Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
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 a devotional on fifty two
questions every believer should answer. But first, here's the message.
Are you ready for a miracle?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Many of you do not know my story, But when
I was a college student Harden Simmons University, Deb and
I were married after my second year in college. We
were college sweethearts. She's from Mineral Wales, Texas. I'm from
Fort Worth. We met in Abilene at Hardened Simmons, fell
in love, got married that summer. It was great. We'd
(00:43):
just been married. Life was good. And my father was
mortally wounded and tragically died as a victim of violent
crime in August of nineteen seventy. So my father was murdered.
But the night that he died, after ten days after
being injured, never regaining consciousness, my family left. Davi had
(01:07):
gone with the car somewhere, and I don't know exactly
how I ended up by myself at the hospital wrapping
things up, and I didn't know what to do. I
just knew I needed God. Have you ever been in
that situation where you just knew there were questions, of course,
but I didn't have time for questions at that moment.
(01:27):
I just needed God. I heard too bad to ask
a bunch of questions, Why this and why that. I
went down to the chapel and it was dark, and
it of course was emotionally dark. And I can't tell
you exactly what happened in that room tonight that night,
but it was so powerful that I had an encounter
(01:49):
with God like few other times in my life. I
remember stretching myself out prostrate on the ground. Remember, I'm
a young preacher just getting started, and my dad, who
I love was my best friend in many ways, is
now gone brutally murdered. And I lay myself out and
(02:11):
just cried out to God. And God came into that
room that night. I didn't hear angel wings, I didn't
hear an audible voice, but the divine encounter that I
had with God that night set me up for the
rest of my life. What God did in me was
(02:32):
something that I will never forget, and everything that has
happened going forward as a result of a surrender that
I made that night to Him. And so, just to
review the ark of the Covenant, went with the children
of Israel, and inside were the tablets of Moses, the
Law of God, God's ten Commandments, the rod that budded
(02:54):
Aaron's rod, and the man a pot of manna that
God sustained them supernaturally in the desert. And so this
all in the Ark of the Covenant. So you had
God's precepts, the commandments. You had God's power in that
miracle of the rod that budded Aaron's rod, and then
you had God's provision the manner. And then most of
(03:16):
all with the Ark of the Covenant is the presence
of God. So just to pick you up, Remember, the
children of God have come out of Egypt. They're set free.
They spent forty years wandering because of unbelief in the wilderness,
in the desert. They became desert disciples. But all along
God had promised them a land. God had given them,
(03:36):
a land, he said, flowing with milk and honey. It
was a land of bounty, a land of beauty, a
land of blessing. It was God's land that he had
given his chosen people, Israel. And now having come through
the Jordan, the Ark of the Covenant led the way through.
They got on the other side, and now standing in
(03:57):
front of them a huge sign that says keep out
are the walls of Jericho. And this city of Jericho,
famous for its enormity. It was a large city in
the desert area of Israel. You can still go there today.
I've been to Jericho many times, and the ruins of
(04:20):
the walls of Jericho and the ancient city of Jericho
are being uncovered. And we know this miracle happened. And
the city existed in antiquity and in enormity, and in
iniquity because it was a vile city in so many ways,
full of idolatry and sacrificing of babies and extreme sexual
(04:40):
immorality that took place in that city, and they had
many opportunities to repent, but they did not. So now
the children of God, the people of God Israel, are
on the brink of this blessing. They are ready to
go in. But here are these walls. And they've never
passed this way before, like through the Jordan, But now
these stand in front of them. What a challenge. How
(05:04):
are they possibly going to get through the walls and
into the promised land. They had had a few skirmishes
in the desert, a few battles, but nothing like this,
this powerful city, fully protected. And now the Israelis are
(05:24):
wondering how we're ever going to do this, and Joshua,
General Joshua is feeling the same pressure. He's up early,
and he's prayed, and he's looking at this Jericho, this challenge.
Maybe you're looking at a challenge in your own life,
like the walls of Jericho, something that's going on in
(05:47):
your life, as though it were saying, keep out from
the blessing of God, stopping you from experiencing the abundance
that we have in Christ. Remember, the promised land is
not heaven, mus land is heaven on earth. In Christ,
it is the abundant life. It is the spirit filled life.
It is the victorious life that we have been promised
(06:08):
in Him. And God says, it's yours. Go take it,
Go take it, step into it. Every place the feet,
your feet touched, This is all ready yours. But now
they're looking at these walls and these enforcements in this
army that is in front of us. What a challenge.
And you may be looking at a great challenge in
your marriage and your home, with your kids, with your health,
(06:33):
it may be a diagnosis. It may be a darkness
in your life. It may be a distraction in your life.
I don't know what may be standing in front of you,
But like the walls of Jericho, it seems as you
are kept out and left out from going in and
experiencing the fullness and the fruitfulness and the freshness of
this life that you've been promised in Christ. And you
(06:55):
need a miracle. You need God to move, You need
a miracle in your life. The Bible is full of miracles,
and miracles still happened today. So in chapter five, verse
thirteen and fifteen, before the miracle comes, here's what has
to happen before God moves and the miracle takes place
(07:17):
in our lives. Here's what has to happen. What happened
to Joshua at Jericho. When Joshua was by Jericho, he
lifted up his eyes and he looked, and behold, a
man was standing before him with a drawn sword in
his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him,
are you for us or for our adversaries? And he
(07:37):
said no, but I am the commander of the army
of the Lord. Now I have come and Joshua fell
on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said
to him, what does my Lord say to his servant?
And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua,
take off your sandals from your feet, for the place
(07:58):
where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so. Now,
this is one of the mysteries of the Bible. Who
is this person who's standing before Joshua with drawn sword
in his hand? Who is this one? Well, Joshua first
(08:19):
supposed that it was an enemy. Are you for us
or against us? Could have been an adversary, but this
was not a human adversary. This was not a man
at all, a human being, So not an adversary, not
an apparation. Maybe you might be thinking, well, Joshua spent
a lot of time in the desert, and now he's hallucinating.
(08:39):
It's not an angel. Now, angels exist, as we're going
to see in just a moment, but we know that
this is not an angel, a warrior angel, and biblically,
angels are often portrayed in their powerful, warlike witness, and
they appear from time to time, And yet angels are
(09:01):
not allowed to accept worship because worship God only, so
angels are powerful, spiritual beings, created beings. I've written a
book about angels and the study of angels is again
one of the mysteries of the Bible. Is is so
very fascinating. And angels do exist. But this is not
(09:22):
an angel, because when Joshua fell down and worshiped at
the feet of this one, then that one accepted the
worship that was given. So there's only one option left,
isn't there? Who is this divine stranger? This was God,
(09:42):
the Son of God, Jesus himself, the commander of the
Lord's army. Theologically, we call this a theophany, is an
appearance of God of Christ, a preincarnent appearance of Jesus
in the Old Testament. That means that this is God
in the flesh. And we know that on several occasions
(10:05):
in the Old Testament Jesus made an appearance, like in
the Fiery Furnace one standing there with shadrack, mishak and
a bendigo. Like the Son of Man. He shows up
from time to time. You see, Jesus did not begin
to exist at Bethlehem, but he was chosen before the
foundation of the world. He is God, the creator in
(10:26):
the beginning was the word Jesus, and the word was
with God, and the word was God. And the same
was in the beginning with God. He was slaying the
lamb of God before the foundation of the world. So
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, forever, and he's not
limited by time or history or heaven or any of that.
So God chose to show up in the flesh from
(10:46):
time to time, and this is one of those instances.
This is Jesus, and he's the commander of the Lord's host,
and he shows up in the presence of Joshua before
the miracle would take place. What happened to Joshua must
(11:08):
happen to you and me. And you know what that is,
surrender before the victory comes, the surrender to the commander
of the Lord's armies.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
are you ready for a miracle? When you ask big
questions of God, you can trust he'll give you answers
that grow your faith and deepen your intimacy with Him.
In his devotional The Jesus Code, Os Hawkins helps you
uncover bold truths as you search for answers to life's
(11:43):
biggest questions. We want to send you a copy of
this powerful resource as thanks for your gift of ten dollars,
or more so, request your copy of the Jesus Code
when you call and give today call one eight hundred
seven ninety five four six two seven. That's why one
eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. You
(12:04):
can also text the word code 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
(12:27):
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. Are you ready for
a miracle?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Now? I like that phrase the commander of the Lord's
armies Because back to angels, angels are witnesses. They often
come bringing messages from God. In the Bible, angels are worshipers.
Their primary role in creation and throughout eternity is to
worship God and the beautiful powerful angels are great worshipers.
(13:04):
They're workers. Let me give you a few scriptures. Psalm
one hundred and three, Verses twenty and twenty one. Bless
the Lord, oh you his angels, you mighty ones who
do his word. Obey the voice of his word. Bless
the Lord all his hosts, hosts, the heavenly hosts. It
literally means angel armies, And here we discover the Lord
of angel armies, he ministers who do his will. Then
(13:26):
Psalm ninety one you should know ninety one, the ninety
first Psalm, and in verse eleven and twelve, for He
will command his angels concerning you to guard you in
all your ways, and on their hands they will bear
you up unless you strike your foot against a stone.
They're everywhere. You need to realize that all around us
is a spiritual world, an invisible world, an unseen world
(13:49):
that exists more real than the world we're in right now.
And in this world there are demon forces, fallen angels.
Lucifer himself, Satan is a fallen angel, the forces of
hell fallen. But these angelic beings that God has created,
and they are with us, and they are around us,
and they're serving God, and they're serving God's people Hebrews one,
(14:13):
verse fourteen. Are they not all these angels ministering spirits
sent out to serve for the sake of those who
inherit salvation? Have you inherited salvation? Do you know? Christ?
Then angels are present to protect you, to provide for
you in ways that you may never even know. But
this is not an angel. This is the captain of
(14:36):
the Lord's hosts. Are these warrior angels? Powerful and present?
Are these angels? But they are commanded by God himself.
Jesus commands them all. And the message are you ready
for a miracle? The message to Joshua is clear, I
(15:00):
am with you. Joshua is looking at these walls like
you may be looking at some obstacle, some difficulty, some danger,
some situation in your life. Joshua was looking at all
of that and wondering how the battle would be, how
they would ever get through there. And God shows up
and God says, I am with you, I am here,
(15:25):
and I am for you. We need to know that
God is near when we face our fears, when we
face those foes, when we fight our battles. We need
to know that God is present, that he was real.
What I experienced that night in that little room, that
little chapel, I know it was the presence of God
in that place, and I experienced something that I remember
(15:49):
to this day as a turning point in my life. Well,
this was a turning point for Joshua. And when we
cry out in the night and when it's dark, was
in Joshua's day. Here when we cry out, our Father
is there to comfort us. The Lord of Angel Armies,
(16:09):
who never lost a battle, is leading you forward in
your life, and he will be present in your darkest hour,
in your most difficult moment. That's when God shows up
in ways we could never imagine. When you're sick and
in a hospital room and you're laying there alone by yourself,
(16:33):
and the Lord of the Angel Army shows up for you.
It could be in the touch of the kindness and
the words of a friend who, like an angel, visits you.
It could be in scripture that God shows up. His
presence is real, and you're hurting, and yet in the
pain there comes a promise from God's word that maybe
(16:55):
you learned it long long ago, but the Holy Spirit
reminds you of that promise. And you can then remind
God of his promise. You know when how about when
your children come to you and they say something like
you know that you gave them a promise, and then
something happens, you don't get it done, your delay you
and then your kids say, what do they say? But
(17:17):
you said, God's children not arrogantly, but in awe can
come to him and say, God, you said, but you
said in your word that we are more than conquerors
through Jesus. You said, if God be for us, who
can be against us? You said, God, that I know
(17:38):
the plans concerning you, plans to give you a future
and a hope, you said, Lord. And maybe that's the
way that God shows up to you in such a
powerful way. Is through scripture, is through prayer, supplication. Is
it could be even in this sermon that God would
(17:59):
show up and speak to you because you're facing something
you don't know how to get through, you don't know
how to get over, and God showed up this morning.
And even in something that is said right now, you
know that the Lord is with you, that the Lord
is speaking to you, and he's giving you hope for
your future. This is a promise I will be with you.
There is no exception, no exception for the child of God.
(18:23):
So Joshua then ask a question, are you for us?
Are you an adversary? And the answer came, no, neither,
because I haven't come here to take size. I've come
here to take over. He's the captain of the Lord's host.
(18:48):
And what matters is not whose side God is in
the end God, Now God is on your side. If
God be for us, who can be against us? But
the question at this point is are you on the
Lord side? Who's on the Lord's side? That's what God
wanted to know, That's what Joshua needed to know. So
I'm not for you or against you. Sometimes people say
(19:10):
something like, well, you know what, God is my partner
in business. God's my partner. God doesn't want to be
your partner in your business. No, no, he's not your partner.
He's not an equal partner. He's not even a majority partner.
He's the Lord of life, the Lord of all. God
doesn't need you to be his partner. He could take
(19:31):
your business or whatever you're doing and do what only
God can do, and more than you could possibly do.
Sometimes we say, you know, well, God's my co pilot.
God's not going to be your co pilot. He's the pilot.
What Carrie Underwood's saying, Jesus, take the wheel, quit trying
(19:53):
to drive his car, and move your life. This is
what is happening to Joshua. And I really believe that
was what what's happening to me that dark night. It
was a time of surrender when I said, Lord, you
have my life, You have all of my life. Whatever
it is, Lord, I am yours. I am on your side.
(20:16):
It says when Joshua was by Jericho, look at it
again in verse thirteen. He lifted up his eyes and looked,
and behold, he saw the man, the man Christ, Jesus.
So you see what happens before the miracle can take place,
before the walls fall, is to get our eyes on Jesus.
(20:41):
Stop looking at your Jericho and start looking to Jesus,
who is the author and the finisher of your faith.
Look to Jesus. Oh Gland said, your problems. You got
to deal with problems. You can't change something until you
confront something. But glance at your problems and days at
(21:02):
the promises and the promised one Jesus himself. Don't be
looking at Jericho, because if you keep looking at your Jericho,
you're going to be discouraged and defeated. You start looking
to Jesus, and that's where the victory is found. It
happened to Paul and Silas. Paul and Silas were in jail,
in prison for preaching the gospel. And what happened Were
(21:23):
they whining and complaining. No, they were worshiping God at midnight.
This is all in Acts chapter sixteen. They're worshiping God
and all the prisoners are listening to them. And as
they're worshiping God, the walls began to fall shake an earthquake.
The walls fell down, and the chains fell all and
(21:45):
now they are free. And they tell the jailer about Jesus,
and his whole family comes to Christ. But I'm just
saying that when you find yourself at midnight in a
dark place and prison chains are binding you, whatever is
going on, lift up your eyes, Lift up your eyes
to Jesus, Get your eyes on him, because you're Jericho's
(22:08):
never going to fall until the commander of the Lord's
host takes command of your life and mind. And so
what is this old grizzled general Joshua do. Having seen
the Lord, he gets on his face before him. He
takes off his shoes. He knows he's on holy ground.
(22:31):
This isn't the desert any longer. This is God's ground,
This is holy ground. The presence of the Lord is here,
and he's worshiping the Lord. He was strong, he was mighty.
He came out of Egypt with Moses. He lashed all
through the desert and the wilderness. He was one of
the spies sent early on that said we can take
(22:51):
this land. Forty years earlier. He had to put up
with all the death and the dying and the wilderness
because somebody else, a bunch of other people, the majority
said we can't go. The jis are too big. And
he's put up with all this by now. He is
a strong and mighty man. But not too strong, not
too mighty, not too powerful, not so great, not so old,
(23:13):
not so sage that he would get on his face
before God. Can I tell you you're not strong enough,
You're not too strong, you're not too big, you're not
too great that you don't need to get on your
face before God in your life and worship him, which
means you give him your heart Joshua was a big man.
(23:36):
He was a powerful war hero, but not too big
that he knew that he didn't need to get on
his face before the King of Kings of the Lord
of Lord. So here's what we're saying today. If you
want the walls to fall down and the miracle to
take place in your life, then get on your knees.
When you are knocked off your feet, get down on
your knees, and then rise with the victory of Jesus
(23:58):
in your heart.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
are you ready for a Miracle? In the devotional The
Jesus Code, Os Hawkins invites you to ask fifty two
thought provoking questions found in the Bible that will help
you experience Jesus in deeper, more authentic ways than ever before.
As you dive into these questions, you'll discover that everything
(24:22):
we need can be found in a deepening relationship with
Jesus Christ. We want to help you uncover bold truths
in the search for answers to life's biggest questions by
sending you the Jesus Code as our thanks for your
gift of ten dollars or more to help proclaim God's
unchanging word through PowerPoint. So call now to request your
copy of the Jesus Code. Call one eight hundred seven
(24:46):
ninety five four six two seven. That's one eight hundred
seven ninety five four six two seven. You can also
text the word code to five nine seven eight nine,
And don't forget to visit j dot org, where you
can shop our eastore, give a gift online, or sign
up for doctor Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website
(25:09):
again is Jack Graham dot org, and also be sure
to sign up for doctor Graham's podcast Bible in a Year.
Here's Pastor Graham with today's PowerPoint.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Notice what happens in chapter six, verse two. And the
Lord said to Joshua, see, I have given you Jericho
into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.
So the battle was already won. I've already given you
this victory, and Christ has given us our victory. So
(25:44):
go and take it. Surrender your life completely to the Lord,
because we share in Christ's victory. He died on the
cross for our sins, defeating the powers of sin and
death and hell, and he rose again on the third day,
and he lives and is coming again. Talk about walls
of Jericho falling down when they blew the trumpet and shouted,
(26:09):
there's coming a day. Another trumpet is going to south
and the shout and the voice of the archangel, and
Jesus is coming again and forever we are going to
share in his victory. Then. But it all begins now.
You can live in your victory and experience your miracle today.
And the greatest miracle is the miracle of salvation when
(26:31):
we are forgiven our sins. I tell you this, There's
no person that God cannot save. There's no problem that
God cannot save. There's no mountain that God cannot move.
There's no sickness that God cannot heal. There is no
wall that God cannot crush. There is no addiction that
God cannot destroy. There's no habit that God cannot enable
(26:54):
you to overcome. There is nothing in your life but
that God can do what he promised he would do,
and that is to give you victory in your life.
You can live the promised land life now by surrendering
your life to God.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
And that is today's power point. Remember when you give
a gift of ten dollars or more to PowerPoint. We'll
send you OS Hawkins devotional the Jesus Code as our thanks.
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 code to five nine
(27:38):
seven eight nine and join us again next time as
Doctor Graham brings a message about how you can protect
yourself from missing out on God's blessings. 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 a devotional on fifty two
questions every believer should answer. But first, here's the message.
Are you ready for a miracle?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Many of you do not know my story, But when
I was a college student Harden Simmons University, Deb and
I were married after my second year in college. We
were college sweethearts. She's from Mineral Wales, Texas. I'm from
Fort Worth. We met in Abilene at Hardened Simmons, fell
in love, got married that summer. It was great. We'd
(00:43):
just been married. Life was good. And my father was
mortally wounded and tragically died as a victim of violent
crime in August of nineteen seventy. So my father was murdered.
But the night that he died, after ten days after
being injured, never regaining consciousness, my family left. Davi had
(01:07):
gone with the car somewhere, and I don't know exactly
how I ended up by myself at the hospital wrapping
things up, and I didn't know what to do. I
just knew I needed God. Have you ever been in
that situation where you just knew there were questions, of course,
but I didn't have time for questions at that moment.
(01:27):
I just needed God. I heard too bad to ask
a bunch of questions, Why this and why that. I
went down to the chapel and it was dark, and
it of course was emotionally dark. And I can't tell
you exactly what happened in that room tonight that night,
but it was so powerful that I had an encounter
(01:49):
with God like few other times in my life. I
remember stretching myself out prostrate on the ground. Remember, I'm
a young preacher just getting started, and my dad, who
I love was my best friend in many ways, is
now gone brutally murdered. And I lay myself out and
(02:11):
just cried out to God. And God came into that
room that night. I didn't hear angel wings, I didn't
hear an audible voice, but the divine encounter that I
had with God that night set me up for the
rest of my life. What God did in me was
(02:32):
something that I will never forget, and everything that has
happened going forward as a result of a surrender that
I made that night to Him. And so, just to
review the ark of the Covenant, went with the children
of Israel, and inside were the tablets of Moses, the
Law of God, God's ten Commandments, the rod that budded
(02:54):
Aaron's rod, and the man a pot of manna that
God sustained them supernaturally in the desert. And so this
all in the Ark of the Covenant. So you had
God's precepts, the commandments. You had God's power in that
miracle of the rod that budded Aaron's rod, and then
you had God's provision the manner. And then most of
(03:16):
all with the Ark of the Covenant is the presence
of God. So just to pick you up, Remember, the
children of God have come out of Egypt. They're set free.
They spent forty years wandering because of unbelief in the wilderness,
in the desert. They became desert disciples. But all along
God had promised them a land. God had given them,
(03:36):
a land, he said, flowing with milk and honey. It
was a land of bounty, a land of beauty, a
land of blessing. It was God's land that he had
given his chosen people, Israel. And now having come through
the Jordan, the Ark of the Covenant led the way through.
They got on the other side, and now standing in
(03:57):
front of them a huge sign that says keep out
are the walls of Jericho. And this city of Jericho,
famous for its enormity. It was a large city in
the desert area of Israel. You can still go there today.
I've been to Jericho many times, and the ruins of
(04:20):
the walls of Jericho and the ancient city of Jericho
are being uncovered. And we know this miracle happened. And
the city existed in antiquity and in enormity, and in
iniquity because it was a vile city in so many ways,
full of idolatry and sacrificing of babies and extreme sexual
(04:40):
immorality that took place in that city, and they had
many opportunities to repent, but they did not. So now
the children of God, the people of God Israel, are
on the brink of this blessing. They are ready to
go in. But here are these walls. And they've never
passed this way before, like through the Jordan, But now
these stand in front of them. What a challenge. How
(05:04):
are they possibly going to get through the walls and
into the promised land. They had had a few skirmishes
in the desert, a few battles, but nothing like this,
this powerful city, fully protected. And now the Israelis are
(05:24):
wondering how we're ever going to do this, and Joshua,
General Joshua is feeling the same pressure. He's up early,
and he's prayed, and he's looking at this Jericho, this challenge.
Maybe you're looking at a challenge in your own life,
like the walls of Jericho, something that's going on in
(05:47):
your life, as though it were saying, keep out from
the blessing of God, stopping you from experiencing the abundance
that we have in Christ. Remember, the promised land is
not heaven, mus land is heaven on earth. In Christ,
it is the abundant life. It is the spirit filled life.
It is the victorious life that we have been promised
(06:08):
in Him. And God says, it's yours. Go take it,
Go take it, step into it. Every place the feet,
your feet touched, This is all ready yours. But now
they're looking at these walls and these enforcements in this
army that is in front of us. What a challenge.
And you may be looking at a great challenge in
your marriage and your home, with your kids, with your health,
(06:33):
it may be a diagnosis. It may be a darkness
in your life. It may be a distraction in your life.
I don't know what may be standing in front of you,
But like the walls of Jericho, it seems as you
are kept out and left out from going in and
experiencing the fullness and the fruitfulness and the freshness of
this life that you've been promised in Christ. And you
(06:55):
need a miracle. You need God to move, You need
a miracle in your life. The Bible is full of miracles,
and miracles still happened today. So in chapter five, verse
thirteen and fifteen, before the miracle comes, here's what has
to happen before God moves and the miracle takes place
(07:17):
in our lives. Here's what has to happen. What happened
to Joshua at Jericho. When Joshua was by Jericho, he
lifted up his eyes and he looked, and behold, a
man was standing before him with a drawn sword in
his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him,
are you for us or for our adversaries? And he
(07:37):
said no, but I am the commander of the army
of the Lord. Now I have come and Joshua fell
on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said
to him, what does my Lord say to his servant?
And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua,
take off your sandals from your feet, for the place
(07:58):
where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so. Now,
this is one of the mysteries of the Bible. Who
is this person who's standing before Joshua with drawn sword
in his hand? Who is this one? Well, Joshua first
(08:19):
supposed that it was an enemy. Are you for us
or against us? Could have been an adversary, but this
was not a human adversary. This was not a man
at all, a human being, So not an adversary, not
an apparation. Maybe you might be thinking, well, Joshua spent
a lot of time in the desert, and now he's hallucinating.
(08:39):
It's not an angel. Now, angels exist, as we're going
to see in just a moment, but we know that
this is not an angel, a warrior angel, and biblically,
angels are often portrayed in their powerful, warlike witness, and
they appear from time to time, And yet angels are
(09:01):
not allowed to accept worship because worship God only, so
angels are powerful, spiritual beings, created beings. I've written a
book about angels and the study of angels is again
one of the mysteries of the Bible. Is is so
very fascinating. And angels do exist. But this is not
(09:22):
an angel, because when Joshua fell down and worshiped at
the feet of this one, then that one accepted the
worship that was given. So there's only one option left,
isn't there? Who is this divine stranger? This was God,
(09:42):
the Son of God, Jesus himself, the commander of the
Lord's army. Theologically, we call this a theophany, is an
appearance of God of Christ, a preincarnent appearance of Jesus
in the Old Testament. That means that this is God
in the flesh. And we know that on several occasions
(10:05):
in the Old Testament Jesus made an appearance, like in
the Fiery Furnace one standing there with shadrack, mishak and
a bendigo. Like the Son of Man. He shows up
from time to time. You see, Jesus did not begin
to exist at Bethlehem, but he was chosen before the
foundation of the world. He is God, the creator in
(10:26):
the beginning was the word Jesus, and the word was
with God, and the word was God. And the same
was in the beginning with God. He was slaying the
lamb of God before the foundation of the world. So
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, forever, and he's not
limited by time or history or heaven or any of that.
So God chose to show up in the flesh from
(10:46):
time to time, and this is one of those instances.
This is Jesus, and he's the commander of the Lord's host,
and he shows up in the presence of Joshua before
the miracle would take place. What happened to Joshua must
(11:08):
happen to you and me. And you know what that is,
surrender before the victory comes, the surrender to the commander
of the Lord's armies.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
are you ready for a miracle? When you ask big
questions of God, you can trust he'll give you answers
that grow your faith and deepen your intimacy with Him.
In his devotional The Jesus Code, Os Hawkins helps you
uncover bold truths as you search for answers to life's
(11:43):
biggest questions. We want to send you a copy of
this powerful resource as thanks for your gift of ten dollars,
or more so, request your copy of the Jesus Code
when you call and give today call one eight hundred
seven ninety five four six two seven. That's why one
eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven. You
(12:04):
can also text the word code 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
(12:27):
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. Are you ready for
a miracle?
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Now? I like that phrase the commander of the Lord's
armies Because back to angels, angels are witnesses. They often
come bringing messages from God. In the Bible, angels are worshipers.
Their primary role in creation and throughout eternity is to
worship God and the beautiful powerful angels are great worshipers.
(13:04):
They're workers. Let me give you a few scriptures. Psalm
one hundred and three, Verses twenty and twenty one. Bless
the Lord, oh you his angels, you mighty ones who
do his word. Obey the voice of his word. Bless
the Lord all his hosts, hosts, the heavenly hosts. It
literally means angel armies, And here we discover the Lord
of angel armies, he ministers who do his will. Then
(13:26):
Psalm ninety one you should know ninety one, the ninety
first Psalm, and in verse eleven and twelve, for He
will command his angels concerning you to guard you in
all your ways, and on their hands they will bear
you up unless you strike your foot against a stone.
They're everywhere. You need to realize that all around us
is a spiritual world, an invisible world, an unseen world
(13:49):
that exists more real than the world we're in right now.
And in this world there are demon forces, fallen angels.
Lucifer himself, Satan is a fallen angel, the forces of
hell fallen. But these angelic beings that God has created,
and they are with us, and they are around us,
and they're serving God, and they're serving God's people Hebrews one,
(14:13):
verse fourteen. Are they not all these angels ministering spirits
sent out to serve for the sake of those who
inherit salvation? Have you inherited salvation? Do you know? Christ?
Then angels are present to protect you, to provide for
you in ways that you may never even know. But
this is not an angel. This is the captain of
(14:36):
the Lord's hosts. Are these warrior angels? Powerful and present?
Are these angels? But they are commanded by God himself.
Jesus commands them all. And the message are you ready
for a miracle? The message to Joshua is clear, I
(15:00):
am with you. Joshua is looking at these walls like
you may be looking at some obstacle, some difficulty, some danger,
some situation in your life. Joshua was looking at all
of that and wondering how the battle would be, how
they would ever get through there. And God shows up
and God says, I am with you, I am here,
(15:25):
and I am for you. We need to know that
God is near when we face our fears, when we
face those foes, when we fight our battles. We need
to know that God is present, that he was real.
What I experienced that night in that little room, that
little chapel, I know it was the presence of God
in that place, and I experienced something that I remember
(15:49):
to this day as a turning point in my life. Well,
this was a turning point for Joshua. And when we
cry out in the night and when it's dark, was
in Joshua's day. Here when we cry out, our Father
is there to comfort us. The Lord of Angel Armies,
(16:09):
who never lost a battle, is leading you forward in
your life, and he will be present in your darkest hour,
in your most difficult moment. That's when God shows up
in ways we could never imagine. When you're sick and
in a hospital room and you're laying there alone by yourself,
(16:33):
and the Lord of the Angel Army shows up for you.
It could be in the touch of the kindness and
the words of a friend who, like an angel, visits you.
It could be in scripture that God shows up. His
presence is real, and you're hurting, and yet in the
pain there comes a promise from God's word that maybe
(16:55):
you learned it long long ago, but the Holy Spirit
reminds you of that promise. And you can then remind
God of his promise. You know when how about when
your children come to you and they say something like
you know that you gave them a promise, and then
something happens, you don't get it done, your delay you
and then your kids say, what do they say? But
(17:17):
you said, God's children not arrogantly, but in awe can
come to him and say, God, you said, but you
said in your word that we are more than conquerors
through Jesus. You said, if God be for us, who
can be against us? You said, God, that I know
(17:38):
the plans concerning you, plans to give you a future
and a hope, you said, Lord. And maybe that's the
way that God shows up to you in such a
powerful way. Is through scripture, is through prayer, supplication. Is
it could be even in this sermon that God would
(17:59):
show up and speak to you because you're facing something
you don't know how to get through, you don't know
how to get over, and God showed up this morning.
And even in something that is said right now, you
know that the Lord is with you, that the Lord
is speaking to you, and he's giving you hope for
your future. This is a promise I will be with you.
There is no exception, no exception for the child of God.
(18:23):
So Joshua then ask a question, are you for us?
Are you an adversary? And the answer came, no, neither,
because I haven't come here to take size. I've come
here to take over. He's the captain of the Lord's host.
(18:48):
And what matters is not whose side God is in
the end God, Now God is on your side. If
God be for us, who can be against us? But
the question at this point is are you on the
Lord side? Who's on the Lord's side? That's what God
wanted to know, That's what Joshua needed to know. So
I'm not for you or against you. Sometimes people say
(19:10):
something like, well, you know what, God is my partner
in business. God's my partner. God doesn't want to be
your partner in your business. No, no, he's not your partner.
He's not an equal partner. He's not even a majority partner.
He's the Lord of life, the Lord of all. God
doesn't need you to be his partner. He could take
(19:31):
your business or whatever you're doing and do what only
God can do, and more than you could possibly do.
Sometimes we say, you know, well, God's my co pilot.
God's not going to be your co pilot. He's the pilot.
What Carrie Underwood's saying, Jesus, take the wheel, quit trying
(19:53):
to drive his car, and move your life. This is
what is happening to Joshua. And I really believe that
was what what's happening to me that dark night. It
was a time of surrender when I said, Lord, you
have my life, You have all of my life. Whatever
it is, Lord, I am yours. I am on your side.
(20:16):
It says when Joshua was by Jericho, look at it
again in verse thirteen. He lifted up his eyes and looked,
and behold, he saw the man, the man Christ, Jesus.
So you see what happens before the miracle can take place,
before the walls fall, is to get our eyes on Jesus.
(20:41):
Stop looking at your Jericho and start looking to Jesus,
who is the author and the finisher of your faith.
Look to Jesus. Oh Gland said, your problems. You got
to deal with problems. You can't change something until you
confront something. But glance at your problems and days at
(21:02):
the promises and the promised one Jesus himself. Don't be
looking at Jericho, because if you keep looking at your Jericho,
you're going to be discouraged and defeated. You start looking
to Jesus, and that's where the victory is found. It
happened to Paul and Silas. Paul and Silas were in jail,
in prison for preaching the gospel. And what happened Were
(21:23):
they whining and complaining. No, they were worshiping God at midnight.
This is all in Acts chapter sixteen. They're worshiping God
and all the prisoners are listening to them. And as
they're worshiping God, the walls began to fall shake an earthquake.
The walls fell down, and the chains fell all and
(21:45):
now they are free. And they tell the jailer about Jesus,
and his whole family comes to Christ. But I'm just
saying that when you find yourself at midnight in a
dark place and prison chains are binding you, whatever is
going on, lift up your eyes, Lift up your eyes
to Jesus, Get your eyes on him, because you're Jericho's
(22:08):
never going to fall until the commander of the Lord's
host takes command of your life and mind. And so
what is this old grizzled general Joshua do. Having seen
the Lord, he gets on his face before him. He
takes off his shoes. He knows he's on holy ground.
(22:31):
This isn't the desert any longer. This is God's ground,
This is holy ground. The presence of the Lord is here,
and he's worshiping the Lord. He was strong, he was mighty.
He came out of Egypt with Moses. He lashed all
through the desert and the wilderness. He was one of
the spies sent early on that said we can take
(22:51):
this land. Forty years earlier. He had to put up
with all the death and the dying and the wilderness
because somebody else, a bunch of other people, the majority
said we can't go. The jis are too big. And
he's put up with all this by now. He is
a strong and mighty man. But not too strong, not
too mighty, not too powerful, not so great, not so old,
(23:13):
not so sage that he would get on his face
before God. Can I tell you you're not strong enough,
You're not too strong, you're not too big, you're not
too great that you don't need to get on your
face before God in your life and worship him, which
means you give him your heart Joshua was a big man.
(23:36):
He was a powerful war hero, but not too big
that he knew that he didn't need to get on
his face before the King of Kings of the Lord
of Lord. So here's what we're saying today. If you
want the walls to fall down and the miracle to
take place in your life, then get on your knees.
When you are knocked off your feet, get down on
your knees, and then rise with the victory of Jesus
(23:58):
in your heart.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
are you ready for a Miracle? In the devotional The
Jesus Code, Os Hawkins invites you to ask fifty two
thought provoking questions found in the Bible that will help
you experience Jesus in deeper, more authentic ways than ever before.
As you dive into these questions, you'll discover that everything
(24:22):
we need can be found in a deepening relationship with
Jesus Christ. We want to help you uncover bold truths
in the search for answers to life's biggest questions by
sending you the Jesus Code as our thanks for your
gift of ten dollars or more to help proclaim God's
unchanging word through PowerPoint. So call now to request your
copy of the Jesus Code. Call one eight hundred seven
(24:46):
ninety five four six two seven. That's one eight hundred
seven ninety five four six two seven. You can also
text the word code to five nine seven eight nine,
And don't forget to visit j dot org, where you
can shop our eastore, give a gift online, or sign
up for doctor Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website
(25:09):
again is Jack Graham dot org, and also be sure
to sign up for doctor Graham's podcast Bible in a Year.
Here's Pastor Graham with today's PowerPoint.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Notice what happens in chapter six, verse two. And the
Lord said to Joshua, see, I have given you Jericho
into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.
So the battle was already won. I've already given you
this victory, and Christ has given us our victory. So
(25:44):
go and take it. Surrender your life completely to the Lord,
because we share in Christ's victory. He died on the
cross for our sins, defeating the powers of sin and
death and hell, and he rose again on the third day,
and he lives and is coming again. Talk about walls
of Jericho falling down when they blew the trumpet and shouted,
(26:09):
there's coming a day. Another trumpet is going to south
and the shout and the voice of the archangel, and
Jesus is coming again and forever we are going to
share in his victory. Then. But it all begins now.
You can live in your victory and experience your miracle today.
And the greatest miracle is the miracle of salvation when
(26:31):
we are forgiven our sins. I tell you this, There's
no person that God cannot save. There's no problem that
God cannot save. There's no mountain that God cannot move.
There's no sickness that God cannot heal. There is no
wall that God cannot crush. There is no addiction that
God cannot destroy. There's no habit that God cannot enable
(26:54):
you to overcome. There is nothing in your life but
that God can do what he promised he would do,
and that is to give you victory in your life.
You can live the promised land life now by surrendering
your life to God.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
And that is today's power point. Remember when you give
a gift of ten dollars or more to PowerPoint. We'll
send you OS Hawkins devotional the Jesus Code as our thanks.
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 code to five nine
(27:38):
seven eight nine and join us again next time as
Doctor Graham brings a message about how you can protect
yourself from missing out on God's blessings. That's next time
on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is
sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
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