Pressing into His Presence

Pressing in Through Affirmations

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Shelley Quinn

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Series Code: PHP

Program Code: PHP000010


00:01 Hello, I'm Shelly Quinn.
00:02 Please join us today on "Pressing in to His Presence"
00:04 to learn how to wheel the sword of the spirit
00:08 in your prayer time.
00:31 Welcome to "Pressing in to His Presence."
00:33 In this series we are learning
00:35 how to use the praise prayer pattern,
00:38 the P-R-A-I-S-E prayer pattern to draw near to God.
00:43 And that is simply and acronym that labels different segments
00:47 of the certain type of deeper prayer.
00:50 The "P" stands for starting our prayer by praising God.
00:54 The "R" stands for repentance
00:56 and we'd cover these concepts in previous programs.
01:00 Today we will focus on the "A"
01:02 which stands for affirmations and simply means
01:06 applying God's promises to our lives personally
01:10 and applying them during our prayer time.
01:13 If you are using the companion book
01:15 Pressing in to His Presence
01:17 we're beginning this session on page 83.
01:21 You know, God worked a radical change in my life
01:25 when He taught me to return
01:27 His promises to Him during prayer
01:29 and to confess scripture as an affirmation of faith
01:33 and His ability to perform His word.
01:36 This program will briefly introduce
01:39 the concept of the teaching
01:41 that I've shared before in my books
01:43 and also a program on 3ABN called Exalting His Word.
01:48 In Isaiah 55:8-9, God says this.
01:54 "My thoughts are not your thoughts,
01:56 nor are My ways your ways," says the Lord.
02:00 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
02:03 so are My ways higher than your ways,
02:05 and My thoughts than your thoughts."
02:08 You know, finding out minds like ours
02:10 can scarcely grasp the infinite ways them of God.
02:14 His thoughts are beyond
02:16 the natural boundaries of our imagination.
02:19 Without the Holy Spirits help,
02:22 God's ways are mind-boggling to modern man.
02:26 The man without the spirit cries out why?
02:29 He is not learn to trust God to--
02:33 or even to interpret God's perfect love.
02:37 Jesus said in John 17:3,
02:41 that "This is eternal life that they may know you,
02:46 the only God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
02:50 What is it mean to know God?
02:54 The verb know in this verse
02:56 is means to understand completely.
03:00 It conveys the thought
03:02 of very intimate connection or union.
03:06 God's great desire is for mankind
03:08 to know Him as Creator, righteous judge,
03:12 Redeemer, mediator, gracious benefactor
03:16 and our perfect abba Father.
03:19 To know Him as our sovereign Lord
03:22 and the lover of our souls.
03:24 God wants us to experience
03:27 His love, light, life and power.
03:31 It is life eternal to know Him this way.
03:34 Jesus proclaimed in John 14:6, 7
03:40 He said, "I'm the way the truth and the life,
03:44 no one comes to the father except through Me.
03:48 If you had knowing Me,
03:50 you would have known My father also
03:53 and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
03:57 Jesus tells us that we can know God
04:02 through His written word the Bible.
04:04 God enfolds the Revelation of Himself
04:07 and His plans that He has for mankind.
04:10 And through His living word Jesus Christ
04:13 He revealed
04:15 the exact representation of His character.
04:18 The author-- the author of Hebrews says that,
04:22 "Jesus is the perfect imprint
04:25 the vary image of God's nature.
04:30 When we see Jesus, we see the Father
04:34 one in thought purpose in action
04:37 they hear the identical personality character
04:40 and the essence of love and motivation.
04:44 Christ is empowered to give us eternal life
04:47 by bringing us into the knowledge of God.
04:50 And our entrance to knowing Him is through the Bible.
04:54 An intimate relationship with the Lord
04:56 begins with an intimate relationship with His word.
05:01 From 1995 to 2002
05:04 the Lord led me into a deeper relationship
05:08 with Him by first revealing that His higher thoughts
05:11 and ways or not mine
05:14 and He revealed them to that I may know Him better.
05:17 First He introduced me to intimacy with His word
05:22 providing spiritual food for my growth.
05:24 Then He called me to press in to His presence
05:27 in prayer teaching me to exhale the pollution of the world
05:32 and inhale His sweet breath of life.
05:35 And next God guided me
05:38 through an intensive sanctuary study.
05:41 You know, in Psalm 77:13 the Bible says,
05:45 "Your way, O Lord, is in sanctuary,
05:48 who is so great a God, like our God."
05:52 It was that sanctuary study
05:54 which revealed to me God's ultimate way of salvation.
05:58 And finally He taught me
06:00 how to walk in the power of surrender to Him
06:02 which we will study in an up coming program.
06:05 Though I consider myself a Christian
06:08 prior to the years of 1995,
06:11 it was through these actions
06:13 that I came to know God and understand His plan.
06:17 Perhaps the most curious of all human behaviors
06:21 is that we can learn life changing lessons
06:23 from our Lord only to abandon them
06:28 to abandon the practice of them later.
06:31 I'm pretty certain that you can identify with this dilemma.
06:36 Its hard me to think otherwise because too many people
06:41 had that I have spoken to have acknowledged
06:44 this common fault that we share.
06:46 God teaches us a better a way
06:48 and we walk joyfully in its path for a while
06:51 only to awake one day
06:53 and realize we're no longer following His lesson plan.
06:57 To my point God revealed to me
06:59 the transforming power of His word
07:02 when He taught me to make affirmations from scripture.
07:07 It was a life changing experience
07:09 and for two years I walked so closely to Him
07:13 I felt like I could sense His heartbeat
07:16 but later miss placed priorities had me
07:19 slaving nonstop for start up company.
07:23 I abandoned the affirmation practice for 18 months
07:26 and found myself distanced from God.
07:29 He graciously corrected my backsliding
07:33 in September 1999
07:35 when he called me to pray an hour each morning
07:38 teaching me to press in to His presence.
07:43 And during the first 14 mornings
07:45 of this special prayer time,
07:47 I learned to praise, I learned repentance
07:50 and I assumed the role of prayer warrior.
07:53 God even opened my spiritual ears
07:56 to identify His still small voice
07:58 that I continue to lack sufficient spiritual power
08:02 to walk victoriously throughout the day with Christ.
08:06 So, on the 15th morning my problem became evident.
08:11 I had unplugged from my spiritual powers source,
08:17 affirmations from scripture
08:20 and when I added a generous portion of affirmations
08:23 to my daily prayer the dynamics
08:26 in my Christian walk were immediately changed.
08:30 In a flesh I was infused with faith
08:34 and I went from pitiful to powerful.
08:37 Once again I was the word warrior
08:39 armed with the sword of the spirit
08:41 and ready to defend myself against the enemy.
08:44 It was several months later in January 2000
08:48 that the Lord led me through the sanctuary study
08:51 and this opened my eyes
08:54 to see the surfacing of the sanctuary theme
08:57 in the praise pattern the P-R-A-I-S-E prayer pattern.
09:02 So, let's review how it has related that far.
09:05 As we began our journey to press in to His presence,
09:08 to press before His throne of grace
09:11 we started with the praise segment.
09:13 We entered His gates with thanksgiving
09:15 in into His courts with praise that was due His holy name.
09:21 And our next steps correlative actions
09:23 found in the outer court of sanctuary.
09:26 We embraced repentance confessing our sin
09:29 and pleading the blood of Jesus
09:30 over our failures equating to the symbolism
09:35 of the altar of burnt offering and what it represented.
09:39 And like the priest of all purifying themselves
09:42 with the labor we washed our spiritual hands and feet
09:45 in the act of repentance permitting us
09:47 to drawn near to our holy God.
09:50 Now had we been a Levi priest,
09:52 we would now be ready
09:54 to enter into the tent of the ancient sanctuary
09:59 which was much more beautiful on the interior
10:03 than the exterior just as God's people are.
10:07 The sanctuary was 45 feet long and 15 feet wide
10:12 and two third of the space was dedicated to the Holy place.
10:17 The first compartment which measured
10:19 30 feet by 15 feet,
10:22 the Holy place contained three items
10:25 the table of showbread, the golden altar of incense,
10:28 and the golden candle sticks.
10:30 I compare the act of making affirmations from scripture
10:34 to a symbolic entry in to the holy place
10:37 and the setting out of the showbread.
10:39 Here is how it happened in the earthly sanctuary.
10:42 First 12 loafs one for each tribe of Israel
10:46 were prepared fresh on the Sabbath of each week
10:50 and they were arranged in two stacks of six each
10:54 on the table in this holy place.
10:57 And since this was an act of worship
10:59 the labor was not considered Sabbath breaking.
11:03 The loafs were flat bread, they were baked without leaven.
11:07 Leaven was a type of fermentation
11:09 like yeast the cause bread to rise
11:12 and it was viewed as a symbol of corruption
11:16 or evil influence during Bible times.
11:19 So now on top of each of these stacks of six
11:24 there was placed a golden cup of frankincense
11:27 which was burned with fire coals
11:30 as an offering to the Lord
11:32 when the showbread was changed.
11:35 The loafs were a thank offering
11:37 and memorial of God's constant provision for nourishment
11:42 because they would set out before the Lord
11:45 the loafs were called showbread
11:48 and they were also referred to
11:50 as the bread of His presence or holy bread.
11:55 As new showbread was set out each Sabbath
11:58 the previous loafs were removed
12:01 and they were eaten by the priests.
12:03 And you know they were eaten their in the holy place.
12:06 Leviticus 24:9 says,
12:10 "They shall eat it in the holy place,
12:14 for it is most holy unto him."
12:18 Let's consider why I compare affirmations to the showbread.
12:23 First John 1:14 tells us
12:27 that Jesus is the word of God incarnate saying
12:30 "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
12:33 and we beheld his glory, the glory
12:36 as of the only begotten of the Father,
12:39 full of grace and truth."
12:41 And in John 6:35 Jesus said, "I am the bread of life.
12:46 He who comes to me shall never hunger."
12:50 And then in Matthew 4:4 He said,
12:52 "It is written man shall not live by bread alone
12:56 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
13:00 So, we see that God's word is our spiritual bread.
13:04 It is given to us as a constant provision
13:08 for nourishment to maintain vibrant spiritual lives.
13:14 Jeremiah 15:16 Jeremiah says I love this,
13:18 "Your words were found, and I ate them,
13:22 and Your word was to me the joy
13:25 and rejoicing of my heart."
13:28 You know, as we partake of His holy bread His promises,
13:33 we ingest the bread of His presence
13:37 and we partake of His divine nature.
13:40 If there is any promise in the Bible
13:42 that I would say is the most favorite
13:46 at least I'm gonna say it today there are so many.
13:49 But it's 2 Peter 1:4 which tells us this,
13:54 it says "By which we have been given to us
14:00 exceedingly great and precious promises,
14:04 that though these" through what?
14:06 "Through these promises
14:09 you maybe partakers of the divine nature."
14:15 That is so exciting to me.
14:18 Affirmations are simply taking His promises
14:22 symbolic of that holy bread, bread without leaven
14:26 and setting the mount before God
14:28 in our own symbolic table of showbread offering.
14:33 This serves as our memorial of His constant predation
14:38 of spiritual nourishment for us.
14:41 So, how do we describe affirmations from scripture?
14:45 You know, I realize that giving
14:47 to this whole recap of a book in a whole 22 series program
14:52 in just very short time.
14:54 But let me just describe them for you.
14:57 Affirmations are more than a mere prayer request.
15:01 We are taking God's word His promises
15:04 and we are returning to Him,
15:06 His word is a thank offering as a declaration of faith
15:10 that we agree with God's testimony
15:13 and we acknowledge His word as truth.
15:17 As we pray His promises back to Him
15:19 we're confessing who we are in Christ
15:22 and it results in a personal application of God's promises.
15:28 For example, we can take 2 Corinthians 5:17
15:32 and say, thank you Lord
15:34 that I am a new creation in Christ"
15:37 or we can pray
15:40 saying, thank you Father,
15:43 that you are working in me both to will
15:46 and to do your good pleasure.
15:48 Thank you Lord, that if I cooperate with you,
15:51 you will cause me to be
15:52 all that you've called me to be.
15:55 You know, in Job 23:12 the great patriot said,
16:01 "I have not departed from the commandments of his lips.
16:05 I have treasured the words of his mouth
16:09 more than my necessary food."
16:11 You see, even God's commandments, are promises
16:15 of what He will perform in our lives.
16:18 There is transforming power in the Word of God.
16:23 In fact, God guarantees--
16:26 we just read it in 2 Peter 1:4
16:29 that as you partake of His promises
16:33 you will partake of His divine nature.
16:38 The word becomes your testimony,
16:41 it becomes the treasure of your heart.
16:45 I know in 1995 when God first instructed me
16:49 to make affirmations from His promises
16:52 in regard to a health issue that I was suffering
16:55 I resided them with reverend devotion
16:59 night after night returning His word to Him
17:02 in the form of prayer
17:04 and actually it didn't take long
17:08 before I was struggling with self doubt.
17:11 Had the Lord really called me to do this?
17:14 Faith seem to be just beyond my grasp
17:18 and I cried out oh, Father, help my unbelief
17:23 and the Lord let me to three verses
17:27 that absolutely created
17:29 a fireworks display of faith in my heart.
17:33 The first was this Isaiah 55:11
17:38 which says, this is the Lord speaking.
17:42 "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth,
17:46 it shall not return to Me void,
17:49 but it shall accomplish what I please,
17:53 and it shall prosper in the thing
17:55 for which I sent it."
17:57 And the next verse is Jeremiah 1:12,
18:00 "Then said Lord to me, you have seen well,
18:05 for I" the Lord "I am alert and active,
18:09 watching over My word to perform it."
18:12 And then the third scripture
18:13 He led me to was Romans 4:17 that says,
18:19 "God, who gives life to the dead
18:22 and calls those things
18:24 which do not exist as though they did."
18:29 These verses just leaped
18:30 from the pages and into my heart.
18:34 I understood God's plan
18:36 of practicing affirmations from scripture.
18:39 He was directing me to return His word to Him
18:43 and His word was not without power
18:47 but would accomplish His purposes in my life.
18:50 Why?
18:51 Because He was watching over His word to perform it,
18:54 watching and waiting for me to believe His testimony
18:58 and although my testimony of word confession differed
19:03 from what I then experienced in the physical realm
19:06 I understood that faith begins where sight ends.
19:12 God's words are spoken with the power
19:16 of His promise to fulfill them.
19:19 They are a pledged to His people.
19:22 I was learning to speak like my heavenly Father
19:26 calling things that did not exist
19:29 as though they already did
19:32 and isn't that the essence of faith?
19:36 Hebrews 11:1 says in the amplified version,
19:41 "Now faith is the assurance the confirmation,
19:45 the title deed of the things we hope for,
19:48 being the proof of things we do not see
19:51 and the conviction of their reality
19:54 faith perceiving as real fact
19:58 what is not revealed to the senses."
20:03 God's word is indulged
20:06 with life giving creative power.
20:10 Just think about it how did God create the world?
20:14 He had spoken into existence
20:17 creating something from nothing.
20:19 Just read Genesis 1,
20:20 everything that God said happen.
20:23 His word has the same creative power today
20:27 as it did in the beginning
20:29 and it was doing a work within me.
20:32 Although I had yet to see the evidence
20:34 faith was being formed in my heart.
20:37 Hebrews 4:12 says,
20:40 "For the word of God is living and powerful,
20:43 and sharper than any two edge sword,
20:46 piercing even to the division of soul and spirit,
20:50 and it is a discerner of the thoughts
20:52 and intents of the heart."
20:55 You know, I studied the Greek text
20:57 reveal something remarkable about this premier verse.
21:01 In the Greek language the word two edged
21:05 talking about the two edged sword is distilment.
21:09 It literally the literal translation of it means
21:13 two mouth like a double mouth river.
21:17 I want to read you an affirmation
21:19 the Lord inspired
21:20 from five different scripture sources.
21:24 He gave this to me
21:26 and you'll probably recognize the scripture.
21:29 He has given me the authority and eternal power of His word.
21:34 His word is alive, active, immovable, unshakable.
21:39 His word is a two edge sword
21:42 the first edge struck when He spoken
21:45 the second edge strikes when I speak it.
21:48 As I speak His word I hear the voice of the Lord.
21:52 I am returning His word to Him
21:54 and His word does not return void
21:57 but accomplishes every purpose for which he sent it.
22:01 He actively watches over His word
22:04 to make certain it is fulfilled
22:08 at the perfect time which He has appointed.
22:12 Isn't that powerful?
22:14 You know, when we start speaking like this
22:18 it just changes the way we think.
22:22 What is the primary way that God speaks to us?
22:26 Right here through His word.
22:29 As we include affirmations
22:31 from scripture in our time of prayer
22:34 we are entering into a two way communication
22:37 with our Lord the Word of God
22:39 becomes two mouth as we make it
22:43 the confession over our life.
22:45 Scripture affirmations become alive and active within us
22:50 and affirmation goes beyond claiming.
22:53 It's a confession a word of faith
22:56 that declares we agree with God's wisdom.
23:02 We agree and confirming that God's word
23:06 is our life source and you know what happens,
23:09 it causes His way of thinking to become our way of thinking.
23:15 God's word has more than creative power.
23:20 It has sustaining power.
23:22 Let's look at Hebrews 1:3
23:26 and I am going to read this also
23:28 from the amplified version.
23:31 Hebrews 1:3 says this, "He is the perfect"
23:35 He being Jesus "is the perfect imprint
23:38 and very image of God's nature,
23:41 upholding and maintaining and guiding
23:44 and propelling the universe."
23:46 How? "By His mighty word of power."
23:52 Christ sustains us by His word power
23:55 we plug into our power source
23:58 when we speak affirmations from scripture.
24:01 Paul instructs us to put on the armor of God
24:04 and Ephesians 6:17 he explains
24:07 that the sword of the spirit is the Word of God.
24:10 This makes me think of the story of Eleazar
24:13 a high esteemed mighty man of King David.
24:16 And the Bible says
24:20 "He," Eleazar "arose and attacked the Philistines
24:24 until his hand was weary,
24:27 and his hand stuck to the sword.
24:30 And the Lord brought about a great victory that day."
24:36 Let us like wise cling to the sword
24:39 the sword of the spirit the Word of God.
24:42 When our flesh is too weak God will become our strength
24:46 and He will keep our hands stuck to the sword
24:49 if we will apply the double edge
24:52 two mouth principle to our lives
24:54 He would bring us victory cutting us free
24:57 from the cord of the wicked that binds us.
25:01 When a tempter tries to trip you up
25:04 and entangle your feet in his snare
25:06 pull out your sword and using the verses
25:10 from Roman 6 and 1 Corinthian say
25:14 it is written I am dead to sin but alive to God.
25:19 I am under the power of His grace
25:21 and sin shall not be my master.
25:24 I have put on Christ
25:25 and I'll make no provision for my flesh.
25:28 God has given me the victory
25:30 through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
25:34 When the enemy tries to cloud your mind with confusion
25:40 pull out the sword of the spirit
25:42 and using the verses from 1 Corinthian 14,
25:47 2 Timothy 1 and Psalms 129 say this,
25:54 "It is written.
25:56 God is not the author of confusion but of peace.
26:02 I have been given a spirit of power,
26:06 a spirit of love and I know that my God
26:13 is a spirit of sound mind
26:15 and I know that might God is a righteous.
26:19 He has cut me free from the cord of the wicked.
26:24 You know, as you claim these promises
26:29 wielding the sword of the spirit
26:32 Christ will sustain you with His mighty word of power.
26:39 This isn't just positive thinking
26:43 this is speaking God's word
26:47 the word that is alive and active.
26:49 It is speaking the Word of God
26:52 into our lives and like Jeremiah
26:56 as we eat God's word it becomes
27:01 the joy and rejoicing of our heart.
27:05 This is something that has been
27:08 life changing not only from me
27:11 but I have got literally hundreds upon hundreds
27:16 of testimonies that people had written in to tell me
27:21 how this learning means practice has changed their life
27:26 because there truly is
27:29 transforming power in scripture.
27:33 And I hope that you will join us again
27:38 next time as we consider
27:41 how the transforming power of affirmations
27:46 from scripture can change our life.
27:49 We thank you so much for joining us.
27:52 We hope that you are enjoying this series
27:55 and as always our prayer for you
27:58 is that the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
28:03 the love of the Father
28:05 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
28:07 will be with you today and always.


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Revised 2014-12-17