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Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - Your Most Priceless Gift In The New Year

January 3, 2025 | S25:E5

Robert Jeffress - Your Most Priceless Gift In The New Year
Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.
#Salvation #Faith #Surrender #Grace #Evil #Religion #Judgement #WordofGod #inActive #Dr.RobertJeffress #RobertJeffress #Gifting/Talent #Earth #EternalLife #Reward #Psalm90

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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - Your Most Priceless Gift In The New Year | January 3, 2025
  • ...
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Male announcer: from the pulpit of the first baptist
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  • Church of dallas, texas, this is "pathway to victory"
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  • With 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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  • There's nothing quite like the prospect
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  • Of a brand-new year ahead.
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  • The calendar resets, and we have a blank slate with 52 new weeks
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  • To accomplish our goals.
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  • So today i wanna help you prepare for the most productive
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  • New year of your lifetime and see the coming days and months
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  • As a gift to carefully steward.
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  • My message is titled, "your most priceless gift in the new year"
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  • On today's edition of "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Announcer: it's okay to have questions about your faith,
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  • But you need answers you can trust.
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  • In his book "how can i know?"
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  • Dr. robert jeffress addresses seven of life's
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  • Most important questions.
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  • If you've ever wondered how you can know the bible is true or
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  • How you can know if you're going to heaven,
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  • This book makes a compelling case for answers you
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  • Can embrace with confidence.
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  • Request your copy of "how can i know?"
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  • When you give a generous gift to support the ministry
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  • Of pathway to victory.
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Jeffress: the older i get the more i understand what the rabbi
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  • Harold kushner once called the instant coffee theory of life.
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  • If you're like me, when you get a new jar of instant coffee, you
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  • Open it up and you have that fresh aroma and you tend to be
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  • Very generous in your servings of coffee at the beginning
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  • Because after all you've got a whole brand-new jar.
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  • But about halfway down, you tend to become more conservative in
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  • Doling out the coffee, and by the end you find yourself
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  • Scraping the bottom of the jar looking for every stray grain
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  • You can.
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  • Kushner says we tend to treat life like a car--a can of
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  • Instant coffee.
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  • At the beginning, we tend to be very generous in how we spend
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  • Our time.
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  • We don't mind wasting time, after all, we're young, we've
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  • Got our lives in front of us.
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  • In our 50s and 60s though, it began to occur to us that we're
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  • Not gonna live forever.
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  • We realize we have more years behind us than in front of us,
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  • And by the time we reached the end of the jar, we wonder, "how
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  • Did it go so quickly?"
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  • Same way with the end of life.
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  • When the psalm we're gonna look at psalm 90, moses gives us some
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  • Great instruction on how to live our lives before we reach the
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  • Bottom of the jar.
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  • If you have your bibles, i want you to turn to psalm 90, the
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  • 90th psalm, as we talk about your most priceless gift in the
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  • Coming new year.
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  • Many people don't realize that psalm 90
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  • Was actually written not by david, but by moses.
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  • David lived in about 1000 bc.
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  • Moses lived at least 400 years earlier than that.
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  • So this is the oldest of all of the psalms,
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  • But it could not be more relevant than it is for today.
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  • Moses begins talking about the brevity of life.
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  • That's a constant theme that you see flashing throughout
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  • The scriptures, the shortness of our lives.
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  • Look at verses 1 and 2, "lord, you have been our dwelling place
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  • In all generations.
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  • Before the mountains were born or you gave birth to the earth
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  • And the world, even from everlasting to everlasting,
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  • You are god."
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  • God has always existed, he is eternal.
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  • That's why it's just so foolish how the atheist,
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  • The humanist, try to explain everything we see
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  • In the universe today.
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  • You know what their explanation is for everything we see in our
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  • World, in the universe, they don't believe in god.
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  • So they say, "nobody times nothing equals everything."
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  • Isn't that foolish to think that something could come
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  • Out of nothing?
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  • No, the psalmist says.
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  • Moses says god has been the constant.
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  • "from everlasting to everlasting,
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  • You are god."
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  • God is eternal.
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  • In fact, look at verse 4, "for a thousand years in your sight
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  • Are like yesterday when it passes by;
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  • Or is a watch in the night."
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  • A thousand years is like a day to the lord.
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  • He is not down to time but we are,
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  • At least in this life.
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  • God has made each one of us a prisoner of time.
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  • In this life we have a beginning,
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  • We have a middle, and we have an end.
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  • And to show how transitory our life is compared to
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  • The eternality of god, moses uses two metaphors,
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  • Two images.
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  • First of all, he describes our human life to dust.
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  • Look at verse 3, "you turn man back into dust and say,
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  • 'return o children of men.'"
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  • Our human bodies are an accumulation of particles
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  • And chemicals.
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  • We are dust.
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  • We were made from the dust of the ground, and our bodies
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  • Will return to the dust of the ground.
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  • That's why i really don't understand these christians who
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  • Get so worked up about, you know, what they're gonna do with
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  • Their bodies when they die, you know, should you bury them, you
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  • Know, bury your body or cremation, is that okay?
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  • Or you know, maybe you'll donate your body to science if science
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  • Will have it, but, you know, people make all these
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  • Elaborate plans.
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  • It doesn't matter.
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  • I mean, the fact is your body is gonna turn back into dust.
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  • Cremation just accelerates the process, but it's still gonna go
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  • Back to dust whether or not you cremate your bodies.
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  • We're transitory.
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  • Our human existence is transitory.
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  • Later on in verses 5 and 6, he'll compare us to grass.
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  • He says our body is like grass.
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  • We sprout in the morning, we dry up at noon, and we die by the
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  • Evening time.
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  • You think, well, that's an exaggeration.
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  • Grass doesn't grow and die that quickly.
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  • That's the whole point, but it seems like it.
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  • And in the same way our lives seem like they're over
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  • Before they even get started.
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  • Your life is just a vapor that appears for a little while
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  • And then it vanishes.
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  • Not only that, not only is life brief, but life is uncertain,
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  • Moses reminds us.
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  • Look at verse 5 about the uncertainty of life.
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  • "you have swept them away like a flood,
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  • They fall asleep; in the morning they are like grass
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  • Which sprouts anew.
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  • In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew,
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  • But toward evening it fades and withers away."
  • 00:07:09.385 --> 00:07:12.622
  • I like the way the living bible paraphrases verse 5.
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  • "we glide along the tides of time as swiftly as a racing
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  • River and vanish as quickly as a dream."
  • 00:07:22.732 --> 00:07:28.137
  • "we glide along the tides of time as swiftly
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  • As a racing river."
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  • When i read that verse, i think about when i was a youth
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  • Minister here, we had an annual trip we used to take our
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  • Graduating seniors on to colorado.
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  • The late mary crowley, who was such a wonderful member of our
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  • Church, would pay to send all of our seniors on this trip to
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  • Colorado, and one of our activities was to go white water
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  • Rafting down the colorado river.
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  • If you've ever been rafting down the colorado river, you know
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  • What an exhilarating experience it can be.
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  • You'll be floating along, just enjoying the beautiful
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  • Scenery when all of a sudden you hit the white water and those
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  • Rapids grab hold of your boat
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  • And you realize you're not in control of anything.
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  • I mean, you're just trying to keep the boat from dashing
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  • On the rocks and capsizing.
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  • If you can accomplish that, you've succeeded.
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  • What a great picture of life that is.
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  • You can be sailing along in your life enjoying all the great
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  • Things god has given you when suddenly out of nowhere you're
  • 00:08:33.302 --> 00:08:37.707
  • Overwhelmed by circumstances over which you have no control.
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  • It may be an undesired divorce, an unexpected report from the
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  • Doctor, an undeserved termination from your job,
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  • And suddenly you realize out of control you really are of your
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  • Life's circumstances.
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  • That's what he's talking about here.
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  • Circumstances can overcome us very,
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  • Very quickly.
  • 00:09:06.202 --> 00:09:08.437
  • And that's why james wrote in james 4 verse 13,
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  • "come now, you who say, 'today or tomorrow we will go to such
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  • And such a city, and spend a year there and engage in
  • 00:09:15.678 --> 00:09:18.914
  • Business and make a profit.'
  • 00:09:18.914 --> 00:09:21.550
  • Yet you don't know what your life will be like tomorrow.
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  • You're just a vapor that appears for a while
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  • And then vanishes away.
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  • Instead, you ought to say, 'if the lord wills,
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  • And we live, we will do this or do that.
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  • But as it is, you boast in all of your arrogance;
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  • All such boasting is evil."
  • 00:09:40.670 --> 00:09:43.739
  • Now, don't misapply that.
  • 00:09:43.739 --> 00:09:45.074
  • James isn't saying there's anything wrong with planning.
  • 00:09:45.074 --> 00:09:48.210
  • Proverbs talks about the importance of planning,
  • 00:09:48.210 --> 00:09:51.414
  • But remember, any plans we make are always subject
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  • To the sovereignty of god.
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  • Man proposes, god disposes, sometimes, of our plans.
  • 00:09:58.521 --> 00:10:03.826
  • Sometimes circumstances overwhelm us, and we're out of
  • 00:10:03.826 --> 00:10:08.064
  • Control, or we think we are, of what happens to us.
  • 00:10:08.064 --> 00:10:12.034
  • Life is filled with uncertainties.
  • 00:10:12.034 --> 00:10:14.970
  • It's like being on a racing river.
  • 00:10:14.970 --> 00:10:18.240
  • So what should our response be to the fact that our life
  • 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:21.077
  • Is brief, that it's filled with uncertainty?
  • 00:10:21.077 --> 00:10:26.082
  • Some people make the wrong application,
  • 00:10:26.082 --> 00:10:28.784
  • They adopt the hedonistic phrase,
  • 00:10:28.784 --> 00:10:32.054
  • "eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die."
  • 00:10:32.054 --> 00:10:36.759
  • "since we don't know how many days we have left,
  • 00:10:36.759 --> 00:10:39.528
  • Since anything could happen, just grab all the gusto you can
  • 00:10:39.528 --> 00:10:43.499
  • Grab," as the commercial used to say.
  • 00:10:43.499 --> 00:10:46.969
  • No, moses suggests a different application
  • 00:10:46.969 --> 00:10:50.439
  • Of those two realities.
  • 00:10:50.439 --> 00:10:53.375
  • He said, "because life is brief, because it is filled with
  • 00:10:53.375 --> 00:10:57.346
  • Uncertainties, treat it with value."
  • 00:10:57.346 --> 00:11:01.751
  • And that's how he applies these truths beginning verse 10,
  • 00:11:01.751 --> 00:11:06.122
  • When he talks about the value of our life.
  • 00:11:06.122 --> 00:11:10.259
  • Understand and act on the value of life.
  • 00:11:10.259 --> 00:11:14.797
  • Look at verse 10, "as for the days of our life,
  • 00:11:14.797 --> 00:11:19.068
  • They contain seventy years, or if due to strength,
  • 00:11:19.068 --> 00:11:22.738
  • Eighty years."
  • 00:11:22.738 --> 00:11:24.573
  • Now, remember, moses wrote this 3,400 years ago.
  • 00:11:24.573 --> 00:11:30.713
  • You know, over 3,400 years the lifespan of men and women has
  • 00:11:30.713 --> 00:11:35.217
  • Fluctuated greatly or so it seems, and yet i was looking
  • 00:11:35.217 --> 00:11:40.122
  • Just this week, you know what the lifespan of an average male
  • 00:11:40.122 --> 00:11:43.692
  • In the us is?
  • 00:11:43.692 --> 00:11:45.594
  • 78.6 years.
  • 00:11:45.594 --> 00:11:48.097
  • For women, they always outlive us,
  • 00:11:48.097 --> 00:11:50.199
  • 81.1 years, but there it is just like the psalmist said,
  • 00:11:50.199 --> 00:11:54.870
  • It floats between 70 and 80 years.
  • 00:11:54.870 --> 00:11:57.573
  • Sure some people live a lot longer,
  • 00:11:57.573 --> 00:11:59.508
  • Some people live a lot shorter, but most people live between
  • 00:11:59.508 --> 00:12:03.512
  • 70 and 80 years of life.
  • 00:12:03.512 --> 00:12:06.715
  • I love the way the living bible paraphrases this passage,
  • 00:12:06.715 --> 00:12:10.719
  • "seventy years are given to us and some may even live to
  • 00:12:10.719 --> 00:12:14.423
  • Eighty, but even the best of these years are filled
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  • With pain and trouble.
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  • Soon they disappear and we are gone.
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  • Who can comprehend the power of your anger, god?
  • 00:12:23.299 --> 00:12:26.669
  • Which of us can fear you as he should?"
  • 00:12:26.669 --> 00:12:29.572
  • And here's the application.
  • 00:12:29.572 --> 00:12:31.640
  • "teach us to number our days and recognize how very few they are.
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  • Help us to spend them as we should."
  • 00:12:37.947 --> 00:12:42.651
  • Life time is a priceless commodity god gives
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  • To each of us.
  • 00:12:47.790 --> 00:12:49.291
  • What makes it priceless?
  • 00:12:49.291 --> 00:12:50.759
  • Well, first of all, it is limited.
  • 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:53.329
  • It's things that are limited that have value,
  • 00:12:53.329 --> 00:12:56.365
  • And our time is very limited.
  • 00:12:56.365 --> 00:12:58.634
  • God may allot to you 70 years, he may give you 80 years,
  • 00:12:58.634 --> 00:13:02.371
  • He may give you a few more, a few less,
  • 00:13:02.371 --> 00:13:05.107
  • But god has a designated number of days,
  • 00:13:05.107 --> 00:13:09.378
  • Hours, minutes, and seconds that he has given to each one of you
  • 00:13:09.378 --> 00:13:13.749
  • And they're ticking away just like that.
  • 00:13:13.749 --> 00:13:17.186
  • Your time is very limited.
  • 00:13:17.186 --> 00:13:19.655
  • That's why it's valuable.
  • 00:13:19.655 --> 00:13:21.724
  • And yes, nothing takes god by surprise.
  • 00:13:21.724 --> 00:13:24.026
  • Both the day of our death,
  • 00:13:24.026 --> 00:13:25.628
  • The day of our date are written in his book.
  • 00:13:25.628 --> 00:13:28.731
  • In psalm 139 verse 16, david says,
  • 00:13:28.731 --> 00:13:32.134
  • "your eyes have seen my unformed substance,
  • 00:13:32.134 --> 00:13:35.337
  • And in your book were all written the days
  • 00:13:35.337 --> 00:13:37.873
  • That were ordained for me.
  • 00:13:37.873 --> 00:13:39.642
  • When as yet there was not one of them."
  • 00:13:39.642 --> 00:13:42.845
  • Did you know before you were born god wrote the date of your
  • 00:13:42.845 --> 00:13:46.181
  • Birth and the day of your death in indelible ink in his book?
  • 00:13:46.181 --> 00:13:52.454
  • But not only that, he wrote every day
  • 00:13:52.454 --> 00:13:55.257
  • In between those two dates.
  • 00:13:55.257 --> 00:13:58.160
  • Every day of your life was ordained by god
  • 00:13:58.160 --> 00:14:02.298
  • Before you experienced one of them.
  • 00:14:02.298 --> 00:14:05.935
  • And yet those days are moving by very quickly.
  • 00:14:05.935 --> 00:14:09.905
  • That's why time is valuable.
  • 00:14:09.905 --> 00:14:12.207
  • It is limited, but here's the paradox,
  • 00:14:12.207 --> 00:14:16.111
  • Even though it's limited, secondly,
  • 00:14:16.111 --> 00:14:18.280
  • It's determinative.
  • 00:14:18.280 --> 00:14:20.582
  • And by that i mean how you spend these few fleeting moments
  • 00:14:20.582 --> 00:14:24.987
  • That god gives to you impacts greatly both your life now
  • 00:14:24.987 --> 00:14:32.428
  • And your life eternally.
  • 00:14:32.428 --> 00:14:35.497
  • Let's talk about the eternal aspect first of all.
  • 00:14:35.497 --> 00:14:39.568
  • The great paradox is how we spend these few seconds
  • 00:14:39.568 --> 00:14:44.206
  • Seemingly that god gives us on earth determines the kind of
  • 00:14:44.206 --> 00:14:47.676
  • Eternity that we experience.
  • 00:14:47.676 --> 00:14:50.980
  • You see, this life is not all that there is.
  • 00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:54.249
  • Seems that way but it's not.
  • 00:14:54.249 --> 00:14:56.852
  • The wisest man who ever lived, solomon,
  • 00:14:56.852 --> 00:14:59.121
  • Wrote in ecclesiastes 12 verse 1,
  • 00:14:59.121 --> 00:15:02.891
  • "remember your creator in the days of your youth,
  • 00:15:02.891 --> 00:15:06.161
  • Before the evil days come and the years draw near
  • 00:15:06.161 --> 00:15:09.732
  • When you say, 'i have no delight in them.'
  • 00:15:09.732 --> 00:15:13.335
  • Remember god before the silver cord is broken and the golden
  • 00:15:13.335 --> 00:15:17.373
  • Bowl is crushed and the pitcher by the well is shattered
  • 00:15:17.373 --> 00:15:20.676
  • And the wheel at the cistern is crushed."
  • 00:15:20.676 --> 00:15:23.379
  • Those are all images of the breakdown of the physical body.
  • 00:15:23.379 --> 00:15:27.416
  • And what happens?
  • 00:15:27.416 --> 00:15:28.984
  • Verse 7, "then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
  • 00:15:28.984 --> 00:15:33.455
  • But the spirit will return to god who gave it."
  • 00:15:33.455 --> 00:15:39.495
  • There's more to us than this collection of chemicals
  • 00:15:39.495 --> 00:15:42.331
  • And particles.
  • 00:15:42.331 --> 00:15:44.133
  • We have a spirit and that spirit is going to live eternally.
  • 00:15:44.133 --> 00:15:49.571
  • And the most important decision we make in our brief fleeting
  • 00:15:49.571 --> 00:15:52.674
  • Life is how are we going to face god one day?
  • 00:15:52.674 --> 00:15:57.813
  • Are we gonna face his judgment?
  • 00:15:57.813 --> 00:15:59.348
  • Are we going to face his forgiveness
  • 00:15:59.348 --> 00:16:01.583
  • And be welcomed into heaven?
  • 00:16:01.583 --> 00:16:03.919
  • For some of you right now, the most important decision you
  • 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:06.889
  • Could ever make is that decision to trust in christ as your
  • 00:16:06.889 --> 00:16:11.827
  • Savior, to know your sins have been washed away and that you
  • 00:16:11.827 --> 00:16:15.798
  • Will one day be welcomed into god's presence.
  • 00:16:15.798 --> 00:16:19.701
  • You have no guarantee that even tomorrow you'll be able
  • 00:16:19.701 --> 00:16:22.271
  • To make that decision.
  • 00:16:22.271 --> 00:16:23.605
  • That's why the bible says today is the day of salvation.
  • 00:16:23.605 --> 00:16:29.011
  • Those decisions we make in this life profoundly affect
  • 00:16:29.011 --> 00:16:33.282
  • Our eternal existence.
  • 00:16:33.282 --> 00:16:35.250
  • And once we are saved, how do we spend the time
  • 00:16:35.250 --> 00:16:38.387
  • That god has given us?
  • 00:16:38.387 --> 00:16:40.189
  • Investing it in our kingdom, our agenda,
  • 00:16:40.189 --> 00:16:43.158
  • Or in god's kingdom, his agenda?
  • 00:16:43.158 --> 00:16:45.961
  • 2 corinthians 5:10 reminds us that one day as christians,
  • 00:16:45.961 --> 00:16:49.965
  • We will all stand before the judgment seat of christ that
  • 00:16:49.965 --> 00:16:53.535
  • Each one of us may be rewarded for what we've done in the body,
  • 00:16:53.535 --> 00:16:57.372
  • Whether it be good or worthless.
  • 00:16:57.372 --> 00:17:01.276
  • Listen to me this morning, life is short but what we do here on
  • 00:17:01.276 --> 00:17:07.950
  • Earth reverberates in the halls of heaven forever.
  • 00:17:07.950 --> 00:17:13.055
  • That's why our life here is valuable.
  • 00:17:13.055 --> 00:17:15.991
  • Yes, it's limited, but it's determinative.
  • 00:17:15.991 --> 00:17:19.128
  • How we spend our time determines the kind of eternity
  • 00:17:19.128 --> 00:17:22.698
  • We'll experience one day.
  • 00:17:22.698 --> 00:17:25.267
  • But how we spend our time here on earth also determines
  • 00:17:25.267 --> 00:17:30.639
  • The quality of life we have right now.
  • 00:17:30.639 --> 00:17:34.510
  • Jesus said in john 10:10, "i've come that you might have life,
  • 00:17:34.510 --> 00:17:39.047
  • And have it more abundantly."
  • 00:17:39.047 --> 00:17:41.483
  • And to a large extent, how you spend your time right now
  • 00:17:41.483 --> 00:17:45.654
  • Determines what kind of existence you have right now.
  • 00:17:45.654 --> 00:17:49.324
  • As you face the coming new year, how will you use the brief,
  • 00:17:49.324 --> 00:17:55.531
  • The uncertain, the valuable gift of time that god
  • 00:17:55.531 --> 00:18:01.036
  • Has given to you?
  • 00:18:01.036 --> 00:18:03.939
  • I wanna close today by reading a piece that i got 20 years ago
  • 00:18:03.939 --> 00:18:09.077
  • From john maxwell.
  • 00:18:09.077 --> 00:18:11.980
  • It was originally written by a ham radio operator.
  • 00:18:11.980 --> 00:18:15.551
  • Some of you are too young to know about ham radio operators.
  • 00:18:15.551 --> 00:18:19.655
  • These are people, they're still around, who are amateur radio
  • 00:18:19.655 --> 00:18:22.558
  • People and they sit in their basement or in their garage
  • 00:18:22.558 --> 00:18:26.795
  • Talking to other people on their ham radios.
  • 00:18:26.795 --> 00:18:30.399
  • This ham radio operator wrote a story he called
  • 00:18:30.399 --> 00:18:34.136
  • "a thousand marbles."
  • 00:18:34.136 --> 00:18:36.171
  • I think it'll make an impression on you.
  • 00:18:36.171 --> 00:18:39.174
  • "the older i get, the more i enjoy saturday mornings.
  • 00:18:39.174 --> 00:18:43.111
  • Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes from being the first
  • 00:18:43.111 --> 00:18:46.315
  • To rise, or maybe it's just the unbounded joy
  • 00:18:46.315 --> 00:18:49.384
  • Of not having to go to work.
  • 00:18:49.384 --> 00:18:51.687
  • Either way, the first few hours of a saturday morning
  • 00:18:51.687 --> 00:18:55.123
  • Are most enjoyable.
  • 00:18:55.123 --> 00:18:57.326
  • A few weeks ago i was shuffling around the basement
  • 00:18:57.326 --> 00:18:59.995
  • With a stinging cup of coffee in one hand
  • 00:18:59.995 --> 00:19:02.531
  • And the morning paper in the other.
  • 00:19:02.531 --> 00:19:04.967
  • What began as a typical saturday morning turned into one of those
  • 00:19:04.967 --> 00:19:09.071
  • Lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time.
  • 00:19:09.071 --> 00:19:13.375
  • Let me tell you about it.
  • 00:19:13.375 --> 00:19:15.544
  • I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band of my
  • 00:19:15.544 --> 00:19:18.614
  • Ham radio in order to listen to a saturday morning swap session.
  • 00:19:18.614 --> 00:19:24.186
  • Along the way, i came across an older sounding chap
  • 00:19:24.186 --> 00:19:27.889
  • With a tremendous signal and a golden voice.
  • 00:19:27.889 --> 00:19:31.660
  • You know the kind.
  • 00:19:31.660 --> 00:19:33.095
  • He sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business,
  • 00:19:33.095 --> 00:19:36.331
  • And he was telling whoever he was talking with something
  • 00:19:36.331 --> 00:19:39.901
  • About a thousand marbles.
  • 00:19:39.901 --> 00:19:43.205
  • I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.
  • 00:19:43.205 --> 00:19:47.609
  • 'well, tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job, and
  • 00:19:47.609 --> 00:19:51.246
  • I'm sure they pay you well, but it's a shame you've been away
  • 00:19:51.246 --> 00:19:53.815
  • From your home and family for so long.
  • 00:19:53.815 --> 00:19:56.351
  • Hard to believe a young fella like you should have to work
  • 00:19:56.351 --> 00:19:59.121
  • 50 to 60 hours a week to make ends meet.
  • 00:19:59.121 --> 00:20:02.891
  • Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital.'
  • 00:20:02.891 --> 00:20:06.161
  • He continued, 'let me tell you something,
  • 00:20:06.161 --> 00:20:08.664
  • Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective
  • 00:20:08.664 --> 00:20:12.334
  • On my own priorities.'
  • 00:20:12.334 --> 00:20:14.369
  • And that's when he began to explain his theory
  • 00:20:14.369 --> 00:20:17.372
  • Of a thousand marbles.
  • 00:20:17.372 --> 00:20:19.574
  • 'you see,' he said, 'i sat down one day and i did
  • 00:20:19.574 --> 00:20:21.843
  • A little arithmetic.
  • 00:20:21.843 --> 00:20:23.812
  • The average person lives about 75 years.
  • 00:20:23.812 --> 00:20:27.382
  • I know some live more and some live less but on average folks
  • 00:20:27.382 --> 00:20:30.852
  • Live about 75 years.'
  • 00:20:30.852 --> 00:20:33.155
  • Now then i multiplied 75 times 52 and i came up with 3,900,
  • 00:20:33.155 --> 00:20:40.228
  • Which is the number of saturdays that the average person has
  • 00:20:40.228 --> 00:20:44.232
  • In their entire lifetime.
  • 00:20:44.232 --> 00:20:46.134
  • Now, stick with me tom, i'm getting to the important part.
  • 00:20:46.134 --> 00:20:49.905
  • It took me until i was age 55 to think about all of this
  • 00:20:49.905 --> 00:20:54.876
  • In any detail.
  • 00:20:54.876 --> 00:20:56.678
  • And by the time i had lived through over 2,800 saturdays
  • 00:20:56.678 --> 00:21:01.450
  • And i got to thinking that if i live to be 75,
  • 00:21:01.450 --> 00:21:04.986
  • I only had about 1,000 saturdays left to enjoy.
  • 00:21:04.986 --> 00:21:09.191
  • So i went to a toy store and i bought every single marble they
  • 00:21:09.191 --> 00:21:13.695
  • Had, and i ended up having to visit three toy stores just
  • 00:21:13.695 --> 00:21:18.567
  • To round up 1,000 marbles.
  • 00:21:18.567 --> 00:21:21.903
  • I took them home, put them inside a large,
  • 00:21:21.903 --> 00:21:24.606
  • Clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my
  • 00:21:24.606 --> 00:21:28.176
  • Gear, and every saturday since then,
  • 00:21:28.176 --> 00:21:31.246
  • I've taken one marble out and i've thrown it away.
  • 00:21:31.246 --> 00:21:35.517
  • I found that by watching the marbles diminish,
  • 00:21:35.517 --> 00:21:38.954
  • I focus more on what's really important in my life.
  • 00:21:38.954 --> 00:21:43.392
  • There's really nothing like watching your time here on earth
  • 00:21:43.392 --> 00:21:46.228
  • Run out to help you keep your priorities straight.
  • 00:21:46.228 --> 00:21:50.065
  • Now, let me tell you one last thing before i sign off with you
  • 00:21:50.065 --> 00:21:53.869
  • And take my lovely wife out to breakfast,
  • 00:21:53.869 --> 00:21:56.838
  • This morning i took the very last marble
  • 00:21:56.838 --> 00:21:59.608
  • Out of the container.
  • 00:21:59.608 --> 00:22:01.743
  • I figure if i make it until next saturday,
  • 00:22:01.743 --> 00:22:03.779
  • Then i've been given a little extra time.
  • 00:22:03.779 --> 00:22:06.715
  • And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.
  • 00:22:06.715 --> 00:22:11.086
  • It was nice to meet you, tom.
  • 00:22:11.086 --> 00:22:13.355
  • I hope you spend more time with your family,
  • 00:22:13.355 --> 00:22:15.791
  • And i hope to meet you again somewhere on this band.'
  • 00:22:15.791 --> 00:22:20.395
  • Well, you could have heard a pin drop on the band
  • 00:22:20.395 --> 00:22:22.697
  • When this fella signed off.
  • 00:22:22.697 --> 00:22:25.000
  • I guess he gave us all a lot to think about.
  • 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:28.470
  • I had planned to work on the antenna that morning,
  • 00:22:28.470 --> 00:22:30.972
  • And then i was gonna meet up with a few ham operators
  • 00:22:30.972 --> 00:22:33.942
  • To work on the next club newsletter.
  • 00:22:33.942 --> 00:22:36.912
  • Instead, i went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss.
  • 00:22:36.912 --> 00:22:41.349
  • 'come on, honey, i'm taking you and the kids to breakfast.
  • 00:22:41.349 --> 00:22:45.887
  • 'what brought this on?' she said with a smile.
  • 00:22:45.887 --> 00:22:49.124
  • 'oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent
  • 00:22:49.124 --> 00:22:53.261
  • A saturday together with the kids.
  • 00:22:53.261 --> 00:22:56.064
  • And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out?
  • 00:22:56.064 --> 00:23:02.204
  • I need to buy some marbles.'"
  • 00:23:02.204 --> 00:23:05.040
  • Lord, teach us to number our days,
  • 00:23:06.274 --> 00:23:10.879
  • Help us spend them as we should.
  • 00:23:10.879 --> 00:23:15.951
  • That's a great resolve for the coming new year.
  • 00:23:15.951 --> 00:23:20.355
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:23:20.355 --> 00:23:25.827
  • Jeffress: there's no way of knowing how many marbles
  • 00:23:25.827 --> 00:23:28.296
  • We have left in the jar, and for that reason we need
  • 00:23:28.296 --> 00:23:31.533
  • To make every single one count.
  • 00:23:31.533 --> 00:23:34.669
  • Now in the time remaining today, let me extend an invitation to
  • 00:23:34.669 --> 00:23:38.740
  • Become one of our pathway partners.
  • 00:23:38.740 --> 00:23:41.343
  • As you become one of our monthly givers, your investment will
  • 00:23:41.343 --> 00:23:45.046
  • Truly make a difference.
  • 00:23:45.046 --> 00:23:47.015
  • Let me give you an example from a phone call we
  • 00:23:47.015 --> 00:23:49.584
  • Received recently.
  • 00:23:49.584 --> 00:23:51.052
  • One of our callers said, "i was brought up with a lot of
  • 00:23:51.052 --> 00:23:54.556
  • Different beliefs, but i didn't know the truth about being
  • 00:23:54.556 --> 00:23:57.592
  • A christian.
  • 00:23:57.592 --> 00:23:58.994
  • Since i began listening to 'pathway to victory' god has
  • 00:23:58.994 --> 00:24:02.030
  • Opened my spiritual eyes and opened doors in my heart, and
  • 00:24:02.030 --> 00:24:06.668
  • Now i can receive the truth."
  • 00:24:06.668 --> 00:24:09.204
  • She concluded by saying, thank you.
  • 00:24:09.204 --> 00:24:12.407
  • Well, her thank you belongs to those of you who give monthly as
  • 00:24:12.407 --> 00:24:15.911
  • A pathway partner.
  • 00:24:15.911 --> 00:24:17.612
  • And january is the perfect time to get started in
  • 00:24:17.612 --> 00:24:21.283
  • This new relationship.
  • 00:24:21.283 --> 00:24:22.918
  • If you're ready to step forward and become a pathway partner,
  • 00:24:22.918 --> 00:24:26.588
  • Simply follow the instructions on the screen.
  • 00:24:26.588 --> 00:24:29.791
  • I look forward to hearing from you today, but stay right there.
  • 00:24:29.791 --> 00:24:34.229
  • I'll be back with more "pathway to victory" in just a moment.
  • 00:24:34.229 --> 00:24:39.467
  • Announcer: if a friend or one of your children came up to you
  • 00:24:39.534 --> 00:24:41.703
  • And asked, "how do you know christianity
  • 00:24:41.703 --> 00:24:43.905
  • Is the right religion?"
  • 00:24:43.905 --> 00:24:45.473
  • Could you give a clear and credible answer?
  • 00:24:45.473 --> 00:24:48.243
  • We'd like to send you a book from dr. robert jeffress
  • 00:24:48.243 --> 00:24:51.046
  • Containing answers to life's seven most important questions.
  • 00:24:51.046 --> 00:24:54.883
  • It's titled "how can i know?"
  • 00:24:54.883 --> 00:24:57.085
  • Jeffress: if we're honest, every one of us has questions
  • 00:24:57.085 --> 00:24:59.721
  • About our faith, questions like:
  • 00:24:59.721 --> 00:25:01.623
  • How can i know the bible is true?
  • 00:25:01.623 --> 00:25:03.992
  • Or: how can i know god exists?
  • 00:25:03.992 --> 00:25:06.728
  • In my book "how can i know?"
  • 00:25:06.728 --> 00:25:08.630
  • I tackle seven important questions and provide
  • 00:25:08.630 --> 00:25:11.733
  • Biblically-based answers
  • 00:25:11.733 --> 00:25:13.735
  • You can embrace with confidence.
  • 00:25:13.735 --> 00:25:15.904
  • Announcer: seven straightforward answers
  • 00:25:15.904 --> 00:25:17.505
  • To seven pressing questions.
  • 00:25:17.505 --> 00:25:19.608
  • The book "how can i know?"
  • 00:25:19.608 --> 00:25:21.076
  • Is yours today when you give a generous gift to support the
  • 00:25:21.076 --> 00:25:24.346
  • Ministry of pathway to victory, or when you sign up to
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  • Become a pathway partner.
  • 00:25:27.682 --> 00:25:29.851
  • And when your gift is $75 or more,
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  • You'll also receive the complete series on dvd and audio disk
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  • With newly updated content for 2025.
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  • Jeffress: it's not a sin to have doubts.
  • 00:25:40.462 --> 00:25:43.198
  • Sometimes doubt is a prerequisite to genuine faith.
  • 00:25:43.198 --> 00:25:48.103
  • Announcer: thank you for investing financially
  • 00:25:48.103 --> 00:25:50.238
  • In pathway to victory.
  • 00:25:50.238 --> 00:25:51.740
  • Your partnership will help our ministry broadcast god's truth
  • 00:25:51.740 --> 00:25:55.310
  • On television, on radio, and online,
  • 00:25:55.310 --> 00:25:58.279
  • Addressing doubts, clearly confusion,
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  • And transforming lives through the bold,
  • 00:26:00.849 --> 00:26:03.685
  • Biblical teaching of god's word.
  • 00:26:03.685 --> 00:26:06.121
  • Jeffress: maybe today's message from moses has reminded you of
  • 00:26:09.090 --> 00:26:12.694
  • Some changes you want to make in your priorities in the
  • 00:26:12.694 --> 00:26:15.997
  • Coming year.
  • 00:26:15.997 --> 00:26:17.332
  • I pray you have the resolve and determination to take those
  • 00:26:17.332 --> 00:26:21.403
  • First steps today.
  • 00:26:21.403 --> 00:26:23.705
  • Well, if we're honest, every one of us has questions about our
  • 00:26:23.705 --> 00:26:27.008
  • Faith, questions like how can i know i'm going to heaven or how
  • 00:26:27.008 --> 00:26:31.346
  • Can i know the bible is true.
  • 00:26:31.346 --> 00:26:33.782
  • And next time i'm going to combine the best modern research
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  • With the truth of scripture to give you the practical answers
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  • You need.
  • 00:26:41.156 --> 00:26:42.490
  • Stay tuned for a preview of my newly updated series, "how can
  • 00:26:42.490 --> 00:26:46.661
  • I know?"
  • 00:26:46.661 --> 00:26:48.363
  • Jeffress: the often asked question, "if there's a god, why
  • 00:26:48.363 --> 00:26:50.699
  • Hasn't he revealed himself?"
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  • Fails to take into account all the ways he has revealed
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  • Himself, starting with the cosmos with nature.
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  • The psalmist declared in psalm 19:1, "the heavens declare the
  • 00:26:59.974 --> 00:27:04.145
  • Glory of god and the skies proclaimed the work
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  • Of his hand."
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  • Announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for the message,
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  • "how can i know there is a god?" part of the series "how can i
  • 00:27:12.520 --> 00:27:16.491
  • Know?" here on "pathway to victory."
  • 00:27:16.491 --> 00:27:16.491