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Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - Two's Company But Three's A Crowd! (Part 1)

November 10, 2025 | 29:0

Robert Jeffress - Two's Company But Three's A Crowd! (Part 1)
Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.
#WordofGod #Truth #Humility #SpiritualFoundation #Pain #Covenant #Children #Family #Contentment #RobertJeffress

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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - Two's Company But Three's A Crowd! (Part 1) | November 10, 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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  • Do you ever grow tired of waiting on god to answer
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  • Your prayers?
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  • Maybe you've prayed and pled, and yet it seems like god
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  • Isn't listening.
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  • Well, in those moments, sometimes christians take
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  • Matters into their own hands.
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  • That's what abraham and sarah did when they were tired of
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  • Waiting on god to give them a child.
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  • Today, we'll learn some harsh lessons from their
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  • 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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  • Announcer: the bible is filled with stories about heroes.
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  • But abraham rises above the rest as a true champion of faith.
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  • In "walking by faith," dr. robert jeffress shares how to
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  • Step forward in faith 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" when you give a generous
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  • Gift to support the ministry of "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Jeffress: edward murphy was an engineer who worked with the air
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  • Force in the late 1940s on the rocket sled experiments that
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  • Were designed to test how human beings would relate to
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  • High speeds.
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  • In one particular case, the victim--i mean, the subject of
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  • The test was hooked up with 16 sensors, and each sensor only
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  • Had 2 ways it could go and be attached, but at the end of the
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  • Expensive test, it was determined that all 16 sensors
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  • Had been placed in the incorrect way.
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  • Edward murphy was so frustrated by it 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 there have been other axioms attributed
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  • To murphy.
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  • We don't know if he came up with them or not, but for example,
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  • There's murphy's law of belief.
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  • It says tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe
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  • And he'll believe you.
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  • Tell him there is wet paint on a bench and he'll have to touch
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  • It first.
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  • Or murphy's law of copiers, it says the legibility of a copy is
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  • 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 developed any
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  • 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 have been this one: running ahead of god leads to
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  • Bad decisions 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 a living illustration of how bad decisions and painful
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  • Consequences 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, as we discover why two's company and
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  • Three's a crowd.
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  • Now remember where we are in our study of abraham.
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  • In genesis 15, god came to abraham and he calmed down his
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  • Fears about the future and soothed his regrets about the
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  • Past by saying, "abraham, don't worry, i'm gonna be your shield.
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  • I'm going to be your reward."
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  • And he took abraham out that night and showed him the stars
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  • Of the sky, and he said, "so shall your descendants be," in
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  • That great verse, genesis 15:6, "and abraham believed what god
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  • Said, and it was counted to him as righteousness."
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  • And then god ratified that covenant by that strange
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  • Ceremony of dividing the animal pieces.
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  • It was a way to show two kings who were entering into agreement
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  • Were committed to keeping their end of the bargain to make that
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  • Contract valid.
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  • But when god told abraham to cut the animal pieces in two, he put
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  • Abraham to sleep and god himself walked through those animal
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  • Pieces carrying the torch, signifying that god alone was
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  • Responsible for this unconditional covenant god made
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  • With abraham.
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  • It didn't depend upon abraham.
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  • It didn't depend upon anybody.
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  • It depended upon the faithfulness of god.
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  • Now that should have been enough, but it wasn't.
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  • Look at chapter 16, verse 1. we come to abraham's problem.
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  • "now sarai, abram's wife had borne him no children, and she
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  • Had an egyptian maid whose name was hagar."
  • 00:05:31.287 --> 00:05:35.191
  • Infertility is a common problem, and it's a painful problem to
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  • 1 out of 12 couples in our society.
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  • My daughter julia, who's a licensed professional counselor,
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  • Has written a book on infertility called "pray big
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  • Things," talking with couples about how to handle emotionally
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  • And physically the problem of infertility, but it's not only
  • 00:05:54.777 --> 00:05:58.681
  • A physical and emotional problem.
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  • It can be a spiritual problem that causes people to trust or
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  • To lose trust in the trustworthiness of god,
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  • Especially when they feel like they've been given a promise
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  • By god.
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  • That was the situation with sarah and abraham.
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  • The reason their infertility was so painful was it seemed to
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  • Contradict what god had said to them.
  • 00:06:21.270 --> 00:06:24.073
  • 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, abraham is 85 years of age,
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  • And there is no answer to the promise.
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  • Whenever our current situation is at odds with god's promise,
  • 00:06:40.656 --> 00:06:48.464
  • It causes a crisis of faith and it tempts us to run ahead
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  • With god.
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  • Whenever our life situation doesn't line up with what we
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  • Believe is god's promise, there is a crisis of faith that tempts
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  • Us to run ahead of god.
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  • Maybe you're a single adult here or watching this broadcast, you
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  • Feel like god has promised to give you a mate.
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  • He may have even told you who that mate is.
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  • The only problem is he hadn't told that person about his
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  • Promise to you.
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  • And so you face a dilemma.
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  • Do you try to push your way into a relationship?
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  • Do you force the issue or do you wait on god?
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  • Or maybe you're in need of a certain item, a high-ticket
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  • Item, maybe you'd like a house, and you know there's a limit to
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  • How much debt you can take and not violate the biblical command
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  • Of unreasonable indebtedness, burdensome debt, and yet no
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  • House comes on the market.
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  • Do you move ahead and plow ahead anyway and take on that
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  • Unreasonable debt?
  • 00:07:46.889 --> 00:07:48.925
  • Abraham was facing a similar crisis of faith.
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  • You know, you would have thought abraham would have learned his
  • 00:07:52.061 --> 00:07:54.830
  • Lesson by now, the dangers of running ahead of god.
  • 00:07:54.830 --> 00:07:59.402
  • Remember what happened?
  • 00:07:59.402 --> 00:08:00.770
  • God had told him when he was 60, i'm gonna have a land for you
  • 00:08:00.770 --> 00:08:04.006
  • Flowing with milk and honey, and finally after 15 years, abraham
  • 00:08:04.006 --> 00:08:08.377
  • Made it to the promised land.
  • 00:08:08.377 --> 00:08:10.279
  • The only problem was, the milk and honey quit flowing almost as
  • 00:08:10.279 --> 00:08:14.250
  • Soon as he got there.
  • 00:08:14.250 --> 00:08:15.718
  • There was a drought and so he was tempted to run ahead of god.
  • 00:08:15.718 --> 00:08:20.756
  • God had told him to go to canaan.
  • 00:08:20.756 --> 00:08:22.358
  • He didn't tell him to go to egypt.
  • 00:08:22.358 --> 00:08:24.360
  • Abraham went anyway, and the result was a disaster.
  • 00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:28.898
  • You would have thought abraham would have learned his lesson,
  • 00:08:28.898 --> 00:08:31.434
  • But he didn't.
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  • You know, i think about our new campus.
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  • I remember when we first started talking about it almost 15 years
  • 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:42.645
  • Ago, a widow in our church at that time came up to me and she
  • 00:08:42.645 --> 00:08:46.882
  • Said, "pastor, let's make sure we don't run ahead of god, but
  • 00:08:46.882 --> 00:08:51.887
  • Let's also be sure we don't lag behind god."
  • 00:08:51.887 --> 00:08:56.292
  • Yes, we're to wait on the lord, but we never want the lord
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  • Waiting on us.
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  • When god gives us the go signal, we need to go.
  • 00:09:02.365 --> 00:09:05.601
  • When god says no go, we need to not go.
  • 00:09:05.601 --> 00:09:09.372
  • How do you know the difference?
  • 00:09:09.372 --> 00:09:10.706
  • How does god signal when it's time to move ahead in something?
  • 00:09:10.706 --> 00:09:15.011
  • We're gonna talk about this more when we get to genesis 24 and
  • 00:09:15.011 --> 00:09:18.614
  • The story of isaac and the search for his bride.
  • 00:09:18.614 --> 00:09:21.917
  • But let me give you three ways god says go or no go.
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  • One is through biblical commands.
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  • God will never command you to do something that violates the
  • 00:09:28.457 --> 00:09:33.562
  • Principles of his word, never.
  • 00:09:33.562 --> 00:09:36.465
  • It doesn't matter how lonely you are as a single, god will never
  • 00:09:36.465 --> 00:09:40.403
  • Have you marry an unbeliever.
  • 00:09:40.403 --> 00:09:42.304
  • Never.
  • 00:09:42.304 --> 00:09:43.673
  • The bible says, do not be unequally yoked together with
  • 00:09:43.673 --> 00:09:45.908
  • An unbeliever.
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  • God will never lead you into or cause you to stay in
  • 00:09:47.276 --> 00:09:51.280
  • An immoral relationship.
  • 00:09:51.280 --> 00:09:53.082
  • Biblical commands are one way we know when god wants us to go
  • 00:09:53.082 --> 00:09:57.319
  • Or not.
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  • Secondly, wise counselor.
  • 00:09:58.654 --> 00:10:00.022
  • The bible says in the abundance of counselor, there is victory.
  • 00:10:00.022 --> 00:10:05.194
  • God uses other people, and we need to learn how to weigh their
  • 00:10:05.194 --> 00:10:09.699
  • Advice, whether it is godly or ungodly counsel.
  • 00:10:09.699 --> 00:10:12.902
  • A third way god sometimes signals to us to either go or
  • 00:10:12.902 --> 00:10:17.373
  • Stay is with outward confirmation, through a sign.
  • 00:10:17.373 --> 00:10:22.244
  • Now as we'll see in genesis 24, signs are not always reliable.
  • 00:10:22.244 --> 00:10:28.350
  • First of all, if you're the one who determines what the sign is,
  • 00:10:28.350 --> 00:10:31.987
  • You can unconsciously formulate a sign that is in keeping with
  • 00:10:31.987 --> 00:10:36.459
  • What you want to do anyway.
  • 00:10:36.459 --> 00:10:38.728
  • Signs are not good for the determination of god's will, but
  • 00:10:38.728 --> 00:10:42.531
  • They are good for the confirmation of god's will.
  • 00:10:42.531 --> 00:10:46.001
  • Sometimes god will send us a confirming sign to signal that
  • 00:10:46.001 --> 00:10:50.606
  • We're going in the right direction.
  • 00:10:50.606 --> 00:10:52.575
  • You know, this is a story that has by now become a part of
  • 00:10:52.575 --> 00:10:56.779
  • First baptist dallas legacy, but it's an important part of our
  • 00:10:56.779 --> 00:11:01.150
  • Story as a church.
  • 00:11:01.150 --> 00:11:03.352
  • Many of you have heard it numbers of times, but many of
  • 00:11:03.352 --> 00:11:06.722
  • You are new to our church or you're watching.
  • 00:11:06.722 --> 00:11:09.325
  • Let me just show you how god sometimes uses signs to
  • 00:11:09.325 --> 00:11:12.995
  • Communicate his will.
  • 00:11:12.995 --> 00:11:14.897
  • As i said when we started talking about this largest
  • 00:11:14.897 --> 00:11:18.300
  • Modern church construction program in history, we voted as
  • 00:11:18.300 --> 00:11:23.272
  • A church to move forward in a fundraising effort to see what
  • 00:11:23.272 --> 00:11:26.842
  • God would do, and we couldn't have picked a worse time to
  • 00:11:26.842 --> 00:11:29.912
  • Do it.
  • 00:11:29.912 --> 00:11:31.247
  • It was 2008, 2009.
  • 00:11:31.247 --> 00:11:33.783
  • We were in the midst of the greatest recession in american
  • 00:11:33.783 --> 00:11:37.353
  • History since the great depression, and i begin to have
  • 00:11:37.353 --> 00:11:41.724
  • A little bit of doubt.
  • 00:11:41.724 --> 00:11:43.626
  • Are we supposed to really go forward in this?
  • 00:11:43.626 --> 00:11:45.928
  • I'll never forget.
  • 00:11:45.928 --> 00:11:47.396
  • Our chairman mark lovvorn and i went down one day to the
  • 00:11:47.396 --> 00:11:50.966
  • Madeline's down the street from here, and i remember it was
  • 00:11:50.966 --> 00:11:53.769
  • About that time that the s&p had collapsed.
  • 00:11:53.769 --> 00:11:57.673
  • It had hit rock bottom at 666, 666.
  • 00:11:57.673 --> 00:12:03.612
  • I remember that number for some reason.
  • 00:12:03.612 --> 00:12:06.916
  • You know, today it's almost 4000.
  • 00:12:06.916 --> 00:12:08.584
  • It was 666, and i remember saying to mark, "you know, mark,
  • 00:12:08.584 --> 00:12:12.154
  • I know we're supposed to do this.
  • 00:12:12.154 --> 00:12:13.989
  • The church has voted for it, but is god telling us to wait or
  • 00:12:13.989 --> 00:12:18.561
  • Should we plow ahead anyway?"
  • 00:12:18.561 --> 00:12:20.830
  • And mark said, "robert, the only thing we can do is pray
  • 00:12:20.830 --> 00:12:23.766
  • About it."
  • 00:12:23.766 --> 00:12:25.100
  • So i said, "well, let's do that."
  • 00:12:25.100 --> 00:12:26.435
  • And we vowed that we would pray about it.
  • 00:12:26.435 --> 00:12:28.838
  • The next morning, i got down on my knees and i said, "lord,
  • 00:12:28.838 --> 00:12:33.242
  • I don't know what to do.
  • 00:12:33.242 --> 00:12:35.578
  • If you want us to move forward, i need you to give me a sign,
  • 00:12:35.578 --> 00:12:40.649
  • And i need you to give it today."
  • 00:12:40.649 --> 00:12:42.618
  • Now i know you're not supposed to pray that way.
  • 00:12:42.618 --> 00:12:45.387
  • I preach that you're not supposed to pray that way.
  • 00:12:45.387 --> 00:12:48.791
  • But i couldn't do any better.
  • 00:12:48.791 --> 00:12:50.292
  • That was the best i could do.
  • 00:12:50.292 --> 00:12:52.695
  • And so i got up off my knees and went to the church and i already
  • 00:12:52.695 --> 00:12:58.367
  • Had a luncheon scheduled that day at the petroleum club with
  • 00:12:58.367 --> 00:13:02.071
  • Two of our members, andy and joan horner, two godly,
  • 00:13:02.071 --> 00:13:06.775
  • Godly people.
  • 00:13:06.775 --> 00:13:08.310
  • And they had just come back from argentina and we were gonna talk
  • 00:13:08.310 --> 00:13:11.413
  • About their mission trip to argentina so we were sitting
  • 00:13:11.413 --> 00:13:14.583
  • There talking about argentina, and andy just out of the blue
  • 00:13:14.583 --> 00:13:17.386
  • Said, "you know, pastor, i know times are rough right now
  • 00:13:17.386 --> 00:13:20.556
  • Economically, but they're really not that bad.
  • 00:13:20.556 --> 00:13:22.791
  • I mean they're getting $20 for a hotdog out at the ballpark it
  • 00:13:22.791 --> 00:13:26.495
  • Must not be that bad."
  • 00:13:26.495 --> 00:13:29.231
  • And he said, "i think we ought to go forward with
  • 00:13:29.231 --> 00:13:31.467
  • This program."
  • 00:13:31.467 --> 00:13:33.402
  • And i thought to myself, "is this the sign, lord?"
  • 00:13:33.402 --> 00:13:37.439
  • It's not very much, but i was willing to grab hold of anything
  • 00:13:37.439 --> 00:13:41.243
  • I could get, so i said, "well, thank you, andy.
  • 00:13:41.243 --> 00:13:43.712
  • I appreciate your confidence."
  • 00:13:43.712 --> 00:13:45.848
  • We dismissed, said goodbye, and i walked back down to the church
  • 00:13:45.848 --> 00:13:49.451
  • To the ross parking building to get in my car to go make
  • 00:13:49.451 --> 00:13:52.955
  • A hospital visit, and as i was driving down the street headed
  • 00:13:52.955 --> 00:13:56.859
  • To pacific by the majestic theater there, i was turning the
  • 00:13:56.859 --> 00:14:00.996
  • Corner when my phone rang and it was andy on the phone.
  • 00:14:00.996 --> 00:14:04.867
  • He said, "pastor, i forgot to tell you something.
  • 00:14:04.867 --> 00:14:07.903
  • Joan and i wanna make the lead gift in our building project,
  • 00:14:07.903 --> 00:14:13.175
  • And we have this amount we would like to give as the lead gift."
  • 00:14:13.175 --> 00:14:17.646
  • And when they told me what it was, i almost drove into the
  • 00:14:17.646 --> 00:14:20.549
  • Back of the majestic theater.
  • 00:14:20.549 --> 00:14:23.519
  • It was the largest single gift ever given in the history of
  • 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:27.156
  • First baptist church dallas.
  • 00:14:27.156 --> 00:14:28.891
  • It was the largest single gift we know of that has ever been
  • 00:14:28.891 --> 00:14:32.428
  • Given to a local church.
  • 00:14:32.428 --> 00:14:35.230
  • And they gave that gift, and that gift encouraged others to
  • 00:14:35.230 --> 00:14:39.335
  • Give and others to give and others to give and in the midst
  • 00:14:39.335 --> 00:14:43.072
  • Of that great recession we were able to raise $135 million and
  • 00:14:43.072 --> 00:14:48.444
  • I'm telling you, literally, churches all over america said,
  • 00:14:48.444 --> 00:14:52.181
  • "if first baptist dallas can do that, we can do that too."
  • 00:14:52.181 --> 00:14:56.285
  • God used that.
  • 00:14:56.285 --> 00:14:58.153
  • You know, years later, i remember andy saying to me,
  • 00:14:58.153 --> 00:15:01.957
  • "i don't know why i called you when i did.
  • 00:15:01.957 --> 00:15:04.827
  • We had made that decision six months earlier and i just kept
  • 00:15:04.827 --> 00:15:07.796
  • Forgetting to tell you, i don't know why we told you that day."
  • 00:15:07.796 --> 00:15:12.401
  • I said, "andy, i know.
  • 00:15:12.401 --> 00:15:14.636
  • God used that as a confirming sign."
  • 00:15:14.636 --> 00:15:18.574
  • I got to see andy a couple of weeks ago.
  • 00:15:18.574 --> 00:15:21.110
  • Hadn't seen him in a long time.
  • 00:15:21.110 --> 00:15:22.644
  • He's 98 years old.
  • 00:15:22.644 --> 00:15:24.546
  • He's happy and still praising god.
  • 00:15:24.546 --> 00:15:27.449
  • God be praised for a man like andy horner and joan, and god be
  • 00:15:27.449 --> 00:15:32.087
  • Praised for a church that knows when it's time to move forward.
  • 00:15:32.087 --> 00:15:37.526
  • God blesses sometimes with a confirming sign.
  • 00:15:37.526 --> 00:15:41.063
  • Well, abraham didn't have any of those or sarah.
  • 00:15:41.063 --> 00:15:44.199
  • There was no biblical command to do what he was about to do.
  • 00:15:44.199 --> 00:15:47.770
  • In fact, a biblical command not to, but they plowed ahead.
  • 00:15:47.770 --> 00:15:52.041
  • Look at sarah's proposal.
  • 00:15:52.041 --> 00:15:55.778
  • "so sarah said to abram, 'we've been waiting here for 25 years
  • 00:15:55.778 --> 00:16:00.616
  • For a child.
  • 00:16:00.616 --> 00:16:01.984
  • It's not working.
  • 00:16:01.984 --> 00:16:03.318
  • Now behold, the lord has prevented me from
  • 00:16:03.318 --> 00:16:04.820
  • Bearing children.
  • 00:16:04.820 --> 00:16:06.188
  • Please go in to my maid; perhaps i will obtain children
  • 00:16:06.188 --> 00:16:10.092
  • Through her.'
  • 00:16:10.092 --> 00:16:11.460
  • And abraham listened to the voice of sarai."
  • 00:16:11.460 --> 00:16:15.097
  • Now listen, sarah was a woman of faith.
  • 00:16:15.097 --> 00:16:17.900
  • 1 peter 3:5 says she was a woman of faith, but people of faith
  • 00:16:17.900 --> 00:16:22.938
  • Can have lapses of faith, and that was true for sarah.
  • 00:16:22.938 --> 00:16:27.776
  • She basically said we can't depend upon god to do what
  • 00:16:27.776 --> 00:16:31.246
  • He promised.
  • 00:16:31.246 --> 00:16:32.614
  • We need to help her out.
  • 00:16:32.614 --> 00:16:33.949
  • So here's a plan.
  • 00:16:33.949 --> 00:16:35.284
  • Now you have to read this and think, "sarah, what is wrong
  • 00:16:35.284 --> 00:16:38.520
  • With you that you would come up with an idea to tell your
  • 00:16:38.520 --> 00:16:41.924
  • Husband to have sex with another woman?
  • 00:16:41.924 --> 00:16:44.326
  • That's unbelievable.
  • 00:16:44.326 --> 00:16:45.661
  • Have you been reading too many romance novels or visiting
  • 00:16:45.661 --> 00:16:48.230
  • Internet sites you shouldn't go to?
  • 00:16:48.230 --> 00:16:50.032
  • Where would you come up with such an immoral idea?"
  • 00:16:50.032 --> 00:16:53.936
  • Well, actually it was the law of the day.
  • 00:16:53.936 --> 00:16:56.872
  • Law number 146 of hammurabi's code, that abraham had followed
  • 00:16:56.872 --> 00:17:01.543
  • And the people in mesopotamia followed, said if a man has
  • 00:17:01.543 --> 00:17:05.280
  • A barren wife, he can have sex with somebody else and the child
  • 00:17:05.280 --> 00:17:09.251
  • Born can be the heir of that man.
  • 00:17:09.251 --> 00:17:11.920
  • It was perfectly legal in man's eyes, but it was immoral in
  • 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:17.359
  • God's eyes.
  • 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:18.694
  • Listen, god's plan has always been the same for marriage since
  • 00:17:18.694 --> 00:17:22.064
  • The beginning, genesis 2: "a man shall leave his father and
  • 00:17:22.064 --> 00:17:25.634
  • Mother, and cleave to his wife: and the two shall become
  • 00:17:25.634 --> 00:17:28.804
  • One flesh."
  • 00:17:28.804 --> 00:17:30.139
  • That is always god's plan.
  • 00:17:30.139 --> 00:17:31.573
  • One man with one woman in a lifetime commitment.
  • 00:17:31.573 --> 00:17:35.911
  • And so what she was proposing was totally against god's law.
  • 00:17:35.911 --> 00:17:40.549
  • So, how did abraham respond to sarah's proposal?
  • 00:17:40.549 --> 00:17:47.089
  • Men, how would you respond?
  • 00:17:47.089 --> 00:17:49.791
  • Your wife comes to you and she says, "honey, we're not getting
  • 00:17:49.791 --> 00:17:53.962
  • Any younger right now.
  • 00:17:53.962 --> 00:17:56.498
  • So i want you to take this young, beautiful egyptian maid
  • 00:17:56.498 --> 00:18:01.270
  • Of mine with a perfect tan, and i want you to have sex with her.
  • 00:18:01.270 --> 00:18:07.576
  • Would you please do that for me, abraham honey bunny?
  • 00:18:07.576 --> 00:18:10.879
  • Would you have sex with a--for me?"
  • 00:18:10.879 --> 00:18:14.816
  • How would you respond?
  • 00:18:14.816 --> 00:18:16.685
  • Just like abraham trying to wipe the smile off of his face, he
  • 00:18:16.685 --> 00:18:20.189
  • Says, "well, honey, if that's what you want, you know, what
  • 00:18:20.189 --> 00:18:24.693
  • Am i to do?"
  • 00:18:24.693 --> 00:18:26.562
  • It says: "abraham listened to the voice of his wife."
  • 00:18:26.562 --> 00:18:31.400
  • F.b. meyer in his biography of abraham says it's always hard to
  • 00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:35.804
  • Resist temptation when it appeals to natural instinct or
  • 00:18:35.804 --> 00:18:41.343
  • To distrusting fear.
  • 00:18:41.343 --> 00:18:43.979
  • Sarah's proposal did both.
  • 00:18:43.979 --> 00:18:45.981
  • It appealed to abraham's carnal instinct but also to his fear
  • 00:18:45.981 --> 00:18:50.419
  • That god couldn't keep his promise, but there's another
  • 00:18:50.419 --> 00:18:53.589
  • Reason this temptation was especially potent.
  • 00:18:53.589 --> 00:18:56.558
  • It came from abraham's wife.
  • 00:18:56.558 --> 00:19:00.162
  • Ladies don't ever underestimate the influence you have over your
  • 00:19:00.162 --> 00:19:03.232
  • Husbands, even when they're buried in a newspaper or in
  • 00:19:03.232 --> 00:19:07.869
  • A football game on television and you're trying to talk to
  • 00:19:07.869 --> 00:19:11.106
  • Them and all they can do is grunt, don't forget, they really
  • 00:19:11.106 --> 00:19:14.276
  • Are listening.
  • 00:19:14.276 --> 00:19:15.644
  • You may not think they are, they're listening to you.
  • 00:19:15.644 --> 00:19:17.613
  • You have great influence over them for good or for bad.
  • 00:19:17.613 --> 00:19:22.517
  • Adam listened to the voice of his wife, eve, and the whole
  • 00:19:22.517 --> 00:19:25.988
  • Race was plunged into destruction.
  • 00:19:25.988 --> 00:19:29.057
  • Sarah influenced her husband, he listened, and this is
  • 00:19:29.057 --> 00:19:33.595
  • A catastrophe of all catastrophes, as we'll
  • 00:19:33.595 --> 00:19:35.030
  • See in a moment.
  • 00:19:35.030 --> 00:19:36.832
  • Now i could make the application, "men, don't listen
  • 00:19:36.832 --> 00:19:40.535
  • To your wives."
  • 00:19:40.535 --> 00:19:43.238
  • But i value my life too much to come up with that application
  • 00:19:43.238 --> 00:19:47.175
  • And, most importantly, it would be the wrong application because
  • 00:19:47.175 --> 00:19:50.512
  • There are times we better listen to our wives.
  • 00:19:50.512 --> 00:19:52.547
  • Pontius pilate should have listened to his wife about
  • 00:19:52.547 --> 00:19:55.717
  • Getting involved with the jesus trial.
  • 00:19:55.717 --> 00:19:58.520
  • It's not, don't listen to your wife.
  • 00:19:58.520 --> 00:20:01.490
  • We ought to listen to our wives.
  • 00:20:01.490 --> 00:20:02.958
  • We ought to listen to our husbands.
  • 00:20:02.958 --> 00:20:05.360
  • But we ought to weigh what they say against the truth of
  • 00:20:05.360 --> 00:20:08.463
  • God's word.
  • 00:20:08.463 --> 00:20:09.798
  • Godly people can say ungodly things.
  • 00:20:09.798 --> 00:20:14.803
  • Jeffress: running ahead of god's timing may seem practical in the
  • 00:20:19.041 --> 00:20:22.511
  • Moment, but it always leads to complications we
  • 00:20:22.511 --> 00:20:25.914
  • Never anticipated.
  • 00:20:25.914 --> 00:20:27.749
  • There's more for us to learn from the story of abraham,
  • 00:20:27.749 --> 00:20:30.519
  • Sarah, and hagar.
  • 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:32.020
  • So please join me again next time for part 2 of this message.
  • 00:20:32.020 --> 00:20:36.525
  • Well, every time i watch the news or read the latest
  • 00:20:36.525 --> 00:20:39.227
  • Headlines, i'm reminded that our nation and world are spinning
  • 00:20:39.227 --> 00:20:43.131
  • Out of control.
  • 00:20:43.131 --> 00:20:44.499
  • People have lost their confidence in human leadership
  • 00:20:44.499 --> 00:20:47.436
  • And they're becoming distracted by every whim of this world.
  • 00:20:47.436 --> 00:20:51.340
  • But here's the good news jesus christ remains our only
  • 00:20:51.340 --> 00:20:55.944
  • Hope and every day on "pathway to victory" we're blanketing the
  • 00:20:55.944 --> 00:20:59.581
  • Globe with clear and hope-filled bible teaching.
  • 00:20:59.581 --> 00:21:03.151
  • With all the chaos in the world, our ministry together has never
  • 00:21:03.151 --> 00:21:07.322
  • Been more important than it is right now.
  • 00:21:07.322 --> 00:21:10.392
  • So thank you for your continued support of "pathway to victory."
  • 00:21:10.392 --> 00:21:14.629
  • Whether you're a pathway partner or give occasional gifts, your
  • 00:21:14.629 --> 00:21:18.433
  • Generosity makes this ministry possible.
  • 00:21:18.433 --> 00:21:22.003
  • Now please stay right there.
  • 00:21:22.003 --> 00:21:23.338
  • I'll be back with more "pathway to victory" in just a moment.
  • 00:21:23.338 --> 00:21:27.843
  • Jeffress: the story of abraham is a invitation to come back to
  • 00:21:27.843 --> 00:21:32.881
  • The altar of god.
  • 00:21:32.881 --> 00:21:35.584
  • He fell into disobedience and ultimately disgrace.
  • 00:21:35.584 --> 00:21:42.190
  • Repentance begins with a change of mind that says, "i don't want
  • 00:21:42.190 --> 00:21:45.560
  • To keep going this direction."
  • 00:21:45.560 --> 00:21:47.863
  • And that's what abraham did.
  • 00:21:47.863 --> 00:21:50.599
  • Picture right now, a challenge you're facing.
  • 00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:54.536
  • It may be a challenge with a child or a grandchild.
  • 00:21:54.536 --> 00:21:58.373
  • It may be a financial need.
  • 00:21:58.373 --> 00:22:00.842
  • It might be a physical problem with you or somebody you
  • 00:22:00.842 --> 00:22:04.045
  • Care about.
  • 00:22:04.045 --> 00:22:05.714
  • Do you believe the same god who's been faithful in the past
  • 00:22:05.714 --> 00:22:08.750
  • To you will be faithful to you now?
  • 00:22:08.750 --> 00:22:11.553
  • Is god still alive?
  • 00:22:11.553 --> 00:22:13.422
  • Is god still working?
  • 00:22:13.422 --> 00:22:15.424
  • Can you really trust in god?
  • 00:22:15.424 --> 00:22:19.094
  • The one quality god admires, god desires more than any other
  • 00:22:19.094 --> 00:22:24.800
  • Quality in our life, is faith.
  • 00:22:24.800 --> 00:22:28.570
  • What is faith?
  • 00:22:28.570 --> 00:22:30.172
  • It's believing that god will do what he has promised to do and
  • 00:22:30.172 --> 00:22:34.843
  • Acting accordingly.
  • 00:22:34.843 --> 00:22:40.348
  • If the story of abraham tells us anything, it tells us this.
  • 00:22:40.348 --> 00:22:44.686
  • It doesn't matter how old you are, it doesn't matter how far
  • 00:22:44.686 --> 00:22:47.222
  • You've drifted away from god, you can come back.
  • 00:22:47.222 --> 00:22:54.729
  • Jeffress: well, john and betty, thank you very much for that
  • 00:22:58.900 --> 00:23:01.136
  • Honest question, and i'm sure you're in a great deal of pain
  • 00:23:01.136 --> 00:23:04.673
  • Right now with that broken relationship with your children.
  • 00:23:04.673 --> 00:23:07.776
  • In my experience as a pastor, there are usually one of three
  • 00:23:07.776 --> 00:23:11.313
  • Reasons that parents and children become estranged.
  • 00:23:11.313 --> 00:23:16.051
  • Children, first of all, have a theological difference sometimes
  • 00:23:16.051 --> 00:23:19.120
  • With their parents.
  • 00:23:19.120 --> 00:23:20.455
  • The faith they grew up in, they've never personally
  • 00:23:20.455 --> 00:23:22.991
  • Embraced and now they've turned away from it and what they're
  • 00:23:22.991 --> 00:23:26.761
  • Separating themselves from right now is not just you it's your
  • 00:23:26.761 --> 00:23:31.233
  • Belief system that you tried to instill in them.
  • 00:23:31.233 --> 00:23:34.436
  • It's natural for our children to doubt and to even question their
  • 00:23:34.436 --> 00:23:39.341
  • Faith if they grew up in a christian home and when that
  • 00:23:39.341 --> 00:23:42.444
  • Happens we shouldn't panic, we shouldn't get angry.
  • 00:23:42.444 --> 00:23:45.747
  • We should do everything we can to help them embrace personally
  • 00:23:45.747 --> 00:23:50.318
  • The faith that we've tried to teach to them.
  • 00:23:50.318 --> 00:23:53.021
  • Answer their questions.
  • 00:23:53.021 --> 00:23:54.389
  • If you can't answer their questions, get them to somebody
  • 00:23:54.389 --> 00:23:57.092
  • Who can answer their questions.
  • 00:23:57.092 --> 00:23:59.361
  • We have a resource at "pathway to victory" called "how can
  • 00:23:59.361 --> 00:24:02.531
  • I know?"
  • 00:24:02.531 --> 00:24:03.899
  • Answers to seven of life's most important questions: how can i
  • 00:24:03.899 --> 00:24:07.269
  • Know god really exists?
  • 00:24:07.269 --> 00:24:08.737
  • How can i know the bible is true?
  • 00:24:08.737 --> 00:24:10.839
  • How can i know christianity is the right religion?
  • 00:24:10.839 --> 00:24:14.009
  • So, there are theological reasons some children separate
  • 00:24:14.009 --> 00:24:17.913
  • From their parents.
  • 00:24:17.913 --> 00:24:19.281
  • Other times it's because they're involved in
  • 00:24:19.281 --> 00:24:21.349
  • A rebellious lifestyle.
  • 00:24:21.349 --> 00:24:23.184
  • They've chosen to live in a way that's different from the way
  • 00:24:23.184 --> 00:24:26.221
  • That they were raised up to appreciate and to respect, but
  • 00:24:26.221 --> 00:24:30.992
  • By far most estrangements come from personal offenses.
  • 00:24:30.992 --> 00:24:37.299
  • Maybe they claim that you did something to them that you're,
  • 00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:40.902
  • In fact, innocent of, but in their mind it's real and in
  • 00:24:40.902 --> 00:24:44.940
  • Those situations, let me just give you some words of counsel:
  • 00:24:44.940 --> 00:24:49.477
  • Try to make things right with your children.
  • 00:24:49.477 --> 00:24:52.647
  • If they accuse you of something that seems minor to you,
  • 00:24:52.647 --> 00:24:56.851
  • Remember it's major to them.
  • 00:24:56.851 --> 00:24:59.688
  • So i always tell people to seek to have a clear conscience.
  • 00:24:59.688 --> 00:25:03.592
  • A clear conscience is the assurance that neither god nor
  • 00:25:03.592 --> 00:25:08.563
  • Anyone else can accuse us of a wrong we haven't attempted to
  • 00:25:08.563 --> 00:25:12.601
  • Make right.
  • 00:25:12.601 --> 00:25:13.935
  • We all make mistakes.
  • 00:25:13.935 --> 00:25:15.303
  • Parents make mistakes, but if they're accusing you of
  • 00:25:15.303 --> 00:25:18.106
  • Something that has some legitimacy to it, ask
  • 00:25:18.106 --> 00:25:21.209
  • Their forgiveness.
  • 00:25:21.209 --> 00:25:22.544
  • That is the best thing you can do to restore a relationship
  • 00:25:22.544 --> 00:25:26.648
  • With your children.
  • 00:25:26.648 --> 00:25:28.016
  • And let me just say this, i say it often.
  • 00:25:28.016 --> 00:25:30.619
  • Even during this time of estrangement, keep the
  • 00:25:30.619 --> 00:25:33.388
  • Communication open, keep trying to contact them, keep writing
  • 00:25:33.388 --> 00:25:38.293
  • Them, keep inviting them to family functions, and one day
  • 00:25:38.293 --> 00:25:42.097
  • They may surprise you in return.
  • 00:25:42.097 --> 00:25:44.833
  • Jeffress: when god's promises seem delayed, it's tempting to
  • 00:25:46.434 --> 00:25:49.671
  • Help him out with our own solutions, but sarah's plan to
  • 00:25:49.671 --> 00:25:53.508
  • Involve hagar shows us what happens when we try to fulfill
  • 00:25:53.508 --> 00:25:57.512
  • God's promises through our own schemes.
  • 00:25:57.512 --> 00:26:00.615
  • Instead of solving their problem, it created jealousy,
  • 00:26:00.615 --> 00:26:04.052
  • Conflict, and heartache that could have been avoided.
  • 00:26:04.052 --> 00:26:07.422
  • Next time, we'll discover how god's amazing grace can redeem
  • 00:26:07.422 --> 00:26:11.292
  • Even our worst decisions, and i'll share three powerful
  • 00:26:11.292 --> 00:26:14.863
  • Principles that will help you wait on god's timing
  • 00:26:14.863 --> 00:26:18.333
  • With confidence.
  • 00:26:18.333 --> 00:26:19.701
  • Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next in our
  • 00:26:19.701 --> 00:26:22.203
  • Series, "walking by faith."
  • 00:26:22.203 --> 00:26:25.740
  • Jeffress: abraham and sarah had to wait, but never forget this:
  • 00:26:25.740 --> 00:26:29.711
  • Waiting time isn't wasted time.
  • 00:26:29.711 --> 00:26:33.782
  • God uses waiting time to prepare us for the future, and he was
  • 00:26:33.782 --> 00:26:38.219
  • Using those 14 years to develop abraham's trust, so that abraham
  • 00:26:38.219 --> 00:26:44.392
  • Could respond to the greatest test he would ever face
  • 00:26:44.392 --> 00:26:47.262
  • In his life.
  • 00:26:47.262 --> 00:26:49.130
  • Announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for part 2 of the
  • 00:26:49.197 --> 00:26:52.267
  • Message, "two's company, but three's a crowd," here on
  • 00:26:52.267 --> 00:26:55.837
  • "pathway to victory."
  • 00:26:55.837 --> 00:26:57.572
  • Announcer: take a journey through alaska's awe-inspiring
  • 00:27:00.341 --> 00:27:02.911
  • Wilderness on the 2026 "pathway to victory" cruise to alaska
  • 00:27:02.911 --> 00:27:06.781
  • With dr. robert jeffress aboard holland america's
  • 00:27:06.781 --> 00:27:09.417
  • Magnificent "koningsdam."
  • 00:27:09.417 --> 00:27:11.352
  • Share laughter with dennis swanberg.
  • 00:27:11.352 --> 00:27:13.955
  • Be inspired by award-winning musician michael o'brien's
  • 00:27:13.955 --> 00:27:17.025
  • Powerful worship.
  • 00:27:17.025 --> 00:27:18.359
  • Make plans to set sail for an unforgettable week of adventure,
  • 00:27:18.359 --> 00:27:21.863
  • June 13 through 20, 2026.
  • 00:27:21.863 --> 00:27:24.599
  • Call...
  • 00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:27.669
  • Or visit ptv.org.
  • 00:27:27.669 --> 00:27:27.669