ARME 13: Camp Mokkuleia, HI - Dec 2012

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ARME Bible Camp

Zachary Page

Stay in the Tent

And George Mueller walked over to the door, he opened the door, and there was the milkman.

You see, the milkman's cart had just broken down outside.

He said, hey, I have these 10 cans of milk in my cart, and they're going to spoil because my cart just broke down right outside of your door.

Could the children use milk this morning?

Is there any way that you could just take my milk this morning?

And as he was carrying in the milk, there was another knock at the door.

And as he opened the door, the smell of fresh bread began to come in the room.

And there was the baker holding these large trays of bread.

And he said, I don't know what it was, but God woke me up at 2 a.m.

This morning and I just felt that you guys needed bread.

They carried in the large trays of bread and the children had plenty to eat that morning, all in answer to a prayer of faith.

No wonder that it was said about George Mueller years later that he was the man who got great things done by a great God.

If you've ever read the story of George Mueller, you know that this was not just a one-time occurrence.

Over 63 years, he received 1, 453, 513 pounds and 13 shillings in donations and gifts.

And here's the thing, he never asked for 1 single donation in all that time.

Because he was determined that he would show people that God can answer prayer, that God can provide for His people.

And so he simply relied on the power of prayer to feed the orphans at his orphanage.

And he goes on to talk about why he would have done that.

Mueller wanted to show Christians that God could be taken at His Word, that He would fulfill His promise to us.

His favorite Bible promise was Psalm 84.10.

And he talks about how he came to claim this promise.

He said, 1 evening on December 5th, the subject of my prayer all at once became different.

I was reading Psalm 84 and was particularly struck more than at any time before with verse 10.

I thought a few moments about these words and then was led to apply them to the case of the orphan house.

It struck me that I never asked the Lord for anything concerning it.

And so began his journey of faith that has inspired millions, all based upon 1 short promise.

He was able to affect the lives of over 2, 000 children at a time.

10, 000 children in his lifetime were fed and taken care of, all in answer to the prayer of faith.

What made George Mueller pray a prayer like that?

Well, interesting thing, George Mueller said that he learned to trust the Bible by reading the Bible.

In fact, he would read the Bible 3 to 4 times a year.

In his lifetime, he read the Bible about 200 times or more.

No wonder he knew to trust Jesus because he had been with Jesus.

He had been transformed by being in the very presence of Jesus.

He knew what it was to be close to Jesus.

Turn with me in your Bibles to Joshua chapter 10.

Joshua chapter 10 records 1 of my favorite prayers in the entire Bible.

It's 1 of the most powerful prayers, a powerful answer to prayer, an answer to prayer that really shocks me.

It's probably the greatest physical miracle in the entire Bible.

In Joshua 10, the Israelites have just come into the promised land.

They had that incredible miracle take place as they crossed the Jordan.

But all of a sudden, they are facing 1 of the greatest challenges so far.

5 kings come together and they're headed out to attack Gibeah.

You see the Gibeah Knights were the ones who made a league, kind of dishonestly, with the Israelites.

And they made this league with them, and so all these 5 kings decided, we're going to take out the Gibeonites and then we're going to wipe out the Israelites.

And so the Gibeonites send a message to Joshua, saying, Joshua, please help us.

So Joshua, a man of prayer and a man of faith, goes to God and asks God, what should I do?

And the Lord said to Joshua, do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands.

Not 1 of them will stand before you.' So Joshua came upon them suddenly by marching all night from Gilgal.

You see, to march to Gilgal would have taken him all night long.

And so that would have been an intense march for them.

But they marched all night long, and the moment they get there, it says in verse 10, And the Lord confounded them before Israel, and He slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Bethhoron, and struck them as far as Ezekiah and Makeda.

And it came about as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Bethhoron, that the Lord threw large stones from heaven on them as far as Ezekiah, and they died.

There were more who died from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword." As they're going from this incredible battle, they're there, and they get to the city, they begin to attack, and everybody begins to flee.

It would have been about a 2, 000 foot climb, and they're racing up this climb, and you can just see it as they're going up this pass, and the Israelites are chasing after them.

They're watching as God is sending down hailstones upon them.

Just imagine how tired they are at that point.

Imagine as they've marched all night long, and now they're trying to chase these guys who are running up this mountain pass.

And as you get to the top of this pass, imagine as Joshua finally crests that hill, he gets up there and he looks down, and on the other side was a very steep descent.

And as he looks down that descent, that point I think in my own heart I would have been satisfied.

I would have said, God, you answered my prayers.

Praise God that we're seeing a mighty victory today.

But Joshua isn't satisfied because Joshua had a promise that God was going to totally wipe out these people.

Joshua had the promise of a living God on his side.

And so Joshua, as he looks off in the distance, he notices something.

He notices that the sun is beginning to set.

And as he begins to Notice that the sun is going low in the sky.

As Joshua prays 1 of the craziest prayers I have ever heard in my life.

Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in that day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and He said in the sight of Israel, O sun, stand still at Gibeon, and O moon, in the valley of Ejlon." What?

I mean, I like days to last long when I'm in Hawaii.

So the next time that I'm out on the beach and I'm there and I'm enjoying the surf and I'm having fun, maybe I want to go snorkeling a little bit longer.

And I see that the sun's about to set, or maybe I just want to pause 1 of those beautiful sunsets.

Do I look out there and say, sun stands still?

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