Living Above Your Challenges (cont'd)

When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory.

I want somebody to decide it's worth getting excited here and now. Don't wait until everything is the way you wish it was. You need to make up in your mind, I'm going to rejoice in the Lord always. I'm not going to wait until things get better.

I'm going to rejoice right now. If you are facing a challenge today and you want to live above it, focus on the person who already lives above it. Hello and thanks for stopping by for today's Destin for Victory message with Pastor Paul Shepherd, who is Senior Pastor of Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. Do you sometimes dwell on all that's going wrong in your life?

Do you find yourself counting burdens instead of blessings? If so, your focus button may be broken and today Pastor Paul wants to help you get it fixed. So stay with us now or visit pastorpaul.net to hear any recent Destin for Victory message on demand. That's pastorpaul.net.

You can also subscribe to the podcast version of this program at Spotify and Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Now with today's Destin for Victory message, living above your challenges, here's Pastor Paul Shepherd. One of the things we as kingdom people need to learn to do is stop being so negative, especially when it's unintentional negativity. Some folks just major in it. They don't even think about it.

You ask them how they're doing, they're going to tell you about every ache and pain. Well, you know, oh Lord. I'm just trying to help you understand that we should all learn to think and speak so that we can live differently. Think differently, speak differently so you can live differently. My point is we all have positives, we all have challenges.

You're no exception to the rule. Everybody on the planet has positive things, good things happening in their life and they also have challenges. A lot of people seem to have a lot more challenges, no doubt about that.

I'm not disputing that. A lot of people have a lot to grapple with but here's what I'm saying. I have met and seen many people who choose not to dwell on the challenges, many of which they didn't ask for, they had as just part of their being on this planet and yet many of them are getting more done because of a change of perspective than many of us who have far less excuses and so we need to stop being people who focus on the negative things. Don't let your challenges determine who you are or what you do.

That's what I want to tell you to do. I'm going to get back to theology and all that. You're deep people, I'm going to give you something deep before we get out of 2 Kings 5. Right now, we're going to stay in the shallows of practicality.

You can pack up and say, I'm leaving, I need to meet at the word, this ain't nothing but... Fine. You got to learn if you change your perspective, you can change a lot of things in your life and not only have believers, some believers learn that, there are some people who don't know the Lord who know that and they live a far more productive life than some believers who spend their time in negativity and we who know the Lord ought to be the folk who lead, let our light shine. Even when we have challenges, we don't focus and fixate on them. We deal with them appropriately. We put them in proper perspective but we do not focus on negativity.

That's what I'm here to tell you to do. Having polio and being paralyzed from the waist down didn't define Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was the beloved US president who from his wheelchair guided our country through World War II. Paralyzed from the waist down. Country didn't know it because that wasn't the day when everything was on TV and a lot of folk only heard him on the radio, never saw him and they tell you what a great man he is and what they need to do is say, and he did all that from a wheelchair because that he determined this wheelchair is not going to define what I do or don't do.

This country's got to get through a world war and I can't say, I wish I could help you all but I'm in here. Being born with muscular dystrophy didn't define Ralph Braun but he's the man who created the first wheelchair accessible van that had hand controls so you could navigate a vehicle as a wheelchair bound person with hand controls. Ralph Braun who was born with MD decided MD is not going to define who I am. There are people like me who need to get around and I'm going to figure out how to get it done. He not only created that one with hand controls, later on he was the one who created the first accessible minivan period that many people all around the world use. Accessible minivans were created because of this man's company. His vision has come to reality. His vision was to take millions of wheelchair bound people and give them mobility. Just let them go where they need to go and before he died, that vision had come to pass. Being born blind didn't keep Stevie Wonder from writing some of the greatest songs you've ever heard in your life. Yes, heretic hunters, I just said Stevie Wonder.

He's supposed to be preaching the gospel of that town by Stevie Wonder. But none of your business since we're talking about but. The rest of this sermon, there's three places y'all can go. They should have never let me hear that. I will use that the rest of my life every now and then. Do you know there are three places you can stay absolutely free of y'all? All right, anyway, stop, stop.

Y'all are messing me up. Some of the greatest songs ever written, got them in my phone right now. Oh yeah, I got everything in there. I got all the gospels, all the wonderful sacred music, all that, plenty of it, good, worship, all that stuff, gospel, high church. See, I got high church stuff.

Some of y'all only know how to get boogie down. I do high church anthems. I used to play them in my church, just play them. We could go from an anthem to a gospel song and nothing flat.

We loved it that way because it's all sacred music. I got that but there's some Stevie in there too. Some days I'm in my car, y'all think I'm in there praying. Some days me and Stevie.

Looking back on when I, stop it, I told y'all to stop it, leave me alone. Being born with no arms or legs didn't define Australian evangelists. Man named Nick Vujicic, he and I spoke together at a conference in Hawaii. Born with no hands, no arms, no legs. But at age 17, he started a non-profit organization entitled Life Without Limbs. He travels the world helping people understand that life with significant disabilities doesn't equal life without purpose. He says, nor does it equal life without joy, nor does it equal life without fulfillment. He's experiencing all three with no arms and no legs and born that way.

What's the difference? Perspective. He's in his late 30s, I don't think he's hit 40 yet as I bring this message. He's married, got kids. Kids, married, wife happy.

Why? Because he's not sitting around all day looking at what he didn't come with. He's living life helping people all over the world. And I need to tell you that we who are people of the kingdom need to be people of proper perspective. We need to stop looking at things as what I can't do and say, based on where I am, what has God equipped me to do and do with excellence? And that's what I'm challenging us to get down to the business of.

Living your life without letting your negative circumstances define you. Up next, the rest of today's Destined for Victory message with Pastor Paul Sheppard. We want to thank all of you whose prayers and financial support helped Pastor Paul share the gospel all over the world. Your donations do make a difference. So as God leads, prayerfully consider making a generous gift to Destined for Victory today.

You can give securely online at pastorpaul.net or call 855-339-5500. We all need a little perspective from time to time. It's often the only difference between depression and deliverance. Here's Pastor Paul with the rest of today's message, Living Above Your Challenges. You can be great. Naaman was great. He was productive. He was well loved by the king no less. Now, he didn't want to keep leprosy. And later on, when I get to the next message, we'll talk about how God began to work to bring him to the place where he could receive healing. But see, that's the problem with some of us. Some of us think the victory is always in the healing. And I'm telling you, it's wonderful when you get a breakthrough, when you get healing. But look at us spoiled 21st century Christians. We always talking about breakthrough, miracle.

Yes, thank God when those happen. But I can take you to a bunch of folk who never got the breakthrough you think is the only thing that matters, and they're doing more in their life pre-breakthrough than most of us are doing, and we don't have anything to break through. Oh, I know you're mad, but I'm still telling the truth. We're just a bunch of spoiled rotten people. I listen to our preachers sometimes, and they act like if you got faith, you're supposed to be driving a luxury car and living in a big house.

Why don't you get yourself into the real world? Several years ago, my wife and I were in South Africa, there with our friends, Pastor John and Trina Jenkins. He was there to run revival at a mega church there in Africa, and we decided to go along, and they said, oh, yeah, come on. And we all went to South Africa together, and I'm telling you, it was a fantastic week, and he preached marvelously. But the pastor there, Pastor Jenkins, had been telling him about me. I didn't know it, and so I think I'm just going to be Pastor Jenkins' armor bearer. I'll carry his Bible when he go preach at them.

Because, you know, we just going to hang out South Africa, and we went to church and all that, but, you know, we want to see some lions and stuff, you know. So when I get there, this pastor, I meet him, and he says, oh, yes, yes, Pastor Jenkins has told me about you. And he says, here is your preaching schedule.

And I said, wait, what? He said, well, if you're bringing a notable preacher with you, because their church is spread out all over South Africa, and he said, well, then while you're preaching in some of these services, I'll send him preaching some other places. Never did ask me did I want to preach. Have yet to ask me that question. I go there thinking I'm hanging out with my boy. I preached six times in South Africa when I went to be the armor bearer for my buddy.

Six times. I bring that up to say one of the times they drove me to the city dump. We drove up a hill, which is really a pile, you know, of all of the fill and stuff, and we drove up and up there all these little settlements. You couldn't call them houses. People had just created something to live under when it rains.

Some of them were made of 10, various pieces of 10, and just used to all over the city dump. And I'm driving up there saying, wait, I thought I was preaching. Got up there. He finally said, okay. And we got out, and over here was a little hand-built worship place.

It wasn't a really nice, but it was adequate. And he said, service starts in there. And the people started flocking from all over the city dump and came to this little church sitting on a hill of junk. And those people worshiped harder than any of us did this morning. Do you see what I'm saying?

In the words of that great theologian, Chris Tucker, do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth? They worshiped harder at the city dump than we do in cute churches, because it's a perspective thing. No need of going up there telling, preaching to them about driving luxury cars. They just thinking, God, they got something over their head at night. Now, I'm not suggesting that they don't want to improve their station in life. I'm sure they do.

I'm just saying they don't spend their time worrying about stuff. These people decided, Jesus saved my soul. If my circumstances here never get better, those people are saying, I got a home prepared where the saints abide just over in the glory land. And I long to be by my Savior's side just over in the glory land. Some glad morning when this life is over, I'll fly away to a land on God's celestial shore.

I'll fly away. Those folks said, when we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory.

I want somebody to decide. It's worth getting excited here and now. Don't wait until everything is the way you wish it was. You need to make up in your mind, I'm going to rejoice in the Lord always. I'm not going to wait until things get better. I'm going to rejoice right now. I'm going to do what Paul said in Philippians chapter 4 verse 8.

He said, finally, brothers and sisters, whatsoever is true, whatsoever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on such things. Think on something worth rejoicing about. I'm not discounting negative circumstances.

They happen to all of us. But some of us need to just stop and count our blessings. Oh, I know you don't like what you're dealing with, but think about the way it could be. And more than that, realize that people who are dealing with the way yours could have been are living on the victorious side because many of them decided, I can't change my circumstances.

If they do, God's going to have to do it. But rather than hold him hostage until he brings healing or until he brings whatever I need, I'm going to bless him right now. I think you can move heaven a lot better through your praise than through your complaints.

I just choose to believe God's going to be moved a lot quicker when he sees you rejoicing, when the devil has thrown everything in the kitchen sink at you, when life has thrown everything in the kitchen sink at you, when all kinds of disruptions have happened and yet you're there rejoicing in the God of your salvation. You might mess around and get yourself a Paul and Silas blessing. They were at midnight in the center of a jail in maximum security. What did they do? They started singing and praising God. And the Lord said, wait a minute, they're messing with me now.

I got to go get in on that praise party. And the Lord came to the jail to just be in the praise party. And God was just clumsy. And when he came into the jail, he tore the place up and broke them free. The keeper of the jail knew that it was going to be his head if these prisoners got away.

And he saw that earthquake that God created. And he said, oh, they out of here. Let me kill myself because they're going to torture me before they kill me.

And I go, I'm going to just kill myself. And Paul said, no, no, don't do yourself any harm. We're all here. No, Jesus didn't break us out so that we could have a jailbreak. He just wanted to show y'all that he can't take much praise.

And so he just had to show up because the praise got too good. So I'm here to tell you, we'll get to theology next time. Right now, we need to decide. How many people are always talking about fair? It's not fair, fair.

What fair got to do with anything? In this broken world, it's broken by sin, been broken by sin ever since Genesis. And no need are you going around asking God for what's fair. We're in a broken world.

We live among broken people. Even creation groans for redemption. But in the midst of that, God's looking for some folk who will just dare to say, until and unless you bless me circumstantially or materially in the ways I would love to experience, I'm a bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

If you are facing a challenge today, make sure you put it in proper perspective. In the words of the apostle Paul, this light and momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. Thanks for joining us for Destined for Victory and today's message, Living Above Your Challenges. Stop by pastorpaul.net to hear any recent message on demand.

That's pastorpaul.net. Destined for Victory exists only through the faithful prayer and financial support of friends like you. And in appreciation of your generous gift today, Pastor Paul will send you his booklet, Caregivers Need Care Too. You know, there are people in the world who spend so much time meeting the needs of others that they rarely, if ever, have their own needs met. And this booklet reminds us to be on the lookout for those who are so busy helping the people around them, they never ask for help themselves. That's Caregivers Need Care Too, a booklet from Pastor Paul and our gift to you this month by request for your generous gift to Destined for Victory. So call us at 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, CA 94538.

Again that address is Destined for Victory, Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538. God operates according to His sovereign will and we must learn to go with His flow. Sovereign means there's nobody I have to answer to. And God is the only sovereign in the universe. The only one. When we say we serve the true and the living God, that's what we mean. He is God and He is sovereign.

And that's Monday. In Pastor Paul Shepherd's message, what did you expect? Until then remember, He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.