0:36 Alright, welcome. Good to see you. Familiar faces. I just I can tell there are new faces, but I'd like to see by by show of hands. Who's here for the first time?
0:47 Wow. That is incredible. Let me just show our appreciation for the first time. I'm Jason. I hope you got here safely.
0:59 I hope that, you have any suspicion in your heart. If you don't know me, my name is Daniel. I have the privilege and honor to speak to the word of God, this weekend, and I'm looking forward to it. I really am. I'm not going to be preaching a sermon tonight, but I do wanna exhort us in the word of God.
1:16 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 for what God has in store this weekend. Romans 15. Let's begin in verse 30. Romans fifteen thirty. Paul says to 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.
1:58 That I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints. So that by God's will, I may come to you with joy 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.
2:24 Notice what the Apostle Paul says, and it's an insight that's not just found in this verse, but throughout the New Testament. He says here that by God's will, which is important because he believed anything that he experienced was by permission from heaven. He said, by God's will, I want to come to you with joy, but notice, and be refreshed in your company. The New Testament teaches something quite amazing, and and this is it. That there is something unique in the company of believers.
2:57 And within that company is reserved a 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 indwelt by Jesus. And what's amazing here is that Paul is implying that by being 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.
3:41 And I don't have time 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. They have become so carnal and fleshly and selfish that when they came together, it was actually causing more grief than it would refreshment, which is quite telling about what we're capable of as believers in Jesus. But in this case, with the Roman Christians, Paul is convinced. If I make 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 with in a brief message.
4:25 That if we are to know something of refreshment, especially in a day where you can feel in the air that there is this, we'll get to it this weekend, but there is this sense of despair. There is a sense of things are not the same. There's a lack of peace. There's a lack of true joy and content. There's a lack of clarity.
4:47 This is this is needed. That's why I'm convinced that most of you are here at least, you believe that there's a refreshment here, but there is personal responsibility on behalf of each of us that will make that known. 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 will make this an electrifying weekend for your walk with the Lord? Okay? Let me tell you three things that's totally scriptural to be intentional with for this weekend.
5:25 Alright? Number one, be intentional to sing. Be intentional to sing. Last year we received some comments, nothing negative, 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 songs that we're not used to.
5:53 This is not really the the charts. This is not really popular. As a ministry, we are intentional about the songs that we sing. 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 Bible and ask you to come up with a theology of worship, praise, just on the scripture, I'm sure that you will come with a different conclusion than what is popular today.
6:28 Scripture is clear that when we sing, we're actually teaching. We see that in the New Testament. Ephesians five nineteen, we're 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 you're a worship leader, if you're part of the praise ministry at your local church, not in a rebellious way, but in your personal life first, I challenge you, if you were to strip the music away from the songs that you sing even in your personal life, would what you are saying be true according to the word of God?
7:03 Is is that what you would actually say to God? And is that what you would actually say to teach somebody else about God? I think if we use that filter alone, a lot of the songs that we sing that we think sound good, they might be with talented musicians and they might be popular, would not be our top choices of what we would sing. And so here's here's what's important. According to the New Testament, singing has the obvious primary role of glorifying and exalting God himself.
7:31 But very close to that, there is a mutual teachability that requires the entire corporate presence to participate in. 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 right.
7:58 I know that's really challenging because when you again go to the New Testament, what you see is that every person that comes into the door for an official meeting, where 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 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.
8:40 Because if you finish Ephesians five nineteen, what will you see? That we are to sing, yes, address one another, but also he says, to the Lord with a melody with your heart. With your heart. Opus. Volume.
9:03 That's what he's saying. The singing is not a dull experience, it should not be at ease. And here's what will happen if you train yourself in this. What will begin to happen is you're not gonna get the tingly tinglies when the bridge comes. You're not gonna get it when somebody does something, tricky or sweet or clever with the instruments.
9:22 What will happen is once you read those lyrics on the screen or on a sheet or however you read them, the truth will stir your heart. Amen. And you will you will explode based on the truth that you're rehearsing over yourself and over others. I wanna tell you some of the most healing moments in my personal walk with the Lord, being in meetings for years, for almost eleven years now, has been in the singing. Not to diminish preaching, we'll get to that in a moment, but the singing.
9:49 It's amazing how you can walk in with so much weight and so much thought into your mind, and not because the preacher says something, but that has a role in the meaning, but when the people with their booming voices cascade and declare the goodness of God, there is something so powerful in that, and we rob 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 intentional. I get it, it's difficult, I've been there. I look at a song, it comes up, I've never sang it, I've never heard it, and and it's difficult to participate.
10:27 And if there's any practical help with that, just jump in when you feel like you're comfortable and try to get in there as quickly as possible. And so when I see something and the chorus happens once or twice, I think I got it, and next time I'm gonna get in there. But let me say this, if you do know this song, why reserve your voice? Why hold back? There might be many reasons for that.
10:47 We'll get to that this weekend as well. Be intentional second. Be intentional about hearing the word of God. About hearing the word of God. Here here's what's been one of my personal joys of this particular conference.
11:02 I've been to different conferences, and the experience of the word of God being proclaimed has differed in those conferences. One of the joys of Maranatha every year is that I meet people who wanna be here for the word of God. And that's a testament because, you don't have to be here. You're grown adults most of you here. Right?
11:21 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 word of God. We have no incentive other than this is God's voice, and that should be the greatest incentive of all. And And so I'm not saying this because in years past, we've had to struggle getting people in here or people wander off or the intensity is not as strong as it it should be.
11:41 Actually, it's the opposite. We hear people who 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.
11:50 The enemy would love to hinder you in this weekend to receive God's word. He doesn't give up. Just because this ministry has a reputation of people who 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?
12:12 Come and receive God's word. They want to sleep in, let them sleep in. Come to receive God's word. Let me take it further. I love this.
12:20 In Exodus three, you don't have to turn there, but in Exodus three 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 manifestation of a bush that's burning but not consumed. And if you read verse three and four carefully, what you'll see is that very very specifically, the voice of God through that bush does not amplify until something happens. Actually, let me read it to you. Why? In Exodus chapter three, if you wanna see it in in your bibles, you can turn there with me because this has been a life changing principle in my life.
12:54 We see in Exodus three verse 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 to 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 an arrow and pierced my heart because this is what I take out of this. The wording is so strategic to imply that God did not choose to speak to Moses until he knew he had Moses' attention.
13:40 God chose not to speak to Moses until he first learned and 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 meetings we don't get anything is because of this very reason. We're a very distracted bunch. We're a very distracted people. And god, like this, waits for us to give the honor of our attention before He will make anything personal from His word to us.
14:14 So I encourage you, be intentional of coming in here and limiting and removing all the distractions. Can I tell you what I do when I come to a meeting? This me? Maybe you don't. You don't have to take it.
14:27 I'm not there to sit beside my friends. Like, this is not about friends, and I'm not there. We'll talk afterwards. We have a whole day after the meeting to Right? There's a wonderful feature.
14:41 It's I think it's in every iPhone. I'm not sure. It's called silent mode. It's glorious. It's wonderful.
14:50 It's probably the best feature of every phone. Try it. It will help a lot. I promise you. Be intentional to hear God's word.
14:59 These messages and these meetings have been prayed over with great intensity because we believe that we're living in unprecedented times. This is not the meetings are not a secondary perk to this. The very reason why we're doing this weekend is so that you would know something of a special touch from the lord through his word being proclaimed in Psalm. Lastly, be intentional about true fellowship. We also organized this weekend so that you would know true fellowship.
15:26 We know people people have met their wives here, people have met their husbands here, People have met lifelong friends here. That's awesome. That's wonderful. I mean, when when people say that, they're almost like they say it as this negative thing. That is not a negative thing.
15:40 Where else would you wanna 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 wrote to the Romans, he was not writing to a group of preachers and evangelists.
15:55 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, am 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 who also chose to be here, I hope, for sanctified reasons.
16:26 Come to the prayer meetings. We have prayer meetings. Join 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.
16:38 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 here alone. They're staying at a hotel.
16:46 They're here without knowing anybody. That can be daunting. And let me say this. If that's you, please, I wanna meet you. Come up after one of these meetings.
16:54 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.
17:05 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.
17:30 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 the grace to be with the Roman believers. We believe it is by your will that every person is here for this weekend.
18:02 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 it's not in experiences that we can purchase with money. Lord, true refreshment is in the redeemer, and thank you that that truth expands into those that you indwell.
18:25 We ask, Lord, no matter how we came in this weekend, we ask, Lord, that you would truly refresh us. We are in need of it. We wanna 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 would try to disrupt what you plan to do in our hearts?
18:46 And, Lord, may we leave here glorifying you, realizing that you have truly filled us afresh with the Holy Spirit. This is our desire and our cry. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Can we stand?
19:01 I believe we have a few more songs.
