Taking On Our New Identity (cont'd)

Paul Sheppard: And what God tells you to do is always scary. Have you noticed that? If you haven't, pay attention. God never tells you something to do that's nice and easy and simple and everybody's going to love you while you do it.
Guest (Male): Hello and thanks for joining us for today's Destined for Victory message with Pastor Paul Shepherd. Wherever you are and however you may be listening, thanks for making this part of your day. What does it mean to have a new identity in Christ? First, it means the devil is beneath you. Second, it means you should always pay attention to God 's timing, not your own. And coming your way next, the final three keys to understanding who we are in Christ. Remember to visit pastorpaul.net to listen to any recent message on demand including today's pastorpaul.net. Or subscribe to the podcast at Spotify or wherever you enjoy your podcast. Now, let's listen in to our Destined for Victory message taking on our new identity.
Paul Sheppard: God knows Gideon that through this whole journey of trying to get him to the place where he can finally take on his identity, his problem has been fear and doubt and insecurity and I can't do that. And God so loved him and so loves us that God just helped him along a little bit. He said if you're afraid to attack cuz he knew Gideon was afraid to attack. He said okay, go on get your servant. Go on get Pura and y'all go down there and just listen. He said I'm encouraging you. Now, let me tell you something. God did that for Gideon just because he really wanted to show that when his calling is on our lives, he won't even let us mess it up with our stuff. But at the same time, I want to challenge you. Do not tempt the Lord your God. Don't keep pushing God with your doubt and your unbelief. At a certain point, faith has got to kick in. And you got to say if God has brought me this far, then he is certainly going to take me the rest of the way. But Gideon wasn't quite there and so Gideon had to get a little help and God sent him down to the camp with his servant and and look at what they over here. They over here one man telling his friend I had a dream. A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed. Watch this. His friend responded this can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon, the Israelites. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands. Verse 15. When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. I guess he did. Isn't that amazing that he goes down, he's scared to attack. He's still trying to get this new identity thing. So God helps him along. He's scared to attack. He goes down there and over hears a soldier telling another soldier look at this dream. Some bread came rolling into the camp with such force, a loaf of bread with such force that it overturned and caused the tent to collapse. And the friend interpreted the dream. Said that Gideon, that mean God has given us into his hands. We in trouble. I need you to understand something. You can feel fearful, but don't let it stop you. Some of you all are waiting to stop being afraid before you move. I want to suggest to you you don't have the luxury of that kind of time. Be scared, but do it anyway. If it's of God, do it anyway. If you allow it, fear will paralyze you and you will never move forward into what God is telling you to do. And what God tells you to do is always scary. Have you noticed that? If you haven't, pay attention. God never tells you something to do that's nice and easy and simple and everybody's going to love you while you do it. I've never had God give me a definite leading to do something where it was just easy and simple and it was just 1 2 3 and easy and just Whenever you got to claim a promised land, there's giants there. Whenever you got to claim a promised land, there are enemies dug in saying if you step over this line, I'm going to kill you. That's why all throughout Joshua chapter 1, the Lord kept saying to Joshua be strong and very courageous. When God has to keep saying to you now be strong and very courageous, don't be terrified, don't be dismayed. When you keep hearing that, you know why that is? Because you're going to run into something that will terrify you if you let it. And we have to learn to not let fear stop us. I remember when my son wanted to ride roller coaster. I he know his daddy loved roller coasters and so we going when we moved out here he and Alicia were just little things. We would go down there to Santa Cruz cuz I love old fashioned cuz I don't like these new looping and corkscrew and all that twisting you. You get off dizzy. That that's not my I don't roll like that. I like straight up, straight down, up, down, up, down, curve around, down, up. And I've written the nicest wooden roller coasters in the country, tallest, highest. Soon as I heard back in those days soon as I I would hear a high one was built, I'd go there. Right. I remember down Southern California when Colossus was first built. At the time, that was the big deal. I went to Southern California as I'm getting on Colossus. Just loved it and he knew his daddy was into him and he was real real little and he's looking at it and he wanted to try it. But he like I don't know. But one day we were down in Santa Cruz and I said son if you ready, come on. Dad will ride with you. We'll be in there right together and he's looking at it and you could tell he wanted to, but something just I'm just not sure. But in here he had coasters in him. The coasters were in him. He was just trying to push through that threshold. And finally he said I am going. I said all right, good. I looked at his his mother and winked. I said he's okay, he's ready. And so she standing there you know her anointing was holding people's bags and stuff and just watching. That's what she like to do. I'll be here when y'all get off. And so he got on there and we sat down next to me and I could tell he was nervous, but we creeping up there for you know in that first one just about kill you if you kind of scared. And you know he was just I just said oh man this is going to be fun. It's going to be all right. I'm proud of you. I'm glad to see you bring that and I'm just encouraging him. We going on up and finally we rolled and rolled and got off. And I said I wonder if this is going to be his first and last. That boy been riding coasters ever since. Sometimes you just got to push through the threshold. I'm scared, but I'm going to do it anyway. God is with me. I'm going to do it anyway. I might look dumb, but I'm going to do it anyway. People might talk about me, but I'm going to do it anyway. Oh, let them run their mouths, but I'm going to do it anyway. Bishop Jakes told the story in the meeting I was in with him of he was sitting down and thinking his computer somebody was doing some work and kind of into it. And his little grandson came creeping down the steps and walked up to him. And I was just standing there. And Bishop Jakes stopped on the step boo. He said little grandson took We running, laughing, screaming. He said a few seconds he creep back in there. Got within my range of my view. Said I never stop without doing but I just stop requesting boo. Few seconds later he come right on back. And Bishop said I was trying to get my work done and I knew he won't do this forever now. He said so after doing it about three times I think he said I just tried to ignore him. He said but after a while he said paw paw. And Bishop said what? He said scare me again. Ask God scare me again. Give me something to do that will scare the living daylights out of me. Give me an assignment that's so big, so outside of my comfort zone that it will have to be you to bring it to pass. Quit being safe. Go on and let God scare you into something supernatural, scare you into something phenomenal that will give him all the glory and all the praise. It's time for you to scare me again. I've been living safe for a long time now. Let God scare you again. Number four. Follow your leader. Judges 7, the second part of verse 15. When Gideon heard the dream that this man in the Midianite camp had and its interpretation, he worshiped God. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and called out get up. The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands. He divided the 300 men into three companies. He placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them with torches inside. Then look at verse 17. Watch me, Gideon told them. Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and those who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp you blow yours and shout for the Lord and for Gideon. Fourth practical step I want you to take is to follow your leader. You got to understand something. God is the one who raises up leaders in the church just like he has done throughout redemptive history. Now, there are two categories of leaders in the church just as there have been throughout redemptive history. There are some that he sent and there are some that just went. You've got to discern which is which. Not everybody with a collar is a pastor. Not everybody who went to seminary is a Christian leader. Some folk just went. But there are others that God sent. Sometimes when I'm doing pastors conferences or speaking at some uh environment where there a lot of pastors, I tell them I hope you're functioning in a God-given calling cuz if you're not, I got a question for you. What are you doing in this profession? I have called pastors out like you must be crazy to be a pastor without a calling. Something wrong with somebody told you wrong. If you think this is a good job that I just think I'll become a pastor, you tripping. You You have overestimated the value of a reserved parking space at a church. You have overestimated the value of having your own office, your little own little chair to swirl around in, your office to meet folk in. You have over evaluated the importance of that big You know some churches had that big throne that the pastor sits on. They had the little regular chair and then they had the big throne for the pastor. Some of y'all tripping over that throne. I wouldn't be caught dead in this profession except that God called me to do it. Listen, some folk are called. When you're under called leadership, you're under somebody. God said through the prophet Jeremiah I will give you shepherds after my heart. They will feed you and they will lead you. They are going to take you where I'm taking you. And some folk they would ask us old testament we ain't got to find no leadership. We under grace. We do our own thing now under grace. Just me and Jesus. I don't need nobody. I know how some of you funky New Testament folk are. You as mixed up as a bale of fish hooks. That's what's wrong with you. In the New Testament, God said through the apostle Paul and I have called some to be apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and some teachers and their job is to grow you up and lead you in the things of God so you become spiritually mature and you do everything God's called you to do. You do need a pastor. I beg to differ. You need a person of God who is called and anointed to lead you and to feed you and you will be far better off in the right place under the right leadership than you will be trying to be a spiritual lone ranger. Y'all just following a man. That's what God told you to do. Paul said follow me as I follow Christ. He was talking to Christians when he said it. Now, if I get off and start acting like Jim Jones and you don't follow anybody down there, you don't drink Kool-Aid over it. You need to be saved and under the right leadership. And when you have a leader, follow the leader. Cuz many of your blessings will be tied to your followership. And here you see what God said through Gideon. This man is finally taking on his identity. He said now y'all do what I do. Watch me and do what I do. I'm following the instruction of God and you follow my lead. He said everybody get a jar in one hand, get a trumpet in the other one and watch me and when you hear me and my 100 men blow our trumpets, then y'all blow your trumpets. Don't stand there saying I blow my trumpet when I feel like but if I don't feel like blowing trumpet I ain't funny. God ain't called me. I don't feel the Holy Ghost. I don't feel the urge, the unction to blow my trumpet. Shut up and blow that trumpet. The oil starts at the head and as it pours down, God will bless the whole garment because of what he is doing at the head. I dare you to get up under this leadership and say whatever the Lord says for you to do. By God's grace that's what we going to do. And if you do it, you'll see the same blessings that are coming on to my life will drip into your life. Drip drip drip drip drip. Don't let anybody ridicule you. You just following a man. I'm following Christ in a man. You following somebody who had a really bad experience. So you want to walk around with a snapshot of the worst season of my life and carry it around the rest of your days when God's been running a movie and moving on and experiencing wonderful things. And if you look at the picture, you will miss the movie. And there are folk that just love looking at the picture. You look at the picture all you want to. But God's running a movie. He has disciplined his servant. He has gotten my attention. He has done a wonderful thing in my life and his anointing is as rich as ever. Not letting anybody talk me out of being where I'm supposed to be. You can ridicule and act crazy all you want to. I know exactly where God wants me to be. Somebody who can tell me how to get from where I am to where God has destined me to be. And so follow your leader intentionally. Well, what's the trumpet? What's the significant? I need a meeting pastor cuz I need to know what's the significance of the trumpet. Significance of a trumpet is put your lips on it and blow. Last thing is win with what God gives you. Win with what God gives you. Look at what he gave you. That's all you need to win. If you needed more, he'd have given you more. What do these people have? Now, remember they're up against 130 some thousand of the enemy, a hundred and thirty some thousand. Hundred h u n i d. They up against a massive group of soldiers. It's 300 of them. And what does God give them to fight with? A jar and a trumpet. He said and put the torch with the jar. What? How many know that God can take what looks like nothing and work a wonder with it? God can take what makes no sense and win a mighty battle. Gideon said when I blow my trumpet, y'all blow yours. When I break my jar on the ground, you break your jar. Then pick up your trumpet and just hold it there. Stand in the presence of God all around the camp, all of the positions where I've positioned you and just do what God says. And when that time came, he blew his trumpet. His 100 blew their trumpets. The other 200 blew their trumpets. They threw their jars down. The sound of the jars all crashed and then the torches went up in the air and the Midianites down in the valley looked up, heard this noise. God used that noise and it completely disconcerted them. They started fighting one another. Read the rest of it. I don't have time. Read the rest of it. They started fighting one another. The ones that weren't fighting each other, they were running for their lives, scared to death. Why? Cuz God put his fear in their heart. You got to quit trying to figure out how God is going to get you out of your dilemma, how God's going to work you out of that situation. Quit trying to figure out what's wrong with you now. Is you think too much. You need to pray more than you think. You need to obey more than you think. You need to follow more than you think. You need to push yourself even when you're scared. You need to say God, you're the one that's going to win this battle, not me. So I'm just going to follow you. And if you follow the Lord, you going to see him take your 300 your jars and your trumpet. And win mighty battles in your life.
Guest (Male): The first step in discovering your identity in Christ is putting your faith in Christ. Thanks so much for being here with us for today's Destined for Victory featuring the teaching ministry of Pastor Paul Shepherd. Now, today's message is part of our teaching series from warrior to warrior. Look for it online at pastorpaul.net. You know a Destined for Victory partnership is always been one of our core values put in place years ago by Pastor Paul Shepherd. I once spoke with him about not only the power of partnership, but the benefits. Here's that conversation.
Paul Sheppard: You're absolutely right. I think that we do need to underscore that it is a win-win situation when a person is a not only a faithful prayer warrior to undergird us with prayer, but when they are faithful in supporting our ministry financially, there is a real benefit to them because when you think about it, Jesus said in Matthew 6 don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth corrupts and and things get eroded and all that. He says you need to store up treasures in heaven. And if people say well, how in the world do you do that while you're still living on earth? The answer is you support things that make a difference not only for time, but for eternity. And ministries like ours are making that kind of difference. So you get to directly benefit as a supporter because Jesus is saying in essence you share in the victory, you share in the fruitfulness of the ministries you support. And I know that to be true. God has blessed me over the years because of faithful listeners who stand with us every month. I can count on the fact that part of what they do is they sow into this ministry so that we can continue to preach timeless truths in a timely way that's making a difference for people both in this life and preparing them for the life to come. And there is no Pastor Paul or any of the other ministers that God is using without those who faithfully support them to you. I say thank you so much. To others I'm saying please prayerfully consider becoming part of that support team.
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Paul Sheppard: When you pray, say this. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Hallowed be thy name. So he taught us even in praying to make sure that praise and acknowledgement of who God is is part of our prayer life.
Guest (Male): That's next time in our Destined for Victory message Exalting His Name. Until then, remember He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.