1. TBN
  2. Programs
  3. Dr. Robert Jeffress
  4. Episodes
  5. Robert Jeffress - How Can I Prepare For My Journey To Heaven? (Part 2)
Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - How Can I Prepare For My Journey To Heaven? (Part 2)

February 27, 2026 | 27:29

Robert Jeffress - How Can I Prepare For My Journey To Heaven? (Part 2)
Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.
#Heaven #Preparation #Lifestyle #Choices #Regret #Mistakes #Journey #KingdomofGod #Eternity #EternalLife #LifeAfterDeath #RobertJeffress

Closed captions

Show Timecode
Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - How Can I Prepare For My Journey To Heaven? (Part 2) | February 27, 2026
  • ...
  • 00:00:00.633 --> 00:00:00.356
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:00:00.824 --> 00:00:06.696
  • Male announcer: from the pulpit of the first baptist church of
  • 00:00:06.796 --> 00:00:09.065
  • Dallas, texas, this is "pathway to victory" with dr.
  • 00:00:09.165 --> 00:00:12.268
  • Robert jeffress.
  • 00:00:12.368 --> 00:00:12.635
  • Dr. robert jeffress: hi, i'm robert jeffress, and welcome
  • 00:00:14.737 --> 00:00:16.706
  • Again to "pathway to victory."
  • 00:00:16.706 --> 00:00:18.641
  • None of us can know for certain how much time we have on earth.
  • 00:00:18.641 --> 00:00:22.378
  • Some of us will live to a ripe old age.
  • 00:00:22.378 --> 00:00:25.014
  • Others will be called away much sooner.
  • 00:00:25.014 --> 00:00:27.750
  • With the uncertain date of our departure, how can we avoid
  • 00:00:27.750 --> 00:00:31.421
  • Leaving behind any missed opportunities or unfinished and
  • 00:00:31.421 --> 00:00:35.425
  • Unfulfilled dreams?
  • 00:00:35.425 --> 00:00:37.360
  • Today i'm going to talk about how to maximize our time on
  • 00:00:37.360 --> 00:00:40.230
  • Earth in order to minimize any pre-departure regrets.
  • 00:00:40.230 --> 00:00:45.068
  • We're answering the question "how can i prepare for my
  • 00:00:45.068 --> 00:00:48.271
  • Journey to heaven?" on today's edition of "pathway to victory."
  • 00:00:48.271 --> 00:00:53.176
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:00:53.176 --> 00:00:59.315
  • Announcer: when loss leaves you searching for hope, turn your
  • 00:00:59.315 --> 00:01:01.784
  • Eyes toward heaven.
  • 00:01:01.784 --> 00:01:03.353
  • In "encouragement from a place called heaven," dr. robert
  • 00:01:03.353 --> 00:01:06.222
  • Jeffress offers comfort drawn from god's promises about
  • 00:01:06.222 --> 00:01:09.459
  • Eternity, not the myths and misconceptions tv and movies
  • 00:01:09.459 --> 00:01:12.862
  • Tell us, but what scripture truly reveals.
  • 00:01:12.862 --> 00:01:15.365
  • Whether you're grieving a loved one, facing illness, or walking
  • 00:01:15.365 --> 00:01:18.268
  • Alongside someone in pain, this beautiful hardcover book
  • 00:01:18.268 --> 00:01:21.604
  • Provides the encouragement you need.
  • 00:01:21.604 --> 00:01:23.540
  • Request "encouragement from a place called heaven" when you
  • 00:01:23.540 --> 00:01:26.543
  • Give a generous gift to "pathway to victory."
  • 00:01:26.543 --> 00:01:29.579
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:01:29.579 --> 00:01:36.352
  • Jeffress: as we wrap up our series on heaven, we're talking
  • 00:01:36.352 --> 00:01:41.024
  • About how to prepare for our journey to heaven.
  • 00:01:41.024 --> 00:01:46.095
  • And we've talked about six practical steps that we can take
  • 00:01:46.095 --> 00:01:49.799
  • To make sure we're ready when the time comes for us to go to
  • 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:53.670
  • That place called heaven.
  • 00:01:53.670 --> 00:01:55.872
  • The last time we looked at the first three of those steps.
  • 00:01:55.872 --> 00:01:59.576
  • Now today let's look at the fourth way to prepare for
  • 00:01:59.576 --> 00:02:02.579
  • Heaven, and that is make the most of your time on earth.
  • 00:02:02.579 --> 00:02:08.117
  • Make the most of your time on earth.
  • 00:02:08.117 --> 00:02:09.886
  • God has allotted a different number of years and days for
  • 00:02:09.886 --> 00:02:12.555
  • Every one of us in this life, and yet we talk about people's
  • 00:02:12.555 --> 00:02:16.659
  • Average lifespan.
  • 00:02:16.659 --> 00:02:19.162
  • You know, before the flood, people lived much longer.
  • 00:02:19.162 --> 00:02:22.198
  • Remember, before the flood, people lived hundreds and
  • 00:02:22.198 --> 00:02:24.434
  • Hundreds of years.
  • 00:02:24.434 --> 00:02:25.969
  • Pop quiz, who was the oldest man who ever lived?
  • 00:02:25.969 --> 00:02:30.573
  • Methuselah, he died at 969 years of age, and yet immediately
  • 00:02:30.573 --> 00:02:37.213
  • After the flood, people's lifespan decreased dramatically.
  • 00:02:37.213 --> 00:02:41.684
  • And then through science and technology and better nutrition,
  • 00:02:41.684 --> 00:02:45.355
  • People's lifespan started to increase.
  • 00:02:45.355 --> 00:02:48.358
  • But did you see just this week for the first time in decades,
  • 00:02:48.358 --> 00:02:52.195
  • People's lifespan has decreased once again?
  • 00:02:52.195 --> 00:02:55.965
  • Nevertheless, in psalm 90, moses said there's an average lifespan
  • 00:02:55.965 --> 00:03:00.570
  • For most people.
  • 00:03:00.570 --> 00:03:01.904
  • Now, moses beat it.
  • 00:03:01.904 --> 00:03:03.273
  • He lived to be 120 years of age, and yet in psalm 90, verses 10
  • 00:03:03.273 --> 00:03:08.044
  • And 12, he said, "seventy years are given us!
  • 00:03:08.044 --> 00:03:12.582
  • And some may even live to eighty.
  • 00:03:12.582 --> 00:03:15.652
  • But even the best of these years are often empty and filled with
  • 00:03:15.652 --> 00:03:20.123
  • Pain; soon they disappear, and we are gone."
  • 00:03:20.123 --> 00:03:24.427
  • Verse 12, "teach us to number our days and recognize how few
  • 00:03:24.427 --> 00:03:30.566
  • They are; help us to spend them as we should."
  • 00:03:30.566 --> 00:03:36.406
  • I'll never forget the first time i ever heard anybody speak about
  • 00:03:36.406 --> 00:03:40.943
  • Those verses.
  • 00:03:40.943 --> 00:03:42.545
  • I was sitting in a freshman orientation chapel at baylor
  • 00:03:42.545 --> 00:03:48.151
  • University, and i was separated from my girlfriend, amy, who was
  • 00:03:48.151 --> 00:03:52.855
  • 90 miles south, closer to hell at a place called the university
  • 00:03:52.855 --> 00:03:57.827
  • Of texas, and--oh, i'm just teasing.
  • 00:03:57.827 --> 00:04:05.335
  • But anyway, it was gonna be two weeks until i got to see her
  • 00:04:05.335 --> 00:04:09.439
  • Again, and oh, my heart was just pining away.
  • 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:13.876
  • When would those two weeks be up?
  • 00:04:13.876 --> 00:04:16.512
  • And while sitting in that chapel, i heard this preacher
  • 00:04:16.512 --> 00:04:18.981
  • Use this verse talking about how short time is.
  • 00:04:18.981 --> 00:04:23.119
  • "teach us to number our days and realize how few they are."
  • 00:04:23.119 --> 00:04:26.856
  • I was numbering the days, but believe me.
  • 00:04:26.856 --> 00:04:29.158
  • They didn't seem few.
  • 00:04:29.158 --> 00:04:30.927
  • They seemed many.
  • 00:04:30.927 --> 00:04:32.295
  • I mean, at that time in my life, time moved like molasses.
  • 00:04:32.295 --> 00:04:38.835
  • Age sure changes things.
  • 00:04:38.835 --> 00:04:41.804
  • Does anybody here today talk about how slowly time moves?
  • 00:04:41.804 --> 00:04:47.744
  • Do any of you talk about that?
  • 00:04:47.744 --> 00:04:49.912
  • Don't we talk about how quickly it goes?
  • 00:04:49.912 --> 00:04:52.315
  • The older and older you get, the more quickly it seems to go.
  • 00:04:52.315 --> 00:04:55.985
  • It's like one wag said, "life is like a roll of toilet paper.
  • 00:04:55.985 --> 00:05:00.356
  • The closer you get to the end, the more quickly it goes."
  • 00:05:00.356 --> 00:05:02.959
  • You've discovered that, haven't you?
  • 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:06.662
  • And that's what moses was saying, just a little
  • 00:05:06.662 --> 00:05:08.664
  • More eloquently.
  • 00:05:08.664 --> 00:05:10.032
  • He said, "teach us to number our days to realize how very few
  • 00:05:10.032 --> 00:05:14.604
  • They are."
  • 00:05:14.604 --> 00:05:15.972
  • Paul said it this way in ephesians 5:15 and 16.
  • 00:05:15.972 --> 00:05:19.008
  • He said, "be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as
  • 00:05:19.008 --> 00:05:23.713
  • Wise, making the most of your time, because the days
  • 00:05:23.713 --> 00:05:27.183
  • Are evil."
  • 00:05:27.183 --> 00:05:28.518
  • In the bible, the word "walk" was an analogy for how you live
  • 00:05:28.518 --> 00:05:31.854
  • Your life.
  • 00:05:31.854 --> 00:05:33.189
  • He said, "be very careful how you live your life in light of
  • 00:05:33.189 --> 00:05:36.492
  • How short time is."
  • 00:05:36.492 --> 00:05:38.494
  • Here's a good exercise.
  • 00:05:38.494 --> 00:05:40.730
  • I hope every one of you have a list in your mind of at least
  • 00:05:40.730 --> 00:05:46.302
  • Three things you'd like to accomplish before you die.
  • 00:05:46.302 --> 00:05:49.806
  • That's a good thing to sit down and think about.
  • 00:05:49.806 --> 00:05:51.507
  • What three things do i think god would have me to do before
  • 00:05:51.507 --> 00:05:54.110
  • I die?
  • 00:05:54.110 --> 00:05:55.445
  • And once you get those three things in your mind, ask
  • 00:05:55.445 --> 00:05:57.647
  • Yourself, as you go through the day, how much time do you
  • 00:05:57.647 --> 00:05:59.949
  • Actually devote to doing those major priorities in your life?
  • 00:05:59.949 --> 00:06:04.287
  • You know, much--most of us spend very little time doing
  • 00:06:04.287 --> 00:06:06.756
  • Those things that we think are the most important.
  • 00:06:06.756 --> 00:06:09.992
  • That's why paul said, "make the most of your time."
  • 00:06:09.992 --> 00:06:12.495
  • The greek word "make the most" is a word literally that means
  • 00:06:12.495 --> 00:06:16.232
  • Buy up.
  • 00:06:16.232 --> 00:06:18.100
  • Buy up your time.
  • 00:06:18.100 --> 00:06:20.470
  • Time is a precious commodity.
  • 00:06:20.470 --> 00:06:23.439
  • Make the most of your time.
  • 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:26.075
  • Number five, to prepare for your journey to heaven, minimize your
  • 00:06:26.075 --> 00:06:31.747
  • Pre-departure regrets.
  • 00:06:31.747 --> 00:06:34.951
  • Have you ever had this experience?
  • 00:06:34.951 --> 00:06:36.319
  • You're at the departure gate getting ready to get on a plane,
  • 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:38.588
  • And you remember something you should have done.
  • 00:06:38.588 --> 00:06:40.923
  • Gee, i should have stopped the newspaper.
  • 00:06:40.923 --> 00:06:43.359
  • I should have stopped the mail.
  • 00:06:43.359 --> 00:06:45.294
  • I should have packed a warmer coat or an extra pair of socks.
  • 00:06:45.294 --> 00:06:49.131
  • You know what i'm talking about.
  • 00:06:49.131 --> 00:06:51.200
  • You wish you had done something, but it's too late.
  • 00:06:51.200 --> 00:06:54.203
  • Now, those kind of regrets are minimal.
  • 00:06:54.203 --> 00:06:56.172
  • They have no lasting consequences.
  • 00:06:56.172 --> 00:06:59.075
  • But to come to the end of your life, ready to enter into heaven
  • 00:06:59.075 --> 00:07:01.811
  • With regrets, that's a whole different story.
  • 00:07:01.811 --> 00:07:05.047
  • As a pastor, i've had the experience many times of sitting
  • 00:07:05.047 --> 00:07:09.619
  • With christians who were about to die and listening to them to
  • 00:07:09.619 --> 00:07:13.489
  • Lament their regrets in life, relationships they wish they had
  • 00:07:13.489 --> 00:07:18.594
  • Maximized, relationships they wish they hadn't broken,
  • 00:07:18.594 --> 00:07:21.664
  • Opportunities they should have taken advantage of.
  • 00:07:21.664 --> 00:07:25.701
  • I'm reminded of the words of the poet john greenleaf whittier,
  • 00:07:25.701 --> 00:07:29.138
  • Who wrote, "for all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are
  • 00:07:29.138 --> 00:07:34.477
  • These, 'it might have been.'"
  • 00:07:34.477 --> 00:07:39.482
  • Bronnie ware was a worker in a care center, and in her work,
  • 00:07:39.482 --> 00:07:45.688
  • She had the experience of listening to many
  • 00:07:45.688 --> 00:07:48.190
  • Deathbed confessions.
  • 00:07:48.190 --> 00:07:50.192
  • And out of that experience, she wrote a book entitled "the top
  • 00:07:50.192 --> 00:07:53.930
  • Five regrets of the dying."
  • 00:07:53.930 --> 00:07:57.300
  • You know what they are?
  • 00:07:57.300 --> 00:07:59.101
  • Number one, i wish i'd had the courage to live a life true to
  • 00:07:59.101 --> 00:08:03.806
  • Myself, not the life others expected of me.
  • 00:08:03.806 --> 00:08:07.877
  • Number two, i wish i hadn't worked so hard.
  • 00:08:07.877 --> 00:08:11.380
  • Number three, i wish i'd had the courage to express my feelings.
  • 00:08:11.380 --> 00:08:16.185
  • Number four, i wish i had stayed in touch with my family.
  • 00:08:16.185 --> 00:08:20.823
  • Number five, i wish i'd let myself be happier.
  • 00:08:20.823 --> 00:08:26.495
  • You know, regrets are like a cancer.
  • 00:08:26.495 --> 00:08:28.564
  • They eat at the very soul of our being, and they're certainly no
  • 00:08:28.564 --> 00:08:33.102
  • Way to spend your final days here on earth.
  • 00:08:33.102 --> 00:08:37.039
  • When i think about that, i think about my own dad.
  • 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:41.644
  • My father was successful in his career.
  • 00:08:41.644 --> 00:08:46.415
  • He was a great christian.
  • 00:08:46.415 --> 00:08:47.783
  • He led my mom to faith in christ and led us to become christians.
  • 00:08:47.783 --> 00:08:53.356
  • He had an upper middle class income, took trips, and yet when
  • 00:08:53.356 --> 00:08:57.627
  • He was 66 years of age, he was told he had pancreatic cancer
  • 00:08:57.627 --> 00:09:01.964
  • And had four months to live.
  • 00:09:01.964 --> 00:09:04.700
  • And, you know, i'll never forget those four months sitting and
  • 00:09:04.700 --> 00:09:07.603
  • Talking with my dad often, and those weren't altogether happy
  • 00:09:07.603 --> 00:09:11.140
  • Days for my dad.
  • 00:09:11.140 --> 00:09:12.942
  • I listened to him talk about all of his regrets in life, career
  • 00:09:12.942 --> 00:09:17.780
  • Opportunities he wished he had maximized, relationships he
  • 00:09:17.780 --> 00:09:22.685
  • Wished he had taken advantage of, words he wished he had
  • 00:09:22.685 --> 00:09:27.690
  • Never spoken.
  • 00:09:27.690 --> 00:09:30.393
  • And as i listened to my dad talk, i realized the power that
  • 00:09:30.393 --> 00:09:34.764
  • Regrets have to extinguish the joy of an otherwise happy life.
  • 00:09:34.764 --> 00:09:42.338
  • How can you make sure that you don't end your life with a long
  • 00:09:42.338 --> 00:09:46.676
  • List of regrets?
  • 00:09:46.676 --> 00:09:48.944
  • You know, one of the best resolves you can make is right
  • 00:09:48.944 --> 00:09:52.581
  • Now to focus on those things you believe god would have you to
  • 00:09:52.581 --> 00:09:56.819
  • Do, regardless of how long he has left for you here on earth.
  • 00:09:56.819 --> 00:10:01.590
  • On your outline, i've encouraged you to engage in an exercise
  • 00:10:01.590 --> 00:10:05.895
  • That i think really would honor god.
  • 00:10:05.895 --> 00:10:08.097
  • That is, think through five major areas of your life, your
  • 00:10:08.097 --> 00:10:12.068
  • Relationship with god, your relationship to your family,
  • 00:10:12.068 --> 00:10:15.738
  • Your relationship with friends, your career, your finances.
  • 00:10:15.738 --> 00:10:20.743
  • And then draw a column like this and ask god to help you identify
  • 00:10:20.743 --> 00:10:25.481
  • What three things would you like to accomplish in each of these
  • 00:10:25.481 --> 00:10:28.884
  • Areas of your life before you go to heaven?
  • 00:10:28.884 --> 00:10:33.155
  • Take an hour some time this week and take time to fill out what
  • 00:10:33.155 --> 00:10:37.626
  • Are the three things god would like me to concentrate on the
  • 00:10:37.626 --> 00:10:40.896
  • Remaining years that i have.
  • 00:10:40.896 --> 00:10:42.264
  • That's what paul had in mind in ephesians 5 when he said, "live
  • 00:10:42.264 --> 00:10:44.700
  • Your life with a sense of purpose.
  • 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:46.502
  • Don't be vague."
  • 00:10:46.502 --> 00:10:48.270
  • "oh, i wanna be a better person.
  • 00:10:48.270 --> 00:10:49.605
  • I wanna be happier."
  • 00:10:49.605 --> 00:10:50.973
  • Don't be vague, but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of
  • 00:10:50.973 --> 00:10:53.309
  • God for your life.
  • 00:10:53.309 --> 00:10:54.643
  • Whenever i think about that truth, i think of the remarkable
  • 00:10:54.643 --> 00:10:57.346
  • Story of a swedish chemist named alfred nobel.
  • 00:10:57.346 --> 00:11:02.151
  • Alfred nobel made a fortune by discovering that you could
  • 00:11:02.151 --> 00:11:05.755
  • Stabilize liquid nitroglycerin with a compound, and so he
  • 00:11:05.755 --> 00:11:11.894
  • Created this substance.
  • 00:11:11.894 --> 00:11:13.262
  • It was really a paste that came from very volatile liquid,
  • 00:11:13.262 --> 00:11:17.166
  • Nitroglycerin, and this compound, and he had a new name
  • 00:11:17.166 --> 00:11:21.203
  • For this paste he created.
  • 00:11:21.203 --> 00:11:23.205
  • He called it dynamite.
  • 00:11:23.205 --> 00:11:26.842
  • And alfred nobel planned for this explosive to be used in
  • 00:11:26.842 --> 00:11:30.980
  • Construction, the building of canals and roads, or in
  • 00:11:30.980 --> 00:11:34.283
  • Mining operations.
  • 00:11:34.283 --> 00:11:36.252
  • Little did he know what would be the first use of dynamite, and
  • 00:11:36.252 --> 00:11:39.889
  • That would be to kill millions of people in warfare.
  • 00:11:39.889 --> 00:11:44.360
  • In 1888, alfred nobel's brother ludwig suddenly died, but french
  • 00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:50.232
  • Newspapers made a mistake and instead of printing ludwig
  • 00:11:50.232 --> 00:11:54.203
  • Nobel's obituary, they accidentally printed the
  • 00:11:54.203 --> 00:11:57.706
  • Obituary for alfred nobel.
  • 00:11:57.706 --> 00:12:00.776
  • And so alfred nobel had the unique experience of reading his
  • 00:12:00.776 --> 00:12:05.281
  • Own obituary in the newspaper.
  • 00:12:05.281 --> 00:12:08.450
  • And as he read it, he realized what he would be reminded for.
  • 00:12:08.450 --> 00:12:12.388
  • In fact, in the obituary, it used the term he was a merchant
  • 00:12:12.388 --> 00:12:16.826
  • Of death.
  • 00:12:16.826 --> 00:12:18.861
  • Not wanting to be remembered for that, alfred nobel made a
  • 00:12:18.861 --> 00:12:22.264
  • Decision to change his life at that point.
  • 00:12:22.264 --> 00:12:24.600
  • He took his fortune and spent the rest of his time devoted to
  • 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:29.438
  • Improving life on earth through the humanities and through
  • 00:12:29.438 --> 00:12:32.675
  • Science, and he created the awards that we still know today
  • 00:12:32.675 --> 00:12:36.545
  • As the nobel peace prize.
  • 00:12:36.545 --> 00:12:39.815
  • Alfred nobel couldn't erase his past, but he decided to use
  • 00:12:39.815 --> 00:12:43.385
  • Whatever regrets he had to make changes in his life today that
  • 00:12:43.385 --> 00:12:48.157
  • Would affect his tomorrow and his eternity.
  • 00:12:48.157 --> 00:12:51.493
  • You know, you and i won't have the fame or fortune of alfred
  • 00:12:51.493 --> 00:12:54.563
  • Nobel, but we can exercise the same principle.
  • 00:12:54.563 --> 00:12:58.334
  • Whatever regrets, mistakes you've made in the past, you
  • 00:12:58.334 --> 00:13:02.204
  • Can't eliminate them, but you can use them to change your
  • 00:13:02.204 --> 00:13:06.675
  • Tomorrow and your forever.
  • 00:13:06.675 --> 00:13:08.978
  • You know, when paul came to the end of his life, he didn't come
  • 00:13:08.978 --> 00:13:12.014
  • To the end of his life without any mistakes.
  • 00:13:12.014 --> 00:13:15.584
  • He had made terrible mistakes.
  • 00:13:15.584 --> 00:13:17.419
  • He had blasphemed the name of god and persecuted christians.
  • 00:13:17.419 --> 00:13:21.790
  • He didn't come to the end of his life without mistakes, but he
  • 00:13:21.790 --> 00:13:24.460
  • Came to the end of his life without any regrets.
  • 00:13:24.460 --> 00:13:28.864
  • In 2 timothy 4:7, as he prepared for his execution, he said to
  • 00:13:28.864 --> 00:13:32.902
  • Timothy, "i have fought the good fight,
  • 00:13:32.902 --> 00:13:35.938
  • I have finished the course, and i have kept the faith."
  • 00:13:35.938 --> 00:13:42.645
  • Finally, to prepare for your journey to heaven, take care of
  • 00:13:42.645 --> 00:13:47.716
  • The practical matters before you depart.
  • 00:13:47.716 --> 00:13:51.220
  • Take care of practical matters before you depart.
  • 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:54.556
  • When i think about making preparations for your loved ones
  • 00:13:54.556 --> 00:13:57.559
  • Before you die, i think about a great couple friend of ours,
  • 00:13:57.559 --> 00:14:03.899
  • John and sandra berry, that we knew from our days in east
  • 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:07.336
  • Linden and wichita falls.
  • 00:14:07.336 --> 00:14:09.738
  • One day, john went to a seminar at work on how to prepare your
  • 00:14:09.738 --> 00:14:14.777
  • Family for your death, and john--for john, it was a very
  • 00:14:14.777 --> 00:14:18.647
  • Sobering experience.
  • 00:14:18.647 --> 00:14:20.015
  • So he came home one afternoon to his wife, sandra, and he said,
  • 00:14:20.015 --> 00:14:23.719
  • "you know, honey, i realized that if i were to die, you
  • 00:14:23.719 --> 00:14:26.488
  • Wouldn't know what to do, and i really haven't told you much
  • 00:14:26.488 --> 00:14:28.624
  • Of anything."
  • 00:14:28.624 --> 00:14:29.959
  • So he said, "you know, i wanna just talk a few things through
  • 00:14:29.959 --> 00:14:31.927
  • With you."
  • 00:14:31.927 --> 00:14:33.295
  • She said, "okay."
  • 00:14:33.295 --> 00:14:34.630
  • He said, "you know, if i die before you do, i really think
  • 00:14:34.630 --> 00:14:36.632
  • You ought to stay in this house.
  • 00:14:36.632 --> 00:14:38.367
  • The mortgage is almost paid for.
  • 00:14:38.367 --> 00:14:39.868
  • I think you ought to remain in the house instead of trying to
  • 00:14:39.868 --> 00:14:42.204
  • Sell it and find a new home."
  • 00:14:42.204 --> 00:14:43.706
  • She said, "okay."
  • 00:14:43.706 --> 00:14:45.174
  • And he said, "you know, if you should ever feel like you wanted
  • 00:14:45.174 --> 00:14:48.277
  • To remarry, i want you to know you have my permission.
  • 00:14:48.277 --> 00:14:51.313
  • I'm fine with that.
  • 00:14:51.313 --> 00:14:52.648
  • In fact, if you and your new husband wanna live in this
  • 00:14:52.648 --> 00:14:54.583
  • House, no problem at all."
  • 00:14:54.583 --> 00:14:56.852
  • She said, "well, that's very gracious, john."
  • 00:14:56.852 --> 00:14:59.188
  • And he said, "and if he happened to love golf as much as i do,
  • 00:14:59.188 --> 00:15:03.325
  • I'd want him to feel comfortable using my golf clubs."
  • 00:15:03.325 --> 00:15:07.896
  • Sandrach shook her head and said, "no, absolutely not."
  • 00:15:07.896 --> 00:15:13.002
  • He said, "why not?"
  • 00:15:13.002 --> 00:15:15.037
  • She said, "well, john, you're right-handed, and
  • 00:15:15.037 --> 00:15:17.272
  • He's left-handed."
  • 00:15:17.272 --> 00:15:21.210
  • Should have seen the look on john's face.
  • 00:15:21.210 --> 00:15:25.447
  • That's a pretty funny story, but what isn't funny are people who
  • 00:15:25.447 --> 00:15:30.819
  • Really do depart without telling their family anything and making
  • 00:15:30.819 --> 00:15:34.623
  • Adequate preparation.
  • 00:15:34.623 --> 00:15:36.892
  • The fact is, just like isaiah said to hezekiah, you are going
  • 00:15:36.892 --> 00:15:40.696
  • To die.
  • 00:15:40.696 --> 00:15:42.031
  • Audrey hendel wrote about her husband jim, who was a cpa and a
  • 00:15:42.031 --> 00:15:47.669
  • Certified financial planner.
  • 00:15:47.669 --> 00:15:50.039
  • A few years before he died, her husband, jim, wrote an article
  • 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:53.142
  • On how to leave your financial house in order for your family.
  • 00:15:53.142 --> 00:15:57.513
  • 1 timothy 5:8 was the basis for his article.
  • 00:15:57.513 --> 00:16:00.582
  • Paul said, "if anyone does not provide for his own, especially
  • 00:16:00.582 --> 00:16:03.852
  • For those of his household, he has denied the faith and is
  • 00:16:03.852 --> 00:16:08.424
  • Worse than an unbeliever."
  • 00:16:08.424 --> 00:16:10.826
  • You know, men especially, providing for your household
  • 00:16:10.826 --> 00:16:14.163
  • Means more than earning a living and making sure they have their
  • 00:16:14.163 --> 00:16:16.865
  • Needs while you're alive.
  • 00:16:16.865 --> 00:16:18.233
  • It means making sure they're cared for after they--after
  • 00:16:18.233 --> 00:16:20.903
  • You're dead so that they know exactly what to do.
  • 00:16:20.903 --> 00:16:25.340
  • In that article, jim hendel advised that husbands or
  • 00:16:25.340 --> 00:16:29.445
  • Families put together a notebook that contains the vital
  • 00:16:29.445 --> 00:16:32.714
  • Information your loved ones are going to need when you go,
  • 00:16:32.714 --> 00:16:35.717
  • Listing bank accounts, investments, passwords to
  • 00:16:35.717 --> 00:16:41.290
  • Computers, information about your obituary, what you would
  • 00:16:41.290 --> 00:16:45.294
  • Like them to remember, any ideas you have about your memorial
  • 00:16:45.294 --> 00:16:49.298
  • Service so that when your family is overcome with grief, they
  • 00:16:49.298 --> 00:16:53.202
  • Won't be in a panic trying to find things and make
  • 00:16:53.202 --> 00:16:56.572
  • Important decisions.
  • 00:16:56.572 --> 00:16:58.807
  • Jim hendel died, and he left such a notebook for his
  • 00:16:58.807 --> 00:17:02.211
  • Wife, audrey.
  • 00:17:02.211 --> 00:17:03.912
  • She said she took that notebook into their attorney.
  • 00:17:03.912 --> 00:17:06.215
  • He looked through this and said, "i have never seen anything like
  • 00:17:06.215 --> 00:17:09.518
  • This before."
  • 00:17:09.518 --> 00:17:11.487
  • Audrey wrote, "my husband, jim, demonstrated love, godly
  • 00:17:11.487 --> 00:17:15.924
  • Character, and integrity by leaving a part of himself in
  • 00:17:15.924 --> 00:17:19.761
  • This book.
  • 00:17:19.761 --> 00:17:21.130
  • I have never felt abandoned or insecure.
  • 00:17:21.130 --> 00:17:24.433
  • My husband took good care of us in his life and is still taking
  • 00:17:24.433 --> 00:17:29.605
  • Care of us in his death."
  • 00:17:29.605 --> 00:17:33.041
  • Do that for your family.
  • 00:17:33.041 --> 00:17:35.444
  • You won't regret it.
  • 00:17:35.444 --> 00:17:37.446
  • Make out a will, and when you make that will out, don't forget
  • 00:17:37.446 --> 00:17:40.916
  • The church.
  • 00:17:40.916 --> 00:17:42.251
  • It's your last way of making sure some of what you've
  • 00:17:42.251 --> 00:17:45.821
  • Accumulated goes on and on and on and on for eternity.
  • 00:17:45.821 --> 00:17:50.726
  • Set your house in order.
  • 00:17:50.726 --> 00:17:53.562
  • Are you ready for your journey to that place called heaven?
  • 00:17:53.562 --> 00:17:57.666
  • Some of you may say, "well, pastor, honestly, i get fearful
  • 00:17:57.666 --> 00:18:02.504
  • When i think about not the end result but the process of
  • 00:18:02.504 --> 00:18:07.376
  • Getting there to that place called heaven.
  • 00:18:07.376 --> 00:18:10.279
  • I'm fearful of death."
  • 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:13.081
  • Whenever i think of the fear of death, i think of the true story
  • 00:18:13.081 --> 00:18:16.485
  • Of john todd.
  • 00:18:16.485 --> 00:18:18.654
  • John todd was born in 1800 in vermont.
  • 00:18:18.654 --> 00:18:24.092
  • He spent the first six years of his life living in a little
  • 00:18:24.092 --> 00:18:27.596
  • Hamlet called killingsworth.
  • 00:18:27.596 --> 00:18:30.499
  • When he was six years old, john todd's parents, both of them
  • 00:18:30.499 --> 00:18:34.069
  • Died suddenly.
  • 00:18:34.069 --> 00:18:35.837
  • He and his siblings had to be parceled out among any relative
  • 00:18:35.837 --> 00:18:38.874
  • That would take them.
  • 00:18:38.874 --> 00:18:41.009
  • He had a very kind-hearted aunt who agreed to take him and to
  • 00:18:41.009 --> 00:18:44.246
  • Raise him, so he went to live with her.
  • 00:18:44.246 --> 00:18:47.683
  • For the next 15 years, she cared for him just like a mom.
  • 00:18:47.683 --> 00:18:51.420
  • When he was 21 years of age, he left home, went to school,
  • 00:18:51.420 --> 00:18:55.390
  • Prepared for the ministry, became a successful pastor.
  • 00:18:55.390 --> 00:18:59.061
  • In his middle-aged years, he received word that his aunt who
  • 00:18:59.061 --> 00:19:02.397
  • Had cared for him was about to die.
  • 00:19:02.397 --> 00:19:05.767
  • She wrote him a letter and said that even though she was a
  • 00:19:05.767 --> 00:19:08.503
  • Christian, she greatly feared death.
  • 00:19:08.503 --> 00:19:12.874
  • Moved with compassion, john wrote her back, recounting that
  • 00:19:12.874 --> 00:19:17.246
  • Night when he, a frightened little boy, was welcomed into
  • 00:19:17.246 --> 00:19:21.316
  • The loving and warm home of his aunt.
  • 00:19:21.316 --> 00:19:25.153
  • And this is what he wrote to his aunt.
  • 00:19:25.153 --> 00:19:27.656
  • "it is now 35 years since i, a little boy of six, was left
  • 00:19:27.656 --> 00:19:33.795
  • Quite alone in the world.
  • 00:19:33.795 --> 00:19:35.797
  • You sent me word you would give me a home and be a kind mother
  • 00:19:35.797 --> 00:19:39.534
  • To me.
  • 00:19:39.534 --> 00:19:40.902
  • I have never forgotten the day when i made that long journey of
  • 00:19:40.902 --> 00:19:44.473
  • Ten miles to your home.
  • 00:19:44.473 --> 00:19:47.175
  • I can still recall my disappointment when instead of
  • 00:19:47.175 --> 00:19:50.746
  • Coming for me yourself, you sent your servant, caesar, to
  • 00:19:50.746 --> 00:19:54.149
  • Fetch me.
  • 00:19:54.149 --> 00:19:55.651
  • I well remember my tears and my anxiety as perched high on the
  • 00:19:55.651 --> 00:20:00.522
  • Horse and clinging tight to caesar, i rode off to my
  • 00:20:00.522 --> 00:20:04.092
  • New home.
  • 00:20:04.092 --> 00:20:05.794
  • Night fell before we finished the journey, and as it grew
  • 00:20:05.794 --> 00:20:09.197
  • Dark, i became lonely and afraid.
  • 00:20:09.197 --> 00:20:12.334
  • 'do you think she'll go to bed before i get there?'
  • 00:20:12.334 --> 00:20:14.603
  • I asked caesar anxiously.
  • 00:20:14.603 --> 00:20:16.905
  • 'oh, no,' he said reassuringly, 'she'll sure stay up for you.
  • 00:20:16.905 --> 00:20:22.110
  • When we get out of these here woods, you'll see her candles
  • 00:20:22.110 --> 00:20:24.913
  • Shining in the window.'
  • 00:20:24.913 --> 00:20:27.482
  • Presently, we did ride out in the clearing, and there, sure
  • 00:20:27.482 --> 00:20:31.320
  • Enough, was your candle.
  • 00:20:31.320 --> 00:20:33.588
  • I remember you were waiting at the door, that you put your arms
  • 00:20:33.588 --> 00:20:37.392
  • Close about me, and that you lifted me, a tired and
  • 00:20:37.392 --> 00:20:41.563
  • Bewildered little boy, down from that horse.
  • 00:20:41.563 --> 00:20:45.734
  • You had a big fire burning on the hearth, a hot supper waiting
  • 00:20:45.734 --> 00:20:49.471
  • For me on the stove.
  • 00:20:49.471 --> 00:20:51.440
  • After supper, you took me to my new room.
  • 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:54.609
  • You heard me say my prayers, and then you sat beside me until i
  • 00:20:54.609 --> 00:20:59.414
  • Fell asleep.
  • 00:20:59.414 --> 00:21:01.450
  • You probably realize why i'm recalling all of this to
  • 00:21:01.450 --> 00:21:05.153
  • Your memory.
  • 00:21:05.153 --> 00:21:06.955
  • Someday soon, god will send for you to take you to a new home.
  • 00:21:06.955 --> 00:21:13.762
  • Don't fear the summons, the strange journey, or the dark
  • 00:21:13.762 --> 00:21:17.699
  • Messenger of death.
  • 00:21:17.699 --> 00:21:19.868
  • God can be trusted to do as much for you as you were kind enough
  • 00:21:19.868 --> 00:21:24.740
  • To do for me so many years ago.
  • 00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:28.377
  • At the end of the road, you will find love and a welcome waiting,
  • 00:21:28.377 --> 00:21:33.782
  • And you will be safe in god's care."
  • 00:21:33.782 --> 00:21:39.755
  • That's the future god has planned for you.
  • 00:21:39.755 --> 00:21:45.193
  • "i go," jesus said, "to prepare a place for you."
  • 00:21:45.193 --> 00:21:51.566
  • It's a place more magnificent than you could possibly imagine.
  • 00:21:51.566 --> 00:21:56.872
  • It's a place where every heartache will be erased and
  • 00:21:56.872 --> 00:22:00.542
  • Every dream will be fulfilled.
  • 00:22:00.542 --> 00:22:03.512
  • It's a place reserved for those who have trusted in christ as
  • 00:22:03.512 --> 00:22:08.417
  • Their savior.
  • 00:22:08.417 --> 00:22:10.118
  • It's a place called heaven.
  • 00:22:10.118 --> 00:22:14.489
  • Jeffress: over these past few weeks, we've answered the ten
  • 00:22:18.727 --> 00:22:21.229
  • Most common questions about heaven, and i hope these studies
  • 00:22:21.229 --> 00:22:24.966
  • Have quelled any fears of death and helped you celebrate the
  • 00:22:24.966 --> 00:22:28.737
  • Wonderful home god is preparing for those who know christ
  • 00:22:28.737 --> 00:22:32.207
  • As savior.
  • 00:22:32.207 --> 00:22:33.809
  • Now, in these final moments together, i want to affirm that
  • 00:22:33.809 --> 00:22:37.012
  • Our ministry together is bearing fruit.
  • 00:22:37.012 --> 00:22:39.981
  • Not long ago, i heard from jo, who's caring for her
  • 00:22:39.981 --> 00:22:42.884
  • Homebound husband.
  • 00:22:42.884 --> 00:22:44.486
  • She wrote, "we can't go to church or bible study anymore.
  • 00:22:44.486 --> 00:22:48.423
  • And sometimes, we both feel depressed.
  • 00:22:48.423 --> 00:22:51.026
  • But i make sure to listen to pathway to victory every
  • 00:22:51.026 --> 00:22:54.429
  • Single day.
  • 00:22:54.429 --> 00:22:55.797
  • Your messages help me stay grounded and focused on my
  • 00:22:55.797 --> 00:22:59.067
  • Purpose--to be a light in this dark world, starting right here
  • 00:22:59.067 --> 00:23:03.505
  • At home."
  • 00:23:03.505 --> 00:23:04.940
  • Jo, your words are a tremendous encouragement to us and to
  • 00:23:04.940 --> 00:23:08.910
  • Everyone who supports this ministry, especially our
  • 00:23:08.910 --> 00:23:11.780
  • Pathway partners.
  • 00:23:11.780 --> 00:23:13.315
  • Your generosity brings hope and biblical truth to people like jo
  • 00:23:13.315 --> 00:23:17.752
  • When they need it most.
  • 00:23:17.752 --> 00:23:19.521
  • Together, we are piercing the darkness with the light of
  • 00:23:19.521 --> 00:23:23.458
  • God's word.
  • 00:23:23.458 --> 00:23:24.960
  • Now please stay right there.
  • 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:26.361
  • I'll be back with more "pathway to victory" in just a moment.
  • 00:23:26.361 --> 00:23:29.931
  • Announcer: whether you're mourning someone you love or
  • 00:23:32.434 --> 00:23:34.469
  • Facing your own difficult season, grief can feel
  • 00:23:34.469 --> 00:23:37.639
  • Overwhelming.
  • 00:23:37.639 --> 00:23:38.974
  • But the bible tells us not to be discouraged, because this life
  • 00:23:38.974 --> 00:23:42.410
  • Is not the end.
  • 00:23:42.410 --> 00:23:43.745
  • Dr. robert jeffress wants to help lift your eyes from earth's
  • 00:23:43.745 --> 00:23:47.048
  • Sorrows to heaven's certainty with "encouragement from a place
  • 00:23:47.048 --> 00:23:50.685
  • Called heaven."
  • 00:23:50.685 --> 00:23:52.020
  • This beautifully-designed book combines inspiring scripture,
  • 00:23:52.020 --> 00:23:55.090
  • Stunning photography, and powerful biblical truths you can
  • 00:23:55.090 --> 00:23:58.493
  • Keep close during difficult times.
  • 00:23:58.493 --> 00:24:01.129
  • Jeffress: the greatest hope we have is the promise of heaven.
  • 00:24:01.129 --> 00:24:04.666
  • In this book of encouragement, i wanna remind you what awaits us
  • 00:24:04.666 --> 00:24:07.869
  • After this life is over, not the myths and misconceptions tv and
  • 00:24:07.869 --> 00:24:12.574
  • Movies tell us about, but what god's word has promised.
  • 00:24:12.574 --> 00:24:16.811
  • Announcer: this padded hardcover book makes a thoughtful gift for
  • 00:24:16.811 --> 00:24:19.347
  • Anyone navigating grief, chronic illness, or stressful
  • 00:24:19.347 --> 00:24:22.751
  • Circumstances.
  • 00:24:22.751 --> 00:24:24.319
  • Request your copy of "encouragement from a place
  • 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:26.922
  • Called heaven" when you give a generous gift to "pathway to
  • 00:24:26.922 --> 00:24:29.391
  • Victory."
  • 00:24:29.391 --> 00:24:30.725
  • And when your gift is $75 or more, we'll also send you dr.
  • 00:24:30.725 --> 00:24:34.362
  • Jeffress's best-selling book "a place called heaven" along with
  • 00:24:34.362 --> 00:24:38.166
  • The complete "a place called heaven" teaching series on both
  • 00:24:38.166 --> 00:24:41.069
  • Cd and dvd.
  • 00:24:41.069 --> 00:24:42.804
  • Jeffress: it's not gonna be very long till we go to that place
  • 00:24:42.804 --> 00:24:44.639
  • Called heaven.
  • 00:24:44.639 --> 00:24:45.974
  • But knowing that our future is secure ought to be a motivation
  • 00:24:45.974 --> 00:24:50.211
  • For us to live the most effective lives for god that we
  • 00:24:50.211 --> 00:24:53.915
  • Can right now.
  • 00:24:53.915 --> 00:24:55.417
  • Announcer: your generosity empowers this ministry to pierce
  • 00:24:55.417 --> 00:24:58.253
  • The darkness with the light of god's word.
  • 00:24:58.253 --> 00:25:00.889
  • Jeffress: my prayer is that you will enter the gates of heaven
  • 00:25:04.192 --> 00:25:06.828
  • With absolutely no regrets.
  • 00:25:06.828 --> 00:25:09.831
  • And why not begin your intentional journey right now?
  • 00:25:09.831 --> 00:25:13.768
  • It's never too late to begin doing what's right, and there's
  • 00:25:13.768 --> 00:25:17.372
  • No time like the present to begin preparing for your
  • 00:25:17.372 --> 00:25:20.709
  • Eternal home.
  • 00:25:20.709 --> 00:25:22.510
  • Well, every single one of us is in the middle of an invisible
  • 00:25:22.510 --> 00:25:25.981
  • War, whether we realize it or not.
  • 00:25:25.981 --> 00:25:28.617
  • Satan and his demons are working overtime to destroy everything
  • 00:25:28.617 --> 00:25:32.921
  • Important to you, but god has equipped us with powerful
  • 00:25:32.921 --> 00:25:36.458
  • Weapons to defeat the enemy's schemes.
  • 00:25:36.458 --> 00:25:39.594
  • Stay tuned for a preview of my newly updated series "the
  • 00:25:39.594 --> 00:25:43.164
  • Divine defense."
  • 00:25:43.164 --> 00:25:46.001
  • Jeffress: your mind is the devil's playground.
  • 00:25:46.067 --> 00:25:52.040
  • More accurately, your mind is the devil's battlefield on which
  • 00:25:52.040 --> 00:25:57.912
  • He is warring against everything important to you.
  • 00:25:57.912 --> 00:26:03.451
  • It is a battle that seeks to destroy your faith, your family,
  • 00:26:03.451 --> 00:26:07.922
  • And your future.
  • 00:26:07.922 --> 00:26:09.591
  • Announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for the message
  • 00:26:09.591 --> 00:26:12.794
  • "when satan comes knocking," part of the new series "the
  • 00:26:12.794 --> 00:26:16.197
  • Divine defense" here on "pathway to victory."
  • 00:26:16.197 --> 00:26:19.601
  • Announcer: experience a journey that will refresh your spirit
  • 00:26:21.202 --> 00:26:24.172
  • And renew your faith on the pathway to victory cruise to
  • 00:26:24.172 --> 00:26:27.409
  • Alaska, june 13-20, 2026.
  • 00:26:27.409 --> 00:26:31.012
  • Jeffress: sail aboard holland america's luxurious koningsdam
  • 00:26:31.012 --> 00:26:34.149
  • Through british columbia's beautiful inside passage.
  • 00:26:34.149 --> 00:26:37.952
  • From the pristine waters of glacier bay to the charming
  • 00:26:37.952 --> 00:26:41.356
  • Frontier towns of juneau, ketchikan, and skagway, you'll
  • 00:26:41.356 --> 00:26:45.627
  • Witness god's handiwork on full display.
  • 00:26:45.627 --> 00:26:49.097
  • Announcer: imagine standing on deck surrounded by towering
  • 00:26:49.097 --> 00:26:51.733
  • Glaciers and snowcapped mountains while enjoying
  • 00:26:51.733 --> 00:26:54.335
  • Powerful bible teaching from dr. jeffress.
  • 00:26:54.335 --> 00:26:57.172
  • Then enjoy spirit-lifting worship led by michael o'brien
  • 00:26:57.172 --> 00:27:00.909
  • And share plenty of laughter with dennis swanberg, america's
  • 00:27:00.909 --> 00:27:04.112
  • Minister of encouragement.
  • 00:27:04.112 --> 00:27:05.880
  • Jeffress: this is more than just a vacation.
  • 00:27:05.880 --> 00:27:08.016
  • It's a sacred pause to reconnect with the lord.
  • 00:27:08.016 --> 00:27:11.519
  • Announcer: to reserve your cabin on the 2026 pathway to victory
  • 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:14.289
  • Cruise to alaska, call ... or visit ptv.org.
  • 00:27:14.289 --> 00:27:27.235