Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1: Hey, podcast listeners. Thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jefress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's Word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes. Now, here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2: Hi, this is Robert Jefress, and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 3: And so today, what we're going to do is look at five periods of history in which God's power was on display for everyone to see. But the point is that same power demonstrated dramatically is at work in our lives individually.

Speaker 1: Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jefress. It's easy to think God's greatest works are locked away in the pages of history. But what if that same power is still at work right now in your life? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jefress shares how that same power on display throughout history is still at work in your life today. But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates.

Speaker 2: Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. This week, we're beginning a teaching series I've called Divine Invasions, a study of the miracle working power of God. And today, I want to bring that power out of the pages of ancient history and into your living room. You see, it's one thing to believe God split the Red Sea or raised the dead. It's another to believe that same power is at work in your life today in the details of your ordinary week. That's the truth I want you to grasp. Here's what I've learned. Solid theology matters immensely, but theology by itself changes nothing until we invite God to put it to work in our daily lives.

That's the whole point of this series. So stay with me for the entire program. What God did for Moses, for Elijah, for the apostles, he is ready to do in you. And then, if there's one book I'd urge you to read in 2026, it's this one. My brand new book, Divine Invasions, will help you stop merely admiring God's power from a distance and start experiencing it for yourself. It's yours when you give a generous gift to support Pathway to Victory. And I'll include the eight Divine Invasions Encouragement Cards as an added bonus. Oh, remember that time is running short.

To sign up for the Pathway to Victory Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise, May 14th through the 23rd, 2027. And here's a thought. With Christmas just around the corner, securing a premier cabin could be the most memorable gift you've ever given to someone you love. Don't wait on this one. Reserve your spot today at ptv.org. All right, it's time to begin our next study in this seven part series on Divine Invasions. I titled today's message Miracles of Power. Many of you know that I was called to be a pastor when I was in high school. And immediately with that call came an unquenchable desire I had to read the Bible, study God's Word, and I began immediately to memorize verses and chapters and entire books of the Bible.

I read everything I could about the Bible. I taught it or preached it wherever I could. And I took that same fervor with me to college. But immediately when I got to college, I ran into a brick wall in the form of professors, men who proclaimed to be Christians, who taught about all of the errors in the Bible, the contradictions, the inconsistencies. And I remember the chairman of the religion department said in our class one day, the Bible is not God's inherent word. The Bible is just a collection of men's thoughts about God. Some of the lowest thoughts man has ever had about God are recorded in the Old Testament, and man's highest thoughts are in the New Testament, but it's just collection of thoughts.

I can't describe to you the effect that had on me. It immediately quenched any desire I had to read the Bible, much less study it, memorize it. Why would I want to give my life to preaching a book that was just another book? And I not only seriously contemplated giving up my call to the ministry, I thought about giving up my Christian faith. After all, why base your eternity on something that is just a myth? But God miraculously intervened in my life. It is by an invitation I received to attend a missions conference in Champaign, Illinois at the University of Illinois.

It was the Urbana Missions Conference. And so in December of 1976, my senior year in college, I traveled by myself to Illinois. It was snowing. We were knee deep in snow, but I went by myself to that conference. And I remember the final night of the conference, we were in a huge basketball arena, 17,000 students. I was seated in the top row of that arena by myself. And that evening, to give the final keynote speech onto the stage walked Billy Graham. And Billy Graham gave his testimony that night. He told about a time when he was in college, when he began to doubt the word of God.

People ask him questions he couldn't answer. And he said that one night he was at the Forest Home Conference Center in California. And after the evening session he attended as a college student, he found a rock that was about 50 yards away from the main trail where he was walking. And he sat down on that rock. And he opened up his Bible and laid it on a tree stump that was in front of the rock. And he prayed this prayer. He said, God, I don't understand everything in this book. I have questions that I can't answer.

But tonight, I am placing my faith in your word. And I pledge to you, if you will bless my ministry, I will preach it until the day that I die. Today you can go to the Forest Home Conference Center in California and you can see that rock. There's a plaque on it, Billy Graham's Rock of Remembrance. But as Billy Graham told the story that evening, tears streamed down my face as I sat in that top row, thinking about the fact that God cared enough for me that he was kind enough to me. He made sure I was where I needed to be that night to hear God's message for me, a message that would not only impact the rest of my life, but would impact the people that God gave me the privilege of ministering to for years to come.

That's the miracle working power of God. And I imagine somewhere in your past there's a story like that. The circumstances are different, but God is the same. We're in a series on miracles I'm calling Divine Invasions. And last time we saw that most of the miracles we see in our life are not dramatic displays that everybody sees, like the parting of the Red Sea. But instead, they are miracles of providence, God accomplishing his purpose through supernatural means in our life. Nevertheless, the same power that worked together in my circumstances that night so many years ago, that same power of God is at work within our lives as well.

And that same power is the power of God that works in miraculous displays. And so today, what we are going to do is look at five periods of history in which God's power was on display for everyone to see. But the point is that same power demonstrated dramatically is at work in our lives individually. What are those times that God's power has been on display? Well, first of all, the first period of time was in Moses and Joshua's day. There were a series of miracles that surrounded Moses and Joshua. Why? Because God was doing something new.

And anytime God is doing something new, he many times signifies that new thing with miracles. Think of all the miracles involved with Moses and Joshua. God was ready now after 400 years of having the Jewish people under Egyptian bondage, he was ready to forge this new nation. And so what miracles did he do? Just think about the miracles of the burning bush that God revealed himself through to Moses, the 10 plagues that came upon Pharaoh, the parting of the Red Sea, the divine provision in the wilderness of manna and water. All of that in Moses's time.

When Moses died, Joshua picked up the mantle, and the miracles continued. Just think about it. The destruction of Jericho, the walls collapsing. Joshua even called on the sun to stand still, and it did. These were the miracles surrounding the new nation of Israel. Israel eventually ended up in the Promised Land, and after a disastrous time with the judges, they had three kings over the unified kingdom. And God blessed the nation with prosperity during that time. But as the nation drifted from God, rebellion started, division happened in the country, and there was a civil war in 922 BC that split the nation into the northern kingdom, we call Israel, and the southern kingdom, Judah.

The northern kingdom was more evil, and so God sent a prophet to do miracles, to prophesy repentance that was necessary for these people. That prophet's name was Elijah. Remember, Elijah came out of nowhere, and God said, go tell Ahab it's not going to rain for years, and there will be a famine. And Elijah made that proclamation. Then God immediately put him in a witness protection program. He hid Elijah from Ahab for three and a half years. And remember the miracle he was divinely provided for. Elijah was by the ravens at the brook Cherith. And then for two years in the home of the widow who had that inexhaustible supply of flour, finally Elijah appears before Ahab, and they have that dramatic confrontation on Mount Carmel, and God's supernatural power comes and consumes the animal sacrifice.

One of the greatest miracles of all was when God spared Elijah having to experience death. Instead, he was the second person to get on on a pre-rapture rapture. He got caught up to meet the Lord in the air instead of going through physical death. And the mantle fell on Elisha. Remember, Elisha did the very same miracles that Elijah did, but only twice as many. That was Elisha's ministry. He was able to raise the dead and heal the sick. Finally, the northern kingdom fell under Assyria. The Assyrians took the northern kingdom captive. And the southern kingdom about 100 years later of Judah also fell into sin.

And they were taking captive into Babylon. And that introduced the third period of miracles, Daniel and his friends. Remember all of the miracles that took place while Israel was held captive in Babylon. You had Daniel able to miraculously interpret the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar. You had Daniel's friends, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, who were miraculously spared death in the fiery furnace. You had Daniel again interpreting the message written on the wall during Belshazzar's feast. You had Daniel miraculously spared from the mouths of the lion in Daniel chapter six. That was the third period of miracle. And then, 400 years in which God was absolutely silent.

He did no miracles that everybody saw, but he was still at work behind the scenes because the fourth period of miracles was Jesus and the apostles at just the right time. God sent forth his son born of a virgin. Think of the miraculous works of God to produce a virgin birth, but it didn't stop there. Jesus lived his 33 years. For three of those years he performed miracles. 35 miracles recorded in the Gospels. Many more, John says, besides those. He healed the lame and the blind and the sick and raised the dead. That was the miracle of Jesus.

But the greatest miracle of all that Jesus illustrated was the resurrection, his own resurrection from the dead, his ascension into heaven. But it didn't stop there. The apostles carried on those miracles to validate their ministry, the ability to heal the sick and to raise the dead. That was the period of Jesus and the apostles. Now, you know it's easy to look back on these four ages of miracles and to say, man, wouldn't it have been great to live back then? Oh, for the good old days when God was doing things like that all the time.

But the good old days weren't really that good when you think about it. I mean, would you really want to wander around with Moses in the wilderness for 40 years eating nothing but manna, manna sandwiches, manna pudding, but manna bread? I mean, it be pretty boring, wouldn't it? And you say, well, no, no, I don't mean them, but when they had the kings, you know, those are good peaceful times when Israel had the kings. Look, look back at the debauchery of those kings. Many of them are the surrounding kings of Assyria and Babylon. They were depraved.

They make today's rulers and today culture look like Mr. Rogers's neighborhood we're living in right now. Much more corrupt during biblical times than even today. You say, well, I'm not talking about the Old Testament. I'd love to live in the New Testament times. Oh, to have lived in the times of the first century church. You know, we have people who pray, oh, that our church could be like the first century church. I laugh when I hear that. I think, what first century church do you have in mind? Maybe the first church of Corinth? Would you like us to be like that first century church?

They were so wicked they got drunk at the Lord's Supper. I don't think that's ever happened in our church before. Not that I know of, but it's not that bad. We say, oh, no, not the Corinthian church, the church at Ephesus. The church at Ephesus? God said to that church, because you've left your first love, I'm going to take your lampstand, your influence out. And if you go to the city of Ephesus today, you're hard pressed to find an Ephesian Christian church anywhere. Some people say, oh, what about the church of Laodicea? You want to be like Laodicea?

God said, you are so lukewarm in your faith, I want to vomit you out of my mouth. No, we live in a privileged generation when you think about it as Christians. We have the complete revelation of God in his word. Something those in the Bible never experienced, the complete revelation of God in his word. We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we'll talk about. Previous generations never experienced that. No, our prayer ought to be the prayer that the Jews often prayed that said, privileged are we, Lord, to live in this generation. But the generation of miracles isn't over yet.

Remember I said there are four, they've already occurred, but there's one yet to come. There's going to be one more period of time that God does miraculous displays of power. They're going to surround Satan and God during the end times. The end times, that seven years between the time that Antichrist signs a peace treaty with Israel and the Lord returns visibly to set up his millennial kingdom, there are going to be miraculous works during those seven years. Some of them will be performed by Satan. Satan through Antichrist will have the ability to perform miracles to deceive people.

In 2 Thessalonians 2 verses 8 and 9, he's called the lawless one. He will perform many miracles to deceive the unbelieving. And of course, God will be performing miraculous signs too in the series of the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments. And then the world will witness their greatest miracle of all. And that is the creation of the new heaven and the new earth. Those are God's miraculous displays of power. But even though those displays of power are limited to those five times, it seems like, those five periods, that doesn't mean God isn't working today miraculously.

He's working in your life and in my life. How do I know that? Listen to the words of Isaiah 40 verse 28. God says, do you not know? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. God is not in heaven right now exhausted. Satan, oh, those four periods of miracles just wore me out. I've got to save my strength. I've got one more I've got to be ready for. So I'm going to just kind of recoup my energy, and you're on your own, Christians, for right now.

You work your own miracles. Does he say that? Of course not. God is not diminished in any way by any act of power that he exerts. God's power is limitless. The power that works in your life is limitless. The Christian philosopher Peter Kreeft said it this way, God has more power in one breath of his spirit than all the winds of war, all the nuclear bombs, all the energy of all the suns and all the galaxies, all the fury of hell itself. That's the power of God. You may be thinking, well, pastor, I have no trouble believing that.

I believe the power of God. What I have trouble believing is that the great God of the universe cares about little old me and my problems. Don't be surprised at that. Tom Constable says it best when he says, God is not too great to care. He's too great not to care. That's the God we serve. He's not too great to care. He's too great not to care. Again, God says that in Isaiah 40 verses 29 to 31, he gives strength to the weary. And to him who lacks might, he increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength.

They will mount up with the wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weary. If you don't remember anything else, I've said in this sermon, remember this. The same power of God that is on dramatic display during these five times in history is working in your life right now. But there are four principles that we need to understand if we're going to harness and experience that same miracle working power in our life today. I want you to write these four principles down. Principle number one for experiencing God's power.

God's power is primarily for his children. God's power is primarily for his children. That doesn't mean non-Christians don't experience the power of God. We have in theology what we call common grace. That's the benefits everybody, believers and unbelievers alike, experience in the world. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 5:45, God causes his son to rise on the evil and the good. He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteousness. All creation is the beneficiary of God's goodness. But God's power is reserved mainly for Christians, for his own children. You understand that. When Julia and Dorothy were growing up in our house, Amy and I would often go to their sporting events, basketball and soccer and tennis or whatever else they were playing.

And when we were watch them play, of course I was concerned for the safety of all the girls who were playing on both teams. But I was especially concerned about my own daughters and their well-being. Sometimes I'm walking around the church, and a little child would come up and be excited to see me, and I'm always so grateful for that, and I love talking to our children. But occasionally a child would walk up and say, can I have a dollar? They confuse me with Santa Claus. That's why I don't carry a wallet most times to church, but if I happen to have one, I might give them a dollar or two, I might not.

But if one of the triplets asks me for something, man, I'll race to do anything I can to meet that request. I feel a special responsibility to my children and grandchildren. You feel that too. You know why we feel that way? Because we're made in the image of God. God cares especially about his children. And if you want to experience God's miracles in your life, the single greatest thing you can do is become a part of God's family. And you do that by faith. John 1:12 says, as many as received Jesus, to those he gave the privilege to become the children of God, even to those who believe on his name.

God's power is primarily reserved for his own children. Friend, don't miss the heart of what we've seen today. The same power that split the Red Sea, that fell on Mount Carmel, that raised Jesus from the grave, that very power is at work in you. If you belong to God's family, you are not left to face life on your own strength. His limitless power is reserved for his children. Now, let me ask you to do something. I want you to be among the first to own my brand new book, Divine Invasions. This isn't merely a book to read and stick on the shelf to gather dust.

When you take these biblical principles and put them to work, something happens. You become living proof that God still does the impossible. And that becomes your legacy. Your children, your grandchildren, everyone who looks to you will see a man or woman who dared to trust God for the impossible and watched him deliver. Request your copy of Divine Invasions today when you give a generous gift to support Pathway to Victory. This is a hard cover book with seven full chapters. And so you might gauge the size of your gift with this in mind. Here's what makes a generous gift to this ministry so powerful.

The truth you help broadcast today reaches a wide global audience. Your generosity becomes a ripple that outruns anything you could measure. So when you give to support Pathway to Victory, know this. You're not covering a cost. You're setting something in motion that only eternity will fully reveal. Thanks so much for responding today. Here's David with all the details.

Speaker 1: You're invited to request a hard cover copy of Dr. Jefress's brand new book, Divine Invasions, when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Just call 866-999-2965. Visit ptv.org or you could text ptv to 78800. And when your gift is $100 or more, we'll also send you in addition to the book this month's teaching series on audio and video disc along with the companion study guide. To request these resources, call 866-999-2965 or make your request online at ptv.org. You could send your donation and request by mail to PO Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222.

That's PO Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. I'm David J. Mullins. It's one thing to know God's power is available, but how do we access it? Learn how to experience God's miracle working power in your own life Thursday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jefress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. The apostle Paul sailed these waters, walked these streets, and the church was never the same.

Speaker 2: I'm inviting you to follow in Paul's footsteps on the Pathway to Victory Journeys of Paul Cruise through the stunning Greek islands into ancient Ephesus and many other destinations as well. This is purposeful travel at its finest.

Speaker 1: Set sail May 14, 2027. Call 888-280-6747 or visit ptv.org. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. And we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in his word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org/donate or you can follow the link in our show notes.

We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Oh, and one last thing before we go, don't forget to reserve your spot on the 2027 Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise. Now, you've heard me and Dr. Jefress talk about this Bible conference at sea. And cabins, well, they're going quickly. Just picture yourself aboard the beautiful Celebrity Infinity sailing round trip from Athens. Now, each day you'll gather for biblical teaching, worship, and fellowship. And then you'll step ashore to stand where Paul stood in Ephesus and walk the streets of Thessaloniki where his letters still speak to the church today.

Nine unforgettable nights with more biblical destinations along the way. Every meal prepared, every detail taken care of, plus the joy of traveling with like-minded believers. There's also an optional pre-cruise extension in Athens. To book your spot, go to ptv.org.