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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. You know, when I think of somebody who models that principle of helping others. Perhaps outside of Jesus Christ, there's no better example in the Bible anywhere than a character named Barnabas.
His actual name was Joseph. But his name was actually a nickname given to him by the apostles. It meant son of encouragement. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress.
You know, selflessness doesn't come naturally, does it? Our sinful nature is hardwired to look out for number one. But in reality, selflessness is crucial to our own survival as well as the survival of others. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress looks at several people from Scripture who illustrate the importance of putting others first.
But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. On Friday, we'll be wrapping up one of the most important series I've ever presented. It's called Courageous: 10 Strategies for Thriving in a Hostile World. Along with this teaching series, I've written a book by the same title.
And for just a few more days, you're invited to request a copy of Courageous. Please don't let the time slip by without calling, writing, or going online. At the end of today's message, we'll explain what's required to request your copy of Courageous. And this week, we're launching the In God We Trust matching challenge, a $1.5 million fund created specifically to multiply your generosity. You may have already seen a letter from me in your mailbox announcing this challenge, and I hope you'll respond, because it means that every dollar becomes two.
Just think about that. Your gift has twice the impact, and this matching gift is yours to claim right now. We'll say more about my book in the matching challenge later, but right now, let's turn our attention to the subject at hand. In my ninth point of this series, I'm going to describe one of the great paradoxes of our faith. When faced with a threatening situation, most people immediately go into self-preservation mode.
But today, we'll discover that courageous people, true heroes, do the opposite. I titled this next message in our courageous series Survival Tip Number 9. Help others. You may remember Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-winning movie Schindler's List. It's the true story of a businessman, Oscar Schindler.
Who used his fortune to save thousands of Jews from the Nazi gas chambers? And in the climactic scene of the movie at the end, Schindler, played by Liam Neeson, is fleeing to Russia. And he's talking to his friend Isaac Stern, and they are surrounded by more than a thousand of the Jews that Schindler saved. And Isaac Stern gives Oscar Schindler a gold ring. And he says to him, Whoever saves one life.
saves the world entire. I thought of that phrase this week when I came across one of the multitude of stories that came out of the disaster in our country on 9-11. You've heard a lot of those stories. Perhaps you haven't heard this true account. It's the story of Brian Clark and Stanley Primeneth.
Both men worked in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Brian was the vice president at Euro Brokers on the 84th floor, and Stanley was an executive of the Fujibank on the 81st floor. Brian was also a volunteer fire marshal, so he sprang into action when he saw the explosion in the neighboring North Tower. He grabbed his reflector vest, flashlight, and whistle, and began to gather those on the floor for evacuation. Everyone's attention was focused on what was happening in the North Tower.
Until a sudden explosion in the South Tower caused the building to sway. Brian didn't know exactly what was happening, but he knew one thing for sure. They needed to get out of the building immediately. With eight others, Brian descended stairway C. When they made it down to the 81st floor, they encountered debris.
and a woman making her way up the stairwell of the South Tower. She said that the stairway was obstructed and that flames were below the 81st floor. The only way of escape, she insisted, was the roof. She was confident that helicopters would rescue them there. As she continued up the stairs, the group Brian was leading down began debating what to do.
Just then. Brian heard someone crying for help. It was Stanley. Earlier, Stanley had evacuated his office when the plane struck the North Tower. But when a security guard told him that the South Tower was safe, he returned back to his office on the 81st floor.
A friend from Chicago who was watching the unfolding events on television called Stanley, begging him to leave. While he was on the phone, Stanley looked out his office window and saw United Flight 175 coming directly at him. Realizing that the plane was going to hit the building, Stanley said a quick prayer and dove under his desk just seconds before the plane struck. The left wing sliced through his office and became lodged in the doorway 20 feet from his desk. The 82nd floor above him collapsed.
But Stanley's desk miraculously held up, and he was able to dig out from under it.
However, he couldn't find a way of escape, a way of escape from the burning floor.
So he prayed, Lord, send somebody. Send anybody to help me. And then he began crying out for help. That's when Brian heard Stanley's play. I'm buried.
I can't breathe. Is there anyone out there? Brian left his group and followed the sound of Stanley's voice, but a wall separated the two men. Brian yelled for Stanley to bang on the wall so he could locate Stanley's exact whereabouts. Once he figured out where Stanley was, Brian noticed a gap at the top of the wall.
If Stanley could climb it, Brian could pull him over. After a few unsuccessful attempts and after injuring his hand on a nail, Stanley made it to the gap. Brian reached up and pulled Stanley over the wall. Falling backward into Brian's laps, Stanley said, hallelujah, I have been saved. When Brian got back to the stairwell, The group he had been leading was gone.
He would later learn that they had climbed to the roof. Brian and Stanley, however, decided to climb down. And though they had to scramble over debris until they passed the 77th floor, they never encountered the fire the woman told them about. Once on the ground, they ran from the building. When they reached Trinity Church, Stanley and Brian stopped and looked toward the South Tower.
Stanley said, I think that building's going to come down. I don't think so, Brian said. That's a steel structure and Before he could complete the thought, they heard the boom, boom, boom of the upper floors beginning to pancake down. Brian and Stanley ran into an office on Broadway just as the dust cloud enveloped the building. They exchanged business cards and talked about their families.
Eventually, Brian found his way back home to New Jersey, and Stanley went to a hospital for his injured hand. Later that evening, Stanley called Brian to make sure he had made it home safely. Two strangers. thrown together by the events of that terrible day, Became lifelong friends, or blood brothers, as they call themselves. You know, as I read that account, I thought in a real sense, Ryan and Stanley saved each other that day.
I mean, obviously, Brian saved Stanley by pulling him over the wall to safety. But Stanley saved Brian as well if Stanley had not cried out for help. And if Brian hadn't stopped to help him, he very well could have ended up on the top of that South Tower with his group. waiting for a helicopter that would never come. We're in a series called Courageous: 10 Strategies for Thriving in a Hostile World.
In a very real sense, we are in a life-threatening situation as Christians. We face a culture that is hostile to the things of God. We face an adversary, the devil, who is out to destroy us. We face the pull of our own inward sin nature and It's very easy when you're facing a threatening situation to think about your own survival. Self-preservation.
But today we're going to look at survival tip number nine, and that is to help others. When you find yourself in a difficult situation, don't just think about helping yourself. Think about helping others. Because when you help others, you help yourself as well. You know, Jesus was certainly the model, the supreme example of selflessness.
In Matthew 20, 28, Jesus summarized his life purpose this way. He said, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus before Bethlehem Existed in heaven as the Son of God sat at the right hand of God the Father. Colossians 1 says, In eternity past, He created this universe. Colossians 1 says, Everything was created by Jesus and for Jesus.
He's the creator. And not only that, right now he's seated at the right hand of God the Father, and one day Revelation 5 tells us we are all going to kneel before Jesus and sing, Worthy is the Lamb. We are going to worship Him for all eternity. But even though he existed as creator in the past, he will be the son of God, and king of kings will worship forever in the future for that brief slice of time that he was here on earth, 33 years. He said, This is what I want to be remembered for.
I came not to be served, but to serve other people. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 23, verses 11 to 12? But the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
Well, Pastor, when you talk about helping others as a survival tip, exactly what are you talking about? What does it mean to help other people? One of the best Illustrations of that principle is a story Jesus told in Luke chapter 10. Remember the setup for this story, there is a lawyer. naturally, who decided to test Jesus.
Put Jesus to the test. Not going to call out any names here, but there is a lawyer who put Jesus to the test. And said, Lord, what should I do to have eternal life? What do I do to have eternal life? That's how he thought.
It's something I do to have eternal life. And Jesus said, well, what does the law say? And the lawyer said, Well, the law says you shall love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And Jesus said, you got it right. Do that.
and you won't live. The lawyer begin to think about that for a moment. Hmm, I may have put myself in a corner here. Love your neighbor as yourself. And the Bible says, seeking to justify himself, to make himself look better, he said, Jesus, exactly who is my neighbor?
Oh, exactly. What do you mean by neighbor, Jesus? And so Jesus told that famous story. The story, we call it the story of the Good Samaritan. Remember the story?
A Jewish man was walking from Jerusalem to Jericho, and along the way, he was mugged by a group of bandits, beaten, and left for dead. You remember the priest walked by, this bleeding man in the street did nothing. A Levite, one of the leaders of the priest, walked by and did nothing. But it was a Samaritan. The half-Jew.
The people the Jews despised and who were despised by the Samaritans, it was the Samaritan. But stopped and rendered aid and took him to a place of healing. The point was obvious. Who is my neighbor? It is somebody who is in need.
Anybody I encounter who is in need is my neighbor. Anybody who has a need that I have the capability of meeting. That is my neighbor. And I meet that need not because it's convenient, even if it's inconvenient, I'm willing to meet that need. That's what it means to help others.
Help people not just like you, but who are different from you. Not just help people when it's convenient, but when it's inconvenient. Yeah. In this highly politicized world in which we live, It's easy for some people to view everything through the prism of politics and national policies. And they read this passage and think, well, he's talking about immigration, or he's talking about this, or he's talking about this.
Whether Jesus is or isn't, you can decide that. But let me be very clear about something. When he told this story, he wasn't telling it about national policy and what other people ought to be doing. This is a very personal story about what we ought to be doing as individuals. He's not talking about who is the United States neighbor.
He's talking about who is your neighbor. Who is my neighbor? The Bible says our neighbor is anybody we come in contact with. who has a need that we're capable of meeting. Let me get painfully specific here.
Husbands to help others. may mean for you To put your wife's need for a conversation above your need to come home and unwind after work. Wives, for you to help others may mean to put your husband's need. to be admired and respected. above your need to correct him all the time.
Parents, for you to help other people may mean to put the needs of your children, perhaps the need for a good education. Above your need to quit working early and have an early retirement. I mean, that's what it means to help others, to meet the needs of those around us that we are capable of meeting. But that doesn't come naturally. I mean, we have a DNA we inherited from our forefather.
Adam. That makes us think only of me, my, and mine. That is what we are programmed to think about. But the Bible says we need to think of others as well. And perhaps the greatest illustration of how to do that is Philippians chapter 2.
Turn over in your Bibles to Philippians chapter 2. Remember, we said the supreme example of somebody who gave up his convenience and rights to help others is Jesus Christ. Philippians 2 says, although he existed in the form of God himself, he did not regard his equality with God a thing to be grasped or held on to, but he emptied himself of his rights as the Son of God to come and meet our need for salvation. And when you read Philippians 2, I want you to notice these three tips for helping other people. First of all, remove selfishness and conceit from your life.
If you're going to help others, you have to remove selfishness and conceit from your life. Look at verse 3: Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. I think Billy Graham said one time. The smallest package I have ever, ever seen. is a man wrapped up in himself.
He's talking about people who are conceited. who are selfish. The Bible says if we're going to help other people, we've got to empty ourselves of that. And you know, all selfishness is really based on conceit, the idea I'm more important than you are, therefore my needs are more important than your needs. You know, I was talking to my friend Mike Huckabee not long ago.
We were talking about the church he attends. He does his program, tapes his program on Friday night, then goes back home, and he tries to be in church every Sunday that he can. And I ask him what he did in his church.
Now, I just assume, being the gifted communicator that he was, that he probably served on the preaching team of his church or in some leadership. Uh position. When I asked him what he did, he said, oh, I drive the golf cart. I said the golf cart. He said, Yeah, he said, I drive the golf cart around the parking lot of the church to pick up senior adults who need help making it to the main building.
He said, I get the biggest kick out of doing that. I thought, isn't that interesting? Here is a former presidential candidate, the governor of Arkansas, a popular talk show host. But he's not too conceited. To be involved in a service ministry like that, of picking people up in the golf cart.
If we're going to help others, it means we remove selfishness and conceit from our life. Secondly, regard others as more important than yourself. Look at verse 3 again. But with humility of mind, let each of you regard one another as more important than himself. Not long ago, I read a story about an American Airlines flight that was going to fly from Atlanta to Chicago.
The plane was absolutely filled and as people waited in the waiting area by the ticket counter to board the flight, everyone noticed there were nine servicemen who were getting on board the flight. They were returning for leave after a year of active service. And one of the passengers in that waiting area who had a first-class ticket. Went up to one of the servicemen and said, I want to thank you for your service to our country, and I'd like you to sit in my seat in first class, and I'll sit in the coach seat. Another passenger saw that man do that, and he went up and did the same with his first class ticket.
There were nine first-class passengers that day who gave their ticket to our servicemen and service women so that they could have a place of comfort. A flight attendant later said about that event, she said, You know, there were two groups of unselfish people in that waiting area. Those who would put their lives on the line to protect our nation. and those who were not ashamed to say thank you. That's what it means to regard others as more important than yourself, to treat them with more honor than you treat yourself.
And finally, To look out for others, relate to others by looking out for their interests. Don't merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others. He's not saying don't ever look out for your own interest, but just make sure while you're taking care of yourself, you're taking care of others as well. You know, the fact is...
Somebody else's need. To hear you say I'm sorry. Maybe more important than your need to defend yourself. Is somebody else's need to interrupt your schedule? And have a conversation with you may be more important than your indeed to finish your to-do list for that day.
You know, you look at Jesus' life when he was here on earth.
Some of his greatest teaching, some of his greatest miracles were the result of an interruption. Jesus was headed one place to do one thing. He was on the way, as the scripture says, when a woman stopped him, a man stopped him, and he gave his most important teaching. Don't look out just for your own interest, but for the interest of others. You know, when I think of somebody who models that principle of helping others.
Perhaps outside of Jesus Christ, there's no better example in the Bible anywhere. than a character named Barnabas. We don't talk about Barnabas much, but his story begins in Acts chapter 4. Turn there if you would. Barnabas, Acts chapter 4.
His actual name was Joseph. But his name Was actually a nickname given to him by the apostles. It meant son of encouragement. Barnabas, when people saw Barnabas, they yelled out, There comes that son of encouragement. That's a better nickname to have.
SOE, Son of Encouragement. That was Barnabas. In fact, you look at that word, encouragement. It's the Greek word paraplete. It means to come alongside and encourage somebody.
It's the same word that is used to describe the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the paraclete, the one who comes alongside of us to encourage us.
Well, that was Barnabas. He was the one who came alongside and encouraged people. I want you to notice in the book of Acts three ways he encouraged people: through his money. Through his mentoring. and through his own ministry.
When we think of survival tips for challenging situations, we usually think in terms of our own deliverance from danger. But as we're learning today, true heroes who live courageously are also focused on helping others. This is one of the 10 lessons you'll explore in my book. It's the one I wrote to coincide with our current teaching series. The full title of my book is Courageous: 10 Strategies for Thriving in a Hostile World.
In my lifetime, I have never witnessed nor experienced the intensity of the external pressure I feel today.
Sometimes these pressures come from sources such as the mockery from godless pundits who want nothing more than to silence the gospel of Jesus Christ. But other times the pressures come from internal places, such as pressures that arise out of my own sinful nature. In either case, we need to become equipped for battle. and my book will help you get ready. A copy of Courageous is Yours when you give a generous gift to the matching challenge that's become active this week.
Let me say one more word about helping others. While our country is in chaos, it's become quite obvious that God has uniquely positioned Pathway to Victory for such a time as this. God has given us a liberating message that will transform our country from the inside out, one heart at a time. And when you give to the matching challenge, you're part of this movement of God to bring light where there's darkness. Plus, your gift has twice the impact.
Here's David with all the details. When you support the Ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, you're invited to request a copy of the book by Dr. Jeffers called Courageous. Ask for your copy when you call 866-999-2965 or visit online at ptv.org. You could also give 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, a personal and group study guide, the complete teaching series on DVD and MP3 format audio disc, the 10 Courageous Encouragement Cards, and because of the In God We Trust matching challenge, every dollar you give right now will be matched and therefore doubled in impact. To request the leader kit, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. You could send your request by mail if you'd like. PO Box 223-609-Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's P.O.
Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins, inviting you to join us again next time when Dr. Jeffress wraps up survival tip number nine: help others. That's Thursday, here on Pathway to Victory.
Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway Partner.
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