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Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - Say Goodbye To Sexual Regrets (Part 2)

September 2, 2025 | S25 E3603 | 29:0

Robert Jeffress - Say Goodbye To Sexual Regrets (Part 2)
Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.
#inActive #WordofGod #Sin #Forgiveness #Transformation #Mercy #Thankfulness #Commitment #Faithfulness #LoveofGod

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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - Say Goodbye To Sexual Regrets (Part 2) | September 2, 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 "pathway to victory" with dr.
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  • 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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  • When god created adam and eve, he designed an intimate
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  • Expression of love between marriage partners.
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  • But tragically, countless relationships have been
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  • Destroyed because of infidelity.
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  • So how does a couple recover from sexual sin?
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  • Is there any hope for redemption?
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  • My message is titled "say goodbye to sexual 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: every hour of every day, every
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  • Wrong thought we have, every wrong attitude we have, every
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  • Wrong action we commit,
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  • All of those things keep adding to our sin debt.
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  • We go further and further in the hole with god every day that
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  • We live.
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  • Romans 6:23 says it this way: "for the wages of sin is death,"
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  • Eternal death from god.
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  • Without jesus christ, we all die with a spiritual deficit, with a
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  • Negative balance in our spiritual bank account.
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  • We have to acknowledge that.
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  • If we're going to be forgiven of our sin, we have to acknowledge
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  • That we need god's forgiveness, that we can't pay for
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  • It ourselves.
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  • And that leads to the second thing we need to do, and that is
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  • We need to receive god's forgiveness.
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  • Now, here's the great news of the gospel.
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  • Even though i can't deposit anything in my heavenly bank
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  • Account, there stands somebody who can and is willing if we ask
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  • Him to.
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  • That's what jesus christ did when he died on the cross for
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  • Our sins.
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  • In 2 corinthians 5:21, remember that passage?
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  • "god made him, jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that
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  • We might become the righteousness of god in him."
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  • I used that illustration a few weeks ago of the two books with
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  • The two covers, "the story of robert jeffress" and "the story
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  • Of jesus christ," and how god switched the covers
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  • At the cross so that jesus took all of my spiritual debit,
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  • So to speak, and he gave me all his righteousness credits so
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  • That when i become a christian, god takes all of the
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  • Righteousness of jesus and he deposits it in my spiritual
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  • Bank account.
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  • So it doesn't matter how many checks i write against it, i
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  • Cannot deplete the wonderful riches of the grace of god.
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  • That's what becoming a christian means.
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  • But if i'm going to receive god's forgiveness, i have to ask
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  • For it.
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  • 1 john 1:9, "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
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  • Forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of
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  • All unrighteousness."
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  • We must acknowledge we need god's forgiveness, but secondly,
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  • We must receive god's forgiveness.
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  • The moment we become a christian, god forgives us.
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  • Look at colossians 2, verse 13.
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  • "when you were dead in your transgressions and the
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  • Uncircumcision of your flesh, god made you alive together with
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  • Christ," and here's the best part,
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  • "having forgiven us," what?
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  • "all, all our transgressions."
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  • When christ forgives you, he doesn't forgive you just of
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  • Those little itty-bitty sins.
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  • I'm sorry i didn't smile at you today.
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  • Not just the little sins, he forgives us of those
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  • Humongous sins.
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  • He forgives us of that sin you hope to god nobody will ever
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  • Discover, the sin that would make you crawl under the pew if
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  • It were projected on the imag up here.
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  • All of those sins he has forgiven.
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  • He has nailed to the cross of jesus christ and
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  • Said, "tetelestai.
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  • Paid in full.
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  • It is finished," that's the great news of the gospel, and
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  • That's the forgiveness that awaits everyone.
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  • "well, pastor, you said i'm forgiven, but that doesn't erase
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  • The consequences.
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  • How can there be anything positive that comes from these
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  • Painful consequences?"
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  • Even the consequences, ladies and gentlemen, is a sign of
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  • God's grace.
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  • Let me show you what i mean.
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  • Number three: view your adverse consequences from immorality as
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  • A vaccination against future mistakes.
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  • Do you remember--i'm probably dating myself.
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  • Back in grade school, those of you who are about my age back in
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  • 1960, they started giving polio vaccinations, and the way they
  • 00:05:28.785 --> 00:05:34.390
  • Administered those vaccinations mostly was not through a shot.
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  • It was through a little sugar cube you would take, and that
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  • Sugar cube would be doused with a form of the polio virus, and
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  • They tried to make it taste better with that sugar cube.
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  • But i can still taste today how awful that was because it didn't
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  • Erase the bad taste.
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  • Why did it taste so bad?
  • 00:05:59.515 --> 00:06:00.850
  • Because you were actually taking a weaker form of the polio virus
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  • So that your body, instead of being completely destroyed,
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  • Would develop the immunities you needed to inoculate yourself
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  • Against having the real disease later on.
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  • Now, in a lot of ways, god allows us to experience
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  • Distasteful consequences of our sin to inoculate us against
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  • Future similar mistakes.
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  • Some years ago, a man, i'll just call him jack, came to see me,
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  • And he said, "pastor, i don't know what to do."
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  • He said, "i got involved in an emotional, not a physical, but
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  • An emotional affair at work.
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  • It sapped my energy for two years.
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  • I focused on this other person.
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  • I thought at one time i'd leave my wife and marry her, but god
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  • Really dealt with me about it, and i felt guilty, and so i
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  • Broke off the relationship, but i'm still experiencing the
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  • Consequences of it.
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  • During that time, because i wasn't paying attention to my
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  • Work, i lost my business.
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  • My wife and i still have a distant relationship even after
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  • I confessed the mistake.
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  • If god has forgiven me, why do i experience these consequences?"
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  • I didn't know what to say.
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  • I'm not gonna say this came from god, but i did get an idea.
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  • I said, "jack, let me ask you something.
  • 00:07:23.599 --> 00:07:26.269
  • How likely are you to engage in any kind of an affair again with
  • 00:07:26.269 --> 00:07:30.406
  • Another woman?"
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  • He said, "oh, pastor, every time i see a woman now i run in the
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  • Opposite direction."
  • 00:07:34.677 --> 00:07:37.513
  • I said, "well, have you always been that way?
  • 00:07:37.513 --> 00:07:39.582
  • Has that always been your attitude towards?"
  • 00:07:39.582 --> 00:07:41.217
  • "no," he said, "i used to be quite a flirt."
  • 00:07:41.217 --> 00:07:44.487
  • So i said, "in a way, this mistake of yours has inoculated
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  • You against future mistakes."
  • 00:07:48.891 --> 00:07:52.695
  • He said, "well, i never thought of it that way, but
  • 00:07:52.695 --> 00:07:55.097
  • That's right."
  • 00:07:55.097 --> 00:07:56.465
  • I said, "well, why don't we have a prayer of thanksgiving
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  • Right now?"
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  • He said, "thanksgiving?"
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  • I said, "yeah, let's thank god."
  • 00:08:01.504 --> 00:08:02.872
  • He said, "thank god for my affair?"
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  • I said, "no, not thanking god for your affair, but thanking
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  • God for his mercy, that he allowed your family to stay
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  • Together, to thank him for his grace, knowing you're not going
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  • To hell for this mistake, and yes, thanking
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  • God that you're more immune from these kind of affairs in the
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  • Future than you've ever been," and i believe that's how we need
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  • To look at these consequences.
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  • By the way, that's not original with me.
  • 00:08:26.929 --> 00:08:29.932
  • Solomon talks about that over and over again.
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  • He has a word for consequences.
  • 00:08:32.401 --> 00:08:34.370
  • They're called reproofs.
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  • Throughout the book of proverbs you find solomon saying that we
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  • Need to learn from the reproofs of life.
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  • What are reproofs?
  • 00:08:43.946 --> 00:08:45.448
  • They are corrections, discipline, painful consequences
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  • God sends into our life to prevent those consequences again
  • 00:08:49.318 --> 00:08:54.123
  • In the future.
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  • Listen to what proverbs says about reproofs.
  • 00:08:55.658 --> 00:08:58.227
  • Proverbs 13:18, "poverty and shame will come to one who
  • 00:08:58.227 --> 00:09:02.231
  • Neglects discipline.
  • 00:09:02.231 --> 00:09:03.866
  • But he who regards, who learns from reproofs, will be honored."
  • 00:09:03.866 --> 00:09:08.938
  • Or proverbs 15:5, "a fool rejects his father's discipline.
  • 00:09:08.938 --> 00:09:13.409
  • But he who respects reproof is sensible."
  • 00:09:13.409 --> 00:09:17.413
  • Or proverbs 15:31, "he whose ears listen to the life-giving.
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  • Reproof will dwell among the wise."
  • 00:09:22.251 --> 00:09:26.689
  • Number four: if you're gonna avoid regrets against future
  • 00:09:26.689 --> 00:09:30.426
  • Sexual immorality, avoid tempting situations.
  • 00:09:30.426 --> 00:09:35.598
  • Avoid tempting situations.
  • 00:09:35.598 --> 00:09:38.267
  • Students, i used to be the youth minister here.
  • 00:09:38.267 --> 00:09:41.504
  • And when i was youth minister, i had a guy, he was a junior in
  • 00:09:41.504 --> 00:09:44.607
  • High school, come to see me, one of the most outstanding guys in
  • 00:09:44.607 --> 00:09:47.543
  • Our youth division, and he said, "robert, i've got a problem.
  • 00:09:47.543 --> 00:09:50.846
  • I don't know what to do about it."
  • 00:09:50.846 --> 00:09:52.214
  • I said, "well, what is it?"
  • 00:09:52.214 --> 00:09:53.549
  • He said, "i'm really having trouble with my thought life.
  • 00:09:53.549 --> 00:09:56.352
  • I'm having a hard time keeping wrong thoughts about girls from
  • 00:09:56.352 --> 00:10:00.423
  • Entering my mind."
  • 00:10:00.423 --> 00:10:02.058
  • And i said, "well, when do these thoughts tend to come?"
  • 00:10:02.058 --> 00:10:06.962
  • I swear i'm not making this up.
  • 00:10:06.962 --> 00:10:08.698
  • He said, "usually when i'm looking at the pictures
  • 00:10:08.698 --> 00:10:11.467
  • In playboy."
  • 00:10:11.467 --> 00:10:14.837
  • I almost laughed out loud.
  • 00:10:14.837 --> 00:10:17.473
  • I said, "well, cancel your subscription!"
  • 00:10:17.473 --> 00:10:21.911
  • Now, we laughed at that and said, "that's the dumbest thing
  • 00:10:21.911 --> 00:10:24.146
  • I've ever heard."
  • 00:10:24.146 --> 00:10:25.481
  • We do the same thing.
  • 00:10:25.481 --> 00:10:26.849
  • We wonder, "why am i in such temptation right now?"
  • 00:10:26.849 --> 00:10:30.686
  • Because we've gotten ourselves in a situation that nobody
  • 00:10:30.686 --> 00:10:33.456
  • Can handle.
  • 00:10:33.456 --> 00:10:34.824
  • The bible says over and over again, "flee youthful lust."
  • 00:10:34.824 --> 00:10:38.461
  • Don't see how close you can get to the edge of the immorality
  • 00:10:38.461 --> 00:10:41.831
  • Without crossing the line.
  • 00:10:41.831 --> 00:10:43.699
  • You ought to run from that line as far and as fast as you can.
  • 00:10:43.699 --> 00:10:48.204
  • How do you do that?
  • 00:10:48.204 --> 00:10:49.572
  • Let me give some specific ways to avoid tempting situations.
  • 00:10:49.572 --> 00:10:53.476
  • Number one: refuse to have any relationship with a member of
  • 00:10:53.476 --> 00:10:57.313
  • The opposite sex that you are unwilling to tell your
  • 00:10:57.313 --> 00:11:01.317
  • Mate about.
  • 00:11:01.317 --> 00:11:02.685
  • Now, that's key.
  • 00:11:02.685 --> 00:11:04.286
  • It's not just refuse to have any relationship with a member
  • 00:11:04.286 --> 00:11:06.922
  • Of the opposite sex.
  • 00:11:06.922 --> 00:11:08.290
  • Can you imagine if i, as pastor, did that?
  • 00:11:08.290 --> 00:11:10.893
  • And i said, "i'm just not gonna talk to women at all in
  • 00:11:10.893 --> 00:11:13.596
  • The church.
  • 00:11:13.596 --> 00:11:14.964
  • I'm just not gonna have any relationship with them."
  • 00:11:14.964 --> 00:11:16.799
  • Well, i'd be run out of here if i said that.
  • 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:19.535
  • Women make up more than 50% of our congregation.
  • 00:11:19.535 --> 00:11:22.404
  • No.
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  • The key is don't have any relationship with a woman you
  • 00:11:23.739 --> 00:11:27.409
  • Are trying to hide from your mate, that you're unwilling to
  • 00:11:27.409 --> 00:11:30.412
  • Tell your mate about.
  • 00:11:30.412 --> 00:11:32.281
  • Don't send any text that you wouldn't be happy for your mate
  • 00:11:32.281 --> 00:11:35.684
  • To read or make any phone calls or arrange any meetings.
  • 00:11:35.684 --> 00:11:39.755
  • Secondly, reserve your most intimate thoughts for your mate.
  • 00:11:39.755 --> 00:11:45.161
  • Did you know the most important organ in the sexual act is
  • 00:11:45.161 --> 00:11:51.901
  • The brain?
  • 00:11:51.901 --> 00:11:53.469
  • It's the brain.
  • 00:11:53.469 --> 00:11:54.837
  • Sex doesn't begin in the bedroom.
  • 00:11:54.837 --> 00:11:57.106
  • It begins in the mind.
  • 00:11:57.106 --> 00:11:58.841
  • It's emotional bonding with people that leads to a physical
  • 00:11:58.841 --> 00:12:02.678
  • Bonding with people, and so if you're married, save your
  • 00:12:02.678 --> 00:12:08.083
  • Deepest emotions, your happiness, your disappointments,
  • 00:12:08.083 --> 00:12:12.621
  • Your fears for that other person, your mate, not
  • 00:12:12.621 --> 00:12:16.125
  • Anybody else.
  • 00:12:16.125 --> 00:12:17.493
  • Proverbs 4:23 says, "watch over your heart with all diligence.
  • 00:12:17.493 --> 00:12:22.331
  • For from it flows the springs of life."
  • 00:12:22.331 --> 00:12:26.335
  • Number three: if you want to avoid tempting situations,
  • 00:12:26.335 --> 00:12:30.372
  • Refrain from meeting alone with members of the opposite sex.
  • 00:12:30.372 --> 00:12:34.710
  • I'm talking primarily to married people here, but refrain from
  • 00:12:34.710 --> 00:12:38.714
  • Meeting alone with members of the opposite sex.
  • 00:12:38.714 --> 00:12:42.585
  • One of the things i so appreciated about our pastor,
  • 00:12:42.585 --> 00:12:45.955
  • Dr. criswell, was for the years of his ministry, there was never
  • 00:12:45.955 --> 00:12:50.326
  • A taint of sexual immorality, not at all.
  • 00:12:50.326 --> 00:12:54.129
  • And he was very rabid about following this principle.
  • 00:12:54.129 --> 00:12:59.268
  • One of the ladies who was on staff when dr. criswell was
  • 00:12:59.268 --> 00:13:02.905
  • Pastor here told me this story years later.
  • 00:13:02.905 --> 00:13:05.808
  • She said one night she was leaving the church, and it was a
  • 00:13:05.808 --> 00:13:09.812
  • Torrential, frog-strangling downpour that we experience here
  • 00:13:09.812 --> 00:13:15.985
  • In texas sometimes, and she got in her car and was driving away
  • 00:13:15.985 --> 00:13:19.455
  • When she saw dr. criswell walking in the rain without an
  • 00:13:19.455 --> 00:13:23.559
  • Umbrella, going from the old criswell building over to his
  • 00:13:23.559 --> 00:13:27.396
  • Car in the veal parking lot.
  • 00:13:27.396 --> 00:13:29.498
  • And she pulled up her car and lowered the window and
  • 00:13:29.498 --> 00:13:33.068
  • Said, "dr. criswell,
  • 00:13:33.068 --> 00:13:34.403
  • Get in here, and i'll drive you to your car.
  • 00:13:34.403 --> 00:13:37.740
  • You're gonna drown."
  • 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:39.241
  • He said, "honey, it would be better for me to drown than to
  • 00:13:39.241 --> 00:13:43.379
  • Be seen getting in the car with you all alone," and he continued
  • 00:13:43.379 --> 00:13:47.683
  • To walk.
  • 00:13:47.683 --> 00:13:49.051
  • Now that's what you call wisdom.
  • 00:13:49.051 --> 00:13:51.887
  • Wisdom.
  • 00:13:51.887 --> 00:13:53.489
  • Compare that wisdom with the foolishness of a man that the
  • 00:13:53.489 --> 00:13:58.460
  • Writer of proverbs describes as a man lacking in sense.
  • 00:13:58.460 --> 00:14:02.598
  • Some people have called this passage from proverbs 7 "anatomy
  • 00:14:02.598 --> 00:14:06.735
  • Of a seduction."
  • 00:14:06.735 --> 00:14:08.103
  • Look at this in verse 6 of proverbs 7: "for at the window
  • 00:14:08.103 --> 00:14:11.140
  • Of my house i looked out through my lattice and i saw among the
  • 00:14:11.140 --> 00:14:14.677
  • Naive, and discerned among the youths a young man
  • 00:14:14.677 --> 00:14:18.514
  • Lacking sense.
  • 00:14:18.514 --> 00:14:19.848
  • Passing through the street near her corner; he takes the way to
  • 00:14:19.848 --> 00:14:24.586
  • Her house."
  • 00:14:24.586 --> 00:14:25.955
  • And what does she say?
  • 00:14:25.955 --> 00:14:27.656
  • This isn't a necessarily a prostitute as we think of it but
  • 00:14:27.656 --> 00:14:31.760
  • A woman loose in her morals.
  • 00:14:31.760 --> 00:14:33.562
  • She says, "come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;
  • 00:14:33.562 --> 00:14:37.800
  • Let us delight ourselves and caresses, for my husband is not
  • 00:14:37.800 --> 00:14:41.804
  • At home; he's gone on a long journey.
  • 00:14:41.804 --> 00:14:45.808
  • He has taken a bag of money with him.
  • 00:14:45.808 --> 00:14:48.477
  • And at the full moon he will come home," in other words, he
  • 00:14:48.477 --> 00:14:51.847
  • Won't be home for days, maybe two weeks, "with her many
  • 00:14:51.847 --> 00:14:55.617
  • Persuasions, she entices him; with her flattering lips she
  • 00:14:55.617 --> 00:15:00.522
  • Seduces him.
  • 00:15:00.522 --> 00:15:02.124
  • Suddenly he follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as one
  • 00:15:02.124 --> 00:15:07.663
  • In fetters to the discipline of a fool, until an arrow pierces
  • 00:15:07.663 --> 00:15:12.134
  • Through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, so he does
  • 00:15:12.134 --> 00:15:17.172
  • Not know that it will cost him his life."
  • 00:15:17.172 --> 00:15:23.245
  • You know, proverbs 6:27 says, "can a man take fire to his
  • 00:15:23.245 --> 00:15:28.684
  • Bosom and not be burned?"
  • 00:15:28.684 --> 00:15:31.987
  • There are situations, it doesn't matter how spiritual you are,
  • 00:15:31.987 --> 00:15:34.990
  • How much you pray, that are just too hot to handle, and you need
  • 00:15:34.990 --> 00:15:38.761
  • To avoid them.
  • 00:15:38.761 --> 00:15:40.496
  • Let me be real practical here for a moment.
  • 00:15:40.496 --> 00:15:43.665
  • A wise person, man or woman, will avoid eating alone with a
  • 00:15:43.665 --> 00:15:48.437
  • Member of the opposite sex or allowing themselves to be in a
  • 00:15:48.437 --> 00:15:53.075
  • Conversation alone with somebody of the opposite sex because what
  • 00:15:53.075 --> 00:15:57.546
  • Can start out as an innocent conversation can take a wrong
  • 00:15:57.546 --> 00:16:00.783
  • Turn very quickly.
  • 00:16:00.783 --> 00:16:03.652
  • You remember a couple of years ago, i was on tv of fox talking
  • 00:16:03.652 --> 00:16:08.023
  • About this several times.
  • 00:16:08.023 --> 00:16:09.558
  • People were making fun of the vice president, mike pence,
  • 00:16:09.558 --> 00:16:12.961
  • Because of his rule for never dining alone with another woman.
  • 00:16:12.961 --> 00:16:17.266
  • People said, "that's extreme!
  • 00:16:17.266 --> 00:16:18.767
  • That's eccentric!
  • 00:16:18.767 --> 00:16:20.135
  • That's crazy!"
  • 00:16:20.135 --> 00:16:21.470
  • No, that's wisdom, and the bible says if you want to avoid sexual
  • 00:16:21.470 --> 00:16:25.908
  • Regrets, you've got to go the extra mile in abstaining from
  • 00:16:25.908 --> 00:16:30.979
  • Tempting situations.
  • 00:16:30.979 --> 00:16:32.381
  • Finally, and perhaps most importantly, how do you say
  • 00:16:32.381 --> 00:16:35.484
  • Goodbye to regrets about immorality and prevent those
  • 00:16:35.484 --> 00:16:39.254
  • Regrets in the future?
  • 00:16:39.254 --> 00:16:40.756
  • Renew your commitment to marital fidelity.
  • 00:16:40.756 --> 00:16:45.394
  • One thing i love about the bible is it can say in one sentence
  • 00:16:45.394 --> 00:16:48.897
  • What it takes me 30 minutes to say.
  • 00:16:48.897 --> 00:16:51.767
  • Look at what the writer of hebrews said: "marriage is to be
  • 00:16:51.767 --> 00:16:54.570
  • Held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled
  • 00:16:54.570 --> 00:16:59.675
  • For fornicators," that's talking about premarital sex.
  • 00:16:59.675 --> 00:17:02.711
  • That's one way you keep it from being undefiled, but also
  • 00:17:02.711 --> 00:17:05.948
  • Adulterers, immoral sex after marriage.
  • 00:17:05.948 --> 00:17:09.785
  • God will judge that.
  • 00:17:09.785 --> 00:17:13.956
  • "hold marriage as honorable," but you know, in the end, it's
  • 00:17:13.956 --> 00:17:19.528
  • Not a commitment to the institution.
  • 00:17:19.528 --> 00:17:22.998
  • It's not a commitment to an idea.
  • 00:17:22.998 --> 00:17:25.367
  • It's a commitment to that other person that is the bedrock for
  • 00:17:25.367 --> 00:17:31.240
  • Remaining faithful in our marriage.
  • 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:33.909
  • I don't know about you.
  • 00:17:33.909 --> 00:17:35.511
  • This was a long time ago.
  • 00:17:35.511 --> 00:17:37.679
  • I was in a daze during our wedding.
  • 00:17:37.679 --> 00:17:41.517
  • I don't remember a lot of what i said.
  • 00:17:41.517 --> 00:17:44.720
  • In fact, i remember very well going back and listening to the
  • 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:48.290
  • Ceremony the next day on cassette tape to see exactly
  • 00:17:48.290 --> 00:17:51.793
  • What i had promised amy and dr. criswell and everybody else what
  • 00:17:51.793 --> 00:17:55.297
  • I had said that day.
  • 00:17:55.297 --> 00:17:57.332
  • But one thing i said, and i bet you said it as well, if you
  • 00:17:57.332 --> 00:18:01.803
  • Got married.
  • 00:18:01.803 --> 00:18:03.438
  • You made the promise to be true to that other person in all
  • 00:18:03.438 --> 00:18:08.977
  • Things until death alone shall part you.
  • 00:18:08.977 --> 00:18:13.515
  • And there's something powerful about renewing that commitment,
  • 00:18:13.515 --> 00:18:17.419
  • Not just yearly, but daily, even hourly.
  • 00:18:17.419 --> 00:18:25.427
  • A number of years ago, i was preaching a message on this
  • 00:18:25.427 --> 00:18:29.431
  • Topic to a group at the glorieta baptist encampment outside of
  • 00:18:29.431 --> 00:18:34.136
  • Albuquerque, and after i finished the message, the host
  • 00:18:34.136 --> 00:18:37.606
  • Introduced me to somebody who had been in the audience, a man
  • 00:18:37.606 --> 00:18:41.243
  • Named robertson mcquilken.
  • 00:18:41.243 --> 00:18:44.713
  • If i had known he was going to be in the audience, i would have
  • 00:18:44.713 --> 00:18:47.482
  • Had him preach the message because he understands marital
  • 00:18:47.482 --> 00:18:51.887
  • Commitment more than anybody i know.
  • 00:18:51.887 --> 00:18:55.457
  • Listen to what he writes about his own experience with
  • 00:18:55.457 --> 00:18:58.227
  • Commitment with his mate.
  • 00:18:58.227 --> 00:19:02.631
  • "seventeen summers ago, muriel
  • 00:19:02.631 --> 00:19:04.866
  • And i began our journey into the twilight.
  • 00:19:04.866 --> 00:19:07.936
  • It's midnight now, at least for her, and sometimes i wonder when
  • 00:19:07.936 --> 00:19:12.608
  • Dawn will break.
  • 00:19:12.608 --> 00:19:14.343
  • Even the dreaded alzheimer's disease isn't supposed to attack
  • 00:19:14.343 --> 00:19:17.946
  • So early or torment for so long.
  • 00:19:17.946 --> 00:19:21.617
  • Yet in her silent world, muriel is so content, so lovable.
  • 00:19:21.617 --> 00:19:27.556
  • If jesus took her home, how i would miss her gentle,
  • 00:19:27.556 --> 00:19:30.492
  • Sweet presence.
  • 00:19:30.492 --> 00:19:32.427
  • Yes, there are times when i get irritated but not often.
  • 00:19:32.427 --> 00:19:36.398
  • It doesn't make sense to get angry, and perhaps the lord has
  • 00:19:36.398 --> 00:19:40.736
  • Been answering the prayer of my youth to mellow my spirit.
  • 00:19:40.736 --> 00:19:45.240
  • One time though, i completely lost it.
  • 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:49.077
  • In the days when muriel could still stand and walk and we had
  • 00:19:49.077 --> 00:19:52.314
  • Not yet resorted to diapers, sometimes there were accidents.
  • 00:19:52.314 --> 00:19:57.552
  • I was on my knees beside her trying to clean up the mess as
  • 00:19:57.552 --> 00:20:00.889
  • She stood confused.
  • 00:20:00.889 --> 00:20:02.991
  • It would have been easier if she hadn't been so insistent
  • 00:20:02.991 --> 00:20:05.727
  • On helping.
  • 00:20:05.727 --> 00:20:07.229
  • I got more and more frustrated.
  • 00:20:07.229 --> 00:20:09.498
  • Suddenly, to make her stand still, i slapped her calf, as if
  • 00:20:09.498 --> 00:20:14.369
  • That would do any good.
  • 00:20:14.369 --> 00:20:15.737
  • It wasn't a hard slap, but she was startled.
  • 00:20:15.737 --> 00:20:19.641
  • I was too.
  • 00:20:19.641 --> 00:20:21.209
  • Never in our 44 years of marriage had i ever so much as
  • 00:20:21.209 --> 00:20:24.713
  • Touched her in anger or in rebuke of any kind, never was
  • 00:20:24.713 --> 00:20:28.817
  • Tempted in fact, but now, when she needed me most.
  • 00:20:28.817 --> 00:20:34.122
  • At that very moment, chuck swindoll boomed from the radio
  • 00:20:34.122 --> 00:20:37.926
  • In our kitchen, 'man, are you at home?
  • 00:20:37.926 --> 00:20:41.129
  • Really at home?'
  • 00:20:41.129 --> 00:20:43.231
  • In the midst of my stinking immersion, i smiled,
  • 00:20:43.231 --> 00:20:46.234
  • 'yeah, chuck, i really am at home, and how i wish i weren't.'
  • 00:20:46.234 --> 00:20:52.341
  • Recently, a student's wife, named cindy, asked me, 'don't
  • 00:20:52.341 --> 00:20:56.211
  • You ever get tired?'
  • 00:20:56.211 --> 00:20:58.380
  • 'tired?'
  • 00:20:58.380 --> 00:20:59.715
  • I said, 'every night, that's why i go to bed.'
  • 00:20:59.715 --> 00:21:02.384
  • 'no, i mean tired of,' and she tilted her head
  • 00:21:02.384 --> 00:21:05.687
  • Toward muriel, who sat silently in her wheelchair, her vacant
  • 00:21:05.687 --> 00:21:09.591
  • Eyes saying nobody's at home just now.
  • 00:21:09.591 --> 00:21:13.695
  • I responded to her question, 'why, no.
  • 00:21:13.695 --> 00:21:16.264
  • I don't get tired.
  • 00:21:16.264 --> 00:21:19.368
  • I love her.
  • 00:21:19.368 --> 00:21:20.769
  • She's my precious.'
  • 00:21:20.769 --> 00:21:23.171
  • 'well,' cindy said, 'i certainly would get tired.'
  • 00:21:23.171 --> 00:21:26.041
  • Cindy and her husband are handsome, healthy,
  • 00:21:26.041 --> 00:21:28.343
  • Smart people, yet she admits that it is hard to constantly
  • 00:21:28.343 --> 00:21:32.714
  • Affirm her husband.
  • 00:21:32.714 --> 00:21:35.283
  • What happens when there is so little to commend?
  • 00:21:35.283 --> 00:21:38.053
  • How does love make a difference?
  • 00:21:38.053 --> 00:21:41.223
  • Love is said to evaporate if the relationship is not mutual, if
  • 00:21:41.223 --> 00:21:45.494
  • It's not physical, if the other person doesn't communicate, or
  • 00:21:45.494 --> 00:21:49.564
  • If one party doesn't carry his or her share of the load.
  • 00:21:49.564 --> 00:21:53.535
  • When i hear the litanies of essentials for a happy marriage,
  • 00:21:53.535 --> 00:21:59.074
  • I count off what my beloved can no longer contribute, and i
  • 00:21:59.074 --> 00:22:03.845
  • Contemplate how truly mysterious love is."
  • 00:22:03.845 --> 00:22:10.285
  • Perhaps love is not quite as mysterious as robertson
  • 00:22:10.285 --> 00:22:14.890
  • Mcquilken makes it out to be with the kind of rock-solid
  • 00:22:14.890 --> 00:22:19.428
  • Commitment he demonstrates for his wife.
  • 00:22:19.428 --> 00:22:22.330
  • The chances of that love evaporating are about as great
  • 00:22:22.330 --> 00:22:25.667
  • As the chances of hoover dam being reduced to a mist
  • 00:22:25.667 --> 00:22:31.907
  • And vaporizing.
  • 00:22:31.907 --> 00:22:33.241
  • It's just not going to happen.
  • 00:22:33.241 --> 00:22:35.744
  • And ultimately, it's that kind of rock-solid commitment to your
  • 00:22:35.744 --> 00:22:40.415
  • Mate, the remember of your vows, the love you have for that other
  • 00:22:40.415 --> 00:22:45.020
  • Person that is the best deterrent i know to sexual
  • 00:22:45.020 --> 00:22:50.592
  • Regrets in life.
  • 00:22:50.592 --> 00:22:53.562
  • Jeffress: you might find it unusual to hear a bible teacher
  • 00:22:57.732 --> 00:23:01.136
  • Addressing one of the most intimate facets of our lives,
  • 00:23:01.136 --> 00:23:04.773
  • But my hope is that god will use this message to renew your most
  • 00:23:04.773 --> 00:23:09.044
  • Treasured relationship with your mate.
  • 00:23:09.044 --> 00:23:11.847
  • Now, before we wrap up today's message, i have some great news
  • 00:23:11.847 --> 00:23:15.183
  • To share with our "pathway to victory" family.
  • 00:23:15.183 --> 00:23:18.186
  • In recent days, "pathway to victory" has taken on new
  • 00:23:18.186 --> 00:23:20.789
  • Territory for the gospel.
  • 00:23:20.789 --> 00:23:23.058
  • In addition to reaching new cities in north america, we're
  • 00:23:23.058 --> 00:23:26.328
  • Expanding into international regions as well.
  • 00:23:26.328 --> 00:23:29.798
  • In some cases, my sermons are translated into
  • 00:23:29.798 --> 00:23:32.334
  • Foreign languages.
  • 00:23:32.334 --> 00:23:34.035
  • We celebrate these victories because each one represents new
  • 00:23:34.035 --> 00:23:38.573
  • Opportunities to reach even more people with the gospel of jesus
  • 00:23:38.573 --> 00:23:43.044
  • Christ, and each one gives us an even greater platform to bring
  • 00:23:43.044 --> 00:23:47.115
  • Light in the darkness.
  • 00:23:47.115 --> 00:23:49.384
  • So if you're among those who support
  • 00:23:49.384 --> 00:23:51.419
  • "pathway to victory," i hope this is an encouragement to you.
  • 00:23:51.419 --> 00:23:55.190
  • God is multiplying our ministry together as we pierce the
  • 00:23:55.190 --> 00:23:59.127
  • Darkness with the light of his word.
  • 00:23:59.127 --> 00:24:01.863
  • Now, please stay right there.
  • 00:24:01.863 --> 00:24:03.598
  • I'll be back with more "pathway to victory" in just a moment.
  • 00:24:03.598 --> 00:24:07.769
  • Announcer: what if your doctor were to say you had only six
  • 00:24:07.836 --> 00:24:10.672
  • Months left to live?
  • 00:24:10.672 --> 00:24:12.073
  • Would you have any regrets in your life?
  • 00:24:12.073 --> 00:24:14.175
  • In his best selling book, "say goodbye to regret," dr. robert
  • 00:24:14.175 --> 00:24:17.679
  • Jeffress shares biblical principles for dealing with
  • 00:24:17.679 --> 00:24:20.282
  • Regrets from your past and preventing regrets in
  • 00:24:20.282 --> 00:24:23.018
  • The future.
  • 00:24:23.018 --> 00:24:24.386
  • Jeffress: regret is one of life's most painful and
  • 00:24:24.386 --> 00:24:27.355
  • Unnecessary emotions, and in my best-selling book, "say goodbye
  • 00:24:27.355 --> 00:24:31.326
  • To regret," i'll help you turn those if onlys into providential
  • 00:24:31.326 --> 00:24:35.830
  • Lessons in living.
  • 00:24:35.830 --> 00:24:37.465
  • Announcer: move forward in 2024 satisfied the life
  • 00:24:37.465 --> 00:24:40.769
  • You're living.
  • 00:24:40.769 --> 00:24:42.137
  • Request your copy of "say goodbye to regret" when you give
  • 00:24:42.137 --> 00:24:44.539
  • A generous gift to "pathway to victory."
  • 00:24:44.539 --> 00:24:47.142
  • In the pages of this highly practical book, you'll discover
  • 00:24:47.142 --> 00:24:50.445
  • The biblical keys to leaving behind regrets about
  • 00:24:50.445 --> 00:24:53.114
  • Relationships, your marriage, finances, and more.
  • 00:24:53.114 --> 00:24:56.718
  • And when you give $75 or more, we'll also send you the complete
  • 00:24:56.718 --> 00:25:01.623
  • "say goodbye to regret" teaching series
  • 00:25:01.623 --> 00:25:03.892
  • On dvd video and mp3 format audio disc.
  • 00:25:03.892 --> 00:25:07.996
  • Jeffress: one of the heaviest weights other than sin
  • 00:25:07.996 --> 00:25:11.433
  • Is regret.
  • 00:25:11.433 --> 00:25:12.801
  • Regrets are not the problem in and of themselves.
  • 00:25:12.801 --> 00:25:15.837
  • They are an indicator of a problem that needs to be
  • 00:25:15.837 --> 00:25:19.174
  • Dealt with.
  • 00:25:19.174 --> 00:25:20.508
  • Announcer: thank you for helping "pathway to victory" proclaim
  • 00:25:20.508 --> 00:25:23.011
  • The redemptive power of jesus christ to a world in need.
  • 00:25:23.011 --> 00:25:26.881
  • Together, we are broadcasting the message of god's love and
  • 00:25:26.881 --> 00:25:30.418
  • Forgiveness, biblical hope, and life-transforming power across
  • 00:25:30.418 --> 00:25:34.055
  • The country and around the world.
  • 00:25:34.055 --> 00:25:36.925
  • Jeffress: sexual sin may be tempting, but one of the most
  • 00:25:38.760 --> 00:25:41.763
  • Effective safeguards you can employ today is to simply avoid
  • 00:25:41.763 --> 00:25:46.501
  • Tempting situations.
  • 00:25:46.501 --> 00:25:48.403
  • Don't put your personal resolve to the test.
  • 00:25:48.403 --> 00:25:51.840
  • Well, as weeks turn into months and months turn into years,
  • 00:25:51.840 --> 00:25:56.277
  • We're sometimes left wondering where all our time went.
  • 00:25:56.277 --> 00:25:59.648
  • So next time, i'm going to share how to avoid regrets about how
  • 00:25:59.648 --> 00:26:03.818
  • We number our days.
  • 00:26:03.818 --> 00:26:05.754
  • Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next in our
  • 00:26:05.754 --> 00:26:08.323
  • Series, "say goodbye to regret."
  • 00:26:08.323 --> 00:26:12.494
  • Jeffress: you've got to actually take those plans, those dreams,
  • 00:26:12.494 --> 00:26:16.498
  • And integrate them into your daily schedule.
  • 00:26:16.498 --> 00:26:18.633
  • Your daily schedule ought to be informed by what the big rocks
  • 00:26:18.633 --> 00:26:23.638
  • Are in your life.
  • 00:26:23.638 --> 00:26:24.973
  • Now, realistically, you can't spend 100% of your time working
  • 00:26:24.973 --> 00:26:28.276
  • On your big rocks.
  • 00:26:28.276 --> 00:26:29.844
  • You've got other responsibilities at work and
  • 00:26:29.844 --> 00:26:32.147
  • With your family, but at least 60% of your time ought to be
  • 00:26:32.147 --> 00:26:36.184
  • Spent on what you've identified as the big rocks for your life.
  • 00:26:36.184 --> 00:26:41.389
  • Announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for the message,
  • 00:26:41.389 --> 00:26:44.726
  • "say goodbye to time regrets," here on "pathway to victory."
  • 00:26:44.726 --> 00:26:48.963
  • Announcer: take a journey through alaska's awe-inspiring
  • 00:26:51.800 --> 00:26:54.402
  • Wilderness on the 2026 "pathway to victory" cruise to alaska.
  • 00:26:54.402 --> 00:26:58.606
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:26:58.606 --> 00:27:09.751
  • Announcer: make plans to set sail for an unforgettable
  • 00:27:05.613 --> 00:27:12.320
  • Week of adventure, june 13-20, 2026.
  • 00:27:12.320 --> 00:27:15.990
  • Call ... or visit ptv.org.
  • 00:27:15.990 --> 00:27:15.990