Lessons from the Pasture, Part 3

Music playing This was a season of preparation, of learning, of waiting. And David's response during this period is a powerful reminder to all of us, good things come to those who wait. Today, Pastor Paul Shepherd continues his profile of one of the greatest heroes in biblical history. Stay right here, or visit pastorpaul.net to listen anytime on your schedule. That's pastorpaul.net.

You can also subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, at Spotify, or wherever you go to get your programs. Now, here's Pastor Paul with today's Destined for Victory message, Lessons from the Pasture. God knows who you are. He knows what he's called you to be. So don't worry about being overlooked. Promotion doesn't come from the east or the west. Psalm 75, 6 says, but God is the judge.

He puts down one and sets up another. So when God promotes you, it doesn't matter who men think you are or are not. What matters is the will of God for your life. So don't worry about being overlooked. And then in the last installment, we looked at a third point, which is to handle well your present responsibilities. Notice that David wasn't trying to get the attention of Samuel.

David came in from tending his daddy's sheep. He was handling his present responsibility. God looks at where you are now, and where you are now is to be an indication of where you're going. Your current responsibilities are practice for your future responsibilities, which ought to be sad news for some of us, because some of us aren't handling our business right now.

And you're dreaming big dreams, but you're not taking the proper steps in that direction. In the mind and in the plan of God, where you are now, your station in life, is to be a training ground for the things he has in store for you. God taught David how to take care of his people by teaching him lessons while he was taking care of sheep. God will use what you're doing right now to teach you integrity, to teach you character, to teach you faithfulness, to teach you that he has a plan for your life that has to be executed through your diligence, through your prayerfulness, and through your willingness to do all that has been assigned to your hands to do. And so we took time and talked about the fact that there are lessons to be learned right now in your life. Whether you are working, whether you're a student, there are lessons to be learned right now. Today is an important day. You will not go to bed a blunder and wake up a wonder. You will not go to bed a failure and wake up a success.

The only way you become fruitful, the only way you get on the right path is to start that journey today. If you believe in God to one day be a boss, make sure you are the best worker that your current boss has. If you believe in God one day to own property, make sure you're paying your landlord on time.

Talk to me somebody. If you believe in God for big things, make sure you're taking care of little things the right way right now. Because God will use your present circumstances as training ground. One of my favorite movies is The Karate Kid. Because in The Karate Kid, God teaches us, I learned through movies, I learned through fairy tales, I see biblical truth, because you know truth runs parallel. And where there's a truth you'll find corresponding truths. And I see the world because I have a biblical world view and a biblical knowledge.

When you get into the book and get the book into you, you'll begin to see the movements of God in all kinds of analogies. And when I watch Karate Kid I see God. Because Mr. Miyagi put that boy to work. Y'all remember that? Mr. Miyagi put that boy to work and the boy thought he had turned him into a slave. He went to him to ask him to teach him karate. And instead of teaching him karate he ended up taking care of his whole place, sanding the floor.

Y'all remember that? Waxing the car. Painting the fence. And at the point of frustration, young Daniel said to Mr. Miyagi I quit, you just turned me into a slave. I asked you to teach me how to do karate and you just turned me into free labor. And just before he walked away Mr. Miyagi said show me, wax the car. Show me, paint the fence.

And as it turned out he had been teaching him karate moves while at the same time teaching him diligence and hard work and stick-to-it-iveness. God is doing the same thing in your life right now. And you're belly aching to God I don't understand why you're letting me go through what I'm going through. You ought to treat me better than this and you don't know that God said paint the fence.

Cause you're going to need it later on. What I have you doing now, if you'll be faithful to me now, it'll be a blessing in your life later. And I'm here to tell you, you've got to handle your business right now. You've got to take care of things right now. You've got to be faithful in this current season.

Because he who can be trusted with little can also be trusted with much. Jesus said in Luke 16 and 10. And so you've got to handle your present responsibilities.

Don't keep dreaming your dreams and thinking you're going to just get there overnight. You get there through the process of obedience to God. Now I want to move on then and make a fourth point. As we continue to learn from the life of young David. Number four, wait your turn.

Wait your turn. Notice with me what happened at the moment that David ran in from the field. Samuel takes a look at him and the Spirit of the Lord says to Samuel, this is the one. He says, take your horn of oil and anoint him because this is the one. When that happens, verse 13 of 1 Samuel 16, he does it in the presence of his brothers. See, you've got to be faithful because the folk who think you're not going to mount to anything, one day God's going to show them exactly what he made you to be. Right in the presence of folk who are discounting you, God will bless you. And one of the reasons God does that is so that when people who didn't think you would ever mount to anything, see the hand of the Lord on you, they're going to have to admit now that had to be God. That had to be God.

There's no way in the world they're supposed to be able to do that. And God will get all the glory. And so he was anointed right in the presence of his brothers and look at this, from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. Now, why am I bringing that up under the context of wait your turn? Because he has now been anointed with oil, a sign of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit indeed comes upon him in power.

But he goes back to tending his daddy's sheep. Now some of you all, if you get a hold of a little bit of power, the last thing you're going to do is go back to what you've been doing. Because a lot of folk think that empowerment is also ascending forth to do something new. And I'm here to tell you that you have to wait your turn. God not only knows what he wants to do in your life, but he knows when he wants to bring it to pass. And you can't confuse your anointing with your sending. Sometimes you are anointed, you are equipped, you are empowered, but you haven't yet been sent. And you have to learn to wait on God.

Now that's one of the hardest things to do. When you feel qualified, you feel equipped, you feel like, okay, I now know what the Lord wants to do through my life, whether it's my vocation or certain schooling that I'm to get or whatever it is, and you feel like you've got your assignment, typically we want to just run right out there and begin to execute. But you've got to learn the movements of God. God will give you the key to your future and say it is not yet. And that's what happens with David.

Now why in the world would you get power and not have the authority to go? Because if you want to be in the center of God's will, God's will not only has a what factor, but God's will has a when factor. And sometimes we think the what is all that's important. But I'm here to tell you the when of the movements of God is just as important as the what. Let me make it plain to you, David now has been anointed, which means the Spirit of God is resting upon him, and he is empowered to be king, but there is still a king on the throne and although God has rejected him, God doesn't want David to overthrow him. The Lord will put you in a position where you have power to do some things, but you don't have the authority to do them. Because there's still more for you to learn and so he will teach you some things through that waiting season that will be very important for your life. There's a timing element to the movements of God.

Never forget what Ecclesiastes chapter 3 says, there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. You're listening to Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd, senior of Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California and he'll be right back with a second half of today's message. Don't forget that you can listen to Destined for Victory right in the palm of your hand by downloading our free mobile app. The app allows you to take notes of the daily message, order books and CDs, you can even make a safe and secure donation to the ministry.

Search Destined for Victory at the app store and download it today absolutely free. Are you waiting on God to give you more? Make sure you're being faithful with what he's already given you.

Here's Pastor Paul with the rest of today's message, Lessons from the Pasture. There is a time for everything. There is a season for every activity under heaven and you can do the right thing at the wrong time and get the wrong results. Some of you know it, you've done it in certain times in your life. You made a good move at a bad time.

And you got negative results. You got to walk with God and wait your turn. Wait until he moves you out. Now let me establish this by an important case study in scripture in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. When you read the gospels you see Jesus at an early age recognizing exactly who he is and what he has come to earth to do. It didn't catch him by surprise. Jesus knew at age twelve you see Jesus clearly saying I must be about my father's business.

Twelve years old and he is astonishing full grown people with his wisdom and his understanding. In Luke 2 you see him in the temple courts asking questions of the learned men and they are amazed at this young boy because he had a sense of what he was called to do. But he was there at the wrong time. He was supposed to be in the caravan of people who had come for feasting and what have you and when they were leaving he wasn't in the caravan he was somewhere astounding people with his knowledge. When Mary discovered her son was gone they turned around to look for him when they found him.

She said why have you done this to us? And he said wouldn't you know that I would be in my father's house? And what did Jesus do? The Bible says in essence she told him well I don't know about all that but I know you better get back in that caravan. And the Bible says that he went home and was subject to his parents although he knew who he was his time had not yet come. And what did Jesus do? He spent then the next 18 years from age 12 when we know he is aware of his calling and who he is in the plan of God to age 30 the Bible says all he does is four things.

He increases in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God and man. Until age 30 Jesus did no mighty works. He preached no sermons. He healed no sick people. He cast out no devils. He proclaimed no good news to the nations.

Why? Because his time had not yet come. Jesus spent 30 years preparing for a three year ministry. And some of us don't want to spend three years preparing for a thirty year career. That's too much time. Don't they have a crash course or something?

Don't they have an accelerated program? The movements of God in your life don't require you to be in a hurry. He knows what he's up to in your life. God can afford to take his time with you. When God is creating a masterpiece he does nothing suddenly. So when God is doing a deep work in your life you got to give him time to work it out. And Jesus spent thirty years preparing for a three year ministry.

And a lot of us have to learn the significance of that. And what's amazing is even at age 30 when his season now is introduced his season of ministry is introduced. What happens? The Lord sends him to John the Baptist. The Father sends him to John the Baptist who is baptizing people in Jordan's river. And there Jesus shows up and when John sees him he says behold the Son of God that takes away the sins of the world.

John recognized him when he saw him. And Jesus stepped in the water and said I want you to baptize me. John said no no I can't do that. I can't baptize you. I'm not even worthy to loosen your shoe strings.

I'm not worthy to deal with you. And Jesus said don't worry about it do it anyway. And John baptized Jesus, brought him up out of the water and at that moment God announced to the world who Jesus was.

What did he do? The Bible says the Father spoke out of heaven and said this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. The Spirit of the Lord took the form of a dove and lit on the shoulder of Jesus. And clearly this is a time of announcing to the world that the Savior the Son of God has come.

Now what happens after that? You who know the gospel record what happens after that? Did Jesus go grab sick folk? The Bible says that Jesus then was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness. Isn't that strange? Holy spirits come on him God is announced from heaven this is my Son and the Spirit of the Lord instead of sending him to heal the sick raise the dead, cast out devils, preach the good news he drives him into the wilderness where the only other person is the devil.

Why? Because God's not in a hurry. He has to prove him. There's more preparation to be done.

Even after 30 years there's still more to be done. Folks I've come to tell you something there is a wilderness experience coming into your life if you're not already there that is going to be absolutely necessary if you are to be significant for God. God loves teaching lessons in the wilderness because there are things you learn in the wilderness that you don't learn anywhere else. I'll prove it to you from the pages of Scripture. Go with me to Deuteronomy chapter 8. I'm going to help somebody who's in a wilderness trying to figure out what in the world is going on in your life.

You can make sense of it for the life of you. Well God's got you listening to this message. Deuteronomy chapter 8. Be careful to follow every command I'm giving you today the Lord is speaking to Israel so that you may live and increase and enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers. See some of us know we have a promise from God. We know God wants to do some great things in our lives and that has us all excited and God says yes indeed I have promised on an oath that I'm going to bless you.

But then look at where it goes from here. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these 40 years watch this to humble you and to test you in order to know what is in your heart whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna.

Pause right there. Some of you are in a wilderness you're trying to make sense of what's going on in your life and God is doing with you exactly what he did with Israel. He took their 40 years in the wilderness and said I'm going to use this to prove them.

I'm going to humble them and I'm going to test them to see what's in their hearts. He said and one of the ways I'm going to do it is I'm going to cause them to hunger. God will actually put you in a situation where he creates in you a hunger a dissatisfaction, an unfulfillment. God is the one responsible for their hunger. Why did he send them hunger? So that he could feed them and they would learn that God is my source.

If the Lord were to allow you to get all your prayers answered the way you're praying them right now you would never understand that he's your source. Some of us don't know it but the best thing that can happen in your life is for things to go from bad to worse. Because God wants to teach you who he is. And we don't learn as well in good times as we do in bad times.

That's just the nature of people. We just don't learn we learn some things in good times but some of the most important lessons you only learn when God causes you to hunger and then he feeds you. Because he wants you to know I am your source. Don't look outside of me for anything you need.

Everything you need is in my will. He said I'll feed them after I make them hungry. Then did you notice he said and I fed them with manna.

When he decided to feed them he didn't give them what they wanted. He gave them manna. You know what manna is?

Manna translated it means what is it? God caused them to hunger. Some of you are hungry right now have dissatisfaction in your life right now unfulfillment in your life right now. God I don't know what's going on in my life.

I don't get it I don't understand it. And God says alright that's why I wanted you. I wanted to get you to a place where you were hungry and thirsting.

So that you would see me as your source. And then he finally sends food and you look at it and you say what is it? God is teaching you lessons about who he is.

Before he gives you the desires of your heart he makes you desire him above everything else. If you find yourself going through a season of waiting if you've been frustrated by having your destiny delayed let me encourage you before God can promote you he has to prepare you. That's the only way you'll be ready for the blessing when it comes. Now do you need prayer today? Our ministry team would be happy to join you in prayer. Stop by pastorpaul.net and use the contact us feature to share your request. That's pastorpaul.net. When you stop by be sure to ask for your free copy of Pastor Paul's monthly newsletter yours at no cost or obligation.

Well summer can tend to be a difficult time for ministries like Destined for Victory and this year as people emerge from the pandemic and get involved in activities it's easy to forget about the regular financial support that a ministry like ours needs to survive. So Pastor Paul and I are inviting you to help out by sending your most generous gift today. And when you do we have two gifts of our own to share with you. Two resources from Pastor Paul that I believe will be a blessing to you and your family. The first is Pastor Paul's book Why God Created Dads. An insightful and inspirational look at the subject of fatherhood through the lens of scripture. The second is the audio CD tribute to my dad a message delivered by Pastor Paul following the death of his father.

Men and women alike will be inspired by these timely resources. That's Why God Created Dads and a tribute to my dad are gifts to you this month for your best donation of $25 or more to Destined for Victory. Call 855-339-5500 or visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. You can also mail your gift to Destined for Victory post office box 1767 Fremont California 94538.

Again our address is Destined for Victory box 1767 Fremont California 94538. Some of you God wants to take you somewhere you can't handle yet. If he gives you responsibility if he gives you an increase in your vocation if he gives you something that would be palatable to the flesh you aren't ready to handle it because it will turn into pride and destroy you. That's tomorrow when Pastor Paul Sheppard shares his message Lessons from the Pasture. Until then remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ you are destined for victory. Music Music