All right, welcome, good to see you familiar faces.
I just, I can tell their new face but I'm like to see by a
show of hands. Who's here for the first time.
Wow, that's incredible. We just show up to Jesus.
I hope you got here. Safely, I hold very dry.
You have energy, squishing heart.
If you don't know me, my name is Daniel.
I have the privilege and honor to speak the word of God this
weekend, and I'm looking forward to it.
I really am. I'm not going to preach a sermon
tonight, but I do want to exhort Us in the word of God.
And so, if you do have a Bible in your hands, I encourage you
to turn with me to the Book of Romans in chapter 15 just for a
couple of verses that will hopefully help us be prepared
for what What God has in store this weekend, Romans 15.
Let's begin in verse 30. Romans 15:30, Paul says, through
the Roman Christians of this time, I appeal to you Brothers
by our Lord Jesus Christ. And by the love of the spirit to
strive together, with me, in your prayers, to God on my
behalf that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea
that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the same,
so that by God's will, I may come to you.
Enjoy and be refreshed in your company.
May the god of peace be with you all?
Amen. I want.
I want to draw your attention to the last few words.
In verse 32, notice what the Apostle Paul says and it's an
inside, that's not just on that this verse, but throughout the
New Testament, he says, here that by God's will which is
important because you believe anything that he experienced,
was my permission from heaven. He said by God's.
Well I want to come to you with joy but notice and be refreshed
in your company. The New Testament teaches
something quite amazing. And this is big that there is
something unique in the company of Believers and within that
company is reserved particular Supernatural refreshment.
That does something tangible in your soul.
Now, notice this is not speaking about Jesus.
This is speaking about those who are indwelled by Jesus.
And what's amazing here is that Paul is implying that bye.
In the presence of these Roman Christians.
There would be an injection of Supernatural strength, courage.
That would be enjoyable in the process of that Fellowship.
It would be dishonest for me to say that if you come into a room
filled with professing Christians, that this experience
of refreshment is automatic, I don't have to prove that to you,
but if you trust me to say this, if you go to First Corinthians
11, what you will see is that Paul actually told that church,
when you guys come together, it's actually worse.
It had become so carnal and fleshly and selfish that Wendy
came together. It was actually causing more
grief than it would refreshment, which is quite talented about
what we're capable of as Believers in Jesus.
But in this case, with the Roman Christians, Paul is convinced if
I made my way there, he's never met them before.
If I make my way into your presence, I know I will be
refreshed but that will require something.
Mutual And this is what I want to exhort you within a brief
message. Then if we are to know something
of refreshment, especially in the day, where you can feel it
in the air that there is, this will get to in this weekend.
But there's this sense of Despair, there's a sense of
things are not the same. There's a lack of peace, there's
a lack of true join Contender. There's a lack of clarity.
This is this is needed. That's why I'm convinced that
most of you here at least you believe that there is refreshing
here. But there is personal
responsibility on behalf of each of us that will make that know
the full potential of this refreshment is many things.
But can I just give you three things that I would like to
place into your hands that will? If you are willing to say yes
to, if you are willing to contribute to will make this an
electrifying weekend for your walk with the Lord, Let me tell
you three things, that's totally scriptural to be intentional
with for this weekend. All right.
Number one, be intentional to sing.
Be intentional to sing last year.
We received some comments, nothing - but just comments of
observation that we sing some songs that are not common in the
millennial. Demographic, not common and it's
mainly hymns. And there's some songs that
we're not used to doing this is not really in the charts.
This is not really popular as a Ministry.
We are intentional about the songs that we sang meaning, we
screen songs to the best of our ability, and we study them
before we sing them. And that's important because if
I were to just give you the Mindful and asked you to come
up, Geology of worship, praise. Just on the scripture.
I'm sure that you will come with a different conclusion than what
is popular today. Scripture is clear that when we
sing, we're actually teaching. We see that new testament.
Ephesians, 5:19, were told to address one another in Psalms,
and hymns, and spiritual songs. And so, I want to challenge you
with something Beyond this weekend, if your worship leader
of your part of the praise, mr. Your local church, not in a
rebellious way, but in your personal life, first I challenge
you, if you went to strip the music away from the songs that
you sing even in your personal life, when what you are saying,
be true. According to the word of God.
Is that what you would actually say?
To God and is that what you would actually say to teach
somebody else about guy? I think, if we use that filter
alone, a lot of the songs that we've seen that, we think sound
good. It might be with talented
musicians, and they might be popular, would not be our top
choices of what we would say. And so here's, here's what's
important. According to the New Testament,
singing has always primary role of glorifying and exalting God
himself, but very close to that. There is a mutual teachability.
Leti, that requires the entire corporate presence to
participate. So worship is not a band
performing. It's not, it's not, that's not
lined up with the word of God. In fact, I'll take it even
further if this overpowers the voices of the people we're not
doing worship Ray. I know it's really challenging
because when you didn't go to the New Testament, what you see
is that every person that comes into the door for an official
meeting, When we come in the name of Jesus, every person is
coming with a voice with their personal voice.
And so here's what will happen if we actually take that
seriously and it's really powerful actually, if we
individually make a willful decision to sing, then we will
know the full potential of the sanctifying effects that God has
intended for praise and worship, which means something else.
Because the first step of making sure we're saying the right
things to God and to other people about God is only the
first step is if you finish infusions 5:19, what will you
see that? To sink.
Yes, address one, another. But also he says to the Lord
with a Melody, with your heart, with your heart, - volume.
That's what he's saying. It the singing is not a dull
experience, it should not be at least and here's what will
happen. If you train yourself in this,
what will begin to happen is, you're not going to get that
tingly tingly, he's when the bridge comes.
You're not going to get it when somebody does something tricky
or sweet or clever with the instruments.
What will happen is once you read those lyrics, on the screen
on a sheet around reviewing them, the truth will stare your
heart and you will you will explode based on the truth that
you're rehearsing over yourself and over others.
I want to tell you some of the most healing moments in my
personal walk with the Lord, being meetings for years for
almost 11 years now has been in the singing not to diminish.
Screeching, we'll get to that moment but this singing it's a,
it's amazing, how you can walk in with so much weight and so
much thoughts in mind. Not because the preacher says
something that has a role in the meeting.
But when the people with their booming, voices, Cascade and
declare, the goodness of God, there is something so powerful
in that, and we robbed all of us of that experience.
When we leave it to a few people to sing over us.
And So be intentional about singing be intent on.
I get it's difficult, I've been there.
I look at a song comes up. I've never sang it.
Have never heard it and it's difficult to participate.
At the same, time to go out with that, just jump in when you feel
like you're comfortable and try to get in there as quickly as
possible. So, when I see something in the
course happens once or twice, I think I got it.
And next time, I'm going to get in there.
But let me say this, if you doing all this, why?
I reserve your voice, why? Hold back.
There might be many reasons for that.
We'll get to that this weekend is well-being, tension.
While singing second, be intentional about hearing the
word, god. About hearing the word of God
here. Here's what's been one of my
personal joys of this particular conference.
I've been to different conferences and the experience
of the word of God being proclaimed has different in
those conferences. One of the joys of Maranatha.
Every year, is that I mean, people who want to be here for
the word of God, and that's a testament because you don't have
to be your grown adults, most significant, right?
And we don't have rules and we don't play tricks for you to get
in here. We don't have any prizes and
stuff. That's for a different thing,
but not for you to get to the work that we have no incentive
other than this is God's voice and I should be the greatest
incentive along. And so I'm not saying this
because in years past, we've had to struggle getting people in
here or people wander off and then tens is not as strong as it
should be. Actually, it's the opposite.
We hear people come just for the meetings and they drive very,
very far. That's very, very encouraging.
But nonetheless, you never know every year is different.
The enemy would love to hinder you in this weekend to receive
God's work. He doesn't give up just because
this ministry has a reputation of people would love to hear the
word of God, especially in these.
Last days, I wouldn't be surprised if the obstacles would
be very strong. And so be aware of that and be
mindful of that. Who cares?
If your friends don't want to come come and receive God's
work? They want to sleep in, let them
sleep in, come to receive God's work, but let me take it for, I
love this and I just finished three gone to turn there, but in
Exodus 3, we read when Moses is there in the wilderness.
And the angel of the Lord appears in the bush and becomes
a manifestation, a strange kind of position of a bush that's
burning but not consumed. And if you read verse 3 and 4
carefully, what you see is that very, very specifically, the
voice of God knew that bush. There's not amplify until
something happens actually moving into point and actually
is chapter 3. If you want to see you in your
Bibles, you can turn there with me because this has been a
life-changing principle in my life.
We see an exodus three. And Moses said, I will turn
aside to see this great sight. Why the bush is not burned.
When the Lord saw that, he turned aside to see God called
him out of the Bush, Moses Moses and he said, here, I am.
I read this and it dawned on me, one particular, night years ago,
in my own personal reading, and it shot out like a narrow and
pierced my heart because this is what I take out of this.
The wording is so strategic imply that God did not choose to
speak to Moses until he knew. He had Moses attention.
God chose not to speak to Moses until he first learned at saw
that Moses turned around and gave his full attention to the
manifestation of God. I think, the reason why most
meetings don't hit our hearts and most times in our personal
meaning, we don't get anything is because of this very reason
we're very distracted punch. We're very distracted people,
and God like this. Waits for us to give the honor
of our attention to before he will make anything personal from
his word to us. So I encourage your be intention
of coming in here and limiting and removing all the
distractions. Can I tell you what I do, when I
come to me this mean, maybe you don't, you don't have to take
it. I'm not there to sit beside my
friends. Like this is not about friends
and I'm not there. I will talk afterwards.
We have a whole day after the meeting to be able to hang out.
But in this moment right here, I need to hear from the Lord.
I want to hear from the Lord is a wonderful feature.
Its, if I think it's an every iPhone, I'm not sure.
It's called silent mode. Its glorious, it's wonderful.
It's probably the best feature of every phone.
Try. It will help a lot that promise,
the intentional to hear God's work.
These messages and these meetings have been prayed over
with great intensity because we believe that we're living in
unprecedented times, this isn't the meetings are not a secondary
perk to this very reason why we're doing this weekend so that
you would know something of the Special Touch from the Lord
through his word being proclaimed.
In some Lastly, be intentional about True Fellowship.
We also organize this weekend so that you would know, True
Fellowship. We know people even people at
their wives here people that their husbands here, people have
met lifelong friends here. That's awesome.
That's wonderful. I mean when people say that
they're almost like, they say it as a negative thing, that is not
a negative thing. Where else would you want to
find a spouse? Other than someone who came for
a weekend to hear God's word? Amen.
That's wonderful friends. Amen.
But here's the thing, when Paul Row two.
The Romans, he was not writing to a group of preachers and
evangelists. He was, he was writing to a
group of Christians that if you just go to the next chapters,
you get an idea of who they were woman men, young and old.
And to this group of people, he was saying, I can't wait to be
in your midst because through your company.
I the great Apostle, Paul, and greatly refreshed.
Take advantage of this weekend where you're outside of your
normal schedule and curriculum and you're with a bunch of
people, also chose to be your, I hope for Sanctified reasons.
Come to the prayer meetings, we have prayer meetings, joined the
activities. Let people sit at your table at
lunch and dinner that are not the people that you hang out
with. When you go back home, be open,
be sensitive. There are some people here as
you saw for the first time that are stepping foot on this
grounds, they took a plane, they flew Alone.
They're staying at a hotel there here, without knowing anybody,
that can be daunting, and let me say this, if that's you, please,
I want to meet you come up. After one of these meetings, I
would love to shake your hand. I would love to, at least, say
hello and get to know your name, but for everybody else, let your
heart be open to other people. You know what that means?
It means it's okay to approach somebody and say, hi.
It's okay when somebody says, hi to you to ask some questions
about who they are and where they're from, you'd be amazed to
know how you can be blessed by them and how they can be blessed
by you. There's something special that
God has reserved for this weekend, based on the simple
principle of what we just read in Romans.
But it will require some intentionality and so strive for
that and you will leave here, knowing knowing this
refreshment, I can guarantee you that.
So as we close, let's just pray and ask God to help us, shall
we? And let's Implement what?
These words have offered us. Lord.
We really thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
For what you have planned for each of us as Paul believed that
it was, the will of God Alone, that would give him the grace to
be with the Roman Believers. We believe it is by your will
that every person is here for this weekend, we have no doubt
about it. Father, we ask that you would
truly make this a time of refreshing.
We confess that true refreshment is not in vacations.
It's not in experiences that we can purchase with money or true.
Freshman is in the Redeemer and thank you.
That that truth expands into those that you and well, we ask
Lord no matter how we came in this weekend, we ask Lord that
you would truly refresh as we are in need of it.
We want to drink deeply from The Well of your wisdom and Truth
and Love and so Lord may you push back.
All schemes of Satan, would you cancel all the things that we
try to disrupt? What you plan to do in our
hearts and Lord may we leave here?
Glorifying you, realizing that you have truly filled as a fresh
with the Holy Spirit. This is our desire in our crime
in Jesus name, amen. Can we stand?
I believe we have few more songs.