Resound Church
Leah Ramirez
MADE FOR ENCOUNTER
We were made for encounter! We were made for worship. We were made for fascination. We were made for
love. What is it all about? It’s all about love. It’s all for love. We were made to seek after the Lord. There is
no greater pleasure than finding Jesus. To see Him is to love him. We were made to be undone. We were
made to find our purpose and our meaning in relation to one man. We are part of the eternal story. The story of
a God who would stop at nothing for love. He is relentless in His passion. This is our God. This is our Jesus.
I.
THERE IS NO WORSHIP WITHOUT ENCOUNTER
A. Worship is the response to having an encounter with God. When God revealed himself to Abraham
his response was to build an altar and worship the Lord.
B. What proceeds worship is encounter. Man cannot worship what he has not known. There is cause
and effect. Worship is the acknowledgement of worthiness. We cannot honor what we do not
perceive.
John 4:22
You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
C. Salvation is to know the Lord. We worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. We must know Him to
enter into worship. There is no formula; there is no special song. Worship is valuing the Lord. It is
day and night, it is everything, or it is not worship.
Acts 17:23
For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription,
‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
D. Paul proclaims the knowledge of God, the resurrected Jesus, so that they can respond in worship.
Just because we have erected an altar doesn’t mean that we have entered into worship. To know
God is salvation.
E. We must encounter the Lord. The reality of God must break in to real time and space. The church
is the assembly of believers for the purpose of worship. We gather together to encounter the Lord
corporately. This is church. It’s not an intellectual discussion we’re after; it’s a meeting with God.
We have come to meet with Theology Himself. He’s more than a doctrine he’s a man.
F. This I proclaim to you. This resurrected man is the gospel. He’s not a theory he’s a man. And he
is coming again. This is worship. If there is no encounter then there is worship. And if there is no
worship, then there is no church. We can get business cards and put signs up, but if the reality of
God is not present then it isn’t church.
Revelation 1:7
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes
of the earth will mourn on account of him. Even so. Amen.
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MADE FOR ENCOUNTER
G. Every eye will see him. Every human being ever created will encounter Jesus. We will either
worship or mourn. It’s one or the other. We will either bow or be bowed. We will either bend or
be broken.
II. THERE IS NO WORSHIP WITHOUT SACRIFICE
Genesis 22:1-18
22:1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” 2 He
said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him
there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the
morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the
wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day
Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here
with the donkey; I and the boy [1] will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham
took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the
knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he
said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt
offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they
went both of them together.
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood
in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached
out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven
and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy
or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only
son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in
a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of
his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; [2] as it is said to this day,
“On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” [3]
15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have
sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I
will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is
on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his [4] enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall
all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
A. This is the first time the word worship appears in scripture and it is the obedient response of
Abraham to sacrifice his own son. This is worship. When it is going to cost everything, even the
promise…Abraham chooses God.
B. Again and again, we see God calling His beloved to choose Him, to obey… this is worship. It’s not
about the act of obedience so much; the emphasis is on the act of choosing the Lord over every
other thing. This is what makes the act worship.
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C. From the onset, real worship cost everything. Always has and always will. Because worship is all
about love. Worship, real worship is choosing the Lord. It is living for One Thing. It is loving
God above all else. It is extreme. It requires. It demands. AND IT GIVES ALL.
2 Samuel 24
23 All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God
accept you.” 24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer
burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.”
D. What God requires from the heart of Abraham by testing the heart and motives, He fulfills in
fullness by giving His own son. Every story is the story of the love. Every story is eternal. To be
motivated by love is the heavenly calling. This is what we have been created for.
III. THERE IS NO WORSHIP WITHOUT FIRE
A. Real worship demands sacrifice. Elijah calls for the sacrifice; God sends the fire and the people
respond in worship. We are made for the burnings of the throne of God. We were made for fire.
There is something about the very nature of fire that we cannot dispute. No one can argue with a
burning man.
1 Kings 18
20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And
Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions?
If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450
men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay
it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire
to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God
who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the
prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the
name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it
and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no
voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah
mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on
a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after
their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they
raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid
attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he
repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the
number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your
name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the
altar, as great as would contain two seahs [1] of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in
pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and
on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a
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MADE FOR ENCOUNTER
third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also
with water.
36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant,
and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may
know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord
fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that
was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God;
the Lord, he is God.” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.”
And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.
B. The church isn’t lacking for buildings and bible schools… it’s lacking fire. Where are the burning
ones? We have arguments and theories, but where are the fiery hearts. There were schools of
prophets and Pharisees… and there was a man names John sent from before the throne. Jesus
called him a burning lamp. Let’s aim for that distinction. Above all else, let’s be on fire.
John 5:35
He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
Acts 2
2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from
heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And
divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested [1] on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
C. We were made for fire. We must contend for the reality of God. It’s not goose bumps we’re after
we are after the Lord. Until the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven breaks into our lives and our
region and our families.
D. We are made for fire. Either it’s in you, or you are in. We’re meant to be burning ones, not burnt
ones. Made for encounter, made for worship. Made of love.
Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and
pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
E. We were made for fire. We are to be burning ones sent out from before the throne. (Is. 6)
Luke 24
13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles [1] from
Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While
they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes
were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding
with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas,
answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened
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Leah Ramirez
MADE FOR ENCOUNTER
there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of
Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our
chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped
that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things
happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the
morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of
angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as
the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all
the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but
they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he
went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it
and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their
sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road,
while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
F. Weren’t our hearts burning within us? We were made to have burning hearts. We were made for
love. This is the foundation…burning hearts. We were made for fire! This is worship, to enter into
the fire of God’s affections for us. We must enter in, not warm ourselves by the edge.
IV. THE BURNING GENERATION AND THE FIRE-BREATHERS
Revelation 11
11:1 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God
and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out,
for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant
authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if
anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm
them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall
during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to
strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.
A. The end-time witness in the earth will be messengers of fire. God will rise up a burning church.
They will be red hot towards the Lord.
B. And here is the key; here is the secret… they stand before the Lord of the earth. They worship
before the God with fire in His eyes. They are equally yoked in intercession. They are the fire
breathers sent from before the throne. God release a message that will consume a
generation…consumed and captivated in love.
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