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Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - Say Goodbye To Parenting Regrets

August 25, 2025 | S25 E406 | 29:0

Robert Jeffress - Say Goodbye To Parenting Regrets
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 - Say Goodbye To Parenting Regrets | August 25, 2025
  • ...
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Male announcer: from the pulpit of the first baptist church of
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  • Dallas, texas, this is
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  • "pathway to victory" with dr. robert jeffress.
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  • Dr. robert jeffress: hi, i'm robert jeffress and welcome
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  • Again to "pathway to victory."
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  • One of life's greatest challenges and most rewarding
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  • Endeavors is rearing godly children, but sometimes we get
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  • So caught up in the minutia of daily life, we lose sight
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  • Of the big picture.
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  • Today i'm going to give you four foundational commitments you can
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  • Make right now to avoid any parenting regrets.
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  • My message is titled, "say goodbye to parenting regrets" on
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  • Today's edition of "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Announcer: god doesn't want you to carry around the weight of
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  • Sins he's already forgiven.
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  • In his bestselling book, "say goodbye to regret," dr. robert
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  • Jeffress helps you live beyond the would-haves, could-haves,
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  • And should-haves to embrace the future god has planned for you.
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  • You can't undo the past, but there's plenty you can do to
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  • Reshape tomorrow and eternity.
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  • Discover the biblical secrets for regret-free living when you
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  • Request the book, "say goodbye to regret."
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  • Thank you for giving generously to "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Jeffress: let me just say a couple of words of warning
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  • Or disclaimer.
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  • First of all, the purpose of this message is not to heap a
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  • Pile of guilt upon you for mistakes you've made about--
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  • As parents.
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  • You know, the title of this series is "say goodbye
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  • To regrets."
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  • And the theme of the series is simply this, while we can't
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  • Erase yesterday, we can make changes today that change our
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  • Tomorrow and our eternity.
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  • And that's true about parenting.
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  • You can't erase the mistakes you made as a parent.
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  • But what you can do is make some decisions today that will change
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  • How you relate to your children and your grandchildren.
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  • I also realize that here today and watching on television there
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  • Are a number of you who would think, "well, this isn't for me.
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  • I'm finished with parenting.
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  • My kids are grown, and they're outside the house."
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  • But we're never through with our parenting responsibility.
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  • Finally, i remember and realize there are some here today who
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  • Aren't parents.
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  • Maybe you're not parents yet, maybe you'll never be parents,
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  • But there's still children whom you impact, important children
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  • In your life.
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  • It may be nieces, nephews, it may be children here in the
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  • Church you have a ministry with.
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  • These principles are applicable to you as well.
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  • Before we talk about how to have no regrets about your parenting,
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  • I want to look at a case study in regret and it's found in the
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  • Old testament book of 1 samuel chapters 1 and 2.
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  • Really, these two chapters are a contrast between godly parents
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  • Who raised godly children and some godly parents who raised
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  • Ungodly children.
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  • Let's look at the godly parents who raised a godly child.
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  • The parents name were hannah and elkanah.
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  • You remember the story, hannah had prayed that god would give
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  • Her a son, and after a long time of praying, god answered her
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  • Prayer, gave her a son that was named samuel, which means "god
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  • Has heard."
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  • He was an important priest and judge in the land of
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  • Israel, and hannah and her husband elkanah not only prayed
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  • For samuel, they dedicated him to the lord.
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  • They sought to realize god's purpose, not their purpose for
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  • His life.
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  • They were even willing to give him up to a priest named eli to
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  • Be mentored.
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  • Hannah and elkanah were what we would think of as
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  • Perfect parents.
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  • They would have made a great couple to interview on "focus on
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  • The family."
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  • They seem to do everything right because samuel was dedicated to
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  • The lord.
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  • Interestingly, the priest who became samuel's mentor was a
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  • Good priest, but he was a lousy parent.
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  • His name was eli.
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  • And we find this word about eli in 1 samuel 2, verse 12,
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  • About his sons.
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  • "now the sons of eli were worthless men.
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  • They did not know the lord."
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  • What is it that made these two
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  • Sons, hophni and phinehas, worthless?
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  • Well, the bible says they were engaged in sin, two sins.
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  • Specifically, they stole sacrifices from the altar of the
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  • Lord to use themselves, and they engaged in sexual immorality.
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  • As a result, god said to eli that his two sons would die on
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  • The very same day.
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  • And i want you to note the reason that god pronounced this
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  • Judgment against eli's two sons.
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  • It's found in 1 samuel 3, 13 and 14.
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  • "i have told him," that is eli, "that i'm about to judge his
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  • House forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons
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  • Brought a curse on themselves and eli did not rebuke them.
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  • Therefore i've sworn to the house of eli that the iniquity
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  • Of eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or
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  • Offering forever."
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  • Now, the big question is why would eli, a man
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  • Who knew better, not rebuke his own sons when they sinned?
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  • I think we find the answer to that in eli's reaction to the
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  • News of the death of his sons.
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  • The bible tells us in 1 samuel 4 that the israelites
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  • Went out to do battle with the philistines.
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  • And in that battle, 30,000 israelites were killed,
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  • Including eli's sons, hophni and phinehas.
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  • It was also during that very same battle that israel lost the
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  • Ark of the covenant.
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  • The philistines stole it.
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  • Now listen to the news when it reached eli, how he reacted to
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  • The death of his sons and the stealing of the ark of
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  • The covenant.
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  • 1 samuel 4:17, "then the one who brought the news back to eli
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  • Replied, 'israel has fled before the philistines and there has
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  • Been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also,
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  • Hophni and phinehas, they are dead and the ark has been
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  • Taken.'"
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  • Now, look at verse 18, "when he mentioned the ark of
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  • God, eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate and his
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  • Neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy."
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  • How would you like that to be the epitaph on your gravestone?
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  • He was old and heavy.
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  • But i digress.
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  • That's not the point.
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  • The point was he was so old and he was so heavy, when he heard
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  • That the ark had been taken, he fell over backwards and died.
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  • Thus, he judged israel for 40 years.
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  • Using that story as a background,
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  • I want to suggest to you today four foundational and, more
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  • Importantly, biblical commitments we have to make if
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  • We're going to eliminate, reduce the number of regrets we have
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  • About our parenting.
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  • Commitment number one is this, i will spend time with
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  • My children.
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  • I will spend time.
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  • Every other thing we're gonna talk about this morning requires
  • 00:07:52.291 --> 00:07:56.295
  • Time, both a quantity of time and a quality of time.
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  • I remember reading that a century ago, parents would spend
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  • 54% of their waking hours with their children.
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  • You know what the figure is today?
  • 00:08:10.576 --> 00:08:12.678
  • 18% of our time is spent with our children.
  • 00:08:12.678 --> 00:08:16.715
  • Now, you can rationalize that and say, well, people are a lot
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  • Busier today than they were 100 years ago.
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  • Not really.
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  • If anything modern technology, whether it be things like
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  • Microwave ovens or washing machines, meaning we have more
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  • Free time than people did 100 years ago.
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  • It's how we spend that time.
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  • If we're going to eliminate regrets, we need to spend more
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  • Time with our children.
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  • I hear that from parents.
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  • If they have any lament at all, it's looking back and saying, "i
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  • Wish i had spent more time with my kids."
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  • How do you do that?
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  • How do you direct more time with your children?
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  • Let me give you a few ideas.
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  • First of all, learn the go home principle.
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  • Learn the go home principle.
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  • You know, very few productive things happen in an office after
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  • 5:30 or 6 p.m. in the evening.
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  • You can shuffle papers around, talk on the
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  • Telephone, but learn to go home when the day is over.
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  • If you have to attend an evening meeting, stay for the meeting,
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  • But don't take, stay around chewing the fat afterwards.
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  • Go home to be with your family.
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  • I remember reading an interview with movie director and
  • 00:09:28.687 --> 00:09:33.025
  • Producer steven spielberg years ago, and he talked about this.
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  • He said his wife allowed him to work, when they had small
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  • Children, with this condition.
  • 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:43.535
  • He had to be home at 5:30 every day.
  • 00:09:43.535 --> 00:09:46.304
  • Now, he could find all kinds of reasons for not to be home at
  • 00:09:46.304 --> 00:09:49.808
  • 5:30, but he went ahead and followed that principle to be
  • 00:09:49.808 --> 00:09:53.245
  • Home with his small children and his movies didn't suffer a bit.
  • 00:09:53.245 --> 00:09:56.581
  • He's still the most successful producer and director
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  • In history.
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  • Secondly, negotiate with your boss for a flexible schedule.
  • 00:10:01.253 --> 00:10:05.457
  • A growing number of corporations are adopting flex time policies
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  • That are more family friendly.
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  • If that's a possibility, negotiate for it.
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  • Third, and this is so key, refuse to allow other people to
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  • Set your schedule.
  • 00:10:18.970 --> 00:10:21.006
  • A mentor of mine used to say, you better determine what your
  • 00:10:21.006 --> 00:10:24.543
  • Priorities are or somebody else will determine them for you.
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  • And if spending time with your children is a priority, build
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  • That into your schedule.
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  • What i'm saying to you is you've got to be as committed to
  • 00:10:33.885 --> 00:10:37.055
  • Spending time with your kids or your grandkids as you are
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  • Any other important tasks that you have, refuse to allow other
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  • People set your schedule.
  • 00:10:45.564 --> 00:10:47.666
  • Fourth, stay focused with your children, stay focused with
  • 00:10:47.666 --> 00:10:53.405
  • Your children.
  • 00:10:53.405 --> 00:10:54.773
  • You know, it's possible to be with your children physically
  • 00:10:54.773 --> 00:10:58.243
  • And be someplace else mentally and emotionally.
  • 00:10:58.243 --> 00:11:01.913
  • Spending time, the commitment to spend time with your kids.
  • 00:11:01.913 --> 00:11:05.117
  • Commitment number two for regret free parenting is this, i
  • 00:11:05.117 --> 00:11:10.355
  • Will create lasting memories with my children.
  • 00:11:10.355 --> 00:11:15.060
  • I will create lasting memories with my children.
  • 00:11:15.060 --> 00:11:19.264
  • It's important that when your children are gone, they'd be
  • 00:11:19.264 --> 00:11:22.434
  • Able to look back at the time they spent with you as a museum
  • 00:11:22.434 --> 00:11:27.172
  • Of wonderful memories.
  • 00:11:27.172 --> 00:11:29.808
  • How do you create lasting positive memories with your
  • 00:11:29.808 --> 00:11:34.513
  • Children or your grandchildren?
  • 00:11:34.513 --> 00:11:38.717
  • Author stephen kramer explains what he calls the three rs of
  • 00:11:38.717 --> 00:11:44.289
  • Memory making.
  • 00:11:44.289 --> 00:11:45.924
  • Let me expand on them for just a moment.
  • 00:11:45.924 --> 00:11:48.160
  • The first r is routine, these are things that you do daily or
  • 00:11:48.160 --> 00:11:53.632
  • Weekly with your kids.
  • 00:11:53.632 --> 00:11:56.234
  • It may be a meal, one meal a day, breakfast or dinner that
  • 00:11:56.234 --> 00:11:59.838
  • You have together as a family without smartphones or
  • 00:11:59.838 --> 00:12:02.808
  • Television or computers.
  • 00:12:02.808 --> 00:12:04.776
  • It may be the way you close the day together or begin together,
  • 00:12:04.776 --> 00:12:08.446
  • Reading a bible verse or having a prayer time together.
  • 00:12:08.446 --> 00:12:12.951
  • But things that you do day in and day out, these are routines.
  • 00:12:12.951 --> 00:12:17.389
  • Second r is ritual, ritual.
  • 00:12:17.389 --> 00:12:22.027
  • You know, it's interesting that the jews had so many special
  • 00:12:22.027 --> 00:12:25.697
  • Days and holy days.
  • 00:12:25.697 --> 00:12:27.332
  • God gave them these special days for a reason that even when they
  • 00:12:27.332 --> 00:12:31.503
  • Were separated from their homeland, they would find
  • 00:12:31.503 --> 00:12:34.239
  • Stability in these rituals.
  • 00:12:34.239 --> 00:12:36.474
  • Special days.
  • 00:12:36.474 --> 00:12:38.376
  • Have those kind of rituals with your family, holidays,
  • 00:12:38.376 --> 00:12:42.314
  • Birthdays, vacations.
  • 00:12:42.314 --> 00:12:44.115
  • And then the third r stands for the ridiculous, it ought to be
  • 00:12:44.115 --> 00:12:48.787
  • Just fun things you do as a family to provide excitement in
  • 00:12:48.787 --> 00:12:53.191
  • Your family.
  • 00:12:53.191 --> 00:12:54.526
  • And they don't have to be elaborate or expensive.
  • 00:12:54.526 --> 00:12:56.461
  • Dr. kent hughes in his book "common sense parenting" says
  • 00:12:56.461 --> 00:12:59.965
  • That he and his wife would put their children to bed, turn off
  • 00:12:59.965 --> 00:13:03.401
  • The lights some nights and about 15 minutes later they'd walk in,
  • 00:13:03.401 --> 00:13:07.372
  • Turn the lights on and yell out "pajama ride," and they would
  • 00:13:07.372 --> 00:13:11.776
  • All get in the car in their pajamas and drive to the local
  • 00:13:11.776 --> 00:13:14.646
  • Dairy queen to get a blizzard.
  • 00:13:14.646 --> 00:13:17.282
  • And then some nights they would yell "seconds," and they'd get
  • 00:13:17.282 --> 00:13:20.051
  • In the car and go across town to another dairy queen.
  • 00:13:20.051 --> 00:13:22.988
  • Those kind of things provide excitement in a family.
  • 00:13:22.988 --> 00:13:26.758
  • We're gonna look next time at a verse ecclesiastes 9:9 that
  • 00:13:26.758 --> 00:13:30.695
  • Relates to our relationship to our mate.
  • 00:13:30.695 --> 00:13:33.164
  • Solomon said you only have a short time on this earth.
  • 00:13:33.164 --> 00:13:36.635
  • Why not devote your time and energy to the one you love
  • 00:13:36.635 --> 00:13:40.805
  • Most dearly?
  • 00:13:40.805 --> 00:13:43.174
  • That can also be expanded to your children.
  • 00:13:43.174 --> 00:13:45.243
  • You only have a short time with your kids.
  • 00:13:45.243 --> 00:13:47.612
  • Why not devote the energy and time you need to the children
  • 00:13:47.612 --> 00:13:51.383
  • You love?
  • 00:13:51.383 --> 00:13:52.817
  • Commitment number three, i'll spend time with my children.
  • 00:13:52.817 --> 00:13:56.454
  • Secondly, i'll build lasting memories with my children.
  • 00:13:56.454 --> 00:13:59.424
  • Number three, i will discover and develop my children's gifts.
  • 00:13:59.424 --> 00:14:06.364
  • You know, one of the most often quoted but least understood
  • 00:14:06.364 --> 00:14:09.534
  • Verses in the bible about parenting is proverbs 22:6.
  • 00:14:09.534 --> 00:14:14.205
  • Most of them you can say it by memory, "train up a child in the
  • 00:14:14.205 --> 00:14:19.744
  • Way he should go and when he was old, he will not depart from
  • 00:14:19.744 --> 00:14:23.715
  • It," most people misinterpret that verse and they end
  • 00:14:23.715 --> 00:14:28.153
  • Up disappointed.
  • 00:14:28.153 --> 00:14:29.521
  • They think that verse is a blanket promise that if you take
  • 00:14:29.521 --> 00:14:32.657
  • Your kids to church, and read the bible to them and train
  • 00:14:32.657 --> 00:14:35.460
  • Them, they will never depart from the christian faith.
  • 00:14:35.460 --> 00:14:38.863
  • We know that's not true.
  • 00:14:38.863 --> 00:14:40.832
  • We all can think of examples.
  • 00:14:40.832 --> 00:14:42.701
  • We may have examples in our own home of children
  • 00:14:42.701 --> 00:14:45.570
  • We've poured spiritual truth into, they wander away and never
  • 00:14:45.570 --> 00:14:49.507
  • Come back.
  • 00:14:49.507 --> 00:14:50.875
  • Now, it's true, if you train your children in the principles
  • 00:14:50.875 --> 00:14:54.646
  • Of the lord, they have a better chance of coming back than if
  • 00:14:54.646 --> 00:14:58.383
  • You don't.
  • 00:14:58.383 --> 00:14:59.718
  • But there are no blanket guarantees in the bible.
  • 00:14:59.718 --> 00:15:01.419
  • That's not what this verse is about.
  • 00:15:01.419 --> 00:15:03.888
  • What is the meaning of this verse?
  • 00:15:03.888 --> 00:15:05.657
  • The key is train your child in the way he should go, the way he
  • 00:15:05.657 --> 00:15:12.697
  • Should go.
  • 00:15:12.697 --> 00:15:14.032
  • A legitimate translation of that hebrew phrase is train up a
  • 00:15:14.032 --> 00:15:18.236
  • Child according to his bent.
  • 00:15:18.236 --> 00:15:22.407
  • In other words, recognize the uniqueness of your child, his
  • 00:15:22.407 --> 00:15:27.278
  • Unique gifts and interest, and maximize those because he's
  • 00:15:27.278 --> 00:15:31.082
  • Always gonna return to those.
  • 00:15:31.082 --> 00:15:32.884
  • If your child is bent toward athletics, he's always gonna be
  • 00:15:32.884 --> 00:15:35.987
  • Pulled toward the soccer field or the football field.
  • 00:15:35.987 --> 00:15:39.357
  • If your child, boy or girl, is a leader, they're always going to
  • 00:15:39.357 --> 00:15:44.362
  • Be pulled to places of leadership.
  • 00:15:44.362 --> 00:15:46.598
  • That's their natural bent.
  • 00:15:46.598 --> 00:15:48.800
  • Every child is hand stitched by the lord, not mass manufactured
  • 00:15:48.800 --> 00:15:53.772
  • In a sweatshop.
  • 00:15:53.772 --> 00:15:55.106
  • So remember your children are unique, and to understand their
  • 00:15:55.106 --> 00:15:58.643
  • Uniqueness, number one, ask the right questions.
  • 00:15:58.643 --> 00:16:02.380
  • I've given you a list on your outline of ten questions
  • 00:16:02.380 --> 00:16:06.384
  • Dr. john maxwell says every parent should be able to answer
  • 00:16:06.384 --> 00:16:10.388
  • About his or her child.
  • 00:16:10.388 --> 00:16:12.490
  • That will help you discover whom your child really is.
  • 00:16:12.490 --> 00:16:16.061
  • Ask the right questions.
  • 00:16:16.061 --> 00:16:17.395
  • Secondly, make the necessary sacrifices to develop your
  • 00:16:17.395 --> 00:16:22.267
  • Child's unique bents.
  • 00:16:22.267 --> 00:16:24.436
  • You know, one of the things i'll always appreciate about my
  • 00:16:24.436 --> 00:16:27.472
  • Parents is the sacrifices they made for us to discover our
  • 00:16:27.472 --> 00:16:31.709
  • Unique interest.
  • 00:16:31.709 --> 00:16:33.044
  • And thirdly, if you're going to train up your child according to
  • 00:16:33.044 --> 00:16:36.448
  • His bent, accept the results.
  • 00:16:36.448 --> 00:16:39.851
  • Realize your children may not turn out like you envision.
  • 00:16:39.851 --> 00:16:42.587
  • They may go a different direction.
  • 00:16:42.587 --> 00:16:44.989
  • That's okay.
  • 00:16:44.989 --> 00:16:47.692
  • You know, one of the greatest ways to avoid regrets as a
  • 00:16:47.692 --> 00:16:50.862
  • Parent is to be able to look back on your years with your
  • 00:16:50.862 --> 00:16:54.566
  • Children, and say i accepted, i discovered, and i maximized my
  • 00:16:54.566 --> 00:17:00.405
  • Child's unique bent.
  • 00:17:00.405 --> 00:17:03.942
  • Fourth, how do you engage in no regret parenting?
  • 00:17:03.942 --> 00:17:07.912
  • The fourth commitment is this, i will exercise appropriate
  • 00:17:07.912 --> 00:17:12.484
  • Discipline with my child.
  • 00:17:12.484 --> 00:17:15.086
  • I'll exercise appropriate discipline with my child.
  • 00:17:15.086 --> 00:17:19.324
  • As eli looked back on his experience with hophni and
  • 00:17:19.324 --> 00:17:22.193
  • Phinehas, i imagine most of his if only's dealt with this area
  • 00:17:22.193 --> 00:17:27.332
  • Of discipline.
  • 00:17:27.332 --> 00:17:28.833
  • Let me help us learn positive lessons from eli's failures.
  • 00:17:28.833 --> 00:17:33.938
  • Let me point out four mistakes eli made in disciplining
  • 00:17:33.938 --> 00:17:38.209
  • His sons.
  • 00:17:38.209 --> 00:17:39.577
  • First of all, he didn't begin early enough.
  • 00:17:39.577 --> 00:17:41.913
  • He did not begin early enough.
  • 00:17:41.913 --> 00:17:44.749
  • Again, 1 samuel 3:13, god gives the reason for killing
  • 00:17:44.749 --> 00:17:50.054
  • Hophni and phinehas.
  • 00:17:50.054 --> 00:17:51.422
  • Why this judgment?
  • 00:17:51.422 --> 00:17:52.757
  • Because eli did not rebuke them.
  • 00:17:52.757 --> 00:17:56.127
  • And yet that seems unfair because in fact, eli did
  • 00:17:56.127 --> 00:17:59.898
  • Rebuke them.
  • 00:17:59.898 --> 00:18:01.266
  • We find in 1 samuel 2:25, eli said to his sons when he
  • 00:18:01.266 --> 00:18:05.603
  • Heard the news of their disobedience, "if one man sins
  • 00:18:05.603 --> 00:18:10.008
  • Against another, god will mediate for him; but if he sins
  • 00:18:10.008 --> 00:18:12.944
  • Against the lord, who can intercede for him?
  • 00:18:12.944 --> 00:18:16.247
  • But his sons would not listen to the voice of their father, for
  • 00:18:16.247 --> 00:18:20.351
  • The lord desired to put them to death."
  • 00:18:20.351 --> 00:18:24.088
  • Do you see the conflict there?
  • 00:18:24.088 --> 00:18:26.024
  • God says, "i'm judging you, eli, because you didn't rebuke
  • 00:18:26.024 --> 00:18:29.827
  • Your children."
  • 00:18:29.827 --> 00:18:31.196
  • And yet we have a clear case here where he did rebuke
  • 00:18:31.196 --> 00:18:32.864
  • His children.
  • 00:18:32.864 --> 00:18:34.232
  • How do you reconcile that?
  • 00:18:34.232 --> 00:18:35.567
  • Here's the problem.
  • 00:18:35.567 --> 00:18:36.935
  • Eli waited too long.
  • 00:18:36.935 --> 00:18:38.570
  • He waited until his sons were young adults to try to
  • 00:18:38.570 --> 00:18:41.606
  • Correct them.
  • 00:18:41.606 --> 00:18:42.941
  • And by then it was too late.
  • 00:18:42.941 --> 00:18:44.475
  • He didn't begin early enough.
  • 00:18:44.475 --> 00:18:47.378
  • Jot down proverbs 13:24, solomon says, "he who withholds his rod
  • 00:18:47.378 --> 00:18:53.918
  • Hates his son.
  • 00:18:53.918 --> 00:18:55.587
  • But he who loves him disciplines him diligently."
  • 00:18:55.587 --> 00:19:01.459
  • You know what that word diligently means in hebrew?
  • 00:19:01.459 --> 00:19:03.962
  • It means literally at early dawn.
  • 00:19:03.962 --> 00:19:07.799
  • That doesn't mean you wake up your children at 5 a.m.
  • 00:19:07.799 --> 00:19:09.834
  • To beat them to death.
  • 00:19:09.834 --> 00:19:11.169
  • That's not what he's talking about.
  • 00:19:11.169 --> 00:19:12.704
  • It's talking about early in life.
  • 00:19:12.704 --> 00:19:15.206
  • You begin this discipline as children.
  • 00:19:15.206 --> 00:19:17.875
  • If you don't, you will have waited too long.
  • 00:19:17.875 --> 00:19:20.845
  • The second mistake eli made was he was not consistent in
  • 00:19:20.845 --> 00:19:25.149
  • His discipline.
  • 00:19:25.149 --> 00:19:26.985
  • Notice there were two things the boys did wrong.
  • 00:19:26.985 --> 00:19:30.355
  • They stole from the altar of the sacrifice of the lord and they
  • 00:19:30.355 --> 00:19:34.359
  • Committed sexual immorality.
  • 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:36.361
  • Yet when eli screwed up the courage to confront them, all he
  • 00:19:36.361 --> 00:19:40.498
  • Mentioned was sexual immorality.
  • 00:19:40.498 --> 00:19:42.500
  • He never mentioned the stealing from the lord's altar.
  • 00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:45.403
  • Why is that?
  • 00:19:45.403 --> 00:19:47.438
  • Now, this is just speculation.
  • 00:19:47.438 --> 00:19:50.041
  • Could it be eli was guilty of that same sin?
  • 00:19:50.041 --> 00:19:53.878
  • So he dared not say anything to his boys about something he was
  • 00:19:53.878 --> 00:19:57.482
  • Guilty about.
  • 00:19:57.482 --> 00:19:58.816
  • Was this the chink in his own spiritual armor?
  • 00:19:58.816 --> 00:20:01.686
  • We don't know the answer to that.
  • 00:20:01.686 --> 00:20:03.388
  • But what we do know was, he let his boys get by with one thing
  • 00:20:03.388 --> 00:20:08.359
  • Without mentioning the other thing.
  • 00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:09.994
  • He was inconsistent in his discipline.
  • 00:20:09.994 --> 00:20:13.865
  • What are the mistakes eli made?
  • 00:20:13.865 --> 00:20:16.801
  • Thirdly, he was not observant about his children's behavior.
  • 00:20:16.801 --> 00:20:21.172
  • He wasn't observant about his children's behavior.
  • 00:20:21.172 --> 00:20:23.841
  • How did you find out about their misbehavior?
  • 00:20:23.841 --> 00:20:26.244
  • From other people.
  • 00:20:26.244 --> 00:20:27.612
  • Look at 1 samuel 2:22.
  • 00:20:27.612 --> 00:20:29.213
  • "now eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were
  • 00:20:29.213 --> 00:20:33.885
  • Doing to all israel, and how they lay with the women who
  • 00:20:33.885 --> 00:20:36.821
  • Served at the doorway of the tent of the meeting," and then
  • 00:20:36.821 --> 00:20:40.658
  • When he confronted his sons, what did he say to them?
  • 00:20:40.658 --> 00:20:43.795
  • Verses 23 and 24, "why do you do such things?
  • 00:20:43.795 --> 00:20:48.399
  • The evil things that i hear from all these people?
  • 00:20:48.399 --> 00:20:52.537
  • No, my sons; for the report is not good which i hear the lord's
  • 00:20:52.537 --> 00:20:57.075
  • People circulating," the lord's people were gossiping about it.
  • 00:20:57.075 --> 00:21:04.415
  • Did you hear about hophni?
  • 00:21:04.415 --> 00:21:05.917
  • Did you hear about phinehas?
  • 00:21:05.917 --> 00:21:08.553
  • Have you heard what they're up to?
  • 00:21:08.553 --> 00:21:11.656
  • You know, again, this is a little bit of sanctified
  • 00:21:11.656 --> 00:21:14.192
  • Imagination, but i think it's pretty accurate here.
  • 00:21:14.192 --> 00:21:17.962
  • Eli seems to be more concerned about what people are saying
  • 00:21:17.962 --> 00:21:21.933
  • About his sons than what his sons are actually doing.
  • 00:21:21.933 --> 00:21:25.703
  • Have you heard what other people are saying?
  • 00:21:25.703 --> 00:21:27.905
  • What other people are saying?
  • 00:21:27.905 --> 00:21:30.375
  • He should have been concerned about what his sons were doing,
  • 00:21:30.375 --> 00:21:33.144
  • Not the report others were circulating.
  • 00:21:33.144 --> 00:21:37.014
  • And again, i think it's another case where eli was more
  • 00:21:37.014 --> 00:21:39.650
  • Concerned about his position as a priest than he was in his
  • 00:21:39.650 --> 00:21:43.020
  • Responsibility as a father.
  • 00:21:43.020 --> 00:21:46.657
  • Finally, eli's mistake, and this is the foundational mistake.
  • 00:21:46.657 --> 00:21:51.295
  • He did not teach his children to fear god.
  • 00:21:51.295 --> 00:21:56.000
  • Ladies and gentlemen, the most important thing we can teach our
  • 00:21:56.000 --> 00:22:00.037
  • Children, our grandchildren, is that there is a god.
  • 00:22:00.037 --> 00:22:04.575
  • He is always watching.
  • 00:22:04.575 --> 00:22:06.444
  • He's always evaluating.
  • 00:22:06.444 --> 00:22:08.379
  • He's always judging.
  • 00:22:08.379 --> 00:22:11.048
  • The fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom.
  • 00:22:11.048 --> 00:22:15.820
  • Our most important ministry is to our own children
  • 00:22:15.820 --> 00:22:19.957
  • And grandchildren that god gives us.
  • 00:22:19.957 --> 00:22:23.828
  • If we lose our children to the kingdom
  • 00:22:23.828 --> 00:22:28.866
  • Of satan, we have lost everything.
  • 00:22:28.866 --> 00:22:32.570
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:22:32.570 --> 00:22:37.742
  • Jeffress: my prayer is that today's message has inspired you
  • 00:22:37.742 --> 00:22:40.678
  • To say goodbye to parenting regrets.
  • 00:22:40.678 --> 00:22:44.015
  • We can't be effective moms and dads or grandparents when we're
  • 00:22:44.015 --> 00:22:48.252
  • Encumbered by our disappointment.
  • 00:22:48.252 --> 00:22:51.222
  • Well, in closing, i wanna share a note i received from sherri
  • 00:22:51.222 --> 00:22:54.425
  • In washington.
  • 00:22:54.425 --> 00:22:55.893
  • She wrote, "i stumbled upon your radio broadcast a few months ago
  • 00:22:55.893 --> 00:23:00.398
  • As i began a new job with a 30-minute commute.
  • 00:23:00.398 --> 00:23:03.868
  • Starting my day with your words has taken me in a new direction
  • 00:23:03.868 --> 00:23:08.706
  • And understanding for being a child of god."
  • 00:23:08.706 --> 00:23:12.410
  • Well, your feedback, sherri, is an encouragement to me.
  • 00:23:12.410 --> 00:23:15.980
  • And i hope it also encourages every person who supports
  • 00:23:15.980 --> 00:23:19.584
  • "pathway to victory" because your partnership makes it
  • 00:23:19.584 --> 00:23:22.753
  • Possible to reach people like sherri,
  • 00:23:22.753 --> 00:23:25.556
  • And so many others.
  • 00:23:25.556 --> 00:23:27.291
  • Now, stay right there.
  • 00:23:27.291 --> 00:23:28.793
  • I'll be back with more "pathway to victory" in just a moment.
  • 00:23:28.793 --> 00:23:32.830
  • Announcer: what if your doctor were to say you had only six
  • 00:23:32.897 --> 00:23:35.733
  • Months left to live?
  • 00:23:35.733 --> 00:23:37.134
  • Would you have any regrets in your life?
  • 00:23:37.134 --> 00:23:39.237
  • In his best selling book, "say goodbye to regret," dr. robert
  • 00:23:39.237 --> 00:23:42.740
  • Jeffress shares biblical principles for dealing with
  • 00:23:42.740 --> 00:23:45.343
  • Regrets from your past and preventing regrets in
  • 00:23:45.343 --> 00:23:48.079
  • The future.
  • 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:49.447
  • Jeffress: regret is one of life's most painful and
  • 00:23:49.447 --> 00:23:52.450
  • Unnecessary emotions.
  • 00:23:52.450 --> 00:23:54.318
  • And in my best selling book, "say goodbye to regret,"
  • 00:23:54.318 --> 00:23:57.388
  • I'll help you turn those if onlys into succesful
  • 00:23:57.388 --> 00:24:00.858
  • Lessons in living.
  • 00:24:00.858 --> 00:24:02.527
  • Announcer: it's time to move forward satisfied
  • 00:24:02.527 --> 00:24:05.296
  • With the life you're living.
  • 00:24:05.296 --> 00:24:06.764
  • Request your copy of "say goodbye to regret" when you give
  • 00:24:06.764 --> 00:24:09.600
  • A generous gift to "pathway to victory."
  • 00:24:09.600 --> 00:24:12.370
  • In the pages of this highly practical book, you'll discover
  • 00:24:12.370 --> 00:24:15.506
  • The biblical keys to leaving behind regrets about
  • 00:24:15.506 --> 00:24:18.175
  • Relationships, your marriage, finances and more.
  • 00:24:18.175 --> 00:24:21.779
  • And when you give $75 or more, we'll also send you the complete
  • 00:24:21.779 --> 00:24:26.684
  • "say goodbye to regret" teaching series
  • 00:24:26.684 --> 00:24:28.819
  • On dvd video and mp3 format audio disc.
  • 00:24:28.819 --> 00:24:33.057
  • Jeffress: one of the heaviest weights other than sin
  • 00:24:33.057 --> 00:24:36.494
  • Is regret.
  • 00:24:36.494 --> 00:24:37.862
  • Regrets are not the problem in and of themselves.
  • 00:24:37.862 --> 00:24:40.898
  • They are an indicator of a problem that needs to be
  • 00:24:40.898 --> 00:24:44.302
  • Dealt with.
  • 00:24:44.302 --> 00:24:45.636
  • Announcer: thank you for helping "pathway to victory"
  • 00:24:45.636 --> 00:24:47.605
  • Proclaim the redemptive power of jesus christ to a world in need.
  • 00:24:47.605 --> 00:24:51.976
  • Together, we are broadcasting the message of god's love and
  • 00:24:51.976 --> 00:24:55.346
  • Forgiveness, biblical hope, and life-transforming power
  • 00:24:55.346 --> 00:24:58.749
  • Across the country and around the world.
  • 00:24:58.749 --> 00:25:02.053
  • Jeffress: i realize that most if not all of us hold
  • 00:25:03.554 --> 00:25:06.424
  • Parenting regrets, i'm certainly no exception.
  • 00:25:06.424 --> 00:25:09.860
  • But while you can't change the actions of the past, you can
  • 00:25:09.860 --> 00:25:13.898
  • Decide to change your behavior and improve your relationship
  • 00:25:13.898 --> 00:25:18.302
  • With your children and grandchildren.
  • 00:25:18.302 --> 00:25:21.072
  • May god grant you the resolve to make those positive changes
  • 00:25:21.072 --> 00:25:25.343
  • Right now.
  • 00:25:25.343 --> 00:25:27.044
  • Well, no relationship is more intimate and more sacred than
  • 00:25:27.044 --> 00:25:30.314
  • The lifelong commitment to your spouse.
  • 00:25:30.314 --> 00:25:33.317
  • And next time, i'm going to outline four decisions you can
  • 00:25:33.317 --> 00:25:36.621
  • Make to help rekindle love in your marriage.
  • 00:25:36.621 --> 00:25:40.758
  • Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up in
  • 00:25:40.758 --> 00:25:42.927
  • Our series, "say goodbye to regret."
  • 00:25:42.927 --> 00:25:47.832
  • Jeffress: you see, it all starts in genesis chapter 2, god looked
  • 00:25:47.832 --> 00:25:51.602
  • Down, he said, "everything i've created is good.
  • 00:25:51.602 --> 00:25:54.905
  • Man is very good, but here's the thing that's not good.
  • 00:25:54.905 --> 00:25:58.142
  • It's not good for a man to be alone.
  • 00:25:58.142 --> 00:26:01.145
  • So i will make," genesis 2:18, "a helper suitable for him."
  • 00:26:01.145 --> 00:26:07.585
  • God created woman to be man's helper.
  • 00:26:07.585 --> 00:26:11.255
  • Announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for the message,
  • 00:26:11.255 --> 00:26:14.458
  • "say goodbye to marital regrets,"
  • 00:26:14.458 --> 00:26:16.627
  • Here on "pathway to victory."
  • 00:26:16.627 --> 00:26:19.163
  • Announcer: experience the beauty of alaska with the
  • 00:26:21.198 --> 00:26:23.601
  • "pathway to victory" family, june 13 through 20, 2026.
  • 00:26:23.601 --> 00:26:28.406
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:26:28.406 --> 00:27:09.814
  • Announcer: don't wait, our best cabins are going fast.
  • 00:26:38.349 --> 00:27:12.383
  • Secure your alaska adventure now.
  • 00:27:12.383 --> 00:27:14.585
  • Call ...
  • 00:27:14.585 --> 00:27:17.588
  • Or visit ptv.org.
  • 00:27:17.588 --> 00:27:17.588