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Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - Mary, Mary, Quite Extraordinary (Part 2)

December 2, 2024 | S

Robert Jeffress - Mary, Mary, Quite Extraordinary (Part 2)
Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.
#Faith #Visions/Dreams #Marriage #Religion #WordofGod #Miracles #Angels #inActive #Dr.RobertJeffress #RobertJeffress #Worship #ChristianMusic #VirginBirth #Sex #Prosperity #Jeremiah22:30

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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - Mary, Mary, Quite Extraordinary (Part 2) | December 2, 2024
  • ...
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Male announcer: from the pulpit of the first baptist church
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  • Of 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,
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  • And welcome again to "pathway to victory."
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  • Throughout the history of the church,
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  • Christians have held wildly different views
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  • About the mother of jesus.
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  • Some have exalted her to a position nearly as high
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  • As jesus himself.
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  • Others have chosen to ignore her completely.
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  • So, what's the proper way to regard this remarkable
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  • Woman named mary?
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  • Today, we'll turn to luke, chapter 1 where we find
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  • The defining passage on the mother of jesus.
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  • My message is titled, "mary, mary, quite extraordinary,"
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  • On today's edition of "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • ♪ holy, holy, holy ♪
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  • ♪ lord god almighty ♪
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  • ♪ early in the morning ♪
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  • ♪ our song shall rise to thee ♪
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  • ♪ holy, holy, holy ♪
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  • ♪ merciful and mighty ♪
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  • ♪ god in three persons ♪
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  • ♪ blessed trinity ♪
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  • ♪ holy, holy, holy ♪
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  • ♪ lord god almighty ♪
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  • ♪ all thy works shall praise thy name ♪
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  • ♪ in earth and sky and sea ♪
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  • ♪ holy, holy, holy ♪
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  • ♪ merciful and mighty ♪
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  • ♪ god in three persons ♪
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  • ♪ blessed trinity ♪
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  • ♪ god in three persons ♪
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  • ♪ blessed trinity ♪
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  • ♪ amen, amen, amen ♪
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  • ♪ amen, amen ♪♪
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  • Announcer: the celebration of jesus's birth each christmas
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  • Marks the moment when god's radiant hope entered our world,
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  • And jesus calls us to share this light with others.
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  • You can help pierce the darkness with the light of god's word
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  • Through the pathway to victory light the darkness
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  • Matching challenge.
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  • Since 1996, "pathway to victory" has been boldly sharing
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  • The gospel of jesus christ, and your gift,
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  • Doubled in impact, will be used to proclaim
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  • God's truth here in america and around the world.
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Jeffress: did you know there's not any secular
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  • Reference to jehoiachin?
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  • Nobody could ever find him in history.
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  • The only place he was found in the bible--skeptics said there's
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  • One more example of the bible's just making up things that have
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  • No historical basis whatsoever.
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  • Well, guess what?
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  • In iraq, which is where babylon is located today,
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  • Two tablets have been found
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  • Called the tablets of jehoiachin.
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  • They are tablets that came from jehoiachin that date his reign
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  • Exactly to those dates that are recorded in the scripture.
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  • That's just one more example of the authenticity and credibility
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  • Of the bible.
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  • But anyway, this king jehoiachin was so evil that god
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  • Placed a curse on him.
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  • God was so mad at jehoiachin that he not only allowed judah
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  • To be taken captive, but he gave this curse.
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  • And let's get down to jeremiah 22, verse 30.
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  • "thus says the lord, 'write this man down as childless,
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  • A man who will not prosper in his days;
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  • For no man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the
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  • Throne of david or ruling again in judah."
  • 00:06:16.054 --> 00:06:20.225
  • God said, "here's the curse on jehoiachin: not one of his
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  • Descendants will ever prosper on the throne of david."
  • 00:06:24.863 --> 00:06:27.799
  • Well, that presents a big problem;
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  • Because if you've got david here,
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  • And you've got jehoiachin here, then it means nobody who's a
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  • Descendant from that point on could ever be qualified to be
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  • The messiah 'cause they can't prosper on the throne.
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  • And yet the bible says the messiah,
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  • Whoever he is, has to be a descendant of david.
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  • And for him down here to be a descendant of david up there,
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  • He has to pass through jehoiachin.
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  • Well, how do you solve that naughty problem?
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  • You solve it through a virgin birth.
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  • Now, here's my simple point.
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  • Had joseph been the biological father of jesus,
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  • Jesus would've inherited the curse of jehoiachin.
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  • He would've inherited that curse.
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  • He could not have been the messiah.
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  • But because he was not the biological son,
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  • Jesus escaped the curse.
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  • But by being the legal son of joseph,
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  • Which he was--joseph was his legal guardian.
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  • He inherited the right to rule as being a descendant of david.
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  • That is an amazing thing.
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  • Only god could come up with a solution like that to cure the
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  • Curse of jehoiachin.
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  • The fourth reason a virgin birth is necessary
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  • Is it fulfills prophecy.
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  • Seven hundred years earlier, god had said through isaiah the
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  • Prophet that the messiah would be virgin born.
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  • "therefore the lord himself will give you a sign: behold,
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  • A virgin will be with child and shall bear a son,
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  • And you shall call his name immanuel."
  • 00:07:52.117 --> 00:07:55.220
  • And you remember i've said that word "virgin" is translated from
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  • The word "almah," which means young woman.
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  • It doesn't have to mean virgin.
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  • It could mean just a young woman.
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  • But, again, god was in it, because this prophecy had an
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  • Immediate fulfillment in a young woman in isaiah's day,
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  • But an ultimate fulfillment in the birth of jesus,
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  • Which we'll see in a moment.
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  • When gabriel quotes this verse, he uses the greek word,
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  • Matthew does, parthenos, which means virgin.
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  • Now, mary didn't ask for a sign that all of this was going to
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  • Happen, but gabriel gave her one anyway.
  • 00:08:27.652 --> 00:08:30.855
  • Look at verse 36.
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  • "and behold, even your relative elizabeth," her cousin,
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  • "has also conceived a son in her old age: and she who was called
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  • Barren is now in her sixth month."
  • 00:08:39.764 --> 00:08:42.500
  • Gabriel was saying, "mary, if you really want to know this is
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  • Gonna happen, your cousin's already pregnant.
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  • Elizabeth, she's going to have a child.
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  • It's god's sign that he's going to perform this miracle for
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  • You, as well.
  • 00:08:53.211 --> 00:08:54.546
  • And look at mary's response.
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  • Verse 38, "'behold, the bondslave of the lord;
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  • Be it done to me according to your word.'
  • 00:09:00.185 --> 00:09:03.054
  • And the angel departed from her."
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  • That word "bondslave" is the lowest kind of slave there is.
  • 00:09:04.656 --> 00:09:08.360
  • In other words, mary was saying, "god,
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  • Whatever you want to do with my life, do it.
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  • I am yours. i am here to serve you."
  • 00:09:12.964 --> 00:09:17.235
  • That commitment could've cost her a lot,
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  • As we'll see in just a moment.
  • 00:09:20.305 --> 00:09:23.575
  • Turn over to matthew chapter 1, beginning with verse 19.
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  • Now, if you were mary, and gabriel had made such an
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  • Astounding announcement to you, who's the first person you would
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  • Go and tell about it?
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  • Probably your boyfriend, your fiancé, joseph.
  • 00:09:38.256 --> 00:09:42.060
  • That's exactly what she did.
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  • She went and told joseph, but he didn't have the reaction she
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  • Was hoping for.
  • 00:09:48.266 --> 00:09:49.601
  • Look at verse 19.
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  • "and joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to
  • 00:09:51.236 --> 00:09:56.074
  • Disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly."
  • 00:09:56.074 --> 00:10:01.312
  • Now let's don't be too hard on joseph here.
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  • I mean, put yourself in joseph's sandals for just a moment.
  • 00:10:03.982 --> 00:10:07.519
  • Your fiancé, your girlfriend, comes and tells you,
  • 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:11.556
  • "you know, joseph, we haven't had sex."
  • 00:10:11.556 --> 00:10:13.425
  • "yeah, i know, i know, i know."
  • 00:10:13.425 --> 00:10:16.895
  • "you know, we haven't had sex before,
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  • But i need to let you know an angel appeared to me and told me
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  • I'm pregnant.
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  • I'm pregnant, and god's the father."
  • 00:10:23.635 --> 00:10:27.072
  • Now, can you imagine joseph's reaction to that?
  • 00:10:27.072 --> 00:10:29.841
  • I mean, he thought, "either i'm engaged to a liar
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  • Or to a lunatic.
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  • But, either way, i'm not going to spend rest of my life
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  • With her."
  • 00:10:37.682 --> 00:10:39.184
  • I mean, that's a normal reaction with anybody
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  • With that kind of a fantastic story.
  • 00:10:41.553 --> 00:10:44.089
  • And yet, even though by law he could've put her away
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  • And had her stoned to death as an adulteress.
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  • Joseph didn't do that.
  • 00:10:51.996 --> 00:10:53.898
  • He still loved mary.
  • 00:10:53.898 --> 00:10:55.700
  • And because of his great love for mary,
  • 00:10:55.700 --> 00:10:57.469
  • He didn't want to disgrace her.
  • 00:10:57.469 --> 00:10:58.970
  • He certainly didn't want to see her executed.
  • 00:10:58.970 --> 00:11:01.439
  • So, the bible says he wanted to put her away secretly
  • 00:11:01.439 --> 00:11:05.310
  • In the relationship.
  • 00:11:05.310 --> 00:11:07.145
  • But god wasn't finished at all.
  • 00:11:07.212 --> 00:11:08.813
  • Look at verse 20 of matthew 1.
  • 00:11:08.813 --> 00:11:10.682
  • "but when joseph had considered this,
  • 00:11:10.682 --> 00:11:12.784
  • Behold, an angel of the lord appeared to joseph in a dream,
  • 00:11:12.784 --> 00:11:16.454
  • Saying, 'joseph, son of david, do not be afraid to take mary as
  • 00:11:16.454 --> 00:11:20.592
  • Your wife: for that which has been conceived in her is of the
  • 00:11:20.592 --> 00:11:24.796
  • Holy spirit.
  • 00:11:24.796 --> 00:11:26.431
  • And she will bear a son; and you shall call his name jesus;
  • 00:11:26.431 --> 00:11:29.968
  • For it is he who will save his people from their sins.'
  • 00:11:29.968 --> 00:11:33.571
  • Now, all this took place that what was spoken by the lord
  • 00:11:33.571 --> 00:11:37.175
  • Through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying,
  • 00:11:37.175 --> 00:11:39.878
  • 'behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son;
  • 00:11:39.878 --> 00:11:43.882
  • And shall call his name immanuel,' which translated
  • 00:11:43.882 --> 00:11:47.385
  • Means 'god with us.'"
  • 00:11:47.385 --> 00:11:49.087
  • That's the quotation of isaiah 7:14.
  • 00:11:49.087 --> 00:11:51.289
  • "and joseph arose from his sleep and did as the angel of the lord
  • 00:11:51.289 --> 00:11:54.859
  • Commanded him; and took her as his wife,
  • 00:11:54.859 --> 00:11:57.595
  • And kept her a virgin," underline,
  • 00:11:57.595 --> 00:12:01.032
  • "until she gave birth to a son, and he called his name jesus."
  • 00:12:01.032 --> 00:12:07.572
  • Now, i believe it was all of this that was taking place
  • 00:12:07.572 --> 00:12:11.943
  • Between verses 38 and 39.
  • 00:12:11.943 --> 00:12:14.279
  • Mary leaves nazareth, flees to judah,
  • 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:17.715
  • And ordered to talk to elizabeth.
  • 00:12:17.715 --> 00:12:22.153
  • Look at verse 39.
  • 00:12:22.153 --> 00:12:24.255
  • "now at this time mary arose and went with haste to the hill
  • 00:12:24.255 --> 00:12:28.526
  • Country to a city of judah, and entered the house of zacharias
  • 00:12:28.526 --> 00:12:33.198
  • And greeted elizabeth.
  • 00:12:33.198 --> 00:12:35.066
  • And it came about that when elizabeth heard mary's greeting,
  • 00:12:35.066 --> 00:12:38.736
  • The baby," that's elizabeth's baby,
  • 00:12:38.736 --> 00:12:41.539
  • 6 months in the womb, john the baptist,
  • 00:12:41.539 --> 00:12:44.375
  • "the baby leaped in her womb."
  • 00:12:44.375 --> 00:12:47.445
  • Remember the prediction about john the baptist?
  • 00:12:47.445 --> 00:12:49.914
  • Luke 1:15 says, he would be filled--
  • 00:12:49.914 --> 00:12:52.851
  • That means controlled by the holy spirit.
  • 00:12:52.851 --> 00:12:56.087
  • And so here you have this 6-month baby in the womb,
  • 00:12:56.087 --> 00:13:00.191
  • Who hears the voice of mary, the mother of jesus,
  • 00:13:00.191 --> 00:13:04.262
  • And he leaps in elizabeth's womb.
  • 00:13:04.262 --> 00:13:07.799
  • By the way, this verse is a powerful,
  • 00:13:07.799 --> 00:13:10.501
  • Powerful argument against abortion.
  • 00:13:10.501 --> 00:13:14.839
  • That baby in elizabeth's womb was not some biological blob.
  • 00:13:14.839 --> 00:13:20.478
  • He was a person.
  • 00:13:20.478 --> 00:13:21.980
  • Here was a baby who was being controlled by the holy spirit
  • 00:13:21.980 --> 00:13:25.183
  • Of god in elizabeth's womb.
  • 00:13:25.183 --> 00:13:27.185
  • Now notice this.
  • 00:13:27.185 --> 00:13:28.519
  • In verse 41--
  • 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:29.954
  • Verse 41 says, "and elizabeth was filled
  • 00:13:29.954 --> 00:13:32.624
  • With the holy spirit."
  • 00:13:32.624 --> 00:13:34.459
  • Now why is that important that elizabeth was
  • 00:13:34.459 --> 00:13:36.527
  • Controlled by the holy spirit?
  • 00:13:36.527 --> 00:13:37.862
  • Because of verse 42.
  • 00:13:37.862 --> 00:13:39.597
  • "elizabeth cried out, when she saw mary,
  • 00:13:39.597 --> 00:13:41.666
  • With a loud voice and said, 'blessed among women are you
  • 00:13:41.666 --> 00:13:45.603
  • And blessed is the fruit of your womb.
  • 00:13:45.603 --> 00:13:49.040
  • And how has it happened to me that the mother of my lord
  • 00:13:49.040 --> 00:13:52.610
  • Should come to me?'"
  • 00:13:52.610 --> 00:13:54.946
  • Now wait a minute.
  • 00:13:54.946 --> 00:13:56.514
  • How did elizabeth know that her cousin mary was going to be
  • 00:13:56.514 --> 00:14:00.251
  • The mother of the messiah?
  • 00:14:00.251 --> 00:14:02.921
  • All mary had said when she came through the door was "hello."
  • 00:14:02.921 --> 00:14:07.892
  • Now, how did she know this?
  • 00:14:07.892 --> 00:14:09.928
  • The answer right there, verse 41.
  • 00:14:09.928 --> 00:14:11.796
  • She was filled with the holy spirit,
  • 00:14:11.796 --> 00:14:14.699
  • Controlled by the holy spirit.
  • 00:14:14.699 --> 00:14:16.401
  • Have you ever had this happen to you before,
  • 00:14:16.401 --> 00:14:18.870
  • Where you just know something?
  • 00:14:18.870 --> 00:14:21.306
  • A word of knowledge comes to you.
  • 00:14:21.306 --> 00:14:23.007
  • You know something about a circumstance or about a person.
  • 00:14:23.007 --> 00:14:27.078
  • Nobody told you. you just know.
  • 00:14:27.078 --> 00:14:30.648
  • Parents, have you ever had that happen with your child?
  • 00:14:30.648 --> 00:14:32.984
  • You know something about them?
  • 00:14:32.984 --> 00:14:34.852
  • You know something they've done, and nobody's told you.
  • 00:14:34.852 --> 00:14:38.489
  • You just know.
  • 00:14:38.489 --> 00:14:39.958
  • What we call intuition is many times the holy spirit of god.
  • 00:14:39.958 --> 00:14:44.295
  • The holy spirit gave elizabeth this information.
  • 00:14:44.295 --> 00:14:48.833
  • And notice how elizabeth praises mary in verse 45.
  • 00:14:48.833 --> 00:14:54.639
  • She says, "and blessed is she," talking about mary,
  • 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:58.376
  • "who believed there would be a fulfillment of what had been
  • 00:14:58.376 --> 00:15:01.346
  • Spoken to her by the lord."
  • 00:15:01.346 --> 00:15:04.315
  • Mary was uncomfortable with that kind of praise,
  • 00:15:04.315 --> 00:15:07.218
  • And so she quickly turns the attention to god himself.
  • 00:15:07.218 --> 00:15:10.855
  • And in verses 46 to 56 you have some of the most beautiful and
  • 00:15:10.855 --> 00:15:14.559
  • Poetic words in all of the scripture in
  • 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:17.261
  • Mary's praise to god.
  • 00:15:17.261 --> 00:15:18.997
  • We many times refer to it as mary's magnificat.
  • 00:15:18.997 --> 00:15:22.734
  • The magnificat, it comes from the latin translation "magnify"
  • 00:15:22.734 --> 00:15:27.605
  • That you find in verse 46, when mary said,
  • 00:15:27.605 --> 00:15:31.209
  • "my soul magnifies the lord."
  • 00:15:31.209 --> 00:15:34.779
  • We don't have time to look at these verses,
  • 00:15:34.779 --> 00:15:36.514
  • But look at just the first four with me.
  • 00:15:36.514 --> 00:15:39.017
  • "and mary said, 'my soul exalts, magnifies the lord,
  • 00:15:39.017 --> 00:15:43.721
  • And my spirit has rejoiced in god my savior.
  • 00:15:43.721 --> 00:15:47.091
  • For he has regard for the humble state of his bondslave;
  • 00:15:47.091 --> 00:15:51.262
  • For behold, from this time all the generations
  • 00:15:51.262 --> 00:15:54.899
  • Will count me blessed.
  • 00:15:54.899 --> 00:15:57.101
  • For the mighty one has done great things for me;
  • 00:15:57.101 --> 00:16:00.338
  • And holy is his name.'"
  • 00:16:00.338 --> 00:16:04.208
  • Now, remember, this is coming from a 13-year-old.
  • 00:16:04.208 --> 00:16:07.612
  • Just two things i'd point out about these verses.
  • 00:16:07.612 --> 00:16:10.782
  • First of all, notice how she begins by referring to god as
  • 00:16:10.782 --> 00:16:15.053
  • Her savior.
  • 00:16:15.053 --> 00:16:17.155
  • "god, my savior."
  • 00:16:17.155 --> 00:16:19.357
  • Mary was under no illusion that she was sinless.
  • 00:16:19.357 --> 00:16:22.326
  • She was a sinner just like all of us are sinners.
  • 00:16:22.326 --> 00:16:25.563
  • She needed a savior just like we all need a savior.
  • 00:16:25.563 --> 00:16:30.234
  • The second thing i notice about these verses is how many
  • 00:16:30.234 --> 00:16:33.271
  • References there are to the old testament.
  • 00:16:33.271 --> 00:16:35.907
  • She is endlessly quoting the old testament scriptures.
  • 00:16:35.907 --> 00:16:39.143
  • Just jot these down.
  • 00:16:39.143 --> 00:16:40.478
  • 1 samuel 2, psalm 34, psalm 35, psalm 103.
  • 00:16:40.478 --> 00:16:45.750
  • Her words are dripping with quotations
  • 00:16:45.750 --> 00:16:48.986
  • From the old testament.
  • 00:16:48.986 --> 00:16:50.822
  • This 13-year-old girl knew the scriptures
  • 00:16:50.822 --> 00:16:54.492
  • Backward and forwards.
  • 00:16:54.492 --> 00:16:57.562
  • And the reason she knew the scriptures is her parents made
  • 00:16:57.562 --> 00:17:00.798
  • That a priority in her training to teach her the word of god.
  • 00:17:00.798 --> 00:17:05.970
  • It's the scriptures that gave mary the foundation
  • 00:17:05.970 --> 00:17:09.740
  • To understand what god was doing in her life.
  • 00:17:09.740 --> 00:17:15.046
  • Mary recognized that her selection by god was the result
  • 00:17:15.046 --> 00:17:19.984
  • Of god's graciousness in her life.
  • 00:17:19.984 --> 00:17:23.387
  • Now, i know we read this, and we think,
  • 00:17:23.387 --> 00:17:25.022
  • "well, certainly, this helps me understand the virgin birth
  • 00:17:25.022 --> 00:17:27.358
  • Of christ, but what does this have to do with me?
  • 00:17:27.358 --> 00:17:32.263
  • I mean, after all, this event was a once-in-history event,
  • 00:17:32.263 --> 00:17:36.868
  • The virgin birth of jesus christ.
  • 00:17:36.868 --> 00:17:38.603
  • How does what happened to this peasant teenage girl 2,000 years
  • 00:17:38.603 --> 00:17:42.440
  • Ago impact my life?
  • 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:44.876
  • You know, i think all of us, hopefully,
  • 00:17:44.876 --> 00:17:49.213
  • Desire to live more than an ordinary life.
  • 00:17:49.213 --> 00:17:52.817
  • Wouldn't you like for god to use you to do something
  • 00:17:52.817 --> 00:17:55.786
  • Extraordinary, something that would really make a difference
  • 00:17:55.786 --> 00:17:59.757
  • In the world and his kingdom?
  • 00:17:59.757 --> 00:18:03.561
  • As i read through this passage, and look at the life of mary,
  • 00:18:03.561 --> 00:18:07.231
  • I think we can learn three characteristics of the kind of
  • 00:18:07.231 --> 00:18:10.735
  • Person god chooses to use in an extraordinary way.
  • 00:18:10.735 --> 00:18:14.906
  • First of all--jot these down-- god uses those who are pure.
  • 00:18:14.906 --> 00:18:21.212
  • He uses those who are pure.
  • 00:18:21.212 --> 00:18:22.747
  • Let's don't turn mary into a plaster saint.
  • 00:18:22.747 --> 00:18:27.018
  • She wasn't.
  • 00:18:27.018 --> 00:18:28.386
  • She was a normal teenage girl with all the normal drives of a
  • 00:18:28.386 --> 00:18:32.557
  • Teenage girl, and she was in love.
  • 00:18:32.557 --> 00:18:36.827
  • She was engaged.
  • 00:18:36.827 --> 00:18:39.330
  • I mean, couldn't she and joseph have rationalized any premarital
  • 00:18:39.330 --> 00:18:43.968
  • Sexual relationship?
  • 00:18:43.968 --> 00:18:46.404
  • They had already decided they were going to get married.
  • 00:18:46.404 --> 00:18:48.306
  • They would be married soon.
  • 00:18:48.306 --> 00:18:49.974
  • They certainly, i'm sure, were tempted just like other young
  • 00:18:49.974 --> 00:18:53.511
  • Adults are to enter into a premarital sexual relationship.
  • 00:18:53.511 --> 00:18:57.582
  • But had mary done that--
  • 00:18:57.582 --> 00:18:59.984
  • It's not that she couldn't have been forgiven.
  • 00:18:59.984 --> 00:19:01.619
  • Of course she could've been forgiven,
  • 00:19:01.619 --> 00:19:03.421
  • But she would've been disqualified from this
  • 00:19:03.421 --> 00:19:06.290
  • Unique role that god had prepared for her.
  • 00:19:06.290 --> 00:19:11.295
  • You see, given a choice between using someone who is pure and
  • 00:19:11.295 --> 00:19:16.567
  • Someone who is impure, god will always choose the pure vessel
  • 00:19:16.567 --> 00:19:21.472
  • Over the impure vessel.
  • 00:19:21.472 --> 00:19:23.174
  • And that's what paul has in mind in 2 timothy chapter 2 when
  • 00:19:23.174 --> 00:19:26.978
  • He writes, "now in a large house there are not only gold and
  • 00:19:26.978 --> 00:19:30.615
  • Silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware,
  • 00:19:30.615 --> 00:19:34.986
  • And some to honor and some to dishonor.
  • 00:19:34.986 --> 00:19:38.356
  • Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things,
  • 00:19:38.356 --> 00:19:42.026
  • He will be a vessel for honor, sanctified,
  • 00:19:42.026 --> 00:19:45.830
  • Useful to the master, prepared for every good work."
  • 00:19:45.830 --> 00:19:53.137
  • Given the choice between pure and impure,
  • 00:19:53.137 --> 00:19:55.273
  • God will always choose pure.
  • 00:19:55.273 --> 00:19:57.441
  • Think about mary's situation.
  • 00:19:57.441 --> 00:19:58.876
  • I'm sure in nazareth there were teenage girls who were more
  • 00:19:58.876 --> 00:20:03.314
  • Beautiful, more talented, more gifted than mary,
  • 00:20:03.314 --> 00:20:07.118
  • But mary was pure, and that's why god chose her.
  • 00:20:07.118 --> 00:20:11.255
  • By the way, i'm talking to some of you on tv.
  • 00:20:11.255 --> 00:20:13.224
  • You might say, "well, pastor, i've messed that one up.
  • 00:20:13.224 --> 00:20:17.561
  • I guess god can't use me anymore,
  • 00:20:17.561 --> 00:20:19.163
  • Because i have fallen in that area."
  • 00:20:19.163 --> 00:20:21.565
  • No, god can cleanse you.
  • 00:20:21.565 --> 00:20:24.268
  • He can forgive you, and you can make a commitment to god from
  • 00:20:24.268 --> 00:20:27.638
  • This point on, that you're going to be a pure vessel available
  • 00:20:27.638 --> 00:20:32.843
  • For god's use in an extraordinary way.
  • 00:20:32.843 --> 00:20:35.446
  • God uses those who are pure.
  • 00:20:35.446 --> 00:20:37.248
  • Secondly, god uses those who believe his word.
  • 00:20:37.248 --> 00:20:41.052
  • Remember what elizabeth said about mary?
  • 00:20:41.052 --> 00:20:43.454
  • Blessed, happy is she who believes that there would be
  • 00:20:43.454 --> 00:20:47.892
  • A fulfillment of what had been spoken to her.
  • 00:20:47.892 --> 00:20:51.329
  • A simple reason that god chose mary was mary
  • 00:20:51.329 --> 00:20:53.831
  • Believed what god said.
  • 00:20:53.831 --> 00:20:55.700
  • She had faith.
  • 00:20:55.700 --> 00:20:57.768
  • You know, hebrews 11:6 says, "without faith,
  • 00:20:57.768 --> 00:21:01.839
  • It is impossible to please god.
  • 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:05.676
  • What is faith?
  • 00:21:05.676 --> 00:21:07.211
  • Faith is believing that god will do what he has promised to do.
  • 00:21:07.211 --> 00:21:13.384
  • We don't know whether god is going to heal that person we
  • 00:21:13.384 --> 00:21:17.955
  • Care about so much who is ill.
  • 00:21:17.955 --> 00:21:20.124
  • We don't know if god is going to bring us this job or not.
  • 00:21:20.124 --> 00:21:23.828
  • We don't know if god's gonna heal this relationship or not.
  • 00:21:23.828 --> 00:21:26.831
  • We can't know ahead of time.
  • 00:21:26.831 --> 00:21:28.432
  • Faith is not believing that god's going to do what we want
  • 00:21:28.432 --> 00:21:30.901
  • Him to do.
  • 00:21:30.901 --> 00:21:32.236
  • Faith is believing that god will do
  • 00:21:32.236 --> 00:21:33.571
  • What he's already promised to do.
  • 00:21:33.571 --> 00:21:35.573
  • God had already spoken to mary.
  • 00:21:35.573 --> 00:21:37.942
  • He said, "you're going to be the mother of a savior."
  • 00:21:37.942 --> 00:21:41.545
  • And mary believed god.
  • 00:21:41.545 --> 00:21:43.547
  • God uses those who believe his word.
  • 00:21:43.547 --> 00:21:47.118
  • And finally, god uses those who are willing to sacrifice that
  • 00:21:47.118 --> 00:21:52.056
  • Which is most important to them.
  • 00:21:52.056 --> 00:21:55.559
  • God uses those who are willing to sacrifice that which is most
  • 00:21:55.559 --> 00:21:59.130
  • Important to them.
  • 00:21:59.130 --> 00:22:01.165
  • When mary said to gabriel, "i'm your bondservant,
  • 00:22:01.165 --> 00:22:03.667
  • God, to do whatever you want to do," mary was only 13,
  • 00:22:03.667 --> 00:22:07.671
  • But she knew what she was saying.
  • 00:22:07.671 --> 00:22:09.507
  • She knew that her acquiescence to being the mother of the lord
  • 00:22:09.507 --> 00:22:13.878
  • Might very well end the relationship with the man she
  • 00:22:13.878 --> 00:22:19.250
  • Loved more than any other person on earth.
  • 00:22:19.250 --> 00:22:21.886
  • She knew this might lead to the breakup of the engagement.
  • 00:22:21.886 --> 00:22:25.623
  • You know, that's an extraordinary sacrifice for
  • 00:22:25.623 --> 00:22:27.658
  • Anybody to make.
  • 00:22:27.658 --> 00:22:28.993
  • But for a teenage girl? think about that.
  • 00:22:28.993 --> 00:22:31.796
  • That was an extraordinary sacrifice,
  • 00:22:31.796 --> 00:22:35.232
  • But mary was able to make it, to sacrifice that relationship
  • 00:22:35.232 --> 00:22:38.569
  • Because of her love for and her commitment to god.
  • 00:22:38.569 --> 00:22:44.175
  • What about you?
  • 00:22:44.175 --> 00:22:46.544
  • Do you desire to be used by god in an extraordinary way.
  • 00:22:46.544 --> 00:22:51.916
  • God uses those who are pure.
  • 00:22:51.916 --> 00:22:55.186
  • He uses those who believe his word,
  • 00:22:55.186 --> 00:22:58.989
  • And he uses those who are willing to sacrifice that which
  • 00:22:58.989 --> 00:23:02.793
  • Is most important to them.
  • 00:23:02.793 --> 00:23:05.162
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:23:05.162 --> 00:23:10.501
  • Jeffress: purity, belief, and sacrifice,
  • 00:23:10.501 --> 00:23:13.604
  • We find these attributes modeled in the life of mary
  • 00:23:13.604 --> 00:23:17.575
  • And they should become personal virtues that characterize
  • 00:23:17.575 --> 00:23:20.678
  • Our lives, as well.
  • 00:23:20.678 --> 00:23:22.980
  • Well, as christmas approaches, we remember that jesus's birth
  • 00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:26.784
  • Was more than a historical event.
  • 00:23:26.784 --> 00:23:29.119
  • It was the fulfillment of a divine plan to bring light
  • 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:33.023
  • Into a world shadowed by sin and despair.
  • 00:23:33.023 --> 00:23:36.560
  • That's the driving force behind "pathway to victory's"
  • 00:23:36.560 --> 00:23:39.763
  • Light in the darkness matching challenge
  • 00:23:39.763 --> 00:23:42.666
  • Taking place right now.
  • 00:23:42.666 --> 00:23:44.468
  • And because of this arrangement, your generous gift between now
  • 00:23:44.535 --> 00:23:48.439
  • And december 31 will be automatically matched
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  • And therefore doubled in impact until we reach the goal
  • 00:23:51.842 --> 00:23:55.312
  • Of $1.5 million.
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  • That means your $100 gift would become $200,
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  • A $500 gift would become a $1000.
  • 00:24:02.253 --> 00:24:05.389
  • There's not limit to how much you can give
  • 00:24:05.389 --> 00:24:07.791
  • That will be matched during this time.
  • 00:24:07.791 --> 00:24:10.461
  • Whatever you give will empower "pathway to victory"
  • 00:24:10.461 --> 00:24:13.597
  • To shine the light of jesus into the darkest corners
  • 00:24:13.597 --> 00:24:16.834
  • Of our world.
  • 00:24:16.834 --> 00:24:18.435
  • Thank you so much for giving generously toward this effort
  • 00:24:18.435 --> 00:24:21.405
  • To light the darkness with the transformative power
  • 00:24:21.405 --> 00:24:24.842
  • Of god's word.
  • 00:24:24.842 --> 00:24:27.011
  • Now, stay right there.
  • 00:24:27.011 --> 00:24:28.345
  • I'll be back with more "pathway to victory"
  • 00:24:28.345 --> 00:24:30.180
  • In just a moment.
  • 00:24:30.180 --> 00:24:31.882
  • Announcer: the one thing god wants more than
  • 00:24:33.284 --> 00:24:35.252
  • Anything else in this world is time with you.
  • 00:24:35.252 --> 00:24:38.322
  • Make god your priority by spending quality time
  • 00:24:38.322 --> 00:24:41.559
  • In his word with the brand-new 2025
  • 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:43.994
  • "'pathway to victory' daily devotional."
  • 00:24:43.994 --> 00:24:46.297
  • This year's devotional has a beautiful navy blue leather
  • 00:24:46.297 --> 00:24:48.966
  • Cover with inlaid brown and gold foil accents.
  • 00:24:48.966 --> 00:24:51.502
  • And now with larger print, the 260 practical insights
  • 00:24:51.502 --> 00:24:55.239
  • From dr. robert jeffress are easier to read.
  • 00:24:55.239 --> 00:24:57.508
  • This stunning 532 page devotional makes an ideal
  • 00:24:57.508 --> 00:25:01.078
  • Christmas gift for loved ones
  • 00:25:01.078 --> 00:25:02.546
  • Who want to grow in their faith too.
  • 00:25:02.546 --> 00:25:04.582
  • Jeffress: of all the ways god could have revealed himself
  • 00:25:04.648 --> 00:25:07.284
  • To us, he chose to do it through the written word.
  • 00:25:07.284 --> 00:25:10.888
  • And that's why it's so important for you and for me to set aside
  • 00:25:10.888 --> 00:25:14.224
  • Regular time to read the word of god.
  • 00:25:14.224 --> 00:25:17.828
  • Announcer: every season carries an uplifting theme.
  • 00:25:17.895 --> 00:25:20.531
  • Begin the new year by exploring god's will for your life.
  • 00:25:20.531 --> 00:25:25.102
  • In spring and summer, grow stronger in christ
  • 00:25:25.102 --> 00:25:27.738
  • With insights from colossians.
  • 00:25:27.738 --> 00:25:29.607
  • And in the fall and winter, embrace the father who loves you
  • 00:25:29.607 --> 00:25:32.743
  • With inspirational readings based on the parable
  • 00:25:32.743 --> 00:25:35.379
  • Of the prodigal son.
  • 00:25:35.379 --> 00:25:37.448
  • When the day-to-day problems of life feel overwhelming,
  • 00:25:37.448 --> 00:25:40.317
  • Take a moment to anchor yourself
  • 00:25:40.317 --> 00:25:42.019
  • In the calming truth of god's word
  • 00:25:42.019 --> 00:25:43.887
  • With the brand new 2025 "pathway to victory" daily devotional.
  • 00:25:43.887 --> 00:25:48.092
  • Your gift of support not only provides you with this life
  • 00:25:48.158 --> 00:25:51.762
  • Giving resource, it empowers us to spread the hope filled
  • 00:25:51.762 --> 00:25:54.732
  • Message of jesus christ as well.
  • 00:25:54.732 --> 00:25:56.934
  • Thank you for supporting the ministry
  • 00:25:56.934 --> 00:25:58.802
  • Of "pathway to victory."
  • 00:25:58.802 --> 00:26:00.838
  • Jeffress: luke neither deifies nor does he ignore mary.
  • 00:26:04.341 --> 00:26:08.345
  • Instead, he paints mary as somebody whose character should
  • 00:26:08.345 --> 00:26:12.383
  • Be admired and whose faith should be imitated.
  • 00:26:12.383 --> 00:26:15.586
  • God looked with favor on mary and chose her
  • 00:26:15.653 --> 00:26:18.389
  • For a special purpose.
  • 00:26:18.389 --> 00:26:20.357
  • And this passage in luke teaches us that god can use
  • 00:26:20.357 --> 00:26:23.360
  • Ordinary people in extraordinary ways.
  • 00:26:23.360 --> 00:26:27.064
  • Next time we'll journey back to biblical times to witness
  • 00:26:27.064 --> 00:26:30.100
  • The most important birth in human history.
  • 00:26:30.100 --> 00:26:32.870
  • The story begins not in bethlehem but hundreds of miles
  • 00:26:32.870 --> 00:26:36.106
  • Away in the city of world power, ancient rome.
  • 00:26:36.106 --> 00:26:40.044
  • Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next
  • 00:26:40.044 --> 00:26:42.312
  • On "pathway to victory".
  • 00:26:42.312 --> 00:26:44.348
  • Jeffress: now, what i want you to think about for a moment
  • 00:26:45.783 --> 00:26:47.551
  • Is how god used natural events to bring
  • 00:26:47.551 --> 00:26:51.655
  • About his supernatural plan.
  • 00:26:51.655 --> 00:26:54.291
  • Think about this.
  • 00:26:54.291 --> 00:26:55.726
  • With one stroke of the pen, caesar augustus hundreds
  • 00:26:55.726 --> 00:26:59.997
  • Of miles away, the most powerful man in the world,
  • 00:26:59.997 --> 00:27:02.633
  • With one stroke of his pen, he signed an edict that would have
  • 00:27:02.633 --> 00:27:06.970
  • Ramifications he could've never imagined.
  • 00:27:06.970 --> 00:27:09.640
  • Announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for
  • 00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:12.176
  • The message "back to bethlehem" here on "pathway to victory."
  • 00:27:12.176 --> 00:27:15.813
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:27:15.813 --> 00:27:28.525