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Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - Say Goodbye To Time Regrets

May 28, 2025 | S25:E253

Robert Jeffress - Say Goodbye To Time 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 Time Regrets | May 28, 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
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  • 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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  • If you're like me, you likely find that the days go by
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  • Too quickly.
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  • Sometimes, i get so engrossed in a task that i'm shocked when i
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  • Finally look up at the clock.
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  • If we're not careful, those hours can turn into days and
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  • Weeks, months, and even years.
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  • And we're left wondering where did all the time go?
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  • We're discovering how to say goodbye to time 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
  • 00:00:58.715 --> 00:01:02.352
  • 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: benjamin franklin once asked, "dost thou love life?
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  • If so, do not squander time, for time is the stuff life is
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  • Made of."
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  • You know, it's interesting when we talk about regrets how many
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  • People's regrets center around the use or misuse of their time.
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  • Too much time spent watching television, not enough time
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  • Building my relationship with god, too much time worrying, too
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  • Much time in an unfulfilling relationship, not enough time
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  • With my children.
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  • If regrets about time are a major source of regrets in all
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  • Areas of life, then it seems like we need to talk about what
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  • The bible says is the best way to use our time.
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  • You know, regrets about time can be especially painful because we
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  • Can never regain time that we've lost.
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  • If the misuse of time is a major source of regret, how can we use
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  • Time wisely?
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  • That's what today's message is about.
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  • We're going to look at the biblical principles for using
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  • Our time wisely.
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  • But before we do that, i want us to look at three overarching
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  • Biblical principles about time you find in the scripture.
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  • First of all, write this down, time is limited.
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  • Time is limited.
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  • We forget that sometimes.
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  • It takes the departure of a child to college or the death of
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  • A loved one or just a brief look in the mirror to remind us that
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  • Time is quickly passing by.
  • 00:03:22.458 --> 00:03:24.994
  • Somebody said life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer
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  • You get to the end the more quickly it goes.
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  • Well, that's true.
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  • Moses said it a little more eloquently in the earliest psalm
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  • That was ever written, psalm 90.
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  • Remember what moses said in verses 5 and 6?
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  • Let me read this from the living bible.
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  • He says, "we glide along the tides of time as swiftly as a
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  • Racing river and we vanish as quickly as a dream."
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  • Have you ever gone on a river rafting trip down the colorado
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  • River or something like it?
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  • If you've ever been in that experience, you know, you've got
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  • A guide who thinks he's controlling the river.
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  • He'll even do a few things like use a paddle to push away
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  • Against the dangerous rock.
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  • But pretty soon you figure out he's not controlling the river,
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  • The river is controlling him and everybody else in that boat.
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  • It's taking you rapidly to its intended destination.
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  • Moses uses that metaphor for how our life and our time is.
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  • He uses another metaphor.
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  • He says, "we are like grass that is green in the morning but
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  • Mowed down and withered before the evening shadows fall."
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  • Now, in reality grass isn't planted and grows and it dies in
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  • A single day, unless you're living in dallas, texas, in the
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  • Middle of the summer, but in most places, it doesn't happen
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  • That quickly.
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  • It takes a period of time.
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  • It's the same way with our lives.
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  • We don't live and die in one day, but it seems that way
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  • Sometimes because life passes so quickly.
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  • So, what's to be our response to the passing of time?
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  • Panic?
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  • Worry?
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  • No, listen to what moses says in psalm 90, verse 12.
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  • So then, "teach us to number our days and recognize how few they
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  • Are, help us to spend them as we should."
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  • And that's what we're going to talk about today.
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  • How we ought to spend our time to value the time god has
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  • Given us.
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  • There's a second truth, and that is we're responsible for the
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  • Use of our time.
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  • This idea of a racing river, that's a good metaphor of time,
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  • But we shouldn't feel like we're victims of time.
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  • It just carries us wherever it wants.
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  • God wants us to master our time.
  • 00:05:53.276 --> 00:05:55.978
  • In matthew 25 jesus said, in one of the parables, that one day
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  • We're gonna be judged.
  • 00:06:00.116 --> 00:06:01.484
  • Remember the parable of the talents?
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  • We're gonna be judged according to the treasures, to the
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  • Opportunities, and according to the time that god has given each
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  • One of us.
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  • And then, thirdly, a biblical principle, and this is so
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  • Important, is it's possible to redeem time.
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  • It's possible to redeem time.
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  • Now, that's the paradox.
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  • You can never reclaim time that's been lost, it's gone
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  • Forever, but you can redeem, you can make good use of the time
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  • You have left and, in some inexplicable way, it can even
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  • Make up for the time you have lost.
  • 00:06:36.853 --> 00:06:40.423
  • When paul wrote to the christians at ephesus, he was
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  • Addressing a people--group of people who had wasted a lot of
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  • Time in their lives before they were christians.
  • 00:06:47.029 --> 00:06:49.765
  • In ephesians 2:3 he said, "among them," that is, unbelievers, "we
  • 00:06:49.765 --> 00:06:54.203
  • Too all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh, indulging the
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  • Desires of the flesh and of the mind, we were by nature children
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  • Of wrath, even as the rest."
  • 00:07:02.778 --> 00:07:05.414
  • Now, these ephesian christians, they could have spent the rest
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  • Of their lives living with regret about their ungodly past.
  • 00:07:07.950 --> 00:07:12.088
  • But solomon--paul said, "i don't want you to be prisoners of the
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  • Past when it comes to the way you lived.
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  • Instead, repent of the past and look forward to the future."
  • 00:07:20.029 --> 00:07:25.701
  • And he says in ephesians 5:16, "redeeming the time, because the
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  • Days are evil."
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  • That's what it means to use time wisely.
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  • It is to redeem the time.
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  • Now, some of you are gonna say this is nothing more than a
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  • Positive thinking sermon.
  • 00:07:43.686 --> 00:07:46.022
  • But what i want you to see is everything else we talk about
  • 00:07:46.022 --> 00:07:49.125
  • For the next 15 or 20 minutes is simply an application of
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  • Ephesians 5:16.
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  • How do you redeem the time god has given you?
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  • Let me suggest to you five biblical principles.
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  • Number one, and this is so foundational, learn the lesson
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  • Of the big rocks.
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  • Learn the lesson of the big rocks.
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  • Stephen covey--yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
  • 00:08:12.615 --> 00:08:14.617
  • I know he was a mormon, okay?
  • 00:08:14.617 --> 00:08:16.619
  • Don't send me any emails.
  • 00:08:16.619 --> 00:08:18.387
  • Even a broken clock can be right twice a day.
  • 00:08:18.387 --> 00:08:22.158
  • Stephen covey is a best selling author and he tells a great
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  • Story about an associate of his who went to a time management
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  • Seminar, and in the middle of this lecture, the instructor
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  • Pulled out from the shelf underneath him a big gallon jar
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  • That was empty and then he pulled out a bucket of
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  • Big rocks.
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  • He asked the audience, "how many rocks do you think are in
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  • This bucket?
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  • How many of them do you think i can fit into this empty jar?"
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  • They said three, four, five.
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  • So, he took one by one, he got four rocks in there.
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  • And he said, "how many of you think this jar is now full?"
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  • Everybody raised their hand.
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  • He said, "let me show you why you're wrong."
  • 00:09:03.032 --> 00:09:05.568
  • He then picked up a bucket filled with gravel and he poured
  • 00:09:05.568 --> 00:09:09.138
  • The gravel into that jar and the gravel went down and filled in
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  • The empty spaces left by the big rocks.
  • 00:09:13.876 --> 00:09:16.879
  • He said, "how many of you would say this jar is now empty?"
  • 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:20.416
  • Half of the people raised their hand.
  • 00:09:20.416 --> 00:09:22.652
  • He said, "let me show you again why you're wrong."
  • 00:09:22.652 --> 00:09:25.454
  • He then picked up a bucket of fine sand and he poured that
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  • Fine sand in and it filled in spaces left by the big rocks and
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  • The gravel.
  • 00:09:34.897 --> 00:09:36.232
  • He said, "now, how many of you would say this jar is full?"
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  • Nobody raised their hand.
  • 00:09:40.870 --> 00:09:42.672
  • He said, "you're right and let me show you why."
  • 00:09:42.672 --> 00:09:46.108
  • He then picked up a container of water and was able to get nearly
  • 00:09:46.108 --> 00:09:49.612
  • A quart of water in that jar.
  • 00:09:49.612 --> 00:09:52.481
  • He said, "now, what lesson about time management does this
  • 00:09:52.481 --> 00:09:56.852
  • Illustration teach you?"
  • 00:09:56.852 --> 00:09:58.654
  • And one student raised his hand and said, "it means no matter
  • 00:09:58.654 --> 00:10:02.625
  • How full your schedule is, you can always squeeze something
  • 00:10:02.625 --> 00:10:06.028
  • Else into it."
  • 00:10:06.028 --> 00:10:08.898
  • The instructor said, "no, that's not the lesson.
  • 00:10:08.898 --> 00:10:12.768
  • The lesson is had i not put the big rocks in first, i never
  • 00:10:12.768 --> 00:10:19.275
  • Would have been able to put them in later."
  • 00:10:19.275 --> 00:10:22.244
  • Put the big rocks in first.
  • 00:10:22.244 --> 00:10:26.615
  • That is the key to managing your time wisely.
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  • To discover what the big rocks, the important things of your
  • 00:10:30.319 --> 00:10:34.457
  • Life are that you want to devote your time to.
  • 00:10:34.457 --> 00:10:38.094
  • Now, those big rocks can be different for different people.
  • 00:10:38.094 --> 00:10:40.996
  • Let me help you focus on what your big rocks may be.
  • 00:10:40.996 --> 00:10:44.600
  • If you could ask god to give you any four things, what would you
  • 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:48.971
  • Ask him to give you in your life?
  • 00:10:48.971 --> 00:10:51.407
  • Now, don't give a miss america answer.
  • 00:10:51.407 --> 00:10:53.809
  • World peace, end of starvation, love for my fellow men.
  • 00:10:53.809 --> 00:10:58.080
  • No, what would you really say?
  • 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:02.184
  • You know, most of our regrets in life have nothing to do with the
  • 00:11:02.184 --> 00:11:06.689
  • Sand and gravel that fills up our life.
  • 00:11:06.689 --> 00:11:09.925
  • It's for what is not in our life yet, those big rocks.
  • 00:11:09.925 --> 00:11:14.363
  • And that's why it's so important to know what they are.
  • 00:11:14.363 --> 00:11:17.333
  • Secondly, turn your dreams, or your big rocks, into goals.
  • 00:11:17.333 --> 00:11:23.205
  • You know, a dream without a plan is only a wish.
  • 00:11:23.205 --> 00:11:27.243
  • We need a way to take those dreams, those big rocks, what we
  • 00:11:27.243 --> 00:11:31.113
  • Really want from god, and turn them into a goal.
  • 00:11:31.113 --> 00:11:34.617
  • By the way, a goal is a specific accomplishment that can be
  • 00:11:34.617 --> 00:11:38.754
  • Measured by time and date.
  • 00:11:38.754 --> 00:11:41.590
  • You know, let's take to have a more intimate relationship
  • 00:11:41.590 --> 00:11:44.727
  • With god.
  • 00:11:44.727 --> 00:11:46.095
  • That may be a great objective, but it's not a goal.
  • 00:11:46.095 --> 00:11:48.998
  • You have to be able to measure it.
  • 00:11:48.998 --> 00:11:50.800
  • What does it mean to have a more intimate relationship with god?
  • 00:11:50.800 --> 00:11:54.170
  • Well, maybe you would say, "well, what that takes is time,
  • 00:11:54.170 --> 00:11:57.139
  • Time spent with god."
  • 00:11:57.139 --> 00:11:58.641
  • So, here's my goal.
  • 00:11:58.641 --> 00:12:00.676
  • I want to spend 15 minutes a day reading my bible and praying
  • 00:12:00.676 --> 00:12:06.248
  • Beginning tomorrow.
  • 00:12:06.248 --> 00:12:08.150
  • I wanna spend 15 minutes a day, perhaps you say 5 days a
  • 00:12:08.150 --> 00:12:12.254
  • Week, reading my bible and praying to the lord
  • 00:12:12.254 --> 00:12:16.859
  • Beginning tomorrow.
  • 00:12:16.859 --> 00:12:18.227
  • Now, that's a very specific goal.
  • 00:12:18.227 --> 00:12:20.830
  • Maybe some of you would say, "my goal, one of my goals, is to
  • 00:12:20.830 --> 00:12:24.567
  • Have a successful retirement, a fulfilling retirement."
  • 00:12:24.567 --> 00:12:28.971
  • What does that look like for you?
  • 00:12:28.971 --> 00:12:30.539
  • Be specific.
  • 00:12:30.539 --> 00:12:32.241
  • Maybe you would say, "my goal is to retire by age 75 in the
  • 00:12:32.241 --> 00:12:37.913
  • Mountains of colorado living on 80% of my income."
  • 00:12:37.913 --> 00:12:41.717
  • Now, that's a very specific goal.
  • 00:12:41.717 --> 00:12:44.253
  • We need to turn our dreams into goals and that leads to a third
  • 00:12:44.253 --> 00:12:50.159
  • Step for using your time wisely, make your goals a part of your
  • 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:55.264
  • Daily schedule.
  • 00:12:55.264 --> 00:12:56.899
  • Now, this is where the rubber meets the road.
  • 00:12:56.899 --> 00:12:59.802
  • You've got to actually take those plans, those dreams, and
  • 00:12:59.802 --> 00:13:04.039
  • Integrate them into your daily schedule.
  • 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:05.875
  • Your daily schedule ought to be informed by what the big rocks
  • 00:13:05.875 --> 00:13:10.913
  • Are in your life.
  • 00:13:10.913 --> 00:13:12.248
  • Now, realistically, you can't spend 100% of your time working
  • 00:13:12.248 --> 00:13:15.584
  • On your big rocks.
  • 00:13:15.584 --> 00:13:17.119
  • You've got other responsibilities at work and
  • 00:13:17.119 --> 00:13:19.455
  • With your family, but at least 60% of your time ought to be
  • 00:13:19.455 --> 00:13:23.459
  • Spent on what you've identified as the big rocks for your life.
  • 00:13:23.459 --> 00:13:28.597
  • For example, you know, take spending time with god.
  • 00:13:28.597 --> 00:13:32.001
  • If you're gonna read your bible 15 minutes a day and pray, there
  • 00:13:32.001 --> 00:13:35.237
  • May be some things you need to do to make that happen.
  • 00:13:35.237 --> 00:13:39.174
  • First of all, you may need an alarm clock to get up in
  • 00:13:39.174 --> 00:13:42.244
  • The morning.
  • 00:13:42.244 --> 00:13:43.579
  • You know, some people have trouble getting blanket victory
  • 00:13:43.579 --> 00:13:46.548
  • Every day.
  • 00:13:46.548 --> 00:13:47.883
  • And so, maybe you need an alarm clock or at least how to learn
  • 00:13:47.883 --> 00:13:50.486
  • How to use the alarm on your iphone.
  • 00:13:50.486 --> 00:13:53.656
  • You may want a new bible.
  • 00:13:53.656 --> 00:13:55.824
  • Maybe you'd like a paraphrase or a different version of the bible
  • 00:13:55.824 --> 00:13:59.795
  • That would speak to you in a fresh way.
  • 00:13:59.795 --> 00:14:01.597
  • Maybe you get a prayer journal to record your request to god
  • 00:14:01.597 --> 00:14:06.168
  • And god's answers.
  • 00:14:06.168 --> 00:14:07.536
  • Take those objectives, those goals, and make your list of
  • 00:14:07.536 --> 00:14:11.707
  • Things to do based on those objectives.
  • 00:14:11.707 --> 00:14:15.544
  • Now, there are several ways to do this and i know i'm getting
  • 00:14:15.544 --> 00:14:19.214
  • Into the weeds here, but again, we're trying to discover how to
  • 00:14:19.214 --> 00:14:22.685
  • Use your time wisely as the bible says to do.
  • 00:14:22.685 --> 00:14:25.621
  • One is a daily to do list.
  • 00:14:25.621 --> 00:14:28.090
  • Now, this is a simple concept.
  • 00:14:28.090 --> 00:14:29.558
  • Many of you do it.
  • 00:14:29.558 --> 00:14:30.893
  • Before you go to bed the night before, make a list of all the
  • 00:14:30.893 --> 00:14:33.629
  • Things you need to do the next day.
  • 00:14:33.629 --> 00:14:36.398
  • A variation of that is make a list of the five most important
  • 00:14:36.398 --> 00:14:41.103
  • Things you can do the next day.
  • 00:14:41.103 --> 00:14:43.539
  • Even if you don't get through the list, at least you've done
  • 00:14:43.539 --> 00:14:46.008
  • The most important things first.
  • 00:14:46.008 --> 00:14:48.377
  • Now, that's a good way to manage your time.
  • 00:14:48.377 --> 00:14:51.814
  • But there's a problem with it and sometimes the things we do
  • 00:14:51.814 --> 00:14:55.351
  • Aren't the most important things we could be doing.
  • 00:14:55.351 --> 00:14:58.020
  • President dwight eisenhower said, "i've come to understand
  • 00:14:58.020 --> 00:15:01.457
  • That the important things in life are seldom urgent and the
  • 00:15:01.457 --> 00:15:06.128
  • Urgent things are seldom important."
  • 00:15:06.128 --> 00:15:09.398
  • And so, another way to manage your day is what some people
  • 00:15:09.398 --> 00:15:14.036
  • Call the "eat the big frog first" principle.
  • 00:15:14.036 --> 00:15:18.140
  • That is, start your day doing the hardest, most distasteful
  • 00:15:18.140 --> 00:15:23.112
  • Thing you have to do and get it out of the way so you can go on
  • 00:15:23.112 --> 00:15:26.982
  • To other things.
  • 00:15:26.982 --> 00:15:28.350
  • Now, here's the problem with that idea.
  • 00:15:28.350 --> 00:15:30.586
  • Many times, the most distasteful and hardest thing you have to do
  • 00:15:30.586 --> 00:15:33.956
  • Is not the most important thing.
  • 00:15:33.956 --> 00:15:35.724
  • For example, a salesman wakes up on monday morning, he's all
  • 00:15:35.724 --> 00:15:38.727
  • Energized ready to go out and make sales calls, but he
  • 00:15:38.727 --> 00:15:41.630
  • Remembers he's got to turn in that report from last month to
  • 00:15:41.630 --> 00:15:44.633
  • His supervisor and he hates filling out reports.
  • 00:15:44.633 --> 00:15:48.070
  • Well, he spends the morning trying to summon up the strength
  • 00:15:48.070 --> 00:15:51.073
  • To fill out that report when, really, the most important thing
  • 00:15:51.073 --> 00:15:54.109
  • He could be out doing is selling.
  • 00:15:54.109 --> 00:15:57.780
  • I think the best way to manage your daily task is using that
  • 00:15:57.780 --> 00:16:04.053
  • Big rocks principle that i talked about just a few
  • 00:16:04.053 --> 00:16:08.624
  • Moments ago.
  • 00:16:08.624 --> 00:16:09.992
  • Now, some of you are saying, "pastor, again, is this really
  • 00:16:09.992 --> 00:16:14.096
  • Biblical, what you're talking about?"
  • 00:16:14.096 --> 00:16:16.331
  • Listen to ephesians chapter 5, verses 15 and 16, coming from
  • 00:16:16.331 --> 00:16:21.737
  • The phillips paraphrase.
  • 00:16:21.737 --> 00:16:23.472
  • I love the way--in fact, i memorized it a long time ago,
  • 00:16:23.472 --> 00:16:26.575
  • "live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as
  • 00:16:26.575 --> 00:16:31.747
  • Men who don't know the meaning and purpose of life but as those
  • 00:16:31.747 --> 00:16:35.451
  • Who do.
  • 00:16:35.451 --> 00:16:36.819
  • Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of
  • 00:16:36.819 --> 00:16:42.491
  • These days."
  • 00:16:42.491 --> 00:16:43.859
  • That's what we're talking about.
  • 00:16:43.859 --> 00:16:45.561
  • Fourth, how do you use your time wisely?
  • 00:16:45.561 --> 00:16:48.797
  • Be realistic in your time management goals.
  • 00:16:48.797 --> 00:16:53.569
  • We all know what it's like at the beginning of summer, you
  • 00:16:53.569 --> 00:16:56.038
  • Have that humiliating experience of trying on your swimsuit for
  • 00:16:56.038 --> 00:16:59.975
  • The first time of the season.
  • 00:16:59.975 --> 00:17:02.344
  • And you're horrified at what you see in the mirror, so you make
  • 00:17:02.344 --> 00:17:05.781
  • A resolve.
  • 00:17:05.781 --> 00:17:07.116
  • You're gonna go on a diet.
  • 00:17:07.116 --> 00:17:08.817
  • No more sweets, no more sugar.
  • 00:17:08.817 --> 00:17:11.887
  • You're gonna quit eating supper for the rest of your life and
  • 00:17:11.887 --> 00:17:15.357
  • You go on this diet and it lasts all of a month, a week, or 24
  • 00:17:15.357 --> 00:17:20.462
  • Hours and then you give up.
  • 00:17:20.462 --> 00:17:22.931
  • Because it's not realistic.
  • 00:17:22.931 --> 00:17:25.067
  • People who talk about diet--no, you need to set a standard that
  • 00:17:25.067 --> 00:17:29.438
  • Is measurable.
  • 00:17:29.438 --> 00:17:30.806
  • It's the same way in our time to say, "i'm just gonna fill up my
  • 00:17:30.806 --> 00:17:34.243
  • Calendar with big rocks.
  • 00:17:34.243 --> 00:17:35.611
  • I'm never watching television again.
  • 00:17:35.611 --> 00:17:37.279
  • I'm never doing anything i like to again.
  • 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:39.548
  • I'm gonna work, work," right?
  • 00:17:39.548 --> 00:17:40.883
  • That's unrealistic.
  • 00:17:40.883 --> 00:17:42.751
  • You need to plan your schedule in a realistic ways.
  • 00:17:42.751 --> 00:17:46.088
  • For example, your schedule should allow for times
  • 00:17:46.088 --> 00:17:48.757
  • Of relaxation.
  • 00:17:48.757 --> 00:17:50.192
  • That's god's idea, by the way.
  • 00:17:50.192 --> 00:17:52.161
  • Remember in our study on the 10 commandments we saw in exodus
  • 00:17:52.161 --> 00:17:55.364
  • 20, verses 8 to 11?
  • 00:17:55.364 --> 00:17:57.032
  • More space is given to the command, "remember the sabbath
  • 00:17:57.032 --> 00:18:00.869
  • And keep it holy," than any other command.
  • 00:18:00.869 --> 00:18:03.872
  • Why?
  • 00:18:03.872 --> 00:18:05.207
  • Because it's necessary for our physical and spiritual
  • 00:18:05.207 --> 00:18:07.643
  • Well being.
  • 00:18:07.643 --> 00:18:09.011
  • "there needs to be," god says, "one day a week you
  • 00:18:09.011 --> 00:18:12.114
  • Observe sabbath."
  • 00:18:12.114 --> 00:18:13.482
  • That word sabbath, shabbat, means to desist, to resist
  • 00:18:13.482 --> 00:18:18.620
  • Working or even thinking about working in any form whatsoever.
  • 00:18:18.620 --> 00:18:24.226
  • God gave that, not for his benefit, he doesn't get tired.
  • 00:18:24.226 --> 00:18:27.963
  • He gave it for our benefit.
  • 00:18:27.963 --> 00:18:30.732
  • There needs to be one day a week we focus on our spiritual and
  • 00:18:30.732 --> 00:18:35.070
  • Our physical refreshment and relaxation.
  • 00:18:35.070 --> 00:18:38.106
  • I think that principle needs to be applied to every day.
  • 00:18:38.106 --> 00:18:41.476
  • There ought to be a time of the day when you say, "enough."
  • 00:18:41.476 --> 00:18:45.013
  • It might be 6 in the evening, it might be 8 in
  • 00:18:45.013 --> 00:18:47.683
  • The evening.
  • 00:18:47.683 --> 00:18:49.017
  • It's not that i've cleaned every dish that needs to be cleaned,
  • 00:18:49.017 --> 00:18:51.587
  • Or washed every piece of clothing, or made every phone
  • 00:18:51.587 --> 00:18:53.989
  • Call, but i've done everything i need to do today and it's time
  • 00:18:53.989 --> 00:18:58.293
  • To do something else.
  • 00:18:58.293 --> 00:19:00.796
  • Ecclesiastes 2:24 solomon said, "there is nothing better for a
  • 00:19:00.796 --> 00:19:05.500
  • Man than to eat and drink, and tell himself that his labor
  • 00:19:05.500 --> 00:19:08.704
  • Is good."
  • 00:19:08.704 --> 00:19:10.038
  • God meant for us to enjoy life, not just endure it.
  • 00:19:10.038 --> 00:19:13.976
  • Secondly, your schedule ought to be flexible enough to handle
  • 00:19:13.976 --> 00:19:16.912
  • Bad days.
  • 00:19:16.912 --> 00:19:19.114
  • You all know what i mean when i talk about bad days?
  • 00:19:19.114 --> 00:19:22.317
  • It's when sickness or fatigue or depression or
  • 00:19:22.317 --> 00:19:26.321
  • Interruptions--when they just sabotage what you had planned
  • 00:19:26.321 --> 00:19:29.992
  • To do.
  • 00:19:29.992 --> 00:19:31.360
  • I know for me, a particular bad day that i can actually schedule
  • 00:19:31.360 --> 00:19:35.030
  • Every year is the day i get back from vacation.
  • 00:19:35.030 --> 00:19:39.134
  • Man, that's just a bad day because everything's piled up
  • 00:19:39.134 --> 00:19:42.404
  • And a little disappointed and i know not to schedule anything
  • 00:19:42.404 --> 00:19:48.343
  • Heavy the day after a vacation.
  • 00:19:48.343 --> 00:19:50.045
  • I go through my mail, i return phone calls, i do things that
  • 00:19:50.045 --> 00:19:53.749
  • Don't require a lot of activity.
  • 00:19:53.749 --> 00:19:56.351
  • Just be sure that you allow for bad days.
  • 00:19:56.351 --> 00:19:59.087
  • And thirdly, leave enough cushion in your schedule to plan
  • 00:19:59.087 --> 00:20:03.692
  • For interruptions.
  • 00:20:03.692 --> 00:20:05.460
  • Maybe a drop-in visit, an emergency that you had
  • 00:20:05.460 --> 00:20:08.530
  • Not scheduled.
  • 00:20:08.530 --> 00:20:09.865
  • You know, many times interruptions are god's way of
  • 00:20:09.865 --> 00:20:13.935
  • Redirecting our lives.
  • 00:20:13.935 --> 00:20:16.171
  • I think about the passage in james 4, 13 to 15, "come now,
  • 00:20:16.171 --> 00:20:20.509
  • You who say, 'today or tomorrow we'll go to such and such a
  • 00:20:20.509 --> 00:20:24.713
  • City, and spend a year and make a profit.'
  • 00:20:24.713 --> 00:20:27.649
  • You don't know what will happen tomorrow.
  • 00:20:27.649 --> 00:20:29.818
  • You're just like a vapor that appears for a little while and
  • 00:20:29.818 --> 00:20:32.721
  • Then vanishes away.
  • 00:20:32.721 --> 00:20:34.289
  • Instead, you ought to say, 'if the lord wills, we will do this
  • 00:20:34.289 --> 00:20:38.560
  • Or that.'"
  • 00:20:38.560 --> 00:20:39.895
  • Now, james isn't saying don't make plans, don't fill out your
  • 00:20:39.895 --> 00:20:42.097
  • Boulder grid schedule.
  • 00:20:42.097 --> 00:20:43.632
  • He's simply saying, "realize god may have a different plan and be
  • 00:20:43.632 --> 00:20:48.203
  • Ready for that."
  • 00:20:48.203 --> 00:20:49.771
  • I one time attended a time management seminar led by the
  • 00:20:49.771 --> 00:20:53.041
  • Late ted engstrom, the president of world vision.
  • 00:20:53.041 --> 00:20:57.913
  • He made an insightful comment when he said, "most people
  • 00:20:57.913 --> 00:21:01.316
  • Overestimate what they can accomplish in a year, but they
  • 00:21:01.316 --> 00:21:05.520
  • Underestimate what they can accomplish in five years."
  • 00:21:05.520 --> 00:21:09.925
  • Be realistic in your time management.
  • 00:21:09.925 --> 00:21:13.095
  • And, finally, to use your time wisely, and this is so key,
  • 00:21:13.095 --> 00:21:17.599
  • Refuse to be paralyzed by the past.
  • 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:21.703
  • Refuse to be paralyzed by the past.
  • 00:21:21.770 --> 00:21:25.140
  • You know, because of israel's disobedience to god, god said to
  • 00:21:25.140 --> 00:21:29.611
  • The prophet joel that he were going to send the locusts to the
  • 00:21:29.611 --> 00:21:33.482
  • Land of israel to destroy all of their crops.
  • 00:21:33.482 --> 00:21:37.519
  • Devastating losses would occur, but god looked beyond that
  • 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:42.224
  • Judgment to a day israel would turn back to god and god would
  • 00:21:42.224 --> 00:21:46.294
  • Bless them again.
  • 00:21:46.294 --> 00:21:47.629
  • Listen to what he says about
  • 00:21:47.629 --> 00:21:49.598
  • That future restoration, "then i will make
  • 00:21:49.598 --> 00:21:51.867
  • Up to you for the years that the swarming locust
  • 00:21:51.867 --> 00:21:56.638
  • Has eaten, the creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the
  • 00:21:56.638 --> 00:22:00.342
  • Gnawing locust, my great army which i sent among you.
  • 00:22:00.342 --> 00:22:04.479
  • You shall then have plenty to eat and be satisfied.
  • 00:22:04.479 --> 00:22:08.383
  • And praise the name of the lord your god who has dealt
  • 00:22:08.383 --> 00:22:12.020
  • Wondrously with you.
  • 00:22:12.020 --> 00:22:13.655
  • Then my people will never again be put to shame."
  • 00:22:13.655 --> 00:22:18.393
  • Although israel's loss was real, and in some ways irreversible,
  • 00:22:18.393 --> 00:22:23.265
  • God said, in some inexplicable way, he would make up for what
  • 00:22:23.265 --> 00:22:27.335
  • They lost and reward them in the future.
  • 00:22:27.335 --> 00:22:30.972
  • Maybe you can identify with that as you look over the past
  • 00:22:30.972 --> 00:22:35.210
  • Years, decades.
  • 00:22:35.210 --> 00:22:37.712
  • You would say the locusts of slothfulness, of indecision, of
  • 00:22:37.712 --> 00:22:43.652
  • Purposelessness have robbed you of years and even decades of
  • 00:22:43.652 --> 00:22:48.156
  • Your life.
  • 00:22:48.156 --> 00:22:49.991
  • You can't make up for that in the past, but you can reclaim
  • 00:22:49.991 --> 00:22:54.696
  • Your time for your future.
  • 00:22:54.696 --> 00:22:57.299
  • If that's true of you, if you regret the wasted time you've
  • 00:22:57.299 --> 00:23:00.936
  • Had in your life, confess those mistakes to god, receive his
  • 00:23:00.936 --> 00:23:05.640
  • Forgiveness, but then start to redeem the time god has given
  • 00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:10.545
  • You by putting the principles into effect we've talked
  • 00:23:10.545 --> 00:23:13.882
  • About today.
  • 00:23:13.882 --> 00:23:15.217
  • Once you've done that, you'll find you're well on the way to
  • 00:23:15.217 --> 00:23:20.088
  • The road to saying goodbye to regrets about your time.
  • 00:23:20.088 --> 00:23:25.160
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:30.298
  • Jeffress: all of us carry a measure of regret, especially
  • 00:23:30.298 --> 00:23:33.702
  • When it comes to how we invest our time, and i hope today's
  • 00:23:33.702 --> 00:23:37.472
  • Message has renewed your hope regarding the time remaining in
  • 00:23:37.472 --> 00:23:41.443
  • Your future.
  • 00:23:41.443 --> 00:23:42.978
  • In closing, i wanna share a note from jeffrey in virginia who
  • 00:23:42.978 --> 00:23:46.815
  • Wrote to thank me for the daily email devotionals he receives
  • 00:23:46.815 --> 00:23:50.652
  • From "pathway to victory."
  • 00:23:50.652 --> 00:23:52.320
  • He said, "to me, the bible is hard to understand at times.
  • 00:23:52.320 --> 00:23:56.525
  • Your explanations and stories help me understand god's word
  • 00:23:56.525 --> 00:24:00.428
  • Better, and help me grow my faith in god.
  • 00:24:00.428 --> 00:24:03.598
  • Please keep them coming my way!"
  • 00:24:03.598 --> 00:24:06.301
  • Jeffrey, i'm so glad these daily devotionals are helping you grow
  • 00:24:06.301 --> 00:24:09.905
  • In your faith.
  • 00:24:09.905 --> 00:24:11.273
  • And friends, thank you for supporting "pathway to victory"
  • 00:24:11.273 --> 00:24:13.942
  • As we share the eternal truth and hope of the gospel with
  • 00:24:13.942 --> 00:24:18.046
  • Those who need to hear it.
  • 00:24:18.046 --> 00:24:19.881
  • Now, stay right there.
  • 00:24:19.881 --> 00:24:21.216
  • I'll be back with an encouraging word in just a moment.
  • 00:24:21.216 --> 00:24:24.920
  • Announcer: what if your doctor were to say you had only six
  • 00:24:24.986 --> 00:24:27.822
  • Months left to live?
  • 00:24:27.822 --> 00:24:29.224
  • Would you have any regrets in your life?
  • 00:24:29.224 --> 00:24:31.326
  • In his best selling book, "say goodbye to regret," dr. robert
  • 00:24:31.326 --> 00:24:34.829
  • Jeffress shares biblical principles for dealing with
  • 00:24:34.829 --> 00:24:37.432
  • Regrets from your past and preventing regrets in
  • 00:24:37.432 --> 00:24:40.168
  • The future.
  • 00:24:40.168 --> 00:24:41.536
  • Jeffress: regret is one of life's most painful and
  • 00:24:41.536 --> 00:24:44.506
  • Unnecessary emotions and in my best selling book, "say goodbye
  • 00:24:44.506 --> 00:24:48.476
  • To regret," i'll help you turn those if-onlys into providential
  • 00:24:48.476 --> 00:24:52.981
  • Lessons in living.
  • 00:24:52.981 --> 00:24:54.583
  • Announcer: move forward in 2024 satisfied with the life
  • 00:24:54.583 --> 00:24:57.919
  • You're living.
  • 00:24:57.919 --> 00:24:59.254
  • Request your copy of "say goodbye to regret" when you give
  • 00:24:59.254 --> 00:25:01.690
  • A generous gift to "pathway to victory."
  • 00:25:01.690 --> 00:25:04.292
  • In the pages of this highly practical book, you'll discover
  • 00:25:04.292 --> 00:25:07.596
  • The biblical keys to leaving behind regrets about
  • 00:25:07.596 --> 00:25:10.265
  • Relationships, your marriage, finances and more.
  • 00:25:10.265 --> 00:25:13.868
  • And when you give $75 or more, we'll also send you the complete
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  • Set of messages for the new "say goodbye to regret" teaching
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  • Series on dvd video and mp3 format audio disc.
  • 00:25:21.176 --> 00:25:25.146
  • Jeffress: one of the heaviest weights other than sin
  • 00:25:25.146 --> 00:25:28.583
  • Is regret.
  • 00:25:28.583 --> 00:25:29.951
  • Regrets are not the problem in and of themselves, they are an
  • 00:25:29.951 --> 00:25:33.421
  • Indicator of a problem that needs to be dealt with.
  • 00:25:33.421 --> 00:25:37.525
  • Announcer: thank you for helping "pathway to victory"
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  • Proclaim the redemptive power of jesus christ to a world in need.
  • 00:25:40.028 --> 00:25:44.132
  • Together we are broadcasting the message
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  • Of god's love and forgiveness, biblical hope,
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  • And around the world.
  • 00:25:51.973 --> 00:25:53.475
  • Jeffress: we can never regain the time that we've lost, but we
  • 00:25:56.911 --> 00:26:00.448
  • Can make good use of the time we have left.
  • 00:26:00.448 --> 00:26:03.652
  • That is the beauty of these five wise principles that we find in
  • 00:26:03.652 --> 00:26:07.789
  • God's word about managing our time.
  • 00:26:07.789 --> 00:26:11.493
  • Well, if you're a member of the working class, you likely devote
  • 00:26:11.493 --> 00:26:14.963
  • More hours of your life to work and getting there and back than
  • 00:26:14.963 --> 00:26:18.933
  • Any other area of life.
  • 00:26:18.933 --> 00:26:21.136
  • And next time, we're going to learn how to say goodbye to
  • 00:26:21.136 --> 00:26:23.705
  • Regrets about our careers.
  • 00:26:23.705 --> 00:26:26.741
  • Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next in our
  • 00:26:26.741 --> 00:26:29.811
  • Series, "say goodbye to regret."
  • 00:26:29.811 --> 00:26:34.182
  • Jeffress: but when they get into their 30s, they move beyond
  • 00:26:34.182 --> 00:26:37.385
  • Survival to success, they wanna be successful.
  • 00:26:37.385 --> 00:26:40.655
  • And so, they try to start climbing the ladder to success.
  • 00:26:40.655 --> 00:26:44.292
  • But somewhere in their mid 40s to early 50s, people move beyond
  • 00:26:44.292 --> 00:26:49.631
  • Survival, or even success, to significance.
  • 00:26:49.631 --> 00:26:54.302
  • They wanna do something that matters, that makes a
  • 00:26:54.302 --> 00:26:57.372
  • Difference, that provides them with satisfaction.
  • 00:26:57.372 --> 00:27:01.276
  • And that's what our life work is all about.
  • 00:27:01.276 --> 00:27:04.779
  • Announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for the message,
  • 00:27:04.846 --> 00:27:07.982
  • "say goodbye to career regrets" here on "pathway to victory."
  • 00:27:07.982 --> 00:27:27.235