Pathway to Victory

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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/donate or follow the link in our show notes.

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

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Hi, this is Robert Jeffress, and I'm.

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Glad to study God's Word with you every day.

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This Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory, you'll find that.

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Satan always uses the same temptations to lure God's people away from God. It's always a desire for money or a desire for pleasure or a desire for success. Money, pleasure, success are always the temptations that Satan uses to lure us away from God.

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. You may be familiar with the words from the popular hymn that goes, "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love."

But what would compel a child of God to stray from his heavenly Father? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress shares the three main reasons why Christians wander away from God.

But first, let's take a minute to hear some important ministry updates.

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Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. I'm super excited about our next teaching series on Pathway to Victory because I believe it's a topic that touches every single one of us. To set the stage, I'll start with a personal question: can you point to a time when you were closer to God than you are right now? Maybe you carry a little guilt right now because your rhythm for reading the Bible and spending time in prayer has waned. The desire just isn't there. It's a curious thing, isn't it? Those of us who love God are prone to wander away from Him.

Well, in this study, I want to show you how incredibly simple it is to come home to the Father who loves you. Along those lines, I'm thrilled to provide a book I've written for you. It's called *Coming Home to the Father Who Loves You*, and it's written for anyone who wants to rekindle a flame of passion for God and for those who have a son, daughter, or grandchild who's become a prodigal.

To receive my book, just give us a call or go online and request *Coming Home to the Father Who Loves You*. It's yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. In fact, when you respond today, I'm going to include a prayer card for you as well. It contains a prayer for your prodigal to guide you as you pray for the prodigal you love.

We'll share more details later in today's program, but right now let's open our Bibles together to the classic parable Jesus told in Luke chapter 15. I titled today's message *Coming Home to the Father Who Loves You*.

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I don't know all of you well. I certainly don't know most of the people who are watching by television or listening by radio. But even though I don't know everyone well, I imagine one or more of the following is true about you. You can point to a time in your life when you were closer to God than you are right now. You know you ought to read your Bible more and pray more, but frankly, the desire to do so is no longer present. You feel guilty about thinking about money so much and thinking about God so little. You find it very easy to become obsessed about your work. You can look back to at least one giant mistake in your life, and you wonder if God can ever forgive you of that mistake. You genuinely desire to have a closer relationship with God than you now experience.

We can point to a time in our lives when we were closer to God than we are at the present. And for some of us, our departure from God can be traced to a specific event. But for most of us, our departure from God is a gradual one. Our relationship erodes over a long period of time. To paraphrase the words of C.S. Lewis, the road that leads a believer away from God is a gradual one, a gentle slope without sudden turnings, without signposts, without milestones. We all tend to move away from God step by step, choice by choice, until one day we awaken in a place we never thought we would be, separated from our heavenly Father.

Why is that? Why is it that we all tend to move away from God? No matter how dramatic your conversion, no matter how sincere your intentions, no matter how saturated you are with biblical doctrine, the bias of life pulls you and me away from God. That's the way things are. We are naturally pulled away from God. Many years ago, Jesus told a story about a young man who enjoyed a good relationship with his father. But he allowed his desire for money, his thirst for pleasure, his drive toward significance to cause him to leave his father. In a moment of temporary insanity, he chose to leave everything, to move to the far country. And only because of a dramatic crisis in his life did he ever return to the security of his father's home.

Now, many people use the story of the Prodigal Son to illustrate God's attitude toward non-Christians, toward unbelievers. And I think that's certainly fitting within the context that Jesus told the story. But I also believe that the story of the Prodigal Son illustrates our relationship, a Christian's relationship with his heavenly Father. Specifically, the story of the Prodigal Son demonstrates why it is we who love God wander away from God. By the way, it's easier than you think to wander away from God. The story also illustrates what life apart from God is like in the far country. By the way, it's different than you've ever been led to believe that it is. And most importantly, the Prodigal Son tells us how we can return to a right relationship with a Father who loves us. It is simpler than you can possibly imagine.

But as we begin this series, "Coming Home to a Father who Loves Us," I think we need to answer the question, why is it we who love God so easily depart from God? You know, there's a song we sing in our church. It's an old hymn, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," and remember the refrain of that hymn: "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; Prone to what? Leave the God I love." We have sung that song for so long, I think we've become oblivious to the obvious contradiction in that song. Prone to leave the God I love. I don't know about you, but I'm never prone to leave what I love. See, that song really makes no sense when you think about it. Why is it that we who are saying we love God? Why are we prone to leave God? And yet that's the truth, isn't it? We profess in one way that we love God. But we who profess to love God, we are prone to fall into immoral relationships that destroy our relationship with God and with others. We are prone to go days, weeks, months, perhaps even years without ever opening God's word. We are prone to destructive habits that completely destroy our relationship, our spiritual life. We are prone to renounce everything we believe in at the first hint of suffering for our faith.

Why is that? Why is it that we who love God are prone to wander away from God? Well, that's what we're going to talk about in the few moments we have. And I want to mention three reasons that it is natural for Christians to wander away from God. Three reasons.

First of all, one reason that we are prone to leave the God we love is because we serve an invisible Father. When I was five years old, my dad took me to the State Fair of Texas. I remember it so well. I remember we were getting ready to enter the midway and my dad was going to go to the restroom. He said, "Now, Robert, you wait out here for me and I'll be right back." So I stood there. I stood there for what seemed to be eternity, waiting for my dad to come back. And finally, the lights of the midway, the bells and the whistles, the sound of people screaming on those rides, it was too much for me. And so I wandered away. I wandered into the midway and pretty soon I found that I was completely lost. Lost. I can remember today the terror of that moment, being surrounded by strangers. Fortunately, a police officer found me and he put me on the back of his three-wheeled motorcycle. My back was facing him, my feet were dangling over the back of the motorcycle as he wove in and out of the crowd to take me to the lost and found area. And again, I remember it like it was yesterday, just crying, my tears falling into the ice cream cone I was licking, you know, for comfort. My love affair with ice cream started a long time ago. And I was just licking that cone, crying. When I looked up and in the crowd, I saw my dad frantically looking for me. And his eyes made contact with my eyes. And as that motorcycle guy was driving that motorcycle, my dad, seeing me, went into a full gallop chasing after me on that motorcycle. And finally, he caught up with me. He swept me off the motorcycle. I don't think the policeman ever even realized what had happened. He clutched me to himself and took me home that evening.

And you know, you have to ask the question, I mean, who was to blame for that departure? When obviously, if something had happened to me, if a stranger had harmed me or killed me, I was ultimately responsible. I disobeyed my dad. But he had to bear some of the responsibility for my departure. He left me. At least that's what my mom said when he got home and told him, said he was responsible for that. Now, don't make the wrong application here. God is not to blame for our departure from the faith. Even though he's an invisible God, he says very clearly in John that he has not left us as strangers in this world. In fact, in John 14:16-18, Jesus said, "I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper," talking about the Holy Spirit, "that he may be with you forever. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." God's not left us as orphans here in this world. He has sent us His Holy Spirit to guide us, to comfort us, to lead us into all truth. But let's be honest. Sometimes, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us, sometimes it's very easy to be attracted by the bells and the whistles of this life instead of following the quiet promptings of the Holy Spirit. The fact that we serve an invisible God right now is one reason we are prone to leave the God we love.

There's a second reason that explains our tendency to wander away from God. And that is we all have an active opponent. An active opponent. We have an enemy, to put it bluntly, who is out to destroy us. His name is Satan. He has a plan to destroy us. In Ephesians 6, verse 12, if you want to turn there, listen to what the Apostle Paul writes. He says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but it is against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." I want you to jot down two obvious but important truths from this verse of Scripture. First of all, living a God-honoring life is difficult. Did you know that? To live a God-honoring life is difficult. Paul says it is a struggle. And secondly, Paul says in this struggle, our greatest obstacle is not another person, but a spiritual power. This struggle we are in, in this life, this life-and-death struggle, our enemy is not another person, but it's a spiritual power. I think Paul pointed that out because he knew our tendency to blame other people for our problems. Living a Christ-honoring life is difficult. We have an enemy, a spiritual power.

And notice verse 11 of Ephesians chapter 6. Paul says, "Therefore, put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil." Not only is Satan real, but he has a scheme, method, a blueprint to completely destroy you. Did you know that he has a plan right now to ensure your departure from the Christian faith? He has a plan, a scheme that he is up to, that he is working out in your life. And it's very important. Paul said that we not be ignorant of Satan's schemes. How do we battle against this scheme? First of all, we need to become a student of Scripture. If we're going to battle Satan's blueprint for our destruction, we need to understand Scripture. We need to understand what the Bible says about Satan's schemes against us. And you know, as you read the New Testament and the Old Testament, you'll find that Satan always uses the same temptations to lure God's people away from God. It's always a desire for money or a desire for pleasure or a desire for success. Money, pleasure, success are always the temptations that Satan uses to lure us away from God.

By the way, if some of you think that's a little simplistic to categorize all of Satan's schemes into these three temptations, listen to John's word in First John 2:15-16. John said, "Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him; for all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, that's pleasure; the lust of the eyes, that's materialism or money; or the boastful pride of life, ambition—is not from the Father, but is from the world." As we look at the story of the Prodigal Son, we'll see all three of those temptations at work. His love for money: "Father, give me my share of the estate." His love for pleasure: he squandered his money on loose women, the Bible says. His desire for significance: he went away to a far country. He left his father to make a name for himself. It's very important that if we're going to battle Satan successfully, we become a student of Scripture to know how he works, that we not be ignorant of his schemes.

But secondly, we need to be a student of ourselves as well. That is, we need to understand which temptations are most likely to succeed in our life. That's why First Peter 5:8 says, "Be of sober spirit. Be on the alert for your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour." If we're going to be successful in battling Satan's plan for our destruction, we have to be a student of Scripture. But we also have to be a student of ourselves to know where the weak points are in our armor so that we can take special care to strengthen those areas.

There's a third component that explains our ability and proclivity to wander away from God. And that is a fallen nature. A fallen nature. How many times have you said, "Lord, I promise I will never do that again?" And yet you find yourself within days, if not hours, repeating the very same mistake and loving every minute. Have you ever had that experience before? You know the Apostle Paul had that experience. Listen to his testimony in Romans 7. This comes from the Living Bible. Romans 7:18-23. Paul says, "No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. Now if I'm doing what I don't want to, it is plain where the trouble is. Sin still has me in its evil grasp. It seems a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love to do God's will so far as my new nature is concerned. But there is something else deep within me, in my lower nature that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me."

I had a deacon in a former church I served that loved to have theological arguments with me. And the thing he loved to argue with me about was whether or not a Christian still had a sin nature. And he said, "Pastor, your kind of teaching that Christians still have a sin nature within them, it just leads to a defeated life." The Bible says if you're a Christian, you no longer have a sin nature within you. You only have your God-given nature. There's only one nature, not two natures within a Christian. Where would he get such an idea? Well, to be honest, the Bible does teach that we have a new master once we become a Christian. In Romans, chapter 6, verses 6-7, listen to what Paul says about our old nature. He says, "Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Christ, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, for he who has died is freed from sin."

Now I want to admit this deacon was right in one sense. It's wrong to tell Christians that you have this old nature within you and you will always be a slave to it. And you can never have victory over it until you see Jesus one day. You know, until then you're just a victim. You can't help yourself. That is defeated teaching that is responsible for a lot of the disobedience among Christians today. Paul said, if you are a Christian, your old nature has been crucified. You don't have to be a slave to sin. Sin has no more power over your life than you choose to allow it to have. Now that's true. But what is also true is you still have the residue of that old nature within you. You still have that old set of desires within you that does battle against this new nature. That's why in Galatians, Paul wrote these words about the two natures within a Christian. Listen to what Paul said in Galatians 5:16-17. "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please."

The Bible says within every Christian, there's a civil war that goes on daily, if not hourly, between our new set of desires that come when we become a Christian and that old set of desires that does nothing but want to disobey God. But here's the liberating truth. Your new nature doesn't have to win just some of the time. It can win every time. You don't have to obey sin any longer. Sin has no more power over your life than you choose to allow it to have. And that's why Paul goes on to say in verses 11 and 12 of Romans 6, "Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ. Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you should not obey its lust." God has given you the gift of His Holy Spirit. His Holy Spirit can give you victory over anyone and every sin in your life. You are no longer a slave to sin. Before you become a Christian, you have no power over sin whatsoever. You can try all you want to say no to sin; you are a slave to sin. But once you trust in Christ as your Savior, God not only provides you the forgiveness from your sins, He gives you power over your sins. He gives you this incredible power—a person, the Holy Spirit of God, who can easily grant you victory over every habit, every sin in your life.

But you know what happens? We have this defeatist mentality. We say, "Well, I've tried to do that. I can't succeed over sin, so I'll give up trying." No, Paul says, you no longer have to be a slave to sin. Live as if sin were dead in you. Now we don't have to obey that old nature, but we should remember that old nature is still within us. And we need to do everything we can to kill it, to refuse, defeat it, and to choose to have victory over it. Don't ever forget you do have a sin nature. And the reality of that sin nature coupled with a resolve of the enemy that we have—understanding those two things. We have an enemy who wants to destroy us. We have a fallen nature that he can still use. Understanding those truths is the first line of defense against wandering away from God.

But the message I want you to hear more than any else and throughout this series is no matter how far you've wandered away, no matter how great the distance is between you and God, you can come back again to the Father who loves you. Never forget you have a loving heavenly Father who stands with arms outstretched and saying, "Come home. Come home to the Father who loves you."

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Sin doesn't need to rule in your life any longer. As Paul said, we're no longer slaves to sin. God's Holy Spirit will give us the power to overcome, and God stands ready to welcome us home.

We're off to a great start in this teaching series, and it's also my first occasion to tell you about a helpful book designed to complement this new study. It's called *Coming Home to the Father Who Loves You*. Whether you're the prodigal wandering far from home or someone you love has lost his way, I'm confident you'll find this book helpful, and I'm urging you to pick up the phone or go online to request a copy. Right now, the book is yours when you give a generous gift to Pathway to Victory.

This is the perfect choice for your personal devotions or to generate lively discussion in your book club or Bible study group. In closing, thank you for your generosity toward the ministry of Pathway to Victory. We believe the need to spread the word is urgent. Just as Paul told the Corinthians, "Behold, now is a favorable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation."

By giving generously to Pathway to Victory, you're joining a movement of God to prodigals and seekers around the world. We know this is true because we receive calls and emails from people who don't come to church, but they're curious to learn more about God when they discover Pathway to Victory on radio, television, or the Internet.

Remember, when you give a generous gift today, I'm going to say thanks by providing my practical book *Coming Home to the Father Who Loves You*. Here's David with all the details.

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When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, we'll send you a copy of *Coming Home to the Father Who Loves You*, the book by Dr. Robert Jeffress. Give a gift and request the book. When you call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org, you know listeners often tell us they consider the teaching and resources they receive from Pathway to Victory to be trustworthy and powerful.

And when you give today, we'll also send you a prayer for your prodigal. It's a beautifully designed card to help you faithfully intercede for the loved one who needs to find their way back home again. Call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. You could also write to us at P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas.

I'm David J. Mullins. Tomorrow, Dr. Jeffress will return with another message on the story of the Prodigal Son titled *Money Mania*. Don't miss it Tuesday on Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Experience the breathtaking majesty of America's last frontier on the 2026 Pathway to Victory class cruise to Alaska.

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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.

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