Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: WOFP
Program Code: WOFP000002
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00:23 We welcome all of you tonight from around the world
00:26 for 3ABN's Week of Prayer. 00:29 Yesterday Pastor Lomacang, he laid the foundation 00:33 for this week's presentations. 00:36 But tonight we begin the first of the seven topics that were 00:39 determined by the General Conference for this 00:43 annual Week of Prayer. 00:44 Tonight's presentation is titled, 00:47 Making God's Word Our Own. 00:49 And it will be presented by someone that's very dear 00:52 and precious to me, and that's my wife Shelley. 00:55 But first I've been asked to pray with you for today's Focus 01:01 on Prayer, which is the world outreach of media ministries. 01:07 The Seventh-day Adventist church has a long history of media 01:10 based communication. 01:11 There are many Adventist media ministries today that come in 01:16 the form of print, radio, television, 01:20 and, of course, internet. 01:22 Some are directly funded by the church while others, 01:25 like Three Angels Broadcasting Network, 01:28 are supporting ministries that rely on donations. 01:31 With regard to print, Adventists operate numerous publishing 01:37 houses worldwide, printing magazines, tracts, and books. 01:43 And we should remember these ministries in our prayers, 01:46 and also remember our Adventist Book Centers. 01:50 With regard to Adventist radio, there are ministries of 01:55 shortwave, AM, FM, satellite, and direct to home 02:00 radio transmissions. 02:01 And, of course, we need to remember our own personal 02:05 3ABN Radio, and 3ABN Latino Radio. 02:10 The television ministry of this Adventist church is 02:14 greatly multiplying. 02:16 It's amazing to consider that 3ABN will be celebrating its 02:21 28th Anniversary this month. 02:23 We are no longer a single network reaching every 02:29 inhabited continent of the world, but in addition to 3ABN 02:32 there is 3ABN International, 3ABN Proclaim, 3ABN Latino, 02:39 3ABN Russia, Dare to Dream, and the Sunbeam Channel. 02:44 Naturally, in today's high-tech society media ministries have 02:49 to include the Internet. 02:51 And there are numerous Adventist ministries on the Internet. 02:56 And we can certainly attest that our 3ABN website is indeed 03:01 making a dynamic impact. 03:03 So let's lift all of the worldwide Adventist media 03:09 ministries before the throne of grace 03:11 and pray for God's blessing. 03:16 Heavenly Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus to lift up 03:23 all the work that You are performing Lord, around the 03:25 world through the Adventist media ministries. 03:27 Father, we thank You for today's technology that makes it 03:33 possible to reach the world's most remote areas. 03:36 We pray that You will give people ears to hear Lord, 03:39 what the Holy Spirit has to say through all of this Christ 03:43 centered programming. 03:44 And we pray Father, that You will anoint each 03:47 ministry and their staff. 03:49 Lead them by Your good Spirit, and cause them to do all 03:52 for the glory of Your name, presenting the undiluted truth. 03:56 And we ask that You will increase their territories, 04:00 and magnify the impact of these ministries. 04:02 Father we also pray that You will speak to the north, 04:06 to the south, east, and the west, and bring in the funds 04:09 necessary to successfully proclaim Your three angels' 04:13 messages across the world. 04:14 And Lord, we thank You for the privilege of participating 04:18 in Your work of salvation, and pray that You will give each of 04:23 us a generous heart toward the lost and the suffering. 04:26 I also pray Lord, that You will anoint Shelley this evening. 04:30 Anoint her mind, her mouth, and her message. 04:33 And Father we thank You for the answer 04:37 to the prayer of faith. 04:38 In the name of Jesus, Amen. 04:41 Tonight's study topic will be, Making God's Word Our Own, 04:48 and it will be presented by Shelley Quinn. 04:51 But first we're going to enjoy special music coming from the 04:55 Pillars Hymns CD, the Pillars Hymns Choir singing, 05:00 Jesus Is Coming Again. 07:57 Amen! Amen! He is coming again, and we are standing on the edge 08:07 of the promised land. Would you agree? 08:09 He's coming soon, but we have to remember that just like the 08:14 Israelites of old stood on the edge of the promised land, 08:18 they did not get God's permission to enter, did they? 08:24 Why? Because of their unbelief. 08:28 So what is important for us is to remember how faith operates 08:35 through the word of God. 08:37 And tonight we're going to be talking about how to 08:41 benefit from its power. 08:42 When I was considering this message, I thought of Psalm 119. 08:47 And the psalmist in that particular psalm says, 08:51 Oh Lord, I am greatly afflicted. 08:55 My soul is in the dust. 08:57 Oh Lord, plead my cause. 09:00 Be my defender. Redeem me, Lord. 09:04 Revive me according to Your word. 09:08 Our topic tonight, as determined by the General Conference 09:12 is, Making God's Word Our Own; Learning to 09:17 Benefit From Its Power. 09:19 Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come again in the name of Jesus. 09:24 And Lord, we thank You for this year's emphasis 09:28 on revival and reformation. 09:30 And we thank You Father, for this Week of Prayer's 09:34 emphasis on Your word. 09:36 And I pray right now Lord, that by the power of Your Holy 09:41 Spirit You will speak to Your people. 09:44 Get me out of the way Father. 09:46 And I ask in the name of Jesus that He will be our teacher, 09:51 and that You will give us ears to hear what the Holy Spirit 09:54 has to say. In Jesus' name, Amen. 09:58 You know, time is life. 10:02 How we invest our time is how we invest our life. 10:06 And if you want to get a finger on your spiritual pulse, 10:12 the easiest way to do it is to see, and ask yourself, 10:16 How much time am I spending in the word? 10:18 How much time am I spending in prayer? 10:21 Why should we invest our time in search of the Scriptures? 10:27 Well, I was thinking about this, and here's some of the things 10:32 that the Bible says about the word of God. 10:34 It is perfect, it is eternal, it's living, powerful, awesome, 10:39 it's righteous, it's truthful, it's dependable, 10:42 it's inexhaustible, and it's full of wonders. 10:47 It occurs to me that this description is not only for the 10:52 written word of God, but for the living 10:54 Word of God, Jesus Christ. 10:56 Because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with 11:01 God, and the Word was God. 11:03 He was in the beginning with God. 11:06 And by Him all things were made. 11:09 Nothing that was made was made without Him. 11:13 And in Him was life; and the life was the light of men. 11:18 And the Word became flesh, and made His dwelling among us. 11:23 Revival comes from renewing our focus on Jesus Christ, 11:29 and on the word of God. 11:31 Jesus is the living Word. 11:34 The Bible is the written word of God. 11:36 But I want to tell you it is alive and active as well. 11:40 God's word has creative power. 11:43 By the word of God the heavens and the earth were created. 11:47 Everything that we know came into existence 11:52 by the word of God. 11:54 In the beginning God created all things. 11:59 And the miracle of creation is wrapped inside His word. 12:05 But let me tell you something. 12:07 All of your potential is wrapped inside of God's word. 12:13 The God who created something out of nothing by His spoken 12:17 word, can transform you by His written word. 12:22 God's Word has life giving power. 12:25 It brings spiritual life. 12:27 1 Peter says that we are born again, not of corruptible seed, 12:32 but incorruptible through the living word of God. 12:37 And one of my favorite parables that Christ 12:40 told about the word... 12:41 I'm just going to read this to you. 12:42 It's Mark 4:26-28. Listen carefully. 12:47 He said, This is what the kingdom of God is like. 12:51 A man scatters seed on the ground. 12:53 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, 12:56 the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 13:01 All by itself the soil produces grain; first the stalk, 13:07 then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 13:12 And it works the same for you and I. 13:15 When we have the word of God in our heart; first it changes 13:22 our thoughts, then it changes our actions, 13:26 and it changes our habits. 13:28 You know that Jesus said in Luke 8, when He was telling the 13:34 parable of the sower, that the word of God is the seed. 13:40 And it is the seed of the miracle transformation 13:45 that is in God's word. 13:46 When we were at ASI this last year, I met a young man, 13:51 and he had been brought up as an atheist. 13:55 His parents were atheist's. 13:57 He married an atheist. 13:58 And it just so happened God arranged for him to move to 14:04 Montana for a short time to work there. 14:06 And guess who were the first two people that he met 14:09 and became good friends with? 14:11 Two young Adventist men. 14:13 And they were constantly telling him that their faith, 14:18 their beliefs, were based on the Bible and the Bible only. 14:22 So this man, thinking that they were deluded, 14:25 went and bought a Bible. 14:27 Because he loved his friends, and he wanted to save them 14:32 from their error, if you will. 14:35 And as he read the Bible from cover to cover, 14:40 from Genesis to Revelation, what do you think happened? 14:44 God transformed his life by the creative power of His word. 14:52 And this young man accepted the Lord as his Savior. 14:57 Then he had to go and tell his wife. 14:59 And he was so worried about sharing this 15:02 information with his wife. 15:03 But when he went to her he said, Do me a favor, read this book. 15:10 And she sat down and read it, and guess what happened? 15:14 She became an Adventist Christian. 15:17 Then, horror of horrors, he had to go tell his father, 15:21 who was a professor, a very high intellectual man 15:26 who made fun of Christians. 15:28 And he said, Dad I know you're not going to believe this, 15:31 but I've read this book, and there's something here. 15:36 Please read it for me. 15:38 His father read the book. 15:40 What do you think happened? 15:42 He became an Adventist Christian. 15:45 And then, now he has to tell his wife. 15:50 But the point of this story, and the bottom line is that all 15:55 became Christians by reading the word of God. 16:00 God has designed the potential of the harvest to be 16:05 wrapped inside the seed. 16:07 And it is the same in the natural realm; the potential of 16:14 the harvest is in the seed. 16:15 If I plant corn here what am I going to get? 16:18 If I plant wheat here, what am I going to get? 16:21 Why? Because the potential of the harvest is in the seed. 16:26 And it is the same for you, it is the same for me. 16:30 The potential, all of our potential, 16:33 is wrapped inside God's word. 16:36 Please turn to James 1:21, James 1:21. 16:47 While you're turning there, I'll just explain to our watching 16:52 audience the reason I'm not holding a Bible in my hands. 16:55 This is the word of God that is written in here, but the reason 16:58 I'm not holding a Bible is because I'm nursing two torn 17:02 ligaments, and a double fracture that's still not quite healed. 17:06 And it's just a little too heavy for me. 17:09 James 1:21, James writes, Therefore lay aside all 17:15 filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with 17:20 meekness, with humility, the implanted word, which is able 17:28 to save your souls. 17:31 The word of God has saving power. 17:35 And, you know, the Apostle Peter told new Christians that they 17:41 should desire the milk of the word and grow thereby. 17:46 What is the milk of the word? 17:48 It is the basic fundamentals of the word. 17:50 We would call it our 28 fundamental beliefs. 17:54 That is the milk of the word. 17:57 But the book of Hebrews tells Christians who've been in the 18:01 family for a while, basically the writer's saying, Grow up! 18:07 You shouldn't just be living off the milk. 18:10 Now it's time to get in the solid food of the word so that 18:16 you can discern between good and evil. 18:19 And the solid food of the word is the advanced 18:23 principles of godliness. 18:24 So here's my question: Are we progressing in knowledge 18:30 and spiritual power to the degree, or as rapidly as we 18:39 have the privilege to because of the word of God? 18:42 I have, Mollie Steenson always tells me that 18:47 I have a merry heart, a Mary's heart. 18:50 And I'm speaking of Mary and Martha. 18:52 I love, Jill like you, I love to sit at the feet 18:58 of the Lord and study. 19:00 I love the word of God. 19:03 But you know what? 19:04 We live in a Martha world, don't we? 19:07 And so often I find myself, like Martha, in the kitchen, 19:12 as it were, rattling the pots and pans. 19:14 You can be in ministry and get so busy with everything that 19:20 you're doing for the Lord that you allow it to rob you 19:24 of your personal time. 19:26 And you know that as well, John, that when we are in the 19:30 ministry, we've got to really protect the time. 19:34 Because we can be so busy doing what's good, 19:38 that we're not doing what's best. 19:41 But we need to be like the Berean's of Acts 17. 19:45 And we need to, the Scripture says, that they received the 19:51 word of God with readiness, and they searched the Scriptures 19:55 daily to prove that it was true. 19:58 So Paul would tell us, Let the word of God dwell in you richly. 20:04 That means we have to meditate on it. 20:07 That means we have to abide in it. 20:10 And to abide in God's word means to be living in God's word. 20:18 And I always tell people, believing in 20:22 means to be living in. 20:25 So tonight what we want to look at is, how do we abide 20:30 in God's word to make it our own? 20:33 And I've got seven points that we're going to... 20:35 Hopefully we'll get through all of these points. 20:38 Let me begin with 1. To make God's word our own we must plant 20:46 the seed in good soil. 20:49 And that is a heart that is ready to receive. 20:53 Turn to Hosea 10, Hosea, the first book after Daniel. 20:58 We've got to have a heart that is ready to receive the word. 21:05 And not just go to the word with a stony heart, but we need 21:10 to look at what Hosea said in chapter 10, and verse 12. 21:15 Because this is the beginning of making God's word our own. 21:20 Hosea 10:12 says: Sow for yourself righteousness, 21:29 reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to 21:36 seek the Lord, till he comes and rains righteousness on you. 21:42 How do we break up the fallow ground of a heart that's maybe 21:48 hardened in some area? 21:50 We go before the Lord confessing our sins, 21:54 and asking for forgiveness. 21:56 And we know that anytime we confess our sins, 22:01 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, 22:03 and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 22:05 To break up the fallow ground we enjoy the joy of repentance. 22:12 I remember once when, Joe, we were talking, and I talked about 22:16 the joy of repentance. 22:19 And he said, What? 22:21 Here is why repenting is so joyful. 22:26 If I am headed in the wrong direction, away from the Lord, 22:31 and I stop and I confess my sins, it is God who gives me the 22:37 power to turn around and return to my loving Heavenly Father, 22:42 who's got His arms open wide to receive me. 22:46 There is true joy in repentance. 22:48 And then we need, before we even open the word, 22:53 to pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 22:56 Because the word of God is spiritual, 23:00 and it is spiritually discerned. 23:02 It is the Holy Spirit who will guide us into the 23:07 truths of God's word. 23:09 Pray for a desire to read God's word. 23:13 I pray daily, Oh Lord, give me an unquenchable desire for Your 23:19 inexhaustible word, Oh Lord. 23:22 And then before I even open the Scriptures I'll pray, 23:26 Lord sanctify me by this word. 23:29 Your word is truth, and I want to be sanctified by this truth. 23:34 Jesus said something that I'm going to read to you from 23:39 the Amplified in Mark 4:24. 23:43 He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. 23:47 The measure of thought and study you give to the truth 23:51 you hear will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes 23:56 back to you, and more besides will be given to you who hear. 24:03 Let me tell you something. 24:04 Any time you see that word hear in the Bible, 24:07 the word is more than listen. 24:11 It is a dynamic word, and it means that you are to put 24:17 into action the words that you are hearing. 24:22 So the second point is this: to make God's word our own, 24:27 and benefit from its power. 24:29 Go to the word with the purpose of getting to know 24:34 your Heavenly Father, and His plan of salvation. 24:37 Please turn to John 17, John 17. 24:42 The Bible is the primary way that God communicates with us. 24:48 And I have coined my own acronym for the Bible. 24:54 The B I B L E is the best instructions by love's example. 25:01 And when we go to the word of God we need to 25:05 take off our filters. 25:07 Because some of us have been brought up believing that God 25:10 is just ready to zap us. 25:12 That He's up standing, He's standing in front of His throne 25:16 looking down at the world, and He is ready to punish us, 25:21 and judge us for all of our error. 25:24 Take those filters off. 25:26 Go to the word to understand the loving heavenly Father. 25:31 John 17:3. If you're there, John 17:3. 25:37 Jesus said, This is eternal life, that they may know You 25:46 the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 25:53 If you will go to the word of God, not to answer the Sabbath 25:57 School Quarterly questions, not to just argue doctrine with 26:02 someone and have your reasons ready to defend your purposes. 26:10 But if you'll go to the word of God to get to know the Lord, 26:15 to have a deeper understanding of Him. 26:19 And when Jesus said, Know Him; this is 26:23 eternal life to know Him. 26:25 It's not an intellectual knowledge, but it's living 26:29 in fellowship with Him. 26:31 And as you begin to see how He loves you, 26:34 you'll fall in love with Him. 26:37 We love Him because He first loved us. 26:40 And it will increase the vitality of your 26:43 relationship with Him. 26:44 You know, recently over the last number of years, God has really 26:51 been changing my focus on grace. 26:55 He's been helping me understand what grace is. 27:00 And I recently read through the Old Testament 27:04 with a new filter on. 27:08 I was looking for the God of grace. 27:11 And it is so amazing how different, even the book of 27:15 even the book of Leviticus. 27:18 I loved studying the book of Leviticus. 27:22 It is filled with God's grace! 27:25 And what we have to recognize is that grace comes to us because 27:32 God's heart wells, and overflows with love for us. 27:38 And from that overflowing there is a grace pipeline. 27:42 He is the giver of every good and perfect gift. 27:45 And that grace comes down to us through the grace pipeline. 27:48 And faith is the faucet. 27:51 It's how we tap into the grace pipeline. 27:53 And prayer is how we open that faith faucet. 27:58 And trust is the relationship, or the foundation. 28:02 For the prayer of faith relationship is the foundation 28:06 for trust, and love is the foundation for relationship. 28:11 So the more we understand God's love for us, the greater our 28:17 relationship will be. 28:18 The greater our relationship the more trust we will have. 28:22 The more trust we have the greater the prayer of faith. 28:26 And the... when we have that prayer of faith, we are tapping 28:30 in to God's pipeline, through that faith faucet, 28:35 to receive His grace. 28:37 And grace is more than just unmerited favor. 28:43 It is the divine power of God for salvation. 28:47 His three greatest gifts of grace prove that. 28:51 Do you know what His three greatest gifts are? 28:54 Jesus Christ: For God so loved the world He gave 28:59 His only begotten Son. 29:01 The Holy Spirit that He promised to all believers. 29:06 And the word of God. 29:08 All Scripture was given by God. 29:11 It was God breathed. 29:13 And what we want to do when we go to the Bible is look 29:18 for this God of grace. 29:20 Grow in grace, and in the knowledge 29:23 of our Lord and Savior. 29:25 Now the third point. 29:27 To make God's word our own, we have to go to the word to learn 29:32 who we are in Christ. 29:34 In 2 Corinthians 5:17 the Bible says that we are new creations; 29:41 that the old is gone and the new has come if you're in Christ. 29:46 Well, how well do you know your new identity? 29:51 Do you know who you are now that you've 29:55 become a child of God? 29:59 What an exalted privilege it is to be a child of God. 30:04 And yet so many of us walk around with defeat 30:08 and discouragement. 30:10 God has predestined all who are in Christ to be 30:16 conformed to His image. 30:18 Turn to 2 Corinthians 3:18. 30:22 We want to go to the word because in the word we see a 30:28 reflection of who we are in Christ Jesus. 30:33 We learn this new identity that we have. 30:37 And as we meditate on the word, and apply the word of God to our 30:43 lives, we will be changed. 30:45 2 Corinthians 3:18 says this: We all, with unveiled face 30:53 beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, 30:58 are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, 31:04 just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 31:08 What is that saying? 31:10 We go to the word of God and there as in a mirror we see the 31:17 reflection of God's love, of Jesus Christ, 31:22 and who we are in Christ. 31:25 And as we look at this, and we're praying to the Lord, 31:30 Sanctify me by this word. 31:32 Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. 31:34 The Spirit will lead us from one level of God's glory, 31:38 which is His character, to the next. 31:42 Christ in us is our hope of glory. Amen? Amen! 31:48 So as we learn our identity in Him, and the only way to do that 31:54 is by living in His promises. 31:56 We begin to understand that God's plan of salvation is 32:01 absolute total dependence upon Him. 32:05 That's why salvation is a gift, a gift of God's grace. 32:10 There's nothing that we can do to save ourselves. 32:15 Now to make God's, 4. To make God's word our own we need to go 32:22 to the word giving God permission to renew our minds. 32:27 God's word brings increased light and understanding. 32:33 Psalm 119 says, The entrance of Your word brings light; 32:38 it gives understanding to the simple. 32:41 Turn to Romans 12 please, Romans 12. 32:46 As the word of God enters our heart it sheds His light of 32:52 understanding into the confusion of our darkness. 32:55 And it shows us the way out. 32:57 God's word is a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path. 33:02 Romans 12:2. Paul writes and says, Do not be conformed 33:11 to this world: but be transformed by the renewing 33:17 of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable 33:24 and perfect will of God. 33:27 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 33:33 First of all you'll notice that is a passive verb. 33:37 Be transformed means somebody else is going to 33:39 do the transformation. 33:41 But the renewing of our mind comes by going 33:46 to the word of God. 33:48 The Bible says that He sent His word to heal us, to save us from 33:55 our self-destructive way of life. 33:59 Turn over to John 8 while you're there please, John 8. 34:04 And we're going to talk about the liberating power 34:09 of the word of God. 34:10 Now I'll bet if I say John 8:32 that all of you can almost 34:17 can quote that to me. 34:19 Know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Amen? Amen. 34:26 Not so fast. Not so fast. 34:30 That is what John 8:32 says, but there is a qualifier. 34:38 You cannot separate John 8:31 from verse 32. 34:44 The qualifier is this: Jesus said to those Jews who believed 34:49 Him, If you abide in My word, if you live in My word, 34:57 you are My disciples indeed. 35:00 And then you will know the truth, 35:04 and the truth shall set you free. 35:07 The religious people of Jesus' day, they knew the truth. 35:14 They knew the word of God. 35:16 They memorized. The Pharisees memorized the Pentateuch. 35:20 Now that's some memory. 35:21 But they missed the Lord Jesus Christ. 35:27 They weren't living in His word. 35:31 It was head knowledge and not heart knowledge. 35:35 In His first letters to the Corinthians Paul wrote these 35:43 astonishing words: He says, We have been given 35:49 the mind of Christ. 35:52 You have been given the mind of Christ. 36:00 Can you say that? I have been given the mind of Christ. 36:07 Does that make you feel strange to say? 36:09 You know, even though we've been given this mind, 36:13 we're not drawing on it as we should. 36:15 The Bible records His thoughts and His wisdom. 36:22 The word of God is a reflection of the mind of Christ. 36:28 God endowed His word with life-giving power, 36:34 a creative power, that will reproduce the 36:38 mind of Christ in us. 36:40 And the more word that you have in your heart, 36:44 the more word that you are putting into practice 36:47 day by day, the more you will operate by the mind of Christ. 36:53 We should have the mind of Christ 36:58 and conduct our lives by it. 37:01 And if we do we will be led by the Spirit 37:05 of self-sacrificing love and humility. 37:08 Now the fifth point: to make God's word our own. 37:14 We should go to the word to develop faith. 37:18 What brings faith? Faith comes by hearing, 37:23 and hearing by the word of God. 37:27 When we receive His word, we need to plant His promises 37:33 in good soil, plant His promises, in our heart, 37:36 and apply His instruction through daily practice. 37:42 Remember hearing is dynamic. 37:44 It means that we are putting it into action. 37:47 The vitality of our Christian life directly relates to 37:55 the number of promises that we have in our heart. 37:59 Little word, little faith. 38:03 Little faith, small expectations. 38:09 God wants you, He wants me to increase the measure 38:16 of our expectations. 38:19 Because the measure we use will be measured back to us. 38:23 That is the way faith operates. 38:26 And aren't we wearied by our limited expectations? 38:31 God wants to fill us with love, with joy, with peace, 38:36 and expected hope in His promises. 38:40 He wants to fill us with His power. 38:43 God wants more than anything for you to trust His heart. 38:47 Because trust is the foundation for faith. 38:51 Proverbs 3:5, 6 says, Trust in the Lord... with what? 38:56 ...all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. 39:01 In all your ways acknowledge Him, 39:03 and He will direct your paths. 39:05 So if we're not leaning on our own understanding, 39:08 what are we to lean on? 39:10 The word of God; God's understanding. 39:15 And this is so important because without faith it is impossible 39:21 to please the Lord. 39:23 So how do we fill our hearts with Scripture to develop faith 39:27 and make God's word our own, so that we will really 39:30 benefit from the power? 39:32 Well, it requires more than a casual reading. 39:36 We need to let the word become our focus. 39:41 We need to let the word become our prayer. 39:45 And we need to let the word become our confession. 39:48 If you will read the word during your prayer time, 39:53 you will find that it leads to prayer. 39:58 I can't pick up the word and read without praying. 40:03 It's like a conversation; God speaking to me, 40:07 and then I'm praying to Him. 40:10 Sometimes I'm praying for an answer, and I'll say, 40:14 Lord, I don't understand this. 40:16 You want, Your 're speaking to me, but I don't understand how 40:20 to put this in practice. 40:21 Sometimes I am claiming a promise, 40:25 and praying it back to Him. 40:27 You know, we can stake our claims on the promises of God 40:32 if we're in Christ. 40:33 Because all of His promises are Yes and Amen, 40:37 if we're living in Christ Jesus. 40:38 And claiming a promise is just recognizing your right to it. 40:43 As children of God all of His promises are ours. 40:49 But to really plug into God's power source, and benefit from 40:56 the power of God's word, we need to make God's creative word 41:02 our own by praying those promises back, 41:07 thanking God when we find something, 41:09 praying it back to Him, and then also by confessing it over 41:14 our life as an affirmation from Scripture. 41:17 Let me give you an example: Philippians 4:13, 41:22 and 2 Corinthians 12:9. 41:25 You can take those two Scriptures and you can confess 41:29 that over your life when you're having a difficult time, 41:32 and you can say, I can do all things through Christ 41:36 who strengthens me. 41:38 He infuses me with His power, and His grace is sufficient, 41:43 for His power is made perfect in my weakness. 41:46 Now I have to tell you a story. 41:48 That is so powerful to do when you're really down in the dumps. 41:53 But we were out in California a few years back, and I had done a 41:57 Friday night meeting, and I was to do three meetings on Sabbath 42:01 at a very large church, about a thousand people. 42:05 And I came home Friday night and evidentially had food 42:10 poisoning or a stomach flu, and it was bad. 42:13 The next morning I got up and I washed my hair. 42:17 I was so sick I could hardly stand up. 42:20 And I remember sitting there and I'm trying to do something 42:23 with this naturally curly hair of mine. 42:25 And I'm sitting, and I kept saying, I can do all things 42:28 through Christ who strengthens me. 42:30 I can do all things through... 42:31 Honey, I can't do this! 42:34 And so J. D. had, on about a thirty minute notice, 42:40 J. D. had to prepare his heart. 42:43 I said, You're going to have to go, 42:45 and you're going to have to speak. 42:47 He said, But they're expecting you. 42:49 And I said, It doesn't matter who they're expecting. 42:52 If the Holy Spirit doesn't show up there's not 42:55 going to be a blessing. 42:56 And I know you're filled with the Holy Spirit. 42:58 But we do want to make God's Scripture, 43:04 His promises our own. 43:06 In 1996 God led me to three Scriptures 43:10 that changed my life totally. 43:12 The reason I'm in ministry today is because of 43:16 these three Scriptures. 43:17 And that is Isaiah 55:11, which God is speaking and He said, 43:23 My word does not return to me void, but it accomplishes 43:28 the purposes for which I sent it. 43:30 And then Jeremiah 1:12. 43:33 He tells Jeremiah, You are correct. 43:37 I am watching over My word to perform it. 43:41 And then Romans 4:17 that says, God gives life to the dead, 43:47 and He calls things that are not as though they already were, 43:53 as though they already existed. 43:55 And we can do that as well. 43:58 As we return God's word to Him in prayer, it won't return void. 44:04 Because we are building a faith and a trust in God. 44:11 And it begins to accomplish the purpose for which He sent it. 44:15 He's watching over His word to perform it; just waiting for 44:20 someone who will accept His testimony by faith. 44:24 And we can be like God. 44:27 God knows the end from the beginning; we can know it, too, 44:32 because it is written. 44:33 And we can call things that are not as though they 44:37 already were by faith. 44:40 So speaking God's word over your life goes beyond claiming. 44:45 It's a confession, a word of faith that says we agree with 44:51 God's wisdom and His counsel. 44:53 And as we confess His word, we're confirming that the word 44:59 of God is our life source. 45:03 It causes us to exalt God's wisdom above human 45:08 wisdom and opinion. 45:10 It causes His way of thinking to become our way of thinking. 45:14 And as we plant God's promises in our heart, and put them into 45:20 practice we're validating His testimony. 45:24 One day I was talking with someone about this and they 45:30 said, You know, when I say these things I know they're not true. 45:35 And I said, Remember you're calling things that are not 45:39 as though they already were. 45:40 This is God's plan for your life. 45:42 This is your destiny. 45:45 God has predestined you to become like Jesus. 45:48 And they said, So you're telling me I just need to 45:51 fake it until I make it? 45:54 And I said, No, no, no. 45:55 I'm telling you you need to faith it until you make it. 46:01 Faith it until you make it. 46:05 There should never be a word that comes out of our mouth 46:09 that is not spoken in faith. 46:12 And when we hear our own voices declaring the wonders of God's 46:18 promises it will re-program our thoughts. 46:21 You know, they have a saying... I used to... 46:23 I went back to college. 46:25 I wanted to get a masters in Computer Science, 46:28 and I took three programming languages in the same semester. 46:31 Not a good idea. I can't tell you how often... 46:35 If anybody's a computer programmer you know. 46:37 There's a syntax, and every one of them has a different syntax. 46:41 And sometimes you separate clauses by a period, 46:44 or by a semicolon. 46:46 And so often I would be at the computer lab till 3 or 4 o'clock 46:51 in the morning with some loop; something that just keeps... 46:54 And I couldn't figure it out. 46:55 And I'd have a period where a semicolon should be. 46:58 But we have a saying that garbage in, garbage out. 47:06 If you program a computer with bad code, it's going to do 47:12 what I was sitting there watching it do. 47:15 It's going to spit out nothing but garbage. 47:18 It won't do the action, or perform the activity 47:23 that you want it to do. 47:24 It has to be good code that's going in. 47:29 When we sit and watch worldly television, when we are reading 47:36 worldly magazines, what are we putting in our mind? garbage. 47:43 Garbage in, garbage out. 47:45 But when we put the word of God in our mind, it reprograms our 47:51 thoughts and His word becomes our testimony, 47:54 our source for truth. 47:56 This helps us plug into His power source, 47:59 and put His word into practice. 48:02 And, you know, practice is very important. 48:04 Faith requires faith actions, because faith 48:08 without works is dead; it is stillborn. 48:12 So we have to be doers of the word and not just hearers only. 48:17 Now 6. To make God's word our own we must go to the word 48:22 to plug into His power source, to develop the divine nature. 48:29 God's word has transforming power. 48:33 Jesus said in John 17:17, in the garden one of His last 48:38 prayers to the Lord, and He said, Oh Lord, 48:40 sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. 48:45 What does it mean to be sanctified? 48:48 It means to be set apart for God's purposes. 48:53 It means to be set apart from evil. 48:57 Turn to Hebrews 1. 49:00 When we come to the word we want 49:04 to develop the divine nature. 49:09 But the word of God has more than sanctifying power. 49:16 It has sustaining power. 49:19 And I love this verse: Hebrews 1:3. 49:24 I'm going to read it from the Amplified. 49:27 Hebrews 1:3. He, speaking of Jesus, is the soul expression 49:33 of the glory of God. 49:35 He is the light beam, the out rain, or radiance of the divine. 49:39 He is the perfect imprint and very image of God's nature. 49:44 Stop right there. That verse, that first part of that verse, 49:50 forever changed the way that I read the word. 49:53 Because I grew up believing that Jesus was full of grace 49:59 and mercy, and that God was full of ready to, 50:04 just damnation and judgment. 50:06 And when I got to that I thought, Wow! 50:09 Christ is exactly like the Father! 50:15 Everything Jesus was, the Father is. 50:19 As loving, and compassionate, and non-judgmental; 50:22 that's who God is. 50:24 Jesus was the very image of God. 50:27 But that verse goes on to say that He is upholding, 50:31 and maintaining, and guiding, and propelling the universe 50:36 by His mighty word of power. 50:41 He will uphold and maintain your spiritual life 50:47 by His word of power. 50:49 He will propel you by His word of power. 50:53 That same creative miracle working function that was in His 51:00 word to uphold all things, is how He upholds you. 51:05 Now turn to 2 Peter, because this is one of 51:08 our primary verses. 51:10 God causes the miracle working function of His word 51:16 to reproduce Christ's nature in us. 51:20 This is one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible. 51:26 And someone will say, You say that about a lot of verses. 51:29 But this is right up at the top. 51:32 2 Peter 1. We're going to look at verses 3 and 4. 51:38 And it says, His divine power has given to us all things. 51:43 How many things? All things that pertain to life and 51:49 godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us 51:54 by His glory and virtue. So let's stop here. 51:58 God has already supplied every thing that we need for a life 52:04 of Godliness through our knowledge of Him. 52:08 And it says, Who called us by His glory and virtue: 52:11 Verse 4: by which, by this glory and virtue, have been given 52:18 to us exceedingly great and precious promises: 52:22 so that through these... Through what? 52:27 ...through His exceedingly great and precious promises, 52:32 you may be partakers of the divine nature. 52:37 You partake of the divine nature as you 52:42 partake of God's promises. 52:45 There are thousands of promises in the word of God. 52:49 And let me tell you something, every commandment of God 52:54 is also a promise of what He will do in your life. 52:59 Because God will cause you to be all that He calls you to be. 53:04 Everything that He requires of us He empowers us to do. 53:08 Because He works in us to will and to do His good pleasure. 53:12 So it goes on and says, that through these you may be 53:18 partakers of the divine nature. 53:21 You know, does that just excite you just a little bit 53:25 to think about going to the word of God, looking for His 53:29 promises and saying, Wow, Lord! 53:31 As I partake of this You're going to do a work in me. 53:35 By the creative power of Your word, and Your Holy Spirit, 53:40 You are going to make me like Jesus. 53:45 Hallelujah! That makes me so excited. 53:49 And as we proclaim these promises over our life, 53:53 letting them be our testimony, we will develop a faith 53:58 that believes we're partakers, and we will be transformed. 54:03 7. To make God's word our own, we need to go to the word 54:09 for power to overcome evil. 54:11 It said there in 2 Peter 1:3, 4, not only do you become partakers 54:17 of His divine nature, but we overcome the evil 54:22 that is in our hearts. 54:25 In drawing near to God, and putting His word in our hearts, 54:29 we can escape the clutches of the Devil. 54:32 Ephesians 6 talks about the armor of God. 54:36 And it says that the sword of the Spirit is what? 54:39 the word of God. Do you realize that is the only offensive 54:44 weapon in that whole list? 54:47 So just as Jesus did in the wilderness, when he was 54:53 forty days of temptation, he drew out that sword, 54:56 the word of God, and He said, It is written, man shall not 55:02 live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds 55:06 from the mouth of God. 55:07 So we need to have that weapon available. 55:13 Turn to 2 Corinthians 10, 2 Corinthians 10. 55:18 The word of God, think of it like this: the Bible is the 55:24 sheath that holds the sword. 55:27 The sword that we draw out, the sword of the Spirit, 55:33 is that promise that we have hidden in our heart that we can 55:38 speak at a time of need. 55:41 And 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5 says this: The weapons of our warfare 55:47 are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down 55:51 strongholds; casting down arguments, and every high 55:55 thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, 55:59 bringing every thought into captivity. 56:03 So as we go to the word of God, we will be armed to bring down 56:09 those strongholds in our mind. 56:11 We have to quit leaning on our own understanding. 56:15 We must lean on His word. 56:17 And as we plant His word in our heart, and confess it with our 56:20 mouths we will be changed. 56:23 He will cause us to operate under the influence 56:26 of His understanding. 56:27 He plugs us into His power source, and He gives us the 56:32 strength that we lack. 56:34 A loving God will empower us to do all that He asks of us. 56:39 And as we step out in faith actions, the Holy Spirit will 56:45 empower us to put His word into into practice. 56:48 Let me tell you something. 56:49 The same God who created the world by His word created you. 56:56 God has a passion for you. 57:01 He puts such a value on you that you are worth nothing less 57:08 to God than the price that He paid to redeem you 57:12 with the precious lifeblood of His Son. 57:15 You don't have to be fearful in going before the Lord. 57:20 He desires to give you an abundant life now, 57:24 and a life of glory throughout eternity. 57:28 So hold fast to the word of God, and make it your own. |
Revised 2017-03-29