#ChosenByGod (cont'd)

The Course. You light up my life. You give me hope to carry on.

You light up my days. Oh, listen, if you let somebody come in and light up your life, they own the light bulb. You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession that you may declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light. That is from 1 Peter 2 verse 9 and this is Destined for Victory.

Well, it's human nature to sometimes let other people dictate who we are and how much joy we feel, to let someone be the light of our life. Today, Pastor Paul Shepherd wants to remind you that God has a better way for you to live, one of which He is the source of your security and your significance. Stay with us here or visit pastorpaul.net to listen on demand. That's pastorpaul.net. Listen and subscribe to the podcast at Spotify, at Apple podcasts or wherever you get yours.

Now, here's Pastor Paul with today's message, Chosen by God. Stop getting mad at people when they show you they don't like you. Believe them.

Believe them. You don't like me. I get it. I raised you, but now you resent me.

Do you think I'm the worst human being on earth? I get it. So now I know how you feel about me. All that's going to do is help me know where the boundaries have to be. I'm not going to get into hatred with you. See, the Bible is real clear. Love your enemies. Come on, come on.

You got to love them because they belong to God. He's going to do the vengeance work. You don't do the vengeance work. Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord. I will repay. But you got to let your enemies know that I got boundaries.

You don't like me. I believe it. And so you make sure they have a healthy boundary distance from you because you're chosen. So I'm living to please him. If you're all happy, good, but I'm living to please him.

That's where we have to be saints of God. I live to please the Lord. If anybody else happens to be happy, that's wonderful. But I'm living to hear him say, well done. Good and faithful servant. Those are the words I want to hear. Your accolades are fine, but I take those with a grain of salt because the same people say in Hosanna on the Sunday before we'll be saying crucify him in just a few days. You know it's true. Folk have hated you for a while.

They've loved you for a while. You can't get impressed either way. Whatever you think about me, that's what you think about me, but I'm not dictated to by what you think about me. I am who God says I am. I can do what God says I can do. I can be everything he has ordained me to be and I don't need your permission. Stop letting people dictate to you.

They don't have that power by themselves, so why would you give it to them? I told you, you got to stop. You singles can't live the you light up my life thing. You can't wait for somebody to come light up your life. So many nights I sit by my window waiting for someone to sing me a song. The matter with you. Sing your own song.

Need you to sing me a song. The course you light up my life. You give me hope to carry on.

You light up my days. Oh, listen, if you let somebody come in and light up your life, they own the light bulb. And there's some people in here who've been there, done that, who can tell you we're trying to save you the trouble and get you out of that mess before it envelops your life. So listen to us.

We coming back from where some of y'all are going. If you give somebody that much power, they own the light bulb. And when you get on their nerves and I guarantee you, you're going to get on their nerves. You need it in prophecy form. Okay.

Yeah. And the Lord would say, thou art going to get on their nerves. And as soon as you get on their nerves, here's what's going to happen. They're going to unscrew their light bulb and walk out. And there you are back in the darkness by the window looking for the next person to come along.

No, no, you don't give anybody that kind of power. When they show up, let them see the house of your life. Well lit. I got lights everywhere. Lights all over the place. They walk in. So you already got lights, huh?

That's right. Keep your little raggedy light bulb. I don't need that. I might let you in for a while. You can hang with me for a while, but when I get tired of you, this my house, you got to go.

Oh, that's where some of y'all got to learn to live. You do the dictating. Stop letting people dictate to you.

Stop letting people pronounce who you are, especially when they get mad at you. You're not going to be anything without me. Try me. Try me by leaving and then check back. Check back every now and then. No, no, not at my house.

Check back on my status. Once you leave, you're not coming back, but check my status every now and then and you're going to see me happy, holy, living for God, doing the will of God, enjoying my life. I don't need you taking me some way.

I can go by myself or go with my friends who love me. Need to go with you so I pay for your cruise. Oh, so I'm talking, right? Y'all just got to learn this thing. Do you see people sometimes I watch these judge shows.

I cannot believe how perpetually ignorant people are. You seen it on the show. That's what made you want to be on the show. But why be on the show with the story you already saw how that one ends?

All these people paying these other folks bills. What is the matter with Joe? Oh my, I can't believe it. Just how long have you known him? Three weeks. And how much money did you lend him? $2,000. Three weeks, two thousand. Are you on crack? What's the matter with Joe? Knowing you for three weeks and you give me a sad story, go to bank of America and tell them the sad story.

See if they go lend you the money, go to Wells Fargo and see if they don't lend you money. Why are you coming to me? Because they know there's enough people out here who don't understand that they're chosen by God and they figure if they run game on you, you will fall for it. And sadly, too many people are doing it. I need y'all to figure out I am not paying anybody's bills but my own. I don't need you coming with your sad luck, your bad story. I don't need that in my life. I can do bad all by myself. I don't need company doing bad and some of y'all doing well till they show up. And then there you go with your project mentality.

I can fix them. Look at Judge Judy. That's a word from the Lord.

Look at Judge Judy and you'll see somebody who did what you are getting ready to do. And some I'm not even cute. That's what gets me. You see some of these folks and you say, okay, now what exactly was the attraction?

I'm trying to understand how I mean these folk who just look like really, really that's what you wanted. That's what you thought would be a blessing in your life. Oh no, I'm not for that.

You got to go somewhere. If you need money, there are banks all over the place. I am not a bank for you. If you want to bless somebody, know exactly who they are, see that they're walking in accountability and be a blessing.

And blessing means give. It doesn't mean loan. Do yourself a favor and don't loan anybody anything.

I don't care who they are. Relative friend, if you need it and I feel impressed to give it to you, I'm giving it. If you say, no, no, I'm going to get this, but I don't care what you say, I'm going to give it back. That's fine, but I'm not giving it as a loan.

I'm giving it as a gift. I'm sowing this into your life. Why?

Because I believe in what is going on in your life. So you only give to people and to causes that you believe are doing right. Don't give to hard luck people.

Why they broke? Because they don't know how to handle money. So you're going to give them some more to mishandle.

And once they now know that you are inclined to give, they're going to keep tapping you as an ATM. And I need somebody to understand that's not my job in your life. I'm not a bail bondsman. I'm not bailing you out anymore.

Give one time, make sure they handle that right, that you see their life progressing in the right direction and bless them as they go. Do not make loans to folks. Because now you're going to mess up a whole relationship. And you got to figure this out. And y'all got to stop messing with these people who don't have a track record of striving to do the will of God and disciplining their lives in the process. Yes, everybody can fall on the hard times. I'm not against hard times.

We all been there. But when you have character, you will not manipulate people when you are in hard times. Why? Because I'm chosen by God. So he knows the position I'm in.

And he's going to bail me out of this. Still ahead, the second half of today's Destined for Victory message with Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor at Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. We want to thank all of you who sustained Destined for Victory with your prayers and financial support, gifts that help Pastor Paul share the gospel with a growing audience. Destined for Victory is a listener supportive ministry, one that depends on your prayers and financial support to share the gospel of Christ all over the world. So as God leads, please prayerfully consider making a gift to Destined for Victory today. You can do that online at pastorpaul.net or call 855-339-5500.

That's 855-339-5500. God sends some people into your life to stay, others for only a season. Here's Pastor Paul with the rest of today's Destined for Victory message, chosen by God. Listen, sometimes you have to make hard choices with the people in your life. But you can trust God that not only are you chosen, but so are they.

If they look to the Lord and give their lives to Him, He'll take care of them. Remember that day that Abraham had to take his son Ishmael and his mother Hagar and walk them to the door, put some supplies on their shoulders and said, God bless you. That had to be a tough time to close the door on your eldest son and on his mother.

That had to be a difficult decision. But God told him, listen to Sarah. That is underlined in most sisters' Bibles. And when the Lord said, listen to your wife, right there in Genesis, look at the page on some sisters' Bible. Listen to your, look at that.

Highlight that in orange. Listen to your wife. That's what God told him. I know your heartstrings are being pulled. This is your oldest son Ishmael and his mother. And they've been in your home all these years. That boy was a teenager when they got kicked out.

Been there all these years. This is my oldest boy. And now I got to put him out. God said, listen to your wife.

Why? Because she was speaking the will of God. Sometimes we're so busy taking care of folk, God can't take care of them. Some of y'all got these folk in your house who aren't doing anything, aren't measuring up to any standard, aren't striving for anything. Just sitting, sucking up your air in the summertime and your heat in the wintertime and eating all your groceries. And you think you're being kind and compassionate.

Some of us are being stupid. You got to love them enough to let them roll. God bless you and keep you. Make his face shine upon you. Be gracious unto you. Lord lift up his countenance upon you. Give you peace.

Bye. Because only when Abraham shut the door did they get out there and the Bible says at a certain point when they had run out of those supplies and they were weeping and he, she took her son Ishmael and put him over here under a bush. She's a teenager, but she's still baby in him. And then she goes a stone's throw away or so and she is crying. And the Lord said, I see y'all. I see you. And now that you've run out of options that you can see, let me show you what I can do in your life. And God showed up and he told Hagar, he said, listen, because of my covenant with that boy's father, because I'm in covenant with Abraham, I'm gonna take care of him and I'm gonna take care of you too. God will bless people because of you.

That's what he did. He said, I'm going to take care of you. Hagar was the woman who should have never come into the picture, but God has a way of blessing not only my miracles, but my mistakes. When you are chosen, he will not only bless your miracle, he'll bless your misery too. And he said, because of my covenant with Abraham, I'm going to take care of the boy y'all should have never had and Hagar, I'm going to take care of you. Your son is going to have a nation come out of him and you are going to always be taken care of. And you need to understand that's the God who chose you. He'll not only take care of you, he'll bless other people around you because of you.

And you need to let him do it by taking your hands off. I just feel responsible. Well, get over it.

In Jesus name, get over it. I'm not responsible. God is responsible for you. And you in many ways are responsible for making your own decisions to bless your own life. God gives you the power to become self-sufficient and self-sustaining, but you have to execute it. And that's why the Bible says some hard things sometimes. Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, he said, I heard there's saints who are showing up at dinner time don't have a job and not looking for one.

See, anybody can not have a job, be between jobs. We've all been there and right now I'm looking, but nothing is coming up. Well, keep looking, keep praying and all of that.

And if God wants the saints to sustain you, he'll put you on somebody's heart, go to prayer meeting and say, just remember me, I'm believing God looking for work and what have you and let the saints know that's right to do. Let us know, but don't go hitting on them. You know, Lord told me that I should talk to you. You ever had that happen? So y'all haven't been around enough. I've had folks hit me up. You know, I've been praying about this. The Lord told me to see you.

I've had that happen over the years. So now I'm good. See, when I was younger, I was a little more, well, maybe I'm supposed to do something. I'm 60. As I preach this message, I'm 60. I'm over it.

Three score has taught me a whole lot. At this point, they come to my God said, I should talk to you. I said, Oh, is that right? Well, tell me what he told you to tell me. Well, I know he just said to talk to you. Okay, well, you're talking to me.

You just fulfilled his plan. God bless you. Look at that.

We talking. God bless you. I got to run. Take care of yourself. See, I'm too old. You can't run that on me. I can't handle these people trying to run game and y'all need to figure it out. You can't run game on me and succeed.

Just figure it out for your life. I am not vulnerable anymore. I'm not gullible.

You can't just run any old thing on me. I am going to be fine and you can think whatever you want. I thought you loved the Lord.

I do. And see, I get my definitions from the word of God. You don't get to define me.

Let me wrap it up. Let me just tell you when you know your chosen, you know how to get your definitions, you can go A through Z. A, I am accepted and the beloved because Ephesians 1.6 told me I was. B, I'm beloved. I'm blessed with every spiritual blessing according to Ephesians 1.3.

So you got to know where it is in your book so you can claim it. Peter 2.9, 1 Peter 2.9, we just read it. I'm chosen. God chose me so you can't choose me.

I'm chosen already. D, I'm a disciple according to the great commission, Matthew 28.19. E, I'm empowered by the Holy Spirit according to Acts 1.8.

F, I'm forgiven according to Ephesians 4.32. G, I'm a recipient of grace according to Ephesians 2.8. H, I'm an heir of God according to Romans 8.17. I, I'm an imitator of God according to Ephesians 5.1. J, I'm justified by faith according to Romans 5.1. K, I'm a kingdom citizen according to 2 Corinthians 1.5.

L, I'm loved by God according to 1 John 4.19. M, I'm more than a conqueror according to Romans 8.37. N, I'm a new creation according to 2 Corinthians 5.17.

O, I'm the overcomer of the world according to 1 John 5 and 4. P, I'm predestined according to Romans 8.29. Q, I'm qualified to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints according to Colossians 1.12. R, I'm redeemed according to Galatians 3.13. S, I'm saved according to Ephesians 2.8. T, I'm a temple of the Holy Spirit according to 1 Corinthians 6.19. U, I'm unified with the Spirit according to Ephesians 4 and 3. V, I'm victorious in Christ according to 1 Corinthians 15.57. W, I'm God's workmanship according to Ephesians 2.10. X, I got earnest expectation and hope according to Philippians 1 and 20. Y, I have a yoke that is easy to bear according to Matthew 11 and 30. And Z, I'm zealous under good works according to Titus 2.14. You don't get to define me. I got my definitions. I know who I am.

You got to go somewhere. If you're looking for somebody to manipulate, I'm not the one. You can't get me to spend my money with your mouth. I do with it what God wants me to do.

I know a gold digger, male or female, when I see one. Amen. You just got to figure this stuff out.

And sometimes you say, I'm not saying you're a gold digger, but I ain't trying to mess with no, I'm sorry. Glory to God. Did I almost go there? All right, I pulled it back. I pulled it back.

What was he getting ready to say? Don't even worry about it. It's all good.

It's all good. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah.

No, I'm not saying you're a gold digger. Hallelujah. Glory be to God. But whatever you are, you better figure out who God made you because I am not the one to fool with.

Why? Because I'm chosen by God. Before you can discover and carry out God's purpose, it is paramount to believe you have one. And God himself has said that you do never let the enemy use the mistakes you've made or the pain you've endured to fool you into thinking your life is devoid of meaning.

If you no longer had a purpose on earth, God would see to it that you were somewhere else. Well, the past 18 months or so have been a difficult time in the history of our nation and our world. Of course, sickness, death, loss of jobs, loss of loved ones, the kind of challenges that can cause some to lose hope. In his DVD message, Get Your Hopes Up, Pastor Paul Shepherd reminds us that the recent challenges many of us have experienced neither surprised God nor derailed his plan for our lives.

As you follow along, you'll discover three reasons why each of us should live with renewed faith and hope even in the midst of tough times. That's Get Your Hopes Up, a DVD message from Pastor Paul and our gift to you this month by request for your generous donation to Destin for Victory. Call us at 855-339-5500 or visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. You can always mail your gift to us at Destin for Victory, post office box 1767, Fremont, California 94538.

Again, our address is Destin for Victory, box 1767, Fremont, California 94538. And if you need prayer today, use the Contact Us feature at pastorpaul.net and share your request. While you're there, be sure to ask for Pastor Paul's monthly letter of encouragement, yours at no cost or obligation. You need to know that you are who God says you are. You are not what people say you are. You are not what those who brought you up say you are.

You are not what social scientists say that you are. I am who God says I am. I can do what God says I can do. That's tomorrow when Pastor Paul Shepherd shares his message, we are royalty. Until then, remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are Destin for Victory.