Encounters with God – Walking In Power with Nate Ortiz

Hey, well, my name is Nate Ortiz and this is Walking in Power and I'd like to talk to

you about encounters that you can have with God.

When we talk about serving God, we can think about our lives in a way that makes it feel

like we just pray and hopefully God hears and then hopefully God intervenes in our lives.

I think more than that, God is interested in the idea that when we live this life, when

we're going about our day, God wants to interject right in the middle of things.

Not just when we are finding convenient or we feel like, well, this is my time to pray

or this is what I'm at church, but God wants to speak to you when you're going throughout

your day because maybe there's someone that you encounter that needs an encouraging word

or a smile or just a prayer, whatever it might be.

But what I'd like to talk about in Acts 26 verse 16 says, but get up and stand on your

feet.

For I have appeared to you for this purpose.

So appoint you as a servant and a witness for what you have seen and of what I will reveal

to you.

When you live your life in this idea that you are an adventure, that you have these encounters

with God as you go on this adventure with Him, is that you live in this place of what you've

seen and then what he's going to reveal to you.

And sometimes that could be a super overwhelming place to be or a scary place to be for some

where it feels like I know what was but I don't know what is.

And in this moment of waiting or being in the between, how will I encounter God?

How will I know if He's speaking to me?

What if I miss Him or what if I miss the moment?

And God is gracious and loving to us.

And I think for us, the important thing to remember is that throughout our day in between

moments, God is speaking.

So sometimes you might feel a nudge upon your heart to do something for someone or maybe

there's someone you want to compliment.

Feel beating into that.

We don't know what this is going to mean in life for that person.

And when you live your life that way, there's more that God will do in your life, more

that He will reveal to you.

And you'll be able to just go on to even do greater things that God will begin to speak

to you more.

And you'll be getting these opportunities to impact people's lives in ways He never thought.

And in this devotional that I have, it goes on to say, our Lord does not come to us to

discover what we would like to accomplish for Him.

Is that how we think sometimes?

We just say, God, like, I want to do this.

Allow me a way to do it.

Now there's passion that God gives us and absolutely He allows us to operate in those

passions.

But we don't live in this place of God.

This is what I want to do.

And this is how I want to do it.

Instead we take this posture of saying, God, what are you wanting to accomplish today?

How can I be used by you?

And then it goes on to say He encounters us in order to reveal His activity and invite us

to become involved in His work.

And we don't get so caught up in the method of how we want it to look or how it should

look.

And we say, God, as long as you're in it, I want to be a part of it.

That's the most life-giving place that we can be.

Because it's not just centered around us and our desires and our passions and our needs,

but it's saying, God, my life is to honor you, to give glory to you, but also to bless

those around me.

And so it then goes on to say, God never communicates with us merely to give us a warm, devotional

thought for that day.

When we connect with God and we go to this adventure, it's not just to get a good nugget

for a nugget of wisdom for us and move on, but it's really to advise us into something

greater.

He never speaks to us simply to increase our biblical knowledge.

Our Lord has far more significant things to reveal to us than that.

When God shows us what He is doing, He invites us to join Him in the work He is doing.

So here's my question to you.

As you go throughout your day, throughout your week, throughout your months, what adventure

has God inviting you on?

There might be code workers you're thinking of.

There might be people in your community, neighbors that God is saying, I want you to be a

light to them.

I want you to be someone who brings hope to them.

And God wants to use you.

God's been not going to use your pastor.

He's not going to use anyone else, but He's going to say, I want to use you.

So allow yourself to have encounters with God, to dream with God, to say, Lord, maybe

this can happen today.

Maybe I'll really just invite someone to church.

Maybe it knows what it could look like, but understand that when you live this life for

God, it's not just about what we want and how we want it done.

But it's about saying, Lord, allow me to be used by you.

Help me to see things the way that you do.

Help me to see people the way that you do.

Say you can be glorified, that you can change people's lives.

You can change families, you can change communities, you can change cities.

Lord, when you grab a grip of people's hearts, and Lord, you want to use us to spread your

message, your hope, to everyone who's around us.

So I hope that this blesses you today.

I hope you have an amazing week.

I'll see you next time on Walking in Power.