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.

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Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I'm.

Speaker 3

Glad to study God's Word with you every day.

Speaker 2

This Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 3

When you have a purpose in life that is bigger than yourself, when your purpose in life is to glorify God, then even tragedies in life have a way of becoming triumphs in life.

That's what Paul is saying. He said, my purpose in life has given me joy in unwelcome circumstances.

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know, according to a recent survey, less than 40% of Americans have a clear understanding of their purpose. Yet purpose is the engine that drives everything we do in life.

Well, today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress dives into the book of Philippians to share three benefits of having a Christ-centered life purpose.

Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.

Speaker 2

Dr. Jeffress, thanks David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. If anyone had reason to become sarcastic and unhappy, it was the Apostle Paul. He had been thrown out of his community as a dangerous renegade. His Jewish friends avoided him. He had been beaten by his adversaries, thrown into jail, and charged with criminal offenses. And yet, for some reason, Paul chose to live with joy.

Is it really possible for you and me to find that same kind of peace and contentment? Well, this month we're digging into Paul's letter to the Philippians in order to expose his secret recipe for satisfaction and serenity. What we're finding is that walking with God can be a joy-filled journey when we truly understand our purpose in life.

To complement this radio teaching series, I've also written a full-length hardbound book for you. It's called *Outrageous Living Above Your Circumstances*. And when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, I'll make sure a copy is sent to your home right away. In fact, I'll also include an encouragement card that contains several of my favorite verses from Philippians. This card is called the *Standing on the Promises of God* encouragement card.

I'll give these details again at the close of today's program. But right now, let's set everything aside to concentrate fully on Paul's letter to the Philippians. Chapter 1, I titled today's message the Power of a Positive Purpose.

Speaker 3

In his book *Laugh Again*, Chuck Swindoll retells the short story by G.W. Target entitled "The Window." Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all of his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their service in the military, and where they had spent their vacations.

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside of the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all of the activity and the color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color. A fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all of this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band, he would see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths, only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take his body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch. After making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained and slowly turned to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. People who tie their happiness to only that which is visible are doomed to disappointment in life. To maintain our joy, we all need a platform that allows us to see above and beyond our immediate circumstances. What is that platform that allows us to live above our circumstances? In a word, purpose. We all need a purpose in life that is bigger than our own peace, prosperity, and pleasure. And no one illustrates that better than the Apostle Paul.

If you have your Bibles today, I want you to turn to Philippians chapter one. Today, we're going to discover together the power of a positive purpose. Remember, the Christians at Philippi got word that their founder, Paul, the founder of their church, was in prison in Rome. They didn't know if he was going to live or die, and they became distressed at his situation. When Paul got word of the Philippians' distress, he became distressed at their distress. So what did he do? He wrote them a letter, a word of encouragement. He said, basically in this letter, "Don't worry about me. All of this is working for good because it's helping me achieve my purpose in life."

And what was Paul's purpose in life? He had one purpose in life, and that was to glorify God. The word "glorify" comes from a Hebrew word that means heavy. When we talk about glorifying God, we are talking about making God appear to be heavy, substantive to those around us. Paul's one purpose in life was to make God appear heavy, worthy of worship to other people. That purpose in life dictated the way he saw every circumstance that came into his life.

I want to talk about, from Philippians chapter one, the three benefits of having a purpose bigger than yourself, of having a positive purpose. First of all, beginning in verse 12, Paul says that having a positive purpose in life will provide you joy in unwelcome circumstances. Joy in unwelcome circumstances. Look at verse 12 with me. Paul says, "Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the Gospel." What Paul is saying is, "I want you to know that these negative things that have happened to me have cleared the way for the advance of the Gospel." That's why I can rejoice in these things, because they are clearing the way for my real purpose in life: to make Jesus Christ known to as many people as possible.

Now, how did Paul's imprisonment clear the way for the Gospel to advance? Well, he tells us two ways, beginning in verse 13. First of all, his imprisonment gave him contact with unbelievers. If your life purpose is to make Christ known to others, you're going to want to be in contact with unbelievers, aren't you? Paul's imprisonment allowed him to do that. Look at verse 13: "So that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole Praetorian guard and to everyone else." Paul said, "Look, I can rejoice. My imprisonment has allowed me to have contact with unbelievers I never would have had in any other situation." He rejoiced in his circumstances.

That was the Apostle Paul. Again, if his goal in life had been freedom or peace, this would have been a tremendous tragedy. But Paul had a life purpose bigger than himself, and that provided him joy in unwelcome circumstances. By the way, not only did his imprisonment give him contact with unbelievers, it also provided courage for believers to share their faith. Look at verse 14: "And that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear." When Christians in Rome saw how Paul was responding, the courage he had gave them courage to spread the Gospel.

Do you remember back in the 70s, some of you do, during the Watergate mess when everybody was talking about Richard Nixon, whether he should go to prison or not? Everybody had an opinion on that. Well, back in Paul's day, everybody in Rome was caught talking about the case of the Apostle Paul. These Christians, who had never shared their faith before, suddenly, when they would be stopped by pagans on the street and asked, "Hey, you're one of those Christians. What do you think about Paul?" it gave them courage to speak the Gospel. Paul was aware of this, so he said, "You know what? If my imprisonment can give courage to other believers to share the Gospel, it's worth the trouble."

You see, your purpose in life is the lens through which you will view adversity in your life. For example, if your purpose in life is to accumulate a certain amount of money, then any kind of financial setback or stock market loss is a tragedy. If your purpose in life is centered around a particular relationship, then to lose that relationship—either because somebody has changed their mind, because of distance, or even death—is a tremendous tragedy. But when you have a purpose in life that is bigger than yourself, when your purpose in life is to glorify God, then even tragedies in life have a way of becoming triumphs in life. That's what Paul is saying. He said, "My purpose in life has given me joy in unwelcome circumstances."

Not only that, but a positive purpose, number two, gives us joy in the face of unfair criticism. When your one purpose in life is God-centered, you'll be amazed at how little you care about what other people think about you or even say about you. That was true of Paul. Paul has just said that there are some people now who are preaching Christ like they never have before. But Paul was a realist, too. He realized some people were preaching Christ not from the purest of motives. Look at verses 15 to 17: "Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I'm appointed for the defense of the Gospel. The former proclaim Christ out

Speaker 2

Okay?

Speaker 3

That is not what he is saying. In fact, to show you that, I want you to hold your place here and turn back to Galatians, chapter 1, verse 8. Doctrine does make a difference. And Paul says that in Galatians, chapter 1, verse 8, the church at Galatia, just like the church at Philippi, was being invaded by a group of false teachers known as the Judaizers. The Judaizers talked about Jesus being Lord and Savior. They said faith in Jesus is essential to go to heaven when you die. They said faith in Christ is essential, but it's not sufficient for salvation. The Judaizers said, yes, you need faith in Christ, but you also need to keep the law in order to be saved.

Now, what did Paul say about people who taught that kind of gospel? Look at what he says about these false teachers in verse eight. He says, but even though we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached, that is that Jesus, and Jesus alone saves, if anybody preaches another gospel to you, verse eight, let that person be accursed. That word, accursed, anathema, literally means be damned.

Now, the truth is we don't all agree, even in this church, on some finer points of theology. We talk about the end times on Sunday nights. There are different views in this church on that. There are different views about the work of the Holy Spirit. There are a number of things that we can differ about and still fellowship together. But we must, must be united in the belief that faith in Christ alone is what saves.

Warren Wiersbe tells the story about John Wesley and George Whitefield, the two great evangelists of the 19th century. And even though they differed on some theological issues, they agreed that faith alone in Christ is what saves. But someone, knowing of these differences between Whitefield and Wesley, came to John Wesley one day and said, Mr. Wesley, do you believe you will see George Whitefield in heaven? John Wesley said, I do not believe I will see George Whitefield in heaven. And the person said, well, you mean you don't believe he's a Christian? Then Wesley said, oh, no, I believe he's a Christian. I believe he's a Christian and I believe he will be in heaven. But when he is in heaven, he will be so close to the throne of God and I will be so far away that I won't have an opportunity to see him.

See, here are men. Even though they differed on some issues, they were bonded together by their belief in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. And that's the way we ought to be. The Bible says that even though we differ, we can be agreed that Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved. But what was happening in Galatia is not what was happening at the Church of Philippi in this way.

Turn back to Philippians, chapter 1. The people Paul is talking about here, this group, they were not teaching an impure gospel. Instead, they were teaching the true gospel with impure motives. And Paul says, in that situation, as long as they are teaching the truth, whether it's to get under my skin or line their own pockets, I really don't care. Let God deal with them for that. But as long as Christ is being proclaimed, I rejoice.

Ladies and gentlemen, again, when your purpose in life is to glorify God, you don't really care about unfair criticism of you as long as Jesus is being glorified. What is the power of a positive purpose? Third, it gives us joy in an uncertain future. Joy in the face of an uncertain future. Look at verse 19. For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that I shall not be put to shame in anything. But with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Paul is saying, I don't know how this is going to turn out. Most scholars again believe Paul was in this holding pattern. He was waiting to hear whether he was going to be pronounced innocent or guilty, whether he would live or die. Paul said, I don't know how this is going to turn out.

Have you ever had the experience of waiting for the results of a medical test, like a biopsy, waiting to hear whether or not it was malignant or benign? You know, 24 hours, just waiting. 24 hours can seem like eternity. 48 hours. If you have to wait over the weekend, 72 hours. But think about Paul. He wasn't waiting just hours or days, but week after week, month after month, over the course of two years to determine whether or not he was going to live or die. And what did he say? He said, I'm joyful regardless of what happens. He said, I know I'm going to be delivered. Either I'm going to be delivered out of this prison, or I'm going to be delivered out of this life to meet Jesus Christ. But I win either way.

If I go on to live here on earth, that's more time to preach Christ. If I end up dying, that's an opportunity for people to be encouraged to share the gospel. Either way, I win. See, when you have a purpose in your life that's bigger than your own peace, your own sense of well-being, it provides you that joy regardless of what your future holds.

One Christian writer says that our lives are like a telescope. Our lives are like a telescope in many ways. I kind of have a history with telescopes. My aunt over here knows all about that. Her brother, my father, used to build telescopes as a hobby. And I'm not talking about these dinky telescopes like you see at the Sharper Image. I mean, humongous telescopes. And he would spend all year building these telescopes. And finally, at the end of the summer, when he would complete these telescopes and grind the lens and get it just right, we would disassemble the telescope he had built and load it up in our station wagon. Remember those station wagons?

We would go to the Richardson Fair. It was held every August out there at Greenville and Beltline, where that sports complex is. We would go to the Richardson Fair, set up our telescope on the fairgrounds there, and then my dad would put a sandwich board. Now I was 6 or 7, I would have this sandwich board, and I would go throughout the fairgrounds of the Richardson Fair yelling out, come see Jupiter, come see Mars, come see Venus. 25 cents. And that's how we made our money for our family vacation. There were no child labor laws back then, I guess. I don't know what it was, but that's what we were doing. And people would actually come. They would come and they would pull out their quarter and they would look through that lens, and they were fascinated because those planets that seemed so far away were now up close where they could see them.

Ladies and gentlemen, do you realize that to most people Jesus Christ is a distant, misty figure who lived 2,000 years ago? Most people don't have a clear vision of who Jesus is. But your life, and especially the way you handle adversity in life, is the lens through which other people see Jesus. The way you handle trouble in your life either makes Jesus look real and big and worthy of worship to other people, or the way you handle trouble diminishes the reality of Christ.

I want to ask you the all-important question this morning. What is your real purpose in life? Now don't tell me the church stuff, what you're supposed to say. What is it you are really living for? Your answer to that question will reveal how you respond to unwelcome circumstances, unfair criticism, and an uncertain future. Somebody has said, if for me to live is money, then to die is to leave it all behind. If for me to live is fame, then to die is to be quickly forgotten. If for me to live is power and influence, then to die is to lose both. But if for me to live is Christ, then to die is gain. That's the power of a positive purpose.

Speaker 2

God's plan for finding genuine purpose in life is often counterintuitive. It's certainly not the way of the world. But wise are those who embrace his radical plan, and blessed are those who take intentional steps toward understanding His Word.

I've written a book to help you do just that. It parallels our study in Philippians, but goes far deeper into many relevant topics that we're addressing. So today's the day to request your copy of *Outrageous Living above your Circumstances*. The book comes with my thanks when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. Now this is a full-length hardcover edition, so you might gauge the size of your gift with that in mind.

In addition to my book, I'll be sure to include the Encouragement card as well. It contains a few of my favorite verses from Philippians and will help you stay encouraged and focused on the Biblical foundation for Unbridled Joy. It's called the *Standing on the Promises of God* card.

In addition, let me say a word of thanks to those of you who are Pathway Partners who give generously every month. Many of our Pathway partners are brand new, having signed up recently. It's never too late to establish this life-impacting relationship with Pathway to Victory.

To become a Pathway Partner today, just give us a call or go online to ptv.org, and when you give your first gift as a Pathway partner, I'll be sure to send you a copy of my book *Outrageous Joy* and the *Standing on the Promises of God* Encouragement card.

Speaker 1

David thanks Dr. Jeffress. Today, when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, we'll say thanks by sending you a copy of *Outrageous Joy*. As an added bonus, you'll also receive the Standing on the Promises of God Scripture card. To request your copy of these resources, call 866-999-2965 or visit us online at online@ptv.org. When you give an especially generous gift of $75 or more, we'll also send you the audio and video discs from our upcoming study in Philippians, *Living Above Your Circumstances*. One more time, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. You could also mail your gift if you'd like to P.O. Box 2223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins wishing you a great weekend. Then join us again next week when our series called *Living Above Your Circumstances* continues. That's Monday here on Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Picture yourself relaxing aboard a luxury cruise ship as you sail the Mediterranean Sea on the Pathway to Victory Journeys of Paul Mediterranean cruise, May 5 through 16, 2025. This 11-day journey will take you to unforgettable destinations in Italy, Turkey, and Greece. Plus, you'll have the option to extend your trip with additional adventures in Rome. To book your spot on the 2025 Journeys of Paul Mediterranean cruise, go to ptv.org.

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