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Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - Developing An Obedient Heart (Part 2)

July 16, 2025 | 29:0

Robert Jeffress - Developing An Obedient Heart (Part 2)
Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.
#Obedience #Heart #Disciples #Discipleship #SpiritualGrowth #Satan #Lies #Deception #Temptation #Disobedience #Sin #Salvation #Sanctification #Focus #SeekGod

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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - Developing An Obedient Heart (Part 2) | July 16, 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"
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  • With dr. 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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  • One of the biggest challenges christians face is the gap
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  • Between what we believe and how we actually live.
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  • We can affirm all the right doctrines and attend church
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  • Regularly, but still struggle with consistently obeying god's
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  • Word in our daily lives.
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  • Today i want to explore why obedience to christ isn't
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  • Optional for believers and how we can develop hearts that
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  • Naturally respond 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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  • ♪♪♪
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  • ♪ your voice, o lord, is power. ♪
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  • ♪ the 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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  • ♪ echoes deep within my soul. ♪
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  • ♪ holy, you are holy. ♪
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  • ♪ all the glory to your name. ♪
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  • ♪ jesus, you are mighty. ♪
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  • ♪ strength and glory to your name. ♪
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  • ♪ holy, you are holy. ♪
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  • ♪ all the glory to your name. ♪
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  • ♪ jesus, you are mighty. ♪
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  • ♪ strength and glory to your name. ♪
  • 00:02:28.071 --> 00:02:37.113
  • ♪ holy, you are holy. ♪
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  • ♪ all the glory to your name. ♪
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  • ♪ jesus, you are mighty. ♪
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  • ♪ strength and glory 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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  • Announcer: give your heart the encouragement it needs.
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  • Start and end each day meditating on god's word with
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  • "encouragement for the heart of a disciple."
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  • This brand new, beautiful, full color, padded, hardcover book by
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  • Dr. robert jeffress features 80 breathtaking images of creation
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  • Paired with scripture, prayers, and insights you can read in
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  • Under two minutes.
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  • Perfect for your coffee table or as a thoughtful gift for a
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  • Loved one.
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  • Request "encouragement for the heart of a disciple" when you
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  • Give a generous gift to "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Jeffress: so, when the serpent came to deceive eve, where did
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  • He center her attention?
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  • Not on all the things god had said yes to, but on the one
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  • Thing god had said no to.
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  • He said, "come on, eve, have some of this fruit."
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  • Eve said, "no, mr. serpent, i can't do that.
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  • God said in the day we eat of the tree, we shall die."
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  • What did the serpent say, verse 4 of genesis 3, "and the serpent
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  • Said to the woman, 'you surely shall not die.
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  • For god knows that in the day you eat from it, your eyes will
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  • Be opened and you will be like god, knowing good and evil.'"
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  • Eve, there's a reason god said not to eat of this tree.
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  • He doesn't want you to be like him.
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  • He's trying to keep something good, pleasurable from
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  • Your life.
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  • "you can't trust god, go ahead and eat."
  • 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:07.597
  • And that is the heart of every temptation that we face.
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  • Can we really trust that god wants what is best for us?
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  • You know, somebody has said, "all sin is basically contempt
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  • For god."
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  • Whenever we violate god's command, we're saying, "god, i
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  • Don't trust you.
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  • You may be more powerful than i am, but i don't really believe
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  • What you've said is what is best for me."
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  • Every time we sin, we are basically casting a no
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  • Confidence vote in god.
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  • That's the barrier to our obedience, our distrust of god.
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  • How do we develop an obedient heart--a heart that reflexively
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  • Obeys god completely, immediately, and joyfully?
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  • It doesn't happen automatically.
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  • We don't get one of those hearts the moment we are saved.
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  • The key is we have to transform our hearts and it is a joint
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  • Project between god and us.
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  • Salvation is god's work alone, but sanctification, becoming
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  • More like christ, is a joint effort between god and us.
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  • Even jesus--you know, this is one of the most amazing verses
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  • In the bible.
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  • Hebrews 5, verse 8 says, "though jesus was a son, he learned
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  • Obedience by the things that he suffered."
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  • Now, think about this, if jesus, the perfect son of god had to
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  • Learn how to obey his heavenly father, how much more do you and
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  • I have to learn how to obey god?
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  • How do we do it?
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  • Let me suggest four practical ways to develop this
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  • Obedient heart.
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  • First of all, decide that obedience is a priority in
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  • Your life.
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  • Decide that obedience is a priority in your life.
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  • I know that sounds simple, but let me just say, the reason most
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  • Of us don't obey god regularly is because we have no intention
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  • Of obeying god regularly.
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  • One writer said it this way, "if you will stop and ask yourself
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  • Why you are not as pious as the early christians were, your own
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  • Heart will tell you that it is neither through ignorance nor
  • 00:07:13.322 --> 00:07:16.759
  • Inability, but purely because you never thoroughly
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  • Intended it."
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  • We have to intentionally decide that we're going to obey god.
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  • We have to come to the point in our life when we say, "god, i
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  • Believe what you say is true, and i really do believe you want
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  • What is best for me."
  • 00:07:34.644 --> 00:07:37.914
  • Number of years ago i went to my gastroenterologist.
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  • Having had both of my parents died at an early age from
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  • Cancer, i decided i didn't wanna go that way and go that early.
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  • So, i asked my doctor for some advice--what i could do from
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  • Contracting colon cancer.
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  • He said, "oh, that's real easy."
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  • He said, "eat a bowl of bran flakes every morning with some
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  • Unprocessed wheat bran on it.
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  • And every night before you go to bed, have a glass of metamucil
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  • And you'll be just fine.
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  • And by the way, that'll be $120."
  • 00:08:07.777 --> 00:08:12.381
  • So, he took my money and i took his advice.
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  • And i've been doing that every day for 35 years.
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  • I gag down the bran flakes not because i like them.
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  • There are many mornings i'd rather have a sausage biscuit
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  • From mcdonald's.
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  • Every night there are nights i'd rather have a milkshake than a
  • 00:08:28.431 --> 00:08:31.167
  • Metamucil shake, but i do it anyway, why?
  • 00:08:31.167 --> 00:08:35.304
  • Because i have an intention of doing it.
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  • I've decided i trust my doctor, i believe he knows what's best
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  • For me, and i really do wanna avoid that disease.
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  • You know, it's the same way with obeying god.
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  • We have to decide god knows what is best and we have to determine
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  • We're going to follow him.
  • 00:08:52.989 --> 00:08:54.890
  • By the way, a great scripture passage to memorize that reminds
  • 00:08:54.890 --> 00:08:58.394
  • Us that god's will and god's word are perfect for us is the
  • 00:08:58.394 --> 00:09:03.966
  • Passage from psalm 19.
  • 00:09:03.966 --> 00:09:05.868
  • Read this and meditate upon it regularly.
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  • "the law of the lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the
  • 00:09:08.838 --> 00:09:13.109
  • Testimony of the lord is sure, making wise the simple.
  • 00:09:13.109 --> 00:09:16.679
  • The precepts of the lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the
  • 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:20.383
  • Commandment of the lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
  • 00:09:20.383 --> 00:09:24.487
  • The fear of the lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments
  • 00:09:24.487 --> 00:09:28.658
  • Of the lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
  • 00:09:28.658 --> 00:09:32.528
  • They are more desirable than gold, yes, more than fine gold;
  • 00:09:32.528 --> 00:09:38.067
  • And sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb."
  • 00:09:38.067 --> 00:09:43.606
  • God's commands are not evil.
  • 00:09:43.606 --> 00:09:46.108
  • They're not bad, they're not going to hurt us.
  • 00:09:46.108 --> 00:09:48.344
  • They are good, they are pure, they are delightful.
  • 00:09:48.344 --> 00:09:52.281
  • Develop that intention.
  • 00:09:52.281 --> 00:09:53.816
  • Decide that obeying god is your intention.
  • 00:09:53.816 --> 00:09:57.420
  • Secondly, develop a "god is here" mindset.
  • 00:09:57.420 --> 00:10:04.060
  • Develop a "god is here" mindset.
  • 00:10:04.060 --> 00:10:06.429
  • If one reason we have trouble obeying god is because of our
  • 00:10:06.429 --> 00:10:09.598
  • Distance from god, we've got to develop what we call this "god
  • 00:10:09.598 --> 00:10:13.269
  • Is here" mindset.
  • 00:10:13.269 --> 00:10:14.603
  • "what do you mean by that, pastor?"
  • 00:10:14.603 --> 00:10:15.971
  • Think about king david for a moment.
  • 00:10:15.971 --> 00:10:18.541
  • Now, when we think about david, what do we think about?
  • 00:10:18.541 --> 00:10:22.411
  • The big mess up with bathsheba, right?
  • 00:10:22.411 --> 00:10:25.815
  • But other than that one flub up, you know, the bible says, "david
  • 00:10:25.815 --> 00:10:29.919
  • Was in fact a man after god's own heart."
  • 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:34.790
  • Why was that?
  • 00:10:34.790 --> 00:10:36.525
  • The key to david's spiritual life was found in psalm 16,
  • 00:10:36.525 --> 00:10:40.463
  • Verse 8, this is so rich.
  • 00:10:40.463 --> 00:10:42.898
  • David said, "i have set the lord continually before me; because
  • 00:10:42.898 --> 00:10:48.671
  • He is at my right hand, i will not be shaken."
  • 00:10:48.671 --> 00:10:52.708
  • Now david, what do you mean you have set the lord before you?
  • 00:10:52.708 --> 00:10:56.278
  • I mean, you wrote in psalm 139, "where can i go and escape from
  • 00:10:56.278 --> 00:10:59.849
  • God's spirit?
  • 00:10:59.849 --> 00:11:01.217
  • He's everywhere that i am."
  • 00:11:01.217 --> 00:11:02.551
  • That's the omnipresence of god.
  • 00:11:02.551 --> 00:11:04.120
  • Yes, he is everywhere, we just don't realize he's everywhere.
  • 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:08.758
  • We don't realize he's there, and watching us, and close to us, so
  • 00:11:08.758 --> 00:11:12.528
  • We have to continually develop the mindset that says, "god
  • 00:11:12.528 --> 00:11:16.298
  • Is here!"
  • 00:11:16.298 --> 00:11:18.334
  • He is here.
  • 00:11:18.334 --> 00:11:19.668
  • How did david do that?
  • 00:11:19.668 --> 00:11:21.036
  • One way he did it--psalm 1--was by meditating on god's law day
  • 00:11:21.036 --> 00:11:25.207
  • And night.
  • 00:11:25.207 --> 00:11:26.675
  • Reading the torah, the scriptures.
  • 00:11:26.675 --> 00:11:29.912
  • It reminded him that god is here and that's a key for us to
  • 00:11:29.912 --> 00:11:34.250
  • Remember god is here by continually reading his word.
  • 00:11:34.250 --> 00:11:38.287
  • You know, i'm gonna confess something to you.
  • 00:11:38.287 --> 00:11:39.955
  • You may want to throw me out as your pastor once you hear this.
  • 00:11:39.955 --> 00:11:43.859
  • But there are nights i don't wanna read my bible.
  • 00:11:43.859 --> 00:11:48.664
  • I'm going through the read the bible in a year program.
  • 00:11:48.664 --> 00:11:51.167
  • There are some nights i think, "oh, my gosh, not this."
  • 00:11:51.167 --> 00:11:55.271
  • I mean, especially when i get to leviticus, you know, numbers,
  • 00:11:55.271 --> 00:11:58.707
  • The begets, and so forth.
  • 00:11:58.707 --> 00:12:00.776
  • I tell you it's like gagging down a bowl of bran
  • 00:12:00.776 --> 00:12:03.345
  • Flakes sometimes.
  • 00:12:03.345 --> 00:12:05.681
  • Now, i shouldn't confess--does anybody feel that way ever?
  • 00:12:05.681 --> 00:12:09.185
  • Does--do you feel that way?
  • 00:12:09.185 --> 00:12:10.886
  • But i do it anyway.
  • 00:12:10.886 --> 00:12:12.421
  • And you know what the benefit of it is?
  • 00:12:12.421 --> 00:12:14.490
  • If i don't get one thing, one application out of it, it
  • 00:12:14.490 --> 00:12:19.395
  • Reminds me as acts 17:28 says, that there is a god in whom we
  • 00:12:19.395 --> 00:12:25.201
  • Move, live, and have our existence.
  • 00:12:25.201 --> 00:12:28.170
  • There's just something about reading scripture that reminds
  • 00:12:28.170 --> 00:12:30.539
  • Us that god is here.
  • 00:12:30.539 --> 00:12:32.908
  • You know, david also used music.
  • 00:12:32.908 --> 00:12:34.610
  • He was a harpist and he used music not only, i think, to
  • 00:12:34.610 --> 00:12:37.680
  • Comfort saul, but also to remind him of the presence of god.
  • 00:12:37.680 --> 00:12:41.917
  • Some ways you can set god before you, some simple things.
  • 00:12:41.917 --> 00:12:45.287
  • Scripture plaques around your home that have bible verses on
  • 00:12:45.287 --> 00:12:48.858
  • Them that remind you of god's word.
  • 00:12:48.858 --> 00:12:53.028
  • That's a powerful way.
  • 00:12:53.028 --> 00:12:54.630
  • Listening to christian messages while you're in the car, while
  • 00:12:54.630 --> 00:12:58.801
  • You're exercising.
  • 00:12:58.801 --> 00:13:00.369
  • Probably through the internet, you can get all kinds of
  • 00:13:00.369 --> 00:13:02.037
  • Great messages.
  • 00:13:02.037 --> 00:13:03.405
  • Go to ptv.org or go to some other website.
  • 00:13:03.405 --> 00:13:06.208
  • Don't waste that time.
  • 00:13:06.208 --> 00:13:07.543
  • All of these things help us develop a "god is here" mindset.
  • 00:13:07.543 --> 00:13:11.080
  • Maybe have some mementos on your desk at work that reminds you of
  • 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:16.352
  • Milestones in your spiritual life like your baptism.
  • 00:13:16.352 --> 00:13:19.154
  • Maybe a baptismal certificate.
  • 00:13:19.154 --> 00:13:20.823
  • Or a picture at a christian conference or something else
  • 00:13:20.823 --> 00:13:23.759
  • That was especially meaningful to you.
  • 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:26.295
  • We need to work at reminding ourselves that god is here.
  • 00:13:26.295 --> 00:13:31.066
  • You see, there's an inseparable link between thinking about god
  • 00:13:31.066 --> 00:13:36.171
  • And obeying god.
  • 00:13:36.171 --> 00:13:38.641
  • Frank laubach was a man who developed what he called the
  • 00:13:38.641 --> 00:13:43.712
  • Game of minutes.
  • 00:13:43.712 --> 00:13:45.247
  • In which he decided he was gonna see how quickly he could turn
  • 00:13:45.247 --> 00:13:49.551
  • His thoughts, whatever they were, back toward god.
  • 00:13:49.551 --> 00:13:53.222
  • And it completely revolutionized his christian life when he
  • 00:13:53.222 --> 00:13:56.825
  • Started learning how to think about god continually.
  • 00:13:56.825 --> 00:14:00.863
  • He wrote, "as for me, i never lived.
  • 00:14:00.863 --> 00:14:04.633
  • I was half-dead.
  • 00:14:04.633 --> 00:14:05.968
  • I was a rotting tree until i reached the place where i wholly
  • 00:14:05.968 --> 00:14:10.940
  • With utter honesty resolved and then re-resolved that i would
  • 00:14:10.940 --> 00:14:15.878
  • Find god's will and i would do that will through every fiber in
  • 00:14:15.878 --> 00:14:20.783
  • Me that said no.
  • 00:14:20.783 --> 00:14:22.518
  • And that i would win the battle in my thoughts.
  • 00:14:22.518 --> 00:14:26.922
  • It was as though some deep artesian well had been struck in
  • 00:14:26.922 --> 00:14:30.426
  • My soul.
  • 00:14:30.426 --> 00:14:31.894
  • Money, praise, poverty, opposition, these make no
  • 00:14:31.894 --> 00:14:36.699
  • Difference, for they will all alike be forgotten in a
  • 00:14:36.699 --> 00:14:40.035
  • Thousand years.
  • 00:14:40.035 --> 00:14:41.737
  • But this spirit which comes to a mind set upon a continuous
  • 00:14:41.737 --> 00:14:46.442
  • Surrender, this spirit is timeless life."
  • 00:14:46.442 --> 00:14:52.881
  • A third key to developing that obedient heart is, obey all that
  • 00:14:52.881 --> 00:14:59.154
  • You know to be true.
  • 00:14:59.154 --> 00:15:00.990
  • Obey all that you know to be true.
  • 00:15:00.990 --> 00:15:04.059
  • Let's go back to the physician patient analogy for just
  • 00:15:04.059 --> 00:15:08.063
  • A moment.
  • 00:15:08.063 --> 00:15:09.498
  • Suppose that you go to your doctor and you're saying, "you
  • 00:15:09.498 --> 00:15:11.633
  • Know, i'm feeling sluggish."
  • 00:15:11.633 --> 00:15:13.002
  • He says, "well, let me run some tests on you."
  • 00:15:13.002 --> 00:15:15.037
  • He comes back and says, "oh, you know what the problem is?
  • 00:15:15.037 --> 00:15:18.140
  • Your arteries are filled up with plaque.
  • 00:15:18.140 --> 00:15:20.909
  • And not only that, your cholesterol is through the roof.
  • 00:15:20.909 --> 00:15:24.146
  • And not only that, you've got a weak heart muscle.
  • 00:15:24.146 --> 00:15:26.915
  • If you really wanna get well, you need to do three things.
  • 00:15:26.915 --> 00:15:30.419
  • You need to go on a low fat diet, you need to take this
  • 00:15:30.419 --> 00:15:32.921
  • Cholesterol tablet to reduce your cholesterol, and you need
  • 00:15:32.921 --> 00:15:35.958
  • To start exercising."
  • 00:15:35.958 --> 00:15:37.292
  • You say, "okay, i'm for it, doctor."
  • 00:15:37.292 --> 00:15:39.528
  • But after a week, you think the exercise thing, "forget that.
  • 00:15:39.528 --> 00:15:42.531
  • I'm not getting up early."
  • 00:15:42.531 --> 00:15:43.932
  • So, you give that up.
  • 00:15:43.932 --> 00:15:45.701
  • Couple of weeks later, you say, "i can't take this low fat diet
  • 00:15:45.701 --> 00:15:49.171
  • Any longer," so you get off of that.
  • 00:15:49.171 --> 00:15:51.740
  • But you continue taking that cholesterol tablet.
  • 00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:55.310
  • Now, what are the results of making that decision?
  • 00:15:55.310 --> 00:15:59.314
  • There's one result that is obvious.
  • 00:15:59.314 --> 00:16:02.151
  • You're missing the benefit of exercise and the low-fat diet,
  • 00:16:02.151 --> 00:16:05.654
  • But you are at least gaining the benefit of taking that little
  • 00:16:05.654 --> 00:16:08.857
  • Pill once a day.
  • 00:16:08.857 --> 00:16:11.026
  • But the second consequence is much more serious.
  • 00:16:11.026 --> 00:16:15.597
  • That is, you have made a habit of selective obedience.
  • 00:16:15.597 --> 00:16:21.403
  • By saying to yourself, "i'm gonna obey one thing the doctor
  • 00:16:21.403 --> 00:16:24.840
  • Says, but i'm gonna disobey two other things he says," you're
  • 00:16:24.840 --> 00:16:28.143
  • Cultivating a habit of disobedience.
  • 00:16:28.143 --> 00:16:30.946
  • And what happens in a month or two if you decide, "you
  • 00:16:30.946 --> 00:16:33.282
  • Know what?
  • 00:16:33.282 --> 00:16:34.650
  • This cholesterol tablet, it's too expensive," or "it's too
  • 00:16:34.650 --> 00:16:37.219
  • Much trouble.
  • 00:16:37.219 --> 00:16:38.554
  • I'm gonna quit doing that as well just as i quit doing the
  • 00:16:38.554 --> 00:16:40.722
  • Other things."
  • 00:16:40.722 --> 00:16:42.291
  • Or what if in a few months your doctor says, "you need to have a
  • 00:16:42.291 --> 00:16:45.961
  • Heart operation?"
  • 00:16:45.961 --> 00:16:47.563
  • Are you gonna decide, "i don't think i'll do that either?"
  • 00:16:47.563 --> 00:16:51.700
  • That's the downside of selectively obeying
  • 00:16:51.700 --> 00:16:55.337
  • God's commands.
  • 00:16:55.337 --> 00:16:56.672
  • When you decide, "yes, i'll do this, but no, i don't think i'll
  • 00:16:56.672 --> 00:17:00.175
  • Do that," we cultivate the habit of disobedience.
  • 00:17:00.175 --> 00:17:04.780
  • And that's why god says he demands obedience to all of
  • 00:17:04.780 --> 00:17:09.284
  • His commands.
  • 00:17:09.284 --> 00:17:10.619
  • Deuteronomy 30, verse 2, "and you return to the lord your god
  • 00:17:10.619 --> 00:17:13.889
  • And obey him with all of your heart and soul according to all
  • 00:17:13.889 --> 00:17:18.994
  • That i command you today, you and your sons."
  • 00:17:18.994 --> 00:17:22.598
  • Or deuteronomy 32:46, he said to them, "take to your heart all
  • 00:17:22.598 --> 00:17:27.202
  • The words with which i am warning you today, which you
  • 00:17:27.202 --> 00:17:30.906
  • Shall command your sons to observe carefully, even all the
  • 00:17:30.906 --> 00:17:34.810
  • Words of this law."
  • 00:17:34.810 --> 00:17:38.647
  • A fourth essential for developing an obedient heart is
  • 00:17:38.647 --> 00:17:42.851
  • Remember the reward for obedience.
  • 00:17:42.851 --> 00:17:46.288
  • Remember the reward for obedience.
  • 00:17:46.288 --> 00:17:49.424
  • Listen to hebrews 11:6.
  • 00:17:49.424 --> 00:17:50.993
  • I want you to listen to this and look at it carefully.
  • 00:17:50.993 --> 00:17:53.629
  • "without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes
  • 00:17:53.629 --> 00:17:58.433
  • To god must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of
  • 00:17:58.433 --> 00:18:05.607
  • Those who seek him."
  • 00:18:05.607 --> 00:18:08.043
  • If you're going to obey god continually, yes, you must
  • 00:18:08.043 --> 00:18:12.047
  • Believe that god exists.
  • 00:18:12.047 --> 00:18:13.382
  • That's kind of a no brainer, isn't it?
  • 00:18:13.382 --> 00:18:15.517
  • You must believe that god is, but believing god is is
  • 00:18:15.517 --> 00:18:18.720
  • Not enough.
  • 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:20.088
  • For consistently obeying god, you have to believe that one day
  • 00:18:20.088 --> 00:18:24.860
  • There's a payoff for your obedience.
  • 00:18:24.860 --> 00:18:27.396
  • That one day he is going to reward you for your obedience
  • 00:18:27.396 --> 00:18:31.033
  • To him.
  • 00:18:31.033 --> 00:18:32.401
  • You know, we look at that kind of skeptically.
  • 00:18:32.401 --> 00:18:35.771
  • For example, a parent who rewards his child, gives him a
  • 00:18:35.771 --> 00:18:39.942
  • Quarter or a dollar every time the child obeys the parent, we
  • 00:18:39.942 --> 00:18:43.845
  • Think, "oh, you're messed up.
  • 00:18:43.845 --> 00:18:45.847
  • You ought to teach your kids to do the right thing because it's
  • 00:18:45.847 --> 00:18:48.383
  • The right thing to do."
  • 00:18:48.383 --> 00:18:50.185
  • Or a first grade teacher who gives out candy to the students
  • 00:18:50.185 --> 00:18:52.854
  • Who do well on a test, "oh, no, no, no, no, you need to teach
  • 00:18:52.854 --> 00:18:55.924
  • Them to do well in school just for the joy of learning.
  • 00:18:55.924 --> 00:18:59.027
  • You don't need to give them a reward."
  • 00:18:59.027 --> 00:19:01.530
  • But you know what?
  • 00:19:01.530 --> 00:19:02.864
  • God knows us better than we know ourselves.
  • 00:19:02.864 --> 00:19:05.601
  • God says, "unless there is a promised reward in the future,
  • 00:19:05.601 --> 00:19:12.074
  • You're not gonna stay in that troubled marriage.
  • 00:19:12.074 --> 00:19:15.844
  • You're not gonna say no consistently to temptations.
  • 00:19:15.844 --> 00:19:20.249
  • You're not gonna continue at a difficult ministry unless you
  • 00:19:20.249 --> 00:19:25.120
  • Believe there is a payoff at the end."
  • 00:19:25.120 --> 00:19:28.257
  • And that's why we have to believe that there is a reward
  • 00:19:28.257 --> 00:19:31.360
  • For obedience.
  • 00:19:31.360 --> 00:19:32.761
  • Think about hebrews chapter 11, the great roll call of faith.
  • 00:19:32.761 --> 00:19:36.732
  • What was their motivation to obey god?
  • 00:19:36.732 --> 00:19:39.101
  • It was the promise of a future reward that kept them going.
  • 00:19:39.101 --> 00:19:43.171
  • Hebrews 11, verse 13 says, "all of these died in faith, without
  • 00:19:43.171 --> 00:19:47.709
  • Receiving the promises."
  • 00:19:47.709 --> 00:19:49.945
  • They didn't get the payoff in this life.
  • 00:19:49.945 --> 00:19:52.214
  • They died without receiving the promises, "but having seen them
  • 00:19:52.214 --> 00:19:55.917
  • And having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed
  • 00:19:55.917 --> 00:19:59.821
  • That they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
  • 00:19:59.821 --> 00:20:03.292
  • But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a
  • 00:20:03.292 --> 00:20:07.095
  • Heavenly one."
  • 00:20:07.095 --> 00:20:08.664
  • They obeyed god in this life because of the belief that they
  • 00:20:08.664 --> 00:20:12.734
  • Had a better life that was coming.
  • 00:20:12.734 --> 00:20:15.871
  • Even jesus did that.
  • 00:20:15.871 --> 00:20:18.340
  • Again, remember, it was because of the joy that was set before
  • 00:20:18.340 --> 00:20:22.511
  • Him that jesus endured the agony of calvary to experience the
  • 00:20:22.511 --> 00:20:27.749
  • Ecstasy of his unending rewards from god.
  • 00:20:27.749 --> 00:20:33.121
  • No act of obedience is small in god's eyes.
  • 00:20:33.121 --> 00:20:37.759
  • Whether it's saying no to a temptation or yes to the
  • 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:41.396
  • Ultimate sacrifice, we obey god believing that one day he is
  • 00:20:41.396 --> 00:20:47.703
  • Going to reward us for doing so.
  • 00:20:47.703 --> 00:20:50.806
  • And remember, no act of obedience is inconsequential in
  • 00:20:50.806 --> 00:20:56.545
  • God's eyes.
  • 00:20:56.545 --> 00:20:58.313
  • Philip yancey, the great christian writer talks about
  • 00:20:58.313 --> 00:21:00.849
  • Seeing a documentary on television about some of the
  • 00:21:00.849 --> 00:21:04.986
  • Survivors of world war ii.
  • 00:21:04.986 --> 00:21:08.323
  • Listen to what he says.
  • 00:21:08.323 --> 00:21:09.658
  • This is so fascinating.
  • 00:21:09.658 --> 00:21:11.026
  • He said, "the soldiers recalled how they spent a particular day.
  • 00:21:11.026 --> 00:21:15.931
  • One sat in the foxhole all day.
  • 00:21:15.931 --> 00:21:18.467
  • Once or twice a german tank drove by and he shot at it.
  • 00:21:18.467 --> 00:21:22.337
  • Others played cards and frittered away the time.
  • 00:21:22.337 --> 00:21:25.674
  • A few got involved in a furious firefight.
  • 00:21:25.674 --> 00:21:28.777
  • Mostly, the day passed like any other day for an infantryman on
  • 00:21:28.777 --> 00:21:33.749
  • The front.
  • 00:21:33.749 --> 00:21:35.417
  • Later, these soldiers learned that they had just participated
  • 00:21:35.417 --> 00:21:39.654
  • In one of the largest, most decisive engagements of the war,
  • 00:21:39.654 --> 00:21:44.326
  • The battle of the bulge.
  • 00:21:44.326 --> 00:21:46.728
  • It didn't feel like it was decisive to any of them at the
  • 00:21:46.728 --> 00:21:49.865
  • Time because none of them had the big picture of what was
  • 00:21:49.865 --> 00:21:54.569
  • Happening elsewhere."
  • 00:21:54.569 --> 00:21:56.772
  • And then yancey adds, "great victories are won when ordinary
  • 00:21:56.772 --> 00:22:02.110
  • People execute their assigned tasks.
  • 00:22:02.110 --> 00:22:05.480
  • And a faithful person does not debate each day whether he's in
  • 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:09.851
  • The mood to follow the sergeant's orders or to show up
  • 00:22:09.851 --> 00:22:12.821
  • At a boring job.
  • 00:22:12.821 --> 00:22:14.756
  • We exercise faith by responding to the task that lies before us.
  • 00:22:14.756 --> 00:22:20.262
  • For we have control only over our actions in the
  • 00:22:20.262 --> 00:22:25.066
  • Present moment."
  • 00:22:25.066 --> 00:22:28.370
  • What is god asking you to do today?
  • 00:22:28.370 --> 00:22:33.341
  • It may be something monumental.
  • 00:22:33.341 --> 00:22:36.545
  • It may seem inconsequential.
  • 00:22:36.545 --> 00:22:40.148
  • But whatever god is asking you to do today, saying yes is the
  • 00:22:40.148 --> 00:22:47.055
  • First step in developing an obedient heart.
  • 00:22:47.055 --> 00:22:51.159
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:22:51.159 --> 00:22:56.331
  • Jeffress: saying yes to god is such a simple step.
  • 00:22:56.331 --> 00:23:00.235
  • But when you find yourself doing that immediately, completely,
  • 00:23:00.235 --> 00:23:04.539
  • And joyfully, you're on your way to developing an obedient heart.
  • 00:23:04.539 --> 00:23:10.245
  • Well, i thought you'd be encouraged to hear a story that
  • 00:23:10.245 --> 00:23:12.647
  • Describes how god is using "pathway to victory" to bring
  • 00:23:12.647 --> 00:23:15.917
  • Light to the dark places of our world.
  • 00:23:15.917 --> 00:23:19.054
  • One gentleman wrote, "i'm a recovering alcoholic and drug
  • 00:23:19.054 --> 00:23:22.657
  • Addict, and i've been sober for more than ten years.
  • 00:23:22.657 --> 00:23:26.294
  • Gratefully, god has taken away my desire to drink or
  • 00:23:26.294 --> 00:23:29.431
  • Take drugs.
  • 00:23:29.431 --> 00:23:30.765
  • And now i've become a part of a ministry group that mentors
  • 00:23:30.765 --> 00:23:33.869
  • Others who struggle with addiction.
  • 00:23:33.869 --> 00:23:36.671
  • Every day when i'm driving home from work, i listen to "pathway
  • 00:23:36.671 --> 00:23:40.008
  • To victory" on the radio and often receive something i can
  • 00:23:40.008 --> 00:23:43.812
  • Share with my men.
  • 00:23:43.812 --> 00:23:45.413
  • Thanks for all you do!"
  • 00:23:45.413 --> 00:23:47.716
  • Well, truly this man's gratitude belongs to you.
  • 00:23:47.716 --> 00:23:51.319
  • Your generous support allows us to reach people in their darkest
  • 00:23:51.319 --> 00:23:54.856
  • Moments and point them toward the hope found in jesus christ.
  • 00:23:54.856 --> 00:23:59.427
  • Thank you for being an essential part of this ministry.
  • 00:23:59.427 --> 00:24:03.598
  • Now stay right there, i'll be back with more "pathway to
  • 00:24:03.598 --> 00:24:06.301
  • Victory" in just a moment.
  • 00:24:06.301 --> 00:24:08.503
  • Announcer: we all need god's strength to make it through
  • 00:24:10.739 --> 00:24:13.041
  • The day.
  • 00:24:13.041 --> 00:24:14.409
  • "encouragement for the heart of a disciple" by dr. robert
  • 00:24:14.409 --> 00:24:16.945
  • Jeffress provides the spiritual refreshment you need.
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  • In a large print format, every page bursts with breathtaking
  • 00:24:20.115 --> 00:24:24.119
  • Imagery that draws you toward the beauty of god's creation.
  • 00:24:24.119 --> 00:24:27.923
  • Jeffress: i know how challenging it can be to stay connected with
  • 00:24:27.923 --> 00:24:31.026
  • God in our busy lives.
  • 00:24:31.026 --> 00:24:32.861
  • In my new devotional, i provide personal reflections and
  • 00:24:32.861 --> 00:24:36.364
  • Practical insights that will help you experience god's
  • 00:24:36.364 --> 00:24:39.768
  • Presence and encouragement throughout your day.
  • 00:24:39.768 --> 00:24:43.004
  • Announcer: filled with stunning images of creation, scripture
  • 00:24:43.004 --> 00:24:45.774
  • Verses, and prayers you can read in under two minutes, this
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  • Padded hardcover book is the perfect daily companion to help
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  • Refresh your spirit morning and night.
  • 00:24:52.614 --> 00:24:55.383
  • It also makes a thoughtful gift to encourage a friend or
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  • Loved one.
  • 00:24:58.219 --> 00:24:59.554
  • Request your copy of "encouragement for the heart of
  • 00:24:59.554 --> 00:25:01.856
  • A disciple" when you give a generous gift to support the
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  • Ministry of "pathway to victory" or when you become a
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  • Pathway partner.
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  • With your ministry gift of $100 or more, we'll send you the
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  • Encouragement resource set containing the new devotional,
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  • Six clutter-free prayer cards, the clutter-free christianity
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  • Book and life application guide, and the "7 marks of a disciple"
  • 00:25:20.075 --> 00:25:24.112
  • Message series on both cd and dvd.
  • 00:25:24.112 --> 00:25:27.148
  • Thank you for supporting "pathway to victory."
  • 00:25:27.148 --> 00:25:29.651
  • Your generous partnership helps us impact you and your family
  • 00:25:29.651 --> 00:25:33.254
  • And a nation in deep spiritual need with the transforming truth
  • 00:25:33.254 --> 00:25:37.258
  • Of god's word.
  • 00:25:37.258 --> 00:25:39.260
  • Jeffress: sometimes people trust god to take care of them in the
  • 00:25:40.862 --> 00:25:43.598
  • Next life without obeying him in this life.
  • 00:25:43.598 --> 00:25:47.469
  • But the bible shows us the inseparable link between trust
  • 00:25:47.469 --> 00:25:51.272
  • And obedience.
  • 00:25:51.272 --> 00:25:52.941
  • In short, we can't believe in christ without obeying christ.
  • 00:25:52.941 --> 00:25:58.046
  • Obedience is the fourth mark of a true follower of jesus christ.
  • 00:25:58.046 --> 00:26:03.284
  • And next time i'll show you how to obey god immediately,
  • 00:26:03.284 --> 00:26:06.888
  • Completely, and joyfully.
  • 00:26:06.888 --> 00:26:09.190
  • Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next in our
  • 00:26:09.190 --> 00:26:11.693
  • Series, "7 marks of a disciple."
  • 00:26:11.693 --> 00:26:15.764
  • Jeffress: you know, god says that if we do what he asked us
  • 00:26:15.830 --> 00:26:19.267
  • To do, we will be better off than if we don't do what he
  • 00:26:19.267 --> 00:26:22.904
  • Asked us to do.
  • 00:26:22.904 --> 00:26:24.739
  • Most of us will believe that up to a point.
  • 00:26:24.739 --> 00:26:27.976
  • We believe god enough that we don't commit murder
  • 00:26:27.976 --> 00:26:31.146
  • Or embezzlement.
  • 00:26:31.146 --> 00:26:32.480
  • We know that wouldn't be good for us.
  • 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:34.683
  • We may say no to certain temptations that we don't feel a
  • 00:26:34.683 --> 00:26:38.520
  • Particular inclination to fall into.
  • 00:26:38.520 --> 00:26:41.423
  • But there comes a level at which we begin to doubt whether we can
  • 00:26:41.423 --> 00:26:45.060
  • Really trust god or not.
  • 00:26:45.060 --> 00:26:47.195
  • Announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for the message,
  • 00:26:47.195 --> 00:26:50.198
  • "developing a trusting heart" here on "pathway to victory."
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  • Announcer: witness god's glory on display in america's
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  • Last frontier.
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