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.

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Of massive glaciers rising from crystal blue waters?

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Or stood in awe as bald eagles soar over snow capped mountain? 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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Let me ask you, can you say honestly that when you wake up in the morning, your first thought is, what would God have me to do today?

When you go to sleep at night, before you drift off to sleep, is your thought, God, have I pleased you today? Is there anything I've done to displease you?

A true disciple of Christ has as his passion obedience to God.

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. Christians like to hear pastors talk about love and forgiveness or the glory of heaven. But the moment you start talking about obedience, well, some people get defensive.

Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress explains why obedience is one of the essential marks of a true disciple of Christianity. 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. You know, when we look back, history will show how 2025 was a season of enormous accomplishment for Pathway to Victory. Did you know that our telecast is offered in the Spanish language now? And this radio broadcast beams into state prisons where men and women get to hear about the life-changing power of the Gospel. Yes, God has opened these amazing doors, but He used the generous gifts from friends like you to fund the expansion. The outpouring from our listening family allowed us to seize these new opportunities when they came along.

Well, as perhaps you realize, Pathway to Victory takes delight in thanking our ministry partners by providing practical resources that accelerate your walk with God. And right now we're prepared to send you a brand new inspirational book called *Encouragement for the Heart of a Disciple*. It's devotional in nature and intended to help you pause for a few minutes each day for a cool sip of living water from God's Word. This is a liberating book that illuminates the timeless wisdom of the Bible. Each chapter is complemented by a gorgeous photo of God's creation, including a Bible verse and brief prayer.

We'll say more about the book after the message, but right now, let's open God's Word as we learn about developing an obedient heart.

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I don't know about you, but I like people who obey me. I just do. Especially people under my authority. I'm not saying I'm some tyrannical despot, but I'd like people who do what I ask them to do without a lot of hassle. You know, Amy and I hired a painter not long ago to do some touch-up work around the house. I'm telling you, everything we asked was met with resistance. He'd give us a list of reasons he couldn't do the simple things we asked him to do. And Amy and I vowed we will never use that painter again.

You know, I think about our staff. We've got such a gifted and wonderful staff here. But I appreciate those staff members who do what I ask them to do, even though they may not understand why. At least they believe. Maybe I know something they don't know about a situation, and they comply with my request. Those are the staff members, admittedly, that I favor. Those are the ones who get the raises and the promotions because they do what I ask them to do. Hint to staff members listening.

Today I think about my own children. You know, I remember many years ago I was talking to one of my daughters about a particular behavior, and I said, "You know, honey, I love you and I want the best for you. That's why I want you to do this." I didn't know how she would react. And she said, "Dad, I'll do what you asked me to do." I mean, at that moment, she could have asked me for anything in the world. I'm glad she didn't, but she could have. And I would have given it to her because I want to reward my children when they obey me.

Now, why is it that I use contractors, I favor employees, and I reward children who obey me? It's because I am made in the image of a God who uses favors and rewards those who obey Him. God rewards those who obey Him because they understand the nature of their relationship to Him. They trust His judgment, and they trust His motives.

Today we're in our series on seven marks of a disciple. And today we're going to discover another one of those marks of a follower of Jesus Christ, and that is an obedient heart. A true follower of Christ is one who obeys Jesus in all things that He has commanded them according to Matthew 23. You know, Jesus demands from us an obedient heart. Just listen to some of the commands in Scripture that He gave.

John 14:21: "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will disclose myself to him." Or John 8:51: "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death." Or John 3:36: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abides on him."

You know, one of the downsides of the evangelical faith tradition is this idea that we have that somehow belief in Jesus is essential for salvation, but obedience to Jesus is optional. We give people the idea that you can trust in God to take care of you in the next life without trusting Him enough to obey Him in this life. But Jesus never gives us that option. He never gives us a dichotomy between trust in Him for salvation but distrust in Him for obedience.

You know, it's no accident that the words in the Bible, the Greek word for obey and trust are very similar. The Greek word for obey, "patho," and the Greek word for trust are very similar because they're really the same thing. One scholar, W. E. Vine, says when a man obeys God, he gives the only possible evidence that in his heart he believes God.

Go back to John 3:36 for a moment. Look at this. "He who believes." I want you to underline that word "believes." "He who believes in the Son has eternal life. But he who does not," he doesn't say "believe." "He who does not obey the Son shall not see life." You see how Jesus is using the words belief and obey simultaneously? They are the same words: belief and obey. To believe is to obey. To obey is to believe. It was Bonhoeffer who said, "Only he who believes truly obeys, and only he who obeys truly believes." You can't truly believe Christ without obeying Christ. That's what Jesus is saying to us.

Jesus not only commanded obedience, but He demonstrated obedience in His own relationship with God. In John 4:34, He said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work." In John 6:38, He said, "For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but to do the will of Him who sent me."

Let me ask you, can you say honestly that when you wake up in the morning, your first thought is, "What would God have me to do today?" When you go to sleep at night, before you drift off to sleep, is your thought, "God, have I pleased you today? Is there anything I've done to displease you?" A true disciple of Christ has as his passion obedience to God. And Jesus demonstrated that not just in His words, but in His actions.

In fact, Jesus in His life demonstrated three key characteristics of an obedient heart—the kind of obedience that God demands from us. First of all, Jesus' life demonstrates immediate obedience to God. Immediate obedience to God. Now, I'm not suggesting Jesus was some divine robot who was programmed to say yes automatically to God. Jesus struggled with doing the will of God. Sometimes there was no greater struggle He experienced than that of Gethsemane.

I was in Gethsemane. I looked at one of those giant trees there. Many of them are thousands of years old. Perhaps one of those trees was the one Jesus knelt down by. But you remember that struggle He went through the night before He was crucified. In Luke 22, verse 42, He said, "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup, this experience from me." Jesus did not want to go to the cross, not only because of the physical torture but because of the spiritual agony of, for the first time ever, being separated from His Heavenly Father because He was bearing the sins of the world. So He begged, "Find another way, God." And yet after that semicolon, He quickly added, "Yet not my will, but your will be done."

Let me give you a little insight here. When we develop an obedient heart, the more we obey God, we find that interval between God's command and our obedience shorter and shorter and shorter. But here's the flip side to that: the longer the gap between God's command and our obedience, the greater the opportunity for Satan to gain a victory in our life. When God speaks, the longer we say, "Well, God, let me think about that and get back to you on it," the greater the opportunity for Satan to persuade us to go another way. Jesus demonstrated immediate obedience.

Secondly, Jesus demonstrated complete obedience to God. The Puritan writer Thomas Brooks said, "No man obeys God truly, who does not endeavor to obey God fully." Complete obedience. You know, most of us treat our obedience to God like a buffet. I probably shouldn't talk about buffets so close to lunch right now, but you know, what do we do at a buffet? We select the things we want to put on our plate. A lot of us try to treat God's will that way. We think we can pick and choose which parts of God's will we're going to obey. No, a true disciple is one who obeys all things. Jesus said in Matthew 28, "Whatsoever I have commanded you."

Have you ever read some of these bizarre stories in the Old Testament and really kind of wondered why they're there? Stories that seem to make God seem awfully severe, kind of overreacting sometimes. I mean, remember, for example, the story of the Israelites being defeated at Ai because of one man, Achan, who decided to keep some of the treasure for himself? The whole army was defeated because of one man keeping a few treasures. Or remember King Saul, who was forced to give up his kingship only because he kept a few sheep instead of having them slaughtered like he was commanded? Or remember that bizarre case of Uzzah in 2 Samuel chapter 6? He was a guy who was walking alongside the Ark of the Covenant when they were transporting it, and the oxen started to stumble, and the Ark started to tip over, and Uzzah reached out and touched the Ark, and God struck him dead. He was trying to do a good thing to steady the Ark, but God struck him dead because God said, "Nobody's to touch the Ark."

Why does God overreact like that? He's teaching us a lesson. The obedience that God demands from each of us is not just partial obedience; it is complete obedience. Thirdly, and by the way, Jesus demonstrated that in Philippians 2:8 when it said, "And being found in the appearance of a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Jesus' obedience wasn't partial; it was complete.

And then finally, the kind of obedience God demands from us is a joyful obedience. Just imagine, parents, that you're having a dinner party one Friday night at your home, and in the middle of the dinner party, the trash is overflowing. So you say to your 10-year-old son, "Son, would you empty the trash?" Your son stomps around and growls about how unfair you are and so forth. So after about 20 minutes of cajoling him, you finally get him to agree to take out the trash. Now, what is your attitude toward him? Probably he gets some credit for finally doing what you've asked him to do. But aren't you embarrassed having seen all of your friends witness that lack of respect for your authority and that argument back and forth?

Did you know the Bible says right now there is a whole audience watching our relationship to God, how we respond to God our Father? The audience consists of people here on earth who are watching whether or not we obey God completely, fully, and joyfully. But there's also an unseen audience in heaven—those who've gone before us and are in heaven—not to mention the invisible angels and demons who are watching everything. And we either give glory to God or we hurt God's reputation for how we respond to the commands of our Heavenly Father. If you think that's a stretch, consider Hebrews chapter 12 that compares our life to a race, an Olympic-style race. And God has a specific course He's laid out for us to run. And as we go around that course to complete it, it takes perspiration and determination. And whenever we're tempted to give up, Hebrews 12:2 says we need to look at somebody else who finished the course that was set before him, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.

No, Jesus wasn't giddy about the idea of going to Calvary, but He did it anyway. Why? Because He was able to look past the agony of Calvary and look to the ecstasy of the unending reward God had planned for Him. And that's the kind of obedience God wants from us—to obey without a lot of argument. Obey because we trust God's plan for our life.

What is it that keeps us from that complete, immediate, and joyful obedience? Let me mention several barriers to that kind of obedience that God commands. Specifically, one is our distance from God. Let's just be honest. It's hard to obey an invisible being, isn't it? One we've never seen, one who seems so far away. By the way, that's nothing new. The Israelites had trouble obeying God because of their distance from God. Remember that story in Exodus chapter 32 when the children of Israel were at the foot of Mount Sinai? Moses went up the mountain to receive the commandments from God. They thought he would be gone for just a few days, and he ended up being gone for a long time. So what happened?

Listen to Exodus 32, verse 1: "When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, 'Come, make us a god who will go up before us. And as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we don't know what's become of him.'" They were having a difficult time obeying a God they'd never seen. But now their leader disappears. So what do they do? They fall into immorality and disobedience. Out of sight, out of mind. I'm not saying that's a right excuse for disobeying God, but at least it helps us understand one reason we find it difficult to obey God.

But an even more potent barrier to obedience to God is our distrust of God. It's not just our distance from God. At the heart of our disobedience to God is a basic, innate distrust we have of God. Not long ago, my car started leaking coolant. So I took it into the shop, and they said, "Oh, well, there's a leaky radiator hose." I said, "How much would it cost to fix that?" They said, "About $100." I said, "Well, fine, let's fix the hose." A couple of hours later, they called me and said, "Well, you know, the mechanic found out it wasn't a leaky hose. It is a gasket on the engine, a gasket that has gone bad. And it's going to cost $1,300 to replace that gasket."

Now, I believe that mechanic knew more about my car than I did. That wasn't the issue. The issue was, did I trust him or not? Did I really trust that he wanted what was best for me or what was best for him? You know, a lot of the reason we have trouble obeying God is we don't doubt that God knows more than we do. But at the heart of our question is, can we really trust God? Does God care about us, or does God only really care about Himself?

By the way, that was the basis of the first sin recorded in the Bible. Remember in Genesis chapter three, God had said to Adam and Eve, "Now, Adam and Eve, I've given you this whole garden. Every tree is yours, except one. Just stay away from that tree. Every other tree is yours." So when the serpent came to deceive Eve, where did he center her attention? Not on all the things God had said yes to, but on the one thing God had said no to. He said, "Come on, Eve, have some of this fruit." Eve said, "No, Mr. Serpent, I can't do that. God said, 'In the day we eat of the tree, we shall die.'" What did the serpent say? Verse 4 of Genesis 3: "And the serpent said to the woman, 'You surely shall not die. For God knows that in the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'"

"Eve, there's a reason God said not to eat of this tree. He doesn't want you to be like Him. He's trying to keep something good, pleasurable from your life. You can't trust God. Go ahead and eat." And that is the heart of every temptation that we face. Can we really trust that God wants what is best for us? You know, somebody has said all sin is basically contempt for God. Whenever we violate God's command, we're saying, "God, I don't trust you. You may be more powerful than I am, but I don't really believe what you've said is what is best for me." Every time we sin, we are basically casting a no-confidence vote in God. That's the barrier to our obedience: our distrust of God.

How do we develop an obedient heart? A heart that reflexively obeys God completely, immediately, and joyfully? It doesn't happen automatically. We don't get one of those hearts the moment we are saved. The key is we have to transform our hearts, and it is a joint project between God and us. See, salvation is God's work alone. But sanctification—becoming more like Christ—is a joint effort between God and us. Even Jesus. You know, this is one of the most amazing verses in the Bible. Hebrews 5:8 says, "Though Jesus was a son, He learned obedience by the things that He suffered."

Now think about this. If Jesus, the perfect Son of God, had to learn how to obey His Heavenly Father, how much more do you and I have to learn how to obey God? How do we do it? Let me suggest four practical ways to develop this obedient heart. First of all, decide that obedience is a priority in your life. Decide that obedience is a priority in your life. I know that sounds simple, but let me just say the reason most of us don't obey God regularly is because we have no intention of obeying God regularly. One writer said it this way: "If you will stop and ask yourself why you are not as pious as the early Christians were, your own heart will tell you that it is neither through ignorance nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it."

We have to intentionally decide that we're going to obey God. We have to come to the point in our life when we say, "God, I believe what you say is true, and I really do believe you want what is best for me."

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We've only had time to address the first of four points, so please make a note to join us again tomorrow when we'll continue this study on developing an obedient heart. This is what we're all about at Pathway to Victory. We're determined to obey, align our behavior with God's standard, and in the process, we're determined to teach these same principles to anyone who has an ear to hear.

We thought you'd be encouraged to hear a story that describes how God is using Pathway to Victory to bring light to the dark places of our world. A gentleman got in touch with Pathway to Victory and said, "Pastor Jeffress, I'm a recovering alcoholic and drug addict and I've been sober for more than 10 years. Gratefully, God has taken away my desire to drink or take drugs, and now I've become part of a ministry group that mentors others who struggle with addiction. Every day when I'm driving home from work, I listen to Pathway to Victory on the radio and often receive something I can share with my men. Thanks for all you do."

Well, truly, this man's gratitude belongs to you. As someone who gives generously, you're the one who delivers the program through your gifts. Remember, when you respond with a gift, today you're invited to request a brand new devotional book called *Encouragement for the Heart of a Disciple*. Each chapter is paired with a gorgeous photo of God's creation, a scripture verse, and a brief prayer that you can follow. All these features have one goal in mind, and that is to uplift your heart as you walk with God.

Here's David with all the details.

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You're invited to request your copy of the brand new devotional book by Dr. Robert Jeffress, *Encouragement for the Heart of a Disciple*, when you contact Pathway to Victory with a generous gift. Call us toll-free at 866-999-2965 or give online at ptv.org. When your ministry gift is $100 or more, we will send you the Encouragement Resource Set, which contains the new devotional, six Clutter Free Prayer cards, the *Clutter Free Christianity* Book and Life Application Guide, and the *Seven Marks of a Disciple* Message Series on DVD video and MP3 format audio disc set.

If you'd prefer to write, here's that mailing address: P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins, hoping you'll join us next time when Dr. Jeffress presents the conclusion of his message called *Developing an Obedient Heart*. That's Friday, 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. Witness God's glory on display in America's last frontier.

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Alaska's majestic wilderness showcases our creator' work.

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Like nowhere else on earth, and you're.

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Invited to experience it firsthand on the.

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2026 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska.

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Board Holland America's luxurious Koningsdam ship with.

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Amy and me for a journey that will refresh your soul and renew your spirit.

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Experience the unforgettable adventure June 13th through 20th, 2026. To book your cabin, call 888-280-6747 or go to 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 follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.