Exalting His Word

The Identity Crisis Pt. 2

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Shelley Quinn

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Series Code: EHW

Program Code: EHW000005S


00:19 Hello
00:20 and welcome to
00:21 Exalting His Word.
00:23 Today, we'll look at what the Bible calls
00:24 'useless religion'.
00:26 Now, that's a provocative term
00:27 isn't it?
00:29 Stay tuned to learn
00:30 how the slander that's been
00:31 published about God
00:33 has created an identity crisis
00:34 for the people of the world.
00:37 I'd like to explain
00:39 where this theme text came from.
00:41 It's Psalms 138:2
00:44 and in that verse
00:45 the Bible says that
00:47 God exalts His name
00:48 and His word above all things.
00:50 And that He magnifies His word
00:53 even above His name.
00:56 Now, what does that mean?
00:57 The bottom line is this...
00:59 God exalts His word
01:02 above all things.
01:04 He has promoted His word to
01:06 the highest rank of importance.
01:08 He has positioned His word
01:11 to the highest place of praise.
01:13 God has empowered
01:15 His word with more
01:18 creative life force
01:20 than anything else.
01:21 The creative life force
01:23 to accomplish all of His will.
01:26 If God exalts His word
01:28 above everything else,
01:30 I think it's important that
01:31 you and I do likewise!
01:34 Don't you?
01:35 It's time that
01:36 we got our desires lined up
01:39 with His desires.
01:42 The people of God are
01:44 suffering from an identity crisis
01:46 because we don't understand
01:48 God's plan for our lives.
01:49 Sinners don't realize
01:51 how much they're worth to God.
01:53 You and I are both sinners
01:55 aren't we?
01:56 Still we're very
01:58 valuable to God.
01:59 You are worth nothing less than
02:01 the price He paid to redeem you
02:03 with the precious blood of Jesus.
02:05 He wants you to accept
02:07 His gift of salvation.
02:09 A few people can believe that
02:10 God not only wants to
02:12 forgive us our sin but that
02:13 He also wipes our record clean of sins
02:17 if we sincerely repent
02:19 and confess them before Him.
02:20 There's plenty of scripture
02:22 to support this truth.
02:24 I encourage you to look it up.
02:26 You know,
02:28 Christians suffer from
02:29 the identity crisis too because
02:30 we have little awareness of
02:32 who we are in Christ.
02:35 There are several causes for
02:37 the identity crisis for Christians.
02:39 The first category of
02:41 Christians suffer from
02:42 mistaken identity because of the shameful neglect of
02:44 Bible study.
02:46 The second category of Christians
02:48 are devoted to Bible study
02:49 And yet they still walk in
02:51 the darkness of
02:52 mistaken identity because
02:54 they can't quite wrap
02:55 their minds around
02:57 the wonderful promises of God
02:59 and apply them personally.
03:01 They want to believe but
03:02 it seems too incredibly wonderful
03:04 to accept God's testimony.
03:06 In James 1:22,24
03:09 the Bible tells us that
03:11 God's word gives us a vision.
03:14 A reflection of our new nature.
03:16 The nature of our recreated beings of
03:20 who we have become since
03:22 we were included in Christ.
03:23 Now, we're going to look at
03:25 James 1 today but,
03:26 we're gonna skip over for now
03:29 verse 25 where He speaks of
03:31 the hope found in abiding in
03:33 the perfect law of liberty.
03:35 When that law is at work within us,
03:36 James says we'll be blessed in
03:38 the practice of God's word.
03:40 But I want to reserve that
03:42 for an upcoming program
03:43 so we can spend plenty of time
03:46 on this wonderful truth.
03:47 It will really help us to
03:49 overcome our identity crisis.
03:51 Instead today,
03:53 we're gonna begin in
03:54 James 1:26 and 27.
03:57 Here we find an interesting contrast to
04:00 the perfect law of liberty.
04:03 Let me read what
04:04 James 1:26 and 27 has to say...
04:07 "If anyone among you
04:09 "thinks he is religious
04:11 "and does not bridal his tongue,
04:13 "but deceives it's own heart,
04:15 "this one's religion is useless.
04:20 "Pure and undefiled religion
04:21 before God the Father is this,
04:24 "to visit orphans
04:25 "and widows in their troubled
04:26 "and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."
04:30 Useless religion...
04:32 What a thought provoking concept!
04:35 If we study our Bibles
04:36 we can find plenty examples of
04:39 worthless religious practices.
04:41 Is it possible that
04:43 we could be regular church goers
04:46 possibly even ministers of the Gospel,
04:50 teachers
04:51 and still be practicing
04:54 useless religion?
04:56 This introduces a third category
04:59 of professing Christians
05:00 who suffer the identity crisis.
05:03 The cause for
05:05 their condition is chasing
05:07 after the doctrines of men
05:08 rather than the word of God.
05:11 Look at what Jesus says about this
05:13 in Mark 7:13...
05:16 [text on screen]
05:28 Jesus said,
05:29 if we followed commandments
05:31 and the traditions of men,
05:32 we make God's word of no effect.
05:37 We've illegally
05:38 emptied God's word of
05:40 His lawful authority.
05:42 Now, how do unlawful
05:46 teachings of men develop?
05:47 Let's look at the practices that
05:49 cause unlawful teachings to occur...
05:52 [information on screen]
06:24 In Mark 7:6,7
06:26 Jesus said this...
06:28 [text on screen]
06:41 In vain do they worship me.
06:44 Doctrines of men can be
06:45 so wildly developed that
06:48 they become useless religion!
06:50 Now, I don't believe that
06:52 walking in unknown error
06:55 automatically qualifies us
06:57 as worshiping in vain.
06:58 If that were true...
07:00 we'd all be in trouble!
07:01 Because none of us have yet
07:03 to receive all of God's truth!
07:06 In fact, in Proverbs 4:18
07:09 the Bible tells us that
07:10 the path of the righteous
07:12 will grow brighter and brighter
07:13 until the coming of Jesus.
07:15 In Psalms 119:130
07:17 explains it's the entrance of His word that
07:20 brings increased light and understanding.
07:25 If we're walking in unknown error,
07:27 it doesn't mean that we are worshiping in vain.
07:31 God is merciful!
07:32 He looks at the intent of our hearts!
07:35 In fact 1 Samuel 16:7 says that
07:38 the Lord does not sees as man sees.
07:42 For man just looks at the outward appearance
07:44 but the Lord look sat the heart!
07:46 The name of the church that we attend is not
07:50 the basis for salvation!
07:51 I believe the Bible teaches that
07:54 many sincere seekers of God
07:57 have received the gift of
07:59 eternal life but they're still
08:01 walking in unknown error.
08:03 In fact,
08:04 based on Revelation 18:4
08:06 where the voice from heaven
08:08 calls God's people
08:09 out of spiritual Babylon.
08:11 I believe God has His people
08:13 in every denomination today.
08:16 If you have your Bible,
08:17 please turn to Revelation 18:1-5
08:24 and let's look at that together!
08:25 That's Revelation 18:1-5...
08:30 "After these things
08:31 "I saw another angel
08:33 "coming down from heaven
08:34 "having great authority.
08:36 "And the earth was illuminated
08:38 "with his glory.
08:39 "And he cried madly
08:41 "with a loud voice
08:42 "saying...
08:43 "Babylon the great is fallen
08:45 "is fallen!
08:46 "As has become
08:47 "a dwelling place of demons!
08:49 "A prison for every fowl spirit!
08:50 "And a cage for every unclean
08:53 "and hated bird!
08:55 "For all the nations have drunk of
08:56 "the wine of the wrath
08:58 "of her fornication.
08:59 "The kings of the earth have
09:00 "committed fornication with her
09:02 "and the merchants of the earth
09:03 "have become rich through
09:04 "the abundance of her luxury.
09:06 "And I heard another voice
09:08 "speaking from heaven saying...
09:10 "Come out of her my people.
09:12 "Lest you share in her sins.
09:15 "Lest you receive of her plagues.
09:17 "For her sins have reached
09:19 "to the heaven
09:21 "and God has remembered her iniquity!"
09:24 You know,
09:25 the other voice of verse four is
09:27 the voice of the Lamb of God,
09:29 Jesus Christ.
09:30 He says
09:31 come out of her my people.
09:33 Babylon in Revelation represents
09:35 the religions that
09:37 claim to worship God but
09:38 follow unlawful teachings of men.
09:41 They don't walk in obedience
09:44 to God's word.
09:45 It's the counterfeit religious system that
09:50 exalts man's opinion over
09:51 the word of God.
09:54 Yet Jesus
09:55 recognizes that there are
09:57 good hearted sincere people
09:59 who love Him
10:00 and they belong to Him
10:02 and they're in these churches
10:03 walking in unknown error.
10:06 Still it's critical
10:08 to heed His call.
10:09 To come out of err.
10:11 We must study the Bible for ourselves!
10:13 To see if what we've been taught is truly
10:17 the Commandments of men.
10:20 Or if it's the word of God.
10:22 You know,
10:23 the best advise that
10:25 my mother ever gave me was this...
10:26 She said,
10:28 "Shelley, don't believe
10:29 "something that you hear from
10:31 the pulpit just because
10:33 "a Pastor says so.
10:35 "You get into
10:36 "the word of God
10:38 "and study it out for yourself."
10:40 When I did follow her advice
10:41 finally at the Lord's leading
10:43 and prompting,
10:45 I found that
10:46 I had been walking in and supporting
10:50 some very grievous errors.
10:52 Jesus said that
10:53 we could know who belongs to Him
10:56 by their fruit.
10:58 Fruit only comes by spiritual union.
11:01 And, if we're grafted into Jesus
11:03 the fruit which represents our actions,
11:06 will be of His spirit.
11:09 And, we still though
11:12 need to test every action,
11:15 every fruit,
11:16 to make sure we are not
11:18 being fooled.
11:19 The Bible tells us
11:20 to put everything to the test.
11:22 To see if the outward appearance that
11:26 we see is really what's happening.
11:29 I want you to stay tuned.
11:30 We're going to take
11:32 a quick break
11:33 but we're gonna come back in just a moment
11:35 and I'll tell you how
11:36 the outward appearance of fruit
11:38 actually fooled me!
11:42 If this dynamic series is making
11:43 a difference in your life,
11:44 then you should know
11:46 about a special study guide
11:47 written by Shelley Quinn.
11:49 Exalting His Word with
11:50 Life Affirmations From Scripture
11:51 is an in depth study of the word of God.
11:56 Please send your love gifts to...
12:12 Let me tell you
12:14 what happened to me
12:15 while visiting a friend's home recently.
12:17 I had skipped lunch
12:19 and my empty stomach was growling!
12:20 And I spotted a bowl of fruit
12:23 on her table.
12:24 And, my mouth began to water!
12:25 So I asked her permission
12:27 and I grabbed one for a snack.
12:29 (They were apples.)
12:31 And, although it looked
12:32 very authentic.
12:34 As authentic as the real thing,
12:35 it had a strange feeling
12:37 when I picked it up.
12:38 So, examining it more carefully
12:40 and hearing my friend's laughter,
12:42 I realized
12:45 A fruit that was appealing to the eye
12:48 but artificial.
12:49 Likewise there are practices that
12:52 might appeal to our senses
12:54 as fruit of the spirit
12:55 but we must examine everything
12:58 in the light of His word
13:00 to see if they stand
13:02 the test of truth.
13:04 What then is useless religion?
13:08 Well as we've already discussed,
13:10 any religious practice that
13:12 doesn't line up with God's commandments
13:14 and council
13:15 is useless.
13:17 Still another useless practice is
13:20 if our religious observance
13:21 is merely external.
13:23 Consider the lives of the Pharisees
13:25 and we can see that
13:27 they based everything
13:29 on self performance
13:31 and they did not recognize
13:33 the need for a personal Savior
13:36 and developing
13:37 a living relationship
13:38 with a perfect Savior.
13:40 We can't work our way to heaven!
13:43 We are saved by grace.
13:45 We become children of God
13:47 only by relationship.
13:49 And only His children will enter
13:52 the New Jerusalem that
13:54 the Bible speaks of
13:55 in Revelation 21.
13:58 What about those who think
14:00 they're in relationship
14:01 with the Lord?
14:03 Does the potential exist
14:04 to be deceived about eternal security?
14:07 What does Jesus say?
14:09 Let's look at Matthew 7:21-23.
14:16 [text on screen]
14:46 Now please note
14:47 the two patterns of behavior that
14:48 Christ is contrasting in that previous text.
14:53 He says that the one who does
14:55 the will of my Father
14:57 will enter the kingdom of heaven.
14:59 But He rejects those
15:01 who practice lawlessness.
15:04 You know
15:05 unfortunately some Bibles
15:07 translate that word
15:09 "lawlessness" as evil.
15:10 And that makes me wonder...
15:12 ...if the ones who receive
15:15 Christ's stinging indictment when He says
15:17 "I never knew you".
15:18 Do you think that they thought
15:20 they were practicing
15:23 evil in His name?
15:24 Other translations choose
15:25 the word in equity which is
15:27 the synonym for lawlessness.
15:28 The most accurate
15:29 and easiest translation to
15:31 understand of the Greek text
15:33 is the term "lawlessness".
15:35 According to the Bible
15:37 in I John 3:4
15:39 the definition of sin is lawlessness.
15:42 [definition on screen]
15:51 And let's just look at this!
15:53 I John 3:4 says that.
15:55 [text on screen]
16:06 Those who will hear
16:10 and say to the Lord
16:12 "Lord, Lord have we not made
16:13 "many wonders in your name?"
16:15 Evidently
16:16 they had no genuine love for God.
16:18 Jesus said that if
16:19 we loved Him we would
16:21 keep His commandments.
16:22 This group who broke
16:23 His commandments while professing
16:25 to know Him is defined
16:27 as liars by the Bible.
16:29 You can look it up in I John 2:3,4.
16:32 Let me read that to you!
16:35 That's I John 2:3,4
16:38 and that says,
16:44 "Now by this we know that
16:46 "we know Him if
16:49 "we keep His commandments.
16:52 "He who says I know Him.
16:55 (I know Jesus)
16:56 "and does not keep His commandments
16:59 "is a liar."
17:01 That's what the Bible says!
17:03 "And, the truth
17:05 "is not in Him."
17:07 That's I John 2:3,4.
17:11 Christ rejects this group
17:13 because they had not been
17:15 born again of His Spirit
17:16 living in union with Him.
17:18 By His power.
17:20 Doing the will of His Father.
17:25 the Bible clearly teaches
17:27 they would have obeyed.
17:28 If you have your Bible
17:29 let's turn to the book of I John
17:32 for just two of
17:34 many examples of this.
17:35 And you might wanna make a note.
17:37 In I John 2:29
17:40 the Bible says
17:41 "If you know that He is righteous,
17:44 "you know that everyone
17:46 "who practices righteousness
17:49 "is born of Him. "
17:51 Righteousness is doing things
17:52 according to God's
17:54 right way of doing things.
17:56 And in I John 3:4-10
17:59 says this,
18:00 "Whoever commits sin
18:02 "also commits lawlessness
18:03 "and sin is lawlessness
18:05 "And you know that He was manifested
18:07 -(that's Christ)
18:09 "to take away our sins
18:10 "and in Him there is no sin.
18:12 "Little children let no one deceive you.
18:15 "He who practices righteousness
18:19 "Just and he is righteous.
18:21 "He who sins,
18:23 "is of the devil."
18:24 (...Now remember,
18:25 (...sin is lawlessness!)
18:27 For the Devil has sinned
18:28 from the beginning.
18:29 For this purpose
18:31 the Son of God was manifested that
18:32 He might destroy
18:34 the works of the devil.
18:35 Whoever has been born of Him
18:37 does not sin.
18:38 For His seed remains in Him
18:41 and He can not sin because
18:43 He has been born of God.
18:46 In this,
18:47 the children of God
18:48 and the children of
18:50 the Devil are manifest.
18:51 Listen...
18:53 "Who ever does not
18:54 "practice righteousness
18:57 "Nor is He who
18:59 "does not love His brother."
19:01 Now, this doesn't mean that
19:02 the children of God
19:04 are without sin.
19:05 But that our love motivates us
19:08 to please our Lord.
19:10 His spirit working within us
19:13 empowers us
19:14 to walk in obedience
19:16 and keeps us from walking
19:17 in the practice of disobedience.
19:20 We are quick to recognize
19:22 when we're not pleasing our Lord.
19:25 And we're even quicker to repent.
19:28 And nothing can separate us from
19:31 the love that Christ has for us.
19:35 Our loving Savior will not
19:38 reject a child of His.
19:40 On the contrary...
19:41 One of my favorite Bible promises
19:43 is Hebrew 7:25
19:45 And that says...
19:47 ..."He is also able
19:48 to say to the uttermost,
19:51 those who come to Him,
19:53 or to God through Him,
19:54 since He (Christ) always lives
19:58 to make intercession for them.
20:01 To overcome useless religion
20:04 we must always seek a balanced teaching
20:08 from God's word.
20:09 For example,
20:11 the Bible clearly teaches,
20:12 we're made righteous
20:14 by faith in Christ.
20:15 In fact,
20:16 righteousness by faith is
20:18 the only kind of righteousness
20:19 that there is!
20:21 Though this is true...
20:22 ... the Bible also says,
20:23 that when we've received
20:26 the righteousness of Christ
20:27 in our hearts
20:29 we'll be empowered
20:30 to practice righteousness.
20:33 We're not trying
20:34 to earn salvation.
20:36 The desire
20:37 and the power
20:39 to follow God's teaching
20:40 flows naturally from
20:42 our born again hearts.
20:44 Salvation is a gift from God.
20:47 We are saved by grace
20:50 through faith in Christ.
20:51 There is absolutely nothing that
20:54 we can do to save ourselves.
20:56 But that doesn't release us
20:57 from obedience.
20:59 The Holy Spirit empowers us
21:02 to walk in obedience
21:03 to God's truth.
21:05 Obedience is the pathway
21:07 to His blessings
21:09 and it is also,
21:11 the highest expression of
21:12 worship for God.
21:14 Christ is the source of
21:17 eternal salvation
21:19 for all those who
21:20 walk in obedience to Him.
21:22 This is not my opinion!
21:24 I have it on
21:25 the authority of God's word.
21:27 Listen to what the Bible says
21:29 in Hebrews 5:9...
21:31 [text on screen]
21:39 God's people are suffering
21:40 from an identity crisis.
21:43 The symptoms vary
21:44 and they might be mental anguish,
21:46 lukewarm indifference or
21:48 stony cold hearts.
21:50 The identity crisis is
21:52 the greatest problem in
21:53 the Christian community today.
21:55 Now, that's a bold statement!
21:57 It causes me to pause
21:58 and think maybe that
22:00 I should water it down with
22:01 some little qualifier.
22:03 Like ONE of the greatest problems
22:05 or in my opinion.
22:07 Why is it so great a problem?
22:10 Human reasoning demands
22:12 the answer.
22:13 Unless we recognize
22:15 what this barrier is
22:18 and what it is
22:20 it will continue
22:22 to block our advancement.
22:24 The root of the problem
22:26 is IGNORANCE.
22:28 Not knowing God's word
22:31 or, what I call...
22:33 IGNORE-ance.
22:34 In other words
22:36 IGNORING.
22:37 Knowing but neglecting God's word.
22:39 If we don't know God's plan.
22:41 If we don't understand
22:43 who we have become when
22:45 we're included in Christ
22:47 this prevents us from
22:48 walking in the grace of God.
22:50 It repels the heavenly
22:52 love, light, life and power.
22:56 The kingdom of God is not
22:58 a matter of talking the talk.
23:00 But it's the power to walk in
23:02 the footsteps of Christ
23:05 along the path of life.
23:07 Still I had to ask.
23:10 Lord am I making
23:12 an overstatement
23:13 when I say that this IS
23:15 the greatest problem in the church?
23:17 You know, it's funny
23:19 how we can know something
23:20 and not realize that we know.
23:23 In fact,
23:24 God had given me the answer
23:26 before I even asked.
23:27 We discussed it a few programs ago
23:29 and if, if you were with us
23:33 you are going to understand this.
23:35 Remember when we talked about
23:37 the children of...
23:40 The Israelites as they were
23:42 brought out of the desert
23:43 and God delivered them from bondage but
23:46 they wouldn't accept
23:48 God's plan for their lives.
23:50 He promised them
23:52 the Promise Land!!
23:53 They wouldn't appreciate
23:56 who they were as
23:57 His chosen people!
23:59 Their crisis of identity
24:00 kept them from entering
24:02 into the promises of God.
24:03 And they had to wonder around
24:04 in the desert.
24:07 Doubt and disbelief in His word
24:10 kept them from entering
24:12 into His divine promises.
24:15 Do we want
24:17 to repeat their mistake?
24:20 Please,
24:23 understand that
24:24 we can praise God because
24:27 there is a way
24:28 to overcome the identity crisis!
24:30 We'll find it by knowing the scriptures!
24:33 And experiencing
24:35 the power of God that is
24:37 available to us.
24:38 We must understand
24:39 God's plan for our lives.
24:41 We must learn
24:44 who we are in Christ.
24:45 Then motivated by love
24:46 and empowered by God
24:48 His commandments become a joy
24:51 to follow as part of His loving plan.
24:54 Because of our faith in Christ
24:57 and His conquering power
24:58 at work within us
25:00 we become victorious over
25:02 the polluted ways of
25:03 the world's system.
25:05 That's a promise that we should look at
25:07 from I John 5:3,5
25:11 [text on screen]
25:38 God is drawing us closer to Him
25:42 and away from useless religion.
25:45 You know,
25:46 if we're walking in the dark,
25:48 we can't find our way.
25:50 We can't see our reflection of
25:53 our new image.
25:55 Our loving Savior is calling us
25:57 out of darkness
25:58 and into the Land of Promise.
26:01 He will turn all of our obstacles
26:04 into stepping stones
26:07 as we follow the light
26:09 of His word!
26:10 Well,
26:12 once again,
26:14 our time is almost gone.
26:16 I hope that you're beginning
26:18 to see what a problem
26:21 the identity crisis is
26:22 in the church.
26:24 In fact, I'll tell you
26:26 as I've gone from church to church
26:28 in many different denominations,
26:30 and as I've ministered to people,
26:33 I find that
26:36 I really don't know that
26:38 any of us understand
26:39 who we are in Christ.
26:40 I think that we're all suffering
26:43 from an identity crisis
26:44 to some extent.
26:46 And I hope that
26:47 you'll tune in next week
26:49 when we begin to look at
26:53 what the Bible says.
26:55 As to how we can over come
26:58 our identity crisis.
27:00 I wanna say just
27:01 a quick word of prayer with you.
27:03 Heavenly Father
27:05 I ask in the name of Jesus that
27:07 you will help us to acknowledge that
27:10 we know little about you.
27:14 And Lord,
27:15 we're coming to you
27:16 in sincerity
27:18 with love in our hearts
27:19 asking that you would teach us
27:21 who you are
27:23 and who we are in you.
27:24 In Jesus name, amen.
27:27 May God multiply
27:28 His mercy, love
27:29 and grace to you
27:31 and watch over His word
27:32 to perform it in your life
27:34 as you cooperate with Him.
27:37 I'm praying that you will spend
27:40 more of your time
27:41 making that
27:43 which is most important to Him,
27:46 your Savior
27:47 the very thing that
27:49 is also most important to you.
27:52 And we know what that is...
27:54 ... Exalting His Word.


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Revised 2023-08-02