Hey, podcast listeners! Thanks for streaming today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory.
God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory, choosing perseverance over defeat. You see, persistence, and this is so key, doesn't mean necessarily removing obstacles.
You can't always remove obstacles. Persistence means continuing to pursue your God-given dream in spite of the obstacles that life erects. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress.
You know, everyone loves a good underdog story, but often we don't get to experience the moments of triumph in our own lives because, well, we quit partway through our endeavors. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress shows us how victory can be ours as well when we choose perseverance over defeat. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. On the message, let me hit pause for a moment and tell you about the exciting Pathway to Victory vacation experience that's coming up next to May of 2025. I'm personally thrilled about this journeys of Paul Mediterranean cruise because this trip will impact you at every level. Wait until you see the historic sites in Ephesus, where the apostle conducted his historic ministry, and we'll be stopping in Greece, Turkey, Italy as well. I can hardly wait to show you these wonderful sites where our Christian faith took root. Now, the dates are May 5th through 16th, 2025.
So go to ptv.org and look at all the exciting details and reserve your spot today. Well, we're at the very beginning of our July teaching series called Choose Your Attitudes, Change Your Life. And before we begin another message, I'd like to invite you to request the book I've written for you.
It's called Choose Your Attitudes, Change Your Life. And this is a perfect selection for your daily quiet times with the Lord. Or many of our friends are using this book to guide their small group Bible study. The book contains 11 lessons on how to win over things like worry, defeat, stress, and loneliness. We'll say more about my book later in the program, but right now, let's give our complete focus to the study of God's word. Our primary text is found in Philippians chapter 3, and I titled today's message, Choosing Perseverance Over Defeat. Tim Hansel has a great story in his book, Eating Problems for Breakfast.
Isn't that a great title for a book, Eating Problems for Breakfast? But Tim Hansel describes a conversation he had with a wilderness scout named Bernie. He writes, late one afternoon, as the blue western sky was beginning to fade into oranges and grays, he got to talking about different experiences of people on his trips who became lost in the wilderness. I've had lots of people get lost up here, Bernie said. I responded, well that's probably because they don't really understand a map and a compass and all that, right? Nope, Bernie said. Well then, I said, it's probably because they're new to the wilderness. Again, Bernie said, nope. Then it's probably because they're city folk and they don't know the east from the west. Nope, Bernie said.
Well, it has to be because they're out here for the first time and they are all rookies and stuff. Nope, Bernie said. Tim said, I must have asked him at least six different reasons more about why people get lost up here.
He kept responding, nope. So finally, my curiosity went out and I said, well then, how come they get lost all the time? Bernie said, because they don't go for enough.
He said, these city folk come up here and I'll tell them to go five miles and instead they go about three-fourths of a mile and they start turning left and right and end up all over the place. They don't go for enough. You know, there are a lot of people who get lost in life because they have no idea where they're going to begin with. But there are other people who do have a clear destination in mind and they have a map, a road map to get them to where they think God wants them to be in their life. But they get lost along the way.
Why? They don't go for enough. They give up.
They get distracted before they ever arrive at their intended destination. Perhaps you're one of those people. You began this new year with all kind of goals that you thought would honor God in every part of your life. Maybe with your finances or your health or your quiet time with the Lord. You started out strong January the first. Did you know studies show most people have given up on their New Year's resolutions by January 12th. How many of you, no, we're not going to do that right now, but I imagine that may be true by you. You've given up.
You didn't go for enough. Why? Because of a failure to adopt the attitude choice we're going to talk about today. In our series, choose your attitudes, change your life. We're saying you can't always choose your circumstances.
You can't change your circumstances, but you can choose and change your response to life's circumstances. And in this series, we're looking at 11 biblical attitude choices that are necessary to experience the abundant life Jesus promised in John 10, verse 10. And today we're going to look at the second of those attitude choices, choosing perseverance over defeat. What do we mean by perseverance? Somebody has said that courage is the desire to begin pursuing your dream, but perseverance is the determination to continue pursuing your God-given dream in spite of unexpected setbacks, undeserved criticism, and unrelenting hard work. Perseverance is the attitude that says, I will not give up. You know, during the dark days of World War II, Winston Churchill had the job of holding his nation together under relentless attacks by Nazi Germany. When they were threatened even with invasion and perhaps occupation by the Nazis, some of Churchill's friends and counselors advised him that he needed to negotiate with the Nazis, perhaps surrender to the Nazis. But instead, Winston Churchill said, wars are not won by evacuation.
Guess what? Life is not won by evacuations. Successful people are those who continue pursuing their God-given dreams. For example, let's just say, for example, one of your New Year's resolutions, one change you wanted to make in your life, is you wanted to set aside a little bit of money every month, save money for unanticipated emergencies, and you have a goal of saving $500 a month. That's your goal. The first month, when your paycheck comes in, you have an unexpected trip to the emergency room that wipes out your $500. The next month, you say, I'm going to do better. I'm going to do it this month.
And you have a car repair bill that you weren't expecting. The key is, what do you do the third month? Do you give up and just say, this isn't working, I'm not going to try to do it any longer? Or do you keep pursuing that goal? You see, persistence, and this is so key, doesn't mean necessarily removing obstacles.
You can't always remove obstacles. Persistence means continuing to pursue your God-given dream in spite of the obstacles that life erects. You know, one of my favorite stories about perseverance comes from our own nation's history. When he was seven years old, his family was forced out of their home on a legal technicality, and he had to work to help support them. At age nine, his mother died. At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk. He wanted to go to law school, but lacked the education. At 23, he went into debt to become a partner in a small store. At 26, his business partner died, leaving him a huge debt that took years to repay. At 28, after courting a girl for four years, he asked her to marry him.
She said, no. At 37, on his third try, he was elected to Congress, but two years later, he failed to be reelected. At 41, his four-year-old son died. At 45, he ran for the Senate and lost. At 47, he failed as the vice presidential candidate. At 49, he ran for the Senate again and lost. At 51, he was elected President of the United States.
His name was Abraham Lincoln. That is what persistence is, moving forward in spite of unanticipated obstacles in life. Now, some people might say, well, wait a minute. Is persistence always the right response to your goals? Isn't this maybe an excuse for self-reliance instead of God-reliance?
Let's make it clear. We're only talking about persisting in those goals that come from God. You know, there is a strain of positive thinking that goes around that comes up with platitudes like, whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. That makes for a nice wall plaque, but you know, Adolf Hitler could have had that dream in life and that philosophy. I mean, he had a goal in life, and he certainly persisted in it, but it was the wrong goal, wasn't it?
Now, we're talking about your God-given goals. Remember what we read from Philippians 3, the words of the Apostle Paul? He said, I run, I want to apprehend that which I was apprehended for.
Now, that's key. God had chosen the Apostle Paul to be a light to the Gentiles. That's why God apprehended him. He caught him, but Paul said, I'm running in such a way to lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of.
Paul had a responsibility in that as well. He had to grab hold of what God had grabbed hold of him for. We're talking about not pursuing any goal, but pursuing your God-given goals in life. You say, well, how do I know if my goal is really from God or not?
Let me give you three questions you ought to ask about any goal that you're pursuing in your life. Question number one, does your goal violate any principle of God's word? Does your goal in life violate any principle in God's word? For example, you may have the goal to be the most successful drug dealer in America. That's obviously not a God-given goal.
You say, well, that's kind of ludicrous and silly. Some Christians have a goal. I'm going to find a mate who's going to satisfy my every need.
The only problem is they're already married, but their goal is to find somebody else. That is not a God-given goal. Does your goal violate any principle of God's word? Secondly, is your goal in keeping with God's purpose for your life? Is your goal in keeping with God's purpose for your life? There may be something you're interested in doing and achieving.
It may not be sinful, but it may not be in keeping with God's unique purpose for your life. I remember more than 30 years ago when I was first starting in the pastorate, I had some extra time on my hands. And so I decided, you know, I've got some time.
There's a particular thing I would like to do, a particular goal I have. So I started getting involved in a side vocation. And it wasn't anything sinful, but it was something I was interested in and was gifted to do. And I started pursuing this. And after a while, I started to even enjoy some success in doing this.
I said, man, this is pretty neat. I think I'm going to keep doing this. But I'll never forget that moment of clarity when I realized I was going to have to make a choice, either continue in the ministry or continue doing this, but I couldn't do both. And God made it very clear to me that was not his choice, his plan and purpose for my life. So the question is, does your goal in any way conflict with God's unique purpose for your life? Thirdly, how will the achievement of your goal bring honor to God? How will the achievement of your goal bring honor to God?
If there's something you're pursuing, you ought to be able to answer clearly, how will the achievement of this goal bring honor to the Lord? In 1 Corinthians 10, verse 31, Paul said, Whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Now, again, when we talk about perseverance, people who read the Bible have in the back of their mind, well, is that really a biblical attitude?
Isn't that more the name it and claim it theology of positive thinking? Where do you find perseverance in the Bible? Well, you find it all throughout the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs uses the word diligence to describe perseverance. But there are two great illustrations in the Bible of perseverance and why it's so important. The first is found in Joshua chapter 6, the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. You remember the story, God had given Joshua a dream, that is of inhabiting and taking charge of the land of Canaan, the promised land. That was God's promise to Joshua and to the Israelites. The only problem was there's a giant obstacle between Joshua and his dream. And it was that nine-acre city of Jericho and the large wall that stood around it. In Joshua 6 verse 2, God said to Joshua, see, I have given Jericho into your hand with its king and the valiant warriors. He said, Joshua, I'm gonna give you this city, but I'm not gonna do it without your effort. And he goes on to detail the instructions of what he would have to do. God told Joshua, now I wanna take your men and I want you to take the men and I want you to march around this nine-acre wall.
Once a day for six days. March around it, don't say a word and go back to your camp. Then on the seventh day, I want you to march around the wall seven times. And on the seventh time, you're to have the priest blow the trumpets and the people are to shout and the wall will come down. And so Joshua did that. He got the men out. They didn't understand, but they said, Joshua, you're the leader, we'll follow you.
They went around one time, back to the camp. The second, the third, the fourth, by this time, the fourth day, you can be sure the people of Jericho were standing on top of the wall. You know, that wall was so large, some commentators said you could drive two chariots side by side on top of the wall of Jericho. So there was room for people to amass and I'm sure they started hurling insults at the Israelites for doing what they were doing. They may have thrown rocks at them, but that didn't deter the Israelites. But I'm sure by the fifth day, they started to have some real doubts.
Joshua, are you sure you got the instruction right? We don't see any sign of any walls falling down. If they had given up the fifth day, they would have missed the blessing. But they kept going. I imagine by the seventh day, they were tired of lugging that armor around in that hot Palestinian sun.
It's awfully dry down in Jericho. But they kept doing it. Just imagine on the third time on the seventh day, they stopped and they said, there's not even a crack in the wall, Joshua.
What are you having us do? But they kept doing what God told them to do. And by the end of the seventh time, when they blew the trumpet and shouted, the walls instantaneously came down. My point is, if they hadn't gone for enough, they would have missed God's blessing. They were ordered to do something that seemed to make no sense whatsoever, and yet God blessed them.
Why? Because they had faith. When we resume our study in Hebrews, and we will resume it, we'll get to Hebrews chapter 11. And remember what the writer says, now faith is the assurance of things hoped for. It is the conviction of things not seen. Faith is not a hope.
It's not a wish. It is the assurance that God is going to do what he has promised to do and acting accordingly. God blessed their faith, and their faith resulted in perseverance, continuing in spite of the circumstances.
Here's another great story of perseverance and why you need to make sure you go for enough. The story of Naaman and the unusual command. It's found in 2 Kings chapter 5.
I love this story. You know, Naaman was the captain of the Syrian army, and he contracted leprosy. And so he asked the prophet Elisha what he should do. And word came back from Elisha exactly what he needed to do to be healed from the leprosy. Look at 2 Kings 5 verse 10. Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean. Verse 11. But Naaman was furious when he heard that instruction.
Now, why was he so mad at that instruction? If you've ever been to the Jordan River, you understand why. This idea of washing in the Jordan, verse 10, that's an oxymoron.
Nobody washes in the Jordan. You know, it's interesting when people go to Israel for the first time. Oh, I want to be baptized in the Jordan. Pastor, can I be baptized in the Jordan? And they've got this image that the Jordan River is this clear, pristine water with a holy mist that emanates from the surface. And when they get there, they see it's nothing but a mud hole.
It is a filthy mud hole. And when people want to be baptized in the Jordan, I say, we'll be happy to do it. Ben, come over here. Ben is our official Jordan River baptizer.
People say, what does an executive pastor do? He baptizes in the Jordan River, among other things. He's happy to do it. I'm not happy to do it.
It's filthy. And that's exactly why Naaman was furious, but I think there's something else at work here. Look at verse 11. Naaman was furious, and he went away and said, Behold, I thought he will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord as God and wave his hand over the place and cure me. Naaman said, I thought this was going to be easy. I thought all Elijah would have to do is say, be healed, and I could get on with my business.
I didn't realize I would have to do something. You know, when somebody suggests that success in life may not be instantaneous, we get mad at that, especially if we're a Christian. We think, well, that's something God ought to do. He ought to just zap me and make me successful.
You mean I'm going to have to work at this? I thought God did that automatically. For example, in Joshua 1, verse 8, we find the key to success in life, an important key. Joshua said, This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
You want to have success in life, God says? Meditate on this book, day and night, and then do everything that's in it, and you'll have success. Meditate in this book. How does meditating on a book, 2,500 years old, how does that get me to where I want to go in life?
I want success. I don't want to meditate on Scripture. The Bible says it's the key to success. Naaman was told to do something he didn't want to do, but he heard enough that he was willing, finally, to obey. Verse 14, So Naaman went down, and he dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God. And his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
Can't you just see it? And he said, Okay. Goes down, and the water comes back up. Don't you know he immediately checked to see if the leprosy was still there?
Still there. He goes down the second time, the third time, the fourth time. Had he stopped and said, I need to go to a faith healer or somebody else.
This isn't working. He would have missed the blessing, but he went down the fifth, the sixth time. Again, had he stopped there, he would have left just as infected as he came.
But it was after that seventh time of coming up out of the water that he saw the leprosy was gone. That's what perseverance is, continuing in spite of the obstacles. It's possible that you don't really feel like a conqueror today. The issues you face are just too painful. Honestly, you feel hopeless.
Well, you and I don't get to choose the challenges that come our way, but we can change our attitude about them. When Paul was in prison, unfairly accused, he wrote these surprising words. He wrote, Rejoice in the Lord always.
How could he be that way? How did Paul transform his thinking into victory rather than defeat? I've written a book that's intensely personal and defines how you can radically transform your attitude just as Paul did. The book is titled Choose Your Attitudes Change Your Life. The 11 lessons in this book are ones that I've applied in my own life, and I'm confident that you'll find these 11 principles helpful as well.
In my book, I'll help you understand how to make your circumstances work for you instead of against you. And when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, I'll make certain you receive a copy of my book, Choose Your Attitudes Change Your Life. And now, as we conclude today's program, let me say a word of thanks to those of you who give generously to support Pathway to Victory. Your gifts are truly making a difference. We receive daily evidence through phone calls and letters that lives are being changed. So keep up the good work. God is using you and your generous gifts to pierce the darkness with the light of His Word.
David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. When you support the ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, you're invited to request a copy of the book, Choose Your Attitudes Change Your Life, written by Dr. Robert Jeffress. To request your copy, call 866-999-2965 or visit online at ptv.org. And when you give $75 or more, you'll also receive both the CD and DVD teaching sets for Choose Your Attitudes Change Your Life.
Plus, we'll send you a study guide especially designed for individual or group study. Again, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. A lot of folks prefer to contact us the good old fashioned way, P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.
Again, that's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins, inviting you back next time for part two of the message, Choosing Perseverance Over Defeat. That's coming up Wednesday 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. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
