Have you ever experienced divine encounter in your life? Minister of God and General Overseer of Global Success Ministries (GSM), FESTAC,Lagos, Pastor (Dr) Chima Okereke, in this sermon, explains how divine encounter can delete that reproach in your life. Except:
Divine encounter is an opportunity to meet with God to give you an outstanding miracle or blessing in that situation that had brought you shame and pains over the years. A reproach is that situation that makes you feel bad whenever you think of it. It is that situation that people see and make mockery of, or criticise you. The reproach could be barrenness; poverty, sickness, or disease etc.
A reproach could be what people can see, it could be what you alone know and you are suffering inside; which can regarded as open or hidden reproach. Divine encounter is also the touch of God in that reproach for a positive change. I am assuring you that you shall have divine encounter that will delete every reproach in your life in Jesus' name. Let's look at some people in the past that had divine encounter and how this encounter deleted the reproach in their lives.
The man who was born blind had a divine encounter when he met with Jesus and came seeing as written in the book of John 9:1-17 "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.)
He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, this is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. They say unto the blind man again, what sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is prophet".
Now the blindness of that man was a reproach to him because it had kept him in a particular condition for a long time. At this period of his blindness, he was incapacitated, unproductive, he was in an isolated place, he was begging for help, his family must have deserted him; he was not regarded in his family and even in his community. When he had divine encounter, the reproach of blindness was removed completely from his life. Blindness affects the individual physically and deprives the fellow of a lot of opportunities in life.
Now apart from the physical blindness that makes the eyes closed and the person will not see or identify people and things around him, the enemy can also make an individual to be blind spiritually such that, the individual is hindered from becoming successful. For example, many people today; in their careers/businesses, Jobs, education, discovering of their talents and other areas of live are spiritually blind. For example if a person begins to change from one business to the other, when you get a job that is not satisfactory to you or you don't have any job even after searching for a long time, even when you have all the good qualification required for a good job; may be in your education, you studied a course out of your wish or you are been forced to go to school, it may be that you have not been able to discover the God's given talent or gift in you, it may be that the decision you have made over the past are affecting you negatively. When you are blind by the enemy, it becomes a reproach which gives room for criticism.
When you cannot meet up with your responsibilities, then you need divine encounter. When you are convinced that what you are, where you are and what you are going through in life are not in order, then all you need is divine encounter that will turn your life around from what people use to know to a new personality. I pray that every enemy that wants to blind you from seeing the possibility of your success shall be destroyed in Jesus' name. I want you to understand this; that when Jesus passed by and saw the man born blind, the disciples tried to ask him a question that could stop the man from having his encounter for a life time change.
In the book of John 9:2-3 "And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him". Jesus gave them a very good answer. Then Jesus made clay out of His spittle and anointed the eyes of the blind man and asked him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam and the man did as Jesus had instructed and behold he came seeing. I don't know what that reproach in your life is now. What I know is that the same God who manifested himself in the life of the Man born blind will manifest his power now and that disease or sickness will disappear, barrenness will be broken, that shackles of the enemy holding you captive from being a success in all your life endeavours shall be destroyed in the Mighty Name of Jesus'.
Naaman had a divine encounter when he met with Prophet Elisha and was cleansed of leprosy as recorded in the book of 2Kings 5:1- 19. In verse 1 "Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper". Naaman had a reproach which was leprosy. But a small girl that was brought as a servant in his house told him to go to the prophet in Samarian and he will recover him of his leprosy. So Naama went and met the prophet Elisha; and Elisha instructed him to go and wash in the River Jordan for seven times.
Now Naaman almost missed his divine encounter for a miracle because he was wroth at the prophet's instruction to wash himself in River Jordan; when there are Rivers that are better than river Jordan that he can go and wash? While he was contemplating on obeying the instruction of the prophet, another of his servant came and advised him to obey the prophet and do as he had instructed if that will solve his problem and Naaman listened to the servant. So he went and washed and behold Naaman was made whole of his leprosy. There are some things you should learn from these two people i.e the man born blind and Naaman the leper. After Jesus had restored the sight of the blind man; he was summoned by the people and asked who is he that healed him? and the man said He (Jesus) is a prophet.
Although the Jews had planned to put anyone who confess Jesus as Christ out of the synagogue but the blind man never mind that. Even when they spoke guile of Jesus, the bind man said in John 9:25 "He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see". So it is always good to be conscious of what we speak of people because you never can tell from whom you may have your own divine encounter.
Look at Naaman, after he was made whole of the leprosy, he went back to thank the prophet with some gifts. How many times have you decided to go and thank those who had done something good for you in the time past? It is always good to learn from these people whom God had done marvelous things in their lives in the days of old. Don't just read the Bible carnally.
