Lessons from the Battlefield, Part 4 (cont'd)

Faith as a second language on today's Destined for Victory. Coming your way next, Pastor Paul Shepherd returns to the story of David in his message, Lessons from the Battlefield.

But first, he joins me from his studio in California. Pastor, we're entering into a very critical time in the life of most ministries. It's always the case when we get to summertime, but this time I think people are ready to break out. You know, the vaccine is more widely distributed, vacation rentals are booked at a record pace. The world is ready to get out of this quarantine, but there is a concern that ministries like ours don't end up forgotten. Would you speak to that for a moment?

Yes, sir. Every summer I have that concern and I say, okay, Lord, please help the people to remember that the bills don't stop in the summertime. The gospel is definitely free. I'm glad and I'm able to say to all of our donors, you don't have to even think twice about it. When you give to us, you're helping us reach others. Pastor Paul doesn't take a single dime of compensation from Destined for Victory resources. My church takes really good care of me and I'm so glad that they do.

And so I'm able to serve the audience through Destined for Victory without any charge to them. But while the gospel is free, the plumbing costs a lot of money. So even in the summer, I pray that our listeners will be faithful in their giving because the bills continue to come. And I want to preach all the way through the summer and let people know while they're enjoying vacations, the word of God stands forever. Well, to find out how you can partner with Pastor Paul Sheppard, please visit pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net. Also keep in mind that for your best gift of $25 or more this month, we have two gifts of our own to share with you.

Pastor Paul's book, Why God Created Dads, as well as his audio CD, A Tribute to My Dad. 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, Destined for Victory Box 1767, Fremont, California 94538. What are you talking about in your life these days?

How do you sound? Are you speaking the language of faith or are you speaking the language of doubt and unbelief? Doubt and unbelief contradict what the word of God says. When you're challenged by the giants in your life, what you say reveals what you're made of. Whether it's fear or faith or something in between, what's on the inside will eventually come out.

So now to share his message, Lessons from the Battlefield, here's Pastor Paul Sheppard. In Mark 11, verse 23, here's what Jesus said, have faith in God. See, we're not talking about faith in faith. We're talking about faith in God. See, there's always counterfeit beliefs for what the genuine is taught in scripture. And you have a lot of people out here, you know, you just have to learn to think positive thoughts. They don't even know Jesus, not living according to the word, but they believe in positivity.

That's a counterfeit version. I'm not talking about just having a generally positive outlook in life. I'm not talking about don't worry, be happy. I'm talking about when God says a thing, I embrace it as true. And I speak what God says. I amen what God says.

That's what I'm talking about. And Jesus taught that in Mark 11, 23. He said, have faith in God. Then he said, For I say to you, if you speak to that mountain, and command it to be removed and cast into the midst of the sea, and shall not doubt in your heart, but believe that those things which you say will come to pass, Jesus said, you will have what you say. What he was teaching is a powerful principle.

He's not talking about us going out trying to literally move mountains. God wouldn't ordinarily get no glory out of that. He is saying if there is a mountainous situation in your life, if there's a Goliath standing in your way, that is defined what God wants to do, all you got to do is get God's take on it and speak it out of your mouth. And he said, Don't doubt in your heart, but believe that what God put in your mouth is going to come to pass. He said, you'll have what you say. So I got a question for you. What are you talking about in your life these days?

How do you sound? Are you speaking the language of faith? Or are you speaking the language of doubt and unbelief?

Because they have their own language. Doubt and unbelief contradict what the Word of God says. Doubt and unbelief will read a scripture and say, Yeah, but somebody's got to get your butt out of the way.

You don't say but when God has spoken, you don't contradict the God who was able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or even imagine. And you've got to learn to speak the language of faith. Don't just look at your circumstances.

Look at what God says about them. And you say what God says. You look at your circumstance and say I'm broke. But you got to look at your circumstance and say right now, I don't have the resources in my hand that I need. But my God shall supply every one of my needs according to his riches in glory. You got to say what God says. Whenever you find the word speaking to your situation, you got to repeat it. You got to say it.

You got to cosign it. You got to say like David, I was young, he said in one scripture and now I'm old and I've never seen the righteous forsaken. I've never seen God's servants begging bread. Meaning God is going to come through for his children. They might go through a lean season, but if they trust in the Lord, he is going to bring you out of your valley and he will prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies.

Job was going through the worst thing imaginable. And in the midst of the horror of his circumstance, we hear Job say, I know that my Redeemer liveth. And one day he's going to stand and I'm going to be with him. My circumstances will be changed and I'm going to see the salvation of my God. You got to learn to say what God says about what's going on in your life.

You got to speak the language of faith and declare your victory before you experience it. I love that Caleb did that. Generations before David, Caleb did that. You remember when the 12 spies went over to spy out the land of Canaan, Moses sent them over to try to encourage the people. Go, he sent 12 spies and go check it out and come back, bring a report. And the Bible says of the 12 spies that went over, 10 of them came back with a negative report. And they came back saying, yeah, you know, it's a wonderful place.

Yeah, I mean, it's great. In fact, we brought back a sample of the grapes. They brought back a vine of grapes that was so large, two men had to carry a vine of grapes. And they said, it's wonderful over there. But then they use that faith killing word, but there are giants over there and there are walled cities over there. And we can't do anything about them. In fact, they said, compared to those folk, we look like grasshoppers.

See, they're looking at sight. But look at what Caleb did in Numbers chapter 13. The Bible says he silenced the people. And then he said, we should go over at once and possess the land.

For we can certainly do it. Now, how did Caleb go see the same thing they saw and come back with a very different report? I'll tell you why. Because Caleb wasn't focused on the giants in the walled cities. Caleb said about the land, what God said about it. What did God said?

I have given it to you. Caleb's focused on what God says. If God says, I'm giving it to you. In fact, we're calling it the promised land. Caleb's like, the reason we call it the promised land is because God promised it. If God promised us the land, what makes you think he's worried about the giants and the walled cities? I expect that God knew they were there when he told us he gave us the land. God didn't say, I gave you land. Then he looked again and said, oops, wait, wait, wait.

There's walled cities over there. I spoke too soon. I'm sorry.

No, no. When God tells you something, he doesn't care what the obstacles are. In fact, God likes to stack the odds against himself. He gets bored when it's too easy. I think that's the explanation for why you're going through some of the stuff you're going through, frankly. God gets bored when it's too easy. So he'll let it get difficult.

And he let them run into giants in walled cities to see what they would do about it. And the 10 said, we can't go. Those people are stronger than us. They'll kick us out of there.

They'll kill us. Caleb said, we ought to go right now. I don't know why we having a meeting about it.

We ought to go right now for we can certainly do it. And I'm here to tell you, when you learn to declare the victory in advance of experiencing the victory, you will see God move in a mighty way in your life. So you got to declare your victory before you experience it. Number six, get comfortable with the way God uses you. Look at verse 38. The Bible says, after Saul has finally decided at the end of verse 37, okay, David, you're right. I'm going to let you go and may the Lord be with you.

You know, that's pitiful. When the king can't find anybody in his whole army to go face the giant and he got to let a little boy go. And Saul says, well, go and may the Lord be with you.

Look at verse 38. Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic, put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around because he was not used to it. I cannot go with these, he said to Saul, because I'm not used to them.

So he took them off. I come to tell somebody, you are carrying stuff into the battle God never put on you and it's time for you to take it off. People putting their stuff on you, putting their expectations on you, putting their brand of ministry on you, putting their values on you, putting their thoughts in your head, trying to get you to do it the way they want to do it. And I'm here to tell you, God raised you up to be an original. Don't you go into the battle trying to be a copy.

You are an original. God knows what he's up to in your life. He knew who you were when he called you and you got to learn to go with what God has already placed in your life.

Don't go away. We're only about halfway through today's Destined for Victory message with Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor of Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. Be sure to subscribe to Pastor Paul on YouTube to watch some of his best video clips. For more details, be sure to visit us at pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net.

And there you can listen on demand or recent messages or find a variety of resources in our online store. Now here's Pastor Paul with the rest of today's message, Lessons from the Battlefield. And David tried, he cooperated for a minute.

He put all this stuff on and he looked ridiculous. And that's the way some of us look when we try to live our lives like somebody else. When you try to make your decisions like somebody else. When you try to base your ministry on somebody else's. Fact of the matter is God knows what he's up to in your life. And you've got to go and let him use you the way he has ordained to use you. Get comfortable with the way God uses you. I want to ask somebody here, you want to do the will of God? Get used to the way God wants to move in your life. Don't let people put their stuff on you. Even if they're other believers. Sometimes they mean well, but they will just, listen, there are some folk that they will dump on you a busload of expectations. And what you've got to learn to do is I'm serving God. I'm following his lead. I respect the wisdom of people God has placed into my life, but I refuse to allow them to dictate to me when what they are saying contradicts what God has been doing in my life.

And David figured out quickly. I know I'm not supposed to fight Goliath and all this stuff. It doesn't feel right. I look stupid. And he said, I've not proven this.

I've not used this. This is not the way God moves in my life. The Lord told me years ago, there is a style of ministry he was giving me and I was not to try to base what he called me to do on somebody else. And I struggled in the early years. I was believing God to grow the ministry. And I said, Lord, you know, I'm trying to do what you call me to do, but it's not growing.

Let me find out why. And I started reading folks books. And they would tell me about their brand of ministry. And here's how you grow a church. And here's how you reach the unchurched.

And this is what you do. And so I'd read their book. And the Lord would say, I didn't tell you to do that. I said, yeah, but his church grew. He got in six months, he already had 500 people.

And in six months I went from 34 to 39. So I figured he must know what he's talking about. God said, you let him do what he's called to do. And you stick with what I called you to do.

I'm here to tell somebody your help and your hope is not in man's wisdom. It is in God using you the way he has ordained to use your life. Dare to be who you are. Dare to be unique. Dare to be original. Dare to say thank you for sharing your thoughts. But here is the way as I pray and as I read the word and as I follow the Holy Spirit, here is the way God is speaking to me. Dare to deal with your family situation the way the Lord tells you to deal with it.

It might not fit what somebody else is doing. Well, see, honey, if I was mad to your man, here's what I'd do. Well, you're not. You're not. And you might not want to say this, but you think, and based on what's happening in your house, you don't have anything to say to me.

You ever had somebody try to give you swimming lessons and they're drowning? And so what you have to do is be comfortable with the way God uses you. And I want to also say in that same point, in the course of getting comfortable with the way God uses you, you must understand that God is going to use your past victories and your past failures to help you win your present and future victories. Now, I make that point because we saw that David referenced the fact that the Lord used him to kill a lion and a bear as he was taking care of his daddy's sheep. Long before he got to Goliath, he had some experiences where he saw the power of God come upon him.

And he knew that his past was a setup for his present and his future. And you got to see the way God is moving in your life. You got to watch the way God is moving in your life. And you got to go with what God is telling you to do. I remember when the Lord told me, now, when I call you to be a senior pastor, I'm going to give you a teaching style of ministry from the pulpit. And I grew up in a certain preaching tradition that I loved and respected. Many of my friends preach out of that tradition, and God blesses their ministries. Everybody has their own calling. But the Lord told me, when you get in the pulpit as a senior pastor, I want you to teach my people.

And that was new to me because I was used to my tradition. I had honed my skills, and I knew how to hoop. And I said, Lord, let me hope because the folk will get happy. But he knew who he had called me to reach.

And he knew that people need not just inspiration, but they need information. And so he said, the unique ministry I've given you, I want you to be one who by your teaching ministry, you do permanent damage to people's ignorance. And I said, but Lord, I know how to hoop.

Let me just hoop. That's a certain style of preaching. If you don't know what I mean, that's all right. But some of the folk know exactly what I'm talking about.

Get me in the key of E flat. I was ready to roll, Jack. God said, that's fine. Some people are called to do that.

God blesses them that way. But I have now given you a special assignment. See, God knew he was going to put me on the radio. God knew that he wanted me to help teach the nation the word of God. And he knew that style of ministry would not be relatable in many of those settings. He knew I couldn't get on a lot of these stations tuning up. So the Lord said, I got a different plan for you.

All your friends who do that, that's fine. I blessed them where they are. But you got to find a way God wants to use you. And I discovered that if you just go with God, everything will work out okay. Just dare to follow the Lord and his unique plan for your life. And he'll give you the victory.

One more point and I'm done. Rely on the power of God. Rely on the power of God. I love it. Skip down to verse 45. Now, David has taken off all this ridiculous stuff. He says, all I need is to let God use me in a way I'm used to him using me.

Look at verse 40 before you get down to 45. The Bible says he took off the stuff, then David took his staff in his hand. See, he's a shepherd boy. He's used to his staff. He chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag, and with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

Now you're talking about feeling ridiculous. If he were operating in the natural, he would feel some kind of stupid going after an over nine foot tall warrior who's wearing a 125 pound coat of armor. And here you come with five stones and a sling. Oh, but look down at verse 45.

David said to the Philistine, you come against me with sword and spear and javelin. He said, but you don't understand. In the words of that great theologian, Beyonce, you must not know about me. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

That wasn't in my notes, it just slipped out. You must not know about me. He said, I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the army of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today, I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beast of the earth. Not only am I going to beat you, I'm going to beat all y'all.

And the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. Oh, I want to close by telling somebody that you got to rely on the power of God. Don't go after your enemy based on who you are. This is not about you.

Go after your enemy based on who you serve. I'm coming to you in the name of the Lord. I'm declaring victory in my life because God said I could declare victory. Devil, you should have killed me when you had a chance. It's too late now.

I know too much word. I'm full of God's spirit. I know God's promises. I'm standing on his word and you are in trouble now. Oh, I'm here to tell somebody you got to rely on the power of God. The arm of strength will fail you. Don't talk about what you can do.

Your power runs out. But God has the ability to give us supernatural power and God enabled that boy. He took up five smooth stones, but the fact is he only needed one. But he was ready just in case.

His anointing was a little off to the left. He'd have taken the second shot and believed God. And that's what you got to do. You got to be prepared to go the distance. It doesn't matter how long I have to fight.

Doesn't matter what I have to do. When this battle is over, I'm going to be standing and the enemy of God's plan in my life will be defeated. And I've come to tell you, if you'll rely on the power of God, you're going to see God do phenomenal things in your life and give you the victory where you turn around and give him all of the glory. Thanks so much for joining us for today's message, lessons from the battlefield. To find out more about the Destined for Victory ministry and the special offer we have for those that give their most generous gift today, be sure to stop by our website, pastorpaul.net.

That's pastorpaul.net. God has a plan and purpose for our lives, but some of us are at a point where we must now transition and understand that God wants to introduce some persons into our lives who will come alongside, who will help us in some ways, and we've got to get out of the solitary kind of life. That's tomorrow in Pastor Paul Shepherd's message, Built to Last. Until then, remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.