It Will Be SO Worth It! Part 2

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Watch verse 21, key verse. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Jesus said, show me your wallet, show me your bank account, I'll show you your heart. Hello and welcome to Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd. Wherever you are and however you may be listening, thanks for spending part of your day with us. Well today we come to a subject that might make you a little nervous, stewardship.

But let me put your mind at ease. When God talks about your treasure, he's trying to do something for you, not take something from you. Today's message is straight ahead. Stay right here or visit pastorpaul.net to listen anytime on demand. That's pastorpaul.net.

You can also download the podcast at Apple Podcasts or wherever you go to get yours. Now, here's Pastor Paul with today's Destined for Victory message. It will be so worth it. Some of us need an attitude adjustment. You might as well admit it, you just need your attitude adjusted.

Holy Spirit, come and adjust my attitude. I am too raw all the time. Everybody has a fleshly moment where you don't need to be up around people. There are days that the best thing I can do is stay away from folks. This is not my day for you. But if I know it's a raw day, then I really don't want to be out there flaunting how raw I am on a particular day. That's a day for you to get somewhere by yourself. That's the day for you to pray, meditate, put on some praise and worship music. Ask the Holy Spirit, come get me together because right now it's not going to go well. But you take responsibility. Don't say you just came up on me on the wrong day.

No, you were presented on the wrong day. Go somewhere. Jesus would go away to pray. There were days when he didn't let the masses come to him. I need to commune with the Father.

Now he doesn't tell us all why he does that. But anybody knows you get alone so you commune with God. You also get alone because this is not my day for y'all. See, some of y'all don't understand. There is a Christian moment. I'm a follower of Christ, but right now I'm gonna be like Christ and I'm withdrawing from people. See, some of y'all think the only way you can prove that you spiritual is that you're always accessible.

You better hurry up and learn that is not proof of anything but you mean well, but that's not God's way. There are days where the answering machine does all the talking for you. And don't lie on your answering machine. I have to say that constantly because I call people.

They just lying to beat the band. This is so and so. I'm not home. Please leave your name. Be this pastor Paul. I'm gonna pick a pastor.

How many passes on the phone? Wait, wait, that machine just told me you weren't home. What you doing?

Picking this phone up. Don't lie on the machine. That's not being a follower of Jesus.

Jesus didn't lie on his be like me. You call the shepherd's house and it's not time for you. Here's what you hear. You reach the shepherd residents. Please leave your name, phone number and a message. God bless you.

Everything was true is our residents. Leave your name, phone number, a message. God bless you. Beep.

You got it. You don't need to know what I'm doing or where I am. I'm not going to tell you whether I'm home or not. I could be looking at the phone trying to help somebody.

I can be looking at the phone. What does that mean? I mean, it's not you boo day.

That's all that means. I love you and all, but this is not your day. And we have to learn when it's not somebody's day. Don't expose yourself to them because they're going to catch you in the raw.

It's not a good idea. So tell the truth when you communicate with people. I'm trying to reach you all day.

Yeah, I heard your message. I don't need to tell you to give you an explanation. I'm answering the God, not answering the you. But where are you somewhere?

Somewhere I could have been home, could have been out, whatever. We have to learn. Following Jesus means turning over your assets, your associations, your actions and your attitudes.

But in the case of this young man, let me focus for a little bit on assets because that was his case. I want to execute this passage and I want to help all of us, even if you don't have your money yet. Some of y'all believing for more. Anybody like me believing for more than you have right now?

Then I need you to get this straight. Find out what the Bible teaches. Jesus said in Matthew six, beginning at verse 19, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Watch verse 21 key verse. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also pause right there. See, there's the money matter. Jesus said, show me your wallet, show me your bank account. I'll show you your heart.

Your heart is tied up. Jesus said in the way you handle your money, it's a direct indication. Now Jesus said that I'm a believe him, not you. I don't care nothing about money. He didn't say you cared about it. He just said it's an indication of where your heart is. When I see what you spend it on, I see your heart. When you are broke and still trying to ride like you got something, I'm seeing your heart. I will misappropriate what God gave me in order to impress others. I will misappropriate in order to act like I am worth a lot when I'm really not worth much because I'm not spending enough time on the inside. I'm just trying to live like a baller.

Some of y'all not even sensible which are trying to be a baller. If you want to be a baller, at least do it right. Bible says you can strive for mastery, but do it honestly. Do it earnestly. Do it the right way. Get out of debt. Try to be a baller in debt. That makes no sense.

I'm sorry. I just got to, I just like to drive a certain way. That's fine, but you can drive a certain way after you live a certain way after you're out of your debt. You can't drive new car in used car season and be in the will of God because it's showing that your heart is not willing to delay gratification for those things that give God glory.

Well, I'm not a tither cause I can't afford to tie. Well, let's look at your spending and see why you think it's okay to rob God. You do know that Malachi said you're robbing God when you refuse to give your tithe.

He calls you a robber, stick up person. You Jack and God. And so don't tell me you can't afford to obey God. Everybody can afford to obey God. And if you've caught in yourself in a situation where you have more debt and you don't know how to get out of it, let the Lord help you.

They are financial ministries that will help you get out of debt. We got people right here in our church who are rapidly working toward being debt free. And in the meantime you need to give God generously and I'm not unreasonable. I know there's some people who can't go from giving next to nothing to give a tide in faith.

If you can, you should. If your faith can't quite get you there. No, pastor, they'll be cutting off my lights, everything. If I give time right now, but I hear you and I want to be a tither, so I'm going to give as much as I can while I'm still working this plan to get out of debt. All right, I'm not your judge, so I'm not going to condemn you, but give as generously as you can with the prayer. Lord, every year, every time I, I liquidate one of my, one of my debts, Lord, help me to increase my giving to the kingdom while I'm decreasing my debt. But you got to have a plan for that.

You don't do that by accident. Just like you can't get out of debt by accident, you can't get blessed by accident. You have to be intentional and getting out of debt and you have to be intentional and sowing generously. I'm not telling you what I think, I'm telling you what I've lived, what I've experienced and I've seen God take me from debt to no debt.

Only debt I have is my house and I pray the Lord will help me to get that one done. But you need to understand God will work with you to get you out of the mess you've gotten yourself in once you show him you're seeking him first. You're listening to Destin for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor of Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. He'll be right back with a second half of today's message, so stay tuned. If you haven't already, be sure to download our free mobile app and listen to Destin for Victory wherever you go.

The app is simple to navigate. You can listen to any of Pastor Paul's recent messages, contact us for prayer, or even take notes on Pastor Paul's messages so they'll be there the next time you tune in. Just search Destin for Victory in your app store and download it today absolutely free. Well, in the kingdom of God, there's always blessing on the other side of sacrifice. Think about that, principal. As you listen to the rest of today's message, it will be so worth it. Once again, here's Pastor Paul. And so if you say, well, I can't jump from where I am to giving twos and fus all the way up to a tithe, Pastor, I wish I could, but my faith won't get me there. If your faith will get you there, you need to go. Obey God immediately.

But if you're not, I'm not saying there's no hope for you. Increase your giving, make it as generous as you can. With the intention of every year, at least every year, no less than every 12 months up your giving. Well, I'm giving 4% now actually calculated. See what you're given. See a whole lot of folk lie to themselves. Oh, I give generously.

No, you don't. Because I saw your envelope when it passed by. Your friend could just look at you and say that's not generous. $14.

You need to calculate it. Here is what I make. Some people always say, what gross or net? I'm not going to hassle with you about that. First of all, what you make is the gross.

What the government took leads you to the net. But just because the government took theirs upfront doesn't mean you didn't make it. Oh, somebody hates this. Why didn't I skip the rich young ruler message? Cause I'm trying to get you blessed.

That's why God made sure you heard this. You make the gross government takes as upfront. You can live in some countries that have no federal income tax. There are countries on the planet. What you gross is what you actually take home.

USA is not one of them. But it doesn't mean you didn't earn it. But I'm not going to hassle with you. If you, Pastor, I tied on my net.

All right, I'm not going to hassle with you. But you need to make sure you know what you're giving percentage wise. Add up everything you gave. Add up everything you gave last year. Add it all up and then say, now look at your w two. That's what you made gross. And if you insist on being a net giver, then okay, I'm not going to hassle with you.

I'll let Jesus deal with that. Look at what you made gross or net and then compare it to what you gave and do the calculation. My calculator not working.

Your smartphone will do it for you. I made $67,000 last year. I had, I gave $2,000 last year.

If 2000 was your tie, it would, you would have made 20 you made 67 just trying to help you. If you get mad, that too, you need to surrender to Jesus. Jesus said, don't lay up treasures on earth.

Lay them up in heaven. What does he mean by that? He doesn't mean you can't have a bank account. He's simply meaning your priority has to be heaven focused. What does God want me to do with this money?

That's what I lay up. I invest in what's important to God about my life and about his kingdom. Amen.

Somebody. He said, for where your heart is there, your treasure is. Then skip down to verse 24 there in Matthew's gospel chapter six, verse 24. Jesus says, no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon. People say, what's Mammon?

See, I don't know what that means. I'm about to tell you it means riches. You can't serve God and your money priority for those who have riches, riches, for those that don't have riches, your, your desire to have riches can't become your Lord. Now, let me just clarify. He isn't saying you can't have money.

He said, you can't serve it like it's your master. The Bible is not against money. Don't listen to people who don't read their Bible. Well, I don't pay no attention to the Bible cause the Bible said money is the root of all kinds of evil. No, it doesn't. I've read the book from cover to cover many, many times. I've never come across that money is the root of all evil.

I know for a fact you don't know for a fact. Let me give you the fact first Timothy chapter six verse 10 for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Not the money. Money is a wonderful servant.

It's just a horrible master. It will serve all good purposes. All money can be a blessing. Paul said, but if you love it, some as a result of loving it, he says, has strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. It is the blind pursuit of it that the Bible is against. It's not the pursuit of making a good living.

It's the pursuit of dishonoring God while you do it. Now skip down to verse 17 of first Timothy six. So Paul says, command those who are rich, meaning there are rich people in the kingdom. Why would Paul say, command those that are rich if they're not supposed to be rich people in the kingdom?

Do you understand what I'm saying? Don't let anybody back you off cause you're making good money. That can be a blessing if you let it be a blessing. I'm praying for more millionaires in the kingdom who will then say, I want to help pastor Paul, preach this gospel to the ends of the earth.

I'm going to be a champion for his ministry destined for mystery so we can reach the planet with the word of God. Do you know I'm praying for your wealth cause these bills keep coming. They don't let me preach on the internet and the radio and everywhere else. They don't let me do that cause they like me. They do that.

The stations do it cause I can pay the bills and I can only pay the bills if people will come alongside and partner. You understand what I'm saying? So he says, command those who are rich. Riches isn't the problem, but he said, make sure they're handling it right. Command those who are rich in this present age not to be hardy. I shouldn't look at your face and know you got money.

Look at how hardy he or she is. Nose all up in the air looking all prim and self assured and stuck up. You ever seen folk who carried himself that not everybody cause some of the richest people around us, you wouldn't even know by the clothes they wear. I got a couple of rich friends, some of whom don't own a decent suit cause they don't care about that. And look at these millennial millionaires and billionaires. Have you noticed them?

None of them are chic. Look at all these social media moguls and all that that started in college and built themselves up. Now they billionaires and all that. You never see them with $2,000 suits. They're like, well, I need a $2,000 suit for, I don't need to press you by my suit.

I'm impressed you by my bank account and they don't have to. Some of them wear a number, but a t-shirt. You ever seen the ones that don't while you sit where we already got a t-shirt.

I like bra. These get some with some buttons. They don't care. So if they don't care and they got the money, why should I care? And I don't have the money.

Command them not to be hardy. Next thing he says, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God. See, it's where your trust is. It's one thing to have it. It's another thing for it to have you to the point you trust it. And he says, you got to put your trust in God no matter how much you have or don't have because God is the one who gives richly to all.

And when he gives it to you, it's to enjoy, but you honor him in the process. Let him do good. If you got money, do good with it. Be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for yourselves a good foundation for the time to come that they may hold on to eternal life. That's God's will for you.

So start practicing that stuff now. When you don't have it, make sure you're not hardy for nothing. Get your attitude together, get your priorities together, get your giving together. And now you're in a position where God can bless you. I have told God on a number of occasions, I have passed the poverty test over the different stages of my life. I passed the poverty test.

I was a tither when I had next to none. I was a tither when we just got married and I was a brand new associate pastor. My pastor, who was my dad, was so busy trying to prove to the church that I wasn't going to get preferential treatment as his new associate pastor.

So the way he decided to prove that is to cause me to be broke. Trustees were trying to give me a raise. We want to encourage the young pastor. He's got new new wife and all that we newly married. Don't even haven't even start our family yet.

Trustees trying to hook me up. Pop said, Oh, he all right. He's all right. Devil is a liar. And he did that for a couple of years. He fine.

He fine. Don't worry about it. He later told me, I was trying to make sure you weren't in ministry for what you could get out of it. I wanted to make sure you were in ministry for what you could give. Cause I knew that if you gave right, if you served right, God would look at you and he would open the window of heaven. And I'm living under an open heaven now because decades ago, my daddy said, I'm going to make sure you're not in ministry for what you can get, but for what you give. Jesus said, whoever is faithful in little will be faithful in much. It's a foreshadowing of the blessing. God wants to give all those who are faithful in what they already have. So if you're listening today and you want to trust God to take you to the next big thing, start by doing the next small thing.

That's kingdom living. And that kind of lifestyle will always lead you to your ultimate destiny in Christ. Now, if you need prayer today, our ministry team will be happy to join you in prayer from the pastor paul.net homepage, click contact us and share what's on your heart. That's pastor paul.net. And 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 inbox each month. And here's something else for you for your generous gift to destined for victory.

This month, we have a gift of our own to share with you. It's pastor Paul's booklet. It pays to serve Jesus in Mark chapter 10. Jesus tells us that all those who follow him will receive 100 times more than they give up. Yes, there will be tough times and sacrifices along the way.

You may have to give up a few things, some old habits, maybe even a relationship or two. But as you'll discover in this outstanding resource from pastor Paul, following Jesus is always worth it in this life, as well as the one to come. That's pastor Paul's booklet. It pays to serve Jesus. And it's our gift to you by request for your generous gift to destined for victory this month.

Call 855-339-5500 to give over the phone or mail your gift to destined for victory post office box 1767, Fremont, California 94538. Now you can also make a safe and secure donation from our website, pastor paul.net. Thanks in advance for helping keep destined for victory on the air prayer matters when you learn how to pray God's way when you learn how to pray according to the Word of God, you will discover that prayer matters. It matters in heaven, as well as on earth. That's tomorrow and pastor Paul shepherds message prayer matters. Join us to learn about the power of prayer and the benefits of prayer so that you can build and maintain a lifestyle of prayer. But until then remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in Christ, you are destined for victory.