Destined for Victory

Paul Sheppard: Satan has a track record of never treating us well. He's never done a nice thing for you in your life. If Satan appears to be nice to you, it's a setup. The Bible says he's a liar and a murderer from the beginning. He has nothing in him but malintent for your life.

Guest (Male): Here's what Jesus said about our adversary, the devil, and about himself. "The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly." Hello and welcome to Destined for Victory, featuring Pastor Paul Sheppard.

If life has thrown a few punches your way, if you've lost friends and loved ones you care about, you want to stay with us today for what promises to be an encouraging message about God's power to give you life and God's power to give you hope, no matter how many hits you may have taken.

Remember to visit us at pastorpaul.net where you can hear any recent Destined for Victory message on demand, including today's. That's pastorpaul.net. Now let's listen closely to Pastor Paul's Destined for Victory message, When Jesus Comes.

Paul Sheppard: This passage we've just read is one of the great messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. It was fulfilled in the life and ministry of Christ. Christ, in fact, himself confirmed that by his own words in Luke chapter four, when while reading the Old Testament scrolls, he read these verses and then said, "This day are these scriptures fulfilled in your hearing."

And then he went about doing good and ministering to the needs of all who are under the power and oppression of the enemy. Jesus is the fulfillment of these passages of scripture. But as we have noted, not only does it tell us of what Jesus has done, what Jesus did during his earthly ministry two thousand or so years ago, but because Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, these verses also tell us of what he continues to do today.

So when you read Isaiah 61, you're not reading just about what Jesus used to do. I'm not reading about somebody who had his heyday two thousand years ago, but now he's an elderly gentleman sitting on a throne on high, just reminiscing about the good old days. But rather Jesus is the same today.

And this tells you what his heart was as he ministered to people on earth, what he wanted to do in their lives. But let me tell you something, it also tells you of where his heart is today and that he is concerned about the same categories of people today that he was two thousand years ago. And so when you read this, don't read it from the perspective of history alone, but read it knowing this is God's heart for you and I today.

Take a look with me at the passage. It says, "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me, first of all, to preach good news to the poor." What is it that Jesus wants to do when he comes into our lives? First of all, Jesus comes to give us life. Jesus comes to give us life. That's communicated by the saying that he came proclaiming good news to the poor.

What is the good news that he proclaimed and proclaims today? It is that you can be saved, that you can experience forgiveness of sins, and you can experience life eternal and abundant. Jesus comes to solve your greatest problem, which is a problem of being alienated from God. You see, when we all get here, we show up alienated from God. When you get to the planet, you don't have a relationship with God and when you get to the planet, you have no hope of ever having one. Except for the cross of Calvary, you are doomed from day one because we are sinners and sin can't dwell in the presence of a holy God.

So Jesus came saying, "I know that you're messed up and I know that you are unworthy to have a relationship with a holy God." When you look at how awesome a truth that is by reading the Old Testament, it'll blow your mind. When God set up the system of sacrifice to temporarily atone for the sins of people, look at how meticulous the priest of the Old Testament had to be in order to secure just temporary atonement for sin. It's an awesome thing when you think that the average Israelite could not even draw near to the holy place of God.

It took a sanctified, consecrated priest who had to have everything just right. And the Bible says when he went in, he had bells on the tassels of his clothing. When he went in, you could hear the bells ringing because he shook with fear to walk into the presence of a holy God. And Jesus came saying, "I got good news. You don't need a priest anymore. I am the lamb that was slain so that your sins can be forever blotted out." He came to give us life.

Now we've said that life comes in two dimensions. First of all, he came to give us eternal life. He came to solve the problem of eternal life once and for all. He came to settle the question of your eternal destiny. You don't have to ever worry about where you're going to spend eternity once you trust Christ as Savior. It becomes a non-issue because Jesus promised you in his word that he will give you eternal or everlasting life.

John 3:16, the cornerstone of the gospel: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have what? Everlasting life." I don't worry about it. I know where I'm going to be a thousand years from now. I don't worry about it. I know where I'm going to be a million years from now. Want to see me a million years from now? You can, but you're going to have to be in Christ. Because that's where I'm going to be. Wherever Jesus is, that's where I'll be. Where's Pastor? He said he'd be around here. Find Jesus. Find Jesus. I'm going to be with him.

He said, "I'm going away to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there you may be also." We're going to be with the Lord. If you're in Christ, you're going to be with the Lord. The question is settled. I don't have to worry about it. I don't get in these debates about hell. Well, what kind of torment is it? Is it literal fire? Is it figurative fire? What kind of torment is it? We know there's a place called hell. Jesus vouched for it. The Bible is clear on it.

We know it was prepared originally for the devil and his angels. We know that you don't have any business being there, but you're going to be there if you reject the goodness of God and the plan of salvation. But in terms of all these what and how is it and I don't understand, I'm not going to be on the investigating committee because that issue is settled. I'm going to be where Jesus is. Because he gave me eternal life.

The second part of it is he gave us abundant life. He gave us abundant life. Not only did he settle the question of where you're going to spend eternity, but he came saying, "I've come that you might have life starting now and that you might have it to the full." In other words, Jesus said, "I got a better deal for you than wait till you die. I'm going to hook you up." No, he did us one better than that. He said, "The moment I come into your life, I'm going to begin to give you a quality of living that you can never have outside of me."

He comes to give us a quality of life here and now. He comes to give us a character and a relationship with him and a peace of mind. Therefore, being justified by faith, I have peace with God. I can sleep at night. I have abundant life in Christ. I don't worry about my problems. I have abundant life in Christ. I have somebody I can cast my cares on. I don't have to worry about the things everybody else is giving themselves in worry and frustration to. I cast my cares on the Lord and keep on trucking. Abundant life.

I'm not looking for life in things. I'm delivered from that. I understand that there's no life in things. My Savior already taught me that. In Luke chapter 12, "A man's life doesn't consist in the abundance of things he possesses." So I'm not in this rat race trying to find out how much I can accumulate before I have a sense of personal satisfaction. I'm like the apostle Paul. He said, "I've learned how to be abased and I've learned how to abound."

He said, "If I have a whole lot, I can make it. If I have next to nothing, I can make it. I can do all things through Christ." I'm not hung up on things. When God blesses me and prospers me and gives me things, I can accept them and I can use them for the right purpose. I can have things and things don't have me. That's abundant life.

When I was poor, I was serving the Lord and had joy. Now that I'm getting a little something, I still got my joy. Hallelujah. And I told God years ago, I passed the poverty test, so whenever you want to give me that other test, I'm ready. Been faithful over a few things and going to stay faithful no matter what I have or don't have. See, if you don't have abundant life, you'll go trying to find life in things. And we have a world full of folk doing that now.

And now with the market making the corrections and the changes and all, some of those folk are losing their life because their life is on Wall Street. Their life is in the stock options. Their life is in their job security. And some of the dot-coms have become dot-bombs and they're worried now. But let me tell you something, if you're in Christ and you're experiencing abundant life, you can say, "God, if this job falls, I'm your child and I can believe you to take care of my needs. For you promised to watch out for your own. So I'm not going to get worried and frustrated and spend sleepless nights dealing with issues I can't change anyway. I'm going to trust you."

Alicia Sheppard Greer: Hi everyone, this is Alicia Sheppard Greer. More of today's teaching is still to come, but first, I want to share something meaningful with you. As we continue carrying forward the ministry of my father, Pastor Paul Sheppard, our heart remains the same: helping people encounter Jesus so they can live victoriously. One of the exciting ways we're doing that is through a ministry we've partnered with that I am honored to help lead, called Kingdom Collective.

Through gatherings of worship, prayer, and fivefold ministry, we're seeing people encounter God in powerful and life-changing ways. March 20th through 22nd, we'll be hosting Kingdom Revival Weekend in the Bay Area. Three gatherings dedicated to seeking the presence of the Lord together. If you're looking for a place to worship, pray, and draw closer to God, we would love to welcome you. You can find all the details at kingdomcollective.com.

Paul Sheppard: So folks, I'm telling you, abundant life is a quality you can't afford to be without. It'll keep your life in perspective. It'll make sure you don't lose your mind. You can have things, the blessings of God. God can bless you and the blessing of the Lord can make you rich without adding any sorrow to it. Rich not necessarily in terms of your bottom line financially, but rich in terms of enjoying the fact that God is taking care of all of your needs. And it's a wonderful place to be in. I feel sorry for these folk. Some folk have so much and they're hung up on it they can't even live a decent life.

That's why we have to stay delivered from that mindset. I know two categories of people who are wealthy: those who are wealthy, but they have abundant life in Christ and all their wealth is in perspective and they can have it without it having them. And then there's the other category of people who have to go through changes you and I don't even have to go through, trying to guard what to them is more important than it ought to be. Making somebody sign prenuptial agreement just to marry you. Worried about their stuff.

See, it's a blessing some of us who don't have it yet, we need to count our blessings. I know a lot of us want it, but we need to count our blessings. See, you can get married now. You don't have to worry about their ulterior motive. You don't have anything they want. You want marry me? I want marry you. Bet. Let's go. Let's go. That's all there is to it. Don't have to worry. Marideth didn't have to sign something to hook up with me. You kidding? 1982? I was broke as Job's turkey.

Had to sign something? "Alright now baby, now as soon as you sign this, we're going to hook up." No, please. What she want? My little raggedy Ford LTD? That's what I had, a Ford LTD. Had to take that to Maaco get it painted. I did, I tell you no lie. They had $199 special. I said, "Oh, that's what I'm talking about." Took that puppy to Maaco. I said, "Paint it gold. I want to believe I have something even though I don't."

Had them paint it gold. It was looking good, but we were just rattling down the street. So I didn't have to worry about it. I mean, hey, you want hook up with me? Come on, let's go. Didn't even have to worry about it. So now over the years as we're faithful to God and he blesses us more and more, she's entitled to everything because she was there in the lean times. So she's entitled to anything that God blesses us with now. That's why I got to keep her happy so she doesn't want half and walk away. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Alright, y'all messing up my message. Where am I? Life, eternal and abundant. Jesus comes first to give us life. First to give us life. Now I want you look further with me as we pick it up from here. Not only does Jesus come to give us life, but number two, Jesus comes to give us hope. Look at the text with me. It says, "He is anointed first to preach good news to the poor." That good news is that there's life available to you. But then look at the next sentence. "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted."

Jesus comes to give us hope. After you have the life of Christ in you, you still have some negative challenges and some negative circumstances to deal with. So Jesus comes not only to give us life, but then he comes to give us hope. Life has a way of not always treating us well. It's just life, that's all it is. No need of you getting deeper than that. It's just life. Life has a way of just dealing you some sucker punches, some unexpected blows, some things you didn't see coming. And life doesn't always treat us well.

People have a way of not always treating us well. Not only life, but we might as well put it down where it really is. Then some folk have a way of not always treating us well. Then add to that the fact that Satan has a track record of never treating us well. He's never done a nice thing for you in your life. If Satan appears to be nice to you, it's a setup. The Bible says he's a liar and a murderer from the beginning. He has nothing in him but malintent for your life.

He has nothing in him but hatred for your life. He has nothing in him but a desire to kill, steal, and destroy the good things that God wants to do in your life. And so when you combine the fact that life doesn't treat you well, and people don't always treat you well, and Satan never treats you well, you end up in circumstances sometimes where you need not only the life of Christ, but you need Christ to bind up the brokenness of your life. And this scripture proclaims that Jesus is not only a Savior, but Jesus is a healer of our wounded hearts.

That Jesus is one who cares about your bruised emotions. He cares about your wounded psyche. He cares about the mess that has occurred in your life, both before you came to Christ and since you have come to Christ. Jesus cares about the stuff that is messed up in your life. I don't know about you, but I'm so glad I serve a Savior who doesn't save me and then leave me to fend for myself and then just say, "Hey look, I already gave eternal life, I'll see you in heaven."

But Jesus says, "No, I'm going to be with you." And look at what Jesus called the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He said, "I'm going to give you a Comforter, a Counselor, a Paraclete, one who will walk with you, one who will be attentive to your needs throughout your life. One who when you go through those times of brokenheartedness and wounded psyche and bruised emotions, he's there and he's not going to be there as an innocent bystander.

But he's going to be there as an attending physician. I'm glad I got a physician walking with me. I got one in my entourage. So that as I go through life and life wounds me and people wound me and Satan wounds me, I have a healer who's walking with me, who is not helpless about these matters. Because life can deal you some awful blows. Have you ever ended up feeling like that lady on that old commercial decades ago, that commercial that was about a medical alert product and it was an old lady she fell down? And she's laying there and she said, "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!"

Have you ever been there? I'm not talking about physically now, that would be bad too. But I'm talking about have you ever been there emotionally? Have you ever been there psychologically? Have you ever been so wounded until you feel like you've fallen and you can't get up? Have you ever felt like Humpty Dumpty? You sat on the wall, you were doing alright sitting on the wall. But then life has a way of knocking you down sometimes.

And Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. And then the thing said, "All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty back together again." Have you ever been there, where you felt so broken, where you felt so shattered by what people have done, by what they've said, by how they've mistreated you, by your upbringing that has you operating in continual dysfunction? Have you ever felt like, "I'll never get it together. I don't believe I can ever get my life in order"?

Guest (Male): If you are feeling that way right now, we invite you to come back next time for some more good news from God's word. Because Jesus didn't only come to give you life, he came to give you hope. Well, Destined for Victory has long been committed to using as many media platforms as possible to reach as many people as we can with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I once asked Pastor Paul Sheppard to talk about why radio was so important not only to the ministry, but to him personally, and here's what he said.

Paul Sheppard: Well you know, when I think of victorious, my mind goes back, I'm a kid growing up watching TV in the '60s. So my mind goes back to the Wide World of Sports. There was an announcer named James McKay, Jim McKay, something like that. He had this classic line where he talked about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. And I love just thinking about how thrilling it is to be victorious. I love in any game I'm playing, I want to be victorious. I tell people I don't care whether it's Monopoly or something really serious, I want to win.

And in life we can win in Christ and that's what the Bible tells us, that we are victorious in him. And victorious means that we're following his lead, that we're letting the Holy Spirit take us where he wants us to go in life. We're saved by his grace and then we're simply following his direction. And of course the word of God is so key to following God's direction because the word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our pathway. And so those who tune in to broadcasts like Destined for Victory are really supposed to be receiving guidance so that we can walk in and live in victory. And that's what I pray is happening as people tune in day by day.

Guest (Male): That was Pastor Paul's mission and it remains our mission today: to bring timeless truth for a victorious life to radio, online, and to our free mobile app. Now, we can't do any of this without your help. So today we're asking you to send a generous donation to Destined for Victory in honor of Pastor Paul's memory.

As our way of saying thank you, we'd like to send you our latest booklet, Access Granted. Based on the first eight verses of Romans chapter five, this great resource examines what it means to be justified by faith and the blessings we receive at the point of salvation. Again, it's called Access Granted and it's our gift to you today by request for your generous gift to Destined for Victory.

Visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online, or call us at 855-339-5500. 855-339-5500. Now if you prefer, you can also mail your gift to Destined for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, California 94538.

Paul Sheppard: Jesus made all the pieces. He knows where they go. And although life has shattered you, people have disappointed you, Satan has oppressed you, Jesus says, "My power is greater than anything you face."

Guest (Male): That's next time in our continuing message, When Jesus Comes. But until then, remember: He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.