Prayer Matters, Part 1 (cont'd)

Do you know that the military doesn't just drop a bomb anywhere and hope it hits the enemy?

They've done surveillance. They've been watching the movements of the enemy. Don't you know that's what we have to do in spiritual warfare? So you have to learn how to target your prayers, how to aim your weapon where the enemy of your soul is. Great words from Pastor Paul Shepherd and much more coming right here on Destined for Victory.

Hello and thanks for listening. You know every aspect of your life is a spiritual battleground. Your mind, your will, your emotions. The enemy roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he can destroy. He knows your weakness.

He knows your blind spots. Today Pastor Paul Shepherd tells you how to fight this enemy using one of the most powerful weapons in your spiritual arsenal, prayer. Stay with us here or visit pastorpaul.net anytime to listen to Destined for Victory on demand.

You can also download the podcast at Google or wherever you like to go to get your podcasts. Let's join Pastor Paul for today's Destined for Victory message, Prayer Matters. Go to Luke 18. He spoke a parable, men ought always to pray and not lose heart saying there was a certain city, in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.

That's a bad boy. He doesn't fear God. He doesn't regard man. What are you doing being a judge? But he's a judge and Jesus said now there was a widow in that city and she came to him saying get justice for me from my adversary and he would not for a while. So look at this, the widow is saying to the judge I need you to avenge me. I got a problem. I got an adversary.

I need you to get justice for me in this matter and the judge said no, he would not. But she kept coming as the inference and afterward he said to himself though I do not fear God nor regard man yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her lest by her continual coming she weary me. Jesus said the unjust judge, the uncaring judge said look she's not going to stop coming till I do something.

So although I don't care about God, I don't care about people normally but this lady is on my nerves now. And look at the point Jesus is making. Then the Lord said hear what the unjust judge said and shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to him though he bears along with them. I tell you he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the son of man comes will he find faith on the earth. Do you understand that? Jesus said if an unjust judge can be moved to respond how much more will God respond to the cries of his people who continually come before him.

God will do it he said but the question is is he going to find faith when he comes. Fact of the matter is a lot of us are in a society where we're doing a really good heathen imitation. Really good pagan imitation and unfortunately some churches have become secularized and they are more involved with human matters than with divine intervention.

The church does not exist to be a club for people to tell you what they think. We are not to be a society of people who bellyache about what's wrong. We ought to be a people who cry out to our God and say Lord teach us to do what only we can do but we look to you to do what only you can do.

It's a partnership. God won't do your work but you can't do his work so I gotta stay in touch with him so God glorifies himself and moves in my life. So we have to be praying people. We don't have the luxury of being prayerless. Look at this world we're living in.

We don't have the luxury. We got terrorists all over the globe now. Nobody is safe from terrorism except those who find a secret place in God and so you gotta learn to dwell in the secret place. That doesn't mean righteous people don't get caught up in some of this mess because the Bible says we'll be persecuted just like Jesus was persecuted. That's why as you develop this prayer life we're going to teach you the word. Teach you how to find the anchor for your faith in the word because if you're praying for stuff that God told you you can't pray for that's an unauthorized request and we need to learn to target.

Here's what I hope you'll learn during this series. Pray targeted prayers. Do you know that the military doesn't just drop a bomb any old where and hope it hits the enemy? They learned to target.

Here's where they are. They've done surveillance. They've been watching the movements of the enemy. Don't you know that's what we have to do in spiritual warfare? The Bible says we can't afford to be ignorant of our enemy's devices so you have to learn how to target your prayers, how to aim your weapon where the enemy of your soul is and we live in a world where nobody is safe. The safest place in the whole wide world is in the will of God.

That's the only safe place, true safe place. Safety doesn't always mean that we won't have to go through persecution because the fact of the matter is these people who are crazed with this demonic hatred will target us as believers just as easily or quickly as anybody else. There was a guy on a train in Portland and he started calling out Christians. He wants to pick a fight with Christians so he can stab them he said. Something in him he doesn't even know. He couldn't explain it to you if he tried. He doesn't know but I know it's the devil in him. It's a demonic force in him.

It's a hateful force. That's not coming, well he's mentally ill. Y'all got to understand not everything is a mental illness. Some things are demonic.

Yes I believe in mental illness. I'm not saying nothing is mentally provoked but some of this stuff is straight up demonic and you got to learn a devil when you see one and you got to learn how to take authority over one. You got to learn how to tell the devil no no you came up on the wrong one now in Jesus name because they know the name of Jesus. They have to respond to the name of Jesus in the mouth of a true believer and follower of Jesus.

Don't ever be like one of them sons of Sceva. You ever read Acts 19? They saw Paul and them casting out devils and they thought it was cute. So here they come talking about we adore you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.

Speaking to a demonized person. We adore you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches. The devil said now Jesus I know and Paul I know about. He did two different words for no in the Greek.

Jesus I know that was a word of personal intimate awareness. Every demon knows Jesus but he used another Greek word when he said in Paul I don't know him personally but I heard about him. That's what you want to be. You want to be somebody the demons when they have their demon conventions and they're having a session on how to deal with the saints. You ought to be sure that you are in the category they're talking about. Now there's some folk you don't want to push up on the demons that they're having a breakout session. Now some of them you don't want to fool with them because they'll run you up out of there real quick.

You want to be in that category. You don't want a devil who run up on you all big and bad. You want one that knows the God in you. You want one that knows the authority you walk in because just because you're saved doesn't mean you walk in authority. Oh I'm preaching better than you saying amen. Just because you're saved doesn't mean you have authority. Authority you have to take.

You have to exercise and so you got to learn to tell the devil where to go and draw him a map so he won't get lost. You better run on up out of here. This is my house. You are not welcome here.

Come on somebody. This is my family. You are not welcome here. Not putting up with that stuff. You got to learn to tell the devil even when he get in one of your kids. No no we don't we're not rolling like that. Cuss me out and I'm your parent. I'm telling you what happens I seen some of the saints Lord I don't know what to do with this child.

Are you kidding? I grew up around folk who knew ah there's stuff I don't have to put up with. Coming up next the rest of today's message Prayer Matters with Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor at Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. If you've never stopped by our website pastorpaul.net I invite you to do that. You'll find all of Pastor Paul's recent messages on demand plus a host of great resources and our online store including books and mp3 downloads from Pastor Paul. Pastorpaul.net is a great place to learn more about the ministry and all the great things friends like you are doing through your prayers and financial support. And if you love this program we know you'll enjoy watching selected video clips by subscribing to Pastor Paul on YouTube. For more details and links to all of his social media be sure to visit pastorpaul.net. Well the gift of prayer comes with great power. You have God given authority over your adversary the devil. To learn how to use it more effectively let's join Pastor Paul for the rest of today's message Prayer Matters. We had a little lady in our church both her sons got big and grown and start sassing her in her house she said let me tell y'all something the longest day I live I'll be your mother talk to me like that again I know you're tall I will climb a ladder and knock you upside your head that's kind of folk I grew up with I'm sorry that's abuse now I'm sorry forgive me for suggesting you should abuse don't send me any emails I've read everything about abuse I'm just telling you what the saints used to do okay so you ain't gonna knock your big sassy child upside the head find some way to make sure they understand I'm a child of God I'm in my house I don't have to put up with your mess I will put you in the street see I come on I grew up around folk who said I don't owe you once you pass 18 I don't owe you a bed at your 18th birthday let's get something straight if you in here from now forward it will be at my pleasure not yours y'all just got to learn how to walk in your authority Jesus gave you authority use it point of having being a cop with a gun you won't fire a stick you won't clobber somebody with a cop now cop a cop I know how you already quit stop he telling people to abuse I'm telling you this generation that's why I pray a lot I can't it makes me scratch I'm not even itching just um Lord Jesus savior praying all the time Jesus Lord holding myself I just can't take this generation of parents who just think just the answer is just to be the wimpiest most pitiful thing you didn't find a constructive way I found out one parent who says oh yeah I get it so I'm not gonna I'm not gonna spank anymore uh so they but they came up with a constructive way the child wouldn't do on what they told him to do and finally they said since I can't trust you in the privacy behind that door I'm providing for you she had them come in take the door off they came home and the door to his bedroom there was no door mom where my door she said I put it away soon as you show me you can be respectful and you can handle privacy in my home I might consider putting it back up and he tried to have a fit but what you gonna do find you another address if you wanna that's the kind of folk we grew up around oh they would preach you a whole sermon this is still my house wait a minute I thought this still my house wait let me go outside on the porch see if the number yeah this still my house come back in preach it this still my house as long as you in this house is at my pleasure you don't pay the mortgage here so you don't get to run things up in here see that deacon know about the old school my point is you got to learn to walk in authority and you got to learn that god responds to people who are diligent in their prayers let me take you to James 5 real quick as I'm just laying the groundwork for the messages to come James 5 beginning at verse 16 confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed notice that prayer sometimes has to be in the context of you confessing what's wrong where you have need where you're not right amen prayer isn't just about external things prayer has to be about internal things and notice James said but make sure you're not trying to grow yourself without the assistance of somebody else in the body of Christ we're not lone rangers we cannot get ourselves where we're supposed to be you'd have never been baptized by one spirit into one body according to first Corinthians 12 you got to understand that we must work together you'd have never been baptized into the body if the body didn't need the input to your life you got saved you are baptized into the body of Christ which means some of you who won't join a church you better get that straight if I want to be what God wants me to be I need to be committed and connected to a fellowship of believers not I show up every now and then I've had people tell me oh I come to your church sometime when this when the spirit tells me that's what's wrong with you you're waiting on on a word you got a word you ever read the book of Hebrews you ever read the verse in chapter 10 that tells you forsake not the assembling of yourself together and do it all the more as you see the day of the Lord's return approaching go to church regularly that's why I tell this generation you don't show up every now and then you go to church regularly so that you can worship God publicly regularly and so that you can be inputted to the word of God exposed in your life regularly and so that others can pray with you pray for you your pastor can lead you and guide you shepherd you in the things of God guard you from the spiritual wolves that are trying to snatch the sheep you got to show up regularly I'm done with these folk every now and then I got about three four congregations in one church some of y'all I see every six seven weeks and got the nerve to show up like you've been here they walk in they're not the least bit self-conscious when we were growing up in church if you missed a Sunday somebody was saying wait a minute where you been they were ringing your phone and sure enough when you came back to church they want to know where you been it was just part of family living amen that's functional family living if you grew up in a functional family you couldn't just spend three four nights at Billy's house and nobody in your family knew it how was that going to work out for you y'all can't even imagine it my generation can't even imagine it if I stayed out too late I was there earlier in the day but just got a little happy at night without cell phones if they had to they get in the car and go where they thought you might be and if you weren't there they'd find one of your friends they knew where your friends live where is he come on somebody see back in those days there was no saying such as snitches get stitches in those days boy you better tell me where my son is don't balk at it well uh I grew up when parents would not only parent you they parent all your friends come on somebody all your friends were subject to interrogations by virtue of you being my son's friend I need some information from you if you ever plan to have another time with him you're going to tell me what I need to know saints it's time for us to understand I know some of that stuff's gone forever but to whatever extent you can learn to walk in reasonable god-fearing respect of other people you better learn to do that but don't yield your power to anybody I have the power to say about this it's a household of faith we are a family of faith what we do matters in heaven and so since we got to answer to him we're a family of faith so we we live in community is what james is saying we confess to one another don't just say well I talked to god about it there's god and who else somebody needs to know that god and who else somebody needs to know the worst things about you somebody needs to know how you're tripping somebody needs permission to tell you what you're tripping when you don't want to believe you're tripping come on somebody you got to have the kind of friends who have permission to jump up in your stuff your most comfortable area you need people who have permission imagine your life like a house you need people who don't just go in the already straightened up rooms see we love taking folk come on into the family room because before they got there you you put away all your junk all this stuff and look like you keep a nice house you need people if your life is a house you need people who say I'll be right back I'm going in here and they're heading for your junkiest room and they open the door fly flies you need friends who call you out the family room hey come here let's talk about this here why because if I'm your friend I'm a friend for all seasons I'm not there for fair weather you don't need a fair weather friend you need a foul weather friend you need a friend who knows the worst of you and won't abandon you the bible says a friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity amen and so we need people to confess to people to people who know what's really going on thanks so much for joining us for today's destined for victory message with pastor paul shepherd you know god has a unique purpose for all who have put their faith in christ but he also has a plan for those who haven't consider second peter three verse nine god is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and this is our primary calling as christians to go out into the world and share our faith with others there's no better time than now to help pastor paul do just that as we continue to walk together through a challenging season in our history now is a great time to partner with destined for victory in an effort to lead as many people to christ as we can 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 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need god to do in your life whether it is a physical healing or whether it is an emotional healing whether there's some guidance you need whatever it is prayer is not supposed to be purely a personal exercise that's next time in pastor paul shepherd's message prayer matters until then remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in christ you are destined for victory