June 5, 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 Angels. But first,
here's the message. The rules for the.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Read Hebrews chapter twelve. Let's start at verse twelve. Therefore,
lift your drooping hands, and strengthen your weak knees, and
make straight pass for your feet, so that what is
lame may not be put out of joint, but rather healed.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Strive for peace with.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Everyone, and for the holiness, without which no one will
see the Lord.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Verse fifty.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
See to it that no one fails to obtain the
grace of God, literally that you fall short of God's grace.
More about that later, That no root of bitterness springs
up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.
(01:10):
That no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau,
who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you
know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing,
he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent,
though he sought it with tears. So, for all you
(01:32):
road warriors out there, what are the rules for the
race there's some terminology here that sounds like coach speech.
You know what coach speech is, right when you read
words like lift up your drooping hands and make straight
your paths, and that word in verse fourteen, strive. That
(01:56):
word is a sweaty word, is a word which means
to press, to to persevere, to give it everything you've
got to give it, every ounce in every inch, every fiber,
everything you have to strive for these things. See to
it in verse fifteen is something like you might tell
your children. So that's the kind of speech that we're
(02:16):
getting here. When it says see to it, do this,
strive for this, it's coach them up speech. But it's
God speaking and hear are the rules? Rule number one?
Stay strong and keep straight. Stay strong and straight. Look
again at verse twelve. Therefore, lift your drooping hands and
(02:38):
strengthen your weak knees.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Now this is a visual right because if you're.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
A runner, if you're getting tired, one of the first
things that happens is you drop your hands.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Same things happens on a football field if.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Your alignment and you're getting tired. You've been sweating it
out in the trenches all game. So often coaches will
tell those players, get your hands up, because the first
thing that starts happening is your hands dropped. So a
runner should run in rhythm, those hands moving. But as
you get more and more tired, those hands may start
drooping and dragging. And then he says, strengthen those wobbly
(03:17):
or weak knees. The first thing that goes in an athlete,
as an athlete ages, are the legs. So he's talking
about the knees, wobbly, weak knees.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
And have you ever seen.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
One of these marathons someone coming in on the race
and they're so out of gas, out of juice, that
their knees are literally wobbling. They're exhausted, and they're coming
in trying to get to the finish line. Well, what
God is saying here to all the road warriors, He's saying,
stay strong, persevere, get your hands up. When I get
(03:54):
to heaven, I don't want to go limping or lagging
into heaven. I want to go leaping, finishing with a
flourish with my hands held high in victory, don't you.
And that's spiritually speaking. Physically we may grow tired, but
inwardly our faith should grow.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Stronger and stronger.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Get your hands up, get your legs strong again. He said, well,
I'm not that strong. I am getting tired. There is
some disappointment in my life. I'm discouraged right today, Pastor
what am I supposed to do? He will strengthen your hands,
he will strengthen your legs. So many passages Bible verses
(04:38):
that call us to be strengthened in the inner person,
in the inner life. Paul said, the outward person is declining,
but he said the inner person is renewed every single day.
So if we're running in the spirit, if the spirit
of God is propelling us, we can get our hands up,
(04:59):
we can get our heads up, our eyes on Christ,
our eyes on the prize, and we can keep running.
Don't fold, don't flee, h don't fall when fatigue sets in.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Keep going. That's what he's saying.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I refuse to lose to the devil's game of discouragement
and defeatism.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Don't let the devil have that space.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
You know you can, if you're an athlete or a
former athlete, you can smell it, you can see it
when your opponent was beaten, when you had them down,
because you know what happened the head gets down, the
hands get down, the knees get weak, and when you
see discouragement, you know.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
You got them right there.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Don't let the devil see that in you. Don't let
the devil sense that you are allowing his deception and
discouragement to defeat you.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Stay strong.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
But not only did he say stay strong, he said straight,
Stay strong.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Stay straight.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Look again at verse thirteen, and make straight paths for
your feet, and so that what is laying may not
be put out a joint, but rather healed.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
What does that mean?
Speaker 2 (06:15):
That means run straight down the path, not zigging and zagging,
but run straight down the path. Run in your own lane,
don't take detours, but get in your.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Lane and run and do what God.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Has caused you to do. God has not called you
to do what someone else can do. God is only
calling you and commanding you to do what you can do,
and that is to run your race. Don't compare yourself
with others, don't criticize what others are doing. But get
in your lane, get your eyes on the Lord Jesus,
and run a straight path. I like the proverb which says,
(06:49):
ponder the path of your feet, So get your hands up,
get your knees strong and your feet strength, and run
the race with your eyes on Jesus. Ultimately, it's all
about the hope, because we're running to heaven, not to
(07:12):
gain heaven that's already promised to us, but because of
heaven and the promise and the hope that we know
that there is a prize ahead, there's a reward ahead.
We can keep going because our purpose is clear. We
could persevere through the pain. When we know our purpose
and we know our destination. We can handle any today
(07:32):
when we know our tomorrow is settled in Christ. So
run to heaven and again, not just to get there.
You say, well, I don't really need a reward. I
don't need a prize. I mean, just give me a
little hut on the backside of heaven somewhere and I'll
be happy.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
No, the Bible tells us that we're to run for
the reward.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Jesus has promised a reward for those who are faithful
to him, who serve him, who give their all to Him.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
And the Scripture says that we're going to take these.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Crowns, these rewards, the prize that Christ has given to
us when we win, and we're going delay them.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
At Jesus' feak, I want one, don't you.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
I want to honor Christ with my life and throughout
all eternity, to celebrate the victories that we have gained
in Him. So yes, you want to run for the
reward and don't give up hope, because you never know
how close you are to the finish line.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
You never know how close you are to the breakthrough.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Some of you are discouraged, disappointment, disappointed. You feel like
you're treading water. You feel like you're never going to
get there. You're struggling. You've prayed and the prayers haven't
been answered at least the way you expect them to
be answered, and you're just struggling and you're getting disappointed.
Keep your eyes on the horizon, keep your eyes on
(08:54):
the heavenly shore, keep your eyes on Jesus, because if
you'll keep going strong the Lord and in the power
of His mind, it's going to happen sooner than you expect.
So often, the breakthroughs we need in our life, the
blessings that we're praying for in our lives, we're closer
than we can possibly imagine, and so often people quit
too soon. Don't quit stay strong and stay straight. That's
(09:22):
the first rule for the road. Refuse to lose, keep going.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
the Rules for the Road. In his book Angels, doctor
Graham takes you through scripture to explore how angels serve, protect,
and point us to the power of our Savior. We
want to send you this powerful book today to thank
you for your generous gift to help PowerPoint end this
(09:48):
current year of ministry on June thirtieth as strong as possible.
This is so important. A two hundred thousand dollars matching
grant has been offered by generous friends, which means every
do you give through June thirtieth will be doubled. Call
one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
That's one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
(10:12):
You can also text the word angels 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 want to
send you a digital download of Breaking Free from Stress
(10:33):
when you sign 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, the
rules for the road.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Let me ask you before we move to the next rule.
Are you running hard? Are you running strong and straight?
How you doing in the race? That's number one. Rule
Number two is to pursue peace and purity. Pursue peace
and purity. Look again at verse fourteen. Verse fourteen says strive.
(11:11):
It means to give it your all, give it your best,
press on for what for peace with everyone, that includes
those who are believers and those who are unbelievers. Pursue peace.
In other words, and this is plural in the way
(11:34):
that is written. This is a plural tense. So it
means that we not only run the race, but we
run the race together. One way a team can lose
is to be divided. It's very important for a coach,
for a manager of a ball team to make sure
that his team is together, that they're pulling on the
(11:57):
same end of the rope, that they're working together, that
they're run together. And so this is not a solo run.
This is a run together, and we're to strive for
peace with everyone, peace and the harmony of the church.
I've seen so many churches fail because of division within
the ranks, that they can't get the job done of
winning their communities for Christ because they're constantly fighting one another.
(12:21):
We can't score because we're running over our own teammates
and we have no peace. It can divide a community,
it can divide a nation. It can divide a church,
of course, it can divide a home, a family, a marriage.
So what we're to do is we are to strive,
work hard, do everything possible for peace. You say you
(12:46):
can't always have peace. That's exactly right. The Bible's very
honest about that. In fact, in Romans chapter twelve and
verse eighteen, look at this, if possible, so far as
it depends on you, live peaceable with alle got that say,
got it?
Speaker 3 (13:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (13:05):
And as much as it's on you, as much as
it is possible for you to be a peacemaker, Jesus said, blessed.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Are the peacemakers.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Don't be a trouble maker in your neighborhood, in your community,
in your church.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Be always a peace maker.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
And run the race pursuing peace and then pursuing purity.
Isaiah chapter thirty five talks about the highway to holiness.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
That this highway is a highway to holiness. What does
that mean?
Speaker 2 (13:39):
That we're running in purity and in faith on this
highway of holiness.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Now something you really need to know that.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Holiness, living a holy life, living a godly life, living
a good life, living a righteous life. That holiness is
not the way to Jesus. Jesus is the way to holiness.
Jesus is the way to Godness. I don't get to
Jesus by just trying my best to live a self
(14:15):
righteous life or a holier life. I fail. God's the
Holy God. We fall short of the glory of God.
We can never achieve that for ourselves. So we don't
run for the holiness. We run in Christ and the
power of Christ. We run to Jesus and He gives
us to all the holiness and all the purity that
(14:35):
we need. Right in the same passage of the Beatitudes,
when Jesus said, blessed are the peacemakers. In that same text,
he also said, blessed are the pure in spirit, for
they shall see God. So when it says without holiness,
you can't see God. It means that the glory of God,
(14:57):
the greatness of God, God's reality and in your that's what
we're to run for, and we're to run for it
to live a godly life. I've been memorizing a passage
in One Timothy chapter six, when Paul is talking to
his young protegee Timothy, and he says, but as for you,
oh man.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Of God, you.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Flee these things. Flee the things that are evil and wrong,
and pursue what pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, kindness, steadfastness,
fight the fight of faith, and lay hold of eternal life,
(15:40):
which you have confessed before many witnesses. You see, God
has called us to victory in Jesus. And therefore we
are to pursue peace as much as possible with everyone.
We are to pursue purity, make every effort to do it.
(16:02):
And then, thirdly, the next rule is go on in
grace verse fifteen. See it, God says, see to it
that no one fails to obtain the grace of God.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Now, what on earth does that mean? How is it possible.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
To fall short of the grace of God, to miss
the grace of God. To not obtain the grace of God.
I thought everyone he was saved had been given grace. Absolutely, yes,
But here's the thing. Grace is not only for knowing Christ.
(16:44):
It's growing in Christ. We are saved by grace, for
by grace through faith that not of ourselves, the gift
of God. We have eternal life. So we're saved by grace.
But that doesn't end it. That only begins it. We
are to be strong in grace. We're sustained by grace.
We're strengthened by grace. There's living grace, there's dying grace.
(17:07):
There's grace for every day. The Bible talks about grace,
grace and more grace, Grace abundant, no wonder we call
grace amazing because grace keeps coming, and grace is available
as well as abundant. So we need to keep laying
hold of the grace of God and not fall short.
(17:27):
It's kind of a picture of a ballplayer running back
falling short of the goal line, getting tackled on the
half yard line. Maybe someone in a race again that
veers off at the last minute, that doesn't need the
grace of God in some way in.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Their life, and therefore they're out of the race. Say, okay,
give me something practical. How does that work? All right?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Here's an example. When we sin against God and we
do our missteps, our mistakes, our sins, our failures, even
if we fall in the race is available, abundant grace
is available. But if we go down and we stay down,
(18:08):
and especially when we sin, if we try to cover
our sin or cherish our sin, keep it to ourselves,
that's a fail. We're not experiencing the grace of God.
We may then experience the discipline of God.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
If you.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Sin against God and you refuse to give it up,
or you refuse to open up what we cover God uncovers.
Whoever covers his sin will not be blessed, But whoever
(18:48):
confesses it and forsakes it, God will bless And so
what we cover God uncovers. We've seen that many times
and even in news reports, haven't we But what we
uncover when we're honest with God, he covers by his blood,
by his grace. He covers our sin and cleanses us
(19:10):
from sin. But see, as long as you are living
in unrepentant, unconfessed sin, you're falling short. You're not experiencing
the grace of God in your life as a believer.
So many I've met through the years live in not
in grace. They live in guilt and shame. You don't
(19:31):
have to live in guilt, and you don't have to
live in shame. You can live in the grace of God.
I want to move to the next point. Well, before
I do, I want to show you what Philips paraphrase
this verse because it helps us understand it. Be careful
that none of you fails to respond to the grace
which God gives, for if he does, there can very
easily spring up in him a bitter spirit. So that's
(19:54):
the next rule in the race. That is, ban your bitterness.
Talked earlier in Hebrews twelve about getting rid of any
sin or any weight that holds us back. And bitterness
is a sin in our lives that can defeat us
(20:16):
and even defeat our teammates around us.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Now, what is bitterness?
Speaker 2 (20:22):
If I was defining bitterness, I would describe bitterness as
anger turned inward. Now, most people don't want to confess bitterness.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
No, I'm not bitter, I'm not mad.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
It's kind of a secret sin. It's a sleeper sin.
It's why it's called a root of bitterness. You know,
you can't see the root. You see the fruit, but
you don't see the root. So it's an inside job,
this thing of bitterness, and ultimately it can affect your
character and your relationships, not only your countenance, but your character,
the choices that you make in life. It leads to trouble,
(20:57):
that's what he says. This thing leads to trumble, all
kinds of trouble in your life and the lives of
those around us. Nobody likes being around a miserable, angry,
bitter person, somebody who's constantly negative. And there's so many
people who live like this. And I'm not just talking
about unbelievers. I'm talking about some believers who have been
(21:19):
embittered in life and the embitteredness is embedded in them.
It can affect you physically, causing heart disease and high
blood pressure internalizing this anger constantly.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Emotionally. Did you know that's what really is the root.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Cause of depression is the sense of loss because someone
has insulted you, someone has hurt you, someone has said
the wrong thing, done the wrong thing, and they may
not even know they've hurt you, or maybe they do,
maybe they purposely hurt you. Your husband walked away and
hurt you, and you're angry and you're bitter. Life cheated
(22:02):
on you and you're angry about that. You know you,
young people can can get better. We have a very
unhappy generation of young people right now, teenagers who are
all tied to their technology but untied from real relationships.
And a lot of kids are angry and it's just
(22:25):
festering and ultimately they'll start flowing out because you can't
keep it. Someone said that that bitterness is an acid
that will destroy its own container. Well, someone else said
that acid or bitterness is the poison that you give
to others, and the poison that you drink give to
(22:46):
others actually poisons yourself. It's toxic, it's terrible, it's troubling
in your life. You can't win with this sin. It's baggage.
You've got to get rid of it. Say so, how
do I get rid of this bitterness? God's grace and forgiveness,
(23:08):
because forgiven people forgive people.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
You say, well, you don't know what that person did
to me. No, I don't.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
And I know there's some people who have been hurt,
bitterly hurt. But I do know what they did to Jesus.
I do know that they mocked him and spat on
him and beat him and nailed him to a cross.
And yet Jesus cried out, Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
The spirit of Christ is the spirit of forgiveness. I can't,
but he can't.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
And the only way to defeat bitterness in your life
is to forgive, to give grace to those who don't
even deserve. Well, they don't deserve it, of course, not
if they deserved it, it wouldn't be grace. So are you
willing if you want to win? If you want to
win this race? Are you willing to get rid of
anything in your life? The bitterness that is there that
(24:06):
keeps you from winning. The cure for bitterness is the
grace of God. Don't fall short of that. You know
what forgiveness is. Forgiveness is giving up my rights to
hurt you for hurting me. That's forgiveness. So persevere, press on,
(24:29):
stay strong and straight and true, go on in grace,
pursue peace and purity. Ban all bitterness or anything else
in your life that can slow you down, and strive
for the prize.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
the Rules for the Road. On June thirtieth, we will
close our books on another year of ministry, and it's
critical we end strong. That's why generous friends have stepped
forward with the two hundred thousand dollars matching grant, which
means every dollar you give by June thirtieth will be doubled.
Your gift to help meet this grant in full is
(25:08):
so important. We'll send you doctor Graham's powerful book Angels.
It's our special gift and thank you to you. This
encouraging book reveals what Scripture says about God's messengers and
how their presence reminds us that Heaven is always near.
Request your copy when you call and gift today. Call
one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
(25:31):
That's one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
You can also text the word Angels to five nine
seven eight nine. That's Angels to five nine seven eight nine.
And don't forget to visit Jack Graham dot org, where
you can shop our East store, give a gift online,
or sign up for doctor Graham's free daily email devotional.
(25:52):
Our website again 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 2 (26:05):
I want you to know how grateful I am for
you and your support of PowerPoint, your prayers and certainly
we need your prayers that the Gospel would go forward
and the Word of God would communicate with this generation
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(26:26):
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We hear from people every single day. I meet people
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(26:50):
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Speaker 3 (26:56):
So thank you. If you're a regular giver, if you're a.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Partner with us and giving to PowerPoint, thank you and
thank you so very much. If you haven't yet given
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Please consider your gift today and we will invest it
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Speaker 1 (27:18):
And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember when you give a
gift of ten dollars or more to Powerpoints, we'll send
you doctor Graham's book Angels 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 Angels to five nine
(27:40):
seven eight nine and join us again next time when
doctor Graham brings a message about how you can pursue
a lifestyle of love. That's next time on PowerPoint with
Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministry.
Say
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 Angels. But first,
here's the message. The rules for the.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Read Hebrews chapter twelve. Let's start at verse twelve. Therefore,
lift your drooping hands, and strengthen your weak knees, and
make straight pass for your feet, so that what is
lame may not be put out of joint, but rather healed.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Strive for peace with.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Everyone, and for the holiness, without which no one will
see the Lord.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Verse fifty.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
See to it that no one fails to obtain the
grace of God, literally that you fall short of God's grace.
More about that later, That no root of bitterness springs
up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.
(01:10):
That no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau,
who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you
know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing,
he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent,
though he sought it with tears. So, for all you
(01:32):
road warriors out there, what are the rules for the
race there's some terminology here that sounds like coach speech.
You know what coach speech is, right when you read
words like lift up your drooping hands and make straight
your paths, and that word in verse fourteen, strive. That
(01:56):
word is a sweaty word, is a word which means
to press, to to persevere, to give it everything you've
got to give it, every ounce in every inch, every fiber,
everything you have to strive for these things. See to
it in verse fifteen is something like you might tell
your children. So that's the kind of speech that we're
(02:16):
getting here. When it says see to it, do this,
strive for this, it's coach them up speech. But it's
God speaking and hear are the rules? Rule number one?
Stay strong and keep straight. Stay strong and straight. Look
again at verse twelve. Therefore, lift your drooping hands and
(02:38):
strengthen your weak knees.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Now this is a visual right because if you're.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
A runner, if you're getting tired, one of the first
things that happens is you drop your hands.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Same things happens on a football field if.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Your alignment and you're getting tired. You've been sweating it
out in the trenches all game. So often coaches will
tell those players, get your hands up, because the first
thing that starts happening is your hands dropped. So a
runner should run in rhythm, those hands moving. But as
you get more and more tired, those hands may start
drooping and dragging. And then he says, strengthen those wobbly
(03:17):
or weak knees. The first thing that goes in an athlete,
as an athlete ages, are the legs. So he's talking
about the knees, wobbly, weak knees.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
And have you ever seen.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
One of these marathons someone coming in on the race
and they're so out of gas, out of juice, that
their knees are literally wobbling. They're exhausted, and they're coming
in trying to get to the finish line. Well, what
God is saying here to all the road warriors, He's saying,
stay strong, persevere, get your hands up. When I get
(03:54):
to heaven, I don't want to go limping or lagging
into heaven. I want to go leaping, finishing with a
flourish with my hands held high in victory, don't you.
And that's spiritually speaking. Physically we may grow tired, but
inwardly our faith should grow.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Stronger and stronger.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Get your hands up, get your legs strong again. He said, well,
I'm not that strong. I am getting tired. There is
some disappointment in my life. I'm discouraged right today, Pastor
what am I supposed to do? He will strengthen your hands,
he will strengthen your legs. So many passages Bible verses
(04:38):
that call us to be strengthened in the inner person,
in the inner life. Paul said, the outward person is declining,
but he said the inner person is renewed every single day.
So if we're running in the spirit, if the spirit
of God is propelling us, we can get our hands up,
(04:59):
we can get our heads up, our eyes on Christ,
our eyes on the prize, and we can keep running.
Don't fold, don't flee, h don't fall when fatigue sets in.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Keep going. That's what he's saying.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
I refuse to lose to the devil's game of discouragement
and defeatism.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Don't let the devil have that space.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
You know you can, if you're an athlete or a
former athlete, you can smell it, you can see it
when your opponent was beaten, when you had them down,
because you know what happened the head gets down, the
hands get down, the knees get weak, and when you
see discouragement, you know.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
You got them right there.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Don't let the devil see that in you. Don't let
the devil sense that you are allowing his deception and
discouragement to defeat you.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Stay strong.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
But not only did he say stay strong, he said straight,
Stay strong.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Stay straight.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Look again at verse thirteen, and make straight paths for
your feet, and so that what is laying may not
be put out a joint, but rather healed.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
What does that mean?
Speaker 2 (06:15):
That means run straight down the path, not zigging and zagging,
but run straight down the path. Run in your own lane,
don't take detours, but get in your.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Lane and run and do what God.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Has caused you to do. God has not called you
to do what someone else can do. God is only
calling you and commanding you to do what you can do,
and that is to run your race. Don't compare yourself
with others, don't criticize what others are doing. But get
in your lane, get your eyes on the Lord Jesus,
and run a straight path. I like the proverb which says,
(06:49):
ponder the path of your feet, So get your hands up,
get your knees strong and your feet strength, and run
the race with your eyes on Jesus. Ultimately, it's all
about the hope, because we're running to heaven, not to
(07:12):
gain heaven that's already promised to us, but because of
heaven and the promise and the hope that we know
that there is a prize ahead, there's a reward ahead.
We can keep going because our purpose is clear. We
could persevere through the pain. When we know our purpose
and we know our destination. We can handle any today
(07:32):
when we know our tomorrow is settled in Christ. So
run to heaven and again, not just to get there.
You say, well, I don't really need a reward. I
don't need a prize. I mean, just give me a
little hut on the backside of heaven somewhere and I'll
be happy.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
No, the Bible tells us that we're to run for
the reward.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Jesus has promised a reward for those who are faithful
to him, who serve him, who give their all to Him.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
And the Scripture says that we're going to take these.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Crowns, these rewards, the prize that Christ has given to
us when we win, and we're going delay them.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
At Jesus' feak, I want one, don't you.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
I want to honor Christ with my life and throughout
all eternity, to celebrate the victories that we have gained
in Him. So yes, you want to run for the
reward and don't give up hope, because you never know
how close you are to the finish line.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
You never know how close you are to the breakthrough.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Some of you are discouraged, disappointment, disappointed. You feel like
you're treading water. You feel like you're never going to
get there. You're struggling. You've prayed and the prayers haven't
been answered at least the way you expect them to
be answered, and you're just struggling and you're getting disappointed.
Keep your eyes on the horizon, keep your eyes on
(08:54):
the heavenly shore, keep your eyes on Jesus, because if
you'll keep going strong the Lord and in the power
of His mind, it's going to happen sooner than you expect.
So often, the breakthroughs we need in our life, the
blessings that we're praying for in our lives, we're closer
than we can possibly imagine, and so often people quit
too soon. Don't quit stay strong and stay straight. That's
(09:22):
the first rule for the road. Refuse to lose, keep going.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
the Rules for the Road. In his book Angels, doctor
Graham takes you through scripture to explore how angels serve, protect,
and point us to the power of our Savior. We
want to send you this powerful book today to thank
you for your generous gift to help PowerPoint end this
(09:48):
current year of ministry on June thirtieth as strong as possible.
This is so important. A two hundred thousand dollars matching
grant has been offered by generous friends, which means every
do you give through June thirtieth will be doubled. Call
one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
That's one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
(10:12):
You can also text the word angels 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 want to
send you a digital download of Breaking Free from Stress
(10:33):
when you sign 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, the
rules for the road.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Let me ask you before we move to the next rule.
Are you running hard? Are you running strong and straight?
How you doing in the race? That's number one. Rule
Number two is to pursue peace and purity. Pursue peace
and purity. Look again at verse fourteen. Verse fourteen says strive.
(11:11):
It means to give it your all, give it your best,
press on for what for peace with everyone, that includes
those who are believers and those who are unbelievers. Pursue peace.
In other words, and this is plural in the way
(11:34):
that is written. This is a plural tense. So it
means that we not only run the race, but we
run the race together. One way a team can lose
is to be divided. It's very important for a coach,
for a manager of a ball team to make sure
that his team is together, that they're pulling on the
(11:57):
same end of the rope, that they're working together, that
they're run together. And so this is not a solo run.
This is a run together, and we're to strive for
peace with everyone, peace and the harmony of the church.
I've seen so many churches fail because of division within
the ranks, that they can't get the job done of
winning their communities for Christ because they're constantly fighting one another.
(12:21):
We can't score because we're running over our own teammates
and we have no peace. It can divide a community,
it can divide a nation. It can divide a church,
of course, it can divide a home, a family, a marriage.
So what we're to do is we are to strive,
work hard, do everything possible for peace. You say you
(12:46):
can't always have peace. That's exactly right. The Bible's very
honest about that. In fact, in Romans chapter twelve and
verse eighteen, look at this, if possible, so far as
it depends on you, live peaceable with alle got that say,
got it?
Speaker 3 (13:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (13:05):
And as much as it's on you, as much as
it is possible for you to be a peacemaker, Jesus said, blessed.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Are the peacemakers.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Don't be a trouble maker in your neighborhood, in your community,
in your church.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Be always a peace maker.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
And run the race pursuing peace and then pursuing purity.
Isaiah chapter thirty five talks about the highway to holiness.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
That this highway is a highway to holiness. What does
that mean?
Speaker 2 (13:39):
That we're running in purity and in faith on this
highway of holiness.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Now something you really need to know that.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Holiness, living a holy life, living a godly life, living
a good life, living a righteous life. That holiness is
not the way to Jesus. Jesus is the way to holiness.
Jesus is the way to Godness. I don't get to
Jesus by just trying my best to live a self
(14:15):
righteous life or a holier life. I fail. God's the
Holy God. We fall short of the glory of God.
We can never achieve that for ourselves. So we don't
run for the holiness. We run in Christ and the
power of Christ. We run to Jesus and He gives
us to all the holiness and all the purity that
(14:35):
we need. Right in the same passage of the Beatitudes,
when Jesus said, blessed are the peacemakers. In that same text,
he also said, blessed are the pure in spirit, for
they shall see God. So when it says without holiness,
you can't see God. It means that the glory of God,
(14:57):
the greatness of God, God's reality and in your that's what
we're to run for, and we're to run for it
to live a godly life. I've been memorizing a passage
in One Timothy chapter six, when Paul is talking to
his young protegee Timothy, and he says, but as for you,
oh man.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Of God, you.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Flee these things. Flee the things that are evil and wrong,
and pursue what pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, kindness, steadfastness,
fight the fight of faith, and lay hold of eternal life,
(15:40):
which you have confessed before many witnesses. You see, God
has called us to victory in Jesus. And therefore we
are to pursue peace as much as possible with everyone.
We are to pursue purity, make every effort to do it.
(16:02):
And then, thirdly, the next rule is go on in
grace verse fifteen. See it, God says, see to it
that no one fails to obtain the grace of God.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Now, what on earth does that mean? How is it possible.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
To fall short of the grace of God, to miss
the grace of God. To not obtain the grace of God.
I thought everyone he was saved had been given grace. Absolutely, yes,
But here's the thing. Grace is not only for knowing Christ.
(16:44):
It's growing in Christ. We are saved by grace, for
by grace through faith that not of ourselves, the gift
of God. We have eternal life. So we're saved by grace.
But that doesn't end it. That only begins it. We
are to be strong in grace. We're sustained by grace.
We're strengthened by grace. There's living grace, there's dying grace.
(17:07):
There's grace for every day. The Bible talks about grace,
grace and more grace, Grace abundant, no wonder we call
grace amazing because grace keeps coming, and grace is available
as well as abundant. So we need to keep laying
hold of the grace of God and not fall short.
(17:27):
It's kind of a picture of a ballplayer running back
falling short of the goal line, getting tackled on the
half yard line. Maybe someone in a race again that
veers off at the last minute, that doesn't need the
grace of God in some way in.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Their life, and therefore they're out of the race. Say, okay,
give me something practical. How does that work? All right?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Here's an example. When we sin against God and we
do our missteps, our mistakes, our sins, our failures, even
if we fall in the race is available, abundant grace
is available. But if we go down and we stay down,
(18:08):
and especially when we sin, if we try to cover
our sin or cherish our sin, keep it to ourselves,
that's a fail. We're not experiencing the grace of God.
We may then experience the discipline of God.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
If you.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Sin against God and you refuse to give it up,
or you refuse to open up what we cover God uncovers.
Whoever covers his sin will not be blessed, But whoever
(18:48):
confesses it and forsakes it, God will bless And so
what we cover God uncovers. We've seen that many times
and even in news reports, haven't we But what we
uncover when we're honest with God, he covers by his blood,
by his grace. He covers our sin and cleanses us
(19:10):
from sin. But see, as long as you are living
in unrepentant, unconfessed sin, you're falling short. You're not experiencing
the grace of God in your life as a believer.
So many I've met through the years live in not
in grace. They live in guilt and shame. You don't
(19:31):
have to live in guilt, and you don't have to
live in shame. You can live in the grace of God.
I want to move to the next point. Well, before
I do, I want to show you what Philips paraphrase
this verse because it helps us understand it. Be careful
that none of you fails to respond to the grace
which God gives, for if he does, there can very
easily spring up in him a bitter spirit. So that's
(19:54):
the next rule in the race. That is, ban your bitterness.
Talked earlier in Hebrews twelve about getting rid of any
sin or any weight that holds us back. And bitterness
is a sin in our lives that can defeat us
(20:16):
and even defeat our teammates around us.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Now, what is bitterness?
Speaker 2 (20:22):
If I was defining bitterness, I would describe bitterness as
anger turned inward. Now, most people don't want to confess bitterness.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
No, I'm not bitter, I'm not mad.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
It's kind of a secret sin. It's a sleeper sin.
It's why it's called a root of bitterness. You know,
you can't see the root. You see the fruit, but
you don't see the root. So it's an inside job,
this thing of bitterness, and ultimately it can affect your
character and your relationships, not only your countenance, but your character,
the choices that you make in life. It leads to trouble,
(20:57):
that's what he says. This thing leads to trumble, all
kinds of trouble in your life and the lives of
those around us. Nobody likes being around a miserable, angry,
bitter person, somebody who's constantly negative. And there's so many
people who live like this. And I'm not just talking
about unbelievers. I'm talking about some believers who have been
(21:19):
embittered in life and the embitteredness is embedded in them.
It can affect you physically, causing heart disease and high
blood pressure internalizing this anger constantly.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Emotionally. Did you know that's what really is the root.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Cause of depression is the sense of loss because someone
has insulted you, someone has hurt you, someone has said
the wrong thing, done the wrong thing, and they may
not even know they've hurt you, or maybe they do,
maybe they purposely hurt you. Your husband walked away and
hurt you, and you're angry and you're bitter. Life cheated
(22:02):
on you and you're angry about that. You know you,
young people can can get better. We have a very
unhappy generation of young people right now, teenagers who are
all tied to their technology but untied from real relationships.
And a lot of kids are angry and it's just
(22:25):
festering and ultimately they'll start flowing out because you can't
keep it. Someone said that that bitterness is an acid
that will destroy its own container. Well, someone else said
that acid or bitterness is the poison that you give
to others, and the poison that you drink give to
(22:46):
others actually poisons yourself. It's toxic, it's terrible, it's troubling
in your life. You can't win with this sin. It's baggage.
You've got to get rid of it. Say so, how
do I get rid of this bitterness? God's grace and forgiveness,
(23:08):
because forgiven people forgive people.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
You say, well, you don't know what that person did
to me. No, I don't.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
And I know there's some people who have been hurt,
bitterly hurt. But I do know what they did to Jesus.
I do know that they mocked him and spat on
him and beat him and nailed him to a cross.
And yet Jesus cried out, Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
The spirit of Christ is the spirit of forgiveness. I can't,
but he can't.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
And the only way to defeat bitterness in your life
is to forgive, to give grace to those who don't
even deserve. Well, they don't deserve it, of course, not
if they deserved it, it wouldn't be grace. So are you
willing if you want to win? If you want to
win this race? Are you willing to get rid of
anything in your life? The bitterness that is there that
(24:06):
keeps you from winning. The cure for bitterness is the
grace of God. Don't fall short of that. You know
what forgiveness is. Forgiveness is giving up my rights to
hurt you for hurting me. That's forgiveness. So persevere, press on,
(24:29):
stay strong and straight and true, go on in grace,
pursue peace and purity. Ban all bitterness or anything else
in your life that can slow you down, and strive
for the prize.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message
the Rules for the Road. On June thirtieth, we will
close our books on another year of ministry, and it's
critical we end strong. That's why generous friends have stepped
forward with the two hundred thousand dollars matching grant, which
means every dollar you give by June thirtieth will be doubled.
Your gift to help meet this grant in full is
(25:08):
so important. We'll send you doctor Graham's powerful book Angels.
It's our special gift and thank you to you. This
encouraging book reveals what Scripture says about God's messengers and
how their presence reminds us that Heaven is always near.
Request your copy when you call and gift today. Call
one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
(25:31):
That's one eight hundred seven ninety five four six two seven.
You can also text the word Angels to five nine
seven eight nine. That's Angels to five nine seven eight nine.
And don't forget to visit Jack Graham dot org, where
you can shop our East store, give a gift online,
or sign up for doctor Graham's free daily email devotional.
(25:52):
Our website again 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 2 (26:05):
I want you to know how grateful I am for
you and your support of PowerPoint, your prayers and certainly
we need your prayers that the Gospel would go forward
and the Word of God would communicate with this generation
through radio is such a great medium. And then for
your financial support, I want you to know that what
(26:26):
you give, we invest right back into the mission of
Christ through PowerPoint, and your gift enables us to share
the word of God and the testimony of Jesus with
the world. And I promise you lives are being changed.
We hear from people every single day. I meet people
everywhere I go whose lives have been dramatically and powerfully
(26:50):
changed by Jesus Christ through the preaching and teaching of
God's Word through PowerPoint.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
So thank you. If you're a regular giver, if you're a.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Partner with us and giving to PowerPoint, thank you and
thank you so very much. If you haven't yet given
to PowerPoint, would you consider doing that for the first time?
Please consider your gift today and we will invest it
back in the work and the witness of Jesus around
the world.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember when you give a
gift of ten dollars or more to Powerpoints, we'll send
you doctor Graham's book Angels 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 Angels to five nine
(27:40):
seven eight nine and join us again next time when
doctor Graham brings a message about how you can pursue
a lifestyle of love. That's next time on PowerPoint with
Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministry.
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