Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: PHP
Program Code: PHP000021
00:01 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
00:02 Do you know what kind of messages 00:05 God wants to speak to your hearts? 00:07 Please join us today on "Pressing in to His Presence" 00:10 as we examine this topic. 00:33 Welcome to "Pressing in to His Presence." 00:36 Our journey in prayer has taken us through praise, 00:39 through repentance, affirmation, 00:42 intercessions, supplication and to the final point to enter 00:47 and be still listening for the voice of God. 00:51 During our last three programs we have considered 00:54 how God has spoken throughout history to mankind. 00:58 And who it is that God is trying to reach. 01:01 Today we will consider the types of messages 01:03 the Lord wants us to hear. 01:06 If you are following along in the program companion book 01:09 also titled Pressing in to His Presence. 01:11 Today we begin on page 178. 01:15 When we cry out 01:18 with sincere supplication in prayer, 01:21 the Lord answers, He hears and He answers. 01:25 He desires to speak words of encouragement, instruction 01:30 and even discipline to our hearts. 01:33 Let's consider some Bible promises 01:35 which indicate that. 01:37 Psalms 3:3-4 is one of my favorite promises. 01:43 It says, "But You, O Lord, 01:45 are a shield for me, my glory 01:48 and the One who lifts up my head. 01:51 I cried to the Lord with my voice, 01:55 and He heard me from His holy hill." 01:58 Is your heart breaking right now? 02:01 God is near to the brokenhearted, 02:03 cry out to Him. 02:05 He will cup His hand beneath your chin, 02:07 and lift your head up. 02:10 He will heal you and bind up your wounds. 02:14 He promises in Psalms 91:15 that "When we call upon Him, 02:21 He will answer us and He will be with us 02:24 in times of trouble and will deliver us." 02:27 Are you mourning? 02:29 Cry out and He will console you. 02:31 Giving you the oil of joy to replace your mourning. 02:36 The garment of praise 02:38 to replace the sprit of heaviness. 02:41 You know Paul describes God this way, 02:44 in 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 where He says 02:49 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 02:53 the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 02:57 who comforts us in all our tribulation, 03:01 that we may be able to comfort those 03:04 who are in any trouble, with the comfort 03:07 with which we ourselves are comforted by God." 03:13 Do you desperately need direction? 03:17 Call upon the Lord. 03:18 He promises He will not hide Himself. 03:22 In Isaiah 30:21 and further, 03:26 He promises that your ears shall hear 03:29 a word behind you saying, 03:31 this is the way, walk in it. 03:33 Whenever you turn 03:34 to the right hand or to the left, 03:37 God desperately wants to instruct you. 03:41 Now look at what He promises in Isaiah 48:17. 03:47 'This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer, the Holy One. 03:51 "I am the Lord your God, 03:53 Who teaches you what is best for you, 03:56 Who directs you in the way you should go." 04:01 What a God? 04:03 Here we see that God is anxious to help us. 04:11 We hear the echo of His voice 04:13 just saying to you the same thing 04:15 that He promised to Jeremiah. 04:17 he said, 04:21 "Call to Me, and I will answer you, 04:24 and I'll show you great and mighty things, 04:27 which you do not know." 04:29 God knows the end from the beginning 04:31 and He declares things that are not yet in existence 04:37 as though they were already done. 04:39 The Bible says that 04:40 He confines in those who reverence Him 04:44 and causes them to understand His covenant. 04:46 He wants to pour out His sprit of wisdom on us, 04:51 and make His words known to us. 04:53 Look at what He says in Proverbs 1:22-23. 04:59 "How long, O simple ones... 05:01 will you love being simple? 05:03 And the scoffers delight in scoffing 05:06 and self-confident fools hate knowledge? 05:09 If you will turn, if you will repent 05:11 and give heed to my reproof, behold, I wisdom 05:15 will pour out my spirit upon you, 05:18 and I will make My words known to you." 05:22 This reference from Proverbs Chapter 1 05:25 is the voice of wisdom 05:27 and it is calling out within the context, 05:31 wisdom is personified as a pure and virtuous woman. 05:35 But who does scripture identify as wisdom? 05:39 1 Corinthians 1:30 tells us that 05:41 "We have our life in Christ Jesus, 05:44 whom God has made our wisdom." 05:48 Wisdom lovingly rebukes mockers, 05:52 desiring to make His heart known to them. 05:57 God disciplines His children in wisdom. 06:01 When it comes to discipline, 06:03 Hebrews 12:9, 11 say this. 06:09 "Furthermore, we have had human fathers 06:12 who corrected us, and we paid them respect. 06:15 Shall we not much more readily be in subjection 06:18 to the Father of spirits and live? 06:21 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, 06:24 but painful, nevertheless, afterward it yields 06:27 the peaceable fruit of righteousness 06:30 to those who have been trained by it." 06:35 You know some thing. 06:36 I am always amused to hear audience responses 06:39 when I mentioned that 06:40 I pray for God to discipline me. 06:44 Usually a collective gasp of horror 06:46 escapes most lips huh, as if to imply 06:49 where I was bringing a curse down upon my own head. 06:53 That is far... 06:55 from the spectrum of God's truth 06:57 as the color black is from white. 06:59 In Psalm 32:8 God says, "I will instruct you, 07:04 and I will teach you the way you should go. 07:07 I will guide you with My eye." God is the perfect father. 07:12 He knows when we need to be lovingly encouraged 07:15 and He knows when we need a word of correction. 07:19 If we listen and respond to His gentle words of rebuke, 07:23 He has to go no further, 07:25 but if we ignore His initial attempts to correct us, 07:28 He rams up the volume to gain our attention. 07:32 Ignore His further pleads, and the consequences 07:36 of our actions are the punishment. 07:39 Did you know that? 07:41 Let's look at Jeremiah 2:17, 19. 07:46 God is speaking here and He says, 07:49 "Have you not brought this upon yourselves 07:52 by forsaking the Lord your God 07:54 when he led you in the way? 07:56 Your own wickedness shall chasten and correct you, 08:00 and your backslidings 08:02 and desertion of faith shall reprove you. 08:05 Know therefore and recognize 08:07 that this is an evil and bitter thing. 08:10 First you have forsaken the Lord your God, 08:13 second, you are indifferent to Me 08:16 and the fear of Me is not in you, 08:18 says the Lord of hosts." 08:20 So we seed that this is-- 08:24 what happens is it's our own actions 08:27 that bring us the problem, 08:29 this we suffer the consequences of our own actions. 08:34 And the next chapter records this sorrowful thought of God, 08:39 and He speaks again in Jeremiah 3:19. 08:42 Here's what He says, 08:44 "And I thought you would call Me 'My Father' 08:47 and would not turn away from following Me." 08:51 Detect, detect the note of sadness 08:53 in our Father's voice here. 08:55 God wants His children 08:57 to call on Him by name Abba, Father. 09:01 He wants us to trust His leading and His judgment. 09:04 The longing of our loving Lord is to have children 09:09 who have ears to hear His voice. 09:14 And the bottom-line is your heavenly Father 09:17 wants you to listen to His guidance. 09:20 Hearing from God is not a privilege 09:22 that belongs to a select few. 09:24 He wants to train your spiritual ears to hear 09:27 and recognize His authentic voice. 09:30 He will never communicate with you in any way 09:33 that is contrary to scripture. 09:37 So you don't need to be fearful, 09:39 but with all the commotion 09:40 of communication in today's world, 09:43 it is imperative to know Bible truth, 09:47 so that we may distinguish God's voice above the din. 09:51 And we may fine-tune our spiritual antennas 09:54 to receive only what comes from Him. 09:57 Our prayer needs to be like David's found in Psalms 143. 10:03 Let's look at verse 8 and in verses 10, 11. 10:07 David prayed, "Cause me to hear 10:10 Your lovingkindness in the morning, 10:12 for in You do I trust, 10:15 cause me to know the way in which I should walk, 10:18 for I lift up my soul to You... Teach me to do Your will, 10:23 for You are my God, Your spirit is good. 10:26 Lead me in the land of uprightness. 10:29 Revive me, O Lord, for Your name's sake! 10:32 For your righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble." 10:38 You know, as you're pressing in to God's presence 10:43 and we reach this final prayer portion, 10:47 the idea of being still to listen 10:49 and receive impressions on your heart from God's sprit. 10:53 If this makes you too uneasy 10:55 or if you don't know what scripture, 10:57 I suggest that you can conclude with the Bible reading, 11:01 to provide opportunity for a divine dialogue 11:05 rather than our usual monologue. 11:07 After all, it's said and done, 11:09 scripture is the most significant 11:12 way we hear from the Lord. 11:14 And prayer should be a two way communication. 11:19 Some people pray beautiful prayers, 11:23 but they are so busy talking to God, 11:25 it never occurs to them to listen 11:27 for His possible response. 11:30 That was me. 11:31 For several years I had prayed 11:33 all the scriptures about hearing God, 11:37 during my practice of affirmations, 11:39 and I thank the Lord for opening my ears 11:42 to hear His still small voice. 11:43 I thank Him that I knew and recognized His voice 11:46 and would not follow the voice of the stranger. 11:49 But it never occurred to me, to actually try to listen. 11:54 Yes, God broke through 11:56 my bustling routine from time to time. 11:59 And He impressed His precious thoughts upon my mind, 12:02 but that seemed acceptable 12:04 even though they were just rare occasions, 12:06 that was all I expected. 12:08 But when the Lord taught me to be still before Him 12:12 at the conclusion at my prayer, 12:14 He changed my life dramatically. 12:17 Let me share my personal testimony with you. 12:20 For a number of months earlier than the time 12:23 when I am sitting here at my computer, 12:25 and He was teaching me to pray. 12:27 I had labored feverishly 12:29 to develop business building seminars 12:31 for our new venture working with clients of CPA's. 12:35 We had enough accountants 12:37 who would promote our services across United States 12:39 to fill our seminar pipeline for year. 12:43 And with their client 12:44 participant estimate of at least a 100 each 12:47 and recommended seminar rates of a thousand. 12:51 You can do the math quickly a hundred times of thousand 12:54 for a week in seminar. 12:57 And we anticipated a profit of $50,000 13:00 per event after our expenses. 13:02 Well, this dangled before us like a big carrot. 13:05 I thought surely this was God's answer 13:08 to clear our debt 13:09 and make us financially successful. 13:12 So developing seminar content 13:15 had become my all consuming priority. 13:18 That is of course 13:20 until God taught me to press in to His presence 13:23 and to be still before Him. 13:25 When He impressed me that He had a greater plan. 13:29 Although He typically impressed His thoughts, 13:35 only a few sentences to me each day, 13:39 and often left me with searching questions. 13:42 It wasn't long before I knew 13:43 God was calling me into full time ministry. 13:47 My interest in our new businesses venture 13:49 just evaporated. 13:51 I was ready to give it up. 13:53 But the Lord clearly directed me, 13:56 that the decision for me to enter full time ministry 13:59 must be left up to my husband. 14:01 Does that sound strange? 14:03 God wasn't discriminating against me as a woman. 14:06 He knew that J.D could not launch 14:08 our new company without my help. 14:11 And we would therefore have to completely 14:14 abandon our business plans. 14:17 This was a time of deep soul searching for me. 14:21 Was I sure, God was speaking 14:24 and calling me into full time labor in His harvest fields. 14:28 Considering the investment that J.D 14:30 and I had made and the time not only funds, 14:33 but the time developing our new company. 14:35 It seemed unlikely that J.D will be willing to discontinue 14:38 the business effort particularly 14:41 because of the incredible income potential. 14:44 And I prayed, and said Lord if J.D does agree, 14:48 how can I be certain 14:50 that we're really following Your will. 14:52 If we do decide to give all this up and do this, 14:56 could you please give me a sign 14:58 that this is really You speaking to me, 15:00 and that we are making the right decision. 15:02 Would you please do something 15:04 to confirm this decision if we make it? 15:07 God's response was this time, I will give you sign. 15:13 That's all that was impressed upon my mind. 15:16 But the message I received was 15:18 don't continue to ask for signs. 15:21 It seemed that God wanted me to learn to trust His leading 15:25 and to keep my eyes on Him, 15:27 rather than seeking a sign 15:29 every time for proof of His will. 15:32 Now I didn't want to be, 15:34 want to broach this important topic with J.D. 15:38 So I ask God to cause my husband 15:40 to know His will in God's perfect timing. 15:45 The following weekend 15:47 I visited J.D in the panhandle of Texas, 15:50 where he was working temporarily. 15:53 And as we drove to lunch, 15:54 I was tempted to open the discussion, 15:57 but the Holy Sprit reminded me of my request to the Lord. 16:01 So heavy silence settled over us in the vehicle. 16:05 Finally J.D sighed 16:08 and he asked me a probing question. 16:10 He said, "Honey what's wrong with you? 16:13 You are so on fire about our new business 16:16 and suddenly you hardly even mention it. 16:19 Do you even have an interest in it any longer?" 16:23 Well, I responded with sing song 16:27 in serenity saying, 16:29 "Well yes, I have some interest in it." 16:32 And then he said "Shelley, 16:33 if you could do anything in the world, 16:36 what would you want to be doing? 16:38 Well, I blurted out my answer with no reservation. 16:42 I said, "I would be giving Christian seminars 16:46 to teach people, 16:47 how to have a closer walk with the Lord, 16:49 rather than giving business seminars to teach, 16:52 people how to be more profitable." 16:55 God had opened the door for this conversation. 16:58 Much sooner than I had expected, 17:01 and my mind, and my mouth were racing 17:04 as I try to convey all that had transpired 17:07 during these times of prayer. 17:09 And the heart change God had influenced. 17:12 But still not trusting 17:13 what God could do in J.D's heart, 17:16 I put forth the idea that, 17:18 perhaps the Lord didn't really 17:20 mean full time ministry right now. 17:22 Maybe I can start in part time ministry 17:25 and we could simultaneously work on new business part time. 17:30 We can profit plenty to get out of debt, 17:33 and we can fund the work of the Lord. 17:35 The ministry could eventually evolve into full time. 17:40 J.D looked uneasy. 17:42 He had become convinced 17:44 that I had learned to listen to God's still small voice. 17:47 And he now sensed 17:48 that I was holding something back. 17:50 He said, "Shelley, 17:53 you know, what God is asking you to do, don't you?" 17:56 My response was, "Yes I know. 17:58 God is calling me to full time ministry 18:01 and I believe His timing is now." 18:04 And to my amazement without a moment's hesitation 18:09 my precious husband answered, "Who am I to argue with God?" 18:16 I said, "Oh, honey, that's wonderful, 18:19 I asked the Lord to give me a sign, 18:21 just to make certain that 18:22 we are making the right decision. 18:25 So if this is what we're supposed to do, 18:28 I 'm sure He will confirm it." 18:30 Then J.D said something in a strange way. 18:34 He said that's the trouble with you Christians, 18:38 you are always asking for a sign. 18:40 So if God doesn't give you a sign soon, 18:43 does that mean you won't follow 18:45 His leading into full time ministry? 18:49 Now I want you to understand. 18:50 My precious husband was a Christian, 18:53 he was a strong believer in the Lord 18:56 and I knew he prayed all the time. 18:58 He attended church regularly. 19:01 But in some way 19:02 he had reserved a part of himself 19:04 that he wouldn't surrender to God. 19:06 Sometimes is now and there is then, 19:10 his faith seemed stronger than mine. 19:12 I was dumbfounded by his response. 19:15 What would I do if God didn't give me a sign? 19:18 How long should I wait? 19:21 How would I even start in full time ministry? 19:24 Who was I that anyone would listen to me? 19:28 This happened on the first Saturday of January 2000. 19:33 We determined that afternoon after much prayer 19:36 that I would enter into full time ministry 19:38 and our new business pursuit would be shut down. 19:42 Our decision was made prayerfully and in faith, 19:46 but with the lumps in our throat, 19:47 not knowing what the future held? 19:50 The very next morning on a Sunday, 19:55 I received an unexpected phone call. 19:58 It was someone I had never met, 20:00 the vice-president 20:01 of an independent Christian broadcasting network, 20:04 it wasn't 3ABN. 20:05 It was a network that was gaining popularity 20:08 in coverage in Texas and surrounding states. 20:11 She had read my first edition self published work 20:15 of life affirmations from scripture. 20:18 And had gone to great lengths 20:21 to track me down on this weekend, 20:23 calling various sources to get J.D's cell phone number. 20:28 She invited me to come to the studios 20:30 and tape a program with her. 20:32 And I felt as giddy as Gideon must have 20:35 when the dew of divine grace granted him 20:38 a sign to confirm God's call on his life. 20:41 We had it. God had given me the sign. 20:44 Well, I returned to our hometown that night, 20:48 in wide-eyed wonder. 20:49 In the next morning on Monday 20:51 as I pressed in to God's presence, 20:54 the Lord spoke a word of encouragement 20:56 that would become foundational for my faith in His calling. 21:00 It is etched in my heart and in my mind forever. 21:04 Listen to what He said to me, 21:06 He said always before 21:08 you have put your hand to the plough 21:10 and turn back, but not this time, 21:13 for I will cup my hand over yours. 21:19 It was true. 21:21 I had felt God's call to ministry twice 21:23 before my earlier life. 21:25 And I had even enrolled in ministerial school. 21:28 But both times, 21:29 it seemed as it the gates of hell were opened wide 21:32 and demonic attacks descended upon my family. 21:36 Once I had even angrily shaken my fist 21:39 at the Lord in response 21:41 to what had happened to my mother? 21:43 And what seemed at the time is God's indifference 21:47 to my earnest pleads on her behalf 21:49 and unwillingness to keep His promises. 21:52 You see, I was under the impression at that time, 21:56 that sufficient faith could force God to act. 22:00 I had mistakenly been taught to have faith in faith 22:04 and not faith in God. 22:06 But now God had changed, He had taught me, 22:10 and He had cupped His hand over mine. 22:13 He had opened a wide door 22:15 of opportunity for me to minister. 22:19 My first television appearance 22:21 was one that I will never forget, 22:24 not because I was nervous. 22:25 I was not nervous, I was bursting to share. 22:29 But because of something 22:30 the Lord impressed upon my heart. 22:33 I had taken extra care to look nice 22:36 for the cameras that day. 22:37 But when I got to the set 22:39 and I glanced, I was sitting there 22:40 and I glanced up at the monitors, 22:42 I saw my own hoard reflection. 22:46 The lights were set for the host of the program, 22:48 who was much shorter than I. 22:51 And bad lighting was casting shadows on my face 22:55 that made me look 10 years older. 22:57 I was mortified 22:59 and suddenly this thought flashed through my mind, 23:02 crucify that thought this is not about you, 23:06 it's about me. 23:08 Boy, that's another jewel of wisdom from the Lord, 23:11 to which I constantly cling. 23:14 It's a great weapon 23:15 against insecurity about my appearance. 23:19 And for the next eight months 23:20 I appeared regularly on that network. 23:23 They offered me a series of my own 23:25 without production cost or airtime fees. 23:29 And the next morning I left or the morning that I left 23:33 to go start taping that new series, 23:35 God spoke to my heart during my time of prayer 23:39 and He said, 23:40 I am calling you out of where you are. 23:44 Well, I thought perhaps 23:46 we would be relocating to the city 23:48 where this network was headquartered. 23:50 So that I can increase my work there. 23:53 But that was not God's intent. 23:56 A misunderstanding over contract terms 23:59 for copyright occurred with the network's general manager 24:03 during that week while I was taping there. 24:07 And I was stunned at the ferocity 24:09 of his attack against me. 24:11 The Lord assured me in prayer, 24:13 the cloud of my presence is moving 24:15 and you must follow. 24:16 My departure from that network was disappointing, 24:20 but I kept my hand to the plow 24:22 because God's hand was cupped over mine. 24:25 And you gonna have to tune in again, 24:29 to hear the rest of the story 24:31 because we are running out of time today. 24:34 But I pray that you will join us next time, 24:37 when we will see, 24:39 how the Lord performs His purposes in our lives 24:43 when we follow the cloud of His presence. 24:47 Right now, I just want to have a prayer for you. 24:51 And I want to ask that the Lord would open your ears 24:58 that He would teach you how to truly know His voice, 25:04 that you would never follow the voice of a stranger. 25:08 And I want to say something here. 25:10 Because it is critically important to understand, 25:13 I believe I have said this on-- previous program, 25:18 but I just want to remind you. 25:20 There is a type of prayer practice 25:26 that is becoming prevalent in many churches 25:30 around the United States at least. 25:33 And it's a type of prayer that-- I will name it, 25:37 it's called contemplative prayer. 25:41 It's a very dangerous type of prayer 25:43 because it teaches you to empty yourself of everything 25:48 and to meditate and sit 25:50 and try to receive communication from the Lord. 25:56 The thing that's dangerous about this is that, 26:01 it is a Middle Eastern practice. 26:03 God doesn't ask us, 26:05 our meditation is not to be empty of thought. 26:09 Our meditation is to be on His word. 26:11 Our meditation is to be on Him. 26:14 And then you can trust that as you are filling your heart 26:19 with His will and His word. 26:21 You can trust that you can listen 26:24 for the voice of the Lord. 26:25 So don't be afraid of the real thing 26:30 because of the counterfeit. 26:32 But it is incredibly important that we know the real thing, 26:37 so that you don't get caught up in the counterfeit. 26:40 Let me pray for you now. 26:42 Our heavenly Father, 26:44 we come Lord with thanksgiving in our hearts 26:48 that You Lord send Your Son Jesus Christ to die 26:52 for us while we were yet sinners. 26:54 That you send Your Holy Sprit to dwell in our hearts Father, 26:57 and that You have given us Your word 27:00 that we might partake of Your divine nature. 27:03 And Father, we pray in the name of Jesus. 27:07 Oh, Lord, teach us how to pray. 27:10 I know this is not the only kind of prayer, 27:12 but teach us Lord, 27:14 how to press in to Your presence. 27:16 Give us ears to hear what the Holy Sprit has to say. 27:21 And Father, I ask in the name of Jesus 27:24 that we will always check anything 27:26 that You say against Your word. 27:28 Anything that we think You have said 27:31 that we will check it 27:33 against the scripture to make sure, Father, 27:36 that it is no one else who is leading us. 27:39 Father, we love You and we are so... 27:42 We so want be like Jesus. 27:45 We want to walk in His footsteps. 27:48 Be with us, bless us in Jesus' holy name I pray. 27:52 Well, our time is all gone 27:55 and I'm so thankful you've joined us. 27:57 Our continued prayer for you is that the grace 28:00 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 28:02 the love of the Father 28:03 and the fellowship of the Holy Sprit 28:06 will be with you today and always. 28:09 God bless. |
Revised 2015-01-08