Your thoughts are directly tied. to your actions. You do what you do cause you think what you think. And your thoughts lead to actions which lead to habits. Your actions.
Your repeated actions, the actions that get built into what you do, become your habits. If you want to change the way you behave, change the way you think. Hello, and thanks for stopping by for today's Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepard.
Well, your thoughts don't lead only to your actions. If you're not careful, your thoughts can lead to habits or to a lifestyle. That's why it's so critical to take our thoughts captive, and today's message can help you learn how to do it. Remember to pay us a visit at pastorpaul.net, where you can hear any recent Destined for Victory message on demand, including today's. That's pastorpaul.net.
Now, let's listen closely to Pastor Paul's Destined for Victory message: Becoming an Excellent Steward of Your Thought Life. Brothers and sisters. Here's something you need to know: whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent. Excellent or praiseworthy. think about such Things So here's the thing.
Your thoughts. Why should we talk about thought life and stewardship? Because your thoughts lead to a variety of things. Here's what your thoughts lead to: your thoughts are directly tied. to your actions.
You do what you do cause you think what you think. And your thoughts lead to actions which lead to habits. Your actions Your repeated actions, the actions that get built into what you do, become your habits.
So, your thoughts lead to your actions, they lead to your habits, and your actions and thoughts lead to what? Your lifestyle. Your lifestyle really is, in a lot of ways, the sum total of your thoughts and your actions. The things that become regular in your head and then in your practice develop your lifestyle. Not only that, But Those things lead to your character.
or lack thereof. You do know that Some people have Good character. appropriate character, sound character. But other people have Other people have immoral Character. In fact, some people have amoral.
Character. You do know there's a difference. Emorrow is: I know it's wrong, but I'm going to do it. Amoral are people who are so jaded They don't necessarily act like there's such a thing as right and wrong, period. They do what they do because they decide to do it, and they could care less.
What God thinks about it, what society thinks about it, what the law thinks about it. They could care less. Amoral. You ever known an immoral person?
Some of y'all used to be before Jesus got hold of you. Stop sitting here looking like you've been holy all your life. And morrow, oh my god. Oh Clutched. Clutch the pearls.
No, no, no, no. Y'all know immoral because some of us were immoral. Just like Paul, when he wrote to the church at Corinth, he talked about all these things that you used to be. And then he says, Such were some of you. Meaning all of you were some of it and some of you were all of it.
Immoral. But amoral people are worse than that. Because they act. Act as though they are God. I do what I do and I I call it right cause I call it right.
They could care less what the law says. They could care less what society says. They could care less about anything outside of themselves.
So Thoughts lead to actions, lead to lifestyle, lead to character or lack thereof. And that ultimately is what leads to your legacy. Your legacy, at the end of the day, your life is going to be summed up. By the foundation of how you thought. Your legacy is going to end up directly pointing back to how you thought, because that led to your actions, your habits, your lifestyle, and your character.
It doesn't matter, by the way, at this one of these days you're going to be funeralized or memorialized, and some folk are going to get up and say stuff, some of which are going to be straight-up lions. Yeah. See, no, see, I'm 67 now. I don't care, all right? I mean sometimes the preachers get in on it.
Because they feel the pressure.
Okay, I won't say they lied. They preach evangelistically. They stretch the truth. to the point where it's not recognized. Listen.
I'm not lying for any of y'all. Just tell you now: if I end up being the one doing your service, I'm not lying for y'all. What you were is what we're going to talk about or not talk about it. But I'm not telling the story about you. You you can't be like that.
The lady, her her uh her husband, they went to her husband's service and she sat there on the front row and the casket was there. The lid was a closed casket. And And somebody got up and said, Oh, he was a wonderful husband to this precious lady down here. And she sat there and talked about how he dogged her and how he wasn't loving and caring and didn't pay the bills, wasn't responsible at all. She said, Oh, Lord, she thinks he's loving.
And he said, Beautiful father for these children. The children sat there and said, He never came to our games, he never supported us in school, he never. paid for our college tuition. He never did and just this and I don't know. Pop wasn't like that.
Oh, and he was a great worker on his job. And Co-workers there said he was always late when he came. Didn't work the way he was supposed to, was goofing off all the time and all that. Oh, yeah, and it just went on like that. Finally, oh, and the pastor said he was a wonderful churchman, and the other members said he wouldn't join any of the members, any of the auxiliaries of the church.
He wouldn't help us do anything. And finally, the lady, his wife got, she was fed up. She leaned over to her oldest son, who was sitting next to us. She said, Baby, lift that lid up, see if that's your father in there. We must have come to the wrong funeral.
Listen. Nobody. Can help your legacy. If you start with faulty thinking. If you live a life based on Faulty brain work.
You cannot live a quality life.
So Here's what we need to think about as we walk through. this part of our series on stewardship. There are a lot of voices. All around us all the time. Constant messaging.
All the time. It's everywhere. It's not just On T V? It's in books. It's on the radio.
It's in movies. It's in music, all of it messaging. These days it's podcasts. Everybody and their mama got a podcast. Even when they got nothing to say, they got a podcast.
I can't understand it for the life of me. Why? Who told y'all y'all got something I need to spend time listening to? But they all got podcasts. Everybody's constantly messaging.
Then we got Texas more messages. And you follow a certain person, and if they're a noted person, then everybody who supports them, if you tweet something they don't like, they all come at you. You ever seen that? A Beyoncé has a beehive, they say it'll come at you. Uh Taylor Swift has swifties, they'll come at you and And it just, I don't know.
It's messaging all the time. Constant noise. Then on the spiritual side, you got Satan's army. That's working against us. We wrestle not against flesh and blood.
Y'all better not think this is inaccurate language. Paul said, we are in a fight. We're wrestling against principalities. Powers Rulers of darkness, spiritual wickedness in high places. You can say that's fantasy if you wanna, it's the truth.
You've never met the devil personally, but you're dealing with demons all the time. That are constantly using the messaging that's already out here. And they target you with certain messages, and then they give you some of their own. And you are dealing with all sorts of messages all the time. Therefore, if we're going to do what Paul said and think on the right things, We must Screen all of these messages to make sure they don't land in a place of programming.
Um Where we begin to live out of them. Let's pause right there for a minute, but don't go away just yet. We have more of today's Destined for Victory message coming up next. We want to take a moment to thank all of you who support Destined for Victory with your prayers and financial support, gifts that help us keep this media ministry going. And if you'd like to join us in our mission to take the gospel to all corners of the globe, please consider making a safe and secure donation at our website, pastorpaul.net, or give us a call at 855-339-5500.
Eight five five. 339-5500. Managing your thought life isn't only about putting the right things in, it's about keeping the wrong things out.
Now Let's listen closely to the rest of today's message: becoming an excellent steward of your thought life.
Now the messaging is is inevitable But you don't have to insert it. As a program. That's what you got to learn.
So screening, constant screening, because they're all looking to find a way to get in. And to get through so that you begin to operate out of them. It's up to you to screen them. You can't ignore the messages, but you can send them away. Think of it like UPS, FedEx, post office, somebody coming to your door with a package.
Got a package for you. You don't have to take the package. Cause they brought it to your door. Right? You can even open the door.
In some cases, you might even want to just talk through the door. Who that? Oh, yeah, I got a package for you. You gotta sign for it. You don't have to sign for it 'cause they said you had to.
You can send it away. Return to sender. Whoever the sender is. Return to sender. I don't want it.
Oh, but it's your and it's paid for. I don't care. It's not mine unless I choose to accept it. How many of you all have gotten a package and you open it up, you say, I don't want this. I didn't ask for this.
It came to my address, but I don't have to keep it. That's what I'm saying Paul says we have to do. When it comes to the messaging. We've got to decide what we will and won't. Except.
Birds fly, can fly close to your head. That you can't help that. but you can help them landing and building a nest. Yeah, that's right.
Now it's something different.
Now you're in cooperation. with that. Here's what we have to do. In order to screen the messaging, We have to make a commitment that Solomon talks about in Proverbs 23, 23. Here's what it says: by the truth.
And do not sell it. Wisdom Instruction. and insight as well. Live your life in such a way that you're constantly looking to invest in truth. Whatsoever is true, first thing Paul says here.
Whatever is true, I want to invest in truth. Christians ought to be people of truth. Christians ought to be people who buy truth, who accept truth, who never turn away truth.
Now, that can be more challenging than you think because of two reasons. Number one, some lies are awfully attractive.
Some lies are awfully attractive, awfully appealing. Wouldn't it be nice if all lies were ugly and all lies were unappealing and all lies were get out of here with that. How many know there are some lies? That are alluring. And attractive.
and convenient. And you could, ooh, if we could just do this. I would be in such a better circumstantial situation. And you can ignore that it's a lie. Let me give you an example.
You are in a relationship Where the person You're committed to isn't acting right. The way you want them to act. marriage or boyfriend or Girlfriend not acting right. And you are trying your best to get them to act right, they're not acting right. You go to work.
Along comes A beautiful lie. Handsome lie. Fine lie. Not the Y'all have seen fine lies. Don't even try it.
You have seen Mm. Live. You have seen, Lord, have mercy, lies.
So, you got somebody you're in a relationship with, and it's not. Going too well. Let's stick with just marriage because I want this to be a covenant kind of something you know you're committed to, supposed to do, but they're not acting right.
So you're hurting because you can't make them act the way you want them to act. Long comes Fine lie. And fine lie can be very Appealing not only sensually, But then verbally, messaging. You ever Had somebody tell you just what Your Psyche wants to hear. Come on now, be honest with me.
I'm gonna let you go home in a little while, but let's let's do s Let's do some work here for the next twenty-two minutes. And then the messaging comes. Why are you fooling with that at home? When you got somebody here Just being nice and attentive. Want to know what you're doing for lunch?
That's how. This Works.
So It's up to you. to do the screening based on a commitment to truth. Truth is You fine, but you're not mine. Come on, somebody. You know what?
Now, see, some of y'all think you got to act like it ain't fine. Let me help you. That's not gonna work too well. You you can admit, yes, fine, but not mine. Fine, but not consistent with where God's taking me.
I got dreams God has given me. You weren't in the dream. All that's truth. All that's truth. That's what Joseph had to do.
In Potiphar's house. God gave me two dreams, lady. You weren't in either one of them.
So I can't. No, I'm sorry, not going to bed with you. And the Bible says day after day she came at him. Beautiful lie coming at him day after day. He's hiding.
He got to hide. He's supposed to be working. He's in other parts of the house. Hiding. Cause Sister Potiphar walking around got on her best outfit.
Joseph I'm trying to help you understand what we have to do. in order to live through This app application of becoming excellent stewards of your thought life. You got a screen. You can't let it through. You can't Give in because at the end of It's not what God has for you.
It is not going to get you where you think you want to be. And so we have to do that kind. of work. You singles, y'all got to do it so that you don't hook up. With the wrong, not I'm old, so I gotta rephrase that, because y'all taught me hook up means different than it did does old people.
In our day, hookup meant get together like at Starbucks. In y'all's day. Hook up. is hook up. The first couple that helped me with that, I was.
Yeah. I said, so when did y'all one of our couples wanting to come for pre-engagement counseling? I said, okay, well, all right, praise God. When did y'all hook up? He said, no, no, no, Pastor, we haven't hooked up.
And I said. Wait, what? Yo yo boyfriend and girlfriend, right? And they say, yeah. And then it dawned on me, oh!
Hook up the mean what it used to mean. Ooh, this is some world, boy. Bottom line is We've got to be gone. Guardians. In a way That you Have to be intentional about what messaging You act.
Double. The Apostle Paul tells us to take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ. That means we don't dwell on things that might lead to poor decisions, but instead we replace them with thoughts that are beautiful and holy.
Sounds hard to do, but try it and you'll see. Once you start taking those thoughts captive, it will become a habit and then a lifestyle, and you'll reap more benefits than you ever imagined. You know, destined for victory could not exist without the faithful prayers and financial support of listening friends and partners like you, you've been the lifeblood of this Media Ministry since its inception, and it's because of you that we can share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people all over the world.
Well, when Pastor Paul was teaching a group of messages we are airing now on Destined for Victory, he stopped right in the middle of it. He took a one week detour and inserted a special message that was weighing heavily on his heart. The message is called Sometimes you Have to Encourage Yourself. It's filled with practical advice, as he always did. He delivered that message with his signature humor and down to earth style.
Now this message is never aired before on Destined for Victory. It's not available anywhere else but right here. But this month, in appreciation of your most generous gift to Destined for Victory, we'll send you this exclusive message as either a D V D or streaming video link. Again, that's sometimes you'll have to encourage yourself. One of the last messages Pastor Paul ever preached, and it's only available right here for your most generous donation to Destined for Victory.
Give that gift by phone by calling eight five five three three nine five five zero zero. That's eight five five three three nine fifty five hundred. Or visit pastor Paul dot 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. Esau comes in famished.
and his tricky brothers cooking. That's the way this works. You don't come in fanished and there's nothing to eat, so you just got, you don't have a choice. But there's always, the devil will see to it, there's always somebody cooking when you're hungry. That's next time in our continuing message: becoming an excellent steward of your thought life.
But until then remember. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.
