Miracles Of Protection – Part 1

David J. Mullins: 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.
Dr. Robert Jeffress: 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.
Dr. Robert Jeffress: We need God's protection from physical dangers and spiritual dangers. Thankfully, the Bible promises that though these dangers can spring up out of nowhere seemingly and attack us, God offers promise of his protection.
David J. Mullins: Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jefress. The headlines are unsettling, and the world can feel like a dangerous place. So, where do we turn when we sense that our lives and the lives of those we love are under threat? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jefress shares that we serve a God who still watches over his children. But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates.
Dr. Robert Jeffress: Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Most of us know what it's like to fear for our life. Think about it. Maybe it's the news from your doctor about cancer, or maybe it's an awful car accident. If you've ever felt vulnerable, you're not alone. We long for God's protection. Here's the good news I want you to hold on to. God has not gone out of the miracle business. Throughout this series, we've seen how he still invades our ordinary world with his supernatural power. I've poured this teaching into my brand new book, Divine Invasions. Experience God's miracles in your life today. It's my gift to you when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. I'll share more later in the program. But right now, let me remind you that in May 2027, you're invited to join me on the Pathway to Victory journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise. It's not too late to sign up. Imagine walking where the Apostle Paul walked and standing where the early church was born, all while studying God's Word together. It's the trip of a lifetime, and I'd love to see you there. You can view the fabulous itinerary and make all your arrangements by going to ptv.org. And now, let's get started with today's message. Thus far, we've talked about miracles of power and miracles of provision. And today, we come to something every one of us needs, miracles of protection. During the 1980s, Lulu and her husband Pablo Perez ran a small Christian school outside of Mexico City. The school was surrounded by a massive wall to protect the students from the activities of the Guadalajara cartel. People were warned not to travel the road along that led from the school to the city. But one day, Lulu Perez had a need to go into the city. Her husband Pablo was away, and so she was willing to take the risk. She prayed a brief prayer for protection. She got in her car, and when she had reached the bottom of the hill, a group of young men brandishing machine guns surrounded her car. She didn't know if they intended to rob her or worse, but she panicked. She wasn't sure what to do. Should I go forward? Should I go in reverse? What should I do? And while she was deliberating, the leader of that group came closer to the car. He looked at Lulu. He looked around the car, and he saw something that frightened him. He dropped his machine gun, and the group ran back into the jungle. Exactly a week later, Lulu went again into town to have lunch with a friend. And the friend told her an interesting story. She said, exactly a week ago, I was seated here when a group of young men came running into town yelling about something they had seen on that road. They explained how they had surrounded a car with the intention of robbing a woman. But the leader of the gang said he looked into the car, and next to Lulu in that passenger seat was a massive figure, an imposing figure that scared the daylights out of him and caused him to flee. Lulu Perez is convinced that what she thought was an unoccupied passenger seat was in fact occupied by an angel God had sent to protect her. We're in a series we're calling Divine Invasions. We're talking about how God continues to perform miracles today. God is not gone out of the miracle business. He produces miracles every day for our behalf. And we've talked about different kind of miracles. We looked at the miracles of power. We've talked about miracles of provision. Next time, we're going to talk about miracles of healing. But today, we're going to talk about miracles of protection. Don't you sense a need for protection in your life? All you have to do is look around and see the need we all have for protection. Paul 2,000 years ago described well the world we live in right now. In 2 Timothy 3:1, he said, but realize this that in the last days difficult times will come. The word translated difficult times is only used one other time in the Greek New Testament. It means violent times, dangerous times. And those are certainly the times in which we live. What sort of danger do we face? Well, there are certainly physical dangers. They could be a massive thunderstorm, a tornado, or hurricane that destroys your house. It could be a random electrical spark from an outlet that burns down your house or your church. It could be something like a lump that you wake up feeling on your arm that you didn't have yesterday. It could be a telephone call you received that a loved one has been in an accident. That's the kind of world that we face, and we need God's protection from those very real physical dangers that surround us in a sin-infected world. God offers to protect us so that we can live out our plan. You know, one of the most meaningful miracles in my life actually happened to my dad when I was four or five years old. As you know, he worked for the airlines and was able to travel on passes. And one day, he took a day trip to Houston, and he was planning on coming on the late afternoon flight back from Houston Hobby. He had his ticket. He was ready to go, and at the last moment, a paying customer showed up and took my father's seat. 43 minutes after takeoff, that plane crashed in Buffalo, Texas, killing everybody aboard. I'm not saying God loved my father anymore than he loved the passenger who was on that flight, but I'm saying God had a plan for my father's life that did not include his dying on that day. Psalm 139:16 says God has a plan for each of us. David said in your book, they were all written all the days that were ordained me before I lived one of them. God has the date of your birth and the day of your death written in his book, and there's not one thing you're going to do to change it. Somebody has said, every person is immortal until his work on earth is done. We have the promise of God's protection that he's going to deliver us from anything that would prematurely take our life. We face physical dangers. We face spiritual dangers as well. In fact, sometimes spiritual dangers are more potent than physical ones. It's what we can't see that tends to hurt us more than what we can see. But there is an unseen but very real adversary. We all have the devil. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. He has a plan for non-Christians. His goal for non-Christians is to so blind them to the gospel of Jesus Christ that they do not receive the gospel. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, for the God of this world, he's talking about Satan, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they may not see the light of the gospel for the glory of Christ. That's his plan for non-Christians, but he has a scheme for Christians as well. If he can't take you to hell forever and ever, he wants to rob you of your influence for Christ in this life. He wants to rob you of peace of mind, of joy, of rewards in heaven one day. And that 's why Paul says in Ephesians 6:10, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to withstand the schemes of the devil. We need God protection from physical dangers and spiritual dangers. Thankfully, the Bible promises that though these dangers can spring up out of nowhere seemingly and attack us, God offers protection of his protection. Whatever it is, God promises to offer us protection. In Psalm 22 verses 20 to 21, David prayed this prayer. He said, deliver my soul from the sword, my only life from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth, from the horns of the wild oxen. You answer me. I've explained to congregations before, David was asking for protection from the most common threats of his day, things like animal attacks or warfare or accidents. If David were praying that prayer today, he might say something like, Lord, protect me from the drive-by shooters, from the muggers, from the SUVs whirring by me on the tow way every day. Give me protection. I preached that one time in a first service of a church. After the first service, somebody handed me a note. They said, preacher, we couldn't agree with you more about what you said today. I pray every day that God would protect me from those SOBs whirring by me on the freeway. Well, whether it's the SUVs or SOBs, we need protection, don't we? And God promises that protection. Turn in your Bible book some of you up. Turn over to Psalm 121 for a moment where we find the promise of God's protection. This is a Psalm that is called a Psalm of ascent. In fact, that's probably written in your Bible, a Psalm of ascent. What does that mean? Well, this is a Psalm that the Jews recited as they were ascending to Jerusalem. Remember, Jerusalem was at a high elevation. So, it didn't matter if you were coming from north, south, east, or west, you would be going uphill. You would be going up to Jerusalem, up to Mount Moriah where the temple was. But on the way up to Jerusalem, travelers faced all kind of dangers. Terrain was rocky, and somebody might fall and break a bone. There were hills behind which bandits would hide and ambush travelers. If it was the summertime, the heat was such that it could produce a sunstroke. And so, they would recite this Psalm, Psalm 121, to remind them of God's ability to protect them. And I want you to notice in this Psalm three truths about God that you can bank on today. They're still true about God 3,000 years after they were written. Psalms you can bank on to protect you in times of danger. First of all, God is sovereign. Notice verses one and two. I will lift up my eyes to the mountains. From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. What does he say that? Made heaven and earth. That was like saying from A to Z, from heaven to earth. In other words, God is the one who has created everything and controls everything. Paul elaborated that on that in Colossians 1:16, for by him, Jesus, were all things created, both in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through him and for him. Now, here's why that's important. He's saying, don't fear anything. God's made everything in creation. If he has made the hills like he has, then he is able to control those who hide behind the hills to do you harm. God is sovereign. Secondly, the psalmist promises God is awake. He's awake. He's not asleep. The late businesswoman Mary Crowley, who was a member of this church for so many years, she used to say, I never lose any sleep over my problems. Instead, before I close my eyes at night, I give my problems to God and ask him to handle them. I figure he's going to be up all night anyway. And he is. God is the ultimate insomniac. He has a eternal case of insomnia that works for our benefit. He doesn't sleep. Look at verses three and four. God will not allow your foot to slip. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. And what is he doing when he's awake? He's not looking at late night TV. He's not reading a book. He's looking at you. Psalm 34:15 says, for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry. God is awake. And thirdly, the psalmist promises that God is a shelter. He's a shelter. Look at verses five to eight. The Lord is your keeper. Six times in these eight verses, he says God is a keeper. He's one who keeps us. He protects us. He is your keeper. The Lord is your shade or your shelter on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard you. And you're going out and you're coming in from this time forth and forever. God is protecting you in the sunlight and in the moonlight. He is protecting you whether it is hot or cold. God is protecting you. Does that mean nothing bad ever happens to us? We know the answer to that. We don't escape problems at all. But here's the difference between us and unbelievers. In Psalm 34:19, I love the way the Living Bible paraphrases this. The good man does not escape troubles. He has them too. But the Lord helps him in each and everyone. God promises to walk with us through any problem. But pastor, the word of God says there no evil befalls a believer. The Lord will protect you from all evil. How can the psalmist say that? Let me go ahead and address the elephant in the room right now. I can't answer the immediate why God allows those things to happen. But there is a truth we can all hold on to. The British evangelist Alan Redpath said it this way, there is nothing, no circumstance, no trouble, no testing that can ever touch me until first of all, it has come past God and past Christ right through to me. And if it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose. There is nothing that can come into your life that God doesn't give permission to come into your life. And if you want to argue about that, think about this for a moment. God's plan for his own son Jesus was that he would be tortured and executed unfairly on a cross in order to bring about our salvation. Isn't that what the Apostle Peter said in Acts chapter two? 7 weeks after the crucifixion and the resurrection, Peter was preaching on the southern steps in Jerusalem. And he said to the very crowd that 7 weeks earlier had crucified Jesus. Remember what he said? This man Jesus was delivered up by the predetermined plan of God, and you nailed him to the cross by the hands of angry men. Peter said, you're the ones who did evil. You're the ones who crucified the Lord. But it was all because of God's predetermined plan. If God takes responsibility for the crucifixion, the torture of his own son, he takes responsibility for anything and everything that happens in your life. But remember, God's not immediate plan but ultimate plan is always for our good and his glory. That's the meaning of Romans 8:28. And we know that God causes all things, not just good things, happy things, pleasant things. God causes all things to work together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose. God is sovereign. God is awake, the Bible says, and God is our shelter. Well, how does God protect us then? What are the means of God's protection? As I look through Scripture, I find there are three ways that God protects us. First of all, through direct fortification. His direct fortification. Now, if you've been in church for any period of time at all, you've probably heard the phrase hedge of protection. You pray a hedge of protection around yourself or around other people. Christian comedian Tim Hawkins has a funny bit about those who pray for a hedge of protection. He says, a hedge, huh? I don't mean to complain, but is that really the best you can do? How about praying a thick cement wall with some razor wire on top of that bad boy? A hedge of protection sounds like it is one good pair of clippers away from being removed. And I'm sure the devil's got a pair of those lying around his old shield shed. We laugh, but what you may not know is the phrase hedge of protections actually found in the Bible. And it came from the lips of Satan. Remember the story in Job 1? God was bragging to Satan about his servant Job. He said, have you considered my servant Job? He's an upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. There's nobody like him. And Satan says to God, well, of course he follows you. Look at all you've done for him. You've given him his family. You've given him his possessions. You've given him good health. But allow me to enter his life for a day and attack those things and watch him start to curse you. The interesting thing is Satan had to have God's permission to attack Job. And God gave him limited permission to enter his life. He said, there's one restriction, you can't kill him. But otherwise, you can go after him if you want him to. You see, Satan said to the Lord, have you not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has on every side? Even Satan realized there was a wall around Job. He could only enter Job's life by God's permission. But God gave him limited access to Job's life. Now, we need to remember that's true about Satan in your life and my life. He has limited authority. Somebody said, Satan is like a junkyard dog. His power to destroy is considerable, but as long as he's on that chain, it's limited. Satan is on a chain. He can only go into your life as much as God allows him to. And if God allows him into your life, it is for a good purpose. Psalm 125:2 says, it's not shrubbery that surrounds us to protect us. It is a mountain. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people from this time forth and forever. The fact that God is surrounded you is his direct way of protecting you. And nothing that is without purpose happens to the godly, the Scripture says. You know, I saw that worked out in my own life many years ago. I was leaving the church early to go get a haircut. And so I left a little bit early, and I was driving toward the barber shop, and I had just crossed a busy intersection when I heard a screeching sound behind me and a crash. And I looked in the rearview mirror. The car that had followed me through the intersection had been broadsided, decimated the car. I pulled over to the side of the road, called 911, but it was too late. The driver was dead, was killed instantaneously. And you know, that night I couldn't help but think, what if I had left the church 10 seconds later than I did? What if I had had a little bit lighter foot on the accelerator? That would have been me. But the fact is it's not that God loved me more than he loved that other driver. He had a plan that he was working out in my life. And I was not supposed to die that day. I've never forgotten that day, and I've asked myself that question a hundred times since, what if? But here's what I've come to understand. God wasn't finished with me. He had a plan. He was still working out in my life, and he protected me so I could carry it out. And that same truth applies to you. If you woke up this morning, God still has a purpose for your life, and he is watching over you as he accomplishes it. That's the heartbeat of this series. We're living in a generation that has quietly stopped believing God does anything at all. We've explained away his power. We've grown so sophisticated that we've become spiritually numb, and it's costing us because a person who doesn't believe God still protects has nowhere to turn when the diagnosis comes or when the phone rings in the middle of the night. That 's why I wrote Divine Invasions. I want to put the truth back into the hands of ordinary believers, a mom lying awake worrying about her kids, a man who just lost his job, a widow who feels utterly alone. This hardcover book meets people right where they live and reminds them that the God of the Bible is still at work right now in their lives. And that's exactly what your gift to Pathway to Victory accomplishes. When you support this ministry, you're not funding a program. You're carrying these truths across our country and around the world into homes and hearts that desperately need them. You're helping a discouraged believer rediscover a God who still moves. So, would you partner with me today? Give your generous gift to Pathway to Victory. And let's take this hope to a world that's lost it. Here's David to tell you more.
David J. Mullins: You're invited to request a hardcover 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. You could visit ptv.org or 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 by mail right to PO Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's PO Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. I'm David J. Mullins. The Bible doesn't just tell us that God protects us, it also shows us how. Next time, we'll uncover the specific ways God guards and shields his children every single day. Join us for part two of the message, Miracles of Protection. That's Wednesday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jefress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. 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 Bible 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 Bible 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.