Pathway to Victory

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Hey podcast listeners. Thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory and Dr. Robert Jeffress.

We're dedicated to bringing you bold biblical teaching that transforms your life and strengthens your walk with God.

And you can study God's word alongside Dr. Jeffress in person on the 2026 Pathway to Victory Cruise to Alaska.

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Have you ever witnessed the breathtaking majesty of massive glaciers rising from crystal blue waters or stood in awe as bald.

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Eagles soar over snow capped mountain?

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I want you to experience these unforgettable moments with me on the Pathway to Victory Cruise to Alaska, June 13th through 20th, 2026.

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Join Dr. Jeffress and the Pathway to Victory family for a spectacular seven-day adventure aboard Holland America's luxurious Koningsdam.

Indulge in elegant staterooms, world-class dining, and expansive decks perfect for breathtaking views.

Visit historic ports like Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, where wilderness and frontier history await.

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There's something powerful about connecting with God.

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And fellow believers in the majesty of his untamed wilderness.

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I truly believe this journey will refresh.

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You spiritually, physically and emotionally.

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Cabins are filling quickly, so reserve yours today. To book your spot on the 2026 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska, call 888-280-6747 or go to ptv.org now. Here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

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

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On today's edition of Pathway to Victory.

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To paraphrase the words of the Apostle John, if we can't obey the visible authority figures that we see, how in the world will we ever learn to obey the invisible authority of God?

It's one reason God places us all under somebody's authority so that we can learn how to obey even when we.

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Don'T feel like obeying.

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Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. When you're wrestling with a difficult decision, you can always find someone who's willing to offer their unqualified advice. How do you know who to trust?

Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Jeffress opens the Bible to identify the three groups of people we should consult before making any major decision in life.

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. Just before we get started with our next message, I'd like to invite you to join me on the 2026 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska. The dates are June 13th through 20th. You simply have to see Alaska's enormity for yourself. No photograph, no description can capture the sheer magnitude and majesty of this incredible land. Standing before massive glaciers and endless wilderness, you'll witness a powerful testament to God's creative power that will leave you speechless. Adventuring in the Great Frontier has a remarkable way of assuring us that God is truly the Author of all beauty. So join me and fellow believers as we experience this awe-inspiring display of divine artistry together. All the details are at ptv.org.

All this month, we're giving our attention to one of the most compelling issues that Christians face today. We're talking about discerning God's perfect plan for your life. Even though we're just getting started, we've already heard from hundreds of listeners who have requested the book I've written, *How to Make Wise Decisions*. Look, the God who created the universe, the God who numbers the hairs on your head, has a specific plan for your life. My book helps you understand how to weed out the noise from well-intentioned advisors and decipher what is truly God's best for you. You can request a copy of my book right now when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory.

We'll say more about my book and other resources later, but right now let's give our attention to our next topic in the series I've titled Today's Message: Who Speaks for God?

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If you're a parent, you know the drill. Your son or daughter comes to you and says, "Mom or Dad, would you please help me with my math homework?" Translation: would you please do my homework for me so I can get on the computer and talk to my friends or whatever. As a parent, you're always faced with a dilemma with that question. It would be easier to just go ahead, do the work, give them the answer so you can go on to more important things like watching Larry King Live or reading the newspaper, whatever you're doing. But even though it would be easier to give them the answer, to do so would be to short circuit their academic development. Because you see, more important than your child receiving the right answer is for them to develop the academic skills that will help them discover the right answer for themselves.

That analogy often helps me when I'm frustrated with God. A lot of times I'll ask God, "God, please show me what to do." And he doesn't seem to answer my request for direction. I mean, God could tell me the right answer to whatever dilemma I'm facing. He could write it in the sky or thunder it down from heaven. Why doesn't God immediately answer our desire for direction? Because God knows that even more important than our receiving the right answer is developing the spiritual maturity that comes from discovering the right answer for ourselves. You see, the whole process of reading the Bible, praying, looking and evaluating signs and circumstances develops in us spiritual maturity. And that's certainly true when we come to the subject of today's message.

Today we're going to look at another way that God reveals His will for our lives, and that is through other people that He places in our life. Did you know many times God speaks to you through other people? Now admittedly, that's a risky proposition for God to trust other people to deliver His message to you. Remember the old game of gossip? You'd sit in a circle and you would whisper a message to somebody next to you. Then they were supposed to repeat the message to the next person and the next person. By the time it comes down back to you, any resemblance between the original message and the message you received is purely coincidental. It gets mangled in the transmission. Well, many times it seems like for God to depend upon other people to speak to us would really risk us getting the wrong message.

And yet nevertheless, in Scripture, we're told that a wise person listens to the counsel of other people. For example, Proverbs 12:15 says, "The way of the fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel." Proverbs 13:10 states, "Through presumption comes nothing but strife, but with those who receive counsel, there is wisdom." Today we're going to talk about three groups of people whom God will use to speak His word. What we're going to see is that with each of these groups of people, learning how to listen and evaluate their counsel develops some specific character qualities in our life that God is interested in developing.

Who is it that speaks for God? Well, the first group we ought to consider whenever we're trying to make a decision in life are the authority figures that God has placed in our life. You see, God has placed every one of us in this room, every one of us watching by television. All of us are under some human authority. And quite frankly, it doesn't matter whether that authority figure is a Christian or a non-Christian. God can still use him to communicate His will for our life. Proverbs 21:1 says, "For the heart of the king is in the Lord's hands to turn whichever way he wishes."

The Bible mentions at least five authority relationships that we need to consider whenever we're trying to make a decision in life. The first relationship is that of husbands and wives. Now, I realize I'm getting ready to enter a minefield here. When I talk about submission, anytime I hear the subject about submission, I'm reminded of the story of the man who was attending a men's conference at his church. When he walked into the foyer to register, he noticed there were two lines. There was one line, and it had a sign above it that said, "Husbands who have been dominated by their wives." That line went all the way out of the church and wrapped three times around the building. Then there was another line that had a sign above it that said, "Husbands who have never been dominated by their wives." And there was one guy standing in that line. This man walked up to the guy and he said, "Congratulations, buddy. How did you do it?" He said, "I don't know. My wife just told me to stand here."

Well, now, listen. The truth is, wives are not to dominate their husbands, and husbands are not to dominate their wives. Turn over to Ephesians, chapter 5. Let me disabuse some of you about this whole notion of submission. Let's see what the Bible really says. In Ephesians 5:22-23, Paul says, "Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, he himself being the savior of the body." By the way, would you notice, it does not say, "Wives, obey your husbands." Did you know Paul never says for wives to obey their husbands? Now he goes on to say, "Children, obey your parents," and he says, "Slaves, obey your masters." But it does not say, "Wives, obey your husbands." Instead, Paul uses a different word that's translated, "be subject to your husbands."

"Upo staso" is the Greek word. It's a military term that means to arrange under rank. Paul is saying that in a household, just like the military, there has to be a clear chain of command. In the house, it is for the husband to be the head and for the wife to place herself underneath the headship of the husband. Now, to give some further illumination on this idea, Paul gives us a word in 1 Corinthians 11:3. If you wives are kind of bothered by that idea, the husband being the head of the wife, listen to what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:3. He said, "For Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ."

Notice that last phrase. Just as the man is the head of the woman, God is the head of Christ. Now let's take a pop quiz here. Theological pop quiz. Is God the Father superior to Jesus Christ the Son? No, God is not superior to Jesus Christ. That would be heresy. We believe that God the Father and God the Son and God the Spirit are all co-equal with one another. But the Bible also says that Jesus the Son, who was absolutely equal to God the Father, voluntarily came and placed himself under the authority of the Father, and that's why he came to the cross and gave himself as a ransom for our sins. He did so out of submission to the Father. They were equal, but the Son chose to submit to the Father.

Now that's what you have in the marriage relationship. Nowhere does the Bible teach that men are superior to women. Nowhere. In fact, in many relationships and in many ways, the woman may be superior to the man, but in the marriage relationship, you have two equals who come together. The woman voluntarily places herself under the headship of the husband. And God says one of the ways wives, He's going to lead you is through that husband He has placed over you. Now, if you don't trust the man you're with to give you spiritual direction in life and to speak to you through God, don't marry him. Nobody puts a gun to a woman's head and says, "You have to marry this person." You should only marry somebody. I told the teenagers today, you should only marry somebody that you have great confidence in, especially in their spiritual relationship to God, because you are to subject yourself to that husband.

You know, there are a lot of marriages today, even Christian marriages, that are in deep, deep trouble because the husband will say, "Well, I think this is the way our family ought to go and this is what we need to do." And the wife said, "Well, you know, I've prayed about it and God's leading me a different direction." It doesn't work that way. Whenever you have people claiming God is leading them in two different ways, you're going to have friction in a marriage. The Bible says God is going to direct the wife through her husband. Now, obviously, there are some exceptions to that. Ladies, if your husband asks you to do something unscriptural, you're not to obey him. If your husband asks you to do something immoral, you're not to obey him. But except in those extreme circumstances, one way God speaks to you is through that authority figure.

You see, it's like a friend of mine said, "In nature, anything with two heads is a freak, and anything with no head is dead." There has to be an authority relationship in any organization, including the home. So one way God speaks is through husbands and wives. There's another authority relationship in the Bible, and that is between children and their parents. Look at Ephesians 6:1. "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, for this is the first commandment with a promise." Now there he uses the word obey. "Children, obey your parents."

When I was a youth minister, questions that always came up from the teenagers would be, "Robert, how do I know what college I'm supposed to go to? Or how do I know what profession God would have me to enter into? Or how do I know for sure whether this person is the right one to marry?" And I would say, "What do your parents say?" They would always look at me like, "What planet did you arrive from? My parents? What do they know about my situation?" And yet the Bible says one of the ways God leads us and leads children is through the parents He has placed over them. "Children, obey your parents."

Now, obviously, as children grow, that relationship changes. As children become more and more independent, the parent transforms from being an authority figure to being an advisor. While adult children are certainly under no obligation to obey the commands of their parents, it is wise for them to at least listen to the counsel of their parents because God can communicate that way. A third relationship that's talked about in the Bible is between employers and employees. Look again at Ephesians 6, verse 5. "Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling and sincerity of your heart, as to Christ." If you're an employee, one way God's going to direct you is through that employer that is over you.

And notice what Paul says. He says, "When you obey that boss, it is just as if you are obeying Jesus Christ." You see that? You are to obey your employer as unto the Lord. God directs that way. A fourth relationship, authority relationship, is between government and citizens. One way again God communicates His will to us is through the governing authorities He has set over us. Listen to the words of Romans, chapter 13:1. "Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore, he who resists the governing authority has opposed the ordinance of God, and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves."

That is an amazing statement when you think about it. Paul said governing authorities exist because God has placed them there. To resist the government is the same thing as resisting God. Need I remind you who was the ruler of the world when Paul wrote these words? Nero, the most evil Roman emperor of all time, was on the throne in Rome. And the Bible says that we're to obey those governing authorities. Paul said we're to obey governing authorities, even like Nero. Why? Because Nero's not there except God placed him there. And again, there are limits to this idea of obeying government. Peter said in Acts 5:29, when he was told by governing authorities not to preach the Gospel, he said, "We must obey God rather than men." So there are exceptions to that. But unless you're asked to do something illegal or unbiblical, you're to obey that governing authority.

Number five, another relationship, authority relationship, to follow is that between spiritual leaders and the congregation. Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders," talking about spiritual leaders in the church, "and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you." God directs the church, the local church, through the spiritual authority He has placed over the local church. And let me just take a moment right now to brag on you all a little bit. In the 140-year history of this great church, this church has always followed the leadership of its pastor. I think that's one reason God has blessed this church in such a significant way.

Now again, if the pastor does something immoral or if the pastor does something unscriptural, it doesn't mean we blindly follow after that. But except for those cases, we're to follow the spiritual leadership in the church. By the way, pastors watching on television or listening to this message, we have a responsibility to the congregation as well. First Peter 5:2-3 say that we are to exercise oversight over the church, but not lording it over the people. No pastor is to be a dictator. We're not to be dictators. We're to be shepherds leading the people. We are to feed the sheep, not beat the sheep. That's our responsibility.

And you know, when the pastor fulfills his responsibility in being the shepherd and the congregation follows their responsibility in following, you have a beautiful relationship in which God can work. God encourages us to listen to the commands of those in authority over us. What quality does that develop in us? By looking at authority figures for God's direction, it teaches us the quality of obedience. I want you to write that down: the quality of obedience. Again, going through this exercise of discovering God's will, listening to authority figures teaches us obedience. To paraphrase the words of the Apostle John, if we can't obey the visible authority figures that we see, how in the world will we ever learn to obey the invisible authority of God? It's one reason God places us all under somebody's authority, so that we can learn how to obey, even when.

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We don't feel like obeying.

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There's a second group that we ought to consider whenever we're seeking God's direction in our life, and that is wise counselors. Wise counselors.

A businessman one time wanted to improve his golf game, and so he hired a golf pro to give him some tips. But with every suggestion the golf pro made, the businessman had some argument, some reason not to follow through on the suggestion. About halfway through the session, the golf pro just began to compliment the businessman.

When the session was over, the businessman pulled out a couple hundred dollars, gave it to the pro, and he walked away. A man who was watching this exchange came up to the golf pro and said, "I noticed you just told that man what he wanted to hear."

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Why is that?

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And the golf pro, smiling as he stuffed the $200 in his pocket, said, I've been at this long enough to.

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Know what people want.

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This guy didn't want help. He just wanted an echo. If you really want to know God's will for your life, you will surround yourself with people who will do more than just simply be an echo to you. They'll give you the wise advice that you need.

We have a tragic story in the Old Testament of someone who didn't follow that principle. His name was Rehoboam. If you have your Bibles, turn over to 1 Kings, chapter 12. You remember, Rehoboam was the son of King Solomon. And so Rehoboam assumed the throne, realizing he had some pretty big sandals to fill. He had to determine what he was going to do.

Early in his reign, some of the people came to King Rehoboam and they offered him this counsel. Look at verse 4, 1st Kings 12: "Your father made our yoke hard. Therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke, which he put on us, and we will serve you." They were saying, in effect, "Rehoboam, your dad was a great guy. He helped us build this great temple and all of these other projects. But our people are taxed to the max. They're tired. Give the people a little bit of a break, and then we'll follow you anywhere."

Now, to Rehoboam's credit, he listened and he said, "Well, I'll get back to you on that." So he called in a group of advisors. He called in some older men who were his father's advisors and asked them what they thought. They said, "Rehoboam, the people are right. They've been taxed to death. They're working hard. Give them a break, and they will follow you anywhere."

But that's not what Rehoboam really wanted to hear. He wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, and he wanted to have progress that everybody could see. So he called in a younger group of contemporaries, advisors. He said, "What do you think?" They said, "Oh, Rehoboam, you better show these people who's boss. From the very beginning, you've got to show them that you're in charge. Work them hard, let them know who's boss."

Rehoboam considered that advice, and he stood before the people and said, "You thought my father was tough? He's a cream puff compared to me. You thought you were working hard? I'm going to work you so hard, you're going to be wishing for the days of dear old dad." The result was the kingdom revolted. He listened to the wrong advice.

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We're right in the middle of this dramatic showdown, and with limited time on the broadcast. Broadcast, I'm urging you to return tomorrow when we'll have another half hour to resolve this cliffhanger. I've reserved ample time for personal application as well.

Not long ago, I received this note that said, "Pastor Jeffress, I'm a college student, and I was listening to Pathway to Victory as I was driving out of town to a small hospital about an hour and a half away where I do some clinical work. As I got farther away, I started to lose the signal, so I decided to turn around and pull over so I could finish listening to the message. What I heard was really beautiful, and I just really needed to hear this today, that Jesus is the only way to salvation. I'm grateful for our Pathway Partners and all who support Pathway to Victory because you played a role in this sacred moment along the highway."

A Pathway Partner is someone who understands their role in sharing the good news. And a Pathway Partner is someone who understands that Pathway to Victory is their vehicle for delivering the truth.

Well, right now we're asking God to provide 50 new Pathway Partners to our family of monthly supporters. Would you be willing to be among them? As a Pathway Partner, you become an amazing missionary casting the seed of God's truth into fertile soil.

In return for your first gift as a Pathway Partner, I'll be pleased to send you my book, "How to Make Wise Decisions." It comes with my thanks and it comes with my prayer that God will use this book to help you decipher His best plan for you.

Here's David with all the details.

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You're invited to request a copy of how to Make Wise Decisions when you give a generous gift to Pathway to Victory or when you make your first gift as a new Pathway Partner. In this practical book, Dr. Jeffress explains how God makes His plans known to His children and how to act upon those plans. To request your copy of how to make wise decisions, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org online now when your gift is $75 or more. You'll also receive the complete CD and DVD teaching set for our current series, how to Make Wise Decisions. Call right now at 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. If you'd prefer to send a check, write to P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's P.O. Box 2269, Dallas, Texas 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins inviting you to join us again next time when Dr. Jeffress concludes this message called Who Speaks for God? That's Friday here 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 follow the link in our show notes.

We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.