Lessons from the Pasture, Part 4

I've come to tell you that God wants to use you and He has given some gifts to you, but it is up to you to give God a return on His investment. He gives us natural and spiritual potential, abilities, endowments.

We then must take them and develop them. You may have a piano, but that doesn't make you a piano player. Hello and welcome to Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd. God may not have blessed you with the ability to play a musical instrument, but He has endowed you with certain natural and spiritual gifts, and it's up to you to develop them, to nurture them, to become an instrument He can use for His glory.

As we continue looking at the early life of King David today, pay close attention to the way he honored God by developing his gifts as a young man, several years before he became king. Today's message is straight ahead. Stay right here or visit pastorpaul.net any time to listen to Destined for Victory on demand.

You can also download the podcast at Google Podcasts or wherever you get yours. Now, let's join Pastor Paul for today's Destined for Victory message, Lessons from the Pasture. I want us to continue our journey of discovering some practical lessons we can learn from the life of David, even in these early stages of his life before he became the great king that he is well known to be. There are lessons to learn from his early life.

We have covered a number of them in the first few installments in this series. First of all, we discovered that there are some God ideas for your life. In the case of David, the Lord sovereignly appointed him to be the next king, the one who would succeed Saul. And it was a choice of God. And likewise, there are some God ideas for your life. There are some things that God has ordained to do through your life. And so we challenged you from the word.

Make sure that you are in the process of discovering not only good ideas for your life, but God ideas for your life. Secondly, we said, don't worry about being overlooked. We saw that David wasn't even invited to the sacrifice because his daddy assumed that the Lord surely must have chosen my eldest son or one of the other sons. And so Jesse invited seven of his eight sons to the sacrifice. When Samuel looked at him, he said, no, none of these has the Lord chosen. And finally, Jesse said, well, I have one more son, but he's out there with the sheep. But when Samuel laid eyes on this overlooked son, he said, he is the one. Don't let anybody make you think that if you're not on their radar, you're never going to amount to anything, because I've come to tell you that God knows what he's up to in your life.

And it doesn't matter whose radar you're on or you are not on. If God has a plan for your life, all you have to do is please him and in the right time and in the right way, he will bring his will to pass. So don't worry about being overlooked. Third, we saw in the most recent installment this lesson, handle well your present responsibilities, handle well your present responsibilities. The fact of the matter is God has a plan for your life, for your future, but your future is being decided in part by the way you behave now. Your today is significant as you move towards your tomorrow. And we took time in the second installment of our series and looked at the fact that you have got to pay more attention to what you're doing now, because you're not going to go to bed a blunder and wake up a wonder. You're not going to go to bed a failure and wake up a success. There is no sudden turn of events that is going to change your life. You've got to begin to move in the right direction, and it is the dailiness of walking with God, the dailiness of obedience, and the matters assigned to your hands right now that will turn things around for you and position you for what God has in store. And then in the most recent installment, we saw a fourth lesson, which is wait your turn. The fact of the matter is David was anointed on that day that Samuel came, but the fact of the matter is he was anointed, but he was not yet sent to be the king.

So what happened? The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and after that, the Lord sent him back to do what he had been doing, which is to tend to his father's sheep. You've got to understand that God has a plan for your life, but it is not just the what that matters. It is the when, and sometimes we get the what right, but the when wrong. And so in the last message, I took time and explain that God wants to use the season you're in now to finish preparing you for what he has in your future. We talked about the wilderness and the fact that there are some wilderness seasons we have to go through and you feel ready to jump out there and claim your promises and fulfill God's destiny for your life. But the first thing God may do is send you to the wilderness. And there are some lessons you only learn in the wilderness, and some of you have got to master your wilderness before you can fulfill your destiny. Some of you have great plans and great expectations.

But the reality is, just like in the case of Jesus, he was filled with the Holy Spirit on the day he was baptized by John. But the Spirit of the Lord first drove him into the wilderness to be tempted and tested, because until you are proven by God, you're really not ready to fulfill your purpose. And there are some lessons you only learn in the wilderness. There are some lessons that only trial and proving will teach you.

Some of you are believing God for great things. But my question is, can you handle the greatness that is ahead of you? And the way you know you can handle it is by letting God take you through your wilderness season. And so I want to encourage you to wait your turn. Don't cheat your season, but wait on the Lord. Now I want to pick it up and look at two more lessons here in chapter 16 of First Samuel. Lesson number five, develop your strongest gifts, develop your strongest gifts. One of the things that I am struck by when I look at the life of young David is the fact that here is a young man who took the time to become accomplished in preparation for the way the Lord would use him in his future.

Look at what I mean. When Saul realizes that there is this evil spirit, now you got to get the context because a lot of people read this and say, why in the world would God give an evil spirit to King Saul? That doesn't make sense. Why would God be in cahoots with an evil spirit? Well, you got to understand Saul is now living out the consequence of his disobedience to God. When you read the chapters before, he had every opportunity to obey God and do his will. And he disobeyed the Lord. The Lord gave him clear instruction and clear opportunity and he clearly disobeyed God. And so he is living out the consequence of his disobedience. And one consequence is that the Spirit of the Lord leaves him and instead an evil spirit now is tormenting him. This is a sign that God has rejected him. And while we live in a different dispensation, and you might be relieved to say, Oh, I'm so glad that I live under grace and no longer under the Old Testament.

Let me help you understand something. You too want to be a person whose life is characterized by obeying God. Whatever you do, you want to be in the center of God's will. When God tells you what to do, he's not playing and he's not giving suggestions.

God doesn't give suggestions. He commands us. He is Lord, and you want to be in the place of blessing, and that is the place of obedience. But Saul was experiencing the consequence of his disobedience. So this evil spirit is coming upon him from time to time and torments him. And his attendants say, We know what you need to find someone who will play skillfully on an instrument, and perhaps that will give relief to you, King.

And he said, Good idea. Go and find someone who plays well. Verse 17. So right away, someone says, Well, I know somebody who plays well.

It is the son of Jesse of Bethlehem. He knows how to play the heart. Not only does he have expertise in his musical endeavor, but look at the next sentence.

He is a brave man and a warrior. Look at the next sentence. He speaks well, and he is fine looking. Now, your looks you either have them or you don't. But you can maximize what you have. You know, you can take the time and make sure that you're coordinated and looking good. And even if you might not have the greatest looks, you can comb your hair, you can wash your face, you know, you can fix up, do something. Don't come just as I am without one plea. But that thou blood was shed for me. That's a whole hymn.

You can do something. But his looks, that was the least of the significant things in these sentences because you either have them or you don't. But these other things he was intentional about. He was intentional about learning to play the harp well. He was intentional about developing bravery.

He was intentional about being a good warrior. I've come to tell you that God wants to use you and he has given some gifts to you that he might use you in those areas. But it is up to you to give God a return on his investment. Coming up next, the rest of today's message, Lessons from the Pasture, with Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. If you've never stopped by our website, pastorpaul.net, I invite you to do it when you have some time. You'll find all of Pastor Paul's recent messages on demand, plus a host of great resources at our online store, including books, audio and video messages from Pastor Paul, and more. 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 be sure to subscribe to Pastor Paul at YouTube to watch some of his best video clips. For more details and links to all of his social media, be sure to visit pastorpaul.net. If God has gifted you in certain areas in music or in teaching or intercessory prayer, it's because he wants you to use those gifts for his glory. Here's Pastor Paul with the rest of today's Destined for Victory message, Lessons from the Pasture. Years ago, God gave me the gifting to be a teacher, but I had to learn how to give God back that gift through practice, through prayer, through diligence, through study, through making myself available to learn from other people so that God could get a good return on his investment.

And the same is true in your life. There are some giftings inside of you. God has given you certain abilities and he calls you now to develop those gifts. David had musical ability in him, but he had to marry that natural ability, that natural affinity to music with the discipline of study, the discipline of practice, the discipline of development so that, did you see it?

So that he could learn to play well. A whole lot of people play, but not a lot of people play well. Some of you have taken piano lessons.

You can play some little tune, but the question is, do you play well? Some of you have certain abilities that are God given and can be used for his glory, but the question is what kind of return is God going to get on his investment in you? I've come to challenge you. If you want to be used of God, the blessing is going to be married to your discipline to develop the giftings that are inside of you. David decided, I want to give God a good return on his investment, so I'm going to develop certain abilities.

When it came to his music, he studied, he learned, he grew, he practiced so that he could become an expert on the heart. And I want to challenge you, whatever God has placed inside of you, there is potential, but you must maximize it through your own deliberate efforts. Now, I deliberately worded this point, develop your strongest gifts, because there are some people who focus on their weaknesses and spend all their time trying to make a weakness strong. Now, when it comes to matters of character, that's what you ought to do. You want to develop in character and God will give you the ability to develop your character. But when it comes to giftings, don't waste your time chasing a fantasy when you could be developing a genuine dream. The difference is the dream is tied to what God has truly given you as potential.

The fantasy is just something you want to do. Have you ever heard somebody aspire to want to sing and record CDs, but they don't have a voice worth listening to? If you don't know them, I can introduce you to some folk. See, they love music. They love to hear good songs. They love to hear a good artist perform.

That's fine. But listen, your role is to be in the audience when they're up there performing. See, there's a duality here. Somebody's got to buy the CD. That's your calling, to buy the CD that somebody else recorded because it sounds good and it's music. And you get to enjoy the music. When you're by yourself, you can even sing along by yourself. You've been in the car with somebody and they're the only one don't know that they can't sing.

And a nice CD is on and you want to enjoy it. But they are singing along with the artist and it is disturbing. Listen, the only place you ought to legitimately do that around other folk is during praise and worship in church.

That's your time. You know why? Because when we are in the time of praise and worship, all of us are collectively worshiping God and singing to the Lord. And it doesn't matter that you can't hold a tune. You go on and sing to God anyway. That's because we're all singing. Now, if you can't hold a tune, only God is going to appreciate the sound.

Trying to help you now. Only God is going to appreciate it. Your neighbors are going to struggle. But that's all right. You are singing to the Lord. They're just going to have to struggle. This is our time with God.

Next week, they'll just look and see where you're sitting and make sure to get on a different road. That's all. It's all good. I've stood next to folk and I said, oh, Lord. God, I'm glad you're enjoying this sound. But as legitimate, we're all singing and worshiping the Lord. But don't say, God, make me an anointed singer. Oh, God, make me the next C.C. Winans.

He's not going to do it. He put singing in C.C. He put something else in you.

We got to find what the else is. And you give God a return on that because that is where he will bless you. And that is how he will use you. David developed his skill for music. He also developed his bravery. He developed as a young warrior. He gave God a return on his investment.

Here's my question to you as we learn this practical lesson from his life. What is in you that God wants you to develop? For some of you, it is a passion for a certain vocation and you can work in that vocation in a way that will truly glorify God and help other people.

And so what you want to do is develop it. I believe we believers ought to be the most gifted folks on the planet. I absolutely believe that we ought to be at the top of our profession, no matter what it is.

We're not all called the same way. We don't all have the same skill sets or spiritual gifts. But however God has gifted you, you ought to aspire to give God a great return on his investment. If you are a mechanic, be the best. Be one we can trust. Marry skill and integrity and I promise you God will use you even as a mechanic. Because we got folks going around trying to find someone who has expertise and integrity.

We need to find somebody who we know. When you take them to car, they're going to find out exactly what's wrong. They're going to tell you what it costs to fix it.

They will make their profit, but they will not rip you off. God knows we need some folk who are committed more to God than to making money at our expense. And so God wants to raise you up. I believe that God will raise up his people and you'll start your own shop and God will give you a great business. If you will marry diligence and integrity to the gifting God has placed inside of you.

And don't fool yourself. You don't have to be white collar only. Listen, the whole world can't be white collar because there are people like me.

I need blue collar folk. I am challenged in matters of fixing things. God has gifted me to help fix people's lives and all of that. I'm good at sitting down and crafting a message that God will breathe life into that will help folks give them direction for their lives. And I constantly hear God is using you to transform my life through the teaching of the word. Praise God. But now if you need me to help you in your house, you got a problem on your hands.

I'm not called there. And long ago, I settled the issue that my manhood was not wrapped up in my ability to fix things around my house. I settled it. I want to challenge some of you mechanically challenge brothers and sisters to join me in that place of peace. Settle the issue once and for all. Don't let anybody say you are not truly a man unless you know how to be handy around your house.

I have settled it once and for all. You can't trick me with that anymore. Folk did that for years. Made me feel bad. You don't know how to fix your furnace when it goes out? Read my lips. If I go to fooling with the furnace, my wife would run for her dear life.

You see her scampering down the street, pleading the blood of Jesus. I don't go into walls. That's not my calling. I learned long ago not to be intimidated by these brothers. You know, we got these brothers around here and you got them in every area. They just, I mean, they just for fun, they'll just tear something down and then build it back up. They do it with their cars. They do it with their houses.

You know, these guys, they make somebody sick. Yeah, yeah. This past weekend, I decided to tear my house down, build it back up. That's fine.

Go for it, brother. God bless you. When something's wrong in my house, I now have a new sense of how I make myself feel good as a man. I have the ability to pick up the phone and call an expert and say, how soon can you be here? And when he gets there, I'll show him the problem and I will go do something that's important to me.

And when he is done, I will write a check that will not bounce and send him off with his blessing. Long before David became king, he began developing his God-given gifts, gifts that would help him years later when he ascended to the throne. If you find yourself in a season of preparation today, waiting for God to promote you to the next level of your Christian journey, let me encourage you to take a lesson from David.

Discover your gifts. Develop your gifts so that when your season of promotion comes, you'll be fully equipped to fulfill your high calling in Christ Jesus. In Psalm 107, King David writes, Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. If you need prayer today, the Destined for Victory ministry team would like to join you in prayer. From the homepage at pastorpaul.net, use the contact feature and let us know how we can pray for you. While you're there, be sure to ask for Pastor Paul's monthly letter of encouragement, which comes at no cost or obligation. Well, we have a great resource for you today, too, in fact, and we want to share them with you this month for your most generous gift of $25 or more to Destined for Victory. 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, A 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. Again, that's Why God Created Dads and A Tribute to My Dad, both gifts to you this month for your best donation of $25 or more to Destined for Victory. So 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, CA 94538.

Again, our address is Destined for Victory, Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538. I don't know what we're doing. Why do you hang around failures trying to be a success?

Why take swimming lessons from drowning people? Find somebody who knows what they're doing. Find someone who can teach you some things. Want to be a good leader? First, be a good follower. Join us tomorrow when Pastor Paul Shepherd 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.