Destined for Victory

Guest (Male): So you gotta look at your gifts. Which of your gifts are just laying around doing nothing? God said, "I gave it to you for a reason. How come you're not using it for My glory? How come you're not using it to honor Me, to bless the Kingdom, and to help people in life wherever they are, however you can help them?"

Paul Sheppard: Hello and thanks for stopping by for this New Year's Day edition of Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Sheppard. Wherever you are and however you may be listening, thanks for spending part of your holiday here with us. Speaking of new, today you'll discover what the process of becoming new in Christ is all about.

As you follow along, make note of the four areas in which God will challenge you. They'll be easy to remember because they all begin with the letter A. When you get a chance, we hope you'll stop by 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 in to our Destined for Victory message, The Process of Becoming New.

God cares who you're dealing with. He does. It's all through your Bible. He cares who you're dealing with. You see Proverbs all up and down telling you about who to deal with, who not to deal with. You see those classic things throughout your Scripture. Even when somebody used to be good for you, if they change, if they become toxic, you need to know this is no longer a healthy relationship.

I don't care that it used to be good. Some relationships used to be good. Now they're not and they have to change. You have to put off stuff that has become toxic as you deal with other people. You can't just let them hang out in your life to your own demise. You have to—well, where's your Bible? 1 Corinthians 15:33, bad company corrupts good character.

Bad company, not bad people. Sometimes the people—"Oh, but he alright." But his company's bad. In other words, I'm not going to argue with you about are they a good person. If their company, if hanging around you doesn't produce good things in your life, they're bad company. Do you know good people can be bad company because they're wasting your time? They're taking you in another focus you shouldn't have.

And so the Bible said bad company corrupts good character. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16, do not be yoked together with unbelievers. When I grew up, they were always talking about who you got married to. It didn't say anything about marriage. Oh, it's going to include that, but the principle is yoking your life with somebody who isn't going where God's taking you. Why are you in a yoke? A double yoke. Two oxen, they both have yokes so they're tied by their yoke. And they gotta go in the same direction because they're bound.

Everybody get it? Don't be in the yoke with folk who don't love God and are walking with Him. But I know Christians who got married and they weren't saved. I do too. I pastored a whole bunch of them. The Bible doesn't tell you to go back and try to undo that. You can't undo that stuff. You married—both of y'all were not in Christ, or one of you came into Christ, the other is not. The Bible didn't say break that up because y'all are unequally yoked. No, you gotta figure out how to live with that person.

In fact, the Scriptures tell you there's a way that you live in such a way that you witness to them by the way you operate as a spouse. Oh, this is some good teaching. You don't like it, but it's good. I brought my own amens. Go on, Doc. Come on up, Doc. So you sit there and have all kind of faces. I'm not scared of your face. Got a mask on anyway, I can't see the face you're making.

But later on, one of these days if we ever get out of these masks and you go to making those bad faces, I've seen many a bad face over my years. I've seen intimidating faces, I've seen mad folk, I've seen all kind of stuff. You see what you see up here, it's something. Sometimes I want to stop my message and say, "Really? That's the way you want to look at me? Really?" But nobody's scared of you. Isn't that what we said as kids? Ain't nobody scared of you.

Do not be yoked together in a covenant relationship with somebody who is an unbeliever. That's the general rule. Yes, there are exceptions to the principle, but the principle is if you have the opportunity to make the call now, don't start out in a relationship that is with somebody who is going in a different direction because they have a different set of priorities.

Then look at the common sense here in 2 Corinthians 6. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? It's just common sense. It's not, "There you go judging people." I'm not judging people. I'm trying to live righteous, you're trying to be as wretched as you possibly can. What are we going to have in common? You are excelling in wretchedness. I know that's not a word, I just made it up.

What fellowship can light have with darkness? You see that? Darkness is not being judged by light. It just exposes what was in the dark. That's all. Next question: What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? That's an ancient name of a presence of evil. Other religions have it, whatever represented evil in theirs. We know the evil one in the Word of God. His name is Satan. And what harmony is there between him and Christ? See, it's just common sense.

Why are you telling me who I can be with? The Bible's telling you. What's the point of trying to walk with somebody who's not going where you're going? Last question in the text: What does the believer have in common with an unbeliever? And the next verse, verse 16, asks the final question: What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? In other words, look at the contrast that just your life goals create.

Your life priorities create contrasts that you have nothing to do with. I'm going east, you're going west. At a certain point, we could stop and have a little quick conversation. But as soon as we keep going where we're going, we're parting company. You get it? So you can't have a flat-out yoke-bearing relationship and it work well. That's the whole thing he's trying to say here.

"I know somebody who got saved and they were saved and they married an unbeliever." Yeah. So that doesn't make it right. And now that they're married with them, they need to dwell with them according to knowledge. Bible doesn't tell them break up with your unsaved spouse. Some folk want to break up more with their saved one than their unsaved one. Truth be told. And we tell them, "No, no, you made that and you stay there." Oh, I got more people trying to get me to justify their mess. No, I'm a preacher of the Word of God, I can't give you what you want.

"Pastor, what should I do?" Stay there. You married them till death, not till frustration. And by the way, you know you can't kill them. The prophet Amos, the Old Testament, you know that, Amos 3:3. How can two walk together unless they be agreed? NIV says, "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?" You gotta reach an agreement. "You want to go here? I want to go here. Want to go together? Yeah, let's go." That's agreement. Let's go. We go together. We talk with each other, we fellowship while we're going. And you can't do that unless there's agreement.

Alright, I gotta move along. So the key question not only is how are you handling your assets? Now you gotta look at how are you handling your associations. Do you have relationships that even God can't touch? I'm not letting God get at this. God's not going to tell me about my entanglement. I'm just leaving that with you. Just let that marinate. That's what that's going to do. It's just going to marinate right there. You and your entanglement, you gotta answer to God. "We got a situationship." I've heard that one too. Oh, when you're a pastor, you hear every kind of thing. "I have a kind of situationship." Okay.

So assets, associations. Number three—don't go away, we have more of today's Destined for Victory message coming up next. If you enjoy listening to Pastor Paul, you may want to subscribe to our podcast. It's the easiest way to get the program delivered to you and listen on demand. You can find us at your favorite podcast platform and of course you can always listen to recent programs at our website, pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net.

You know, for well over a decade now, we've been sharing these Destined for Victory messages the whole year through on radio, online, and in recent years with our free Destined for Victory mobile app. And we have listening friends and partners like you to thank for helping us create and maintain these platforms. You're the ones who provide all of our financial support and we're so grateful for all you've done. To give generously today, please visit pastorpaul.net or call 855-339-5500.

Becoming new in Christ is a process, one in which God will convict you in four key areas. The first is your assets, which include talent, time, and treasure. The second is your associations. Let's look at the final two in the second half of today's message now, The Process of Becoming New.

What's the Bible say about them? Colossians 3:17, the New Testament book of Colossians 3:17. Whatever you do, whether in word or deed—that's why I added words to it—whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. So are your actions and all your words things that you can give glory to God as you speak and as you do?

And are there things you say, "No, no, I can't say God's pleased with that." Then that's in the putting-off category. Plain and simple. It's in the putting-off category. It said whatever you do. It's not like you—"Well, I didn't do it around the saints." What's that got to do with anything? "I didn't offend anybody because nobody saw me." Do you know you have a God who's watching? Who's with you every day?

Who knows when you are sleeping, He knows when you are awake. He knows when you're good or bad. See, what they used to tell us was Santa Claus, that wasn't Santa Claus, that was the Lord. They messed around and put that on some fat dude from up north. That wasn't him, that was the Lord. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.

What's it mean to act or speak in His name? It means on His authority, things He would be pleased with, in compliance with Him is what that means. Giving thanks to God the Father through Him. So the key question here is, are you speaking and acting in ways that please God? Plain and simple. And you gotta evaluate that. Oh, life groups are going to have fun with this week's outline.

Number four and finally: attitudes. God's not just coming for your assets, your associations, your actions and words. He's looking at your attitude. 1 Samuel 16:7, "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Here's another get-in-your-business scripture in the New Testament.

1 Corinthians 4:5, "Judge nothing before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God." I love that. Paul said don't judge stuff that you see now. You don't have the equipment to judge it with. That's in your life and in other people's life.

You ever seen these condemning Christians? Condemning other folk. You don't know what's in their heart. You don't know how they're dealing with God and how God is dealing with them. The time is coming, though, when God will bring to light the things that are hidden in darkness. It'll either happen in this life or in judgment. And what will He expose? The motives of the heart.

Do you know the difference between Saul and David was one thing: heart. A lot of people look at Saul being dethroned by God and saying, "Yeah, he stole sheep, he kept some folk alive God said to kill and he stole sheep and cattle when God said to kill them all." But David, a murderer and adulterer. So in your world, David's done. Saul, give him a slap on the wrist and let him go about his business. No, God said just the opposite because I'm looking at the heart.

When Saul was told by Samuel, "God said kill all of the Amalekites. Every last one of them." God said kill them all. Old Testament cold-blooded. God in the Old Testament, only way you get rid of sin is get rid of sinners. You all better thank God you're living in the New Testament. We'd have been a bunch of dead... Kill them all. Don't keep any of them alive. Kill the livestock.

God said, "I'll raise up My own cattle, I got My own stash. You kill every last one of them heathen cows." God was serious. What happened? He killed most of them, kept some alive. When he saw something good, he said, "Ooh, keep that." So when God sends Samuel back to him, Samuel said, "Did you do what the Lord..." Well, first of all, it's almost comical.

In 1 Samuel 15, read it when you get a chance. It's almost comical. He sees Samuel the prophet of God coming down the road. "Praise the Lord!" You ever seen folk try to block their wrongdoing with spiritual stuff? Folk do it every week at church. "Praise the Lord!" If you know them real good, say, "What did you do? Don't give me praise the Lord. What did you do?"

And Samuel said, "Did you do what the Lord told you?" Here is the heart. Saul said, "Yeah. Did exactly what the Lord said." That showed his heart. He's about image, not about substance. Samuel said, "Then how come I hear sheep?" Right there in 1 Samuel 15. Read it. "How come I hear the lowing of cattle? Cows? What? You didn't do what the Lord said cause I would put my ear to the wind and hear nothing if you did what the Lord said."

"Oh," here's showing his heart. "My army. They kept some stuff alive." Shows your heart. You who can't own stuff, something's wrong with your heart. David on the other hand, yes, he committed adultery. Went out on the roof late at night while his army's out there fighting, he would normally be out there with them. He said, "I got seniority, I'm going to let them go." Got out there on the roof, Bathsheba out there bathing.

The Lord was his shepherd, he saw what he wanted. Called her—you know the story—called her to the palace. She got pregnant. Her husband is fighting his battle. He said, "I gotta fix this." Calls him home on a weekend of R&R so he'll go in be with his wife so he can blame the pregnancy on him when he finds out she's pregnant. He's such a soldier, he won't sleep with his wife.

He said, "My boys out there dying." He wouldn't lay in the bed with his wife out of loyalty to a king that has gotten into an entanglement. Sends wine over. He get drunk, he forget all this soldier stuff. He took a little wine, but he still wouldn't lay with his wife. He said, "I'm not going to do that, my boys out here dying." David now gets desperate. It's time for him to go back to the battlefield.

He sends him with sealed orders for his own death. And he's such a soldier, he won't open the sealed orders. Hands them off and his boys look at it and it's told, "Put him at the front of the battle, then withdraw from him." How cold. See, that's what some of y'all like—"I don't believe..." Yeah. Cold, yeah. Callous, yeah. This, that, the other.

But when God sent Nathan to David in 2 Samuel 12—see, he does all this in 2 Samuel 11—when he sends His prophet in 2 Samuel 12, prophet tells this story and David gets mad because the story sounds like somebody else. Isn't that like us? "They did what?" But Nathan's a man of God. He said, "You're the man. Here's what the Lord says," and he rebuked him for his sin.

What was David's response? "I have sinned." He went low. He owned. He said, "I have sinned against the Lord my God." It showed his heart. You don't need a perfect person, you need a person whose heart can be broken. And because of that, God said, "I'm not going to take the throne from you. There's going to be consequences. You caused this and there's going to be consequences."

Sin always has consequences. But consequences aren't to death when you own them and put them under the blood. So you've got to understand, God loves a brokenhearted person. He cannot deal with hardhearted, throwing-off-the-blame-on-other-people people.

How are you doing in these four areas? Assets, associations, actions, attitudes. Becoming new in Christ means taking a hard look at these areas and if necessary, making changes. Thanks so much for being here with us for today's Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Sheppard. Before we sign off, I want to just say thank you to all of you who responded to the current financial needs of this ministry.

As you may have heard, Destined for Victory lost a major source of funding at the end of the year and your help is still needed to help close that gap and help us remain on this station. When you give today, we'll say thank you with a brand-new booklet, one that will challenge you to persevere through unwanted changes or a past you can't quite shake. It's called "Keep Moving Forward."

Drawing from Israel's transition from Moses to Joshua, this booklet will help you understand that God will go before you as your leader and your protector, even when you're facing new challenges. Again, it's called "Keep Moving Forward," our gift to you as you financially give to help this ministry keep moving forward into the brand-new year of 2026.

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, PO Box 1767, Fremont, California, 94538.

So it's one thing to put off the old in your life, in any area of your life. But it's another thing to be fully prepared to put on the new. And the way we prepare to put on the new, we are told here, is we have to have our new way of thinking to develop. That's tomorrow in our message, The Process of Becoming New. Until then, Happy New Year to you and your family and remember: He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.