- Do you feel surroundedby a culture that's

completely hostile to whatyou and your family believe?

Well, you're not alone, and that's why

pastor and author Robert Jeffress

wrote his latest book, "Courageous,"

with 10 strategies forthriving in a hostile world.

Take a look.

(air whooshes)

- [Announcer] Dr. RobertJeffress is the pastor

of a 14,000-memberchurch in Dallas, Texas,

but you might remember when he prayed

for President Trump in the Oval Office.

Dr. Jeffress says that Christians

have to learn how to live out their faith

(digital glitching)in an increasingly

godless culture.

- Only when we strengthenourselves internally

by relying on God'spromises and God's presence,

only then will we act ina bold, courageous way.

- [Announcer] In his book "Courageous,"

Dr. Jeffress shares 10 strategies

for thriving in a hostile world.

- Please welcome to "The 700Club" Dr. Robert Jeffress.

It's wonderful to have you

here today.- Oh, good to be here, Terry.

Thanks for having me.

- Before we talk about the book,

which has so much to talk about,

I just wanna ask you aboutpraying for the president.

What was that like?

What was the air likein the room that day?

- You know, it's so interesting.

Many times, when I've been with him,

he will just ask me, "Robert,would you pray for us?"

And in fact, one time,we were in a meeting,

and things were going on, and he said,

"Robert, don't you thinkwe oughta pray first?"

(Terry laughs)(laughs) So he had to remind

the pastor to pray sometimes.

But he's a great man, and he'strying to do the right thing.

And I tell you, Terry,every time I'm with him,

he says, "You tell the evangelicals

"I appreciate their prayers for me."

It really means a lot to him.

- Well, I think theevangelicals appreciate

some of the decisions he's made,

certainly, as well.- Yes.

- Your book isn't just abook about the challenges

of the culture we livein, it's really a book

about being ready, aboutstanding firm in the midst

of a world that is ever-changing.

What made you decide to write this?

- Well, I don't think it'sever been more difficult

to live out your faiththan it is right now.

You know, C.S. Lewis said, "This world

"is enemy-occupied territory,"

(Terry chuckles)and that's a great way

to describe what we face.

And you know, Terry, we have incoming

coming from every direction.

From the outside coming atus, whether it's a culture

that's hostile toward the things of God

or just the normal things of life,

like Rush Limbaugh is going through

with the cancer diagnosis.

- The unexpected, yes.- Yeah, we have attacks

from without, we have attacks from within.

We still have that residue of a sin nature

that drags us down.

And if that weren't enough, we have

an adversary below who'strying to take us out.

And I think God wants us to do more

than just survive, He wants us to thrive

in the midst of those challenges.

So what I did in thisbook, "Courageous," was,

I took 10 survival tactics.

You know, survivalists tell us if you're

in an avalanche or aplane crash, don't panic,

gain situational awareness,remember your training.

I took those 10 survival tactics

and looked at them froma spiritual perspective,

so that Christians, again, don't survive,

but they can thrive in themidst of a hostile world.

- Go back to the firstone that you mentioned,

don't panic, because I think it's so easy

for us to sit and justrail on about the things

that we see in the world that are wrong

and talk about, "I'm feeling so anxious,"

or, "I'm so frustrated," or,

"I'm so depressed about all of this,"

but there's an antidote to that.

- There is, in fact, Ijust got a letter this week

from a young mother who said,

"This message, 'Don't panic,' I never knew

"I would need it as muchas much as I did this week,

"because I got a bad cancer diagnosis

"and was told I only havea few months to live."

And her first instinct was to panic.

80% of people, in a threateningsituation, they freeze.

But then she used the tools that

I talk about from Joshua.

You know, Joshua wasfacing a panicky situation,

having to follow Moses,but God said to him,

"Do not fear, do not bedismayed, take courage."

And I talk about it in thebook in that first chapter.

We can rely on God's promises,

we can rely on God's presence,

we can rely on God's commands,

and if we follow those things,

we don't have to be dismayed,

no matter what the situation is.

- Taking inventory, recognizing

whose we are and who we are.

- Yeah, you know, everychapter of this book,

"Courageous," starts witha real-life survival story

that illustrates that principle.

And in that chapter, "Take Inventory,"

I tell the story of Apollo 13.

Everybody remembers the Ron Howard movie.

Here are these astronauts,didn't have the right air filter.

All they had on board was a bungee cord,

some plastic bags, and two socks,

(laughs) and they riggedup this contraption

to get them home safety.

Well, you know, God hasnot left us in this world

without the inventoryof spiritual resources,

and I talk about the two resources,

the armor of God, we all know Ephesians 6,

"the breastplate ofrighteousness" and so forth,

but also, Terry, the people of God.

We don't have to gothrough these crises alone.

Solomon said, "Two are better than one,

"and a cord of three strandsis not easily broken."

So we need to realize we've got everything

we need as Christiansto live victoriously.

- And that takes, and youaddress the victim mentality

in the book, when you know the things

that you're talking about right now,

it puts an end to that victim mentality.

"Woe is me, I'm here andthere's nothing I can do.

"All these enormous thingsare happening around me.

"I'm one little person."

- That's one of the tips I talk about,

develop a victor, not a victim, mindset.

Our friend Chuck Swindollsays, "The older I get,

"the more I realize lifeis 10% what happens to you

"and 90% your responseto what happens to you."

And I use the story of Joseph.

I mean, here was a guywho was sold into slavery

by his brothers, falsely accused of rape

by his boss's wife, hewas forgotten in prison.

I mean, he could've beenin therapy the rest of his

(laughs) life for all thosethings he went through!

And yet, remember whathe said to his brothers

when he was confronted with them,

"You meant it for evil,but God used it for good."

That's a victor's mindset.

When we understand thatnothing comes into our life

that hasn't come through the will of God,

the power of God, and the love of God,

it gives us a victorious mindset.

- And, you know, whenwe have that mindset,

God's able to use usin ways beyond anything

we could have ever imagined.

- Yes.- Because it's

all preparation.

- That's right, right.

No accidents in the life of a child

of God.- What's the most

important thing for us to hang on to?

- Well, I think it allstarts with courage.

And Jesus said, "Inthis world, you'll have

"tribulation, but take courage,

"for I have overcome the world."

And, you know, courage is obeying God

regardless of the consequences.

- [Terry] When you don't understand.

- That's right, and Ithink the bottom line

for courage is realizing we live our life

for one person, God Himself.

And when we understandwe don't have anything

to fear from other people.

Jesus said, "Don't fear thosewho can only kill the body.

"Fear the One who killsthe body and the soul."

And as long as we're pleasing to God,

we have nothing to fear.

- And He uses everything for our good.

That's a promise, that'snot just a statement.

That's a commitment to us (laughs)

as His children.- God tells us,

"All things to work together for good."

That's the good, the bad, the ugly things

(laughs) in our lives.- Yes.

- He uses 'em.

Not for our happiness, necessarily,

but to conform us to the image of Christ.

- You are the pastor ofa 14,000-member church.

What are you hearing your people say today

that has motivated you to this?

- I think, the reason I wrote this book,

Terry, is I appreciate somuch what the president

is doing, the focus on religious liberty,

the breath of fresh air in our country,

but I do believe it's justa temporary situation.

I believe the left at some point

will get in charge again,and I think there's

gonna be a wholesalepersecution against Christians

in this country, and Iwrote this book to equip

Christians for what I believeis coming in our culture.

We'd better be ready.

- We'd better be ready, and it's not like

we haven't been given the ammunition

to do that.- That's right.

- Well, this is part of that ammunition.

We've talked about justa few of the tactics

to thrive in Dr. Jeffress' book.

You'll wanna get all 10of them in your arsenal.

So get a copy of his book,it's called, appropriately,

"Courageous," and it's availablewherever books are sold.

Let's not be caught off-guard.

Let's be prepared.

Thank you so much.

Wonderful to have you back.- Oh, thanks for having me.

- Good to see you always.