Pathway to Victory

David: 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. If a tree is too rigid and has no bend in it, it will snap like a toothpick in a heavy storm. But if it bends too much, it will also break in two. The key is to have enough elasticity in it to bend without breaking. We have another word for that elasticity. We call it resiliency.

David: Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress.

Dr. Robert Jeffress: It's been said that the best ability is flexibility, that is, not compromising your convictions, but rather learning how to bend without breaking.

David: Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress explains why flexibility and resiliency are essential for spiritual survival whenever we face opposition for our faith. 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. I'm eager to get started with today's message because I know that many in our listening audience are under immense personal pressure right now and you're tempted to give up. Look, becoming a Christian is the best decision you'll ever make, but let's be honest, living like one takes real courage. The world isn't getting friendlier to people of faith. The attacks are real. The pressure is relentless, and too many believers are retreating when they should be advancing. That's why I wrote my book, *Courageous*. It features 10 biblical strategies for facing life's hardest battles with boldness, grit, and unshakeable faith. Let me send you my book when you become a new Pathway partner or give a generous one-time gift. David and I will say more about my book later in the program, so be ready to jot down our contact information to request a copy. Well, today we're stepping into Survival Tip Number Six from my courageous series. I'm going to talk about the value of remaining flexible. If we fail to learn the value of bending and flexing, at some point we'll snap. So, let's turn in our Bibles to Romans chapter 12. I titled this next message, Survival Tip Number Six, "Bend, Don't Break."

Setting out from Mexico on November the 18th, 2012, Salvador Alvarenga, along with his fishing companion, Ezequiel Cordoba, fired up the motor on his skiff, a 25-foot open boat canoe. He surfed over the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean as they came rolling onto the beach. His boat was weighed down with a thousand pounds of fishing equipment, including a five-foot by four-foot icebox that he hoped to fill with tuna, shark, and Mahi-Mahi.

Though Alvarenga was aware of approaching storms, he ignored the warnings. He calculated that one day of good fishing would net him enough money to live on for an entire week. To him that was worth the gamble. When they were about 75 miles offshore, Alvarenga and his friend Cordoba began to let out their two-mile long fishing line. The seas were calm until around 1:00 in the morning. Then the wind picked up. Waves began crashing over the sides of the boat, filling it with water. Alvarenga tried to pull in the fishing line, but more water was coming over the sides than Cordoba could bail out. Alvarenga had no choice. He had to cut the fishing line and race toward home.

With dawn approaching, Alvarenga and Cordoba could see mountains on the horizon. Then their motor coughed and finally died. Alvarenga yanked on the cord. Nothing. He yanked again, and this time the cord broke. As the ocean raised and dropped the skiff, the two men saw the mountains disappear as the boat floated away from shore. The storm raged for five days. After constant bailing, both men were exhausted. They had drifted some 280 miles from the Mexican shoreline. Rescuing seemed nearly impossible. Since the skiff sat so low in the water, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to spot it, and they had no flare gun or other means to call for help. They were at the mercy of the sea.

The sun baked their skin during the day, and to fend off the cold at night, Alvarenga and Cordoba climbed into the icebox for warmth. Finding fresh water was an immediate concern. Thankfully, a few days after the storm, it rained again. The men laid out plastic bottles they had collected floating in the ocean and collected about five gallons of fresh water. Eating what they could catch by hand from the sea, and the occasional seabird that landed on the skiff, was just enough to stave off starvation as the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months.

Alvarenga established a routine to keep himself and Cordoba alive. Alvarenga was always awake by 5:00 AM, checking the traps he had put out the night before. To escape the brutal sun, they climbed in the icebox. At night, they lay face up and drew doodles in the sky. Then things went from bad to worse. One evening, the two men ate a seabird. Cordoba grabbed his stomach and frothed at the mouth. Inspecting the bird, they discovered the bird had eaten a poisonous snake. Though Cordoba's stomach got better, he never recovered psychologically. Within a couple of months of not eating, Cordoba had physically shriveled up.

"Goodbye, friend," Cordoba said, as he began to throw himself over the side of the skiff. Alvarenga caught him, wrestled him into the icebox, and sat down on the lid. When Cordoba calmed down, Alvarenga laid down next to his friend. "We have to fight, to tell our story." But it was too late. Cordoba died a few days later. With the death of his friend, Alvarenga concentrated on keeping himself occupied. He hunted turtles and seabirds. He trapped fish and he designed a shark detection system that permitted him to take short swims to wash and cool himself. What got him through the lonely hours, however, was the thought of his daughter and the growing sense that the Lord must have some reason for his life.

Then on January the 30th, 2014, after more than a year afloat in the skiff, Alvarenga noticed coconuts bobbing in the water and the sky filled with shorebirds. In the distance, he could just make out a tiny island. When he was about 10 yards from the shore, Alvarenga dove into the sea and let the waves carry him to shore, gripping what he later called a "handful of sand that seemed like treasure." He had washed ashore on the Ebon Atoll, the southern tip of the Marshall Islands, one of the most remote spots in all the earth. Had he missed this tiny speck of land, the next likely stop was the Philippines, 3,000 miles away.

Salvador Alvarenga is a perfect illustration of a survival tip we're talking about today. In our series, *Courageous*, we're talking about 10 survival tips that allow us to thrive in an increasingly hostile world. How did Salvador Alvarenga survive in that hostile environment? He illustrates the important principle of bending without breaking. Bending without breaking.

You know, there's an African proverb that says, "The wind doesn't break the tree that bends." The wind doesn't break the tree that bends. I mean, the fact is, if a tree is too rigid and has no bend in it, it will snap like a toothpick in a heavy storm. But if it bends too much, it will also break in two. The key is to have enough elasticity in it to bend without breaking. We have another word for that elasticity. We call it resiliency. That's important in every area of life, including survival.

Jesus said in John 16:33, "In this world you will have tribulation." That word tribulation means pressure. You're going to have pressure in this world. You're going to suffer storms if you're going to be in this world. This series, *Courageous*, is about living your faith courageously in spite of a hostile environment. We're living in a world that is increasingly hostile to Christianity, and the kind of storm we're talking about today is the storm of persecution for your faith. Whenever you face opposition, you have to be able to do so by bending without breaking.

Jesus promised opposition. In John 15, verses 18 to 20, He said, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." When Jesus talks about the world, He's not talking about the planet earth. He's talking about the world system that's under Satan's control right now. But when we talk about resiliency, we're talking about how you respond to that opposition to your faith. Resiliency is about how you maintain your convictions in face of opposition.

Now, I could point to all kind of cultural examples of people being persecuted for their faith. You remember Jack Phillips, the Colorado baker of the Masterpiece Bake Shop, who refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay ceremony. He wasn't refusing to serve gay people. He invited gay people into his place of business, but he did not feel right using his creativity to make a special wedding cake for a gay couple. And you know what happened? The Colorado Board of Labor sued him into oblivion. They demanded that he go through a re-education program to rid himself of his so-called homophobic beliefs. I mean, that's like China going through a re-education program. And he was on his way to having to do that till thank God, the Supreme Court intervened, and this new Supreme Court that is conservative upheld his First Amendment rights, and we praise God for that.

But that wasn't the end of the story. This week, he was hauled into court again. This time because he wouldn't bake a cake for a transgender individual who wanted to have a transgender celebration about his confusion over whether he was male or female. And because Jack Phillips wouldn't use his gift to make that cake, he is now once again being sued again. I mean, you see that everywhere in the culture. But you know, you don't have to look at the culture to find opposition. Just look in your own life. If you are standing for Christ, you're going to suffer opposition and persecution from your employer, perhaps even from your own family members. As this world becomes increasingly hostile to the things of God, we've got to know how to handle that opposition, and the key is to learn to bend in certain areas without breaking.

You know, Paul offered some great advice on how to handle opposition in a hostile environment, and it's found in Romans chapter 12. Look at Romans chapter 12, would you for just a moment, verses 17 to 21. These are words that are seldom read and seldom understood if they are read. Look at what Paul says in verse 17. He said, "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him drink. For in doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Whenever we face opposition from individuals, we're not to seek vengeance. Instead, in Romans 12, verse 14, a few verses earlier, he said, "Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not." That word bless literally means to speak well of, to praise. What Paul is saying is, with everything you have, seek to be a peacemaker, even when you're facing opposition. You know, Jesus said in Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers."

But notice what Paul also says in verse 18, "If possible, so far as it depends upon you, be at peace with all men." It's not always possible to be at peace with everyone, including those who are opposing you in your faith. Yes, Jesus says, "I'd like you to be a peacemaker." But he had some other words about that as well in Matthew 10:34 and 35. He said, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Has anybody ever seen that verse on a Christmas card?

"Prince of Peace" says, "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." But it's God's Word. It's Jesus' words. I mean, the fact is, truth divides, and if you're going to stand for the truth, be prepared to have it divide you from other individuals. He goes on to say in verse 35, "For I came to set a man against his father and daughter." That's a good Father's Day verse. "For I came to set a man against his father, and daughter against her mother, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." Yes, family is important, but there's something more important than harmony in the family, and that is fidelity to the truth of God's Word. And the truth is going to divide sometimes. So he said, "When you can, be at peace," but sometimes you can't be at peace with all people. Then how are we to live in a world that is opposed to our faith?

Notice two characteristics of peacemakers. First of all, peacemakers don't take their own revenge. Verse 19, "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord." I want to make two observations about that verse. First of all, Paul is referring to personal offenses, not spiritual convictions. When he says, "Don't seek revenge, don't fight back," he's talking about in the area of your rights. He's not talking about your convictions. You can give up your rights as a Christian, you're never to give up your convictions. Big difference.

I saw a clip this week from "The View." They were talking about Jack Phillips, and they said, these so-called Christians on "The View," "Well, he ought to have just go ahead and bake that wedding cake. That's what Jesus would have done. He should serve them." Here's a good piece of advice. Don't take your theological consulting or opinions from "The View." Don't look to "The View" for any interpretation of the Bible. That's what a lot of people think, though. They think, "Well, yeah, we ought to be like Jesus, you know, washing people's feet. Let's just go ahead and bake the cake. What's the big deal?" Here's what the big deal is. Marriage is a sacred institution that was created by God to illustrate the union between Christ and His church. That is why it is a holy, sacred picture. A relationship between a man and a woman is the picture of Christ and the church, and to do anything to defile that picture is an abomination to God. And that's why you have no choice but to not be a part of something like that. I can't tell you the people in our church who've asked me, "We have a relative who is gay, and we want to show love to that gay person, and they've invited us to their wedding. Should we go or not go?" That's an increasing issue that families are facing. Look, you can be kind and loving and should be, and there's no reason ever to be hateful and so forth. But to participate in a ceremony that is an abomination to God that destroys the picture of Christ and His church is something that no Christian should ever be a part of. We can we can give up our rights, but we do not give up our convictions. That's an important distinction there.

Secondly, we are to surrender our desire for vengeance, but not for justice. When Paul says, "Don't take your own revenge," he's saying, "Don't try to pay back somebody for doing you wrong." You know what vengeance is? Vengeance is my desire to hurt you for hurting me. He said, "Don't seek your own vengeance. Let God settle the score for you." He can do it much more effectively than you can. "Don't seek your own revenge." But you can give up your desire for revenge, but you don't give up your desire for justice. You know, justice is the payment that God or others may exact from those who wrong you. I think about the Apostle Paul. We'll talk more about this in a moment, but you know, he was falsely accused, sent on his way to prison for something that he didn't do, and he didn't hang his head down and say, "You know what? I guess that's God's will for me to suffer." No, he fought that injustice. He spent two years tied up in the legal system in order to fight for his rights as a Roman citizen. Vengeance is trying to pay back evil for evil. We don't do that, but that doesn't mean we give up our desire for justice. Secondly, Paul says peacemakers seek the good of their enemies. They seek the good of their enemies. Look at verses 20 to 21, Romans 12. "But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink, for in doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

You want to surprise your enemies? Do something good for them. Why should you do something good for them? Well, he says, "Because you will heap burning coals upon their head." Now, some people misinterpret that. They say, "Oh, I get it. If I do something good for them, it's going to make them feel so wretched and lousy. It'll make them suffer for what they're doing to me. I want to make them feel worse. Yeah, I'll bake them a cake or do something else for them." That's not the point. The idea is not to make them feel bad so that they can suffer for doing wrong to you. The idea of setting heaping coals on their head is, when you do something good for somebody who has wronged you, that brings them under conviction. Conviction that will lead them to eternal life. And that's what it means to love your enemies. It doesn't mean to want to hang around them. It doesn't mean to enjoy being around them. It means wanting God's best for their life. And the best thing that can happen to your enemy is for them to come to faith in Christ, and one way you help that to happen is by doing good instead of evil for those who wrong you.

You know, I was reading this week the story of Peter Miller, who was a Baptist minister during the Revolutionary War, and he had a next-door neighbor, Michael Whitman, who belittled him, blasphemed his faith, did everything he could to make the pastor miserable. One day, Peter Miller heard that Michael Whitman had been arrested for treason and sentenced to death. And so, Peter Miller walked 70 miles from his home to Philadelphia to make an appeal to General Washington, and he made the appeal, and General Washington said, "No, Peter, I cannot grant a pardon to your friend." Peter Miller said, "My friend? He's not my friend. He's my most bitter enemy." And Washington was so astounded that he would walk 70 miles seeking a pardon for his most bitter rival that he granted Michael Whitman the pardon. And Peter Miller left that day with not an enemy, but a friend. That's what it means to do good to those who wrong you.

You know, the stories I shared in today's message about the cake baker and the Christians being persecuted around the world, stories like theirs will escalate as time goes on. The fact is, this is no time for wimpy Christians. Living in 2026 requires guts, and during the dangerous times in which we live, we're grateful for friends like you who have come alongside Pathway to Victory with prayers and financial support. If you're among those who give, keep up the good work. Together as partners in ministry, we are helping millions of Christians discover how to have a courageous faith in a culture that's opposed to God and His truth. With your generous gift today, I want to say thanks by sending you a copy of my book called *Courageous: 10 Strategies for Thriving in a Hostile World*. Chapter six in my book covers the material we addressed on today's program, but in far more detail, and many are telling us that they're giving *Courageous* to their adult kids and grandkids. And when you respond today, I'll also include a stack of 10 courageous encouragement cards that you can carry with you for daily encouragement. You won't find this package of resources anywhere other than right here. So, let us hear from you today. Here's David with all the details.

David: When you support the ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, you're invited to request a copy of the book by Dr. Jeffress called *Courageous*, along with a set of courageous encouragement cards. Ask for your copy when you call 866-999-2965, or visit online at PTV.org. You could also give by texting PTV to 78800. And when your gift is $75 or more, you'll receive the complete *Courageous Leader Kit*, which includes the book, the personal and group study guide, the complete teaching series on DVD and MP3 format audio disc, and the courageous encouragement cards. To request this Leader Kit, call 866-999-2965, or visit PTV.org. You can also send your request by mail, write to P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. I'm David J. Mullins, inviting you to join us again next time when Dr. Jeffress wraps up Survival Tip Number Six, "Bend, Don't Break." That's Thursday, right here, on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. The Apostle Paul sailed these waters, walked these streets, and the church was never the same. I'm inviting you to follow in Paul's footsteps on the Pathway to Victory, Journeys of Paul Cruise, through the stunning Greek Islands, ancient Ephesus, and many other destinations as well. This is purposeful travel at its finest. Set sail May 14th, 2027. Call 888-280-6747, or visit PTV.org. 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, don't forget to reserve your spot on the 2027 Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise. You've heard me and Dr. Jeffress talk about it, and cabins are going quickly. Just picture yourself aboard the beautiful Celebrity Infinity, sailing round trip from Athens, standing where the Apostle Paul stood in Ephesus, and taking in the breathtaking Greek Islands. Nine unforgettable nights with stops in Mykonos, Rhodes, Santorini, and more. Every meal prepared, every detail taken care of, plus fellowship with like-minded believers. There's also an optional pre-cruise extension to Athens. To book your spot, go to PTV.org.