Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host)
Series Code: GPL
Program Code: GPL000005S
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00:01 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
00:02 Please join us now on "The Grace Pipeline," 00:05 where we will look at what the Bible says 00:08 about being yoked with Jesus 00:10 and partnered with His power. 00:33 Welcome to "The Grace Pipeline." 00:36 This series, it follows a Bible study 00:38 that I was very blessed to write in the book 00:41 that is also titled "The Grace Pipeline." 00:43 And today, we are going to take a look 00:47 at the privilege of being yoked with Christ 00:51 and partnered with His power." 00:54 If you're following along in this-- 00:56 in your series companion book, we're beginning on page 41. 01:00 Now in our last program, we concluded 01:02 with the story of a personal experience of mine. 01:05 Some years ago, I was praying 1 Corinthians 6:17 that says, 01:11 "He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him." 01:15 And as I pray this as an affirmation of my faith 01:18 thanking God for making me one with Him. 01:21 I didn't feel one with Him. 01:24 I couldn't even comprehend 01:25 what it meant to be united in this way. 01:28 When I ask and the Lord cried out for understanding, 01:32 what He did was, He let me in a study 01:35 on the mysterious oneness of the Father, 01:37 the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 01:40 We're going to take just a few minutes of today's program 01:43 to briefly consider the unity of the Godhead. 01:47 The concept of three divine persons who are only one God. 01:52 This will help us understand how we can become 01:56 partnered with the Lord's power and be one in spirit with Him. 02:01 When trying to understand this concept of oneness, 02:04 the Lord led me first to Deuteronomy 6:4, 02:08 which proclaims "The Lord our God, the Lord is one!" 02:14 We're going to take a little closer look at this 02:18 and we're going to get technical for just a moment 02:20 but stay with me, because what we'll do is 02:24 look at the literal Hebrew of this translation 02:27 and we'll understand more. 02:30 The Hebrews says "YHWH our Elohim, 02:36 YHWH is eh ad," meaning "Jehovah, our Self-existent, 02:43 all-powerful God, is plural but One." 02:48 Let's unpack this. 02:50 YHWH is the "Tetragrammaton" 02:53 that just means a four letter word. 02:55 But it is used by the Bible writers for Yahweh, 03:00 which in English we say Jehovah. 03:03 This is the name that God pronounced or announced 03:06 from the burning bush to Moses. 03:08 Yahweh means "I am," 03:11 I am the one who is the self-existent one. 03:14 And in reverence for the holiness of God's name 03:17 in fear of breaking the commandment 03:18 of taking God's name in vain. 03:21 Jews avoided pronouncing or spelling the secret name Yahweh. 03:25 Instead it became their common practice to use Adonai. 03:31 Now, let's consider Elohim that means the all 03:35 "powerful creator and sustainer." 03:38 Elohim is a masculine plural noun. 03:42 And in the first scripture of Genesis 1:1 03:46 "God reveals His complex plurality 03:51 of His nature as creator." 03:53 Genesis 1:1 says that 03:56 "In the beginning God Elohim created." 04:00 These words announce the presence of only one God 04:05 and confirm that this all powerful creator 04:08 is composed of more than one member. 04:12 Elohim is the most frequently used name of God. 04:16 It appears some 2250 times in the Old Testament. 04:20 It is His Covenant Maker name in His declaration that 04:24 He will not abandon that which He has created. 04:27 And the most telling Hebrew word though in this 04:31 in Deuteronomy 6:4 is eh ad, 04:36 that is a word that defines a union of several components 04:42 combined into a single unit. 04:45 So the scripture we are examining 04:48 Deuteronomy 6:4 declares "The Lord Jehovah, 04:53 the plural Creator Elohim is One eh ad, 04:58 His several components that are a single unit." 05:01 We will see the significance of this divine oneness 05:04 of the Godhead in a moment. 05:06 But like divine love, divine oneness has no equal. 05:10 There seems to be universal agreement 05:13 that the person identified in scripture is the Father, 05:16 is the all powerful infinite God. 05:19 So I feel no need to expand on this fact. 05:23 But some religions acknowledge Jesus 05:27 as God's greatest historical prophet, 05:30 yet they deny His deity as our creator God. 05:34 Scripture does not support this denial. 05:36 The New Testament clearly portrays 05:39 Christ as a member of the Godhead 05:42 and indeed in John 1-3 and Colossians 1:16. 05:49 In Colossians 2:9 Christ is described 05:54 as the force behind creation. 05:58 Legally all Bible scholars recognize 06:01 the Angel of the Lord of the Old Testament 06:04 was the visible God of the Old Testament 06:07 in the person of Jesus Christ. 06:09 He appeared to Moses from the burning bush 06:11 and among others He appeared to Abraham, 06:14 the slave girl, Hagar, Jacob, Gideon. 06:17 He is distinct from the father 06:20 and He does not appear again after Christ incarnation. 06:24 Therefore scholars conclude that 06:26 the Angel of the Lord is Christ, the Messiah messenger. 06:32 The word angel simply means messenger. 06:36 Jesus said in John 8:58 "Most assuredly, 06:43 I say to you, before Abraham was I am." 06:47 With this exact praise or name used of God, 06:51 Jesus proclaimed His eternal existence 06:55 and He further stated in Chapter 10. 06:58 He said, I and the Father are one and he avowed 07:02 the authority that was reserve by God alone to forgive sins. 07:06 So in doing this Christ clearly claimed 07:10 He was God accusing Him of blasphemy, 07:13 the seething Jewish leaders wanted 07:15 to stone him for His claims. 07:18 And they eventually schemed 07:19 to have the Lord of Glory crucified. 07:22 Jesus declared He was the Lord, 07:25 the Savior, the Christ, the Messiah, 07:28 the Son of God and the Son of Man. 07:31 In other words Son of Man meant the Lord 07:34 who humbled Himself to become human, 07:37 uniting divinity with humanity forever. 07:40 And the Lord who will return in the future 07:43 on the clouds of heaven with majesty in great power. 07:47 Significantly in Daniel 7:13 and 14 07:52 "God supply the same emphasis of Christ humanity 07:55 in prophetic vision to Daniel, 07:57 who saw one like the Son of Man 08:00 who proceeded from the ancient of days 08:02 and was given universal authority. 08:05 Every Old Testament prophecy of the Messiah 08:08 was fulfilled in Jesus 08:10 and recorded in the New Testament 08:11 historical account of His life. 08:15 If Christ was not who He claimed to be, 08:19 then we must consider Him an unholy liar. 08:22 No one can acknowledge Him as a holy prophet of God 08:26 while denying His claims of deity, 08:29 accept a great parallel of missing God's Grace. 08:32 The Bible portrays not only Christ as God 08:37 but the Holy Spirit 08:38 as the member of the Godhead present at creation. 08:42 And His personhood is denied by some Christian circles, 08:46 who equate His presence to nothing more than 08:50 a force of God's being? 08:53 As one dear soul tried to explain to me. 08:55 She said, oh, spirit can't be a person, 08:58 and I said, well, God is a Spirit, 09:01 that's what John 4:24 says 09:04 "Is that God is the Spirit 09:05 and He certainly is the member of the Godhead. 09:09 Her convoluted reasoning cannot get around that. 09:13 But as for me, I will lit here to the opinion of Jesus Christ, 09:17 who always refer to the Holy Spirit as a person 09:20 and identified Him with the personal pronoun 09:23 he him or his, Christ never call the Holy Spirit and it. 09:29 Peter identified the Holy Spirit is God, 09:32 when he rebuked one of the early Christian Church members 09:35 saying in Acts 5.3 and 4 09:38 "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart 09:43 to lie to the Holy Spirit... 09:45 You have not lied to men but to God." 09:50 You know the scripture is replete with references 09:55 that tell us that 09:57 the Holy Spirit exercises His choice 10:00 and experiences emotion 10:02 and then He possesses the qualities of God. 10:05 The Holy Spirit is identified in scripture 10:07 as being omniscient all knowing, 10:10 omnipresent all present, and omnipotent all powerful. 10:15 And we must remember Christ great commission 10:19 found in Matthew 28:19 and 20, where He said 10:24 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, 10:29 baptizing them in the name not names 10:32 but in the name of the Father 10:34 and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 10:38 teaching them to observe all things 10:40 that I have commanded you." 10:43 This great commission of Christ 10:45 appeals to the complex unity 10:49 of three personal co-eternals sinners of consciousness. 10:54 Scripture reveals the Father, the Son, and the Spirit 10:59 cooperate in perfect harmony. 11:02 Jesus did nothing contrary to His Father's will. 11:06 Whatever the Father did, the Son did in like manner. 11:09 And in reverence for His Father, 11:12 Jesus did not compete with Him 11:14 because of His reverence submission 11:17 the Father exalted Him. 11:20 And in like manner the Holy Spirit 11:22 does not compete with Jesus, 11:24 but does everything to bring Christ to glory, 11:28 the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 11:32 The Bible clearly defines a distinction of three persons 11:36 but in essences of oneness. 11:38 Now man labels this concept, the trinity... 11:42 How are we to understand this and explain it? 11:45 Its not as difficult as I have thought 11:48 before God led me in this study. 11:51 Here is my conclusion "The Father, the Son, 11:55 and The Spirit are one in purpose thought and action." 12:01 This study not only helped me to understand, 12:05 how the three can be one 12:08 but also pointed to a powerful truth. 12:11 Perfect unity leaves no room 12:13 for separate plans among the Godhead. 12:16 All though they are coequal, their actions illustrate 12:20 a chain of command so to speak. 12:23 The Spirit glorifies the Son, the Son glorifies the Father. 12:28 And for this the all loving Father exalts Him 12:32 and gives Him authority. 12:34 This God ordained system applies to our lives as well. 12:39 We are called to humble ourselves 12:41 and glorify God in our actions. 12:44 When we do, He exalts us and gives us authority 12:49 as we tap into God's supply of grace and are born again, 12:54 God joins us to Him and the new creature we become 12:58 as Paul proclaimed is one spirit with Him. 13:02 By God's design in our faith we grow in grace 13:07 and become one in thought purpose and action with Him, 13:11 living out God's perfect plan for our lives. 13:15 This unity squelches any of our plans 13:19 that are separate from His will. 13:22 It is your destiny to develop the same character of Jesus. 13:27 Did you know that, that it is written 13:29 in the Bible in Romans 8:29 it says 13:33 "For whom He speaking of God foreknew, 13:36 He also predestined to be conformed 13:40 to the image of His Son, 13:43 that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." 13:47 That's your God given destiny. 13:49 God knew of the sin struggle humanity would face 13:53 and before He created our world, 13:56 He designed His glorious Calvary plan 13:59 with only one end in mind 14:02 that all who accept His gift of salvation 14:05 are destined to become like His son. 14:07 If you are a Christian your God given destiny 14:11 is to be like Jesus, 14:13 this good news is that the best part of this 14:17 I should say is that Philippians 1:6 tells us 14:21 that this is a work that God begins, 14:24 sustains and complete in us. 14:27 He achieves it by His grace alone 14:31 which we will consider in greater depth 14:33 in upcoming programs. 14:35 Jesus reveals the secret of obtaining eternal life. 14:39 In John 17:3 and there He says "This is eternal life, 14:46 that they may know you the only true God, 14:50 and Jesus whom you have sent." 14:54 In this verse the word know is a verb 14:59 that conveys the thought of a personal connection, 15:03 a union through an intimate relationship. 15:06 In fact, the Bible uses this verb know to describe 15:09 a relationship between a man and a woman. 15:12 Eternal life is not gained through 15:16 scholarly head knowledge, 15:18 but it is a gift of God's grace for those who know Him 15:21 through heart knowledge 15:23 gained from an intimate personal experience. 15:28 God's greatest desire is that we will cherish 15:32 a close relationship with Him through Christ 15:35 His predetermine plan is to make us one with Him 15:39 in thought purpose and action, that is God's motive for grace. 15:45 The practical impact of grace is to enjoy 15:49 an intimate relationship with God in the spirit of oneness. 15:54 Now I want to share an amazing truth. 15:56 You've probably heard the saying that 15:59 a picture is worth a thousand words, 16:02 well, who can argue against the truth of this saying. 16:05 It is equally true however that words 16:08 can paint pictures in our mind 16:11 that evoke strong emotional responses. 16:15 The word yoke for example often creates a picture of hardship, 16:20 one mental image created by this word is wooden collar 16:24 like instrument that harnesses 16:27 two oxen or two horses together 16:29 as they pull heavy plough or weighty cart. 16:32 Well, we might recognize the wooden frame helps 16:35 support creatures share this heavy burden, 16:39 it is still something nonetheless 16:42 that we are left with the impression of hard labor. 16:45 Another picture the word yoke might bring to mind 16:48 is that of a slave within iron collar around his neck 16:52 being transported to market. 16:54 Let's look at the words of our loving Savior now. 16:58 In Matthew 11:28 through 30, and Jesus says 17:03 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, 17:08 and I will give you rest. 17:10 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, 17:15 for I am gentle and lowly in heart, 17:19 and you will find rest for your souls. 17:22 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." 17:28 Why would the master of grace 17:31 want to place the yoke upon our shoulders? 17:35 Well, to take Christ yoke is to become subject to Him 17:39 as our Lord and to live under His authority. 17:43 Do we view this invitation as a burden of drudgery, 17:47 I mean who yearns to be yoked anyway. 17:51 The truth is all of humanity lives 17:55 under one yoke of subjection or another. 17:58 I want to share another scripture with you. 18:00 This is Romans 6:6, Paul writes 18:03 "Do you not known that to whom you present yourselves 18:06 slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, 18:13 whether of sin leading to death, 18:16 or of obedience leading to righteousness?" 18:20 We see here that two conditions are identified in this verse. 18:24 We are either subjects of Christ held captive 18:27 to His love and His obedience 18:31 or we are subjects to Satan and thereby slaves of disobedience. 18:36 Either God is our spiritual Father or the devil is. 18:41 It is written in John 8:31 that 18:45 "Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin." 18:49 These are the words of Christ and He says sin and slaves, 18:54 before we're born again we are unspiritual creatures 18:58 sold under its control and ensnared by an evil taskmaster. 19:06 Satan hangs his yoke of bondage around the neck 19:10 of fallen humanity and presenting himself 19:13 as an angel of light. 19:15 Satan strategy is to tempt us with sin 19:18 and to steal our chance of the saving relationship 19:21 with the Lord Jesus Christ. 19:23 The pleasures that He offers are fleeting 19:27 and his burdens become difficult to bear. 19:30 The devil proves to be a driving taskmaster. 19:34 When we're lashed repeatedly by his cracking whip 19:37 and groaning under the weight of sin, 19:40 the weary soul is rubbed raw by his rough yoke. 19:45 But what I want to do is go back 19:48 and unpack the scripture of Matthew 11:28 through 30, 19:53 where Jesus said, "Come to Me, 19:56 all you who labor and are heavy laden, 20:01 and I will give you rest." 20:04 You know the call of Christ is sweat music 20:07 to our fainting heart. 20:08 If we accept His invitation, 20:11 He will set us free from the charcoaled of sin, 20:15 cutting away the cords of the wicked that bind us. 20:18 He will destroy the works of the devil. 20:21 We can caste the weight of our cares 20:23 upon the one who cares for us. 20:26 Now in Matthew 11 and verse, well this in Matthew 11 20:32 He continues by saying "I am gentle and lowly in heart, 20:37 and you will find rest for your souls." 20:40 They are wounded and weary people around the world 20:44 outside the church and within, 20:47 who seek rest for their souls. 20:49 Only the Son of God, who humbled Himself to die 20:52 on a cross as our substitute can provide that rest. 20:56 The one who emptied Himself to take on the attributes of man 21:00 and become the Son of Man was made like us in all ways 21:05 that He might sympathize with our weaknesses. 21:08 He knows what it is to suffer temptation. 21:12 Christ is more than able to come to our aid, 21:14 because He never succumbed to sin, 21:18 but He gained victory over it 21:20 through His complete dependence upon the Father. 21:24 And at the cross our Savior exposed Satan 21:28 for who he is and he made a public spectacle 21:32 of him disarming his power at the resurrection. 21:36 He gained victory over death. 21:39 Only Christ can refresh your heart restoring the rhythm 21:45 to be as one with God and give you rest. 21:51 In Matthew 11:29 Jesus continues and He says 21:58 "Take My yoke upon you and learn for me, 22:02 for My yoke is easy and My burden is light." 22:07 Why would we not cheerfully submit to exchange 22:10 the harsh yoke of Satan for the pleasant yoke of Christ? 22:15 The Lord's gracious yoke is lined with layer 22:18 upon layer of divine love. 22:20 We don't need to be concerned about yielding to it. 22:24 Jesus is a gentle master. 22:26 He knows our capabilities and He knows our limitations 22:30 as He teaches us to live under His leadership, 22:34 His guiding love gives us direction in life. 22:37 He shares in our burdens and leads us to enter His rest, 22:41 which is nothing, nothing less than 22:44 total dependence upon God. 22:47 Here's the exciting news, Christ appealed to be yoked 22:51 with Him is an invitation to be partnered with His power 22:56 and as we walk through life 22:59 connected side-by-side with our sympathetic Savior. 23:02 He supplies our every need by infusing us 23:06 with His inexhaustible all sufficient grace. 23:10 Yoke together with Christ, 23:11 He perfects His power in our weakness. 23:14 The Apostle Paul learned this supreme lesson 23:17 as he prayed for the release from an affliction 23:20 and answer of Christ promise created an astounding reaction 23:25 from Paul recorded in 2 Corinthians 12:9. 23:29 And Paul says "He said to me, 23:32 "My grace is sufficient for you, 23:34 for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 23:38 Now listen to Paul's response 23:39 "Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, 23:45 that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 23:50 Paul didn't receive the answer He was looking for, 23:54 but He wasn't left disappointed. 23:56 Christ had something greater in mind than a quick fix, 24:00 He gave Paul the grace to endure his infliction 24:04 showing him the way to greater spiritual power. 24:08 And Paul's weakness open the way of God's strength, 24:12 the weaker he became the less he relied on self, 24:16 the greater God's power increased, 24:19 so practically gushing from the experience 24:22 that accompanied this inside. 24:24 Paul joyfully concludes in verse 10. 24:27 He says, "When I'm weak then I am strong." 24:32 Now why do we have such difficulty 24:35 in learning this lesson? 24:37 Could it be because the world praises us 24:40 for our ability to be strong and self-sufficient 24:44 after all our training from birth to the time 24:48 that we grow up is to teach us 24:51 to live independently as adults. 24:54 It is counterintuitive and humbling for an adult 24:58 to learn dependence on God. 25:01 All though difficult for us to comprehend His ways 25:04 and His thoughts are higher than ours 25:06 and abiding grace results only as we enter 25:10 into His perfect plan of total dependence upon Him. 25:16 In Luke 18:17 Jesus said, 25:21 "Assuredly I say to you, whoever does not receive 25:25 the kingdom of God as a little child 25:28 will by no means enter in." 25:31 Child like faith, child like dependence, 25:36 this is how we enter His rest. 25:38 When this precious truth opens our eyes, 25:41 security settles into our hearts and faith soars. 25:46 The Apostle Paul learned to live 25:48 in the daily miracle of Christ's supernatural power, 25:52 this divine assistance of Christ. 25:56 And writing to the church at Philippi, 25:59 He said in Philippians 4:13 26:02 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 26:09 We find true strength only as we allow Christ to empower us. 26:14 When He infuses His sufficiency in us, 26:18 we can do everything that He has planned for us. 26:21 God will indeed cause us to be all that He has called us to be 26:25 and as we are yoked with Christ, 26:28 we have His divine assistance to keep the commandments of God. 26:32 You know, Jesus clearly tells us in John 15:5 26:35 that apart from Him we can do nothing, 26:38 nothing of eternal consequences. 26:40 But listen to this beautiful promise from Isaiah 40:31. 26:45 It says, "Those who wait for the Lord shall change 26:49 and renew their strength and power, 26:51 they shall lift their wings and mount up as eagles, 26:55 they shall run and not be weary, 26:58 they shall walk and not faint." 27:02 Look to the Lord for your salvation. 27:06 Divine love will create a bond to keep you living 27:11 in the reality of relationship with Him. 27:14 He will exchange His power for your weakness. 27:19 And in submission to His yoke, 27:22 the liberating joy of dependence upon God 27:26 and the strength of divine grace will be yours. 27:30 Indeed, you will be yoked with Him 27:35 and He's carrying the balance of the load, 27:38 you will be partnered with His power. 27:41 Well, we hope that you have enjoyed our thoughts today. 27:44 And that you will join us on our next program, 27:48 where we're going to be talking about 27:50 how the lives of two robbers 27:52 showed an incredible snapshot of grace. 27:56 Growing grace and the knowledge of our Lord until next time. |
Revised 2024-06-18