Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW190033A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn. I'm JD Quinn. 01:12 And we are so glad that you are joining us 01:14 for Family Worship. 01:16 Honey, why don't you tell our other family 01:19 who is at the table with us? 01:21 I'll start with this young lady right here. 01:22 This is Debbie. 01:24 Debbie, it's just wonderful to have you. 01:25 Thank you. Glad to be here. 01:26 I know that Debbie works in accounting, 01:29 and what all do you do there? 01:30 My main job is payroll. 01:32 That's why you're our favorite person in accounts. 01:34 Very popular in certain days. Amen. 01:36 And then we got my buddy Ryan over here. 01:38 That's me. 01:39 It's always a pleasure to have Ryan. 01:41 Ryan is a gifted preacher. 01:43 Amen. Thank you, Brother. 01:44 And you know 01:45 I have to say this about Debbie. 01:47 Debbie and I share a love of the Word, 01:50 and this woman gets up 01:51 how many hours in the morning 01:52 before you come to work, do you spend in the Word? 01:55 Usually three. 01:56 Three hours before she comes to work 01:59 at 7 o'clock in the morning, 02:00 so she's a very dedicated student of the Bible, 02:03 a woman of the Word 02:05 and a precious sister in Christ. 02:07 You know, we are all thrilled 02:09 that the Sabbath is rolling in. 02:11 That's right. 02:12 And every time, you know, 02:14 I remember when I first discovered 02:16 the Sabbath truth. 02:19 I always thought that 02:20 anyone who kept the Sabbath was legalistic. 02:22 But when I discovered this truth, 02:24 I found out that the Sabbath is a memorial 02:27 not only to God as creator, 02:30 but as the one who recreates us. 02:32 I discovered the grace of God. 02:34 The Sabbath is a sign that He's the one who delivers us. 02:39 And He says, it's a sign 02:41 that He is the one who sanctified us, 02:44 who sets us apart from sin. 02:46 And I don't know about you, 02:48 but I tried so hard 02:51 in my own power to be a good Christian, 02:55 and it never worked out 02:56 and when I started celebrating the Sabbath, 02:59 it was like God changed my heart 03:02 and it quit being a performance thing 03:05 but truly a relation with Him. 03:07 Amen. Amen. 03:08 Well, are you guys ready to get into the Word? 03:10 Oh, always. 03:11 You know, normally this would be 03:13 where we're gonna have a song. 03:14 Debbie, now this is your first time, 03:15 honor to have you. 03:17 Yes. Yes. We hope you're not nervous. 03:19 But normally we would be having a song 03:21 but we couldn't find a piano player, 03:23 everybody's gone busy. 03:25 And since Ryan is the only one who can sing at the table, 03:29 unless you want to sing a capella for us. 03:33 I'll pass this time. He's ready. 03:34 You see, he's out of his seat. 03:36 So what we'll do is we're going to have a prayer, 03:41 and then we'll jump into the Word. 03:42 Honey? Amen. 03:43 Father, as we come to You on the Sabbath day, 03:45 just wanna thank You, Lord, for life itself. 03:48 Thank You, Lord, that You created this day, 03:50 Father, and that You're the one that's in control. 03:52 Father, let each one of us know that 03:54 we're nothing without You. 03:56 Father, be with us as we study this precious Word, 04:01 and, Father, that we will allow You 04:03 to be in charge. 04:05 We ask that the Holy Spirit will be here 04:07 to certainly guide us. 04:08 Continue to be a lamp unto our feet. 04:10 We love You and we thank You 04:11 in the name of Jesus, amen. 04:13 Amen and amen. Amen. 04:15 Our topic tonight 04:17 is the "Potential of the Harvest." 04:20 In Luke Chapter 8, Jesus tells a parable about 04:24 four different types of soil 04:25 and the seed being planted. 04:27 And I'm not gonna go into all of that. 04:29 I just wanted to point out 04:31 that as He's explaining this parable, 04:34 He says in Luke 8:11, 04:37 "The seed is the Word of God." 04:41 That's right. 04:42 Now, let me ask you a question. 04:48 If I have a handful of corn and I plant corn here 04:52 and have a handful of wheat and I plant wheat over here, 04:56 what am I gonna get here? 04:58 Corn. Corn. 04:59 What am I gonna get here? Wheat. 05:01 Why? 05:02 Because that's what you planted. 05:03 That's what I planted. 05:05 Here is the thing, this, the miracle, 05:08 the potential of the harvest is wrapped inside the seed. 05:13 So what we've got to realize 05:16 is if God's Word is seed, 05:20 all of your potential 05:22 is wrapped inside the Word of God. 05:25 Tonight, we will talk about the power of the Word. 05:31 They're saving power. 05:32 They're sanctifying power. 05:34 There's power to equip us and train us, to guide us, 05:38 the Word of God. 05:40 You know, we talk all the time about 05:43 how wonderful it is, Debbie, 05:45 people like you 05:46 who spend three hours every morning. 05:48 There's not a whole lot like you, 05:49 I have to say. 05:51 But people who spend a lot of time in the Word 05:53 were always talking about, 05:55 you need to do your devotionals, 05:57 you need to be in the Word. 05:59 But tonight, we're going to find out 06:02 why this Word is alive and active. 06:07 That's right. That's right. 06:08 It is sharper than any two edged sword. 06:10 And what does it mean to you, Ryan? 06:13 If we say the Word is alive? 06:17 Well, in as much as you know, as you mentioned the seed, 06:21 the seed if properly planted and nourished 06:24 and taken care of it, it produces fruit. 06:26 That's correct. 06:27 And I just wanna go back to that 06:29 because that's powerful that one little seed you know, 06:30 Christ, often referred to the kingdom of God 06:33 as a mustard seed, 06:34 just a tiny little thing like that. 06:36 But you wanna talk about alive, 06:37 I think can grow into a huge plant 06:40 and just using that as an example of 06:42 the power of the Word of God as a seed. 06:45 We have to have that seed 06:48 in order to be made alive in Christ, 06:50 that we might be able to produce good fruit 06:53 for the kingdom of God, I think of John Chapter 15, 06:56 where Jesus talks about abiding in Him. 06:58 He is the...He is the vine, we are the branches. 07:01 And those branches 07:03 that do not bear fruit are cut off 07:06 and cast away. 07:07 And so as long as we're connected to that vine, 07:10 and again Christ says, "I am the bread of life, 07:12 I am the Word." 07:14 We're connected to that seed 07:16 and that seed is growing within us. 07:18 And we're allowing that seed to bear good fruit 07:22 worthy of a servant of God. 07:24 Then how else can you describe that, 07:26 but that I'm alive, 07:28 vibrant plant that is worthy of the kingdom of God. 07:32 And that's my goal. 07:33 That's what I wanna be a Christian. 07:35 I wanna be a solid servant of the Lord 07:37 that bears good fruit worthy of someone 07:40 who can enter the kingdom of God 07:42 and be in the very presence of God 07:43 and hear those words, 07:44 "Well done, my good and faithful servant." 07:47 And it all starts with that seed. 07:48 It starts with that seed and then as you 07:51 pass that seed on to others. 07:52 That's right. 07:53 As you're out teaching, preaching, whatever, sharing. 07:56 And we had just, 07:58 we had this precious little lady here the other day, 08:00 and bless her little heart, we just love her to death, 08:03 and she is now begin to be known as a little farm girl. 08:09 A little farm girl and why? 08:10 She said, "Because I just sow seeds all day long." 08:13 Amen. Praise God. 08:15 You know, I was just thinking, boy, as we were talking here, 08:18 I grew up on a farm, 08:20 annually the seed was ready to plant. 08:24 But if we... If it was a situation 08:27 that the soil wasn't right 08:29 or the conditions weren't right, 08:31 would have to carry that seed over another year. 08:34 What happened if you had to carry another year, 08:35 it starts decaying. 08:37 The seed that we're talking about right here 08:40 never decays. 08:42 That's right. 08:43 When you think about this, God... 08:45 God created the world, something out of nothing, 08:51 by His word, I mean, now you talk about alive. 08:54 Yes. 08:56 And that same life is here in this Word. 09:00 Let's talk about the saving power. 09:02 Debbie, would you read 1 Peter 1:22 and 23, 09:07 there is saving power 09:10 in the Word of God. 09:13 Okay, "Since you have purified your souls 09:17 in obeying the truth through the Spirit 09:19 unto unfeigned love of the brethren, 09:22 see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently, 09:26 being born again, not of corruptible seed, 09:29 but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, 09:32 which liveth and abideth forever." 09:35 Wow. Amen. 09:37 When you think about that, 09:38 if the word is how we are born again, 09:43 it is the...the word and the spirit obviously, 09:45 here it say, the spirit and the word. 09:47 But when God's Word 09:50 begins to enter into our heart, 09:53 He can, His will is to regenerate us. 09:57 Right. 09:58 His will is to bring us forth by the word of truth. 10:04 Because Romans 10:17 says what? 10:07 Faith comes by hearing... 10:10 And hearing by the Word. By the Word of God. 10:12 Hearing by the Word. 10:13 And that's powerful when you think of that, 10:15 in connection with that famous text, 10:18 you know, that we are saved by grace through faith, 10:23 not of works, lest any man should boast. 10:25 We know that. 10:26 So if we're saved by grace, through that faith, 10:29 how are we to build that faith, 10:30 and that's why I love Romans 10:17, 10:32 because Romans 10:17, as you just mentioned, 10:34 says that, "Faith comes by hearing, 10:37 and hearing through or by the Word." 10:39 So that goes to show us the power of the Word of God 10:42 that just by simply surrendering ourselves 10:44 to be receptive of the Word of God. 10:47 Just simply hearing the Word of God 10:49 can transform a person's heart and mind, 10:51 that's why, you know, 10:52 I've heard some people say recently, 10:54 just different people that "Well, you know, 10:57 I just don't think preaching is necessary anymore." 10:59 I was listening. 11:01 I was reading through some Facebook pages 11:04 just not too long ago. 11:05 Somebody had posted on Facebook, they said, 11:07 "Well, I don't think that preaching is necessary anymore. 11:09 The Word of God is so vast and so broad that 11:12 we just don't need preaching anymore." 11:14 But that stands directly against Romans 10:17. 11:17 Because when we preach that Word, 11:19 you don't know who's hearing that Word, 11:21 whose faith is going to be built, 11:23 because they heard that Word 11:25 that you were able to stand and preach, 11:27 and that's just powerful. 11:28 Well, even yourself, when you speak the Word, 11:31 you're hearing it. 11:33 And it grows my faith, just by hearing it myself, 11:37 it coming out of my mouth. 11:39 I might not even have an audience. 11:41 But if I hear it myself, my faith grows. 11:45 When you read your book, when you read your Bible, 11:46 do you ever read it out loud? 11:48 Absolutely. 11:49 I do this all the time 11:50 when I really want to comprehend 11:52 and really take in exactly the essence of 11:54 what that scripture is saying. 11:56 I find myself picking up the Bible. 11:58 Whether I'm in my home, I'm in a private place 12:00 or sometimes I'll be around my wife 12:02 and I'll just start reading the Word out loud 12:04 and it sticks with me more and it gets in there 12:07 and it means more to me to hear it audibly uttered. 12:10 Yeah. 12:11 And, you know, we've all heard this, 12:13 that we become what we behold. 12:16 And as we start this habit, 12:18 as we just go through the repetition, 12:21 hear sermons, okay. 12:24 Talk with brothers and sisters about spiritual things 12:28 we are hearing. 12:29 And it's just kind of like, 12:31 we're just building on top of that, 12:32 because we're involved. 12:34 It's one thing I really like working for a ministry. 12:39 Every day, we're fed, and hopefully that 12:42 we're feeding back, you know. 12:45 And to Debbie's point 12:47 what you said about speaking it. 12:48 There's nothing more powerful than hearing it 12:50 with your own living voice, 12:52 because you're returning the word to God 12:54 and it does not return void. 12:56 But you know, the Bible says as a man 12:59 thinks in his heart, so he see, and you know, 13:03 we can get, we're always getting bombarded. 13:05 I mean, 1 Corinthians 10:4-5 13:08 tells us that the battle is for our mind. 13:11 You know, and Satan tries to, 13:13 he tries to set up a stronghold in your mind. 13:16 And the only way to get rid of a negative thought, 13:20 truly, is to replace it. 13:23 You get rid of a lie by replacing it with the truth. 13:27 And so it is very powerful. 13:30 So there is this saving power 13:33 that the Word has that power of regeneration of us 13:37 being born again, it's incorruptible, 13:41 but it's also sanctifying. 13:44 You said, you read out loud and you know what I try to do 13:47 every time I pray, I mean, read the Bible. 13:50 I try to remember this 13:52 and almost every time I will pray, 13:55 John 17:17 13:57 which was Jesus' prayer in the garden, 14:01 when He said, "Sanctify by the truth, 14:05 your Word is true." 14:07 So as I read out, say, "Lord, 14:10 sanctify me by what I'm reading. 14:12 Don't let me just read this to answer Sabbath School 14:16 quarterly questions. 14:17 Don't let me just read this for something to present, 14:22 but sanctify me and that word sanctification, 14:28 it's a synonym to holiness. 14:30 But all it means is to be set apart for sermon, 14:34 set apart for God's service. 14:36 Absolutely. 14:37 You know, when I'm thinking of this 14:39 sanctifying aspect of the Word of God, 14:44 my mind goes to the power behind that. 14:47 We know the Word of God in and of itself is power. 14:50 As you mentioned earlier, 14:51 the world has come into existence 14:53 because of a spoken word by God that is powerful indeed. 14:57 But I also as I was studying recently 15:02 in a Bible study group, we were talking about 15:04 the power behind that Word, 15:07 and sanctify them 15:09 through thy truth or by thy truth. 15:11 Thy Word is truth. 15:13 Now tie that with 2 Peter 1:21. 15:17 For prophecy, 15:18 and you can just also fill in there, 15:20 the scripture in general, but this is 2 Peter 1:21, 15:25 it is that famous verse talking about 15:27 how the Word of God came about. 15:29 And notice what it says here, 15:31 "For prophecy came not in old time 15:32 by the will of men." 15:35 And I just wanna pause there, I've had many people say, 15:36 "You know, I can't trust the Word of God 15:38 because it's written by man or it's by men." 15:40 Well, while it may have been recorded and written by men, 15:43 those thoughts, those ideas, 15:46 the power behind that was instituted as it says here, 15:50 notice, "Not the will of men but holy men, 15:54 but holy men of God spake as they were moved by 15:58 the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit." 15:59 So we know that the power behind the Word of God 16:02 is God Himself. 16:04 Amen. It is the very Spirit of God. 16:06 And that's why I like to caution people 16:08 because as we're talking about 16:09 the very power of the Word of God. 16:12 The Word of God is so powerful 16:13 that it can transform if you allow it. 16:15 But there's a lot of people that put that wall up and say, 16:18 I, you know, I just... 16:20 There's no place in my life for that Word to transform me. 16:25 And when you reject that Word, in essence, 16:27 what you're doing is you're rejecting 16:29 the author of that Word. 16:30 Amen. And that's very powerful. 16:32 So the Word of God in and of itself is powerful. 16:35 But what is, what brings that power 16:37 is the person behind that Word, 16:39 which is the creator of the universe. 16:41 So be sure to accept the Word of God 16:43 for the truth that it is, 16:44 because in accepting the power of the Word, 16:46 you are accepting the power of the living God. 16:49 And to back up your point, 16:51 Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16. 16:56 Yes. 2 Timothy 3:16. 16:58 He says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God 17:03 is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, 17:08 for instruction in righteousness." 17:12 That the man of God might be complete 17:15 and thoroughly equipped for every good work, 17:18 so it's so important for us. 17:20 Go ahead, Honey. 17:21 Well, I was just thinking, you know, because we're... 17:23 If we are set apart, if we are going through 17:27 this trip of sanctification which we all do, 17:31 well, then we're being set in, we're being set free. 17:33 Amen. 17:34 And you know, I think that is John 8. 17:37 Yes. In John 8:31, 32. 17:40 "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 17:43 'If you abide in the Word, you are My disciples, indeed."' 17:48 " Yes." 17:49 So does that mean that we all possibly 17:51 could be a disciple? 17:52 Oh, absolutely. Most certainly it does. 17:54 And you shall know the truth and then the truth show what? 17:57 Set you free. 17:59 Amen. Make us free. 18:00 And I would assume, I've never spent time, 18:06 I'll use the word incarcerated, 18:07 because that's what it means, you know. 18:10 But I would imagine that that would get old. 18:13 We probably can't appreciate our freedom 18:16 until our hands are tied somewhere or the other. 18:19 And so here, that's what 18:21 we're wanting to know is to set free, 18:22 and then we go back to the Creator. 18:24 Sure. He spoke and it was done. 18:26 And so we have the potential, you know, of being free, 18:30 if we will just take this. 18:31 That's right. 18:32 This is a roadmap. Yeah. 18:34 And you know, in a practical sense, 18:37 you know, some, there may be someone watching at home, 18:38 and I've had people ask me this question, 18:40 you know, how does the Word set you free? 18:42 How is this gonna set me free, you know. 18:44 And so it's interesting, 18:46 because in the beginning we are all in this prison cell. 18:50 And we're chained and bound by our sin. 18:54 And so the one thing that separating us 18:55 from God is our sin. 18:57 And so, when we're bound by that sin, 19:02 the Bible says that all we like sheep have gone astray, 19:05 we have went everyone his own way. 19:10 And God says, or Jesus shows up and says, 19:12 "I'm the way." 19:13 Or by the way, "I'm also the bread of life." 19:15 Oh yeah, by the way, 19:16 "Man shall not live by bread alone, 19:17 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 19:20 Jesus says I am the Word, in the beginning was the Word, 19:23 and the Word was God, and the Word was with God. 19:25 And so Jesus says, "You've been going your own way 19:29 up to this point, but my way leads to life, 19:32 my way leads to eternal life. 19:33 You're in this prison so I can set you free." 19:36 But the Bible says also 19:37 in the Book of Proverbs Chapter 16, 19:39 that there is a way which seemeth right into a man, 19:42 but the end thereof are the ways of death. 19:45 And so how does this Word set us free? 19:48 When we come to a point in our life, 19:50 when we surrender self 19:53 enough to allow the leading, 19:55 guiding power of this seed to grow in replacement 20:00 of the bad seed that was there before. 20:01 Amen. 20:03 And when we surrender our will to say, 20:04 "Okay, no, not my way, Lord, but Your way." 20:08 What did Christ pray in the garden? 20:09 "Not My will Father, 20:10 nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done." 20:13 And so by doing that, 20:14 when we surrender ourselves to the power, 20:16 the sanctifying power of this Word, 20:19 that seed begins to grow, and it begins to grow, 20:22 and it begins to grow and over a period of time, 20:24 a period of a lifetime, of course, 20:26 that sanctifying process begins to take place. 20:29 The old man begins to die off and is replaced 20:32 by that new creature in Christ, 20:33 all because of the power of this Word, 20:36 the surrendering aspect of you giving yourself 20:39 over to the will of God 20:40 and surrendering your will to Him, that's powerful. 20:41 I agree 100% with what you say, and I want to add an addition. 20:45 Not only does it set us free from sin, 20:49 but we can be Christians and still have... 20:53 You can have a situation hit you 20:55 that's devastating 20:57 and you can have negative thoughts. 20:58 2 Corinthians 1:22 says that, 21:01 "All of God's promises are yes in Him and in Christ." 21:04 So if you think about this, 21:07 that one of the greatest problems 21:11 in the church today is the identity crisis. 21:13 We don't know who we are in Christ Jesus. 21:16 But, Debbie, I'm gonna let you speak to this 21:19 because we're talking about speaking the Word. 21:22 When troubles surround us, when Satan is planting 21:27 or his evil minions are planting negative thoughts 21:31 in our head, 21:32 or when haven't you ever just woke up and think, 21:35 "I'm a new creation, the old keep showing up." 21:38 What happens to replace that thought 21:42 when you're speaking the Word of God? 21:43 What's your experience as you're speaking? 21:48 My experience is if I get into the Word, 21:51 and I find the promises 21:54 that God has put in His Word, 21:58 that it comes alive. 22:00 And it replaces what the negative thoughts are. 22:05 And it more than just speaking positively, 22:10 you know, because it is God's Word, 22:13 He promises and you know His Word is alive. 22:17 You know, it's effective. 22:20 And you know, the strength and power in it. 22:23 And before long your heart feels it 22:27 and the negative thoughts are not prominent anymore. 22:33 So you're set free? I am set free. 22:35 Exactly. 22:36 And what's even more powerful 22:38 with that same note is the fact that unlike any of us, 22:40 or anyone we know God cannot lie. 22:42 The Bible says, He cannot lie. 22:44 And you focus on those promises, 22:46 and I love that sermon that you taught, 22:48 the attitude of affirming God. 22:50 You know, when we allow this Word of God 22:53 to become alive in us that we believe when say, 22:55 "Lord, You promised it, you can't lie. 22:58 I'm gonna cleave in that promise in Jesus name." 23:01 That's powerful because now 23:02 there's an attitude adjustment in your own life 23:05 and in your own mind. 23:06 I think too many Christians let that Word be 23:09 dormant in their life. 23:10 Yes. They know the Word. 23:12 I mean, we were raised in the Word. 23:14 But I remember the turning point in my life 23:17 where it became alive to me and that's when, 23:20 wow, life changed, life change. 23:24 He became so real to me, Jesus came so real to me, 23:27 the Holy Spirit became real to me. 23:29 God became real to me. 23:31 And it's up to us by the power of the Holy Spirit 23:36 to get that from being dormant in life 23:38 and taking him at His word. 23:39 That's right. 23:42 Okay, well, you know, I would just take it 23:43 because we were talking about over here 23:45 was talking about I think, 23:46 I'm thinking about a tree. 23:49 Right. Okay. 23:51 I've got a pear tree. 23:53 It's the healthiest tree I've got 23:55 until the frost comes in early. 23:57 Frost comes in early in our part of the country. 23:59 So consequently, we never have any fruit. 24:01 But, boy, we sure got a good looking pear tree. 24:05 I'm thinking about taking maybe a peach or a palm 24:10 or something and grafted in 24:13 to those big roots of the pear tree. 24:15 Right. 24:17 And that's really the opportunity we have 24:18 if we are combating this issue. 24:21 We're talking of being transformed. 24:24 We have the opportunity because of this Word right here 24:28 that we can be in grafted in. 24:30 And I'm anxious to see what's gonna happen 24:34 with the big root system that I've got 24:36 and with a new graph coming up 24:38 that's adaptable to this particular weather. 24:41 We may have some fruit. 24:43 And you know that, 24:44 that goes with what Debbie was saying, 24:46 it's that what you're doing, and it is, to me, 24:50 it's all about speaking God's Word. 24:52 Isaiah, he changed my life to when he taught me 24:55 in Isaiah 55:11. 24:57 He says, "My word does not return to me void. 25:00 It accomplishes every purpose for which I sent it." 25:03 And then He says in Jeremiah 1:12. 25:05 He tells Jeremiah, "You're right, 25:07 I am watching over My Word to perform it." 25:11 And you know, in Habakkuk He says, 25:13 "Even if it tarries, wait for it 25:16 because it's gonna be fulfilled." 25:17 So what happens when you start speaking 25:22 this Word over your life, and thanking God say, 25:25 "Oh, thank you that 25:27 I'm a new creation in Christ Jesus, 25:28 the old is gone, new is come." 25:31 You know what? 25:33 Your feelings don't always line up with that. 25:35 That's what you have to watch out for, 25:37 your feelings there, and your emotions. 25:39 And what God led me to is Romans 4:17, and that's where, 25:44 that's my go to scripture. 25:46 Romans 4:17 says, 25:48 "He is the God who gives life to the dead 25:50 and calls things that are not 25:53 as though they already were." 25:54 He sees the end from the beginning. 25:57 When He looks at Shelley Quinn, He sees a new creation. 26:01 So I can do what He did. 26:03 I can thank Him and say, "Lord, thank You 26:06 that I am a new creation in Christ Jesus." 26:09 And that, then that Word gets grafted into me 26:12 and it is life changing. 26:14 It is. Amen. 26:15 And then you start evolving, you become a doer. 26:17 Yes. Yeah, absolutely. 26:20 Yes, yes, yes. And then begin to get active. 26:22 Yeah. 26:23 So let's read James 1, 26:26 Debbie why don't you do this one, 26:27 James 1:21-24? Okay. 26:31 "Therefore, lay aside all filthiness 26:33 and overflow of wickedness 26:35 and receive with meekness the implanted word 26:39 which is able to save your souls, 26:42 but be doers of the word 26:44 and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. 26:47 For if anyone is a hearer of a word 26:50 and not a doer. 26:52 He is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror 26:55 for he observes himself goes away 26:58 and immediately forgets what kind of man he was." 27:02 Good. 27:04 Well, you know what caught me on this one 27:06 is the word which is able. 27:09 It's not automatic, it must be acted upon, 27:13 it is able to save your souls with so many people 27:18 that are not Christians have heard the Word, 27:21 they have not acted upon it. 27:23 That's what is able to change you, 27:26 it's the action upon it. 27:28 And that's why, that's, followed by be doers, 27:31 if they were not hearers only... 27:32 Yes. Yes. All right. 27:34 Let me say this. 27:35 He says, how I see this. 27:39 "He says, we go to this Word." 27:42 And we're like a natural man 27:44 observing ourselves at the mirror. 27:45 This Word tells us who we are in Christ Jesus. 27:48 That's right. 27:49 This tells us, I mean, all of these promises, 27:53 Ephesians 1:11 that all of his spiritual blessings 27:57 are ours in Christ Jesus. 27:58 You can go through the Word and find everything here. 28:02 But what happens if I just, 28:05 if doing my perfunctory reading 28:08 one Chapter a night or something. 28:10 You read this, you close the book. 28:13 Right. Right. 28:14 And if you don't put it into practice, 28:16 if you go away not being a doer of the word, 28:20 you have forgotten who you are. 28:23 That's right. 28:24 And so that's why it's the implanted Word 28:28 in John 15:7 28:30 when you were talking about the vine. 28:32 Jesus said, "If you abide in My Word, 28:36 you're My disciples indeed." 28:38 Right? Right. 28:39 So it is abiding in the Word that bonds us, 28:45 the written Word bonds us with the living Word, 28:47 Jesus Christ. 28:50 And it is so amazing. 28:53 Exciting. It is exciting. 28:55 It's powerful. Yeah. 28:57 It effectively works in us is what Paul says. 29:00 It quickly can launch this particular topic 29:03 and quickly launch us into a conversation of faith 29:05 versus works, 29:06 which a lot of people struggle with, 29:08 and I'm not gonna go too deep into that, 29:09 it's a whole another subject. 29:11 But you know, but thinking about, 29:13 you know what Christ says to each one of the churches, 29:16 the seven churches of Asia Minor. 29:18 We know that those are 29:19 real dispensations of time from, 29:21 you know, the early, early first century AD 29:24 all the way to the end of time, 29:26 but he repeats the same message to each and every church. 29:29 We are the church, okay? 29:31 So this, a lot of times 29:32 we can read these texts and think, 29:35 "Oh, you know, these message is from James 29:37 and John and all these other, 29:38 it's for those who are not really, 29:41 don't really know Christ yet 29:43 and they're coming into the faith, 29:44 but a lot of this, 29:45 but the bulk of this is them writing 29:48 their audience is to the church. 29:50 And so they're trying to instruct to reprove 29:53 to help bring some understanding 29:56 to the will of God 29:58 or to the people of the will of God. 30:00 And so right there in Revelation, 30:01 what does he repeat constantly, 30:02 to them instead of I know your faith. 30:04 He says, "I know your works." 30:06 I know your works. I know your works. 30:07 And I love, we just read this earlier, 30:09 John 8:31-32, where Christ says, 30:11 "If you will abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed." 30:15 In other words, you know what I can tell you 30:17 and Christ can speak to you all day long, 30:19 but until you respond, 30:21 and you actively respond to that Word, 30:23 then He knows at that moment, 30:25 "Okay, this is a disciple. 30:26 This is someone I can trust. 30:27 This is my servant, 30:29 because they didn't just hear me say it. 30:31 They actually acted on 30:32 what it is that I was telling them," 30:34 and that's powerful. 30:35 It brings me back... It brings me back 30:38 I saw a video not too long ago, 30:40 that there's a video online, 30:41 I usually played it one of my evangelistic series, 30:43 and it's basically in this video, 30:46 it's this father. 30:47 He goes, walks into his daughter's room, 30:50 and I mean, it's a mess. 30:52 This room is a mess. 30:54 So he walks into the living room 30:55 and he's standing there over and he's looking at her 30:58 and she's on her phone. 30:59 You know, just kind of relaxing there 31:01 and she looks up at him and she goes, "What?" 31:03 He says, "I told you three days ago 31:04 to clean your room. 31:07 Why didn't you clean your room?" 31:08 I could see this video. 31:09 And then so the girl says, "Well, I heard what you said." 31:13 He's like, "What do you mean, you heard what I said. 31:16 Your room's a mess." She says, "Yeah. 31:17 I heard what you said. 31:19 And I memorized it in Greek and Hebrew, and Latin, 31:23 and Spanish," And she goes, "Yeah, and then 31:25 when I invited some of my friends over, 31:27 we had a small group about it. 31:28 Oh, it was so great. It was so wonderful. 31:31 We had a small group about. 31:32 And then we pulled out the pen and paper, 31:34 we diagrammed on a piece of paper 31:36 on what my room would look like 31:38 if it was nicely put together and clean. 31:41 Oh, it was so good, thank you." 31:43 And then the father is just standing there 31:45 just be puzzled just like he doesn't know 31:47 what to say because 31:48 there was this passionate response from her. 31:50 But then at the end of the video pops up, 31:52 you know, if you know this, 31:53 basically the concept of this text 31:55 that if you are My disciples, you will abide by My Word, 31:58 you know, and that's the case, you know. 32:00 There are a lot of Christians 32:01 who rejoice in hearing the Word, 32:04 but the power of the Word, that lamp, the light, 32:08 it's kind of like the oil lamp. 32:09 You know the power behind that Word 32:12 is the oil for that lamp. 32:14 Once you put the two together, you have an activated power 32:16 in one's life that can, 32:18 a person can be transformed if they just act upon 32:21 what it is that Christ is telling me. 32:23 That's powerful. That's so good. 32:24 Let me add to that because it is a wonderful story 32:28 and you hit on grace versus works. 32:31 I want to read this. 32:33 In Ephesians Chapter 2, you know there's nothing 32:38 you and I can do to save ourselves, 32:40 it's only the blood of Jesus 32:42 accepting what he did for us can save us. 32:45 You cannot work your way to heaven. 32:48 But Jesus did say in John 14, 15 that if you love Me, 32:52 keep My commandments. 32:54 So once you are a Christian, 32:57 there are good works for us to do 33:00 that doesn't say this. 33:02 But let me prove that to you that this is God's will. 33:05 In Ephesians 2:8, he says, and I love Paul, 33:08 he was an ambassador for grace. 33:12 "For by grace you have been saved through faith 33:14 that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." 33:19 God's just waiting for us to receive it. 33:21 "Not of works, lest anyone should boast." 33:24 Yes. 33:25 So it's not going to be, "Oh, I'm not faking, 33:27 oh, I go to every church service. 33:29 Oh, I do this or that." 33:31 None of that, you can't boast about your own salvation. 33:36 But look what he says in verse 10. 33:38 And I just want to say here before you read that. 33:39 A lot of people read verses 8 and 9 and they stop there. 33:43 Don't read verse 10? They don't read verse 10. 33:45 And that's what I love about Paul 33:47 because he never leaves anything unturned... 33:48 He's always balanced. 33:50 So he says, "For we are His workmanship. 33:54 We are God's work of art," is what that says. 33:58 And he says, 33:59 "We're creating in Christ Jesus for good works, 34:04 which God prepared before 34:07 and that we should walk in it." 34:10 So that's why the Word is He teaches us. 34:15 It is the, 34:19 this is how we learn what God wants us to do. 34:21 Right. Absolutely. 34:23 And it is a training and equipping tool. 34:28 Now let me segue into what you just said. 34:32 Sure. Okay? 34:33 1 Thessalonians 2:13. 34:35 Remember Paul's speaking? 34:37 Yeah. All right? 34:39 So then he comes in as he's talking 34:41 to the members of the Thessalonians. 34:44 For this reason, 34:46 we also thank God without ceasing. 34:49 Because when you receive the Word of God, 34:53 which you heard from us, you welcome it 34:56 not as the word of man, but as His truth. 34:58 The Word of God, 35:00 which also effectively works in you 35:03 who believe. 35:04 Amen. Wow. 35:06 Praise the Lord, you know, and with those thoughts there, 35:09 it's interesting because you brought Ephesians 2 35:12 there that we are saved by grace through faith. 35:15 But a lot of people miss Romans 1:5, 35:18 and I think this goes right 35:19 along with what we're talking about. 35:20 The power of the Word here. 35:22 Notice this, Romans 1:5, Paul, I consider Romans 35:27 probably my favorite book of all the New Testament. 35:30 It's like Paul's manifesto, if you could, 35:32 you could sum up everything 35:34 of Paul's theological gospel mind. 35:38 He put it all right here in Romans. 35:40 And here we are five verses, 35:42 and this is still the introduction 35:44 and he's laying the groundwork. 35:45 He's laying his thesis out for everything 35:47 that he's about to say. 35:49 But a lot of people read through these first few verses, 35:51 and they don't catch 35:53 that Paul lays a very powerful thesis statement 35:56 in verse 5 here. 35:57 Notice what he says here, 35:58 "Through him, speaking of Christ, 36:01 we have received grace and apostleship," 36:05 notice this, what for? 36:08 "For obedience to the faith among all nations 36:12 for his namesake." 36:14 Okay. 36:15 So we have received grace. 36:17 And again a lot of people are saved by grace, 36:19 I'm saved by grace. 36:20 But notice, you have received grace, why? 36:23 Why did God save you by His grace? 36:25 Because you what? 36:27 For obedience, he wants you to obey Him 36:30 obeying what? 36:32 Obeying the work. 36:33 Notice, you have been saved for apostleship, 36:36 excuse me, apostleship for obedience to 36:37 the faith. 36:39 And we just read earlier that if we're saved by grace, 36:42 through faith, faith comes by hearing 36:44 and hearing by the Word. 36:46 It's a complete circle. 36:47 It's all, it comes full circle around, 36:49 that it always leads back to the Word of God 36:51 being the foundational aspect to us 36:54 growing in faith and therefore 36:56 being saved by God's divine grace. 36:59 Okay, so what is grace? 37:02 Unmerited favor. 37:03 Unmerited favor. 37:05 That is unmerited favor. 37:08 Now let's unpack that 37:09 because that's the correct answer. 37:12 That's the standard. 37:13 Sure. But what does it mean? 37:15 Right. 37:16 Unmerited means it is unearned, it's undeserved, 37:21 it's favor, it's gift, you know, like party favors. 37:24 So it's the unearned, undeserved gifts of God. 37:28 So what are 37:30 the three greatest gifts of God to the world? 37:34 If we're looking at grace, for God so loved the world 37:38 that He gave His only begotten son. 37:41 So Jesus is God's greatest gift of grace to us. 37:47 But then, what is the other greatest gift 37:51 that we could not live a Christian life without, 37:53 and if we are not led by Him we're not even children of God. 37:57 The Holy Spirit 37:59 is the second greatest gift of grace, 38:03 and then the Word of God. 38:07 So when he is saying, 38:08 we've received grace for obedience, 38:12 we've received Jesus Christ, 38:14 we've received the Holy Spirit, 38:17 we've received the Word of God 38:20 so that he can work in us to will 38:24 and to do his good pleasure, and complete the good work 38:26 that he's begun in us, 38:28 as Paul writes to the Philippians. 38:29 And all that is to glorify God. Amen. 38:31 And it all goes back to glorify Him. 38:33 But see, you know what? 38:35 I think the problem is when you were talking, 38:37 I mean, it's just amazing to me that somebody would say, 38:40 we don't need to preach... 38:41 Oh, yeah, it's amazing. 38:43 I mean, that just amazes me, it's shocking. 38:45 But I think the problem is that there are people who think 38:49 once they have come to the foot of the cross, 38:52 and receive Christ as Savior. 38:55 That's it. 38:56 They think that's... That was the end of it. 38:58 That's the end of it. 39:00 But that's just the beginning of it. 39:03 That's justification 39:06 by grace through faith. 39:08 It's an act of God. 39:10 It's something that He does, you know, just instantaneously 39:15 He covers up our sins and, I mean, we're justified. 39:19 Now, the next step 39:23 to salvation is sanctification. 39:25 And that is a work of God. 39:28 That's where Philippians 2:12, 13 comes in. 39:31 He's working in us to will and to do his good pleasure. 39:33 That's right. 39:35 And that He will complete the good work. 39:37 But we've got to cooperate because turned to, 39:41 since we're in Romans, let's look at Romans Chapter 8. 39:44 I love this scripture, 39:48 we're talking about the power of the Word. 39:51 But these are words of spiritual, 39:53 they're spiritually discerned. 39:55 And they're spiritually applied. 39:56 I mean, you've got to have the Holy Spirit 39:58 to understand the Word 40:00 and to put it to work in your life. 40:02 Right? So look what he says here. 40:05 "If you live according to the flesh," 40:08 that's the way of the world. 40:10 Which scripture you're at? I'm sorry, Romans 8:13. 40:12 I apologize, Romans 8:13. 40:16 "If you live according to the flesh," 40:19 what's gonna happen? 40:20 You'll die. You'll die. 40:21 But we're all gonna die. Right? 40:23 What kind of death is He talking about here? 40:24 All right. 40:25 He's talking about the second death. 40:27 That's mentioned four times in Revelation, right? 40:30 But he says, "But if, by the Spirit, 40:35 you put to death the deeds of the body, 40:38 you will live." 40:39 Now let me give that a different emphasis. 40:42 If by the spirit 40:45 you put to death. 40:48 You see the cooperation there? 40:51 You can't put to death in your own sense 40:55 without the Holy Spirit, but he's not gonna do it 40:58 without your cooperation. 40:59 That's right. Absolutely. 41:01 And you're talking about the spirit keeps coming back 41:05 up into this conversation. 41:06 As I mentioned before, 41:08 when you go to John that was, just, 41:09 there's tons of scriptures across the Bible 41:12 that tell us the attributes, the goal, the purpose, 41:15 the agenda of the Holy Spirit. 41:17 But probably in no other book, 41:19 in no other better chapters than John Chapter 14 41:21 and John Chapter 16, 41:23 both of those really amplified for us 41:25 the purpose of the Holy Spirit. 41:27 And so if you look at this, if you look this through, 41:30 you will see John Chapter 14:26, 41:33 tells us that the "Comforter, 41:34 which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send, 41:36 in my name, he shall teach you all things." 41:40 But what are the things he's gonna teach you? 41:44 And bring another, he continues to say 41:46 and bring all things to your remembrance 41:47 whatsoever I have said to you, 41:49 so he wants to remind us of something. 41:52 Notice John 16:8, okay? 41:55 "And when he is come, 41:57 he will reprove the world of sin 41:58 and of righteous and of judgment. 42:00 How be it when he the Spirit of Truth, 42:03 again, sanctify them by thy truth, 42:04 thy Word is truth. 42:06 When the Spirit of Truth is come, 42:08 He will guide you into all truth." 42:10 What is that truth? 42:11 He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine, 42:14 and shall show it unto you. 42:15 So there's five things here we see very clearly 42:17 from these two passages. 42:18 The Holy Spirit wants to teach us all things, 42:20 remind us always of God's ways. 42:22 Reprove the world of sin, guide you into all truth. 42:24 Always glorify Christ 42:26 by the revealing of His character to you, 42:28 it all comes full circle back to the Word of God. 42:31 He's teaching us all things through the Word. 42:34 He's showing us Christ in Christ. 42:36 He knows we're His disciples if we abide by His Word, 42:39 so it always comes back full circle. 42:41 When we accept the Word of God, 42:43 we're allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, 42:46 to reflect Jesus' character, 42:48 that's what it's all about. Amen. 42:50 Let me bring this up. 42:52 I mean, I'm caught up here on something. 42:56 The word effectually, effectively. 42:59 Okay. 43:00 The definition for effectively... 43:02 So you're back in 1 Thessalonians 2:30. 43:05 Yes, but it ties into everything 43:06 we're talking about 43:08 'cause we're talking about the Word of God 43:09 and what Jesus does in for us 43:12 if we are in His Word, okay. 43:16 Effectively the definition of effectively... 43:19 But let me back up just one second. 43:20 So the word in context, it's the Word of God, 43:23 which effectively works in you. 43:25 Works in you to believe who believe. 43:28 Okay. That's our part... 43:30 Right. In believing. 43:31 Effectively means able to produce 43:34 a desired result. 43:36 My goodness, because that is... 43:40 Our desire is to positively make a difference 43:44 in people's lives in Jesus Christ. 43:47 And it says here, we can learn it 43:50 because the truth is in the Word of God right here, 43:52 the truth is here, and he's sitting here 43:54 and he's promising us. 43:56 It also works effectively. 43:57 That's right. 43:59 So we'll be his little soldiers, 44:02 and we're out here 44:03 doing the very best that we can do. 44:05 It's gonna be effective. 44:07 He just got through saying that... 44:09 His Word will not return void. 44:10 But what we've got to do is, we've got to believe. 44:14 Lord, increase my faith. 44:15 That's right. Thank you for your grace. 44:17 Thank you for that gift that's gonna sit here... 44:19 And we've got to know the Word, 44:21 we've got to know the Word. It goes back to the Word. 44:23 If you wanted to sum up this entire 66 books. 44:26 It's all about God, wanting us to trust in Him and His work. 44:29 Amen. Amen. 44:30 1 That's what this all about. But I've never... 44:32 Well, anyway, thank you, Jesus. 44:34 Amen. 44:36 All right, so here's, here, 44:38 we're down to about 10 minutes here. 44:40 So I want to just kind of jump ahead. 44:42 Paul tells us to let the Word of God 44:44 dwell on us richly. 44:46 Right. 44:47 And this is something that, you know, 44:49 if you don't get into the Word, 44:51 it can't dwell in you richly, it can't effectively, 44:54 you got to plant it in your heart. 44:56 And you know, the Bible says that, it will, 44:58 once it takes root that all of a sudden, 45:01 and this is what happens to me, I'll plan a scripture promise, 45:06 and you just keep speaking it back to the Lord, 45:08 praying it over your life. 45:09 And then one day, it's like... 45:11 something pops up above the surface, 45:14 you know, and then it begins to grow. 45:16 And then there's the, the ear in the corn 45:19 and then the full kernel in the year. 45:22 So what happens, 45:24 and we're all gonna confess this. 45:26 There are times that we go through dry spells. 45:29 It's natural, it happens to everybody 45:31 in the whole wide world. 45:33 I really believe that even in ministry, because it's just, 45:37 you can be physically exhausted, 45:38 emotionally exhausted, something is going on 45:42 and then you become spiritually exhausted. 45:45 So if you find yourself in that place 45:48 where it's kind of like, oh, Word, Word, Word, 45:51 I'm tired of hearing about, I need to be in the Word. 45:53 I wanna challenge you. 45:55 Because when I really get towards 45:58 kind of if usually when I open this, 46:01 it's just like, I mean, fresh air 46:04 and everything's rolling over me. 46:06 But if I get to where I'm opening it 46:08 and it's kind of like, Oh, I've got to do this study. 46:12 Read Psalm 1:119 46:15 because then you begin to understand 46:17 the benefits of the Word. 46:21 JD, you start with 119:105, 46:25 and we're just going to jump around 46:26 in Psalm 119 we should, 46:28 if we had time we'd read the whole thing. 46:30 Oh, this is one of my favorite. 46:32 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 46:36 One of the reasons that is so, so endearing to me 46:38 because I can see this. 46:40 Yeah. 46:41 Boy, I've got a flashlight here, 46:43 you know, that I can see in front of me. 46:44 And as you, as we were talking about being spiritually I mean, 46:48 you're spiritually nourished while ago. 46:51 Part of this is in my backpack, I need a sandwich, 46:55 I need a little Bible 46:57 and I need to have Psalms 119:105. 47:00 Yes. 47:01 And a bottle of water, the Holy Spirit. 47:03 Bottle of water. That's exactly right. 47:05 You know but anyway, that's so easy to say, 47:08 "Thank You, Jesus that you are a lamp, 47:09 that you are that bright light." 47:11 You know that mean, 47:12 that's symbolic in the sanctuary. 47:14 So and it's a light to my path because boy, you can sure, 47:17 surely stumble and fall even before you know. 47:20 Yeah. That's true. 47:22 Okay, Ryan why don't you to take verse 24 47:25 and verse 9, 3, 11 since you are a young man. 47:28 Sure. 47:29 So Psalm 119:24, says, "Your testimonies 47:33 also are my delight and my counselors. 47:38 What a great counselor the Word of God is. 47:40 And that we should treat it just like that because again, 47:44 our way is always the wrong way. 47:47 His way is always the right way. 47:49 And so in every aspect of life, I always try to, 47:51 have tried to train myself over the years that whatever, 47:55 whatever problem, whatever challenge, 47:56 whatever trial that I may be going through in my life, 47:59 I always try to ask myself the question, 48:02 "What does God's Word say about this?" 48:04 What does the Lord say about this? 48:05 Because I want... 48:07 And who doesn't need a counselor. 48:08 Absolutely. Every age counselor. 48:10 Absolutely. 48:12 119 verses, it's Psalm 119:9-11. 48:16 The Bible says, "How can a young man 48:18 cleanse his way by taking heed 48:21 according to your word, with my whole heart, 48:25 I have sought you, oh, let me not wander 48:28 from your commandments, 48:30 your word I have hidden in my heart, 48:33 that I might not sin against you." 48:36 Powerful. Amen and amen. 48:37 And you know what? 48:39 I have found that there are times that, 48:42 has this ever happened to you where you're reading the Word, 48:45 and all of a sudden you come across something 48:47 and you're going, "Oh, I'm guilty of that." 48:51 And you know, 48:53 if you don't know the Word of God, 48:55 you may be sinning against God without knowing it. 48:58 It's true. 48:59 And so it's like the more of this word 49:02 that gets hidden in our heart, 49:04 the more that we're putting into practice, 49:06 you know, then it's kind of that 49:09 God helps us recognize our sin more quickly. 49:13 And we can ask for the gift of repentance 49:16 and the forgiveness. 49:17 So it's a beautiful thing to hide this in your heart. 49:20 JD, Psalm 119:97- 100. 49:25 "Oh, how I love your law. 49:28 It is my meditation all the day, 49:30 you through your commandment make be wiser than my enemies, 49:34 for they are ever with me. 49:36 I have more understanding than all my teachers, 49:39 for your testimonies are my meditation. 49:42 I understand more than the ancients 49:45 because I keep your precepts." 49:48 And I think, you know, that if we're in His Word, 49:50 then automatically He's just gonna fill us. 49:53 I mean, if he wouldn't sit here and say what you read earlier, 49:56 I'm gonna bring it to your remembrance. 49:58 So I mean, our responsibility is just get it in there, 50:02 then it becomes his responsibility 50:03 to bring to my remembrance. 50:05 Because that's what, that's one of my fears, 50:07 someday I'm gonna be surrounded by 50:10 a bunch of bad guys, 50:12 and hoop, why do you believe that 50:14 what you believe. 50:15 All right. 50:16 Boy, I'll tell you Lord, 50:18 you better bring it to my remembrance 50:19 because I just don't know how capable I am anymore. 50:21 That's right. 50:23 You know, sometimes it just gets in there 50:24 and it just, but thank you. 50:26 Thank you for that we know we have the ability 50:28 to be wise through Him. 50:30 Amen. That heavenly wisdom. 50:32 All right, let's Debbie, why don't you read 50:35 from the Psalm 119 about the reviving 50:37 and strengthening? 50:39 Okay, Psalm 119:25, 50:41 "My soul clings to the desk 50:43 revived me according to your word." 50:46 Then verse 154, "Plead my cause and redeem me, 50:51 revive me according to your word." 50:54 Have you had that experience where you feel like 50:58 your soul's clinging to the dust 51:00 and you need revival? 51:01 Oh yes. 51:03 And then that is your strength right there. 51:05 That is what brings you back to the land of the living. 51:09 I mean, when you're just so, I mean, 51:11 I've gone through a hard time lately in my life 51:13 and if it wasn't for the Word of God, 51:17 how lost I would be. 51:19 It's true. It's true. 51:20 And I love revive 51:21 because I've looked ahead up to you know, 51:23 that means to be recharged. 51:24 Recharged, yes. 51:25 Re awake, me, Lord, regenerate me, Lord, 51:27 resuscitate me, Lord. 51:30 I mean, God is all there no matter 51:32 what the issue is. 51:33 If you need resuscitation, thank You, Jesus, 51:36 that's you were to breathe into me some fresh air. 51:39 That's right. That's right. 51:41 And then verse 28, says, "My soul melts from heaviness, 51:44 strengthen me, according to your word." 51:48 This has been my life this past few months. 51:52 I mean, this is what's kept me going and like I... 51:55 like I was told, I do get up early 51:58 and I do seek the Word of God. 52:00 And during this time, there's been times 52:02 it's been not even morning I'm getting up 52:04 and because I just can't sleep 52:07 because of the stuff that, that, 52:09 you seem like you get refreshed in the morning, 52:11 but by the time the end of the day comes, 52:13 and you lay down, 52:15 you're soul is melting from heaviness, absolutely. 52:19 And I would get up and say, I've got to go to my father, 52:22 I've got to go to the Word and it revives you, 52:26 it is your strength. 52:27 Praise the Lord. Yeah. 52:29 God's Word is true. 52:30 It is real, it is alive. 52:32 And it is the comfort. 52:34 Some of the greatest, 52:35 you know, talking about revival, 52:37 the power of the Word, reviving power of the Word. 52:39 I think of some of the stories in Scripture 52:41 where some of the greatest revivals occurred, 52:43 because they found the Word. 52:45 I think it's King Josiah, 52:46 in 2 Kings Chapter 22 there where, 52:50 you know, the nation previous to his reign 52:53 had just steeped in apostasy, drowning in apostasy 52:57 and cleaning out the temple and they go 53:01 and they find these old scrolls and they bring it to the king. 53:03 And they say, this is the law of God, 53:06 this is the Torah. 53:07 And there was this great powerful revival 53:10 because they returned to the Word of God 53:12 as a nation and praise God 53:14 for the leadership of King Josiah. 53:16 But I also wanna say 53:17 because we only have about four minutes left, 53:19 I just want to add this because this is... 53:21 We're talking about the power of the Word of God. 53:23 Amen. 53:24 And that's what this entire study has been about. 53:26 There's no denying that the Word of God in 53:29 and of itself is power. 53:31 It has power. 53:33 But the Bible also says that God is love. 53:36 Amen. Amen. 53:37 Not that He's just merely loving, 53:39 but He is loving in the sense that 53:41 true love requires freedom. 53:44 That we live in a generation today 53:46 where the average home in America 53:49 at least has around eight to nine Bibles. 53:54 We have the life source. 53:56 But here's the power fullness of God's love 53:59 is that even though He has provided us 54:01 with this powerful life changing Word, 54:04 there still has to be a humble approach 54:07 on our part to allow this to transform us. 54:11 I think of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25. 54:14 They all have their lamps. 54:16 They all have their lamps, 54:18 they all went out to meet the bridegroom. 54:20 Even the five foolish had their lamps 54:23 and they trusted... 54:24 The lamp being the Bible. 54:26 The Bible, yes, the lamp symbolically, 54:27 the lamp, of course, 54:28 you know, the light unto our path, lamp is God, 54:30 the Bible, so they all got their Bibles 54:33 and in symbolically that very prophetic parable, 54:36 they're going out with their trust in God's Word 54:39 that He's going to return. 54:41 It says they all went out to wait 54:43 for the bridegroom to return. 54:45 If you would have asked those five virgins. 54:47 If they believed in the Word of God, 54:49 they would have said, yes. 54:50 If you would have asked those five virgins 54:51 if you believe that Jesus is coming, yes. 54:53 Are you a Christian? Are you saved? 54:54 Yes, yes, yes. 54:56 But they lack the Holy Spirit. They lack the oil. 54:59 Oil, you take Zachariah 4, Revelation 5, 55:02 put those together, it clearly teaches us that 55:04 the oil can represent the Spirit of God. 55:06 Amen. 55:08 And so, you know, we can read this powerful book 55:10 and is it possible for us to know this, read this, 55:14 but be rejecting the power 55:16 behind this to activate it in our life. 55:19 And I just, I feel led to say something about that because, 55:23 you know for years of my life, I would read this 55:26 and I would know it, I memorized it. 55:29 But it's one thing you can read it, 55:32 but again, be a hearer of the Word 55:35 and not a doer in rejecting 55:37 the convicting power of this Word, 55:39 and that it becomes void in the sense that you, 55:43 you are rejecting the power behind this Word. 55:46 And that is the Holy Spirit. 55:47 I wanna encourage everyone at home, 55:48 I wanna encourage myself, 55:50 I wanna pray the Lord transform me 55:51 that when I open Your Word, 55:53 that this powerful word as your Word says, 55:56 will not return void, 55:57 that I will listen to the Holy Spirit 55:59 and that I'll hide this is in my heart 56:01 that I may not sin against You. 56:03 And that's the way I think it's the returning, 56:05 it's the speaking God's Word over your life 56:07 praying those promises in prayer. 56:09 That's how you plug into your power source 56:12 that's returning it to Him. 56:14 But I wanted to read this to you. 56:15 He says, Jesus says in John 12, 56:19 John Chapter 12:48, he said, "He who rejects me, 56:24 does not receive my word has that which judges him. 56:29 The word that I have spoken, 56:30 will judge him in the last day." 56:34 What God wants from you and from me, 56:39 He has given us everything 56:41 that we need for good abundant life 56:45 and godliness. 56:46 He has given us His exceedingly great 56:49 and precious promises. 56:52 And the Bible says 1 Peter, 2, 3, 56:54 and 4 says that through these promises, 56:57 we become partakers of the divine nature. 57:00 God wants you to understand 57:03 that the potential of any harvest 57:06 whether it's a physical or spiritual harvest, 57:08 that potential is wrapped inside the seed. 57:12 And Jesus said the seed is the Word of God, 57:16 so all of your potential is trapped inside of this seed, 57:21 and we are already out of time, out of time. 57:25 Thank you so much for joining us. 57:27 We're so glad that you joined us 57:29 and our prayer for you is that the grace of our Lord 57:32 and Savior Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, 57:35 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 57:36 will be with you always. 57:38 Amen. |
Revised 2019-10-21