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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, as I think about this principle of helping others. It begs a question. Are there people who have been a help to you in your life that have helped make the way a little smoother for you in your life?
I encourage you to. Thank those people who have done that for you. in your business, in your Christian faith. as a friend who'd been willing to take a chance on you when nobody else would. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr.
Robert Jeffers. When faced with a threatening situation, most people immediately go into self-preservation mode. Forget anyone else. But when we live selflessly, well, we'll find that it benefits us as well. Today on Pathway to Victory.
Dr. Robert Jeffers shows us that true heroes who live courageously are focused on helping others. But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Putting others first does not come naturally to us.
Selfishness comes effortlessly. Selflessness, on the other hand, is something we have to learn. And in a moment, I'm going to show you from Scripture one of the grand paradoxes of life. The Bible shows us that in order to survive the tyranny of self, We need to serve others. This paradox is one of the 10 lessons we're learning in our teaching series called Courageous, 10 Strategies for Thriving in a Hostile World.
And today I'm urging you to take advantage of the special offer that expires tomorrow. When you give a generous gift to the In God We Trust matching challenge, you're invited to request a copy of my book called Courageous. This is one of the boldest and most relevant books I've ever written. And I want you to have a copy. Please get in touch today before it's too late.
Listen, there's nothing more powerful than helping others. And the most profound way to help someone is to tell them the truth. And the truth of Jesus Christ is the only way to save our nation. That's why I'm so excited about the In God We Trust matching challenge. This is your invitation to act with faith and urgency.
Okay, right now let's look at God's word for help and guidance on becoming courageous. I titled this next message Survival Tip Number 9 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. It's somebody else's need to interrupt your schedule. may be more important than your need 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. 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.
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.
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. We see Barnabas the philanthropist beginning in verses 32 of Acts 4.
Look at this. And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and one soul. I mean, we're talking about within weeks of Pentecost, the beginning of the church. And not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power, the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.
For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land and houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales. and laid them at the apostles' feet, and they would be distributed to each if any had need. And Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles, which means son of encouragement, who owned a tract of land, he sold it and he brought the money and he laid it at the apostles' feet.
Now again, some people read this passage. And they try to read something into it that isn't there. I've actually heard people use this passage to say, well, you see, God really wants us to be socialist. He wants us to be communist because that's what the early church was. They were socialists.
They were communists. Nobody owned anything. Everybody put it in a common fund. They didn't have any personal ownership of property. They sold everything, put it in a fund, and people just took as they needed.
No, the Bible does not advocate socialism.
Socialism, communism, is based on government confiscating what belongs to us. The Bible never advocates that. These people in the early church voluntarily released a portion of what they owned in order to meet the needs of other people. There's a big difference. And at the head of the list of people who did that was Barnabas.
Apparently, because Luke notes it, he must have been a man of means. He sold a large tract of land and he gave it to the church to meet the needs of other people. The inference is other people followed Barnabas' example. And they were encouraged by Barnabas's encouragement. You know, I think about our church here.
I couldn't even begin to name the people. Who have not only made a significant investment in God's kingdom, but by doing so, encouraged other people to do that as well. That was Barnabas. He not only though encouraged people through his money by being a philanthropist, he encouraged people by his mentoring of other people, coming alongside individuals and encouraging them. You know, the church was only a few weeks old when persecution began.
First, the imprisonment of Peter and John, and then the stoning of Stephen, and then a guy named Saul from Tarsus. beginning breathing threats against the church. Arresting Christians. having them tortured, throwing them into prison. And you remember Saul of Tarsus was on the way to Damascus.
to arrest more Christians when he encountered Jesus Christ. And Paul the persecutor became Paul the greatest evangelist the world has ever known. But after that encounter, he was blind. And for three days during his blindness, he prayed and fasted. And remember, God told Ananias.
to go and minister to Paul, which he did. Ananias showed great courage in his willingness to do that. He didn't know for sure what had happened to Saul, but he wanted to obey the Lord. And then came time for Saul to meet the apostles in Jerusalem.
Now here is a guy who was known for killing Christians. How did they know this wasn't a ruse, that this wasn't some attempt to trick them? They were naturally hesitant about embracing Saul, but look at Acts 9:27 and 28. But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and that he had talked to him and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. And he was with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord.
Barnabas was willing to take a chance. On this new convert, come alongside of him and encourage him. You know, in fact, when you look through the book of Acts, when anybody needed encouragement, it seems like Barnabas was always there. Remember, Barnabas and Paul were going to go on their first missionary journey together, and they were going to take. Barnabas's cousin with them.
A guy named John Mark. We know him as the author of the Gospel of Mark, but he was Barnabas' cousin, Colossians tells us. And so they went on this missionary journey, and about halfway through, John Mark got fed up with the walking and with the sleeping out in open places and the insect bites and everything that went along with that. And so in Acts 13, 13, The Bible says he left them, he deserted them and returned to Jerusalem. Fast forward, it's time for the second missionary journey.
Paul and Barnabas are getting ready for the journey. Barnabas says: Now, where should I have John Mark meet us? Paul said, John, Mark. I'm not about to take that snotty-nosed kid with us again. Look at what he did, he deserted us.
Barnabas said, that's right. But we need to show him grace, Paul. Just like God showed you grace one time. And they had a bitter disagreement. They ended up parting ways, and Paul instead took Silas up north, and Barnabas took John Mark, his cousin, south.
And yet, John Mark, because of Barnabas' encouragement, grew in his faith, so much so. That when the Apostle Paul was in prison in Rome facing his execution, he sent this word to Timothy. He said, please pick up John Mark and bring him with you. for he is useful to me for service. How do you see other people?
Do you define other people by their failures? or by their potential. Barnabas was a mentor who saw people for their potential in God's service. He encouraged people through his money, through his mentoring, and finally through his ministry. Look at Acts chapter 11, verses 23 and 24.
When word came to the apostles in Jerusalem that Gentiles of all people were being saved in Antioch. They decided to send Barnabas down to check things out. Verse 23 says, When he, Barnabas, had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord. For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. You know, when I read that, I was thinking, you know, Barnabas could have said, well, I know there's that need down there in Antioch for somebody to go and preach the word and minister, but that's just not my thing.
You know, I'm more of a one-on-one person. Or I like to give money, but I'm not too sure about that ministry thing. That wasn't Barnabas. He was on the front lines of ministry. In fact, when he went to Antioch, God gave him such success in his ministry, the church began to grow so furiously that he asked for help, and he asked that new convert, Saul.
Now, Paul to come and minister with him. And for a while, the scripture talks about Barnabas. And Paul. Barnabas and Paul. But pretty soon things flipped and it was Paul.
and Barnabas. He decreased as Paul increased, but Barnabas didn't care. Because his job, his ministry, was to help others. You know, as I think about this principle of helping others, It begs a question. Are there people who have been a help to you in your life?
That have helped make the way a little smoother for you and your life. You know, we all need a Barnabas, don't we? If we're going to survive this hostile world, somebody who will come alongside of us and encourage us.
Somebody who's willing to take a chance on us. I encourage you to. Thank those people who have done that for you. in your business, in your Christian faith. as a friend who'd been willing to take a chance on you when nobody else would.
You know when I think about that truth. I'm grateful to so many people. But I'm certainly grateful to Dr. Chriswell, who was for 50 years the pastor of this great church. When I was 22 years old, he invited me to come on the staff and to be an intern here.
And I was an intern for exactly four weeks. And after four weeks, the youth minister here left. And so Dr. Crystal called me and said, you're the youth minister now. And So I was planning to do that.
A few days later, he called me back and he said, well, Robert, we've got some trouble.
Some of those youth leaders aren't sure they want you to be the youth minister.
So this is what we're going to do. I was just 22 years old. He said, This is what we're going to do. You meet me Wednesday night. up on the second floor of the Christian Education Building, and we're going to have a meeting with them.
So I met Dr. Criswell out in the alcove of that assembly room. All the youth leaders were inside, and I was standing out there. And so he said, you wait right here and I'm going to go in and talk to him.
So he goes in and talks to him. I have my ear up against the door, listening to every word they were saying. And they were saying, said, we love Robert. He's a wonderful person, but Dr. Criswell, he is so young.
He doesn't have any experience, which was absolutely true. And so they were giving their complaints. Dr. Criswell was listening to him. But Dr.
Criswell goes into. This diatribe, he starts describing me like I'm the Apostle Paul. I didn't even know who he was talking about. And so he goes through that. They say, well, yes, but he's so young and he is inexperienced.
Dr. Crystal said, that's fine. If you don't want Robert... I'm not going to force him down your throat at all. That is fine.
That is perfect. That is wonderful. If you don't want Robert, because if you don't take him, I'm going to hire him as my number one associate to run this entire church. And all of a sudden, the people started speaking up, and they said, wait a minute, wait a minute. If you think that much of him, yes, we want him.
We want him. He said, all right, it's settled. He walks out the room. I'm standing outside, paralyzed. I couldn't believe it.
He puts his hand on my shoulder. He said, Son, it's all yours. Just don't let me down. I am so grateful. to somebody like that.
who took a chance on me. for no reason whatsoever. I'll bet you've got somebody like that in your life. Thank God for the mentors he has placed in your life. But also recognize your responsibility to be somebody else's mentor.
to be somebody else's encourager. Who around you needs help? needs encouragement. You know I get calls all the time from pastors who are struggling in their church and having a problem or have a question or want to talk about things. And sometimes I'll be in the heat of trying to get through the day and meet this appointment and that appointment, and Carolyn will say there's a pastor on the phone who needs to talk to you.
And for a nanosecond, I'm tempted to think, oh, I'm so busy, I just can't do that. It only lasts a second. To God. brings back to my mind all the people who helped me. when I needed help.
People who spent time with me. W.A. Chris Wool. Howie Hendrix, Paige Patterson, others who have come alongside during crucial times in my life. Make sure you're an encourager to somebody else.
How do you do that? Final thoughts here. Three things. First of all, value other people. Truly value other people.
See them as God sees them. You know, I love the words of C.S. Lewis. When he said, There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.
Nations, cultures, civilizations, these are mortal. Their life is to ours like the life of a gnat. But it is the immortals. Whom every day we joke with, work with. Marry, snub, exploit.
Think about that. Everybody you encounter every day. is an immortal soul who will last forever. That makes you look at other people differently, value other people. Secondly, champion the underdog.
Champion the underdog. You may remember the kid on the playground at elementary school who was always the last to be picked for a team. Maybe you were that kid. Maybe you know what the pain is of loneliness or rejection. Champion the underdog because God does.
I mean, when you think about it, God so many times would choose the younger person like Abel or Joseph or David instead of the older son to bless. God took that little nothing small nation of Israel, chose that nation to be his chosen nation rather than a great empire like Assyria, Babylon, or Egypt. I agree with Philip Yancey, who said, as I read the birth stories about Jesus, I cannot help but conclude. But though the world may be tilted toward the rich and the powerful, God is tilted. toward the underdog.
And finally, Offer second chances to people. People are going to fail you, they're going to disappoint you, but people deserve. Your grace. Because you and I are the recipients of God's grace. offer second chances to people when they fail.
The late Christian psychiatrist Carl Meniger was asked one time a fascinating question. Dr. Menninger. If you were on the verge of a nervous breakdown, What would you do? Without a pause, he said, I would go out and find somebody in need.
and help them. That's good advice. Whenever we're going through a difficult time, We need to remember to help others. Because when you help others, you help yourself as well. Selflessness doesn't come naturally.
Our sinful nature is hardwired to look out for number one. But these real-life characters from scripture illustrate the importance of selflessness. And there's nothing more selfless than giving to our favorite ministries. And for a moment, let me add a word about the In God We Trust matching challenge in the amount of $1.5 million. The door is open.
I invite you to walk through it with faith, with a sense of holy urgency, and with your eyes fixed on the only one capable of turning this nation around. And when you give a generous gift today, I'm prepared to send a copy of my book to your home. It's called Courageous, 10 Strategies for Thriving in a Hostile World. This special offer ends tomorrow, so please get in touch right away. In my book, you will find practical tips on how to have a courageous faith in a culture that's opposed to God and His truth, as well as the biblical answers, encouragement, and hope you need to thrive in your own personal struggles.
Plus, when you give your gift today, it'll have twice the impact because of the matching challenge. My courageous book is well over 200 pages in length.
So please be generous as you choose the size of your gift. And whatever amount you choose to give, it'll be multiplied times two. You see, every believer is like a giant dam holding back the flood of evil that is about to come into this world. And your gift is part of the dam.
So, thanks for becoming courageous as you help us pierce the darkness with the light of God's Word. Here's David to tell you more. You're invited to request your copy of the book Courageous by Dr. Robert Jeffress when you give a generous gift to support the Ministry of Pathway to Victory. Request your copy when you call 866-999-2965.
You could also go online to ptv.org or text 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 a set of Courageous encouragement cards. Remember, thanks to the In God We Trust matching challenge, your gift today will be matched dollar for dollar and therefore doubled in impact. One more time, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org.
Now if you'd prefer to write, here's that mailing address, PO Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. One more time, that's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins, inviting you to join us again Friday for survival tip number 10.
Do the next right thing 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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