Robert Jeffress - Going Without Knowing (Part 1)

January 20, 2025 | S25:E34

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 - Going Without Knowing (Part 1) | January 20, 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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  • Have you ever faced a major life decision
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  • That required making a leap of faith?
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  • Well, you're not alone.
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  • In hebrews 11, the writer identifies
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  • 11 men and women of faith
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  • Who trusted god without reservation.
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  • And today we're going to look at two of those individuals
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  • Who trusted god even when the outcome was unclear.
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  • My message is titled, "going without knowing"
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  • On today's edition of "pathway to victory".
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  • ♪ music ♪
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  • [narrator] in a world filled with noise and clutter,
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  • God invites us to look past the distractions
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  • And connect with him on a deeply personal level.
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  • Take a moment to anchor yourself
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  • In the calming truth of god's word with
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  • The brand new 2025 "pathway to victory" daily devotional.
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  • And now with larger print,
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  • The 260 practical insights from dr. robert jeffress
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  • Are easier to read.
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  • Request the brand new
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  • 2025 "pathway to victory" daily devotional
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  • When you give a generous gift to "pathway to victory".
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  • ♪ music ♪
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  • During the vietnam war,
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  • A woman discovered that her husband was missing in action.
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  • For weeks, she had to live with the fact
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  • That her husband might be dead.
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  • As the weeks turned into months,
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  • She had to learn to live with the fact
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  • That her husband might be still alive.
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  • As the months turned into years,
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  • She had to realize that
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  • She would spend the rest of her life without knowing.
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  • You know, living without knowing requires maturity,
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  • But obeying god without knowing requires faith.
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  • And that's what we're talking about in this series,
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  • Spiritual fitness,
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  • Strengthening your faith in troubled times.
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  • Faith is the necessary ingredient
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  • When we go through challenging circumstances.
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  • When the writer of hebrews was writing hebrews 11,
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  • He wasn't trying to compose the most eloquent treatise
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  • On faith that has ever been written.
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  • He was addressing a real problem
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  • That was being experienced
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  • By real people in a particular time.
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  • These were jewish christians who had come out of judaism
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  • And had just embraced the christian faith,
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  • But instead of solving all their problems,
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  • Their faith was actually causing problems.
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  • They weren't suffering from a pandemic,
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  • But they were suffering other problems,
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  • They were going through persecution,
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  • They were dealing with unanswered prayer,
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  • And they were beginning to wonder
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  • Maybe this newfound christianity
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  • Isn't all that it's cracked up to be.
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  • And so, they were in danger of giving up
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  • Their christian faith and going back into judaism.
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  • And in hebrews 10, the writer says,
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  • "before you do that, don't give up your confidence in him."
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  • What is it that keeps you from letting go of your beliefs
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  • Instead of holding onto them?
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  • What is it that will keep you
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  • From buckling under life's pressures
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  • And instead enduring under those pressure?
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  • In a word, it is faith.
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  • Faith is the necessary ingredient
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  • So that problems don't shatter your faith,
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  • They strengthen your relationship with god.
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  • And that's where we've come to in our study of hebrews.
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  • What is faith?
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  • What is this faith
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  • That will strengthen us in troubled times
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  • Instead of destroying us in troubled times?
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  • Well, in the first two verses of hebrews 11,
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  • The writer defines what faith is,
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  • The best way to understand what faith is
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  • Is to first of all understand what it isn't.
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  • Mark twain, the american humorist, was at most an agnostic.
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  • He said, "faith is trying to believe
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  • What you know ain't so,"
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  • Or that's how an unbeliever looks at faith,
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  • But that's not how a believer looks at it.
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  • In hebrews 11:1, the writer says,
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  • "now faith is the assurance of things hoped for.
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  • It is the conviction of things not seen."
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  • That word assurance, hypostasis,
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  • Is a word that refers to a concrete foundation
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  • That holds up massive pillars
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  • That support a building.
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  • That's what faith is, it's not a hope, it's not a wish,
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  • It is the concrete assurance,
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  • But it's also a conviction that goes one step further.
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  • It's not only believing,
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  • It's believing enough to do something,
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  • Acting out your faith.
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  • It's a conviction of things not seen.
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  • Remember i gave you this definition last week of faith,
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  • Faith is believing that god will do
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  • What he has promised to do and acting accordingly.
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  • Faith always requires action.
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  • And by definition,
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  • Faith is in that which is not seen.
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  • It's in invisible things.
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  • It doesn't take any faith for me
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  • To believe that tyler brinson exists,
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  • I see him, i watch him every week, he's visible to me.
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  • What it takes faith to believe in
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  • Is something that you can't see,
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  • And frankly, this was what the challenge was
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  • To these hebrew christians,
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  • These new christians, they said,
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  • "we're tired of believing in things that we can't see.
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  • We want to go back into judaism,
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  • We want to believe in a faith that we can touch and feel,
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  • We want a priest that we can touch.
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  • We want a temple that we can go into,
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  • We want a sacrifice that we can smell.
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  • We're tired of this invisible priest
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  • Who's in an invisible temple in heaven
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  • Who's in offered this invisible sacrifice.
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  • Do you ever feel that way sometimes?
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  • But real faith requires believing in
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  • That which is invisible.
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  • And so, the writer in hebrews 11
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  • Reminds these new jewish christians
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  • That the old testament was filled with examples of people
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  • Who believed in the unseen and the invisible.
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  • And he goes through example after example
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  • Of what it means to believe god and act accordingly.
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  • We looked at abel who demonstrates a faith that saves,
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  • Abel had never seen god and yet by faith
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  • He obeyed god and offered that better sacrifice.
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  • Or enoch demonstrates a faith that sanctifies.
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  • For 300 of his 365 years,
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  • The bible says he walked with god,
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  • He obeyed god, never saw any result of it.
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  • He was living and surrounded in an ungodly culture,
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  • But he kept obeying god,
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  • And until the very end, he obeyed god
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  • And god just took him to heaven,
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  • Raptured him to heaven instead of allowing him to die.
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  • But it was because he believed that god was a rewarder
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  • Of those who diligently follow him,
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  • Even though he's never seen that reward.
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  • Today we're going to come to another aspect of faith.
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  • Faith that not only saves and sanctifies,
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  • But a faith that is submissive to god's will.
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  • If you're going to obey god,
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  • You have to have faith in that which is invisible.
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  • And today we're going to look at two people
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  • Who demonstrate that kind of submissive faith.
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  • The first is abraham,
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  • Who demonstrates that submissive faith walks with god,
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  • Even when we can't see the future.
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  • Look at verse eight of hebrews 11,
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  • "by faith, abraham, when he was called
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  • Obeyed by going out to a place
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  • Which he was to receive for an inheritance,
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  • And he went out not knowing where he was going."
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  • Abraham was to the jewish people
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  • What george washington is to americans,
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  • I mean, he was the father of their country.
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  • He was the beginning of the abrahamic promise
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  • That extends through this day until the lord returns.
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  • Abraham was a man of faith.
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  • You know, abraham was the only person in the bible
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  • Who was called the friend of god.
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  • That's how god referred to abraham, "my friend abraham."
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  • Can you think of any greater compliment
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  • Than having god call you his friend?
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  • That was abraham, he was a friend of god,
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  • And what made him a friend of god?
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  • Some people say,
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  • "well, it was his willingness
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  • To go through that painful procedure
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  • Of circumcision without any anesthetic."
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  • Other people say, "oh no, it was his willingness
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  • To give up a better land to his nephew lot
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  • To keep the peace in the family."
  • 00:09:11.107 --> 00:09:12.441
  • Other people say, "well, it was his willingness
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  • To offer his son isaac as a sacrifice to god,"
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  • As we'll talk about next time.
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  • All of those things were great,
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  • But that's not what caused abraham
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  • To be called the friend of god.
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  • It was abraham's faith that made him righteous
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  • In a right relationship with god.
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  • And we see that so well illustrated in romans 4:1-8.
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  • Remember, paul is talking about the fact that
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  • We are saved by god's grace through faith
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  • And not through our own works,
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  • And he uses abraham as the example.
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  • Look at romans 4:1,
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  • "what then shall we say about abraham,
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  • Our forefather, according to the flesh?
  • 00:09:52.448 --> 00:09:55.518
  • For if abraham was justified,"
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  • That is declared not guilty by works,
  • 00:09:57.887 --> 00:10:00.956
  • "he has something to boast about, but not before god.
  • 00:10:00.956 --> 00:10:04.827
  • For what does the scripture say?"
  • 00:10:04.827 --> 00:10:06.562
  • And then, paul quotes genesis 15:6,
  • 00:10:06.562 --> 00:10:09.465
  • "abraham believed god and it was credited,"
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  • It, his faith was credited to him as righteousness.
  • 00:10:13.669 --> 00:10:19.108
  • What made abraham the friend of god?
  • 00:10:19.909 --> 00:10:23.012
  • What caused him to be declared righteous
  • 00:10:23.012 --> 00:10:25.314
  • And a right standing with god was not his works
  • 00:10:25.314 --> 00:10:28.951
  • But his faith in god.
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  • His works were the result of his faith.
  • 00:10:31.487 --> 00:10:35.524
  • Paul is reminding the readers of that night
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  • That god took abraham out of his tent and said,
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  • "look up into the sky, abraham, see all the stars?
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  • So shall your descendants be."
  • 00:10:46.902 --> 00:10:49.872
  • Even though abraham didn't have one child yet.
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  • The bible says abraham believed god,
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  • He believed what god said.
  • 00:10:56.545 --> 00:10:59.115
  • We don't know how much he believed,
  • 00:10:59.115 --> 00:11:00.850
  • He may have had a lot of faith
  • 00:11:00.850 --> 00:11:02.318
  • Or he might have had the faith of a mustard seed.
  • 00:11:02.318 --> 00:11:05.254
  • But the bible says with
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  • Whatever amount of faith abraham had, he believed god,
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  • And what did god do?
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  • He took that little bit of faith
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  • And in the great accounting room of heaven,
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  • He exchanged that faith for god's righteousness.
  • 00:11:17.032 --> 00:11:22.304
  • How was abraham saved?
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  • He was saved by god's grace,
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  • That was received through faith
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  • And would be ultimately paid for
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  • By the blood of christ, the way we're all saved.
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  • Abraham was saved by grace through faith,
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  • That's what he's saying here.
  • 00:11:38.420 --> 00:11:39.622
  • And then in verse four of romans 4,
  • 00:11:39.622 --> 00:11:40.890
  • "now to the one who works,
  • 00:11:40.890 --> 00:11:42.458
  • His wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due."
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  • You realize that.
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  • If you're an employee,
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  • You don't thank your employer every two weeks
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  • When you get a check, that's not a favor he's given to you,
  • 00:11:52.668 --> 00:11:55.638
  • It's what he owes you.
  • 00:11:55.638 --> 00:11:57.673
  • If you work for something, you deserve to be paid.
  • 00:11:57.673 --> 00:12:01.043
  • But look at verse five, "but to the one who does not work
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  • But believes in him, god,
  • 00:12:04.280 --> 00:12:05.848
  • Who justifies the ungodly,
  • 00:12:05.848 --> 00:12:07.850
  • His faith is credited as righteousness."
  • 00:12:07.850 --> 00:12:10.519
  • Do you know why god will not allow you
  • 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:12.788
  • To work for your salvation?
  • 00:12:12.788 --> 00:12:15.090
  • Because if you are allowed to work for your salvation,
  • 00:12:15.090 --> 00:12:19.061
  • Then salvation is not a gift from god.
  • 00:12:19.061 --> 00:12:21.263
  • It's an obligation from god.
  • 00:12:21.263 --> 00:12:23.899
  • If salvation,
  • 00:12:23.899 --> 00:12:25.267
  • The forgiveness of your sins is 99% god's grace
  • 00:12:25.267 --> 00:12:28.571
  • And even 1% of your works, then again,
  • 00:12:28.571 --> 00:12:32.241
  • Salvation is not a gift, it's an obligation,
  • 00:12:32.241 --> 00:12:35.311
  • And god refuses to owe any man or woman salvation,
  • 00:12:35.311 --> 00:12:39.682
  • It is a free gift of god.
  • 00:12:39.682 --> 00:12:42.685
  • It was for abraham.
  • 00:12:42.685 --> 00:12:44.286
  • Abraham believed god
  • 00:12:44.286 --> 00:12:45.821
  • And that belief was counted as righteousness.
  • 00:12:45.821 --> 00:12:50.092
  • For the writer of hebrews is saying,
  • 00:12:50.092 --> 00:12:51.727
  • Because he was righteous, not guilty, he acted accordingly.
  • 00:12:51.727 --> 00:12:56.632
  • Every good thing that abraham did
  • 00:12:56.632 --> 00:12:58.734
  • Sprung out of his right relationship with god.
  • 00:12:58.734 --> 00:13:02.338
  • And it gave him the faith to walk with god,
  • 00:13:02.338 --> 00:13:05.608
  • Even when he couldn't see the future.
  • 00:13:05.608 --> 00:13:08.210
  • Now the story of abraham actually begins
  • 00:13:08.210 --> 00:13:10.846
  • At the end of genesis 11.
  • 00:13:10.846 --> 00:13:13.616
  • We won't turn there right now,
  • 00:13:13.616 --> 00:13:16.151
  • But most people don't know,
  • 00:13:16.151 --> 00:13:17.953
  • The story actually begins there when abraham was 60 old.
  • 00:13:17.953 --> 00:13:21.790
  • Abraham lived in ur of the chaldees,
  • 00:13:21.790 --> 00:13:24.360
  • A metropolitan advanced civilization
  • 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:27.363
  • In the mesopotamian valley.
  • 00:13:27.363 --> 00:13:29.231
  • He was the son of terah,
  • 00:13:29.231 --> 00:13:31.000
  • Terah was the commander of nimrod's armies.
  • 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:34.637
  • The one thing they all had in common
  • 00:13:34.637 --> 00:13:36.338
  • Is they all worshiped idols, including abraham.
  • 00:13:36.338 --> 00:13:40.276
  • Abraham was a worshiper of idols.
  • 00:13:40.276 --> 00:13:42.878
  • You know, some people wonder,
  • 00:13:42.878 --> 00:13:44.046
  • Why did god choose abraham
  • 00:13:44.046 --> 00:13:46.382
  • To be the father of this great nation?
  • 00:13:46.382 --> 00:13:49.485
  • Maybe it was because abraham was the only person in earth
  • 00:13:49.485 --> 00:13:53.322
  • Who didn't worship an idol but worshiped the true god.
  • 00:13:53.322 --> 00:13:56.325
  • That'd be a nice story, but it's not true.
  • 00:13:56.325 --> 00:13:58.260
  • The bible says he worship idols just like his father, terah.
  • 00:13:58.260 --> 00:14:01.730
  • The only reason god chose abraham
  • 00:14:01.730 --> 00:14:05.000
  • Is the same reason he chose you,
  • 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:07.436
  • His grace, his grace and grace alone.
  • 00:14:07.436 --> 00:14:11.340
  • God spoke to abraham when he was 60 years old
  • 00:14:11.340 --> 00:14:14.843
  • And told him to go to a land that he would show him.
  • 00:14:14.843 --> 00:14:18.814
  • You say, "now i can read genesis 11
  • 00:14:18.814 --> 00:14:21.250
  • And there's nothing about god's call to abraham.
  • 00:14:21.250 --> 00:14:23.986
  • And when he was in ur of the chaldees,
  • 00:14:23.986 --> 00:14:26.355
  • Where do you get that, pastor?"
  • 00:14:26.355 --> 00:14:28.057
  • Well, it's in acts 7:2 in the new testament.
  • 00:14:28.057 --> 00:14:31.160
  • Paul tells us that that abraham's initial call
  • 00:14:31.160 --> 00:14:34.596
  • Came when he was 60 in ur,
  • 00:14:34.596 --> 00:14:36.598
  • So he picks up his family and they get as far as haran
  • 00:14:36.598 --> 00:14:40.102
  • And they settle down there and they spend 15 years there.
  • 00:14:40.102 --> 00:14:44.707
  • And then when we come to genesis 12,
  • 00:14:44.707 --> 00:14:47.076
  • God repeats and expands his call and says,
  • 00:14:47.076 --> 00:14:50.012
  • "abraham, you've been here long enough,
  • 00:14:50.012 --> 00:14:51.947
  • It's time for you to pack up again
  • 00:14:51.947 --> 00:14:53.682
  • And go to that land that i will show you
  • 00:14:53.682 --> 00:14:56.018
  • And i will make you the father of a great nation
  • 00:14:56.018 --> 00:14:58.354
  • And i will bless those who bless you
  • 00:14:58.354 --> 00:14:59.922
  • And curse those who curse you and through you,
  • 00:14:59.922 --> 00:15:01.757
  • All the nations of the world will be blessed."
  • 00:15:01.757 --> 00:15:05.361
  • So what did abram do?
  • 00:15:05.361 --> 00:15:06.528
  • Look at verse four of genesis 12.
  • 00:15:06.528 --> 00:15:08.530
  • "so abram went forth as the lord had spoken to him
  • 00:15:08.530 --> 00:15:12.534
  • And lot went with him.
  • 00:15:12.534 --> 00:15:14.136
  • Now, abram was 75 years old when he departed from haran.
  • 00:15:14.136 --> 00:15:19.341
  • Now i don't know about you,
  • 00:15:19.942 --> 00:15:21.176
  • But i don't know many 75 year olds
  • 00:15:21.176 --> 00:15:23.946
  • Who are crazy about changing their life.
  • 00:15:23.946 --> 00:15:27.516
  • I don't know many people who like change of any kind,
  • 00:15:27.516 --> 00:15:30.352
  • But just imagine what it is like to pick up,
  • 00:15:30.352 --> 00:15:33.889
  • Uproot, and go to a land you've never seen before
  • 00:15:33.889 --> 00:15:36.992
  • With all of your family.
  • 00:15:36.992 --> 00:15:38.794
  • But abraham did that when he was 75, look at verse five.
  • 00:15:38.794 --> 00:15:42.865
  • "and abram took sarai his wife and lot his nephew
  • 00:15:42.865 --> 00:15:46.869
  • And all their possessions which they had accumulated
  • 00:15:46.869 --> 00:15:51.540
  • And the persons which they had acquired in haran
  • 00:15:51.540 --> 00:15:54.209
  • And they set out for the land of canaan,
  • 00:15:54.209 --> 00:15:56.678
  • Thus they came to the land of canaan."
  • 00:15:56.678 --> 00:15:59.448
  • Just think of all the stuff abraham and sarah
  • 00:16:00.382 --> 00:16:03.819
  • Had accumulated in 75 years.
  • 00:16:03.819 --> 00:16:07.289
  • 75 years of living.
  • 00:16:07.289 --> 00:16:10.426
  • I went into our garage yesterday
  • 00:16:10.426 --> 00:16:12.728
  • And it is packed to the brim
  • 00:16:12.728 --> 00:16:15.097
  • And it's interesting,
  • 00:16:15.097 --> 00:16:16.532
  • It's kind of like geological strata in our garage.
  • 00:16:16.532 --> 00:16:21.570
  • The bottom portion structure,
  • 00:16:22.204 --> 00:16:24.139
  • That's the garland years from the 1970s.
  • 00:16:24.139 --> 00:16:27.843
  • And then on top of that are the eastland years
  • 00:16:27.843 --> 00:16:30.379
  • And then the 15 years in wichita falls above that,
  • 00:16:30.379 --> 00:16:33.348
  • And then our dallas last 13 years above that.
  • 00:16:33.348 --> 00:16:36.518
  • I'd hate to try to find anything in there.
  • 00:16:36.518 --> 00:16:39.188
  • You can imagine all the stuff that abraham had.
  • 00:16:39.188 --> 00:16:42.925
  • But he picked it up,
  • 00:16:42.925 --> 00:16:44.193
  • He gathered it together and what did he do?
  • 00:16:44.193 --> 00:16:46.061
  • Did he call daryl flood movers and say,
  • 00:16:46.061 --> 00:16:47.930
  • "come pick up this stuff, send it ahead to canaan?"
  • 00:16:47.930 --> 00:16:50.799
  • No, the bible says that they tied it
  • 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:53.769
  • To the backs of the donkeys
  • 00:16:53.769 --> 00:16:55.370
  • And every other beast they had and out they went to canaan.
  • 00:16:55.370 --> 00:16:59.942
  • But the real remarkable thing about this move
  • 00:16:59.942 --> 00:17:02.277
  • Is not the inconvenience of it,
  • 00:17:02.277 --> 00:17:05.114
  • It's the faith that it took to do that.
  • 00:17:05.114 --> 00:17:07.883
  • Just think they left ur of the chaldees,
  • 00:17:07.883 --> 00:17:10.419
  • They were leaving their family,
  • 00:17:10.419 --> 00:17:13.222
  • They were leaving their religious traditions,
  • 00:17:13.222 --> 00:17:15.924
  • They were leaving their friends,
  • 00:17:15.924 --> 00:17:17.426
  • Everything familiar to them
  • 00:17:17.426 --> 00:17:20.095
  • To go to a place that was unidentified
  • 00:17:20.095 --> 00:17:22.898
  • At this point to them,
  • 00:17:22.898 --> 00:17:24.399
  • All because god said to go.
  • 00:17:24.399 --> 00:17:27.236
  • Think of the loneliness that would take
  • 00:17:27.236 --> 00:17:29.071
  • To leave everything you knew
  • 00:17:29.071 --> 00:17:30.305
  • To a strange and distant land.
  • 00:17:30.305 --> 00:17:32.341
  • When i was preparing this message this week,
  • 00:17:32.341 --> 00:17:34.109
  • I couldn't help think of the first time i left home.
  • 00:17:34.109 --> 00:17:39.448
  • I was 18 years old and was leaving dallas
  • 00:17:40.315 --> 00:17:43.385
  • And leaving my family
  • 00:17:43.385 --> 00:17:44.920
  • And leaving the church here i had grown up in
  • 00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:48.657
  • To go 90 miles south to baylor university.
  • 00:17:48.657 --> 00:17:53.028
  • And i remember that saturday so well that i went to baylor,
  • 00:17:53.028 --> 00:17:57.533
  • I was already feeling a little bit blue
  • 00:17:57.533 --> 00:17:59.568
  • Because my wife, my girlfriend at the time, amy,
  • 00:17:59.568 --> 00:18:03.205
  • Had gone on to austin to the university of texas,
  • 00:18:03.205 --> 00:18:06.708
  • So i was feeling kind of lonely.
  • 00:18:06.708 --> 00:18:08.544
  • And so our family decided not to just to send me by myself,
  • 00:18:08.544 --> 00:18:12.614
  • But we went in a family caravan.
  • 00:18:12.614 --> 00:18:15.417
  • It was not just me, it was my mother and my father,
  • 00:18:15.417 --> 00:18:19.888
  • My sister sitting right out there,
  • 00:18:19.888 --> 00:18:22.157
  • And my brother, my grandmother and grandfather
  • 00:18:22.157 --> 00:18:26.061
  • And my great-grandmother,
  • 00:18:26.061 --> 00:18:27.796
  • We all got in a caravan and headed down i-35 to waco.
  • 00:18:27.796 --> 00:18:33.068
  • They dropped me off in my dorm
  • 00:18:33.702 --> 00:18:35.771
  • And my grandfather said,
  • 00:18:35.771 --> 00:18:37.406
  • "let's all have a prayer together."
  • 00:18:37.406 --> 00:18:39.007
  • So we got in a circle and he prayed for me
  • 00:18:39.007 --> 00:18:41.643
  • And then he left, they left.
  • 00:18:41.643 --> 00:18:44.079
  • And i'm telling you, i have never felt lonelier.
  • 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:47.683
  • I was surrounded by a lot of people,
  • 00:18:47.683 --> 00:18:49.585
  • I would eventually make some great friends there,
  • 00:18:49.585 --> 00:18:51.887
  • But that day i was lonely.
  • 00:18:51.887 --> 00:18:53.622
  • And i remember that saturday night
  • 00:18:53.622 --> 00:18:55.557
  • Going down to the fifth street bridge,
  • 00:18:55.557 --> 00:18:58.660
  • The bridge that spans i-35 on fifth street
  • 00:18:58.660 --> 00:19:02.097
  • And i walked into the center of that bridge, i didn't jump,
  • 00:19:02.097 --> 00:19:05.534
  • But i just walked to the center of that bridge
  • 00:19:05.534 --> 00:19:07.970
  • And i looked to the north
  • 00:19:07.970 --> 00:19:09.504
  • And thought about my family and my friends i had left.
  • 00:19:09.504 --> 00:19:13.242
  • I turned and looked toward the south toward austin
  • 00:19:13.242 --> 00:19:16.578
  • Where those pagans were holding my girlfriend amy
  • 00:19:16.578 --> 00:19:19.147
  • At the university of texas.
  • 00:19:19.147 --> 00:19:21.583
  • You know i was lonely.
  • 00:19:22.084 --> 00:19:24.086
  • Perhaps you felt that kind of loneliness too,
  • 00:19:24.086 --> 00:19:26.221
  • The loneliness of moving to a new city,
  • 00:19:26.221 --> 00:19:29.391
  • Moving to a new church, moving to a new job.
  • 00:19:29.391 --> 00:19:32.160
  • Even though you're surrounded by people, you feel all alone.
  • 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:36.164
  • That's what it took for abraham.
  • 00:19:36.164 --> 00:19:37.833
  • Why did he do it?
  • 00:19:37.833 --> 00:19:39.668
  • Let me tell you why he didn't do it.
  • 00:19:39.668 --> 00:19:42.004
  • It's not because he calculated
  • 00:19:42.004 --> 00:19:43.672
  • That the new land was better than ur of the chaldees.
  • 00:19:43.672 --> 00:19:46.608
  • He didn't study the housing market or the job market
  • 00:19:46.608 --> 00:19:49.978
  • Or the climate or anything else and say,
  • 00:19:49.978 --> 00:19:52.247
  • "i think i'd like to move there."
  • 00:19:52.247 --> 00:19:53.749
  • No, he went there by faith.
  • 00:19:53.749 --> 00:19:55.951
  • Look at verse nine,
  • 00:19:55.951 --> 00:19:57.219
  • This gives us great insight of what happened
  • 00:19:57.219 --> 00:19:59.254
  • Even after he got there.
  • 00:19:59.254 --> 00:20:00.589
  • "by faith," hebrews 11:9,
  • 00:20:00.589 --> 00:20:02.824
  • "by faith, abram lived as an alien in the land of promise,
  • 00:20:02.824 --> 00:20:08.163
  • As in a foreign land dwelling in tents
  • 00:20:08.997 --> 00:20:11.300
  • With isaac and jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise."
  • 00:20:11.300 --> 00:20:14.569
  • This is interesting,
  • 00:20:14.569 --> 00:20:15.904
  • Even when he finally got to the promised land,
  • 00:20:15.904 --> 00:20:18.974
  • The bible said, "he lived, he sojourned,"
  • 00:20:18.974 --> 00:20:21.843
  • That word means to live as an alien, not a citizen.
  • 00:20:21.843 --> 00:20:26.181
  • In the old testament times,
  • 00:20:26.782 --> 00:20:29.051
  • An alien was one step above a slave, had very few rights,
  • 00:20:29.051 --> 00:20:34.189
  • Was not really tied to the country that he went to,
  • 00:20:35.190 --> 00:20:37.759
  • And that was abraham.
  • 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:39.261
  • The whole time that he and sarah would live in canaan,
  • 00:20:39.261 --> 00:20:41.396
  • Did you know they never built a house?
  • 00:20:41.396 --> 00:20:43.598
  • They were wealthy, but they never built a house,
  • 00:20:43.598 --> 00:20:45.801
  • They lived in tents.
  • 00:20:45.801 --> 00:20:47.336
  • They never bought a piece of property
  • 00:20:47.336 --> 00:20:49.438
  • Except to be buried on.
  • 00:20:49.438 --> 00:20:51.606
  • Why would they do that?
  • 00:20:51.606 --> 00:20:52.908
  • Why would they live such detached lives?
  • 00:20:52.908 --> 00:20:55.010
  • Verse 10 says, "for he, abraham,
  • 00:20:55.010 --> 00:20:57.679
  • Was looking for the city
  • 00:20:57.679 --> 00:20:59.247
  • Which has foundations whose architect and builder is god."
  • 00:20:59.247 --> 00:21:04.386
  • Abraham was looking for a better city, a more lasting city,
  • 00:21:05.520 --> 00:21:08.657
  • He was looking for that new jerusalem,
  • 00:21:08.657 --> 00:21:10.992
  • He knew that's where his reward would be.
  • 00:21:10.992 --> 00:21:14.296
  • Let me just say this as simply as possible.
  • 00:21:15.197 --> 00:21:18.667
  • You know what it means to walk by faith?
  • 00:21:18.667 --> 00:21:21.203
  • Walk by faith means taking that next step,
  • 00:21:21.203 --> 00:21:26.475
  • Even when you can't see the outcome,
  • 00:21:27.275 --> 00:21:29.277
  • Taking the next step you know god wants you to take.
  • 00:21:30.345 --> 00:21:33.482
  • There are some of you right now
  • 00:21:34.116 --> 00:21:35.350
  • Who are living in a fog of confusion,
  • 00:21:35.350 --> 00:21:39.187
  • Maybe about your profession,
  • 00:21:39.187 --> 00:21:41.056
  • About your marriage, about your children.
  • 00:21:41.923 --> 00:21:45.994
  • And this pandemic has even thickened that fog.
  • 00:21:45.994 --> 00:21:51.233
  • It's harder now than ever before
  • 00:21:51.867 --> 00:21:53.335
  • To see what's going to happen three months from now,
  • 00:21:53.335 --> 00:21:56.805
  • Six months from now.
  • 00:21:56.805 --> 00:21:59.241
  • God didn't call on you to see the future,
  • 00:21:59.241 --> 00:22:01.309
  • To know what's going to happen,
  • 00:22:01.309 --> 00:22:02.577
  • He's asking you to take
  • 00:22:02.577 --> 00:22:03.879
  • That next step in obedience to him.
  • 00:22:03.879 --> 00:22:08.583
  • Walking by faith when you can't see the future,
  • 00:22:08.583 --> 00:22:12.788
  • That's what abraham illustrates.
  • 00:22:12.788 --> 00:22:15.690
  • His wife sarah illustrates
  • 00:22:15.690 --> 00:22:18.093
  • Another aspect of submissive faith.
  • 00:22:18.093 --> 00:22:20.996
  • Sometimes submitting to god's commands
  • 00:22:20.996 --> 00:22:24.266
  • Means walking with god when you can't see the future.
  • 00:22:24.266 --> 00:22:27.569
  • But sometimes it means waiting on god
  • 00:22:27.569 --> 00:22:30.806
  • When you can't hear his voice.
  • 00:22:30.806 --> 00:22:33.742
  • I remember so well, in a previous church,
  • 00:22:33.742 --> 00:22:37.879
  • We were having a great ministry there,
  • 00:22:37.879 --> 00:22:39.648
  • But the possibility of going to another church opened up,
  • 00:22:39.648 --> 00:22:43.585
  • And amy and i were really considering
  • 00:22:43.585 --> 00:22:45.353
  • Whether or not to go to this new church.
  • 00:22:45.353 --> 00:22:49.458
  • And we tried to keep it quiet,
  • 00:22:49.458 --> 00:22:51.326
  • But we couldn't keep it quiet.
  • 00:22:51.326 --> 00:22:53.528
  • And other people in the congregation
  • 00:22:53.528 --> 00:22:55.397
  • Began knowing that we were considering leaving.
  • 00:22:55.397 --> 00:22:58.733
  • And so, i'll never forget,
  • 00:22:58.733 --> 00:23:01.236
  • A senior adult woman, very wise
  • 00:23:01.236 --> 00:23:04.005
  • She slipped me a note one day that i'll never forget,
  • 00:23:04.005 --> 00:23:06.942
  • She said, "pastor, remember,
  • 00:23:06.942 --> 00:23:09.177
  • Sometimes it takes more faith to stay in a place
  • 00:23:09.177 --> 00:23:13.248
  • Than to go to a new place."
  • 00:23:13.248 --> 00:23:15.550
  • And we ended up staying for a number of more years
  • 00:23:16.551 --> 00:23:18.687
  • And had a great ministry there.
  • 00:23:18.687 --> 00:23:21.089
  • But that's really true, faith doesn't always mean going,
  • 00:23:21.089 --> 00:23:24.493
  • Sometimes it means staying where you are.
  • 00:23:24.493 --> 00:23:27.696
  • ♪ music ♪
  • 00:23:27.696 --> 00:23:32.033
  • So here's the question.
  • 00:23:32.534 --> 00:23:34.035
  • Are you ready to take your next steps with god?
  • 00:23:34.035 --> 00:23:36.972
  • No matter where you've been or what you've done,
  • 00:23:36.972 --> 00:23:39.574
  • No matter how you've treated god in the past,
  • 00:23:39.574 --> 00:23:42.444
  • You can trust him with your future.
  • 00:23:42.444 --> 00:23:45.380
  • And if you're willing to help "pathway to victory"
  • 00:23:45.380 --> 00:23:47.382
  • Tell more people about this liberating love of god,
  • 00:23:47.382 --> 00:23:51.286
  • Let me encourage you to reach out today
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  • With a generous gift.
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  • Your personal investment empowers us
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  • To take this daily program far and wide.
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  • In that sense, when you give generously,
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  • You actually have a ministry all of your own.
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  • Thank you so much for your continued faithfulness.
  • 00:24:06.368 --> 00:24:09.404
  • We couldn't provide this daily program
  • 00:24:09.404 --> 00:24:11.373
  • Without friends just like you.
  • 00:24:11.373 --> 00:24:14.109
  • Now, please stay right there,
  • 00:24:14.109 --> 00:24:15.644
  • I'll be back with one final word for today in just a moment.
  • 00:24:15.644 --> 00:24:20.081
  • [narrator] when was the last time
  • 00:24:20.815 --> 00:24:22.117
  • You heard god speak to you from his word?
  • 00:24:22.117 --> 00:24:24.553
  • Dr. robert jeffress believes that growing closer to god
  • 00:24:24.553 --> 00:24:27.489
  • Begins with reading your bible and spending time in prayer.
  • 00:24:27.489 --> 00:24:31.393
  • Make god your priority by spending quality time in his word
  • 00:24:31.393 --> 00:24:34.996
  • With the brand new
  • 00:24:34.996 --> 00:24:36.331
  • 2025 "pathway to victory" daily devotional.
  • 00:24:36.331 --> 00:24:38.934
  • Of all the ways god could have revealed himself to us,
  • 00:24:38.934 --> 00:24:42.737
  • He chose to do it through the written word.
  • 00:24:42.737 --> 00:24:45.740
  • And that's why it's so important for you and for me
  • 00:24:45.740 --> 00:24:48.009
  • To set aside regular time to read the word of god.
  • 00:24:48.009 --> 00:24:52.347
  • [narrator] whether you've been a christian
  • 00:24:52.347 --> 00:24:53.648
  • For a lot of years or just a short while,
  • 00:24:53.648 --> 00:24:55.951
  • The principles found in this year's devotional
  • 00:24:55.951 --> 00:24:58.320
  • Will help breathe new life into your walk with god.
  • 00:24:58.320 --> 00:25:01.756
  • Ready to get back to the basics of your christian faith?
  • 00:25:01.756 --> 00:25:04.726
  • Request your copy of
  • 00:25:04.726 --> 00:25:06.161
  • The 2025 "pathway to victory" daily devotional
  • 00:25:06.161 --> 00:25:09.331
  • When you give a generous gift
  • 00:25:09.331 --> 00:25:10.966
  • To support the ministry of "pathway to victory".
  • 00:25:10.966 --> 00:25:13.768
  • And when you give $75 or more, we'll also send you
  • 00:25:13.768 --> 00:25:17.405
  • The complete spiritual fitness teaching series
  • 00:25:17.405 --> 00:25:20.075
  • On dvd and audio disc.
  • 00:25:20.075 --> 00:25:22.243
  • We'll discover one thing
  • 00:25:22.243 --> 00:25:23.511
  • All of these men and women had in common
  • 00:25:23.511 --> 00:25:25.447
  • Is they believed god
  • 00:25:25.447 --> 00:25:28.049
  • And they acted according to their belief in god.
  • 00:25:28.049 --> 00:25:31.019
  • They did something as a demonstration of their faith.
  • 00:25:31.019 --> 00:25:35.790
  • [narrator] thank you for giving generously
  • 00:25:35.790 --> 00:25:37.559
  • To support the ministry of "pathway to victory".
  • 00:25:37.559 --> 00:25:40.261
  • Your giving empowers this broadcast ministry
  • 00:25:40.261 --> 00:25:42.864
  • To proclaim the practical, applicable,
  • 00:25:42.864 --> 00:25:44.933
  • Life-changing truth of the gospel to a world in need.
  • 00:25:44.933 --> 00:25:49.871
  • Abraham didn't know where he would end up,
  • 00:25:50.772 --> 00:25:53.341
  • But that didn't stop him from moving forward.
  • 00:25:53.341 --> 00:25:56.378
  • Abraham trusted god and he was willing to follow god's plan,
  • 00:25:56.378 --> 00:26:01.282
  • In the same way god is calling you
  • 00:26:01.282 --> 00:26:03.218
  • To move forward even when you can't see the future.
  • 00:26:03.218 --> 00:26:06.521
  • Well, sometimes, faith requires not just moving,
  • 00:26:07.489 --> 00:26:10.125
  • But sometimes it requires waiting,
  • 00:26:10.125 --> 00:26:13.128
  • It means sitting in silence.
  • 00:26:13.128 --> 00:26:15.397
  • And next time i'll share a classic illustration
  • 00:26:15.397 --> 00:26:17.832
  • About sarah, abraham's wife,
  • 00:26:17.832 --> 00:26:20.301
  • Who longed to hear the voice of god.
  • 00:26:20.301 --> 00:26:23.138
  • Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next
  • 00:26:23.138 --> 00:26:25.440
  • In our series, "spiritual fitness".
  • 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:28.810
  • You know, as they made their way to canaan,
  • 00:26:29.711 --> 00:26:31.146
  • They faced some real struggles, abraham and sarah,
  • 00:26:31.146 --> 00:26:34.516
  • And it would've been tempting to think,
  • 00:26:34.516 --> 00:26:36.051
  • "oh, i wish i could go back home."
  • 00:26:36.051 --> 00:26:39.721
  • Those who want to please god, walk with god,
  • 00:26:39.721 --> 00:26:42.757
  • Cannot afford the luxury of looking back.
  • 00:26:42.757 --> 00:26:46.161
  • [announcer] set your dvr and join us next time
  • 00:26:47.095 --> 00:26:49.297
  • For part two of the message "going without knowing"
  • 00:26:49.297 --> 00:26:52.767
  • Here on "pathway to victory".
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  • ♪ music ♪
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  • Join dr. robert jeffress on
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  • Pathway to victory's journeys of paul mediterranean cruise.
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  • I want to take you to the very places
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  • Where god's word was written,
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  • And seek the one who sought us first in his creation.
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  • [announcer] experience world class accommodations
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  • ♪ music ♪
  • 00:27:27.569 --> 00:27:27.569