Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1

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.

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Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day. This Bible teaching program on today's edition.

Speaker 3

Of Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

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.

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know everyone loves a good underdog story, right? But often we never get to experience moments of triumph in our own lives. That's because 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. But first, let's take a minute to hear some important ministry updates.

Speaker 3

Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Just before we begin the message, I want to tell you about an extraordinary book by my friend David Green called the Legacy Life. David Green is the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby and a role model in the business world. But building God's kingdom is David's greatest passion. In his book, he helps us understand how to leverage our gifts, our talents, and our resources to advance God's agenda.

You see, every one of us is positioned to make an impact on our world that outlives us. All it requires is a willingness to shift our perspective from the here and now to the eternal home that awaits us. It's the Legacy Life, as David calls it. Now, most of us think of our legacy as something we leave behind. But David says legacy is what we set in motion. I’m confident you’re going to love his book.

When you become a Pathway Partner with an automated monthly gift, we’ll send you the Legacy Life by David Green. By signing up to become a Pathway Partner, your generosity brings the hope of Christ to the world while putting your legacy in motion. As a bonus, when you give your first Pathway Partner gift or make a one-time generous donation, I’ll also send you my book, Choose You, Change Your Life. We’ll say more about these two books later in the program.

Right now, let’s give our complete focus to the study of God’s Word. Our primary text is found in Philippians Chapter three, and I titled today’s message Choosing Perseverance Over Defeat.

Speaker 2

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 won out and I said, "Well then, how come they get lost all the time?"

Bernie said, "Cause they don't go fur enough." He said, "These city folk come up here and I'll tell them to go five miles and instead they go about three, four of a mile and they start turning left and right and end up all over the place. They don't go far 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 roadmap 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 far 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 kinds 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 1st. Did you know studies show most people have given up on their New Year's resolutions by January 12th? How many of you know, we're not going to do that right now, but I imagine that may be true for you. You've given up. You didn't go fur 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.

In this series, we're looking at 11 biblical attitude choices that are necessary to experience the abundant life Jesus promised in John 10:10. 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 by 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."

Speaker 1

You know.

Speaker 2

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 gonna 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 9, 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 know, 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 gonna find a mate who's gonna 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. 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 gonna keep doing this."

But I'll never forget that moment of clarity when I realized I was gonna 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 First Corinthians 10:31, 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? Where? 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 six, 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 6:2, 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 want you to take the men and 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? Sure you got the instruction right? We don't see any sign of any walls falling down." If they had given up on 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, "Can 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 far 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. 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 far enough: the story of Naaman and the unusual command. It's found in Second Kings, chapter five. I love this story. You know, Naaman was the captain of the Syrian army, and he contracted leprosy. 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 5:10: "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 his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure me." Naaman said, "I thought this was gonna be easy. 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 Christians. We think, "Well, that's something God ought to do. He ought to just zap me and make me successful. You mean I'm gonna have to work at this?" For example, in Joshua 1:8, 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." Oh, meditate in this book. How does meditating on a book 2,500 years old 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 we said, "Okay." He 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. 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.

Speaker 3

Well, it's true you and I don't get to choose the challenges that come our way, but we can change our attitude about them. And I'm urging you to listen again tomorrow, when I'll offer the biblical keys to choosing perseverance over defeat. Those of us who believe what Jesus said understand that our fears often keep us from living our best lives. This program and all the other ministries provided by Pathway to Victory are designed to dispel the darkness of fear by shining the bright light of God's Word. And it's working.

But let me add, your role in this mission is vital. In fact, your partnership is critically important. And today I'm asking you to join hands with us by becoming a Pathway Partner. As a Pathway Partner, you're at the heart of everything we do. And when you say yes to my invitation today, your prayers and generous monthly support will achieve these major outcomes. First, broadcast the Gospel through radio, television, online, and in print. Second, faithfully sow God's truth into the hearts of millions in our country and around the world. And third, offer practical biblical help for your family and your friends.

As a Pathway Partner, you agree to give a monthly automated gift. And with your first gift today, I'm going to send David Green's new book, *The Legacy Life*. You'll be inspired by his affirming words. You might not think you have much to leave the next generation, but here's the truth: as a follower of Jesus Christ, every time you give a gift to Pathway to Victory, you're putting your legacy in motion.

Here's David to explain how to become a Pathway Partner right now.

Speaker 1

Becoming a Pathway Partner? Well, that's simple. Just call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org and click that donate button to be taken to the sign-up page. Now, when you give your first gift as a Pathway partner or when you give a generous one-time gift, we'll say thanks by sending you a copy of *The Legacy Life*. Plus, you'll also receive the book by Dr. Jeffress titled *Choose Your Attitudes, Change Your Life*. It's written to help you live out the principles we're learning in this study. And when you give $100 or more, we'll also send you the audio and video discs for the *Choose Your Attitudes, Change Your Life* teaching series. Plus, a group or individual study guide will come along with that.

Again, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. You could write if you'd like: P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's P.T. P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. I'm David J. Mullings inviting you back next time for part two of the message *Choosing Perseverance Over Defeat*. That's coming up Thursday 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/donate or you can follow the link in our show notes.

We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Oh, and one last thing before we go. Have you reserved your spot yet for the 2026 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska? You've been hearing me and Dr. Jeffress mention it, so what are you waiting for? Just picture yourself on the deck of Holland America's elegant Koningsdam and stepping out on deck to witness nature's grandeur. It's beautiful. These moments in God's creation will deepen your faith in powerful ways. It really will. Experience five-star dining, luxurious staterooms, and visiting iconic ports like Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. We're also bringing along our own Christian entertainment. You'll love it. Seats are filling up, so book your spot today at ptv.org.