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Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - These Boots Were Made For Walking (Part 1)

March 12, 2026 | 27:29

Robert Jeffress - These Boots Were Made For Walking (Part 1)
Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.
#SpiritualWarfare #ArmorofGod #Protection #WalkwithGod #Purpose #Calling #Satan #Temptation #Overcoming #Evil #Mind #HandofGod #Creation #God'sWill #Plan #Dedication/Devotion #RobertJeffress

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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - These Boots Were Made For Walking (Part 1) | March 12, 2026
  • ...
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  • Male announcer: alaska is unlike any other place on earth, and
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  • Dr. robert jeffress: you know, i can hardly wait to show
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  • You alaska.
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  • I've been there before, and every time i witness those
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  • Massive glaciers and towering mountains, i'm reminded of how
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  • Incredibly creative our god is.
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  • Male announcer: picture this, waking up to snow-capped peaks
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  • Outside your window, then heading to your refreshing
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  • Breakfast, knowing that all your meals are prepared for you.
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  • The world-class service means that you can truly relax.
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  • Jeffress: we'll explore charming villages together, we'll stroll
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  • Alongside the still waters of a mountain stream, and yes, we'll
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  • See god's artistry at every turn.
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  • Male announcer: reserve your spot on the 2026 "pathway to
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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
  • 00:01:09.459 --> 00:01:12.328
  • Dr. robert jeffress.
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  • Jeffress: hi, i'm robert jeffress, and welcome again to
  • 00:01:15.198 --> 00:01:17.400
  • "pathway to victory."
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  • Before jesus ascended into heaven he gave every believer
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  • A mission to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, but did
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  • You know that living out that purpose is also one of your most
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  • Powerful weapons against satan?
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  • Today i'm going to show you how understanding your god-given
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  • Purpose will help you make three critical choices, choices that
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  • Will keep you safe from the enemy's most dangerous traps.
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  • My message is titled "these boots were made for walking,"
  • 00:01:45.695 --> 00:01:50.033
  • On today's edition of "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Male announcer: whether you know it or not, you're in a battle.
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  • Satan has a strategy to attack your faith, disrupt your family,
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  • And derail your future, but god has given you everything you
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  • Need to fight back and win.
  • 00:02:07.717 --> 00:02:09.886
  • In "the divine defense," dr. robert jeffress reveals six
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  • Practical strategies from ephesians chapter 6 to defeat
  • 00:02:13.623 --> 00:02:17.160
  • Satan's destructive plan.
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  • When you put on the full armor of god, satan doesn't have
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  • A prayer.
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  • Request "the divine defense" when you give a generous
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  • Ministry gift to "pathway to victory."
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  • Stay tuned for a very special "ask dr. jeffress" segment after
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  • Today's message.
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Jeffress: the famous playwright george bernard shaw wrote, "this
  • 00:02:41.918 --> 00:02:45.989
  • Is true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by
  • 00:02:45.989 --> 00:02:51.661
  • Yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature instead of
  • 00:02:51.661 --> 00:02:57.767
  • A feverish, selfish little cloud of ailments and grievances,
  • 00:02:57.767 --> 00:03:02.805
  • Constantly complaining that the world would not devote itself to
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  • Making you happy."
  • 00:03:06.843 --> 00:03:09.312
  • Now, there's no evidence that george bernard shaw was
  • 00:03:09.312 --> 00:03:11.914
  • A christian, but he understood the value of a clear purpose
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  • In life.
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  • Knowing your purpose is like a beacon that gives direction in
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  • The darkness.
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  • Living out your purpose gives you real fulfillment in life,
  • 00:03:23.092 --> 00:03:27.797
  • And living out your purpose is also a powerful deterrent to
  • 00:03:27.797 --> 00:03:33.002
  • Satan's attack on your life, and that's what we're going to
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  • Talk about today.
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  • If you have your bibles, turn to ephesians 6.
  • 00:03:37.940 --> 00:03:41.077
  • As you know by now,
  • 00:03:41.077 --> 00:03:42.445
  • Ephesians 6 is probably the clearest passage of scripture
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  • Anywhere about the spiritual battle we're all engaged in,
  • 00:03:46.082 --> 00:03:49.385
  • Whether we recognize it or not.
  • 00:03:49.385 --> 00:03:51.454
  • You are in a life and death struggle against an adversary.
  • 00:03:51.454 --> 00:03:54.657
  • That adversary is not your boss at work.
  • 00:03:54.657 --> 00:03:57.794
  • That adversary is not the government.
  • 00:03:57.794 --> 00:04:00.563
  • Your adversary is an unseen but very real being named satan.
  • 00:04:00.563 --> 00:04:06.202
  • He has a blueprint to destroy everything important in your
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  • Life, and paul says the only way we're going to win that life and
  • 00:04:10.273 --> 00:04:13.976
  • Death struggle is by using the weapons that god has provided
  • 00:04:13.976 --> 00:04:18.181
  • Us, and paul describes those six weapons beginning in ephesians
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  • Chapter 6.
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  • As he was chained to a roman soldier, he noticed six
  • 00:04:24.287 --> 00:04:27.357
  • Weapons, six pieces of armor that the roman soldier had, and
  • 00:04:27.357 --> 00:04:32.195
  • He likened those to the strategies that god has given us
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  • To defeat satan before he destroys us.
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  • Remember what those weapons are?
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  • He starts out with the belt of truth, that is recognizing wrong
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  • Thoughts and replacing them with god's thought.
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  • That's the first thing we have to do.
  • 00:04:48.778 --> 00:04:51.481
  • All the spiritual warfare begins in the mind.
  • 00:04:51.481 --> 00:04:54.984
  • The greatest battlefield you're fighting on is beginning in
  • 00:04:54.984 --> 00:04:58.621
  • Your mind.
  • 00:04:58.621 --> 00:04:59.989
  • Put on the belt of truth, and then he said, put on the
  • 00:04:59.989 --> 00:05:02.058
  • Breastplate of righteousness.
  • 00:05:02.058 --> 00:05:04.494
  • Obey what you already know to be true.
  • 00:05:04.494 --> 00:05:07.296
  • That's what that strategy is, doing what you know you should
  • 00:05:07.296 --> 00:05:10.333
  • Do, and then thirdly, he talks about in verse 15, "having shod
  • 00:05:10.333 --> 00:05:15.972
  • Your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace," putting
  • 00:05:15.972 --> 00:05:19.942
  • On your feet the right footwear, if you will.
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  • For a soldier that was the roman boot.
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  • It was thick soled.
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  • It would protect the soldier against sharp sticks right
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  • Beneath the surface of the ground, or it would protect the
  • 00:05:31.988 --> 00:05:35.391
  • Soldier's feet against the jagged edges of a stone that he
  • 00:05:35.391 --> 00:05:39.262
  • Might encounter, but that thick roman boot was important to give
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  • Stability to that soldier, traction when he was in hand to
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  • Hand combat.
  • 00:05:48.604 --> 00:05:50.239
  • What is the foundation?
  • 00:05:50.239 --> 00:05:51.574
  • What is the spiritual footwear?
  • 00:05:51.574 --> 00:05:53.943
  • It's confusing to a lot of people, these words, until they
  • 00:05:53.943 --> 00:05:57.180
  • Realize that this is actually a quotation of isaiah 52, verse 7.
  • 00:05:57.180 --> 00:06:02.452
  • Remember isaiah said, how blessed, how happy, is the
  • 00:06:02.452 --> 00:06:06.355
  • Person who puts on the footwear, who shods his feet with the
  • 00:06:06.355 --> 00:06:12.161
  • Sharing of the gospel, the good news, who announces salvation.
  • 00:06:12.161 --> 00:06:17.400
  • Our spiritual foundation, our footwear that we put on, is our
  • 00:06:17.400 --> 00:06:21.904
  • Preparation and our commitment to sharing the gospel of
  • 00:06:21.904 --> 00:06:25.608
  • Jesus christ.
  • 00:06:25.608 --> 00:06:28.244
  • With all apologies to the great theologian nancy sinatra, "these
  • 00:06:28.244 --> 00:06:34.317
  • Boots we wear, these boots were made for walking."
  • 00:06:34.317 --> 00:06:38.821
  • I may sing that.
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  • No, i'm not gonna do that.
  • 00:06:40.156 --> 00:06:41.524
  • I'd lose my status if i'd tried to do that.
  • 00:06:41.524 --> 00:06:44.494
  • But the point is, the reason we're to base christ's gospel as
  • 00:06:44.494 --> 00:06:49.932
  • Our foundation is not just for what it does for us, but it's
  • 00:06:49.932 --> 00:06:53.402
  • Sharing it to others.
  • 00:06:53.402 --> 00:06:55.037
  • How beautiful are the feet of those who share the gospel
  • 00:06:55.037 --> 00:06:58.341
  • Of peace.
  • 00:06:58.341 --> 00:06:59.675
  • That's what he's talking about in ephesians 6:15.
  • 00:06:59.675 --> 00:07:02.478
  • A powerful deterrent to satan's plan to destroy your life is to
  • 00:07:02.478 --> 00:07:07.550
  • Understand your real purpose.
  • 00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:09.352
  • Now, people may wonder, what is the relationship between my
  • 00:07:09.352 --> 00:07:12.455
  • Purpose in life, evangelism, sharing the gospel, and
  • 00:07:12.455 --> 00:07:16.526
  • Defeating satan's attack.
  • 00:07:16.526 --> 00:07:18.694
  • Last time, we looked at three of four statements that are
  • 00:07:18.694 --> 00:07:21.831
  • Foundational to understanding this.
  • 00:07:21.831 --> 00:07:24.033
  • First of all, if you don't remember it, or even if you do,
  • 00:07:24.033 --> 00:07:26.903
  • Write it down.
  • 00:07:26.903 --> 00:07:28.271
  • God created you for a great purpose.
  • 00:07:28.271 --> 00:07:30.439
  • Regardless of what the evolutionist says, you're not
  • 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:33.042
  • Here by a biological fluke.
  • 00:07:33.042 --> 00:07:35.745
  • You're here for a purpose.
  • 00:07:35.745 --> 00:07:37.346
  • God created you.
  • 00:07:37.346 --> 00:07:38.714
  • Jeremiah 1:5, he created you for a great purpose.
  • 00:07:38.714 --> 00:07:42.919
  • Secondly, your life purpose is to fulfill god's purpose.
  • 00:07:42.919 --> 00:07:47.423
  • You don't have to go around wondering, why am i here?
  • 00:07:47.423 --> 00:07:50.126
  • What's my purpose in life?
  • 00:07:50.126 --> 00:07:51.961
  • Your purpose, my purpose, is to always fill god's purpose.
  • 00:07:51.961 --> 00:07:55.565
  • As somebody said, the question every christian should ask is
  • 00:07:55.565 --> 00:07:59.335
  • Not, god, what is your will for my life?
  • 00:07:59.335 --> 00:08:02.638
  • The question is, god, what is your will, and how can i devote
  • 00:08:02.638 --> 00:08:06.842
  • My life to meeting that need?
  • 00:08:06.842 --> 00:08:09.912
  • God has already told us what his will is.
  • 00:08:09.912 --> 00:08:12.982
  • "god is not willing that any should perish," paul wrote, "but
  • 00:08:12.982 --> 00:08:15.952
  • All should come to a knowledge of the truth."
  • 00:08:15.952 --> 00:08:18.888
  • God's will is to save as many people as possible, and so
  • 00:08:18.888 --> 00:08:22.925
  • Whatever our purpose we think in life is, it is tied to
  • 00:08:22.925 --> 00:08:27.129
  • God's purpose.
  • 00:08:27.129 --> 00:08:28.497
  • Simply put, our business is to make god's business our
  • 00:08:28.497 --> 00:08:32.034
  • Business, and god is in the business of saving people.
  • 00:08:32.034 --> 00:08:36.372
  • Thirdly, fulfilling your life purpose is key to fulfillment
  • 00:08:36.372 --> 00:08:40.543
  • In life.
  • 00:08:40.543 --> 00:08:41.877
  • Listen to this.
  • 00:08:41.877 --> 00:08:43.245
  • You will never be satisfied in life until you connect yourself
  • 00:08:43.245 --> 00:08:46.382
  • With an eternal purpose, why?
  • 00:08:46.382 --> 00:08:49.051
  • Solomon said god has set eternity in our hearts, and as
  • 00:08:49.051 --> 00:08:53.756
  • Eternal beings, we can only be satisfied by that which
  • 00:08:53.756 --> 00:08:57.093
  • Is eternal.
  • 00:08:57.093 --> 00:08:58.527
  • Trying to satisfy your eternal needs with a temporal purpose is
  • 00:08:58.527 --> 00:09:03.499
  • Like trying to fill an ocean with a bucket of water.
  • 00:09:03.499 --> 00:09:06.569
  • You just can't do it.
  • 00:09:06.569 --> 00:09:08.371
  • No, we need an eternal companion, that's god, but we
  • 00:09:08.371 --> 00:09:12.642
  • Need his eternal purpose to be fulfilled, and that's sharing
  • 00:09:12.642 --> 00:09:16.245
  • The gospel with others, and that leads to the fourth principle
  • 00:09:16.245 --> 00:09:19.615
  • We're going to look at today.
  • 00:09:19.615 --> 00:09:21.384
  • Living your life purpose will help you thwart satan's attacks.
  • 00:09:21.384 --> 00:09:27.156
  • How so?
  • 00:09:27.156 --> 00:09:28.524
  • When you understand what your purpose in life is, it will give
  • 00:09:28.524 --> 00:09:31.694
  • You the resolve to make three key choices in your life that
  • 00:09:31.694 --> 00:09:36.766
  • Not only enhance the spread of the gospel, but will keep you
  • 00:09:36.766 --> 00:09:40.369
  • Safe from the attacks of satan in your life.
  • 00:09:40.369 --> 00:09:43.005
  • You want to know what these three choices are?
  • 00:09:43.005 --> 00:09:46.042
  • You know, choices are important.
  • 00:09:46.042 --> 00:09:47.943
  • They determine the direction of our life.
  • 00:09:47.943 --> 00:09:50.179
  • Remember the airline executive we talked about last week who
  • 00:09:50.179 --> 00:09:53.482
  • Chose to serve peanuts on southwest airlines instead of
  • 00:09:53.482 --> 00:09:57.820
  • A chicken caesar salad?
  • 00:09:57.820 --> 00:09:59.155
  • Why did he make that choice?
  • 00:09:59.155 --> 00:10:00.723
  • It's not because peanuts were tastier than a chicken
  • 00:10:00.723 --> 00:10:04.360
  • Caesar salad.
  • 00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:05.695
  • It's not because choosing to serve a salad would make him the
  • 00:10:05.695 --> 00:10:09.632
  • Airline known for the best food in the world.
  • 00:10:09.632 --> 00:10:12.568
  • No, he had a purpose to have the lowest fare airline in the
  • 00:10:12.568 --> 00:10:17.206
  • World, and that choice came out of that purpose.
  • 00:10:17.206 --> 00:10:20.910
  • In the same way, when you understand god's purpose for you
  • 00:10:20.910 --> 00:10:24.413
  • Is to draw as many people to god as possible through faith in
  • 00:10:24.413 --> 00:10:27.583
  • Jesus christ, it will help you make these three choices.
  • 00:10:27.583 --> 00:10:31.020
  • Choice number one, choosing purity over immorality.
  • 00:10:31.020 --> 00:10:37.660
  • Choosing purity over immorality.
  • 00:10:37.660 --> 00:10:41.063
  • I remember talking to a christian one time who had
  • 00:10:41.063 --> 00:10:43.966
  • Become enslaved by a terrible destructive addiction, and i was
  • 00:10:43.966 --> 00:10:48.471
  • Asking him about his spiritual heritage, and he told me that
  • 00:10:48.471 --> 00:10:53.209
  • His parents were christians, and he said his dad was the
  • 00:10:53.209 --> 00:10:57.046
  • Spiritual leader of the house, would make sure the kids were in
  • 00:10:57.046 --> 00:11:00.116
  • Church every sunday.
  • 00:11:00.116 --> 00:11:02.251
  • He was on fire in his own relationship with god, but then
  • 00:11:02.251 --> 00:11:05.254
  • One day it was announced that the pastor was resigning because
  • 00:11:05.254 --> 00:11:09.225
  • Of an immoral relationship, and this man told me immediately,
  • 00:11:09.225 --> 00:11:14.497
  • His dad became disillusioned with christianity.
  • 00:11:14.497 --> 00:11:17.967
  • He dropped out of church.
  • 00:11:17.967 --> 00:11:19.802
  • He gave up his faith.
  • 00:11:19.802 --> 00:11:22.138
  • Now, you know as that man told me that story of his dad i
  • 00:11:22.138 --> 00:11:25.407
  • Thought about that pastor.
  • 00:11:25.407 --> 00:11:27.676
  • I doubt that pastor years ago said, "you know what, i'm gonna
  • 00:11:27.676 --> 00:11:32.581
  • Enroll in the seminary, study for three or four years, engage
  • 00:11:32.581 --> 00:11:37.419
  • In ministry, go without, work hard, all so that at the end of
  • 00:11:37.419 --> 00:11:42.825
  • My ministry, i can disillusion as many people as possible with
  • 00:11:42.825 --> 00:11:46.662
  • The gospel of jesus christ."
  • 00:11:46.662 --> 00:11:49.231
  • What sane person would make that choice?
  • 00:11:49.231 --> 00:11:52.434
  • And yet that's exactly what he did.
  • 00:11:52.434 --> 00:11:54.403
  • He sacrificed his study, his sacrifice, his service.
  • 00:11:54.403 --> 00:11:59.041
  • He traded all of that for a few moments of sexual pleasure.
  • 00:11:59.041 --> 00:12:03.546
  • That is insane, but it's a choice that not just preachers
  • 00:12:03.546 --> 00:12:08.751
  • And evangelists, but christians everywhere are making.
  • 00:12:08.751 --> 00:12:12.822
  • Now here's the point.
  • 00:12:12.822 --> 00:12:14.190
  • Most of you here today, most of you watching on television, are
  • 00:12:14.190 --> 00:12:17.626
  • Not called to be what we call full-time christian servants.
  • 00:12:17.626 --> 00:12:21.964
  • Have you ever heard that expression, full-time
  • 00:12:21.964 --> 00:12:24.233
  • Christian servants?
  • 00:12:24.233 --> 00:12:26.669
  • Translation, you don't get paid by the church.
  • 00:12:26.669 --> 00:12:30.506
  • That's what a full-time christian servant is.
  • 00:12:30.506 --> 00:12:32.708
  • It's somebody who gets his paycheck from the church.
  • 00:12:32.708 --> 00:12:35.744
  • Some of us are.
  • 00:12:35.744 --> 00:12:37.112
  • We've been called to do that, but even though we may not all
  • 00:12:37.112 --> 00:12:40.749
  • Be called to be pastors, missionaries, staff members,
  • 00:12:40.749 --> 00:12:44.353
  • We are all called to the same purpose, and that is to share
  • 00:12:44.353 --> 00:12:49.158
  • Christ with as many people as possible.
  • 00:12:49.158 --> 00:12:51.994
  • We're on the same team.
  • 00:12:51.994 --> 00:12:53.929
  • So why would we, if that is our life purpose, and it should be
  • 00:12:53.929 --> 00:12:57.299
  • Our life purpose, why would any of us give that up
  • 00:12:57.299 --> 00:13:01.370
  • For immorality?
  • 00:13:01.370 --> 00:13:03.172
  • You know, paul understood that, and that's why he wrote in 2
  • 00:13:03.172 --> 00:13:06.876
  • Timothy chapter 2, verses 3 to 4 and verse 22, "suffer hardship
  • 00:13:06.876 --> 00:13:12.448
  • With me, as a good soldier of christ jesus.
  • 00:13:12.448 --> 00:13:15.784
  • No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs
  • 00:13:15.784 --> 00:13:19.822
  • Of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him
  • 00:13:19.822 --> 00:13:23.792
  • As a soldier."
  • 00:13:23.792 --> 00:13:25.127
  • Verse 22, "now flee from youthful lust and pursue
  • 00:13:25.127 --> 00:13:29.632
  • Righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on
  • 00:13:29.632 --> 00:13:33.702
  • The lord from a pure heart."
  • 00:13:33.702 --> 00:13:38.173
  • You know, i know you pray for me, and i appreciate that,
  • 00:13:38.173 --> 00:13:43.712
  • Because i'm not immune, i'm not exempt from any temptation, just
  • 00:13:43.712 --> 00:13:47.816
  • As you're not.
  • 00:13:47.816 --> 00:13:49.151
  • Paul said, "therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed
  • 00:13:49.151 --> 00:13:52.888
  • Lest he fall," but there are a number of reasons i wouldn't
  • 00:13:52.888 --> 00:13:57.793
  • Engage in immorality besides my love for my wife and my care for
  • 00:13:57.793 --> 00:14:02.998
  • My family.
  • 00:14:02.998 --> 00:14:05.601
  • I can't imagine having to stand before you and confess a failure
  • 00:14:05.601 --> 00:14:11.340
  • In that way.
  • 00:14:11.340 --> 00:14:12.908
  • I just can't imagine the sorrow of having to do that.
  • 00:14:12.908 --> 00:14:18.147
  • I can't imagine answering to god for the lives i've destroyed if
  • 00:14:18.147 --> 00:14:22.918
  • I got involved in something i shouldn't be involved in, but
  • 00:14:22.918 --> 00:14:27.823
  • I'm not the only one who should ask that question and picture
  • 00:14:27.823 --> 00:14:31.493
  • That possibility.
  • 00:14:31.493 --> 00:14:33.762
  • What about you?
  • 00:14:33.762 --> 00:14:35.097
  • Maybe you're a small group leader.
  • 00:14:35.097 --> 00:14:37.166
  • How would the news of your decision to abandon your mate
  • 00:14:37.166 --> 00:14:40.402
  • For somebody else, how would that affect those you've been
  • 00:14:40.402 --> 00:14:43.372
  • Teaching and leading?
  • 00:14:43.372 --> 00:14:46.241
  • How would the discovery of pornography on your computer at
  • 00:14:46.241 --> 00:14:49.378
  • Work, how would that impact your co-workers who thought you to be
  • 00:14:49.378 --> 00:14:54.216
  • A dedicated christian, co-workers you tried to share
  • 00:14:54.216 --> 00:14:57.453
  • The gospel with?
  • 00:14:57.453 --> 00:14:59.855
  • How would news of your wrong choice, your immorality affect
  • 00:14:59.855 --> 00:15:04.593
  • Your children, your grandchildren, your
  • 00:15:04.593 --> 00:15:06.628
  • Great-grandchildren for the generations to come?
  • 00:15:06.628 --> 00:15:10.799
  • What i'm saying is, understanding your life purpose
  • 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:14.570
  • Is a great deterrent to immorality.
  • 00:15:14.570 --> 00:15:17.606
  • It helps you make the daily choice to choose purity over
  • 00:15:17.606 --> 00:15:21.710
  • Immorality, but that's not the only trap that a christian has
  • 00:15:21.710 --> 00:15:26.482
  • To avoid.
  • 00:15:26.482 --> 00:15:28.050
  • Choosing to make evangelism, sharing christ, your priority
  • 00:15:28.050 --> 00:15:32.755
  • Helps you in choosing generosity over greed.
  • 00:15:32.755 --> 00:15:37.026
  • You know, the bible uses the word snare as something
  • 00:15:37.026 --> 00:15:40.529
  • A christian ought to avoid.
  • 00:15:40.529 --> 00:15:42.231
  • It's a trap set for an animal, and different bait is used to
  • 00:15:42.231 --> 00:15:48.771
  • Attract different kinds of animals.
  • 00:15:48.771 --> 00:15:50.672
  • They're not all attracted by the same thing.
  • 00:15:50.672 --> 00:15:53.709
  • For some people, immorality isn't that big of a temptation,
  • 00:15:53.709 --> 00:15:57.713
  • But greed is, an obsession with material possession,
  • 00:15:57.713 --> 00:16:01.116
  • A preoccupation with money, and it's just as dangerous of a
  • 00:16:01.116 --> 00:16:05.254
  • Snare as immorality.
  • 00:16:05.254 --> 00:16:07.823
  • You know, the bible says there are a number of reasons people
  • 00:16:07.823 --> 00:16:11.026
  • Become preoccupied with money.
  • 00:16:11.026 --> 00:16:13.629
  • Sometimes they become fixated on money because they appreciate
  • 00:16:13.629 --> 00:16:16.832
  • The luxuries that money can purchase, a fine house, a fine
  • 00:16:16.832 --> 00:16:21.203
  • Car, fine clothes.
  • 00:16:21.203 --> 00:16:23.305
  • Other people become enamored with money because they think
  • 00:16:23.305 --> 00:16:26.442
  • It's their passport to independence.
  • 00:16:26.442 --> 00:16:28.811
  • They can do what they want to when they want to when they have
  • 00:16:28.811 --> 00:16:32.548
  • A pile of money.
  • 00:16:32.548 --> 00:16:36.185
  • Landrum leavell was the president of new orleans
  • 00:16:36.185 --> 00:16:39.321
  • Seminary for many years.
  • 00:16:39.321 --> 00:16:41.056
  • He was a great friend of mine and our family, and i remember
  • 00:16:41.056 --> 00:16:44.426
  • He told me one time about a preacher friend of his who had
  • 00:16:44.426 --> 00:16:48.964
  • A goal of accumulating $1 million.
  • 00:16:48.964 --> 00:16:51.567
  • That's all he could think about was having $1 million, and one
  • 00:16:51.567 --> 00:16:54.503
  • Day landrum asked him, "bill, why are you so fixated on having
  • 00:16:54.503 --> 00:16:58.440
  • A million dollars?"
  • 00:16:58.440 --> 00:17:00.142
  • He said, "because, landrum, as soon as i get that million
  • 00:17:00.142 --> 00:17:03.345
  • Dollars, i'll be able to tell my deacons to go straight to hell."
  • 00:17:03.345 --> 00:17:08.951
  • Now, god usually doesn't bless that kind of a goal, but that
  • 00:17:08.951 --> 00:17:13.722
  • Was his idea, money could give him independence.
  • 00:17:13.722 --> 00:17:16.892
  • Maybe you had the thought that if i could just get this amount
  • 00:17:16.892 --> 00:17:19.394
  • Of money, i can tell my employer to take my job, and you know how
  • 00:17:19.394 --> 00:17:22.531
  • The rest of the song goes.
  • 00:17:22.531 --> 00:17:24.533
  • Some people worship money because of the independence it
  • 00:17:24.533 --> 00:17:27.703
  • Gives them.
  • 00:17:27.703 --> 00:17:29.037
  • Other people become enamored with money because they believe
  • 00:17:29.037 --> 00:17:32.474
  • It's the key to protection from adversity in their life.
  • 00:17:32.474 --> 00:17:35.944
  • They think a lot of money can spare them from illness or spare
  • 00:17:35.944 --> 00:17:41.083
  • Them from unemployment.
  • 00:17:41.083 --> 00:17:43.285
  • That's only in their imagination.
  • 00:17:43.285 --> 00:17:45.554
  • You know, proverbs 18, verse 11, is a great verse to memorize
  • 00:17:45.554 --> 00:17:49.691
  • For those who are inclined to worship money.
  • 00:17:49.691 --> 00:17:52.427
  • Solomon said, "a rich person's wealth is his strong city and
  • 00:17:52.427 --> 00:17:58.634
  • Like a high wall in his own imagination."
  • 00:17:58.634 --> 00:18:03.205
  • You're under an illusion if you think money can protect you from
  • 00:18:03.205 --> 00:18:06.041
  • Every adversity.
  • 00:18:06.041 --> 00:18:07.643
  • No amount of money can protect you against a single cell in
  • 00:18:07.643 --> 00:18:12.080
  • Your body that begins to multiply and metastasize.
  • 00:18:12.080 --> 00:18:16.652
  • No amount of money can protect you from a lawsuit that wipes
  • 00:18:16.652 --> 00:18:21.123
  • Out everything you have, and money certainly can't protect
  • 00:18:21.123 --> 00:18:24.993
  • You from the greatest crisis we all face one day, and that
  • 00:18:24.993 --> 00:18:28.764
  • Is death.
  • 00:18:28.764 --> 00:18:30.232
  • That's why paul said in 1 timothy 6, verses 9 and 10, "but
  • 00:18:30.232 --> 00:18:33.669
  • Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare,"
  • 00:18:33.669 --> 00:18:38.073
  • There's that word, a trap, "and many foolish and harmful desires
  • 00:18:38.073 --> 00:18:42.477
  • Which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
  • 00:18:42.477 --> 00:18:46.181
  • For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and
  • 00:18:46.181 --> 00:18:50.519
  • Some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith
  • 00:18:50.519 --> 00:18:54.223
  • And pierced themselves with many griefs."
  • 00:18:54.223 --> 00:18:58.527
  • A focus on material possessions destroys our desire for god, our
  • 00:18:58.527 --> 00:19:03.432
  • Dependence on god, our trust in god.
  • 00:19:03.432 --> 00:19:06.168
  • How do you break that fixation with money that some
  • 00:19:06.168 --> 00:19:09.004
  • People have?
  • 00:19:09.004 --> 00:19:10.405
  • Many of you may know the name of bob buford.
  • 00:19:10.405 --> 00:19:13.642
  • He was a very successful cable tv executive in east texas, made
  • 00:19:13.642 --> 00:19:18.614
  • Millions and millions of dollars, but halfway through his
  • 00:19:18.614 --> 00:19:21.583
  • Life he decided god was leading him to make a change.
  • 00:19:21.583 --> 00:19:25.687
  • He wanted to move from a life of success to a life of
  • 00:19:25.687 --> 00:19:29.958
  • Significance, and out of that journey he wrote the book
  • 00:19:29.958 --> 00:19:33.495
  • "halftime" that many of you have read, and he describes that
  • 00:19:33.495 --> 00:19:37.799
  • Journey from success to significance.
  • 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:40.002
  • The first thing he did was hire a consultant who had worked for
  • 00:19:40.002 --> 00:19:43.705
  • Coca-cola and xerox to help him map out the second half of his
  • 00:19:43.705 --> 00:19:48.277
  • Life, and after a few hours, this consultant said to bob,
  • 00:19:48.277 --> 00:19:52.848
  • "bob, we--you've been talking for a couple of hours now, and i
  • 00:19:52.848 --> 00:19:57.319
  • Still can't decide what your real focus in life is.
  • 00:19:57.319 --> 00:20:02.257
  • Is your focus money or is it jesus christ?
  • 00:20:02.257 --> 00:20:06.128
  • I can't decide which it is.
  • 00:20:06.128 --> 00:20:08.430
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:20:08.430 --> 00:20:13.969
  • Jeffress: knowing your purpose gives you the resolve to make
  • 00:20:13.969 --> 00:20:16.805
  • Daily choices that honor god and advance his kingdom.
  • 00:20:16.805 --> 00:20:21.043
  • When you're focused on god's eternal purpose, temptation
  • 00:20:21.043 --> 00:20:24.646
  • Loses its grip on your life.
  • 00:20:24.646 --> 00:20:27.182
  • Well, one of my greatest joys as a pastor is hearing how god is
  • 00:20:27.182 --> 00:20:30.952
  • Using "pathway to victory" to help believers grow stronger in
  • 00:20:30.952 --> 00:20:34.523
  • Their faith.
  • 00:20:34.523 --> 00:20:35.857
  • For example, jesse from southern california wrote, "this ministry
  • 00:20:35.857 --> 00:20:40.162
  • Has touched my life and transformed me by helping me
  • 00:20:40.162 --> 00:20:43.765
  • Understand the bible more clearly and grow in the
  • 00:20:43.765 --> 00:20:46.902
  • Knowledge of god."
  • 00:20:46.902 --> 00:20:48.403
  • Well, thank you, jesse, for those encouraging words, and to
  • 00:20:48.403 --> 00:20:52.107
  • Everyone who supports "pathway to victory," especially our
  • 00:20:52.107 --> 00:20:55.210
  • Pathway partners.
  • 00:20:55.210 --> 00:20:56.645
  • Testimonies like jesse's are made possible because of your
  • 00:20:56.645 --> 00:21:00.382
  • Faithful generosity.
  • 00:21:00.382 --> 00:21:02.484
  • Your gifts enable us to proclaim god's truth through television,
  • 00:21:02.484 --> 00:21:06.321
  • Radio, and digital streaming, reaching people across america
  • 00:21:06.321 --> 00:21:10.459
  • And around the world who are hungry to understand god's word.
  • 00:21:10.459 --> 00:21:14.563
  • Thank you so much for partnering with us to pierce the darkness
  • 00:21:14.563 --> 00:21:18.734
  • With the light of god's word.
  • 00:21:18.734 --> 00:21:20.702
  • Now stay right there.
  • 00:21:20.702 --> 00:21:22.037
  • I'll be back with more "pathway to victory" in just a moment.
  • 00:21:22.037 --> 00:21:26.541
  • Male announcer: that recurring temptation you can't shake, the
  • 00:21:26.608 --> 00:21:29.411
  • Doubts that creep in during your darkest moments, the tension in
  • 00:21:29.411 --> 00:21:32.848
  • Your closest relationships, these aren't random struggles.
  • 00:21:32.848 --> 00:21:36.418
  • These are part of a strategic attack on your faith, your
  • 00:21:36.418 --> 00:21:39.321
  • Family, and your future.
  • 00:21:39.321 --> 00:21:40.956
  • Jeffress: satan has a personalized plan to discourage,
  • 00:21:40.956 --> 00:21:44.526
  • Deceive, and derail you, but you don't have to live in defeat.
  • 00:21:44.526 --> 00:21:49.164
  • God has given you access to the same power that raised jesus
  • 00:21:49.164 --> 00:21:52.768
  • From the dead.
  • 00:21:52.768 --> 00:21:54.102
  • In my bestselling book "the divine defense," i'll show you
  • 00:21:54.102 --> 00:21:57.339
  • How to put on the full armor of god and use six biblical
  • 00:21:57.339 --> 00:22:01.109
  • Strategies to defeat satan's plan to destroy your life.
  • 00:22:01.109 --> 00:22:05.781
  • Male announcer: request "the divine defense" when you give a
  • 00:22:05.781 --> 00:22:07.949
  • Generous gift to "pathway to victory" or when you become a
  • 00:22:07.949 --> 00:22:10.919
  • Pathway partner, and when your gift is $100 or more we'll send
  • 00:22:10.919 --> 00:22:15.290
  • You the complete resource set including the study guide,
  • 00:22:15.290 --> 00:22:18.493
  • "suit up! the armor of god for kids,"
  • 00:22:18.493 --> 00:22:20.495
  • And the teaching series on both cd and dvd.
  • 00:22:20.495 --> 00:22:24.232
  • Jeffress: your mind is the devil's battlefield on which he
  • 00:22:24.232 --> 00:22:28.470
  • Is warring against everything important to you.
  • 00:22:28.470 --> 00:22:33.642
  • It is a battle that seeks to destroy your faith, your family,
  • 00:22:33.642 --> 00:22:38.313
  • And your future.
  • 00:22:38.313 --> 00:22:39.681
  • Male announcer: thank you for supporting "pathway to victory."
  • 00:22:39.681 --> 00:22:42.184
  • Your generous ministry gift helps us broadcast biblical
  • 00:22:42.184 --> 00:22:45.320
  • Truth on television, radio, and online, equipping believers like
  • 00:22:45.320 --> 00:22:49.491
  • You to stand firm and live victoriously.
  • 00:22:49.491 --> 00:22:52.594
  • Together we're piercing the darkness with the light of
  • 00:22:52.594 --> 00:22:55.464
  • God's word.
  • 00:22:55.464 --> 00:22:57.065
  • Jeffress: many christians struggle with sin because
  • 00:22:58.366 --> 00:23:00.435
  • They've lost sight of why they're here, but when you
  • 00:23:00.435 --> 00:23:03.672
  • Connect your daily choices to god's eternal purpose, you'll
  • 00:23:03.672 --> 00:23:07.943
  • Find the strength to resist temptation.
  • 00:23:07.943 --> 00:23:11.112
  • Today we've looked at how your life purpose shapes the choices
  • 00:23:11.112 --> 00:23:14.716
  • You make regarding purity and generosity, but there's one more
  • 00:23:14.716 --> 00:23:19.154
  • Critical area where purpose makes all the difference.
  • 00:23:19.154 --> 00:23:22.691
  • Next time we're going to discover how understanding god's
  • 00:23:22.691 --> 00:23:25.994
  • Purpose for your life will help you stay disciplined and focused
  • 00:23:25.994 --> 00:23:30.131
  • On what matters for eternity.
  • 00:23:30.131 --> 00:23:32.667
  • Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next in our
  • 00:23:32.667 --> 00:23:35.170
  • Series "the divine defense."
  • 00:23:35.170 --> 00:23:38.607
  • Jeffress: we will never discipline ourselves for
  • 00:23:38.607 --> 00:23:41.009
  • Godliness until we understand our purpose in life.
  • 00:23:41.009 --> 00:23:45.981
  • Eventually, if we don't understand our purpose in life,
  • 00:23:45.981 --> 00:23:48.416
  • We'll give up on discipline, and we'll give in to sin.
  • 00:23:48.416 --> 00:23:54.155
  • Paul's point is a very clear one.
  • 00:23:54.155 --> 00:23:56.925
  • Knowing your life purpose is the key not only to spreading the
  • 00:23:56.925 --> 00:24:00.962
  • Gospel, but protecting yourself from the attacks of the
  • 00:24:00.962 --> 00:24:04.833
  • Evil one.
  • 00:24:04.833 --> 00:24:06.768
  • Male announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for part two
  • 00:24:06.768 --> 00:24:09.804
  • Of the message "these boots were made for walking," here on
  • 00:24:09.804 --> 00:24:13.475
  • "pathway to victory."
  • 00:24:13.475 --> 00:24:15.176
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:24:15.176 --> 00:24:24.452
  • Julianne thompson: dr. jeffress, i have kind of a fun question
  • 00:24:24.452 --> 00:24:27.822
  • For you today.
  • 00:24:27.822 --> 00:24:29.157
  • The question is, if you had not become a pastor, what other
  • 00:24:29.157 --> 00:24:32.961
  • Profession might you have pursued?
  • 00:24:32.961 --> 00:24:35.196
  • Jeffress: well, that's not a hard one for me because i
  • 00:24:35.196 --> 00:24:37.365
  • Thought i knew what i was going to do with the rest of my life
  • 00:24:37.365 --> 00:24:40.101
  • When i was 6 or 7 years old.
  • 00:24:40.101 --> 00:24:42.404
  • I was fascinated since i was a little kid with television, and
  • 00:24:42.404 --> 00:24:47.242
  • Specifically the business of television, not just what
  • 00:24:47.242 --> 00:24:50.879
  • Happened in front of the camera, but what happened behind the
  • 00:24:50.879 --> 00:24:53.949
  • Scenes, the packaging, the selling of a program, and i
  • 00:24:53.949 --> 00:24:57.218
  • Thought i was going to grow up to be an executive television
  • 00:24:57.218 --> 00:25:01.056
  • Producer, and i was so sure of that every time my parents would
  • 00:25:01.056 --> 00:25:05.160
  • Drop me off at the dallas library to do my homework, i'd
  • 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:08.797
  • Instead spend the time reading every journal i could on
  • 00:25:08.797 --> 00:25:11.933
  • Broadcasting or every business journal i could read,
  • 00:25:11.933 --> 00:25:15.604
  • "forbes" magazine.
  • 00:25:15.604 --> 00:25:17.105
  • I was just taken with the whole topic, but when i was 15 years
  • 00:25:17.105 --> 00:25:21.076
  • Old in 1970, god spoke to me very clearly, and said i was
  • 00:25:21.076 --> 00:25:26.147
  • Going to be a pastor.
  • 00:25:26.147 --> 00:25:27.716
  • People say, "well, was it an audible voice?"
  • 00:25:27.716 --> 00:25:29.718
  • I said, "no, it was much louder than that," and so i started
  • 00:25:29.718 --> 00:25:33.622
  • Turning my interest toward the ministry and getting ready to be
  • 00:25:33.622 --> 00:25:37.492
  • A pastor, but god used that inner desire and interest later
  • 00:25:37.492 --> 00:25:42.397
  • In my ministry.
  • 00:25:42.397 --> 00:25:43.732
  • I mean, the reason we have "pathway to victory" today is in
  • 00:25:43.732 --> 00:25:47.002
  • Part because of my interest in broadcasting.
  • 00:25:47.002 --> 00:25:50.005
  • So i would say there's a principle there for
  • 00:25:50.005 --> 00:25:52.173
  • Everyone listening.
  • 00:25:52.173 --> 00:25:53.508
  • If you want to know god's will for your life, ask yourself
  • 00:25:53.508 --> 00:25:56.478
  • Two questions.
  • 00:25:56.478 --> 00:25:57.846
  • Number one, what need do i feel passionately about?
  • 00:25:57.846 --> 00:26:01.416
  • What do i see in the world that needs to be done to help
  • 00:26:01.416 --> 00:26:04.552
  • Other people?
  • 00:26:04.552 --> 00:26:05.920
  • You know, every life exists either to meet a need or to fill
  • 00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:10.258
  • A greed, and if we're going to be god-focused and
  • 00:26:10.258 --> 00:26:13.128
  • Others-focused, we need to see what needs do we see people have
  • 00:26:13.128 --> 00:26:17.032
  • That makes them feel passionate and makes us passionate.
  • 00:26:17.032 --> 00:26:20.368
  • The second question is, what are we gifted to do?
  • 00:26:20.368 --> 00:26:23.972
  • What are our gifts, and if you want to know what you're gifted
  • 00:26:23.972 --> 00:26:27.008
  • At, just ask yourself, what do i do that when i do it, other
  • 00:26:27.008 --> 00:26:31.579
  • People say you were born for this, or what do i do that seems
  • 00:26:31.579 --> 00:26:35.750
  • To be especially blessed by god?
  • 00:26:35.750 --> 00:26:38.286
  • You know, philippians 2:13 says it is god who is at work within
  • 00:26:38.286 --> 00:26:42.157
  • You giving you the desire and the power to do his will.
  • 00:26:42.157 --> 00:26:47.328
  • When god calls you to do something, he'll give you
  • 00:26:47.328 --> 00:26:49.964
  • A desire for it, and he will also give you a passion for it
  • 00:26:49.964 --> 00:26:54.536
  • And the giftedness to go along with it.
  • 00:26:54.536 --> 00:26:57.072
  • So that's how not just pastors, but anybody can know god's
  • 00:26:57.072 --> 00:27:01.042
  • Purpose for their life.
  • 00:27:01.042 --> 00:27:02.577
  • Julianne: well, i know i speak for many of us that we are so
  • 00:27:02.577 --> 00:27:04.813
  • Thankful that you answered that call so many years ago and chose
  • 00:27:04.813 --> 00:27:08.383
  • To become a pastor.
  • 00:27:08.383 --> 00:27:09.751
  • Jeffress: well, thank you.
  • 00:27:09.751 --> 00:27:11.086
  • Julianne: thank you, dr. jeffress.
  • 00:27:11.086 --> 00:27:12.454
  • If you'd like to read more questions and answers from
  • 00:27:12.454 --> 00:27:14.889
  • Dr. jeffress, you can visit ptv.org/read.
  • 00:27:14.889 --> 00:27:18.426
  • You can also submit your questions by scanning the qr
  • 00:27:18.426 --> 00:27:21.563
  • Code on the screen.
  • 00:27:21.563 --> 00:27:21.563