Taking On Our New Identity (cont'd)

And what God tells you to do What does it mean to He said one day I was ministering at I think he said he was somewhere in California in a service ministering call about that land right now and he said I left the service went to a phone called my attorney said go talk to those people right now and tell them we want to buy the land. The attorney said there's no point we've been approaching them forever and he said go now. The attorney called and the owners said just yesterday we decided to sell this land. He said and they further said and we don't need a lot of money. So we'll hold the note for you.

Give us whatever low down payment you have and then we'll just let you pay it off as you go. You see some things happen in God's time. Sometimes you got the right vision but the vision is for an appointed time. And if the vision is of God it will come to pass. So you got to follow his timing.

Number three. Don't let fear stop you. Don't let fear stop you.

Look at verse 10 and the following verses of Judges 7. If you are afraid to attack go down to the camp with your servant Pura and listen to what they are saying. Afterward you will be encouraged to attack the camp. Now pause right there.

Now get the picture. God told Gideon that night get up it's time for you to move against the enemy. I'm ready to give it into your hands. It's my time.

My anointing rests on you now to do it at this time. God knows Gideon that through this whole journey of trying to get him to the place where he can finally take on his identity. His problem has been fear and doubt and insecurity.

And I can't do that. And God so loved him and so loves us that God just helped him along a little bit. He said if you are afraid to attack because he knew Gideon was afraid to attack. He said okay go on get your servant.

Go on get Pura and y'all go down there and just listen. He said I'm going to encourage you. Now let me tell you something. God did that for Gideon just because he really wanted to show that when his calling is on our lives he won't even let us mess it up with our stuff. But at the same time I want to challenge you do not tempt the Lord your God. Don't keep pushing God with your doubt and your unbelief. At a certain point faith has got to kick in.

And you got to say if God has brought me this far then he is certainly going to take me the rest of the way. But Gideon wasn't quite there and so Gideon had to get a little help and God sent him down to the camp with his servant and look at what they overhear. They overhear one man telling his friend I had a dream. A round loaf of broccoli bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed. Watch this his friend responded this can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon the Israelites. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands. Verse 15 when Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation he worshiped God.

I guess he did. Isn't that amazing that he goes down he's scared to attack. He's still trying to get this new identity thing. So God helps him along.

He's scared to attack. He goes down there and overhears a soldier telling another soldier look at this dream. Some bread came rolling into the camp with such force a loaf of bread with such force that it overturned and caused a tent to collapse. And the friend interpreted the dream.

So that Gideon. That mean God has given us into his hands. We in trouble.

I need you to understand something. You can feel fearful but don't let it stop you. Some of you all are waiting to stop being afraid before you move.

I want to suggest to you you don't have the luxury of that kind of time. Be scared but do it anyway. If it's of God do it anyway. If you allow it fear will paralyze you and you will never move forward into what God is telling you to do. And what God tells you to do is always scary. Have you noticed that?

If you haven't pay attention. God never tells you something to do that's nice and easy and simple and everybody's going to love you while you do it. I've never had God give me a definite leading to do something where it was just easy and simple and it was just one two three and easy and just none none none. Whenever you got to claim a promised land there's giants there. Whenever you got to claim a promised land there are enemies dug in saying if you step over this line I'm going to kill you. That's why all throughout Joshua chapter one the Lord kept saying to Joshua be strong and very courageous. When God has to keep saying to you now be strong and very courageous don't be terrified don't be dismayed. When you keep hearing that you know why that is because you're going to run into something that will terrify you if you let it.

And we have to learn to not let fear stop us. I remember when my son wanted to ride roller coaster I he'd know his daddy loved roller coasters and so we go when we moved out here he and Leisha were just little things we would go down there to Santa Cruz because I love old fashioned coasters I don't like these new looping and corkscrew and all that twisting you you get all dizzy that that's not my I don't roll like that. I like straight up straight down up down up down curve round down up. And I've ridden the nicest wooden roller coasters in the country. Tallest highest soon as I hear back in those days soon as I would hear a high one was built I'd go there. Right I remember down Southern California when Colossus was first built at the time that was the big deal I went to Southern California I said I'm getting on Colossus just loved it and he knew his daddy was into him and he was real real little and he's looking at it and he wanted to try it. But he like I don't know. But one day we were down in Santa Cruz and I said son if you're ready come on dad will ride with you we'll be in there right together and he's looking at it and you could tell he wanted to but something just I'm just not sure but in here he had coasters in him. The coasters were in him.

He was just trying to push through that threshold. And finally he said I'm going. I said alright good I looked at his mother and winked I said he's okay he's ready. And so she's standing there you know her anointing was holding people's bags and stuff and just watch.

That's what she liked to do. I'll be here when y'all get off. And so he got on there and we sat down next to me and I could tell he was nervous but we creeping up that first you know and that first one just about kill you if you're kind of scared. And you know he was I just said oh man this is going to be fun it's going to be alright I'm proud of you I'm glad to see you bring that and I'm just encouraging him we going on up and finally we rode and rode and got off. And I said I wonder if this is going to be his first and last.

That boy been riding coasters ever since. Sometimes you just got to push through the threshold. I'm scared but I'm going to do it anyway. God is with me I'm going to do it anyway. I might look dumb but I'm going to do it anyway. People might talk about me but I'm going to do it anyway.

Oh let them run their mouths but I'm going to do it anyway. We're coming right back with more of today's Destined for Victory message with Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor at Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. Remember you can always listen to the broadcast on demand at pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net where you'll find a host of great resources in our online store.

In order to be a good leader you first have to learn to be a good follower but you want to make sure you're following the right kind of person. Here's Pastor Paul with the rest of today's Destined for Victory message taking on our new identity. Bishop Jakes told the story in a meeting I was in with him. He was sitting down there thinking it was his computer or something but he was doing some work and kind of into it. And his little grandson came creeping down the steps and walked up to him and was just standing there. And Bishop Jakes stopped on and said, boo. He said, little grandson took off. Went running, laughing, screaming. He said a few seconds he creeped back in there.

Got within my range of my view. He said, I never stopped without doing it. I just stopped real quick and said, boo. A few seconds later he come right on back. And Bishop said, I was trying to get my work done and I knew he wouldn't do this forever now. He said, so after doing it about three times I think he said, I just tried to ignore him. He said, but after a while he said, pawpaw.

And Bishop said, what? He said, scare me again. Ask God, scare me again. Give me something to do that'll scare the living daylights out of me.

Give me an assignment that's so big, so outside of my comfort zone that it will have to be you to bring it to pass. Quit being safe. Go on and let God scare you into something supernatural. Scare you into something phenomenal that'll give him all the glory and all the praise. It's time for you to scare me again.

I've been living safe for a long time now. Let God scare you again. Number four, follow your leader. Judges 7, the second part of verse 15. He heard the dream that this man in the Midianite camp had and its interpretation, he worshiped God. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and called out, get up. The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.

He divided the 300 men into three companies. He placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them with torches inside. Then look at verse 17. Watch me, Gideon told them. Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and those who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp you blow yours and shout for the Lord and for Gideon.

Fourth practical step I want you to take is to follow your leader. You got to understand something. God is the one who raises up leaders in the church just like he has done throughout redemptive history. Now there are two categories of leaders in the church just as there had been throughout redemptive history. There are some that he sent and there are some that just went.

You've got to discern which is which. Not everybody with a collar is a pastor. Not everybody who went to seminary is a Christian leader. Some folk just went.

But there are others that God sent. Sometimes when I'm doing pastors conferences or speaking at some environment with a lot of pastors, I tell them I hope you're functioning in a God-given calling because if you're not, I got a question for you. What are you doing in this profession? I have called pastors out like you must be crazy to be a pastor without a calling. Something wrong with somebody told you wrong if you think this is a good job that I just think I'll become a pastor.

You're tripping. You have overestimated the value of a reserved parking space at a church. You have overestimated the value of having your own office, your own little chair to swirl around in, the office to meet folk in. You have over evaluated the importance of that big, you know, some churches had that big throne that the pastor sits on.

They had the little regular chairs and then they had the big throne for the pastor. Some of y'all tripping over that throne. I wouldn't be caught dead in this profession except that God called me to do it. Listen, some folk are called. When you're under called leadership, you're under somebody, God said through the prophet Jeremiah, I will give you shepherds after my heart. They will feed you and they will lead you.

They're going to take you where I'm taking you. And some folks say, well, that's just Old Testament. We ain't got to find no leadership. We're under grace. We do our own thing now under grace. Just me and Jesus.

I don't need nobody. I know how some of you funky New Testament folk are. You as mixed up as a barrel of fishhooks.

That's what's wrong with you. In the New Testament, God said through the apostle Paul, and I have called some to be apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and some teachers, and their job is to grow you up and lead you in the things of God so you become spiritually mature and you do everything God's called you to do. You do need a pastor.

I beg to differ. You need a person of God who is called and anointed to lead you and to feed you, and you will be far better off in the right place under the right leadership than you will be trying to be a spiritual lone ranger. Just following a man, that's what God told you to do. Paul said follow me as I follow Christ.

He was talking to Christians when he said it. Now if I get off and start acting like Jim Jones and you don't follow anybody down there, you don't drink Kool-Aid over it, you need to be saved and under the right leadership. And when you have a leader, follow the leader because many of your blessings will be tied to your followership. And here you see what God said through Gideon.

This man's finally taking on his identity. He said now y'all do what I do. Watch me and do what I do.

I'm following the instruction of God and you follow my lead. He said everybody get a jar in one hand, get a trumpet in the other one and watch me. And when you hear me and my 100 men blow our trumpets, then y'all blow your trumpets. Don't stand there saying I blow my trumpet when I feel like. If I don't feel like blowing trumpet, I ain't funny. God ain't call me. I don't feel the Holy Ghost. I don't feel the urge, the unction to blow my trumpet. Shut up and blow that trumpet.

The oil starts at the head and as it pours down, God will bless the whole garment because of what he's doing at the head. I dare you to get up under this leadership and say whatever the Lord says for you to do, by God's grace that's what we're going to do. And if you do it, you'll see the same blessings that are coming on to my life will drip into your life.

Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip. Don't let anybody ridicule you. You just following a man. I'm following Christ in a man.

You follow somebody who's had a really bad experience. So you want to walk around with a snapshot of the worst season of my life and carry it around the rest of your days when God's been running a movie and moving on and experiencing wonderful things. And if you look at the picture, you will miss the movie. And there are folk that just love looking at the picture.

You look at the picture all you want to. But God's running a movie. He has disciplined his servant.

He has gotten my attention. He has done a wonderful thing in my life and his anointing is as rich as ever. Not letting anybody talk me out of being where I'm supposed to be.

You can ridicule and act crazy all you want to. I know exactly where God wants me to be. Somebody who can tell me how to get from where I am to where God has destined me to be. The first step in discovering your identity in Christ is putting your faith in Christ. Thanks for being here for today's Destined for Victory message, taking on our new identity.

Now before we wrap things up today, Pastor Paul Shepherd has joined me from a studio in California. Pastor, you often hear me say on the broadcast that our partners are the lifeblood of this ministry. We truly appreciate every gift that comes, every single gift. But those that give on a monthly basis, those people are especially encouraging.

Absolutely. The bills come every month and that's what makes partnership so vital. There are people who are committed to giving at least $20 every single month and that helps us to pay the bills.

I'm so glad to be able to report to this point we have never been behind in any of our bills and that's because of our partners. I'm so grateful if you're listening and you're a partner, I need you to know that I appreciate exactly what you're doing and help me pray that God will give us thousands more to join your ranks so that we can not only stay strong on the stations and through the applications we currently have, I want to get on to hundreds more and find every way possible to reach people with the gospel. You can do that by being a partner and standing with us. You know there's no better way to show our love for others than by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them.

And there's no better time than now to do it. People are often more willing to accept the cross in times of crisis. As we continue to walk together through a season of uncertainty, now might be a great time to partner with Destined for Victory. And as our way of saying thanks for your partnership, we'll send you a few thank you gifts, including one of Pastor Paul's most popular CDs, The Best of Let My People Smile. Call 855-339-5500 to find out more about how to become a Destined for Victory partner and make your pledge over the phone. Or mail your gift letting us know you wish to become our partner.

The address is Destined for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538. You can also become our partner from our website, PastorPaul.net. Now if you can't become a Destined for Victory partner, but would like to make a generous donation today, we'd love to send you Pastor Paul's booklet, Little is Much When God is in It.

If you've ever felt like what you have, whether money or talent is too insufficient to be of any real use, this booklet was written with you in mind. It's a great reminder that God can take the limited and do the legendary. That's Little is Much When God is in It, our gift to you by request for your generous donation to Destined for Victory. The law of the harvest is you sow and then you wait for the Lord of the harvest to give you the results of your sowing. And in the meantime, in that place between sowing and reaping, it requires that you press through challenges, that you press through the things you don't understand. That's next time in Pastor Paul Shepherd's message, Outlasting Your Challenges. Until then remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.