Sermon Tone Analysis

! Close Encounters Of The God Kind

!

Introduction

 

 

        The following is a true incident reported by Steve Whittle.

It was not reported until August 23, 1997, but it occurred on November 22, 1974, in Knoxville, Tennessee at 3:00 a.m. in the morning.

Mr. Whittle said, “I have always worked the night shift and I stay up all night long.

I walked to my back door and looked out at the snow on the ground and saw a shadow going across the ground.

Now normally I would not pay any attention to this, but this shadow was huge.

I walked outside and all I had on was a pair of shorts, because the house was hot.

I walked in the snow to the house next door, where my neighbor lived and he was also up.

I told him to come outside and look at what I was looking at.

He walked outside and said, “What in the h--- is that?”

I told him that I didn’t know.

We watched as it moved out of sight then we got in my car and followed it up the road for about 3 or 4 miles.

Then it shot up at a great rate of speed.

I don’t tell people about this too often and when I told family members about this they said I was crazy.

My cousin also saw the same thing.

He was out delivering newspapers that same morning.”

Whether you believe stories like these or not, they are becoming far too common place to simply ignore.

Stories about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO’s) and related phenomena are ubiquitous; i.e. they are everywhere.

·        What are these UFO’s?

·        Are they from outer space or inner space?

·        Are they government prototypes of experimental aircraft, extraterrestrial spacecraft, people’s imagination, or some type of demon manifestation?

Although these are very interesting questions, they are *not* what I want to talk about.

*What I want to talk about is the impact of these alleged encounters and experiences upon the people who report them!*

        *There is no doubt that for the majority of people, who report encountering a UFO, it is a life-changing experience.*

They have encountered and experienced something that they know is real and that will change their lives forever.

No amount of psychoanalysis, hypnotism, debriefing, counseling, etc., seems to be effective in convincing them that what they experienced was not real.

As a matter of fact these encounters had become so prevalent, even back in 1977, that an excellent movie was made about the phenomenon.

This movie was one of the most spectacular UFO science fiction films of all times.

It was entitled:  “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

It was directed by famous film director Stephen Spielberg, and was his first film after “Jaws,” which was released in 1975.

\\ In a memorable scene, a Muncie, Indiana blue-collar lineman, named Roy Neary, played by Richard Dreyfuss, was sent to investigate a power blackout.

On his way he had a life-transforming experience in his truck, at a railroad crossing.

While he was sitting there, he had an encounter with a UFO, which bathed his truck in brilliant light.

Soon after this, Roy meets others, including young single mother Jillian Guiler, played by Melinda Dillon and her son Barry, played by Cary Guffey, who have had a similar experience.

After he returned home, he became obsessed with the recurring image of the shape of a huge mountain (that he first sculpts in the shape of mashed potatoes) and five musical notes.

Meanwhile, in a spectacular special effects sequence at their home, Jillian and Barry experience their electrical appliances and toys out of control as aliens converge, and a UFO abducts the young boy.

The film concludes with the climactic sequence at Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming.

The monument is a huge extinct volcano, which, in the movie, is a secret landing site for UFO’s.

Jillian and Roy are mysteriously drawn there together.

There the first meeting with the alien visitors and scientists occurs, with breathtaking special effects and a sense of awe and wonder, as the immense alien mother ship appears.

It is a circular object with hundreds of illuminated windows.

The ship releases Barry and others who had been taken aboard.

After dozens of small aliens come off the ship, one other small alien debarks, and gives a message of love and goodwill to investigating scientists, via sign language.

The aliens then, out of many candidates, choose only Roy to accompany them back into space.

*Whether you believe in “Close Encounters of The Third Kind” or not, we must admit that these kinds of encounters have tremendous, life-changing impact on the people who profess them.*

These people are changed forever and believe that they have had encounters and experiences with extraterrestrials, i.e. alien life forms from other planets, star systems, or galaxies.

*I would like to suggest that we all need a close encounter with the supreme extraterrestrial:  Jehovah God!*  The word “extraterrestrial” means existing, taking place, or coming from outside the limits of this earth.

Jehovah God exists and proceeds forth from outside the limits of this earth.

Jehovah God is omnipotent, i.e. all-powerful; omnipresent, i.e. present everywhere at the same time; and omniscient, i.e. all-knowing.

*In every respect He transcends the limits of this earth and, as such, He is the supreme extraterrestrial!*

We need a “Close Encounter Of The *God* Kind.”

It seems that even as aliens initiate close encounters of the third kind, so God initiates close encounters of the God kind.

Don’t let that discourage you from seeking a close encounter with God.

UFO enthusiasts can’t make UFO encounters happen, but they can situate themselves in areas of high UFO activity.

Even so, we can’t make an encounter with God happen, but we can put ourselves in situations where God is likely to show up.

\\ Now many of us may wonder whether people who report encounters with UFO’s really believe what they are reporting.

And of course, there are some people in this group who are just mentally unstable.

But, on the contrary, there are many seemingly stable people who believe, with strong conviction, that something very real has happened to them—and I am inclined to agree with them.

I may disagree with their interpretation of the event, but *not* that something very real has happened to them.

And whatever it is that has happened to them, it has changed their lives forever!

*Likewise, when we have had a “Close Encounter Of The God Kind,” the experience will be so real that it will be life-changing.*

It will change our lives forever, and nobody will be able to convince us that what we experienced was *not* real.

*Too many people, who say that they know God, have never had a close encounter with God, or are unaware of the fact that they have had an encounter with God.*  Yes, they may have trusted Jesus as their personal Savior, they may have faithfully served Jesus, they may have read and studied the Bible, looked up words, become convinced of doctrines, done their doctoral thesis on God, etc., but they have *not* had a life-changing encounter with God.

The question is, “Why haven’t many believers had a ‘Close Encounter Of The God Kind?’

Why don’t believers seem to be aware of having ‘Close Encounters Of The God Kind?’”

One answer may be that they don’t know how to place themselves in situations where God is likely to show up?

I believe that is certainly a major problem, but there is another problem that I want to work on.

*Perhaps we don’t really know what constitutes a close encounter with God?  *If this is true, then some of us may have had a close encounter with God and don’t know it or may have had a close encounter with God that we short-circuited, because we didn’t know how to respond to that encounter.

If we are going to discuss “Close Encounters Of The God Kind,” we need to define what constitutes this kind of encounter.

(Well, to define a close encounter with God, let’s first define a close encounter with UFO’s.)

“A Close Encounter Of The Third Kind” is a face-to-face encounter with an unidentified flying object or other unidentified phenomenon that cannot be totally explained.

This encounter is an experience that changes the participant’s life, in some way, forever!

I would like to use this definition as a basis for defining a close encounter with God.

 

“A Close Encounter Of The God Kind” is a face-to-face encounter with God that cannot be totally explained.

This encounter is an experience that changes the participant’s life, in some way, forever!

 

\\ /(Let’s explore this more deeply.)/

*Let me state, early in this series, that I doubt that there are aliens.*

It seems that something that important would have been included in the Word of God.

And there doesn’t seem to be any biblical information about extraterrestrials.

I believe that these UFO phenomena are some type of satanic manifestations.

Nevertheless, I do believe that something real is happening to these people, and for the sake of this series let’s assume that there are aliens.

When aliens abduct a person, we really don’t know what the aliens want with that person.

We have *no* earthly idea why aliens have chosen to encounter human beings.

On the other hand, when God encounters a human being we have a pretty good idea what God is trying to accomplish through the encounter.

After reading through the Bible more than twenty times, spending a great deal of time studying the Bible, and growing in Christ over 38 years of Christian experience, I believe I have a good idea of what God wants in encountering human beings.

In keeping with His own sovereignty and grace, God encounters people to give them a God-sized assignment towards establishing and extending His kingdom.

These encounters are intended to facilitate genuine worship and change these people forever.

*Those who profess to have had an encounter with a UFO are changed forever, because they experienced the encounter with their whole person, i.e. body, soul, and spirit.*

They don’t just intellectually confront the data of the encounter.

Why?

It is because the encounter is not totally explainable.

Something happens so out of the ordinary, that it cannot be totally explained.

The encounter is not a study, but an experience!

Likewise, when we have an encounter with God, we are changed forever, because the encounter is not a study, but an experience with God.

We experience that encounter with our bodies, souls, and spirits—not just our intellects.

This kind of experience is not totally explainable.

Think of some of the face-to-face encounters with God in the Bible.

·        When God encountered Job, Job experienced that encounter with more than his intellect.

·        When God encountered Isaiah, Isaiah experienced that encounter with more than his intellect.