Living Above Your Challenges

Sooner or later, every storm runs out of rain question is how do you handle the bad weather just a few moments, Pastor Paul Sheppard shares today's destined for victory message living above your challenges. But first he joins me now from his studio in California will Pastor thanks for these few moments together. I'm intrigued by the title of the book were offered to everyone that gives a generous gift this month.

It's called caregivers need care to.

So tell us more about this resource and what you believe it will be so helpful to anyone who's listening. You know what I was preparing a sermon series based on the life and ministry of Elisha. I was struck this time by the fact that such a powerfully anointed prophet as Elisha needed others to take care of practical needs in his life right and it dawned on me that I shouldn't just preach about the miracles God walk through this man's ministry. I needed to also stop and talk about and examine and unpack the fact that care givers need care themselves. So many of us with what we do in our lives whether it's apparent when it's been a spouse. Whether it's been a family member assisting a relative in need and we need to know that there are things that we can learn. One is how to recognize we are not a resource that can care for ourselves very well. So God sends along people who will help us in what we have to do is open our hearts open our minds and let other people be a blessing to us on the way and if if you're like that, but I tend to want to take care of everybody because I'm gifted to do it but often I feel my neediness and I'm not sure I'm as good as I should be letting other people fill those needs. So this part of the series.

I hoped that just as it spoke to me.

I hope it will speak to others and help them understand the importance of caregiving. So when we wrote the booklet. It was a no-brainer.

We've got to share what was given in the sermon in book form so that people can take it away and more importantly apply it to their lives. Yes it is true we all need help from time to time.

Even those who devote plenty of time caring for others need care themselves thank you pastor again. The book that is called caregivers need care to its our gift to you by request for your generous donation to Destin for victory this month. Call 855-339-5500 or visit Pastor Paul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. You can also mail your gift to Destin for victory PO Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538. There are challenges that are negative circumstances, a negative situation that all of us face you will never reach a level of faith where you don't have to deal with challenges and negativity faith in Christ, won't eliminate challenges but it will equip you to overcome them coming your way next year on destined for victory.

Pastor Paul Sheppard helps us learn how to put life's trials into their proper perspective and maintain a positive attitude no matter what difficulties life throws our way. So let's join him now for today's message living above your challenges. This particular message is not intended to be theological in nature. Preaching positive submitting I do preach the word Allah but as a pastor I am a spiritual parent. My job is to lead and feed the people of God and in leading them as well as feeding them. Sometimes you gotta just not so much major in theology as an practical help, so this message is designed. It's truthful now stroke why Michael telling me lies but it is not made to teach you a particular doctrinal truth so just know that it's intentional now here's what I want to do. I want to just point out something in this passage that it would be easy to skip and run right past. I'll make the point to make several points as we study some things in chapter 5. Here's the first point here as well. Focus on now maximize the positives and put the challenges in proper perspective. Maximize the positives and put the challenges don't ignore them, but put the challenges in proper perspective.

If you want to live a quality life as you seek to glorify God in the course of your living you need to pay attention to the fact that we as kingdom citizens need to be people who maximize that which is positive.

There are challenges that are negative circumstances, a negative situation that all of us face you will never reach a level of faith where you don't have to deal with challenges and negativity every now and in some of my hyper great friends, sound like they're saying I don't know this is what they intend to, but I heard some of my hyper faith. Friends say you know if you're really walking by faith and really a person of the word you confession is strong. You know you will have any trouble.

I noticed that's not this world, not this world, we are going to a place where the wicked will cease from troubling and the weary will be aggressively so we all know what goals they said they'll be 70 when they said that I sound about every day.

I will way way you know where to go to a place where it's going to be wonderful like that. But when you will know when you get to heaven because you'll notice the improvement is in this world we have troubles and challenges, but what I want to say today is I want us to learn to maximize the positives and put the challenges in proper perspective as well.

You saying that at second Kings find one look at the verse again. Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram great man in the side of his master highly regarded through him. The Lord gave victory to Aram Valley and soldier.

He had leprosy way.

Why does that require a but he was almost positive things wow leprosy you missed it either hearsay. This battling leprosy hangman was the commander of the Army of Aram greatness of his master highly regarded and one victory firm as a valued soldier wasn't the most positive things instead things in the right of sale, but here… Is so typical of many of us human beings and my job in this message is just say, for God's sake don't be one of you have been one to this point in your life. I want this to be a turning point. Paul preached that one message I decided I was.

Majoring in negative stuff was going to start focusing on the good things that are happening and I believe will happen my tendency when instant limitation is like your car you ever had a car where the wheels one line in the Going to the side. Come on, some so we all been driving these keep going out baby take that thing that might is somewhere and tell them that I'm up your front wheels so that you can drive straight and states. Have this tendency toward the negative.

And so I need you to know that that's a common thing but it shouldn't characterize us were people of faith look at the Bible look at how we talk about Bible characters because we read you know people talk about the same Rahab what you think. Rahab the harlot reality.

She was a businesswoman for a period of life but hard. Use the occasion of his people going to Jericho now beginning to move into the land of promise, and see being a businesswoman of the service of sort from Israel see let a man she actually said now before y'all go back. We have given you the city sometime don't know God will know more what he's doing and thanks we know the Lord given you the city.

She said here's what I want. You stated it would not do you see that is a price to pay a price is when you come back to me. You gotta spare me and my household in the Lord so we can call her harlot who used to be a harlot. Do you remember what don't you know you know is what he did arrive job. People who don't know what you be warm that's their call Rahab the harlot when I say bonhomie is what you think blonde, he will. But one day Jesus came back and they said that is my chance to improve my goals and he said see on me and the Lord did respond the first time and then the disciples came over to them. You making too much noise going stuff he got official business. You will be here making too much noise reminded us, is used to be in church family group insert one hand behind the back somebody got to give me a revelation when anyway.

Lord I got three emails coming from and let me know will don't go away were only about halfway through today's destined for victory message Pastor Paul Sheppard was senior pastor of destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont California if you like what you're hearing today. We know you also enjoy some of pastor Paul's best video clips subscribed to pastor Paul on YouTube or visit pastor Paul.net define details and links to social media platforms. That's pastor Paul.are you facing a challenge today.

The things that can help you get through and stop dwelling on the negatives and learn to accentuate the positives is pastor Paul the second half.

In today's destined for victory message living above your challenges, like what you do is somewhere in the Lord you when you show this would save and soda say this week there's three places you can always stay for free out of my business.

They said it my business in your lane and somewhere over there.

We got so good get inserted right in the method by Boswell at three places y'all can go in your somewhere over there and the second time the Lord heard in the second time he got his healing.

When I say Thomas in the New Testament what you think doubting that it will, which meant he spent here is what Jesus Following him all those hours when he saw his savior crucified like the other disciples. They scattered they will confuse all my morning Jesus rose and said, tell the disciples to meet me and they got together. Jesus appeared to them and then Thomas said I won't believe it. Unless I can put my hand where they won't. And Jesus, let him do it. What time is doing. He said my Lord and my God. But we still here we are 21st century.

In the New Testament when I say Ananias, what you think. So far this to Ananias is in their we don't often think of the second the first we think of you a lot because him and his wife lied to God, the Saints were given very generously. They were selling properties of the church of brand-new Judaism was upset. Everything has changed because of Jesus, and you got this new group, a phone call away in the first century recalled the way and they had to live often being disowned by their Orthodox families and the church with pulling resources together and making sure everybody could make it, and in the course of that sacrificial giving Ananias and Safari say we want to appear to be in on this money, but we can set the whole, as so what happened, so they gave a little bit and act like it was a lot and when went to them saying that you sell that for such a Ananias and and Peter said the problem is you, not just lion to man your line to God and the Lord pronounce judgment on that Ananias. He dropped dead some of the brothers took him out and buried him. Meanwhile his wife came in, she had been with him in this deceit always picture comic that you are coming with Nordstrom bags. That's not in the Bible because that's not in the Bible. I do like picture. That way she come in and they assess it. Assess any questions she gave the same ally. He said the pallbearers that just buried your husband are on their way back. She dropped that's Ananias, we didn't think of the Anaïs is the guy who wins all ran into Jesus on the Damascus Road and had his life changed. He was brought in by the encounter and the Lord sent him to a person's house on straight Street and then there was a disciple named Anaïs and Anaïs, the Holy Spirit spoke to him and said go over to Spring Street you'll find a man named Saul. Ananias said no. I know his reputation he came to town to jail and I said no he's dangerous to the church Holy Spirit were about just going over there and he went in obedience when he got there the first thing he said was brother Saul, the Lord showed him. I don't care about his past. He's your brother.

Now, take care, and he ministered to him. Pray that he would receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit, the great apostle Paul got his start blind and in need of divine power and he got it by being ministered to by man name and yet we think of the one in the same domain. We just have these propensities and that's what you see here in this passage name is a command of the Army which make it in our society that means he would be the top general in our military. The top general in the military.

That's who Naaman was in Syria was called Erin here.

It's modern-day Syria and he was regarded by the king held him in high regard. Not only that he's a valiant soldier and then we see here in NIV.

The word, but now when you look at the Hebrew text of the Old Testament is written in Hebrew New Testament in Greek and Aramaic and so we looked at the three biblical languages. When you look at the text is that we get our English translations from when I looked at the Hebrew text. Guess what, I didn't see I didn't see the word but in the Hebrew text is not there, you know why it's inserted here it's inserted here because the translation committee of NIV thought well to clarify for the reader. We will contrast between all the positive things and the leprosy that was their decision. It wasn't in the original text.

I'm not saying there's anything you know wrong with that. It was their attempt to clarify not only is fine, but in in NIV you'll find but in King James, the word but right there and you will you will also find it in ESB. The English standard version. The word, but as if it was in the Hebrew text and is not is because we are accustomed, we think were trying to clarify what I'm trying to point out is sometimes hard to miss the so-called clarify are just showing that I wheels on the line that we got this but MS does my get your butt out the way people over.

I said BU T BU TT so but is often inserted because we think it just makes sense. The reality is, he did all that in spite of having leprosy but tends to did note something negative like a subtraction, subtraction, said they had leprosy. He was, and then put it on the no we tend to put our butts in the negative direction you want to live more actively which is our job as a let our light shine to glorify God to advance his kingdom to be a blessing the people.

One of things we as kingdom people need to learn. It was 9 PM, so thanks for being here for today's destined for victory message living above your challenges. For more information about the destined for victory programmer to find out how you can request your copy of Pastor Paul shepherds booklet caregivers need care to visit Pastor Paul.net again. Pastor Paul.net this will all way way out and that's tomorrow. Pastor Paul shepherds message living above your challenges. Until then, remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory