Finding the Right Partners, Part 2 (cont'd)

Even the lone ranger needed a sidekick, and so do you. In just a few moments, Pastor Paul Shepherd shares today's Destined for Victory message, finding the right partners.

But before he gets started, he joins me from his studio. Pastor, I know your heart is encouraged by so many of our friends who are listening and letting us know that Destined for Victory is having an impact in their lives. Remind me, why are you so committed to using media as a part of this ministry?

Well, Wayne, I'll tell you, I'm sold on the fact that if we're going to fulfill the Great Commission and, of course, that's our job as the body of Christ, to go into the world, to make disciples, to baptize people and teach them to observe all things that Christ commanded – if we're going to do that, I am more convinced than ever it demands that we take a strong, fresh look at how to use technology and every other resource to that end. In other words, we've got to realize we, who are boomers – I'm a baby boomer, born between 46 and 64. That's our generation.

Me too. And I realize that we were the last generation in American history that was typically raised in church or in some religious training. And we've got three full generations under us. And now there's an emerging fourth generation. They're still being developed. They're known as Generation Alpha.

My first grandchild is an alpha baby. And so I realize that with these three, four generations, we've got to preach the gospel to. They're not inclined to come to church and hear the gospel, if you will. But the vast majority of them are probably going to have to be reached where they are before we can get them into the life of a church. So technology is very important to the end that we can reach them with the good news of Jesus Christ. That's what it's all about – reaching as many people as we can with the gospel. Thank you, Pastor. You know, media can often go where missionaries can't – into the homes of elderly shut-ins or those who have no way of getting to church.

It can also travel into remote areas of the world that are often hostile to the Christian faith. Just one more reason why your gifts to Destin for Victory are so critical to the cause of Christ. As you give your generous gift to Destin for Victory today, we'd like to thank you by sending you a booklet from Pastor Paul Shepherd that goes hand in hand with his message, Junk Removal for the Soul.

Inside these pages you'll discover practical biblical advice about setting aside some of the habits from your old life in order to embrace the newness of who you are in Christ. That's our gift to you this month by request for your generous donation to Destin 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 Destin for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont California 94538. Destin for Victory, Box 1767, Fremont California 94538.

Some of you all have had sharp disagreement with people and your conclusion is, so I don't know about you. Yes, you do. Do not live your life without accountability and partnership and somebody to help you and somebody to encourage you and somebody to sharpen you. You need somebody. Jesus is not enough. You're listening to Destin for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd. Over the past few days, Pastor Paul has been talking about the importance of partnership with special emphasis being placed on finding the right partners. Today he takes us once again to the life and times of the Apostle Paul, a man who found like-minded believers that helped him become all he could be in Christ. Let's join Pastor now for today's Destin for Victory message, Finding the Right Partners. Paul found new companionship because he and Barnabas couldn't get together on the plan. Sometimes you and the others who have been partners with you, you cannot continue your partnership because of irreconcilable differences.

It happens sometimes. We're trying to do this ministry together but we see this two different ways and we can't find a way to get on the same page. That's what happened with Paul and Barnabas. Paul said, read my lips.

John Mark is not going on this trip. And Barnabas said, well, he go on with me. And Paul said, well, you and John Mark can... Some of y'all ought to be glad but you mad about this extension of point one because you had it all straight in your mind why you were through it folk and how you were through it folk and now I'm going to finally get to just be me and Jesus and I showed up to tell you, no, it's not going to work that way.

You need people and if the old one's not working anymore, find some new ones. Now I'm not talking to you married folk. Oh, you wish you had left before that sentence.

You wish you were out of the building before that sentence so you can go home and tell somebody I got a word today. Not talking to married folk. You married that. You live with that. You pray. You let that grow you up and make you mature and draw you closer to the Lord. Amen. If you don't have biblical grounds, you can't get rid of them. And they're not a whole lot of biblical grounds. Come check me and make an appointment with pastor.

What are they? Make an appointment. Let's talk. Cause in most cases you got to stick with that cause you said till death, not till misery.

So you learn how to take it from misery to manageable. Amen. Oh, you real mad now. You need partnership. And if these partners don't work, find some that will and make sure that what you declared a partnership that won't work is not because you are being unbiblically stubborn. See what Paul and Barnabas realizes that both of them had a legitimate point of view. It's not like one was right. One was wrong. Both had a legitimate point of view. Barnabas said, encouragement is what I do.

It's part of my gift mix. It's what I do. When I see somebody weak, I try my best to make them strong. Paul, on the other hand, didn't have that in his gift mix. Paul said, I need warriors.

Look at how he writes to his spiritual son, Timothy, my son be strong in the Lord. You're a soldier in the Lord's army. Soldiers don't fool with civilian affairs.

They want to please their commanding officer. That's his mindset. That's my mindset as a discipler. I encourage people pretty good, but it's not one of my strongest gifts. I think I do a pretty good job, but it's not one of my strong.

I can relate a whole lot to the apostle Paul. At a certain point I'm like, you can't be on my team. I love you. Don't love you. Don't get me wrong. I love you, but where I got to go and what I got to face, I can't deal with some baby Huey overgrown underdeveloped. Don't know whether you coming or going.

Can't do it. You got to be ready to shape up. I was discipled that way. My daddy was my spiritual father. I saved under his ministry. Got called under his ministry. My first ministry full time job was working for him and I couldn't please him at first to save my natural life and he let me know every time I didn't please him. It seemed to me there was a whole period of time in my young ministries, young associate pastor.

It seemed to me there was a whole period of time. I'm sure it wasn't as much as it felt as it feels like, but it feels like just about every other Sunday he was up telling the church what else I didn't do right. I'm sure it wasn't that often, but it just feels when I look back on it, part of the announcements and okay, now I asked for what the pastor, associate pastor did wrong this week because I was a rookie. I'm just learning.

I'm just growing. I'm just getting my ABCs of ministry down and he was quick to let me know. Nope, that's not it, but it made me determine God. If you called me to ministry and if you called me to work with him before I get to being a senior pastor, which was clear part of my calling, then I said, Lord, help me to learn what I need to learn and grow where I need to grow and shut my mouth when I feel like yelling and help me to prove faithful. And seven years later when I was leaving there to come to California chasing a vision, my daddy cried his eyes out because I was the best assistant pastor he could ever imagine having cried his eyes out. He was a pitiful man and I was happy.

Let me clear up. Not that he was pitiful. I'm happy that I made full proof of my ministry and I'm happy that I learned instead of getting bitter to get better and he made me grow up and made me toughen up and made me become a soldier and I had to learn to say yes sir when I wanted to say quite another thing. But I proved faithful and what I'm looking for as a senior pastor now developing young ministers myself, people come and I'm called, you ain't called and you're not even ready to submit to some basic training.

How are you ever going to be a soldier? Don't tell me you called and then everything got to suit you and got to be what you want. Pastor looked at me funny.

Sometime I'm funny looking, what am I going to do? Oh, that's a rough message. They only going to sell three CDs. Y'all don't want this. You need other people. Let me speak a word to singles while I'm on the partnership theme. I see y'all drawing up now. Let me speak a word to singles who hope to plan to dream to be married one day.

Some of y'all look, the look on your face is like, if I try to slip out, they're going to know it's me. We will be right back with more of today's Destined for Victory message from Pastor Paul Shepherd. Listen to the broadcast on demand at pastorpaul.net.

That's pastorpaul.net where you'll find a host of great resources at our online store. Well, if you want to know how to recognize a good partner when you see one, remember these words, vision, values, veracity. Here's Pastor Paul with the second half of today's message, finding the right partners. Here's what I want to say to you. You singles who plan, want to, hope to be married one day.

Got a word for you. This extemporaneous is in my notes. Make sure your prospective mate agrees with and supports your vision before you get engaged. I am tired of people spending all of their dating time stimulating their senses instead of examining the other person's vision, values, and veracity. All you're doing is impressing each other with stuff that isn't the most important stuff. Because see, all that's fun. That's for the fun. That's for the honeymoon. That's for the after. All that is the benefits package we interviewing for the job.

That's benefits package. You get to enjoy all that. Bible says have at it. So yes, you want to make sure this is something you can work with.

Yes, can work with that. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.

All right, once you know you can work with it, we don't need to keep talking about that. In fact, if you're feeling your hormones, you don't want to keep focusing on that because that's going to lead you into sin. You still know that God wants you to have no sexual relations with another person until you say I do to that person. That's God's plan.

We've come short at times, but that's not going to change the plan. That means you got to repent and get it right. Come on somebody. You're not going to run this up on God.

I got friends with benefits. God just going to have to understand. He does not understand people having sex with folk. They don't even like, you know, it's the truth. That's just my, you know, that's just my little sparring partner.

We just call each other up when, you know, having a little rough day. It's sin. And so you can't afford to feed your senses. Some of y'all that's all you're doing feeding your senses. Let me wait till they get a load of me in this.

Y'all not even engaged yet. What are you going to do with that now? Plead the blood. Oh, the blood, the blood. Oh, the blood of Jesus. Save your Lord God.

Save your my God today. I'm not speaking in tongues. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Joel, sit up here and act like, I don't know. What's he, what does that mean? The blood.

I don't know. So we get it. The physical is going to work out just fine, but the amusement park is not open yet. You can't ride the rides yet.

Oh yo. You can't ride the rides yet. God has it closed up.

It's going to open up when y'all do the hard work. One of these mornings and it won't be long. You will look for me at church and I'll be gone. Cause I'm right. Tell pastor I'll see him Sunday after next time riding the rides this weekend.

Y'all bring the worst out in me. Here's what you need to be. Here's what you need to be focused on right now. You need to be focused on examining their vision, their values and their veracity. Write it down.

You're going to need it. Veracity. Make sure they tell the truth. Make sure they tell the truth.

A whole lot of folks got a game, got a rap, got to talk, sound impressive till you watch them. There's a whole lot of people who are professional liars. They lie so well they don't even know they lying. I promise you they are. Have you ever met people who lie so well they act like a lie is the truth.

Check out their veracity. I don't want to hear how you say you treat the opposite sex. I want to see it. I want to see the fruit, the evidence. I want to talk to your ex. I want to talk to your mom.

Don't tell me how well you treat your parents. I want to see y'all. I want to go. We pre-engage. We thinking about each other. Let me go with you to your family reunion and sit over there somewhere with your plate and make them think you not looking and see how they interact. See, y'all date but you don't investigate.

Kind of anointing is this on me today. Amos 3-3 says, do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so. I can't walk with you unless we are in sync. I know where you're going and I agree with where you're going. So I need to check out your veracity. I need to check out your vision. When you get where you're going, where will you be? That's your vision. Tell me about your vision.

Tell me what you see in your future. That's a date. Not looking at legs and shoulders and outfits. That made me feel some kind of way. You don't need to be feeling that way now. Put on some old pitiful britches and sit down and talk. Don't just see them when they fixed up at their best.

You pre-engage, ring the bell when they ain't expecting you over. Ding dong. What you doing here? I need to see something. I need to see you with that rag on your head. I need to see curlers going every which way. Man, I need to see you in them gym trunks you've been wearing since you was in school.

You need to talk. When you get where you're going, where will you be? Share with me your vision. Do you see yourself leaving the area? Do you feel called to start a business? Are you not going to have a nine to five because you want to be an entrepreneur? Because that could mean you're going to be paying all the bills. Well, see, he said he going to start this business.

I know what he said. What has he done? What has he done well, successfully, continually, repeatedly? And what did he do while he was getting that up and running to make sure his bills were paid? Speaking of bills, what's your credit score? If I can bowl your credit score, Dorothy, help me out. If I can bowl your credit score, we cannot walk together. Ken, I know you find beautiful, cute, handsome, all that, but if your credit score can fit on a bowling sheet, can't work with that. You have work to do. Just like Jacob had to work seven years before he could get Rachel, your next seven years are going to be getting your credit score up to something livable and that I can marry my strength to. Do not marry your strength to somebody else's weakness trying to make a partnership. I'll be glad myself when this message is over.

This is rough. Find out what they have in mind. What you going to do? How do you see yourself operating in ministry? Is it vocational or volunteer? How do you see yourself operating in career? Is it working for somebody and climbing the ladder or is it being purely an entrepreneur? And what have you done to this point? If you haven't had a successful anything, why should I believe you're going to have this wonderfully successful business later?

Why should I chase your pipe dreams when there's no evidence that these dreams are going to be made a reality? And what are your values? Is marriage and family more important than work to you, than vision, than ministry, than career? I know people whose ministries seem to be successful, but that's only because you all don't know them.

Their homes are a wreck. I know people who can preach the lights out, but they go home and cuss each other out. And you don't know because all you're doing is looking at the pulpit performance. You need to find out the values in the real deal.

You need to find out what they really think. See, if they operate according to the word, marriage life, family life, takes a higher priority even over ministry, biblically. God won't let you save the world and lose your family. Thanks so much for joining us for today's message, Finding the Right Partners. Always glad to have you with us. If you'd like more information about Destined for Victory or this month's special offer, be sure to stop by our website, pastorpaul.net.

That's Pastor Paul dot net. And if you live by your conditions, I promise you, you will never get anywhere good because conditions are always going to militate against the good work that's in your heart. And so you've got to decide you're going to persevere. And that's next time in Pastor Paul Shepherd's message, The Power of Perseverance. Until then, remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.