—From Mama Maria—Maria #199 DO 2863 12/92

(Editor's note: This can be applied to all of our singing teams.)

Dear Shepherds & Teens,12/92

1. God bless you! I love you very much, & am praying for you as the day of your performance draws closer. God bless you for putting your all into the preparations for this show, & filling your hearts & minds with His Word to help give you the strength from Him that you'll need, so that out of the abundance of your hearts your mouths will sing & speak.

2. In praying about your upcoming performance, I've been thinking that compared to the other choral groups & singing troupes which will be performing at the White House for Christmas, alongside them your group may appear unprofessional & more untrained. Unlike members of a highly trained & technically perfect choral group, your main ministry has been that of witnessing & winning souls, for which you'll reap eternal & everlasting rewards. So that's why we're suggesting that you & your singing group just be yourselves & be natural & not try to take on more than you are equipped for or can be trained for in this short period of time. Nor should you feel that you should try to compete with other very professional groups who have probably been together for years & whose main goal has been to learn to sound good for the System‚ & to make their mark in the World musically.

3. I was thinking how, in spite of the fact we aren't usually nearly as polished & professional as System groups, the Lord often opens doors for us to perform right alongside them. And although according to System standards we're not as professional‚ refined, polished or trained as most of the World's groups, the Lord always comes through our precious Family performers so beautifully, & people sit up & take notice.—Not of our great talents & abilities & musical perfection, but of His Spirit shining through us.

4. It reminds me of the Scripture, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter & John & perceived that they were unlearned & ignorant men, they marvelled & took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). The people who were listening to Peter & John's preaching & witnessing were probably used to hearing speakers all the time who were much more polished & eloquent than Peter & John. So listening to Spirit-filled Peter & John was probably quite an unusual occurrence‚ & their difference from the other speakers was enough to draw people's attention to them.

5. The most obvious difference initially was that Peter & John were rough & uneducated. But the people were drawn to Peter & John because of this initial difference. As they kept listening & watching, they realised that what they were seeing & what they were so fascinated with was God's Spirit taking over these ignorant & unlearned men & making them glow with the Lord's presence. This gave Peter & John the ability to touch others in a way the people had never felt before.

6. Perhaps you teens, as well as you adults, are often tempted to think, "We're so inferior & we don't measure up. We don't compare so favourably with all these Systemites & all their talents & expertise & professionalism." But why would you want to? Do you want to have people look at you & say, "Listen to those singers! They're so skilled! We can see that they've had expert musical training, & their voices are so well-trained & their harmonies are perfect & their stage presence is impeccable!" Or would you rather have them look at you & say, "These folks really stir us! These are the ones who move us & touch us & do something to us! We're not quite sure what it is, they may not be perfect, but when they sing, we feel like they're singing right to us, personally! Their singing reaches out to us & into our hearts, & we feel enthralled when they sing, we feel loved! We can see a real peace about them & a light on their faces & a warm glow that somehow is missing from the other singers. This group has really won our hearts!"

7. Would you want to have the people see you as professional, polished, refined, tutored & highly trained, but without His Spirit, His Light & life–giving Love? Or would you rather have the people see Jesus in you‚ & feel Jesus flowing through you‚ even if they happen to see your weaknesses & your untrained or unprofessional qualities in the process? Wouldn't you rather have His treasure in your earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, & not of you? For it is not you who live, but Christ Who liveth in you. For when you are weak, then He is strong, for His strength is made perfect & manifested in your weakness. It's the lame who take the prey. (See 2Cor.4:7; Gal.2:20; 2Cor.12:9; Isa.33:23.) In fact, if you were so polished & musically perfect, people would have a lot harder time seeing Jesus in you. They would instead think that the beauty they were seeing was coming from your talent & your skill & your ability.

8. So, although your performance may seem average & simple in comparison to other groups, I believe that when you sing, the power of the Lord's Spirit & His Angels & His Holy Spirits will flow forth through you & will make your music take on a very special quality that none of the others will be able to match. But it won't be anything of you; it will be Jesus Who is singing through you! And we're praying that His Heavenly magic will touch many hearts & stir them & help them to think about Jesus, & that even though you may not be able to talk to them‚ in some way they will feel Him reaching out to them.

9. So be confident that with the Lord on your side‚ you're unbeatable & you're brilliant as you shine with His Light! And as you're faithful to follow step-by-step, the Lord will show you more & more why He has opened this door. God bless & keep you all! Our heartfelt prayers are with you!

With much love always,

Mama Maria

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family