Finding Strength in God (cont'd)

David didn't sit somewhere wishing God would come find him. David got up and found God.

He reminded himself of the God he served, of who God was, and he encouraged himself in the things he had learned about God. Have you ever been let down by someone close to you, someone you trusted? If so, God wants to encourage you today. Hello and welcome to this Monday edition of Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor of Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. God brings people into our lives to comfort us and lift us up, but even the most well-intentioned people will let us down.

They have their own set of problems, their own valleys to walk through, so they may not always be there when we need them the most. No one knew this better than David, whose story continues today. Stay with us here or get the podcast on demand at PastorPaul.net, at Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your podcasts. Now with this message, Finding Strength in God, here's Pastor Paul. I want to let you know one of the best things you can do for your spiritual and physical and emotional health is get in touch with your feelings. Your feelings don't have to be in conflict with your faith. You are a spirit, but you have a soul and you live in a body. And some of us try to be one-dimensional, only spirit. I only pray, I only believe God, I only walk by faith.

No, no. You have a soul. Your soul is made up of your intellect, your will, and your emotions.

And you are a soulish being. Now you don't operate from the soul as the center. You learn to walk in the spirit.

You learn to make God the center of your life. And ultimately, that's going to dictate how you are to express your emotions and how you are to live in your body. But don't try to divorce yourself from being body and soul. And what that means is God is the one who made you an emotional being. It is okay for you to get in touch with your emotions. In fact, I'm convinced that it's downright dangerous for you to not be in touch with how you feel. I'm running into Christians who are not in touch. I'm running into folk who don't know how to express their emotions. I'm running into people who are just living in denial, just living out of touch when they go through hard times. They're trying to tough it up and man up and not cry and not go through those things.

No, no. I want to tell you something. God gave you tear ducts so that when it's time to cry, you can let loose. I want to tell somebody one of the best things some of you all can do is have a good old cry. Some of you are frustrated and you don't know what to do. You're not releasing your emotion. Some of you are angry. Don't you see what happens when people are angry and don't know how to deal properly with their anger?

That's when they lose it. Go out and just make a mess of everything. And I'm telling you it's happening in the church family too. Some of you all are not in touch with your stuff and you are living this stoic, unemotional life and it is not serving you well. And I'm telling you, you are an accident waiting to happen. Let the right trial hit you and you're going to surprise yourself. Well, some of you have done it.

I know if I let you testify, you can testify. Some of you all tried to be all stoic and all in touch and in control of yourself. And the right thing hits you and you got mad and you didn't just get mad at a particular situation, but because you were out of touch, you got mad for all the last five years. And one thing happened to you and you messed around and cursed out everybody in sight. Oh, I've seen it happen. I've seen good old so-called godly holy folk lose it and curse so bad until worldly folk are saying, mmm.

I didn't even know some of those words. I've seen it happen because you weren't in touch. Listen, let me tell you something. You've got to learn to deal with how you feel. Your faith isn't in conflict with your emotion. Your faith will dictate to them.

But first, you've got to be true to where you are. The Bible doesn't tell you, for instance, don't be angry. The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 4, be angry but don't sin. Learn how to deal with your anger appropriately.

It doesn't tell you don't be angry. Worst thing in the world you can do is try to bottle up and not deal properly with your emotions. Some saints, you need to get in touch with humor. You need to get in touch with things that will make you feel good in life.

You need to find the joy and the frivolity of life. Some of you are just too sour, look like you were baptized in lemon juice. I'm scared of Christians who don't know how to laugh, fall out laughing. I heard some folk on a Christian broadcast recently just chiding the church for becoming so oriented toward humor and all that.

I said, they better not listen to me. Because I know that while I'm telling the truth of God's word, it's all right to let folk laugh every now and then. No need of us being sour. No need of us being cranky.

How are you going to serve God with your cranky self? We need to get in touch, whether it's joy or sorrow, whether it's tears, whatever it is, get in touch with where you are. The Bible says these men wept until they had no strength left. Because that's where they were. And you can't get where you need to be until you admit where you are. And I've come to tell somebody get good and in touch with where you are right now.

So that God can take you from there to where he wants you to be. And they wept. But when they got through weeping, look at verse six, the Bible says, now David, as if it's not bad enough, David's got a new problem. New problem is that the men, when they get through crying with him, now all of them lost their wives and children to this band of raiders. All their wives and children have been taken captive.

And when they get through crying, somebody says, you know, the problem is that we're fooling with David. If it weren't for us trying to be supportive of this man and what he's going through, we wouldn't have been in this mess. We wouldn't have been out here living in Ziklag. We wouldn't have been off trying to fight with him.

We wouldn't have had been away from our wives and children. And my problem is David. The problem in our lives right now is David.

And then one of them said, we ought to kill him. I want to tell you, when you're living in this tension, you have to be careful to not assign your trouble to the wrong cause. Some of you, listen, here's a word for you, some of you all are picking on all the wrong people. You think your problem is somebody who has done you wrong. You think your problem is somebody who didn't come through for you the way you want.

You think your problem is somebody that you've been trying to be nice to and they've been mean to you. You've got to understand what's going on here. God is positioning his servant. He's putting him in a place where David and these men have got to understand.

You reach a place where there's nobody who has your answer and there is nobody who is the cause of your problem. Your trials are designed to get you in God's face so that you can experience God like you've never experienced him before, which will prepare you for the blessing that is to come. I come to tell somebody, you're picking on the wrong folk. I got a word for you, put down your stones. Some of you have picked up stones, you ready to fight somebody in your life, you're mad at somebody in your life, you think they are your problem, they are the cause for the trouble you're going through, and I'm here to tell you, God says, put those stones down. You can't pick on people, they don't have your solution. And if you try to fight your battle, God is not going to bless you. The Bible says, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. You get to a place where you've got to stop picking fights. You've got to stop trying to find who are your enemies and root them out and single them out for your hatred and for your vengeance.

It's not going to work. We'll be right back with more of today's Destined for Victory message from Pastor Paul Shepard. But first, this quick reminder that the program is always available on demand at pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net, where you'll find a host of great resources at our online store. And stay with us after the message when Pastor Paul joins me in the studio. But first, let's join him for the rest of today's teaching, Finding Strength in God.

Some of us are so bad, not only are we picking on folk we think are our enemies, some of you all in a bad place and you're picking on folk who love you. Oh, I know I'm reading your mail. I know I'm reading your mail. I've been waiting seven weeks to preach this message.

And you're going to get this word. That tells you to quit messing with folk in your life, quit acting like somebody didn't come through. Some of you all looking, you're doing a survey of your life, everybody who didn't just come through the way you want. That's who I'm mad at. Some of you all mad at your growth group right now. They know I'm going through trouble. Not a one of them called me. Now you're going to get mad at the very folk who God has raised up to pray for you and encourage you. Now you're isolating yourself from them. Some of them, they don't care about me. They heard me say I was going through a trial. Nobody called me this week.

And messing with all the wrong folk. Listen, the people in your life love you, but God has you in a place where they don't have your answer. They love you, but they're going through their own trials of many kinds. They love you, but they can't always be there. I know they told you if you need me, call me no matter where you are, no matter how far. Just call my name.

I'll be there in a hurry. On that you can depend and never worry. No wind, no rain, no winter storm can stop me, baby, if you're my goal. That's the gospel according to Diana Ross. I know they told you keep smiling, keep shining, knowing you can always count on me for sure. That's what friends are for. In good times and bad times, I'll be on your side forevermore. That's what friends are for.

That was the gospel according to Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John. Your friends meant it. I know they want you to call on them when you need them. They gave you their email. They gave you their cell number. They told you text me, do whatever you have to do, get in touch, and you tried to get in touch. And they were not available to you, and now you're mad. I'm telling you, they don't hold your solution. God has positioned you in the place he's positioned David, where the folk you ought to be able to count on don't have your solution.

In fact, in his case, they were creating a new problem for him. What does David do? He does what you and I are being called to do in this text. The Bible says David found strength in the Lord his God. I love the structure of the Hebrew that's translated here, found strength in the Lord his God. King James puts it this way, David encouraged himself in the Lord.

The structure of the Hebrew is very clear. It is a proactivity. In other words, it does not say David was sitting somewhere and strength found him.

That's what some of us want. God, you know how bad off my life is. I wish you'd come and just zap me with some strength, some power that I can get through all of this. No, no, that's not David. David didn't sit somewhere wishing God would come find him. David got up and found God. The Bible says he found God. Specifically, the way he did it is he reminded himself of the God he served, of who God was, and he encouraged himself in the things he had learned about God.

Let me show you what that means. That means that David got up from this place and he said to himself, he found a mirror and he said to himself, you need to remember who you're serving and you need to remind yourself of who God is. David found strength.

He sought it by encouraging himself. I came to tell you something. I know you've been told most of your life that you should not talk to yourself. People have told you that it looks a little strange when you talk to yourself, but I came to give you a word. Sometimes the best person to talk to is yourself.

I got another word. Sometimes the only person to talk to is yourself. And I come to tell you, get yourself in a mirror and look yourself in the face and tell yourself God began a good work in my life and he has promised to bring it to pass. And I know it doesn't look too good right now, but listen, you need to be encouraged. You need to strap on the full armor of God and wage spiritual warfare and tell the devil he's a liar and tell your emotions that joy is going to come in the morning and you've got to encourage yourself. Oh, I want to tell somebody who is looking for somebody to anoint you with oil. You're in a place where you can't find a good anointing service. You need to get in the mirror, get your oil, anoint yourself and say in the name of Jesus, you're going to go through this thing. In Jesus' name, you're not going under, you're going over and we're going to come out of this.

Oh, I know it looks bad, but be encouraged. You're going to be all right. Time for somebody to encourage yourself. You moaning and groaning because there's nobody helping you, nobody encouraging you. They don't know what you need to hear.

You have the advantage of knowing what you need to hear. You already know. I wish somebody would tell me they love me. Good, look in the mirror and say, I love you. Oh, come on somebody.

You know what you want to hear. I'm tired being by myself. Every time these special times come along, Valentine's Day and all that stuff, I'm by myself. Don't have anybody make me feel good.

Look yourself in the mirror, say you look good, nothing wrong with you. You're just going through a season. You're going to come out of this after a while. Oh, I know somebody broke up with you, but they were the one tripping.

You all right. Oh, it's time for you to encourage yourself. You know exactly what you need to hear. If somebody lied to you, you correct it to yourself. They told me I was never going to be anything.

They were lying. You're going to be just fine. God's going to get his will done in your life. And you've got to encourage yourself in the Lord. David found strength. He didn't wait for strength to find him. He found strength in the Lord his God. He encouraged himself.

Literally he put courage in himself. You've got to build yourself up. You've just got to say take courage, my soul, and let us journey on. Though the night is long and I'm far from home, you've got to tell yourself that this storm is going to pass over. We're going to get through this thing.

Oh, it doesn't look good, doesn't feel good. I might cry sometime at night, but the Bible said to you, weeping may endure for a night, but joy is going to come in the morning. Oh, I want to tell somebody it's time to encourage yourself.

You're the only one who can do it right now. And you've got to speak to yourself. And the Bible says after he found that strength, and after he got his focus on God, he then went to the Lord. And he inquired of the Lord, now about this problem, now that I'm built up, now that I'm focused on you, now that I believe you're not going to leave me in this place, what should we do? Should I pursue those who have taken our wives and children?

Will I be able to overtake them? He inquired of the Lord. It's time for somebody to know that when you're going through hell, that's not the time to run away from God. That's the time to run toward God. I applaud you for coming and listening to the word of God or listening to a CD or a broadcast. I applaud you for exposing yourself to the word of God because the devil and your flesh always try to tell you when you're going through hard times, don't fool with church, don't fool with the word of God. You don't feel like all of that.

They're going to be singing and praising and hands up. You don't feel like all of that. The devil is a liar. He's trying to keep you from your help.

You get in the place where God's presence is. David went before the Lord. He said, what should I do about this? And the Lord spoke to him and said, go after the enemy. And I'm going to bless you to recover everything that he stole from you. I come to tell somebody, I know it looks bad in your life right now, but if you will find strength in the Lord your God and encourage yourself in him and you will obey his word and follow his instruction, he's got a plan of victory for your life.

Your eyes haven't seen, your ears haven't heard. It hasn't entered into your heart what God is going to do for those who will find strength in the Lord their God. Draw near to me, says the Lord, and I will draw near to you.

If you feel alone today, if it seems the people you trust most have abandoned you in your time of need, remember, things will start looking up when you start looking up. Well, Pastor Paul joins me now from his studio in California. Pastor, let's take a moment and talk. I know how grateful you are for the way God has graciously supplied for our needs at Destined for Victory. And we do want to say thank you to those who have been praying and generously giving even during the pandemic. But I know you're concerned along with me that as people emerge from the lockdown, maybe ministries like ours could be forgotten, especially during these summer months.

Would you speak to the issue? Yes, sir. First of all, I cannot adequately say thank you to our partners, to the occasional donors, and to our legacy builders because they have been very consistent for the past 18 months or so. No matter what they heard, no matter what was going on in society, no matter what panic buttons people were pushing, donors seemed to get it that if we want to hear this kind of timeless preaching, we're going to have to make sure that this ministry is supported and they've done it faithfully. If you're one of those people listening, I want you to know how grateful I am that you followed the leading of the Lord and you have been consistent in your giving. And I pray that it continues not only in your life, but that we actually pick up new donors because especially when the summer hits, all of us who do media ministry, we might sound like we're faith-filled all the time, but some of us have those moments where we say, Lord, I sure hope these bills are going to be paid because the gospel is free, but the plumbing costs and those bills keep coming in every month.

We can't get this done unless partners come alongside. And I'm grateful and I'm praying that the Lord will keep them giving and supporting throughout the summer months. I love traveling and now that we can all feel like, oh, let's get back in the car or some people, let's get back on planes or whatever. Great, enjoy your summer, but please don't forget that the gospel has to be supported all year long, especially in these summer months. Thank you, Pastor. That's what it's all about, reaching more people with the gospel. And you help us do that as you give today. And for your generous donation to Destined for Victory, we'll be glad to send you by request, Pastor Paul's booklet, Finding Strength in Tough Times. This is a great companion guide to the message you're hearing today, one that explores the life of David during one of the greatest challenges in his life. That's Finding Strength in Tough Times, a booklet from Pastor Paul and our gift to you by request for your gift to Destined for Victory. So please call 855-339-5500 or visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. You can also mail your gift to Destined for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, California, 94538.

Again, our address is Destined for Victory, Box 1767, Fremont, California, 94538. And I'm here to tell somebody that you have got to get luck out of your vocabulary. I know some of us carried the word over from the world, but now that you're in the kingdom, you've got to adapt kingdom terminology. And I'm here to tell you that the concept of luck is not found in your Bible. That's next time in Pastor Paul Shepherd's message, Don't Go Messing with the Blessing. Until then, remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion In Christ, you are destined for victory.