Taking Only What God Gives Us, Part 1 (cont'd)

Music Playing Hello and thanks for stopping by. Well, it's not always easy to let go of the people in our lives, but sometimes that's exactly what God wants us to do. Not because they're bad people, but because they're no longer supposed to be your people. For a great example of this weeding out process, today Pastor Paul Sheppard takes us once again to the story of Gideon, who is preparing to lead Israel into battle against the Midianites. But before God could get the most out of Gideon's army, he had to have a smaller army. Stay with us for the next few minutes if you can, or visit pastorpaul.net to listen on demand anytime. That's pastorpaul.net.

You can also download and subscribe to the podcast at TuneIn or wherever you enjoy your podcasts. Here's Pastor Paul with today's Destined for Victory message, taking only what God gives us. One of the hardest things God is calling some of you to do, but you must do it, is assess the people in your life who it is clear they're there, but they're not there. They'll say hello, they'll speak to you, but they're not there.

God says, tell them, listen, it's been great, God bless you, we've been a blessing in each other's lives, but it's obvious. We're now moving in two different directions. My passion is not your passion, or the passion you used to have, it's lost. You used to be excited about being in my life, now you're very blase. It's different. You know when it's different. You can try to be in denial all you want, but you know when somebody has changed up.

They just aren't what they used to be, and no need of you trying to pretend like this can work. The prophet Amos said, how can two walk together except they be agreed, and it's time for you to let them go. Gideon, go out and let folks know it's all right. You can go, and don't worry that more than two-thirds of them, Gideon, are going to say deuces. I'm out.

Catch you later. Now, the miracle that God is going to work later on in the story, through far less people, they, the cowards, are still going to get the benefit from. God's going to bless them residually, but they won't get the joy and the blessings reserved for the ones who God is ordained to use. So let them go. You need to identify the people in your life who are your 22,000. We all have them. Have them in our personal lives.

Somebody who used to run with you, used to talk with you, used to pray with you, used to fellowship with you, used to go on trips with you, whatever it was. Now, their hearts are somewhere else. God is not into guilting folk. God is not into everybody need to stay. Everybody need to be here. Everybody, God doesn't guilt people into that. That is not God.

You don't guilt for it. Everybody, you need to be here. You need, we need you. You can't leave now. That's human.

That's not divine. God is like Southwest Airlines. I love those commercials. Want to get away? Come on, y'all saw the commercials.

They got different ones where something real embarrassing happens to somebody and then they're suddenly caught in the embarrassment. It goes silent for a second and you hear a voice that says, want to get away? And then of course, Southwest says you can and they put up their latest fares and all that stuff.

And it's a wonderful way of catching people's attention, getting them to know about the low price flying. Listen, in your life, this is a season where God is saying, go tell the people, go ask the people in your life, want to get away? What's your spouse? I felt the devil trying to trick somebody.

I felt him. He showed right up behind that statement, sat right on your shoulder and told you, that's what you need to go home, tell your Holy Spirit caught it, not your spouse. That's yours. Pray for grace. Pray for wisdom. Pray for instruction. That's yours. If they be pleased to dwell with you, do not leave them except for biblical cause.

I know somebody is sorry for that clarification. But God's gonna help you. If you'll say yes to him.

But for all non marital relationships. The appropriate question in this season is want to get away? Not feeling me anymore. When you see people lose their passion. That is a clear sign. Cause you can work with folk who have a passion, even if their passion has them at odds with you right now.

Over the years I've seen when folk come in and they are so mad at each other, they can hardly see straight. That's good. You say what you're talking about? That's good. There's enough passion that you can work with.

You have to care to be mad. You know, the worst folk to try to deal with is folk who come in politely, sit there, cross their legs, smile at me. I say what, how can I help you? One person say well I think we're having a few issues that we probably should talk about. Okay. Other person, what can I do for you? I don't know.

Well what would you say are the challenges in your marriage? It's fine for me. When you see apathy, we can be here, we can not be here. We can talk, we can not talk. I can come, I can go. What you want.

But no passion, that's a problem. The apostle Paul was passionately against the church when he was Saul. Remember that? In fact at the end of chapter 7 when Stephen is stoned, the Bible says the stoners come and throw their coats at the feet of Saul. Meaning he's the ringleader. He was the one responsible for the murder. He is on his way to Damascus armed with papers to extradite Christians, take them from Damascus to Jerusalem where he can have them killed. He's a murderer, passionate, proud murderer. God says I can work with passion. Knocks him off his high horse. You know the story. By Acts chapter 9 he's a different man. God can work with passion. But when the people in your life have lost their passion, they don't care one way or the other. You know everything you need to know. Open the door of your life and say obviously you're not feeling this.

Obviously something has changed. It's okay. You can go. Don't guilt them. Don't try to convince them they need to be with you. Don't try to remind them of all that you've ever done for them. Don't make them feel guilty because you know what I've been through. You know who left my life.

You know my mama died and you know. God says let them go. Because the people he has ordained in your life, you'll know them because they have the calling. They're responding to an inner call.

They're not responding to a trumpet. They're responding to an inner call. Something in them tells them I'm supposed to be hooked up with him or with her. We're to be in fellowship. We're to be connected. We're to be prayer partners.

They already know it. Where church is concerned, I'm telling you as a pastor, other pastors listening to this message, let me challenge you to do what I am doing. I am saying to anybody in this church, if you're not feeling where God is taking us, you have an honorable discharge from this pastor speaking to you. I promise I will wish you well.

I promise I will pray for you. I promise that I won't speak ill of you. But if you want to get away, it's all right. I'm going to let you go. Because no need of you being here and you're not here. No need of you being here and your face tells me you have no business being here.

You're just as blank. You ever seen folk? They're looking at you but they, you say, where are you?

What's on your mind? You ever seen somebody look at you and you say, what in the world? Because their heart's not there. You got to understand, an orper will never be a Ruth. You remember the book of Ruth? Two daughters-in-law that Naomi had. But Naomi's husband dies, then later on her two sons die. So suddenly she has two ex-daughter-in-laws.

They're really not daughters-in-law anymore because their husbands are dead. No more connection. Naomi hears the Lord has come to the aid of his people in Bethlehem.

They've been in Moab for years. She gets up, says, I'm going back home. I left Bethlehem full, I'm going back empty.

But I'm going back. She said, I've lost all my graciousness. She didn't even want to be called Naomi, which means gracious. She tried to change her name, call me Maura, that means bitter.

But she said, I'm going back. Stay right here, we're only about halfway through today's Destined for Victory message with Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor at Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. We want to thank all of you whose prayers and financial support are helping Pastor Paul share the Gospel of Jesus Christ all over the world. For your generous gift to Destined for Victory today, we'd like to send you Pastor Paul's booklet, Little is Much When God is in It. Call 855-339-5500 to make your gift over the phone.

That's 855-339-5500. Or make a safe and secure online donation at PastorPaul.net. Again, that web address is PastorPaul.net. Has God ever taken a few people out of your life?

It may be painful at first, but God wants to help you let them go. Here's Pastor Paul with the rest of today's message, taking only what God gives us. Orpah first said, I'll go with you. Both girls said, we'll go with you.

Naomi said, what's the point of going with me? I don't have any children, even if you waited around and I got a new husband, which is unlikely. Y'all going to wait until he gets me pregnant? Y'all going to wait for the boys to get up some age? For y'all to be their cougars?

Bring it up to modern times so you can get this word. If you didn't get that one, talk to somebody after church. Naomi makes a good point. What would be the point of you going with me? So after initially they both said, I'm going. Naomi helps them realize, why? Why would you go with me?

I got nothing to offer you. Orpah said, you got a point. Hugged her, cried, but stayed. There's some people in your life, at first they said, I'm with you. Or first they said about this church, I'm there. But after I said, well, here's our vision. We're going somewhere.

This is a God thing. It's not for everybody. It's a pioneer season in hotels, inconvenient, driving all over creation, going to church.

Doesn't feel good, uncomfortable, unpredictable, not for everybody. That's my Naomi speech. And frankly, if you're more concerned about mileage and more concerned about don't even have a building and don't know where we're going to be and I don't, you're more concerned about that, Orpah, God bless you.

Hug, cry if you have to, but go where you're going to be comfortable. This is not about gathering a critical mass. This is not about getting as many folk as possible. This is not about guilting you in the stand. You need to be here. He was your pastor for years. You need to be here. You're not going to hear that from this pulpit.

That's fleshly foolishness. If your heart is sending you, the pastor is saying, go where your heart. I promise you I will bless you.

Promise you I will pray for you. Promise you I won't talk about you on your way out. You know why? Because my heart is so full of a vision of what God is going to do through a number of people that he has ordained that I don't have time to be focused on folk who don't know whether they're coming or going.

If you're not feeling this, you can go. And I want to encourage anybody who has folk in your life who have no business being there, not only let them go, encourage them. You know why? Because they're eating up space and energy in your life. Some of y'all got some little special friendships with little raggedy people who have no business in your life. God's taking you somewhere. He's pruning you.

He's cutting you down to size. He's not trying to take care of your needs by having some raggedy person in and out of your life, slipping you twos and fuse. But they're not living for God, not serving God, just taking up space in your life, sometimes in your home. And God says, I can't get you where I'm trying to take you as long as you're more concerned about the comfort of this pitiful person.

Than you are about doing my will, let them go. But Pastor, you don't know how long he been in my life for a long time. Well, he's obviously not called of God to be there.

By now, he'd have put a ring on it. In the words of that great theologian, Beyonce, if he hasn't put a ring on it, you got to tell him. Whatever she said, let them go. God doesn't need raggedy people, half-hearted people, scared people, double-minded people to get anything done in your life.

He doesn't need you dragging people, because if you got to guilt him into staying, that's a full-time job. You got to look behind you every so often, make sure they're still there. You're still there, come on with me. You're calling them every week, where are you at?

I didn't see you. God said, get rid of them hangers-on, get rid of those people who are full of fear and full of doubt and don't know that they want to be here. Let them go.

Do you know an entire generation of people miss their blessing because they fooled around being exposed to the wrong folks? When you read Numbers 13, that chapter opens with God telling Moses, send spies over. Since these people are having a hard time figuring out whether they really believe that I'm going to give them the promised land, send spies over. Let the spies go over and check it out and let them see who's over there and just let them get a full report together and come back.

That's the assignment. Moses sends 12 spies, you know the story, one from each tribe, they come back. Two of them come back excited because they're focused on the promise. Ten of them, the 32,000, ten of them come back. We can't go over there. It's giants over there. You just saw them people. Compared to them, we look like a bunch of grasshoppers. You might be crazy if you think I'm going over there. And as a result of exposure to negative people, the whole nation caught their fear and unbelief. Look at Numbers 14.

They came back with the report at the end of Numbers 13. Only Joshua and Caleb are saying, we need to go right now. We can do this.

We are well able. The other ten said, don't listen to them. They're going to get you all killed.

Chapter 14. The people wept aloud. The people cried. The people then found themselves grumbling against their leadership.

All over being exposed to folk who should have been eliminated. Thanks for being here for today's message. Taking only what God gives us. Before we wrap things up on today's Destined for Victory, Pastor Paul Shepherd has joined me from a studio in California. Pastor, in a few short days, we'll be coming up on a presidential election. You're not going to tell us who to vote for, but would you share some words of wisdom for those listening about how we should prepare our hearts to vote?

Yeah, I'm happy to do that. I think the key truths to following Jesus are reminding ourselves that elections don't change what we're called to do and how we're called to live. Here's one of the things I think we need to keep in mind. You know, I grew up on the old hymns of the church. I grew up in a church where we sang gospel and had fun songs. We sang hymns and anthems a lot.

Right. And so I love the hymn, and I'm thinking about it now in answer to your question. My hope is built on nothing less but Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

And come January 20th of next year, whether you're happy about who's being sworn in that day or whether for you it's a day of sackcloth and ashes, the fact of the matter is I think you need to make sure that your hope lies firmly and solely in Jesus Christ. It can never be in the White House. It can never be in a party. It can never be in Congress.

It can't even be in the decisions made in the Supreme Court. It has to remain in Christ. All other ground is sinking sand. And I think if our listeners put their hope in Jesus Christ, then we will continue looking to Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. It reminds me of Psalm 20, verse 7.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Thanks for those words of wisdom, Pastor Paul. Well, at a time when there is so much pain and uncertainty in the world, the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ remains a source of hope for all who embrace it.

And now more than ever, many are searching for that hope. This is why your prayers and financial support of Destined for Victory is so critical. As our way of saying thanks for your generous donation, we'd like to send you a booklet called Little is Much When God is in It. Written by Pastor Paul, this is a great reminder that God can use you to impact those around you, and he can do it despite what you lack. That's Little is Much When God is in It, our gift to you today by request for your generous gift to Destined for Victory. Call 855-339-5500 to give over the phone, or visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online.

And of course, you can also mail your gift to Destined for Victory, post office box 1767, Fremont, California 94538. You know, we always claim something when it's adding involved. Not many folks want to claim a blessing that has subtraction involved. But I'm here to declare to you from the word of the Lord some of the greatest things God will do in your life begin with significant subtraction. That's tomorrow when Pastor Paul shares his message, taking only what God gives us. Until then remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are Destined for Victory.