Transforming Lives Through the Power of God's Word

I remember when I just got back from Vietnam and I was praying and saying God how do I get from where I am to where I'm supposed to be I knew that God had shown me some things he wanted to do in my life and I was uh kneeling around my bed and praying and when I opened my eyes I had my Bible open on the bed and I remember the Lord just spoke to me real clearly and he says if you'll stick your nose in this book it'll teach you everything you need to know. [00:00:33]

I said this morning that I believe these are progressive steps nobody just starts being fruitful you first of all have the word come to you and if you don't understand it aren't committed to it Satan steals it away but then you go past that to where you're excited about it but then you got to spend time getting it rooted in your heart and afflictions and persecutions will come and try and steal the word from you but whether you realize it or not Satan isn't against you he's against the word. [00:02:37]

The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things entering in choke the word and it becometh unfruitful and I believe that this is where I don't know I could say the majority but a large portion of people are did you know that today we have more influence from the world coming at us than any generation of Christians that have ever lived on this planet that's a big statement but it's absolutely true. [00:03:34]

We are inundated with bad news and we are just being bombarded I call it the 10 spies Network the 10 spies have taken over media and even conservative media which I believe has its place conservative media still just highlights every bad thing that's happening very seldom do they tell you anything good they tell you all the bad stuff from a conservative perspective talking about how bad it is whereas the Liberals will talk about how good everything is but they're still focused on all of the bad stuff. [00:04:48]

You have to weed your garden in order to get the full fruit it's the same thing in the Christian Life and I tell you I believe that this is something that is plaguing our generation is how plugged into the world how much access the world has to us don't shout me down because I'm preaching good I've seen a statistic that the average American spins between four and five hours a day on the phone that's sad that's really sad. [00:06:32]

The seed is Incorruptible but it doesn't do anything until it's in the ground you've got to take the word off of this page and you got to put it in your heart it's got to get in the ground they've actually discovered seeds that are in the pharaoh's tombs that have been there for 4,000 years and they take them and plant them and boom fruit comes but those things didn't do a thing until they get into the ground this word doesn't do anything for you it doesn't do any good to keep it on your lampstand. [00:15:00]

There's a process it takes time some people might have come to this conference thinking man I'm gonna get my answer I'm gon to be delivered this week well that's good but with most of the time it's going to be more than three days it takes time there's seed time and then Harvest and it's more like seed time and then Harvest it takes time he slept in Rose night and day if he would have got up every day and have dug up his seed to see is it working he'd killed it. [00:16:24]

The word never fails it's an incorruptible seed and if you were to just trust that and get hold of this one truth the word of God would transform your life over a period of time it's a money back guarantee zero Exceptions there is nobody that the word doesn't work for there are different people that don't work the word that don't defend the word man I believe that with all of my heart this is what my whole life is based on. [00:17:58]

There are steps and stages to the word of God working and this is another reason that people miss it is because they'll hear somebody come and we'll share the word of God and give you some great testimony about what God has done in our life and you'll get excited and so you say praise God if God did that for Andrew he'll do it for me he's no respector of persons that's 100% true but it may not happen tomorrow it may not happen next week because you've got to grow first of all a little blade comes up and then the stock and then the full corn on the stock and it just takes time. [00:19:50]

One of the reasons God isn't answering some of your prayers is cuz he loves you so much and if he was to accelerate you as fast as what you want to do going from zero where you haven't believed for anything to see these things come to pass it would kill you you wouldn't have the character and the maturity to be able to maintain it and it's because God loves you so much that he's not answering your prayers because you couldn't handle it it would destroy you. [00:28:32]

You got to take the word and and think about it and meditate on until you can see it that's what your imagination is your imagination is the ability to see something with your heart that you can't see with your eyes did you know if you leave here today and you go find your car did you know in your imagination you know where your car is you may not have memorized it was in section c uh you know parking space two or something but you know when you go you know if it's on the first second third floor or if it's out here or you you've got some idea you've got a picture that's your imagination. [00:33:45]

Your imagination is powerful it was so powerful that the Lord says now nothing that they have imagined will be restrained from them and so he came down and Confused the languages because people's imagination was was challenging God's plans for the human race he had to do something to stop our imagination I tell you imagination is powerful and all it is is just meditating on the word until you see it not in somebody else not in scripture but you see it in you you take those things you see yourself overcoming those things. [00:55:47]