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Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - The Helmet and the Sword (Part 2)

March 20, 2026 | 27:29

Robert Jeffress - The Helmet and the Sword (Part 2)
Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.
#SpiritualWarfare #ArmorofGod #Protection #Freedom #HolySpirit #Overcoming #Sin #Victory #PromisesofGod #EternalLife #Salvation #Spirit #WordofGod #SpiritualFoundation #Truth #Bible #RobertJeffress

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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - The Helmet and the Sword (Part 2) | March 20, 2026
  • ...
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Announcer: from the pulpit of the first baptist church of
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  • Dallas, texas, this is "pathway to victory" with dr.
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  • Robert jeffress.
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  • Dr. robert jeffress: hi, i'm robert jeffress, and welcome
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  • Again to "pathway to victory."
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  • The christian life is a spiritual battle, we can't see
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  • Our enemy, but the threat is very real.
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  • Thankfully, god refuses to let his children go into
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  • Battle unprotected.
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  • In ephesians chapter 6, the apostle paul describes the
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  • Spiritual armor every believer needs to defeat the
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  • Enemy's schemes.
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  • Today, we're going to examine the final two weapons god has
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  • Given us and discover how to use them effectively in our
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  • Daily struggles.
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  • My message is titled "the helmet and the sword" on today's
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  • Edition of "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • ♪ i saw the lord seated high and lifted up. ♪
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  • ♪ majestic in splendor. ♪
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  • ♪ i saw the lord seated high and lifted up. ♪
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  • ♪ filling the temple, ♪
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  • ♪ his glory declaring the worth of his ♪
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  • ♪ praise, his mercy surrounding the depth of his grace. ♪
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  • ♪ holy, holy is the lord. ♪
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  • ♪ worthy, worthy is the lamb. ♪
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  • ♪ he who was, and is, and evermore, shall reign. ♪
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  • ♪ we sing glory, ♪
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  • ♪ glory to his name. ♪
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  • ♪ we sing glory, ♪
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  • ♪ glory to his name. ♪
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  • ♪ my eyes have seen the king, ♪
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  • ♪ the lord of hosts is with us. ♪
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  • ♪ undone by majesty, ♪
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  • ♪ we stand redeemed in jesus. ♪
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  • ♪ holy, holy is the lord. ♪
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  • ♪ worthy, worthy is the lamb. ♪
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  • ♪ he who was, and is, and evermore, shall reign. ♪
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  • ♪ we sing glory, ♪
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  • ♪ glory to his name. ♪
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  • ♪ his name. ♪
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  • [congregation applauding].
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  • Announcer: whether you know it or not, you're in a battle.
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  • Satan has a strategy to attack your faith, disrupt your family,
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  • And derail your future.
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  • But god has given you everything you need to fight back and win.
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  • In "the divine defense," dr. robert jeffress reveals six
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  • Practical strategies from ephesians chapter 6 to defeat
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  • Satan's destructive plan.
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  • When you put on the full armor of god, satan doesn't have
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  • A prayer.
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  • Request "the divine defense" when you give a generous
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  • Ministry gift to "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Jeffress: what a picture of so many christians today, who used
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  • To be slaves to sin before they were saved.
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  • They felt like slaves because they were slaves to habits, and
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  • Addictions, and sin in their life.
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  • But when you're saved, you are freed from that.
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  • The same holy spirit of god who raised jesus from the dead is
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  • Working in your life to give you power over sin.
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  • Sin has no more power over you, christian, than you choose to
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  • Allow it to have.
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  • We need that reminder over and over again that we have been
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  • Saved not only from the penalty of sin, but from the power
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  • Of sin.
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  • How do you put on that helmet of salvation?
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  • One way to do it is through scripture.
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  • When you're tempted to wonder about your salvation, whether
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  • You're really going to heaven or hell, let me encourage you to
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  • Memorize john 10:28.
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  • It'd be a great assignment for this week.
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  • I know you don't come to church to get homework, but this is
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  • Your homework for this week.
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  • Memorize john 10:28, jesus said, "i give eternal life to them,
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  • And they shall never perish.
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  • No man shall snatch out of my hand.
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  • Those whom the father has given me."
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  • And then, for the reminder that you've been saved from the power
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  • Of sin, write down romans 6:11-13, three verses that will
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  • Change your life if you'll memorize them.
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  • "even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to god
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  • In christ jesus.
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  • Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you
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  • Should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting yourselves
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  • As members of your body to sin as instruments of
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  • Unrighteousness; but present yourselves to god as those alive
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  • From the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness
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  • To god."
  • 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:06.148
  • Simply put, you can give your body to be slaves of satan, or
  • 00:07:06.148 --> 00:07:10.253
  • You can use your same body to be slaves of god.
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  • Put on the helmet of salvation.
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  • The final piece of weaponry that god has provided us with is in
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  • Verse 17 as well.
  • 00:07:22.298 --> 00:07:24.033
  • The sword of the spirit.
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  • Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which
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  • Is the word of god.
  • 00:07:29.772 --> 00:07:31.541
  • Now, let me say a word about the roman sword.
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  • There were really two kinds of swords.
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  • There was the roman broadsword.
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  • That's what you would see the soldiers on horseback flailing
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  • Around holding, hoping to hit somebody.
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  • That was the broadsword.
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  • But then you had what was called the makhaira.
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  • It was more like a long dagger.
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  • It might be 12 inches, 24 inches.
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  • It's more like a machete.
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  • In fact, doug brady gave me one many years ago.
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  • Still over in my office in the criswell center.
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  • If i'm ever allowed back in there again, i'll get it.
  • 00:08:05.741 --> 00:08:08.978
  • Because it was very handy for me, that machete, especially at
  • 00:08:08.978 --> 00:08:11.681
  • Deacon's meeting.
  • 00:08:11.681 --> 00:08:13.015
  • And i--man, i miss it so much.
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  • Can't wait to be back over there.
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  • The makhaira, it was very important in
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  • Hand-to-hand combat.
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  • You couldn't flail it around and hit something.
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  • You had to be up close to your enemy, and you had to know
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  • Precisely how to use it for it to be effective.
  • 00:08:28.731 --> 00:08:32.568
  • Well, he says, "we have a sword.
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  • We have a broadsword.
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  • We have a makhaira, a dagger.
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  • It's called the word of god.
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  • Take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of god."
  • 00:08:42.445 --> 00:08:48.451
  • Now, i'm gonna have to confess something to you.
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  • I was preparing the message this week, and i got to that, and i
  • 00:08:50.620 --> 00:08:53.756
  • Thought, the word of god.
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  • Wait a minute.
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  • Hasn't paul already talked about the word of god?
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  • We talked about the belt of truth, and we said the belt of
  • 00:09:00.429 --> 00:09:04.300
  • Truth represents the word of god, and you take the loose
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  • Thoughts in your mind, like the loose places of a tunic, and you
  • 00:09:07.470 --> 00:09:11.073
  • Tuck them in so you don't trip up over them.
  • 00:09:11.073 --> 00:09:13.743
  • It was compared to a belt, the word of god, and now he's
  • 00:09:13.743 --> 00:09:17.346
  • Talking about the word of god again as a sword.
  • 00:09:17.346 --> 00:09:20.583
  • What's the difference?
  • 00:09:20.583 --> 00:09:21.984
  • And how am i going to explain that difference?
  • 00:09:21.984 --> 00:09:24.020
  • And how am i gonna explain what paul is doing here,
  • 00:09:24.020 --> 00:09:26.822
  • Repeating himself?
  • 00:09:26.822 --> 00:09:28.557
  • And then i thought, why do i have to explain it?
  • 00:09:28.557 --> 00:09:31.861
  • He's repeating himself because he's under inspiration of the
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  • Holy spirit.
  • 00:09:35.064 --> 00:09:36.699
  • And perhaps he's telling us something very important by
  • 00:09:36.699 --> 00:09:39.802
  • Talking about the word of god twice as a weapon.
  • 00:09:39.802 --> 00:09:43.939
  • He's saying to us, the word of god is twice as powerful as any
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  • Other instrument god gives you.
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  • He starts with the word of god as the belt of truth.
  • 00:09:51.614 --> 00:09:54.583
  • He finishes with the sword of the spirit.
  • 00:09:54.583 --> 00:09:57.687
  • It's both an offensive and defensive weapon.
  • 00:09:57.687 --> 00:10:01.657
  • We read just a few moments ago from hebrews 4:12, "for the word
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  • Of god is living, it's active, it is sharper than any two-edged
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  • Sword, and piercing as far as the division of the soul and the
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  • Spirit, of both the joints and the marrow, and able to judge
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  • The thoughts and intentions of the heart."
  • 00:10:18.441 --> 00:10:22.511
  • Whether it was the broadsword, or the dagger, the machete, the
  • 00:10:22.511 --> 00:10:27.083
  • Makhaira, it was two-edged.
  • 00:10:27.083 --> 00:10:30.386
  • It was sharp on both edges.
  • 00:10:30.386 --> 00:10:32.688
  • And when a soldier would use it, he would use it to, one sweep of
  • 00:10:32.688 --> 00:10:36.192
  • The hand, slice through his opponent, and then he would come
  • 00:10:36.192 --> 00:10:40.863
  • Back the other direction and finish him off.
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  • That's exactly how sharp god's word is.
  • 00:10:44.133 --> 00:10:47.937
  • But what i want you to hear from me this morning is this, the
  • 00:10:47.937 --> 00:10:51.440
  • Effectiveness of the word of god in spiritual warfare is not in
  • 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:57.079
  • What the word of god does to other people, it's what it does
  • 00:10:57.079 --> 00:11:01.050
  • To you and me.
  • 00:11:01.050 --> 00:11:03.652
  • It's an instrument for us, not to others.
  • 00:11:03.652 --> 00:11:06.388
  • Yes, i know speaking the word of god, god can use that to bring
  • 00:11:06.388 --> 00:11:09.859
  • Conviction to people, but the conviction is to come
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  • To individuals.
  • 00:11:12.995 --> 00:11:14.330
  • The power of the word of god is what it does to us, not what it
  • 00:11:14.330 --> 00:11:18.634
  • Does to other people.
  • 00:11:18.634 --> 00:11:19.969
  • Let me illustrate that, if i could.
  • 00:11:19.969 --> 00:11:22.538
  • Perhaps you know the story of gordius.
  • 00:11:22.538 --> 00:11:25.741
  • Gordius constructed this knot that was so complex that
  • 00:11:25.741 --> 00:11:31.247
  • Everybody who came to the village where it was displayed
  • 00:11:31.247 --> 00:11:34.350
  • Would look at it in amazement and could not figure out how to
  • 00:11:34.350 --> 00:11:38.020
  • Untie this knot.
  • 00:11:38.020 --> 00:11:39.588
  • We call it a gordian knot today.
  • 00:11:39.588 --> 00:11:42.024
  • It is so twisted and so entangled that there's no way to
  • 00:11:42.024 --> 00:11:47.163
  • Untie it.
  • 00:11:47.163 --> 00:11:48.531
  • And people would come and look at that in amazement that nobody
  • 00:11:48.531 --> 00:11:51.801
  • Could figure out how to untie it.
  • 00:11:51.801 --> 00:11:53.602
  • And it said when alexander the great was brought in to see this
  • 00:11:53.602 --> 00:11:58.140
  • Gordian knot, he looked at it for a few moments.
  • 00:11:58.140 --> 00:12:00.810
  • He reached out his sword and cut it in two, sliced it right
  • 00:12:00.810 --> 00:12:05.281
  • In two.
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  • Problem solved.
  • 00:12:06.615 --> 00:12:08.284
  • You know, that's a great picture of what the word of god does.
  • 00:12:08.284 --> 00:12:11.420
  • The bible says sin is like a rope that just gets us tied up
  • 00:12:11.420 --> 00:12:15.691
  • In knots.
  • 00:12:15.691 --> 00:12:17.193
  • We are tied up in knots with wrong thinking.
  • 00:12:17.193 --> 00:12:19.695
  • June, you see that all the time in your counseling.
  • 00:12:19.695 --> 00:12:22.331
  • Wrong thinking, and wrong thinking leads--leads to wrong
  • 00:12:22.331 --> 00:12:26.268
  • Acting, and people are just bound up and they go to secular
  • 00:12:26.268 --> 00:12:29.772
  • Sources or ungodly counsel, and it doesn't provide any relief.
  • 00:12:29.772 --> 00:12:34.376
  • But the word of god slices through all of that.
  • 00:12:34.376 --> 00:12:37.847
  • You see--i mean, we think--for example, we think that we're
  • 00:12:37.847 --> 00:12:41.417
  • Responsible for our own future and our own well-being.
  • 00:12:41.417 --> 00:12:45.654
  • We're taught that all the time.
  • 00:12:45.654 --> 00:12:47.022
  • If it's going to be, it's up to me.
  • 00:12:47.022 --> 00:12:48.791
  • I have to take care of number one.
  • 00:12:48.791 --> 00:12:50.659
  • We get to thinking we're responsible for our welfare, and
  • 00:12:50.659 --> 00:12:53.462
  • So we get bound up in anxiety, and fear, and worry.
  • 00:12:53.462 --> 00:12:57.733
  • Or we think that living a pure moral life leads to boredom, so
  • 00:12:57.733 --> 00:13:02.204
  • We get caught up in immorality.
  • 00:13:02.204 --> 00:13:05.140
  • We think sometimes that the best way to deal with mistreatment is
  • 00:13:05.140 --> 00:13:09.044
  • To gain vengeance, to enact revenge upon our enemies, and so
  • 00:13:09.044 --> 00:13:12.915
  • We get bound up in bitterness.
  • 00:13:12.915 --> 00:13:14.817
  • We're just a knot of confusion and unhappiness, but the word of
  • 00:13:14.817 --> 00:13:18.654
  • God comes and it slices through all of that, and it shows us
  • 00:13:18.654 --> 00:13:23.025
  • Exactly who we are, not so that we can condemn ourselves, but so
  • 00:13:23.025 --> 00:13:27.229
  • That we can find healing.
  • 00:13:27.229 --> 00:13:29.899
  • You know, again, the power of god's word is not in what it
  • 00:13:29.899 --> 00:13:34.436
  • Does to other people, it's in what it does to me.
  • 00:13:34.436 --> 00:13:38.274
  • Another image that the bible uses to describe the word of god
  • 00:13:38.274 --> 00:13:43.746
  • Is a surgeon's scalpel.
  • 00:13:43.746 --> 00:13:47.082
  • A sword and a scalpel are alike in some ways.
  • 00:13:47.082 --> 00:13:50.886
  • How is it alike?
  • 00:13:50.886 --> 00:13:52.221
  • Well, they're both sharp and they both have to be used
  • 00:13:52.221 --> 00:13:55.424
  • With precision.
  • 00:13:55.424 --> 00:13:56.992
  • Think about it for a moment.
  • 00:13:56.992 --> 00:13:58.827
  • How many of you have ever had surgery before?
  • 00:13:58.827 --> 00:14:01.931
  • What does a surgeon first do if he's trying to remove a tumor?
  • 00:14:01.931 --> 00:14:05.901
  • He uses a scalpel or maybe a laser today to open you up, to
  • 00:14:05.901 --> 00:14:11.240
  • Open you up.
  • 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:12.741
  • He inflicts that incision to open you up.
  • 00:14:12.741 --> 00:14:15.511
  • It's not because he's a sadomasochist, it's because he's
  • 00:14:15.511 --> 00:14:18.814
  • Trying to bring healing.
  • 00:14:18.814 --> 00:14:20.316
  • But he knows before healing, there has to become hurting.
  • 00:14:20.316 --> 00:14:24.620
  • Hurting always precedes healing.
  • 00:14:24.620 --> 00:14:28.023
  • My friend erwin lutzer says it this way, "our problem is that
  • 00:14:28.023 --> 00:14:31.961
  • We want vitamins, not a knife.
  • 00:14:31.961 --> 00:14:34.964
  • We want healing without the incision, the joy without the
  • 00:14:34.964 --> 00:14:38.934
  • Sorrow, but god gives us both.
  • 00:14:38.934 --> 00:14:42.271
  • For the more thorough our repentance, the greater the
  • 00:14:42.271 --> 00:14:45.574
  • Infusion of grace.
  • 00:14:45.574 --> 00:14:47.743
  • The more helpless we see ourselves to be, the more
  • 00:14:47.743 --> 00:14:51.080
  • Helpful god becomes.
  • 00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:52.982
  • Surgery precedes recovery.
  • 00:14:52.982 --> 00:14:56.151
  • As god himself said in deuteronomy 32:39, 'see now that
  • 00:14:56.151 --> 00:15:00.656
  • I, i am he, and there is no god besides me.
  • 00:15:00.656 --> 00:15:04.093
  • It is i who put to death and give life.
  • 00:15:04.093 --> 00:15:08.964
  • I have wounded, yes, but i am he who heals, and there is no one
  • 00:15:08.964 --> 00:15:14.670
  • Who can deliver from my hand.'
  • 00:15:14.670 --> 00:15:17.473
  • The great physician uses the scalpel of his word to expose
  • 00:15:17.473 --> 00:15:22.277
  • Sin and bring healing to our lives."
  • 00:15:22.277 --> 00:15:26.281
  • Now listen, whether we're talking about a scalpel, or a
  • 00:15:26.281 --> 00:15:28.717
  • Dagger, or the broadsword, it has to be used very skillfully.
  • 00:15:28.717 --> 00:15:34.990
  • The surgeon can't just start swinging the scalpel and hope to
  • 00:15:34.990 --> 00:15:38.494
  • Hit something important.
  • 00:15:38.494 --> 00:15:40.062
  • He has to use it with skill.
  • 00:15:40.062 --> 00:15:42.331
  • That makhaira in hand-to-hand combat, that machete has to be
  • 00:15:42.331 --> 00:15:45.868
  • Used with skill, and so it is with the word of god.
  • 00:15:45.868 --> 00:15:49.371
  • Yes, god has given us that sword, the word of god, but we
  • 00:15:49.371 --> 00:15:52.574
  • Have to be skilled in using that.
  • 00:15:52.574 --> 00:15:54.743
  • When we're facing enemy fire, we can't just hold out the bible
  • 00:15:54.743 --> 00:15:57.980
  • And start swinging it around, hoping it hits something.
  • 00:15:57.980 --> 00:16:01.116
  • We have to use it with precision.
  • 00:16:01.116 --> 00:16:02.985
  • Let me illustrate that for you.
  • 00:16:02.985 --> 00:16:04.686
  • Let's say this next week, you're sitting at your computer screen,
  • 00:16:04.686 --> 00:16:09.425
  • And all of a sudden, an invitation on the screen pops up
  • 00:16:09.425 --> 00:16:12.361
  • To join a website, you know, you have no business being on.
  • 00:16:12.361 --> 00:16:17.466
  • So, you're in the heat of temptation and then you
  • 00:16:17.466 --> 00:16:20.369
  • Remember, "you know, pastor jeffress said the word of god
  • 00:16:20.369 --> 00:16:22.671
  • Could help me out in this situation," so you start
  • 00:16:22.671 --> 00:16:24.940
  • Thumbing through the bible.
  • 00:16:24.940 --> 00:16:26.942
  • "i need help.
  • 00:16:26.942 --> 00:16:28.310
  • I need it quickly.
  • 00:16:28.310 --> 00:16:29.645
  • Oh, here it is.
  • 00:16:29.645 --> 00:16:31.346
  • Luke 13:40: "if a man loses the hair from his head,
  • 00:16:31.346 --> 00:16:38.220
  • He is bald."
  • 00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:41.623
  • Luke 13:40.
  • 00:16:41.623 --> 00:16:45.060
  • A man loses the hair from his head.
  • 00:16:45.060 --> 00:16:47.429
  • He is bald.
  • 00:16:47.429 --> 00:16:49.665
  • Well, that's true, i suppose.
  • 00:16:49.665 --> 00:16:50.999
  • I wouldn't know, but i'm sure that's true.
  • 00:16:50.999 --> 00:16:54.069
  • But does that help me right now?
  • 00:16:54.069 --> 00:16:56.171
  • God, couldn't you give me something else?
  • 00:16:56.171 --> 00:16:59.241
  • Now, is leviticus 13:40, is that verse true?
  • 00:16:59.241 --> 00:17:03.745
  • Yes, if a man loses his hair, he is bald, that is true.
  • 00:17:03.745 --> 00:17:07.549
  • Every word of the bible is true.
  • 00:17:07.549 --> 00:17:10.352
  • Every word is inspired, even the jots and the tittles that make
  • 00:17:10.352 --> 00:17:13.922
  • Up the word are inspired.
  • 00:17:13.922 --> 00:17:15.991
  • Every verse of the bible is inspired, but not every verse of
  • 00:17:15.991 --> 00:17:19.695
  • The bible is equally helpful for any problem i go through.
  • 00:17:19.695 --> 00:17:23.866
  • We need the right word at the right moment from god.
  • 00:17:23.866 --> 00:17:28.537
  • And that's why when we take up the sword of the spirit, we've
  • 00:17:28.537 --> 00:17:31.840
  • Got to know the scriptures.
  • 00:17:31.840 --> 00:17:33.675
  • We've got to memorize scriptures.
  • 00:17:33.675 --> 00:17:35.244
  • We had need go to verses for when we feel forsaken by god,
  • 00:17:35.244 --> 00:17:40.215
  • Versus when we go through a trial, verses when we need to
  • 00:17:40.215 --> 00:17:43.752
  • Remember the promises of god, a verse when we're confused and
  • 00:17:43.752 --> 00:17:47.322
  • Wonder what god's doing in our life.
  • 00:17:47.322 --> 00:17:49.825
  • That's what it means to use the word of god skillfully.
  • 00:17:49.825 --> 00:17:53.896
  • And we've got a great illustration of that.
  • 00:17:53.896 --> 00:17:56.064
  • We looked at it when we talked about the belt of truth.
  • 00:17:56.064 --> 00:17:58.767
  • Let me remind you of matthew chapter 4.
  • 00:17:58.767 --> 00:18:01.770
  • Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness by satan.
  • 00:18:01.770 --> 00:18:05.340
  • You know, people say about that, by the way.
  • 00:18:05.340 --> 00:18:07.576
  • They say, "well, that wasn't a real temptation.
  • 00:18:07.576 --> 00:18:10.045
  • He was the perfect son of god.
  • 00:18:10.045 --> 00:18:11.947
  • He doesn't really know what i'm going through."
  • 00:18:11.947 --> 00:18:15.984
  • He does.
  • 00:18:15.984 --> 00:18:17.319
  • In fact, he knows what you're going through better than you
  • 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:19.121
  • Do, because think about this.
  • 00:18:19.121 --> 00:18:21.790
  • Most of us never experience the full extent of temptation.
  • 00:18:21.790 --> 00:18:25.827
  • We give in early.
  • 00:18:25.827 --> 00:18:28.330
  • We give in real early.
  • 00:18:28.330 --> 00:18:29.898
  • We give up.
  • 00:18:29.898 --> 00:18:31.366
  • But jesus went the whole way.
  • 00:18:31.366 --> 00:18:33.569
  • He felt temptation and pain at a level none of us will ever
  • 00:18:33.569 --> 00:18:37.606
  • Experience, and yet he did so without sin.
  • 00:18:37.606 --> 00:18:40.375
  • He understands what you're going through.
  • 00:18:40.375 --> 00:18:42.010
  • That's why the verse we read from hebrews 4 says: "for we do
  • 00:18:42.010 --> 00:18:45.047
  • Not have a high priest who can't sympathize with our weaknesses,
  • 00:18:45.047 --> 00:18:48.483
  • But one who was tested in all points as we are and yet
  • 00:18:48.483 --> 00:18:52.854
  • Without sin.
  • 00:18:52.854 --> 00:18:54.223
  • Let us come with boldness to the throne of grace that we might
  • 00:18:54.223 --> 00:18:57.092
  • Find mercy and grace to help in our time of need."
  • 00:18:57.092 --> 00:19:01.129
  • Remember matthew 4, satan had jesus in the wilderness, and
  • 00:19:01.129 --> 00:19:05.734
  • Finally, after 40 days of fasting, he comes to jesus and
  • 00:19:05.734 --> 00:19:09.137
  • He says, "are you hungry, jesus?"
  • 00:19:09.137 --> 00:19:11.640
  • Why not take these stones and turn them into bread?
  • 00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:14.977
  • What did jesus say?
  • 00:19:14.977 --> 00:19:16.311
  • He quoted from, not one of the most well-known verses in
  • 00:19:16.311 --> 00:19:19.881
  • The bible.
  • 00:19:19.881 --> 00:19:21.250
  • It was deuteronomy 8, verse 3, "it is written," jesus said,
  • 00:19:21.250 --> 00:19:26.154
  • "man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word
  • 00:19:26.154 --> 00:19:29.691
  • That proceeds out of the mouth of god."
  • 00:19:29.691 --> 00:19:33.028
  • Then satan comes back as he always does again with a second
  • 00:19:33.028 --> 00:19:36.098
  • Temptation, and said, "jesus, why not just throw yourself down
  • 00:19:36.098 --> 00:19:40.435
  • From the temple?
  • 00:19:40.435 --> 00:19:41.770
  • The angels, after all, the bible says, will protect you."
  • 00:19:41.770 --> 00:19:44.139
  • And jesus quoted from another section in deuteronomy 6:16, "it
  • 00:19:44.139 --> 00:19:48.510
  • Is written, you shall not put the lord god to the test."
  • 00:19:48.510 --> 00:19:53.248
  • And then finally, satan came with one final temptation.
  • 00:19:53.248 --> 00:19:56.218
  • He said, "you don't need this cross stuff.
  • 00:19:56.218 --> 00:19:58.887
  • You don't need to suffer what you're about to suffer.
  • 00:19:58.887 --> 00:20:01.423
  • Just bow down and worship me and the kingdoms of all the earth
  • 00:20:01.423 --> 00:20:04.826
  • Will be yours."
  • 00:20:04.826 --> 00:20:06.161
  • And again, he quotes from deuteronomy 6, this time verse
  • 00:20:06.161 --> 00:20:09.564
  • 13, "go, satan!
  • 00:20:09.564 --> 00:20:11.800
  • For it is written, you shall worship the lord your god and
  • 00:20:11.800 --> 00:20:15.937
  • Serve him only."
  • 00:20:15.937 --> 00:20:18.340
  • And then luke adds this verse as an epilogue: "when the devil had
  • 00:20:18.340 --> 00:20:25.047
  • Finished every temptation, he left him until an
  • 00:20:25.047 --> 00:20:29.451
  • Opportune time."
  • 00:20:29.451 --> 00:20:31.586
  • Satan fled from him.
  • 00:20:31.586 --> 00:20:33.622
  • Now, listen to me.
  • 00:20:33.622 --> 00:20:36.091
  • What made satan run?
  • 00:20:36.091 --> 00:20:38.660
  • It wasn't the word of god.
  • 00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:41.663
  • The word of god did nothing to satan.
  • 00:20:41.663 --> 00:20:44.733
  • It didn't strengthen him.
  • 00:20:44.733 --> 00:20:47.703
  • Satan had quit listening to god a long time ago.
  • 00:20:47.703 --> 00:20:50.639
  • God's word has no effect on satan.
  • 00:20:50.639 --> 00:20:53.241
  • No, satan didn't leave because of what the word of god was
  • 00:20:53.241 --> 00:20:56.111
  • Doing to satan.
  • 00:20:56.111 --> 00:20:57.446
  • He left because of what he saw it doing to jesus.
  • 00:20:57.446 --> 00:21:01.283
  • He saw the word of god strengthening jesus's resolve to
  • 00:21:01.283 --> 00:21:05.754
  • Obey his father, whatever the cost.
  • 00:21:05.754 --> 00:21:08.690
  • And that's the power of the word of god in your life.
  • 00:21:08.690 --> 00:21:12.327
  • The power of the word of god reminds you that you have the
  • 00:21:12.327 --> 00:21:16.698
  • Power to say no to sin and yes to god.
  • 00:21:16.698 --> 00:21:21.303
  • You know, somebody has said, the test of a person's character is
  • 00:21:21.303 --> 00:21:26.641
  • What it takes to stop him.
  • 00:21:26.641 --> 00:21:29.277
  • Make no mistake about it.
  • 00:21:29.277 --> 00:21:34.983
  • Satan has a plan to stop you dead in your tracks.
  • 00:21:32.581 --> 00:21:39.821
  • He has a plan to keep you from every good thing god has planned
  • 00:21:39.821 --> 00:21:43.692
  • For you.
  • 00:21:43.692 --> 00:21:45.060
  • But god has not left you alone.
  • 00:21:45.060 --> 00:21:47.229
  • In the times when those missiles, those flaming arrows
  • 00:21:47.229 --> 00:21:50.332
  • Come at you, he reminds you to hold up the shield of faith, to
  • 00:21:50.332 --> 00:21:55.003
  • Remember and believe god is going to do what he has promised
  • 00:21:55.003 --> 00:21:58.073
  • To do in your life.
  • 00:21:58.073 --> 00:21:59.808
  • He's given you the helmet of salvation to remind you that
  • 00:21:59.808 --> 00:22:02.911
  • You're saved forever from both the penalty and the power
  • 00:22:02.911 --> 00:22:06.114
  • Of sin.
  • 00:22:06.114 --> 00:22:07.716
  • And you have the sword of the spirit, which is the word of god
  • 00:22:07.716 --> 00:22:11.553
  • To cut through the fog of deception of the evil one.
  • 00:22:11.553 --> 00:22:16.525
  • Against those kind of weapons, your adversary, the devil,
  • 00:22:16.525 --> 00:22:22.431
  • Doesn't have a prayer.
  • 00:22:22.431 --> 00:22:24.166
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:22:24.166 --> 00:22:28.136
  • Jeffress: the word of god is the most powerful weapon we have
  • 00:22:29.304 --> 00:22:33.041
  • Against the enemy's attacks, and i hope today's message has
  • 00:22:33.041 --> 00:22:36.211
  • Equipped you to wield it more effectively in your
  • 00:22:36.211 --> 00:22:39.181
  • Daily battles.
  • 00:22:39.181 --> 00:22:40.882
  • Well, our mission at "pathway to victory" is to pierce the
  • 00:22:40.882 --> 00:22:44.085
  • Darkness with the light of god's word.
  • 00:22:44.085 --> 00:22:46.455
  • And in today's message, we've seen just how sharp and powerful
  • 00:22:46.455 --> 00:22:50.392
  • That light really is.
  • 00:22:50.392 --> 00:22:52.527
  • God's word is a sword that cuts through the enemy's lies and
  • 00:22:52.527 --> 00:22:56.298
  • Brings hope to a world in spiritual darkness.
  • 00:22:56.298 --> 00:22:59.468
  • Every day, we're encouraged by the testimonies we receive from
  • 00:22:59.468 --> 00:23:03.271
  • People who tell us this ministry is helping them experience
  • 00:23:03.271 --> 00:23:06.741
  • Victory over sin, and they're growing stronger in their faith,
  • 00:23:06.741 --> 00:23:11.680
  • And it's all made possible because of friends like you who
  • 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:14.983
  • Give so generously.
  • 00:23:14.983 --> 00:23:16.751
  • So, thank you to our faithful pathway partners and everyone
  • 00:23:16.751 --> 00:23:20.722
  • Who gives to this ministry.
  • 00:23:20.722 --> 00:23:22.924
  • Together, we truly are piercing the darkness with the light of
  • 00:23:22.924 --> 00:23:26.895
  • God's word.
  • 00:23:26.895 --> 00:23:28.263
  • Now, please stay right there, i'll be back with more "pathway
  • 00:23:28.263 --> 00:23:30.699
  • To victory" in just a moment.
  • 00:23:30.699 --> 00:23:33.602
  • Announcer: that recurring temptation you can't shake, the
  • 00:23:33.668 --> 00:23:36.505
  • Doubts that creep in during your darkest moments, the tension in
  • 00:23:36.505 --> 00:23:39.941
  • Your closest relationships, these aren't random struggles,
  • 00:23:39.941 --> 00:23:43.512
  • These are part of a strategic attack on your faith, your
  • 00:23:43.512 --> 00:23:46.448
  • Family, and your future.
  • 00:23:46.448 --> 00:23:48.049
  • Jeffress: satan has a personalized plan to discourage,
  • 00:23:48.049 --> 00:23:51.586
  • Deceive, and derail you.
  • 00:23:51.586 --> 00:23:53.855
  • But you don't have to live in defeat, god has given you access
  • 00:23:53.855 --> 00:23:57.759
  • To the same power that raised jesus from the dead.
  • 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:00.896
  • In my bestselling book, "the divine defense," i'll show you
  • 00:24:00.896 --> 00:24:04.399
  • How to put on the full armor of god and use six biblical
  • 00:24:04.399 --> 00:24:08.203
  • Strategies to defeat satan's plan to destroy your life.
  • 00:24:08.203 --> 00:24:12.874
  • Announcer: request "the divine defense" when you give a
  • 00:24:12.874 --> 00:24:15.043
  • Generous gift to "pathway to victory," or when you become a
  • 00:24:15.043 --> 00:24:18.013
  • Pathway partner.
  • 00:24:18.013 --> 00:24:19.347
  • And when your gift is $100 or more, we'll send you the
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  • Complete resource set, including the study guide, "suit up!
  • 00:24:22.918 --> 00:24:26.054
  • The armor of god for kids," and the teaching series on both cd
  • 00:24:26.054 --> 00:24:29.958
  • And dvd.
  • 00:24:29.958 --> 00:24:31.293
  • Jeffress: your mind is the devil's battlefield on which he
  • 00:24:31.293 --> 00:24:35.564
  • Is warring against everything important to you.
  • 00:24:35.564 --> 00:24:40.735
  • It is a battle that seeks to destroy your faith, your family,
  • 00:24:40.735 --> 00:24:45.407
  • And your future.
  • 00:24:45.407 --> 00:24:46.775
  • Announcer: thank you for supporting "pathway to victory."
  • 00:24:46.775 --> 00:24:49.511
  • Your generous ministry gift helps us broadcast biblical
  • 00:24:49.511 --> 00:24:52.414
  • Truth on television, radio, and online, equipping believers like
  • 00:24:52.414 --> 00:24:56.585
  • You to stand firm and live victoriously.
  • 00:24:56.585 --> 00:24:59.721
  • Together we're piercing the darkness with the light of
  • 00:24:59.721 --> 00:25:02.591
  • God's word.
  • 00:25:02.591 --> 00:25:04.025
  • Jeffress: the power of god's word in spiritual warfare
  • 00:25:05.460 --> 00:25:08.597
  • Depends on how well you know it.
  • 00:25:08.597 --> 00:25:11.099
  • So, let me encourage you to memorize the verses we discussed
  • 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:14.302
  • Today and be ready to use them when the enemy attacks.
  • 00:25:14.302 --> 00:25:18.673
  • Well, next time, we're going to tackle a controversial topic.
  • 00:25:18.673 --> 00:25:22.377
  • What about exorcism?
  • 00:25:22.377 --> 00:25:24.446
  • Is it a valid tool for spiritual warfare today?
  • 00:25:24.446 --> 00:25:27.983
  • I'm going to explain why god has already given you everything you
  • 00:25:27.983 --> 00:25:31.519
  • Need to break free from demonic influence.
  • 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:35.056
  • Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next in our
  • 00:25:35.056 --> 00:25:37.692
  • Series, "the divine defense."
  • 00:25:37.692 --> 00:25:41.663
  • Jeffress: what are we to make of that?
  • 00:25:41.663 --> 00:25:43.565
  • What about these rituals that seemingly remove demons
  • 00:25:43.565 --> 00:25:48.570
  • From individuals?
  • 00:25:48.570 --> 00:25:50.805
  • And the fact is, we've been studying spiritual warfare for
  • 00:25:50.805 --> 00:25:54.809
  • Several months now, and we've looked at paul's weapons in
  • 00:25:54.809 --> 00:25:58.380
  • Ephesians 6 for defeating satan's plan to destroy
  • 00:25:58.380 --> 00:26:02.350
  • Your life.
  • 00:26:02.350 --> 00:26:03.685
  • But are we missing something when we don't mention exorcism
  • 00:26:03.685 --> 00:26:07.122
  • As a viable tool?
  • 00:26:07.122 --> 00:26:09.124
  • Announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for the message
  • 00:26:09.124 --> 00:26:12.327
  • Exercising power without exercising demons, here on
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  • "pathway to victory."
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  • Jeffress: you know, i can hardly wait to show you alaska.
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  • I've been there before, and every time i witness those
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  • Massive glaciers and towering mountains, i'm reminded of how
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  • Incredibly creative our god is.
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  • Announcer: picture this, waking up to snow-capped peaks outside
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  • Your window.
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  • Then, heading to your refreshing breakfast, knowing that all your
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  • Meals are prepared for you.
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  • The world class service means that you can truly relax.
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  • Jeffress: we'll explore charming villages together, we'll stroll
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  • Alongside the still waters of the mountain stream, and yes,
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  • We'll see god's artistry at every turn.
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  • Announcer: reserve your spot on the 2026 "pathway to victory"
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  • Cruise to alaska by calling ...
  • 00:27:11.686 --> 00:27:16.858
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