Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: PHP
Program Code: PHP000016
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00:01 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
00:02 Please join us today on Pressing Into His Presence, 00:04 as we're going to learn how to leap over that wall that we 00:08 erect between us and God. 00:32 Welcome to Pressing Into His Presence. 00:34 On this series we are walking through the 00:37 praise prayer pattern. 00:39 We've already studied the P which is for praise, 00:43 R for repentance, A for affirmations, 00:46 I for intercession, and today we are going to start 00:51 talking about the S, which stands for supplication. 00:55 When we come before our Lord expressing heartfelt needs 01:01 of our own, that's what supplication is about. 01:04 Now if you're following along in our program companion book, 01:08 Pressing Into His Presence, today we are going to 01:11 begin with Chapter 9. 01:13 When praying for special needs for yourself, rather than for 01:19 others, the word supplication is often put into service. 01:23 It means to make an entreaty; to cry from a heart filled 01:29 with a sense of need. 01:31 David frequently used the word supplication as he pleaded 01:35 for his own benefit. 01:36 And we see that in Psalms 143:1 where he says: 01:49 And in the garden of Gethsemane Christ made supplication 01:53 for Himself in the midst of His prayers. 01:56 Hebrews 5:7 says: 02:14 You know, Paul tells us also in Philippians 4:6, 02:18 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and 02:24 supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request 02:29 be made known to God. 02:31 So for the purpose of the praise prayer, the PRAISE, 02:37 this pattern, supplication is used to define prayers 02:42 on behalf of ourself. 02:44 With clean hands, and a pure heart, and Godly reverence, 02:48 we will, as Hebrews 4:16 invites us to come boldly before 02:55 His throne of grace, to make appeals to our heavenly Father 03:00 for help in our time of need. 03:03 In this series we have also been noting how the praise prayer 03:07 pattern relates to the ancient earthly Sanctuary pattern. 03:12 And on the basis of this symbolism, we will consider 03:16 the last piece of the furniture within the holy place, 03:19 the golden candlestick, and my perceived connection with this 03:24 prayer segment on supplication. 03:26 You know the Sanctuary was a covered tent. 03:29 It had no windows, so there was no natural light within. 03:32 And the seven branched golden candlestick was the light bearer 03:38 in the holy place. 03:40 It was exquisitely decorated. 03:43 It was a beautiful work of art made according to the divine 03:47 pattern given by God on Mount Sinai, and approximately five 03:51 feet tall, and constructed of pure gold. 03:54 It was formed by hand. 03:57 From its base rose a single pillar. 04:02 It was a pillar like branch. 04:04 That was the lamp stand. 04:05 And then it had six arms, three on each side, that came out and 04:11 three...Well three on one side, and three on the other. 04:14 So multiple almond shaped bowls were on this main branch, 04:21 and on each of the branch like arms. 04:23 And those bowls held the purest hand pressed olive oil 04:29 as the fuel source for the seven, richly adorned lamps. 04:35 The lamps provided necessary light in the holy place 04:38 for the priests to perform their duties, 04:41 and they burned continually. 04:43 In fact in Exodus 27:20, and in Leviticus 24:2, God commands the 04:52 continual burning of the lamp, which would necessitate cleaning 04:56 one lamp at a time, because the hanging door entrance, 04:59 to the entrance of the holy place shut out all the natural 05:04 light in that 30 x 15 foot room. 05:06 So how does the Sanctuary symbolism of the golden 05:11 candlestick relate to us in our time of supplication? 05:15 In the interest of brevity, I'm going to offer a quick 05:21 parallel point summary. 05:22 In the first chapter of Revelation the apostle John 05:26 describes Christ walking through seven golden lamp stands 05:31 identified as seven churches of apostolic times. 05:35 Now we are the church. 05:38 Our bodies are the temple of God. 05:41 But there's no natural light within us. 05:43 Jesus is the great lamp stand, the light of the world, 05:48 and in Him we have branch like life. 05:52 He is actually called the Branch in Scripture. 05:55 And God refers to His people as the branch of My planting, 06:01 the work of My hands. 06:03 We are God's workmanship, recreated in the image of Jesus, 06:07 according to the divine pattern shown on the hill of Calvary. 06:11 God is purifying and refining us by His hand into 06:16 vessels of pure gold. 06:18 In Bible symbolism oil represents the Holy Spirit. 06:23 Kings and priests were anointed with oil. 06:26 And now that the Holy Spirit has been poured out on us, 06:29 we have His anointing. 06:31 And in the book of Revelation the sevenfold Spirit of God 06:37 is before His throne. 06:39 Now that number seven is symbolic. 06:42 It's the symbolic expression of completion or perfection. 06:47 It is the power of the sevenfold Holy Spirit that keeps 06:52 the flame of God, just the zeal, godly zeal, 06:57 burning in our hearts continually, as represented 07:00 by the oil that fueled the seven branched lamps. 07:04 The priests of old were required to dress this candlestick 07:09 each morning; throwing out the ashes, and refilling the oil. 07:12 And as we go before our Lord with our supplication, 07:15 I consider that we are symbolically dressing the seven 07:19 branched candlestick in the morning, 07:21 seeking a fresh supply of His Spirit. 07:25 Consider what Zachariah 4:6 says. 07:29 I'll read from the Amplified Version. 07:54 Oh, we need for God to pour out His Spirit of grace 07:59 and supplication on us. 08:01 Grace for power to go through the day victoriously, 08:04 and supplication as guided by the Spirit, 08:07 for we know not how to pray for ourselves. 08:10 Romans 8:26 says this: 08:37 You know, Psalms 37:4 says, Delight yourself in the Lord, 08:41 and He shall give you the desires of your heart. 08:45 What a beautiful promise. 08:47 And what a tragedy that this verse has been hijacked 08:50 by prosperity teachers who twist the Scriptures 08:54 to their own destruction. 08:55 Those false prophets foster the idea of naming most anything 09:01 that you want, and claiming it from God, implying ye have 09:05 not because you claim not. 09:06 They do not consider the context of their reference, 09:11 or what the rest of this Scripture says. 09:14 It seems that they have forgotten what James 4:2-4 says. 09:20 Here's what James wrote: 09:34 And then in 1 John 2:15, 16 John warns us: 09:59 You see, when we find our delight in God, His desires 10:05 become our desires. 10:07 Our all consuming passion is not for a new Mercedes Benz vehicle, 10:13 rather we hunger and thirst for righteousness. 10:17 And like Jacob in his mysterious wrestling session that he had 10:23 we cry out, Oh, I will not let You go unless You bless me. 10:29 You know, this is the only Bible example that I can think of 10:34 off the top of my head where prayer was presented as a demand 10:39 rather than as a request. 10:41 And it was indeed a prayer, because the man with whom 10:44 Jacob wrestled was God. 10:46 The Lord rewarded him with a change of character, 10:51 which was symbolized by changing his name, Jacob, which meant 10:56 deceiver, or supplanter, to Israel, a name that means 11:01 a victor with God. 11:03 In my own prayer experience, as God increased the intimacy 11:08 and the intensity of my prayers, through pressing into His 11:12 presence, I learned to be like Jacob. 11:15 I learned to make supplication for that which was most 11:20 important, a changed character. 11:24 When we delight ourselves in the Lord, we pray for those things 11:28 which are most important to Him, and He graciously adds our 11:33 required necessities to our life. 11:35 As Jesus said in Matthew 6:32, He said, Seek first the kingdom 11:41 of His God, and His righteousness, and all these 11:45 things shall be added unto you. 11:47 As we seek His righteousness first, our Father, who longs to 11:54 bless us; He longs to give us gifts, and many pleasant 11:59 surprises, He hears. 12:01 And perhaps the greatest example of this principle in action 12:06 is the account of Solomon's prayer after God instructed 12:13 Solomon, Ask. What shall I give you? 12:16 And acknowledging the Lord's goodness, the young king asked 12:21 for nothing more than wisdom to rule over His people. 12:25 The request found favor with God, and in 1 Kings 3:11-13, 12:36 this is what God said to Solomon: 13:03 See, Jesus teaches us to pray for our daily needs, 13:08 so it is Scriptural to pray for life's necessities. 13:11 Still, let me ask you something. 13:13 And this is a penetrating question. 13:15 Above and beyond all of your critical requirements, 13:19 if God spoke to you like He spoke to Solomon saying, 13:23 Ask, ask of Me anything. 13:25 What would you have Me give you? 13:27 What is your greatest desire? 13:28 Let me ask, What treasures would be on your list? 13:32 Are they essential for eternity? 13:34 God taught me that there is one supreme prayer request that I 13:39 should present first when I come before Him with supplication. 13:43 The matter of foremost importance, to be desired above 13:47 all else, is to pray for a continuous filling 13:52 of the Holy Spirit. 13:53 It's the very thing He commands in Ephesians 5:18 saying: 14:04 And not only does God command this continuous filling, 14:10 but it is the very thing He is most eager to do. 14:13 In Luke 11:13 Jesus tells us: 14:29 One of the greatest desires of our Father's heart is for us to 14:35 recognize our need to be filled with the Spirit, and to walk in 14:40 surrender to His will. 14:42 We should ask Him daily for this great gift of grace. 14:47 We'll prove this from Scripture in just a moment, 14:49 but for now we need only to consider why. 14:53 If we call ourselves Christians, but we do not possess 14:56 the Spirit of God, we are nothing more than pretenders, 14:59 people who profess to belong to God's family, when in fact we 15:03 have not been born again. 15:06 We may be convinced, but we're not converted. 15:09 And then there's the sentimental Christian who professes love for 15:13 Christ, but refuses to walk in obedience. 15:17 They lack the Spirit of God. 15:19 On the other side is the Pharisaical Christian who's 15:23 devoted to doctrine rather than to Christ. 15:26 They lack the Spirit of God. 15:28 Both are walking in the flesh, and flesh defined is the nature 15:34 of man without the Holy Spirit. 15:36 We must put off the old, and put on the new nature recreated 15:43 in the image of Jesus. 15:45 Daily we should ask to be filled with the Spirit. 15:50 Let's look at Ephesians 3:14 and onward. Paul writes: 16:24 What is this power? 16:25 He just got through saying. 16:27 In the Greek is actually says strengthened 16:29 with power, with dunamus. 16:34 So according to that dunamus power that works in us, 16:43 There is only one way to walk with God. 16:46 We must be filled with the Holy Spirit day by day. 16:49 This is how we possess the life of Christ. 16:53 His Spirit makes a profound difference in our lives, 16:56 as He works His power to create God's purity and purposes in us. 17:02 Oh may the recognition of our great need bring us to our 17:08 knees, and may our heart cry of supplication be, Oh fill me 17:14 with Your Spirit Father. 17:17 He is eagerly waiting to respond. 17:20 And as He does, our hearts will be ablaze with the power, 17:25 and the presence of God. 17:27 You know, sometime late in the year 2000, I experienced a short 17:33 spelled spiritual falter when I quit practicing 17:37 life affirmations from Scripture for a few weeks. 17:40 And praying God's promises had been a vital practice, which God 17:45 had taught me to do, but I just wasn't doing it. 17:48 The strong desire I previously had to do this seemed to be 17:52 overridden by a type of spiritually numbing resistance. 17:57 So one morning, as I pressed into His presence, I reached a 18:01 pivotal point, and I forced myself to include affirmations 18:06 in my prayer. So paraphrasing 1 Corinthians 6:17, I prayed 18:12 and said, Ah, thank You Father that because I am joined 18:17 to Christ, I am one in Spirit with You. 18:20 And my words of affirmation just had a crushing impact. 18:25 To be one with God is to be united in thought, purpose, 18:29 and action. And I was far from being one in Spirit with God. 18:33 But I wanted to be. 18:36 And by faith I accepted that this was God's will for me, 18:39 and that He would work this oneness into my heart 18:42 if I would only cooperate. 18:45 And so I began to weep. 18:47 And I said, Please, Father, I know I'm not one with You. 18:49 I'm simply calling things that are not 18:51 as though they already were. 18:53 I know it's faith, but Lord I don't know how to become 18:56 how to become one with You. 18:57 Why is it that I run in a teaching that you have given me, 19:02 and then awake one day to find out that I'm 19:05 no longer following it? 19:06 Please help me to understand. 19:09 And God impressed this thought upon my heart saying, 19:13 I will soon explain to you the wall of resistance 19:19 that you are hitting. 19:21 Wow! His thought impressed upon my mind was stunning! 19:27 Exactly! That was it! 19:29 I felt like I had hit the wall. 19:32 And although I did not know the solution to my problem, 19:35 I was somehow comforted. 19:37 God understood, and He would soon share the solution. 19:42 For two weeks I prayed and said, Lord, explain this wall of 19:47 resistance that You talked about. 19:49 What is it? And each day my prayers became more earnest. 19:54 One day I was praying 2 Corinthians 3:18, paraphrasing 20:00 God's promise as an affirmation. 20:03 And I was saying, Thank You Father that I am beholding 20:07 in Your Word, as in a mirror, Your glory, Your character, 20:12 and that I am being transformed into your image, 20:15 from glory to glory, transformed from one level of Your character 20:21 to the next by the power of Your Holy Spirit. 20:24 And suddenly my eyes stung hot again, and sorrow 20:30 poured forth in tears. 20:31 You know what, I'm not a weepy woman. 20:34 But I felt that I was in a spiritual stupor, and powerless, 20:38 absolutely powerless to advance in my Christian walk. 20:41 I needed help to get beyond this mysterious 20:45 wall of resistance that was blocking my way. 20:49 And as I was seeking God with heart-rending humility, 20:55 a scene appeared in my eyes. 20:58 Has this ever happened to you? 21:00 Now I've spoken with many Saints who have experienced this; 21:03 when you're praying and you suddenly see a picture. 21:07 What I saw was this huge staircase, 21:10 and it was illuminated by a bright light. 21:13 And it ascended way up into the heavens. 21:16 It had exceedingly high steps. 21:20 Each of the steps were drawn out for a great distance 21:24 of length as well. 21:26 And there I was running along one of the lower steps, 21:30 glancing back over my shoulder. 21:33 And without warning, as I'm looking back, whack! 21:37 I hit the wall, and I cried and I said, What is it Lord? 21:43 What is this wall that I'm hitting? 21:46 And immediately this thought was impressed upon my mind. 21:51 Listen carefully because this was amazing. 21:55 What God spoke to my heart was this: Every time you hit the 22:02 wall it is a wall of self-preservation that you hit. 22:09 Did you hear that? 22:10 It's a wall of self-preservation. 22:14 You're headed in the right direction, 22:17 but looking back to self. 22:19 He said, Turn full face to Me child. 22:23 Keep your eyes on Me. 22:26 Mercy! Wow! A wall of self-preservation was keeping me 22:35 from getting closer to God. 22:37 The Lord caused me to understand that each step in this staircase 22:41 scenario represented another level of His glory, 22:44 which He proclaimed to Moses to be His character. 22:48 Each advancing step symbolized achieving another level 22:52 of the Lord's character. 22:53 And in my mind I moved backward, and I was trying to look at the 22:58 wall to get a better view. 23:00 And all of a sudden I realized that the wall that I hit 23:04 was actually the front of the next step. 23:07 I gasped at the size of it, which was at least ten 23:10 times taller than me. 23:12 I could see no way to climb it, and I cried, 23:15 How do I get over the wall Lord? 23:17 How do I reach the next step? 23:20 His response to me was to scale the wall of self-preservation. 23:26 To become more like Me, you must be willing to give up more 23:31 of your self interest. 23:33 You must be willing to surrender to Me. 23:36 Take My hand and I will lift you up. 23:40 He directed me to a Scripture that has become 23:43 one of my favorites. 23:44 Let's look at it. It is 2 Samuel 22:29, 30. David said here: 24:09 You know I was prompted to study on the topic 24:12 of becoming more Christlike. 24:14 It is God's word that brings light. 24:17 I had already tasted the transforming 24:20 power of His promises. 24:23 I already understood that God works in us to will 24:27 and to act according to His good pleasure. 24:29 And I also knew that Paul said in Colossians 1:27 that this is 24:35 the mystery, Christ in you, the hope of glory. 24:41 The life of Christ being lived out in us is our only hope 24:46 of achieving His glory, His character. 24:51 And further study convinced me that in order to have more 24:56 of Christ's life in us, we needed more of His Spirit. 25:00 You see, we can only be filled with the Holy Spirit 25:05 to the degree we are emptied of self. 25:08 To make it over this wall of self-preservation we must 25:14 come to Him. We must be willing to surrender, 25:18 willing to deny self, willing to be filled with His Spirit. 25:23 And further, if we'll just reach up and take hold of His hand, 25:29 He will lift us up. 25:32 It is by His Spirit that we are transformed, just as Paul 25:39 explained it in 2 Corinthians 3:18. 25:44 And lets look at that. 25:45 2 Corinthians 3:18 reads like this: 25:55 In other words not with a face like Moses, who had to veil his 25:59 face after seeing the Lord's glory. 26:20 It is all about the work of the Holy Spirit in us. 26:26 All we have to do is surrender. 26:30 But you know something? 26:31 When we use the word surrender, a lot of us are like, 26:33 Yeah, I know I'm supposed to, but how do I surrender? 26:37 I don't understand what to do to surrender. 26:41 And I am so excited because that was my question. 26:46 I went before the Lord, and I prayed and I said, Lord, 26:50 I know what you're calling me to do now. 26:52 I realize that the only way to get over this wall of 26:56 self-preservation, this wall, this selfishness in my heart 27:02 that I don't want to give up more of self. 27:05 The only way is if I take hold of Your hand. 27:08 And You want me to surrender, but how do I surrender? 27:12 And you know something? 27:14 God is so good! Anytime we go to Him, anytime we ask Him 27:20 a question, He is going to respond. 27:24 Sometimes He gives it to me in just little pieces at a time, 27:28 and then sometimes He just pours it out. 27:31 But He will take us through His word, and He will show us 27:35 how to do what we're asking. 27:38 And that's what we're going to do on our next program. 27:42 We're so thankful that you were with us today, 27:47 but I pray you will join us next week especially, because we are 27:53 going to be talking about how God taught me to surrender 27:57 straight from the Scriptures. 27:59 Our prayer for you is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 28:02 the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 28:06 will be with you always. |
Revised 2015-01-29