy Spirit, Come!

A few clips from Sunday in Woking....