Pathway to Victory

David J. Mullens: 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.

Dr. Robert Jeffress: Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I’m glad to study God’s word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today’s edition of Pathway to Victory: Our spiritual foundation, our footwork that we put on, is our preparation and our commitment to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. With all apologies to the great theologian Nancy Sinatra, these boots we wear, these boots were made for walking.

David J. Mullens: Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave every believer a mission: to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress shows us how understanding that God-given purpose will help us make three critical choices that keep us safe from the enemy’s most dangerous traps. But first, let’s take a moment to hear some important ministry updates.

Dr. Robert Jeffress: Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. You’d probably never know it, but most of the people you meet on a day-to-day basis are silently struggling. Sometimes, behind those broad smiles, there’s a battle raging—a battle with depression or addiction or anxiety. Perhaps the same is true for you.

Well, those negative moods you experience aren’t just a natural part of life. They’re a deliberate and deadly attack from Satan. To help you win the battle, we’ve spent the entire month of March conducting an in-depth study on the subject of spiritual warfare. Plus, I’ve written a best-selling book on this topic.

My book is titled *The Divine Defense*, in which I give you six biblical tools for defending yourself against Satan’s deadly attacks. And it’s yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory.

Well, we’re just a few months from boarding a luxury cruise liner in Vancouver, British Columbia, and I’m warmly inviting you to step on board with us for the 2026 Pathway to Victory Cruise to Alaska. I guarantee this is a choice you’ll never regret. God blessed America with this masterpiece of His creation, and I want to see your expression when you witness Alaska with your own eyes. Make your arrangements today by visiting ptv.org.

Okay, it’s time to get started with our continued study of Ephesians chapter 6. I’ve titled today’s message "These Boots Were Made for Walking."

The famous playwright George Bernard Shaw wrote, "This is true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, constantly complaining that the world would not devote itself to making you happy."

Now, there’s no evidence that George Bernard Shaw was a Christian, but he understood the value of a clear purpose in life. Knowing your purpose is like a beacon that gives direction in the darkness. Living out your purpose gives you real fulfillment in life, and living out your purpose is also a powerful deterrent to Satan’s attack on your life.

And that’s what we’re going to talk about today. If you have your Bibles, turn to Ephesians 6. As you know by now, Ephesians 6 is probably the clearest passage of Scripture anywhere about the spiritual battle we’re all engaged in, whether we recognize it or not. You’re in a life-and-death struggle against an adversary. That adversary is not your boss at work, that adversary is not the government.

Your adversary is an unseen but very real being named Satan. He has a blueprint to destroy everything important in your life. Paul says the only way we’re going to win that life-and-death struggle is by using the weapons that God has provided us. Paul describes those six weapons beginning in Ephesians chapter 6.

As he was chained to a Roman soldier, he noticed six weapons, six pieces of armor that the Roman soldier had, and he likened those to the strategies that God has given us to defeat Satan before he destroys us. Remember what those weapons are? He starts out with the belt of truth. That is, recognizing wrong thoughts and replacing them with God’s thoughts.

That’s the first thing we have to do. All spiritual warfare begins in the mind. The greatest battlefield you’re fighting on is beginning in your mind. Put on the belt of truth. And then he said, put on the breastplate of righteousness. Obey what you already know to be true. That’s what that strategy is: doing what you know you should do.

And then, thirdly, he talks about in verse 15, "having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Putting on your feet the right footwear, if you will. For a soldier, that was the Roman boot. It was thick-soled. It would protect the soldier against sharp sticks right beneath the surface of the ground, or it would protect the soldier’s feet against the jagged edges of a stone that he might encounter.

But that thick Roman boot was important to give stability to that soldier, traction when he was in hand-to-hand combat. What is the foundation? What is the spiritual footwear? It’s confusing to a lot of people, these words, until they realize that this is actually a quotation of Isaiah 52:7.

Remember Isaiah said, "How blessed, how happy is the person who puts on the footwear, who shods his feet with the sharing of the gospel, the peace, who announces salvation." Our spiritual foundation, our footwork that we put on, is our preparation and our commitment to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

With all apologies to the great theologian Nancy Sinatra, these boots we wear, these boots were made for walking. I may sing it... no, I’m not going to do that. I’d lose my status if I tried to do that. But the point is, the reason we’re to base Christ’s gospel as our foundation is not just for what it does for us, but sharing it to others.

How beautiful are the feet of those who share the gospel of peace. That’s what he’s talking about in Ephesians 6:15. A powerful deterrent to Satan’s plan to destroy your life is to understand your real purpose. Now, people may wonder, what is the relationship between my purpose in life, evangelism—sharing the gospel—and defeating Satan’s attack?

Last time, we looked at three of four statements that are foundational to understanding this. First of all, if you don’t remember it or even if you do, write it down: God created you for a great purpose. Regardless of what the evolutionist says, you are not here by a biological fluke. You’re here for a purpose. God created you. Jeremiah 1:5, he created you for a great purpose.

Secondly, your life purpose is to fulfill God’s purpose. You don’t have to go around wandering, why am I here? What’s my purpose in life? Your purpose, my purpose, is always to fulfill God’s purpose. As somebody said, the question every Christian should ask is not, "God, what is your will for my life?" The question is, "God, what is your will and how can I devote my life to meeting that need?"

God has already told us what his will is. God is not willing that any should perish, Paul wrote, but all should come to a knowledge of the truth. God’s will is to save as many people as possible. And so, whatever our purpose we think in life is, it is tied to God’s purpose. Simply put, our business is to make God’s business our business, and God is in the business of saving people.

Thirdly, fulfilling your life purpose is key to fulfillment in life. Listen to this: you will never be satisfied in life until you connect yourself with an eternal purpose. Why? Solomon said God has set eternity in our hearts. And as eternal beings, we can only be satisfied by that which is eternal.

Trying to satisfy your eternal needs with a temporal purpose is like trying to fill an ocean with a bucket of water. You just can’t do it. No, we need an eternal companion—that’s God. But we need his eternal purpose to be fulfilled, and that’s sharing the gospel with others.

And that leads to the fourth principle we’re going to look at today: living your life purpose will help you thwart Satan’s attacks. How so? When you understand what your purpose in life is, it will give you the resolve to make three key choices in your life that not only enhance the spread of the gospel but will keep you safe from the attacks of Satan in your life.

You want to know what these three choices are? You know choices are important, they determine the direction of our life. Remember the airline executive we talked about last week who chose to serve peanuts on Southwest Airlines instead of a chicken Caesar salad? Why did he make that choice?

It’s not because peanuts were tastier than a chicken Caesar salad. It’s not because choosing to serve a salad would make him the airline known for the best food in the world. No, he had a purpose to have the lowest fare airline in the world, and that choice came out of that purpose.

In the same way, when you understand God’s purpose for you is to draw as many people to God as possible through faith in Jesus Christ, it will help you make these three choices. Choice number one: choosing purity over immorality. Choosing purity over immorality.

I remember talking to a Christian one time who’d become enslaved by a terrible, destructive addiction. And I was asking him about his spiritual heritage, and he told me that his parents were Christians and he said his dad was the spiritual leader of the house, would make sure the kids were in church every Sunday.

He was on fire in his own relationship with God. But then one day, it was announced that the pastor was resigning because of an immoral relationship. And this man told me immediately his dad became disillusioned with Christianity. He dropped out of church. He gave up his faith.

Now, you know as that man told me that story of his dad, I thought about that pastor. I doubt that pastor years ago said, "You know what? I’m going to enroll in the seminary, study for three or four years, engage in ministry, go without, work hard, all so that at the end of my ministry I can disillusion as many people as possible with the gospel of Jesus Christ."

What sane person would make that choice? And yet that’s exactly what he did. He sacrificed his study, his sacrifice, his service—he traded all of that for a few moments of sexual pleasure. That is insane. But it’s a choice that not just preachers and evangelists, but Christians everywhere are making.

Now, here’s the point: most of you here today, most of you watching on television, are not called to be what we call full-time Christian servants. Have you ever heard that expression "full-time Christian servants"? Translation: you don’t get your paycheck from the church. That’s what it means.

That’s what a full-time Christian servant is, it’s somebody who gets his paycheck from the church. Some of us are; we’ve been called to do that. But even though we may not all be called to be pastors, missionaries, staff members, we are all called to the same purpose, and that is to share Christ with as many people as possible.

We’re on the same team. So why would we, if that is our life purpose and it should be our life purpose, why would any of us give that up for immorality? Paul understood that, and that’s why he wrote in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 3 to 4 and verse 22: "Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."

Verse 22: "Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." You know, I know you pray for me, and I appreciate that, because I’m not immune, I’m not exempt from any temptation just as you’re not. Paul said, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."

But there are a number of reasons I wouldn’t engage in immorality besides of my love for my wife and my care for my family. I can’t imagine having to stand before you and confess a failure in that way. I just can’t imagine the sorrow of having to do that. I can’t imagine answering to God for the lives I’ve destroyed if I got involved in something I shouldn’t be involved in.

But I’m not the only one who should ask that question and picture that possibility. What about you? Maybe you’re a small group leader. How would the news of your decision to abandon your mate for somebody else, how would that affect those you’ve been teaching and leading?

How would the discovery of pornography on your computer at work, how would that impact your co-workers who thought you to be a dedicated Christian, co-workers you tried to share the gospel with? How would news of your wrong choice, your immorality affect your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren for the generations to come?

What I’m saying is, understanding your life purpose is a great deterrent to immorality. It helps you make the daily choice to choose purity over immorality. But that’s not the only trap that a Christian has to avoid. Choosing to make evangelism, sharing Christ, your priority helps you in choosing generosity over greed.

The Bible uses the word "snare" as something a Christian ought to avoid. It’s a trap set for an animal, and different bait is used to attract different kinds of animals. They’re not all attracted by the same thing. For some people, immorality isn’t that big of a temptation, but greed is—an obsession with material possession, a preoccupation with money.

And it’s just as dangerous of a snare as immorality. You know, the Bible says there are a number of reasons people become preoccupied with money. Sometimes they become fixated on money because they appreciate the luxuries that money can purchase: a fine house, a fine car, fine clothes.

Other people become enamored with money because they think it’s their passport to independence. They can do what they want to, when they want to, when they have a pile of money. Landrum Leavell was the president of New Orleans Seminary for many years. He was a great friend of mine and our family.

And I remember he told me one time about a preacher friend of his who had a goal of accumulating $1 million. That’s all he could think about was having $1 million. And one day Landrum asked him, "Bill, why are you so fixated on having a million dollars?" He said, "Because Landrum, as soon as I get that million dollars, I’ll be able to tell my deacons to go straight to hell."

Now, God usually doesn’t bless that kind of a goal. But that was his idea: money could give him independence. Maybe you have the thought that if I can just get this amount of money, I can tell my employer to take my job and you know how the rest of the song goes. Some people worship money because of the independence it gives them.

Other people become enamored with money because they believe it’s the key to protection from adversity in their life. They think a lot of money can spare them from illness or spare them from unemployment. That’s only in their imagination. Proverbs 18:11 is a great verse to memorize for those who are inclined to worship money.

Solomon said, "A rich person’s wealth is his strong city and like a high wall in his own imagination." You’re under an illusion if you think money can protect you from every adversity. No amount of money can protect you against a single cell in your body that begins to multiply and metastasize.

No amount of money can protect you from a lawsuit that wipes out everything you have. And money certainly can’t protect you from the greatest crisis we all face one day, and that is death. That’s why Paul said in 1 Timothy 6, verses 9 and 10: "But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare"—there’s that word, a trap—"and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

A focus on material possessions destroys our desire for God, our dependence on God, our trust in God. How do you break that fixation with money that some people have? Many of you may know the name Bob Buford. He was a very successful cable TV executive in East Texas. Made millions and millions of dollars.

But halfway through his life, he decided God was leading him to make a change. He wanted to move from a life of success to a life of significance. And out of that journey, he wrote the book *Halftime* that many of you have read. And he describes that journey from success to significance.

The first thing he did was hire a consultant who’d worked for Coca-Cola and Xerox to help him map out the second half of his life. And after a few hours, this consultant said to Bob, "Bob, you’ve been talking for a couple of hours now, and I still can’t decide what your real focus in life is. Is your focus money or is it Jesus Christ? I can’t decide which it is."

The fact is, if you will tell me which one is your focus, I can help you develop a plan to meet that purpose. But as long as you’re oscillating between the two, you’re going to be confused. That’s exactly what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6. You can’t have more than one focus in life.

You can’t have more than one priority. Did you know the word priority technically can’t be in the plural form? It can only be singular. You can only have one priority. You can’t have priorities. You can have different interests, but there is one priority. Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 6.

He said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Star that in your Bible. Verse 24, he goes on to say, "So no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

What’s the antidote to becoming fixated on money? Verse 33 of Matthew 6, Jesus said, "But seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Connecting yourself to God’s kingdom purpose will dramatically change your attitude about money.

In the previous church I served in, we got involved in a building program to build a new worship center. And we had the campaign and encouraged people to give. One of the men who was in that campaign, one of the leaders in the church, gave a significant portion of his net worth to the building of that new worship center.

About a year into the construction project, he told me one day, he was laughing when he said it. He said, "You know, Pastor, I used to have a morning routine. I would get up and drink a cup of coffee, then I would open up the newspaper and read the stock market report."

He said, "But now, since this building project, my new routine is, I get up, I have a cup of coffee, and I drive down to the church and watch those bulldozers working in that construction pit, because that’s where my money is now."

You know, it was Mark Twain who said, "Put all your eggs in one basket and then watch the basket." Now, that’s a humorous comment, but it’s really unnecessary because the fact is, wherever we put our eggs, that’s where our attention is going to be. We put our affections wherever our treasure is.

That’s what Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." He didn’t say where your heart is, your treasure will be. That’s kind of understood. But where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Nothing exposes our deepest desires more than how we use our money.

There’s much more to discover on this critical topic, and I hope you’ll join us when our study continues. We’re in the middle of a teaching series called "The Divine Defense." And earlier, I described a book I want to send you. It’s also called *The Divine Defense*. Let me be perfectly clear: Satan has a playbook to take you down. And he’s been using the same clever tactics for centuries.

In my book, *The Divine Defense*, I expose every one of his insidious attacks so you can recognize them before it’s too late. The sad truth is that Christians who ignore this spiritual warfare become easy targets. They end up as statistics—more spiritual roadkill on the highway of life.

But Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 6: the full armor of God. These aren’t optional accessories. They’re essential garments of spiritual protection that every believer must wear daily. The biblical principles in my book will transform not just how you pray, but how you conduct every aspect of your life. I want to send you *The Divine Defense* as my thank you when you give generously to Pathway to Victory today.

In closing, let me extend my profound gratitude for your financial support. It’s my voice you hear on this program, but it’s your gift that gives wings to Pathway to Victory. This program would never leave our recording studios in downtown Dallas were it not for the generosity of friends like you. And thanks so much for getting in touch today. Here’s David to tell you more.

David J. Mullens: When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, we’ll say thanks by sending you Dr. Jeffress’ best-selling book, *The Divine Defense*. As an added bonus, we’ll also send you the *Equipped for Battle* brochure. To request your copy, call 866-999-2965 or visit online at ptv.org. You could also make a donation by texting PTV to 78800.

And when you invest in this ministry with a gift of $100 or more, you’ll also receive *The Divine Defense* teaching set on audio and video disc, the companion study guide, and an illustrated book for children titled *Suit Up for Kids*. This illustrated book teaches children that God has given them everything they need to win their battles. To make your request, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org.

You can also write to us at P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. Again, that’s P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. I’m David J. Mullens. Every day you face choices that can either advance God’s kingdom or leave you vulnerable to attack. Learn how to choose wisely Friday 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.