Destined for Victory

Outlined below is the transcript of the Destined for Victory podcast episode, Can't We All Just Get Along pt. 4.

Guest (Male): Hello and thanks for being here with us for today's Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Sheppard. Our message "Can't We All Just Get Along" is coming right up. But first, we want to share just part of an important conversation I once had with Pastor Paul.

He often spoke passionately about the power and the necessity of partnership. I asked him what he would say to you or listening friends and partners and here's what he said.

Paul Sheppard: I want them to know your partnership is very, very important and necessary. When you think about it, starting way back, I'm thinking about Moses, he could not have been Moses without the partners God gave him. God raised up Joshua, the Bible called Joshua Moses' minister before it called him God's minister.

And Joshua was one of those key people. Aaron, his brother, was one of his key partners. Every man or woman of God since then, all the way into of course when you get to the ministry of Jesus, Jesus himself required partnership. Isn't that amazing that the God-man needed partners?

He took Peter, James, and John farther into the Garden of Gethsemane and he said, "Just stay here and watch with me." And he cried and poured out his heart to get ready for that moment when he would lay down his life for us and he needed that partnership. He had Peter, James, and John, he also had Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Then when you look at the apostles, there is no Paul without Timothy, without Silas, without Barnabas.

And on and on, all of us need partners. So the bottom line is I'm so grateful for every man, woman, boy, and girl who has become a partner for our ministry so you can keep on providing this platform so that we can reach even more people for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): Pastor Paul always made it clear that he wanted Destined for Victory to continue after his preaching days were over. So today, your partnership with us is more important than it's ever been as we seek to build upon the strong legacy of faith he left behind. For as little as $20 a month, you can become a Destined for Victory partner today.

And we want you to know that every penny of your donation will go towards advancing the gospel all over the world through our media ministry at Destined for Victory. When you partner with us, we'll send you a few thank you gifts, including one of our most popular CDs, "The Best of Let My People Smile". Call 855-339-5500 to find out more about how to become a Destined for Victory partner.

You can make your pledge over the phone or mail your gift to Destined for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, California 94538. You can also become our partner from our website, pastorpaul.net. And if you can't become a monthly partner but would like to send a generous gift to the ministry today, we'd love to send you our latest booklet, "Improving Your Serve". For more information on this outstanding resource, please stop by pastorpaul.net.

Paul Sheppard: Whenever you have people who have differences of background, of culture, socio-economic differences, whatever it is that brings people together, but they have considerable differences, you need to know what is God's plan and how to achieve the goal of unity. We understand very clearly that God's goal for us is unity. But unity doesn't mean that anyone has to sacrifice who they are.

Unity simply means that we take our differences and we make sure that they do not result in division. And so we're looking at practical steps. Now, so far we have covered the fact that we must accept others as equals. That's the first point that was made in the series with regard to practical steps for walking in unity.

You've got to learn to accept others as equals and we took our time and talked about the need of acceptance that all of us have before someone can speak into your life and help you become the person God has called you to be. You've got to understand that God accepts us as we are. God loves us as we are. Now he loves us too much to leave us like we are, but he begins by loving us and accepting us in Christ. And that's the basis for us learning to accept others as equals.

Secondly, we saw that we must allow for honest differences of opinion. We must allow for honest differences of opinion. And that's what we covered in the last message. The fact that some of us have to learn that not everything is a battle worth fighting. And these are principles that will help you not only walk with others in the body of Christ, it'll help you in your family life, it'll help you on your job, it'll help you living with a roommate, whatever the issue is.

You've got to learn to pick your battles. Not everything is worth having a knockdown, drag-out, winner-take-all contest. And I don't know if you've met them, but there are people who don't know how to distinguish major issues from minor issues. And they will fight you over a minor issue as if it were major. Have you ever met people whose attitude is "my way or the highway" about everything? Doesn't matter what the issue is, I'm going to have my way when this is over.

And so we talked in the last message about the need to first of all identify, distinguish essentials from non-essentials. Now when it comes to the family of God, there are essential matters of faith. There are matters that are essential doctrine. When it comes to the virgin birth, we said that that's an essential. The sinless life of Christ, that's an essential. That he died on a cross for our sins, that's an essential.

That he rose bodily, that is essential. That he was God wrapped in flesh, those are things that unless you stand there, you have no basis for Christian unity. But now, there are other doctrines, there are other matters of belief that aren't that important in the larger scheme of things. And they are what Paul called disputable matters. And you don't take a disputable matter and divide with other people over it if you want to practice unity.

So while I'll take a tough stand on essentials such as the deity of Christ, when it comes to eschatology, the doctrine of last things, we said that you don't have to have a knockdown drag-out over that. If I'm premillennial and you're amillennial and another brother or sister is postmillennial, we can all find our common ground in Christ even though we differ on what's going to happen at the end of time.

And so you learn to just agree to disagree. But if the church is truly a spiritual army and we have to fight with and for one another, we shouldn't take time to fight one another. And that's what happens too much in the body of Christ. We divide over these issues. We divide over non-essentials, charismatic issues. We divide, "I don't believe in speaking in tongues." Well, if you don't believe in it, don't speak in them. But don't divide with people who do.

And if you're Calvinist and another person is Arminian, just trust that you're both going to the same heaven saved by the same grace and you have different views on whether you can forfeit your salvation. But since both of you are seeking to follow Christ, it's a moot point. I wouldn't forfeit it if I could. And so we've got to learn to do that. And we've got to just learn to grow up and pick your battles.

Parents, pick your battles. Don't fight everything with your kids. Find the ones worth fighting and dig in there and say, "Here are the rules, here's what goes on, here's what..." But allow for flexibility wherever you can so that you can save up your clout. See, if everything's got to be your way, you have very little clout to spend on a tough decision. And so these principles will help you save up your clout, give as much room as you can, so that when you do have to come down and say, "No, this one I got to take a stand on," you got enough in the bank to pay for that tough decision.

And it'll help you a lot. It'll help you as a married person or a roommate situation. Don't divide over which way the toilet paper goes, under or over. There are bigger issues in life. You have to allow for honest differences of opinion both when it comes to spiritual matters and just practical ways of getting along with the people God's put into your life. And we end it by saying that love has to learn how to cover a multitude of faults and you can be respectful even when you disagree with a person. You can disagree without becoming disagreeable. And we have to learn to do that.

Now I want to pick it up and talk about a third step. The first step in reaching the point of agreement is accepting others. The second is allowing for honest differences of opinion. Here's number three. Avoid arrogance. Avoid arrogance. Look at what Paul said in Romans 14 verses 3 and 4. He said, "The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him."

Then he says, "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls, and he will stand for the Lord is able to make him stand." If you want to reach the point of agreement and thus please God, you've got to learn to avoid arrogance. There are some issues that you believe strongly and you are entitled to that. In fact, Paul said in verse 5, "Everyone should be fully persuaded in his own mind about the things you believe when it comes to non-essentials."

But the trick is you've got to learn that your position isn't the only one someone can hold and have right standing with God. And I'm talking about non-essential issues now. I'm talking about those things that are disputable. Now in this context, Paul raises the example, he raises two examples in Romans 14. The first is eating. There were some controversies in the early church, especially at Rome, about the matter of eating for a couple of reasons.

Number one, there were people who came out of pagan worship and some of the food that was offered at cut rates in the marketplace had first been offered to idols. And so people who came out of idol worship, of pagan worship, and would find that there was food that had once been offered to an idol and now it's available for general sale, they felt like because of their background, there's no way that we or anybody else should eat that meat because it was part of a false religious ritual.

And they felt strongly. But of course, the folk who didn't come out of a pagan background saw the price. You get it? They saw the price. And they said, "Look at the price. I'm not giving up this meat just because it was hanging out with some statue first." See, for them, they didn't have the same problem with it because they didn't come from that context. It didn't matter to them, but for someone who was sensitive to those issues, they said, "There's no way that I can eat that food."

That was one of the problems. And of course, the other problem was that there were some people who were convinced because perhaps from their Jewish background that there were certain things not part of the kosher diet that should not be consumed. And so they had their own value system. But of course, the pagans were like, "Hey, I'm if it's edible, I'm eating." So they had a couple of reasons to have food controversies.

Guest (Male): In case you joined us late, you're listening to Destined for Victory featuring the teaching ministry of Pastor Paul Sheppard. Stay with us, the second half of today's message is coming right up. One of the things we love to do for friends and listeners like you is to pray for you when you're in need. So if you do have a prayer request, please visit pastorpaul.net, use the contact feature to share it with us. Our ministry team is always happy to lift you up in prayer.

And when you stop by our website, remember you can always listen to the broadcast on demand at your convenience there at pastorpaul.net. God's desire for his church is that it be unified, but there can be no unity without humility. Now let's pay close attention to the rest of today's Destined for Victory message, "Can't We All Just Get Along".

Paul Sheppard: Paul talks later in Romans 14 about the example of some people holding one day in higher esteem than others. And again, it had to do with backgrounds. So if you came out of a background where certain days were considered holy or sacred, then you wanted to treat them differently than any other day. And they had rules for certain days, for certain holy days, things you did and things you did not do. But people who did not come from such a background considered every day alike.

And it still happens today. In fact, some of us can remember that in our lifetime, there were things that some of our parents just because of the traditions of the churches they grew up in or whatever, they wouldn't let you do on Sunday. Some of y'all, do you remember that? Anybody 40 and older, y'all tracking with me? The young folks said, "What in the world are you talking about?" They don't know. My mama told us there were certain things she didn't want us doing on Sunday because that was the Lord's day.

But they built into that certain restrictions and they had their own Christian version of a Sabbath and they said, "There's certain things we don't want you doing." And I remember as a child thinking if I can do it Monday through Saturday, what up with Sunday? But of course, I thought that to myself. You know, you thought that to yourself in those days. But we experienced a little bit of that and of course, versions of that have taken place throughout church history where certain people had a sacred day and restrictions for that time and others considered every day alike.

Now here's the challenge. Paul says you've got to learn not to look down. There's the operative phrase in the text. Not to look down on people who don't hold your view. Again, we're talking about non-essentials. You don't look down, Paul says, if you have a restricted diet and you have built spiritual significance into that, that's fine for you to hold as your personal measure of faith. He says, but you don't look down on the person who doesn't share that as a value because they, he says, rise or fall before their own master.

You don't get to decide what they do because they have to answer to God for what they do. You get his point? And so he says, that's the thing. See, a lot of folk want to not only hold their position personally, but they want to impose their position on everyone. Ever had anybody tell you what you have to do and yet the Bible doesn't say you have to do that? And so we've got to learn hold your position even if you feel strongly, it's okay to feel strongly, but don't be arrogant. Don't look down on people who don't share your view.

How many times does that kind of attitude destroy fellowship in a church, among people of God where we set up our rules, our value systems, and here's what we feel strongly about? And now we're going to impose that on everybody else and anyone who doesn't measure up, they are less than. And we've got to understand that that is not the plan of God. God says hold your conviction, be fully persuaded in your own mind. If God takes something out of your lifestyle or puts something into your lifestyle that he wants you to do, then if it's a non-essential issue, you practice that according to the way God gave it to you.

But don't go around and create a Bible study as to why everybody else in the family has to do the same thing. If you were vain and God took you out of nice clothes because maybe you were just stuck up and conceited and thought you were so cute, I've known people who every now and then they get saved and, you know, they were just into vanity and just into thinking they were all that and had all these wonderful designer clothes or whatever it is. And so when they get saved, they feel like they need to get as far away from that as possible.

And so they start dressing real plain and all of that because that for them, that's the way they need to express their faith. Now I appreciate the fact that you might feel called to do that either for a season or as your permanent lifestyle. But don't create a Bible study and bring it to the church and say, "Pastor, I believe we need to teach this to everybody," called "plain and holy".

Where you want everyone to look like you. Unless God is speaking to them about those same matters, unless the word gives a clear sound on those matters, don't impose your faith on everybody. Because some folk can wear designer clothes and not have a stuck-up attitude and still share their faith and still be generous in giving and still represent Christ well. And the Bible says don't look down on them. See, that's the standard. We've got to learn to allow other people to express their faith on these matters.

You know, I grew up in a strictly no-drinking Christian environment. No alcoholic beverages period. You got saved, you put alcohol up, plain and simple. They went hand in hand. You didn't drink it socially, you didn't drink it at a, you didn't take a little sip to congratulate a couple at a wedding reception, little sip of champagne. You didn't do a thing. Alcohol and Jesus didn't go together. Now talk about biblical standards, we all know who are biblically literate that God has called us to sober living.

Sobriety is God's plan for our lives and that's taught consistently throughout the scriptures. And so we know that drunkenness is not God's plan and people who are alcoholic and who come into the kingdom first deserve to be accepted. That's the first thing. If you're saved, drinking alcohol, hung up on alcohol, you're still saved. I said you're still saved. You don't get saved after you get sober. You get saved and God will help you get sober.

But I know folk who not sure you're saved until you're sober. So the first point is acceptance. And then secondly, we've got to realize that there are persons who are struggling against that and are bringing that to Christ. And we have ministries in our church and they ought to be ministries in many places where people can go sit among Christians and deal with the issue and begin a life of sobriety and God will give you the strength to do it.

So we know drunkenness is not God's plan and we need to address that clearly from the word. But there are believers I discovered along the way despite my background, there were believers who drank wine at dinner every now and then. They weren't alcoholic, they weren't hung up on it. It wasn't a controlling issue in their life, but they drank a little wine at dinner. I'll never forget first time I went to dinner with some folk, we had just ministered in a setting and I'd seen God use them and they ministered well.

And we went out eating afterwards and what have you and we were ordering our meals and they ordered, I don't know if it was red or white, one color wine. See, I grew up in a no-alcoholic environment, I don't even know the names of these things because I had that value instilled in me and I maintained it as I moved into adulthood and to this day I don't drink alcohol under any circumstances. That's my personal view, my personal conviction.

When I personally disciple some young men, some of my spiritual sons, I tell them just be alcohol-free so you can have the clearest possible testimony. Now that's my personal view. Be alcohol-free, no wine coolers, no nothing. That's my personal view, but I don't impose it on my friends. Because I found out I went to dinner with them and they were ordering wine and I remember I sat there and said, "I thought they were saved." Now here we'd just been to church and they'd just been ministering, come to find out these folk not even saved.

But sure they were saved. They were saved drinking their glass of wine, I was saved drinking my soda. And I had to learn along the way that that was one of those disputable matters about which everyone needs to be fully convinced in his or her own mind. And I had to learn not to look down on them, not to put them in a separate sub-category of believers and say, "I used to think y'all were alright, but I don't know."

And one of the other things that you'll learn when you begin to practice this discipline of avoiding arrogance, you will learn that sometimes there is hypocrisy in coming down hard on certain issues because very rarely will we have consistency in every area. Let me give you an example. Some of the same folk who said you shouldn't drink socially because it could lead to drunkenness or it could lead to you being controlled by alcohol, so then they raised up as one of the reasons why you should avoid alcoholic beverages, they raised up the issue of the possibility of control.

But then later I came to look at some of their lives and see that they didn't want you to drink wine occasionally, but they couldn't even start their day without coffee.

Guest (Male): I hope you've been blessed by today's message. If we learn to practice what Pastor Paul said in this message, it will make for a greater level of harmony in the church and a more effective church in the world. To find out more about Destined for Victory's mission and purpose or about the special gift reserved for you when you give generously today, please come see us at pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net.

Paul Sheppard: We have to learn that arrogance has no place in the kingdom. If Jesus, our perfect example, was not arrogant, then we have no right to be. And if we maintain an attitude of arrogance, we'll simply create hypocrites both of ourselves and of many of the other people around us.

Guest (Male): And that's next time in our continuing message, "Can't We All Just Get Along". Until then remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.