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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - Determine To Influence Your Culture (Part 2) | June 6, 2025
- ...
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- ♪♪♪
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- Male announcer: from the pulpit of the first baptist church of
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- Dallas, texas, this is "pathway to victory" with dr.
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- Robert jeffress.
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- Dr. robert jeffress: hi, i'm robert jeffress and welcome
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- Again to "pathway to victory."
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- With our world as dark and as lost as it is, it's tempting to
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- Live in a holy huddle, only interacting with christians
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- Around us, but elijah didn't shy away from being an influence in
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- His culture and neither should we.
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- Today, i wanna urge you to take a page out of elijah's book and
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- Be an influencer for god in your own setting.
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- My message is titled, "determine to influence your culture" on
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- Today's edition of "pathway to victory."
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪ behold the lamb, ♪
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- ♪ behold the lamb, ♪
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- ♪ slain from the foundation ♪
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- ♪ of the world. ♪
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- ♪ for sinners crucified, ♪
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- ♪ o holy sacrifice. ♪
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- ♪ behold the lamb of god, ♪
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- ♪ behold the lamb. ♪
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- ♪ crown him, ♪
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- ♪ crown him. ♪
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- ♪ worthy is the lamb. ♪
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- ♪ behold the lamb, ♪
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- ♪ behold the lamb. ♪
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- ♪ slain from the foundation ♪
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- ♪ of the world. ♪
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- ♪ for sinners crucified, ♪
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- ♪ o holy sacrifice. ♪
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- ♪ behold the lamb of god, ♪
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- ♪ behold the lamb of god. ♪
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- ♪ behold the lamb of god, ♪
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- ♪ behold the lamb. ♪
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- ♪ behold the lamb, ♪
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- ♪ behold the lamb. ♪
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- Announcer: jesus declared, "you are the salt of the earth
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- And the light of the world."
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- With so much darkness creeping into our schools and
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- Communities, now is the time to answer that calling.
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- Become the salt and light
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- The world desperately needs through
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- The "pathway to victory" salt
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- And light matching challenge.
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- Your gift today, doubled in ministry impact, will empower
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- "pathway to victory" to proclaim the gospel and stand for
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- Biblical truth.
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- Push back and hold strong against moral decline by joining
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- The salt and light matching challenge.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Jeffress: you know, god left us here not to isolate ourselves
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- From the culture, not to identify with the culture, but
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- To influence the culture.
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- And yet i think you'd have to agree with me on the whole,
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- Christians aren't doing that great of a job of influence the
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- Culture, are we?
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- I mean, look at what's happening.
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- And that's amazing.
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- When you see our culture unraveling with as many
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- Christians as there are in this country supposedly, you know,
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- One survey says that 1/4 of the us population claims to be
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- Evangelical christian.
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- 1/4 of 300 million would be 75 million people claim to
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- Be christians.
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- Somebody put that in perspective pretty well.
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- You know, a pound of meat would probably be influenced by a
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- Quarter pound of salt, don't you think?
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- It doesn't take much salt to impact meat.
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- If you had a quarter pound of salt, you could really flavor a
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- Pound of meat.
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- If a quarter of our population are christians, why are we
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- Having zero influence on this culture?
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- I think there are two reasons that i wanna mention to
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- You today.
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- One reason is some christians have become what i call
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- Silo saints.
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- Instead of being salt that penetrates the meat, flavors the
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- Meat, preserves the meat, these christians remain in the salt
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- Shaker totally isolated from the meat.
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- They become silo saints and they actually pride themselves
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- On that.
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- And so i don't want to get involved in the culture.
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- I could pollute myself or i could pollute my family if i
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- Do that.
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- In fact, some christians have even come up with a theological
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- Justification for what they're doing.
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- A popular book right now is called "the benedict option."
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- I hate even giving the book a plug 'cause it is so insidious,
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- But it's written by a christian.
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- And he claims that christians ought to follow the example of
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- That monastic church leader, saint benedict, who basically
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- Said to his followers, "let's just get in our holy huddle and
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- Try to encourage one another in these dark days and pray that
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- Bad people don't do anything evil to us."
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- Is that what god has called us to do?
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- No, but there are many christians who fall for that and
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- Even justify that.
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- Not long ago i was on a panel discussion at a seminary and
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- During the q&a time, one of the students asked me this
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- Question, "dr. jeffress,
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- Why do you feel that conservative christians have the
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- Right to impose their values on a secular pluralistic society?"
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- Why do conservative christians have the right to impose their
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- Values on a secular society?
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- And my answer to him was, "look, society is always gonna be
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- Influenced by somebody's set of values.
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- The only question is, whose values are going to impact
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- The society?"
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- Some set of values impact any culture.
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- For the first, and i gave him an illustration.
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- I said, for example, for the first 160 years of our nation's
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- History, we said that marriage should be between one man and
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- One woman.
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- That was the biblical principle.
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- One man and one woman.
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- In 1885, the supreme court, murphy versus ramsey said,
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- Marriage is a holy a state of god consisting of the union of
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- One man and one woman.
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- That was our value that was imposed, if you will, by our
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- Adherence to the judeo-christian belief.
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- But then suddenly in 2015, the supreme court decided to change
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- That in obergefell versus hodges.
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- They said we're gonna have a new set of values that influence
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- Our policy.
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- The new value is marriage is whatever you want it to be.
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- And the supreme court imposed that value on our nation.
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- And believe me, it is imposed on us.
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- If you don't subscribe to that value, if you don't bow down to
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- It, you face fines or even bankruptcy in your work.
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- So remember this, somebody's values are already always gonna
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- Be imposed on the society.
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- It's just a question of whose values are going to be imposed.
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- Silo saints don't understand that.
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- You see, they believe what they believe is first of all, because
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- They see a false dichotomy between the sacred and
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- The secular.
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- They say, "now the church is sacred, but the government, oh,
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- That's secular, that's bad."
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- As we've seen, god actually designed both institutions to
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- Carry out his purpose.
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- He designed the church and he designed government and this
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- Idea that the church should not have any influence on
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- Governmental policy, that is something only infidels and
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- Unbelievers really believe or should believe.
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- You know, that's why, by the way, liberals always are happy
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- To talk about freedom of worship.
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- Oh, we believe in the freedom of worship, but they never talk
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- About what the constitution says, the free exercise
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- Of religion.
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- You see, the freedom of worship means basically these infidels,
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- They don't care what we do on sunday morning at 11 o'clock in
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- Our own church or saturday in our synagogue.
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- They're okay with that.
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- If those nutcases want to worship some imaginary being,
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- That's fine.
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- They say, "we're all for the freedom of worship," but that's
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- Not what the constitution says.
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- The first amendment guarantees the free exercise of our faith,
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- Not just on sunday mornings, but in every part of our life.
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- But it's the infidels, the secularists who have drawn this
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- False separation between faith and everyday life.
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- These silo saints also have a false understanding of
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- God's sovereignty.
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- They think god is only interested in the church and
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- In christians.
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- His rule is limited to church and to the christians.
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- Is that what the bible says?
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- Listen to psalm 103 verse 19.
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- "the lord has established his throne in the heavens; and his
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- Sovereignty rules over all."
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- God is not just the ruler over the church.
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- He's the ruler over government, he's the ruler over
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- All creation.
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- And while it's true, not everybody recognizes that rule,
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- It's god's will that people submit to his will, not just in
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- The future sometime, but right now.
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- It is god's desire that every people, every nation submit
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- Themselves to god's rule now, not in the future.
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- If you don't believe that, how many of you have ever said the
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- Lord's prayer before?
- 00:11:01.283 --> 00:11:02.818
- Come on, admit to it.
- 00:11:02.818 --> 00:11:05.121
- What have you really prayed if you've prayed the lord's prayer?
- 00:11:05.121 --> 00:11:08.257
- Listen to this.
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- Matthew 6, verses 9 and 10.
- 00:11:09.592 --> 00:11:10.960
- "our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
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- Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is
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- In heaven."
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- When you're praying for the lord's will to be done, you're
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- Not talking about in the future, you're saying, "god, i want your
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- Will being done right now on earth as it's being done right
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- Now in heaven."
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- Let me ask you something, do you think it's part of god's will
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- For 1.3 million children to be butchered in the womb every year
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- Through abortion?
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- Is that part of god's will?
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- Is it god's will for christians to be persecuted?
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- Not just marginalized, but persecuted, put in boiling oil,
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- Having their heads chopped off in the middle east around
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- The world.
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- Is that part of god's will, the persecution of his followers?
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- Is it god's will for immorality to continue and the marriage to
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- Be redefined?
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- Is that part of god's will?
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- Of course it's not.
- 00:12:09.118 --> 00:12:10.953
- And the idea that we can just remain cloistered together and
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- Not to try to impact our culture for good is an idea that is
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- Absolutely foreign to christianity.
- 00:12:17.393 --> 00:12:20.896
- Fact is, spiritual silo people are isolating themselves from
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- The culture.
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- That's why they have no impact on the culture.
- 00:12:28.170 --> 00:12:30.339
- They live in their silos.
- 00:12:30.339 --> 00:12:32.308
- They are silo saints.
- 00:12:32.308 --> 00:12:34.910
- But there's another group of christians who are having no
- 00:12:34.910 --> 00:12:38.547
- Impact on this world because they are what i call
- 00:12:38.547 --> 00:12:42.017
- Spiritual sellouts.
- 00:12:42.017 --> 00:12:44.520
- No, they haven't isolated themselves from the culture.
- 00:12:44.520 --> 00:12:47.556
- Instead, they have identified with the culture.
- 00:12:47.556 --> 00:12:51.327
- They have become so much like the world you can't tell the
- 00:12:51.327 --> 00:12:54.730
- Difference between these christians and unbelievers.
- 00:12:54.730 --> 00:12:57.499
- They have adopted the world's value system.
- 00:12:57.499 --> 00:13:00.135
- They are like the salt jesus talked about in matthew 5 that
- 00:13:00.135 --> 00:13:03.839
- Has lost its saltiness, it's become worthless and deserves to
- 00:13:03.839 --> 00:13:09.478
- Be thrown out.
- 00:13:09.478 --> 00:13:10.813
- That's what he's talking about.
- 00:13:10.813 --> 00:13:12.181
- Salt that has lost its savor, that has lost its bite, it's
- 00:13:12.181 --> 00:13:15.985
- Become diluted and therefore it is worthless.
- 00:13:15.985 --> 00:13:19.622
- Many christians are like that.
- 00:13:19.622 --> 00:13:21.891
- They refuse to recognize sin.
- 00:13:21.891 --> 00:13:24.059
- They have a reluctance to recognize sin in the culture
- 00:13:24.059 --> 00:13:28.864
- Because frankly, they don't recognize sin in their own life.
- 00:13:28.864 --> 00:13:32.001
- They have so adopted the world's value system.
- 00:13:32.001 --> 00:13:35.437
- One christian philosopher described the process of how sin
- 00:13:35.437 --> 00:13:39.408
- Has become acceptable to the world and even to christians
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- Like this.
- 00:13:42.678 --> 00:13:44.280
- He says, "as any sin passes through its stages from
- 00:13:44.280 --> 00:13:48.517
- Temptation to toleration to approval, its name is first
- 00:13:48.517 --> 00:13:53.822
- Euphemized, then avoided, then forgotten.
- 00:13:53.822 --> 00:13:59.261
- A colleague tells me that some of his fellow scholars called
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- Child molestation quote, "intergenerational intimacy,"
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- End of quote.
- 00:14:08.570 --> 00:14:10.005
- That's a euphemism.
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- A good-hearted editor tried to talk me out of using the
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- Term sodomy.
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- That's avoidance.
- 00:14:17.212 --> 00:14:19.415
- My students don't know the word fornication at all.
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- That's forgetfulness.
- 00:14:23.585 --> 00:14:25.955
- If we can't truly call sin sin, if we can't label it for what it
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- Is, sodomy, fornication, molestation, no wonder we have
- 00:14:31.727 --> 00:14:38.067
- Become like the world.
- 00:14:38.067 --> 00:14:40.502
- How many churches today do you know of that will call sin sin?
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- They avoid it and then they forget it.
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- A friend of mine says it very well.
- 00:14:48.811 --> 00:14:50.446
- "the sins of the culture soon become the sins of christians
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- And the sins of christians become the sin of the church."
- 00:14:54.783 --> 00:14:59.722
- One reason some christians are not making any difference in the
- 00:14:59.722 --> 00:15:03.592
- World is that they are spiritual sellouts.
- 00:15:03.592 --> 00:15:05.995
- They have sold out to an ungodly lifestyle.
- 00:15:05.995 --> 00:15:08.530
- They can't point out sin in the culture because they don't
- 00:15:08.530 --> 00:15:11.200
- Recognize it in their own life or because of their adherence to
- 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:15.137
- Political correctness.
- 00:15:15.137 --> 00:15:17.072
- That is, they won't speak out against sin because they don't
- 00:15:17.072 --> 00:15:20.943
- Wanna be identified as a religious fanatic.
- 00:15:20.943 --> 00:15:24.680
- They're afraid of any personal loss and popularity or job
- 00:15:24.680 --> 00:15:28.517
- Promotion or even harmony in their own home that taking a
- 00:15:28.517 --> 00:15:33.455
- Stand for christ will cause.
- 00:15:33.455 --> 00:15:35.591
- So what happens?
- 00:15:35.591 --> 00:15:37.192
- Whenever they are with a christian who will take such a
- 00:15:37.192 --> 00:15:40.396
- Stand, instead of supporting that christian, they back away
- 00:15:40.396 --> 00:15:44.700
- As far as they can, not wanting to have any of that
- 00:15:44.700 --> 00:15:48.070
- Negative fallout.
- 00:15:48.070 --> 00:15:50.305
- You see it all of the time.
- 00:15:50.305 --> 00:15:52.775
- And remember peter, how he said, "lord, i'm with you to the end."
- 00:15:52.775 --> 00:15:57.980
- But then when the heat started being turned up on jesus and he
- 00:15:57.980 --> 00:16:01.016
- Started being arrested and going to the trials, what does it say?
- 00:16:01.016 --> 00:16:05.421
- Peter started following the lord, what?
- 00:16:05.421 --> 00:16:07.689
- From a distance. from a distance.
- 00:16:07.689 --> 00:16:10.459
- He wanted to keep his options open in case this thing didn't
- 00:16:10.459 --> 00:16:12.761
- Turn out too well.
- 00:16:12.761 --> 00:16:14.763
- It's a lot of--that's the same sentiment of a lot of
- 00:16:14.763 --> 00:16:17.666
- Christians today.
- 00:16:17.666 --> 00:16:19.334
- You know, oh we're with you, brother, we're with you until
- 00:16:19.334 --> 00:16:23.305
- There's some negative fallout and then these christians fail
- 00:16:23.305 --> 00:16:26.575
- To speak up because they don't want to be identified with
- 00:16:26.575 --> 00:16:30.579
- Something that might cause them a problem.
- 00:16:30.579 --> 00:16:33.315
- I told you last time that one of the most memorable experiences
- 00:16:33.315 --> 00:16:37.286
- Of my life was preaching at the inauguration.
- 00:16:37.286 --> 00:16:41.523
- But an equally memorable day was what happened the day before
- 00:16:41.523 --> 00:16:46.195
- The inauguration.
- 00:16:46.195 --> 00:16:48.230
- On that thursday night before the inauguration, i was walking
- 00:16:48.230 --> 00:16:52.301
- Into the studios of fox news in washington dc and my cell phone
- 00:16:52.301 --> 00:16:57.840
- Started to ring.
- 00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:59.341
- So i answered the phone and the person on the other end said,
- 00:16:59.341 --> 00:17:02.344
- "you just need to know that the breaking news on cnn and nbc is
- 00:17:02.344 --> 00:17:08.417
- That president trump has chosen, a quote, 'inflammatory pastor
- 00:17:08.417 --> 00:17:13.722
- Who is noted for his anti-gay and anti-muslim comments to
- 00:17:13.722 --> 00:17:18.060
- Lead the service tomorrow.'"
- 00:17:18.060 --> 00:17:20.262
- That would be me, by the way, that's--
- 00:17:20.262 --> 00:17:25.701
- And so when i got that news, i'm telling you the blood drained
- 00:17:25.701 --> 00:17:28.470
- From my face, i was getting ready to go
- 00:17:28.470 --> 00:17:29.838
- On television to talk about what i
- 00:17:29.838 --> 00:17:31.540
- Was gonna be preaching-- that day, that next day.
- 00:17:31.540 --> 00:17:34.843
- I knew i wasn't gonna be preaching anything.
- 00:17:34.843 --> 00:17:37.513
- I expected that cell phone to ring at any moment and the
- 00:17:37.513 --> 00:17:40.649
- Chairman of the inauguration committee to say, "thank you for
- 00:17:40.649 --> 00:17:44.286
- Being willing to do this, but we highly recommend you bow out."
- 00:17:44.286 --> 00:17:50.526
- And i wouldn't have blamed them, by the way, for doing that.
- 00:17:50.526 --> 00:17:53.228
- They didn't need that kind of baggage on such a
- 00:17:53.228 --> 00:17:55.397
- Festive occasion.
- 00:17:55.397 --> 00:17:57.766
- Well, my phone did ring and it was the person in charge.
- 00:17:57.766 --> 00:18:04.039
- And they said, "pastor, we just want you to know we're standing
- 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:07.709
- With you on this.
- 00:18:07.709 --> 00:18:09.411
- We're standing with you."
- 00:18:09.411 --> 00:18:11.680
- And, by the way, it's not because they necessarily agreed
- 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:17.686
- With everything i believe, not at all, but they also recognized
- 00:18:17.686 --> 00:18:21.890
- That i represented the beliefs of millions of christians.
- 00:18:21.890 --> 00:18:26.428
- Christians who believe what the bible says.
- 00:18:26.428 --> 00:18:29.498
- Now what stood out to me was they were willing to take a
- 00:18:29.498 --> 00:18:33.335
- Stand that a lot of christian leaders aren't willing to take.
- 00:18:33.335 --> 00:18:37.673
- They had the boldness to take a stand i've seen many, many
- 00:18:37.673 --> 00:18:41.443
- Christians shrink away from.
- 00:18:41.443 --> 00:18:42.878
- I have to tell you one of the great disappointments of my
- 00:18:42.878 --> 00:18:45.280
- Ministry through the years have been friends, leaders in the
- 00:18:45.280 --> 00:18:50.018
- Church who when the temperature started to get a little hot,
- 00:18:50.018 --> 00:18:53.789
- They shrinked away.
- 00:18:53.789 --> 00:18:55.390
- They found some reason to quit coming to church.
- 00:18:55.390 --> 00:18:58.660
- They found some reason to join another fellowship that wasn't
- 00:18:58.660 --> 00:19:01.597
- Quite as controversial.
- 00:19:01.597 --> 00:19:03.899
- By the way, paul knew something of that disappointment.
- 00:19:03.899 --> 00:19:07.236
- In 2 timothy 4:10, he writes, "demas, having loved this
- 00:19:07.236 --> 00:19:11.440
- Present world, has deserted me and has gone to thessalonica."
- 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:15.911
- Demas was one of those, "i'm with you, paul, until the
- 00:19:15.911 --> 00:19:18.146
- Very end."
- 00:19:18.146 --> 00:19:19.948
- Or until it becomes unpopular.
- 00:19:19.948 --> 00:19:22.184
- Demas loved his freedom more than he loved the apostle paul
- 00:19:22.184 --> 00:19:25.821
- In christ.
- 00:19:25.821 --> 00:19:27.256
- You know, both of these reasons explain why we don't make a
- 00:19:27.256 --> 00:19:29.992
- Bigger difference in our culture.
- 00:19:29.992 --> 00:19:32.027
- Some christians have isolated themselves by becoming
- 00:19:32.027 --> 00:19:34.730
- Silo saints.
- 00:19:34.730 --> 00:19:36.098
- Some christians have identified with the culture by being
- 00:19:36.098 --> 00:19:39.001
- Spiritual sellouts, but of these two extremes, you know, the one
- 00:19:39.001 --> 00:19:42.337
- I think is the most dangerous.
- 00:19:42.337 --> 00:19:44.473
- It's the isolation from the culture.
- 00:19:44.473 --> 00:19:46.908
- I mean, the fact is i don't know any christian who tries to
- 00:19:46.908 --> 00:19:50.479
- Justify his being like the culture with a bible verse.
- 00:19:50.479 --> 00:19:53.715
- Well, here's the verse that explains why i commit adultery.
- 00:19:53.715 --> 00:19:56.518
- Here's the verse that explains why i'm involved in fornication.
- 00:19:56.518 --> 00:19:59.788
- And yet it's the isolationists who say, "oh yes, i'm doing the
- 00:19:59.788 --> 00:20:03.392
- Right thing by not sullying myself, getting involved
- 00:20:03.392 --> 00:20:06.228
- With non-christians.
- 00:20:06.228 --> 00:20:07.996
- After all, if i get involved with non-christians, i'm gonna
- 00:20:07.996 --> 00:20:11.433
- Become like them."
- 00:20:11.433 --> 00:20:13.302
- You know, in john chapter 17 beginning with verse 11, i want
- 00:20:13.302 --> 00:20:17.639
- You to listen to this prayer that jesus prayed, not just for
- 00:20:17.639 --> 00:20:22.044
- His apostles, but all who would come to know him and centuries
- 00:20:22.044 --> 00:20:25.647
- Later through the witness of the apostles.
- 00:20:25.647 --> 00:20:27.983
- Did you know this is the prayer that jesus prayed for you the
- 00:20:27.983 --> 00:20:32.154
- Night before he was crucified?
- 00:20:32.154 --> 00:20:34.289
- And look at it with me.
- 00:20:34.289 --> 00:20:35.657
- John 17 verse 11 and then down to verses 14 and 17.
- 00:20:35.657 --> 00:20:39.761
- He says to god, "now i am departing from the world; they
- 00:20:39.761 --> 00:20:43.398
- Are staying in this world, but i am coming to you.
- 00:20:43.398 --> 00:20:47.202
- And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world,
- 00:20:47.202 --> 00:20:51.239
- Just as i do not belong to the world.
- 00:20:51.239 --> 00:20:53.709
- I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep
- 00:20:53.709 --> 00:20:58.513
- Them safe from the evil one.
- 00:20:58.513 --> 00:21:00.682
- They do not belong to this world any more than i do.
- 00:21:00.682 --> 00:21:03.819
- Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which
- 00:21:03.819 --> 00:21:09.558
- Is truth."
- 00:21:09.558 --> 00:21:12.294
- Notice jesus said, "i'm not asking you to isolate my
- 00:21:12.294 --> 00:21:16.231
- Followers from the world.
- 00:21:16.231 --> 00:21:17.632
- Don't take them out, then they can't do any good.
- 00:21:17.632 --> 00:21:21.036
- And i certainly don't want them to identify and become like
- 00:21:21.036 --> 00:21:23.939
- The world.
- 00:21:23.939 --> 00:21:25.273
- They're not of the world and that's why god, i'm praying,
- 00:21:25.273 --> 00:21:26.775
- Make them holy, separate apart from the world."
- 00:21:26.775 --> 00:21:31.012
- His prayer was that we would influence the world.
- 00:21:31.012 --> 00:21:35.784
- Jesus understood and modeled how to do that, how to influence the
- 00:21:35.784 --> 00:21:39.888
- World without isolation, without identification.
- 00:21:39.888 --> 00:21:44.493
- Elijah is a perfect illustration of somebody who influenced his
- 00:21:44.493 --> 00:21:48.663
- Culture rather than isolating or identifying with it.
- 00:21:48.663 --> 00:21:53.769
- As my old professor howard hendrick said, "when elijah
- 00:21:53.769 --> 00:21:58.340
- Burst on the scene, he came to a nation that was on the skids."
- 00:21:58.340 --> 00:22:03.712
- He writes, "there was a mania of mediocrity, 7000 believers were
- 00:22:03.712 --> 00:22:09.217
- Huddled in a cave in silent protest.
- 00:22:09.217 --> 00:22:11.720
- 'we don't want to get involved,' they cried, but this man, elijah
- 00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:15.824
- Stands out like a spiritual colossus in the midst of a
- 00:22:15.824 --> 00:22:21.096
- Generation of perverts and spiritual pygmies."
- 00:22:21.096 --> 00:22:25.600
- I love that phrase.
- 00:22:25.600 --> 00:22:28.003
- Doesn't that describe the world in which we live?
- 00:22:28.003 --> 00:22:31.306
- A world filled with perverts and spiritual pygmies.
- 00:22:31.306 --> 00:22:36.044
- And yet in the middle of that, elijah was a giant.
- 00:22:36.044 --> 00:22:40.215
- He was a giant because of three convictions that shaped
- 00:22:40.215 --> 00:22:44.319
- His life.
- 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:46.154
- And next time we're going to discover elijah's three
- 00:22:46.154 --> 00:22:49.458
- Convictions that cannot only transform your life, but will
- 00:22:49.458 --> 00:22:53.695
- Transform your world as well.
- 00:22:53.695 --> 00:22:55.530
- ♪♪♪
- 00:22:55.530 --> 00:23:01.102
- Jeffress: maybe you feel unsettled in this culture or
- 00:23:01.102 --> 00:23:04.139
- You're beginning to feel like an outsider as a christian.
- 00:23:04.139 --> 00:23:07.676
- Well, that's because god is preparing you to make an impact.
- 00:23:07.676 --> 00:23:11.580
- It's impossible to be at peace with a culture that is clearly
- 00:23:11.580 --> 00:23:15.884
- At odds with god.
- 00:23:15.884 --> 00:23:18.019
- And if you're ready to begin making a difference for him, let
- 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:21.623
- Me urge you to participate in our salt and light
- 00:23:21.623 --> 00:23:25.026
- Matching challenge.
- 00:23:25.026 --> 00:23:26.561
- From now through july 6, every gift you give to "pathway to
- 00:23:26.561 --> 00:23:30.232
- Victory" will be matched by a group of friends and therefore
- 00:23:30.232 --> 00:23:34.269
- Doubled in impact until we reach the goal of $1 million.
- 00:23:34.269 --> 00:23:39.007
- That's a large number for any one person, but through the
- 00:23:39.007 --> 00:23:42.410
- Combined efforts of our "pathway to victory" family, i'm
- 00:23:42.410 --> 00:23:46.047
- Confident we can reach and even exceed this goal.
- 00:23:46.047 --> 00:23:49.951
- Together let's be the salt and light our world desperately
- 00:23:49.951 --> 00:23:53.421
- Needs, preserving what is good and driving out darkness in a
- 00:23:53.421 --> 00:23:57.893
- World that grows morally darker by the day.
- 00:23:57.893 --> 00:24:02.330
- I believe that when we proclaim the gospel and stand for
- 00:24:02.330 --> 00:24:05.700
- Biblical truth, we can push back against the moral decline in
- 00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:09.571
- Our world.
- 00:24:09.571 --> 00:24:10.906
- Thank you in advance for your generous support of the ministry
- 00:24:10.906 --> 00:24:14.509
- Of "pathway to victory."
- 00:24:14.509 --> 00:24:16.711
- Now stay right there.
- 00:24:16.711 --> 00:24:18.046
- I'll be back with more "pathway to victory" in just a moment.
- 00:24:18.046 --> 00:24:22.284
- Announcer: the moral decline in today's world can
- 00:24:22.350 --> 00:24:24.352
- Feel overwhelming, but god calls us to shine his light and make a
- 00:24:24.352 --> 00:24:28.557
- Difference for him in a world that has lost its way.
- 00:24:28.557 --> 00:24:31.693
- In his brand new book, "shine the light," dr. robert jeffress
- 00:24:31.693 --> 00:24:35.130
- Shows you how small faithful acts like teaching, serving, and
- 00:24:35.130 --> 00:24:38.633
- Encouraging can restore and renew christian values in your
- 00:24:38.633 --> 00:24:42.137
- Family, your church, and community.
- 00:24:42.137 --> 00:24:44.472
- Jeffress: the bible teaches that our primary purpose in life is
- 00:24:44.472 --> 00:24:47.943
- To influence the world with the gospel.
- 00:24:47.943 --> 00:24:50.946
- And in my new book, i'll show you how to live purposefully and
- 00:24:50.946 --> 00:24:54.649
- Leave behind a legacy of faith, wisdom, and compassion.
- 00:24:54.649 --> 00:24:59.120
- Announcer: the world may seem lost, but god's light has
- 00:24:59.120 --> 00:25:01.790
- Not dimmed, and neither has yours.
- 00:25:01.790 --> 00:25:04.259
- Request your copy of, "shine the light" when you give a generous
- 00:25:04.259 --> 00:25:07.362
- Gift to the "pathway to victory" salt and
- 00:25:07.362 --> 00:25:09.564
- Light matching challenge.
- 00:25:09.564 --> 00:25:11.466
- And when your ministry gift is $100 or more, we'll also send
- 00:25:11.466 --> 00:25:15.136
- You the complete, "shine the light" teaching series on dvd
- 00:25:15.136 --> 00:25:18.540
- And audio disc.
- 00:25:18.540 --> 00:25:19.874
- Jeffress: light is of little value in the light.
- 00:25:19.874 --> 00:25:22.777
- If we're gonna be effective, we're effective for christ not
- 00:25:22.777 --> 00:25:26.014
- When we're around other light sources, other christians, it is
- 00:25:26.014 --> 00:25:30.051
- When we're in the darkness.
- 00:25:30.051 --> 00:25:32.487
- Jeffress: light has to confront the darkness.
- 00:25:32.487 --> 00:25:35.190
- Announcer: remember your
- 00:25:35.190 --> 00:25:36.524
- Gift today will have twice the
- 00:25:36.524 --> 00:25:37.892
- Impact thanks to the "pathway
- 00:25:37.892 --> 00:25:39.227
- To victory" salt and light
- 00:25:39.227 --> 00:25:40.562
- Matching challenge.
- 00:25:40.562 --> 00:25:42.397
- Thank you for partnering with "pathway to victory" as we
- 00:25:42.397 --> 00:25:45.100
- Boldly proclaim the gospel and equip believers to shine god's
- 00:25:45.100 --> 00:25:49.004
- Light in a world that has lost its way.
- 00:25:49.004 --> 00:25:51.973
- Jeffress: many christians fall into one of two extremes.
- 00:25:53.808 --> 00:25:56.845
- Either they isolate themselves from the culture or they
- 00:25:56.845 --> 00:26:00.649
- Identify with the culture.
- 00:26:00.649 --> 00:26:03.051
- But god is calling us to a third and better option to be an
- 00:26:03.051 --> 00:26:07.222
- Influence for him in our culture, even as the world
- 00:26:07.222 --> 00:26:11.126
- Continues to darken and decay.
- 00:26:11.126 --> 00:26:13.628
- Well, in the parable of the sower, jesus describes four
- 00:26:13.628 --> 00:26:16.931
- Types of soil into which the word of god can be sown from
- 00:26:16.931 --> 00:26:21.403
- Hard soil to the healthy soil.
- 00:26:21.403 --> 00:26:24.139
- And next time, i'm going to diagnose these four conditions
- 00:26:24.139 --> 00:26:27.475
- Of the human heart and offer three potent prescriptions for
- 00:26:27.475 --> 00:26:31.746
- Spiritual health.
- 00:26:31.746 --> 00:26:33.281
- Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next in our
- 00:26:33.281 --> 00:26:35.984
- Series, "shine the light."
- 00:26:35.984 --> 00:26:39.988
- Jeffress: why doesn't everyone who hears the gospel respond to
- 00:26:40.055 --> 00:26:45.260
- The gospel?
- 00:26:45.260 --> 00:26:46.594
- Or put another way, why is it you can have two people
- 00:26:46.594 --> 00:26:49.998
- Listening to the same message from god's word, one responds
- 00:26:49.998 --> 00:26:54.803
- Enthusiastically to that message and the other turns away from
- 00:26:54.803 --> 00:26:59.174
- That message?
- 00:26:59.174 --> 00:27:00.542
- Well, jesus answers the story in the first parable we're going to
- 00:27:00.542 --> 00:27:04.612
- Look at today.
- 00:27:04.612 --> 00:27:05.947
- Announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for the message,
- 00:27:05.947 --> 00:27:09.017
- "prescription for a healthy heart"
- 00:27:09.017 --> 00:27:11.319
- Here on "pathway to victory."
- 00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:26.935