Developing an Honorable Lifestyle pt. 2 (cont'd)

Paul Sheppard: Do you realize some people are taking you down by themselves, just by virtue of the fact that you've given them direct access to your inner world? They're dragging you down. Oh, you know what I'm talking about. You know the type of folk, some people who you have been worse off because they have been in your inner circle. They are in your circle of influence.
Guest (Male): It's true, you know. Every now and then, you've got to part ways with people who aren't ready to part ways. Hello and thanks for stopping by for today's Destined for Victory, featuring the preaching ministry of Pastor Paul Sheppard. The Bible tells us to live at peace with all people as far as it depends on us, but when someone tries their best to keep dragging you down, you may need to give them up. Today Pastor Paul shows you how saying goodbye to the wrong kind of people can give you a better chance to live the right kind of life. Before we start, let me remind you to visit our website, pastorpaul.net. That's where you can listen to any of our recent messages on demand, including today's. Pastorpaul.net. The message is called Developing an Honorable Lifestyle, and it starts right now.
Paul Sheppard: See, sloppy agape isn't necessarily the right way to go. Sometimes it gets heated among spirit-filled believers. Stop believing that being spirit-filled means you speak in tongues all the time and you grin all the time. Neither is the case. Sometimes you're talking plain English and sometimes you're frowning, not grinning. But you keep the spirit of unity. Say, I disagree with him, but keep the spirit of unity. How do I know they maintained the spirit of unity? Because by John Mark being disciplined more through Barnabas's love and encouragement, he later was able to engage Paul in such a way that when Paul is about to die, he's in prison, soon to be beheaded. In 2 Timothy chapter 4, Paul says these words to his spiritual son Timothy, "When you come to visit me in prison, bring John Mark with you. Why? Because he's been helpful to me in the ministry." Do you see that? Paul couldn't train him in Acts 15. He was too upset about the fact that he'd abandoned them before. But this time, years have gone by. John Mark has grown up and matured through the patience of Barnabas. He's been reintroduced into Paul's life. He serves him well. Paul says, "Bring him with you. He's been a great help to me in ministry." Find a way to deal appropriately with your people issue. God expects for us to deal appropriately with anger, with disagreements, with not seeing eye to eye with people. Some of us have got to stop throwing folk away every time we have a disagreement. Some of you all have the gift of tossing people out of your life. That is not God's will. Yes, there are some individuals who have to go because they are toxic, they mean you no good. Paul talked about people like that. He told Timothy, "Watch out for Alexander the coppersmith. He has done me much harm. He knows you're my spiritual son. He'll try to harm you and the church even after I'm gone." Paul knew he was about to leave. He was going to be martyred. He said, "Watch out." There are people you have to watch out for. I need you to balance this thing. On the one hand, we've got to learn to manage anger correctly. On the other hand, we've got to realize some folk just got to go. When you have somebody who's toxic, they love being toxic, they don't want to be functional, they don't want to grow, they're certainly not going to own their stuff, and so they will do you no good if you keep fooling with them. They're going to take you down. Do you realize some people are taking you down by themselves, just by virtue of the fact that you've given them direct access to your inner world? They're dragging you down. You know what I'm talking about. You know the type of folk, some people who you have been worse off because they have been in your inner circle. They are in your circle of influence. You've got to learn some people have got to get off the bus of your life. Just understand some people have got to get off your bus. Pull your bus over and say, "This is your stop." "No, no, I planned to go to the end line." "No, no, you got to get off here." Some folk got to go and they got to go now because they're taking you down. But that doesn't sound like the spirit of God. Well, it is. The Lord said to us in his word, Paul said, "Watch out. They mean you no good. They mean you only harm." When people mean you harm, believe them. When you see somebody's after you, believe them. Quit giving them opportunities. So you have got to be wise and you have got to manage your relationships correctly so that you can manage your anger appropriately. And so the people who do need to be in your life, make sure that you deal with the angry moments in an appropriate way. Okay, let's go to the third point that Paul makes here in Ephesians 4. He talked about speaking the truth and now we've talked about dealing with the anger. Here's the third thing that you learn in terms of what Paul talks about embracing newness in this context. He says, earn your living honorably and do good for others. Earn your living honorably and do good for others. Look at Ephesians 4 verse 28. "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need." Now Paul, you're really confusing me now. First you talked about lying and we're talking to the saints. Now you're talking about stealing. Who are you talking about? You're writing to the saved folk, the church at Ephesus. Yes, he is. Get the revelation. These are people who have come out of darkness into the light. Positionally, they are right with God. Positionally, sins are forgiven. Positionally, they have right standing. They are the sons and daughters of God. They have access to the throne room. Positionally, they are the King's kids. Experientially, they got to learn how to act like the King's kids and talk like the King's kids and behave like the King's kids. Just because an earthly king has a child doesn't mean that child knows everything about royalty. In fact, they show up just as rowdy as your kid showed up. I know you're mad because I called your kids rowdy. I'm sorry. We all show up in darkness and got to learn how to live in the light. I showed up a Shepherd. My parents had to teach us growing up the Shepherd kids. Here's what it means to be a Shepherd kid. You're not going to act certain ways. You're not going to speak certain ways. There were certain things we couldn't say in our home. Why? Because in this home, you can't say that. I go to my friend's homes from school, and they said all kind of stuff. I said, "Man, you get away with that?" Because in my house, that would have been a problem. Fact of the matter is we got to learn that this life is something you've got to embrace values and mandates and principles. And so Paul is saying just because you got saved doesn't mean you automatically know how to earn an honorable living. So earn your living honorably and do good for others is the way I've put this third point. Paul says you got to learn how to do this. Earn your living honorably. Saints were getting saved in the church at Ephesus and getting saved today in the 21st century and they still got their little slick ways, making money under the table. Years ago I had a member who bragged about how he made money. He said, "I've never been without money and sometimes I have a legitimate job and sometimes I don't. But I never..." And I said, "You think that's a good thing? Because the word says you're supposed to earn it honorably. Why? Because you have an audience of one who you've got to answer to one day." And you got to quit being content that you used to be slick. And you got to learn how to earn it and earn it right in a way that pleases God. So just like we saw when we're dealing with lying a few verses before, no one has got to automatically live right. They must be taught to live right. We must be taught to earn right. We must, to use the words of this passage, intentionally put on the newness of earning your living honorably. You want to be honest when the way you earn it and honorable in the way you earn it. Before launching his earthly ministry, Jesus taught us by his example. Just because you got a right relationship with God doesn't mean you don't have to work and work honorably. If anybody could have said, "I don't need no job. You know who I am? I'm the son of God. I came to earth to get everything right, to get folk saved, to get their hearts right, to prepare them to meet the Lord. That's why I showed up. I don't have time to work a job." You think that was Jesus' attitude? Look at what the Bible teaches you. In Luke chapter 2, it says he continued in honoring God in all he did. He continued growing in stature and favor with God and man, in wisdom. He was on the grow as a young man. In his teens and in his 20s, what did Jesus do? He didn't daydream about the days that he would be a prominent minister. He got a job with his daddy. His earthly daddy Joseph was a carpenter. So what did Jesus do? He took up the family trade and he became a carpenter like his earthly father. Joseph was like, "I know who you are. You're the son of God. You better get out here and help me with this wood." And if Jesus had to work honorably, you have to do the same. I know you're anointed. I know you think you're so special. But take your special happy hips to the job. That's the way it works in the kingdom. Come on now. I'm sorry. The anointing doesn't make money for you. You got to work. Jesus was a carpenter. Even when he launched his ministry, there were people who by their relationship with him, they said, "So that you can keep on reaching folk, we're going to fund your basic needs." And there were people the Bible tells you about, women who supported him. That was part of their ministry. You got to understand something. Nobody's just going to give you a living because you're cute. You've got to learn how to do life right.
Guest (Male): Now coming up in a moment, the second half of today's Destined for Victory message with Pastor Paul Sheppard. So don't go away just yet. Don't forget to download the Destined for Victory mobile app to listen to these messages wherever you go. Search Destined for Victory in the App Store. Or for more details or to find out how to listen to Destined for Victory on your favorite digital platform, visit pastorpaul.net. And now with the second half of today's message, Developing an Honorable Lifestyle, here once again is Pastor Paul Sheppard.
Paul Sheppard: Paul, what was he other than an anointed apostle? He was a tentmaker. He made tents for his living. Peter and several of the other disciples, fishermen. Luke, one of the followers of Christ, was a physician. He was a doctor. The saints had jobs in the first century of the church's history. And guess what? The saints of the 21st century better get to work. You got to go to work. If you don't go to work, it ought to be because God has so blessed your family that you all got it like that. Even then, you need to be doing the work God has assigned to your life to do. See, your vocation is what you're paid to do. Your calling is what you're made to do. So even if you got so much money you don't have to worry about the vocation, you still have to fulfill your calling. Everybody has to do the work. In fact, what did Jesus say in John 4? He said, "My meat is to do the will of him who sent me." He said, "That's how I get fulfilled, is making sure every day I'm doing the things that God has called me to do." So saints, be okay with honorable work, honest work. Not under the table money. That doesn't honor God. And you got to do that. Let me get in trouble more since you're already mad at me. Jesus also taught his disciples to pay their taxes. See, some of you all try to get slick. "Well, the man always got his hand in my pocket anyway. I don't need to give Sam all that money." Uncle Sam, he needs that money so that you can live in this country, so that you can drive these streets. The infrastructure needs funding. Everything around you needs funding. Taxes funds it. You can tell me all day about what you don't like about the way the government is set up and all that. I hear you. When you get through mouthing off, pay your taxes. You got to pay your taxes, saints. Jesus taught his disciples. They caught a fish one day and Jesus said, "Your tax money is in that mouth." So you got to do what you got to do. We got to stop thinking being slick is good. We're putting on the newness. We're embracing newness. Being slick is not good. In the streets it's good, but in the kingdom it's not good. And I don't know about you, but I want to be a blessed man. The way to be blessed is to do it God's way. Now speaking of being blessed, let me make sure you understand. There've always been Christians who think the holy way is the poor way, the poverty way. Listen, some folks are called to poverty. They really are. I've met people over the course of my life and my ministry, and they were called. And some even took a vow of poverty. But others just felt a real call to divest of their worldly things and live very simply. They often move into poor communities and they disciple that way. If that's your calling, by all means, I'm going to pray for you and support you. Have nothing bad to say to you. But not everybody is called to be poor. In fact, we need some rich folk in the kingdom. So you just need to get it straight. Yes, I know some folk I met when I first got to California in 1989. Within the first year or two, I met some urban missionaries and that was their calling. They moved into East Palo Alto and other communities nearby and they came from have environments and they intentionally moved into have-not environments and they wanted to minister and did an excellent job. I to this day, I still know some of them and appreciate them so much. But one time I remember one of them coming to me saying, "I appreciate a particular message." And they said, "I know you're not preaching the prosperity gospel. I hear very clearly that you have sound biblical reasoning. But you just were emphasizing telling these young people that they could expect and have vision to be well off, and I'm uncomfortable with that." And I said, "Let me help you with something. You moved into the hood to help some folk who have never had and you want to build them up spiritually. I appreciate that. And I'll help you build them up spiritually. But when you start telling them that they can't have money, you're going to turn them off and I understand why." "You don't go to people who never had it and tell them God doesn't want them to have it because that's not what your Bible says." I said, "These kids back in 1990 and such like that, they're seeing drug dealers drive up and down their streets in Mercedes. They want to know can I walk with your Jesus and still try to believe for a Mercedes." And I said, "So what I was teaching them is yes, get your education, follow Jesus, do life right, get scholarships, get well educated. God will bless you one day you can drive a Benzo." And they said, "Okay, I see what you mean." I said, "Yeah, you don't want to drive a Benzo, but you probably had them before or your family got them. These kids never saw them and they want one." I said, "And my job is to tell them you can have it, but do it God's way." And they said, "Okay, we see you. We got on the same page." I'm glad they got on the same page because I didn't want them to continue to have the right to be wrong. You don't come to the hood tell folk you just need to put Jesus first and don't worry about stuff. We need some stuff, but teach them how to do it the right way. As soon as my church grew and as soon as my salary grew and I was able to drive right, I was driving right. I went down them same streets that the dealers were driving down and I came down there. "Hey, Pastor Paul!" I said, "Yeah, praise God. Hallelujah." They see me now, they see me rolling in a Tesla. Thank you Jesus. Hallelujah. And I'm loving it. Now don't you all write me, "Oh, see, I thought you were a man of God. You driving a Tesla." I am a man of God and I do drive a Tesla. If you wanted me to prove that I was holy and if you believe that the way to prove that is to drive a little raggedy car and just keep this thing, you just came the wrong season. I had years in my early years in California. I'd have shown you all the poverty you could stand. I had the second worst car in the church. There's one sister, she's with me today. I won't call her name, she'll get mad. She had a worse car than me. I was so glad that I didn't have the worst car in the church. But I had the second worst car in the church for years. But God blessed me and now I can roll the way I want to roll because I did it right. I gave right all while I was believing. You got to understand there's no automatic contradiction between having things. God's not against you having things. God's against things having you. Oh, I just said something. He's not against you having things. He's against things having you. Where you get that, Pastor? 1 Timothy chapter 6. Don't you come for me. I got my Bible in front of me. 1 Timothy 6 verse 17. Paul said to his spiritual son Timothy, "Command those who are rich in this present world." What does that mean? How's Timothy going to command people who are rich unless they're in the kingdom? Because he's a spiritual leader. He's not going to go out into the Roman world into Ephesus and tell all rich people this. He's talking to kingdom people. He says, "Command them who are rich to do what? Not to be haughty." This is a word for you all who are aspiring to having more. You're climbing the corporate ladder or the entrepreneurial ladder. Bible says don't be haughty. Keep your attitude right. "Don't trust in uncertain riches." Just because you have it doesn't mean you can trust it. In fact, the Bible says don't trust it. Have you ever been through a downturn? You thought you had everything going good, and the next thing you know, your 401k was a 101k. Next thing you know, money was evaporating from your accounts. So don't trust in it, but trust in the living God. Right here, 1 Timothy 6:17. Always trust in God. Never trust your bottom line. Because God says he will give you all things to enjoy right there in the passage. And then verse 18, "Let them do good." That's what Paul said in Ephesians 4. Make sure that with the things God blesses you as you earn your living honorably, make sure that you do good. You got to help other people. You can't just help yourself, "my four and no more." That's not a kingdom value. You got to help other people. Sometimes God will make you help strangers. Let me help you, Christian. Sometimes you help somebody and you don't know. "Well, see, there's so many people out here scamming, so I don't give people when they come to... they might be running a game." They might be running a game, but they also could be a setup. So sometimes you just got to bless somebody whether you think they deserve it or not. Do good, that they may be rich in good works. The rich people he said, "Make sure you're not just rich in money, make sure you're rich in good works." He says, "Be ready to give." Because sometimes God's just going to make you give. "Be ready to give, be willing to share, storing up for yourselves a good foundation for the time to come that you may lay hold on eternal life." Oh, saints, we got to get this right. The new life is quit lying, quit stealing, work honorably and work an honorable job and make sure that you're ready to give to people.
Guest (Male): Generosity is a big part of living an honorable lifestyle and God promises to bless us when we live that way. As Jesus said, "Give and it shall be given to you, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap." One of the best gifts we can share with others is the gift of our own salvation in Christ. In fact, that's the last thing Jesus told us to do, to go out into the world and make disciples of all nations. And to get that job done, it takes all of us working together. So right now, as we are finishing up what has been a difficult season financially for the ministry, we are asking all of our listening friends and partners to prayerfully consider making a generous gift. When you do, we'd love to send you our latest booklet, Truth, Temper and Treasure. Have you ever wondered what it means to put off the old self and put on the new? Do you have a complete understanding of what this new life in Christ should look like? In this new resource from Destined for Victory, Pastor Paul walks you through three important areas of our life in which God wants to help us grow: being open and honest, handling anger without letting it fester, and managing money God's way. This is essential information not only for new believers in Christ, but also for those who might need to revisit a few of the fundamentals of the Christian faith. That's Truth, Temper and Treasure, a gift we'd love to share with you this month as our thank you for your generous donation to the Destined for Victory media ministry. You can give by phone by calling 855-339-5500. 855-339-5500. Or by visiting pastorpaul.net to make your donation online. You can also mail your gift to us at Destined for Victory, Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, California 94538.
Paul Sheppard: Paul is saying let no words that cause death or decay to the hearer come out of your mouth. Don't speak death over other people. Don't speak decay. Don't speak things that don't honor God, that don't bring life, that aren't leading to something good and life-giving and positive. Don't let your mouth form words that are going to bring death to the hearer.
Guest (Male): That's next time in our message, Say the Right Thing. Until then, remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.