As we prepare for this year I have been praying about what messages I should share with you that I preached last year. The message I share with you today, entitled, “The Importance of Worship,” is a message that came at the end of a 30 day fast where our church met every night for an hour of worship. The 30 days of worship truly helped me get ready for the year. As I share this message with you, I pray it helps you get ready for this year.
1) The Lord Speaks to You
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Through the Holy Spirit
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In Prayer
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Through a Prophetic Word
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Through the Word of God
(Mat 6:10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
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It ALL starts with SEEING and HEARING.
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Nothing happens without you first hearing from Heaven.
2) You have to Believe it
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You will never BE what you cannot SEE.
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Your feet will never take you where your eyes have never been.
3) You have to Activate Your Faith for it
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Faith requires action.
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This is when you cross the faith line.
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Faith agrees with heaven.
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*** Not so IT CAN happen, but because IT ALREADY HAS happened!
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In Heaven it has ALREADY HAPPENED!
4) The Grace Factor
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Everything God gives you, He gives you by grace.
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You are not earning it, because He gave it to you before the Foundations of the world.
These scriptures remind you that you are NOT a mistake:
(Jer 1:5 KJV) Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
(Ps 139:15,16 MSG) You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.
(Isa 49:1 NLT) Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away! The LORD called me before my birth; from within the womb He called me by name.
(Rom 8:28,29 NLT) And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
What is faith?
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Faith is the connection between heaven and earth. The only way you can connect with heaven is faith.
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Faith brings the beyond to the here and now.
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There is nothing, that is in heaven, that is revealed to you, that faith can’t bring.
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Faith causes the two worlds (heaven and earth) to merge!
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Faith is the merging between the invisible and the visible.
(2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NCV)
So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory that is much greater than the troubles. We set our eyes NOT on what we see BUT on what we CANNOT see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last FOREVER.
5) While You wait your FAITH must be IN GOD!
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You may think you know the What (but His what is often better than your what)
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You won’t know when (unless He tells you)
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You won’t know how (unless He reveals it to you)
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But you better know WHO!
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Never be confused about the WHO!
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Paul said, “I know whom I have believed.”
6) ***Worship helps you get the WHOLE PROCESS STARTED!***
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Nothing happens until you hear from Heaven!
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In worship you get a foretaste of heaven.
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When I hear from heaven I can:
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Believe
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Release my faith
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Wait with expectation
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Now that I know my faith must be in God, then I can freely worship!
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And I am to WORSHIP, even when I am not believing God for anything!
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I worship Him, because without Him I would not have life, I would not have purpose, I would not have grace, I would not have Jesus, I would not have salvation, I would not have anything!
*** How do you know when you have entered into true worship? Here’s the answer: when you are no longer conscious of yourself or what you were thinking about (cares, concerns, what you need to do later, etc.) before you started worshipping. Once you cross that threshold you get to the place where the supernatural can be released in your life.
(Read Isaiah 6:1-9 NLT)
*** True Worship brings about Repentance ***
*** True Worship releases Revelation!!! ***
*** True Worship takes you into the Presence of the Lord ***
*** You experience the Glory of God in the Presence of the Lord! ***
Before I close I want to share the link to the video of this message. If you have the time, watch the message, it will bless you. Here is the link:
The Importance of Worship from Rick Pina on Vimeo.
Closing Confession: Father, I know You made plans for me before the foundations of the world, by Your undeserved and amazing grace. Before I was Born-Again I had no way of truly knowing what I was born to do. But now that I am Born-Again, You have placed Your Spirit in me, to reveal Your Kingdom plans and purposes to me, so that I may know what You have freely given me by Your grace. As You reveal Your plans to me, I declare that I am quick to believe them, no matter how big they seem. I expand my capacity to believe You, to the point where I am open for whatever You want to do in my life. I am a believer and not a doubter. I live by faith and not fear. As You show me things and I believe them, I position myself to access them through the vehicle of faith. I know You have already given me what You want to give me by Grace, and by faith I access Your Grace. Grace is how You bless me. Faith is how I access it. And none of this starts until I hear from heaven, and I know what Your will is. This is why worship is so important. My worship positions me to hear from You. In worship I tune out the world, I tune into Your presence, and I am able to hear Your voice. In worship I die to self. In worship I lose myself. In worship I find You, Your Word, Your will, and Your ways. I am a worshipper and my worship becomes the key to hearing from heaven, so that I can experience heaven on the earth. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
