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Speaker 1: Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to

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Speaker 1: our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you

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Speaker 1: enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and

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Speaker 1: share it with a friend. We appreciate you and pray

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Speaker 1: for God's very best in your life. God bless you

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Speaker 1: always a joy to come into your homes. We love you,

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Speaker 1: We know God has great things in store. And if

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Speaker 1: you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by

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Speaker 1: and be a part of one of our services. I

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Speaker 1: promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But

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Speaker 1: thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started

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Speaker 1: each week with something kind of funny, and I heard

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Speaker 1: about this man that lived in the country. One night,

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Speaker 1: he heard some noise and he saw some burglars stealing

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Speaker 1: things from his barn. He ran to the phone and

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Speaker 1: dialed nine to one one, but the dispatcher said, I'm sorry, sir,

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Speaker 1: there are no patrol cars available. You just need to

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Speaker 1: lock your doors and we'll get somebody there as soon

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Speaker 1: as possible. He hung up so frustrated. About thirty seconds

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Speaker 1: he called back. He said, ma'am, don't worry about it.

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Speaker 1: You don't need to send anybody. I shot all the

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Speaker 1: burn Ninety seconds later, three patrol cars, one sheriff, and

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Speaker 1: two ambulances showed up, and they caught the burglars red handed.

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Speaker 1: The sheriff went over afterwards and said, I thought you

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Speaker 1: said you shot the burglars. The man said, I thought

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Speaker 1: you said nobody was available. All right, hold up your bibles.

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Speaker 1: Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible.

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Speaker 1: I am what it says I am. I have what

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Speaker 1: it says I have. I can do what it says

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Speaker 1: I can do. Today I will be taught the word

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Speaker 1: of God. I boldly confess. My mind is alert, my

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Speaker 1: heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name,

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Speaker 1: God bless you. I want to talk to you today

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Speaker 1: about being a good example. Every one of us has

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Speaker 1: a ministry. It may not be to be in a

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Speaker 1: pulpit like this, but really your pulpit is your life.

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Speaker 1: People are watching how you live, how you respond to adversity,

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Speaker 1: how consistent you are, how you treat people around you.

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Speaker 1: Our actions speak louder than our words. We are called

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Speaker 1: to be the light of the world. We're supposed to

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Speaker 1: be the salt of the earth. That means the way

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Speaker 1: we live should make other people want what we have.

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Speaker 1: We should have so much joy, so much peace. We

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Speaker 1: should be so kind, so generous, so good natured that

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Speaker 1: it draws people to us. And one of the best

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Speaker 1: ways to let your light shine is to just go

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Speaker 1: out and be happy, be friendly, be good to people,

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Speaker 1: have a positive attitude. I heard somebody say, preach at

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Speaker 1: all times, use words only if necessary. In other words,

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Speaker 1: your life is speaking to people. Maybe you work at

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Speaker 1: an office where everybody's complaining. They're talking about the boss,

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Speaker 1: criticizing the company. But you go in with a good attitude.

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Speaker 1: You have a smile on your face. You're grateful that

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Speaker 1: at least you have a job. You're focused on what's right,

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Speaker 1: not what's wrong. You know what, you just minister to

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Speaker 1: those people. You just spoke into their lives. The fact

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Speaker 1: is you didn't have to say a word. You didn't

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Speaker 1: have to condemn them and say you old, ungrateful things. No,

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Speaker 1: you just let your light shine. You let your actions

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Speaker 1: do the talking. That's one of the most powerful ways

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Speaker 1: to influence people. We have to realize every one of

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Speaker 1: us have a ministry. You may not know how to preach,

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Speaker 1: but you do know how to smile. That's a great sermon.

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Speaker 1: I've got that one down. You may not be able

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Speaker 1: to get up here, but you can be kind to someone,

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Speaker 1: You can give an encouraging word, you can be stable

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Speaker 1: in the midst of adversity. All these things send a

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Speaker 1: message to people. And we're supposed to be living epistles

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Speaker 1: read by all men. That means people are not reading

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Speaker 1: a book these days. They're reading our lives. They're watching

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Speaker 1: the way we live. And I wonder what would happen

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Speaker 1: if every one of us would go go whit each

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Speaker 1: day with a smile on our face, being good to people, kind, courteous, respectful, friendly.

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Speaker 1: That would probably have a greater impact than all the

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Speaker 1: sermons they could hear us speak. The scripture says here

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Speaker 1: in second Corinthians five, verse twenty, we are ambassadors of Christ,

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Speaker 1: God's personal representatives on the earth. We have to understand

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Speaker 1: people don't see God, they see us. We need to

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Speaker 1: ask ourselves, am I representing God in the way I should?

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Speaker 1: Am I kind? Am I friendly? Do I draw people

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Speaker 1: to me? Or do I push people away? I remember

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Speaker 1: in high school there was this one young man that

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Speaker 1: was so fun to be around. He was always happy,

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Speaker 1: so good natured. We couldn't wait for him to get

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Speaker 1: to school. That's the way we should be a joy

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Speaker 1: to be around, consistently happy, consistently friendly. For some people,

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Speaker 1: it's sad to say you can't wait for them to leave.

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Speaker 1: I've always got a problem, always discouraged, always have a

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Speaker 1: sad story. They're always draining your energy. And of course

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Speaker 1: that's fine sometimes, but not all the time. If we

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Speaker 1: mope around with no joy, no enthusiasm, nobody's gonna want

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Speaker 1: what we have. And the reason some people don't come

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Speaker 1: to church today and they don't want to serve God

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Speaker 1: is because they've seen so many believers that look like

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Speaker 1: they've lost their last friend. The Bible tells us to

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Speaker 1: be sober minded, not sober faced. We got to get

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Speaker 1: the joy from down here up to here. I that

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Speaker 1: bumper sticker I saw. If you're born again, notify your face.

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Speaker 1: But people today see too many mixed signals. They think

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Speaker 1: they go to church every week, they honor God with

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Speaker 1: their life, but there is down and depressed as I am.

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Speaker 1: Or when they have adversities, they get just as stressed

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Speaker 1: out and upset as I do. Why would I want

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Speaker 1: what they have? No people should be envious of us.

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Speaker 1: They should see so much stability, so much peace, so

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Speaker 1: much victory. Like a magnet, it just graws them in.

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Speaker 1: And after all God's done for us, the least we

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Speaker 1: can do is go out each day and put a

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Speaker 1: smile on our face. We're supposed to be the light

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Speaker 1: of the world. I believe the smile is the switch

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Speaker 1: that turns the bulb on. It starts right here. But

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Speaker 1: it's a poor representation of our God to go around

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Speaker 1: negative and defeated. And the fact is we all have challenges.

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Speaker 1: We can all find a reason to be unhappy, but

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Speaker 1: we don't have a right to be unhappy. We represent

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Speaker 1: Almighty God. I know I have people that represent me

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Speaker 1: do things on my behalf. And if they went out negative, sour, complaining,

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Speaker 1: they look sloppy, beat up, run down. I'd say, you

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Speaker 1: know what, you need to go do something else. I

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Speaker 1: don't want to be represented like that. How much more

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Speaker 1: our heavenly Father. And sure there are days that none

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Speaker 1: of us feel like being friendly. We don't feel like

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Speaker 1: having a good attitude, we don't feel like smiling, But

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Speaker 1: we need to remind ourselves elves. I'm preaching a sermon

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Speaker 1: today with my life. What kind of message am I sending?

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Speaker 1: People are being influenced by the way I live. I

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Speaker 1: may not speak any words that are wrong, but what

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Speaker 1: am I expressing with my body language? Am I pleasant

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Speaker 1: to be around? Am I happy? Am I good natured?

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Speaker 1: Or do people feel pressured around me? When I walk

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Speaker 1: into the room they all get tense and up tight

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Speaker 1: because they can feel the stress coming off of me.

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Speaker 1: I was in a department store the other day and

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Speaker 1: I went up to the counter to pay. There were

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Speaker 1: three registers opened, and I just happened to choose the

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Speaker 1: one closest to me. And when I handed the man

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Speaker 1: my product, he seemed like he was kind of perturbed,

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Speaker 1: kind of aggravated that I had chosen him. And you

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Speaker 1: know me, I'm just happy, go lucky. I smiled at

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Speaker 1: him anyway and said, hey, how you doing. He didn't

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Speaker 1: say a word. He totally ignored me, acted like I

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Speaker 1: was bothering him. I could feel the tension, the pressure

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Speaker 1: coming off of him. And I eventually handed him my

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Speaker 1: credit card to pay, and he looked down on it

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Speaker 1: and read the name, and he looked back up he said,

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Speaker 1: are you that minister that's on television? And by the

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Speaker 1: way he said it. I didn't know if that's going

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Speaker 1: to be a good thing or not. I smiled and said,

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Speaker 1: yes I am. He said, that's funny. My wife and

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Speaker 1: I watch you every Sunday. I wanted to say, do

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Speaker 1: you ever listen? I bought my product there and was

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Speaker 1: leaving out of there and just being friendly. I said, well,

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Speaker 1: come see us whenever you can. He said, oh, Joe,

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Speaker 1: I can't do that. I'm in charge of the greeting

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Speaker 1: committee at my church. I thought, dear Lord, I wouldn't

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Speaker 1: go to that place without a bulletproof vest. That man

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Speaker 1: may not have realized it, but he was preaching a sermon.

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Speaker 1: I hate to say it wasn't a very good one.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes it does more damage than good for people to

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Speaker 1: say they love God, to say they're a believer, and

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Speaker 1: then they go out and treat people like that. That

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Speaker 1: just keeps people from really wanting to know God. After all,

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Speaker 1: if we're hard to get along with and unfriendly, who's

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Speaker 1: going to want what we have? How's that going to

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Speaker 1: possibly draw anybody in. Let's pay attention to what kind

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Speaker 1: of message that we're sending out. I love what one

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Speaker 1: of our members told me a while back she was

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Speaker 1: out shopping and she went up to the counter to pay,

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Speaker 1: and the girl at the register saw how happy she was.

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Speaker 1: This young girl had a smile on her face and

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Speaker 1: she was just radiating joy and peace. You've seen people

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Speaker 1: that have a glow about them, That's what this young

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Speaker 1: lady looked like. And the clerk said to her, just

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Speaker 1: in passing, how you doing. She said, I'm doing great.

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Speaker 1: I'm blessed, and I believe this year is going to

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Speaker 1: be my best year so far. That clerk looked at

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Speaker 1: her and said, do you go to Lakewood? She said,

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Speaker 1: I do. She said I should have known it. Everybody

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Speaker 1: that comes in here like you goes to Lakewood. I thought,

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Speaker 1: what a great testimony. That's the way that it should be.

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Speaker 1: Some of you didn't think you had much of a ministry,

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Speaker 1: but you're finding out you have a powerful ministry. You

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Speaker 1: can impact people that I never could. You're preaching a

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Speaker 1: sermon every day with your life. One of the best

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Speaker 1: sermons you could ever preach is to just go out

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Speaker 1: and be happy, be good to people, let the love

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Speaker 1: of God shine through you everywhere you go. It's funny

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Speaker 1: sometimes when you smile a lot, people get suspicious of you.

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Speaker 1: They look at you like, what's wrong with him? Why

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Speaker 1: is he so happy over there? My attitude is make

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Speaker 1: them suspicious. I smile at everybody. Sometimes I see people looking.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure they're thinking, you know what, that guy. He

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Speaker 1: may be on drugs. He may look like he's kind

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Speaker 1: of high. But you know what, I have to admit,

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Speaker 1: I'm guilty. I'm on the most high. I'm excited about life.

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Speaker 1: I'm happy. I know our best days are not behind us,

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Speaker 1: they're in front of us. If we're going to represent God,

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Speaker 1: we should do it with joy, with enthusiasm, with honor,

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Speaker 1: with excellence, with integrity. It's interesting the studies tell us

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Speaker 1: that people remember less than ten percent of what we say,

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Speaker 1: but what they always remmber is what they feel. In

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Speaker 1: other words, you can say the right thing with a

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Speaker 1: sour attitude and they'll go away remembering the negative. But

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Speaker 1: if you can just be happy, have a smile, be kind,

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Speaker 1: take time for people, that's what makes a positive impact

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Speaker 1: in people's lives. People write me all the time, say Joel,

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Speaker 1: I can't remember what your sermon was about, but what

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Speaker 1: ministered to me was the joy that I saw on

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Speaker 1: your face, the love that I felt coming through the screen.

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Speaker 1: The compassion, the sincerity. That's what the phrase means. Preach

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Speaker 1: it all times. Use words only if necessary. Pay attention

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Speaker 1: to your body language, your voice tones, your facial expressions.

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Speaker 1: Have a pleasant demeanor. When somebody does something for you

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Speaker 1: at the office, the grocery store, at the mall, don't

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Speaker 1: just take the receipt, take the paper and look down

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Speaker 1: kind of mumble all right, thanks, No, look them in

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Speaker 1: the eye with a smile on your face, in a

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Speaker 1: pleasant tone, tell them thank you. I appreciate that. See,

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Speaker 1: we can't get so busy and so preoccupied that we're

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Speaker 1: not taking time for people. Slow down and show them

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Speaker 1: that you care. You're not just saying thank you. That's

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Speaker 1: a part of your ministry. How do you know they

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Speaker 1: don't need something positive sewn into their lives. They may

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Speaker 1: be going through all kinds of difficulty you know nothing about.

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Speaker 1: Yet one kind word, one heartfelt thank you, one genuine

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Speaker 1: look of care and concern can help them make it

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Speaker 1: through the day. One time, our son Jonathan, and I

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Speaker 1: were going to a restaurant to eat. When we walked in,

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Speaker 1: I saw this man sitting at a table by himself.

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Speaker 1: He was dressed in a nice suit, hat on a tie,

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Speaker 1: and I just naturally paused and smiled at him and said,

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Speaker 1: how are you, and then walked on. No big deal.

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Speaker 1: A couple of days later we got a letter from him.

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Speaker 1: He told how he was at one of the lowest

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Speaker 1: points in his life. He wasn't a quote religious person,

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Speaker 1: never been to church, never really prayed. But that morning

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Speaker 1: he said, God, if you're real and you still have

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Speaker 1: a plan for my life, give me some kind of sign.

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Speaker 1: He said, Joel, when you walked in and spoke to me,

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Speaker 1: I felt a warmness going all through me. Now I

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Speaker 1: realized that was God directing my steps. But what if

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Speaker 1: I'd been too busy, too preoccupied, too focused on myself

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Speaker 1: to make a deposit into that man's life. The fact

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Speaker 1: is it didn't take me five extra seconds, didn't take

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Speaker 1: an extra ounce of energy, Yet it made a huge impact.

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Speaker 1: When you go out through the day, be more aware

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Speaker 1: of the people that are around you. You're not just

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Speaker 1: going to work that's your place of ministry. You're not

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Speaker 1: just going to the grocery store, going to them all,

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Speaker 1: going to the Little League field. God is directing your steps.

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Speaker 1: He's constantly bringing people across your path that need what

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Speaker 1: you have, make sure that you're sowing good seeds into them.

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Speaker 1: When people see you, they should feel love, feel hope,

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Speaker 1: feel encourage me. Not say anything, but with your demeanor,

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Speaker 1: with a smile on your face, with the glow that

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Speaker 1: God's put around you, that can communicate even more than

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Speaker 1: our words. And I know some of you work at

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Speaker 1: places where everybody's negative, everybody has a bad attitude, But

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Speaker 1: you don't have to let that pull you down. I

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Speaker 1: heard somebody say you can either be a thermometer or

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Speaker 1: you can be a thermostat. A thermometer just measures the

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Speaker 1: temperature of the room and adjust to that. That means

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Speaker 1: if everybody's negative, sour, complaining, you sink down to their level.

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Speaker 1: But a better choice is to be a thermostat. A

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Speaker 1: thermostat changes the temperature in the room. You go in

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Speaker 1: there with a good attitude, excited about your future, full

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Speaker 1: of hope. Little by little that environment will begin to change.

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Speaker 1: I believe today I'm looking at a bunch of thermostats.

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Speaker 1: They are already enough thermometers. There are already enough people

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Speaker 1: that just go with the majority. But don't let them

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Speaker 1: influence you. You influence them, bring them up to your left

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Speaker 1: you don't have to try to straighten everybody out. The

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Speaker 1: Bible says God's given us the power to be a witness.

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Speaker 1: Doesn't necessarily mean we have two witness although it's good

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Speaker 1: to share our faith. But one of the best witnesses

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Speaker 1: you could ever have is to just be who you are.

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Speaker 1: Just live your life consistently happy, consistently friendly, consistently in

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Speaker 1: a good mood. Let your actions do the talking. The

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Speaker 1: other day, I was in my car, and I had

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Speaker 1: six children with me, two of my own and four

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Speaker 1: of my nephews and nieces, and they all wanted to

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Speaker 1: go to McDonald's, and so we pulled through the drive through,

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Speaker 1: but the speaker was so distorted I could hardly hear,

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Speaker 1: and plus the children were kind of loud, and I

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Speaker 1: was trying to place my order. My little nephew, Christopher,

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Speaker 1: he likes his hamburgers completely dry, with nothing on it.

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Speaker 1: And so I told the lady through the speaker, I

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Speaker 1: want a happy meal with a hamburger with nothing but

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Speaker 1: a bun and a piece of meat. She said, okay,

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Speaker 1: would you like pickles with that? I said, no, ma'am,

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Speaker 1: I don't want anything on it, just dry. She said,

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Speaker 1: all right, would you like mayonnaise with that? I said, no, ma'am,

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Speaker 1: I just want a bun and a piece of myth.

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Speaker 1: She said, all right, would you like mustard with that?

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Speaker 1: I thought she was kidding. I kind of laughed, and

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Speaker 1: I said, ma'am, I want this hamburger completely dry. She said,

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Speaker 1: all right, so you don't want to let us, do you.

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Speaker 1: It's like that sign I saw it says what part

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Speaker 1: of no do you not understand? This was my first order.

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Speaker 1: I had five more to go. It had taken all

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Speaker 1: my energy. I looked back and the line behind me

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Speaker 1: was halfway to the freeway. I was so embarrassed. I

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Speaker 1: had to keep telling myself I am God's personal representative

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Speaker 1: on this earth. How would God act? Would he get upset?

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Speaker 1: Would he lose his cool and give this young lady up?

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Speaker 1: He say his mind? I was attempted to, but I

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Speaker 1: just stayed calm. Finally I got my order in. I

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Speaker 1: pulled up to where she was to pay. When she

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Speaker 1: saw me, the first thing she said it was old pasture. Joy.

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Speaker 1: I can't believe that. I thought, thank you Jesus that

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Speaker 1: I say calm. She pulled my book out and said,

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Speaker 1: would you sign your book? For me. I thought to myself,

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Speaker 1: I could have written another book by the time I've

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Speaker 1: to get my order. We got to talk and I said,

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Speaker 1: how long you been working here? She said? Today is

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Speaker 1: my first day. She said. You know what, I'm catching

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Speaker 1: on pretty good. I thought to myself, you just keep

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Speaker 1: calling it, I say, sister. But you never really know

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Speaker 1: who's watching you. Hey, you said, Joe, you're on television.

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Speaker 1: I don't have to worry about that. No, don't kid yourself.

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Speaker 1: Your children are watching you, your coworkers, your neighbors, the

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Speaker 1: person at the grocery store. You're preaching a sermon to

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Speaker 1: everyone you interact with. They may not remember what you say,

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Speaker 1: but they're going to remember what they felt. Do they

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Speaker 1: feel love? Do they feel joy? Do they feel approval?

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Speaker 1: Make sure you're sending out the right things. We're representing

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Speaker 1: Almighty God. And as in my early twenties, I was

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Speaker 1: in India in a small town with my father and

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Speaker 1: every morning we would go down to the little restaurant

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Speaker 1: in the place we were staying to have breakfast. We

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Speaker 1: couldn't communicate verbally with them since nobody spoke English. We

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Speaker 1: just point to what we wanted. My father would always

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Speaker 1: go out of his way to be kind and respectful

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Speaker 1: and warm. He really loved the people of India, and

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Speaker 1: even though they didn't understand him, he was always smiling

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Speaker 1: and patting him on the back. And by the end

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Speaker 1: of the week he had given everybody a hug. And

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Speaker 1: just as we were about to leave and move on

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Speaker 1: to the next town, the men that owned the restaurant

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Speaker 1: motion to our driver, our interpreter. He pointed at my

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Speaker 1: father and he said, who is that man? We can

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Speaker 1: see God in his eyes. You think about it. My

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Speaker 1: father had never spoken a word that they could understand,

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Speaker 1: yet they felt the love, they felt the compassion. What

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Speaker 1: was it that had just let his light shine? Words

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Speaker 1: are not always necessary, Like the old poem that says,

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Speaker 1: I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day,

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Speaker 1: I'd rather men walk with me than merely show the way.

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Speaker 1: What kind of sermon are we sharing with people every day?

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Speaker 1: Just little things like being kind to the lady at

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Speaker 1: the grocery store you just ministered to her, being friendly

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Speaker 1: to the security guard at the office you just made

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Speaker 1: a deposit into his life, or even taking that neighbor

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Speaker 1: some food that hasn't been feeling well. That's a ministry.

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Speaker 1: The scripture tells us we are temples of Almighty God.

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Speaker 1: Another way you could say it is we are containers

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Speaker 1: filled with God. Everywhere we go, we should be dispensing

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Speaker 1: good on somebody, dispensing hope, dispensing encouragement, dispensing joy. You

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Speaker 1: may have some difficulties in your own life, but one

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Speaker 1: of the best things you could do is get your

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Speaker 1: mind off yourself. Don't live ingrown be a giver. Make

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Speaker 1: up your mind. I'm gonna make a difference in the

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Speaker 1: world today. I'm gonna smile at people. I'm gonna be friendly.

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna encourage someone. Well, you say, man, Joel, I

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Speaker 1: got problems. I need somebody to encourage me. Now you've

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Speaker 1: got to sew a seed. If you will make somebody

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Speaker 1: else's day, God will always make your own day. And

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Speaker 1: in our times of difficulty, one of the most powerful

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Speaker 1: things we can do is go out and be a

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Speaker 1: blessing to somebody else. Don't sit around waiting for your

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Speaker 1: ship to come in. Some of you hadn't sent a

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Speaker 1: ship out yet. You need to start being an encourager,

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Speaker 1: Start giving people hope, start sharing your love your joy

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Speaker 1: with others. The fact is every one of us are

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Speaker 1: dispensing something. Too many go around dispensing negative things, defeat, sarcasm, self, pity, pride.

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Speaker 1: They don't have to say a word, but you can

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Speaker 1: feel these things coming off of them. Please don't let

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Speaker 1: that be you. Go out each day dispensing joy, dispensing enthusiasm.

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Speaker 1: Be friendly, Let your light shine. While back, Victoria and

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Speaker 1: I were in Galveston. We were walking up and down

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Speaker 1: the street going into the little shops, and Victoria had

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Speaker 1: gone into this one place and I just decided to

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Speaker 1: wait outside and watch the people. And I saw this

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Speaker 1: lady two or three blocks away, and she started waving

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Speaker 1: and waving, so I smiled real big and waved back

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Speaker 1: at her like she was my best friend. Had no

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Speaker 1: idea who she was, but I was just determined to

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Speaker 1: be friendly. A few minutes later, she had come a

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Speaker 1: little closer as she was shopping, and I noticed once

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Speaker 1: again she started waving and waving. I thought, all right, lady,

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Speaker 1: we did this once, but we can do it again,

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Speaker 1: so I smiled and waved like I hadn't seen her

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Speaker 1: in years. A few minutes later, she is now, you know,

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Speaker 1: shopping just a few feet from me, or you know,

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Speaker 1: twenty thirty yards, and I couldn't believe it. She started

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Speaker 1: waving more enthusiastically than ever, and so I thought I

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Speaker 1: was joining the fund. I waved and I said, hey,

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Speaker 1: how you doing? And she came over and got closer

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Speaker 1: to me, and she looked at me kind of strange.

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Speaker 1: She said, do I know you? I said, I don't know.

401
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Speaker 1: I'm waving and it's you because you're waving at me.

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Speaker 1: She said, I'm not waving at you. I'm waving at

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Speaker 1: my sister behind you. I was as red as that flag.

404
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Speaker 1: I'll never forget. She patted me on the back. She said,

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Speaker 1: but you sure are a friendly young man. But I thought,

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Speaker 1: if I er, I'm on air on the side of

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Speaker 1: being friendly, I'm on air on the side of being

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Speaker 1: full of joy. They're already enough four people in our society.

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Speaker 1: Our lives should overflow with the victory God's given us.

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Speaker 1: If we're gonna let our lights shine, we got to

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Speaker 1: turn the bulb on. We have to have a smile,

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Speaker 1: we have to be friend. Let's be full of joy

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Speaker 1: wherever we go. Too often we think we can only

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Speaker 1: preach with our words. We're supposed to go around straightening

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Speaker 1: everybody out, let me tell you what you're doing wrong. Now,

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Speaker 1: most of the time that just makes people defensive. My

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Speaker 1: father used to say, don't be a fire hose, try

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Speaker 1: to knock people down, point out their faults, their shortcomings. Instead,

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Speaker 1: just be a sprinkler, sheer, hope, kind words, share encouragement.

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Speaker 1: Let your life be the example. Years ago, before I

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Speaker 1: became a minister, I used to play basketball at this

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Speaker 1: one gym and there were a lot of young men

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Speaker 1: there that were very rough. They would use bad language

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Speaker 1: and argue, and sometimes some scuffles would break out. I

425
00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:20,280
Speaker 1: played there for several years, but I didn't go in

426
00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:22,640
Speaker 1: there and try to preach to them and tell them

427
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Speaker 1: what they were doing wrong. I did just what I'm

428
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Speaker 1: asking you to do. I just lived my life consistently happy,

429
00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:32,440
Speaker 1: consistently friendly, consistently in a good mood. I wouldn't argue

430
00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,880
Speaker 1: with them. I always played fair. There was a questionable call,

431
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:38,440
Speaker 1: I'd let the other team have the ball. In fact,

432
00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:40,679
Speaker 1: it got to be a joke. If I were on

433
00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,560
Speaker 1: the sidelines waiting to play next watching a game and

434
00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,600
Speaker 1: there was a close call, they'd always say, go ask Joel.

435
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:50,760
Speaker 1: We know he won't lie. See, we all have our pulpit.

436
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:54,520
Speaker 1: You're ministering to people all around you. Your life is

437
00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,440
Speaker 1: sending a message. And really that was a better witness

438
00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:00,200
Speaker 1: than me trying to cram something down their throat. Talk

439
00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:02,720
Speaker 1: is cheap. I could have told them all day long, guys,

440
00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:05,040
Speaker 1: y'all got a quit cursing, you need to quit fighting.

441
00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,240
Speaker 1: But a greater impact was to let my actions do

442
00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:11,560
Speaker 1: the talking. Being a good example is what opens the

443
00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,639
Speaker 1: door to a person's heart. This one young man was

444
00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:18,719
Speaker 1: really struggling. He had addictions and anger problems, and he

445
00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,439
Speaker 1: was the least likely one you'd ever think would have

446
00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:23,920
Speaker 1: anything to do with the things of God. But one

447
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,400
Speaker 1: day he asked me if I had start praying for him,

448
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:28,720
Speaker 1: if I'd just start helping him, a lot of people

449
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,160
Speaker 1: would have gone in there and said, yea, all right,

450
00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:32,320
Speaker 1: here's what you're doing wrong. You got to straighten up,

451
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,360
Speaker 1: live right, do this, do that. But I found most

452
00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:38,280
Speaker 1: people already know what they're doing wrong. They don't need

453
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,480
Speaker 1: our condemnation, they need our love. They need us to

454
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,480
Speaker 1: be understanding. Some people, they see you do one thing wrong,

455
00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:48,240
Speaker 1: they come at you like a bulldog. I'm gonna straighten

456
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:49,840
Speaker 1: you out. Let me tell you, brother, you're going straight

457
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,920
Speaker 1: to hell. It's funny. Sometimes it seems like they're glad

458
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:57,240
Speaker 1: that we're going. But we're supposed to share good news.

459
00:24:57,640 --> 00:24:59,800
Speaker 1: We have the power to be a witness. You don't

460
00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:03,520
Speaker 1: have to straighten everybody out. Let your light shine. In fact,

461
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:06,520
Speaker 1: a scripture talks about wives that have husbands that are

462
00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:09,120
Speaker 1: not serving God. It says, don't try to win them

463
00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:11,520
Speaker 1: over with your words, don't try to convince him with

464
00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:15,760
Speaker 1: your speech. Let your life of excellence and integrity speak

465
00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,560
Speaker 1: to them. Now. I know too many ladies that have

466
00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:21,040
Speaker 1: a husband's not coming to church. They harp on that

467
00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:25,120
Speaker 1: man night and day, constantly preaching to him, quoting them scriptures,

468
00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:27,520
Speaker 1: telling him what he's doing wrong. Most of the time,

469
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,680
Speaker 1: that drives people further away. A better approach is to

470
00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:33,240
Speaker 1: just let your light shine. Be fun to be around,

471
00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:37,119
Speaker 1: be good natured, make him want what you have. I

472
00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:40,119
Speaker 1: started praying with this young man after the ballgames. He

473
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,680
Speaker 1: didn't even come from our same faith, but I would

474
00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:45,280
Speaker 1: encourage him, give him hope. One day he showed up

475
00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:48,600
Speaker 1: at Lakewood. He told me, Joel, I've never felt anything

476
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,600
Speaker 1: like that before. It was the love of God. Today

477
00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:54,520
Speaker 1: he's here all the time, his life's totally changed. He's

478
00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:56,960
Speaker 1: free from his addictions. He's one of the most kind,

479
00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:01,679
Speaker 1: caring people that you could ever meet. How did this happen?

480
00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:05,840
Speaker 1: Not by me forcing it, not by me condemning him. No,

481
00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:09,520
Speaker 1: I simply let my light shine. I'm asking you to

482
00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:12,800
Speaker 1: do the same thing. You have a ministry, you represent

483
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,320
Speaker 1: Almighty God. When you go out in the morning, make

484
00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:19,160
Speaker 1: sure you have a smile on your face, make sure

485
00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:24,040
Speaker 1: you're friendly, have a pleasant demeanor. Remember, people don't see God,

486
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:26,800
Speaker 1: they see us. And I wonder what would happen if

487
00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:30,000
Speaker 1: every one of us would go out of here dispensing

488
00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:34,199
Speaker 1: good on somebody, joy, hope, encouragement. Friends, you are a

489
00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:37,960
Speaker 1: container that is filled with God. Don't keep it to yourself,

490
00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:41,960
Speaker 1: share it with others. Let your light shine. If you'll

491
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,479
Speaker 1: go out each day being a good example, you'll not

492
00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:48,600
Speaker 1: only make a positive impact in other people's lives. But

493
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,160
Speaker 1: here's the beauty. God will use that seed to impact

494
00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:54,560
Speaker 1: your own life. He'll cause you to come up hire,

495
00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:57,320
Speaker 1: He'll show you more of His blessings in favor, and

496
00:26:57,359 --> 00:27:00,080
Speaker 1: you'll live the life of victory that He has in story.

497
00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:04,960
Speaker 1: Do you receive it today? We never like the clothes

498
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:08,680
Speaker 1: on broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus

499
00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:10,960
Speaker 1: the lord of your life. Would you pray with me?

500
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:16,680
Speaker 1: Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come

501
00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:21,600
Speaker 1: into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. Friends,

502
00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:23,920
Speaker 1: if you've prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got

503
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,080
Speaker 1: born again. Get in a good Bible based church. Keep

504
00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:29,720
Speaker 1: God first place. He's going to take your places that

505
00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:30,720
Speaker 1: you've never dreamed of.

506
00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:35,760
Speaker 2: We all carry a mental picture of what our life

507
00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:42,000
Speaker 2: can be. Is yours limited? Do you picture yourself stuck, inadequate, defeated?

508
00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:45,080
Speaker 2: Are you willing to change your mindset in order to

509
00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:47,639
Speaker 2: experience a life of blessing and abundance.

510
00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:50,840
Speaker 1: We all have a picture in our mind of ourself,

511
00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,840
Speaker 1: our family, our future. And if that picture is negative,

512
00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:58,439
Speaker 1: you see yourself at a disadvantage. Your problem's too big,

513
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:02,880
Speaker 1: it's gonna limit your life. A new book, The Abundance Mindset,

514
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:05,680
Speaker 1: will help you see yourself the right way. If you'll

515
00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:11,359
Speaker 1: change those negative pictures, start seeing yourself blessed, healthy, rising high,

516
00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:14,879
Speaker 1: or accomplishing dreams, then things will begin to shift in

517
00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:17,640
Speaker 1: your favor. You have to see it on the inside

518
00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,920
Speaker 1: before it'll come to pass on the outside. We'll send

519
00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:23,960
Speaker 1: you the Mindset Journal too. These tools will help you

520
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,719
Speaker 1: get your inner vision in the right place so you

521
00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,960
Speaker 1: can move into the favor and blessing that God has

522
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:30,400
Speaker 1: for you.

523
00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:33,560
Speaker 2: As our way of saying thank you for your gift

524
00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,120
Speaker 2: of any amount this month, we would like to send

525
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:39,880
Speaker 2: you a copy of Joel's book The Abundance Mindset and

526
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:44,840
Speaker 2: this inspiring Mindset Journal. Joel shares powerful scriptures and encouraging

527
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:48,240
Speaker 2: thoughts about how to move from fairly enough to more

528
00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:52,120
Speaker 2: than enough, how to be someone else's miracle and experience

529
00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,120
Speaker 2: miracles in your own life. As you make the book

530
00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:57,920
Speaker 2: and journal a part of your daily walk, you'll be

531
00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:01,360
Speaker 2: built up every day regarding how it's tapp into God's

532
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,800
Speaker 2: favor and blessing. How not to talk yourself out of

533
00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:08,080
Speaker 2: the dreams and opportunities He has already prepared for you,

534
00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:12,360
Speaker 2: how to experience life to the fullest. Request your copies

535
00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:15,280
Speaker 2: today and begin to see a new mental picture of

536
00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:19,880
Speaker 2: yourself that will lead to new measures of blessing, favor, promotion,

537
00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:21,080
Speaker 2: and abundance.

538
00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:24,920
Speaker 1: Let's go into twenty twenty five with an abundant mindset.

539
00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:27,360
Speaker 1: I believe you're going to see the goodness of God

540
00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:30,160
Speaker 1: in new ways. Victory and I want you to know

541
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,000
Speaker 1: we pray for you and your family every day for

542
00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,960
Speaker 1: God's very best. We want to thank you for your

543
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,920
Speaker 1: prayer and support. You are impacting people all over the world.

544
00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:43,200
Speaker 1: A special thank you to our Championship Hope partners for

545
00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:46,240
Speaker 1: your monthly support. If you're not a partner, I hope

546
00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:50,120
Speaker 1: you'll consider becoming one. Remember you can watch the services

547
00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:54,760
Speaker 1: online every Sunday morning, download our daily podcast, listen on

548
00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:59,840
Speaker 1: Serious Exam, watch on YouTube. Also the new Joelosting Network

549
00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,600
Speaker 1: streaming on television twenty four hours a day. Until we

550
00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,520
Speaker 1: see you again. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

551
00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:10,640
Speaker 2: Be sure to request your copy of the Abundance Mindset

552
00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:15,240
Speaker 2: Book and Mindset Journal today. Visit Joelostein dot com or

553
00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,920
Speaker 2: call eight eight eight five six seven Joel for an

554
00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:22,680
Speaker 2: additional donation. This month, we are also offering His Goodness

555
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:27,120
Speaker 2: Abundance Bowl. You can request this inspiring resource by calling

556
00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:30,680
Speaker 2: eight eight eight five six seven Joel. We're logging on

557
00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:32,920
Speaker 2: to Joelostein dot com today.

558
00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:37,080
Speaker 1: If you've never been to Lakewood, we have a great opportunity.

559
00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:40,880
Speaker 1: We call it Homecoming weekend. We'd love to meet you

560
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,280
Speaker 1: and your family. You can see the building and attend

561
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:47,080
Speaker 1: one of the services. It's a great time to be

562
00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:49,480
Speaker 1: a part of the Lakewood family. Looking forward to seeing

563
00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:51,200
Speaker 1: you homecoming weekend