When One Door Closes (cont'd)

What in the world are you doing by the window, waiting for somebody to sing you his song? You got no business by the window, especially waiting for somebody to sing you his song.

If you hook up with somebody, chances are he can't sing. Hello and welcome to Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd. Thanks so much for spending part of your busy Monday with us. Well Pastor Paul wants to talk to you about relationships, about closed doors, and about growing in wisdom as you make your way through a complex world. It's a message every believer in Christ should take seriously, but you'll hear plenty of humor along the way. Today's message is straight ahead, so stay right here, or visit PastorPaul.net to listen anytime on demand. That's PastorPaul.net.

You can also listen or download the podcast anytime at Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get yours. Now, here's Pastor Paul to help you laugh while you learn in today's Destined for Victory message, When One Door Closes. Let me tell you something, you've got to make sure you know that God controls your destiny. Your hope is not built on meeting this dream person.

Your hope is built on the fact that God is up to something in your life. Don't buy into the you light up my life mindset. Now, I realize I'm speaking to multiple generations, so some will know what I'm about to say, others will not. But in the late 70s and through the early 80s, one of the most popular wedding songs was You Light Up My Life. It was released in 1977 by Debbie Boone as a single, became very, very popular.

And I know some of y'all weren't even born in 77, just trust me when I tell you. It was released then, and I was a musician, I was playing for a whole bunch of weddings. The folk got me to play for their weddings, because I was good. I could play all their love songs real good, and what have you. And so I played a lot of weddings, and a lot of folk wanted You Light Up My Life. Now let me give you the lyrics. I'm going to ask them, put them up. I want to give you just the first verse in the chorus.

Look at this. So many nights I'd sit by my window. So many nights I'd sit by my window, waiting for someone to sing me his song, pause. What you doing by the window, oh come on, I'm going to help somebody if you let me. What in the world are you doing by the window, waiting for somebody to sing you his song? You got no business by the window, and especially waiting for somebody to sing you his song, if you hook up with somebody, chances are he can't sing. You need to be so living your life, so enjoying your life, you need to be having a life. You need to be traveling the world, you need to be connecting with people, you need to be enjoying yourself. What in the world you doing sitting by a window, you could be on a cruise right now.

Could be in Hawaii, you can be in wherever it is that you want to go. You single, your bills are yours. Come on somebody, sitting around for some old debt laden man. Keep going, so many dreams I kept deep inside me, alone in the dark. Now you've come along, pause. What in the world you doing in the dark? Alone, alone's alright, because alone isn't a bad thing, there are times we all need to be alone, but there are times you get sick of being alone, I get that, but here's my problem, so if it's a moment when you're alone, why are you, thank you, in the dark? You're supposed to have your own light. God did not ordain somebody to come into your life and bring you a light. The only person who ever came into your life, this ought to be your testimony, and brought you a light was Jesus Christ, who was able to say I am the light of the world. The key that walks in darkness needs to hook up with me, because I'll bring the light and transform his or her life. You alone in the dark, waiting on somebody to come, and then they go into the chorus, you light up my life, you give me hope to carry on, you light up my days and fill my nights with song.

That's unhealthy. Anybody who's looking for a dark, unlit house. Anybody looking for a dark, unlit house, you know what they call that person, a thief. That's a thief and a robber, oh, ain't no light in here, I can take everything I want. I've told you many times before, but you got to get it, if he brings the light, he owns the light bulb. And for men, if she brings the light, she owns the light bulb. But I see this most of the time with women. If you let somebody bring the light, they own the light bulb, they control your life. And I promise you, when they get through stealing, when the thief gets through stealing, what they want, your body, your self-esteem, your money. You ever seen these judge shows that are on TV? How many women are on the plaintiff's side talking about, I gave him $5,000 as a loan, and he's standing over there talking about, you ain't say nothing about no loan.

But what ought to grieve us is how many times you keep seeing folks show up with the same story. At a certain point, y'all got to figure out, if he needs your money, you don't need him. Because if he needs your money, that means he doesn't have enough credit.

That means he doesn't have a nice enough financial standing. If he can't handle himself, what are you doing coming into your life with a light bulb? When they get sick of you, they will unscrew their light bulb and walk out, and you back at the window. Because you finally say, uh-uh, honey, I can't help you with this one.

I'm still just dating now, just dating. And he come with the sad story, he say, uh-uh, I can't help you with this one. Or no, I can't hook you up.

Have you ever heard Sierra's song? If you looking for the goodies, keep on looking, cause they stay in the jar. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Pastor, you know goodies, yes I do, yes I do. If you don't want to come no more, that's fine. I don't think I want a pastor who knows goodies, I just said it. You go somewhere else and let somebody priest you about the Hebrew boys all day, and not talk about your life.

I'm not going to do it, I'm going to talk about where you are. If he's for you, he will respect the fact that the cookies are in the jar. And tell him not only does he have to put a ring on it, he has to put a ring on it that he bought. Why don't you come on down to the jeweler with me so I can see your taste, that's fine.

So he can see your taste, he don't want to get you something you wouldn't want, I get that. But when you get down there, and you starting to see what you like. And you say okay, so how's your credit? At that point, you walk out, you get in your car, and you leave him wherever it is.

In fact, if you drove him, you say where you want me to drop you off. Your life ought to be lit up. With the love of God, a real relationship with Jesus. You in your right mind because you ain't letting no man drive you crazy. You made some mistakes, but God has forgiven you. Come on. Some of you, I need to tell you, just because you're a single parent, and maybe the child was born before you were even married, Jesus covered that sin so thoroughly.

He covered it so thoroughly. The Bible says he remembers it no more. Don't you let somebody come to you like, you ought to be happy somebody wants you. All that tells you is, he's looking for somebody, he can make them feel like they owe him something. So get rid of all that negative stuff, stinking thinking, and you light up my life, and be who God made you, a child of destiny. You're listening to Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Sheppard, Senior Pastor of Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. He'll be right back with the second half of today's message. But first, an important reminder, if you haven't already, be sure to download our free mobile app so that you can listen to Destined for Victory right in the palm of your hand. The app is easy to navigate. You can even take notes on Pastor Paul's messages, so they'll be there the next time you tune in.

Visit Destined for Victory in the app store and download it today absolutely free. Now, let's rejoin Pastor Paul for the rest of today's message, When One Door Closes. Being a child of destiny means the only one who brings a light is Jesus.

And if you ever marry one day, marry somebody with their own light, so the two of y'all just make it brighter together. Psalm 27 said, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? I'm afraid of you and your attitude and you ought to be glad.

Just tell him if your eyes can't see this fineness, that's your problem. Oh, I'm trying to help somebody. Jeremiah 17, look at verses five and eight of Jeremiah 17. This is what the Lord says, cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He said, if you're like that, if you're depending on people, you're living under a curse.

You've cursed yourself by trusting in man. Look at what he says. He will be like a bush in the wasteland. He will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

Pause there. Look at what happens when you have your trust in people. It says that your heart's going to turn away from the Lord.

What's that mean? That mean when you're trusting in people, even if you're saved, you're not putting your real trust in God, because you're looking to people, you're looking to circumstances to work out in your favor instead of trusting in God, and as a result, it'll turn your heart away from the Lord. There's a whole lot of saved people whose hearts have turned away from the Lord.

Oh, they once asked, prayed and asked the Lord into their life, but they're not living with him, trusting him every day. And it says it'll make your heart turn away from the Lord. Look at what else he says.

He said, you're like a bush in a wasteland. You wouldn't see prosperity if it came. You see that? You wouldn't, if God blessed you, you wouldn't recognize the blessing, because your heart is not in the right place.

I had a plaque years ago, I loved it, I don't know where it is now, a plaque that said, my ship came in, but I was at the airport at the time. But you know, the sad thing is that's true for some people. God tried to bless them over here, and they never looked over there and saw, because they were trained on something else that they had in mind, and they missed the blessing. That's what happens when you put your trust in man. But look at verse seven, but blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear, even when the heat comes, its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought, and never fails to bear fruit. See, when your trust is in the Lord, you don't need anything but him. I got my own source, I'm by the stream, I can tap into the streams of living water, I can have God supply my every need, I don't need you coming through for me, because God comes through for me. I need you to understand that you need to live by faith in him.

You don't need these other folk. If God brings them into your life and they're a blessing, that's fine, but I don't have to compromise for a blessing. I don't have to be ruled by a blessing. When I have a blessing, it doesn't have me.

Come on, somebody. You know a person is for you because they're not trying to control you, not trying to rule over you, don't have unkind demands of you, wouldn't call you outside of your name, they trust God just like you, that's a blessing. That's a blessing. You want to marry somebody who in the middle of the night, your heart is depressed, you're going through something, the enemy is wearing you out, you want to marry somebody who if they tap you at two in the morning and say, honey, pray for me, that the enemy is attacking my mind, trying to keep me down, you need somebody who will wake up and say, father, in the name of Jesus, I stand in agreement of prayer, I rebuke the devil in the name of Jesus, I cast out this spirit of depression, I tell the devil to go back where he came from, lose him in the name of Jesus. That's what you need. You don't need somebody to tell you, you know how to pray, pray for yourself. And why don't you go pray in another room, God, I got to get up, go to work in the morning. Soon as you hear that, you know you didn't wait for a blessing, you just married something that came along, singing a song.

And the bad thing about it at that point, you stuck with them. That's what you got. Now ask God for grace to deal with what you got. Don't come bread dragging somebody to do to me, say, pastor, this was the blessing that I should have got two years ago, I'm going to say, and? What do you want me to do now? You stood up there grinning, talking about for better, for worse, richer, poorer.

Now you got worse, poorer, sickness, and you're waiting for death. Pastor you cold, I'm telling the truth, that's what I'm doing. So you got to realize the Lord is our light, our salvation. I'm glad I grew up in a hymn singing church.

They sang my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but holy lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid rock I stand, all of the ground is sinking sand. You ever been with good looking sinking sand? You don't care what it looked like, you going down.

Yeah, but he was fine though. Same thing for your brothers, I'm an equal opportunity abuser. Care how cute she is?

Got all that platter that out. If she don't know how to walk in faith and believe God and intercede for you and encourage you when you're down and stand in faith and pray and believe God, you don't need that because after a while it ain't going to look as cute as it used to look. So we need to make up our minds that we won't get into stinking thinking, we won't get into you light up my life. We'll trust God that his destiny is going to come to pass and look at how it worked out for them. Not only did God bless them beyond the no they heard from the first guy, he actually made sure that you and I would be blessed by the first guy saying no. You said, pastor, what you talking about? How am I in that text?

Glad you asked. The first guy had to say no because God had determined in eternity past that Boaz would say yes. When Boaz said yes, he married Ruth. They got together, had a baby.

He said he was old but he ain't that old. They had a baby and named the baby Obed. Obed grew up, got married, married his wife. They had a baby, they named the baby Jessie.

Jessie grew up, got married. He and his wife had several children and one of them was named David. The Messiah was going to come through the line of David. Jesus showed up with your destiny in his hand and he made sure that you were here today to find out that if God has something for you, he'll make sure that you are in the center of his will. You're saved because the man said no. You're redeemed because the man said no. You're in God's purpose. You got hope and a future because that man whose name we don't even know, it just said he. You're saved because he said no.

Don't sweat your closed doors. God is the God who knows how to open the right door for your life and it'll bring you to the place of destiny. From this moment forward, when you see a door close, say thank you, Lord, because I know that what you have for me was not behind door number one and I'm just going to walk with you until you open the right door and I'll see your purpose come to pass in my life. You know, you will never have to play let's make a deal with God. He'll never ask you to pick something random behind a closed door.

Instead, he'll close the wrong ones and open a better one, the right one. And if you let him, he'll lead you across the threshold of that open door into the glorious destiny to which you have been called. Do you need prayer today? If so, please feel free to contact us at pastorpaul.net and share your request with us so that our ministry team can join you in prayer. That's pastorpaul.net. From the homepage, click contact us and share what's on your heart. While you're there, be sure to ask for Pastor Paul's monthly letter of encouragement, yours at no cost or obligation. We'll send it right to your email box each month.

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Thanks in advance for helping keep Destined for Victory on the air. Freedom is overrated. What do you mean by that, Pastor?

I'm glad you asked. Indeed, freedom can be valuable, but freedom is only as valuable as what we use it for. That's tomorrow in Pastor Paul Shepherd's message, Going Beyond Freedom. Until then, remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.