Prove It! Part 6 (cont'd)

What would happen if we, as believers in Christ, responded to people in kindness instead of responding in kind? Find out next on today's Destined for Victory. Hello and thanks for tuning in. In just a few moments, Pastor Paul Shepherd shares his message, Prove It. But first, he joins me now from his studio in California. Well, Pastor, this current series, Prove It, is proving to be a challenge to those of us who claim to follow Christ.

So let me ask you this. Once we begin our relationship with Jesus, why is it so important for us to develop these godly qualities we've been studying together? For eternal life, we all need to be concerned about living the abundant life. Jesus said, I've come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly.

Now, you know, in these days when we hear abundance, we tend to think the three C's, cribs, cars, and cash. But the reality is, abundant life in scripture doesn't have to do with those things. God might bless you with a lot of wonderful toys and gifts and provisions but the reality is it is the inner quality that gives us abundant life and that's what this series is all about teaching us to build the character that gives glory to God and will help us be a blessing to people everywhere we go. You know one of the ways we can be a blessing to others is by sharing the gospel with them inviting them to accept the gift of God's salvation as well as showing them how to live the abundant Christian life here on earth. Your gifts to Destin for Victory helped Pastor Paul do just that with people all over the world. As our way of saying thanks for your generous donation we'd like to send you a book from Deborah Smith Pagues called 30 Days to Taming Worry and Anxiety. If you want to know how to deal with the stresses life sometimes brings your way, if you'd like to replace your worry with a joy and peace that only God can give, you'll want to pick up a copy of this great resource today. Again that's 30 Days to Taming Worry and Anxiety our gift to you this month by request for your generous gift to Destin for Victory. Call 855-339-5500 to give over the phone or visit PastorPaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online.

You can also mail your gift to Destin for Victory post office box 1767 Fremont California 94538. What would happen if we the body of Christ just decided we were going to commit random acts of kindness? What would happen if we just decided I'm gonna go out and just nice people to death? When you study the life of Christ you can't help but notice how kind he was to everyone he met. He didn't judge or condemn. He didn't guilt unbelievers into repentance.

Instead he treated them with love, respect and kindness. As his followers we would do well to walk in his steps. Today on Destin for Victory Pastor Paul Shepherd wraps up his message on seven qualities we as Christians should strive to develop.

Let's join him now for today's Destin for Victory message, Prove It. God's liable to put you anywhere. You can be saved and be in Hollywood.

Somebody needs to be saved over there. And I'm finding there are more and more of God's people who are now in entertainment industry and God is dealing with them about representing him and letting their light shine. And God needs you. God needs you in politics. God knows we need some godly people in politics. God knows we need godly people raising up businesses of integrity, corporations of integrity. We need godly people everywhere in education, higher education, educating the kids in high school, junior high school, elementary school.

We need Christians everywhere who will truly represent God. These young men, these three Hebrew men the Bible says they stood against the political pressure to bow to this foreign God. And when Nebuchadnezzar heard about it he called them in said now I like you fellas and normally there wouldn't even be in discussion when somebody defies me I know you all aren't from Babylon you were brought here captive and so I realize that you all don't understand how a kingdom works. When you defy a king that's it but I happen to like you so because I like you I will have mercy upon you I have called the band back and they will play it again Sam. And when you hear the trumpets this time you are to bow. When you bow I will send word that you all were temporarily insane but you got your act together that you in fact bow and everything will be good.

Look at what they said when you get a chance. The Bible says in the book of Daniel these men looked right at the king and said we are not slow to answer you in this matter. The God we serve oh and by the way and they paid him respect first they said Oh King live forever. Paid him respect. Some Christians have learned that some Christians are disrespectful and you cancel out the validity of your testimony by your disrespect. You got to learn even if a person is a heathen if they're your boss that's your heathen boss.

Come on let me help somebody and your heathen boss will fire you. Just because they don't know Jesus yet doesn't mean that you can be disrespectful. In fact through your respect you can begin to set the stage for your witness to have an impact on their lives. They said Oh King live forever. They gave him all his props but when it came to bowing and compromising their faith they couldn't do it and they said we're not slow to answer you in this matter the God we serve is able to deliver us out of your hand and he will deliver us. I love this part they said but if not we still won't bow. In other words if God lets us go to your furnace we're not crazy about fire it was just that we love God and if God lets us burn if God lets you put us to death by means of this fire we still won't bow. We'll burn before we bow. And the Bible says the king was full of wrath and he ordered them to be slain by fire in fact he commanded that the fire be heated seven times hotter.

It was so hot that the men who took them to cast them into the furnace were slain by the heat and when the king looked I don't know how he saw it but somewhere from afar I don't know if they had some ancient kind of binoculars or what. I know my man wasn't all that close to it I do know that and he was looking from afar and he looked he knew he threw in three men he looked in my mind's eye I see him rubbing his eyes and looking again then he asked somebody look in there tell me what do you see three men and they said no I see four. He said so do I and the fourth one looks like a son of the gods.

He said I don't know who that fourth one is but he's not from around here. When they stood up for God God sent supernatural help and decided that he would deliver them and show Nebuchadnezzar his power. Let me tell you something God will show people his power through you if you'll stand up. So you got to add to your faith godliness. He says an add to godliness brotherly kindness brotherly kindness. Now the fact of the matter is folks we've got to understand that God has called us to be kind people treat people with respect. Now brotherly kindness of course has one inference for life in the church but it has an expanded difference for life in the world because brotherly kindness the Greek word Philadelphia the city from which I hail it's called the city of brotherly love it's really the city of brotherly shove but go over there go to wrong part of town get your head knocked in but that's what the word comes from Philadelphia the Greek word it means brotherly kindness and so on the one hand we in the family of God have a unique bond but on the other hand we have to recognize that all men at some level are our brother and sister at some level if you miss them in Christ you catch them in Adam we're all brothers and sisters on some level I know if you if you don't know the Lord you're not truly my brother or sister in the faith but we are the human family you everyone is born in God's image made in God's image and his plan is to restore them to fellowship with him so that they can live that out see when you're in sin you're dead in trespasses and sin which means that God's plan for your life God's blueprint on your life will never be executed until you come to faith but the fact of the matter is the way we help bring people to faith is to start out by just treating them kindly let me ask you something how nice are you to people every day no matter who they are what color they are what nationality they're from how nice are you let me ask you another question how prejudice are you do you look at people and sum them up and decide you know who they are and you don't like it based on their culture or based on their dress or based on whatever it could be you've got to get those things out of the way because God has called us to walk in brotherly kindness we ought to be the nicest folk on the planet you shouldn't be trying to represent Jesus mean come on somebody Jesus wasn't mean do you know that non-christian people who weren't followers of his yet love Jesus you know the people who gave him the hardest time religious folk church folk white robo and folk those were the ones who didn't like Jesus but the Bible called Jesus a friend of publicans and sinners now he didn't befriend them by compromising his walk he befriended them with his brotherly kindness he treated them nice he treated them with respect how well do you treat people do you speak to people or do you wait and see if they speak to you or wait and you see if you happen to like what they look like or you think there might be something in it for you what would happen if we the body of Christ just decided we were going to commit random acts of kindness what would happen if we just decided I'm gonna go out and just nice people to death I'm gonna speak when I get in the elevator hello you ever get an elevator at a hotel office building whatever it is and you know four people in there and you walk in nobody looks at each other everybody looking up at the numbers what if you were to go in and say hello hi how are you how's your day now true some folk gonna look at you like what's your angle check for my wallet okay what up here sure cuz we live in a world where so many people have a gimmick but suppose you just set out to be nice for nice sake just cause it's nice to be nice and especially if you're gonna have a bumper sticker some bad Jesus being saved or got the little fish or something and then you out there on the freeway flipping people off doesn't quite go does it Jesus finger can't quite get them in balance don't go away we're only about halfway through today's destined for victory message with pastor Paul Shepherd senior pastor of destiny Christian fellowship in Fremont California be sure to subscribe to pastor Paul on YouTube to watch some of his best video clips for more details and links to all of his social media sites be sure to visit pastor Paul dotnet that's pastor Paul dotnet where you can listen on demand or recent messages or find a variety of resources at our online store now once again here's pastor Paul with the rest of today's message prove it friend of mine a woman who speaks at a lot of conferences told this story on herself she said I had just spoken at a meeting and people knew me around speaking a lot of places coming home from a particular trip got to the airport they had lost her bag not that uncommon and they had said don't worry we'll find it and we'll send it to you well they didn't send it to her so next day she decided go back to the airport went back to the airport she was warm went to the lady who troubleshoots that kind of thing and said listen y'all promised me I flew in yesterday you promised me you would locate my bag and somebody would bring it to my address I need my stuff and you promised me and you didn't do what you promised she was alright at that point but the lady was six trying to explain well we have to locate it and until we find it we can't bring it to you and of course we're doing our best and we we've got to find and we have all these millions of bags and we've got it and she was trying to explain her point of view and sort of stand up for her airline and Terry wasn't having it and so they were kind of going at it and then Terry looked and saw her bag back you know in the section behind this lady where they had some of the unclaimed luggage and she said there's my bag right there and she turned around said which one that one right there stand up here telling me that y'all were looking at it it's right there behind you by this time she is warmer and the lady said okay well if you will just fill out this form Terry went behind the counter told the lady I'm not filling out a thing if you touch me I will break your neck grabbed her bag at which time some of the Saints says sister Terry they were watching the whole thing sister Terry hi we know you from the conference you imagine how she felt having just threatened for all to hear the breaking of the neck of the lady we got to ask God to add to our faith kindness brotherly kindness treat them right just because they deserve to be treated nicely and if people disrespect you you don't have to disrespect them back and you can draw your boundaries you don't have to take anything off anybody but there's a way to be respectful and so we've got to find that place and then when it comes to the family of God all the more Paul said in Galatians 6 you we should do good to all men he said but especially those who are of the household of faith make up in your mind you're gonna get along with people in the body of Christ that you're gonna be nice to one another kind to one another come in the church we're not gonna fuss and argue and carry on over parking spaces hallelujah and give the traffic people in the security people a hard time some of the brothers told me pastor I think I can't understand how some of the folk can come and sit under all that heavy gospel you preach and then act the way they act when they get out here in this lot all that means is we have some adding to do add to your faith brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness love now in in our language we typically will use love for a lot of things eros erotic love we use love for brotherly kindness we use love for friendship you know use it for all kinds of things but in Greek they're all different words so here brotherly kindness you have Philadelphia but then he says and add to Philadelphia agape add to brotherly kindness that unconditional sacrificial I'm in it with your best interest at heart kind of love see agape is the foundation for representing God in the lives of others because agape is the way God loves us the Bible says when we were his enemies Christ died for us he didn't wait till we were nice you know how some of us would have done treat me with some respect then I think about saving you oh so you want to curse me you want to use my name and a curse huh okay let's see you do that without air right thank God you're not God the world would be a different place folk dropping like flies when we were his enemies Christ died for us when we were cursing him when we wanted nothing to do with him he said but I love you I look beyond your fault and see your need and God sent his son to solve our problem when we didn't know we had a problem and didn't want him to have anything to do with us and he sheds that kind of love abroad in our hearts and tells us to love one another that way that's the love that'll make your relationships stay intact that's the love that will help you deal with unlovely people unconditional sacrificial agape says I love you and that's the end of it agape says I love you and there's nothing you can do about it I dare you to try to make me stop loving you see a copy means I am with you not on the virtue of how much you treat me right but because God's been good to me he saved me when I didn't deserve it I'm gonna love you when you don't deserve it agape agape unconditional sacrificial see you who are newlyweds who are getting married we often counsel make sure that your relationship is not based on things like arrows erotic feelings romantic feelings oh I love his arms I love his chest he's so big and broad strong he just looks like he could carry me through life yeah but what when his broadness up top goes south now what you gonna do come on somebody oh I love her she is built just like a coke bottle just out and in and back out and just but what if when she starts resembling a little more like the coke truck you get my point when there isn't as much honey on the moon as there used to be see that's feelings and it's great I say it at weddings when I'm performing weddings romance is a wonderful feature but it's a poor foundation because times and seasons are coming in your life where you don't feel all of that you know and they have conferences and now try to get us to fan the flame and rekindle the romance and I'll work on it come on let's get it going come on don't let that fire go out that's because emotions change feelings come and go and they change don't they you can't base a relationship on feelings because your feelings aren't stable enough so what you have to do is have a foundation that says when I don't like the dynamics of our relationship I promise to still love you when we've had a lot of disagreements and difficulty and we can't see eye to eye on some major issues and and a lot of people are just turning and walking away I'm going to do my best if you will stay with me I'm committed to staying with you because I'm in this for the long haul a foundation that is not based on the conditions if you here's my list if you agree push it across the table if you agree to these terms and they pick it up and look at it do their own writing pass it across the table here's my counter proposal love says yeah we can work out the details and all that but the bottom line is I'm gonna always act in your best interest that's what we're called to strive for add to your brotherly kindness agape when all else fails as God has loved me by his help I'm gonna love you not only in a marriage context but in a church context as a parent with children as a child dealing with aging parents whatever it is whoever are the challenging people in your life agape will help you to always act in their best interest agape will help you to forgive them when they work your last nerve when they are doing wrong by you agape will help you do right by them and if we will add these to our faith he says if you add them to your faith in increasing measure we're to be people on the grill he said two things will happen you'll never fall he uses the word there that means you will never come to utter destruction and ruin doesn't mean you won't have a slip we're all learning and growing but it means if you have a slip you will get up you will learn from it and you will move forward and become better for it but he says ultimately you will never fall into destruction and a rich welcome will be afforded you into the kingdom of our God and if you will add to your faith you will see God one day you will hear God one day say well done good and faithful servant one of the ways we can prove our faith is to share our faith thanks so much for joining us for today's message prove it if you'd like more information about the destined for victory ministry or this month's special offer be sure to stop by our website pastor Paul dotnet that's pastor Paul dotnet and so here are these two widows one older one younger but Ruth has decided I'm not gonna bellyache about what I don't have I'm not gonna bellyache about what I have lost it is time for me to get on with the business of living that's tomorrow and pastor Paul Shepherd's message so you want to get married until then remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in Christ you are destined for victory