Destined for Victory

Guest (Male): A well-known shoe company got it right many years ago. Don't brag about it. Don't even talk about it. Just do it. On today's Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Sheppard, you'll hear all about some of the keys to winning the Christian race.

But before we get off and running, our executive director, Alicia Greer, has a few words to share with you during this critical time in the ministry of Destined for Victory. Alicia.

Alicia Greer: Thank you to all of our faithful listeners and supporters for tuning in and being blessed by these teachings. We're so encouraged and grateful for your continued partnership with this ministry. Your generosity has set us up well heading into what are typically our more challenging summer months.

One question I often get is, "How can I support the ministry?" We've made it easier to find the answer. We've updated our donate page at pastorpaul.net/donate with all the ways you can contribute and partner with what God is doing here. We're excited about these offerings and hope you'll take a look. Thank you again for your dedication to these teachings. I remain hopeful and confident that God has great things in store for Destined for Victory in the days ahead.

Guest (Male): Well, as you heard Alicia say just now, we are committed to continuing to bring timeless truth for a victorious life through Pastor Paul's teaching for many years to come. But the truth of the matter is we can't do that without your help, and your help is especially needed now.

When you give today, we have a great resource to send you as our way of saying thanks. It's our latest booklet, More Than Conquerors. You know, the Christian life is a victorious life, and it doesn't happen by accident. It's your birthright, already purchased by Jesus Christ at the highest price in history. And yet so many believers live in defeat, selling their birthright for things worth far less.

In More Than Conquerors, Pastor Paul Sheppard uses the unlikely story of Gideon to outline the path from defeat to victory. If you want to understand how to take on a victor's identity and tear down the idols competing for your heart, you'll want to reserve your copy of this outstanding resource today. That's More Than Conquerors, yours this month as our thanks for your generous donation to Destined for Victory.

You can give by phone by calling 855-339-5500. That's 855-339-5500, or by visiting pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. You can also mail your gift to Destined for Victory, PO Box 1767, Fremont, California, 94538.

Paul Sheppard: God has called us to be winners, and that means since we're competing for a crown that will last forever, we must make up in our minds: "God, I'm not just going to say I'll be a winner, but I will do what it takes to win the Christian race."

Guest (Male): What does it take to win this race? Find out next on today's Destined for Victory featuring Pastor Paul Sheppard. He'll tell us how you can run the Christian race in a manner that leads to victory. Today's Destined for Victory message is called "Living by the J.O.Y. Principle," and it starts right now.

Paul Sheppard: I need a few folks here who have competed at a very serious level in some sport to help me make the point. I just need to interview you real briefly. I promise this won't hurt. Give me about two or three of you who have competed at the collegiate or professional level and come on down. There's one. I need about two or three. All of you.

Come on up real quick. Stand right here on this stair. I'm just going to ask you some simple questions. It's not going to hurt. Come on. You're coming too? Four of those that are walking out. Come on. Your first name?

Terrell: Terrell.

Paul Sheppard: Terrell, what sport or what were you involved in?

Terrell: The Nike Farm Team is a professional track and field group.

Paul Sheppard: Professional track and field. What event were you in?

Terrell: 800 meters.

Paul Sheppard: 800 meters. Give me an idea in the thick of the training of the kinds of regimen that you were on. How much, how often, how many hours did you have to practice?

Terrell: It was probably about a 50-hour-a-week job. 5:00 in the morning weight room, 4:00 in the afternoon runs, probably about 6:00 at night, a nice jog.

Paul Sheppard: Now, 50 hours. How much of that was what we're talking about?

Terrell: All of it.

Paul Sheppard: All 50 hours were dedicated to track?

Terrell: Yes.

Paul Sheppard: Did y'all hear that? You thought folk just showed up with shorts on. Isn't that something? 50 hours. How much you get paid?

Terrell: Not a lot.

Paul Sheppard: It wasn't about the paycheck. It was about learning to become a world-class athlete. Weight training. How much time lifting weights every week?

Terrell: Roughly about 20 hours a week.

Paul Sheppard: 20 hours. Come on, y'all. Now think about it. When we look at the weights in the gym, all we do is look at them. We already start moaning, "Oh, my." This man was lifting them for 20 hours.

Now, here's another. This is going to bless us. What does weight training have to do with running? See, a lot of people don't make the connection. You say running, that just means if you're fast, if you used to win races when you were a kid, get on the track team. Well, you get on the track team and he said they're going to send you to the gym because they know that the building of muscle mass and the building of your stamina is important to your running the race. Give this brother a hand. All right, first name?

Ginger: Ginger.

Paul Sheppard: All right, and what field are we talking about?

Ginger: I threw the discus.

Paul Sheppard: Discus. One of the field events. Tell me what your training was in the thick of it.

Ginger: What he said, I actually sat in a job interview and calculated it out because we had some extra time, and it was 60 hours a week. About 20 hours of weights and about 40 hours of both sprints and throwing.

Paul Sheppard: Did you hear that? Now she had to be in the gym lifting the weights, but she also said she had to run. Have you ever seen the discus? These folks are preaching my message real good. Have you ever seen the discus? How far do they have to go? Right? Would you show? Some of them don't know. Would you just show the motion so that they'll get an idea? Watch this, watch this. Two spins.

Now the amateur mind says, "Why do I have to go in the gym and when I get through, go out on the track and run and all I'm going to do is spin twice?" That's because the disciplines have an interplay. And if you don't do all that, the coaches who know what it means and know what it takes to become world-class know that you're not ready. If you're not willing to do whatever they tell you to do, you'll never be world-class. Give Ginger a hand. Let's get the lady first. All right, first name?

Sybil: Sybil.

Paul Sheppard: Sybil, and what event are we talking about?

Sybil: I was a competitive roller skater. Everything they can do on ice skates, I could do on roller skates.

Paul Sheppard: Stop what you're saying. On she said everything. I didn't mind jumping up in the air if it meant as an adult I would have to have a deteriorate hip, but it was worth sacrifice. It kept me out of trouble. My mother knew where I was. I know that's right. It cost her a lot. I know that's right. I mean, I trained like I had a job. I was at the skate rink seven days a week, but the grades had to be up to go to the skate rink. No grades right, stay home.

Had to get the grades so she could go skate for hours on end every day. Monday through Sunday. And she expected me to do something around the house other than cleaning up my room. And had to do something around the house also. Some of us know about that, others don't, but praise God. That is wonderful. All right, so give me an idea of how many hours you would spend at the rink.

Sybil: I would be at the rink from like 4:00 at night and I would be home by 7:45 at night, 4:00 in the afternoon. Now remember, I went to school in the morning.

Paul Sheppard: Go to school, come home from school, get your homework done.

Sybil: I did the homework before I got to the rink.

Paul Sheppard: Before you got there, then you could skate for hours.

Sybil: Yes, and I had to keep a 2.0 or higher. D's and F's, you don't skate. But as a result of that, I was bad on some wheels. Yes, I could skate.

Paul Sheppard: Give her a hand, everybody. First name?

Marcus: Marcus.

Paul Sheppard: All right, Marcus, what event are we talking about?

Marcus: Amateur wrestling. It's not the professional wrestling. It's not choreographed. We don't know who's going to win. You just lock horns and go.

Paul Sheppard: All right, so this is not the WWE whatever they call it.

Marcus: WWE, TNA. No, that's not me. I grew up watching Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. No, none of that. Somewhere between 35 and 40 hours of just like that's with your team, and not to mention somewhere between 15 to 20 hours of your own workouts. Because with wrestling you have to weight manage and stuff.

One of the things you have to do is, and you have no option, if your coach tells you you have to make weight, if you're five pounds over and you have to make weight in two hours, you better make weight in two hours. That's all it comes down to. So by the grace of God, I was able to manage weight at the time very well, not anymore. I'm done competing.

But if I was at the beginning of the week and was somewhere between eight and 10 pounds over, which I was really good, by that Saturday, I would have to make weight. I'd be on weight. And not to mention again, working out with the team and running on your own. So you probably spent somewhere between 35 and 40 hours just training and another 15 hours by yourself, running on your own, having to manage weight, extra lifting.

That was just to crack the lineup. Because if you're in a good competitive team, everybody's good. If you ever play college sports, you're an all-star team of a bunch of other all-stars, and you have to make the cracking lineup of a bunch of other all-stars. So you're just banging at it.

Paul Sheppard: Now of those 35, 40 hours, how much of that was actually on the mat?

Marcus: I would say about 20 of it was on the mat. 20 of it on the mat. Then we'd have to actually go run, a lot of running. I don't know how people run for fun, but a lot of running and sprint work, a lot of sprints for endurance. About 20 hours actually on the mat, another 20 was off the mat.

Paul Sheppard: Isn't that something? Now there it is again. A lot of work outside of what apparently you are focused on doing. Give Marcus a hand.

You see, we love to see somebody's glory, but you need to check out their story. You see the glory, but you don't know the story. You've got to see them in moments when the cameras are off and people aren't in the stands, where no one is shouting their name or asking for their autograph. They're somewhere sweating when you are sleeping. They are in routines that would break the common person because they have the mindset of an athlete who has decided to win.

Now, brothers and sisters, let's take a good look at this because Paul is giving us this analogy not because he has interest in talking about sports. He's giving the analogy because he is saying if you and want to win, that's the kind of life we live.

Guest (Male): The sanctification process is a marathon, not a sprint, and it takes hard work and discipline to win it. Now let's get you back to the rest of today's Destined for Victory message, "Living by the J.O.Y. Principle."

Paul Sheppard: If you want to win your Christian race, he says it has to be your decision to do so. It has to be coupled with discipline. And look at what the Apostle says. He says, "Now they're doing all of that for a crown that's going to go away." They're doing all of that for a glory that will not last forever. I can't tell you who won the Super Bowl seven years ago.

Now whoever won it, they worked like crazy to be the championship team that year. But a few months later, there was another season, and at that point, the ground was level. And if they wanted to repeat, they had to do it all over again. And the reason why you don't see most teams repeat and three-peat and build a dynasty is because the other teams just get hungrier when they see somebody else win. And they say, "You might have won this time, but I've got you next year." And it makes it difficult.

Brothers and sisters, you've got to understand that God has called us to be winners, and that means that we've got to understand that since we're competing for a crown that will last forever, we must make up in our minds: "God, I'm not just going to say I'll be a winner, but I will do what it takes to win the Christian race."

So a lot of folks say, "I can't pray. It's just challenging to pray to build a regular prayer life." Christians typically say one of the hardest things to do is to develop a regular time with God. Welcome to the world of discipline. Welcome to the world of discipline. Athletes don't get up. Somebody said, "Got up 4:30 in the morning because you've got to be a soldier first."

When you're a soldier, talk to people who've been in the military and ask them, "Well, what if you didn't feel like waking up at 4:30?" And see what kind of look they give you. Because it had nothing to do with how they felt. You're asking me the wrong question. I'm a soldier and you're asking me, "Did I feel like getting up?" Of course I didn't feel like getting up. But all of them knew you knew better than to tell somebody, tell Sarge, "I'll catch him later. I'm not coming out there today. He's tripping if he thinks I'm coming out there today."

Are you kidding me? Do you know what would happen? Athlete, ask somebody who was on a varsity team or a professional team. I would have interviewed some of the 49ers that come to this church, but they're not here because they're somewhere getting ready for a game. Ask them what would happen if they violate curfew. What would happen if you do something against the team rules? It has nothing to do with how you feel like, what you feel like. It has to do with the disciplines it takes to win.

So plug that principle into prayer. Prayer is challenging all the more so because the devil hates believers who pray. He hates believers who are plugged into a power source. So he's going to fight you through everything at you, including the kitchen sink, to keep you from developing a prayer life. So what do you have to do? You have to not only decide, "I'm going to have a prayer life," but you have to then discipline your mind and body. You have to say, "I'm going to do it whether I feel like it or not." It has nothing to do with feeling like it, feeling like praying. It has to do with the decision coupled with the discipline to spend time with God.

And so I make my mind up, and Paul describes it very vividly. He says sometimes you've got to beat yourself up. Beat your mind up. Beat your body up. Get out of that bed and go do what you need to do. No one who is becoming excellent at any level in their life got there because their feelings got them there. You got there because your discipline pushed you when your feelings said no. "I don't feel like doing this," and the discipline says, "Shut up and do it anyway." Because after a while, if you push long enough in discipline, you'll break through the various thresholds.

I'll never forget when I was running track. I was probably in eighth, ninth grade on a community track team, and we were practicing one day and he had us, even us sprinters, running long distances in laps. And I was so mad. I'm like, "I'm running a short race. Why do I have to run? I'm not trying to run two miles." But the coach knew what I didn't know. And so we're out there running and complaining.

And I got the most horrible cramp. I mean, that thing was killing me. And I thought, "This will get me out of it." I mean, that thing was killing me. And I grabbed my side and I told the coach, I said, "Man, I'm hurting. I'm telling you. I can't take it anymore. I've got to stop." Because he said anybody who stops is off the team. I wanted to be on the team, but I was hurting. And so I thought I could get some sympathy. I said, "Man, I've got to stop. I'm serious. I can't make it anymore."

I can picture him while I'm telling the story. His name was Mr. Anderson. He had a big afro. He drove a purple Challenger. I'm dating myself. Some of y'all know a Challenger, don't even try it. Don't even try it. You know what a Challenger was. He drove a Challenger, had an afro, had a whistle around his neck, said, "You're off the team if you stop." And I told him about my cramp and he says, "Shut up and run."

He said, "You're expending energy talking to me. Shut up and run." And then he said, "If you keep running, that's just your second wind. You'll have a breakthrough." And I said to myself, "He is seriously tripping. Trying to psych me out. Does he know how smart I am? I know mess when I hear it. Talking about some breakthrough. You can't run that little psychology game on me." Said this to myself.

I thought he was just messing with my head. You know what? The man knew what he was talking about. He made me run even though everything in my body was screaming stop. And since I had to keep running, I ran until I broke through a threshold. And before I knew it, the pain was gone, my energy was renewed, and I picked up my pace. And I said, "What in the world is this?" I had heard about a second wind, but I had never experienced a second wind because you don't get a second wind until you run all the way through your first wind.

And I'm here to tell somebody who has your tongue hanging out spiritually, you don't know if you're going to make it. Devil's been beating you up. You're feeling discouraged. You're thinking about giving up. God says, "Shut up and run." He says, "Run on through the pain. Run on through the trouble. Run on through what you're going to looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith." You see him standing there saying, "Come on, you can make it."

The Holy Spirit is a coach on the sideline saying, "You can make it. Come on, I see you. I'll give you help. Come on, you can make it." I'm here to tell somebody you can make it. The only one yelling you can't make it is the devil. The devil's the only one standing over there saying, "Ah, you might as well give up. You're not going to make it. This is not going to work. I've got you right where I want you."

But the Holy Spirit is another voice, and you have to learn to listen to him more than you listen to the devil. And that's why you want to spend time in the Word and spend time in the discipline of prayer because that's where the coach will get to talk to you. And he'll tell you and he'll discipline your life. He'll tell you like my coach told me: "Shut up, you're talking too much." Oh, y'all don't have the Holy Ghost talk to you like that. He talks to me like that. "Shut up, I'm about tired of your complaints. I'm about tired of you bellyaching about everything in your life that you don't like. Just run your race. Nobody asked you how you felt. Just run your race and let me renew your strength."

Guest (Male): Thanks for being with us for today's Destined for Victory message, "Living by the J.O.Y. Principle." 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: If you have a bumper sticker that says "God is my co-pilot," either tear it off or get some White-Out and White-Out "co," one of the two. Because God is no one's co-pilot. He comes in to be in charge.

Guest (Male): And that's next time in our message, "Living by the J.O.Y. Principle." Until then, remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.