Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: EHW
Program Code: EHW000009S
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00:18 Hello.
00:20 I'm Shelley Quinn 00:21 and I welcome you to 00:22 "Exalting His Word". 00:24 Today will be discussing 00:25 how to plant God's promises in our heart. 00:28 I'm so happy that you could join us 00:30 for this wonderful Bible teaching. 00:32 You know, there's power 00:34 in the promises of God. 00:36 Power to change your lives. 00:38 I'd like to take just a moment 00:40 and explain our theme text which is found 00:43 in Psalms 138:2. 00:46 And what that verse says is that 00:49 God exalts His name 00:51 and His word above all things. 00:54 And He magnifies His word 00:58 even above His name. 00:59 In other words God exalts His word 01:03 above all things! 01:05 If you're a regular viewer 01:07 you know that I like to take a moment each week 01:10 and dwell on the deep and beautiful truth of 01:13 this Scripture as we begin. 01:15 I was impressed today to do this 01:17 just a little bit differently than 01:18 the pattern that I've been following. 01:20 Let's review this verse from a different angle. 01:23 Let's talk about how WE can exalt God's word 01:27 in the same manner that He does. 01:30 If we follow God's example 01:32 and exalt His word above everything 01:35 that means that nothing will be more important to us. 01:38 God's word will be our number one priority. 01:42 We would promote His word to the highest rank of 01:46 importance looking to the Bible 01:48 for all the answers to all of life's questions. 01:53 We will give the word of God 01:55 the highest position of praise. 01:57 Which means we will demonstrate our worship for Him 02:02 by walking in obedience to His word. 02:05 If we do as God does 02:07 and exalt his word above everything 02:10 it means that we will recognize 02:12 the creative life-giving power of His word 02:16 to transform our lives. 02:17 We'll become like the ancient patriarch Job 02:21 and esteem and treasure God's word 02:24 more than our daily food. 02:26 It's interesting to look at this definition from 02:30 a different point of view, isn't it? 02:33 For a number of programs 02:34 we've looked at this from God's perspective 02:36 and to look at how He views his word. 02:38 And maybe we thought we were beginning 02:40 to understand what it means to exalt God's word. 02:44 Now that we look at it from our perspective 02:47 does it make you realized that we still have 02:49 a way to go to learn to exalt God's word? 02:53 The Bible clearly and repeatedly states that 02:56 obedience is the pathway to all of God's blessings. 03:01 But we can't obey God by our limited human power. 03:05 We must live in absolute dependence 03:08 upon the transforming power of his spirit 03:11 and his word to walk in the pathway of blessings. 03:16 Before we began a program let's ask the Lord 03:19 to bless the study of his word. 03:21 Heavenly Father we come today to ask that 03:25 you would send your Holy Spirit 03:27 to teach us Father God 03:29 how to plant your promises in our hearts. 03:33 That we might partake of 03:34 Christ's divine nature 03:35 and escape the evil corruption of the world. 03:38 Lord we thank you. 03:40 We know we're praying according to your will 03:42 and may it be done for your glory. 03:44 In Jesus name, amen. 03:49 I heard a story about an Eskimo and two dogs. 03:52 Evangelist Billy Graham told it but 03:54 I don't recall if the story is his original. 03:58 What I do remember it is the moral of the story. 04:00 I'd like to share by version which I call 04:03 "Sinbad and The Junkyard Dogs". 04:07 Sinbad was a hard hearted sort of fellow 04:09 and he was a notorious gambler. 04:11 He owned a junkyard and two prize biting dogs. 04:16 A pit bull and a white German shepherd. 04:19 Every weekend Sinbad would take these animals 04:22 to the dogfights out in the country 04:24 where he would match them 04:26 against each other in the finding pens. 04:28 Sinbad established the odds 04:30 and the spectators placed their bets with him. 04:33 Most often for their favorite dog. 04:36 Now the pit bull often soundly whipped 04:40 the German shepherd. 04:41 Still much to the amazement of the onlookers 04:44 the shepherd sometimes pinned down the pit bull 04:47 within moments rendering him helpless. 04:51 Now Grady was a regular gambler. 04:55 And he tried to pick the winner 04:57 based on the odds. 04:58 Poor Grady! 05:00 He rarely won. 05:01 And he observed that Sinbad seldom had 05:04 to pay off on these bets. 05:06 Well Grady was fascinated 05:09 and he was greedy for gain. 05:11 So he made Sinbad a conditional offer 05:15 to purchase this dog pair. 05:17 He went to him and he said 05:19 "Sinbad I'll tell you what... 05:21 I'll pay you a handsome fee for these dogs 05:23 if you'll just tell me what is your system 05:27 for winning. 05:28 I don't understand how the pit bull appears to be 05:32 so much stronger on some weekends 05:34 but the German shepherd just beats 05:37 the day light out of him on others. 05:39 Once they agreed on the selling price 05:41 Sinbad grind and he said, "Grady it's simple. 05:47 "The one... 05:49 "I simply feed one dog one weekend 05:52 "and starve the other." 05:54 And he said "so one who gets fed wins". 05:57 You know the moral of the story applies to you and me. 06:01 Do you recognize it? 06:02 It might be helpful to review a similar message 06:04 from the Bible that's found in Galatians 6:8 06:07 There it says, "for he who sows to his flesh 06:11 "will of the flesh reap corruption. 06:14 "But he who sows to the spirit 06:16 "will of the spirit reap everlasting life." 06:21 As Christians you and I 06:23 have two natures within us. 06:25 The old flesh nature of sin 06:27 and the born again nature of Christ. 06:31 If we feed on the trash of the world system 06:34 our old sin nature will rear its ugly head 06:38 with a tenacity of a ferocious pit bull. 06:42 But in contrast if we feed 06:44 our new nature with the word of God 06:48 the good Shepherd comes forth 06:52 and wins the battle for us. 06:53 The nature we feed wins! 06:56 It's really that simple! 06:59 You know it's sad to say but 07:02 it's also so obvious that what 07:04 I'm about to say won't surprise you. 07:07 There is a drought in the land. 07:10 A righteousness drought. 07:12 Our Holy and righteous God abhors evil. 07:16 He hates it because it is in direct opposition 07:21 to His divine nature of love. 07:25 God's heart is broken by the pain 07:28 and suffering evil causes. 07:31 Do you think that 07:36 By our attitudes toward evil? 07:39 The Bible says in Proverbs 4:18 that 07:44 "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." 07:47 When this verse says to fear the Lord 07:50 it means to have reverent respect and awe for God. 07:55 Now let me repeat that verse. 07:57 "The fear of the Lord 07:58 "is to hate evil." 08:02 You know it seems that we have a problem. 08:06 It seems that Christians, 08:07 Christians have lost their reverent respect 08:10 and awe for God. 08:12 We don't hate sin as God does. 08:16 I think maybe that 08:17 the vast corruption of our world has numbed 08:19 our senses in some way. 08:21 In many instances our response to sin has been 08:26 diluted to lukewarm indifference, 08:29 shrugging shoulders, 08:31 and clucking tongues. 08:33 And our apathy grieves God. 08:37 It's really become difficult 08:39 to avoid worldly images and influences, 08:43 hasn't it? 08:45 We are bombarded by evil images daily. 08:47 We need to be like the Psalmist 08:50 who recorded his prayer to God 08:52 in Psalms 119:37 08:54 He said "Lord turn my eyes away from worthless things 08:59 and revive me in your way Father. 09:03 Are we vigilant to turn our eyes away 09:07 from worthless things? 09:09 It breaks the heart of God 09:11 when we allow earthly trash 09:13 to gain entrance and pollute our minds! 09:17 Let me ask you question. 09:19 Have we forgotten that the Bible warns us that 09:22 friendship with this world system 09:24 is hatred toward God? 09:26 Look at the way the Holy Spirit inspired 09:30 the warning to us in James 4:4 09:33 [text on screen] 09:36 He's talking about spiritual adultery here. 09:38 Christians who are having a love affair with the world. 09:43 [back to text] 09:56 Now, that's a pretty stern warning, isn't it? 09:59 It's one that we should heed as well. 10:03 We need to recognize sin for what it is. 10:07 One of the reasons we seem to ignore the warning 10:12 is because the ways of the world 10:14 can sometimes seem so harmless. 10:17 One of Satan's favorite devices 10:20 is to make sin humorous. 10:24 Or to make it entertaining. 10:26 If he can put a cloak of humor of comedy on sin 10:30 and if he can cause us to respond with laughter 10:33 then the devil has scored! 10:35 Our laughter demonstrates our approval 10:38 for practices that go against 10:41 God's righteous decrees. 10:42 The Bible says in Roman 1:32 10:46 that we often know 10:54 and we understand that the wages of sin are death. 10:58 And that those who practice evil are 11:00 actually deserving of death. 11:02 But then he goes on to say in that verse that 11:06 we do the same practices of sin! 11:08 And we approve of those who practice them. 11:14 Are we the Devil's fool? 11:16 Let me show you Satan's number one trick. 11:19 Satan does all within his power... 11:22 [information on screen] 11:29 Do we have to open the package to realize that... 11:36 [back to statement] 11:39 Oh, may God help us to hate evil as he does. 11:44 Let us pray that we learn 11:46 to discern between the pure and the impure. 11:51 We should pray that God will teach us 11:54 his way of hating the sin 11:58 yet loving the sinner 11:59 with a redemptive love. 12:01 Let us pray ever more earnestly that 12:03 we don't develop judgmental attitudes 12:07 towards others. 12:09 None of us is righteous by our own merit. 12:13 Isaiah 64:6 puts it this way... 12:15 "All of us have become like one who is unclean 12:21 "and all our righteous acts 12:23 "are like filthy rags." 12:25 In reality we should all 12:27 be saying there but for 12:29 the grace of God go I. 12:31 Did you know that judging others is 12:35 nothing short of self exaltation? 12:38 Or self-righteousness? 12:40 And that is the Devil's favorite trip wire 12:45 to cause our downfall. 12:47 Self-righteousness is a sinister spirit of pride! 12:53 And when you think about it 12:54 the spirit of pride is the spirit of antichrist. 12:59 Which is in direct conflict 13:01 to the absolute humility of Christ. 13:04 We should always be mindful of the council that 13:07 we've been given in Philippians Chapter 2 13:11 "Let this might be in you 13:13 "which was also in Christ Jesus." 13:17 He humbled himself 13:18 and he became obedient to the point of death 13:22 even the death of the cross. 13:25 Our spiritual enemy 13:28 comes in like a flood. 13:29 Trying to knock us off of our sure foundation. 13:33 And pride is his greatest scheme 13:36 to separate us from the Lord. 13:39 Do we feed on the Devil's slaughter ourselves 13:43 while condemning others for their sin? 13:45 How easy it is to fall into this trap! 13:48 We must deprive our selfish prideful nature 13:53 and partake of God's divine nature. 13:56 Do you remember what we talked about last time 13:59 about how we partake of God's divine nature? 14:03 The answer is found in II Peter 1:4 14:08 "He (that's God) has given us his very 14:11 "great and precious promises 14:13 "so that through them you may participate. 14:18 "Become part takers off his divine nature 14:21 "and escape the corruption in the world 14:24 "caused by evil desires." 14:27 That's found in II Peter 1:4. 14:30 By God's gracious and loving design 14:34 he has given us 14:36 given us everything that we need 14:38 to live godly lives. 14:40 He has a system a system for escaping evil 14:44 and he wants us to learn it! 14:46 In drawing near to God, 14:49 hiding his word in our hearts 14:51 and living in his promises 14:53 we can escape the clutches of evil. 14:56 We'll be right back to discuss a practical way 14:59 in which we can put God's system into practice. 15:04 Please stay tuned! 15:08 If this dynamic series 15:09 is making a difference in your life, 15:10 then you should know about 15:12 a special study guide 15:13 written by Shelley Quinn. 15:15 Exalting His Word with 15:16 Life Affirmations From Scripture 15:17 is an in depth study of the word of God. 15:22 Please send your love gifts to... 15:36 What God wants us to do he is seeking our cooperation. 15:42 He wants us to depend on his power 15:46 to develop the nature of Christ within us. 15:52 His solemn vows are upon us 15:53 and our destiny is to become like Jesus! 15:57 Hallelujah!!! 15:58 Taking part in his divine nature 16:01 does require effort. 16:03 It requires a vigorous spirit empowered effort 16:08 to plant God's promises in our hearts. 16:10 We must sow to the spirit to reap everlasting life. 16:15 What I'd like us to do now is 16:17 to consider the potential of the harvest. 16:22 We sow what we reap. 16:26 Excuse me... 16:27 We reap what we sow!! 16:29 Isn't that right? 16:30 We can't plant one thing 16:32 and harvest something else! 16:34 This law of God can't be violated 16:37 in either the spiritual realm or the physical realm. 16:41 Ask any farmer and he will tell you 16:43 if you sow wheat you reap wheat. 16:47 If you sow corn you reap corn. 16:51 Why? 16:52 Because the potential of the harvest is 16:56 wrapped inside this seed. 16:58 The Bible says this in Galatians 6. 17:02 [text on screen] 17:33 You're probably familiar with 17:35 the parable of sowing seed that Jesus told. 17:40 It's recorded in Luke chapter 8 17:42 and I'd like to read some of that to you right now 17:45 because this really is going to right in 17:48 with the very practical application 17:51 to our lives today. 17:52 I'm going to start in Luke 8:5. 17:55 "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 17:59 " As he was scattering the seed 18:01 "some fell along the path. 18:04 "It was trampled on 18:05 "and the birds of air ate it up. 18:07 "Some fell on rock and when it came up 18:10 "the plants a withered because they had no moisture. 18:13 "Other seed fell among thorns 18:15 "which grew up with it and choked the plants. 18:18 "Still other seeds fell on good soil. 18:22 "It came up and yielded a crop 18:24 "a hundred times more than was sown." 18:27 Now, listen to Christ's explanation 18:30 of this parable. 18:31 This is the meaning of the parable, he said. 18:33 The seed it is the word of God. 18:37 Those all along the path 18:39 are the ones who hear and then 18:40 the devil comes and takes the word out of their hearts 18:44 so that they may not believe and be saved. 18:48 Those who are on the rock 18:49 are the ones who received the word with joy. 18:52 But when they hear it they... 18:56 they just have no roots 18:57 and they believe for a while 18:59 but at the time of testing they fall away. 19:00 And then it says the seed that fell among thorns 19:05 stands for those who hear it 19:07 but as they go on their way 19:09 they are choked by life's worries, 19:13 riches and concerns. 19:15 And they do not mature. 19:17 But the seed on good soil 19:20 stands for those with a noble and good heart 19:23 who hear the word and retain it 19:26 and by persevering produce a crop. 19:30 Well, as Christ explained 19:34 the meaning of this parable to his disciples 19:36 do you remember he said the seed is the word of God? 19:40 Let me paraphrase the rest of his explanation. 19:44 Some of us hear a message from God's word 19:47 and because our heart is burdened and hardened 19:50 the devil comes and easily snatches away 19:53 the seed of the word. 19:54 Others hear are promise from the Bible 19:57 and we receive it with joy but 19:59 we just don't cling to it long enough 20:02 for it to take root. 20:04 We lose faith as conditions challenge our believe. 20:08 Sadly we reject the eternal power 20:12 and truth of God's testimony 20:14 and we accept the conflicting evidence of 20:17 our circumstances. 20:19 Then there are those of us who sow his promises 20:24 and with our eyes on Jesus 20:28 are nurtured for awhile. 20:30 Yet, we allow our focus to be interrupted 20:34 by the demanding hustle and bustle of life! 20:38 Soon worldly manners begin 20:42 to creep in like weeds 20:44 and they begin growing out of control! 20:46 And they overcome our mind 20:48 and these weeds and thorns 20:52 just choked the life of God's word 20:55 right out of our hearts. 20:57 We quit trusting in his knowledge 20:59 and we returned to our limited human understanding. 21:05 And our growth as Christians is studded because 21:08 we no longer acknowledge God's way of 21:11 bringing us to maturity. 21:13 You know the best way to explain 21:15 how God brings us to maturity 21:17 is described in Proverbs 3:5,6 21:22 There it says... 21:23 "Trust in the Lord 21:25 "with ALL of your heart 21:26 "lean NOT on your own understanding 21:29 "and in all your ways acknowledge him 21:32 "and He shall direct your paths." 21:36 Any time that we quit tending to 21:39 the fertile ground of the kingdom of God 21:42 that's within us, 21:43 we'll find that 21:44 we have sacrificed the good seed. 21:47 His word. 21:49 God designed the potential of the harvest 21:53 to be wrapped inside the seed. 21:56 You should pause to consider this... 22:06 I want to encourage you 22:08 to sow the seed of God. 22:10 His Holy Word into your heart 22:13 and if you'll abide in His promises 22:16 He will make certain that 22:18 the life-giving potential of His seed 22:21 takes root and develops and matures! 22:24 And He will develop their nature of 22:27 Christ within you. 22:28 Planting God's promises in your heart 22:30 can save your soul from troubles. 22:34 Here's how James put it. 22:36 [text on screen] 23:12 Remember the Bible is your mirror! 23:16 It reveals a reflection of 23:19 who you are in Christ. 23:20 It shows the new nature that 23:22 God wants to create in you 23:24 by the life-giving power of His word. 23:28 But you must cooperate with the Lord. 23:31 You've got to plant His promises 23:35 and by His power allow God 23:38 to start working His plan in you. 23:43 As Jesus concluded the parable of 23:45 the "sow-er" and the seed 23:47 this is what He said; 23:49 "But the seed on good soil stands for 23:54 "those with a noble and a good heart 23:58 "who hear the word, 23:59 "retain it, 24:00 "and by persevering produce a crop." 24:06 In this summary 24:07 Christ identifies for us 24:09 the four steps necessary 24:12 to plant His promises 24:14 and partake of His divine nature. 24:18 Number one... 24:20 [steps on screen] 24:55 Next week... we are 24:57 ...Or next time 24:58 we are going to take a closer look at 25:02 these four critical steps for 25:05 planting His promises. 25:06 This is one of those great systems of truth 25:11 that God designed for us to overcome 25:13 our identity crisis. 25:16 If we will learn to walk 25:18 in the law of Liberty 25:20 and know that we can depend totally on God 25:24 to do a work that is within us. 25:28 And Him to work out 25:30 His power within us. 25:31 And then, if we will rely on 25:35 the miracle working power of God's word 25:39 and recognize that all of our potential 25:43 is wrapped inside of His word. 25:47 And that if we will plant the word 25:51 in our heart that the triumph 25:53 and entry of His word 25:56 will cause this miracle seed to start functioning. 26:02 To start growing 26:04 if we could just get this 26:06 in our minds that God's word 26:10 is life to us! 26:13 I pray... 26:14 as a matter of fact, 26:16 let's pray together that the Lord will 26:17 really impress this on our heart because 26:21 we all from time to time 26:23 need to be reminded that this word is 26:28 alive and active! 26:30 And when we put it in our hearts 26:32 it's God who is going to produce 26:36 a harvest of righteousness in us! 26:38 Let's take a moment before we close and pray. 26:41 Heavenly Father 26:43 I ask in the name of Jesus that 26:45 everything you are teaching us in this program that 26:49 you will empower us to do 26:51 and cause us Father God, just to come to you 26:55 seeking to know your will. 26:57 Seeking to know who we are in Christ. 27:01 Oh Father God in the name of Jesus 27:03 help us to overcome our identity crisis. 27:07 Teach us Father 27:09 and cause us to plant your promises 27:12 in our heart. 27:14 We thank you so much for your word Lord. 27:17 I praise you Father God. 27:19 I thank you for your word 27:21 and I pray that you are doing a great work 27:23 in my heart and in the hearts of 27:25 all my brothers and sisters for your Glory. 27:29 In Jesus name amen. 27:31 Well our time together 27:33 certainly passes quickly. 27:34 I hope the Lord is encouraging you through 27:37 these studies. 27:38 May God multiply 27:40 His mercy 27:41 love and grace to you. 27:42 And may He watch over His word 27:44 to perform it in your life as 27:47 you cooperate with Him. 27:48 Please remember to spend your time 27:51 making that which is most important to God 27:53 the very thing that is also most important to you 27:57 Exalting His Word! 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Revised 2023-08-29