Pushed into Purpose, Part 2

Some of us are feeling a hand in our back and it's really nothing more than God pushing you out of a comfort zone, pushing you out of what you've been used to, pushing you out of the known, and he's pushing you toward his purpose, which is going to take you into the unknown. We plan in our hearts the way we should go, but the Lord directs our steps. Hello and thanks for stopping by for this Tuesday edition of Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd.

Always glad to have you with us. God may not always lead us to a place of comfort, but if we follow his prompting, he'll always lead us to a place of destiny, a place of divine purpose. Today, Pastor Paul reminds us that even when we decide to move from where we are to where we'd like to be, God is always faithful to give us a little push towards providence. Stay with us now or visit pastorpaul.net to listen on demand.

That's pastorpaul.net. Grab your Bible if you've got it handy and turn to Esther chapter 4 as we join Pastor Paul for today's Destined for Victory message, Pushed into Purpose. Esther chapter 4, beginning from verse 9.

Now in this particular passage, I'm reading from the New International version, but you can follow silently with whatever version you are having. Haythac went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, all the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned, the king has but one law, that he be put to death.

The only exception to this is for the king to extend the royal scepter to him and spare his life. But 30 days have passed, Esther said, since I was called to go to the king. When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer. Do not think that because you are in the king's house, you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this. Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai. Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me.

Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law.

Watch this. And if I perish, I perish. Well, let me pick up where we left off last time, discussing this business of being pushed into purpose. My contention in this short series is that some of us are feeling a hand in our back, and it's really nothing more than God pushing you out of a comfort zone, pushing you out of what you've been used to, pushing you out of the known, and he's pushing you toward his purpose, which is going to take you into the unknown. But let me assure you, God is the one who began a good work in you, we established in the first part of the series, and God is going to bring it all the way to completion.

And so the push, your feeling, is coming from him getting you ready for something new. And so I want to pick up where I left off. I ended the last message giving you the first of three directives for those who are being pushed into purpose. The first directive is what I'm on now. I've got to say a few more things about it, and then I'll give you the other two before this message and series is concluded.

Here is the first directive. Look at your possibilities, not just your problems. Look at your possibilities, not just your problems. Verse 14 of Esther 4, Mordecai said, girl, who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this.

There was Mordecai, who was her cousin technically, but really he was pretty much an adoptive father after her parents died. And so Mordecai said, listen, I didn't tell you this so you would just say, oh, I wish I could do something, but I can help you. He is saying, you've got to look at your possibilities, not just the problem. We're all having problems as Jews here in Persia in that this man Haman has decreed that we are all going to be wiped out of this community. And so he said, don't think you're going to be spared because your husband doesn't know you're a Jew yet, so you're going to be caught up in the decree like everybody else. He said, well, let's not just look at that problem. Let's look at the possibility.

You are a Jewish young woman and God has blessed you to become the queen of Persia, the Persian Empire. And he said, who knows, but that God himself has appointed you for such a time as this. And I'm trying to help all of us understand you got to stop looking only at your problems and you got to start looking at your possibilities. Why?

Because since we are called according to God's purpose, that purpose is going to ensure that whatever the enemy tries to throw at us for evil, God is going to turn it around for good. And so you and I have to begin focusing on the possibilities. I gave you a few examples as I ended the last message.

I won't go back into those. Let me give you a few new examples. Go to Second Kings Chapter four. And we just heard about that. Pastor Keith Battle came and preached a wonderful message from Second Kings Chapter four. And it was already in my notes. And I when I heard him last week, I said, why is this man all up in my message? But the answer is, is probably cause I need to come back and say what was in my notes, which is what he said last week to make sure some of you all understand that you haven't been left empty handed. God has given you some seed that when you sow it, it's going to produce a harvest of righteousness. In Second Kings Chapter four, a prophet's widow had a problem.

What's the problem? Creditors are saying they're going to come take her sons because her dead husband left her in debt, by the way, brothers. And all people who are responsible financially for your household, including many of you sisters who are responsible for your household. Don't leave your loved ones broke if you can help it. Get you some good insurance. Get it. Get yourself situated.

I don't care how young you are, how fit you are. You need to be prepared so that when you check out of here, your loved ones can carry on and they can experience some things that you would want them to experience in your absence. But this this prophet in Second Kings four, he didn't do that. Left his wife and sons with some debt and they couldn't pay. And the creditors are coming ready to take the sons and cause them to work out off the debt.

Oh, but don't just look at the problem of debt. You got to look at what the passage says. Elisha asked the woman, what do you have in your house? And she said, I have nothing. Then she said, except some translation say, but listen, let me tell you something. But is often a negative conjunction the way it's used. It's usually used as a statement of doubt. Well, I would do such and such a thing, but a lot of people use but as a negative conjunction. But let me tell you something in this passage and in your life, but can't always be negative. Sometimes you got to use the but to say that's the possibility that I believe God is going to take and create a harvest out of. So look at it in this case. She said, I have nothing.

Sounds like a problem. But or except a little oil. And when she told the prophet, I have a little oil, the prophet instantly knew.

All right. That's what God's going to use to work this miracle. And you know the story. She he instructed her, go out and borrow vessels that you can pour oil into from your neighbors and friends. Go around and find whatever you can find by way of borrowed vessels. You don't even have to know the people just say, hey, I live down the street and I need a vessel I can borrow from you. I get it back to you. Can you give me and don't let anybody turn you down.

Just go borrow vessels. I love that. It didn't have to be from her friends.

Sometime got to make your enemies bless you. So she just had to do what she had to do. He said, go out, borrow as many as you can and then come back. And when she came back with all these borrowed vessels and shut the door, she took the little she had and began to pour. That's all God's calling you to do. Just use what you got. Don't cry about what you don't have.

Use what you got because the miracle is going to be based on what you already have. And as she poured, the oil continued flowing. Next thing you know, this vessel is full. And she goes to the next one and pours. And there's the same thing. That one fills up.

Go to the next one and pour. You got to understand something about God. You'll never comprehend how he's doing what he's doing. But guess what? You don't have to comprehend it. All you got to do is obey him and watch him work. And that's what happens here. And she poured until all of the borrowed vessels were full of oil.

In fact, the oil from the original vial never stopped running until all of the borrowed vessels were full. And I need you to know that. When God gives you something to do, do it because the miracle is tied to your obedience.

Just obey him and he will work it out. Still ahead, the second half of today's Destined for Victory message with Pastor Paul Shepherd, who is senior pastor at Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. We want to thank all of you who sustained Destined for Victory with your prayers and financial support, gifts that help Pastor Paul share the gospel with a growing audience. Destined for Victory is a listener supported ministry. And right now, during these uncertain times and in the face of many challenges, your help is needed more than ever. So as God leads, please, prayerfully consider making a gift to Destined for Victory today. And when you give, we have a gift of our own to share with you, one that goes hand in hand with the message you're hearing right now. You don't always have to understand God to obey God. That's what faith is all about. Here's Pastor Paul with the rest of today's message pushed into purpose. And so the possibility turned into the provision.

The possibility was I got a little oil. The provision was God filled up so many borrowed vessels of oil that all she had to then do is go out, sell that oil. And she covered her debt. Her sons were able to stay with her.

Never did go into slavery. And all was well because she worked with the possibility, not just the problem. Later on in 2 Kings 4, and you'll see the next story is another provision from God. There was a Shunammite woman and she was a married woman. Her husband was still alive. And she was a woman whose problem was she was barren. Now, in Bible times, when a married woman was barren, that was the point of stigma. People would think, whoa, maybe the Lord, you know, cursed her. Maybe something's wrong with her life.

You know, folks love to throw off on you when they don't know anything about you or your circumstances. And in that day, they would make married women with no children feel really bad because they suffered from barrenness. And so this Shunammite woman, you're told in 2 Kings 4, was a great woman, but she was barren.

Now, where is the possibility? The problem is barrenness, but the possibility is she was a great woman. What does that mean when it says great woman? It means she was broke off financially. It means sister was paid. It means when they got married, she didn't marry money, he married money. And so she had the money already and she said, well, this is what God's given me.

He hasn't given me a child, hasn't even allowed me to get pregnant, but I do have money. And when the prophet Elisha comes through town, I notice that he doesn't have anywhere to stay. And she got it in her heart. I believe my husband and I ought to prepare for this man of God a room, give him his own little suite, a room and a bed and a desk and all that. Give him his own little suite and we'll build it up on the second floor of our house. They had a single story house, but they just built a second room up on the floor. And that became Elisha's room when he came through town. As a result of her doing what God put in her heart, next thing you know, Elisha shows up one of those times.

He's staying there, sends his servant Gehazi, go ask that woman what we can do for her. And she said, no, I'm good. And then Gehazi said, but man of God, I do know one thing about her. She doesn't have any children.

And that's when the word of the Lord came in the prophet's mouth. And he said, tell her this time next year, she'll be bouncing a baby boy. When she heard that, she said, oh, no, no, no, no, no. And you see her attitude is, don't get my hopes up. I've been making it fine, barren. I'm not paying attention to these people whispering about me around the city.

I'm okay. Don't get me stirred up. But the prophet wasn't trying to make her feel good. He had the word of God in his mouth and she got pregnant. Don't just look at your problem.

You got to look at your possibility. In 2 Kings 6, go two chapters over, 2 Kings 6, and you see that the king of Syria is warring against Israel, always wanting to take out God's people. But Elisha is a man of God in Israel. And when Syria's army would set an entrapment for the Israelite army, then God would show it to Elisha and Elisha would send word to the king and say, don't go down that route because they're waiting on you all.

You need to go another way. And that kept happening so much so that the king of Syria called his people around him. He said, look, one of y'all's a spy because every time I set up an entrapment, somehow they know we're going to be there.

We got a double agent in here. And somebody spoke up and said, King, no, the problem is not a double agent. The problem is there's a prophet in Israel. I love it when you read it there in 2 Kings 6. It says what you say in your bedroom, God lets the prophet Elisha listen in.

The problem isn't a spy. The problem is a prophet. And he said, okay, then let me take out the prophet. See, he doesn't know that this is a man of God.

You can't just fool with it and get away with it. So he decides I'm going to kill this prophet. He finds out that the prophet's down in the city of Dothan and he sends his army and they surround the city so they can take out the prophet. And Gehazi wakes up one morning, looks out the window, sees that the army of Syria has them surrounded and he panics, oh, oh, man of God, we're in trouble. Elisha gets up, goes to the same window, looks at the same thing, and instead of panicking, Elisha smiles. And I'm sure Gehazi was like, look, this isn't funny.

We're about to die. I don't know what you're laughing about. But that's because Elisha saw what Gehazi didn't see. In fact, the passage goes on to say, Lord, open his eyes so he can see. Just let him see what you've shown me. And when God opened the eyes of Gehazi, he still saw the problem, the king's army of Syria, but he saw the possibility.

Surrounding them was a host from heaven. You don't have to deny your problem. You just got to look for God's possibility that's going to turn into your provision. And so that's what happened, and God wiped out the army with blindness so that the prophet could just slip right through their ranks, and they never saw him because they were blinded until he got away. I love this God you serve. You can't always predict or figure out what he's going to do, but you will know that in the end you're going to win.

Why? Because of what Isaiah 54, 17 says. A lot of folks quote it these days, but it's worth quoting now. No weapon formed against you is going to prosper. Every enemy that rises up against you, God is going to bring them down. You've got to understand something.

The weapons will be formed. It's just that God won't let them work to their intended purpose. Even when God uses your enemy and your enemy puts you through some changes and some trials, even that is part of what he's going to bring to pass. And so, child of God, you must be assured that God is up to something in your life. Don't just look at your problems.

Look at your possibilities. Let me just begin to introduce the second of these directives, and then we'll take a quick break. Number two, leverage your partnerships.

Leverage your partnerships. What do I mean by that? Well, I want you to look at verses 15 and 16 of Esther chapter 4. Esther sent this reply to Mordecai. Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me.

Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. Now, pause right there. Do you see what happened after Esther figured out, okay, God has me in this palace for his purpose, and I'm supposed to go to the king even though he hasn't invited me in to be with him? I'm supposed to go? That normally would spell my death, but if God is up to something here, then I've got to respond. So before I respond, Esther figures I got to get some help. I want to tell somebody the Lord is pushing you into a season in your life when you can no longer operate like a lone ranger. You cannot be alone and be blessed. You cannot be isolated and be blessed, not because of your personal desire, but because it's God's desire for you. We've got to understand, we're called according to purpose.

God is the one who is making you go into some new areas, some new arenas, and therefore, you're going to have to leverage your partnerships. Now, I realize some of you, that's not particularly good news for a couple of reasons. Some of you because of your temperament. You love being by yourself. You love isolation. That's fine for your recreation. That's fine for your chilling out. Some people need to be alone and quiet to chill out. I married a woman like that. When my wife wants to be rejuvenated, she wants to get by herself, maybe with a book or something like that, and she doesn't want noise and doesn't want people around her, and she gets charged by that kind of personal rejuvenation. That's fine.

That's fine. Other people naturally, in terms of your temperament, get charged by activity and by fellowship and by connectedness. I'm that type of person. I used to preach, and when I'd get home, eat a little lunch, and what have you, and then for a period of years, there was a group of us that would go out and play cards together and stuff, and I loved, at least once a month, I wanted to do that, and my wife, she tried to go along with it once or twice, and she quickly figured out, no, no, this isn't what I need on a Sunday afternoon, and she would stay home, let me go, and with all the noise, because we play cards. We play rough cards. It doesn't look like we save, but we really save, because we're playing spades and talking about people's family and all that kind of stuff.

Some of y'all can't handle that. You're not even sure that Holy Ghost people are supposed to be like that. I can assure you, I'm saved, I'm spirit-filled, but when you sit down at the spades table with me, I'm coming for you and your mama. You know, partnership has always been essential for every great work of God. He designed us for relationship, for partnership, both with Him and with one another. Today, Pastor Paul would like to invite you to partner with him as he seeks to share the Gospel all over the world. 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 for as little as $20 a month. Make your pledge right there on the phone, or mail your gift letting us know you wish to become a Destined for Victory partner.

Our address, Destined for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538. And of course, 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 donation today, we'd love to send you Pastor Paul Shepherd's booklet, Your Purpose is Calling.

If you're seeking God's specific will for your life, this will be a great resource for you, one in which Pastor Paul gives you three directives to help you discover God's unique plans for you. That's Your Purpose is Calling, our gift to you by request, for your generous gift to Destined for Victory. See, there are some things you can't do by yourself. I know a lot of us love feeling we're gifted and we're independent and I don't need anybody.

Fact of the matter is, you do need people in your life for certain things to be accomplished. That's tomorrow when Pastor Paul Shepherd's message pushed into purpose. Until then remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are Destined for Victory.