February 26, 2025 • 28 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A
little later in the program, we'll tell you how you
can get a copy of doctor Graham's book, A Hope
and a Future. But first, here's the message. Woke or awake.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Take your Bible and turn to Romans, chapter thirteen. Wokeness
as it is described and demonstrated today in our world
is a worldview. It is a way of life. It
is a philosophy and ideology. It is even a theology.
The most basic claim of wokeness is that there are
(00:46):
two kinds of people in the world. Based on Marxism,
you could describe it not as class Marxism, but cultural Marxism,
based upon two ideas. One is that you are either
the oppressor or you are the oppressed. The primary philosophy
(01:09):
is represented in various critical theories. There are critical racial theories.
There are gender theories that are critical theories as well.
Wokeness is different than wakefulness. God has called every one
of us, as we're going to see in this text,
(01:29):
to be awake, alert, to know our times, and to
understand our surroundings and respond appropriately. So we are called
to be awake. But in terms of the ideology, the
theologies the wokeness of the world. It is not the
same as wakefulness. The result of wokeness in our nation
(01:51):
and around the world is division and conflict and violence.
And ultimately it will destroy anything and everything it touches. Family,
That includes educational institutions. It will destroy government ultimately, corporate America,
which is all in on wokeness, and even churches. We
(02:19):
have a biblical worldview on race, and here it is
Galatians chapter three, Verses twenty six through twenty nine. For
in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ
have put on Christ. We're going to see that in
our text today. And there is neither Jew nor Greek
(02:41):
or slave are free. There's no male or female. For
you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you
are Christ, then you are Abraham's off springs. That is
no longer Jew are gentile in the sense of our oneness.
But we are all heirs together of the promise of God.
(03:02):
We are one family in Christ. And then look in
Acts chapter seventeen and verse twenty six, and He is
made from one man, every nation of mankind to live
on all the face of the earth, having determined allted
periods in the boundaries of their dwelling place. So one nation,
(03:26):
one blood, one family. We are united in this one blood,
the blood of humanity, and in Christ were united in
His blood. The color that matters is the red royal
crimson of God's Son, who gave his life on the
cross for us. We are all His children, who know
(03:51):
and love, who repent of our sins and receive the
Lord Jesus Christ. God has made us human. We are
created by the hand of God for a sovereign purpose.
There is no superior race. We oppose any kind of racism.
(04:11):
We oppose discrimination in its every and any form. We
must continue to fight for equality, but that equality is
based upon biblical justice, not social justice, because because social
(04:32):
justice hijacks the gospel. It is another gospel of which
Paul spoke about. It is a gospel that does not
save the soul, but elevates the soul apart from God.
So are you woke or are you awake? Look at
(04:54):
our text Chapter thirteen, verses eleven and following. Besides this,
you know the time. That's the word in the Greek
language chiros, which has to do with epic or era,
or the time that is at hand. That the hour
(05:15):
has come for you. Here it is to wake from sleep,
for salvation is nearer to us than when we first believe.
The night is far gone. The day is at hand.
So let us cast off the works of darkness and
put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly
(05:37):
or decently, honorably as in the daytime, not in orgies
and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in
quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
(05:59):
and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.
Paul is going for it here, Big says, this is
what I'm talking about, this meaning everything that has come
in advance of this. We just read, specifically in most
(06:23):
nearly the twelfth chapter of Romans, where he's been saying,
present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Let your mind
be transformed and renewed. He went on to say, discover
your spiritual gifts and get engaged in the church and
serving with the gifts that God has given you, these
wonderful supernatural gifts for our employment in the work and
(06:45):
the witness of the Gospel. He says, don't be overcome
chapter twelve, verse twenty one with evil, but overcome evil
with good. As I just noted, he said, Oh, no, man,
anything except to love this. He said, therefore this wake up.
(07:13):
And that's the first point. There are three succinct commands
in this passage, to wake up, to throw off, and
to put on. There they are, and there's the message,
no lease, no use fooling with Paul's outline here, to
wake up, to throw off, or to cast off, and
to put on. So let's look at these one by one. First,
(07:35):
he sat, awake and wake up, wake up out of sleep.
You know what sleep is. Sleep is a loss of
consciousness around your surroundings. And you have no idea what's
going on if you're in heavy sleep. And he says,
it's now time to sleep. Now, sleep's a good thing,
it's a healthy thing. We're told we should get seven
(07:57):
to nine hours of sleep, and we should do that
daily if at all possible. But specifically, Paul is saying
to us spiritually, this is now time to wake up.
Every serious Christian living in these times. Paul talks about
the times that we're in. Every thinking serious Christian living
(08:22):
today should be asking the question, are these the end
of times? Are we living in the last days? I
pray that you will live every day looking up, because
Jesus said, look around you, and when you see these
(08:43):
things coming to pass, whether they be it is the
proliferation of wars and violence, where the world economic systems,
where it is struggling in the Middle East, whether it
is the proclamation of the gospel worldwide, which is happening now.
However you read the signs, look up. Jesus said, for
your redemption is drawing near. Our salvation is nearer than
(09:07):
we first believed. Therefore we ought to live every single
day as though it is our last day. Christ may
come today. So in view of this, we're seeing here
that we are to wake up. We are to live
(09:30):
alert and active, not lazy, not lukewarm, not in lethargy.
But we're to get up and get at and we're
to rise and shine, wake up and wake up today.
(09:53):
The scripture says, he who has this hope in him
purifies himself. We live in this victor, making every day count.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
woke or Awake Sometimes answers to life's problems seem distant
and hope seems out of reach, But that's exactly where
God's promises meet us. We want to help you rest
in God's promises even in life's darkest moments by sending
you doctor Jack Graham's book, A Hope and a Future.
(10:28):
It's our way of saying thanks for your gift of
ten dollars or more to help proclaim the good news
around the world through PowerPoint. Call now to request your
copy of A Hope and a Future. Call one eight
hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. That's one
eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. You
(10:48):
can also text the word hope to five nine seven
eight nine. Don't let stress rob you of peace. It
is possible to break the destructive grip of stress on
your life and enjoy the peace and abundance God desires
for you. That's what doctor Graham helps you do in
his booklet Breaking Free from Stress. We'll send you a
digital download of Breaking Free from Stress when you sign
(11:10):
up for email updates from PowerPoint Today. Just go to
PowerPoint dot org slash stress and sign up today. Now
let's get back to today's message, woke or awake, And then.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
He said, cast off or throw off you see that
down in verse twelve, to cast off the deeds of
darkness and to put on the armor of life. Now
this is a common expression in scripture, to take off
the old and to put on the new. Now, remember
(11:48):
this is written primarily to Christians. You we are to
wake up and throw off the old clothes, and you
put on what is described here as the armor of light.
Now we're in war terminology. Paul is most likely addressing
(12:09):
the Roman soldiers around him as well, and seeing their
uniform and seeing their weaponry. He of course describe this
in Ephesius chapter six, our spiritual battle and putting on
the armor of God, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate
of righteousness, the belt of truth, and the fete who
are shod with the gospel of the preparation of peace,
(12:31):
and to take up the sword of the Spirit, which
is the Word of God, and hold up the shield
of faith. He said, you don't fight naked, you go
to war. And here he is saying, put on the
armor of light. So rise up, cast off the deeds
of darkness and the old life, and put on armor. Fact,
(12:58):
when you get up in the morning as child of God,
ready for battle, ready to fight the good fight of faith,
to go to war for the Gospel, the devil in
his crowd ought to be saying, oh no, she's up again.
He's up again doing damage for the Kingdom of God.
(13:21):
Some of you have lost more battles this week than
you won. Baby, But the good news is that you
can repent and renew your faith, put the armor back on,
and get back into battle again. And in the process
of casting off the deep deeds of darkness, he gives
us a description. It's not inclusive of all the sins
(13:41):
of the deeds of darkness, but he gives us three
pairs of sinful behaviors. If you will, and you see
them right in our text, look at your text, toget.
He says, cast off the works of darkness and live decently.
This is verse thirteen. Walk properly in the daytime. And
then he speaks of not an orgies or drunkenness, not
in sexual immorality and sensuality, and not in quarreling and jealousy.
(14:06):
So here are some examples, some extreme examples, graphic examples
of the deeds of darkness that we're to throw off
as Christians. He talks about orgies and drunkenness. First, the
word literary is partying. He's saying, as a Christian, as
a follower of Jesus Christ, you're wearing the armor of light.
(14:26):
Don't live in the deeds of darkness. Don't live like this.
It's not who you are. Not only does he mentioned partying,
but he mentions drunkenness, which is to live under the
influence of alcohol or any other kind of stimulant or
(14:47):
depressant drug. Ephesias five eighteen. It says, do not be
drunk with wine where it is excess, but be filled
with the Holy Spirit. I don't want to live under
the influence of alcohol or any other mind altering substance,
and therefore I don't drink at all, and I never
(15:10):
have because most people who drink drink for the bus.
And if you're drinking, can we just have a pastor
talk with you. If you're drinking and you need it,
you're dependent on the alcohol, you're under the influence of
the alcohol. You're in chains. And we're not to live
(15:32):
under the bondage of anything. Certainly, to be under the
influence of alcohol. Why, because we have the Spirit of God.
We don't need the spirits. We have the spirit, the
Holy Spirit of God. I mean, people drink to calm down,
People drink to get high, people drink to feel better, drink,
(15:55):
people drink to self medicai, people drink for a lot
of reason. And there are many defenders of alcohol, but
no defense as far as I am concerned. As a pastor.
I've told you this before. I've seen so much destruction
and damage, and in some ways, if you're a Christian
and you choose to drink, you may be a part
(16:17):
of the problem because people around your watching. But he says,
no drunkenness. And then he talks about the second couplet,
or the second pair. Here of sins is immorality, sexual immorality,
and sensuality. The first word means lewdness, sexual immorality. The
(16:47):
second word means shameful immorality, lewdness and lustfulness, sexual immorality.
Literally here the word is bed bed. Now the marriage bed,
the scripture says, is honorable with God and undefiled. But
(17:15):
the bed, apart from the beauty and the blessedness of
Christian marriage, is off limits, certainly for the Christian, whether
it is pre marital sex or extra sex, adultery, or
sensuality of all kinds, including pornography, from heterosexual immorality, from
(17:38):
homosexual immorality. It's all described here is lewdness and shameful blustfulness.
It's a word here, the last one, which means proud
of your sin. We see that in media, don't we.
We see this in the movies that we often, unfortunately watch,
and even television shows. There is the celebration of sin,
(18:01):
of lewdness, of immorality of all kinds. So we are
to be alert because this can happen to anyone. It
happened to David, a man whose heart was hot after God,
passionate man. But there was a time in David's life,
long after he was that humble little shepherd boy. He
defeated the great giant. He became king, and he became powerful,
(18:22):
and ultimately he became prideful and neglectful. And his Second Samuel,
chapter eleven, in verse two, I want you to watch
what happens. This is David. And it happened one late
afternoon when David arose from his couch and was walking
on the roof of the king's house. And then he
saw from the roof. Was he looking? Was he looking
for sin? Was he looking for trouble? I don't know,
(18:45):
but he found it. He saw from the roof a
woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful. Her name
was Bathsheba. And if you know your way around your
Bible in this story, you know what happened next. He
saw her, he lusted, he called for her, he committed
adultery with her, she got pregnant. He set up her husband.
(19:08):
You're Riah. The Hittite basically committed manslaughter, murdered him by
putting him on the front line. And he lived in
wickedness and sin. Why because he was lazy? He was
It all started when he was an alert. He wasn't awake,
he wasn't paying attention anymore. We think sexual sin is
(19:29):
just for young people. It can happen to anyone. It
can happen to a king like David. But here's what
two Timothy two twenty two says, run from everything that
stimulates youthful lust. Instead, and this is the new living translation. Instead,
(19:50):
pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love and peace. Enjoy, and all
those who enjoy the companionship of those who upon the
name of the Lord. So there you have it, and
then he mentions the third pair of sins, strife and envy.
You're thinking by now, maybe, man, I don't drink, I
(20:12):
don't get drunk, I don't run around in orgies, I
don't party hard. I'm not committing adultery. I'm not shacking up.
I'm doing all the right things morally, you're not committing
the sins of dissipation. So just in case the Holy
Spirit misses us, he talks about strife and envy, the
(20:34):
sins of disposition, strife and envy. Strife means well, striving, strifing.
It is anger and contentious and quarreling. It is fighting.
It is arrogance. It is pride and this kind of thing.
Strife is ruining relationships every day, including some of your marriages.
(20:59):
And then there's social media people who want to get
online and fight and argue, and then we jump in
the battle strife and then envy, and that's jealousy, of course.
So I need to close this message and say finally,
he says, therefore, put on Christ. So the way to
(21:22):
overcome evil is to overcome it with good, and to
put on Christ. You see it there. Look at the
last verse, verse fourteen. But you put on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to
gratify its desires. Say wait a minute, put on Christ?
What does that mean? Let me describe it this way.
(21:43):
Clothe yourself with the presence of Christ in your life. Now, Christ,
if you are a Christian, is in you. But you
are to put Christ on you as well. God from
heaven sees you in Christ, the righteous of Christ. But
the world sees what you are on the outside. The
(22:06):
world sees whether or not you are living in the presence.
And the priority of Christ in your life is So
to put on Christ is to pursue Him, to love him,
and to represent him to the world, that it would
be his character. And what is the character of Christ,
(22:28):
The fruit of the Spirit Galatians five. His love and
joy and peace and patience, and kindness and goodness and
gentleness and faithfulness and self control. This is all who
Jesus is. It is all who you are. So put
this on every single day. You're living in the resurrected
life of Christ, the risen life of Christ, and so
(22:50):
show it by putting on Christ every single day. Do
you know the early Christians were called Christians At Antioch Acts,
chapter eleven. They didn't have a name the church contest.
They didn't, you know, turn in suggestions. What are we
going to call ourselves? In fact, it was the outsiders
who looked at these believers and followers of Jesus as said,
(23:13):
they're Christians. They're like Christ. They represented Christ, they reminded
people of Christ. And when we call ourselves Christians, we
are to put on Christ every day, not just the
Sunday Jesus or the Easter Jesus, but the Monday Jesus,
(23:33):
the Tuesday Jesus, the Wednesday Jesus, the Thursday, Friday, Saturday Jesus.
We're to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
Lord Jesus Christ. When we put him on in the
power of his spirit, we are no longer making provision
for the flesh, but we are feeding the spirit. I say,
(23:56):
starve the flesh and feed the spirit. Make no revision
for the flesh in your life. Literally, it means, don't
plan your sin, don't go to places that are going
to trip you up, don't hang around people that are
going to bring you down, make no provision for the flesh.
Take off the sin and put on salvation. Take off
(24:18):
the guilt and shame and put on grace. Take off
your own life and put on your new life. Take
off the dirt and the filth and put on His righteousnes.
Take off your sorrow and put on his comfort.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the
message Woke or Awake. God's Word is the source for
timeless truths that answer the big questions people are seeking.
But so many people around the world have never heard
God's word proclaimed. That's why the support of friends like
you is so important, because together we can carry the
(24:49):
unchanging truth of God's Word across the globe through the TV,
radio and online outreach of PowerPoint. We'll say thanks for
your gift of ten dollars or more to share God's
truth with more people by sending you a copy of
doctor Jack Graham's book, A Hope and a Future. So
call now to request your copy. When you give call
one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
(25:13):
That's one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
You can also text the word hope to five nine
seven eight nine and thank you for helping take the
hope of Jesus to a world in need, and don't
forget to visit Jack Graham dot org where you can
shop our easttore give a gift online, or sign up
for doctor Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website again
(25:36):
is Jack Graham dot org. And also be sure to
sign up for doctor Graham's podcast Bible in a Year
pastor what is your PowerPoint for Today?
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Every morning we get up, the alarm clock goes off,
and we stagger out of bed, and for many of
us we get out of bed, but we really don't
wake up until about eleven am. But you know, as Christians,
we have a good reason to hit the ground running
every day. Our message is one the one of hope
and life, forgiveness and reconciliation, and so, as I mentioned earlier,
(26:11):
we have good reason to rise and shine. I love
the story of the father who was putting his young
son to bed, and the two of them knelt by
the bed, and the young lad prayed, And as he prayed,
he said, now let me down to sleep. I pray
the Lord my soul to keep if I should wake
before I die. And then the young boy stopped and said,
odd dad, I messed it up, and the father said, no, son,
(26:34):
I think that's probably the only time someone has properly
prayed that prayer. We all need to wake up before
we die, don't we. My challenge to you today is
to wake up, to wake up today, and to wake
up before you die. Wake up and give Christ pre
eminence in your life. Wake up and allow Christ to
live his life through you this day. Get up and
(26:56):
share the love of Jesus Christ with those around you.
The only hope that this world has is the hope
that is in Jesus. And unless we model Christ, the
world will never know the love, the forgiveness, and the
joy that He can bring. So wake up, Christian, Get
up Christian, because the days are shorter than ever before.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
And that is today's power Point. Remember when you give
a gift of ten dollars or more to PowerPoint, we'll
send you doctor Graham's book A Hope and a Future
as a thanks for your support. Today, call one eight
hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. That's one
eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. You
can also text the word hope to five nine seven
(27:39):
eight nine and join us again next time. As doctor
Graham brings a message about how God can help you
overcome evil with good. That's next time on PowerPoint with
Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A
little later in the program, we'll tell you how you
can get a copy of doctor Graham's book, A Hope
and a Future. But first, here's the message. Woke or awake.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Take your Bible and turn to Romans, chapter thirteen. Wokeness
as it is described and demonstrated today in our world
is a worldview. It is a way of life. It
is a philosophy and ideology. It is even a theology.
The most basic claim of wokeness is that there are
(00:46):
two kinds of people in the world. Based on Marxism,
you could describe it not as class Marxism, but cultural Marxism,
based upon two ideas. One is that you are either
the oppressor or you are the oppressed. The primary philosophy
(01:09):
is represented in various critical theories. There are critical racial theories.
There are gender theories that are critical theories as well.
Wokeness is different than wakefulness. God has called every one
of us, as we're going to see in this text,
(01:29):
to be awake, alert, to know our times, and to
understand our surroundings and respond appropriately. So we are called
to be awake. But in terms of the ideology, the
theologies the wokeness of the world. It is not the
same as wakefulness. The result of wokeness in our nation
(01:51):
and around the world is division and conflict and violence.
And ultimately it will destroy anything and everything it touches. Family,
That includes educational institutions. It will destroy government ultimately, corporate America,
which is all in on wokeness, and even churches. We
(02:19):
have a biblical worldview on race, and here it is
Galatians chapter three, Verses twenty six through twenty nine. For
in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ
have put on Christ. We're going to see that in
our text today. And there is neither Jew nor Greek
(02:41):
or slave are free. There's no male or female. For
you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you
are Christ, then you are Abraham's off springs. That is
no longer Jew are gentile in the sense of our oneness.
But we are all heirs together of the promise of God.
(03:02):
We are one family in Christ. And then look in
Acts chapter seventeen and verse twenty six, and He is
made from one man, every nation of mankind to live
on all the face of the earth, having determined allted
periods in the boundaries of their dwelling place. So one nation,
(03:26):
one blood, one family. We are united in this one blood,
the blood of humanity, and in Christ were united in
His blood. The color that matters is the red royal
crimson of God's Son, who gave his life on the
cross for us. We are all His children, who know
(03:51):
and love, who repent of our sins and receive the
Lord Jesus Christ. God has made us human. We are
created by the hand of God for a sovereign purpose.
There is no superior race. We oppose any kind of racism.
(04:11):
We oppose discrimination in its every and any form. We
must continue to fight for equality, but that equality is
based upon biblical justice, not social justice, because because social
(04:32):
justice hijacks the gospel. It is another gospel of which
Paul spoke about. It is a gospel that does not
save the soul, but elevates the soul apart from God.
So are you woke or are you awake? Look at
(04:54):
our text Chapter thirteen, verses eleven and following. Besides this,
you know the time. That's the word in the Greek
language chiros, which has to do with epic or era,
or the time that is at hand. That the hour
(05:15):
has come for you. Here it is to wake from sleep,
for salvation is nearer to us than when we first believe.
The night is far gone. The day is at hand.
So let us cast off the works of darkness and
put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly
(05:37):
or decently, honorably as in the daytime, not in orgies
and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in
quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
(05:59):
and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.
Paul is going for it here, Big says, this is
what I'm talking about, this meaning everything that has come
in advance of this. We just read, specifically in most
(06:23):
nearly the twelfth chapter of Romans, where he's been saying,
present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Let your mind
be transformed and renewed. He went on to say, discover
your spiritual gifts and get engaged in the church and
serving with the gifts that God has given you, these
wonderful supernatural gifts for our employment in the work and
(06:45):
the witness of the Gospel. He says, don't be overcome
chapter twelve, verse twenty one with evil, but overcome evil
with good. As I just noted, he said, Oh, no, man,
anything except to love this. He said, therefore this wake up.
(07:13):
And that's the first point. There are three succinct commands
in this passage, to wake up, to throw off, and
to put on. There they are, and there's the message,
no lease, no use fooling with Paul's outline here, to
wake up, to throw off, or to cast off, and
to put on. So let's look at these one by one. First,
(07:35):
he sat, awake and wake up, wake up out of sleep.
You know what sleep is. Sleep is a loss of
consciousness around your surroundings. And you have no idea what's
going on if you're in heavy sleep. And he says,
it's now time to sleep. Now, sleep's a good thing,
it's a healthy thing. We're told we should get seven
(07:57):
to nine hours of sleep, and we should do that
daily if at all possible. But specifically, Paul is saying
to us spiritually, this is now time to wake up.
Every serious Christian living in these times. Paul talks about
the times that we're in. Every thinking serious Christian living
(08:22):
today should be asking the question, are these the end
of times? Are we living in the last days? I
pray that you will live every day looking up, because
Jesus said, look around you, and when you see these
(08:43):
things coming to pass, whether they be it is the
proliferation of wars and violence, where the world economic systems,
where it is struggling in the Middle East, whether it
is the proclamation of the gospel worldwide, which is happening now.
However you read the signs, look up. Jesus said, for
your redemption is drawing near. Our salvation is nearer than
(09:07):
we first believed. Therefore we ought to live every single
day as though it is our last day. Christ may
come today. So in view of this, we're seeing here
that we are to wake up. We are to live
(09:30):
alert and active, not lazy, not lukewarm, not in lethargy.
But we're to get up and get at and we're
to rise and shine, wake up and wake up today.
(09:53):
The scripture says, he who has this hope in him
purifies himself. We live in this victor, making every day count.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
woke or Awake Sometimes answers to life's problems seem distant
and hope seems out of reach, But that's exactly where
God's promises meet us. We want to help you rest
in God's promises even in life's darkest moments by sending
you doctor Jack Graham's book, A Hope and a Future.
(10:28):
It's our way of saying thanks for your gift of
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around the world through PowerPoint. Call now to request your
copy of A Hope and a Future. Call one eight
hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. That's one
eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. You
(10:48):
can also text the word hope to five nine seven
eight nine. Don't let stress rob you of peace. It
is possible to break the destructive grip of stress on
your life and enjoy the peace and abundance God desires
for you. That's what doctor Graham helps you do in
his booklet Breaking Free from Stress. We'll send you a
digital download of Breaking Free from Stress when you sign
(11:10):
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let's get back to today's message, woke or awake, And then.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
He said, cast off or throw off you see that
down in verse twelve, to cast off the deeds of
darkness and to put on the armor of life. Now
this is a common expression in scripture, to take off
the old and to put on the new. Now, remember
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this is written primarily to Christians. You we are to
wake up and throw off the old clothes, and you
put on what is described here as the armor of light.
Now we're in war terminology. Paul is most likely addressing
(12:09):
the Roman soldiers around him as well, and seeing their
uniform and seeing their weaponry. He of course describe this
in Ephesius chapter six, our spiritual battle and putting on
the armor of God, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate
of righteousness, the belt of truth, and the fete who
are shod with the gospel of the preparation of peace,
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and to take up the sword of the Spirit, which
is the Word of God, and hold up the shield
of faith. He said, you don't fight naked, you go
to war. And here he is saying, put on the
armor of light. So rise up, cast off the deeds
of darkness and the old life, and put on armor. Fact,
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when you get up in the morning as child of God,
ready for battle, ready to fight the good fight of faith,
to go to war for the Gospel, the devil in
his crowd ought to be saying, oh no, she's up again.
He's up again doing damage for the Kingdom of God.
(13:21):
Some of you have lost more battles this week than
you won. Baby, But the good news is that you
can repent and renew your faith, put the armor back on,
and get back into battle again. And in the process
of casting off the deep deeds of darkness, he gives
us a description. It's not inclusive of all the sins
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of the deeds of darkness, but he gives us three
pairs of sinful behaviors. If you will, and you see
them right in our text, look at your text, toget.
He says, cast off the works of darkness and live decently.
This is verse thirteen. Walk properly in the daytime. And
then he speaks of not an orgies or drunkenness, not
in sexual immorality and sensuality, and not in quarreling and jealousy.
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So here are some examples, some extreme examples, graphic examples
of the deeds of darkness that we're to throw off
as Christians. He talks about orgies and drunkenness. First, the
word literary is partying. He's saying, as a Christian, as
a follower of Jesus Christ, you're wearing the armor of light.
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Don't live in the deeds of darkness. Don't live like this.
It's not who you are. Not only does he mentioned partying,
but he mentions drunkenness, which is to live under the
influence of alcohol or any other kind of stimulant or
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depressant drug. Ephesias five eighteen. It says, do not be
drunk with wine where it is excess, but be filled
with the Holy Spirit. I don't want to live under
the influence of alcohol or any other mind altering substance,
and therefore I don't drink at all, and I never
(15:10):
have because most people who drink drink for the bus.
And if you're drinking, can we just have a pastor
talk with you. If you're drinking and you need it,
you're dependent on the alcohol, you're under the influence of
the alcohol. You're in chains. And we're not to live
(15:32):
under the bondage of anything. Certainly, to be under the
influence of alcohol. Why, because we have the Spirit of God.
We don't need the spirits. We have the spirit, the
Holy Spirit of God. I mean, people drink to calm down,
People drink to get high, people drink to feel better, drink,
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people drink to self medicai, people drink for a lot
of reason. And there are many defenders of alcohol, but
no defense as far as I am concerned. As a pastor.
I've told you this before. I've seen so much destruction
and damage, and in some ways, if you're a Christian
and you choose to drink, you may be a part
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of the problem because people around your watching. But he says,
no drunkenness. And then he talks about the second couplet,
or the second pair. Here of sins is immorality, sexual immorality,
and sensuality. The first word means lewdness, sexual immorality. The
(16:47):
second word means shameful immorality, lewdness and lustfulness, sexual immorality.
Literally here the word is bed bed. Now the marriage bed,
the scripture says, is honorable with God and undefiled. But
(17:15):
the bed, apart from the beauty and the blessedness of
Christian marriage, is off limits, certainly for the Christian, whether
it is pre marital sex or extra sex, adultery, or
sensuality of all kinds, including pornography, from heterosexual immorality, from
(17:38):
homosexual immorality. It's all described here is lewdness and shameful blustfulness.
It's a word here, the last one, which means proud
of your sin. We see that in media, don't we.
We see this in the movies that we often, unfortunately watch,
and even television shows. There is the celebration of sin,
(18:01):
of lewdness, of immorality of all kinds. So we are
to be alert because this can happen to anyone. It
happened to David, a man whose heart was hot after God,
passionate man. But there was a time in David's life,
long after he was that humble little shepherd boy. He
defeated the great giant. He became king, and he became powerful,
(18:22):
and ultimately he became prideful and neglectful. And his Second Samuel,
chapter eleven, in verse two, I want you to watch
what happens. This is David. And it happened one late
afternoon when David arose from his couch and was walking
on the roof of the king's house. And then he
saw from the roof. Was he looking? Was he looking
for sin? Was he looking for trouble? I don't know,
(18:45):
but he found it. He saw from the roof a
woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful. Her name
was Bathsheba. And if you know your way around your
Bible in this story, you know what happened next. He
saw her, he lusted, he called for her, he committed
adultery with her, she got pregnant. He set up her husband.
(19:08):
You're Riah. The Hittite basically committed manslaughter, murdered him by
putting him on the front line. And he lived in
wickedness and sin. Why because he was lazy? He was
It all started when he was an alert. He wasn't awake,
he wasn't paying attention anymore. We think sexual sin is
(19:29):
just for young people. It can happen to anyone. It
can happen to a king like David. But here's what
two Timothy two twenty two says, run from everything that
stimulates youthful lust. Instead, and this is the new living translation. Instead,
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pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love and peace. Enjoy, and all
those who enjoy the companionship of those who upon the
name of the Lord. So there you have it, and
then he mentions the third pair of sins, strife and envy.
You're thinking by now, maybe, man, I don't drink, I
(20:12):
don't get drunk, I don't run around in orgies, I
don't party hard. I'm not committing adultery. I'm not shacking up.
I'm doing all the right things morally, you're not committing
the sins of dissipation. So just in case the Holy
Spirit misses us, he talks about strife and envy, the
(20:34):
sins of disposition, strife and envy. Strife means well, striving, strifing.
It is anger and contentious and quarreling. It is fighting.
It is arrogance. It is pride and this kind of thing.
Strife is ruining relationships every day, including some of your marriages.
(20:59):
And then there's social media people who want to get
online and fight and argue, and then we jump in
the battle strife and then envy, and that's jealousy, of course.
So I need to close this message and say finally,
he says, therefore, put on Christ. So the way to
(21:22):
overcome evil is to overcome it with good, and to
put on Christ. You see it there. Look at the
last verse, verse fourteen. But you put on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to
gratify its desires. Say wait a minute, put on Christ?
What does that mean? Let me describe it this way.
(21:43):
Clothe yourself with the presence of Christ in your life. Now, Christ,
if you are a Christian, is in you. But you
are to put Christ on you as well. God from
heaven sees you in Christ, the righteous of Christ. But
the world sees what you are on the outside. The
(22:06):
world sees whether or not you are living in the presence.
And the priority of Christ in your life is So
to put on Christ is to pursue Him, to love him,
and to represent him to the world, that it would
be his character. And what is the character of Christ,
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The fruit of the Spirit Galatians five. His love and
joy and peace and patience, and kindness and goodness and
gentleness and faithfulness and self control. This is all who
Jesus is. It is all who you are. So put
this on every single day. You're living in the resurrected
life of Christ, the risen life of Christ, and so
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show it by putting on Christ every single day. Do
you know the early Christians were called Christians At Antioch Acts,
chapter eleven. They didn't have a name the church contest.
They didn't, you know, turn in suggestions. What are we
going to call ourselves? In fact, it was the outsiders
who looked at these believers and followers of Jesus as said,
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they're Christians. They're like Christ. They represented Christ, they reminded
people of Christ. And when we call ourselves Christians, we
are to put on Christ every day, not just the
Sunday Jesus or the Easter Jesus, but the Monday Jesus,
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the Tuesday Jesus, the Wednesday Jesus, the Thursday, Friday, Saturday Jesus.
We're to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
Lord Jesus Christ. When we put him on in the
power of his spirit, we are no longer making provision
for the flesh, but we are feeding the spirit. I say,
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starve the flesh and feed the spirit. Make no revision
for the flesh in your life. Literally, it means, don't
plan your sin, don't go to places that are going
to trip you up, don't hang around people that are
going to bring you down, make no provision for the flesh.
Take off the sin and put on salvation. Take off
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the guilt and shame and put on grace. Take off
your own life and put on your new life. Take
off the dirt and the filth and put on His righteousnes.
Take off your sorrow and put on his comfort.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the
message Woke or Awake. God's Word is the source for
timeless truths that answer the big questions people are seeking.
But so many people around the world have never heard
God's word proclaimed. That's why the support of friends like
you is so important, because together we can carry the
(24:49):
unchanging truth of God's Word across the globe through the TV,
radio and online outreach of PowerPoint. We'll say thanks for
your gift of ten dollars or more to share God's
truth with more people by sending you a copy of
doctor Jack Graham's book, A Hope and a Future. So
call now to request your copy. When you give call
one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
(25:13):
That's one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
You can also text the word hope to five nine
seven eight nine and thank you for helping take the
hope of Jesus to a world in need, and don't
forget to visit Jack Graham dot org where you can
shop our easttore give a gift online, or sign up
for doctor Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website again
(25:36):
is Jack Graham dot org. And also be sure to
sign up for doctor Graham's podcast Bible in a Year
pastor what is your PowerPoint for Today?
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Every morning we get up, the alarm clock goes off,
and we stagger out of bed, and for many of
us we get out of bed, but we really don't
wake up until about eleven am. But you know, as Christians,
we have a good reason to hit the ground running
every day. Our message is one the one of hope
and life, forgiveness and reconciliation, and so, as I mentioned earlier,
(26:11):
we have good reason to rise and shine. I love
the story of the father who was putting his young
son to bed, and the two of them knelt by
the bed, and the young lad prayed, And as he prayed,
he said, now let me down to sleep. I pray
the Lord my soul to keep if I should wake
before I die. And then the young boy stopped and said,
odd dad, I messed it up, and the father said, no, son,
(26:34):
I think that's probably the only time someone has properly
prayed that prayer. We all need to wake up before
we die, don't we. My challenge to you today is
to wake up, to wake up today, and to wake
up before you die. Wake up and give Christ pre
eminence in your life. Wake up and allow Christ to
live his life through you this day. Get up and
(26:56):
share the love of Jesus Christ with those around you.
The only hope that this world has is the hope
that is in Jesus. And unless we model Christ, the
world will never know the love, the forgiveness, and the
joy that He can bring. So wake up, Christian, Get
up Christian, because the days are shorter than ever before.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
And that is today's power Point. Remember when you give
a gift of ten dollars or more to PowerPoint, we'll
send you doctor Graham's book A Hope and a Future
as a thanks for your support. Today, call one eight
hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. That's one
eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. You
can also text the word hope to five nine seven
(27:39):
eight nine and join us again next time. As doctor
Graham brings a message about how God can help you
overcome evil with good. That's next time on PowerPoint with
Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
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