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.

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.

Speaker 2

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

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This Bible teaching program on today's edition.

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Of Pathway to Victory. The primary battlefield for spiritual warfare is our mind. It's in our thoughts. Our war against Satan and his demon is won or lost by our thoughts. And that's what we're going to talk about today.

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. Military leaders understand that victory depends on knowing your enemy and understanding their tactics. And the same principle applies to spiritual battles.

Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress shows us where the primary battlefield is located and how we can protect ourselves from Satan's targeted attacks.

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

Speaker 3

Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Ever wake up in the morning with a heavy heart and wonder why you're so discouraged? Has it occurred to you that maybe it's the devil himself messing with your mind? Well, this month my teaching series on spiritual warfare is called Spirit Wars. And in today's study, I'm going to open the Bible and show you how to push back against Satan. No one is exempt from the attacks of the devil, even our children.

For that reason, I've written a brand new book for the little ones in your life. It's called Suit Up: The Armor of God for Kids. Moms, Dads, Grandparents, did you know it's your God-given role to help the kids we love understand how to keep Satan from destroying them? My book will equip you to do this in a fun and productive way. So let me send you my children's book called Suit Up. It's yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. It'll arrive at your home with a book I've written for adults called Angels: Fact versus Fantasy.

One more thing before we begin. I'm hoping you'll join me next year for the Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska. You simply have to see Alaska's beauty for yourself. No photograph, no description can capture the sheer magnitude and majesty of this incredible land. All the details for the Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska are at ptv.org.

Now let's continue a message I started on yesterday's Pathway to Victory teaching from Ephesians, chapter 6. I titled today's study Winning the Mind Games.

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I want to suggest to you from God's Word, four channels through which Satan tries to influence our thoughts. Write them down. First of all, he tries to influence us through our desires. Did you know when you and I are born, we are born with an operating system already installed in us? Unfortunately, that operating system is flawed. It has a virus in it that causes it to default in every situation to oppose God and his plan for our life. Whenever God says you shall, the operating system says I shall not. Whenever God says you shall not, this flawed operating system says I shall.

Why do we all have that system inside of us? It can be traced back to Adam and Eve and their rebellion against God. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, Romans 5:12 says their choice became our choice. That means if Satan were to be destroyed tomorrow, there would still be murder, immorality, greed, and idolatry in our world, even though Satan had been destroyed. Why? Because he was successful in making sure that every human being born is born in this flawed condition.

Remember the temptation equation we talked about in James 1:14? James said, but each one of us is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. What causes sin? Corrupt desires plus the right bait plus the wrong choice equals sin. But notice what James talks about: the two major components of sin. They cause us to be carried away. Elkomai. That means to be drawn with an inward power and enticed. That means to be hooked by his own lust.

Remember, Satan is that master fisherman. He's always dangling the right piece of bait at the wrong time to get us to bite. But that bait would have no influence on us if we didn't have a hunger for what he's dangling in front of us. And that hunger didn't come from Satan directly; it came from our old nature that he successfully made sure each one of us has. So the beginning place for sin is this inward corrupt desire for those things outside God's will.

So you could say, well, if Satan has that internal deficient system in every human being, I guess he can just take the day off. He doesn't have to do any work, right? Well, wrong. Satan is smart enough to know that he can't rely on people's flawed nature to do his dirty work for him. You see, there's another truth that Satan understands better than most Christians. And that is when somebody trusts in Christ as his Savior, he not only receives a pardon from sin, he receives the power to say no to sin.

When we become a Christian, we have another operating system that's installed in us, and it's not defective. This operating system, we call him the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to override that flawed operating system, to override our natural rebellious spirit toward God. The power to obey God in everything. And so Satan can't just rely on our corrupt desires. He has three other methods he uses to lure us into sin.

Secondly, he speaks to us through other mediums. Go back to Adam and Eve for a moment before they sinned. Remember what Genesis 3:1 says. Now, the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, indeed has God said, you shall not eat from the tree of the garden? When Satan approached Eve for the first time, he was wise enough not to appear in his normal appearance.

Now just think, if that beast had approached Eve, would she have run toward him? No, she would have run from him as quickly as she could and jumped back into Adam's arms. But he didn't appear as he really is. He appeared as the serpent. Genesis 3:1 tells us that the serpent was the most crafty. Some translate it the most beautiful of all of God's creations. No, he wasn't slithering in the grass at that time. He walked uprightly. He was beautiful and he was crafty in his appearance. That's how Satan spoke to Eve, through the medium of the serpent. What could be more enticing than him?

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Well, how about this?

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Just imagine there were a box, a talking box that was in the center of your house. And it was able to voice in a very warm and appealing tone. Great invitations to you and enticements. It could create sparkling full color images that enticed you and told you the lie. You can have wonderful sex without commitment to anyone. You can have great wealth without any work whatsoever. You can disobey God without any negative consequences whatsoever. And just imagine this talking box with these beautiful images was on in your house an average of eight hours a day, 365 days a year. Do you think Satan could use that medium?

Now, I realize that's about as subtle as a sledgehammer, but you get the picture. Satan can use a neutral medium, like television, like the Internet. He can use Ouija boards and horoscopes to deliver his message to people. None of these mediums have power in and of themselves. A Ouija board, a horoscope, has no power in and of itself. But Satan uses those things to confuse and deceive Christians, just as he can use television and the Internet, either for great good or for great evil. The same thing is true about artificial intelligence. It can be used for great good. It will be used for great evil as well. The point is, Satan can speak through other mediums as well.

Thirdly, Satan speaks to us through other people. He can actually voice his enticements to sin through other people. Remember last time we saw what Jesus said to Peter when Peter tried to dissuade the Lord from going to the cross? He said, "Lord, you don't need to die. You can have a crown without a cross." Remember Matthew 16:23? But Jesus turned and said to him, "Get thee behind me, Satan, for you are a stumbling block to me. For you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but on man's." He didn't believe that Peter was Satan, but he was saying Peter was being used by Satan to voice his lies.

The same thing happened with Ananias and Sapphira, two Christians in the church who allowed Satan to control their speech. How can I know whether the words being spoken to me by another person are really coming from Satan? I want you to write down three filters you ought to use to evaluate anybody's words to you. Whether they're words from a mate, a parent, or even a pastor. Don't take them at face value. Evaluate every word spoken to you with these three filters.

Number one, are the words true? Jesus said in John 8:44, "Satan is a liar and he is the father of all lies." When somebody says something to you that causes you to question the goodness of God, the wisdom of God, the sovereignty of God in your situation, you can know those words are not coming from God. They are coming from the evil one.

Number two, do these words motivate me to faith or to fear? Do these words motivate me to faith or fear when somebody speaks to me? Is what they're saying motivating me to obey God or to run from God?

And thirdly, do these words contradict the teaching of Scripture? Do you know what the first question in the Bible was? We just saw it. Genesis 3:1. The serpent came to Eve and he said, "Now Eve, has God really said?" The first question in all of human history was the question, can God's word, the word of God, be trusted? And that is the same tool the enemy uses today to cause us, even Christians, to doubt the truthfulness, the validity, the inerrancy of God's word. Because if he can get us to doubt that this book, the Bible, is God's word to us, then he can convince us to violate that word.

Now, I want to say something very clearly to our students here today. Whether you're in kindergarten, whether you're in grade school, junior high, or high school, at some point in your educational career, you're going to go to a school, maybe a college, maybe a college like I went to about 90 miles south of here, that is a religious school. And notice I didn't say Christian school, I said a religious school. And it's filled with learned professors. And you will hear them say things like, "You know, the Bible is a good book, no piece of literature like it, but it has contradictions in it."

They'll talk to you about the contradictions of the Bible, or they'll talk about the scientific errors in the Bible, and they will say, "The Bible was never meant to be taken literally. But it's a good book. It's a collection." This is what I heard of man's thoughts about God, and the person who's saying this. Now, remember this. The person saying this to you is so appealing and appears to be such a humble servant of God and only wants God's best for you and has all of these degrees on his or her wall.

Remember that that professor who sounds so appealing and so Christlike is nothing but a slimy, slithering snake who is an enemy of almighty God. Remember that. That is what the enemy wants you to know. He wants you to believe that God's word cannot be trusted.

And let me just say, one of the great legacies, the greatest legacy of the First Baptist Church of Dallas is that God used my predecessor, Dr. W.A. Criswell, and his associate, Paige Patterson. God used them to orchestrate the event that turned around the largest Protestant denomination in the world and turned them back to a belief, turned us back to a belief in the inspiration and integrity of the scripture. Dr. Criswell's favorite verse was Isaiah 48: "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever."

And First Baptist Dallas, for its 155 years and going on of history, will always be remembered as the church that turned back the Southern Baptist Convention to a belief in God. And that's a heritage we can all be proud of, don't you think? God bless those who went before us and those who have fought for the inerrancy of the Bible.

Now, this isn't a theological minor issue like how many angels can dance on the head of a needle. The truth is, whether God's word can be trusted or not is the single most important issue of all time. Because if we can't trust the Bible, what do we trust to lead us to salvation, to lead us to faith in Jesus Christ?

So ask yourself, do these words contradict the teaching of scripture? You know, it's interesting. Even Eve realized God had said it. She quoted what God had said of Satan, and God said, "I will die." And what did Satan say? He just issued the boldest contradiction he could. He said, "God was wrong. What God said was wrong. You shall not die."

And when somebody tries to contradict the teaching of scripture, if they can't get you to distrust the Bible, they will try to get you to just blatantly deny that what the Bible says is true. People who come into our lives and say, as an employer, "You can fudge the law here. You don't have to keep this like the law requires. You can have a little variance in your accounting." Or they say to us, "Like, God doesn't deserve your full attention and allegiance. I'm your husband. I'm your wife. I demand that you be solely faithful to me and to me alone."

Or a tempter or temptress comes to you and tries to entice you to sin and says, "That's okay. Nobody will know. Nobody will get hurt." That's always the voice of Satan, channeling his appeal through the lips of others.

And number four, how does Satan speak to us? He speaks to us sometimes through direct means. Have you ever had this happen? You're just driving along, maybe even seated in church, and some horrible thought comes into your mind, some vile thought, maybe even a blasphemous thought. And you wonder, where in the world did that come from? I mean, it's just not my corrupt nature. I mean, that's part of it. But I would never come up with something like that on my own. Where did that come from?

Many times it can be traced to Satan himself. Satan has the ability to speak to us through our thoughts. Where do you get that in scripture, Pastor? So glad you ask. First Chronicles 21, verses 1 to 3. There was no man closer to God's heart than king David. He was a man after God's own. But listen to 1 Chronicles 21, beginning with verse 1. "Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel." That means to take a census of Israel.

So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, "Go number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their number." And Joab said, "May the Lord add to his people a hundred times as many as they are. But my Lord the King, are they not all my Lord's servants? Why does my Lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel?" You see, God had told them not to take a census.

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Why?

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Because they would tend to depend upon the number of people they had in their country to protect them against their enemy rather than depending upon God. That was the problem with taking a census.

Now, who enticed David to sin against God? Well, it's very clear here. Verse 1 says, "Then Satan stood up against Israel and he moved David." He was able to speak to David directly. Now here's what's interesting. In 2 Samuel chapter 24, there's a parallel account of this. The writer of 2 Samuel says that God was displeased with Israel for some unspecified sin. They were always doing things that ticked God off. There's no telling what it was. This time Samuel didn't tell us. But something made God mad, and so he decided to judge Israel.

And so what did God do? He moved them to take a census. Wait a minute, Pastor, you preached from James 1. God doesn't tempt anybody with evil. Only Satan does that. How do you reconcile those two accounts? It's very easy. It was Satan who directly enticed David to take the census. But 2 Samuel says ultimately it was God who allowed Satan to tempt David and experience judgment for their sin. God never tempts anybody. Satan tempts us. But God can sometimes judge our own sin and make the judgment of our sin feel like the full effects of Satan's temptation. Sometimes God removes the guardrails of protection against Satan's temptation as a way of judging us for our sin.

The important point here is that Satan can directly speak to Christians. How do I evaluate whether something is coming through something, Satan or not, into our minds? Use those same three filters I just gave you for other people. Are the words true? Do they motivate? Do the words motivate me to faith and obedience or to fear? And do these words violate any teaching from God's word?

Now, Satan has an endless number of lies he would love to put into our minds, but he has four that are his top favorite lies because they do the most damage most reliably in people's lives. Next time, we're going to examine and explain Satan's four fatal lies and how to avoid them.

Satan does try to speak to Christians, but Satan is also speaking to those of you who are not yet Christians. He has one purpose in your life: to blind you to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He will do all kinds of things to blind you to the gospel. He'll tell you right now that what the pastor is saying is for real sinners, people who have done horrible things. But this message isn't for you. Don't fall for that lie. Or Satan will say to you, "Yeah, one day you need to think about your spiritual life. But you've got more pressing concerns right now."

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The scripture says today is the day of salvation.

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And so today, if you're not yet a Christian and you're watching or listening to this broadcast, I want you to do what the Bible says you must do to have the assurance of heaven. And that is to trust in Jesus and Jesus alone for your salvation.

If that's your prayer, would you pray this prayer with me as I prayed out loud, knowing that God is listening to you?

Dear God, thank you for loving me. I know I have failed you in so many ways and I'm truly sorry for the sins in my life. But I believe that you sent Jesus to die on the cross for me to take the punishment I deserve to take for my sins.

And right now I'm trusting in what Jesus did for me to save me from my sins.

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Thank you for forgiving me and help.

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Me to live the rest of my life for you.

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In Jesus name.

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Amen.

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It's exciting for me to realize that many in our listening family are making this life-changing decision today. This is precisely why Pathway to Victory exists. And if you've prayed this prayer with me today, would you be sure to write and let me know? David will give our mailing address in just a moment.

But first, I've just completed a brand new book that was inspired by my teaching series on spiritual warfare. Unlike most books I've written, this one's for the young people in your life. It's called *Suit Up: The Armor of God for Kids*. As you turn the colorfully illustrated pages with your child, you'll discover that each lesson is simple, engaging, and clear. There's even discussion questions included so that you can spark a conversation with your child.

A copy of my book is yours today when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. As a bonus, when you respond today, you'll also receive the brand new book I've written for adults called *Angels and Demons: Fact versus Fantasy*. Please be generous when you choose the size of your gift.

Pathway to Victory has grown its influence in ways I never dreamed, but this success comes with responsibility. Your contribution gives flight to Pathway to Victory, and ultimately, your gift allows others to place their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. Thanks so much for responding today. Here's David with all the details.

Speaker 1

When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request *Suit Up: The Armor of God for Kids*. Plus, you'll also receive *Angels and Demons: Fact versus Fantasy*. That's another brand new resource especially for adults. Give a gift and request both books when you call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. When you give $100 or more, you'll receive not only the two books but also the *Spirit Wars* teaching series on both audio and video discs, along with a copy of the best-selling book by Dr. Jeffress called *The Divine Defense*. Again, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. You could write to us if you'd like: P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins. Satan has been deceiving humanity since the beginning of time, and this master deceiver has developed an arsenal of highly effective weapons. Discover Satan's four favorite lies—that's 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 visit 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.