Moving On with Passion (cont'd)

The past achievement list that I got us some time made all of it is past achievement. Sometimes ways that kick back and say well done pretty new to this part of my life is not good.

So Paul said to me the lead what's behind you a painful past can bring depression successful past can bring complacency both and keep you from faith and from your destiny in Christ hello and welcome to Destin for victory with pastor Paul Sheppard with senior pastor destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. Thanks for spending part of your busy Friday well I don't know about your past spring with a good or bad, or somewhere in between pastor Paul wants to encourage you to neither revel in it or want instead leave it behind and press on toward your high calling in Christ Jesus.

Today's message is straight ahead so stay with us or visit pastor Paul.net to listen on demand. That's pastor Paul.net you can also listen to or download our podcasting tune in wherever you go to get your podcasts must join Pastor Paul for today's Destin for victory message moving on one thing you can ensure and will decide to do right now.

Paul said one thing I do love this.

He said forget things which are behind and reaching forward some translations say straining toward what is ahead.

He said I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, for he says what is behind me and then straining toward what is ahead of me. I like that because sometimes the is past achievement you missed that. I got a slave again. Sometimes the only element is past achievement. Sometimes when he sent back and kick back and say well done pretty good to this part of my life is not going to get you to fulfillment.

So Paul said to let go of what's behind you.

Now there's some things that are behind us that are negative and hope fully you are committed to letting go of those things but I want to suggest to you. Sometimes you have to let go of your positive accomplishments. Sometimes you have to let go all the good things not that they were somehow wrong, but to the end that if I'm going to class and aim toward something else. I can't be focused on what's behind me and I want to encourage somebody. It's time for you to decide you are going to join me in being a person who journeys toward fulfillment. Higher is calling you better is calling you and it's time for you and I to answer that call. The call is coming when are you going to answer it for some of you know being called to spiritual development. Higher spiritual development for some of you your walk with God needs to firm up your time in God's presence needs to be strengthened.

You pray every now and then but you need to become a person whose lifestyle is characterized by constant conversation with God and what you're going to see is as you draw near to him.

The Bible says that when you draw near to him. He will draw near to you use I think it's time for me to grow spiritually. Yes, it is time for you to do that. So you have to initiate that growth. Higher spiritual development is calling for some of you higher emotional development is calling what you mean by that pastor. I mean sometimes there's a difference between your chronological age and your emotional age doesn't matter how old you are chronologically.

The real question is how old are you emotionally.

That is, how much more are you emotionally. Are you still fighting Patty fights now at this age in your life. Are you still hassling with things you should stop fooling with a long time ago when you have arguments. Are you still arguing with the people in your life. Over the same petty nonsense that you have dealt with for years and years at a certain point you gotta grow up emotionally.

Paul said when I was a child, I thought straight and act like a child. Time for me to grow up and put childish things behind me. Some of you need emotional development. Some of you need relational development relationships are still immature, you still fall out with people that God wants in your life.

God, since some people in your life to sharpen you. The Bible in the book of Proverbs talks about iron sharpening iron and in that same way were supposed to sharpen one another. Some of y'all are still dull because you won't let the people in your life sharpen you say amen when you can I know what I said is just right and you need to let folks sharpen you. Some of you need to develop educationally. Some of you the education you have.

Was fine for the seasons in your life to this point, but what's in your heart what's in your mind will take you to fulfillment is going to require you to take some new courses or to get another degree or to do some online training.

Whatever it is. Some of you will need to enter into a brand-new career and it might not be convenient or comfortable but not passion that passion and knowing it's part of what God has for you and drive you toward success for some of you it's career development that higher and better is calling for some of us financial development is what we need in our lives. Some of us need to finally get our finances in order that the matter is you been to grow or to wind that for too long. You like to have the joy of your bills not preoccupying your life when you like the joy of knowing Bill is a pain in the meeting. My hands hang out all the time I'm reducing debt when you want the joy of eventually being able to say I did 40 well is calling better is calling question is are you going to answer the call of course you know in order to experience financial fulfillment. It means you're going to have to delay gratification and do the things that were taught to do by all the gurus were teaching us the principles of financial discipline, but I promise you if you will engage them with truth, you will experience higher and better in your life. And so that's the first point in this series is to call you to a place of passion you got decide I wanted. I want different. I higher I want better and so I'm going to higher ground.

I'm not staying in the lowlands of desert living like that first generation I'm going to Canaan. I'm going to claim mountains I'm going to slave giants.

I'm going to do something for God. That will be extraordinary. I grew up in a hymn singing church and one of the hymns.

I love is called higher ground. The first verse says I'm pressing on the way new heights. I'm gaining every day.

Still praying as Einhorn would bow, plant my feet on higher ground. Another verse says my heart has no desire to stay where doubts arise and fears.

This may though some may dwell where these abound. My prayer, my name is higher ground. The course is Lord, lift me up and let me stand by faith on heavens table land higher plane than I have found Lord, plant my feet on higher ground. Somebody is ready to say I want to go to another place in some key area of my life. I'm not going to settle. I want to excel, but if you do that, I believe God's going to bless us to experience higher ground, and to experience fulfillment for some of you experience in fulfillment means that you're going to finally start exercising your spiritual gifts every believer has a spiritual gift or several of them and some of us sit on our gifts and never exercise the dog and get you gifts so that you could leave them lying dormant gifts are to be exercised and that's God's plan for your life right now and so it's time for you to discover them is time for you to exercise them for some of us fulfillment means you're going to become one who comes alongside people and help them fulfill what God wants to do in their lives. I want to say some of you seasoned citizens. God is calling you at this season of your life to be a Naomi some Ruth you are to be a spiritual mama or an emotional safe person for some younger people, whether male or female.

You're supposed to help the generations coming along and you are to help them succeed. Just like they only needed to be there so that when Boaz married Ruth.

There was some woman in their life who could help them in the raising of that child. God used Naomi to be a blessing to Ruth and Boaz, God blessed her to be the matriarch of the family that eventually brought to the earth, because you remember when they got married. They had a baby named old bed and when that baby grew up and got married. He had a baby named Jesse, and Jesse grew up and got married and his baby was named David. I wanted tell you.

God has a plan that you don't even know about and some of the people you're supposed to come alongside are going to be world changers. Some of them are going to be planted shakers.

They are going to be difference makers and can be party to that by come alongside and strengthening some people and so I want you to know fulfillment for you might mean being a blessing to somebody else. Stay with us for only about halfway through today's destined for victory message with pastor Paul Sheppard.

We want to thank all of you whose prayers and financial support help pastor Paul share the gospel all over the world as we find ourselves still fighting her way through a season of uncertainty. Your support is even more critical today because in times of crisis, people are more willing to have conversations about Jesus or listen to Christian radio program like destined for victory. That's why your gifts are so important today. Give online safely and securely from our website. Pastor Paul.net or give us a call at 855-339-5500 again 855-339-5500, and when you give your best gift this month with a special gift of her own to share with you. I'll tell you all about it. After today's message. Sometimes God blesses you for no reason. But in order to change your destiny very often have to ask God to help you make changes to yourself is pastor Paul the second half of today's message moving on passion.

It is time for us to stop thinking survival and start thinking let's live and do the things God has called us to do.

But in order to do that I alluded to in earlier I've come back to it now you have to be willing to change and I told you. Change is not something many of us are known for. But it is something God wants us to do about to talk about your personal development areas of your life personally need to be changed for the better while you're changing financially and emotionally and and and relationally, and all that. What about your personal development. What about you could use improvement. If you say I think I'm doing pretty good actually do yourself a favor asked somebody to tell you what do you think about me could stand some improvement. Now go to any nobody asked somebody who loves you enough to tell you the truth the whole truth not but the truth. Think about how somebody will say no I really want to know because of ongoing higher. I don't want to just go higher, educationally or financially. Whatever I want to go higher. In my personal character development. I want to become a better stronger person. I don't want to go and get mean as I get old. I will be cantankerous as I'm aging.

So tell me about myself asked anybody and really wanted to know would you tell me the truth.

What are some of my week areas as you see me and be willing if you find a taker. If you somebody who is willing to answer the question. Do yourself a favor and listen to the answer be prepared. If they say some like, well, rude, and you really need to work on being nicer now. See if you fly off when you hear that you're not ready to change, you have to be willing to say okay all right I hear you, thank you for sharing that with me. I'm going to pray about and I'm going let the Holy Spirit develop the fruit of kindness in me because we discovered a series with the fruit of the spirit and one of the fruit is kindness. So if you're rude right now you need to aspire you need to say part fulfillment for me is becoming a kinder gentler person than I've ever been. Let them tell you what you know you're quite impatient to use their patients but you you are very patient anymore. Some of us. That's where we all right now. Used to be patient right now with very impatient, sometimes the seasons of your life cause you to lose some sensitivities. I know people who used to be patient, but maybe they went through some challenges and struggles in life and right now they lie all very very quickly that you let somebody love you enough to tell you you are to impatient some of you can tell you to impatient, just when you're behind the wheel of your vehicle.

Some of you just all tellers when you're driving the driving public can't handle you very well because you are just insistent on everything going your way and you blowing your horn excessively and you just tell her newly to let somebody help you identify that need to become more patient in your life. Some of us have areas of our psyche that are dysfunctional. Some of us have baggage.

We never dealt with in our past, and we really do need to deal with it. I want to help you understand something when you have issues in your life issues don't just go away because you get older. If you have dealt with issues in your life they're still there. In fact, is what happens when you have trauma in your past. When you have unresolved conflict in your past.

Even if you have some relational challenges that really since you into a very negative and space you will abuse you were treated wrong sometimes. If you don't deal with that stuff properly you carry it into your future, hoping it'll go away. But it doesn't go away. Understand emotional trauma doesn't dissipate fact of the matter is if you were ever traumatized.

The interview is still traumatized until it gets properly addressed and I met traumatized Christians say sanctified, but you push the right button you crank and Jack will come out the box and when Jack comes out the box you know why that is because Jack is in the box. It's just that simple.

The only reason you fly off or you behave in a way that folks that I was so shocked I have never seen that from her. I didn't know he could be that way. Well, it was always there. You just never saw it was the right things didn't bring it to the surface fact the matter is you got issues. Those issues are still there until you deal with them and that's why God wants to bless you in this season where we decided were going to go higher dog does go higher circumstantially and financially and educationally and all of that go higher and character development. If you got issues that never got dealt with. Believe me, God wants to raise up some people in the body of Christ or godly counselor who can help you work through them. In fact, sometimes you get help from a counselor who is not even a Christian in the same way you can have a successful surgery when a doctor do not know the Lord.

There are atheist doctors who can really get you healed physically speaking, because they're using the principles of wisdom, God put in the earth, and their taken advantage of godly wisdom and just go that not acknowledging God the meaning God can use him to bless you and get you better. Well, if you know about your physical condition. Let me assure you the same is true about your psychological condition. So you need to find a good counselor or good friend and let them help you work through some stuff I have counseled with people trying to show them their issues and they flare up and get mad at me. Don't get mad at me I'm trying to bless your life and if you to get well promise you I can make you get well you got a warm a jet better and so some of us need to say Lord I'm tired of being dysfunctional in this area bring a new person into your life and you think the problem is the new person know when you have five unsuccessful best friends and all your former best friends are no longer in your inner circle you used to have five really good friends and were well enough alone I will deal with any of them. Do you know the common denominator is you ship in your mind, you will believe this one was too angry. This was to deal with this and was to know the common denominator was you and is time for you to say Lord turn the spotlight in word and help me see myself for who I really am. Some of you out-of-control in some areas of your life.

But the fruit of the spirit is self-control. So it's time for you to decide. I don't want to go higher in some external ways.

But I'm still petty internally. I don't want to look good and really have ugliness in my spirit say somebody who's good-looking on the outside there on the outside and vague on the inside fact of the matter is, it is time for us to decide I want to get better. I want to be a person who is rich on the inside.

That's what Paul said to Timothy in first Timothy chapter 6, he ended his first letter to Timothy saying all by the way, Timothy, as you minister to the wealthy in the body of Christ, mellow, wealthy people in the body of Christ, always have been. And Paul said that the rich that they don't put their trust in uncertain riches, he said, but more importantly warned them to be rich in good works that would be great to be rich in money. As long as you also rich in good works and you're willing to share. Paul said and ready to give and let God use those resources for his eternal purposes, but we need to be people who are rich on the inside fact, I contend, if you want to be more financially strong.

That's a good aspiration, but make sure you get rich on the inside to so that God knows he can trust you with Rich's ice until the Lord when I drove the second was calling the church as a God.

I will be faithful in the season that I believe in you and with more columns I want to be able to handle it. So I'm going be faithful in this season and some of you need to decide I'm going to get everywhere. My life shaped up now so that when God takes me a higher when God takes me to my Canaan land.

I will be able to enjoy it to change where you're going, you sometimes have to make changes to yourself and his pastor Paul Sheppard said just now true and lasting change. The kind of change. God wants to work in you and through you, always begins from the inside out. Right now it may seem like the worst of times, but from God's perspective, these could very well be the best of times, because it is in times of chaos when people are often more willing to embrace the cross and God's will is that all would come to the knowledge of repentance as we continue to walk together through this season of uncertainty. Let us be a safe place for the loss to land. Let's choose to love them into the kingdom the way God has loved us. One of the best ways you can do that is by becoming one of our destined for victory partners, a group of people who give at least $20 a month to keep these radio and Internet messages airing the whole year through is our way of saying thanks for your partnership will send you if you think you gifts including one of Pastor Paul's most popular CDs. The best of let my people smile. So, call 855-339-5500 to find out more about how to become a destined for victory partner make your pledge right there over the phone or mail your gift to Destin for victory PO Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538.

You can also become a partner for my website. Pastor Paul.net. If you can't become a destined for victory partner but would like to make a donation today with a special year and offer for you is pastor Paul Sheppard's DVD message refocus a sermon which he offers three guidelines to help us work through the challenges we're facing here in 2020, encourage us to continue fulfilling God's purpose in our lives. Again that's Pastor Paul's DVD message refocus our gift to you by request for your best gift to Destin for victory this month. We all only way to be prepare to enter into a higher to enter into better to experience what God has for you is you going to have to deal properly with the fact that some things in your life don't remain there and you need to deal properly with losses. That's Monday and pastor Paul Sheppard's message properly addressing pain and loss. Until then, remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in Christ, you are destined for victory