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Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Hi, this is Robert Jeffers, and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition, A Pathway to Victory, fear is an understandable response to danger. But the good news is we can all learn how to take courage in those difficult times. You know, there's some of you listening to me right now.
God has put you in what seems like an impossible environment to succeed in. Never forget, God says, don't panic. I'm going to be with you. It is possible not to panic. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr.
Robert Jeffris. You know, over and over again in Scripture we find this exhortation. Fear not, don't be afraid, and lots of other variations. But with so much chaos around us, how can we face each day with hope and courage? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr.
Robert Jeffers teaches us to live fearlessly in a hostile world. But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Having just completed a comprehensive series on the end times last week, today we're starting our next series, and it represents the culmination of countless hours in personal preparation. In fact, our topic has been on my heart for decades.
Why? Because we live in a culture that's increasingly hostile toward our Christian faith. And in a moment, I'll begin a practical study that's designed to equip you with 10 tangible ways to stand strong in the face of adversity. My series is called Courageous, 10 Strategies for Thriving in a Hostile World. Friend, if you've ever felt your faith is under attack, or if you're simply weary of a world that seems to have lost its way, I want you to know you are not alone.
That's exactly why I wrote my best-selling book called Courageous. In it, I share 10 biblical strategies for not just surviving, but thriving in a culture that is hostile to everything we believe. When you become a new pathway partner today or make a generous one-time gift, I'll send you a copy of Courageous, along with an exclusive set of 10 courageous encouragement cards as my way of saying thank you. I'll say more about my book and other resources just after my message. But right now, let's turn our attention to the study of God's Word.
Turn in your Bible to the Old Testament book of Joshua. I've titled this opening message in the Courageous series, Survival Tip Number 1. Don't Panic. Aboard US Air Flight 1493, David Koch sat shoeless in the first class compartments seat 2A. As the airliner neared Los Angeles International Airport, Koch looked out the window as the sun began to set over the Pacific Ocean.
They would be landing soon. I probably ought to put on my shoes, he thought. But he decided to wait. On their final approach, Koch watched the sun sink below the horizon. Moments later, he felt the familiar jolt and heard the screech of the tires as the 737 jet, carrying 83 passengers and six crew members, touched down on LAX's runway 24 left.
Then Koch says he heard a sudden, sickening crunch. Sparks hurtled past his window, followed by the bright flash of a fireball. Screams filled the aircraft as the flight attendant shouted, stay down! As the plane skidded along the runway, Koch unbuckled his seatbelt to prepare for a quick exit. The plane came to a violent stop.
and another explosion rocked the cabin. Throwing Koch forward into the front row, first class seats, and then into the bulkhead. The fuselage went dark and began filling with smoke. No instructions came from the pilot or flight attendants. The passengers were on their own, running toward the back of the plane.
I immediately got on my hands and knees and attempted to find my shoes, Koch recalled. I believed it would be difficult to escape a burning plane in my stocking feet. but his shoes were nowhere to be found. Trying to stay calm under the smoke. Koch crawled toward the back of the plane.
In a panic, other passengers trampled him. I encountered a fighting, frenzied mob jamming the aisle, he later said. Escape was probably impossible because I was last in line to get out the rear exit. I concluded that I was probably going to die. At that point, I stood up.
And choking heavily on the smoke, walked back toward the first-class section. I was not panicked, nor was I terrified, Koch remembered. I was resigned. For a few long moments, I stood there, immobilized, not knowing what else to do. And I knew with absolute certainty that I was going to die.
Then it came to him. If smoke was coming in from the front of the plane, then there had to be an opening that might offer a way of escape. He worked his way toward the cockpit, but seeing flames lick the passenger door, he realized that was an impossible route. On the verge of passing out, he guessed he maybe had 10 or 15 seconds before he would fall unconscious. He turned to the opposite wall and saw a crack in the fuselage.
He wedged his fingers into it and pulled. It was the galley door. and it opened the outside. He thrust his head through and gulped a few breaths of air. A tremendous sense of strength came over me, and a wave of adrenaline shot through my body, he said.
Koch looked down and saw a fire burning under the airplane. To clear the flames, he jumped away from the wreckage and hit the asphalt 10 feet below. Other survivors were scattered about.
Some sobbed.
Some were silent. and some stared in disbelief at the burning aircraft. I consider it a miracle that I escaped, Koch said, and that I came through the ordeal. as well as I did. Today, we're beginning a new series I've titled Courageous.
10 strategies for thriving in a hostile world.
Well, today we're going to look at the first of 10 survival tips. And it's the one that David Koch illustrated in that U.S. air flight. It's the most basic of all survival tips. Don't Panic.
Don't panic. And how do we not panic? I want you to take your Bibles and turn to 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1. I want you to notice in this first chapter of 1 Peter, he gives us three commands to keep us from panicking.
First of all, he says: be disciplined in your thinking. Be disciplined in your thinking. Look at verse 13. Therefore, gird your minds for action. Not only that, he says.
To keep from panicking, to keep calm and carry on, be obedient in your conduct. Look at verse 14. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts, which were yours in ignorance, but like the holy one who called you, be holy yourselves in all of your behavior. Because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. How do you keep from panicking in a hostile world?
Be disciplined in your thinking. Be obedient in your conduct. Thirdly, be reliant on God's grace. Be reliant on God's grace. C.S.
Lewis has one of the best descriptions of this world. He said, Enemy occupied territory. That's what this world is. How can we survive, much less thrive in enemy-occupied territory? Look at what Peter says in 1 Peter 5:12.
This is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. Stand firm in the grace of God.
Now, what in the world does that mean? You know, whenever we think of grace, We think of God's undeserved favor that resulted in our salvation. And that's certainly one aspect of grace. God's undeserved favor.
Somebody said it's God's undeserved burst of generosity. The Bible says, for no other reason than the great love with which God loved you, He sent Christ to die for you and me. It's nothing we deserved. It's his grace, his undeserved favor. Ephesians 2:8 and 9, for by what?
Grace. You have been saved through faith. That not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. But grace also refers to in the Bible God's supernatural help. God's supernatural help.
Remember in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul prayed three times that God would remove this physical ailment he had, a thorn in the flesh. And every time, God said, what? No. That didn't stop Paul from asking. He asked again.
No. Third time, he asked, no. And God said, Paul, my grace is sufficient. for you. My supernatural help.
That's what grace is. It's God's supernatural help that stiffens our spiritual spines with courage. That's why we don't need to fear. God has promised us His grace. Without courage, the difficulties of life would cause us to despair.
I came across these words by the great Bible expositor Warren Wearsby. He said: fear and faith can't live together very long in the same heart. Either fear will conquer faith and will quit. Our faith will conquer fear. and will triumph.
You know, I look in the Bible and find one man who was certainly a profile of the kind of courage we're talking about. His name was Joshua. Joshua was somebody who faced a daunting task, but he refused to panic in that situation. Turn over in your Bibles to the Old Testament, to Joshua chapter 1 for just a few moments. You remember Joshua?
He was the protege of the great leader Moses. And Moses thought he was going to lead the children of Israel into the promised land, but God had different plans. It would be Moses' successor who did that. And you remember in the opening part of Joshua chapter 1, verse 2, The Lord said to Joshua, Moses, my servant, is dead.
Now therefore arise. He was saying, Joshua. Moses is home with me. And now it's your turn to carry on the great assignment and the great plan I have for Israel. I can imagine.
how Joshua must have felt. You want me to follow Moses? The guy who led the Israelites out of Egypt. The guy who parted the Red Sea, the guy who had that famous movie made about him, you want me. To follow him, how in the world am I going to pull that off?
And yet God said, I'm giving you the mantle of leadership. And he said, not only am I giving you the leadership of Israel, I'm giving you an assignment. He said, cross this Jordan, you and all of this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. In other words, I want you to descend the eastern bank of the Jordan River Valley. I want you to cross the Jordan at high flood times throughout the year.
I want you to go to it at the time the river is going to be deepest. And I want you to ascend the western bank and to conquer the armies of the Nephilim, the men of great size, Numbers 13, 32. No wonder Joshua could have been naturally frightened by that assignment. Fear is an understandable response to danger. But the good news is we can all learn how to take courage in those difficult times.
Howden. Joshua keeps from panicking in that impossible task he had been given to do. I want you to notice that God gave Joshua two limitless resources. The same limitless resources he gives to you and me to face impossible situations. First of all, he gave Joshua courage from God's promises.
Courage from God's promises. In this passage, Joshua 1, I want you to notice the three promises that God gave to Joshua. First of all, God promised that the Israelites would enter the land. Look at verses 3 and 4. Every place on which the sole of your feet treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.
From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, and all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the great sea, that is the Mediterranean, toward the setting of the sun, this will be your territory. God gave that land to Israel. Secondly, God promised that the Israelites would be victorious over their enemies. Look at verse 5: No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you.
I will not fail you, nor will I forsake you. He said, I'm going to give you victory over your enemies. Thirdly, God promised the Israelites that they would divide the land as an inheritance. Verse 6, God said to Joshua, Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
Now look, God gave the Israelites a piece of real estate. He said it's going to belong to you forever. But God has given you, He's given me something even more valuable than a plot of land. Peter describes it in 1 Peter 1, 4. He says, we are to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.
Did you know God has an inheritance for you? It is on deposit in heaven right now. And there is nothing that can ever cause that inheritance to be lost. It is the promise of eternal life. Romans 11:29 says, For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
God has promised you that inheritance. He said, with that truth, why should you ever be discouraged? Joshua promised his people when he was about to die in Joshua 23, 14, not one word of all the good words the Lord your God has spoken to you has failed. All have been fulfilled for you. Not one of them has failed.
Joshua received courage from God's promises, but there's a second limitless resource He gives us all, and that is courage from God's presence. Look at verse 9. The Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Do folks think about that? God has promised no matter what situation you're facing in your work.
In your family. Any other venue of life, God says, I am with you wherever you go. Jesus promised that in Matthew 28:20. He said, And lo, I am with you. Always.
Always. even into the end of the age. I want you to notice something here. In Joshua chapter 1, Verses six through nine. Again, I didn't really see this until this week.
I want you to notice how he repeats a certain phrase three times. Verse 6: Be strong. and courageous. For you shall give this people possession of land. Verse 7, only be strong and very courageous.
Be careful to do all according. To the law which Moses my servant commanded you. And then verse 9: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. See, three times he says, Be strong.
and courageous. What is it you're most fearful of right now? Maybe you're worried about the culture, the ungodly culture you, your children, and grandchildren are facing. Maybe you're worried about international tensions as they escalate in North Korea or Iran. If I were guessing, I would imagine what you fear most is much closer to home.
Maybe it's an illness. Maybe it's the possibility of losing your job. Maybe it's a financial concern you have. Let me encourage you to do something this week. Make a list of those two or three things that seem to be sapping your spiritual strength.
And then find a corresponding promise from God's Word, maybe using your Bible concordance. that has a promise for you concerning that fear. For example, If you have a financial concern, you're afraid that you won't be able to provide for yourself or your family. You might want to read and even memorize Matthew 6, verses 25 to 26. Jesus said, For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life as to what you shall eat.
or what you shall drink. nor for your body as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into the barns.
And yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? You know, to give in to your fear. is to assume that you are powerless. And you and I are powerless apart from God.
But in Christ. When we have a God who has limitless promises and a limitless presence. He can do all things. We are not alone if we are in Christ. And Christ is capable of doing everything.
I love the words of Peter Kraft, who said, God has more power in one breath of his spirit than all the winds of war, all the nuclear bombs, all the energy of all the suns and all the galaxies, all the fury of hell itself. How many of you believe in a God like that? A God who can do anything. He can do anything. Therefore, as he said to Joshua, why should you tremble?
or be dismayed. This week hours. Reading Mark Batterson's book, All In. And in that book, he tells A story about a group of missionaries a century ago who were known as one-way missionaries. And the reason they were called one-way missionaries is because when God called them to an assignment.
They didn't buy a round-trip ticket. They bought a one-way ticket. fully planning to die wherever God called them. But that wasn't all. In addition to buying a one-way ticket, Instead of packing their suitcases, They would pack their coffins with all of their earthly goods and bring their coffins with them.
So that they would be buried wherever they died in service to the Lord. One of those one-way missionaries was A. W. Milney. He felt the call of God to set sail for the New Euribides Islands in the south.
specific He went there fully knowing that every missionary who had gone before him had been martyred by the tribesmen. And yet, he wasn't fearful of death. He went boldly, knowing that he was answering God's call. Why? He was willing to die because he had died to himself first.
A. W. Milney. Ministered in the New Erimides for 35 years. When he died, The tribesmen buried him.
in the coffin he had brought. And they erected a tombstone, and this was the epitaph the tribesmen put on his tombstone. When he came, There was no light. When he died. There was no darkness.
When he came, there was no light. When he died, there was no darkness. What is it that gave A.W. Milney the courage to face and live in that kind of situation? He relied on God's promises.
Jesus said, do not fear the things you are about to suffer. Be faithful until death. and I will give you the crown of life. And secondly, he relied. On God's presence.
He believed the promise of Jesus, who said in Hebrews 13:5, I will never leave you and I will never. never forsake you. That's why Paul could say with confidence: God has not given us the spirit of fear. but of power. of love.
and of a sound mind. Don't. Panic. I wonder, have you been thinking about the fear that's holding you back? Have you begun to second guess your Christian values?
Maybe you've begun to isolate yourself from those people who live in darkness. I want to help you take your next bold steps down the pathway to victory. God wants so much more for you. As I mentioned earlier, I've written a best-selling book that coincides with this series called Courageous, 10 Strategies for Thriving in a Hostile World. Don't allow yourself to surrender to those who oppose you or make your life difficult.
My book will help you implement 10 very simple yet powerful survival tips. Ask for a copy of my book, Courageous, when you give a gift of any amount to support the Ministry of Pathway to Victory. In addition to my book, I'll also include 10 encouragement cards that gentlemen can slip into their suit pocket and ladies can store in their purse. In closing, let me thank those of you who have given generously to make these daily visits possible. I can assure you, your gifts are helping thousands of people, even millions, become bold in their Christian faith.
And at Pathway to Victory, we believe that God has called us for such a time as this. While our country and world are suffering from civil unrest and global tension, God has given us a growing platform on radio and television to share the good news of Jesus Christ. And we couldn't do it without you. Here's David with all the details. Today, when you give a generous gift to support the Ministry of Pathway to Victory, we'll say thanks by sending you a copy of Courageous by Dr.
Robert Jeffers. You'll get that along with 10 Courageous Encouragement Cards. If you'd like to request these resources, call 866-999-2965 or, even easier, go online to ptv.org. You can also support this ministry by texting PTV to 78800. And when your gift is $75 or more, you'll receive the complete Courageous Leader Kit, which includes the book, the Personal and Group Study Guide, the Complete Teaching Series on DVD and MP3 format audio disc, and the Courageous Encouragement Cards.
Again, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. You could also send your donation by mail right to P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's PO Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J.
Mullins, inviting you to join us again Tuesday for survival tip number two: gain situational awareness, right here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. What if your next vacation changed the way you read your Bible forever? Join me for nine nights sailing the Mediterranean with every detail taken care of.
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