Stewarding Encounters: A Study Guide

This study guide is designed to help you review and deepen your understanding of the sermon "Stewarding Encounters: How to Possess Gates

Preacher: Pr. Mercy Guma
Date: Sunday, 31st August 2025

I. Key Concepts and Themes

The sermon centers around several interconnected themes:

• Encounters with God: These are presented as divine gifts and pivotal moments that lead to personal transformation, spiritual growth, and a deeper understanding of God's will. They can manifest as visions, dreams, visitations, or profound revelations through the Word.

• Stewarding Encounters: This refers to the responsible and intentional management of the divine revelations and experiences received from God. Proper stewardship involves active engagement, preparation, and application of the encountered truth.

• Possessing Gates: This concept is presented both literally and metaphorically.

• Literal: Taking control of physical cities or territories.

• Metaphorical: Gaining authority and influence over spiritual strongholds, life circumstances, destinies, and even the "gates" of one's own senses (eye gate, ear gate, mouth gate, skin gate).

• Inheritance vs. Force: The sermon highlights a shift from Old Covenant methods of possessing gates (by force) to New Covenant methods (by inheritance through Jesus Christ).

• The Presence of God: Emphasized as essential for possessing gates and stewarding encounters. The Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament serves as a type for the indwelling Holy Spirit in the New Testament believer.

• Preparation and Vigilance: Encounters require preparation of the heart and mind. Maintaining possession of gates requires constant vigilance, prayer, and "manning" one's spiritual gates against unrighteous influences.

• Encounters as Catalysts: Encounters are not ends in themselves but serve as catalysts for further hunger for God, personal transformation, and becoming an "encounter" for others, leading to widespread evangelism and lineage transformation.

II. Biblical Examples and References

The sermon draws heavily on several biblical narratives to illustrate its points:

• Abraham (Genesis 22:15-17): His encounter with God after offering Isaac, leading to the promise that his descendants would "possess the gates of their enemies." This illustrates possession by inheritance.

• Joshua and Jericho (Joshua 1:10-11, Chapter 2, Chapter 6): The preparation required before entering the Promised Land, the spying of the land, Rahab's encounter with the spies, and the unique strategy for taking Jericho through praise and the presence of God.

• Rahab (Joshua Chapter 2): Her encounter with the spies, her act of stewarding, and how it saved her household and brought her into the lineage of Jesus.

• Uzzah (2 Samuel Chapter 6): His mishandling of the Ark of the Covenant, demonstrating the importance of reverently handling God's presence.

• David and Bathsheba: Used as an example of being outside the presence of the Lord, leading to spiritual vulnerability and sin.

• Moses and the Rock: Used to illustrate that different encounters and situations may require different responses and strategies from God.

• Paul (Saul) on the Road to Damascus: An encounter that transformed an persecutor into an apostle, leading to the gospel reaching the Gentiles.

• The Woman at the Well: Her encounter with Jesus led her to evangelize her entire city.

• Ephesians Chapter 6 (Armor of God): The call to "stand" and be "fully equipped" to wrestle against spiritual principalities and powers, emphasizing continuous readiness and guarding one's gates.

• Joel (Prophecy of the Holy Spirit): Referenced in relation to Acts Chapter 2 and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

• Isaiah Chapter 6: Isaiah encountering God in the temple, hearing heavenly conversations.

III. Practical Applications and Calls to Action

The sermon provides several calls to action for the listener:

• Prepare for Encounters: Be expectant and intentionally prepare your heart to receive from God.

• Steward Encounters Properly: Do not take divine revelations lightly. Act on them, remember them, and allow them to transform you.

• Guard Your Gates Violently: Be diligent in controlling what enters through your eye, ear, mouth, and skin gates to protect your spiritual integrity and the presence of God within you.

• Be Prayerful: Engage in deep, intercessory prayer to understand God's heart and receive strategy for spiritual warfare.

• Become an Encounter for Others: Allow your transformation to be a testament to Jesus, leading others to encounter Him through you.

• Increase Your Hunger: Encounters should not lead to complacency but to an increased desire for more of God.

• Remain Constantly Ready: Live in a state of spiritual preparedness, understanding that spiritual warfare is ongoing.

Quiz: Stewarding Encounters

Instructions: Answer each question in 2-3 sentences.

1. What does the sermon define as a "gate" both physically and spiritually?

2. How does the sermon differentiate between possessing gates in the Old Covenant versus the New Covenant?

3. Why is "preparation" emphasized as crucial for receiving an encounter with God?

4. According to the sermon, how did Rahab's "stewarding" of her encounter lead to her salvation?

5. What does the example of Uzzah and the Ark of the Covenant teach us about handling the presence of God?

6. Explain the concept of "manning your gate" in the context of one's senses (e.g., eye gate, ear gate).

7. How does the sermon connect prayer to the concept of possessing gates and receiving strategy?

8. Why are encounters described as being "for souls" and having the power to "preserve destinies"?

9. What is the ultimate outcome or purpose of properly stewarding an encounter, according to the sermon?

10. How does the sermon use the analogy of "putting on the whole armor of God" to emphasize readiness in spiritual warfare?

Answer Key

1. Physically, a gate is a place of entry and exit, a large structure guarding a city. Spiritually, a gate represents access, judgment, justice, counsel, and a point of control over a city or even one's life and senses.

2. In the Old Covenant, possessing gates was often done by "force." In the New Covenant, believers possess gates by "inheritance" through Jesus Christ, who has already secured all victory for us.

3. Preparation is crucial because it readies the heart to receive God's revelations and gifts. Without preparation, one might miss or take lightly the divine encounter, hindering its transformative power.

4. Rahab stewarded her encounter by hiding and protecting the Israelite spies, the "people of God." Her act of faith and care for them led to her and her household being saved during the destruction of Jericho, demonstrating the life-saving power of encounter stewardship.

5. The example of Uzzah teaches that the presence of God (symbolized by the Ark) is not to be handled lightly or with human efforts where divine instructions are not followed. Mishandling God's presence can have severe consequences and can cause one to "lose a city."

6. "Manning your gate" means vigilantly guarding what you allow to enter through your senses. This includes being careful about what you see (eye gate), what you hear (ear gate), what you say (mouth gate), and what you touch (skin gate), ensuring these align with God's presence.

7. Prayer is connected to possessing gates because it allows individuals to sit with the Lord, hear His heart, and receive specific "strategy" or "rules of engagement." This divine guidance is essential for knowing how to "attack" or "approach" spiritual challenges and possess territories.

8. Encounters are "for souls" because God uses them to reveal Himself, transform lives, and lead people to salvation. They also preserve destinies by shifting individuals into a divine lineage and enabling them to intercede for others' spiritual well-being.

9. The ultimate outcome of properly stewarding an encounter is to not only possess gates (spiritual authority and influence) but also to be transformed personally, increase one's hunger for God, and become a living "encounter" for others, leading to widespread revelation of Jesus.

10. The analogy of "putting on the whole armor of God" emphasizes that spiritual readiness is not a one-time event but a continuous state. Believers must always be equipped and vigilant, actively "walking in" their spiritual armor to withstand spiritual attacks and guard their gates effectively.

IV. Glossary of Key Terms

• Encounter: A divine appointment or experience with God that brings revelation, transformation, and a deeper understanding of His will. Can manifest as dreams, visions, or visitations.

• Stewarding Encounters: The responsible, intentional, and active management and application of the revelations and experiences received during an encounter with God.

• Possessing Gates: Gaining authority, control, or influence over spiritual strongholds, territories, life circumstances, or even one's personal senses. Metaphorically, it implies taking charge of areas of life.

• Gates (Physical): Large structures representing entry, exit, and defense of a city, often serving as places of judgment, justice, counsel, and proclamation.

• Gates (Spiritual): Access points or vulnerabilities in one's life or spirit through which influences (good or bad) can enter. Examples include eye gate, ear gate, mouth gate, and skin gate.

• Inheritance: In the New Covenant context, possessing spiritual blessings and authority as a direct result of Jesus Christ's work on the cross, making believers co-heirs with Him.

• Force (Old Covenant): The method of taking possession, often involving direct conflict or conquest, prevalent in Old Testament narratives.

• Jehovah Gyra: One of the names of God, meaning "The Lord will provide." Revealed to Abraham after his willingness to sacrifice Isaac.

• Ark of the Covenant: In the Old Testament, a sacred chest symbolizing the tangible presence of God among His people. Its handling required strict adherence to divine instructions.

• Manning Your Gate: Actively guarding and controlling what one allows to enter or exit through their physical and spiritual senses, thereby protecting their heart and the presence of God within.

• Watchmen: Individuals appointed to stand guard, observe, and protect a city or spiritual territory, often requiring prayer, strategy, and vigilance.

• Loin-Girding: A biblical metaphor for preparation and readiness for action, literally meaning to pull up and tie one's loose garments to move freely.

• Lineage of Jesus: The ancestral line through which Jesus descended, into which individuals (like Rahab) can be grafted through faith and encounter, regardless of their original background.

• Rules of Engagement: Specific, divinely given instructions or strategies for how to approach and overcome particular spiritual battles or challenges.

• Armor of God (Ephesians 6): A spiritual metaphor for the complete set of divine provisions (e.g., righteousness, truth, faith, salvation, the Word of God) that believers must "put on" and "walk in" to stand firm against spiritual forces.

You can watch the full sermon here: