Pastor John Hagee, head of Christians United for Israel and founder/ senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, at the Western Wall plaza. Courtesy Photo.
Psalm 91: 1-11 says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.”
This was the chapter I was reading when my doctors said I was at the beginning of a heart attack that should have been what they call a “widow maker.”
It was the chapter my mother clung to when she was diagnosed at the age of 69 with advanced cancer.
I don’t believe in miracles because someone told me about them. I believe in miracles because I have personally experienced them many times over in more than 58 years in the ministry. I know from personal experience that when you meet God’s conditions, God performs.
And what a mighty God He is!
Every soon the trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ shall rise. Those who call Him their Lord and Savior will be called up to live with Him forevermore. He has promised that He has built a mansion for me and for you, where we can spend an eternity praising His holy name.
What a great day that will be as we celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. I know some of you are putting together lavish gatherings for family and friends, but it will pale in comparison to that day when we celebrate with King Jesus.
Are you ready? Are you prepared for His return?
I celebrate the risen Savior every day of the year, not just during the holiday season. I have seen Him transform lives that were otherwise on the brink of most certain disaster, some facing the greatest tragedies known to man. He is close to the broken hearted, the bruised and the broken. He makes a way where there seems to be no way! He is the King of kings and Lord of lords…and He is still in the miracle-working business!
Don’t think miracles are for you? You will when you need one! Sooner or later your phone will ring and your well-ordered, tranquil life will be instantly turned upside down by a situation completely out of your control.
The doctor might call to give you a cancer diagnosis, a literal death sentence without supernatural healing. Fear is going to grab you by the throat with its iron grip. You must have a miracle from God to survive.
My daughter, Tish, was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma in 2006. This year she celebrates being cancer free for 13 years… after being told she would have a 20% chance to live if she survived 5 years. My wife, Diana, was diagnosed with breast cancer just two years later…and our house was faced with the same shock once again! This came right after I had a quadruple bypass surgery, which I will tell you more about in just a minute.
Don’t ever forget for one second that Satan will do his best to destroy you…but what he means for evil, God can and will use for His good and for His glory. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God; all Hagees are healthy this year! We have much to celebrate. If your family members are healthy, you have much to be thankful for. Good health is a precious gift from God, not to be taken for granted.
I have had people tell me, “Well Pastor, I don’t really understand how miracles work.” Guess what? You don’t have to understand a miracle to receive one. I don’t understand how a black cow eats green grass, gives white milk and yellow butter…but I’m not giving up on milk and butter until I understand it. I’m going to keep eating them every day.
God is the same yesterday, today and forever. What He has done in the past, what I have seen firsthand…He can and will do for you! All you need is faith in God. It’s not hard to have faith in someone who has never once failed. Don’t let the enemy convince you that you are unworthy of God’s blessings in your life. The price for your redemption, for your healing, for your salvation…has been paid in full!
The God of the natural is the God of the supernatural. Man has a two-fold nature, both physical and spiritual. You be natural and let God be supernatural. While your physical body is exposed to disease, your soul is exposed to sin. Both are addressed in God’s plan of redemption. Your sins were forgiven at Calvary’s Cross through the blood of Jesus Christ. And your body was healed by the stripes on His back. The bill has been paid in full. All you have to do is confess in Jesus’ name that you want His healing…and God will do it.
Your physical problem is not a crisis for heaven. When you ask God to heal you, He doesn’t say, “Wow! This is really big. Come on, angels.” Not at all. God can change your life in a nanosecond. He is only waiting for you to ask, for you to believe. He delights in your well-being…heart, soul, mind and body.
Let me share a quick story with you about my mother’s healing. When she was 69 years of age, the doctors diagnosed her with advanced cancer. They gave her about six months to live. She was absolutely not concerned in the least. She said she was ready to die, stating that she would simply be passing from this world into the presence of God. She wasn’t worried at all.
But my father asked her to please consider medical intervention, and so she agreed. She said she was going home and giving God the opportunity to heal her first. Every day she read the 91st Psalm, which I wrote at the beginning of this message. Weeks later she went back to the doctor for another x-ray, and her tumor that was once the size of a football had shrunk to the size of a golf ball. It was extracted without complication, and the medical team explained that she would be in the hospital for weeks recovering.
True to form, Mama decided that three days was enough and she went home. The doctors told her she might have another year left, but she lived 30 more years…to the age of 99!
Don’t ever place a limit on the power of God, on the power of His Word to produce life! Read it. It will absolutely transform you…heart, soul, mind and body. Speak it out loud. Read it over your children. Proclaim God’s goodness in your home, and you will be amazed at the things that begin to take place when you set God free to do His will in your life. Because nothing is impossible to those that believe!
As I mentioned before, in 2008, I went to see my cardiologist for a required annual check-up. I was not in any pain, and yet my doctor told me that I had a serious heart blockage. Of course, I argued with him and said that couldn’t possibly be the case. “Look, I’m working 70 hours a week. I’ve preached nine times in two weeks in England and America. I’m not in pain, no shortness of breath. I’m fine.”
He looked at me and told me that I was strong-willed, but not fine. He told me that I could push myself until I killed myself… and suddenly he had my attention.
We both agreed to do a heart cath and take pictures to see what was going on, and they were horrible. I looked at him and asked if he took pictures of someone else and sent them to my room. He wasn’t amused. I was on my way to a quadruple bypass.
I explained that I had several speaking engagements to attend to, and I would return at a more suitable date. My doctor told me that I wasn’t leaving the hospital. “You could die before you get home. Get in the bed.” And so I did.
We assembled the finest medical team and my family and our church family began to pray. I began to read Psalm 91. Fear gripped me with an iron fist the night before my surgery, and I began to rebuke Satan through the power of the Word of God. “I will fear no evil.”
The next morning I was ready for surgery as the surgeon walked in with his chart and asked, “What were you doing at 7:30 a.m.?” I said, “I was reading Psalm 91. Why?”
He showed me my chart with eight irregular heartbeats, explaining that after about the third major jump, I flat lined. He said, “It’s a miracle you’re alive.” And with that…we headed off to the surgical suite.
My family gathered with ministers from around the country to pray in a room at the hospital during my surgery. When the surgeon said the operation was a complete success, the group had started reading Psalm 91.
Psalm 91:14-16 says, “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”
Don’t ever underestimate the matchless power of Jesus Christ. Call upon His name today and be healed! There is no mountain too high or valley too low that the hand of God cannot reach you, and supernaturally touch that very thing that concerns you most!
