Hello, and welcome to Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepard. Before we get things started today, here's a special word from Destined for Victory's Executive Director, Alicia Shepard Greer. Pastor Paul's media ministry is at a crossroads, and as Executive Director and as his daughter, I am sincerely asking for your help. When my father went to be with the Lord earlier this year, you all showed such tremendous support, and we are so grateful for each and every one of you. But recently, we experienced a change in one of our significant sources of funding, and that change has led to a deficit.
So, we need your help to keep Pastor Paul's teachings on the air.
So, we're asking you to prayerfully consider giving a gift over and above your normal amount to help us keep this teaching legacy alive. You can make a donation by visiting pastorpaul.net. Thank you so much for standing with us and keeping this mighty man of God's teaching legacy alive. God bless you. Thank you, Alicia.
We really are so grateful for all who have already responded to this urgent need and thank you in advance for what you can do to help Destined for Victory continue to share the gospel all over the world on multiple platforms. As you give today, we have a great thank you gift to share with you, one that will challenge you to persevere through life's challenges or unwanted changes. Introducing our booklet, Keep Moving Forward. Drawing from Israel's transition from Moses to Joshua, this booklet will remind you that God has promised to go before you as your leader and your protector, even when you are facing new challenges. It's a great resource for anyone who wants to be more fully equipped to move confidently into the future God has prepared.
Again, that's Keep Moving Forward, our thank you gift for your generous donation to Destined for Victory today. You can give by phone by calling 855-339-5500. That's eight five five three three nine fifty five hundred. 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, California, 94538.
Oh. Paul says, if we want to please God, put on the new self. The new self learns the habit of telling the truth, and the new self learns how to manage its anger.
So he says don't sin Don't let it go past the point. If someone upsets you, do you roll with the punches or throw a few of your own? Anger mismanagement.
Well, that's what Pastor Paul calls it: anger management or anger non-management. We've all been guilty of it from time to time, but today we'll talk about a better way to deal with our anger, one that comes when we put off the old self and put on the new.
Now, let's listen to Pastor Paul's Destined for Victory message: The Process of Becoming New. Y'all quit acting like you have never been so mad. That you didn't care what flew out of your mouth. Come on, we gotta be real now. You ever been so mad you didn't even know what you were going to say yourself?
Come on, I need some honest people with the mask on. I need some honest people. I scared myself how angry I got. I waited to hear what I was going to say. Yeah.
Then you are way over the line. Cause that is anger mismanagement. That is anger non-management. Your anger has hold of you. And let the chips fall where they may.
Paul says, if we want to please God, put on the new self. The new self learns the habit of telling the truth, and the new self learns how to manage its anger.
So he says don't sin. Don't let it go past the point. Where it focuses on an issue that needs to be addressed, and it goes past that and begins to get personal, ugly, and hateful.
So Jesus is a good example. Do you remember in the Gospels, he went to the temple courts one day? and saw them merchandising the things of God. And some of y'all try to make it nice, and Jesus went in. And he said, now, now.
That's not in your Bible? Do you know what he did? In the temple courts, Jesus went off. On the issue. Not Talking about the personal lives of the families of the people who were selling the merchandise.
But the issue of merchandising holy things, they were selling doves for sacrifices, they had just merchandised the whole thing. And Jesus went in there and he was tossing tables. Oh yeah, he didn't say, would you kindly clear this off? Ha! Let's clear this off.
This isn't appropriate. He wasn't asking people what they thought. He grabbed the table and flipped it. And the Bible says he put people out. In our day, we were called, he laid hands on people.
Come on, I just need y'all to be quit being pious. Jesus was tossing folks. He grabbed them. He didn't ask them, kindly follow me. Put them out of the temple courts.
You're on holy ground, and you're acting like you don't know anything about a God of righteousness. And he tossed tables and laid hands on people. And he said, God's house is a house of prayer. You've turned it into a den of thieves. He was angry.
But he was angry at the issue. It was a righteous cause. that he was advocating for. When your anger is appropriate, what you're advocating for is proper. Whether it's in a relationship.
You treated me wrong, you spoke deceptively about me, or whatever, whatever it is, and I don't like it a little bit. You have every right. to tell people the truth. even when it makes them look bad. All you're doing is marrying truth telling with anger management.
It's exactly what the Bible tells you in Matthew 18. Jesus said, When your brother or sister trespasses against you, what do you do? Go to him alone. And tell them the fault. That's going to keep you in appropriate space so that you are angry.
But you're not sinning. I resent what you said. I resent how you're treating me. I resent whatever it is. Tell them.
I don't like seeing Christians who don't know how to tell people stuff. You've got to tell them sometimes you can't grin while you're doing it. Y'all quit having this false Christianity, sloppy agape. always smiling, I don't trust people who smile all the time. I honestly don't.
If I've never seen you in anything but a smile, I can't trust you but so much. I need to know you know what to do when it's time to confront. You need to be able to tell people in no uncertain terms that you don't like what they did or said. And you are still on the right side of anger. You're focused on the issues.
Jesus said, go and show between the two of you. That's a management. In other words, you make me mad, I go tell all my friends. Jesus said, no, that's out of order. I gotta go and show you.
Because you did the problem. When your friends know more of an offense than the person who offended you. You're out of order. And you got to pull yourself into order. Say you're the one that got on my nerves, you're the one I'm gonna talk to.
Your other friends know about it, but they shouldn't know because you haven't even told the offender. He said, Go and show. The other thing Christians have to learn to do is to actually rebuke. Jesus said in Luke 17:3, when your brother sins against you, rebuke him. I mean flat out rebuke them.
Speak sharply. About it. How dare you! Do that, say that, whatever it is. I resent that.
And it's all right. See, you can sound like you can have that bass in your voice.
Some of y'all gotta practice your bass. It's all about that base, about that base. No trouble.
Sometimes you don't need no trouble. Look! Megan said that wasn't in my song, was it? Yeah, you you gotta tell folk what they need to know. Because you owe them the truth.
So that they can understand, I've been in offense. That's a barrier between my brother or sister and me, and we need to clear it up. God doesn't like folk walking around with chasms in relationships that need to be closed. Let me tell you this: the only chasmed relationship that is acceptable is one you have made every possible effort to close it. And they refuse.
Everybody in your life that you are not dealing with. Ought to be somebody you can honestly say before God, I have done and said everything I know to do. I've humbled myself. Y'all have heard my mountain goat story. I got it from Pastor Jenkins years ago.
He was teaching in a pastor's conference, and I was sitting through that session, and he, at a certain point, it was about managing or resolving conflict, I think it was. And he said, sometimes people get to a place where it's like an impasse and we don't know what to do. He said, Let me give you an illustration. And then he said, One mountain goat Is on a very narrow path, right on the edge of the mountain. Very narrow path.
And one mountain goat is trying to come down. the mountain. Another mountain goat is trying to ascend the mountain. And they get to that place where they are face to face on a narrow. Strip.
The edge of the mountain is right over here. He said, How do they resolve it? And he said to us, he was teaching a bunch of pastors, he said, So I need y'all to answer the question. How do we resolve that?
So one pastor spoke up and said, Well, one of them gotta throw the other one off the mountain. Yeah. We all laughed. We knew he was messing around. We hoped he was messing around.
And we got a good laugh. And then we said, okay, tell us. He said, one has to be concerned enough about where they want to go. That they are willing to lay down flat. Let the other one step over them.
including stepping on them. to get to the other side. Then he gets up, and continues in his direction.
Now, that story sounds nice. When you aren't dealing with a mountain goat situation. But when you're dealing with people. And you are at an impasse. And you would swear on a stack of Bibles you're right and they're wrong.
And they would, on that same stack, swear that they're right and you're wrong. Impasse. How do you deal? Amen. I got my help back there.
How do you deal with that? One of you Believers. One of you folk who want to walk in newness of life. have to be willing to go so low. As to say, tell you what.
I believe what I believe, you believe what you believe. I will say I'm wrong for your sake. Please forgive me. And now, if they hopefully they won't be so stubborn. No, I need you to believe that you're wrong.
Don't go away, the rest of today's Destined for Victory message, featuring Pastor Paul Shepard, is coming right up. In John chapter 8, Jesus said that if you abide in Him, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. That's why Destined for Victory is here, to teach timeless truth for a victorious life by pointing people to Jesus Christ. You can help. Stop by PastorPaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online.
That's pastorpaul.net. or call 855-339-5500. Putting off the old self and putting on the new self involves every area of our lives. You'll hear about a few of them next in the rest of today's message: The Process of Becoming New. You're gonna have to accept that I'm willing.
To take the loss, whatever it is. In order for us to not have this impasse. And you've got to be willing to do whatever it is you have to do.
So that you can fulfill the goal of pleasing God. And getting where God's trying to take you.
So, there are ways we have to manage these relational challenges. Married people, it's not all knock down, drag out.
Some stuff you just gotta let it go. I know your spouse made you real mad. But you gotta let it go. I know people who say, oh, my spouse knows when I'm mad because I don't speak for a week. You proud of that?
When we just read Don't let the sun. You working on seven Sundays? Yeah. You read it just like I read it. Don't let the sun go down.
At a certain point that day, you need to say, hey. Even if you can't resolve it that day. Look at what he said. Don't let the sun go down while you're still angry. You've got to say I'm quite upset.
We're gonna have to deal with this. Frankly, I'm so upset right now. If I try to resolve it, it's probably not going to go well. And I don't want to say something to you I'm going to have to repent for later.
So if it's okay with you, let's table it for now. We will resolve it. And as soon as I get my temperature down, You know, your emotional temperature is real. Then we'll do it. We'll take care of this matter.
That's what you got to do. But don't ignore them and ignore it. For days on days, whether it's a spouse, whether it's a best friend, a roommate, a co-worker, whatever it is. Manage your anger and manage your issues in a way that glorifies God. And then one more habit, and I'll let you go.
Making money honorably. Making money honorably. Look at verse 28. Anyone who has been stealing. Must steal no longer.
And that's I'm Paul talking to Christians. He not writing nothing safe, folk. I swear I love The Apostle Paul. That's why I'm s I'm glad that God made him an apostle. Because he had great religious training, but he himself was not.
A holy guy. Until the Lord got a hold of him. He was very religious. But Paul could get with you. And so, look, when they can remember before he got saved, He was the people egging folk on to kill the Christians.
The first martyr, Stephen, was killed because he was an instigator of it. And the Bible says all those that stoned Stephen came and laid their coats at Paul's feet. That shows you he was the ringleader. Seeker, when you're a good ringleader, you You don't kill anybody, you make everybody else kill them.
Some of y'all got that same gift. Your hands seem to be clean. But your heart is the filthiest of them all. And so Paul just shoots straight. And look at what he says: anyone who has been stealing, I know you save, he said.
But you've been stealing. I know you say you sanctified, but you've been stealing. I know you go to church, but you've been stealing. I know you got a big Bible big enough to choke a mule, but you've been stealing. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer.
Stop it! Stop making money dishonorably, however, you're doing it.
So, you might not be taking that which belongs to somebody else, but if you're stealing time, If you are stealing resources that weren't purchased for you. It's just stuff at the work at the job. The job didn't buy it for you. Your name was not on the inventory sheet. And see, back in the old, old days, it was pencils and pens and stuff like that.
Now we got total sophistication on these jobs. And there's all kinds of hardware and all kinds of smart devices and all kinds of, oh, yeah, they bought this for this system and it never worked out, and it's just been sitting there. Yeah. Ooh, I know some of y'all so mad you tuned in today. Just because it was sitting there doesn't mean you can take it home.
Paul said, if it's not yours, don't take it. Or if you think it's okay for you to take it, why don't you go find out first? Just been sitting in there. I can really use this computer at home. I would never think of that.
Well, that ought to tell you. If you would never think of asking for it. That ought to tell you you have no business taking it hoping nobody finds out.
So you just got to figure some stuff out. Y'all ever saw that movie, old movie, probably 90s, somewhere, Office Space. And they had that that little squirrely man. And they were just dogging him. They would always put him, they just moved him.
Finally, they moved him down to the basement. And they took his stapler, and he was so sick. They took, they changed his stapler. He had a certain type of stapler that he loved. And they switched it out with something else, and they just made him madder and madder and madder and madder.
And finally he said, okay, that's the last straw. He found a check from some people who had done wrong and they got convicted and were bringing back the money. He found that check burned the building down. And the last scene of the movie is him on an island somewhere. Let me tell you something.
You've got to understand what you do matters. And you got to honor God.
So you can't do it in without honesty. You've got to do it properly. Manage and make your money honorably. He says, Do things that are useful with your own hands. And these days, we work more with our minds than we do with our hands.
So just update it. Working honorably with your mind. I know you got side hustles, make sure they're legal. I know we all side hustling. I get it.
Folk got a side.
Some of y'all got three, four side. Just make sure it's legal. Yeah, yeah. You can answer to God. But I pay my tithe.
Okay. Good. But you still got to answer to God.
Somebody tried to front me off one time.
Well, Pastor, what? You mean to tell me if I hit big on the lottery, I know you would rather people not do that because it's kind of a form of gambling and that can lead to all kinds of debauchery. And I get that. But what if I hit big? What am I supposed to do?
And I said, well, what do you mean what you're supposed to do? You already gambled and hit big. What are you asking for?
Well, should I tithe? I said, that's up to you. Would you accept it? Yeah, I would accept it. Are you kidding me?
You already did it.
So if you violated your conscience playing the lottery and hitting big, you violate you got to deal with your conscience. The tithe of it has nothing to do with it. Bring ye all the tithe. Just don't think you're paying me off in some way. I'ma still tell you I would rather you not play the lotto.
Make your money differently, but if that's your call, it's between you and God. But yes, if you hit and you want to bring the tithe, it will be cashed. There's a common theme among those who have chosen to put off the old self and put on the new: humility. When we lower ourselves, our relationship with God and with others will soar higher than ever before. Don't forget about the special gift reserved for you as you give generously to Destined for Victory today.
More details are available at pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net, or you can give by phone at 855-339-5500. You got to put off the old man. You got to be renewed in the attitude of your mind. And now we're ending by saying, then you put on the new man.
And this is the fourth habit of putting on the new man that he mentions here. Clean up your language, filter what you say. That's next time in our message, The Process of Becoming New. But until then, remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.
