In Need of a Super-Sized Blessing, Part 2

Living life through the windshield, not the rearview mirror on today's Destined for Victory. Hello and thanks for stopping by. In just a few moments, Pastor Paul Shepherd shares his message in need of a super-sized blessing.

But first, he's been kind enough to join me from his studio in California. Well, Pastor, it's Thanksgiving week and we've been through a lot this past year, haven't we? Everyone listening has been through much, but the Bible tells us to be thankful in all circumstances.

So, let's talk about it for a moment. How can we do that and why is it important? I love the fact that that theme is so clearly biblical that by the time we get to this season in our year, it shouldn't be difficult at all to think about what Paul said. In everything, give thanks is what he said to the church at Thessalonica. And one of the signs of the latter days that he gave to his spiritual son Timothy is that in the last days, people will be ungrateful. And we are living among some very ungrateful people.

So, our challenge has to be we shall not be among them. Yes, there are ungrateful people all around us, but we who know Jesus ought to live a life of constant thanks and praise. I remind myself and I often do it out loud to just say thank you to the Lord for little things. Thank you for the small things. I never want to take simple blessings for granted, because if we ever lose gratefulness, I think we have really gone backwards in our walk with God.

So, we want to get better at being grateful people. And frankly, Wayne, God has done so much for all of us. And especially during this pandemic and during the craziness of the past several years, we owe God constant thanks for bringing us through all that we've come through with the hope and the promise that he's going to take us all the way and he's going to complete the good work that he's begun in our lives. We say it all the time here on the broadcast. In Christ, you are destined for victory.

It's true. Let's remember to be thankful for the little things and the hard things along the way to our ultimate victory in Christ. Destined for victory, of course, exists only through your prayers and financial support. And we have a great resource for you today as our thank you when you make a generous gift. It's Pastor Paul's booklet, Turning Your Test Into a Testimony.

It's a great reminder that the challenges we go through are often the very things that help us grow. That's turning your test into a testimony, our gift to you this month by request for your generous donation 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. Did you get that? One more time.

Destined for Victory, Box 1767, Fremont, California 94538. Because I want to make sure you understand that God has a plan for us that is not going to be determined by what has already happened in our lives. In other words, you don't have to think, well, because this has been my history, my destiny can only go so far. Satan wants every believer in Christ to live under the heavy weight of condemnation. If you are feeling guilty about a past mistake, be encouraged today. That little voice you hear is not your own.

It's the song of Satan and its lyrics are lies. Today on Destined for Victory, Pastor Paul reminds us that in Christ, the mistakes of our past don't have to keep us from a victorious future. So now let's listen closely as Pastor Paul Shepherd shares today's Destined for Victory message in need of a super-sized blessing. You don't have to think, well, because this has been my history, my destiny can only go so far. The fact of the matter is God is not going to determine what will happen by what has happened. And so we must learn to be people who, like Jabez, are willing to say the past is the past, there's nothing I can do to change the past, but I serve a God who is still able to do exceeding abundantly above all that I can ask or even imagine. And therefore, I will not assume that my future is limited because of my past. So he has to be blessed in a big way.

And in so doing, he is saying, Lord, I want you to give me a bright future despite the fact that I've had a somewhat dismal past. And I was saying that we have to get rid of the victim mentality. And I want to pick it up there because that's what's keeping some of us from moving in the direction God has, which is the direction of miracles and provision and things that some of us have never even thought of or dreamed of yet.

It's all out ahead of you, but if you're going to experience it, you've got to begin by getting rid of the victim mentality. The case study I want to point you back to is John chapter 5, when Jesus shows up in Jerusalem at a place known as Bethesda. It was a pool, there were blind people there, there were lame people there, there were paralyzed people there. And this was a place where if you had compassion, you could show up and help to care for the practical needs of people. Well, this one day, recorded in John chapter 5, Jesus shows up there. And the text suggests that Jesus showed up for one reason, and that was to reach one man.

There were a number of people there, but Jesus that day has a divine appointment with one man. He walks up to this one man and he asks him, do you want to get well? Now the context tells us the man has been an invalid for 38 years, for 38 years. His movement has been restricted for 38 years. He has not been able to live and be self-sustaining for 38 years. He has needed the care of other people for 38 years.

He has been in this situation. But God shows up in Christ that day to deliver him, and the first question, the only question Jesus asks is, do you want to get well? Now I point out this case study to show you that when you have a victim mentality, you are focused where you should not be, so much so that even when somebody asks you a direct question, you can't give them a direct answer. Jesus said, do you want to get well? That's supposed to get a one-word response, yes. If you're in the right frame of mind and somebody asks you that question, yes. Look at the frame of mind my man is in.

Do you want to get well? Verse 7, sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. Now pause right there. What's he talking about? He's talking about the fact that the people in that area had come to have confidence in the fact that because this was a place of compassion, this was a place where sick people were being cared for and loved on, this was a place the folks considered where the angel of the Lord would visit from time to time, where God would send an angel and that angel would come down and you would know the angel was in the area because the waters got stirred up. And the people believed then when you see the waters stirred up, that means the angel is here and if you can get into the pool while the water is stirred up, meaning while the angel is here, you're subject to get help, you're subject to get healed, you're subject to have your situation improve.

So this man has been an invalid for 38 years. He knows full well that the mindset is the angel of the Lord visits from time to time and so look at what he says. He says, well, you see, there's a reason why I haven't been healed and the reason is people keep ignoring me.

Nobody will help me. Nobody is going to get me to the pool where I can get my healing when the water is stirred. He says, in fact, not only doesn't anyone help me, but when I'm trying to get in the water, there's always somebody who gets in ahead of me.

Do you see the victim mentality he's carrying? Jesus said, do you want to get well? Jesus didn't say, what you think about the pool, what you think about the people? He said, do you want to get well?

And this man starts talking about people and pools. And before you're subject to get hard on him, I'm really not preaching this because of him, I'm preaching this because of you. And what I want to do is ask you, who are the people and what are the pools that you are preoccupied with that are keeping you from being in the frame of mind where you can receive the good things that God has in store for you? I want to suggest that some of us are too fixated on people and circumstances every bit as much as this man was.

Well, what you talking about, pastor? I'm not an invalid, and I can't relate at all. Well, before you say you can't relate, let me just run a few scenarios by you and see if anything rings a bell. There are some of us who have had the experience of putting in applications at a job, and we got an attitude because as good as our resume is and as good as our experience is, and I'm such a wonderful fit for this job, but they had the nerve to call me up talking about they filled it with somebody else. I know whoever got the job is not half as qualified as I am.

They don't know how to do what I can do, but they're always passing me over. I'm tired of putting my resume in because every time I put my resume in, somebody else always steps in ahead of me and gets the job. Somebody else said, well, I got the job, but they sent me a pink slip, and I know they had to have layoffs.

I know they were downsizing. They told the whole company, but of all the people they let go, I am the one they should have kept because I do more work than all them raggedy folk that they still kept in there. I do half of their work for them, and they get the credit, and I'm the one with the pink slip. Somebody here is saying, well, I got a boss who every time they post new opportunities for you to move up in the company and new promotions and new areas where I'm always putting my name in. I'm tired of putting my name in because they're always picking somebody else. I looked at some of the folk who got those jobs that I put in for, and some of them can't do half of what I can do. There's somebody so dumb, take them an hour to cook minute rice, and they still got the promotion.

People and pools. I remember I say, I keep trying to get the attention of somebody that I want to hook up with. I think we would make just the bomb couple, and I keep trying to get their attention, but like Luther said years ago, they won't talk to me. We'll be right back with more of today's Destined for Victory message from Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor at Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. But if you have missed any part of today's message or you want to listen again, any time visit pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net, or you'll also find a host of great resources at our online store.

Now, here's Pastor Paul with the rest of today's message in need of a super-sized blessing. Somebody else said, well, I got a boyfriend, got a girlfriend, but when I start trying to talk about getting serious and let's make this exclusive and let's start talking about the possibility of marriage, then suddenly they get all flaky and fickle and not sure what they want to do, and it's not the right time in my life, and it's not you, it's me, and I'm sick of all the excuses. I'm tired of being a boyfriend, a girlfriend, or somebody who won't make a serious commitment to me. Some of y'all even got a ring, but they won't set a date.

Perpetually engaged, perpetually pre-engaged. Using up all my time, using up, sucking up all my emotional energy, but won't commit to me, won't marry me. Some of you all say, I got a spouse. Some married folks say, I got a spouse who won't do right by me, won't take care of my needs.

They know what I need, and they just keep on ignoring what I need, and if my spouse would just be better and be more loving and be more kind to me, my life would be better off, but I'm just sick of the fact that I got this spouse who won't love me right. People in pools. Somebody say, I had a spouse, and then this home wrecker came and took my spouse.

People in pools. Somebody say, I need a loan to get this business off the ground or reorganize my finances, and I've got everything in order and did all the paperwork and filled out all the applications, and they won't give it to me, and I'm qualified, and I can take care of this, but they won't give me the loan, and my finances are jacked up because I can't get the loan I need. Somebody say, speaking of loans, I lent somebody some money. I lent somebody some money, and they haven't paid me back long after they promised they would pay me back.

They still owe me the money. Every time I see them, they're grinning. I'm sick of them grinning. I want my money back.

All they do is grin, and last week had the nerve to come into church with a new outfit on. Buying clothes, but they won't pay me back. By the way, don't lend money. When you read the book of Proverbs, it tells you in several different places don't lend money, and I don't know why you keep thinking it's just a good suggestion, but you don't have to take it up.

The Bible tells you not to lend money. It's trying to save you from the trouble you're having right now. If you want to bless somebody, be a blessing to them. A blessing is I'm giving this to you because I love you. If you want to bless them, bless them.

No strings attached. Here's what I'm doing. God's giving it to me, and I'm going to pass it on. You go on and be blessed. Don't lend people money. It buses up relationships. It messes up your peace of mind.

It causes people to start looking at you funny or ignoring you altogether. Don't lend them money. Either give it to them or pray for them. Don't lend it. It's when you have that expectation of the return that they become one of the people in pools in your life. I've had the experience, and so have some of you, Bible toting, scripture quoting, folk who don't know how to pay back what they owe.

The Bible said a wicked borroweth and payeth not again, and I found out there's a whole lot of wicked folk in church. I found out years ago. That's what I learned. I learned my lesson years ago. I'm a very liberal giver.

I just want to tell you that, not to brag, but tell you, I learned. I used to lend people money, and after I ruined about two, three, four relationships, because these people would not pay me back, and all they do is grin, and I found myself getting this big-time attitude. I got sick of seeing their teeth when I wanted to see their wallet, and you find your attitude changing.

Some of y'all have been there. That's what I'm talking about, and now you get in some bosom trouble because you're sick of seeing them, and after a while it dawns on you, you are never getting that money back. Heaven and earth will pass away, but you are getting paid, and I learned after enough hard feelings. I had people treat me back when I would lend money. They end up treating me like they were mad at me. I never had that happen. How you got an attitude with me, and you owe me money?

Make you feel like you're in the twilight zone. What in the world is going on here? After it got through enough of that, I just finally realized the word is true. Don't lend them the money. If you want to be a blessing, be a blessing. I bless people all the time. Just bless them all the time.

Never think about it again. Sometimes they're still trying to get back. When they come back to me, they say, I really didn't feel like I could take this from you. So here, pastor, I know you didn't give up with any strings, but I just would feel better. I say, all right, well, God bless you, but I wasn't looking for it back. I wasn't looking for it back because I'm determined when I get tired at night, I want to be able to sleep without you fooling with me all night long. Now let me get back to people in pools.

Some of y'all mad at a business partner who embezzled from you, an insurance company that won't settle with you, a judge who unfairly sentenced you, a parent who didn't love you, right, siblings who won't care for you at this stage and season in your life, a clique that you can't work your way into, friends who keep on disappointing you, enemies who keep on trying to ruin you. You got your mind on people and pools and Jesus has shown up today in this word to say, would you get your mind off of them? I didn't ask you about them. They are in my hands.

I asked you, do you want to get well? That doesn't require that cooperation. That doesn't require then helping this out. All it requires is you looking at me because I am the author and finisher of your faith. You got to understand from this point on in your life, it's faith that's going to get you where God wants you to go. It is not history.

It is not people's dependability. It is faith. That's what's going to get you the blessing is faith. And he is the author and finisher of your faith. They may have written a bad chapter in your story.

They may have caused you a lot of pain, but they are not the issue now. God now is saying, I am taking you somewhere and if you get your mind off of people who really don't dictate your future, you will see me take you to higher heights and deeper depths. I'll give you joy. I'll give you peace.

I'll give you a provision. I'll make up for what they did wrong. I got blessings in store for you, but you got to get your mind off of these people in these pools.

And Jesus said, this is a time for you to shake off your victim mentality once and for all. Some of you all, if I let you, you could tell this long story about everybody who's disappointed you. And it's time for you to pick up the needle off of that record because they aren't dictating your future.

It's not about them at this stage in life. They're disappointing you. Some of you are mad at one person because they keep on, keep on, keep on disappointing you.

Let me tell you something. If somebody keeps disappointing you, do you know why that is? It's because you failed to believe who they are the first time. She didn't get it out the word, but Maya Angelou got this one right when she said, when people show you who they are, believe them the first time. Because if you don't believe the first time, they're going to show you again. And they're going to show you again and they're going to show you again. And after a while, you're feeling like a victim. But let me just love you enough to tell you the truth.

You're not a victim at this point. You're a volunteer. Because you keep putting yourself in the position for them to show you how much they can disappoint you. Once they show you, believe them first time.

Got it. I see who you are. Now, let me qualify that anybody can disappoint you. That's a feature of being human. We can't always come through for one another. We don't even always come through for ourselves. But you can tell a person whose heart's right because when they disappoint you, they own it. They apologize. They do all they can to make up and heal the hurt and mitigate the damage.

And then they work hard to ensure that they can be more trustworthy in your life. But the other brand of folk, the one of whom I'm speaking, are folk who disappoint you and really don't care. Their attitude is, get over it. And you're mad at them.

When you pack an attitude with somebody who doesn't have one with you, they left you with all the junk. They disappointed you and don't care. And now you're disappointed and you care a lot. God's saying, oh, no, no, no.

We've got to flip this around. You've got to quit caring about folk who no longer care about you. Why does it matter what they think?

Why does it matter what they did? God said, I'm not tying your future to what they did. I'm ready to bless you. So would you get your eyes on me and get your faith kicked in so that I can get you out of where you are and deliver you the way I destined you to be? Thanks so much for being here for Pastor Paul Shepherd's message in need of a supersized blessing.

We're so glad you stopped by. If you'd like more information about Destined for Victory in the ministry here, or the special gift we reserved for you as you give generously to the ministry this month, please visit pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net. From this moment on in your life, God is the only one who gets to define you. He's the only one who gets to speak about who you are. That's where you got to be now. Some of y'all got to stop just wearing the label somebody gave you. That's next time in Pastor Paul Shepherd's message in need of a supersized blessing. Until then, enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend and remember, He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.