We Are a Flock, Part 1

Can do it alone. When you read your Bible every body and there was used of God is a person who found the right connectedness in their lives because we can do the will of God. But we cannot will alone, no person is an island. No person walks alone and accomplishes God's will, we must be connected with the right people in our lives. Moses didn't do it. Neither did King David or the apostle Paul hello and welcome to this Monday edition of Destin for victory with pastor Paul Sheppard were so glad you stopped by was a common theme that runs throughout biblical history. Everyone who did great things for the kingdom of God had help along the way. Today Pastor Paul reminds us of the importance of connectedness of forging healthy relationships with other believers in Christ. Stay with us now or visit Pastor Paul.net to listen anytime on demand.

That's Pastor Paul.net you can also subscribe to our podcasting Apple podcasts modify or wherever you get your now here is Pastor Paul Sheppard with today's Destin for victory message. We are flying where discussing the power of we and were noting that we are called as a collective body to fulfill God's purpose to accomplish his will in the earth.

We are not to be individualistic in our thinking about our walk with the Lord. I want to make sure that you understand you can do the will of God. As I said in the opening message in this series you can do the will of God.

But you cannot do it alone. I have some I tell me after service. The last message where I introduced this series is that I was being familiar with the Lone Ranger, but you made me look it up and I watched the Lone Ranger and he got the revelation that now he wasn't allowed he had somebody with him and so we need to learn God can get his will done through our lives, but not if we are acting like individualistic Christianity is all that we need to practice know you have a personal relationship with the Lord.

That's true, but the personal relationship has to be lived out in a corporate environment that is God's plan.

None of us can do it alone.

When you read your Bible every body and there was used of God is a person who found the right connectedness in their lives because we can do the will of God. But we cannot do it alone. No person is an island. No person walks alone and accomplishes God's will, we must be connected with the right people in our lives. And so I want to now move on and look at some analogies in the Scripture that tell us who we are is the people of God. They describe the church of Jesus Christ in intentional language in a few different ways, and I want to lift those up as I go through this series.

So here is the first analogy I want to lift up. We are a flock.

We are a flock.

The Bible is clear that we the people of God.

Those who are saved by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are a flock. No acts chapter 20 verse 28. Paul is talking to the elders of the church and here's what he says therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to Sheppard, the church of God which he purchased with his own blood. We are a flock of all the things God could call us. One of the things is that we are a flock.

One of the ways we who are pastors in the body of Christ are called his were called under shepherds.

We are shepherds under the great Shepherd. He is the one who has ordained us to lead the flock of God's people and so I want to understand this is very intentional on the part of God. I gotta say this because as we go through some analogies in this series I want to understand God was intentional in making the church the way it is. A lot of times people think we can rethink stuff we didn't invent and I need you understand you can't reinvent something that God invented you can invent your own new stuff but anything God said I made this you don't get to rearrange it. You don't get to read well I don't like the way God did Salama make it my way. You can do that and be in the will of God.

And so we are a flock. I'm saying that because now we have a generation not only young people but even older people it's more the spirit of the times is not so much your your agent.

Always more. The spirit of the times we live in times well I want to be independent in their walk with God me not only the church. I know Jesus.

I will now need to church well you don't get to do that because Jesus and upon this rock I will build my church.

If the church belongs to him and he called us to be part of it by one Spirit. Were you baptized into it. According to the word of God, then you don't get to decline. No, no, I want Jesus, but none of that church stuff a man look I got only men judges sit quiet and be happy is all right. Only the bandwagon.

If you want to jump was a mender welcome to if not, just know I'm already good I'm already good. I don't need timers in on the go ahead faster if that's in you do you can say it is not just the Jesus created the church and one of the ways he describes us if we are a flock. That's why there are pastors sometimes be visible.

Why are there pastors we really don't need that hierarchy will then sit around and say let's make some big shots more. Once you hear what a flock is you'll know that is shepherds not a big shot.

He got a lot of work to do because every now and then people say will you must be so special knew God's hand was all me how to be will be a minister at first I totally don't call me a minister he said with what you hear preaching for the young people don't call it printed hundred. I was paranoid. I did want to be this I'm just speaking. Call me a speaker on the guest speaker for the youth and they said I do come will make you the guest speaker for youth revival. I really didn't want that title preacher or pastor and I went to one time in particular in the 70s and I spoke I was the speaker in Kansas City for youth revival. I got there I ministered Friday night I ministered Saturday and Sunday. The past and I need you to speak in my Sunday morning service and how make sure that they know you to guess regressive fine. By the time I got the wood that we can all the young people in that church were see all or mostly one that he then, in the bunch all and I say and that pastor was driving me to the airport that Sunday afternoon, and he looked over at me, shook his finger. He said you are called of God. God's hand is heavy on you and the sooner you acknowledge it, the better off you will be, and I knew he was right. So I had to come kicking and screaming into being a vocational minister.

Eventually, vocational, forcible volunteer and what have you. But in 1981. Our home church in Philly was growing. It had grown at that point to about 500 people and my dad said listen, I need some help.

I can pastor this big growing church by itself. Go see back in those days mega church when the big thing. There were some church like that but it wasn't touted like it is now you got full now, pastor mega church matter with you, you crazy, that got us some good.

And so my dad was scared when the church hit 500 because he's thinking as a shepherd of the flock I need to be able to be hands on with the flock will serve 500 people got all the leaders of the church all the lay leaders and foe people like me who were called to ministry, preaching, leading ministry, but we weren't pastors didn't want to be pastors. He said the Lord's gonna put it on somebody here to be my assistant. I need an assistant to the senior pastor here somebody who has a calling to help me Shepherd this block and he said I want all the autoplay had the leaders pray and fast and identify Lord who have you put your hand on to be the assistant pastor of this church and we all went into prayer and fasting and when the time came for us to come back together. They all said even other people who were possible candidates other ministers in the church all came back saying, the Lord said Paul was to be your assistant anytime of the other folk on the list who wish they be to pass the face and all. The Lord said that's Paul and they all said that and so it was no chart my dad had to pull me and pull me off of my job so I could be with him and vocational ministry at the church and I now know what he is.

The method of his madness was. He knew the Lord had raised me up but he didn't want to name me because he was scared folk would say on Estes family religion asked if him picking his son. You know how people do not you but everybody else but you people just put their mouth on anything they don't care whether they right or wrong scared about people killing the old idea that popped in the like is your listening to Destin for victory with pastor Paul Shepherd, senior pastor of destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont California and he'll be right back with the second half today's message. Listen to Destin for victory right in the palm of your hand by downloading the free mobile app. The app allows you to contact us for prayer make a safe and secure donation order books and CDs. You can even take notes in the daily messages and have them available the next time you to search Destin for victory in the app store and downloaded today absolutely free.

Coming up next pastor Paul talks about the early days of his pastoral life and have relationships with other people help him out along the way Jill is joining now for the rest of today's message.

We are a flock and so he didn't want to hear that because he knew all he wanted was the will of God that he thought I had the Lord on me.

He told me later, but he will go make him pick and that's what they did. They said the Lord said, it's Paul's job so he pulled me off my job. I had a nice job. I was one of the accounts receivable department for car leasing company, and it was a nice job, wonderful job and good money and perks.

I got to drive free lease cars. It was drug that was when the things on the go. Should I sent to. Good job Matilda. Give me a company car, they said. Not only will you have a car, you have access to our fleet yeah but my single days. If I want to put somebody on a on a day I go get a nice car about the Galway grievance lien against Alene Yeoman about that and so does my single days went by 82 I was again called Christmas of 81 is when I assess the him to marry me. Now the church that I got to be the assistant pastor and I got a lead and come to the church and my father. Now he still worried, so they know they will be to pass the with him, but now he want to make sure that the people know I'm not going get special treatment sold when the trustees asked me how much I made, and I told him, and a sour height and they wanted to match.

They want to get me so that I wouldn't drop to what my file is all about the zeal you will be our day wanted the brightly also sends healing home starting low starting low. I wanted to learn when the learn how this works. Letting work his way up and when I already worked out and so he was making sure it was real deliberate and real modest and all that kind of stuff, but the bottom line is I knew in my heart and that he help drive home ministry is about perks is not about what the shepherd can get.

It's about how healthy the sheep can be and I'm concerned about a world where weightlifting up shepherds like they are the point of this whole thing will only people who we are calling us to hear the Lawrence say well done. We gotta take care of this and I'll never forget my first few months in pastoral ministry with my dad.

I was in my office. The church office one day and one of the Christian from another church came in to do something and he looked in my office and saw me and my brother God bless you and he said I said what he said that you used to have a job right.

I came to this job from another job. This show must be nice to hear people say things like, do you have a job or are you in ministry because the kids what baby it out in the workaday world was a job, maybe the church that I will even know what you doing what they needed to do was show me one day as my wife as an assistant pastor worked on till I could hardly see my father said that man is young and strong. My dad practice. Reverse discrimination me. You put the average assistant pastor through but because I wore his last name had to prove myself on another level.

We got married the same year, 1982 I got married I became the assistant pastor in March 1982 got married May 1 of 82. That year was a baptism in fire that when I'm learning how to be a husband and learned how to be a pastor work 12 hour days routinely young man just trying to get all I could mad when I had a few that was about all she Jack because he was working working working with Nike, took all these in Hades. Now y'all call me when is a real emergency.

I was visiting the sick. I was running around time on counseling. Everybody I'm doing everything in the church with his organizing to have 500 members and was growing so don't organize the church that was in 1980 – when Apple first started making products that you could use.

Let me show you how old I am going to be alone. I got some help Apple to E hard drives. We had floppy disk all I need somebody to walk with me. In this floppy disk because it was floppy someone with it only had one drive and you had to put in the this.turn the computer all pulled it out and put in the morning on telling you where I came from those they all look at and grab a nice fancy, I think you know that you use you want. Let me go all my years. Jack had to keep every day of my life.

The phone rang. They said and then he can counsel bring my kid let him do some with them and they bring a little raggedy key is of the church in the church in the district 500 people so I bring it up in the district going the way they live and got the deacons and put them to work to visit these people know and we will and he told about used to have a job but the fact of the matter is if you are really understanding your shopper shepherds all shape.

God said my people have given some people took him to their needs because shape are not good self-care alone why God called us you were stupid. I know some people say well what sheep are particularly intelligent. That's not the point of why God said where she bit him and with your intelligence.

You can be real smart, but still have need.

You have, to have somebody partner with you to meet. The reason why God puts us into the flock.

This congregation is because there are things we can get from each other and from the shepherd that we cannot get alone so we are called to be sheep God says that we are cheap. Let me just tell you a few things you need to know about when you are in in ministry with his vocational or by vocational or purely volunteer there shepherds of all sorts. There are some things you need understand about us. We are called to gather people regularly called to gather people regularly. The Bible says in Hebrews, it says forsake not the assembling of your selves together and do that all the more as you see the day of the Lord's return approaching. Let me tell you something that day, the day of the Lord's return is fast approaching when you look at the signs of the times you can't help but say Jesus is not far we got more the whole state of Hawaii was alarmed by a message that went out to all of them say and so this is not a drill to be somebody did the wrong thing pushed the button who used to have a job. I am about it, but I can just imagine how you keep an edge job on the Magleby at Starbucks, but would you like a whip cream and that you know what I'm saying but the but the fact that we went in the pure.

I saw one man on the news you put this children down and they had developed a little silo where they were going to live that whatever Ray was coming.

In those days you can't restart anything you can take life for granted like a single agreement. You got planned for the rest of the day was the week rest of the month rest of the and make it back home. That's the world we live in today why we gotta be ready to leave and ready to die at a moments notice. All criminal somebody.

You gotta be ready to and ready to go if you got a go. You don't want to go yet you got to be ready and why we need shepherds who are called of God to gather God's people and for the utilization of all of our gifts for us to encourage each other and admonish each other and do whatever we mean birds are called to do so. We must gather people regularly you know what God tells us to gather together regularly. He's not saying it because he needs a big crowd. He seen it because we need a big crowd is essential that we gather together with other believers consistently and continually in order to accomplish God's will for our lives as individuals, people who will encourage us when we hit a rough spot admonish us when they see a blind spot together we are stronger than we could ever be alone.

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You can also mail your gift to Destin for victory PO Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538 will repeat the address it's Destin for victory PO Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538 now let me say this will eliminate days where there are wonderful tools we can use many churches live stream that worship services. Those resources are necessary. Very helpful in their proper place. That's tomorrow and pastor Paul Sheppard shares his message. We are a flock. Until then, remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory