Discovering the Power of Praise, Part 2 (cont'd)

God can be as silent as anybody you know.

He doesn't give you all the information. You got to learn to walk by faith and not by sight. But if you need a breakthrough because the enemy is coming against you, one of the ways you get a spiritual breakthrough in spiritual warfare is you praise.

If God gave you all the answers, you wouldn't need faith. Hello and welcome to this New Year's Eve edition of Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd. While God may have given you a promise, what He won't tell you is everything you may have to go through between the day He made that promise and the day it comes to fruition. Life may get hard.

Things may go sideways. Praise God anyway. Because praise is a prelude to victory. Today's Destined for Victory message is straight ahead. But be sure to visit pastorpaul.net to listen to any of Pastor Paul's recent messages on demand. That's pastorpaul.net. You can also listen to or subscribe to the Destined for Victory podcast at Spotify, at Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get yours.

Now here's Pastor Paul with today's Destined for Victory message, discovering the power of praise. You can go on a fast all you want. You can't fast up on some things.

I know I've tried. And you go on a spiritual three days and three nights. That's biblical. After three days and three nights, God going to show up. He going to come through. He going to tear this place up.

Oh, I'll never forget when I was saying God, God going to meet me. I'm going in the hotel three days and three nights. Took two and a half gallons of water in there. That's all I'm going to have for three days and three nights. I'm going in there. I shut the curtains.

I wouldn't know whether it was daytime or night. And all I did was prayed, read the Bible, and slept and drank water for three days and three nights. And I told my wife, she dropped me off. I said, God going to be in this room. Oh, I'm telling you, when you get back here, I'm going to be lit up with the presence of God. You're going to hardly be able to look at me. You're going to have to be like Moses. He had to put a veil over my face because I'm in, I'm lit up with the presence of God.

That's what I was believing for. And I walked in there with my water and I prayed and fasted and read the scriptures and all of that. And three days later I walked out, got in the car and Meredith said, what do you say? I said, just drive home. Don't worry about what he said.

Always want to know something. God won't speak so you might as well take it out on somebody. God can be as silent as anybody you know.

He doesn't give you all the information. You got to learn to walk by faith and not by sight. But if you need a breakthrough because the enemy is coming against you, whether it was like Job or anybody else, when he's coming against you, one of the ways you get a spiritual breakthrough in spiritual warfare is you praise.

You don't believe me. Look at Joshua six Jericho was securely shut up because the children of Israel, none went out, none came in. The Lord said to Joshua, see, I have given Jericho into your hand. It's king and it's mighty men of valor.

Very interesting. God said, see, I've given you the city. And when Joshua looked, all he saw was a city with a big wall. We don't see. I've given you. I don't see anything, but that's the way God wants you to learn. When God says, see it, you got to see it by faith. You got to see it in your mind. You got to see it in your spirit.

You don't have to see it with your eyes. He said, see, I've given you Jericho, Joshua, and I've given you its king and it's fighting men. And then he gives them the instruction. You shall march around the city. All the men of war go around the city. Once do this six days.

Wait, pardon me, Lord. All the army, all the fight men and your instruction is walk around the city. Once tomorrow, walk around the city. Third day, walk around the city. Fourth day, walk around the city. Fifth day, walk around the city.

Six day, walk around the city. What sense does that make? God doesn't have to make sense. You got to learn to do what he tells you to do, even when it doesn't make sense to you.

Look at the rest of the instruction. Now, on the seventh day, seven priests bearing seven trumpets of horns on the seventh day will march around the city seven times and the priest shall blow the trumpets and it shall come to pass when they make a long blast with the ram's horn. And when you hear the sound of the trumpet that all the people shall shout with a great shout. We used to shout after we see something.

Here's this instruction. Go around seven times on that seventh day. And when you do that, have all the people shout. And you got to learn to shout just because he said shout. And then the wall of the city shall fall down flat. See, we used to wall fall, I shout. God said, nope. You shout, wall fall.

Do your part and then I'll do my part. And when it happened, everybody saw that wall come down and they ran in and you know the story. God gave them a tremendous victory. And I need you to know that that's the God we serve. He is a God who makes sure that you have victory in your spiritual warfare because you've learned how to praise your way into victory in spiritual warfare. When the enemy is working one side of you, walking up one side of you and down the other, when he's working your last nerve, when he's just like he was with Job thinking, OK, I got him now. Imagine how the enemy felt when on the worst day of his life, Job is still praising God.

That's what you need to do. You want to give the devil a black eye when he's throwing everything at you in the kitchen sink. I dare you to praise God. Now, that's a good story, but let me give you one that's gooder than that. And yes, I'm educated. I realize that's not a word, but it fits the message. Second Chronicles Chapter 20.

Some of you already know where I am. Second Chronicles Chapter 20. It happened that the people of Moab and the people of Ammon and other peoples beside the Ammonites came to battle against Jehoshaphat. You know your enemies sometimes don't even like each other, but they will get together to come against you. You ever seen folk who don't like each other? They band together because they all don't like you. And they don't like you more than they hate each other, so they'll have a truce temporarily so they can all come against you.

Now, normally under normal circumstances, that's overwhelming. Bishop friend of mine said, I was at the movies one time with my wife, and there were some clowns sitting behind us, and they just carrying on and acting simple and talking all loud and acting crazy. He said, and my wife got up and turned around and said, y'all need to shut up. And he said, I was hoping everything was going to be okay. He said, because she had the faith that if they didn't do what she said, her husband was going to step in. He said, but the fact is, I looked around, and it was too many of them for me to do something. He said, so I'm sitting there saying, Lord, please let them men shut up so I don't have to step in. I could handle one of them, one on one.

I think I'll go for that. But one on four, one on five, uh-uh, that's not going to happen. That's in the movies which we're looking at on the screen. That's not in real life.

Let me tell you something. Sometimes your enemies get together. That's what they did against Israel, against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat saying, a great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria. Down to verse three, and Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord.

I love that. He feared, but he set himself to seek the Lord, proclaimed a fast throughout Judah. So Judah gathered together and asked help from the Lord, and from the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. That's what you've got to learn to do, seek the Lord even when you're scared. See, a lot of us are so busy beating people up because they are scared. You can be scared just to take your fear to the Lord.

Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah in the house of the Lord before the new court, and he began praying. I won't read you through the prayer. When you get a chance, read it. He talked to God thoroughly about this situation. That's what you've got to learn to do. You've got to pray stuff off of you.

You've got to talk about everything that's on your mind and your heart and get it up off of you. He prayed and prayed and prayed. Skip down to verse 14. In the spirit of the Lord came upon a young man who was a son of Zechariah in the midst of the assembly.

And he said, listen, all of you from Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and listen to me, King Jehoshaphat. Thus says the Lord to you, do not be afraid or dismayed because of this great multitude. Somebody needs to think about that God saying that to you right now. The stuff that's coming against you. Don't be afraid or dismayed because of what's coming against you. And why is that? Because the battle is not.

Oh, come on, somebody. The battle is not yours. I need somebody to know the battle is not yours.

I know the enemy's coming against you, but when they come against you, they got to deal with your father. Up next, the rest of today's Destined for Victory message with Pastor Paul Shepherd. But we want to take a moment and thank all of you whose prayers and financial support help Pastor Paul share the gospel all over the world, because your donations do make a difference.

So as God leads, prayerfully consider making a generous year-end gift to Destined for Victory today. After facing a challenge, take comfort in these words from 2 Chronicles 2015. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle does not belong to you, but to God.

Here's Pastor Paul with the rest of this message, discovering the power of praise. The battle is not yours. It belongs to God. It's God's fight.

We have a daddy who knows how to fight in such a way you never have to worry. And this battle doesn't belong to you. And so look at the instruction, tomorrow, go down against them. What you talking about go down there?

You just heard how many of them there is. God said, go head on down there. He said, but you're not going to need to fight.

Oh, I love that. When you get there, you're going to find out you don't have to fight. In this battle, there might be some battles where God lets you fight because he wants to teach your hands the war.

He said, but in this case, you won't have to fight. Position yourself, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you. Oh, Judah and Jerusalem, do not fear or be dismayed tomorrow.

Go out against them for the Lord is with you. When Jehoshaphat got that word, some faith rose up in him. He said, all right, that's what we're going to do.

And you know the story. They went on out there and did what the Lord said. And when they got to where the fight should be, they found the enemy was already dead. God called them to come against each other.

They all died. Not a one of them was left standing because the Lord had fought the battle for them. Praise is a prelude to victory. Somebody here is in spiritual warfare.

The enemy is trying his best to take you out. But I dare you to obey God and give him praise. You're going to see him bring you through.

Quickly, number nine. Praise is a prelude to deliverance, not only to victory and spiritual warfare. Sometimes you need a breakthrough.

You are bound. We just sang about it. I said, oh, Lord, you in this service. Listen to this song. The God of the breakthrough.

Listen, God is one who will respond to your praise and give you a breakthrough. Don't believe me? Ask Paul and Silas. You know what happened to them.

You're a reader of the Bible in Acts 16. You know that those men of God went to town. And there they were telling the works of the Lord and what have you. And they got a girl delivered who was demonized. And for all their trouble, they got thrown in jail.

Sometimes you do all the right things and get seemingly all the wrong results. But you've got to know when you're doing God's will, he's always got your back. And so there they are in jail. Verse 22 tells you the multitude rose up against them and sent them to the magistrates who tore off their clothes, commanded them to be beaten with rods. Many stripes were laid on them and all that. And then after that, they were put in prison. Watch this. And fastened their feet in the stocks. So they are bound, physically bound. Oh, but at midnight, verse 25. At midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. And the prisoners were listening to them.

You know why you've got to go through your trials, right? Because somebody's looking at you. Somebody's looking at you. See, don't ever believe you're not a role model. People are looking at you.

And what you do or don't do matters. And the prisoners were listening to them. Why? Because they're praising and they're singing and they're praying to the Lord. And suddenly, verse 26, suddenly, somebody here needs to know you do the praise and worship part and one of these old times you're going to have a suddenly.

Oh, I don't know about you. I'm believing for a suddenly in my life. I've got about two, three areas where I really could use a suddenly. Next thing I know, bam, here's what God did. Bam, God changed things around. And suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains fell off and they were loosed.

I came to tell somebody, you want your chains off? Give God praise and worship and bless his holy name. And suddenly he's going to come through for you.

One more thing and I'm going to let you go. Number 10, God is to be praised for who he is. Now, when we talk about who he is, you're talking about the nature of God. See, God does what he does because he is who he is. One of the things I like about Hebrew is the Hebrew language gives you some specific elements of who God is. In the New Testament, we're serving the same God. Please understand, Old Testament and New Testament don't have different gods. There is one God.

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. But Hebrew gives us a better picture because it gives us aspects of his character. So when you see some text in the Old Testament, the Hebrew would be referring to him as El Shaddai. That means the God who is almighty.

Sometimes a text is referring to him as El Elyon. That means he's the most high God. He's higher than every other so-called God. Anything else that would seem to be powerful, God is higher than that.

Sometimes they're referring to Adonai. That's the Lord of all. Sometimes you see Jehovah.

That's the eternal one. In the Old Testament, they couldn't even pronounce his name. But Jehovah means he's the eternal one. They didn't get to speak his name.

It was not lawful for them to even try to articulate his name because he was the eternal God. He is the not human. He is the not like you. You know, I don't like it when people talk about the man upstairs.

Just personally, I don't like that. I know you all don't mean any harm. But listen, he's not a man upstairs.

Let me just help you real quick. He was a man, Jesus Christ, who came down to become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. And so he was the God-man here on earth. But he now has ascended back to the right hand of the Father, and there is no man upstairs that you're serving. And so you need to know he is Jehovah.

And then some texts tell you he's Jehovah-jireh, which means the God I provided. You remember when Abraham had to take Isaac up on the mountain, at first he thought he was going to have to kill his son as a sacrifice. When he raised his knife to obey God, the Lord spoke out of heaven and said, No, don't do that.

I just wanted to test your obedience. I'm not going to have you kill your son, but there is a sacrifice. Look over there in the bushes and you'll see that God had provided a ram. And that's the text where it says, because I am Jehovah-jireh. I'm the God who provides exactly what you need. I came to tell somebody, some of y'all need a ram in your life, and God is a God who is able to supply exactly what you need. Not only is he Jehovah-jireh, but he's Jehovah-rapha. That means the Lord our healer. I don't care what sickness or disease it is. You have every right to say, Lord, thank you for what the medical physicians are doing, but you are the God who is the great physician.

You're my healer, so whether you use their surgery or whether you do it apart from what they do, beyond what they do, I believe in you to be my healer. He is also, in the Old Testament, Jehovah-nissi, God our banner. What does that mean? That means when you had an army, you had somebody who was the standard bearer.

They went ahead of the army and they bore the standard, and the standard told you how bad this army was. And Jehovah said, I am your banner. Oh, I love that. I don't need a physical banner. God himself is my banner. When I go into war, God goes ahead of me, and he is my banner of victory.

Sometimes he's referred to as Jehovah-shalom in the Old Testament. That means he is a God who is your peace. God will give you a peace that doesn't even make sense.

I wonder if anybody has experienced that. God will give you a peace where you stop and look at yourself and say, I ought to be crazy right about now. I should have lost my mind by now, but here I am with a perfect peace in my heart and in my mind.

I'm not worried when I ought to be crazy. That's because he is Jehovah-shalom. He is Jehovah-meketesh. That means he is your sanctifying God.

God will clean up areas of your life that need cleansing, that need you to become what God wants you to be. And he himself is your sanctifying God. He is Jehovah-raha. That's God our shepherd. He is Jehovah-sitkanu.

That's God our righteousness. He is Jehovah-shammah. That means he's there. When you feel all alone, don't let the devil make you believe it. He is Jehovah-shammah. He is with me, right in my trouble. He's there. When no human around me, he is there. Now, let me help you understand.

I need to wrap this up. Let me tell you that if you can't remember these Hebrew names, you don't have to. All you need to remember is one name, the name of Jesus. You know why? Because Colossians says that in him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

So if you can't remember Shammah and Shalom and Makedesh and Sitkanu and all of that, if you can't remember those, you don't have to remember them. Just say, Jesus, I need you. Jesus, I want you to come through for me.

Jesus, I'm in trouble and I need you to bail me out. And he will be right there. No matter what may be going on around you, you can have the peace of God within you. Learn to praise God in good times and in bad. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus. Well, the last thing Jesus told his disciples before he ascended into heaven was to go out into all the world and make disciples of all nations. And a great way for you to do that today is by partnering with Pastor Paul in the Destined for Victory ministry.

In fact, I can't think of a better way to end 2021 and begin a new year. All it takes is a monthly pledge of $20 or more, donations that will be used to help Pastor Paul share the gospel all over the world. And if you make that commitment today, your first monthly gift will still be tax-deductible for 2021. As our way of saying thanks for your partnership, we'll send you a few welcome gifts, including one of Pastor Paul's most popular CDs, The Best of Let My People Smile.

This is Pastor Paul at his very best, combining his great sense of humor with the timeless truths of God's Word. So call 855-339-5500 to find out more about how to become a Destined for Victory partner or to give your year-end gift of any size right now to Destined for Victory. Or you can mail your gift, letting us know you wish to become a partner.

The address, but be sure to postmark it by midnight tonight, is Destined for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538. You can also become our partner from our website, pastorpaul.net. And if you can't become a partner but would like to send that generous year-end gift, there's still time to get Pastor Paul Shepherd's brand-new book, Lessons from the Vineyard, our thank-you gift for your most generous donation of $25 or more. Now all of us here at Destined for Victory want to wish you and your family a happy New Year. We pray that the Lord will bless you and keep you in 2022 and that He will supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. Join us Monday when Pastor Paul shares his new series, Cliff Notes for Successful Living, with the message, Are All Marriages Really Made in Heaven? But until then, enjoy your holiday weekend and remember, He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.