Robert Jeffress - Two's Company But Three's A Crowd!

May 22, 2025 | 27:29

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 - Two's Company But Three's A Crowd! | May 22, 2025
  • (music)
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  • From the pulpit of the first baptist church
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  • Of dallas, texas,
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  • This is pathway to victory with dr. robert jeffress.
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  • Hi, i am robert jeffress,
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  • And welcome again to pathway to victory.
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  • Do you ever get tired of waiting on god
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  • To answer your prayers?
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  • Maybe you've prayed and pled
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  • And yet it seems like god just isn't listening?
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  • Well, in those moments,
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  • Sometimes christians take matters into their own hands.
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  • That's what abraham and sarah did
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  • When they were tired of waiting on god to give them a child.
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  • Today, we'll learn some harsh lessons
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  • From their fateful decision.
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  • My message is titled, "two's company but three's a crowd"
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  • On today's edition of pathway to victory.
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  • (music)
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  • ♪ your voice, o lord, is power ♪
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  • ♪ the god of glory thunders ♪
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  • ♪ the sound of mighty waters ♪
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  • ♪ echoes deep within my soul ♪
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  • ♪ holy, you are holy ♪
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  • ♪ all the glory to your name ♪
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  • ♪ jesus, you are mighty ♪
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  • ♪ strength and glory to your name ♪
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  • ♪ holy, you are holy ♪
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  • ♪ all the glory to your name ♪
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  • ♪ jesus, you are mighty ♪
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  • ♪ strength and glory to your name ♪
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  • ♪ holy, you are holy ♪
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  • ♪ all the glory to your name ♪
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  • ♪ jesus, you are mighty ♪
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  • ♪ strength and glory to your name ♪
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  • ♪ glory to your name ♪
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  • ♪ holy is your name ♪
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  • ♪ your name ♪
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  • (congregation applauding)
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  • [announcer] the bible is filled with stories about heroes,
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  • (music)
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  • But abraham rises above the rest
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  • As a true champion of faith.
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  • In "walking by faith,"
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  • Dr. robert jeffress shares how to step forward in faith
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  • Even when the future appears uncertain.
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  • Your faith can thrive despite the challenges you face.
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  • Request your copy of "walking by faith"
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  • When you give a generous gift
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  • To support the ministry of pathway to victory.
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  • (music)
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  • Edward murphy was an engineer
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  • Who worked with the air force in the late 1940s
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  • On the rocket sled experiments
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  • That were designed to test
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  • How human beings would relate to high speeds.
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  • In one particular case,
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  • The victim, i mean the subject of the test,
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  • Was hooked up with 16 sensors.
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  • Each sensor only had two ways it could go and be attached,
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  • But at the end of the expensive test,
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  • It was determined that all 16 sensors had been placed
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  • In the incorrect way.
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  • Edward murphy was so frustrated by it,
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  • He developed an axiom,
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  • Which you know as murphy's law.
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  • Remember it?
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  • Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
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  • That came from edward murphy.
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  • Throughout the years,
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  • There have been other axioms attributed to murphy,
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  • We don't know if he came up with them or not,
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  • But for example, there's murphy's law of belief.
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  • It says, "tell a man there are 300 billion stars
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  • In the universe and he'll believe you.
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  • Tell him there is wet paint on a bench
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  • And he'll have to touch it first."
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  • Or murphy's law of copiers it says,
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  • "the legibility of a copy
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  • Is inversely proportional to its importance."
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  • And then i love this one, murphy's military law.
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  • "never share a foxhole with somebody braver than you are."
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  • You have to think about that, but it's true.
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  • Now, there's no evidence that edward murphy,
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  • He developed any axioms about spiritual matters,
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  • But if he had, i'm convinced that at the top of his list
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  • Would've been this one,
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  • "running ahead of god leads to bad decisions
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  • And painful consequences."
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  • You know who discovered that first of all?
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  • Our subject, our friend named abraham.
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  • He's the living illustration
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  • Of how bad decisions and painful consequences
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  • Are always the result of running ahead of god.
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  • If you have your bibles, turn to genesis chapter 16.
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  • Genesis chapter 16,
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  • As we discover why two's company and three's a crowd.
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  • Look at chapter 16:1.
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  • We come to abraham's problem.
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  • "now sarai, abram's wife had borne him no children,
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  • And she had an egyptian maid whose name was hagar."
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  • Infertility is a common problem
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  • And it's a painful problem.
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  • The reason infertility was so painful
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  • Was it seemed to contradict what god had said to them.
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  • God had promised to make them parents of a great nation
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  • And yet he made that promise when abraham was 60.
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  • By the time we get to genesis 16,
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  • Abraham is 85 years of age,
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  • And there is no answer to the promise.
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  • Whenever our life situation doesn't line up
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  • With what we believe is god's promise,
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  • There is a crisis of faith
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  • That tempts us to run ahead of god.
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  • There was no biblical command to do what he was about to do.
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  • In fact, a biblical command not to,
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  • But they plowed ahead.
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  • Look at sarah's proposal.
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  • "so sarai said to abram,"
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  • We've been waiting here for 25 years for a child,
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  • It's not working,
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  • "'now behold, the lord has prevented me
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  • From bearing children.
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  • Please go into my maid;
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  • Perhaps i will obtain children through her.'
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  • And abraham listened to the voice of sarai."
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  • Now listen, sarah was a woman of faith.
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  • 1 peter 3:5 says she was a woman of faith.
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  • But people of faith can have lapses of faith,
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  • And that was true for sarah.
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  • She basically said,
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  • "we can't depend upon god to do what he promised.
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  • We need to help her out. so here's a plan."
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  • Now you have to read this and think,
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  • Sarah, what is wrong with you
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  • That you would come up with an idea
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  • To tell your husband to have sex with another woman?
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  • That's unbelievable.
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  • If you've been reading too many romance novels
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  • Or visiting internet sites you shouldn't go to,
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  • Where would you come up with such an immoral idea?
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  • Well, actually, it was the law of the day.
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  • Law number 146 of hammurabi's code
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  • That abraham followed
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  • And the people in mesopotamia followed said,
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  • If a man has a barren wife,
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  • He can have sex with somebody else
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  • And the child born can be the heir of that man.
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  • It was perfectly legal in man's eyes,
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  • But it was immoral in god's eyes.
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  • Listen, god's plan has always been the same for marriage
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  • Since the beginning.
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  • Genesis 2, "a man shall leave his father and mother,
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  • And cleave to his wife,
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  • And the two shall become one flesh."
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  • That is always god's plan.
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  • One man with one woman in a lifetime commitment.
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  • And so what she was proposing was totally against god's law.
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  • So, how did abraham respond to sarah's proposal?
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  • It says, "abraham listened to the voice of his wife."
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  • Fb meyer and his biography of abraham says,
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  • "it's always hard to resist temptation
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  • When it appeals to natural instinct or to distrusting fear."
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  • Sarah's proposal did both.
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  • It appealed to abraham's carnal instinct,
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  • But also to his fear that god couldn't keep his promise.
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  • But there's another reason
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  • This temptation was especially potent,
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  • It came from abraham's wife.
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  • Ladies, don't ever underestimate
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  • The influence you have over your husbands.
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  • Even when they're buried in a newspaper
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  • Or in a football game on television
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  • And you're trying to talk to them
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  • And all they can do is grunt.
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  • Don't forget, they really are listening.
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  • You may not think they are.
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  • They're listening to you.
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  • You have great influence over them for good or bad.
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  • Unfortunately, abraham did not weigh the advice
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  • That sarah gave to him and he gave into it.
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  • Verse 3 says,
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  • "after abram had lived 10 years in the land of canaan,"
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  • That means he was 85,
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  • "abram's wife sarai took hagar the egyptian, her maid,
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  • And gave her to her husband abram as his wife.
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  • He went into hagar, and she conceived."
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  • I'm sure when he got the news that hagar was pregnant,
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  • He probably was tempted to say, "isn't god good?"
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  • "okay, this wasn't his perfect will,
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  • But it's his permissive will and he allowed this to happen.
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  • Praise be to god."
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  • No. it was just the beginning of a tragic end.
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  • Look at hagar's provocation, verse 4.
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  • "and when she," hagar, "saw that she had conceived,
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  • Her mistress," that is sarai,
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  • "was despised in her sight."
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  • She had been a slave,
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  • She had been elevated to abraham's wife, the same level,
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  • And now she was really above sarah
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  • Because she was able to do what sarah couldn't do,
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  • And she began to despise sarah.
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  • She started prancing around the tent.
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  • "look at me, look at me. look at what i have.
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  • I have the child you could not give to your husband."
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  • You know, there's an interesting proverb i came across.
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  • Proverbs 30:21-23.
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  • Men look at this especially.
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  • "under three things the earth quakes,
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  • And under four, it cannot bear up."
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  • Number one, "under a slave when he becomes king."
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  • Secondly, "a fool when he's satisfied with food."
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  • Third, "an unloved woman when she gets a husband."
  • 00:12:11.520 --> 00:12:14.590
  • And the fourth thing that will cause an earthquake,
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  • "is a maidservant when she supplants her mistress."
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  • In other words, men, when your wife senses
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  • That you love anybody else
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  • Or anything else more than you love her,
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  • There's going to be an earthquake in your home.
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  • Your wife is not going to put up with it,
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  • Nor should she put up with it.
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  • Doesn't matter whether it's another woman, a child, a hobby,
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  • Anytime something or somebody else replaces
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  • The place your wife ought to have in your heart,
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  • It's going to cause trouble.
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  • And that's exactly what happened here.
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  • Look at verse 5.
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  • "sarai said to abraham,
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  • 'may the wrong done to me be upon you.
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  • I gave my maid into your arms,
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  • But when she saw that she had conceived,
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  • I was despised in her side.
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  • May the lord judge between you and me.'"
  • 00:13:06.242 --> 00:13:09.111
  • Translation, "abraham, i can't believe you did such a thing.
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  • Look at what has happened.
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  • Oh, god's going to get you abraham."
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  • And starts to say, "but sarah, you were the one..."
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  • And then he thought better of it.
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  • He thought better of pointed out
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  • She's the one who came up with this idea.
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  • So what does he do?
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  • What most men do? he became passive.
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  • "but abram said to sarai,
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  • 'behold, your maid is in your power;
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  • Do to her whatever you want to do.'"
  • 00:13:39.441 --> 00:13:42.011
  • In other words, i'm tired of all this trouble and turmoil.
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  • I'm just going to let you have your way;
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  • Do with her what you want to do.
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  • That is not the right response.
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  • What he should have said
  • 00:13:50.386 --> 00:13:51.654
  • As the spiritual leader of the house is,
  • 00:13:51.654 --> 00:13:53.722
  • "sarah, you're right.
  • 00:13:53.722 --> 00:13:54.890
  • I was wrong. you were wrong.
  • 00:13:54.890 --> 00:13:57.059
  • We were wrong.
  • 00:13:57.059 --> 00:13:58.360
  • Let's go to the altar and kneel before god
  • 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:00.529
  • And confess our mistake
  • 00:14:00.529 --> 00:14:01.897
  • And ask god to redeem the situation."
  • 00:14:01.897 --> 00:14:04.133
  • But he didn't do it.
  • 00:14:04.133 --> 00:14:05.467
  • He just told sarah to do what she want to do
  • 00:14:05.467 --> 00:14:07.236
  • To keep peace in the tent.
  • 00:14:07.236 --> 00:14:09.038
  • "so sarai," verse six, "treated hagar harshly,
  • 00:14:09.038 --> 00:14:13.442
  • And she fled from her presence."
  • 00:14:13.442 --> 00:14:16.979
  • As act two on this drama comes to a close,
  • 00:14:16.979 --> 00:14:21.317
  • We see sarah feeling betrayed, hagar being mistreated,
  • 00:14:21.317 --> 00:14:26.021
  • And abraham absolutely miserable.
  • 00:14:26.021 --> 00:14:28.324
  • Remember, running ahead of god produces bad decisions
  • 00:14:28.324 --> 00:14:33.295
  • And painful consequences.
  • 00:14:34.029 --> 00:14:36.365
  • Fortunately, we serve a god
  • 00:14:36.365 --> 00:14:38.467
  • Who is able to work together for good all things,
  • 00:14:38.467 --> 00:14:41.904
  • Including our bad decisions.
  • 00:14:41.904 --> 00:14:44.606
  • Let's see how he does that,
  • 00:14:44.606 --> 00:14:46.175
  • Beginning in verse 7, the angel's promise.
  • 00:14:46.175 --> 00:14:49.278
  • "now the angel of the lord found hagar
  • 00:14:49.278 --> 00:14:51.747
  • By a spring of water."
  • 00:14:51.747 --> 00:14:53.282
  • Remember, she's pregnant,
  • 00:14:53.282 --> 00:14:54.316
  • She's out in the wilderness,
  • 00:14:54.316 --> 00:14:56.452
  • "by the spring on the way to shur.
  • 00:14:56.452 --> 00:14:58.454
  • And he says, 'hagar, sarai's maid,
  • 00:14:58.454 --> 00:15:01.790
  • Where have you come from and where are you going?'
  • 00:15:01.790 --> 00:15:06.028
  • And she said, 'i'm fleeing
  • 00:15:06.028 --> 00:15:07.429
  • From the presence of my mistress.'"
  • 00:15:07.429 --> 00:15:10.132
  • Many people believe this angel of the lord,
  • 00:15:10.132 --> 00:15:12.935
  • The angel of the lord is a reference to jesus christ.
  • 00:15:12.935 --> 00:15:16.505
  • Many times, the angel of the lord
  • 00:15:16.505 --> 00:15:19.308
  • Is what we call a pre-incarnate appearance of jesus.
  • 00:15:19.308 --> 00:15:23.779
  • Jesus before bethlehem.
  • 00:15:23.779 --> 00:15:26.081
  • If that's the case here,
  • 00:15:26.081 --> 00:15:27.783
  • The first person jesus appears to on earth
  • 00:15:27.783 --> 00:15:31.186
  • Is an unwed single mother who is a foreigner.
  • 00:15:31.186 --> 00:15:36.058
  • That would make sense that jesus would choose an outcast
  • 00:15:36.058 --> 00:15:39.628
  • To make his first appearance to.
  • 00:15:39.628 --> 00:15:42.398
  • It's not that he doesn't know where she's been,
  • 00:15:42.398 --> 00:15:45.134
  • He wants her to admit that she's left her mistress.
  • 00:15:45.134 --> 00:15:48.904
  • And so the angel gives her a command and a promise.
  • 00:15:48.904 --> 00:15:52.841
  • The command is: hagar, i want you to go back to sarah
  • 00:15:52.841 --> 00:15:56.979
  • And submit yourself to her authority.
  • 00:15:56.979 --> 00:15:59.882
  • And then he gives her this promise.
  • 00:15:59.882 --> 00:16:01.917
  • The angel says, "i will give you a son
  • 00:16:01.917 --> 00:16:05.287
  • Who will also be the father of a great nation."
  • 00:16:05.287 --> 00:16:09.658
  • As we'll see next time, that son ishmael,
  • 00:16:09.658 --> 00:16:13.162
  • Meaning, god hears,
  • 00:16:13.162 --> 00:16:14.930
  • Is the father of the arab nations today.
  • 00:16:14.930 --> 00:16:17.533
  • There's not an arab in the world
  • 00:16:17.533 --> 00:16:19.435
  • Who doesn't trace his ancestry to ishmael.
  • 00:16:19.435 --> 00:16:24.206
  • Even though abraham did have a son ishmael
  • 00:16:24.206 --> 00:16:26.575
  • And blessed him the covenant blessing,
  • 00:16:26.575 --> 00:16:29.445
  • Genesis 17:21 says,
  • 00:16:29.445 --> 00:16:31.580
  • Comes through isaac, the son yet to be born
  • 00:16:31.580 --> 00:16:34.650
  • Not through ishmael.
  • 00:16:34.650 --> 00:16:36.351
  • Look at verse 15.
  • 00:16:36.351 --> 00:16:37.286
  • "so hagar bore abram a son;
  • 00:16:37.286 --> 00:16:40.522
  • And abram called the name of his son,
  • 00:16:40.522 --> 00:16:42.791
  • Whom hagar bore, ishmael.
  • 00:16:42.791 --> 00:16:45.594
  • Now, abram was 86 years old
  • 00:16:45.594 --> 00:16:48.831
  • When hagar bore ishmael to him."
  • 00:16:48.831 --> 00:16:52.734
  • You know, the whole basis of the conflict today
  • 00:16:52.734 --> 00:16:57.840
  • Between israel and the arab nations
  • 00:16:58.774 --> 00:17:01.477
  • Can be traced back to one couple
  • 00:17:01.477 --> 00:17:04.746
  • That made a bad decision and ran ahead of god.
  • 00:17:04.746 --> 00:17:07.683
  • Isn't that amazing?
  • 00:17:07.683 --> 00:17:09.284
  • One couple 4,000 years ago made a bad decision,
  • 00:17:09.284 --> 00:17:14.089
  • And that decision has had repercussions worldwide,
  • 00:17:14.089 --> 00:17:17.593
  • Repercussions for thousands of years
  • 00:17:17.593 --> 00:17:21.430
  • And continues to this very day.
  • 00:17:21.430 --> 00:17:24.333
  • But beyond explaining the conflict
  • 00:17:24.333 --> 00:17:27.302
  • Between israel and the arab nations,
  • 00:17:27.302 --> 00:17:29.938
  • This story illustrates three timeless principles
  • 00:17:29.938 --> 00:17:33.475
  • I want to share with you in closing today
  • 00:17:33.475 --> 00:17:35.878
  • To help you avoid the temptation
  • 00:17:35.878 --> 00:17:38.580
  • To run ahead of god.
  • 00:17:38.580 --> 00:17:42.918
  • Principle number one is this,
  • 00:17:42.918 --> 00:17:44.686
  • Artificial deadlines produce unnecessary stress.
  • 00:17:44.686 --> 00:17:49.791
  • Artificial deadlines produce unnecessary stress.
  • 00:17:51.026 --> 00:17:55.531
  • Abraham and sarah said,
  • 00:17:56.165 --> 00:17:57.399
  • "by 85 we ought to have had children."
  • 00:17:57.399 --> 00:18:00.169
  • That was an artificial deadline.
  • 00:18:00.169 --> 00:18:01.770
  • God never told them when the baby was coming.
  • 00:18:01.770 --> 00:18:03.672
  • He said, the baby's coming,
  • 00:18:03.672 --> 00:18:05.274
  • But they set this deadline, artificial,
  • 00:18:05.274 --> 00:18:08.977
  • Now we've passed the deadline,
  • 00:18:08.977 --> 00:18:10.279
  • We better take matters into our own hands.
  • 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:12.381
  • Don't do that.
  • 00:18:12.381 --> 00:18:13.782
  • Artificial deadlines produce unnecessary stress.
  • 00:18:13.782 --> 00:18:16.885
  • As we enter into this thanksgiving season,
  • 00:18:16.885 --> 00:18:20.189
  • I'm always reminded of something that happened to me
  • 00:18:20.189 --> 00:18:23.492
  • More than 35 years ago
  • 00:18:23.492 --> 00:18:25.060
  • On the wednesday before thanksgiving.
  • 00:18:25.060 --> 00:18:26.995
  • I was in the coffee shop
  • 00:18:26.995 --> 00:18:28.797
  • Of the houston intercontinental airport.
  • 00:18:28.797 --> 00:18:31.600
  • My flight had been delayed
  • 00:18:31.600 --> 00:18:33.068
  • And so i took out my yellow tablet,
  • 00:18:33.068 --> 00:18:36.004
  • And i spent several hours sketching out
  • 00:18:36.004 --> 00:18:38.640
  • What i believe were god's goals and plans for my life.
  • 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:42.844
  • And i had five specific goals
  • 00:18:42.844 --> 00:18:45.113
  • And i actually attached a date, a year,
  • 00:18:45.113 --> 00:18:48.116
  • To accomplish each of those goals by.
  • 00:18:48.116 --> 00:18:51.987
  • And i felt like it was in keeping with god's plan
  • 00:18:51.987 --> 00:18:54.122
  • For my life.
  • 00:18:54.122 --> 00:18:55.724
  • When i got back to dallas,
  • 00:18:55.724 --> 00:18:57.226
  • I plunged ahead in trying to achieve those five goals
  • 00:18:57.226 --> 00:19:01.363
  • And by the date that i had selected.
  • 00:19:01.363 --> 00:19:04.566
  • You know, all that did was it caused stress in our marriage,
  • 00:19:04.566 --> 00:19:08.070
  • It caused stress in my work,
  • 00:19:08.070 --> 00:19:10.072
  • It caused stress in every area of my life.
  • 00:19:10.072 --> 00:19:13.275
  • And then a series of unrelated events came to pass
  • 00:19:13.275 --> 00:19:17.012
  • That made me have to put aside my list
  • 00:19:17.012 --> 00:19:19.715
  • And concentrate on other things for a while.
  • 00:19:19.715 --> 00:19:22.718
  • It was decades before i picked up that list again.
  • 00:19:22.718 --> 00:19:27.289
  • And after several decades, you know what i discovered?
  • 00:19:27.289 --> 00:19:30.392
  • Every one of those goals had been accomplished,
  • 00:19:30.392 --> 00:19:33.328
  • But not by the date i had set.
  • 00:19:33.328 --> 00:19:35.864
  • It was an artificial deadline.
  • 00:19:35.864 --> 00:19:38.867
  • The point i'm making to you is,
  • 00:19:38.867 --> 00:19:40.602
  • Don't give up your god-given goals.
  • 00:19:40.602 --> 00:19:42.638
  • Don't do that.
  • 00:19:42.638 --> 00:19:43.805
  • But give up your manufactured deadlines.
  • 00:19:43.805 --> 00:19:46.975
  • It'll make life a lot more pleasant for you if you do.
  • 00:19:46.975 --> 00:19:50.545
  • Second principle,
  • 00:19:50.545 --> 00:19:51.947
  • God sees our situation and he hears our prayers.
  • 00:19:51.947 --> 00:19:56.752
  • You know what the most significant verse
  • 00:19:56.752 --> 00:19:58.954
  • In this old chapter is?
  • 00:19:58.954 --> 00:20:00.822
  • It's verse 13:
  • 00:20:00.822 --> 00:20:02.357
  • When hagar says to the angel, "you are a god who sees."
  • 00:20:02.357 --> 00:20:07.396
  • Listen, egyptian slave girl
  • 00:20:08.897 --> 00:20:10.699
  • Knew more about god than abraham did.
  • 00:20:10.699 --> 00:20:13.702
  • She said, "god, you see my situation. you know where i am."
  • 00:20:13.702 --> 00:20:17.773
  • The same is true for you.
  • 00:20:18.907 --> 00:20:21.176
  • When you think god has not kept his promise to you,
  • 00:20:21.176 --> 00:20:24.713
  • When you're frustrated about your lack of progress,
  • 00:20:24.713 --> 00:20:28.050
  • When you feel like you've been abandoned by god,
  • 00:20:28.050 --> 00:20:30.085
  • Remember god knows exactly where you are.
  • 00:20:30.085 --> 00:20:33.522
  • He knows your situation,
  • 00:20:33.522 --> 00:20:35.757
  • And he will answer in his way and his time.
  • 00:20:35.757 --> 00:20:39.661
  • And that leads to the third principle:
  • 00:20:39.661 --> 00:20:42.264
  • Waiting on god produces spiritual maturity.
  • 00:20:42.264 --> 00:20:50.238
  • There is a difference between belief and trust.
  • 00:20:47.102 --> 00:20:54.276
  • You can believe in an instant like abraham did.
  • 00:20:54.276 --> 00:20:56.845
  • He believed god's promise
  • 00:20:56.845 --> 00:20:58.246
  • And his faith was counted as righteousness.
  • 00:20:58.246 --> 00:21:00.549
  • That was instantaneous.
  • 00:21:00.549 --> 00:21:02.050
  • But there's a difference between belief and trust.
  • 00:21:02.050 --> 00:21:05.420
  • Trust doesn't happen in a moment,
  • 00:21:05.420 --> 00:21:07.322
  • It's developed over many, many years.
  • 00:21:07.322 --> 00:21:10.225
  • Psalm 37:5 says, "commit your way to the lord,
  • 00:21:10.225 --> 00:21:14.396
  • And trust also in him, and he will do it."
  • 00:21:14.396 --> 00:21:18.066
  • God wants to develop trust in your heart,
  • 00:21:18.066 --> 00:21:22.070
  • And that only happens over a period of time.
  • 00:21:22.070 --> 00:21:25.307
  • Now listen to this.
  • 00:21:25.307 --> 00:21:26.575
  • You know how i would've entered the story
  • 00:21:26.575 --> 00:21:28.143
  • If i were writing it?
  • 00:21:28.143 --> 00:21:29.511
  • I would've said, "hagar gave birth to ishmael.
  • 00:21:29.511 --> 00:21:33.582
  • And lo and behold, the next month,
  • 00:21:33.582 --> 00:21:36.418
  • Sarah discovered she was pregnant too.
  • 00:21:36.418 --> 00:21:39.488
  • And nine months later she gave birth,
  • 00:21:39.488 --> 00:21:41.990
  • And they all lived under the same tent together
  • 00:21:41.990 --> 00:21:44.493
  • Forever and ever happily."
  • 00:21:44.493 --> 00:21:46.628
  • That's not how the story ends.
  • 00:21:47.462 --> 00:21:49.865
  • Yes, ishmael was born when abraham was 86,
  • 00:21:49.865 --> 00:21:54.369
  • But sarah wasn't pregnant.
  • 00:21:55.137 --> 00:21:56.805
  • She didn't get pregnant the next year,
  • 00:21:56.805 --> 00:21:59.074
  • The next year, the next year,
  • 00:21:59.074 --> 00:22:02.277
  • After a decade she was still waiting.
  • 00:22:02.277 --> 00:22:04.613
  • It was 14 years after ishmael was born
  • 00:22:04.613 --> 00:22:09.518
  • That the promise was finally fulfilled.
  • 00:22:09.518 --> 00:22:12.454
  • Abraham and sarah had to wait,
  • 00:22:14.022 --> 00:22:15.791
  • But never forget this: waiting time isn't wasted time.
  • 00:22:15.791 --> 00:22:20.896
  • God uses waiting time to prepare us for the future,
  • 00:22:22.097 --> 00:22:25.867
  • And he was using those 14 years
  • 00:22:25.867 --> 00:22:28.136
  • To develop abraham's trust
  • 00:22:28.136 --> 00:22:31.406
  • So that abraham could respond
  • 00:22:31.406 --> 00:22:33.408
  • To the greatest test he would ever face in his life.
  • 00:22:33.408 --> 00:22:37.012
  • In genesis chapter 22,
  • 00:22:37.012 --> 00:22:39.047
  • The offering of isaac as a sacrifice.
  • 00:22:39.047 --> 00:22:43.084
  • God's doing something in your life as well.
  • 00:22:43.084 --> 00:22:45.220
  • Remember, god is much more interested
  • 00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:49.124
  • In what happens in you than what happens to you?
  • 00:22:49.124 --> 00:22:53.228
  • There's not one circumstance happening to you right now
  • 00:22:53.228 --> 00:22:56.565
  • That god couldn't change in an instant if he wanted to.
  • 00:22:56.565 --> 00:22:59.801
  • No, he's interested in what's happening in you.
  • 00:22:59.801 --> 00:23:03.638
  • Waiting time isn't wasted time.
  • 00:23:03.638 --> 00:23:06.675
  • Isn't that what isaiah the prophet said?
  • 00:23:06.675 --> 00:23:08.944
  • "those who wait upon the lord shall gain new strength;
  • 00:23:08.944 --> 00:23:14.049
  • They shall mount up with wings as eagles.
  • 00:23:15.550 --> 00:23:18.153
  • They shall run and not get tired.
  • 00:23:18.153 --> 00:23:21.456
  • They shall walk and not become weary.
  • 00:23:21.456 --> 00:23:24.059
  • (music)
  • 00:23:24.860 --> 00:23:27.696
  • And i hope this promise of god encourages you today.
  • 00:23:31.466 --> 00:23:35.237
  • As you wait patiently on god, you'll gain new strength.
  • 00:23:35.237 --> 00:23:39.341
  • Well, the bible doesn't gloss over family problems.
  • 00:23:39.341 --> 00:23:42.644
  • In fact, in abraham's family,
  • 00:23:42.644 --> 00:23:44.613
  • We can point to the obvious dysfunction that plugged them,
  • 00:23:44.613 --> 00:23:48.350
  • And yet god's healing power and forgiveness
  • 00:23:48.350 --> 00:23:51.253
  • Wiped away their transgressions.
  • 00:23:51.253 --> 00:23:53.688
  • Let me give you a current day example from beth
  • 00:23:53.688 --> 00:23:56.491
  • Who watches pathway to victory from south carolina.
  • 00:23:56.491 --> 00:23:59.728
  • She wrote, "pastor jeffress pathway to victory
  • 00:23:59.728 --> 00:24:02.497
  • Is doing a great job nurturing and helping people like me.
  • 00:24:02.497 --> 00:24:06.401
  • I grew up with an abusive mother
  • 00:24:06.401 --> 00:24:08.270
  • And many other negative things happened to me
  • 00:24:08.270 --> 00:24:10.772
  • That caused me to question my self-worth.
  • 00:24:10.772 --> 00:24:14.142
  • But there was a day when i was told about jesus,
  • 00:24:14.142 --> 00:24:17.345
  • And that's when my life began to turn around.
  • 00:24:17.345 --> 00:24:20.248
  • Please keep up the good work."
  • 00:24:20.248 --> 00:24:22.951
  • Well, thank you beth for that encouraging note
  • 00:24:22.951 --> 00:24:25.487
  • And let me extend her thanks to all of you
  • 00:24:25.487 --> 00:24:27.689
  • Who support pathway to victory.
  • 00:24:27.689 --> 00:24:30.091
  • This is the kind of impact you are having.
  • 00:24:30.091 --> 00:24:32.961
  • Now, stay right there.
  • 00:24:32.961 --> 00:24:34.396
  • I'll be back with one final word in just a moment.
  • 00:24:34.396 --> 00:24:37.566
  • [announcer] in the midst of our chaotic world
  • 00:24:38.867 --> 00:24:41.102
  • And the personal problems that we face,
  • 00:24:41.102 --> 00:24:43.438
  • Is it possible to find peace and contentment?
  • 00:24:43.438 --> 00:24:46.408
  • Abraham did, and so can you.
  • 00:24:46.408 --> 00:24:48.810
  • In "walking by faith," dr. robert jeffress shows you
  • 00:24:48.810 --> 00:24:52.080
  • How to make courageous decisions,
  • 00:24:52.080 --> 00:24:53.949
  • Ones that are far outside your comfort zone.
  • 00:24:53.949 --> 00:24:57.052
  • In doing so, god will prove faithful.
  • 00:24:57.052 --> 00:24:59.955
  • Abraham was far from perfect.
  • 00:24:59.955 --> 00:25:01.923
  • He made mistakes, including some really big ones,
  • 00:25:01.923 --> 00:25:05.093
  • But through it all, he walked with god in faith;
  • 00:25:05.093 --> 00:25:08.463
  • And you can too.
  • 00:25:08.463 --> 00:25:09.864
  • [announcer] in this dynamic book,
  • 00:25:09.864 --> 00:25:11.399
  • Dr. jeffress explains how to walk by faith
  • 00:25:11.399 --> 00:25:14.302
  • In a faithless world squarely founded on the wisdom
  • 00:25:14.302 --> 00:25:17.739
  • Gained from the story of abraham.
  • 00:25:17.739 --> 00:25:20.208
  • Request your copy
  • 00:25:20.208 --> 00:25:21.309
  • Of "walking by faith"
  • 00:25:21.309 --> 00:25:22.844
  • When you give a generous gift to pathway to victory.
  • 00:25:22.844 --> 00:25:25.914
  • And when you give $75 or more,
  • 00:25:25.914 --> 00:25:28.683
  • We'll also send you all 11 messages
  • 00:25:28.683 --> 00:25:31.119
  • For "the walking by face" series on dvd video
  • 00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:34.356
  • And mp three format audio disc,
  • 00:25:34.356 --> 00:25:36.858
  • Along with the personal and group study guidebook.
  • 00:25:36.858 --> 00:25:39.995
  • If the story of abraham tells us anything,
  • 00:25:39.995 --> 00:25:42.297
  • It tells us this:
  • 00:25:42.297 --> 00:25:43.498
  • It doesn't matter how old you are,
  • 00:25:43.498 --> 00:25:45.133
  • It doesn't matter how far you've drifted away from god,
  • 00:25:45.133 --> 00:25:48.103
  • You can come back.
  • 00:25:48.103 --> 00:25:49.504
  • [announcer] your gift today is important
  • 00:25:49.504 --> 00:25:51.306
  • And appreciated as we impact your home and reach a nation
  • 00:25:51.306 --> 00:25:55.043
  • And world in spiritual need.
  • 00:25:55.043 --> 00:25:57.278
  • God is clearly using "pathway to victory"
  • 00:25:57.278 --> 00:26:00.115
  • To fulfill his mandate, to pierce the darkness
  • 00:26:00.115 --> 00:26:02.984
  • With the light of his word.
  • 00:26:02.984 --> 00:26:04.786
  • Thank you for investing in this important gospel work.
  • 00:26:04.786 --> 00:26:08.356
  • It's one thing to say that you trust god completely,
  • 00:26:10.525 --> 00:26:13.795
  • But demonstrating your faith in action
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  • Is something entirely different.
  • 00:26:15.930 --> 00:26:18.433
  • And sometimes, that means waiting on god
  • 00:26:18.433 --> 00:26:21.403
  • And resisting the temptation to control your circumstances.
  • 00:26:21.403 --> 00:26:25.874
  • Well, sometimes the bible uses running as a metaphor
  • 00:26:25.874 --> 00:26:30.245
  • For the christian life.
  • 00:26:30.245 --> 00:26:31.946
  • But frequently the christian life is also compared
  • 00:26:31.946 --> 00:26:35.083
  • To walking with god.
  • 00:26:35.083 --> 00:26:37.185
  • Next time, i'm going to show you four simple principles
  • 00:26:37.185 --> 00:26:40.221
  • That will transform your walk with your creator.
  • 00:26:40.221 --> 00:26:43.725
  • Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next
  • 00:26:43.725 --> 00:26:46.227
  • In our series walking by faith.
  • 00:26:46.227 --> 00:26:49.497
  • You see, walking is the most common metaphor in the bible
  • 00:26:50.865 --> 00:26:54.469
  • For our relationship with god.
  • 00:26:54.469 --> 00:26:57.005
  • That's what the christian life is.
  • 00:26:57.005 --> 00:26:58.907
  • It's going the same direction,
  • 00:26:58.907 --> 00:27:00.775
  • Obeying god over a period of time.
  • 00:27:00.775 --> 00:27:03.211
  • And when you do that,
  • 00:27:03.211 --> 00:27:04.446
  • You end up at your desired destination.
  • 00:27:04.446 --> 00:27:07.515
  • What's involved with walking with god?
  • 00:27:08.583 --> 00:27:11.553
  • [announcer] set your dvr and join us next time
  • 00:27:11.553 --> 00:27:13.755
  • For the message, walking with your god
  • 00:27:13.755 --> 00:27:16.591
  • Here on pathway to victory.
  • 00:27:16.591 --> 00:27:18.493
  • (music)
  • 00:27:18.493 --> 00:27:18.493