Destined for Victory

Paul Sheppard: A child of God doesn't have to walk around bound and hopeless. Bound to things that prevent you from doing the will of God. Bound from attitudes and emotions and habits that militate against God's plan and purpose for your life. You don't have to be in that state because Christ came to give us freedom.

You may have forgotten it, or maybe you never knew it at all, but there's a war going on, and if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you're in it. Hello and thanks for stopping by for today's Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Sheppard. Satan declared war on God a long time ago, and if you've been born again, you were born into that battle. What are the obstacles to you winning this war, and how do you overcome them? Well, stay right here to find out.

But remember, you're always invited to come see us at PastorPaul.net where you can listen to any recent message on demand, including today's. That's PastorPaul.net. Today's Destined for Victory message is called "When Jesus Comes," and it starts right now.

John Chapter 1, when it's talking about the work of Christ, says He came to His own, speaking of the fact that He came to the nation of Israel. And as a nation, they received Him not. Some did, but most did not. But it goes on to say, "But as many as received Him," and that includes not only the receiving, believing Jews but also Gentiles later on. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power." If you read King James, you'll see "power" there. That's why you got to do some deeper study because King James often translates power, but we use the word power for a lot of different things.

Greek is a more specific language. When you look at it, it means to them gave He *exousia*. That is, to them gave He legal right or authority to become children of God. When you believe in Him, He gives you the legal right to be one of His kids. You have authority. You are legitimate. That's what it means. You have the legal right to be a child of God. The enemy wants to keep you ignorant as to your right because it is your authority that entitles you to the blessing.

Then later on, we're told that He gives us power. It is the same word in the King James, "power," but it's a different Greek word in Acts 1:8: "You will receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you," and He'll make you effective as you go and share the gospel with other people. That power is *dunamis*, from which we get the English word dynamite. He gives you power, ability, so that you can execute the will of God in your life and share the good news with other people. The enemy wants to keep you ignorant of your authority and your power.

Do you know why a policeman can pull over someone on the road and get out of the patrol car, walk up to the window and no matter who is sitting there, say, "May I have your license and registration?" Do you know why a policeman can do that? Because they have authority. Now, that policeman or woman can be the smallest policeman physically possible. But do you know that police person can walk up to a person sitting in the driver's seat who is 6'6" and 290 pounds of muscle and say to them, "I need your license and registration"?

On what basis do they do that? Because they have authority. The authority is represented by the badge. The badge says, "I am not coming to you on the basis of who I am. I'm coming to you on the basis of who I represent. I represent an entire force, a law enforcement agency, be it a city or county or highway patrol or federal. I don't represent me; I represent somebody else, an entire kingdom, an entire force, an entire agency."

If it was that person and the 6'6", 290-pound dude in an alley and there's no badge, you see the difference? May the Lord have mercy on the soul of the puny person. But when you are doing official agency business, if that person in that driver's seat has any sense at all, they'll reach for the license and registration because your authority is bigger than you. Your authority is a whole other dimension.

Now, the agencies have good sense. They also know that there are people running around here in this world who don't care about authority. They despise authority. That's what a criminal is: one who despises authority. They say, "I'm going to do what I want to do. I don't care what you say about it." And so since there are people who despise authority, the agency knows that. Any police force knows that. They don't just send you out with a badge.

They know better than just to send you out with a badge. "That's all they need, just the badge. Go on, just show them the badge. If they give you any trouble, show them the badge." If you're dealing with somebody who doesn't care about authority, what does that badge mean to them? So what do they do? They send you out with authority, *exousia*, a legal right, but they send you out with *dunamis*. Authority is on the lapel; *dunamis* is on the hip.

In fact, they give you a whole holster of *dunamis*. You've got all kinds of *dunamis* on that thing. You can stun them, you can tase them, you can club them. You've got all kinds of *dunamis*. As a child of God, you have *exousia* and *dunamis*. You have a legal right and you have the ability to say to any bondage in your life, "You can't stay here. I'm a child of God. I have a right to walk in the freedom that my Savior purchased for me."

A child of God doesn't have to walk around bound and hopeless, bound to things that prevent you from doing the will of God, bound from attitudes and emotions and habits that militate against God's plan and purpose for your life. You don't have to be in that state because Christ came to give us freedom. You have to know your authority and your power because that's what the enemy is trying to keep you ignorant of.

Another reason why there are so many bound Christians is not only because of ignorance of power and authority, but a second reason so many Christians are saved but bound is because they treat their bondages as friends rather than enemies. I've read the Bible from cover to cover, as have many of you. I've found plenty of places where God promises to deliver us from our enemies. I've not found a single place where God promises to deliver us from our friends.

God won't deliver you from your friends. He will deliver you from your enemies. What does that mean? That means you have to hate what God hates. You have to reject what God rejects. You have to say no to what God says no to. You have to say this is not good when God says this is not good. And if you treat your bondage as a friend, it will remain in your life because God doesn't bother your friends.

He tells you to make sure you have the right friends. The Bible tells you who to befriend, who to walk with, and who to be in covenant with. It is very plain. But if you disobey that part of Scripture, if you keep walking like in the words of Psalm 1, if you keep walking in the counsel of the ungodly, sitting in the seat of the scornful, and standing in the way of sinners, God can't do much to bless and advance your life because you're keeping company He hasn't authorized.

We know that about people, but the fact is any bondage in your life can be a friend just like an ungodly person. The same principle applies. There's nothing God will do about it because He doesn't deliver you from your friends. He convicts you about your friends, but He doesn't deliver you from them. If you have a friend who is no good, you have to get rid of the friend. If your right hand offends you, cut it off.

He says you do it. He didn't say if your right hand offends you, hold it up and I'll whack it. No. If your right hand offends you, you cut it off. If you have ungodly company that's taking you in the wrong direction, you cut it off. And if you have habits and emotional bondages, bondages of the mind and of the psyche that are destroying your life, preventing you from doing the will of God, and keeping you from enjoying your inheritance as a child of God, but you've been treating it like a friend...

Why would people do that? You'd be surprised. You'd be surprised how sometimes we can wear our bondages as cloaks of comfort. If you're bound by ungodly anger—everybody can be angry, it's part of your human nature—but if you're bound by anger, meaning you are angry out of control, you're angry when you don't need to be or want to be, when there's nothing redemptive, healthy, or normal about it, and you are just out of control angry, you'd be surprised how many out of control angry people carry that as a cloak. They like the fact that they can get you told in nothing flat. They like the fact that they can get you off their back, so they keep that cloak with them because they might need it.

Alicia Sheppard Greer: Hi friends, this is Alicia Sheppard Greer. There's still more to come of Pastor Paul's message, but first, many of you have listened to Destined for Victory over the years because you love hearing the truth of God's Word taught clearly and faithfully. But as my father often reminded us, the Christian life is not only about hearing truth; it's about experiencing the transforming presence of God. That's the heart behind a ministry I'm honored to help lead called Kingdom Collective.

Destined for Victory and Kingdom Collective are partnering together to carry forward that same mission. March 20th through 22nd, we'll be hosting Kingdom Revival Week: three gatherings focused on worship, prayer, five-fold ministry, and deeper encounter with Jesus. So if you're hungry for more of God and want to seek Him together with other believers, we would love to welcome you. You can learn more at KingdomCollective.com.

Paul Sheppard: Get tired of folks, just tell them off, cuss them out, get rid of a whole room full of folks just like that. And for you, that anger is a friend because you like what it does. You like how it has your back. And so as long as you have that kind of attitude towards your anger, you'll always be stuck with it. You'll live your life angry and out of control. You'll live your life not pleasing God.

You'll live your life—you might be saved, but you'll be an angry, miserable, lonely, out-of-the-will-of-God Christian. You'll live with that bondage, and it'll stay there as long as you treat it as a friend. That's just one example. There are many areas of your life where that would apply, where there's something that really prevents the will of God. Now, you look at the list of the fruit of the Spirit. Where is anger in there? Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, longsuffering, gentleness, kindness, and meekness. It doesn't say "and anger."

Anger is not part of God's plan for your life. Is that to say a Christian shouldn't be angry? No. The Bible says in Ephesians 4, "Be angry when it's appropriate, but sin not." Don't let the sun go down while you're angry, and give no place to the devil. That's correct anger. Focused on an issue, your desire is reconciliation and respect of people, and you want to settle it as soon as possible. Nothing wrong with that. You get mad; it's issue-oriented. Let's sit down and talk about this issue.

Here's what I'm upset about. Here's what I'm offended about. Here's what you said; here's what you did. It's at the issue. You're not talking about people's mama. You're not calling anybody out their name. You're not disrespecting them. You don't have to stand up and snap folk off and all that. No. Focused on the issue. Your heart is for reconciliation. You want to get on the same page. You and I need to be on the same page. Let's talk this through to a conclusion. I'm willing to compromise. I'm willing to humble myself because that too is part of the fruit of the Spirit.

You ever seen one of these Christians who has never been wrong in any confrontation or any problem? Whenever there's a conflict, "I am never wrong, so I come to you to get you straight." Don't you realize by now something is wrong with that? Stop and take inventory. When's the last time I told somebody, "Okay, I was wrong. I hear what you're saying now. I hear you. I'm wrong. I'm sorry." When is the last time you said that? If you have to go so far back, something is wrong.

That might be a pride that is a bondage. Uh oh, just found another bondage. That might be a pride that has bound you. Anytime you can't admit when you're wrong, you're bound because all of us are wrong several times a day. You don't follow me, Pastor. You're passing judgment. I don't have to follow you; I know that you're a work under construction. And if your actions aren't wrong, even if you did completely good actions all day, check out your attitude.

Was your attitude wrong while you were doing what was right? Was your motivation wrong, even if you had a right attitude and a right action? What about your motivation? What prompted you in the first place? And you check it out and you'll find, yeah, I'm still a work under construction. All that means is you live with that awareness, and so you are ready to be humble. That's why the Bible says clothe yourself with humility. Put on humility as clothes. You wear them so that your humility is seen by people.

This is good. You'll figure it out after you go home. Right now you're trying to figure out am I preaching good. You get home, it'll dawn on you about 11:00. "Oh, that was good." Clothe yourself with humility. People can see your clothes. "Oh, Pastor, I like that jacket." They're supposed to see your humility. I don't have to be right here. Let's talk. I'll hear you, and I want you to hear me. I don't have to be right. I don't have to win. This isn't a fight; this is an attempted reconciliation.

The enemy, if he can't take away your eternal destiny in Christ, wants to take away your freedom. He wants to keep you bound to things like anger and pride and any other bondage that prevents you from doing God's will and keeps you from enjoying your inheritance as a child of God.

Assuming now that I'm willing to treat my bondage as an enemy and assuming that I understand my authority and power, how do I overcome bondage? First of all, I have to replace Satan's lies with God's truth. John 8:32 says, "You will know the truth and the truth will make you free." Truth is associated with deliverance and freedom. Lies are associated with bondage.

So you've got to replace... Do you know how you got in the bondage in the first place? You bought a lie. Somewhere along the line you bought a lie. You got in cahoots with a lie. That's what justified you and made you feel it was okay. Let me give you an example. Let's go back to the anger issue. The reason why you got caught up in this compulsive anger, in this out-of-control anger, is because along the way the Bible told you how to deal with it.

Ephesians 4 told you how to deal with it: deal with it issue by issue. If I deal with every single issue I get angry about, I never get caught up in the bondage of anger because I'm getting things straight as I go. But if I reject the truth of the Word as to how to deal with anger, then I'll let it build up. It will build up until by the time I'm ready to explode on you, it has nothing to do with the issues. I am sick of you. I want to get you straight. I want to talk about your whole family.

It's because you bought a lie. You ever been in a single mode of someone has offended you or hurt your feelings or whatever? The Bible tells you how to deal with that. Sit down with them. Even if you're feeling angry, it's okay; the Bible says you haven't sinned yet. But keep it issue-oriented, do it quickly, don't let the sun go down on it, and make sure you don't give the devil a foothold. There's your parameters. There's your truth.

But no, you've got a demon sitting on your shoulder saying, "How many times have they done this to you? Let's count back." 1 Corinthians 13: love keeps no record of wrong, but you have no love in your mind right now. This devil is trying to get you to count up every offense, everything this person has ever said or done to work your nerve. You know how they humiliated you in public, in front of other people no less? And he gets you to conjure up all this stuff. So now you're feeling good and hateful.

He says, "Now look, when they walk through that door, I want you to have the boldness. What's wrong with you is you're too wimpy. You need to stand up for yourself. You let folk walk up one side of you and down the other." When you're in a certain frame of mind, that sounds right, doesn't it? And so you're sitting there agreeing with a lie. "You know, that is the truth. And my mother always did tell me I'm too passive and I need to speak up." So there you are, buying a lie.

The enemy sitting on your shoulder, person walks in, you let them have it, both barrels. Now you don't know that that same demon that was just sitting on your shoulder that got you all worked up to do that, goes over to them and says, "You're not going to take that, are you? Your mama didn't talk to you like that. Oh no, you are not going to..." Next thing you know you have World War III when the Bible told you how to settle it issue by issue.

You get used to blowing people away and turning folk off and alienating everybody in your life. Next thing you know, you have a bondage of anger and resentment in your life because you gave a foothold to the enemy. You have to understand the enemy doesn't want a foothold; that's just the start. Once he gets his foot in the door, you can't shut and lock the door. Don't you know he's going to pry the whole thing open, come in and start setting up shop? And you go from a foothold to a stronghold.

Some of you have bought this candy store theology that tells you now that you're a Christian, you don't have to worry about the devil, that the enemy can't set up bondage in the life of a Christian. I don't know where you got that. You didn't get it out of the Bible. The devil can set up an area of stronghold in the life of any Christian who doesn't follow the Word, who doesn't live in awareness of his power and authority, who doesn't treat his bondages like enemies, who doesn't replace lies with the eternal truth. And you can be saved and bound.

People want to intellectualize and theorize the question. "Well, can a Christian be possessed with a demon?" That's the wrong question. We're not talking about possession; we're talking about bondage. The enemy can oppress a disobedient, ignorant, lie-living child of God. He can keep you under oppression. He doesn't have to possess you; he'll oppress you to death and keep bondage in your life, and you can't get free to save yourself because the Bible's given you the only prescription for freedom. Until you walk in it, you won't get the results.

John 8:32 says you got to know the truth and let the truth set you free. That's why Proverbs 23:23 says, "Buy the truth and sell it not." Buy the truth. Go after truth. You in bondage? Go after truth. Grab your Bible, get with people who know the Bible, and let them pour truth into you. Here is the truth of God. Absorb it. Take it in. Buy the truth. Don't buy a lie. Buy it at any price.

Truth is at a premium these days, folks. Don't you fool yourself. Truth is at a premium. There's no bargain basement sale on truth. You won't find truth in the clearance sale. Truth is hard to come by. You've got to pay full price now. The world is living according to lies. If you want truth, you've got to pay full price. You've got to say, "I don't mind being unpopular. I'm not in a popularity contest; I'm after truth. I don't care what you think about me; I'm after truth. I don't care how weird or strange I may appear to be to you; it is because I choose to live by truth."

I'm not buying lies. The enemy wants to bring bondage into my life and they are ushered in through lies, so I've got to live by the truth. Replace Satan's lies with God's truth. And if you'll do that, you'll discover that God's will will be done in your life and that the bondages Satan and your flesh want to keep you bound with can be addressed by the power of God.

Thanks so much for being here with us for today's Destined for Victory message, "When Jesus Comes." It is always a pleasure to have you with us. Once again today, we have the privilege of sharing a great resource with you to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus. It's a thank you gift to all of you who choose to make a donation to our media ministry. This month's gift is a booklet called "Access Granted," and to tell you a little bit more about it, here's our executive director, Alicia Greer.

Alicia Sheppard Greer: One thing I really love about the "Access Granted" message is this idea that there are benefits that we have as Kingdom people that God really wants us to know about. You know, my father had me give a message on a Sunday morning a couple years ago, and in that message, I gave this example from something I saw on television. There was a woman who was feeling insecure because she was married to a man who was famous. And so her husband reassured her with these words that I thought were so sweet, and I shared them in the message. He said to her, "You're my wife. You can be anywhere that I am."

And this "Access Granted" message makes me think about that. God wants us to know that just by virtue of the relationship that we have with Him, there are certain benefits that we should never feel insecure about. And that's what this message is all about. It doesn't mean that our life is going to be all rainbows and sunshine all the time, but there are benefits that the Lord wants us to be confident in. So I really encourage everyone to check out this resource, and I believe it'll be a great blessing to you.

Paul Sheppard: Thank you, Alicia. Again, the booklet is called "Access Granted." It's our gift to you by request for your generous donation to Destined for Victory. If you'd like to give, we've got several options for you. Stop by PastorPaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. Call us at 855-339-5500. That's 855-339-5500. Or if you prefer, you can mail your gift to Destined for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, California 94538.

I've read the Bible from cover to cover. I haven't found the first place where He promised to deliver us from our friends, but He does promise to deliver you from your enemies. So you've got to hate what God hates. You've got to despise what God despises. You've got to take God's attitude about everything in your life. If you have a little pet bondage and it's your friend, you'll never get rid of it. That's next time in our continuing message, "When Jesus Comes." I hope you'll join us. Until then, remember: He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in Christ. You are destined for victory.