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Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - The Shepherd's Safety Net (Part 1)

September 25, 2025 | 29:0

Robert Jeffress - The Shepherd's Safety Net (Part 1)
Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.
#Victory #Pastors #Bible #Shepherd #GoodShepherd #LoveofGod #WalkwithGod

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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - The Shepherd's Safety Net (Part 1) | September 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 "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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  • Whenever we face a looming choice, it usually comes with a
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  • Sense of uncertainty and fear.
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  • What happens if we can't hear god's voice to help us make the
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  • Right decision or what happens when our decisions prove to be a
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  • Big mistake?
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  • Well, today i'm going to explain why the sovereignty of god
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  • Should inspire confidence in our choices.
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  • My message is titled, "the shepherd's safety net," on
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  • Today's edition of "pathway to victory."
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  • Announcer: how do you know which path god wants you to take?
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  • In "how to make wise decisions," trusted author and bible teacher
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  • Dr. robert jeffress cuts through the confusion with
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  • Time-tested biblical wisdom.
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  • Whether you're facing career changes, relationship questions,
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  • Or ministry decisions, this practical guide reveals how god
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  • Speaks to his children today.
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  • Don't let uncertainty paralyze you.
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  • Request your copy of "how to make wise decisions" when you
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  • Give a generous gift to support the ministry of "pathway
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  • To victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Jeffress: there are some of you here today who are facing a
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  • Major decision in your life.
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  • It may be regarding a job opportunity, perhaps dealing
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  • With your finances, perhaps it's a family decision.
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  • You desperately want to know what god's will for your life is
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  • In this particular dilemma that you're confronting.
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  • You've applied the principles we've talked about in
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  • This series.
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  • You've read the bible, you've prayed, you've sought wise
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  • Counsel from other people and you feel like god is leading you
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  • In a specific decision.
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  • You're like that trapeze artist we talked about last time.
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  • You're ready to let go of the bar, you're ready to fly out
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  • There and trust in god, but you have this nagging feeling before
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  • You make the decision.
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  • What if i'm wrong?
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  • What if i make this decision and it's a mistake?
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  • What if what i am feeling is not god's leading, but it's my
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  • Own desires?
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  • What if i fail?
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  • Well, this morning i want to assure you that underneath our
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  • Every decision, our every circumstance, even underneath
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  • Our every mistake is a safety net called the sovereignty
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  • Of god.
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  • And today, as we conclude this series on "discovering god's
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  • Will for your life," we're going to talk about the sovereignty of
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  • God and how it relates to the choices we make in
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  • Everyday life.
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  • Now, i have to admit, i'm a little bit gun shy about
  • 00:03:02.972 --> 00:03:05.642
  • Addressing the subject of the sovereignty of god in today's
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  • Message, and with good reason.
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  • I had an experience early in my ministry that reminded me of
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  • What a controversial subject this is: the sovereignty of god.
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  • When i left this church 23 years ago and went to my first
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  • Pastorate, it was in a small west texas county seat town, and
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  • It was a church that had been controlled by decades by a
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  • Handful of men.
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  • And when this group realized that they weren't gonna be able
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  • To continue to reign over the church, they really weren't
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  • Happy campers about that.
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  • And so they started stirring and stirring the first year i was
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  • There, trying to look for any reason they could to get rid
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  • Of me.
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  • I remember one of the earliest charges against me was that dr.
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  • Criswell had sent me from this church out to that church to
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  • Deliver it over to the fundamentalist and i was a
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  • Secret agent to go out and deliver the church to the
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  • Fundamentalist camp.
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  • Well, that didn't fly and so they kept looking for some
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  • Reason to get rid of me.
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  • Well, one sunday morning, innocently, i was preaching
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  • Through the book of romans, and i came to one of spurgeon's
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  • Favorite passages: romans 9, verse 16.
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  • It reads: "so then it does not
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  • Depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on
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  • God who has mercy."
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  • Verse 18: "so then god has mercy on whom he desires, and god
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  • Hardens whom he desires."
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  • Well, that group felt like they had the smoking gun and so they
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  • Called a special-called deacons meeting the following tuesday
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  • Night, and they started leveling all kind of charges against me.
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  • They said, "pastor, if you believe that, then you don't
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  • Believe in evangelism.
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  • Why, if you believe in the sovereignty of god, you must
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  • Believe that we're all robots.
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  • If you believe in the sovereignty of god, then that
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  • Means we have no responsibility," and on and on
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  • And on it went.
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  • Fortunately, they're the ones who ended up leaving the church
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  • Later on, but it's a highly charged subject, the sovereignty
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  • Of god.
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  • What do we mean when we talk about the sovereignty of god?
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  • Let me give you a simple definition of the sovereignty
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  • Of god.
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  • The sovereignty of god means god rules over his creation.
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  • Would you write that down?
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  • God rules over all of his creation.
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  • In isaiah 45, verse 6, god said, "i am the lord god and there is
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  • No other."
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  • "i am the lord god and there is no other."
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  • There are not multiple rulers in the universe.
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  • There is one ruler in the universe and his name is
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  • Jehovah god.
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  • God alone rules over his universe.
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  • There are not multiple gods, there is one god.
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  • He has a plan for his creation, and he will accomplish his plan
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  • For his creation.
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  • Now by the way, when we talk about god's plan for his
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  • Creation, god's plan is much bigger than you or i could
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  • Possibly imagine.
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  • God's plan is big enough to include the fall of lucifer from
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  • Heaven, the rebellion of adam and eve in the garden, the
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  • Rebellion of israel in the wilderness.
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  • God's plan was big enough to encompass the crucifixion of
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  • God's own son.
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  • God's plan is big enough to include the holocaust, 9/11,
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  • Hurricane katrina, and every other disaster that you can
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  • Possibly imagine.
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  • God has a plan.
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  • I remember reading a few years ago about a giant asteroid that
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  • Astronomers said came dangerously close to striking
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  • Our planet.
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  • It came within 500,000 miles.
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  • Now, for an astronomer, that's dangerously close.
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  • But what is it that kept that asteroid from hitting
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  • Our planet?
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  • They said had it struck our planet, it would have had the
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  • Effect of 50,000 atomic bombs.
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  • What is it that guided that asteroid away?
  • 00:06:54.804 --> 00:06:57.707
  • The bible says god upholds all things by the power of his word.
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  • And just as god has control over the planets and the asteroids,
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  • He has control over your life, and he is able to prevent any
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  • Accidents from coming into your life.
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  • God alone is the ruler, and what that means for us specifically
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  • Is this: god will accomplish his plan for my life.
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  • Do you believe that?
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  • I want you to repeat that phrase after me, "god will accomplish
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  • His plan for my life."
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  • God will accomplish his plan for my life.
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  • Now say it like you believe it.
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  • God will accomplish his plan for my life.
  • 00:07:34.844 --> 00:07:38.648
  • "well, wait a minute, pastor, what if i make a mistake and
  • 00:07:38.648 --> 00:07:40.983
  • Marry the wrong purpose--person?"
  • 00:07:40.983 --> 00:07:43.419
  • God--god will accomplish his plan for my life.
  • 00:07:43.419 --> 00:07:48.724
  • "wait a minute, pastor, what if i make a mistake and i confuse a
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  • Circumstance for being god's will?"
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  • God will accomplish his plan for my life.
  • 00:07:55.431 --> 00:07:59.335
  • "well, pastor, what if i rebel against god?"
  • 00:07:59.335 --> 00:08:03.005
  • God will accomplish his plan for my life.
  • 00:08:03.005 --> 00:08:07.243
  • God has a plan for this universe, for the world at
  • 00:08:07.243 --> 00:08:11.314
  • Large, he has a plan for your life as well, and he will
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  • Accomplish his plan.
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  • That's what the sovereignty of god means.
  • 00:08:18.154 --> 00:08:20.556
  • Now, that's really not as preposterous as it first sounds
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  • When you consider two truths about god's will.
  • 00:08:23.826 --> 00:08:26.362
  • First of all, write down god has a plan for my life.
  • 00:08:26.362 --> 00:08:30.099
  • God has a plan.
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  • Should it surprise any of us that the
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  • Great architect of the universe would have a
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  • Precise, detailed plan for everything that happens
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  • In the world?
  • 00:08:41.110 --> 00:08:42.645
  • Many years ago from this very pulpit, dr. criswell was
  • 00:08:42.645 --> 00:08:45.915
  • Preaching about predestination and the sovereignty of god, and
  • 00:08:45.915 --> 00:08:50.119
  • Listen to what he said.
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  • He said: "before a stone was laid in the construction of
  • 00:08:51.621 --> 00:08:55.257
  • Saint paul's cathedral in london, the idea was born in the
  • 00:08:55.257 --> 00:08:59.295
  • Mind of sir christopher wren.
  • 00:08:59.295 --> 00:09:01.497
  • He saw it in his mind and he purposed it in his heart.
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  • Before he struck a chisel against the heavy rock of
  • 00:09:05.534 --> 00:09:08.371
  • Marble, michelangelo saw the mighty moses in his mind and
  • 00:09:08.371 --> 00:09:13.209
  • He purposed it in his heart.
  • 00:09:13.209 --> 00:09:15.711
  • Why should it surprise us then that god, the designer and
  • 00:09:15.711 --> 00:09:19.382
  • Architect of the universe, should not have a plan and
  • 00:09:19.382 --> 00:09:22.351
  • Purpose for his creation?"
  • 00:09:22.351 --> 00:09:24.720
  • And then this is the line i love: "the greater the project,
  • 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:29.058
  • The more necessary the plan."
  • 00:09:29.058 --> 00:09:33.095
  • The greater the project, the more necessary the plan.
  • 00:09:33.095 --> 00:09:36.866
  • The apostle paul said it this way in ephesians 1, verse 11:
  • 00:09:36.866 --> 00:09:41.604
  • "also we have obtained an inheritance, having been
  • 00:09:41.604 --> 00:09:45.374
  • Predestined according to his purpose who works
  • 00:09:45.374 --> 00:09:49.245
  • All things after the counsel of his will."
  • 00:09:49.245 --> 00:09:55.418
  • God has a plan and he works all things together to accomplish
  • 00:09:55.418 --> 00:10:00.256
  • That plan.
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  • That means, ladies and gentlemen, that the selection of
  • 00:10:01.724 --> 00:10:04.093
  • Rulers like presidents is under god's sovereignty, daniel
  • 00:10:04.093 --> 00:10:07.229
  • Chapter 2.
  • 00:10:07.229 --> 00:10:08.564
  • It means the change of seasons are under his control.
  • 00:10:08.564 --> 00:10:11.367
  • Proverbs 16 says even the roll
  • 00:10:11.367 --> 00:10:13.135
  • Of the dice are under the
  • 00:10:13.135 --> 00:10:14.970
  • Sovereignty of god.
  • 00:10:14.970 --> 00:10:17.273
  • God also has a detailed plan for your life.
  • 00:10:17.273 --> 00:10:20.176
  • The color of your eyes, the color of your hair, the number
  • 00:10:20.176 --> 00:10:23.612
  • Of hairs on your head, everything about your physical
  • 00:10:23.612 --> 00:10:27.783
  • And emotional makeup were not decided by somebody else.
  • 00:10:27.783 --> 00:10:31.787
  • They were planned by god.
  • 00:10:31.787 --> 00:10:33.923
  • Remember the words of the psalmist in psalm 139,
  • 00:10:33.923 --> 00:10:36.659
  • Verses 13 and 14: "for thou didst form my inward parts; thou
  • 00:10:36.659 --> 00:10:41.497
  • Didst weave me in my mother's womb.
  • 00:10:41.497 --> 00:10:43.999
  • I will give thanks to thee, for i am fearfully and wonderfully
  • 00:10:43.999 --> 00:10:48.003
  • Made; wonderful are thy works.
  • 00:10:48.003 --> 00:10:50.706
  • And my soul knows it very well."
  • 00:10:50.706 --> 00:10:54.610
  • Now, most of us don't have a problem assuming
  • 00:10:54.610 --> 00:10:57.213
  • God's in control over things we can't control.
  • 00:10:57.213 --> 00:11:01.984
  • We assume god's in control of our genetic makeup, where we
  • 00:11:01.984 --> 00:11:05.154
  • Were born, and when we were born, but then we assume that
  • 00:11:05.154 --> 00:11:08.457
  • We're in control of certain other areas of our life.
  • 00:11:08.457 --> 00:11:11.694
  • For example, we assume that we are in total control of how we
  • 00:11:11.694 --> 00:11:15.131
  • Spend our time.
  • 00:11:15.131 --> 00:11:16.832
  • It's my decision alone whether i spend my time reading the
  • 00:11:16.832 --> 00:11:19.769
  • Newspaper or watching a television program or take a nap
  • 00:11:19.769 --> 00:11:23.139
  • Or mow the lawn.
  • 00:11:23.139 --> 00:11:24.473
  • That is completely my decision.
  • 00:11:24.473 --> 00:11:27.209
  • But is that what the bible teaches?
  • 00:11:27.209 --> 00:11:29.845
  • Listen to the words of proverbs ver--chapter 20, verse 24.
  • 00:11:29.845 --> 00:11:34.116
  • The writer says: "man's steps are ordained by the lord.
  • 00:11:34.116 --> 00:11:38.954
  • How then can man understand his way?"
  • 00:11:38.954 --> 00:11:43.292
  • Like the old song goes, "every step we take, every move we
  • 00:11:43.292 --> 00:11:47.129
  • Make," is under the control of god.
  • 00:11:47.129 --> 00:11:50.132
  • Think about that thought.
  • 00:11:50.132 --> 00:11:51.467
  • Every step we take has been ordained by the lord, and by the
  • 00:11:51.467 --> 00:11:56.672
  • Way, that ought to give us great comfort in our life to know that
  • 00:11:56.672 --> 00:12:01.477
  • God is in control of every step we take.
  • 00:12:01.477 --> 00:12:03.479
  • I remember a few years ago i left work a few minutes early to
  • 00:12:03.479 --> 00:12:06.649
  • Go get a haircut, and i was driving down the road headed
  • 00:12:06.649 --> 00:12:09.518
  • Toward the barbershop when i heard this terrible screeching
  • 00:12:09.518 --> 00:12:13.189
  • Of brakes behind me and then a terrifying crash.
  • 00:12:13.189 --> 00:12:17.560
  • I looked in my rearview mirror and the car that had been
  • 00:12:17.560 --> 00:12:20.563
  • Following me had gone through the same intersection i had gone
  • 00:12:20.563 --> 00:12:23.799
  • Through, but another car running a red light plowed into that
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  • Car, completely decimated it.
  • 00:12:28.504 --> 00:12:30.906
  • I pulled over to the side of the road.
  • 00:12:30.906 --> 00:12:32.474
  • I called 911 immediately, but it was too late.
  • 00:12:32.474 --> 00:12:36.045
  • When the medics came, the driver had already died.
  • 00:12:36.045 --> 00:12:39.782
  • Now, i went home that night with a lot of questions about the
  • 00:12:39.782 --> 00:12:42.151
  • Sovereignty of god, a lot of "what ifs."
  • 00:12:42.151 --> 00:12:45.921
  • What if i had left work just two seconds later than i had left?
  • 00:12:45.921 --> 00:12:52.228
  • What if the pressure on the accelerator i was applying had
  • 00:12:52.228 --> 00:12:55.564
  • Been just a little lighter than it was?
  • 00:12:55.564 --> 00:12:58.667
  • I would have been the one in that accident.
  • 00:12:58.667 --> 00:13:01.503
  • My life would have been snuffed out in an instant.
  • 00:13:01.503 --> 00:13:04.940
  • Now, i'm not implying god loves me any more than he loved that
  • 00:13:04.940 --> 00:13:08.277
  • Driver who was killed, but what i am saying is god had a precise
  • 00:13:08.277 --> 00:13:12.815
  • Plan for my life just as he has a plan for your life.
  • 00:13:12.815 --> 00:13:16.485
  • I want you to listen to this.
  • 00:13:16.485 --> 00:13:17.820
  • Psalm 139, verse 16 says: "and in thy book they were
  • 00:13:17.820 --> 00:13:21.557
  • All written.
  • 00:13:21.557 --> 00:13:22.925
  • The days that were ordained for me.
  • 00:13:22.925 --> 00:13:25.394
  • When as yet there was not one of them."
  • 00:13:25.394 --> 00:13:28.063
  • Think about this.
  • 00:13:28.063 --> 00:13:29.431
  • Did you know not only is your birth date already
  • 00:13:29.431 --> 00:13:32.134
  • Predetermined, the day of your death has already
  • 00:13:32.134 --> 00:13:35.070
  • Been determined?
  • 00:13:35.070 --> 00:13:36.572
  • The day, the hour, the minute, the second of your death is
  • 00:13:36.572 --> 00:13:41.310
  • Already fixed on god's calendar, and there is not one thing
  • 00:13:41.310 --> 00:13:44.580
  • You're going to do to alter it.
  • 00:13:44.580 --> 00:13:46.916
  • Now think about that.
  • 00:13:46.916 --> 00:13:48.550
  • Think about all of the tens of thousands of circumstances that
  • 00:13:48.550 --> 00:13:52.554
  • Had to come together to make sure you were born at the right
  • 00:13:52.554 --> 00:13:55.824
  • Time and all of the circumstances that are gonna
  • 00:13:55.824 --> 00:13:59.862
  • Have to come together that you leave the earth at the precise
  • 00:13:59.862 --> 00:14:03.666
  • Time god has planned.
  • 00:14:03.666 --> 00:14:05.434
  • The sovereignty of god means not one of us leaves this earth one
  • 00:14:05.434 --> 00:14:09.004
  • Second sooner or later than we're supposed to.
  • 00:14:09.004 --> 00:14:13.475
  • The psalmist is right.
  • 00:14:13.475 --> 00:14:14.810
  • The writer of proverbs is right.
  • 00:14:14.810 --> 00:14:16.278
  • It is a thought that is beyond our comprehension.
  • 00:14:16.278 --> 00:14:20.582
  • I don't know about you, but i'm comforted by the fact that
  • 00:14:20.582 --> 00:14:23.619
  • Someone wiser and more powerful than i am in control of
  • 00:14:23.619 --> 00:14:26.922
  • My steps.
  • 00:14:26.922 --> 00:14:28.290
  • That's what the bible teaches.
  • 00:14:28.290 --> 00:14:29.758
  • Our steps, even our steps, are ordained by the lord.
  • 00:14:29.758 --> 00:14:34.096
  • Jeremiah was a prophet of god in the waning days of
  • 00:14:34.096 --> 00:14:37.533
  • Judah's kingdom.
  • 00:14:37.533 --> 00:14:39.268
  • He was imprisoned, he was beaten, he was threatened with
  • 00:14:39.268 --> 00:14:43.572
  • Death, and yet he never wavered in his prophetic calling.
  • 00:14:43.572 --> 00:14:48.043
  • What is it that gave jeremiah great confidence in his
  • 00:14:48.043 --> 00:14:51.313
  • Prophetic assignment?
  • 00:14:51.313 --> 00:14:52.848
  • It's the fact that god had set him apart.
  • 00:14:52.848 --> 00:14:54.950
  • He had chosen him, he had predestined his life.
  • 00:14:54.950 --> 00:14:58.587
  • Listen in jeremiah 1, verse 5.
  • 00:14:58.587 --> 00:15:01.156
  • God said to jeremiah: "before i formed you in the
  • 00:15:01.156 --> 00:15:04.893
  • Womb i knew you.
  • 00:15:04.893 --> 00:15:06.662
  • And before you were born i consecrated you; i've appointed
  • 00:15:06.662 --> 00:15:10.432
  • You as a prophet to the nations."
  • 00:15:10.432 --> 00:15:14.436
  • Eugene peterson in commenting about jeremiah's life, said,
  • 00:15:14.436 --> 00:15:19.241
  • "before jeremiah knew god, god knew jeremiah.
  • 00:15:19.241 --> 00:15:24.546
  • 'before i formed you in the womb i knew you.'
  • 00:15:24.546 --> 00:15:27.816
  • This turns everything we ever thought about god around.
  • 00:15:27.816 --> 00:15:31.553
  • We enter a world we didn't create.
  • 00:15:31.553 --> 00:15:34.156
  • We grow into a life already provided for us.
  • 00:15:34.156 --> 00:15:37.960
  • Jeremiah's life didn't start with jeremiah.
  • 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:41.563
  • Jeremiah's salvation didn't start with jeremiah.
  • 00:15:41.563 --> 00:15:45.100
  • Jeremiah's truth didn't start with jeremiah.
  • 00:15:45.100 --> 00:15:48.904
  • Jeremiah entered the world in which the essential parts of his
  • 00:15:48.904 --> 00:15:52.841
  • Existence were already ancient history.
  • 00:15:52.841 --> 00:15:57.513
  • And so do we."
  • 00:15:57.513 --> 00:16:00.616
  • God's sovereignty means god has a plan.
  • 00:16:00.616 --> 00:16:04.420
  • But there's a second implication of god's sovereignty, and that
  • 00:16:04.420 --> 00:16:07.456
  • Is god has the power to accomplish his plan.
  • 00:16:07.456 --> 00:16:11.460
  • Write that down.
  • 00:16:11.460 --> 00:16:12.795
  • God has the power to accomplish his plan.
  • 00:16:12.795 --> 00:16:15.197
  • There are some people who will concede, they will agree to
  • 00:16:15.197 --> 00:16:17.900
  • Everything i've just said.
  • 00:16:17.900 --> 00:16:19.334
  • They believe, yes, god does have a plan for the world.
  • 00:16:19.334 --> 00:16:21.670
  • He has a plan for my life, but don't human beings sometimes do
  • 00:16:21.670 --> 00:16:25.574
  • Something to mess up god's plan?
  • 00:16:25.574 --> 00:16:27.810
  • I mean, doesn't our sin, our rebellion, our mistakes, doesn't
  • 00:16:27.810 --> 00:16:31.246
  • All of that sometimes mess up god's plans?
  • 00:16:31.246 --> 00:16:34.450
  • And so people have proposed this idea that god has not one will,
  • 00:16:34.450 --> 00:16:37.986
  • But he has two wills.
  • 00:16:37.986 --> 00:16:39.588
  • He has a perfect will, and then he has a permissive will.
  • 00:16:39.588 --> 00:16:45.327
  • Have you ever heard that before?
  • 00:16:45.327 --> 00:16:47.029
  • God's permissive will.
  • 00:16:47.029 --> 00:16:48.864
  • When you ask people, now, what do they mean by god's permissive
  • 00:16:48.864 --> 00:16:51.667
  • Will, they talk about all the things that god wishes wouldn't
  • 00:16:51.667 --> 00:16:56.972
  • Happen, and they put in that category earthquakes, floods,
  • 00:16:56.972 --> 00:17:01.110
  • Starving babies, murders, all of those things they say are not a
  • 00:17:01.110 --> 00:17:05.314
  • Part of god's perfect will,
  • 00:17:05.314 --> 00:17:07.749
  • But they are part of god's permissive will.
  • 00:17:07.749 --> 00:17:11.153
  • Now, that makes great sense until you read the bible,
  • 00:17:11.153 --> 00:17:15.691
  • Because the bible does not teach god has several wills.
  • 00:17:15.691 --> 00:17:19.261
  • He doesn't have a plan a and a plan b.
  • 00:17:19.261 --> 00:17:21.763
  • The bible says god has one will.
  • 00:17:21.763 --> 00:17:24.700
  • Look at ephesians 1, verse 11 again.
  • 00:17:24.700 --> 00:17:27.136
  • He causes all things, "having been predestined according to
  • 00:17:27.136 --> 00:17:33.008
  • The purpose who works all things after the counsel of his will."
  • 00:17:33.008 --> 00:17:38.614
  • When you look at that will, that word "will," is that word
  • 00:17:38.614 --> 00:17:41.984
  • Singular or plural?
  • 00:17:41.984 --> 00:17:44.286
  • It's singular.
  • 00:17:44.286 --> 00:17:45.854
  • God doesn't have multiple plans.
  • 00:17:45.854 --> 00:17:48.190
  • God has one plan.
  • 00:17:48.190 --> 00:17:51.426
  • God has the power to accomplish his plan in your
  • 00:17:51.426 --> 00:17:55.430
  • Life and in my life.
  • 00:17:55.430 --> 00:17:56.798
  • You know, if there was anybody who would've been a candidate to
  • 00:17:56.798 --> 00:17:59.134
  • Believe in god's permissive will, it would have been the
  • 00:17:59.134 --> 00:18:01.603
  • Character job in the old testament.
  • 00:18:01.603 --> 00:18:03.972
  • Now, i want you to think about all that job went through.
  • 00:18:03.972 --> 00:18:06.642
  • He lost his health, he lost his possessions, he lost his
  • 00:18:06.642 --> 00:18:11.280
  • Children in a freak accident.
  • 00:18:11.280 --> 00:18:14.416
  • Job could have said, "god, i know you don't want this
  • 00:18:14.416 --> 00:18:17.386
  • To happen.
  • 00:18:17.386 --> 00:18:18.754
  • I know this must be your permissive will, not your
  • 00:18:18.754 --> 00:18:21.023
  • Perfect will."
  • 00:18:21.023 --> 00:18:22.391
  • Is that how job responded?
  • 00:18:22.391 --> 00:18:23.926
  • In job chapter 42, verses 1 and 2, job said, "for i know that
  • 00:18:23.926 --> 00:18:28.397
  • Thou can doest all things.
  • 00:18:28.397 --> 00:18:30.465
  • And that no purpose of thine can be thwarted."
  • 00:18:30.465 --> 00:18:34.536
  • Now, job was filled with all kind of questions.
  • 00:18:34.536 --> 00:18:37.472
  • He asked god, "why, why, why did you allow these things
  • 00:18:37.472 --> 00:18:41.276
  • To happen?"
  • 00:18:41.276 --> 00:18:42.644
  • That's what the book of job is about.
  • 00:18:42.644 --> 00:18:44.246
  • But job never doubted god's ability to carry out god's plan
  • 00:18:44.246 --> 00:18:48.450
  • In his life.
  • 00:18:48.450 --> 00:18:49.785
  • He said, "god, i know you can do whatever you choose to do."
  • 00:18:49.785 --> 00:18:54.923
  • What's interesting when you read the book of job is, god never
  • 00:18:54.923 --> 00:18:58.460
  • Answers the why question.
  • 00:18:58.460 --> 00:19:01.230
  • He never explains to job what we all know from reading verses 1
  • 00:19:01.230 --> 00:19:05.200
  • And 2 that this was a part of an eternal drama that was going on.
  • 00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:09.471
  • God never answers the why question.
  • 00:19:09.471 --> 00:19:12.674
  • But he does answer the who question.
  • 00:19:12.674 --> 00:19:15.177
  • He said to job, "job, trust me, i'm in control."
  • 00:19:15.177 --> 00:19:20.816
  • By the way, rarely does god ever answer the why question for
  • 00:19:20.816 --> 00:19:23.852
  • Us either.
  • 00:19:23.852 --> 00:19:26.221
  • But we can answer the who question.
  • 00:19:26.221 --> 00:19:29.057
  • God is in control.
  • 00:19:29.057 --> 00:19:32.027
  • Faith is believing in god, believing that god is working in
  • 00:19:32.027 --> 00:19:35.631
  • The darkness, even when we can't see his hand in the darkness.
  • 00:19:35.631 --> 00:19:40.102
  • The sovereignty of god means god has a plan for my life and he
  • 00:19:40.102 --> 00:19:43.705
  • Has the power to accomplish that plan.
  • 00:19:43.705 --> 00:19:47.576
  • Now, if i were to stop the message right here and issue the
  • 00:19:47.576 --> 00:19:49.811
  • Invitation, you might think, well, maybe those deacons in
  • 00:19:49.811 --> 00:19:52.614
  • That church were right.
  • 00:19:52.614 --> 00:19:54.883
  • Maybe you are off balance if you believe in the sovereignty of
  • 00:19:54.883 --> 00:19:58.387
  • God like that.
  • 00:19:58.387 --> 00:20:00.756
  • But you see, the message would be incomplete if i stopped right
  • 00:20:00.756 --> 00:20:03.558
  • There because the scripture does affirm the sovereignty of god,
  • 00:20:03.558 --> 00:20:06.595
  • But there's also another truth the bible affirms, and that is
  • 00:20:06.595 --> 00:20:10.966
  • Our responsibility for making wise decisions.
  • 00:20:10.966 --> 00:20:15.070
  • You see, whatever you believe about the sovereignty of god,
  • 00:20:15.070 --> 00:20:17.639
  • And i strongly believe in the sovereignty of god, understand
  • 00:20:17.639 --> 00:20:20.742
  • That, first of all, the sovereignty of god does not
  • 00:20:20.742 --> 00:20:23.578
  • Excuse us from making wise decisions in life.
  • 00:20:23.578 --> 00:20:27.549
  • Write it down.
  • 00:20:27.549 --> 00:20:28.884
  • The sovereignty of god does not excuse you from making
  • 00:20:28.884 --> 00:20:32.254
  • Wise decisions.
  • 00:20:32.254 --> 00:20:33.588
  • Proverbs 4:5 says: "acquire understanding!
  • 00:20:33.588 --> 00:20:36.692
  • Acquire wisdom!"
  • 00:20:36.692 --> 00:20:39.594
  • I love the story from the late bible teacher, dr. j.
  • 00:20:39.594 --> 00:20:43.265
  • Vernon mcgee.
  • 00:20:43.265 --> 00:20:44.633
  • Do you all remember listening to dr. mcgee on the radio?
  • 00:20:44.633 --> 00:20:47.102
  • You can still listen to him.
  • 00:20:47.102 --> 00:20:48.437
  • Though dead, he still speaks on the radio, but dr. mcgee one
  • 00:20:48.437 --> 00:20:53.108
  • Time was teaching on predestination and election, and
  • 00:20:53.108 --> 00:20:56.478
  • A young man came to him after the message and said, "dr.
  • 00:20:56.478 --> 00:20:59.014
  • Mcgee, i am so convinced of the sovereignty of god, i believe
  • 00:20:59.014 --> 00:21:03.585
  • That if i went outside and stood in the middle of a busy highway
  • 00:21:03.585 --> 00:21:07.489
  • And my hour had not come, god would save me."
  • 00:21:07.489 --> 00:21:11.326
  • And dr. mcgee looked at him and said, "son, if you go out and
  • 00:21:11.326 --> 00:21:13.995
  • Stand in the middle of a busy highway, your hour will
  • 00:21:13.995 --> 00:21:17.099
  • Have come."
  • 00:21:17.099 --> 00:21:20.602
  • Don't test the sovereignty of god.
  • 00:21:20.602 --> 00:21:22.404
  • The sovereignty of god does not excuse us from making
  • 00:21:22.404 --> 00:21:25.574
  • Wise decisions.
  • 00:21:25.574 --> 00:21:26.908
  • Ephesians 5 says that we ought to live our lives wisely with a
  • 00:21:26.908 --> 00:21:30.579
  • Sense of purpose.
  • 00:21:30.579 --> 00:21:31.913
  • Number two, the sovereignty of god doesn't exempt us from the
  • 00:21:31.913 --> 00:21:35.650
  • Consequences of wrong choices.
  • 00:21:35.650 --> 00:21:38.720
  • It doesn't exempt us from the consequences of wrong choices.
  • 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:41.790
  • Some people can take this idea to the extreme of the
  • 00:21:41.790 --> 00:21:44.326
  • Sovereignty of god and say, "well, if god is in control, if
  • 00:21:44.326 --> 00:21:47.496
  • Everything is predestined, i can do whatever i want to without
  • 00:21:47.496 --> 00:21:50.899
  • Any consequences."
  • 00:21:50.899 --> 00:21:52.534
  • The scripture does not teach that.
  • 00:21:52.534 --> 00:21:54.636
  • For a good illustration of that, turn over to acts chapter 4.
  • 00:21:54.636 --> 00:21:57.973
  • Acts chapter 4.
  • 00:21:57.973 --> 00:22:01.109
  • The setting is shortly after the day of pentecost, just several
  • 00:22:01.109 --> 00:22:08.417
  • Months after the crucifixion of jesus christ.
  • 00:22:08.417 --> 00:22:12.220
  • I want you to think about how the apostles must have viewed
  • 00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:15.090
  • The crucifixion of christ.
  • 00:22:15.090 --> 00:22:17.526
  • On that friday afternoon as jesus was taken down, limp from
  • 00:22:17.526 --> 00:22:21.496
  • The cross, i'm sure the disciples were disappointed.
  • 00:22:21.496 --> 00:22:26.601
  • In an instant, all of their hopes for a new kingdom
  • 00:22:26.601 --> 00:22:29.571
  • Had evaporated.
  • 00:22:29.571 --> 00:22:31.973
  • I'm sure they could have said to themselves, "we know this may
  • 00:22:31.973 --> 00:22:34.876
  • Have been a part of god's permissive will, but certainly
  • 00:22:34.876 --> 00:22:37.712
  • It wasn't god's perfect will."
  • 00:22:37.712 --> 00:22:40.582
  • For his own son to have gone through such torture,
  • 00:22:40.582 --> 00:22:43.418
  • Humiliation, and death.
  • 00:22:43.418 --> 00:22:46.188
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:22:46.188 --> 00:22:51.593
  • Jeffress: there's so much more we need to discover on today's
  • 00:22:51.593 --> 00:22:54.262
  • Topic, so be sure to join me again next time for the
  • 00:22:54.262 --> 00:22:57.432
  • Conclusion of this message, "the shepherd's safety net."
  • 00:22:57.432 --> 00:23:02.037
  • Well, just imagine the change that would take place in our
  • 00:23:02.037 --> 00:23:05.307
  • Country or even our world if our leaders and lawmakers followed
  • 00:23:05.307 --> 00:23:09.978
  • This biblical model for making wise decisions.
  • 00:23:09.978 --> 00:23:13.882
  • I know many in our viewing family have been distraught,
  • 00:23:13.882 --> 00:23:17.252
  • Even heartbroken about the direction our country is
  • 00:23:17.252 --> 00:23:20.355
  • Currently heading.
  • 00:23:20.355 --> 00:23:21.823
  • Rest assured, god knows your heart and feels your
  • 00:23:21.823 --> 00:23:25.126
  • Disappointment, and gratefully he's using "pathway to victory"
  • 00:23:25.126 --> 00:23:29.297
  • As a beacon of his truth.
  • 00:23:29.297 --> 00:23:31.533
  • We promise to continue to uphold god's message of light and life
  • 00:23:31.533 --> 00:23:35.937
  • As long as we have people like you who support "pathway
  • 00:23:35.937 --> 00:23:39.274
  • To victory."
  • 00:23:39.274 --> 00:23:40.609
  • Thank you so much for partnering with us as we pierce the
  • 00:23:40.609 --> 00:23:43.979
  • Darkness with the light of god's word.
  • 00:23:43.979 --> 00:23:46.848
  • Now, stay right there.
  • 00:23:46.848 --> 00:23:48.216
  • I'll be back with more "pathway to victory" in just a moment.
  • 00:23:48.216 --> 00:23:51.920
  • Announcer: life's most important crossroads often arrive
  • 00:23:53.955 --> 00:23:56.725
  • Without warning.
  • 00:23:56.725 --> 00:23:58.126
  • When the stakes are high and the path forward isn't clear, how
  • 00:23:58.126 --> 00:24:01.630
  • Can you be confident you're following god's will?
  • 00:24:01.630 --> 00:24:04.366
  • In "how to make wise decisions," trusted author and bible teacher
  • 00:24:04.366 --> 00:24:08.570
  • Dr. robert jeffress offers you practical advice on how you can
  • 00:24:08.570 --> 00:24:12.374
  • Know with certainty the will of god in any situation.
  • 00:24:12.374 --> 00:24:16.044
  • Jeffress: one of the most frequently asked questions i
  • 00:24:16.044 --> 00:24:18.847
  • Receive as a pastor is: how can i know god's will for my life?
  • 00:24:18.847 --> 00:24:23.618
  • Too many believers are paralyzed by fear of making the wrong
  • 00:24:23.618 --> 00:24:27.255
  • Choice, but god hasn't left us guessing.
  • 00:24:27.255 --> 00:24:30.325
  • In my book, i reveal the biblical principles for
  • 00:24:30.325 --> 00:24:33.495
  • Recognizing god's voice and discerning god's will.
  • 00:24:33.495 --> 00:24:37.465
  • Announcer: request your copy of "how to make wise decisions"
  • 00:24:37.465 --> 00:24:40.201
  • When you give a generous gift to "pathway to victory"
  • 00:24:40.201 --> 00:24:43.171
  • Or when you become a pathway partner.
  • 00:24:43.171 --> 00:24:45.473
  • And with your ministry gift of $75 or more, we'll also include
  • 00:24:45.473 --> 00:24:49.844
  • The complete "how to make wise decisions" teaching series on
  • 00:24:49.844 --> 00:24:53.281
  • Both cd and dvd.
  • 00:24:53.281 --> 00:24:55.216
  • Jeffress: when god speaks to us, he does so more than just to
  • 00:24:55.216 --> 00:24:57.852
  • Give us courage and comfort to face our present situation.
  • 00:24:57.852 --> 00:25:01.823
  • He actually promises guidance, direction, to those who trust
  • 00:25:01.823 --> 00:25:06.328
  • In him.
  • 00:25:06.328 --> 00:25:07.662
  • Announcer: thank you for partnering with us to share
  • 00:25:07.662 --> 00:25:09.464
  • God's life-transforming word with a world in need.
  • 00:25:09.464 --> 00:25:13.001
  • Your generosity will empower "pathway to victory" to speak
  • 00:25:13.001 --> 00:25:16.338
  • Bold biblical truth into your life and the lives of millions
  • 00:25:16.338 --> 00:25:20.108
  • Across the country and around the world.
  • 00:25:20.108 --> 00:25:23.311
  • Jeffress: you could spend all day debating the mysteries of
  • 00:25:24.846 --> 00:25:27.749
  • God's sovereignty versus man's will, and believe me, many
  • 00:25:27.749 --> 00:25:31.886
  • People do, but in the end i firmly believe that god has a
  • 00:25:31.886 --> 00:25:36.458
  • Plan for our lives and he will accomplish that plan.
  • 00:25:36.458 --> 00:25:40.395
  • And that should bring us great comfort.
  • 00:25:40.395 --> 00:25:43.365
  • Next time we'll continue to explore the relationship between
  • 00:25:43.365 --> 00:25:46.468
  • The sovereignty of god and our responsibility for making
  • 00:25:46.468 --> 00:25:50.705
  • Wise decisions.
  • 00:25:50.705 --> 00:25:52.474
  • Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next on
  • 00:25:52.474 --> 00:25:55.410
  • "pathway to victory."
  • 00:25:55.410 --> 00:25:58.213
  • Jeffress: and what you'll find is once god has accomplished his
  • 00:25:58.213 --> 00:26:01.082
  • Purpose in your life, once you make it to the other side,
  • 00:26:01.082 --> 00:26:04.085
  • Walking through that storm with him, you'll find that that storm
  • 00:26:04.085 --> 00:26:07.455
  • Subsides as quickly as it arose.
  • 00:26:07.455 --> 00:26:10.825
  • The fact that god is in control gives us great comfort for
  • 00:26:10.825 --> 00:26:14.496
  • The present.
  • 00:26:14.496 --> 00:26:15.830
  • To know he's in control, he has a purpose he's working out in
  • 00:26:15.830 --> 00:26:18.767
  • Our lives.
  • 00:26:18.767 --> 00:26:20.168
  • Announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for part two of the
  • 00:26:20.168 --> 00:26:23.271
  • Message, "the shepherd's safety net," here on "pathway
  • 00:26:23.271 --> 00:26:26.808
  • To victory."
  • 00:26:26.808 --> 00:26:28.176
  • Announcer: experience the beauty of alaska with the "pathway to
  • 00:26:30.812 --> 00:26:33.848
  • Victory" family, june 13 through 20, 2026.
  • 00:26:33.848 --> 00:26:37.519
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:26:37.519 --> 00:27:19.394
  • Announcer: don't wait.
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  • Our best cabins are going fast.
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  • Secure your alaska adventure now.
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  • Call...
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  • Or visit ptv.org.
  • 00:27:27.235 --> 00:27:27.235