Substantial Penalty for Early Withdrawal, Part 2

If you want to be a person of vision, you can't walk through life based on what you see. In just a few moments, Pastor Paul Shepherd shares today's Destined for Victory message, Substantial Penalty for Early Withdrawal.

Before he gets started though, he's been kind enough to join us from his studio in California. Pastor, we often hear from people who are blessed by the ministry and it's a blessing when we hear from people. Talk about the importance of encouragement and the role it plays in all of our lives. We have our worship services and I have people pray.

We usually link hands so that they're praying for the person to the left and the right. As I end the prayer from a pastoral standpoint, I say to people, I want you to know that when you pray for your neighbor, you're inspired because when he answers your neighbor's prayer, he's in the neighborhood and he's going to bless you. And so we need to be encouraged that as we minister to other people, God is going to see to it that our needs are met.

So encouragement is important to give and to receive. Well, we are always looking for new testimonies to share with our listeners. So if you have been blessed by the Destined for Victory broadcast, we'd love to hear from you. From the pastorpaul.net homepage, click on Contact Us and tell us your story. Again, the web address is pastorpaul.net. These testimonies of how God is working in the lives of our listeners only happen through the faithful prayer and financial support of friends like you. So keep in mind that for your generous gift today, we'll send you by request a copy of Pastor Paul Shepherd's booklet, Trusting God in Scary Times. Sometimes we can be afraid of the unknown.

We have fear of failure, even fear of success. If fear is competing with your faith today, this booklet from Pastor Paul can help. It's called Trusting God in Scary Times, and it's our gift to you for your generous donation to Destined for Victory. Call 855-339-5500 or visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure online donation. You can also mail your gift to Destined for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538.

Again, that's Destined for Victory, Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538. He says you got to walk by faith. My righteous one will live by faith. Faith is that walk where you're not walking according to what you see, you're walking according to what you believe.

And what's the basis for what you believe, what God said? Hebrews 11 one tells us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. On today's Destined for Victory, Pastor Paul Shepherd wants you to focus on two key words, confidence and perseverance. You'll need both to walk by faith.

Let's join him now for today's message, Substantial Penalty for Early Withdrawal. I told you, this whole thing of people resenting there's only one way to God. I don't like that narrow message. There's only one way to God. That's about as ridiculous as being in a burning house and there's only one way out.

You don't know where it is. And the fireman runs in and says, come with me. This is the only way out of here. It would be like you standing there saying, I resent you saying this is the only way.

Talking about this is the only way. How do you get to determine what's the only way? When Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life, why fuss about it?

Take the way. I tell you something folks, God wants our allegiance. He wants your whole heart because he knows what he has in store for you. And until you give him everything, you will not be able to enjoy the yield, the spiritual return on the investment until your investment is complete. And it is because of that truth that you really got to understand that the early Christians to whom this part of this letter was written were people who paid a full price in verses 32 through 34 that is spelled out.

These are people who paid the price to serve God and as a result of their full investment of their lives, look at what God says to them through the writer of Hebrews. He says, don't throw away your confidence. When you make the investment, don't throw away your confidence.

Why? Because it's going to be richly rewarded. When you pay the full price, when you put in what it says it takes to get this type of return, don't throw that away because your reward is coming. But now note what he says you got to have. He says you must have perseverance because when you have done the will of God, you're going to have to press until you receive the promise. So look at the two things he says for those of us who are saying yes to God in every area of our lives. You're willing to suffer. You're willing to sacrifice in order to do the will of God. You're not going to live in sin because you want to serve God. You're going to tell your flesh no and you're going to train your mind and your heart to do the will of God and making sacrifices.

Don't fool yourself. You will suffer. You'll pay a price to serve God. In fact, there's some suffering you don't go through until you say yes to God.

Oh, but here's a word for folk who have said yes even if you're crying while you say yes. God says, listen, don't throw away your confidence because it'll be richly rewarded. But the two things you need, watch this, are confidence and perseverance.

They're like fraternal twins. They need to operate in your life in tandem. Confidence and perseverance. You need the confidence to know when you're sold out to God everything God has for you is reserved for you and there's nothing the devil can do about it. And you need to walk in that confidence. I want to ask somebody here to walk in the confidence that when you have surrendered and said yes to God, you are going to experience everything he has promised for your life.

I want to let you know. See, God doesn't give you a heads up as to everything that's coming. He just says pay the price and watch and see what I'll do.

And that means you've got to walk. Watch the next verse. He says you've got to walk by faith. My righteous one will live by faith. Faith is that walk where you're not walking according to what you see, you're walking according to what you believe.

And what's the basis for what you believe, what God said? Look at how it plays out in the word of God. Places like, well, let's stick with Joshua. You remember when Moses was still leading Israel? They were in the wilderness, had not yet gone into the promised land. They were fooling around in the wilderness. I'm telling you, the wilderness is not the place to live.

That's not where God has for you. And as soon as you surrender, you can get out of the wilderness and start enjoying the fruit of the land. And so they're in the wilderness trying to figure out whether they go.

And look at the story. Between Egypt and Canaan, all they did was murmured and complained and disobeyed and went through all kind of changes. What was meant to be a quick passageway of less than one month's time into the promised land, they ended up camping out for 40 years due to a lack of confidence and a lack of perseverance. They camped out for 40 years. I told you before, I don't want to camp out for a weekend, much less 40 years. I don't do camping. We got plenty of all the campers.

That's fine for recreation and all that. Camp on. I'm not going to bother you. Camp on. Help yourself. Knock yourself out. But quit trying to get me to go with you. That's all I ask. Oh, pastor, come on, go with us on our next camping trip.

Oh, you would love it out there. Read my lips. I'm not going. I'm not going.

How many languages do I have to say it in? I'm not going. God didn't call me to the woods in the wilderness. We got people plenty of us. Oh, we just love it out there. We love it. We just pack up.

We go out there. We have a really nice tent, pastor. No, I don't do tents. I don't do tents. Y'all got to get this.

And you know, these people, bless your hearts, but you all who say, oh, yeah, you get out there. And I tell you, you know, sometimes animals come around the camp and it's so exciting. That's not exciting to me. I fail to see the excitement in what you say.

Oh, yeah. There was a bear in the camp last night. That's not good news.

Not good news at all. I'm not going. God called me to a place that has four walls and windows and doors and ideally room service. That's what I'm called to. I'm not called to roughing it. Got to go out and shoot something for you can eat. I'm not into that.

Going to catch our meal. No, no, no, no, no. But it's fine if you like camping in the natural, knock yourself out. But in the spiritual, none of us should settle for camping out. That's for people who don't know how to make the investment. God's got Canaan land for you, land flowing with milk and honey, his blessing on your life, his direction of your steps, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.

That's for people who are sold out and committed. Because when you make a full commitment to God, he turns around and makes a full commitment to you. And I want to let you know God's got a Canaan for you, his calling on your life, his provisions for your life. Everything is a Canaan land. God knows where he's taking you.

But look at what it takes. They're in the wilderness. Moses is trying to get them in the Canaan land. They just refused to go with their lack of confidence and perseverance.

So what happens? The people say, we're not going to a land we haven't checked out. Moses takes that concern to God and God says, all right, fine. The people want to check it out. Send 12 spies over and let them check out the land, one from each tribe. God knew they had no business checking it out.

Why? Because we're called to walk by faith. Faith means when God says it's yours, you don't have to do an investigation, an independent investigation to see whether or not God knows what he's talking about.

When God says it's yours, you go in his name. But they want to check it out. So spies go over, 12 spies, and they come back. Read about it when you get a chance. They come back around chapter 13 and here they come with their complaints.

10 of the 12 spies said, we can't go over there. What are they basing it on? What they can see. I want to tell you something. When you fully devote and commit your life to Christ, you've got to learn to switch your vision and stop living by what you can see with the natural eye and begin living by what you see through the eyes of the Spirit.

You've got to learn that what God says is more real than anything you see around you. And so here's what they do. They say, we can't go over there because we saw giants and walled cities. What are we going to do with those walled cities? What are we going to do with those giants?

They said, compared to those giants, we look like a bunch of grasshoppers. But two of the spies were named Joshua and Caleb. Caleb silenced the people and said, I have a different report. He said, we should go over at once.

How can you see the same thing and reach two dramatically different conclusions because he's walking by faith? He says, we should go over at once because we are well able. That's the confidence I'm talking about. Well able. I want somebody to know God is well able to take care of your needs when you surrender to Him. God is well able to give you divine appointments. God is well able to open a door for you that no one can shut. God is well able to meet every need that you have in your life. He's well able to deliver you from that thing that has bound you for years. He's well able to get His will done in your life. You know your problems don't worry God. A lot of us think God, we're really going to mess God up. Listen, your problems are just a day at work for God.

I don't care how deep they are. All you do is make the investment. The return belongs to God. And Caleb said, I don't know why we're having a business meeting out here in the wilderness.

We need to go at once. Churches have to learn that if they're going to get somewhere with God. God's blessing me now to teach pastors around the country in various conferences and I'm trying to tell them that listen, when you give it over to God, God's liable to do anything.

They tell me, we want you to come and teach us how to grow a multicultural church. I don't know how. I don't know how.

There's no how to. I know how to give myself over to God. I know how to let God have his way, but it's up to him what he does after that. It's his work. All these people come and they say, how did you pull this off?

I didn't. I just said yes to God and God did it. As followers of Christ, we are called to walk in confidence and perseverance. But what does that look like?

We'll find out next in the second half of today's message, substantial penalty for early withdrawal. Once again, here's Pastor Paul. How do you get all of those people to come to your church?

I don't know. God draws them by his spirit. He brings them into the family of God. It's a God thing. Man from CNN said, I want to interview you and talk about your church.

Your church is a phenomenon. I want to put you on CNN. I said, just don't ask me how because I'm not going to be able to tell you. He said, I'll testify on CNN. I'd love to testify on CNN. He better know what he's asking for. He's getting me on there.

He's going to have to take the mic back. I'm going to be like him while I have y'all. Just say a quick word right quick. Take a little text in Jesus' name.

Listen, let me tell you something. If you give yourself over to God, you can be like Caleb and walk in confidence. Your confidence isn't based on your circumstances. It's based on your knowledge that when God says it, he'll bring it to pass. I want to let you know God has some things lined up for your life that you can't see with the natural eye, but God is looking right at it. And as for the giants in the walled cities, Caleb said we're well able.

In other words, we don't have to figure out how to deal with them. When God said Canaan was ours, he knew they were over there. When God gives you a vision for a ministry or a business, he knows how much money it's going to take to pull it off. If he wanted you to worry about it, he'd have said now get in there and figure out, come up with some calculations and see if you can finagle.

No, no. God just gives you the vision, says here's what I want you to do, and teaches you to trust him with confidence that if it's a God thing, he'll bring it to pass. See, when you walk in full devotion and commitment to the Lord, your problems are his. You just pass them on. Oh, that doesn't belong on my desk. That goes to God. I can't fool with that.

That's in God's department. All I do is walk in confidence, confidence of Caleb, the confidence of David. You remember David? When he was too young to even be in the army, he wasn't even eligible to be in his older brothers were in the army, and a bunch of other folk, and they were facing the Philistines, and so Goliath came out. Have you ever studied Goliath?

This is a bad boy. He stands about nine feet tall, and he is a warrior to his heart. The man has a javelin, the tip of which weighs 15, 16 pounds, and he can hurl it a long way.

Now imagine a javelin with a sharp point, and the tip itself weighs that much. This is the kind of warrior that's standing there, and the Bible says he stood out there and defied Israel. These are the people of God, God's covenant people, and he's defying all of them, cursing them, calling them all kind of names. And they're standing over there in no faith.

This is like you and I when we don't have confidence. And they're standing over there looking and listening, and hearing everything the enemy's saying. Ooh, you hear what he just said? Whole army full of folk. He's saying, just bring me one person. We don't have to have a whole war, all of us against all of you.

Just bring me one person. I'll kill him, and then we will win the victory. And they're standing over there, somebody better go out there and fight him.

David shows up at the battlefield to bring supplies. And when he comes, he hears what Goliath is saying, and he looks at the fear of the army of God, and he said, what's the problem with you all? You're going to stand up there and let an uncircumcised Philistine talk about God's people like that? They said, shut up. Just go on back home. Get on out of here. Make somebody sick come out here. We didn't ask for your comments.

Just give me the stuff. Get on out of here. So you know how people get agitated when they're not walking in faith, and you call them on it. He goes back to Saul, the king, and David says, I need your permission to fight the giant. Saul said, you must be crazy.

You're just a lad. He said, yeah, but apparently I'm the only one around here who has some faith. He said, you really don't have much choice, king, because your army won't fight him. So finally the king says, well, you got a point there, and then tries to suit him up with his armor.

And the lad in the king's armor looks like a fool. Sometimes you and I have a calling from God, but we got to walk in confidence, or else you'll try to go in somebody else's armor. When I was believing God to bring the vision of this ministry to pass in those early years, I assumed the church would grow fast, because I was reading the books of people who wrote books about how quickly their churches grew. And so I'd read that book, and I got out of here. I said, ooh, that church going to be just like that.

God's going to bring this thing to pass. So I had a confidence that was based on a false assumption, and that can be like putting on armor you have no business putting on. And David learned what I needed to learn, which is God hasn't called you to be like somebody else. His calling for your life is unique. You can learn some valuable lessons from other people, but God made you an original. Why are you trying to be a copy?

You can be inspired by somebody else's story, but that doesn't mean it's going to be yours. You got to find what God uses you with. And David said, King, I can't go with this.

I can't fight like this. He said, you know, all I need is my slingshot and some smooth stones, because that's the way God works through me. He said, when I was taking care of my daddy's sheep, when wild animals came to try to take the sheep, I took them out with an anointed slingshot. I said, that's all I need. And Saul said, well, God, go with you. Man, all of them scared.

I'm telling you, it was pitiful. Hey, get out there. And David, I love it.

Read it when you get a chance. The Bible says there in 1 Samuel, when it tells that story, that David ran toward the giant. I mean, you know, he's not out there. All right, let me.

Let's see. The Bible says he ran toward him. And when he got within range for him to hear him, he said, you come to me thinking you're a big bad warrior, but you're nothing but an uncircumcised Philistine. I come to you in the name of the Lord God of Israel. And today you're going to die because of God. Listen, you've got to have confidence when you surrendered and said yes to God.

You've got to get the right stuff in your mouth. Some of us have the wrong confession. I know some folks overdo the confession business and and all of that. But there is a biblical truth that you need to hold fast to your profession of faith. You need to say, like Paul said, my God shall supply every one of my needs. I'm not going under. I'm going over. This isn't going to take me out. I'm going to see God bring his will to pass in my life. Job, sitting there in pure misery, said, yeah, it looks bad now, but I'm going to live and see the goodness of the Lord. I'm going to see my Redeemer bring me out of this. I know my change is coming and I'm a sit here and wait on it.

You've got to learn to say what God says about your situation. Confidence. The other thing you have to have is perseverance. I love that David took five smooth stones. Now, he killed him with one, but he had five.

You know why? It wasn't a lack of faith. See, some folks love that love just believing this impractical. Well, if you believe God, all you need is one.

Who said that? The same Bible that teaches confidence teaches perseverance. Hebrews said you need to press through so that after you have done the will of God, you'll receive what he promised.

How many? No, and I'm a witness that there are times when you throw that first stone and the enemy just looks at you. That's where you've got to have perseverance to say, no, this isn't over till I win. This isn't over. I'm not going to predict when I'm going to win or how I'm going to win. I'm just telling you in Jesus' name, I win. Some of you have got to believe God for the grace to outlast your trouble. Your trouble is hanging around, looking like it's going to be here forever.

But I dare you to say, no, I read the book, and I win, and it's not over till I win. Forget the fat lady. It's not over till the fat lady say, no, she can sing all she wants. Go into an encore. Go back off stage and come back out and sing some more. She can sing all she wants.

It's not about her. This thing isn't over until I win. Because in Christ, I have the victory. And I want to tell somebody that when you have sold out to God, you've got to walk in confidence, and you've got to walk in perseverance.

You've got to outlast your trouble. You've got to tell your trouble that God has given me the victory, and you've got to be just like the Joshua generation. When they came into that land, after they got that sin of Ai straight, then they went forward and did the will of God, town after town. They listened to God's instruction, and they did His will, and they pressed into the victory. And I want to tell you that God has victory for you. Somebody here needs to know that God has not fashioned you for defeat. I want you to understand that you are not a creature of defeat. We are not of those who shrink back. We are not of those who say, oh, well, I guess this isn't going to work for me. We are of those who say, in Christ, I am more than a conqueror.

Thanks for being here for today's message, Substantial Penalty for Early Withdrawal. For more information about Destined for Victory in this ministry, or how you can request Pastor Paul Shepherd's booklet, Trusting God in Scary Times, visit our website, pastorpaul.net. One more time, pastorpaul.net.

And I'm exhorting you in Jesus' name. Do not let fear drive anything in your life. Fear does not have the voice of God. It has another voice that competes with the voice of God. What is fear? Fear is expecting something negative and being alarmed because of it. That's next time in Pastor Paul Shepherd's message, When Fear Takes the Wheel. Until then, though, remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.