Destined for Victory

Guest (Male): It’s an uncommon story of faith and courage and it comes your way next. Welcome to Destined for Victory where we feature the preaching ministry of Pastor Paul Sheppard. Before we get to that teaching today, we want to share a conversation I once had with Pastor Paul.

As you know, Destined for Victory has always been committed to using the media to share the gospel with as many people as we can. I once asked Pastor Paul to talk about why radio was so important, not only to the ministry, but to him personally, and here's what he said.

Paul Sheppard: Well, I want to tell you that it's important to me as a discipler that my voice is heard and it is used to help people grow in their knowledge of the Lord and in their faith walk with him. Fact of the matter is, my voice doesn't sound like most of the other folks you hear on Christian radio. I'm well aware of that and I'm really comfortable with that.

I come from my own unique background, both ethnically and in terms of life experience. There are things I share, there are things I say, and there are the ways that I say them that are unique. I believe that that perspective needs to be heard throughout Christendom. And so, while I'm so grateful for all of my heroes—your heroes are mine, I listen to the same people, the guys who have been on the radio for decades and have proclaimed God's word faithfully—I really do appreciate those guys.

But I've learned not to be intimidated by them because I've got my own way of processing and my own way of sharing and helping people to learn and to grow in their faith. So it's quite intentional. Sometimes I like to be really colloquial in what I say and how I say it, because I'm just using who I am and I think God wants to use that. He's the one who called me. I didn't call myself.

He called me and I believe he knows what he was getting when he called me into the ministry. And so I'm just trying to make a difference because the gospel really does change lives and I believe I have a unique calling to help present the gospel from my own perspective. And I pray that that's resonating with listeners and I pray that that means enough to them that they'll make sure my voice can continue to be heard right along with our other heroes who teach the gospel of Jesus.

Guest (Male): Well, that was Pastor Paul's mission and it remains our mission today: to bring the timeless truth of the gospel, which ultimately leads to a victorious life, to radio, online, with every means possible to reach as many people as possible. We can't do any of this without your help.

So today we're asking for you to send a generous donation to Destined for Victory in honor of Pastor Paul's memory. As our way of saying thank you, we'd like to send you our latest booklet, You Are So Loved. This is an honest, deeply personal booklet about the most important question we'll ever face: does my life matter and is there a God who actually cares about me?

It's a must-read for anyone who wrestles with these questions. So if you or anyone you know, a friend or loved one, needs to hear this heartfelt gospel presentation, please contact us today and get your copy of You Are So Loved. That's You Are So Loved, our gift to you today by request for your generous donation to Destined for Victory.

Now, 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.

Paul Sheppard: Some of you all have to get to the place where you realize your deliverance, your help, your victory, your breakthrough, your money, whatever it is you need, is not tied up in some one individual or one company or one set of folk that you wish would give you their favor. If they don't bless you, that doesn't mean you're not going to be blessed. All good gifts come from God. He may use a middleman, but he's the manufacturer.

Guest (Male): On today's Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Sheppard, we continue the story of Mordecai and Esther who were among 100,000 Israelites living in Persia during the reign of King Xerxes I. Haman, the king's right-hand man, was about to put every Israelite to death. What follows is one of the most beautiful stories of faith and courage in all of scripture. Now let's get you to today's Destined for Victory message, When Something's Gotta Give.

Paul Sheppard: A defining moment is one of those moments when something has to give. A defining moment is when you reach that place in your life where things can no longer stay the same. Something's got to happen for better or for worse, but it will not stay the same. Throughout redemptive history, men and women of faith have reached these crisis points, these defining moments, these times when something must give.

When you just scroll back in your mind through redemptive history, you can think of the fact that all of the men and women of God we find in scripture sooner or later reached such a point. Noah reached that point where he had to build or drown. Abraham reached that point where he had to go to a place he didn't even know where he was going, but God said, if you want to be blessed, you're going to have to get up and go. You can't stay here.

Jacob reached defining moments, several of them in the course of his life. Joseph reached defining moments. Moses and Joshua, and on and on and on. Sooner or later, they reached that crisis where something's got to give. And now as we arrive at this text, it is Esther's turn. And the text lets us know that she is in a place where she is being looked to and she is going to have to respond to this defining moment.

Now, if you haven't been with us throughout the series, we're at a point where God's people, the Jews, they're living in Persia, so they're not among God-fearing people. And they have an enemy named Haman. In particular, he is the enemy of Mordecai, who is a devout Jew. And although Haman has been given this bogus promotion and is walking around trying to act like somebody when he is nobody, but the king made him somebody, so you've got to act like he's a somebody.

And everybody is acting like he's a somebody except Mordecai, who refuses to worship a man, especially a no-count man. So when he comes by, everybody's bowing and scraping and acting like Haman is here, God himself is among us. And Mordecai just stands there looking at him. And this man's ego couldn't handle it and he hatched this plot.

He said, I'm not just going to have him killed, I hate all his people. I hate the Jews. So I'm going to wipe them all out at one time. I'm going to take this favor I have from the king and I'm going to parlay it into genocide for the Jews. That's where they are and the decree has gone out that on a certain day, all of the Jews are to be killed.

So we're at the point where Mordecai now is talking to his cousin Esther that God has made the queen in this pagan society. She has risen from just being a devout little Jewish girl; she is now Queen Esther. And Mordecai is sending word into the palace, said tell my cousin it's time for her to go to her husband the king and tell him that he's got to spare us because Haman is after our heads.

The word is gone out. It's only a matter of time. Something's got to give. Tell her to go talk to her husband. That's where we are. She sends back word, we just read, and she says, well, I can't go because in this society, even though I'm his wife, I can't just show up in the throne room. I have to be invited. She said the last time he invited me was 30 days ago.

And she says, so I can't just show up because everybody knows if you show up unannounced, you will die. And the only way you won't die is if he extends to you the golden scepter, and that means that he is in a merciful mood that day and he's going to let you live. But she is concerned about her potential death and she sends word, I can't go.

Well, I love Mordecai. He sends word back, tell her that if she won't go, God is going to raise up our deliverance from another place. In other words, I'm not trusting in you. We're actually giving you the opportunity to be used by God and be blessed by God, but if you won't do it, you're not going to stop what God's going to do for his people.

Some of you all have to get to the place where you realize your deliverance, your help, your victory, your breakthrough, your money, whatever it is you need, is not tied up in some one individual or one company or one set of folk that you wish would give you their favor. If they don't bless you, that doesn't mean you're not going to be blessed. Get it in your mind, especially in these days, where we tend to look to people and to companies and what have you, and we tend to put our trust there.

You've got to know that God may very well be setting you up in a place where you learn: cursed is the man who trusts in man. If you put your trust in people, I've had times where I said, oh, I know these folk, I know how they're going to come through, I know how they're going to respond. And just the opposite happened. And some of you have experienced it too where people you thought you could count on and bet on and it's just a matter of time they're going to hook me up.

And you found yourself somewhere saying, I don't believe this. Oh no they did not. You remember Joseph? He thought that cupbearer was going to bless him because he took care of him and he prophesied to him in jail and he built him up and he ministered to him. And he got him all straight and said, the Lord told me to tell you you're going to get your job in three days and all you need to do when you get back there is remember me.

After all, I'm a man of God and I have no business down here in this jail and I want you to just remember me for all that I've done for you. Just let them know about me. And the cupbearer meant well, I'm sure his position was, oh, I got you covered, no worry man, I thank God for you, praise God, all of that. My man got back up in there in Pharaoh's presence, was so glad to have his job back that the Bible says he forgot all about Joseph.

Joseph down there in jail, I picture Joseph, you know, those three days, those days after the man got his job back, I'm sure once he left the jail, Joseph is thinking in his mind, it's only a matter of hours before they come get me. Can't you imagine it had to be that way? Because he's thinking there's no reason why he would forget me, all that I've done for him. And so I can imagine him down there telling all the other prisoners because you know, they had placed him in charge of the other prisoners.

And he was like, all right y'all, I'm not going to be here with you anymore, but y'all be strong. You know, y'all be strong, I'm not going to be here to encourage you every day and build you up, you know, but y'all going to have to look out for one another. And he's down there coaching people and encouraging people. All right, be strong now, don't let this time do you. He's down there pep-talking. Nightfall, nobody sent for him.

The next day, nobody sent for him. Three, five, seven days later, Joseph's like, I wonder what's taking so long. Maybe the king was on vacation, he's on a cruise, he's not back yet. By about a month, two, three, Joseph was like, oh no he didn't. He got up there, got happy and forgot all about me. Your hope, your answer, your solution is not in anybody's hands. Do you know why that man forgot Joseph?

Because God let him forget. Because Joseph's deliverance was for an appointed time. And until that time came, there was no deliverance to be had. He had to wait on God's timing. You've got to learn to put your trust in the Lord and not in people. And so Mordecai is saying to Esther, listen, we believe God has set you up. Who knows, he says, but that God has brought you to the position you're in for such a time as this?

But don't get it twisted. If you won't go, God is going to bless us through some other means. And he said, and you will mess around and die. We're all going to be free because God's going to see to our deliverance. But if you don't step out in faith, you're the one that's going to be in trouble. And so she is at a defining moment. Every now and then we all reach that crisis point in our lives, that defining moment when something's got to give, when life can't stay the same, when movement and change is going to occur one way or the other, for better or for worse.

You reach that point where you're either going to progress or digress. You reach that point where you're either going to grow or you're going to start dying emotionally and psychologically and spiritually. Have you ever seen anybody living and dead at the same time? I know folk, they are living and breathing and get a good clean bill of health when they go to the doctor, but they are the walking dead. They died emotionally, they died psychologically, they died spiritually.

They stopped trusting God, they stopped believing for God to intervene in their lives. They gave up. Somebody left them, somebody walked away, somebody got sick, some tragedy happened in their life, some crisis befell them, and they're suddenly through living. One of the worst things you can see is somebody who's alive physically but dead emotionally and spiritually and psychologically. But it can happen. You reach a point where you either grow or die.

You reach a point where you either get delivered or you get destroyed. You reach a point where you either get better or you become bitter. You reach a point where you've got to quit bellyaching about giants and walled cities and go on and possess the land. And if you don't, you will be sentenced to a life of mediocrity in the wilderness and you will never arrive to any significant place. You reach a crisis point in your life.

And I'm preaching this at this time in the series because some of us are there right now. You're there right now. Oh, folk don't know it because you still look cute, you still got your Bible, you still say praise the Lord and God bless you. You still don't even say fine when people ask you how you are, you're blessed and highly favored. You do all the spiritual things, you say everything you're supposed to say and do everything you're supposed to do.

But if we could take a peek into the inner life, we would discover that you're at a crisis point, you're at a defining moment. Something's got to give, you can't stay the same. Trouble is all around you and something's got to happen and happen now. And the Lord sent you to hear this message to answer the question, what do you do when you reach a defining moment? What do you do when you reach a crisis point?

What do you do when you don't have the luxury of staying the same? Esther's example provides the answers for us. Let me throw three of them at you from this text and I'll be done. Number one: discern the possibilities, not just the problem. Discern the possibilities, not just the problem. Notice what is said here in verse 14. Mordecai sends word to Esther and says, if you remain silent, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place and you and your father's family will perish.

Watch this: and who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? He says, first I need you to know that God is going to get it done, but he has positioned you. You are not where you are by accident. I need to tell somebody here that you are not in the position you're in by accident. You don't have the job you have by accident or you didn't lose the job you had by accident.

You are not at your financial place by accident. You are at a crisis point, but it is one that has not caught your God off guard. In fact, he is saying to Esther, look at you. Look at you. Little Jewish woman who was completely insignificant. You were cute, but nobody knew who you were with your cute self. But God even had a design on her looks. God even said, I'm going to use the way she looks.

I'm going to give her favor not just based on her looks because again, there was this whole America's Next Top Model approach to picking the queen. She was one of many contestants. She was fine, but I'm sure there were other fine sisters, but the Lord gave her favor in the eyes of Xerxes. God said, I'm going to use what I've made you to be for my own purposes. If you're good-looking, that's on purpose.

And if you're not blessed with wonderful looks, that's because God doesn't need them to get you where you're going. So quit hating on the good-looking folk. Oh, come on somebody, quit hating on them. Think they all that. No, you think they all that, or else you wouldn't be copping such an attitude. Ever seen folk cop attitude with somebody they don't even know? They start squinting up their face.

You're already not that great-looking, don't do that to your face. Y'all not ready for me today. Quit hating on people. If God gave it to them, he'll use it for his own purpose. If he didn't give it to you, you don't need it to get where he's taking you. Your looks and your money and your family and your position will get you exactly where God is taking you. You don't need what somebody else has to be blessed and highly favored of the Lord.

Discern the possibilities, not just the problem. This woman is told by her cousin Mordecai, look at you. You have no business being the queen of Persia, but there you sit on the throne. He says, that has to be a God thing. And you've got to stop looking at the problem only. She's worried about, if I go in there and he didn't call for me, I'm going to be dead. He said stop looking at the problem and look at the possibilities.

Your answer is in the possibilities. The problem is the problem, but God has a solution set up that you have to discern. In Genesis 26, you find Isaac in a land where there's a famine. But he's God's man. God has a plan for him. The Lord told his father Abraham, I'm going to bless you and through your seed all the nations of the world are going to be blessed. So Isaac has got to know, well, listen, there's a plan beyond this crisis point.

How's my daddy's seed going to be blessed if I die in a famine? So what did he do? He planted in that land. We're told in Genesis 26:12, he planted, he sowed during a famine. And he reaped that same year a hundredfold. He didn't just look at a famine, well, can't do anything, it's a famine. He looked at the possibility. What was the possibility? The seed he had.

He's got a problem, that's the famine, but he looked at the seed, that's the possibility, and he sowed the seed. That's what some of us have to learn to do. When God gives you seed, seed is not to eat, seed is to sow. The little bit you have is to sow so that God can produce a harvest that'll not only feed you but bless other people as well. He looked not only at the problem, but the possibility: his seed.

Moses looked not only at the problem. There Moses and the children of Israel, all two or three million of them, maybe four million of them, came out of Egypt. But now they find themselves stuck at the banks of the Red Sea. Pharaoh and his army in hot pursuit. Sea is in front of them, can't go anywhere. We are trapped. Moses looked to the Lord and the Lord said to Moses, why you standing here?

Tell those folk who are murmuring and complaining—they've already started talking, he brought us out here he's going to get us killed. We were better off just staying there in slavery. You know you can get to a place where your mind is so decayed and so messed up until you think bondage is better than freedom?

Guest (Male): Thanks so much for stopping by for today's Destined for Victory message, When Something's Gotta Give. 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: You can't walk around saying it's just me and Jesus. Not enough. I said it's not enough. The Bible says it's not enough. You have to build faith partnerships, you have to find the people in the body of Christ who know how to stand with you in faith and believe God for his best in your life.

Guest (Male): And that's next time in our Destined for Victory message, When Something's Gotta Give. But until then, remember: He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.