Built to Last, Part 1 (cont'd)

You can show up at a church and still be alone party still be alone in the Bible fellowship still be alone about proximity.

I'm talking about goodness intentional connectedness and interaction with other people. It's another great day here on Destin for victory wherever you are and how review may be listening. Thanks for making this part of your day.

What we all have wounds from our past people of Curtis band and this betrayed us. Sometimes our responses to isolate ourselves to protect ourselves from further pain.

God is a better plan as Pastor Paul continues his study of King David. Today will see that God intentionally led David into healthy godly relationships. This was a necessary part of his spiritual growth in the years leading up to his rise to the throne and it's a timely reminder for all of us to be all we can be in Christ need help from other people stay with us now or stop by Pastor Paul.net to listen to me. Pastor Paul here is Pastor Paul Sheppard with today's Destin for victory message built to last show that we got about getting the love of Jesus people and you won't even say how are you what's your name I'm really glad to meet you in the churches where Paul didn't know I was some radio preacher and I just show up and armed with a place one time in the greater when you greet me and I thought no one In the title greater great. She stuck some greater show something at me and you know I was jobless my church in the you know what I was on my cell could not get in the past the mold minute night. Have your greeter like the taxpayers that mean you spoke the great people.

If you want to be a handle with a hand and do it.

I just took my papers and when only but no. I made it clear to our ministry to those in the ministry don't have anybody was supposed to be representing us to the public doesn't know how to get Jesus in their face and their boys in their eyes and their gestures meet us or gets fired by find out about against me and I don't get paid fired you relieve you now you will know how to be nice, the folk you can represent the kingdom of God. People don't mean you kicked the alone. This tendency about being intentional about allowing God to bring into your life.

The people that he is ordained. That's what's about to happen with David. David David is now transitioning to God saying yeah been real comfortable out the pastor hanging out with sheep and plan your heart but now I'm bringing some folks into your life. The first of which is going to be Jonathan and dogs doing this because of a further expression of this principle that you find in Ecclesiastes chapter 4 Ecclesiastes chapter 4, beginning with verse nine you find these words to her better than one, because they have a good return for their work.

If one falls down his friend can help him up but the man falls and has no one to help him up. Also if to lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone, though one may be overpowered to can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken words are written under the grace of the Holy Spirit by the second wisest man who ever lived on earth. Solomon's wisdom was second only to that of Jesus Christ. Of course being God embodied all wisdom and Solomon a wiser man than you or me said there are distinctive benefits to living in connectedness with others and he just almost in passing, mentions a few of them here is one thing you can have increased. When you allow yourself to be partnered with the right people increased. He said they have a better return for their work. Two people can get some things done that one person cannot do alone is a powerful synergy is taking to gifted people to people with abilities and bringing together bringing them together around a common goal and the synergy created will get more done. Then they would've imagined.

By trying to do things individually power synergy there is increased productivity. Some things require that other folk come alongside you to help you just can't get I know we love. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Well what that means is, Paul said that on the grace of what he meant is I can do anything that God enables and authorizes me to do in the context he said I learned to about and I've also learned to be a base. In other words, I can handle prosperity. I can handle being in the said that's God's will for me. I can cover something to get done by yourself, but the simple suggests that there are other things you cannot do unless and until the right folks get involved with you. Years ago, the Lord sent me to California from Philadelphia with a vision to reach thousands of unchurched people and during the years that God was going that vision in my heart I was an associate pastor in someone else's ministry. I was the assistant to my dad was my senior pastor and my job in those years as assistant pastor was to fulfill the vision God given him but during that process. The Lord was showing me the day was coming when he was going to send me away from home, away from my comfort zone and he was going to send me where I did not know, and that the result of our ministry would be that thousands of people would come into the kingdom of God.

I didn't know where would happen.

I didn't know when the Lord would release me from Philadelphia.

I just knew that one day it was happening, and in 1988 I was a customer at that point being in full-time ministry at Princeton conventions and what have you. So there were churches that knew of my ministry and what have you, and I was accustomed to feeling invitations from churches that were looking for a pastor to fill their pulpit to you know they were in transition looking for new pastor was accustomed say no because I knew that just based on the vision the Lord is saying that is use my ministry to reach thousands of unchurched people and I had a very distinct idea that I would one day lead a church that would not only grow large but be characterized by reaching a lot of people with no previous church experience and so the church itself wouldn't be very churchy and I thought just based on that information alone will send me to a city and I'm going to have to start a church as a church plant just in my home is a Bible study.

Gather some neighbors. What have you and by the twos and fuels we would build the building blocks for church. That's the way I assumed it would happen because I've been around church folk all my life and when I thought thousands of people and un-churchy environment. I thought I don't know any existing church that would be open to that cause churches you know aren't known for being open to change church folk like it the way it's always been so many dead churches that refuse to be buried and the most pitiful thing is when you see a church that everybody knows that there and they refused to be resurrected charge of all that will in the resurrection. Let the Lord blow some land in there just for yourself, just like Ezekiel's vision where Ezekiel saw the dry bones and the Lord said to him give me the mold live again and he said all God doesn't watch what I can do and he said to the bones and started telling Ezekiel what to say here you the word of the Lord and commanded him to come in the flesh came on the bones in the window.

God blew into those bodies and they came alive and formed an army there were in the Valley God to resurrect the dead, but dead have to be willing to let God get them up with a lot of churches and their comfortable B&B know what you B&B seven last words of that song we never did get the full will be right back with more of today's testing for Victor message from Pastor Paul Sheppard to listen to any of Pastor Paul's recent broadcasts.

Be sure to stop by Pastor Paul.net any time to listen on demand. That's Pastor Paul.net Mr. Paul joins me in the studio after today's message to talk about one most important influences of his life. First let's rejoin him for the second half of today's teaching built to last incomes.

This call from a church. I was familiar with my older brother was one of their former pastors.

I knew several of their former pastors. My older brother being one and I saw them I had preached for them a couple times and hurt me in some conventions and so the pulpit committee contacted me and said, would you be interested in being a candidate for pulpit and I said well I'll play about it. I was used to saying no but for some reason I said these folks. I'll pray about it now when I said I pray about it and I had to actually play about it. There were days when I thought I should just said no in early years when I was struggling with what I had missed God, but I heard myself say, I would pray about it and indeed I did. My wife join me, and we pray Lord what you will. We know you're sending us out. We just don't want to miss it ask you where where to go so we prayed and I met with them and I said well I tell you what this meeting will all know about in that it means a lot to do was tell him everything God is. And if this well.

In the meet and I sit here is what the Lord is saying to me. Here is what I see happening in my future ministry and I shared much of the vision as I saw at the time thinking that it was so scared his committee of phone calls and the more I talked the more excited I got finished one sister. I can still see him now this is what we call, and I thought you got to be getting church folk could be open.

This will take you back to the junction with the recommend that you be our pastoral candidate and they took me back in and they had their fights and their in-house debates and what have you as a little church to begin with.

About time they got through carrying on a little church got little or something got another idea I didn't fit into their plans and also they decided one point they don't go off and try to fulfill their plans and adware to pulpit committee chairman at the time called me in January 1989.

He said well we ready to call you now. You do need to know the church is down to 34 people. This is just wonderful leaving thousand folk in Philly very comfortable in Philly, enjoy myself and Philly finally have the respect and admiration of these Hoboken Philly. I'm finally become the property with his own country in Philly and now that is all for folks they come West and God said, you will and here's my point. You would not be hearing this message right now were it not for those 34 people because those people were called of God with the vision that was clearly from God to me and God said, you can but you cannot do it alone.

I'm not sending you to California to be a one man wonder you will meet people you will need people to invite to come here you preach, you will need people who will man the station, somebody's gotta do the legwork of the logistics of pulling this visionary ministry together. God says you can do it but you can't do it alone and we embarked together as a team forming a unit determined that were going to let God do what he said he was going to do increase productivity, increase productivity Ecclesiastes goes on to say that there are times when you need to be restored and you need people to help restore you times you fall into discouragement and despair in all the Scriptures on encouragement you want when you need somebody look at you and say be encouraged to meet somebody to look at you and make it all. I know it's dark now. Weeping may endure for night is going to come in the morning.

I know you spoke you. I know all the promises I cleaned them all, but are times when you need somebody to pick you up here in despair. Oh, I remember those days when I would believe in God. He came to only 5000 and y'all took a long time getting here not plan you lower your good sweet and driving home from church we were written about the time we went in there about 40 others when and then place that almost 300 and the idea of filling that place was intriguing, but it was a task to think God is going to fill this up and then went to move out here expected to fill out pretty quickly and Sundays when I reached all seats and people right there excited, believe in God some old happy if they knew how to be a never get printed up little things went with somewhere. Hello celebrate a little banquet showed up with to let them see it. I was smiling, but inside I'm like what in the world that we celebrate God said was you know the way y'all were in the club 9999 92.1 of the day I'd be driving home. Dylan made a misstep. We had to miss this one.

Yes it was weird from the Lord God is there, Mick and the Saints just held on and we played faces and play and that God for souls all God do it and the point is, there were times when I needed to be lifted up out of despair and there are times when you don't care how spiritual you are times when you need somebody to lift you up out where you are Bible says here Ecclesiastes for some time to need comfort itself now.

Together they can keep warm at times when you need the comfort and support of people around you going to bereavement or some dark time in your life and you need people to help you through.

You can make it all a you need to find somebody you can find a place where you can fall people who know how to embrace you, without preaching all the time you have the ability to lecture, we just cry it out. God will raise up some folk don't have to give you up and easy solution to every problem will just say I'm here for you and blessing when you run into somebody always try to fix what they can fix this straight. Try to fix something they don't know what they doing just leave it alone. Just let me just let me get it out. Let me exhale let me do whatever you have to do comfort. The Bible says here also that having the right people in your life will bring protection will bring protection protection is needed because it says one walking alone can be overpowered. The places you have no business walking alone. You set yourself up to be ambushed. Raise the neighborhood. You know, certain time.

You don't walk alone. Other parts of your city.

You don't walk alone. It was just a given somebody with you so that any enemy you think you have the ability to take out more than one when you go to three, five, seven, 10, you make me think and some of us have to learn to stop rolling by ourselves through life. You gotta learn to roll with folk who got your back. People who can offer spiritual protection and offer the advice that makes sense for you to be careful as you live your life. The passage ends by saying a cord of three strands is not quickly broken single cord and it can be popped.

But when you tie a few course together and and we, together with some bond that is difficult to break in. The Bible says that the principle is it's not good for you to be alone to work better than thanks so much for being here for two days destined for victory message built to last. As promised, Pastor Paul Sheppard joins me now from studio California pastor.

We celebrated Father's Day just a few days ago got me thinking, and I'm sure listeners are curious about this as well. You look back on your childhood and even your young adulthood.

What would you say is the most important lesson you learned from your father. I think I would say of all the lessons I learned. He taught me how important humility is. I see preachers and I see folks who have broad exposure much broader than exposure. I have and sometimes they seem to struggle with pridefulness and I've even seen a few that are so Lord that that just looks a little too much like allergens.

For me, I'm not anyone's judge, but I am mindful of the fact that we can appear to the world like we are full of ourselves. If we appear full of ourselves and we are not showing them who Christ is close even have any room to show goodwill showing ourselves all the time and so my dad taught me if you stay low even if you fall, you won't have far to go, and I love that, and I have lived that so when I've had my times of falling in failing. I knew the way up is down, hit the ground. Honor God admit where you have been and let the Lord restore and bless your life.

My dad taught me that, and I'm forever grateful for that lesson. Such a great reminder pastor. Humility precedes almost every good thing God longs to give us, including our salvation Jesus Christ, thanks for the great word of encouragement speaking to fathers and the wisdom we gain from them. This month we have two very special gifts to share with you yours for your best gift of $25 or more to destined for victory. The first is pastor Paul's book why God created dads in insightful and inspirational look at the subject of fatherhood through the lens of Scripture.

The second is the audio CD attribute to my dad a message delivered by Pastor Paul following the death of his father. Men and women alike will be inspired by these timely resources.

That's why God created dads and attribute to my dad both our gifts to you this month for your best donation of $25 or more to destined for victory. Just call 855-339-5500 or visit Pastor Paul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. You can also mail your gift to destined for victory PO Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538. Once again, that's destined for victory PO Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538 building block to bring in your life that you can do his will is you're going to have to the desire and the ability to walk with other people in one mess that's tomorrow in Pastor Paul Sheppard's message built to last until then, remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory