Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - Developing An Obedient Heart

July 27, 2025 | S25 E357 | 29:0

Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.

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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - Developing An Obedient Heart | July 27, 2025

♪ music ♪
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[announcer] from the pulpit
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Of the first baptist church of dallas, texas,
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This is "pathway to victory" with dr. robert jeffress.
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Hi, i'm robert jeffress,
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And welcome again to "pathway to victory."
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One of the biggest challenges christians face
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Is the gap between what we believe and how we actually live.
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We can affirm all the right doctrines
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And attend church regularly,
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But still struggle
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With consistently obeying god's word in our daily lives.
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Today, i want to explore why obedience
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To christ isn't optional for believers,
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And how we can develop hearts that naturally respond
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To god's commands.
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My message is titled "developing an obedient heart"
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On today's edition of "pathway to victory."
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♪ music ♪
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♪ the lord's power ♪
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♪ god of glory thunders ♪
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♪ the sound of mighty waters ♪
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♪ echoes deep within my soul ♪
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♪ holy you are holy ♪
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♪ all the glory ♪
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♪ to your name ♪
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♪ jesus you are mighty ♪
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♪ strength and glory ♪
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♪ to your name ♪
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♪ holy you are holy ♪
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♪ all the glory ♪
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♪ to your name ♪
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♪ jesus you are mighty ♪
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♪ strength and glory ♪
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♪ to your name ♪
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♪ holy you are holy ♪
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♪ all the glory ♪
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♪ to your name ♪
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♪ jesus you are mighty ♪
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♪ strength and glory ♪
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♪ to your name ♪
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♪ glory to your name ♪
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♪ holy is your name ♪
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♪ your name ♪
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(audience applauding)
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[announcer] give your heart the encouragement it needs.
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Start and end each day meditating on god's word
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With "encouragement for the heart of a disciple."
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This brand new, beautiful,
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Full-color padded hardcover book
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By dr. robert jeffress features 80 breathtaking images
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Of creation paired with scripture, prayers,
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And insights you can read in under two minutes,
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Perfect for your coffee table
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Or as a thoughtful gift for a loved one.
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Request "encouragement for the heart of a disciple."
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When you give a generous gift
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To "pathway to victory."
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♪ music ♪
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I don't know about you, but i like people who obey me.
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(audience laughing)
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I just do, especially people under my authority.
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I'm not saying i'm some tyrannical despot,
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But i like people who do what i ask them to do
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Without a lot of hassle.
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You know, amy and i hired a painter not long ago
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To do some touch-up work around the house.
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I'm telling you everything we asked was met with resistance.
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He had give us a list of reasons
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He couldn't do the simple things we asked him to do,
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And amy and i vowed we will never use that painter again.
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You know, i think about our staff.
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We've got such a gifted and wonderful staff here,
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But i appreciate those staff members
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Who do what i ask them to do,
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Even though they may not understand why,
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At least they believe maybe i know something they don't know
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About a situation and they comply with my request.
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Those are the staff members admittedly that i favor.
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Those are the ones who get the raises and the promotions
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Because they do what i ask them to do.
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Hint to staff members listening today.
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(audience laughing)
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And i think about my own children.
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You know, i remember many years ago,
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I was talking to one of my daughters
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About a particular behavior and i said,
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"you know, honey, i love you and i want the best for you.
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That's why i want you to do this."
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I didn't know how she would react,
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And she said, "dad, i'll do what you asked me to do."
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At that moment,
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She could have asked me for anything in the world.
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I'm glad she didn't,
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But she could have and i would've given it to her
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Because i reward my children when they obey me.
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Now why is it that i use contractors,
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I favor employees, and i reward children who obey me?
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It's because i am made in the image of a god
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Who uses favors and rewards those who obey him.
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God rewards those who obey him
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Because they understand the nature
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Of their relationship to him,
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They trust his judgment, and they trust his motives.
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Today we're in our series on seven marks of a disciple,
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And today we're going to discover another one of those marks
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Of a follower of jesus christ,
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And that is an obedient heart.
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A true follower of christ is one
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Who obeys jesus in all things that he has commanded them,
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According to matthew 28.
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You know, jesus demands from us an obedient heart.
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Just listen to some of the commands
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In scripture that he gave.
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John 14:21, "he who has my commandments and keeps them,
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He it is who loves me,
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And he who loves me shall be loved by my father,
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And i will love him and will disclose myself to him."
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Or john 8:51.
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"truly, truly, i say to you, if anyone keeps my word,
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He shall never see death."
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Or john 3:36, this is a great one to memorize.
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"he who believes in the son has eternal life,
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But he who does not obey the son shall not see life,
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But the wrath of god abides on him."
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You know, one of the downsides
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Of the evangelical faith tradition is this idea
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That we have that somehow belief in jesus
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Is essential for salvation,
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But obedience to jesus is optional.
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We give people the idea that you can trust in god
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To take care of you in the next life
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Without trusting him enough to obey him in this life.
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But jesus never gives us that option.
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He never gives us a dichotomy
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Between trust in him for salvation,
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But distrust in him for obedience.
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You know, it's no accident that the words in the bible,
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The greek word obey and trust are very similar.
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The greek word obey, patho, the greek word trust, pastuo,
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Are very similar because they're really the same thing.
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It was bonhoeffer who said,
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"only he who believes truly obeys,
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And only he who obeys truly believes."
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You can't truly believe christ
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Without obeying christ.
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That's what jesus is saying to us.
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Jesus not only commanded obedience,
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But he demonstrated obedience
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In his own relationship with god.
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In john 4:34, he said, "my food is to do the will of him
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Who sent me and to accomplish his work."
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In john 6:38, he said, "for i have come down from heaven
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Not to do my own will,
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But to do the will of him who sent me."
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And jesus demonstrated that not just in his words,
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But in his actions.
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In fact, jesus in his life demonstrated
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Three key characteristics of an obedient heart,
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The kind of obedience that god demands from us.
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First of all,
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Jesus' life demonstrates immediate obedience to god,
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Immediate obedience to god.
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Now i'm not suggesting jesus was some divine robot
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Who was programmed to say yes automatically to god.
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Jesus struggled with doing the will of god sometimes.
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There was no greater struggle he experienced
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Than that of gethsemane.
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In luke 22:42, he said,
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"father, if thou our, willing remove this cup,
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This experience from me."
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Jesus did not want to go to the cross,
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Not only because of the physical torture,
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But because of the spiritual agony
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Of for the first time ever being separated
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From his heavenly father because he was bearing
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The sins of the world,
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So he begged, "find another way, god,"
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And yet after that semicolon,
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He quickly added, "yet not my will,
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But your will be done."
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Jesus demonstrated immediate obedience.
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Secondly, jesus demonstrated complete obedience to god.
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The puritan writer thomas brooks said,
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"no man obeys god truly who does not endeavor
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To obey god fully."
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Complete obedience.
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The obedience that god demands
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From each of us is not just a partial obedience,
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It is complete obedience.
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And by the way, jesus demonstrated that in philippians 2:8
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When he said,
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"and being found in the appearance of a man,
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He humbled himself by becoming obedient
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To the point of death."
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Even death on a cross.
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Jesus' obedience wasn't partial,
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It was complete, and then finally,
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The kind of obedience god demands from us is
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A joyful obedience.
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Did you know the bible says right now,
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There is a whole audience watching our relationship to god,
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How we respond to god, our father.
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The audience consists of people here on earth
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Who are watching whether or not we obey god completely
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And fully and joyfully,
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But there's also an unseen audience in heaven,
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Those who've gone before us and are in heaven,
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Not to mention the invisible angels
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And demons who are watching everything.
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And we either give glory to god
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Or we hurt god's reputation for how we respond
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To the commands of our heavenly father.
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If you think that's a stretch, consider hebrews 12,
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That compares our life to a race, an olympic style race,
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And god has a specific course he's laid out for us to run,
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And as we go around that course to complete it,
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It takes perspiration and determination.
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And whenever we're tempted to give up, hebrews 12:2 says
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We need to look at somebody else who finished the course
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That was set before him.
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"fixing our eyes on jesus,
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The author and perfecter of faith,
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Who for the joy set before him endured the cross."
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Know jesus wasn't giddy about the idea of going to calvary,
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But he did it anyway.
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Why?
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Because he was able to look past the agony of calvary
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And look to the ecstasy
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Of the unending reward god had planned for him.
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And that's the kind of obedience god wants from us,
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To obey without a lot of argument,
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Obey because we trust god's plan for our life.
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What is it that keeps us from that complete, immediate,
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And joyful obedience?
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Let me mention several barriers to that kind of obedience
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That god commands too specifically.
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One is our distance from god.
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Let's just be honest.
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It's hard to obey an invisible being, isn't it?
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One we've never seen,
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One who seems so far away, out of sight, out of mind.
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I'm not saying that's a right excuse for disobeying god,
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But at least helps us understand one reason
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We find it difficult to obey god,
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But an even more potent barrier to obedience to god
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Is our distrust of god.
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It's not just our distance from god.
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At the heart of our disobedience
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To god is a basic innate distrust we have of god.
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You know, somebody has said all sin
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Is basically contempt for god.
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Whenever we violate god's command, we're saying,
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"god, i don't trust you.
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You may be more powerful than i am,
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But i don't really believe what you've said
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Is what is best for me."
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Every time we sin,
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We are basically casting a no confidence vote in god.
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That's the barrier to our obedience, our distrust of god.
00:14:24.153 --> 00:14:29.358
How do we develop an obedient heart,
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A heart that reflexively obeys god
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Completely, immediately, and joyfully?
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It doesn't happen automatically.
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First of all, decide that obedience
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Is a priority in your life.
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Decide that obedience is a priority in your life.
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I know that sounds simple,
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But let me just say the reason most of us
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Don't obey god regularly is because
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We have no intention of obeying god regularly.
00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:02.257
By the way, a great scripture passage to memorize
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That reminds us that god's will
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And god's word are perfect for us
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Is the passage from psalm 19.
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Read this and meditate upon it regularly.
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"the law of the lord is perfect, restoring the soul.
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The testimony of the lord is sure, making wise the simple.
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The precepts of the lord are right, rejoicing the heart.
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The commandment of the lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
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The fear of the lord is clean, enduring forever.
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The judgments of the lord are true.
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They are righteous altogether.
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They're more desirable than gold.
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Yes, more than fine gold,
00:15:42.364 --> 00:15:45.434
And sweeter also than honey
00:15:45.434 --> 00:15:47.536
And the drippings of the honeycomb."
00:15:47.536 --> 00:15:50.939
God's commands are not evil, they're not bad.
00:15:50.939 --> 00:15:54.476
They're not going to hurt us.
00:15:54.476 --> 00:15:55.844
They are good, they are pure, they are delightful.
00:15:55.844 --> 00:15:59.214
Develop that intention.
00:15:59.715 --> 00:16:01.016
Decide that obeying god is your intention.
00:16:01.016 --> 00:16:04.653
Secondly, develop a god is here mindset.
00:16:04.653 --> 00:16:10.793
Develop a god is here mindset.
00:16:11.427 --> 00:16:13.729
If one reason we have trouble obeying god is
00:16:13.729 --> 00:16:16.331
Because of our distance from god,
00:16:16.331 --> 00:16:18.200
We've got to develop what we call this
00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:20.202
God is here mindset.
00:16:20.202 --> 00:16:21.637
What do you mean by that, pastor?
00:16:21.637 --> 00:16:23.372
Think about king david for a moment.
00:16:23.372 --> 00:16:25.908
Now when we think about david, what do we think about?
00:16:25.908 --> 00:16:29.244
The big mess up with bathsheba, right?
00:16:30.079 --> 00:16:33.248
But other than that one flub up, you know,
00:16:33.248 --> 00:16:35.851
The bible says david was in fact a man
00:16:35.851 --> 00:16:38.687
After god's own heart.
00:16:38.687 --> 00:16:41.890
Why was that?
00:16:42.257 --> 00:16:43.926
The key to david's spiritual life was found in psalm 16:8.
00:16:43.926 --> 00:16:48.864
This is so rich.
00:16:48.864 --> 00:16:50.399
David said, "i have set the lord continually before me.
00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:55.604
Because he is at my right hand, i will not be shaken."
00:16:56.705 --> 00:17:00.109
Now david,
00:17:00.109 --> 00:17:01.477
What do you mean you have set the lord before you?
00:17:01.477 --> 00:17:03.645
I mean you wrote in psalm 1:39,
00:17:03.645 --> 00:17:05.681
"where can i go and escape from god's spirit?
00:17:05.681 --> 00:17:07.916
He's everywhere that i am."
00:17:07.916 --> 00:17:09.852
That's the omnipresence of god.
00:17:09.852 --> 00:17:11.453
Yes, he is everywhere.
00:17:11.453 --> 00:17:13.155
We just don't realize he's everywhere.
00:17:13.155 --> 00:17:15.624
We don't realize he's there and watching us
00:17:16.558 --> 00:17:18.594
And close to us,
00:17:18.594 --> 00:17:20.129
So we have to continually develop the mindset that says,
00:17:20.129 --> 00:17:22.998
"god is here, he is here."
00:17:22.998 --> 00:17:26.335
How did david do that?
00:17:26.335 --> 00:17:28.137
One way he did it, psalm 1,
00:17:28.137 --> 00:17:29.638
Was by meditating on god's law day and night.
00:17:29.638 --> 00:17:33.976
Reading the torah, the scriptures,
00:17:33.976 --> 00:17:37.312
It reminded him that god is here,
00:17:37.312 --> 00:17:39.848
And that's a key for us to remember god is here
00:17:39.848 --> 00:17:42.551
By continually reading his word.
00:17:42.551 --> 00:17:45.154
We need to work at reminding ourselves that god is here.
00:17:46.288 --> 00:17:50.526
You see, there's an inseparable link
00:17:50.526 --> 00:17:52.327
Between thinking about god and obeying god.
00:17:52.327 --> 00:17:57.699
A third key to developing that obedient heart is
00:17:58.667 --> 00:18:02.337
Obey all that you know to be true.
00:18:02.337 --> 00:18:09.044
Deuteronomy 30:2.
00:18:06.008 --> 00:18:10.746
"and you return to the lord your god
00:18:10.746 --> 00:18:12.915
And obey him with all of your heart and soul
00:18:12.915 --> 00:18:16.552
According to all that i command you today,
00:18:16.552 --> 00:18:19.855
You and your sons."
00:18:19.855 --> 00:18:21.490
Or deuteronomy 32:46, he said to them,
00:18:21.490 --> 00:18:24.293
"take to your heart all the words
00:18:24.293 --> 00:18:27.162
With which i am warning you today,
00:18:27.162 --> 00:18:29.364
Which you shall command your sons
00:18:29.364 --> 00:18:31.033
To observe carefully,
00:18:31.033 --> 00:18:32.367
Even all the words of this law."
00:18:32.367 --> 00:18:36.805
A fourth essential for developing an obedient heart
00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:41.310
Is remember the reward for obedience.
00:18:41.310 --> 00:18:45.113
Remember the reward for obedience.
00:18:45.113 --> 00:18:48.350
Listen to hebrews 11:6.
00:18:48.350 --> 00:18:49.952
I want you to listen to this and look at it carefully.
00:18:49.952 --> 00:18:52.421
"without faith, it is impossible to please him.
00:18:52.421 --> 00:18:56.358
For he who comes to god must believe that he is
00:18:56.358 --> 00:19:00.362
And that he is a rewarder
00:19:00.362 --> 00:19:03.799
Of those who seek him."
00:19:04.299 --> 00:19:07.002
If you're going to obey god continually, yes,
00:19:07.002 --> 00:19:10.372
You must believe that god exists.
00:19:10.372 --> 00:19:12.174
That's kind of a no-brainer, isn't it?
00:19:12.174 --> 00:19:14.476
You must believe that god is,
00:19:14.476 --> 00:19:16.345
But believing god is is not enough.
00:19:16.345 --> 00:19:19.014
For consistently obeying god,
00:19:19.014 --> 00:19:21.450
You have to believe that one day
00:19:21.450 --> 00:19:23.819
There's a payoff for your obedience,
00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:26.321
That one day he is going to reward you
00:19:26.321 --> 00:19:28.757
For your obedience to him.
00:19:28.757 --> 00:19:31.193
Think about hebrews 11,
00:19:31.193 --> 00:19:33.395
The great roll call of faith.
00:19:33.395 --> 00:19:35.297
What was their motivation to obey god?
00:19:35.297 --> 00:19:37.633
It was the promise of a future reward that kept them going.
00:19:37.633 --> 00:19:41.603
Hebrews 11:13 says,
00:19:41.603 --> 00:19:43.405
"all of these died in faith without receiving the promises.
00:19:43.405 --> 00:19:48.744
They didn't get the payoff in this life.
00:19:49.611 --> 00:19:50.879
They died without receiving the promises,
00:19:50.879 --> 00:19:52.814
But having seen them
00:19:52.814 --> 00:19:54.483
And having welcomed them from a distance
00:19:54.483 --> 00:19:57.252
And having confessed that they were strangers
00:19:57.252 --> 00:19:59.588
And exiles on the earth,
00:19:59.588 --> 00:20:01.657
But as it is, they desire a better country,
00:20:01.657 --> 00:20:05.060
That is, a heavenly one."
00:20:05.060 --> 00:20:07.095
They obeyed god in this life
00:20:07.095 --> 00:20:09.564
Because of the belief that they had a better life
00:20:09.564 --> 00:20:12.501
That was coming.
00:20:12.501 --> 00:20:14.269
No act of obedience
00:20:14.269 --> 00:20:16.905
Is inconsequential in god's eyes.
00:20:16.905 --> 00:20:20.475
Philip yancy, the great christian writer,
00:20:20.475 --> 00:20:22.444
Talks about seeing a documentary on television
00:20:22.444 --> 00:20:26.448
About some of the survivors of world war ii.
00:20:26.448 --> 00:20:30.485
Listen to what he says, this is so fascinating.
00:20:30.485 --> 00:20:32.621
He said, "the soldiers recalled
00:20:32.621 --> 00:20:35.123
How they spent a particular day.
00:20:35.123 --> 00:20:38.126
One sat in the foxhole all day.
00:20:38.126 --> 00:20:40.729
Once or twice, a german tank drove by and he shot at it.
00:20:40.729 --> 00:20:44.633
Others played cards and frittered away the time.
00:20:44.633 --> 00:20:47.969
A few got involved in a furious firefight.
00:20:47.969 --> 00:20:51.006
Mostly, the day passed like any other day
00:20:51.006 --> 00:20:54.476
For an infantryman on the front.
00:20:54.476 --> 00:20:57.646
Later, these soldiers learned
00:20:57.646 --> 00:20:59.915
That they had just participated in one of the largest,
00:20:59.915 --> 00:21:03.418
Most decisive engagements of the war,
00:21:03.418 --> 00:21:06.455
The battle of the bulge.
00:21:06.455 --> 00:21:08.390
It didn't feel like it was decisive
00:21:09.157 --> 00:21:11.026
To any of them at the time
00:21:11.026 --> 00:21:12.994
Because none of them had the big picture
00:21:12.994 --> 00:21:16.231
Of what was happening elsewhere."
00:21:16.231 --> 00:21:19.034
And then yancy adds, "great victories are one
00:21:19.034 --> 00:21:23.238
When ordinary people execute their assigned tasks
00:21:23.238 --> 00:21:27.709
And a faithful person does not debate each day
00:21:27.709 --> 00:21:31.079
Whether he's in the mood to follow the sergeant's orders
00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:34.349
Or to show up at a boring job.
00:21:34.349 --> 00:21:36.885
We exercise faith by responding
00:21:36.885 --> 00:21:39.788
To the task that lies before us,
00:21:39.788 --> 00:21:42.457
For we have control only over our actions
00:21:42.457 --> 00:21:46.962
In the present moment."
00:21:46.962 --> 00:21:49.965
What is god asking you to do today?
00:21:50.699 --> 00:21:55.036
It may be something monumental,
00:21:55.670 --> 00:21:58.273
It may seem inconsequential,
00:21:58.874 --> 00:22:01.843
But whatever god is asking you to do today,
00:22:02.744 --> 00:22:06.348
Saying yes is the first step
00:22:06.948 --> 00:22:09.851
In developing an obedient heart.
00:22:09.851 --> 00:22:13.155
♪ music ♪
00:22:13.155 --> 00:22:17.626
Saying yes to god is such a simple step,
00:22:18.493 --> 00:22:21.596
But when you find yourself doing that immediately,
00:22:21.596 --> 00:22:24.533
Completely, and joyfully,
00:22:24.533 --> 00:22:26.935
You're on the way to developing an obedient heart.
00:22:26.935 --> 00:22:30.338
Well, i thought you'd be encouraged to hear a story
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That describes how god is using "pathway to victory"
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To bring light to the dark places of our world.
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Well truly, this man's gratitude belongs to you.
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Your generous support allows us
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Thank you for being an essential part of this ministry.
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Now stay right there.
00:23:22.757 --> 00:23:24.059
I'll be back with more "pathway to victory"
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In just a moment.
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♪ music ♪
00:24:58.753 --> 00:25:00.021
Sometimes, people trust god to take care of them
00:25:00.021 --> 00:25:02.524
In the next life without trusting him in this life,
00:25:02.524 --> 00:25:07.128
But god's word shows us the inseparable link
00:25:07.128 --> 00:25:09.998
Between trust and obedience.
00:25:09.998 --> 00:25:12.968
Obedience is the fourth mark of a true follower
00:25:12.968 --> 00:25:16.538
Of jesus christ.
00:25:16.538 --> 00:25:18.406
Well, many people assume they're going to heaven
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Because they attend church, keep the 10 commandments,
00:25:20.809 --> 00:25:24.346
Or live by the golden rule,
00:25:24.346 --> 00:25:26.414
But the bible teaches that we're only saved
00:25:26.414 --> 00:25:28.984
By god's grace alone through faith alone,
00:25:28.984 --> 00:25:32.821
Not by our good works.
00:25:32.821 --> 00:25:35.056
Stay tuned for a preview of a brand new study
00:25:35.056 --> 00:25:37.359
In the book of james called
00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:39.094
"how to know if you're really saved."
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Where there is genuine faith,
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There will always be visible fruit.
00:25:46.301 --> 00:25:50.472
If there is no fruit,
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If somebody lives their life
00:25:52.774 --> 00:25:54.609
And there is no spiritual fruit,
00:25:54.609 --> 00:25:58.013
It means there is no saving faith.
00:25:58.013 --> 00:26:01.683
That is the message we're going
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To unpack over these next weeks
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From the letter we call james.
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[announcer] set your dvr
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"how to know if you're really saved:
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A study in the book of james"
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♪ music ♪
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Robert Jeffress - Developing An Obedient Heart

July 27, 2025 | S25 E357 | 29:0

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