Podcast Summary: "Oh, How I Love Your Word"

Podcast: Promise of Life Church Podcasts
Host/Speaker: Pastor Craig Field
Date: January 5, 2025

Overview

In this New Year's message, Pastor Craig Field explores the vital link between loving God's Word, building faith, and experiencing the miraculous power of God in every area of life. Using personal stories, scriptural breakdowns, and practical encouragements, Pastor Craig calls the congregation to value the Word deeply, stretch their faith, and expect God to do "exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think" in 2025.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Faith Activates God's Power

• Scriptural Foundation:
  • Ephesians 3:20—God can do "exceeding abundantly above," but it's "according to the power that works within us."
  • Ephesians 1:19—Believers have access to the "exceeding greatness" of God's power.
• The "Rosetta Stone" phrase: "to us who believe"
  • Quote: "God has lots of power…but the power in us is based on what we can believe. The more we believe, the more power." (00:02)
• Faith is the key; God responds to and acts on our belief. (Hebrews 11:6)
• Faith makes spiritual power usable; unbelief leaves it dormant.

2. Stretching and Growing Your Faith

• Growth happens incrementally—using the analogy of a rubber band:
  • Quote: "As you're stretching the elastic, the elastic is growing without you realizing it. More rubber is being added...with the execution or the stretch of faith." (00:09)
• Use peace and joy as your spiritual "gauge" (Romans 15:13):
  • Don't overextend and end up anxious; your stretch should register as peace in your spirit (not mind).
• Personal story: Starting the church's weekly budget at $1,000, then stretching incrementally based on peace and inner leading.

3. Practical Faith Steps: The "Eight C’s"

(Based on calling finances in, but applicable to many needs):

• Claim it
• Command the devil to stop interference
• Commission angels
• Celebrate—praise God for it
• Cast the care
• Corresponding Action—do what God tells you
• Call (use your words)—declare as if it already exists
• Check your spirit—keep monitoring your inner peace

4. Generosity & Giving as a Faith Exercise

• Stories of Jerry and Kenneth Copeland illustrate radical generosity, born out of practiced, growing faith.
• Pastor Craig’s personal steps in "seed money"—starting with $5 bills in a money clip, then being led to step up to $20 bills as his faith (and inner peace) grew.
• Giving enters a new level once debt is conquered via faith.

5. Why Some People Don’t Hear God’s Leading

• Quote: "One of the biggest reasons I don’t speak to them is because they won’t grow their faith." (01:11)
• God cannot stretch or speak to someone who is content to remain stationary.
• Stagnation is dangerous: It results in falling behind spiritually, not just financially, and can leave one unprepared for future challenges.

6. Financial Faith as Boot Camp

• Money as a faith training ground:
  • We deal with money daily, so God uses it to train us for more significant faith challenges in health, protection, relationships, etc.
  • Quote: "I will use money to stretch them more frequently than anything else because they deal with money every day." (01:27)

7. From Mental Knowledge to Living Revelation: Logos vs. Rhema

• Logos (written Word) provides information; Rhema (revealed Word) brings faith and transformation.
• Faith comes when the Spirit quickens a verse or passage—when it "jumps off the page."
• Reading the Bible is vital, but pursue revelation (rhema), not just routine.
  • Quote: "You can read the Bible in a year and not get any faith. Logos does not produce faith. Logos produces mental knowledge." (01:44)
  • Quote: "But when you go, 'Oh, I never saw that—boy, that jumped off the page.' Faith has just been birthed." (01:52)

8. The Attitude to Approach the Word

• Psalm 119—every verse relates to the Word; Pastor Craig highlights "Oh, how I love thy law. It is my meditation all the day." (v. 97)
• Be honest with God about your heart toward the Word; ask Him to instill a love for Scripture if you lack it.
  • Quote: “Don’t love my presence more than my Word. That displeases Me.” (01:57)
  • The presence of God refreshes; the Word transforms.
• Press into church, sermons, and Bible reading with a hungry, humble attitude—not a critical or religious one (see: Pharisees in Luke 5).

9. Two Types of "Pressing In" (Luke 5)

• Group 1: Common people press in to hear and receive the Word with hunger; miracle power is released.
• Group 2: Pharisees and scholars press in with critical, religious spirit; despite the presence of God’s power, they receive nothing.
  • Quote: "There are two ways that you come to church. One is to come looking for a show with a critical attitude; the other with a heart to receive." (02:19)

10. The Blessing of Loving the Word (Psalm 1)

• The blessed person's "delight is in the law of the Lord...he shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water..." (Psalm 1:1–3).
• Quote: "My joy—oh, how I love Thy Word...Let us get a regenerated love, a rekindled fire of a love for the Word." (02:31)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On stretching faith:

  "Faith makes [God’s power] from the unusable realm to the usable realm...So we can actually apply it. That’s why we put an emphasis on our faith." (00:04)

• On revelation:

  "Logos turns into rhema..." (01:44)

• On being teachable:

  "Don’t come in here thinking you know everything...I go to my elder to say, 'Teach me.' I’m pressing to hear the Word. I’m not pressing to check if you know what you’re doing." (02:13)

• On generosity and seed money:

  "He said, start where you’re at. So I said, fives. I mean, if we had ones, if we had ones, I’d do ones, but we don’t have ones...so I got a whole bunch of fives to put in that money clip." (00:55)

• On honest prayer:

  "Talk to the Father honestly and say, 'Father, give me a love for your Word.' Watch what he does. He will pour a love for that Scripture in you where you become almost insatiable." (01:56)

• On church attendance and hunger:

  "You will feel it when you miss a Sunday...it’s not because I think I’m great, it’s because I think the Word is great." (02:29)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:02–00:09: Power, faith, and how belief activates what God can do in our lives
• 00:09–00:21: Faith rubber band analogy, practical application, and ways to check your faith "capacity"
• 00:55: The story of seed money, generosity, and following the Spirit in giving
• 01:11–01:19: Why people don’t hear from God, and the critical need to grow faith
• 01:27: Money as “faith boot camp”
• 01:44–01:52: The distinction between logos and rhema; revelation in the Word
• 01:56–02:00: Praying for a love for the Word and God's response
• 02:13–02:21: Two approaches to the Word—teachable vs. critical; lessons from Luke 5
• 02:29–02:31: Personal testimonies and the fruit of loving the Word (Psalm 1)

Conclusion

Pastor Craig’s call: As we enter 2025, rekindle your love for the Word. The Word births faith; faith releases God’s power; and God's power enables the "exceeding abundantly" He longs to do in every area of your life.
Practical steps:

• Make the Word central—read, meditate, listen for rhema
• Be honest with God about your passion level
• Press in with humility—not criticism—whether at church or home
• Let generosity and trusting God in finances lead you into greater faith
• Expect to stretch in faith, not just for your needs, but for the provisions, miracles, and assignments ahead

Memorable closing line:

"Let us start to read [the Word] from Genesis 1:1 to the last verse of Revelation. Let us enjoy every part that we read. But let us focus on getting rhema where you quicken it to us, because that’s where our faith comes from...Everything we’ve been talking about—faith comes back to the Word."

For those seeking a deeper, more fruitful walk with God in the new year: it all starts with a fresh love for His Word.

End of Summary