"Quicken Me" By Jesse Rairdon March 20th,
2016
Please remain standing if you are
able; I’m going to ask Brother Mike to come pray over the sermon for us today. Mike: Lord Jesus, we just
praise Your Holy name, Lord God. Thank
You for all Your many blessings, Lord Jesus.
Thank You for the love You give, even when we don’t deserve it, Lord Jesus. And, Lord, we just pray this morning that
You’d anoint Brother Jesse as he brings the message, Lord God, and You know
every one of our needs, Lord God. Lord,
You want to chastise us when we need it, because You love us, Lord Jesus, and
You want us to be pleasing in Your sight.
We just want to serve You, and we pray that You would open up our
hearts, Lord God, in Your name, the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Please be seated. Amen. Morning,
church. What a couple of months of
serieses of messages we’ve had, amen?
Beginning with, in January, when we talked about being Born Again, and
that flowed into Receive the Holy Ghost.
And, this month, we’re talking about The Word of God. Our theme verse for the month is: Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass
away. Parrish Lee shared about—his topic
of his message was, “My word shall not pass away.” A couple of his main points were: 1. God
writes his word. Moses was given the tables of
stone written with the finger of God. Moses
was angry when he saw the sin that Israel had done, and he broke the tables
written by the finger of God, threw them down and broke them. Moses had to cut out the stones, himself,
then, and write the word of God, as God gave it to him. From that point God speaks to man and tells
man to write it down. The Holy Ghost
moved upon the prophets and holy men of God and they wrote the Scriptures, this
was why it is not open to private interpretation. God spoke, and they wrote it
down. 2. There
was an attack, and there still is an attack on the word of God. Satan first attacked the word of
God in the garden, trying to explain away the word of God. Even to this day this is still being done. Satan tries to wear us out and thinks to
change the times and the law. There are so many versions, so many different points
of view. So many people say that they
are Christians, over two thousand—so many—denominations of Christians, and over
two hundred written bibles that are out there.
3. The
Word of God, he talked about, is the Answer. When we turn to God there is nothing
that can prevent God from answering us. Nothing can stop God from reaching us. Heaven and earth will pass away before His
Word will pass away. 4. God's
Word Puts All Things in Their Place. In an order, in time, for
judgment, all things are put in its place by the Word of God. Nothing can change what he has put into
place. Amen? Chris Ulrich shared last week about,
“The Rock of Ages” The main points were. 1. We
need to love the word of God 2. We
don’t understand everything about the world around us, or even the Bible. But he made this point: “just because you don’t understand everything,
doesn’t mean it’s not true.” He had
someone come up and share about neurology, and he had someone come up and share
about I.S.O., and how they are complex issues and hard to understand, but that
doesn’t make them untrue. So, the same
is with Word of God. He talked about the Levitical
Priesthood, and how, in this day and age, they would be like the master’s of
their degrees, and they had to learn a lot about their field, and understand
about physics, and understand what the Word of God said, because you couldn’t
be wrong if you were giving the Word of God out to people. You had to know what you were talking about,
and, even though it was all complex, they had to give the Word of God. Title of this week’s message is
“Quicken me.” I’m going to cover three
main points, if you’re taking notes: 1. The
Spirit gives life to the written Word of God 2. Not
everyone wants to hear the Word of God 3. Quicken
me according to your Word The word, ‘Quicken’ itself
comes—if you study the Strong’s Concordance, Strong's No.: H2421 Hebrew: חיה Transliteration: Châyâh Pronunciation: khaw-yaw' Definition: A prim. root (compare {H2331 } H2424); to {live} whether
literally or figuratively; causatively to revive: - keep ({leave} make) {alive}
X {certainly} give (promise) {life} ({let} suffer to) {live} nourish {up}
preserve ({alive}) {quicken} {recover} {repair} restore (to {life}) {revive} (X
God) save ({alive} {life} {lives}) X {surely} be whole. So, God quickens us by His Spirit,
and brings it to life, the Word to life.
Amen? Part 1: The Spirit Gives
Life to the Written Word Paul, in his letter to the church
in Corinth: 2nd Corinthians 3:1 Do we begin
again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of
commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Do we need a pat on the back from
you? Do we need to pat ourselves on the
back? 2nd Corinthians 3:2-6 Ye are our epistle
written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are
manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not
with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in
fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but
our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new
testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but
the spirit giveth life. The Spirit of God gives life to
His Word. 2nd Corinthians 3:7-15 But
if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so
that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for
the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not
the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of
condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed
in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect,
by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away was
glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. Seeing then that we have
such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail
over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end
of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day
remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which
vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the
vail is upon their heart. Blindness, unbelief. The veil is still there. 2nd Corinthians 3:16-18 Nevertheless
when it shall turn to the Lord [meaning Israel.
When Israel shall turn to the Lord], the vail shall be taken away. Now
the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the
Lord. The Children of Israel couldn’t
even look on Moses’ face, and he just had the tables of stone that was
written. And, now, when we have the Spirit
of God as we fellowship, and we see, we behold, the Spirit of God on one
another, and the Spirit bears witness that we have been given a greater
glory. Amen? That same Holy Ghost whom
you received, gives life to His word. Have you ever had God just speak
to you, and it might not be a chapter and verse speak, but it says, “Go
here. Go there; share with this
person. Call this person?” That’s the Spirit of God coming to life in
your life, telling you to do the things that He desires you to do. And He’ll back it up with His Word. Trust me, when I was a young Christian, and
I’d just got baptized, overseas, Joe remembers me back then—Joe did a lot of
studies with me, and helped prepare me to go overseas—and, all I really knew
was baptism, and Godhead, and just a few things. That’s all I really know, even today, except
God choose to give me a little bit more.
But the Spirit spoke to me just like this: “Go join yourself to this chariot,” and there
was a man over by his bed reading the Bible.
And I asked him, “Do you understand what you read? Do you know what you’re reading?’ He said, “How can I, unless someone would
share with me?” And, from that moment
on, I shared with him baptism in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he got
baptized. But that’s how God
operates. He speaks, and He brings His
Word to life, and He teaches you and shows you what you’re supposed to do and
how you’re supposed to go. Even a few
weeks ago, God put on my heart to go to this person and share this thing—a lady
at work—just share that and nothing else, and walk away. I shared that with her, and later on, she
came to me and said, “That really ministered to me.” But, I knew that was the Holy Spirit. You’ve got to allow the Holy Spirit to bring
life to the Word of God in your life.
You can’t just beat people over the head with the Bible and expect then
to receive it; you’ve got to be ministers of the Gospel, as you’re able. Amen?
That’s why you’ve got to study it, too.
You can’t just try to share the Word of God with people and you’ve never
studied it. You can’t share what you
don’t know, right? God’s not going to
bring something alive that you don’t understand and don’t know and you’re not willing
to learn. Part 2: Not Everyone Wants To Hear The Word Of God. We talk about Palm Sunday. We talk about this triumphant entry into
Jerusalem, but not everybody wanted to hear Jesus when He was coming in. Not everybody was there prepared to rejoice. There was there, those who wanted to kill
Him, those that did not want to lose their religiousness, their place in life,
their society, maybe their set-up kingship.
Whatever it was, they did not want to lose what Jesus was threatening
them. And even those among Him, one was
going to betray Him. He has the words of
eternal life, but, still, one was going to betray Him. So, all those people were rejoicing, but where
were all those people when the choice was given to the people to let Jesus
go? Most of them were probably saying,
“Crucify Him!” caught up with the emotions, caught up with the religious
leaders, telling them what they should say or what they should do. Don’t be so caught up with all the things that
are going on in the world. Be attuned to
the Spirit of God. Let Him tell you what
you should do. Proverbs 28:9 He that turneth
away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. You’ve got to hear God. It doesn’t do you any good to pray if you
don’t listen to God. Amen? Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD,
that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for
water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: Not everyone wants to hear what
God has to say. Amos 8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and
from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of
the LORD, and shall not find it. So many people fill coliseums and
listen to these supposedly great speakers and teachers, but they’re not hearing
the Word of the Lord. They’re just
hearing what people are trying to shove them.
They’re hearing prosperity messages; they’re hearing things that are
contrary to the Word of God. Amen? Not everybody wants to hear the Word of the
Lord. “My Word will last forever. Heaven and earth will pass away.” Isaiah 30:8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and
note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: “My Word shall last forever.” Isaiah 30:9-10 That this is a
rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the
LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto
us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: That’s what people want to hear
now. They want to hear nice little
things, nice little quotes, the things that make them happy. “Tickle my funny bone. Don’t give me the Word of God. Don’t give me the Truth! Don’t make me change my life! Don’t make me walk the way that God wants me
to walk!” Isaiah 30:11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of
the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. That’s the whole attitude of
people today. Let’s go to the Old
Testament and see an example of a king that didn’t want to hear the Word of the
Lord, but the Word of the Lord still went forth. 1 Kings 22:5-12 And Jehoshaphat said
unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men,
and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I
forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of
the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD
besides, that we might enquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto
Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may
enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning
me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of
Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. And
the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne,
having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of
Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah the son of
Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these
shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. And all the
prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the
LORD shall deliver it into the king's hand. Amen. Quite a show, huh? Even grabbed something, and put on a great
display. “You’re going to push them
out!” But, was this the Word of the
Lord? No. We’re going to read a little further on. 1 Kings 22:13-18 And the
messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the
words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word,
I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. And
Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I
speak. So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go
against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go,
and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the
king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me
nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? And he said, I saw all
Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD
said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would
prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? So, a messenger went out before
the one prophet of God, the one that was going to tell the truth, and said,
“Hey, everybody’s on the king’s side you better be on the king’s side. Better listen to what they saying, too. It’s not going to turn out good for
you.” He said, “Whatever God tells me,
that’s what I’m going to say.” He said, “I
saw Israel scattered all over the hills, they had no captain.” Basically, the king’s going to be killed. Then the king said, “Didn’t I tell you he was
going to say evil about me?” We’ll pick
it up again: 1 Kings 22:19-23 And he
said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his
throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his
left. And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at
Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And
there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade
him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I
will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou
shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore,
behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy
prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. So, here the truth comes out. All these people were putting on a show. All these three-hundred-something prophets
were all up there lying, believing a lie.
Not everybody wants to hear the Word of the Lord. 1 Kings 22:24 But Zedekiah the
son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way
went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? The same thing happened to Jesus as
He was in the Temple; He got smote on the cheek (John 18:19-23). 1 Kings 22:25 And Micaiah said,
Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to
hide thyself. When you go and hide, like the
coward you are, you’re going to see. 1 Kings 22:26-28 And the
king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of
the city, and to Joash the king's son; And say, Thus saith the king, Put this
fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of
affliction, until I come in peace. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in
peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every
one of you. Not everybody wants to hear the
Word of the Lord. ##20:05## Part 3: Quicken Me According To Your Word Psalm 119. There is a lot in Psalms 119. If I could read the whole chapter, today, to
you, and share with you, I would. Time
forbids me to, but go home, read it, study it yourself, and see what God has
for you, amen? Psalm 119:25 DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust:
quicken thou me according to thy word. We’re in this flesh, cleaving to
the dust, quicken Thou me—there’s got to be a separation of this. God, I need You to quicken me according to
Thy Word. Psalm 119:26-28 I have
declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes. Make me to
understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works. My
soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word. A lot of heaviness. Strengthen me according to Thy Word. Quicken me. Psalm 119:29-42 Remove
from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously. I have chosen the
way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me. I have stuck unto thy testimonies:
O LORD, put me not to shame. I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou
shalt enlarge my heart. HE. Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I
shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law;
yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy
commandments; for therein do I delight. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies,
and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken
thou me in thy way. Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy
fear. Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. Behold, I
have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness. VAU. Let thy
mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word. So
shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy
word. You’ve got to trust in the Word of
God. Don’t trust in all the talking
heads; don’t even trust in me. I could
be lying to you. Get in and study the
Word yourself, and seek the Holy One of Israel.
Seek His Spirit in your life.
Prove what I’m saying here is not of God, or of God. Prove it to yourself. Prove it!
It’s there for you. Psalm 119:44-46 So shall
I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. And I will walk at liberty: for I
seek thy precepts. I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will
not be ashamed. Just like the prophet, I will not
be ashamed. Psalm 119:47-50 And I
will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. My hands also will
I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy
statutes. ZAIN. Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused
me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened
me. Though we suffer in this flesh,
though we’re afflicted in this flesh, comfort me; quicken me according to Your
Word. Psalm 119:51-55 The proud
have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law. I
remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself. Horror hath
taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law. Thy statutes
have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. I have remembered thy name, O
LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law. Every day, every night I have meditated
on it. Quicken me, save me, comfort me,
deliver me, encourage me, give me hope, rebuke me if You need to, chastise me,
prepare me according to Your Word, because the letter kills, but the Spirit
gives life. Moses, when he was angry because of
sin, threw down the tablets of stone. God,
because of love, because of sin, broke the Word upon the cross. We all have a choice to make, to receive that
love. God’s not going to force it on
you. Romans 8:5-7 For they that are after the flesh do mind
the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the
Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is
life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. But when you’re spiritually
minded, when you allow the Holy Ghost to quicken you, to allow the Word to come
alive in you, you’re alive! Amen? Romans 8:8-11 So then they that are
in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,
if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead
because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the
Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit
that dwelleth in you. Something that wasn’t planned: I want to share in John chapter one. Chris shared these Scriptures last week in
his message John 1:1-8 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All
things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In
him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in
darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light,
that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to
bear witness of that Light. That’s what we’re to do; we’re to
bear witness of the Light. John 1:9-13 That was the true Light, which lighteth
every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was
made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own
received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. You can’t say, “I’m born again,” unless
you do it the way God wants you to do it, unless it’s by the will of God. You can’t just say, “I’ve said something or done
something or followed what someone told me to do,” unless God spoke to you directly
and told you what to do. John 1:13-14 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Moses, they
couldn’t look at, but Jesus they could look at.
This Holy Ghost in us, people can see that. Let your light shine. Let God quicken you to do His will. Amen? That’s the
message I have for today. Give the Lord
a praise.
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