Encounter! Receive Christ’s
Freedom
Session 1:
Encountering God
Preparation for the Encounter
with God
• Exodus 33-34 tells the story of Moses and
his encounter with God on Mt. Sinai.
When looking at his story we discover
principles for encountering God.
Expectation
• Moses hungered to know God. He didn’t
want to lead God’s people without God’s
presence. Scripture says in Exodus 33:18:
“Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your
glory.’”
Expectation
• What do you want to happen at this
Encounter in your own life? In your
relationship with God?
– Some desire power to overcome problems and
vices.
– Others might want a complete change of
heart—a recommitment to God.
Expectation
• Think of your expectations as prayers
offered to God. He will surprise you by
answering them in a far greater way than
you expect. Ephesians 3: 20 says, “Now to
him who is able to do immeasurably more
than all we ask or imagine, according to his
power that is at work within us.”
Participation
• God asked Moses to get ready for the
encounter. He said to Moses in
Exodus 34:1-2, “Be ready in the
morning, and then come up on Mount
Sinai. Present yourself to me there on
top of the mountain.”
Participation
• God asks us to get ready to meet Him. He
wants us to prepare to present ourselves to
Him.
– God said to Jeremiah, “You will seek me and find
me when you seek me with all your heart”
(Jeremiah 29:13).
– Jesus is willing and desirous to cleanse us and heal
us. In Matthew 8:2 says, “A man with leprosy 
came
and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing,
you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand
and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be
clean!” Immediately he was cured 
of his leprosy.”
Participation
• You’ll take away from the Encounter as much
as you allow God to work. He simply wants you
to seek Him and humble yourself before Him.
Intimacy and Privacy
• God wants to work in the hidden areas of your
life. He said to Moses in Exodus 34:3: “No
one is to come with you or be seen anywhere
on the mountain; not even the flocks and
herds may graze in front of the mountain”
Intimacy and Privacy
• God already knows everything about you.
Hebrews 4:13 says, “Nothing in all creation is
hidden from God’s sight. Everything is
uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of
him to whom we must give account.”
• At this encounter, you won’t be forced to
confess anything publicly. The encounter is
principally between you and God, since you
will ultimately give an account to Him (1
Corinthians 4:3-4).
General Guidelines for the
Encounter
• Remain for the entire retreat. Each lesson
builds on the previous one.
• Minimize contact with the outside world. Don’t
use your cell phone unless it’s an emergency
(e.g., children calling, etc.)
• Respect Confidences. Personal information
shared at this retreat should not be
communicated with others outside the retreat.
• Avoid Legalism. Don’t do or say anything that
you don’t feel comfortable with.
Building an altar at this Retreat
• God has expectations and objectives for
us this weekend. Scripture says in Isaiah
55:9: “As the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts.”
The purpose of God
• In Genesis we find the story of a man named
Abram (Abraham). God gave Abraham two key
promises:
• To make Abraham a great nation (Genesis
12:1-3). The LORD said to Abram, “Leave your
country, your people and your father’s
household and go to the land I will show you. “I
will make you into a great nation and I will bless
you; I will make your name great, and you will
be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse; and all
peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
The Purpose of God
• To prosper Abraham and give him the land
(Genesis 13: 14-17):The LORD said to Abram
after Lot had parted from him, “Lift up your eyes
from where you are and look north and south,
east and west. 
All the land that you see I will give
to you and your offspring 
forever. 
I will make your
offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if
anyone could count the dust, then your offspring
could be counted. Go, walk through the length
and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
The Purpose of God
• God’s ultimate purpose for your own life is
blessings and prosperity. God says, “For I
know the plans I have for you, declares the
Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm
you, plans to give you hope and a future”
(Jeremiah 29:11). Like Abraham, God has
plans of blessing and peace for your life. Since
the moment you were conceived, God had a
plan and purpose for you.
Sealing God’s promises
• When Abraham heard God’s promises, he
reacted by building an altar to honor God.
• Genesis 12:8 says, “From there he (Abraham)
went on toward the hills east of Bethel and
pitched his tent. . . There he built an altar to the
Lord and called on the name of the Lord”
Sealing God’s promises
• On another occasion, Genesis 13:18 says, “So
Abram moved his tents and went to live near
the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he
built an altar to the Lord.”
• The altar was a group of stones that
represented the response of Abraham to the
promises of God.
Sealing God’s promises
• In our times, we don’t pile up stones to build an
altar, but we should respond to God’s work and
promises in a special way. To build an altar
tonight means:
– To come with hope and faith to God.
– To respond to His promises and words for your life
– To present your expectations before God and
believe that He will answer
Ask God to do something special
in your life
• God is in the business of changing lives
for the better. Scripture gives us many
examples of God transforming people.
Jacob
• Jacob’s life was full of deception and
disappointment. When he was about to meet
his brother who he thought wanted to kill him,
Jacob had an encounter with God. Genesis
32:30: “So Jacob called the place Peniel,
saying, “It is because I saw God face to face,
and yet my life was spared.”
• Jacob’s encounter changed his identity
(Genesis 32:28) and gave him a new
perspective (Genesis 33:10).
The woman at Samaria
• The woman at Samaria had a sinful past
that hung over her. At the moment of her
encounter with Jesus, her life was in
disarray (John 4:17-18).
• Her encounter with Jesus transformed
her. Scripture says, “Many of the
Samaritans from that town believed in Him
because of the woman’s testimony” (John
4:39-42).
King David
• David, the king of Israel, refused to encounter
God and suffered for it. In a state of
unconfessed sin (i.e., adultery and murder),
he said, “When I kept silent, my bones
wasted away through my groaning all day
long. For day and night your hand was heavy
upon me; my strength was sapped as in the
heat of summer” (Psalm 32:3,4).
• But David finally did ask God to work deeply
in his life. “Then I acknowledged my sin to
you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I
will confess my transgressions to the Lord”—
and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm
32: 5).
King David
• David’s encounter with God was honest and
transparent, “Wash away all my iniquity and
cleanse me from sin. For I know my
transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done
what is evil in your sight. Cleanse me with
hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will
be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and
gladness; let the bones you have crushed
rejoice.” (Psalm 51:1-3,7-8)
• David experienced God’s grace and
acceptance. He said, “The sacrifices of God
are a 
broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise”(Psalm 51:17).
Everyone needs to have an
Encounter with God
• Like Jacob, perhaps you need to leave
your past behind, change your identity,
and transform your character
• Like the Samaritan woman, perhaps you
need healing of wounds, emotional
stability, and a change of reputation.
• Like David, perhaps you need a new
heart, a new spirit, and the joy of
forgivness.
God wants to heal you
• God desires to heal your addictions,
unforgiveness, bondages, curses, negative
experiences of childhood, and guilt.
ONLY AS WE ARE FREE FROM THE WEIGHT
OF SIN AND PAST HURTS CAN WE BEGIN TO
SOAR LIKE THE EAGLE TO NEW HEIGHTS
OF VICTORY AND POWER
“let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin
that so easily entangles, and let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix
our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our
faith” (Hebrews 12: 1-2)
Getting away to find God
• It’s interesting that. . .
– Jacob was outside of his own setting when he
found God
– The Samaritan woman and her friends found Christ
outside her own town.
– Abraham, Moses, and Paul encountered God
outside of their natural environment
– We also have come away to encounter God.
Getting away to find God
• Here at this retreat is your Peniel
– It’s a place to find God:
– It’s a place where you can confront yourself , your
reality, your sin
– It’s a place where you can see God face to face and
receive the blessing of forgiveness and healing for
your soul
Ministry time
(alone and as group)
• Each person takes a few moments
individually to write down what they want
to receive from this Encounter
• Time of worship as a group
– Spend time between songs, waiting on God
and listening for what He wants you to learn
at this retreat
– Praise and prayer as a group