Uh Hello, and thanks for stopping by for today's Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepard. Coming up next, a beautiful picture of what true perseverance looks like. But first, there's a message all of us at Destined for Victory want to share with you. As you may know, the summer season is often a tough time for media ministries. Pastor Paul and I talked about this on many occasions, and I asked him if it was true that summer time was particularly tough on Destined for Victory from a financial standpoint, and here's what he had to say Yes, it is.
And it's simply because people love us and they want to support us. But sometimes we're so glad to be through the winter and the spring, and we're now in the summer and we're ready to take some vacation time and do some things that we've longed to do for months. And we get to do it, whether it's travel or whatever. But I just want to encourage and remind our listeners that if we're going to keep on preaching the word throughout the year, then the support is absolutely necessary. Because I have found out that the bills don't take vacations, they keep coming every single month.
And so we have to be ready to meet them with the finances necessary. And again, it's not about the money, it's what the money does. Your giving allows us to keep on declaring truth that people need to hear. Day in and day out, month in and month out.
So, at every season, even in the summer, we get to keep preaching timeless truths if we have the financial support. I want to thank all of our partners, all of our donors, everyone who makes sure to meet the financial needs so that lives are changed, souls are saved, and people come to know who Jesus is and how important knowing Him is in their lives. We're so grateful for friends like you who support our media ministry with your prayers and charitable giving. Your donations do make a difference. And as you give generously today, we have an outstanding resource to share with you as our way of saying thanks.
Introducing our brand new booklet, Overcoming Bitterness. Based on some of Pastor Paul Shepard's best sermons, this message will show you some key strategies to removing bitterness from your heart once and for all. As you follow along, you'll gain strategic insight into ways to cultivate hope and reclaim the joy of the Lord's salvation. Again, that's Overcoming Bitterness, a helpful booklet for anyone who still struggles to let go of past wounds and press on toward his or her victory in Christ. Request your copy today when you give your generous gift to Destined for Victory.
You can give by phone by calling 855-339-5500. That's 855-339-5500. Or visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and Secure donation online or mail your gift to Destined for Victory. Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, California, 94538. The challenges we face are really not the greatest concern.
The greatest concern is how you and I respond to the challenges we face. Challenges are standard equipment in life. It's just part of living on this planet. If you will learn to walk by faith and not by sight, you will discover that your challenges do not negate the plan of God for your life. Uh In the days when judges ruled over Israel, there came a great famine across the land.
Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, endured a decade of disappointment, and now they had a decision to make. It's one of the most powerful stories in the Old Testament, and Pastor Paul takes you there next as we continue our journey through the Book of Ruth.
Now, here is Pastor Paul Shepard with today's Destined for Victory message. Getting bitter. or getting better. Ruth chapter 1, beginning with verse 6. When Naomi heard in Moab That the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them.
Naomi and her daughters in law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law, she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the Lord show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead. And to me.
May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband. Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud, and they said to her, We will go back. with you to your people. But Naomi said, Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me?
Am I going to have any more sons? Who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters. I'm too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me, even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons.
Would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you. Because the Lord's hand has gone out against me.
At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. Look, said Naomi, your sister in law is gone back. to her people and her gods. Go back with her.
But Ruth replied, Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die.
and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, of anything but death. Separates you and me. When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred. because of them and the women exclaimed Can this be Naomi? Don't call me Naomi, she told them. Call me Mara.
Because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me. The Almighty has brought misfortune.
Upon me.
So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied By Ruth the Moabitess. Her daughter-in-law arriving in Bethlehem. As the barley harvest, was beginning. I want to continue. to talk about This theme.
Are you getting bitter or are you getting bitter? In the early part of this chapter, We find a man named Elimelech and his wife. Naomi and their two sons Facing, as did the rest of the people of God in the city of Bethlehem, a challenge. The challenge they're facing is a famine in the land. But I took time in the earlier part of the message to Explain that Their biggest problem isn't really the famine.
The biggest problem is what Elimelech does. about the famine. And the same is true in your life and in mine. The challenges we face are really not The greatest concern. The greatest concern is how you and I respond to the challenges we face.
Challenges are standard equipment in life. It's just part of living on this planet. But Jesus said Be of good cheer, because I have overcome the world. If you will learn to walk by faith and not by sight, You will discover that your challenges do not negate the plan of God for your life. In fact, as we talked about in the first part of the message, you will find that when you're called according to God's purpose, Nothing falls outside of the parameters of his purpose.
Even things that he did not will or did not desire, God will take them and work them together. For good, because you love him and are called according to purpose. The junk that you go through, the misfortunate circumstances, unfortunate circumstances you've had happen in your life, they do not negate the plan of God. When God begins a work in your life, He says, I don't care what happens, I am going to work out my purpose through you. And so, what we have to learn to do is to respond in a way.
that pleases God when we face challenges.
Well, we've got to learn from Elimelech because what he does is, here they are in a famine, and he decides, I'm going down to Moab because I heard there's food down there. Moab is 50 miles away. Moab is not a place where God's people live. In fact, historically, the Moabites have been opposed to the people of God, the people of Israel. They are not friends.
They are worshipers of a false God, and they are not interested in knowing the true and the living God. The last place in the world he should have gone is to Moab. But some of us, sometimes when we walk by sight, We make decisions Based on our understanding of what we need. This man says, I need food, there's a famine here. And rather than seeking God, whom they serve, rather than saying, Lord, We need you to come through for us, Lord.
We want to stay in the center of your will. And joining the rest of the people in Bethlehem in prayer and seeking God, no, he decides to pick up. And go outside of the scope of God's plan for his life, and he goes down to Moab.
Some of you listening to this message right now are living in Moab. Hang it out in Moab. Moab is that place in your life, that state of mind, or those actions, those decisions you're making that are clearly outside of God's plan for your life. And I want to talk to the Moabites for a minute. I want to tell you that when you are in Moab and And God's blessings are in Bethlehem, you cannot get God to come down to Moab with his blessings.
You're gonna have to make a return trip. I'm here to let somebody know that when you are living outside of the plan of God for your life, God loves you where you are, but He loves you too much to leave you where you are. And in order for you to see the steps that he is providing for you and the things that he has in mind for you, you're going to have to make the quality decision that I'm going to get up and go back where I'm supposed to be.
Some of us are in Moabite relationships. Moabite relationships. I'm not talking about if you're married. If you married your Moabite, you got them. You got him.
You married, don't say, ooh, honey, that's my word. Let me go home and get a divorce. No, no, no, no. No, no, don't bust up in your house coming. Pastor Paul gave me a word.
good day. And you are out of here. No, don't blame that on me.
Okay. You married your Moabite, get Moabite grace. And that's why I keep telling you singles. I left off in the last message, challenging singles once again: do not marry a Moabite. Don't go outside of the will of God because you want a husband, you want a wife.
You believe God to bless you in Bethlehem. In the will of God, Lord, give me somebody who loves you like I love you. Give me someone who wants to do your will like I want to do your will, because then you can be truly yoked together. The Bible says, don't be unequally yoked. And that doesn't just mean saved.
It begins by meaning make sure they're saved. But there's some saved folk who aren't equally yoked with you. Because some folk just have fire insurance. They just came down and prayed a prayer one day. Because they don't want to go to hell, so they came and got that straight.
But they are not walking with God. And you need somebody who didn't just pray a prayer one day. You need somebody who, when times get tough, when the challenges of life come your way, they know how to say, Father, in the name of Jesus. I put my trust in you.
So don't just go pick in a Moabite because you like the way they look. You like what they said. You don't do that. You make your decisions in the will of God.
Well, Elimelech goes down to Moab. His sons marry Moabite women. And then He dies. And eventually the sons die.
Now Naomi is down in a foreign country Among people who don't serve God. She has neither a husband nor Her sons. And things are looking pretty bad. But here is the good news. She's still calm.
according to purpose. We'll be right back with more of today's Destined for Victory message, so don't go away. Listen to the broadcast on demand at pastorpaul.net. And while you're there, be on the lookout for some of the best Christian resources on the market, including books and DVDs that feature the teaching and preaching ministry of Pastor Paul Shepard. It's all at pastorpaul.net.
We're not sinners because we sin, we sin because we're sinners, but God is always patient, and in Christ we are destined for victory.
So here's Pastor Paul with the rest of today's message: getting bitter or getting better. I'm here to tell you that wherever you are in your life. God can take you from where you are right now. As messed up as things are. And he says, I hope you don't push the panic button because I'm not pushing the panic button.
I know exactly what I want to get done in your life. I began the good work and I am going to bring it to completion. I'm here to give somebody a word who is listening to this message feeling like my life is done. I've made too many mistakes. I've made too many ill-advised choices, and things are over for me.
I want to let you know there is no such thing, no such word as hopeless in God's dictionary. When you look at God's dictionary, which is His Word, you won't find God saying, This is a hopeless situation. You will not find God saying, Well, you have blown it, you have just done too much, and I am sick of you. What you will find is the Bible says God is law. Long suffering.
You know what that means? That means God has put up with a whole A lot of stuff. Because you are called according to his purpose. And where you are now. Looks bad to you.
But I'm here to tell you, God says, I'm just getting started in your life. See, that's what I love. I couldn't serve a God who said, I work all things together as long as you cooperate with my plan and do everything right. That wouldn't help me. And guess what?
It wouldn't help you either. We need a God who says, All things work together, even when you go to Moab, when I wanted you to stay in Bethlehem. And God sees his people in Moab. They have no business there. He is not going to bless them there, but they are still called according to purpose.
So he is saying to them now: I am going to get you back in line with my purpose. How does he do it? He comes to the aid of his people. In Bethlehem. See, the folk who didn't jump ship, run down to Moab or somewhere else, who stayed there and prayed, I told them in the earlier message, you know, when a famine strikes and food is scarce, just turn it into a fast.
That's all, just turn it into a fast. Just see God, not a whole lot of food anyway. Hey, we're on a fast. And we're going to use this to pray. You know, you can hear from God when you're hungry.
I'm telling you, some of you have not fasted, spiritually speaking. You need to fast, you will hear God. We are so busy feeding and indulging ourselves that sometimes we become spiritually dull. I dare you, the old saints I grew up around said, turn your plate down. They taught us to fast once a week.
They almost made it legalistic. And I came to find as I walked with the Lord, it wasn't about the frequency of your fasting, but it was about making sure that every now and then you consecrate before God and you say, Lord, there's no appetite I will indulge more than my hunger and my desire to hear from you. And you can hear from God very clearly. If you will seek his face. And so they Prayed.
The people who stayed in Bethlehem obviously sought the Lord and they waited out that famine and believed God. And verse 6 of Ruth 1 tells us that God responded by coming to the aid of his people.
Somebody said he may not come when you want him. But when he shows up, he is on time. Oh, I love that about God. That God never shows up too late. Oh, we might call it too late, but when God shows up, it's always on time.
And so the Lord comes to the aid of his people, and there is now food.
Now, Naomi hears about this. God sees to it that here she is in the wrong place Moab Husband has died, sons have died, she's feeling hopeless, but God makes sure she hears the word: I have come to the aid of my people. My blessings are in Bethlehem. I will not transport my blessings down to Moab. You all have to pick up and go where I am.
And I'm here to tell you that the blessing of the Lord has specific addresses in our lives. And when God wants you there and you are here. You will not be blessed until you make the trip. I'm here to tell somebody it's time for you to make the trip. We just heard recently a sermon series from Jonah.
You got to be blessed where God sends you. If He sends you to Nineveh, He won't bless you in Tarshis. You can't talk God out of his plan for your life. You who have a calling of a certain vocation God's called you to, and you have some other plans, I'm telling you, He's going to win and you're going to lose.
So the quicker you say yes, the better off you'll be. I worked hard trying not to be a pastor. I mean, I gave God a good run. I absolutely did want to be a pastor, and I gave him a good run, but guess what? He outran me.
And he can outrun you too. You know, a lot of times folks get dramatic and act like God's got to do a whole lot. God doesn't have to do a whole lot. All He has to do is just withdraw the sense of His presence. He's there, but you know, when the Bible talks often about the presence of the Lord, it's not talking about whether he's omnipresent.
Of course, he is, he's everywhere. It means his blessing where he is. When you're in Moab, you ought to be in Bethlehem. God just withdraws the sense. Of his blessing, and I don't know about you, but I don't plan to live in this life without his blessing.
Life is tough enough. You certainly don't want to try it without his blessing. And so, what you have to do is learn to say yes to the Lord and get into the place that He has for you.
Well His blessing now is manifesting in Bethlehem. They're still down in Moab, so they got to make a trip. She hears about this, Naomi does, and she says, All right, I'm about to go back. And the daughters-in-law said, Well, we'll go with you. We're in the family now, even though the sons are gone.
Naomi says, no, no, you all stay here because this is your home, this is your country. You would be foreigners in Bethlehem, and so why don't you stay here? And she even says, stay here and serve your gods. She doesn't get it. She doesn't get it.
She doesn't understand that God has taken them going to an ill-advised place and now wants to introduce them to God. She doesn't get it. She's saying, stay here, go back to serving your gods. She thinks it's all walking by sight. And one daughter-in-law takes her up on it.
Orphe says, especially when she says, Well, you know, I don't have any sons to give you. You can't, you know, I'm not going to have any more children.
So, if you're going to get a husband, you better stay down here in Moab. And Orpheus says, You have a point there. And she kisses her and she stays. But Ruth. Has a different thing going on in her.
You know why? Because God has a plan now. God has a plan that calls for this Gentile woman Who married into the family by an ill-advised decision? God has a plan to eventually bring into this world the Son of God. Through the instrumentation of a Gentile woman.
I'm telling you, God's plan for your life will blow your actual mind. That's why the Bible says, eyes haven't seen, ears haven't heard, nor has it entered into the hearts of people what God has prepared for them that love him. Thanks so much for being here for Pastor Paul Shepard's message: Getting Bitter or Getting Better. To find out more about how you can help Destiny for victory through these tough summer months and receive the special gift that is reserved for you when you give generously today, visit pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net.
But even When you're in a valley, whether it's your choosing or outside of your choosing, when you are in a valley, don't name your By something in the valley, because that's just a passageway to get you to the next level God is taking you to in your life. And that's tomorrow in our continuing Destined for Victory message, Getting Bitter or Getting Better. Until then, though, remember: he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.
