Dealing with Labels

People will put a positive label on your work for the most part just look at how your life.

The labeling we see going on when it comes to other people is negative and we need to get out of the negative labeling business because we serve our Savior, who said I didn't come to condemn you pain so that you would be saved. We tend to put labels on everything clothing and canned goods, cars and computers.

We even put labels on people hello and welcome to this edition of Destin for victory with pastor Paul Sheppard know the labels we put on people tend to be negative like is not just a man. He's an angry man, she's not just a woman she's an alcoholic. Today pastor Paul encourages us to guard our hearts against feelings of judgment and condemnation, and instead focus on the Savior. The comes to show all of us a better way to live.

Stay with us here or visit pastor Paul.net to listen to this or any recent message on demand with today's Destin for victory message dealing with labels as pastor Paul Mark's gospel chapter 10 I'll begin reading at verse 46.

Then they came to Jericho as Jesus and his disciples together with a large crowd were leaving the city. A blind man on MAS which means son of Timaeus was sitting by the roadside baking when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout Jesus son of David, have mercy on me. Many rebuked him, told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, son of David, have mercy on me, Jesus stopped and said call him. So they called the blind man cheer up on your feet.

He's calling you, throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. What do you want me to do for you. Jesus asked him the blind man said Rabbi I want to see go said Jesus your faith has healed you immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. It's not uncommon for us as human beings to focus our attention on negative things as one of the sad features of being human. The tendency of many of us is to sort of default to negative things. Not everyone defaults there, but so many do we live in a fallen world we live among fallen people we are fighting a spiritual warfare against the fallen enemy. And so, since there's so much falling this around us. It is not uncommon and it is not difficult for people to kind of navigate toward things that are negative, but I want to suggest that we need to intentionally overcome that people for all that tendency to focus on people's flaws. Their physical defects and infirmities their emotional defects and infirmities psychological ones as well as their behavioral problems their sins and their faults and their failures. We need to learn as people of God to get out all the negative business and to get onto the other side where we do what Paul said, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are just, and yes we have to deal with negative things, but deal with them in a redemptive way deal with them in a way that allows you to focus on what is God going to do okay something is negative something is not right. What does God want to do about that and we will find that it will get on the other side will be more like our Savior. It amazes me that there are a lot of Christians who are so worried about being holy and never stop to realize that they're not much like Jesus at all and I want to suggest to you that if all you're concerned about is your behavior in your quote unquote holiness but you're not concerned about love and joy and peace and taking good care of people that I don't know what kind of holiness you think you got what you mean the kind that Jesus had which was not all that concerned about telling people that were going to hell. Jesus was concerned about telling people you don't have to go.

I got a better way for and you and I have to learn to live the Jesus way and so it will do that will get away from the negativity. I want to bring up negatively because labels are almost always negative in this fallen world renowned and people will put a good positive label on you, but for the most part just look around your life. Most of the labeling we see going on when it comes to other people is negative and we need to get out of the negative labeling business because we serve our Savior, who said I didn't come to condemn you, I came so that you would be saved and so we will have to get away from it because think about it, even in the Bible you see negative labels that are just put on people as the penman of the Scripture. The Scriptures are divinely inspired, but they are human in penmanship and what that means is sometimes you see the humanity of the penman who were used of God to give us divine truth, but you still see the humanity come through.

Then, for instance, even when our Bible societies put together the Scriptures when you go to Mark 10. Chances are, in a lot of Bibles when you get to verse 46 of the heading will be time-barred. Timaeus is just the way people tend to think why we bought Timaeus blind bar Timaeus, we tend to get fixated on labels Rahab the harlot she seemed a little hard work for wow but the log got a hold of her.

That woman is in the hall of fame in Hebrews 11 someone to talk about Susan. We are 2021 Rahab the harlot said whole life. She did it for a while and in fact God used her mask to keep us safe when they went over to Jericho when the men of the town that we are that the spies were miserable came here and she said no, that they will have a date you need to get out there and try to catch up and she had a high note.

But fact of the matter is when a company wouldn't really behind Julio's name in the leper. Yes, he was a leper for a while and not only did the Lord eventually heal them. But even before he got his healing.

Watch this. The Bible starts out the first time you hear about Naaman look at second Kings by one I just mentioned is real quick. If you have your Bible, what you now Naaman was commander of the Army, the king of Aram Nick since he was a great man in the side of his master, and highly regarded because through him.

The Lord had given victory to Aaron and here we go next since he was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy is our tendency toward healing. Thank God, but he was a great commander, even if he had never gotten look at what he went. Leprosy you see what I'm saying, he commanded the Army he led the people in the victory. God healed the man didn't need to be labeled by the worst condition he experienced. I'm free to bed and you say in a manner home the fact of the matter is we gotta learn to get out of this negative labeling business and I think this is just a few more that I get into this to ask what word comes to your mind when you think of Thomas in the New Testament doubting Thomas doubted for a moment I moment when he heard that Jesus was resurrected and he said I believe that he is alive until I see him I can touch the wound because I know he was crucified.

So there would be wounds on his body.

Unless I can touch him unless I can see him and talk to him I will not believe he is alive and so that moment when he was just being frank about where he was there we go.

For all these centuries doubting Thomas one time but what was he before he doubted he had spent like the other disciples.

Here is what Jesus was a follower.

He was an apostle, but we'll save the apostle Thomas a great man of God. Thomas, no doubting wall with us and we need to we need to dig ourselves will be right back with more of today's destiny for Victor message from Pastor Paul Shepherd, senior pastor, destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. Remember you can always listen to the broadcast on demand at Pastor Paul.that's Pastor Paul.net. We also find a host of great resources that are online store and stay with us after today's message from Pastor Paul joins me for the studio in California.

First let's join him for the second half of today's teaching dealing with labels. When you think of Ananias and the early church.

What other word or words come to mind for some of you set your say in answer fiber diets whose wife was a fiber and both of them cheated with that giving in the early church.

You know the story.

Acts chapter 5 and both of them got called on the carpet by the Holy Spirit himself through Peter and said y'all are given the weight of the saints are given and you wanted to be stingy, but you want to hold on your money and you want to try to make other people think that you were not doing what you work and offends God. You remember your giving is a spiritual matter. God looks at your giving and you can offend happen.

By the way you get on earth as what happened without a license afire.

The result is that he dropped and his wife was not at home when he dropped dead when Peter confronted him because of him trying to deceive people on spiritual matters. She came home with Macy's and Nordstrom bags and then accept the five you see Macy's Northbrook and Saks and also to Kenwood auto bags and then and they said the same errors that just buried your husband coming back to get you as she drugged the you know what the fact of the matter is we think of Ananias and Sapphire.

But there's another Ananias and Scripture, the one that God sent Saul to just after Saul got saved when Saul got say on the Damascus Road.

The Holy Spirit told him goal is straight Street and know you'll find a man named Ananias.

And he's going to minister to you from their and you know the story that Ananias helped him receive his sight got him healed from the temporary blindness of his conversion experience and that Ananias is used of God to help establish a brand-new believer who became one of the greatest apostles in the history of the church. All that to say I like to see the focus on the wrong thing is a problem we need to intentionally correct. We need to get into the business of thinking differently because that's the way you live alleluia anyhow life if you don't allow negative thoughts and negative labels and negative fixation to what God wants to do in your life and so I want to let you know that sadly church folk are often to blame for being the most negative people in today's world and we need to change that we need to quit pointing out what's wrong with people rather than pointing them to the grace and goodness of our Lord.

Our job ought to be good news.

Dispensers and instead, we tend to be bad news people. We tend to think I'm going to head out the whole world is going to hell and we fight and we and we bring up people sends centers as follows the same as what they do while you're busy talking about when you know what they will. You know how to… We know what they do and shouldn't turtle just constantly bellyaching about what's wrong with quote why can't you point people to the Savior and help them understand there is a better way. So we gotta get our thinking renewed so that God can use us in this world.

If you want to believe that you're so spiritual you churchy folk you holy full got big Bible and all that you want to believe you, Saul spiritual want to ask yourself questions like do I see people as Jesus sold you.

I love people as Jesus love them.

Do I help people as Jesus help them if you answered any of those is no you got some spiritual groin and all you think you spiritual you could brace above the fold and you dress holy and you and you actually but not know if you want to truly be spiritual need to be more like Jesus, whom we love sinners who labeled the people when somebody was labeled in Jesus time if you got anywhere near him when he touched their life he tested for the better. He didn't condemn people.

They dragged a woman caught in the act of adultery and first of all, before he started ministering to her.

He said let me get rid of some of this company. We got around and he said those of you don't want us to only those of you who are without sin go in and start this Tony. Meanwhile, he started writing in the dirt.

We don't know what he wrote whatever he wrote. He cleared out that whole group of Pharisees and people with a pharisaical attitude better than you attitude when he got rid all he said to the woman where your condemnor and she said no one condemns me and he said neither do I condemn you.

Then he said go and sin no more.

And we we need to get into that business. So I just want to encourage you that we need to ourselves and you are a person who has labored under some label of some sort. God wants to free you from the limits of the label. Whoever gave you the label speak for God speaking truth about the convention, such as Brian Bart Emmaus, the blindness has not gotta be the focus.

We have gotta learn to focus where our Lord focuses so let me just walk you back to list this text and I'll be done. I want you to know that this this label on blindness plagued him, we don't know if it was all of his life. There are many people is blind all their life there. Some people both today and in the world. Then who started out cited and eventually were blind, but one of the other. I want you to see this man was not content to be limited by the label solely to get a statement. Write this down Bart Emmaus didn't have site but he maximized what he had.

I want you to jot that down Bart Emmaus didn't have site but he maximized what he had. See if you are a person who was labored under some label, I need you to know the label may express something about you, whether it's physical or emotional or psychological or or whatever it is, the label might have some truth to it, but it doesn't have the final word. If you will maximize what you have, let me just give you the first of several points I want to make here the first thing that Bart Emmaus maximized was his hearing, he maximized his hearing what you mean pass a look at verse 47 when he died it was Jesus of Nazareth, he hired his mind is on the side of the game he doing what somebody called the blind man all but he heard something to you that I learned that not focus on what you don't have gotta maximize what you do have his hearing was in fact so rather than beat himself up because he could see anything about Outlook and help him.

He heard him, so that begs the question, what are you listening to what you listen to the word Jesus so you can get better if you listen to the right things. If you listen to the right people. What you need to shut out does the wrong things and people. What you need to listen I Casey Bart said, but I can hear and I hear that Jesus is on his way through time and once you get that word see it all. It all ends on what you maximize.

He had hearing it.

One sense is gone, then maximize the other ones and you'll be all right when I was a young young preacher just starting out preaching in my 20s I had a friend is been a lot of years since we connected John Smith, Dr. John Smith. He is now born blind and he and I were preaching and that that same error.

Both are young men preaching together.

John Saul physically has never seen physically, but he could preach the gospel and get people saved and get people blessed and all of that and John said one day he said you know what I'm excited because the first thing I'm ever going to see is Jesus and he said I look forward to that day when he comes back he said the first thing I'm going to lay my eyes alone is the one who died for me, gave me life everlasting on what you focus on some aspect of your senses and just development maximize the such a great word for all of us today from Pastor Paul Sheppard if we want people to do right we don't need to point out all the things they've done wrong. Instead, let's point them to Jesus as Savior who can show them a better way to live with Pastor Paul and know your heart is encouraged by so many of our friends were listing and letting us know that destined for victory is having an impact on their lives tell us, and remind me why are you so committed to using media as such a big part of this ministry will way and I'll tell you I'm sold on the fact that if we're going to fulfill the great commission and of course that's our job as the body of Christ to go into the world to make disciples to baptize people and teach them to observe all things that Christ commanded to do that I am more convinced than ever. It demands that we take a strong fresh look at how to use technology in every other resource. To that end. In other words, we gotta realize we were boomers.

I'm a baby boomer born between 46 and 64 that our generation me to and I realize that we were the last generation in American history that was typically raised in church or in some religious training, and we've got three full generations under us, and now there's an emerging fourth generation there still being developed. There known as generation alpha my first grandchild is an alphabet and so I realize that with these three. For generations we've got a preach the gospel to. They are not inclined to come to church and hear the gospel if you will, but the vast majority of them are probably going to have to be reached where they are before we can get them into the life of the church so technology is very important to the end that we can reach them with the good news of Jesus Christ. And that is what it's all about Pastor reaching as many people as we can with the gospel.

You know, media can often go or missionaries cannot into the homes of elderly shut-ins or those who have no way of getting to church.

It can also travel into remote areas of the world that are often hostile to the Christian faith.

Just one more reason why your gifts to destined for victory are so critical to the cause of Christ and for your generous gift to destined for victory today would like to send you by request Pastor Paul Sheppard's DVD message influencers for Christ. Did you know that less than half of all Americans identify themselves as members of a church, a synagogue or mosque or any other religious organization that may sound discouraging, but Pastor Paul believes it should actually excite us to tell you why it is DVD message influencers for Christ our gift to you for your generous donation to destined for victory. So please call us at 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. Again, the addresses destined for victory. Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538 some of you all are voiceless. Some of you all are suffering in silence and that's no good if you're not going to help me church and you're hurting somebody needs to know yardage so they can join you in prayer and walking in faith. That's tomorrow and Pastor Paul Sheppard continues to share his message dealing with labels until then.

Remember he who began a good work and you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory