The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ on today's Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepard. We'll get going with our message when Jesus comes in just a moment. But first I want to share a conversation I once had with Pastor Paul. As you know, Destined for Victory has always been committed to using the media to reach as many people as we can with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And with that in mind, I once asked Pastor Paul to talk about why radio is so important not only to the ministry but to him personally.
And here's what he had to say.
Well, I want to tell you that it's important to me as a discipler. that my voice has heard, And it is used to help people grow in their knowledge of the Lord and in their faith walk with Him. Fact of the matter is, my voice doesn't sound like most of the other folks you hear on Christian radio. I'm well aware of that, and I'm really comfortable with that. I come from my own unique background, both ethnically and in terms of life experience.
There are things I share, there are things I say, and there are the ways that I say them that are unique. I believe that that perspective needs to be heard throughout Christendom. And so, while I'm so grateful for all of my heroes, your heroes are mine. I listen to the same people, the guys who have been on the radio for decades and have proclaimed God's word faithfully. I really do appreciate those guys.
But I've learned not to be intimidated by them because I've got my own way of processing and own way of sharing and helping people to learn and to grow in their faith.
So, It's quite intentional.
Sometimes I like to be really colloquial in what I say and how I say it because I'm just using who I am, and I think God wants to use that. He's the one who called me. I didn't call myself, He called me, and I believe He knows what He was getting when He called me into the ministry. And so I'm just trying to make a difference because the gospel really does change lives, and I believe I have a unique calling to help present the gospel from my own perspective. And I pray that that's resonating with listeners, and I pray that that means enough to them that they'll make sure my voice can continue to be heard right along with our other heroes who teach the gospel of Jesus.
Well that was Pastor Paul's mission, and it remains our mission to day to bring timeless truth for a victorious life on radio, online, and on our free mobile app.
Now we can't do any of this without your help, so today we're asking you to send a generous donation to Destined for Victory so that we can honor his desire to keep his preaching ministry going on this media outlet. As our way of saying thanks, we'd like to send you our latest booklet, Access Granted. Based on the first eight verses of Romans chapter 5, this great resource examines what it means to be justified by faith and the blessings we receive at the point of salvation. Again, that's access granted, and it's our gift to you today by request for your generous gift to Destined for Victory. And if you'd like to give, we've got several options for you.
Stop by Pastor Paul dot net to make a safe and secure donation online. Call us at eight five five three three nine five five zero zero. That's eight five five three three nine fifty five hundred. Or you can mail your gift to Destined for Victory. Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, California, 94538.
God. God now wants to give you life. Always understand that life is not breathing. That's physical existence. When the Bible speaks of life, it's speaking of a quality.
that emanates from God. To us as a result of a direct connection, a direct relationship. Jesus said, I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.
So, today on Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepard, we'll help you understand what that abundant life is all about. Stay with us now as we unpack some of the prophecies concerning Jesus Christ and what they mean for us today. The message is called when Jesus comes and it comes your way right now. I want to introduce a series of messages. Under the title When Jesus Comes.
That's the title of an old hymn. I'm so glad I grew up. in a church that sang not only new fancy songs, but good old songs. And there was a hymn that speaks of One man's encounter with Jesus. And um The chorus says, when Jesus comes, all of Satan's power is broken.
When Jesus comes, he wipes all tears away. He'll take your gloom. Fill your life with glory. When Jesus comes. And I want to talk about the things we can expect Christ to do in our lives as He.
comes to us and remains in our lives.
Now, the passage we've just read is one of the greatest. messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. If you're a student of the scriptures, Perhaps you already know that there are literally hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament. that point directly to Jesus Christ.
Some to his birth.
some to his upbringing, Some to his early days of his life, some to his ministry activities, some to his death on the cross. I mean, not only is his death prophesied, but the death on the cross. Is prophesied in the Old Testament. His resurrection and his ascension, all of it is there. And so those who knew the Old Testament had no reason.
To question whether Jesus was the Christ, because He was the fulfillment of every single one of the Messianic prophecies. And this is one of the greatest. of them.
Now any question that this passage applies to Christ, and some liberal theologians question it because, of course, they don't want the implications. I've noticed a lot over the years about theologians, they tend not to believe what they don't want the circumstances for. And so liberal theologians, you know, will say, well, you know, this is really focused on the ministry of the prophets and the Old Testament patriarchs, and collectively God used them to do a number of these things. Wrong answer. Fact of the matter is, these verses speak specifically of the Christ who would come.
And if there's any doubt about that, Jesus ended the discussion. It's recorded in Luke chapter 4. When, after being baptized by John and being filled with the Holy Spirit, then being driven by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil, the Bible tells us in Luke 4, he returned from that experience in the power of the Spirit and went back to his hometown, went back to the region of Galilee, went back to the town of Nazareth, walked in to the synagogue on the day when all were gathered and grabbed the scroll and began to read from this very prophecy. and quoted these verses And then, when he got through, Luke tells us: the eyes of all those were fastened upon him, and he said to them, This day. Is this scripture fulfilled in your hearing?
Jesus settled the question, he said, and he hadn't even really launched his ministry yet. But he said, I'm here to tell you now: if you've ever wondered about Isaiah 61, watch me for the next couple of years because I'm going to put all the questions out of your mind. Every single thing you see there, I'm going to do as I minister to the needs of people. And so, these inspired words given to the prophet hundreds of years before Christ came give us a sampling of the good things Christ would do when he arrived. Peter summed it up well when he was preaching to the household of Cornelius in Acts chapter 10.
One of the statements he made there in verse 38 is: How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth, who went about doing good and healing all who were under the oppression of the devil, for God was with him. Jesus went about doing the things mentioned in this passage and others that he would do.
Now, that would be good news in and of itself that we serve a Savior who is loving and wonderful enough to accomplish such a job description. But I've got even better news than that. Not only did Jesus do these things, but Jesus continues to do these things. I came to serve you. Notice that if you think you serve a has-been Jesus.
You are sorely mistaken. Jesus is not a has-been. Jesus is not washed up. Jesus didn't have his heyday 2,000 years ago, and now he's growing old on a throne. I came to tell somebody that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
That's scripture. That's not me, that's Bible. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
So, whatever Jesus has done, Jesus is still doing. Whatever he had a heart for, he still has a heart for. In other words, here's the way I like to put it: Jesus has eternal is-ness. It's not a word, but it's sure a good concept. He has eternal is-ness.
You can never say about him he has been and be accurate. You can say what he has done, but when you talk about who he is, you can't accurately do it if you describe it in the past tense. Because he has eternal is-ness. God showed us that about himself throughout the scriptures. That's what he had to convince Moses of when he had Moses prepared on the backside of the desert for the ministry that he was going to have him do.
And then there in Exodus chapter 3, when God reveals himself partially to Moses through the burning bush experience, you remember the story. And he tells him, I'm sending you down there to Pharaoh. Tell him, I said, let my people go.
Now, when Moses said, this is Moses' first encounter, real encounter with the Lord. And so he doesn't know who he's dealing with. He knows he's offering. impressive to be talking to me out of a bush. Burning and won't be consumed.
The bush burned, the Bible says, but it wouldn't be consumed. It just kept burning. And God was speaking out of the bush. And so Moses was impressed with whoever this guy is, but I still don't know him. I know who Pharaoh is.
So he said, Well, now wait, if I go. Who should I say sent me? Pharaoh is bad. I know Pharaoh. And if I go to someone with that much power.
And tell him Somebody said, let his people go. That's not gonna cut it.
So I need you to tell me who should I say sent me. God said, tell him I am that I am. He said, tell him the I am has sent you. God revealed to Moses that day and continues to reveal to us throughout the scriptures that he is the eternal I am. I am, not was, but I am.
He has eternal is-ness. Jesus in John chapter 8 was preaching truth to folk who didn't necessarily want to hear it. And he was sharing some things that were hard for them to accept. And then he absolutely made them mad over toward the end of John chapter 8 when he started referring to Abraham as if he knew him personally. as if they were bosom buddies.
And they said, wait, wait, wait, wait. You're not even 50 years old. And you mean to tell us that you have seen Abraham? Jesus said, Before Abraham was, I am. Read it right there in your Bible.
He said, yeah, know him. I'd predate him when he was trying to become. I am. He has eternal is-ness. What that means for you and I is that this text then is a sampling not only of what Jesus.
has done. But it is a sampling of what Jesus continues to do when he comes to the lives of people. who open themselves completely to him, and allow him to do a complete work in them. Hi friends, this is Alicia Shepherd Greer. There's still more to come of Pastor Paul's message.
But first, many of you have listened to Destined for Victory over the years because you love hearing the truth of God's Word taught clearly and faithfully. But as my father often reminded us, the Christian life is not only about hearing truth, it's about experiencing the transforming presence of God. That's the heart behind a ministry I'm honored to help lead called Kingdom Collective. Destined for Victory and Kingdom Collective are partnering together to carry forward that same mission. March 20th through 22nd, we'll be hosting Kingdom Revival Weekend, three gatherings focused on worship, prayer, five-fold ministry, and deeper encounter with Jesus.
So if you're hungry for more of God and want to seek Him together with other believers, we would love to welcome you. You can learn more at kingdomcollective.com. And so, over several messages, I want to simply review these verses with you. Go over them carefully and glean from them the truth of what Christ wants to do in your life and mine, not just what he did for people who were lucky enough to live with him 2,000 years ago. But what he continues to do here and now.
The text, look at it carefully with me. It says, The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me.
Now, in a recent series, we've established the fact that Christ was anointed by God the Father with the Holy Spirit.
Now, keep your theology straight. Jesus was God, never did surrender his deity at any point. Or while he was on earth, when he wrapped himself up in flesh, came through the womb of a virgin girl into this world to love us, to save us, to redeem us, to die for us, he never gave up his divinity. He simply married it to humanity.
So Jesus was all God and all man at the same time.
So he never laid down his deity, but He chose to set an example for us.
So he lived his life a certain way so as to be an example for you and I. And what he did then was: rather than to launch his ministry on the basis of the power of deity, he launched his ministry on the basis of the power of the Spirit. Why? Because those who were following him, both in that generation and in generations to follow, would know what it looked like to operate under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
So, although Jesus didn't quote unquote need to be filled with the Spirit in order to do what he did, he chose to do it on the basis of that influence so that you and I would have a model that we could follow. And so, Jesus, this text tells us: hundreds of years before he came, the prophet looked at him and said, the spirit of the Lord is going to be upon him. The Holy Spirit will be on him, and he's going to be anointed for some very specific purposes.
Now, anointing is a phrase that just gets abused, just gets thrown around. I've heard folk call all kinds of things the anointing. And so it's just one of those phrases that many evangelical Christians run scared from because they see it abused. Never throw out a wonderful truth because of the abuse of it. You don't throw away good money because there's counterfeits somewhere.
I've never thrown away, well, you know, they said that there's a whole lot of counterfeits, so we just better get rid of all of this. No, if that's you, come to me. You had that attitude. Come to me after service is over, I'll be the exchange bank for you. No, you don't get rid of the good because there's the bad.
In fact, there couldn't be a genuine without a counterfeit. And there certainly couldn't be a counterfeit without a genuine.
So, you make sure that you discern the genuine. Here is an example of the genuine. The Lord anointed him to do specific things. What does that mean? It simply means the Spirit of God is an anointing or is a power that accomplishes certain things through a vessel he chooses.
So, the anointing is God's presence and power given to accomplish his purpose. That's the best definition I can give you. The anointing is Jesus' presence and power, or God's presence and power, to accomplish God's purpose.
So when God enables you to do a specific thing, he has anointed you. It doesn't mean you're special, no need of going and printing cards. The Anointed One. No. The anointing is available to any believer.
Who will say, God, use me? For your glory. Take me as a vessel. Use me as a conduit through which your power extends into the life of another. Use me.
And when God uses you, What he has done is he has anointed you.
So that his power flows through you. That's what is spoken of here in verse 1. The spirit of the sovereign Lord is on Jesus because he has anointed him for certain purposes. Let's look at the first one because this is not only what he has done, remember, but it is what he continues to do. The first thing Jesus was and is anointed to do is to preach good news to the poor.
Point number one: when Jesus comes, he comes to give us life. He comes to give us life. This text says that he came proclaiming good news. Gospel. The word gospel is simply the good news.
Well, what's the heart of the gospel or the good news? Jesus tells us in verses like John 3:16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have what? Everlasting life. The good news is, you who dwell in spiritual death and darkness, God now wants to give you life. Always understand that life is not breathing.
That's physical existence. That's not what the Bible calls life. When the Bible speaks of life, it's speaking of a quality. that emanates from God. To us as a result of a direct connection, a direct relationship.
So, John in his epistle makes it very plain when he said in one verse, He who has not the Son of God has not life. If you don't have Jesus, you physically exist, of course, and you go about your daily routine, but you don't have a quality of existence that God ordained you to have. And that's why you, with all that you do, you ultimately cannot experience the kind of fulfillment that comes from knowing you are operating according to God's design. God designed that you and I live in relationship with Him. He designed that not a single person on earth should ever be alienated from knowing Him personally and having a personal relationship with you.
Please understand that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. His plan for you is that you know Him personally, that you know Him intimately, that you have His power to rely on in the bad times, and you have Him to enjoy in the good times, that He gives you purpose and He gives you meaning and He gives you direction. He came that you and I would have life. Not existence, but life.
Now he's so good, he lets people walk around and use up his existence and refuse. To acknowledge him as the source of life. People walk around and curse God all day. And he loves them just the same. Because he wants to give them life.
They don't understand. If they understood, they would change. That's why we've got to be faithful to preach the gospel and to live the gospel so that people can understand that the blinders can be taken off their eyes and they can see just how wonderful it is to know God for yourself. They don't see it. Jesus said to the woman at the well, if you knew who you were talking to.
He said, I can't blame you for your lifestyle. I'm not going to pick on you for all the things you're doing. And I would to God the church would get out of the picking on business. Would to God we would quit messing with people because of their sins. That's what they're supposed to do.
That's their job. They're sinners. Sinners sin. That's their job. What we should do rather than picking on people for their sin is point them to the Savior.
Who is the only source of life? To let them know Jesus can give you life. Jesus came not only to offer us eternal life in the hereafter, but the abundant, joyful Christian life in the here and now. Blessed be His holy name. We're so glad you stopped by for today's Destined for Victory message when Jesus comes.
To find out more about Destined for Victory's mission and purpose, or about the special gift reserved for you when you give generously today, please come see us at pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net. His plan for you is that you know him personally, that you know him intimately, that you have his power to rely on in the bad times, and you have him to enjoy in the good times, that he gives you purpose, and he gives you meaning and he gives you direction. He came that you and I would have life. Not existence, but life.
That's next time in our continuing message when Jesus comes. I hope you'll join us. Until then, remember: he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.
