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 - The One Prayer God Always Answers | July 1, 2025
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- [announcer] from the pulpit of
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- 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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- It's disappointing when a prayer goes unanswered.
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- Sometimes our heavenly father clearly says, "no."
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- Other times, he tells us to wait.
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- And we don't like either one of those responses.
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- Well, today we're going to look at a request
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- That god responds to every single time.
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- It's a simple seven word prayer
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- That has the power to transform your relationship with god.
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- My message is titled, "the one prayer god always answers,"
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- On today's edition of "pathway to victory."
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- ♪ music ♪
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- [announcer] jesus declared, "you are the salt of the earth
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- And the light of the world."
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- With so much darkness creeping into our schools
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- And communities,
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- Now is the time to answer that calling.
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- Become the salt and light the world desperately needs
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- Through the "pathway to victory"
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- Salt & light matching challenge.
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- Push back and hold strong against moral decline
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- By joining the salt & light matching challenge.
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- ♪ music ♪
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- You know in the bible,
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- God uses the term righteousness in two distinct ways.
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- Sometimes when the bible talks about righteousness,
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- It's talking about a judicial righteousness,
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- Our standing before god.
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- To be righteous is to be in a right relationship,
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- A right standing with god.
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- Paul said in romans 4:5,
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- "but to the one who does not work,
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- But instead believes in him who justifies the ungodly,
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- His faith is counted as righteousness."
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- The moment you trust in jesus christ
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- For the forgiveness of your sins,
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- In the great courtroom of heaven,
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- God pronounces you forgiven, righteous.
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- You are in a right standing with himself.
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- But other times,
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- The word righteousness in the bible
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- Refers to right acting before god.
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- It's our conduct, our obedience.
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- It's an ethical, not a judicial,
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- But an ethical kind of righteousness.
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- For example, in 1 peter 3:12, peter says,
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- "for the eyes of the lord are toward the righteous,
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- And his ears attend to their prayer,
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- But the face of the lord is against those who do evil."
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- One reason we don't get our prayers answered sometime
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- Is we're not acting righteously.
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- We may be in a right relationship with god,
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- We may be forgiven of our sins,
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- But if we don't act righteously,
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- God doesn't hear our prayers.
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- Judicial righteousness, ethical righteousness.
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- But jesus said the prerequisite for both of them,
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- Both a right standing with god
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- And a right acting before god is to want it.
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- It's to hunger for it.
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- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
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- My friend and bible scholar r.t. kendall
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- Tells about a time that he was nine years old
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- And he was staying one night with his grandmother,
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- And the next day he had a test at school
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- That he wasn't prepared for.
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- So when he awakened the next morning,
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- He told his grandmother that he wasn't feeling well
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- And didn't feel like going to school.
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- She said, "okay, well, go back to bed."
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- And he protested and said,
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- "well, i would like breakfast first."
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- (congregants laughing)
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- She said, "if you have an appetite,
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- That means there isn't much wrong with you,
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- So you go get dressed for school
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- And i'll prepare breakfast."
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- Well, you know, jesus is saying the same thing here.
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- Your appetite is
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- A pretty good indication of your spiritual health.
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- If you're a christian this morning and you have a hunger,
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- You have a thirst for being more obedient to god,
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- Then you're in pretty good spiritual shape.
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- You may not feel like it,
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- But you're on the road to spiritual health.
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- In fact, 2 peter 1:3 says,
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- "you have everything you need for life and godliness."
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- If you hunger for an ethical righteousness,
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- Obedience to god,
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- You're on your way to spiritual health.
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- But if you're not a christian this morning,
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- If you're just here by accident,
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- Perhaps you tuned into this broadcast by accident,
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- But you have a desire, a hunger to be clean,
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- To be forgiven, to be in a right relationship with god,
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- It's a good indication that
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- You are also on your road to spiritual health.
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- In fact, if that's true of you this morning,
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- You are only seven words away
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- From a right relationship with god.
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- And today,
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- We're going to discover what those seven words are
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- In a familiar parable.
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- Turn to your bibles into luke 18,
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- Beginning with verse nine,
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- As we look at the one prayer god always promises to answer.
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- Luke 18.
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- Now, this is one of those parables jesus told
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- That's very easy to interpret
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- Because luke gives us the right interpretation
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- At the beginning of the parable.
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- He tells us the reason jesus told it.
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- Look at verse nine,
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- "and jesus also told them this parable
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- To some people who trusted in themselves
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- That they were righteous and viewed others with contempt."
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- This parable is directed toward a group of people,
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- Specifically the pharisees who trusted in themselves.
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- Literally in the greek text it says,
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- "who based on themselves, thought they were righteous."
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- They thought god looked on them with favor,
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- That they had a judicial righteousness,
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- They were not guilty before god.
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- They also were ethically righteous,
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- They did all the right things.
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- But their reason they believed that
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- Was a standard that was based on themselves.
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- You know,
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- Today there's a lot of talk about having self-esteem
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- And that people suffer from a bad self-image.
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- But the truth is, the problem with most of us,
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- Is not that we think too little of ourselves,
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- But that we think too much of ourselves.
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- Dr. david myers is a psychologist
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- Who has written a lot about
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- What he calls the inflated self syndrome in america.
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- He reports that when the college board
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- Surveyed high school seniors, they found that amazingly
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- 0% of high school seniors thought that
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- They were below average compared to other students.
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- 60% believed they were in the top 10% in their ability
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- To get along with others.
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- And he concluded that
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- The most common error in people's self-image
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- Is not unrealistically low self-esteem,
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- But rather self-serving pride.
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- It was not an inferiority complex,
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- But a superiority complex.
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- That was the group that jesus was talking to!
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- Those who thought they were righteous!
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- And notice the second phrase he uses,
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- "and they viewed others with contempt."
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- I mean, that's the byproduct of feeling superior.
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- What's the good of being superior
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- If you can't look down on other people, right?
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- There are actually some people
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- Who are proud of their own humility.
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- Whenever i read this parable
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- That jesus told about the pharisees,
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- I'm reminded of the third grade sunday school teacher who,
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- After teaching this lesson to the children, said,
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- "now children, let's bow our heads in prayer,
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- And thank god that we're not like the pharisees."
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- (congregants laughing)
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- For people who feel that way,
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- A purpose of this parable that jesus told is very clear
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- In verse nine.
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- This parable is not a parable that teaches us how to pray.
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- It's not a parable that answers the question
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- Why god answers some prayers
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- And doesn't answer other prayers.
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- This parable is about how to be righteous,
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- How to be in a right standing with god.
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- And in this parable,
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- We find two very different approaches to god.
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- One that is based on our goodness, our own works,
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- And one that is based on god's grace.
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- Now, let's look at the two characters,
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- The two players in this parable.
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- Verse 10, jesus said,
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- "two men went up to the temple to pray,
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- One a pharisee and the other a tax collector."
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- If jesus were telling the story today, he might say,
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- "two people went into the church to pray,
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- A preacher and a prostitute."
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- That's the contrast jesus is trying to give us here.
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- The pharisee! let's look at him, first of all.
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- Now, today, and this is so important to understand.
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- We think of the pharisees as the villain.
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- They were highly revered, respected men.
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- They knew the old testament backwards and forwards.
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- And not only that,
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- They were thought to be truly godly people.
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- They had a desire to be godly.
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- Their problem was they had the wrong idea of godliness.
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- They thought that godliness was based on themselves
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- And not the grace of god.
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- Now, notice his prayer.
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- The bible says jesus said,
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- "this pharisee, when he went to pray, he stood to pray."
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- Now, a lot of people make a big deal out of that.
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- "oh, look how proud he is. he stood."
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- There's nothing wrong with standing to pray.
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- In fact, a good jew would stand to pray.
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- Today, if you go to the western wall, the wailing wall,
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- People stand there and pray
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- And pour out their hearts to god.
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- The problem with this man's prayer was not his posture,
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- It was his attitude.
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- And you see that in the second phrase.
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- He stood and he prayed to himself. (laughs)
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- Isn't that a funny phrase?
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- He prayed to himself.
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- Now, he probably didn't think he was praying to himself,
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- But you look at the prayer here,
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- It was a prayer of self congratulations
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- About all he had done.
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- Look at verses 11 and 12.
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- "the pharisee stood praying this to himself,
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- 'god, i thank you that i am not like other people,
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- Swindlers, unjust, adulterers,
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- Or even like this tax collector over here
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- Standing next to me.
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- I fast twice a week, i pay tithes of all that i get.'"
- 00:11:23.205 --> 00:11:28.644
- This pharisee's problem was he had an i problem.
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- I, i, i, i.
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- He was focused on himself.
- 00:11:35.618 --> 00:11:39.321
- Have you ever noticed people today
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- Who try to give a testimony
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- But they can't help
- 00:11:42.324 --> 00:11:45.027
- But make themselves the hero of the story?
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- Their testimonies are what
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- One friend of mine call brag-a-monies.
- 00:11:49.465 --> 00:11:52.935
- It's about me, me, me, me, me.
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- Contrast him to the other character in this story,
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- The tax collector.
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- The tax collector!
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- The jewish people hated tax collectors for two reasons.
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- First of all,
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- They were helping fund the oppressive roman government
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- That was occupying their land.
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- But not only that, they were cheating people,
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- Taking more than they were supposed to take.
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- And so this tax collector went up to pray as well.
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- Don't miss the point that
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- This tax collector was just as much under god's judgment
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- As the pharisee was.
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- They both went to the temple to pray.
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- But notice his prayer in contrast to the pharisee's.
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- "the tax collector, standing some distance away,
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- Was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven,
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- But instead was beating his breast, saying,
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- 'god, be merciful to me, the sinner.'"
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- This is one of the shortest prayers in the bible,
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- Seven words in the english language,
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- Six words in the greek text.
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- And yet this prayer reveals
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- The two essentials for righteousness,
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- For a right standing with god, for god's salvation.
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- First of all, he expresses sorrow for his sin.
- 00:13:12.147 --> 00:13:17.052
- You hear that in the prayer, "be merciful to me, the sinner"
- 00:13:17.052 --> 00:13:22.424
- Is what it actually says in greek.
- 00:13:23.158 --> 00:13:24.660
- It's articular. there's an article before the word sinner.
- 00:13:24.660 --> 00:13:27.596
- It's not, "be merciful to me, a sinner,
- 00:13:27.596 --> 00:13:30.566
- Just like everybody else in the world."
- 00:13:30.566 --> 00:13:32.201
- No, "be merciful to me, the sinner."
- 00:13:32.201 --> 00:13:35.004
- I am the chief sinner of all!
- 00:13:35.004 --> 00:13:39.541
- By the way, notice his position.
- 00:13:40.175 --> 00:13:42.611
- He stood some distance away.
- 00:13:42.611 --> 00:13:45.381
- Away from what?
- 00:13:45.381 --> 00:13:47.049
- Well, probably away from the altar of sacrifice,
- 00:13:47.049 --> 00:13:50.386
- Representing the presence of god.
- 00:13:50.386 --> 00:13:52.922
- But he even stood away from the pharisee,
- 00:13:52.922 --> 00:13:55.024
- "oh, i can't be near a holy man.
- 00:13:55.024 --> 00:13:57.693
- I can't be near to him
- 00:13:57.693 --> 00:13:59.528
- And i certainly can't stand near to god."
- 00:13:59.528 --> 00:14:02.064
- But here's the paradox.
- 00:14:02.064 --> 00:14:03.933
- By standing far away from god,
- 00:14:03.933 --> 00:14:06.135
- He was closer to god than the pharisee.
- 00:14:06.135 --> 00:14:09.505
- Here's one thing you understand.
- 00:14:09.505 --> 00:14:11.073
- The more you understand the true holiness of god,
- 00:14:11.073 --> 00:14:15.911
- The more you understand how sinful you and i really are.
- 00:14:15.911 --> 00:14:20.582
- A real encounter with the genuine god
- 00:14:20.582 --> 00:14:23.819
- Leads you to understand your own un-holiness.
- 00:14:23.819 --> 00:14:28.123
- Isaiah's expressed that.
- 00:14:28.123 --> 00:14:30.225
- Remember in isaiah 6
- 00:14:30.225 --> 00:14:31.527
- When he had the vision of god on his throne
- 00:14:31.527 --> 00:14:33.796
- And the angels flying around the throne.
- 00:14:33.796 --> 00:14:37.199
- What was isaiah's response?
- 00:14:37.199 --> 00:14:40.869
- He fell down and he said, "woe to me, for i am undone.
- 00:14:40.869 --> 00:14:44.540
- I am a man of unclean lips."
- 00:14:44.540 --> 00:14:48.043
- Or remember when the apostle peter saw the glorified lord
- 00:14:48.043 --> 00:14:52.047
- In luke 5:8, he said,
- 00:14:52.047 --> 00:14:53.349
- "depart from me, lord, for i am a sinful man."
- 00:14:53.349 --> 00:14:57.853
- Or remember the apostle john in the book of revelation,
- 00:14:57.853 --> 00:15:01.757
- There on the island of patmos,
- 00:15:01.757 --> 00:15:03.392
- When he saw the vision of the glorified christ
- 00:15:03.392 --> 00:15:06.395
- In the state he'll be when he returns one day.
- 00:15:06.395 --> 00:15:09.131
- What did he do?
- 00:15:09.131 --> 00:15:10.399
- The bible says, "he fell down as a dead man."
- 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:13.702
- That's what happens to any sinner who confronts a holy god,
- 00:15:13.702 --> 00:15:18.340
- You're aware of your need.
- 00:15:18.340 --> 00:15:20.676
- But an expression of sorrow for your sin
- 00:15:20.676 --> 00:15:23.245
- Isn't enough to be forgiven.
- 00:15:23.245 --> 00:15:25.714
- It's not enough for salvation.
- 00:15:25.714 --> 00:15:27.716
- There's a second ingredient you see in this brief prayer,
- 00:15:27.716 --> 00:15:30.586
- And that is he requested god's mercy to cover his sin.
- 00:15:30.586 --> 00:15:35.924
- He said, "god, be merciful to me, the sinner."
- 00:15:36.892 --> 00:15:42.031
- Now that word, greek word translated merciful,
- 00:15:42.998 --> 00:15:45.067
- Is not just any word for mercy.
- 00:15:45.067 --> 00:15:47.536
- It's a very special word.
- 00:15:47.536 --> 00:15:49.605
- It's a word that is a form of the word
- 00:15:49.605 --> 00:15:52.441
- That was used to describe the mercy seat in the temple.
- 00:15:52.441 --> 00:15:57.679
- Remember, in the temple,
- 00:15:58.180 --> 00:15:59.982
- The holiest place of all was the holy of holies.
- 00:15:59.982 --> 00:16:03.552
- It was behind the veil,
- 00:16:03.552 --> 00:16:05.687
- And only one person could enter into the holy of holy
- 00:16:05.687 --> 00:16:09.024
- Once a year, that was the high priest.
- 00:16:09.024 --> 00:16:11.960
- Remember in the holy of holies,
- 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:13.495
- Behind the veil there was the ark of the covenant.
- 00:16:13.495 --> 00:16:17.266
- And that ark, among other things, contained the two tablets,
- 00:16:17.266 --> 00:16:21.070
- Moses tablets with the 10 commandments.
- 00:16:21.070 --> 00:16:24.206
- On top of the ark, which was more like a box,
- 00:16:24.206 --> 00:16:27.276
- There was a lid covered in gold.
- 00:16:27.276 --> 00:16:30.145
- It was called the mercy seat.
- 00:16:30.145 --> 00:16:33.649
- And on each end of the mercy seat
- 00:16:33.649 --> 00:16:36.618
- Was the replication of an angel, a cherub,
- 00:16:36.618 --> 00:16:41.290
- And the cherub on each end had outstretched wings.
- 00:16:41.290 --> 00:16:45.761
- They were thought to protect the holiness of god.
- 00:16:45.761 --> 00:16:48.997
- And it was believed that the spirit of god dwelt between
- 00:16:48.997 --> 00:16:52.668
- The cherubim on that ark of the covenant.
- 00:16:52.668 --> 00:16:55.938
- And the picture was very clear.
- 00:16:55.938 --> 00:16:57.506
- It was a picture of god's judgment.
- 00:16:57.506 --> 00:16:59.475
- God, a holy god, is looking down on the law, his law,
- 00:16:59.475 --> 00:17:03.979
- Which he gave his people.
- 00:17:03.979 --> 00:17:05.514
- A law which the israelites broke every day of every year.
- 00:17:05.514 --> 00:17:10.052
- It was a picture of the judgment that god's people deserved
- 00:17:10.052 --> 00:17:14.990
- For the law they had broken.
- 00:17:14.990 --> 00:17:17.226
- But once a year on yom kippur, the day of atonement,
- 00:17:17.226 --> 00:17:21.897
- The high priest, after making an atonement for his own sins,
- 00:17:21.897 --> 00:17:26.135
- Would take the blood of an innocent animal
- 00:17:26.135 --> 00:17:28.737
- And he would come into the holy of holies
- 00:17:28.737 --> 00:17:30.939
- In the presence of god,
- 00:17:30.939 --> 00:17:32.608
- And he would take that blood
- 00:17:32.608 --> 00:17:34.076
- And he would sprinkle it on the mercy seat
- 00:17:34.076 --> 00:17:36.979
- That covered the broken law.
- 00:17:36.979 --> 00:17:39.748
- And the picture was as god looked down,
- 00:17:39.748 --> 00:17:42.384
- He no longer saw the law that had been broken,
- 00:17:42.384 --> 00:17:45.654
- But he saw the covering,
- 00:17:45.654 --> 00:17:47.356
- The atoning of that innocent animal.
- 00:17:47.356 --> 00:17:51.493
- And of course,
- 00:17:51.493 --> 00:17:52.895
- All of that was a picture of what jesus christ,
- 00:17:52.895 --> 00:17:55.797
- Our perfect high priest, would do one day.
- 00:17:55.797 --> 00:17:59.768
- The high priest for hundreds of years
- 00:17:59.768 --> 00:18:01.803
- Would have to come in year after year after year.
- 00:18:01.803 --> 00:18:05.908
- He would have to first of all,
- 00:18:05.908 --> 00:18:07.109
- Make an atonement for his own sins.
- 00:18:07.109 --> 00:18:09.244
- He would come with the blood of an animal
- 00:18:09.244 --> 00:18:11.947
- And he had to do it repeatedly.
- 00:18:11.947 --> 00:18:14.750
- But jesus christ is our perfect high priest,
- 00:18:14.750 --> 00:18:18.620
- And he's entered not a manmade temple,
- 00:18:18.620 --> 00:18:20.789
- But the true temple, the presence of god.
- 00:18:20.789 --> 00:18:23.592
- And he approached the temple of god and the throne of god,
- 00:18:23.592 --> 00:18:26.261
- Not with the blood of an animal that was worthless,
- 00:18:26.261 --> 00:18:29.364
- But with his own blood.
- 00:18:29.364 --> 00:18:31.133
- And he obtained what?
- 00:18:31.133 --> 00:18:32.534
- Eternal redemption.
- 00:18:32.534 --> 00:18:34.970
- That's what the writer of hebrews said in hebrews 9:11-12.
- 00:18:34.970 --> 00:18:39.341
- "but when christ appeared
- 00:18:39.341 --> 00:18:41.210
- As a high priest of the good things to come,
- 00:18:41.210 --> 00:18:43.879
- He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle,
- 00:18:43.879 --> 00:18:47.449
- Not made with hands, that is not to say of this creation
- 00:18:47.449 --> 00:18:51.119
- And not through the blood of goats and calves,
- 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:53.956
- But through his own blood he entered the holy place
- 00:18:53.956 --> 00:18:57.426
- Once for all,
- 00:18:57.426 --> 00:18:58.927
- Having obtained eternal redemption."
- 00:18:58.927 --> 00:19:02.497
- Why do i mention this?
- 00:19:02.998 --> 00:19:05.400
- Because when this tax collector said,
- 00:19:05.400 --> 00:19:07.936
- "lord, be merciful to me,"
- 00:19:07.936 --> 00:19:11.740
- He was asking for a blood atonement,
- 00:19:11.740 --> 00:19:14.643
- A covering that would wipe away his sins.
- 00:19:14.643 --> 00:19:18.280
- He understood he was powerless to forgive himself.
- 00:19:18.280 --> 00:19:21.650
- He needed the forgiveness
- 00:19:21.650 --> 00:19:23.118
- That was based on the sacrifice of
- 00:19:23.118 --> 00:19:25.420
- The true high priest, jesus christ.
- 00:19:25.420 --> 00:19:28.457
- You see that even in the way he prayed.
- 00:19:28.457 --> 00:19:32.861
- James montgomery boice points out
- 00:19:32.861 --> 00:19:34.830
- The simple sentence structure of this prayer.
- 00:19:34.830 --> 00:19:38.033
- It's a prayer that starts with god and ends with the sinner,
- 00:19:38.033 --> 00:19:43.305
- But has mercy in the middle.
- 00:19:43.905 --> 00:19:45.874
- It is god's mercy, it is god's grace
- 00:19:45.874 --> 00:19:49.544
- That connects sinful man to a holy god.
- 00:19:49.544 --> 00:19:54.816
- "god be merciful to me, the sinner."
- 00:19:55.617 --> 00:19:59.388
- Two men with two very different ways to approach god.
- 00:19:59.388 --> 00:20:03.825
- One who tries to approach god based on his own righteousness
- 00:20:03.825 --> 00:20:07.996
- And one who approaches god based on god's grace.
- 00:20:07.996 --> 00:20:13.435
- Now, if jesus had stopped right here with the prayer
- 00:20:14.503 --> 00:20:18.407
- And said, "now i'm going to give you a pop quiz, audience.
- 00:20:18.407 --> 00:20:21.543
- You've heard the story.
- 00:20:21.543 --> 00:20:23.245
- Which man walked away from the mountain
- 00:20:23.245 --> 00:20:26.315
- Justified in a right relationship with god?"
- 00:20:27.215 --> 00:20:30.752
- The audience without a doubt would've said,
- 00:20:30.752 --> 00:20:32.487
- "why, the pharisee of course!
- 00:20:32.487 --> 00:20:36.258
- The pharisee is the one who ended up righteous.
- 00:20:36.258 --> 00:20:38.960
- I mean, look at all of the things he's done!
- 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:41.363
- He's tithed, he's fasted,
- 00:20:41.363 --> 00:20:43.098
- He's not like these adulterers and murderers.
- 00:20:43.098 --> 00:20:47.769
- He's righteous!
- 00:20:48.136 --> 00:20:50.172
- Why would that tax collector think
- 00:20:50.172 --> 00:20:53.141
- A little seven word prayer
- 00:20:53.141 --> 00:20:54.743
- Suddenly makes everything all right with god?"
- 00:20:54.743 --> 00:20:57.112
- Haven't you heard that before?
- 00:20:57.112 --> 00:20:58.780
- How can people think that praying a prayer of salvation
- 00:20:58.780 --> 00:21:01.950
- Erases all of the bad that they've ever done before?
- 00:21:01.950 --> 00:21:05.854
- They would've picked the pharisee for sure.
- 00:21:05.854 --> 00:21:09.291
- And that's why jesus turns their expectations upside down
- 00:21:09.291 --> 00:21:12.994
- In verse 14.
- 00:21:12.994 --> 00:21:14.396
- He says, "no, i tell you this man, the tax collector,
- 00:21:14.396 --> 00:21:19.267
- Went to his house justified rather than the other."
- 00:21:20.302 --> 00:21:25.774
- You know what's interesting to me?
- 00:21:26.508 --> 00:21:28.877
- I'm sure when the pharisee finished
- 00:21:28.877 --> 00:21:31.113
- His self-congratulatory prayer,
- 00:21:31.113 --> 00:21:33.882
- I'm sure he felt great.
- 00:21:33.882 --> 00:21:36.551
- I'm sure he left the temple mount that day saying,
- 00:21:36.551 --> 00:21:39.454
- "you know, nothing like some good quality prayer time
- 00:21:39.454 --> 00:21:42.457
- With the lord." (chuckles)
- 00:21:42.457 --> 00:21:44.893
- And i imagine that the tax collector probably left
- 00:21:44.893 --> 00:21:48.029
- Just as miserable as he went,
- 00:21:48.029 --> 00:21:51.733
- Feeling bad and terrible about his sin.
- 00:21:51.733 --> 00:21:54.936
- But guess what?
- 00:21:54.936 --> 00:21:56.171
- Your relationship with god isn't based on how you feel
- 00:21:57.272 --> 00:22:01.176
- About your relationship with god.
- 00:22:01.176 --> 00:22:02.911
- It's how god views you.
- 00:22:02.911 --> 00:22:05.747
- How he sees you!
- 00:22:05.747 --> 00:22:07.549
- How he feels about you.
- 00:22:07.549 --> 00:22:08.884
- And jesus said, "i'm telling you,
- 00:22:08.884 --> 00:22:11.386
- Regardless of this tax collector's feelings,
- 00:22:11.386 --> 00:22:14.222
- He left the mountain that day justified,
- 00:22:14.222 --> 00:22:18.927
- Declared not guilty,
- 00:22:18.927 --> 00:22:21.863
- Because his prayer wasn't based on his righteousness.
- 00:22:21.863 --> 00:22:25.400
- It was based on my mercy."
- 00:22:25.400 --> 00:22:28.303
- And then jesus adds this word, these familiar words,
- 00:22:28.303 --> 00:22:31.773
- "for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
- 00:22:31.773 --> 00:22:37.112
- But he who humbles himself will be exalted."
- 00:22:38.046 --> 00:22:41.817
- The person who refuses to bow before god
- 00:22:42.684 --> 00:22:46.755
- And admit his need for forgiveness will one day be humbled.
- 00:22:47.989 --> 00:22:53.061
- One day he will be shocked to hear from the lord
- 00:22:54.062 --> 00:22:57.165
- He thought he served, utter these words,
- 00:22:57.165 --> 00:23:00.502
- "depart from me, you worker of iniquity,
- 00:23:00.502 --> 00:23:04.139
- For i never knew you."
- 00:23:04.139 --> 00:23:07.409
- On the other hand, the person who bows before god and says,
- 00:23:08.610 --> 00:23:12.814
- "god, i am a sinner, i am the sinner,
- 00:23:12.814 --> 00:23:16.485
- And i have no hope except jesus christ."
- 00:23:16.485 --> 00:23:20.322
- The person who humbles himself will one day be exalted
- 00:23:20.322 --> 00:23:24.392
- And will be welcomed into god's kingdom.
- 00:23:24.392 --> 00:23:27.829
- ♪ music ♪
- 00:23:27.829 --> 00:23:29.464
- As a.w. tozer said, "in ourselves, nothing.
- 00:23:29.464 --> 00:23:35.103
- In christ, everything."
- 00:23:35.604 --> 00:23:39.140
- ♪ music ♪
- 00:23:39.474 --> 00:23:43.411
- When we ask for righteousness,
- 00:23:44.045 --> 00:23:46.414
- We can be absolutely certain that
- 00:23:46.414 --> 00:23:48.483
- God will answer our prayer.
- 00:23:48.483 --> 00:23:51.753
- Well, in closing today,
- 00:23:51.753 --> 00:23:53.054
- I want to encourage you to participate in
- 00:23:53.054 --> 00:23:54.956
- The salt & light matching challenge.
- 00:23:54.956 --> 00:23:57.325
- For just a short while longer,
- 00:23:57.325 --> 00:23:59.194
- Your gift to "pathway to victory" will be matched
- 00:23:59.194 --> 00:24:02.330
- And therefore doubled in ministry impact,
- 00:24:02.330 --> 00:24:05.100
- Up until the deadline of midnight, july 6th.
- 00:24:05.100 --> 00:24:08.403
- All around us, we see the reality of evil.
- 00:24:08.403 --> 00:24:11.506
- And darkness has crept into many churches,
- 00:24:11.506 --> 00:24:14.009
- Schools, and communities.
- 00:24:14.009 --> 00:24:15.944
- But this is no time to retreat.
- 00:24:15.944 --> 00:24:18.480
- This is the time to step forward
- 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:20.582
- To advance the kingdom of god.
- 00:24:20.582 --> 00:24:23.118
- Together, we can push back against the moral decline
- 00:24:23.118 --> 00:24:26.321
- In our nation.
- 00:24:26.321 --> 00:24:27.689
- Together, let's reach as many people as possible
- 00:24:27.689 --> 00:24:30.892
- With the gospel of jesus christ.
- 00:24:30.892 --> 00:24:33.828
- Now, stay right there,
- 00:24:33.828 --> 00:24:35.130
- I'll be back with more "pathway to victory"
- 00:24:35.130 --> 00:24:37.332
- In just a moment.
- 00:24:37.332 --> 00:24:39.200
- [announcer] is fear holding you back
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- From sharing your faith?
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- Millions of christians have the desire,
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- But lack the courage to speak up.
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- With god's holy spirit, you can become unstoppable.
- 00:24:46.942 --> 00:24:50.512
- Our enemy hates for the church to grow,
- 00:24:50.512 --> 00:24:53.014
- Not just in numbers, but in its influence for the gospel.
- 00:24:53.014 --> 00:24:56.952
- And he will do everything he can to stop it,
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- So we must do everything we can to stop him.
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- In my faith building book "unstoppable power,"
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- [announcer] in his bestselling book, "unstoppable power,"
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- Dr. robert jeffress reveals
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- With the same confidence the apostles had.
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- You're invited to request the book, "unstoppable power,"
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- When you give a generous gift to
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- The "pathway to victory," salt & light matching challenge.
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- We face the same kind of growing opposition
- 00:25:42.130 --> 00:25:46.735
- In the 21st century
- 00:25:46.735 --> 00:25:48.637
- As those first century christians experienced.
- 00:25:48.637 --> 00:25:51.506
- That opposition was no match for the power of jesus christ.
- 00:25:51.506 --> 00:25:56.011
- [announcer] remember,
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- Your gift today will have twice the impact,
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- Thanks to the "pathway to victory"
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- Thank you for partnering with "pathway to victory"
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- As we boldly proclaim the gospel
- 00:26:05.120 --> 00:26:07.155
- In a world that has lost its way.
- 00:26:07.155 --> 00:26:10.158
- ♪ music ♪
- 00:26:10.492 --> 00:26:11.593
- When we express sorrow for our sin
- 00:26:11.593 --> 00:26:14.362
- And ask for god's mercy to cover our iniquity,
- 00:26:14.362 --> 00:26:17.832
- We can know for certain that god will answer our prayer
- 00:26:17.832 --> 00:26:21.770
- And put us in a right standing with himself.
- 00:26:21.770 --> 00:26:25.273
- Well, the most important question a person can ask in life
- 00:26:25.273 --> 00:26:28.510
- Is this one:
- 00:26:28.510 --> 00:26:29.844
- How can i have a right relationship with god?
- 00:26:29.844 --> 00:26:34.015
- And the verse that gives the answer to that question,
- 00:26:34.015 --> 00:26:36.518
- In my opinion,
- 00:26:36.518 --> 00:26:37.919
- Is the most important verse in all of the bible.
- 00:26:37.919 --> 00:26:41.022
- Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next
- 00:26:41.022 --> 00:26:44.025
- On "pathway to victory."
- 00:26:44.025 --> 00:26:46.461
- Admittedly, a pastor's setting himself up for trouble
- 00:26:47.529 --> 00:26:50.999
- When he announces he's going to talk about
- 00:26:50.999 --> 00:26:53.034
- The most important verse in the bible
- 00:26:53.034 --> 00:26:54.602
- Because everybody has a different idea of
- 00:26:54.602 --> 00:26:57.439
- What that verse should be.
- 00:26:57.439 --> 00:26:59.507
- But i think you would agree with me
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- That if you had to select
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- The single most important verse in the bible,
- 00:27:02.377 --> 00:27:05.547
- It ought to be one that answers
- 00:27:06.181 --> 00:27:09.050
- The most important question in life.
- 00:27:09.050 --> 00:27:12.654
- [announcer] set your dvr
- 00:27:12.654 --> 00:27:13.822
- And join us next time for the message,
- 00:27:13.822 --> 00:27:15.590
- "the most important verse in the bible,"
- 00:27:15.590 --> 00:27:18.359
- Here on "pathway to victory."
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- ♪ music ♪
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