Destined for Victory

Paul Sheppard: If you look at the men that raised you or the men you've seen, then your following that pattern assumes that that pattern is worth following. The reality is that's not the way to accomplish a goal, to just follow the other folks who say they're going there.

The way to reach a destination is to find the one who set the destination and to find out from him, "How do I get from where I am to where you have ordained me to be?"

Guest (Male): Welcome to another great day here at Destined for Victory, where we feature the preaching ministry of Pastor Paul Sheppard. Always a pleasure to have you with us. If you want to be a good man or a good father, the place to start is by finding out exactly what that means.

And that's what today's message is all about as we dive into the pages of Scripture to see what God the Father says about fatherhood. Online, remember you can always find us at pastorpaul.net, where you can listen to any of our recent messages on demand and get details about how to listen on your favorite digital platform. That's pastorpaul.net. Now, let's listen closely to Pastor Paul's Destined for Victory message, "Fatherhood by the Book."

Paul Sheppard: Malachi chapter four, look with me at the last two verses, verses five and six. Speaking the word of the Lord, "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."

It's interesting to me that the Old Testament ends with a prediction of the ministry of John the Baptist, whose ministry is, by the way, depicted here as that of Elijah. The reason why the Lord uses Elijah was because he was well known to Old Testament Israel as perhaps the most powerful, significant prophet in that he was so bold in speaking against those things that took people into idolatry, and he was so powerful.

He is the prophet who the Lord used to call down fire and that sort of thing. And so he is known for his fervor and his power and authority in God. And here in the last two verses of the Old Testament, the ministry of the prophet John the Baptist, which would come hundreds of years after these words were spoken, is foreseen.

And it says when that day comes, God's going to send the prophet Elijah, or John the Baptist, and he's going to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, the hearts of the children to their fathers. It's interesting that this prediction of the ministry of the prophet who would be the forerunner of Christ, who would introduce into the world the plan of salvation and redemption—one of the signs of his ministry would be the turning of the hearts of fathers to children.

If you really want to see, in other words, if you really want to see revival—true spiritual revival—take place, salvation here is being foretold, redemption, the thing that Israel has long hoped for is being foretold. And it says one of the signs, one of the indicators, is going to be that men turn their hearts as fathers toward their children. They get into right place, in other words, in sync with the plan of God.

And you know, I am one who, as a pastor and as one of those persons who is trying to lead people in becoming truly devoted followers of Christ, I have noticed that there is a correlation between real revival, even in our day, and men finding their place in the plan of God. And so, I thought I would spend a couple of messages challenging men along the lines of discovering what God's plan and purpose is, especially for those who are fathers.

I believe that we live in days where God is calling men to step up to the plate and be the men He wants them to be. I think our world is hurting because a lot of men are out of sync with God's plan. I think a lot of women are amening because they know that's true. There is the sense, there is the clear indication, that our families would be better off.

Our communities would be better off. Our churches would be better off. Our nation would be better off. Indeed, our world would be better off if men were better off—if men were in sync with God's plan and purpose. How many of you have daughters and granddaughters, nieces, or young women in your sphere of influence who are either now marrying age or will one day be of marrying age?

Let me see your hand. How many have young women that are in your family or in your sphere of influence? How many of you believe that the prospects of these young women finding men worth marrying will improve significantly when men find their place in the plan of God? Let me see your hands. Absolutely true.

So then we all have a vested interest. So really, this isn't a message just for and about men, but it is a message for all of us because I want to encourage the women to track with me, pray with me, and to learn this information so that you can pray for the men in your life, pray you who are raising young men that you'll raise them according to the things I'll be sharing, that you'll pray for and encourage the men who are in your life.

You who are married, that you'll pray for them as they learn as they go, because we're convinced—and your amens are signing off on that—we're convinced that the world will be better when men find their place. Thank God for mothers. Thank God. Mothers are irreplaceable. But there's nothing like a man in his right place. Nothing like a man in his place.

Mamas are mamas, and you can't replace them if you tried. But I'm here to tell you the same is true if we can get men to find the center of God's will for their lives. And so I just want to spend a couple of messages and encourage us to practice fatherhood by the book.

Now, I call it that because when you think of it, where do people learn how to be what God has designed us to be? You know, we're all designed by God. We are not just freaks of nature. We didn't just show up on the planet. The Bible is real clear that we serve a purposeful God. Ecclesiastes chapter three says there's a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. That God is a God of purpose.

Years ago, I heard a message that talked about the power of purpose, and in it were contained five principles that I've long since memorized and they've blessed me time and again as I've reflected and meditated on them. First principle is everything God creates has a purpose, such as is mentioned in Ecclesiastes 3. God creates nothing without a purpose.

Secondly, where purpose is unknown or ignored, abuse is inevitable. When you don't know the purpose, the only thing you can do is abuse it, because abuse means abnormal use of a thing. If you don't know why a thing exists, you can only abuse it. Number three, if you want to know the purpose of a thing, don't ask the thing.

Number four, purpose is only found in the mind of the creator of a thing. And number five, purpose is the key to fulfillment. Now, plug that into fathers. Every father God creates, there's a reason why God made you a dad. Number two, where purpose of fatherhood is unknown, abuse is inevitable.

If you don't know why God made you a dad or why God made you a man, for that matter, you will abuse your life and you will abuse people around you—abnormal use because you're not walking in your calling. Number three, if you want to know the purpose of a man or a dad, don't ask the man, don't ask the dad.

For that matter, if you want to know the purpose of a man, don't ask a woman. Because if you give her a chance, she will gladly define you. But that's not God's purpose. It's not God's purpose for you to be what she wants you to be. Men, it's not God's purpose for your wife to be what you want her to be.

Parents, it's not God's purpose for your children to be what you want them to be. Our role, our goal in life, is to be what God has called us to be. Want to know the purpose of a thing? Don't ask the thing. Purpose is only found in the mind of the creator of the thing.

The purpose of a man, the purpose of a father, is only found in the mind of the one who made you a man and who made you a father. And purpose is the key to fulfillment. So we then got to go to the source and say, "Lord, what is your plan for me as a father? What is your plan for me as a man?"

Because when you think of it, where do you go to learn how to be a man? Where do you go to learn how to be a dad? You've got to get it from somewhere. And that's the problem. The reason why so many are out of sync with their calling is because of where they learned to be what they're attempting to be.

If you look at the men that raised you or the men you've seen, well, then your following that pattern assumes that that pattern is worth following. And the reality is that's not the way to accomplish a goal—to just follow the other folks who say they're going there.

The way to reach a destination is to find the one who set the destination and to find out from him, "How do I get from where I am to where you have ordained me to be?" In other words, we need a manual.

Guest (Male): Let's pause right there for a quick timeout, but don't go away. The second half of today's Destined for Victory message with Pastor Paul Sheppard is coming right up. Our mission at Destined for Victory is to preach timeless truth for a victorious life, and we couldn't do it without you, our listening friends and partners.

You're the ones who provide all of our financial support, and we're so grateful for you—not only for your generosity but for the positive eternal impact it's having in the world. To make a generous donation today, please visit pastorpaul.net or call 855-339-5500. What can a jigsaw puzzle teach us about fatherhood? Find out next in the rest of today's Destined for Victory message, "Fatherhood by the Book."

Paul Sheppard: We need a manual, and I'm here to tell you that the Word of God is the manual for manhood. The Word of God is the manual for fatherhood. God didn't send us to the planet without an owner's manual, but He sent us to the planet with a sure word, which if we will follow, it will allow us to fulfill His plan and purpose for our lives.

So I want to encourage you, if you want to be the man God's called you to be, you want to be the father God's called you to be, you've got to understand that those precepts and principles are going to be found in the pages of God's eternal Word. And not only does it give us the instructions, but it gives us the models, because the best way to put it together is to have a model.

Let me illustrate this way. Who here likes putting together jigsaw puzzles? Let me just have one of you real quick. You're the closest. Come on up real quick. All right, give everybody your first name.

Guest (Female): Lisa.

Paul Sheppard: Lisa, all right. What's the most elaborate jigsaw puzzle you've ever put together? How many pieces?

Guest (Female): Thousand pieces of the panorama of Yosemite.

Paul Sheppard: Thousand pieces. It was a panorama of Yosemite. How long did it take you to put it together?

Guest (Female): At least four months. I did it with my kids.

Paul Sheppard: Oh, yeah. Well, that accounts for it. That accounts for it. All right, now, here I have a puzzle I just bought at Target. This is 1500 pieces.

Guest (Female): No.

Paul Sheppard: No?

Guest (Female): I don't go over 1,000.

Paul Sheppard: You don't go over 1,000. If you were to, let's suppose you were going to take up the challenge. Let's suppose you were going to take up the challenge and go over 1,000 for the first time in your life. What would you want to know in order to be successful at putting this together?

Guest (Female): What does it look like?

Paul Sheppard: What does it look like? Why would you want to know that before you ever start?

Guest (Female): Because as I'm looking at the pieces, I'm starting to figure out where the colors belong. And so now I can start sorting them in areas where this color is about here, and those colors are probably around here. And so it makes putting the puzzle together a lot easier.

Paul Sheppard: See, I've got a bag of 1500 pieces, and she's wondering when this thing is together, what's it supposed to look like? Because ideally, I mean, she could tackle this sight unseen and just hope for the best. But as an experienced jigsaw puzzle putter together, she wants to know, what is the model? What will it look like? Before I ever start, what does it look like?

And the answer is on the box. Because right now, she doesn't know whether it's an elephant, whether it's the Empire State Building. She has no clue. But when I pull the box out, then you get to see it is a beautiful scenery of white-capped mountains in the back, and then a nice lake, and then in the foreground, you have some wonderful flowers and some rock formation.

It's going to be the bomb. Of course, she's not going to do it because it's over 1,000. But it's going to be the bomb if somebody were to take this up. Now that they have this model, they can go about the business of assembly. Give her a hand. Thank you very much, Lisa.

We ask men to be fathers, and we wonder why they're struggling when we haven't realized the significance of a model. And I'm here to tell you, gentlemen, that God hasn't left you on your own and said, "Go about the business of being a man, being a father, and good luck."

But He's given us a manual and, in Christ and godly men in the pages of Scripture, He has given us models. So I'm here to tell you, you can do this, brother. You can be the man God's called you to be. I'm not in the group of pessimists. I'm not in the group who just thinks the world is just going to be shot because men are no good, will never be any good.

No, no. The devil is a liar. God is raising up some men who will be men after God's own heart. God is raising up men who have a heart to learn. At whatever stage of life you're in, if you weren't the greatest father and your kids are already grown, you can say, "Well, God, I'm going to be the best grandfather in Your will. I'm going to be the best mentor."

Many of you who are young and have yet to get married, have yet to start down that road, you've got the wonderful opportunity to get it right on the front end. And I'm here to tell you, you can do this. The manual first of all helps us lay a foundation for fatherhood.

You want to be successful at fatherhood, the manual first gives us a foundation, and this foundation is not only for men, but it's for everyone. It's the same foundation we must all lay if we want to live lives according to God's purpose. It's found in the words of what we call the Great Commandment.

In Matthew chapter 22, the Bible says in verse 34, that hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, one day the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Jesus with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?"

Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments."

Jesus, in answering a trick question—by the way, they didn't really want the answer. They were trying to catch Him in something they could trump Him with. But Jesus answered the question not only in a way that shut them up, but in a way that helps us all to know the kind of foundation God has called us and will enable us to lay in our lives.

He said, "Here it is. The greatest commandment." Now, of course, the Pharisees are thinking about all the law, every feature, every aspect, every statute of the law in the Pentateuch, the first five books in your Bible. They're thinking about those, and they're saying, "Which of all of those laws, all of those statutes, all of those commands, which is the greatest?"

Jesus didn't hesitate. He referred them to Deuteronomy chapter six. "Here's the foundation," He said. "Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind. And then love your neighbor as you love yourself."

There He gives us a foundation for manhood, for fatherhood, for women, for children, for everybody. Here is where life starts in the will of God. Number one, He says, "Love God with everything in you. Set your affection, set your heart on God. Make the decision, the choice, that God is first in your life.

He is number one. He is the one who gets your full allegiance and affection. And notice, it's a commandment. It's in the law, and Jesus is just citing the law. It's a commandment. "Thou shalt love the Lord." It's not a suggestion, not a good idea. Not a good idea, man, to go to church. Not a good idea.

God says, "Love Me. Love Me. Put Me first. Set your heart, set your affection on Me." Not a suggestion, not if you feel like it. This has nothing to do with emotions. We Americans think love and feelings go hand-in-hand. Not necessarily. That's an aspect of certain kinds of love. Erotic, romantic love is based on the way you feel.

You look at a person and oh, they make your spine quiver and your liver shiver. That's just goosebumps. That's not necessarily love. I've seen those same folk who you couldn't get air between—just give them a few arguments, a few run-ins, a few real-life issues. Next thing you know, they can't stand the sight of one another. Why? Because that wasn't love to begin with. That was a feeling. That was an infatuation.

Eros, the erotic romantic kind of love, has its place. It can be a feature, but it can't be the foundation. Because when the feelings go away, if that's all you've got, then you're stuck. So love in its truest form, agape, is love that emanates from the heart of God and it is based on the purest of motives and it has the best interest of its object always in sight.

And so when the Bible says love God, it's not saying feel a certain way about God. Now, I declare to you, and some of you can testify, when you set your heart and affections on God, then the feelings will follow. In fact, the more you get to know the Lord, the more you love Him. And the more you feel the love toward Him.

I dare you—I dare you to just set your heart and affection on God and say, "Lord, I'm going to honor You. You are the source of my life. You're the center of my joy. You're the one in whom I live and move and have my being. Wouldn't be any me if it weren't for Your goodness. So God, I love You. I love You unashamedly. I love You."

Men, start there. You want to build a life in the will of God? Start there. "I'm a man who loves God." I'm not ashamed of it. I've chosen to obey the Lord when He commands me to love Him with all of my heart, soul, and mind. It's a decision I make.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Destined for Victory and Pastor Paul Sheppard's message, "Fatherhood by the Book." Thanks so much for being with us. If you haven't already downloaded our free mobile app, why not do it right now? Search "Destined for Victory" in the App Store and listen to our messages wherever you go.

Well, we've got a very special gift to share with you this month. For the first time ever, "Let My People Smile" is available in video format. Now, "Let My People Smile" has long been a huge favorite among our listening friends and partners. It features Pastor Paul's unique blend of humor and biblical wisdom, but now you can see these great teaching clips in living color.

That's "Let My People Smile" available in DVD or as a streaming link, and it's yours this month for your most generous gift of $25 or more to Destined for Victory. You can give by phone by calling 855-339-5500. That's 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.

Paul Sheppard: Men, if you want to be a father by the book, first of all, the Bible says lay the foundation of your life by loving God with your whole heart. Then it says love your neighbor as yourself.

Guest (Male): And that's next time in our continuing message, "Fatherhood by the Book." But until then, remember, He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.