In Times Like These
REFRESH
MCA Church presented a pre-message Facebook Survey that asked, “In your experience, what is the opposite of being refreshed?” The leading response is, “Drained.”
Are you ever completely drained by negative people?
Do you have a relationship that robs you of all strength and leaves you drained?
Do you give and give until your battery is drained and people (who give very little) leave you no time to recharge?
At least four different parts of our lives can be significantly exhausted:
- Mental
- Physical
- Emotional
- Spiritual
Job expressed this experience if being extremely drained as, “My soul is weary of my life.” Job 10:1
Acts 3:12-16 shows a group of completely drained people.
- They had handed Jesus over to be crucified
- They had disowned Jesus in front of Pilate
- They disowned the Holy and Righteous One and released Barabbas
- They killed the author of life
Peter, in Acts 3:19, 20, states two extremely important actions, as helpful now as they were then, to prepare for seasons of refreshing. When you are seeking a season of refreshing from the Lord, do the following:
1. Repent
2. Turn to God
| Keep us, O Lord, while we tarry on this earth, in a serious seeking after you, and in an affectionate walking with you, every day of our lives; that when you come, we may be found not hiding our talent, nor serving the flesh, nor yet asleep with our lamp unfurnished, but waiting and longing for our Lord, our glorious God for ever. |
Repentance is the sorrowful remorse for and the turning away from sin.
Once we have turned from sin, we turn to God.
Now that we have repented and turned to God, the Apostle Paul reveals what refreshed him:
- Friends – Particularly praying friends. Romans 15:30-33
- Friends – Particularly friends who join in the work. 1 Corinthians 16:15-18
With these kinds of friends, the Apostle Paul recommends developing a partnership. Philemon 1:1-7
The birth of Jesus is the beginning of a fresh and refreshing work of God. Isaiah 43:19
The birth of Jesus is the beginning of a “new and living way.” Hebrews 10:20
Response Questions
- Do you find yourself drained emotionally, physically, mentally, or spiritually?
- Is there something for which you should repent?
- In what ways could you turn to God?
- Have you developed any “praying friends?”
- Do you have friends who “join you in the work?”
MCA Church LIFE Groups
Connecting with One Another
- Who is a person that refreshes you?
- Do you have a place that is refreshing?
Digging Deeper into the Message
- What all do you think happened in Jesus mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual being when he took Luke 5:16 action?
- Why was Jesus at a well with a Samaritan woman? John 4:6
- Jesus asked for a vessel of water to refresh himself. He offered to the Samaritan woman living water. How does living water refresh you? John 4:13, 14
- Jesus refreshed himself on “food” that the disciples didn’t yet understand. What is that food? John 4:32-38
- Is it possible for people to day to refresh on that same food?
Prayer
- Seek God for His living water and food that refreshes.
- Please pray for MCA Church Year End Giving.