Destined for Victory

Paul Sheppard: I'm here to tell somebody who is living right now in that place of disobedience, somebody who knows that you have messed up big time and your life bears the fruit of it. I've got a word for you. God says, "If you turn to me with your whole heart, I will let you see that I'm not just a fire, I'm not just jealous, I'm also merciful."

Guest (Male): The miracle of mercy on today's *Destined for Victory* with Pastor Paul Sheppard. Over the past couple of days, we've seen that the book of Revelation offers an intimate portrait of God's character and holiness. We've seen that He's a jealous God, but He's also a merciful and loving God who has a capacity to forgive that exceeds human understanding.

As you follow along today, remember, no matter how many times you might fall short, there's always a seat for you at the table of grace. Today's message is straight ahead, but first, just a quick reminder that online, you'll find us at PastorPaul.net. There you can hear any recent message on demand, including the one you're about to hear. That's PastorPaul.net. Now, let's listen closely to Pastor Paul's *Destined for Victory* message, "Jesus in High Definition."

Paul Sheppard: I tell you, when we got married, we were planning the wedding and I heard the different family members telling me, "We want to do this, and we want to do that at the reception, and why don't we do this?" I told them, I said, "Look, y'all have got about 90 minutes. In 90 minutes, y'all do whatever you want, but at a certain point, that car is going to pull up. Sister M and I are going to get in the car. Y'all can stay there all night, eat cake and drink punch, and do all you want to do. We will not be there." A brother committed to the job is ready for some business.

You've got to do this God's way. So you tell that man in the words of that great theologian Beyoncé, "You've got to put a ring on it." Where am I in my message? You're messing me up.

We have no basis for human jealousy without a covenant. So you're supposed to get married. Let's do this the right way. You're living together unmarried? Get to one of the pastors and say, "Listen, we want to be in the will of God, and let's get this done so you can have a clear testimony before God and man."

We've got to live right because we have a jealous God. You've got to get your affairs in order. You've got to get your life in order because we're created for His purposes. So you've got to get your spouse. Folks have two different ways of seeing that. How do you marry? There are two different views of how you get married.

There's the Cinderella theology, I call it. Some folks believe there's one person in the universe that I'm supposed to be with and my job is to prayerfully seek that person. I always tell them, "According to your faith, be it unto you." If that's the way you believe God has designed it, then prayerfully seek His guidance as to finding that person.

The Cinderella theology, I get that term from the fact that in that story, there was just one sister whose foot perfectly fit that glass slipper. The prince went all around because he danced with her for a while, but the clock began to strike twelve and she ran out. He didn't know where she was, but he had the slipper. He went all around and he looked for the foot that owned that slipper because that was his bride. If that's your theology, go for it, believe God. But until then, honor God.

Then some folks have the Cinderella theology; other folks have the "any size seven will do" theology. They kind of believe there's no particular one person that I am to marry, that there are several people who would meet the biblical requirements. We're to marry in the Lord, someone who walks with God and who is a person of faith and of obedience.

So some folks say, "I don't believe there's any one person. I'm just looking for a godly size seven." That's fine. Some folks just date and check folks out. I always tell people, "Don't just date, evaluate." Don't just sit up in the restaurant looking and smiling, smelling good and looking good, and impressing one another. You've got to find out who this really is. Sitting up there perpetrating a fraud won't even laugh as crazy as you usually laugh trying to impress somebody. You're perpetrating a fraud; they ought to arrest you.

You've got to find out who this really is because when you enter into covenant, that covenant is cut in the presence of God. So we've got to learn. God has a right to be jealous in a way that we cannot be. So the Bible says that God is a consuming fire and a jealous God.

Moses told them in Deuteronomy 4, "If you get over there in that Promised Land and you forget God, you're going to discover that God isn't just smiles and grinning, and He doesn't just wink at defiance and disobedience. God will cause consequences to come into your life as a result of your disobedience."

He made it plain. He said, "In fact, if you get over there and forget God." Sometimes the most dangerous time in some people's lives is after they get through their desperate times. Have you noticed that? Some people, as long as they're desperate, they're seeking God, they're humble, they're on their face. "Oh Lord, I just want to do Your will. Oh Lord, if You get me out of this mess, I'll serve You."

Sometimes I've seen people go from desperate to casual, and that leads them to defiance of God. So you have to be careful when you're blessed. You've got to be careful to walk in faith and obedience to the Lord because there are some who, once God takes them into a good place just like Moses was describing they were going into, if you get over there and begin to practice idolatry.

Of course, idolatry in their sense was making literal images that you would begin to worship as gods. The fact of the matter is, people know somewhere deep down inside of themselves that there is something bigger than me. You can go to any part of the world, the most remote part where they have not yet heard the Gospel, and you will discover them having some sacred practices. Why? Because something down inside of every person says, "There has got to be something bigger than me."

Let me tell you something. God says, "If you begin to practice idolatry, you're going to run into My wrath and you're going to discover that I am a jealous God." Idolatry in their case was images and actual things that would be worshipped. Let me tell you something, in your case, it doesn't have to be a symbol, it doesn't have to be an image. You can worship, you can idolize anything or any person that you take out of the place that God wants you to have it in in your life.

I'm here to tell you that if you practice that, you will experience the fact that God is displeased. You can make an idol out of relationships. You can make an idol out of cars and houses. You can make an idol out of your job, out of your career, out of your education. You can make an idol out of your money or the things money can buy when you place it in a place that only the Lord should have in your heart and in your life.

He says if you practice idolatry, in fact He told them, if you practice idolatry, what God is going to do is He's going to let your enemies overtake you. They will scatter you to various places and you will not enjoy peace and prosperity in the land that I've given to you because you cannot defy Me without consequence. I'm a jealous God.

Then right in the same context, I love God because He told Moses to tell them, "Now if you practice this idolatry and if you are disciplined by My wrath, if you then come to yourself and turn to the Lord with your whole heart," in verse 31 of Deuteronomy 4, He said, "You will discover then that I am merciful and that I will not abandon you and I will not destroy you."

I'm here to tell somebody who has already defied God, who has already been living outside of His will, who has already practiced arrogance, who has already decided that your will is what you're going to exert even over the known will of God. I'm here to tell somebody who is living right now in that place of disobedience, who has experienced the frown of God, somebody who knows that you have messed up big time and your life bears the fruit of it. I've got a word for you. God says, "If you turn to me with your whole heart, I will let you see that I'm not just a fire, I'm not just jealous, I'm also merciful."

I've got a word for somebody who knows you messed up, who knows you've been in sin, who knows you've been living outside of God's plan for your life. I want to let you know God is not a man. He doesn't throw us away when we mess up. He calls us to repentance. He calls us to turn with our whole hearts. But then He says, "If you do, I will have mercy. I will make sure you understand that you are My child."

I want to tell somebody who is living much like the prodigal son that God says, "Yes, I know you've blown it, but I'm more interested in a reunion. I'm more interested in you coming back to fellowship with Me." When you look at that story of the prodigal son in Luke's Gospel, it is astounding that here you have a man with two sons.

The Bible says Jesus tells the story of the youngest son coming to the father and demanding his inheritance now. Father's not dead, but he wants his inheritance now. He wants to live anyway he wants to live. He wants to do his thing. He actually wants to not only be defiant, but he wants to then demand that he get his inheritance now.

You know this is a story about God's love for us because what daddy do you know is going to let their child walk up on them, be defiant, be disrespectful, and then demand my inheritance now? What father do you know? I'm so glad my children are now adults. I'm so glad they didn't test me. I'm proud of them and thank God for them and I'm so glad they didn't test me. Had they tested me, it wouldn't have gone well. I'm like Homer, I don't play that.

What father do you know going to let the child act any old kind of way, be defiant and disrespectful, and talk anyway and act any old way and defy the laws of the house, the rules of the house and all that, and then come up on you talking about, "Give me mine. I'm out of here. I'm sick of y'all and I want my money now"?

You know most fathers would be like Jesus, "Keep me near the cross. Help me right now, Lord. I need You right now. I'm about to catch a case, Jesus, You've got to help me right now. I'm sorry, I'm about to go to jail." I have to interpret as I go.

But Jesus tells the story of the fact that this father gave that rebellious son his inheritance. In fact, it says he gave to both of his sons. The other son wasn't rebelling, didn't want to go outside of the house. He was prepared to stay there. That one, the one that remained, was the eldest son. According to biblical culture, he would have received a double portion. So he got broken off very nicely.

The father distributed to both of them and the young rebellious son went out and the Bible says he squandered his wealth on wild living. Just acted like a fool with his daddy's money and squandered it. The Bible called it wealth. You know, when he finally ran through all of that money and no longer had the friends that money can temporarily buy you. You know you can find companionship when you've got bucks.

After his money was gone, so were his friends. Now he is alone, he is broke, and he had to hire himself out to help a man take care of his pigs. Sin will make a fool out of us. But the Bible says one day he came to himself and he said, "You know, my father's servants are living better, living in more peace and security and blessing than I am and I'm a son." He said, "I will arise and I'm going back home."

I've got a word for somebody who knows you have run into the consuming fire of God's discipline. You know you have run into the consequences of defying a jealous God. I want to let you know, God says, "If you turn, if you come to yourself, if you say 'I can't keep living this way,' if you say 'I'm not going to keep making this same mistake,' if you say 'I'm not going to stay in the mess that I've made.'"

This young man said, "I will arise and go home." As he began to walk home, tattered and muddy and messed up and broke and broken, he said, "Okay, I'm going to ask my father to let me be a servant." He said, "I think since I disowned the family, since I disrespected his name and I squandered his wealth, I don't think I could ever possibly be restored to sonship, but I think my father will allow me to be a servant."

Do you know why he didn't know that his father would do more than that? Because he had never had to see all the dimensions of his father. Some of us don't know how merciful God is because we haven't had to see the depths of His mercy. But some others of us are there right now where we have messed up and know we've messed up, we've blown it and know we've blown it.

I want you to see that if you will turn to the Lord with your whole heart, he said you're going to discover some dimensions of me that you didn't know before. This boy's walking home, he has this good apology in his mouth. Let me tell you, if you've got anybody to apologize to, God or man, do it right.

This boy was coming clean. He was saying, "Father, I sinned against you, I sinned against the family name. I'm not worthy to be called your son anymore, but if you will please make me a servant." Apologize right. Don't call one of these little lame things some people say. Not you, but people I know. I've heard people who have too much pride and arrogance to be broken in front of folk, and they'll say something like when they finally realize they've got to say something. They'll say, "Well, listen, if I have done anything to anybody for any reason, I'm sorry."

Bless your heart, let me help you. That is not an apology. That is pride masquerading. An apology is when you say, "I sinned against you. I wronged you. I dishonored you. I did wrong by you. I am so sorry for what I have done to you. Please forgive me." That's an apology. If you don't acknowledge what you did wrong, how can you ever get it right?

This boy is walking home with the right apology in his mouth, practicing this speech. But as he nears his house, he sees someone who is not in the house enjoying the wealth, enjoying prosperity. He sees someone who's looking out, perhaps on the back porch or terrace, looking out. As he gets closer, he sees that it is his father.

Instead of his father being in the house and saying, "Forget that boy, I'm going about my business," the father had a heart that said, "My life won't be right until I'm restored with my son." When the father spotted the son, the father, we're told, began to run to the son. I'm trying to show you what God is ready to do if you will turn to Him with your whole heart.

God is not a man. He is not somewhere saying, "Aha, look at you now. Not such a big shot now. Where are all your little friends you spent my money on?" The father runs with no shame, no self-consciousness, runs to his son, throws his arms around him, kissed him.

The Bible says he called his servant and said, "Get a robe for my son. Get some sandals for his feet and put a ring on his finger." I want to let you know that means that the son was fully restored. His sin is covered. You know, when you love people right, you don't want to expose their mess. You want to cover them up and help them get straight.

He covered him up and he wanted him to walk on a firm foundation and he put sandals on his feet. He put a ring on his finger which suggested that he could go around town. A ring in those days was the best credit card you could have. It had the family indication on it and the merchant knew what family you were part of and knew that your family was good for it. Here's a father who knows you've squandered millions, and he gives you a family credit card. That's the love God has for you.

I want to let you know if you'll turn to him with your heart, you'll not only discover, having already discovered that God is a consuming fire and a jealous God, and you cannot defy him without consequence, if you turn with your heart, you'll discover He's also a merciful God.

Guest (Male): Thanks so much for being here with us for today's *Destined for Victory* message, "Jesus in High Definition." It's a privilege studying the Word of God with you. You know, the last thing Jesus told us to do was to make disciples of all nations. So today, before we let you go, we want to share with you an important conversation I once had with Pastor Paul, one that will really help you understand what our mission here at *Destined for Victory* is and what it will always be.

Paul Sheppard: When I think of victorious, my mind goes back. I'm a kid growing up watching TV in the sixties, so my mind goes back to the Wide World of Sports. Oh yeah. There was an announcer named Jim McKay, something like that. He had this classic line where he talked about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

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. In life, we can win in Christ, and that's what the Bible tells us, that we are victorious in Him.

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. 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. So those who tune into broadcasts like *Destined for Victory* are really supposed to be receiving guidance so that we can walk in and live in victory. That's what I pray is happening as people tune in day by day.

We say it every day: in Christ, you are destined for victory. It's a message we want to continue to share until Jesus comes, and you can help make that happen. When you do, we've got a great thank-you gift to share with you today: our latest booklet based on Colossians 3:12-15, *Clothed in Love*. It will challenge you to direct your best selves toward the ones who matter most.

Pastor Paul points you to seven virtues: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness, and how giving these gifts away can transform your most important relationships. That's *Clothed in Love: Seven Gifts for the Ones Who Matter Most*. It's our gift to you today by request for your generous gift to *Destined for Victory*.

You can give by phone by calling 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: He is witnessing to who God is. Put it this way: Jesus is the best picture God ever took. He is the faithful witness. He is the one who shows us what the Father looks like. He's the invisible, awesome God who was made visible and approachable.

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