WEBVTT - Be An Example | Joel Osteen 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:03.240 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:06.400 our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:09.080 enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:11.800 share it with a friend. We appreciate you and pray 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.920 for God's very best in your life. God bless you 0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:18.760 always a joy to come into your homes. We love you, 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:21.320 We know God has great things in store. And if 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:23.560 you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:25.680 and be a part of one of our services. I 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:27.960 promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:30.720 thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started 0:00:30.720 --> 0:00:33.080 each week with something kind of funny, and I heard 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:36.280 about this man that lived in the country. One night, 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:39.839 he heard some noise and he saw some burglars stealing 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:42.519 things from his barn. He ran to the phone and 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:45.880 dialed nine to one one, but the dispatcher said, I'm sorry, sir, 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:48.960 there are no patrol cars available. You just need to 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:50.879 lock your doors and we'll get somebody there as soon 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:54.800 as possible. He hung up so frustrated. About thirty seconds 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:57.160 he called back. He said, ma'am, don't worry about it. 0:00:57.400 --> 0:00:59.720 You don't need to send anybody. I shot all the 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:04.520 burn Ninety seconds later, three patrol cars, one sheriff, and 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:08.200 two ambulances showed up, and they caught the burglars red handed. 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:10.840 The sheriff went over afterwards and said, I thought you 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:13.559 said you shot the burglars. The man said, I thought 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:18.680 you said nobody was available. All right, hold up your bibles. 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:21.440 Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:24.400 I am what it says I am. I have what 0:01:24.480 --> 0:01:27.040 it says I have. I can do what it says 0:01:27.080 --> 0:01:29.839 I can do. Today I will be taught the word 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:34.319 of God. I boldly confess. My mind is alert, my 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:38.960 heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:42.480 God bless you. I want to talk to you today 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:46.399 about being a good example. Every one of us has 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:49.000 a ministry. It may not be to be in a 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:53.520 pulpit like this, but really your pulpit is your life. 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:58.360 People are watching how you live, how you respond to adversity, 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:02.040 how consistent you are, how you treat people around you. 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:06.520 Our actions speak louder than our words. We are called 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:09.320 to be the light of the world. We're supposed to 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:12.480 be the salt of the earth. That means the way 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:15.840 we live should make other people want what we have. 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:19.880 We should have so much joy, so much peace. We 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:23.520 should be so kind, so generous, so good natured that 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:26.240 it draws people to us. And one of the best 0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:28.840 ways to let your light shine is to just go 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:33.160 out and be happy, be friendly, be good to people, 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:37.480 have a positive attitude. I heard somebody say, preach at 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:42.480 all times, use words only if necessary. In other words, 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:46.080 your life is speaking to people. Maybe you work at 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:49.960 an office where everybody's complaining. They're talking about the boss, 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:54.200 criticizing the company. But you go in with a good attitude. 0:02:54.360 --> 0:02:57.240 You have a smile on your face. You're grateful that 0:02:57.320 --> 0:03:00.320 at least you have a job. You're focused on what's right, 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:03.480 not what's wrong. You know what, you just minister to 0:03:03.520 --> 0:03:07.120 those people. You just spoke into their lives. The fact 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:09.840 is you didn't have to say a word. You didn't 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:12.639 have to condemn them and say you old, ungrateful things. No, 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:16.000 you just let your light shine. You let your actions 0:03:16.040 --> 0:03:18.800 do the talking. That's one of the most powerful ways 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:22.840 to influence people. We have to realize every one of 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:26.600 us have a ministry. You may not know how to preach, 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:29.680 but you do know how to smile. That's a great sermon. 0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:33.480 I've got that one down. You may not be able 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:36.480 to get up here, but you can be kind to someone, 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:40.119 You can give an encouraging word, you can be stable 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:43.640 in the midst of adversity. All these things send a 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:48.040 message to people. And we're supposed to be living epistles 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:51.800 read by all men. That means people are not reading 0:03:51.840 --> 0:03:55.440 a book these days. They're reading our lives. They're watching 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:58.320 the way we live. And I wonder what would happen 0:03:58.680 --> 0:04:00.520 if every one of us would go go whit each 0:04:00.600 --> 0:04:06.960 day with a smile on our face, being good to people, kind, courteous, respectful, friendly. 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.600 That would probably have a greater impact than all the 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:13.840 sermons they could hear us speak. The scripture says here 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:18.320 in second Corinthians five, verse twenty, we are ambassadors of Christ, 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:23.760 God's personal representatives on the earth. We have to understand 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:27.800 people don't see God, they see us. We need to 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:31.360 ask ourselves, am I representing God in the way I should? 0:04:32.000 --> 0:04:35.479 Am I kind? Am I friendly? Do I draw people 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:38.760 to me? Or do I push people away? I remember 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:41.440 in high school there was this one young man that 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:44.719 was so fun to be around. He was always happy, 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:47.760 so good natured. We couldn't wait for him to get 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:50.880 to school. That's the way we should be a joy 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:56.440 to be around, consistently happy, consistently friendly. For some people, 0:04:56.760 --> 0:04:59.200 it's sad to say you can't wait for them to leave. 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:03.200 I've always got a problem, always discouraged, always have a 0:05:03.240 --> 0:05:07.480 sad story. They're always draining your energy. And of course 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:11.160 that's fine sometimes, but not all the time. If we 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:15.520 mope around with no joy, no enthusiasm, nobody's gonna want 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:18.400 what we have. And the reason some people don't come 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:21.279 to church today and they don't want to serve God 0:05:21.760 --> 0:05:24.680 is because they've seen so many believers that look like 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:27.839 they've lost their last friend. The Bible tells us to 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:31.440 be sober minded, not sober faced. We got to get 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:34.200 the joy from down here up to here. I that 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:37.719 bumper sticker I saw. If you're born again, notify your face. 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:43.880 But people today see too many mixed signals. They think 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:46.640 they go to church every week, they honor God with 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:49.080 their life, but there is down and depressed as I am. 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:51.840 Or when they have adversities, they get just as stressed 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.040 out and upset as I do. Why would I want 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:57.360 what they have? No people should be envious of us. 0:05:57.520 --> 0:06:01.200 They should see so much stability, so much peace, so 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:04.400 much victory. Like a magnet, it just graws them in. 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:07.800 And after all God's done for us, the least we 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:10.200 can do is go out each day and put a 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:13.400 smile on our face. We're supposed to be the light 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:17.400 of the world. I believe the smile is the switch 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:20.520 that turns the bulb on. It starts right here. But 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:23.159 it's a poor representation of our God to go around 0:06:23.200 --> 0:06:27.039 negative and defeated. And the fact is we all have challenges. 0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:30.120 We can all find a reason to be unhappy, but 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:32.760 we don't have a right to be unhappy. We represent 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:36.039 Almighty God. I know I have people that represent me 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:41.400 do things on my behalf. And if they went out negative, sour, complaining, 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:45.280 they look sloppy, beat up, run down. I'd say, you 0:06:45.360 --> 0:06:47.359 know what, you need to go do something else. I 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:50.360 don't want to be represented like that. How much more 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:53.680 our heavenly Father. And sure there are days that none 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:56.040 of us feel like being friendly. We don't feel like 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.560 having a good attitude, we don't feel like smiling, But 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:01.880 we need to remind ourselves elves. I'm preaching a sermon 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:05.159 today with my life. What kind of message am I sending? 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:09.000 People are being influenced by the way I live. I 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:11.520 may not speak any words that are wrong, but what 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:15.040 am I expressing with my body language? Am I pleasant 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:17.440 to be around? Am I happy? Am I good natured? 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:21.480 Or do people feel pressured around me? When I walk 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:23.440 into the room they all get tense and up tight 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:25.760 because they can feel the stress coming off of me. 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:28.840 I was in a department store the other day and 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:31.200 I went up to the counter to pay. There were 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:33.880 three registers opened, and I just happened to choose the 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:36.480 one closest to me. And when I handed the man 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:39.600 my product, he seemed like he was kind of perturbed, 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:43.040 kind of aggravated that I had chosen him. And you 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:44.960 know me, I'm just happy, go lucky. I smiled at 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:47.080 him anyway and said, hey, how you doing. He didn't 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:50.360 say a word. He totally ignored me, acted like I 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:54.280 was bothering him. I could feel the tension, the pressure 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:56.520 coming off of him. And I eventually handed him my 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:58.760 credit card to pay, and he looked down on it 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:01.760 and read the name, and he looked back up he said, 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:04.520 are you that minister that's on television? And by the 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:06.160 way he said it. I didn't know if that's going 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:09.920 to be a good thing or not. I smiled and said, 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:12.560 yes I am. He said, that's funny. My wife and 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:15.920 I watch you every Sunday. I wanted to say, do 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:22.000 you ever listen? I bought my product there and was 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:24.240 leaving out of there and just being friendly. I said, well, 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:26.440 come see us whenever you can. He said, oh, Joe, 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:29.200 I can't do that. I'm in charge of the greeting 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:33.640 committee at my church. I thought, dear Lord, I wouldn't 0:08:33.679 --> 0:08:38.000 go to that place without a bulletproof vest. That man 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:41.040 may not have realized it, but he was preaching a sermon. 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:44.079 I hate to say it wasn't a very good one. 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:47.480 Sometimes it does more damage than good for people to 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:49.600 say they love God, to say they're a believer, and 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:51.840 then they go out and treat people like that. That 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:55.160 just keeps people from really wanting to know God. After all, 0:08:55.200 --> 0:08:58.040 if we're hard to get along with and unfriendly, who's 0:08:58.040 --> 0:08:59.959 going to want what we have? How's that going to 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:03.800 possibly draw anybody in. Let's pay attention to what kind 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:06.800 of message that we're sending out. I love what one 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:09.160 of our members told me a while back she was 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:12.000 out shopping and she went up to the counter to pay, 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:15.760 and the girl at the register saw how happy she was. 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:18.480 This young girl had a smile on her face and 0:09:18.520 --> 0:09:22.080 she was just radiating joy and peace. You've seen people 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:24.600 that have a glow about them, That's what this young 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:26.960 lady looked like. And the clerk said to her, just 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:29.760 in passing, how you doing. She said, I'm doing great. 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:32.520 I'm blessed, and I believe this year is going to 0:09:32.520 --> 0:09:35.000 be my best year so far. That clerk looked at 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:39.080 her and said, do you go to Lakewood? She said, 0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:41.640 I do. She said I should have known it. Everybody 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:44.920 that comes in here like you goes to Lakewood. I thought, 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:48.000 what a great testimony. That's the way that it should be. 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:53.319 Some of you didn't think you had much of a ministry, 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:56.240 but you're finding out you have a powerful ministry. You 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:59.080 can impact people that I never could. You're preaching a 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:02.160 sermon every day with your life. One of the best 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:04.400 sermons you could ever preach is to just go out 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:07.640 and be happy, be good to people, let the love 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:11.720 of God shine through you everywhere you go. It's funny 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:15.120 sometimes when you smile a lot, people get suspicious of you. 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:18.360 They look at you like, what's wrong with him? Why 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:21.600 is he so happy over there? My attitude is make 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:26.079 them suspicious. I smile at everybody. Sometimes I see people looking. 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:29.160 I'm sure they're thinking, you know what, that guy. He 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:32.719 may be on drugs. He may look like he's kind 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:34.400 of high. But you know what, I have to admit, 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:37.720 I'm guilty. I'm on the most high. I'm excited about life. 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:43.800 I'm happy. I know our best days are not behind us, 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:46.920 they're in front of us. If we're going to represent God, 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:50.560 we should do it with joy, with enthusiasm, with honor, 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:54.120 with excellence, with integrity. It's interesting the studies tell us 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:58.280 that people remember less than ten percent of what we say, 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:02.679 but what they always remmber is what they feel. In 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:05.160 other words, you can say the right thing with a 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:08.880 sour attitude and they'll go away remembering the negative. But 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:12.480 if you can just be happy, have a smile, be kind, 0:11:12.679 --> 0:11:16.040 take time for people, that's what makes a positive impact 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:19.400 in people's lives. People write me all the time, say Joel, 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:22.240 I can't remember what your sermon was about, but what 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:24.640 ministered to me was the joy that I saw on 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:27.600 your face, the love that I felt coming through the screen. 0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:31.520 The compassion, the sincerity. That's what the phrase means. Preach 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:36.480 it all times. Use words only if necessary. Pay attention 0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:41.120 to your body language, your voice tones, your facial expressions. 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:44.960 Have a pleasant demeanor. When somebody does something for you 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:48.480 at the office, the grocery store, at the mall, don't 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:51.200 just take the receipt, take the paper and look down 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:53.800 kind of mumble all right, thanks, No, look them in 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:56.560 the eye with a smile on your face, in a 0:11:56.600 --> 0:12:00.440 pleasant tone, tell them thank you. I appreciate that. See, 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:04.400 we can't get so busy and so preoccupied that we're 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:08.240 not taking time for people. Slow down and show them 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:11.079 that you care. You're not just saying thank you. That's 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:14.040 a part of your ministry. How do you know they 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:17.520 don't need something positive sewn into their lives. They may 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:20.840 be going through all kinds of difficulty you know nothing about. 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:26.240 Yet one kind word, one heartfelt thank you, one genuine 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:28.920 look of care and concern can help them make it 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:32.080 through the day. One time, our son Jonathan, and I 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:34.840 were going to a restaurant to eat. When we walked in, 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:37.880 I saw this man sitting at a table by himself. 0:12:38.440 --> 0:12:41.200 He was dressed in a nice suit, hat on a tie, 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:44.800 and I just naturally paused and smiled at him and said, 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:47.520 how are you, and then walked on. No big deal. 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:50.480 A couple of days later we got a letter from him. 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:53.079 He told how he was at one of the lowest 0:12:53.080 --> 0:12:56.480 points in his life. He wasn't a quote religious person, 0:12:56.600 --> 0:12:59.720 never been to church, never really prayed. But that morning 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:03.000 he said, God, if you're real and you still have 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:05.720 a plan for my life, give me some kind of sign. 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:08.480 He said, Joel, when you walked in and spoke to me, 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:11.679 I felt a warmness going all through me. Now I 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:15.080 realized that was God directing my steps. But what if 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:19.160 I'd been too busy, too preoccupied, too focused on myself 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:22.760 to make a deposit into that man's life. The fact 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:25.800 is it didn't take me five extra seconds, didn't take 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:29.080 an extra ounce of energy, Yet it made a huge impact. 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:32.960 When you go out through the day, be more aware 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:35.760 of the people that are around you. You're not just 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:39.240 going to work that's your place of ministry. You're not 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:41.439 just going to the grocery store, going to them all, 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:45.320 going to the Little League field. God is directing your steps. 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:49.960 He's constantly bringing people across your path that need what 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:54.160 you have, make sure that you're sowing good seeds into them. 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:58.040 When people see you, they should feel love, feel hope, 0:13:58.320 --> 0:14:02.320 feel encourage me. Not say anything, but with your demeanor, 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:05.480 with a smile on your face, with the glow that 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:09.559 God's put around you, that can communicate even more than 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:11.880 our words. And I know some of you work at 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:15.320 places where everybody's negative, everybody has a bad attitude, But 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:17.520 you don't have to let that pull you down. I 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:21.440 heard somebody say you can either be a thermometer or 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:25.320 you can be a thermostat. A thermometer just measures the 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:29.040 temperature of the room and adjust to that. That means 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:32.800 if everybody's negative, sour, complaining, you sink down to their level. 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:36.120 But a better choice is to be a thermostat. A 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:39.920 thermostat changes the temperature in the room. You go in 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:43.000 there with a good attitude, excited about your future, full 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:47.360 of hope. Little by little that environment will begin to change. 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:50.080 I believe today I'm looking at a bunch of thermostats. 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:53.480 They are already enough thermometers. There are already enough people 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:56.600 that just go with the majority. But don't let them 0:14:56.600 --> 0:15:00.000 influence you. You influence them, bring them up to your left 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:03.240 you don't have to try to straighten everybody out. The 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:07.840 Bible says God's given us the power to be a witness. 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:11.560 Doesn't necessarily mean we have two witness although it's good 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:14.120 to share our faith. But one of the best witnesses 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:16.280 you could ever have is to just be who you are. 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:21.360 Just live your life consistently happy, consistently friendly, consistently in 0:15:21.440 --> 0:15:25.040 a good mood. Let your actions do the talking. The 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:26.920 other day, I was in my car, and I had 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:30.240 six children with me, two of my own and four 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:32.760 of my nephews and nieces, and they all wanted to 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:35.840 go to McDonald's, and so we pulled through the drive through, 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:39.240 but the speaker was so distorted I could hardly hear, 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:41.880 and plus the children were kind of loud, and I 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:45.040 was trying to place my order. My little nephew, Christopher, 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:49.160 he likes his hamburgers completely dry, with nothing on it. 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:52.400 And so I told the lady through the speaker, I 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:55.640 want a happy meal with a hamburger with nothing but 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:58.680 a bun and a piece of meat. She said, okay, 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:02.040 would you like pickles with that? I said, no, ma'am, 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:04.600 I don't want anything on it, just dry. She said, 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:07.440 all right, would you like mayonnaise with that? I said, no, ma'am, 0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:09.760 I just want a bun and a piece of myth. 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:12.280 She said, all right, would you like mustard with that? 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:14.840 I thought she was kidding. I kind of laughed, and 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:18.160 I said, ma'am, I want this hamburger completely dry. She said, 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:19.760 all right, so you don't want to let us, do you. 0:16:21.040 --> 0:16:23.480 It's like that sign I saw it says what part 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:27.680 of no do you not understand? This was my first order. 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:31.000 I had five more to go. It had taken all 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:33.680 my energy. I looked back and the line behind me 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.680 was halfway to the freeway. I was so embarrassed. I 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:40.560 had to keep telling myself I am God's personal representative 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:46.400 on this earth. How would God act? Would he get upset? 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:48.520 Would he lose his cool and give this young lady up? 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:50.840 He say his mind? I was attempted to, but I 0:16:50.960 --> 0:16:54.400 just stayed calm. Finally I got my order in. I 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:56.680 pulled up to where she was to pay. When she 0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:59.120 saw me, the first thing she said it was old pasture. Joy. 0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:02.880 I can't believe that. I thought, thank you Jesus that 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:09.240 I say calm. She pulled my book out and said, 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:13.760 would you sign your book? For me. I thought to myself, 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:15.480 I could have written another book by the time I've 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:19.160 to get my order. We got to talk and I said, 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:21.280 how long you been working here? She said? Today is 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:25.399 my first day. She said. You know what, I'm catching 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:30.480 on pretty good. I thought to myself, you just keep 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:34.960 calling it, I say, sister. But you never really know 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:39.000 who's watching you. Hey, you said, Joe, you're on television. 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:41.560 I don't have to worry about that. No, don't kid yourself. 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:45.359 Your children are watching you, your coworkers, your neighbors, the 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:48.960 person at the grocery store. You're preaching a sermon to 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:52.400 everyone you interact with. They may not remember what you say, 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:55.480 but they're going to remember what they felt. Do they 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:58.560 feel love? Do they feel joy? Do they feel approval? 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:02.320 Make sure you're sending out the right things. We're representing 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:05.720 Almighty God. And as in my early twenties, I was 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:08.440 in India in a small town with my father and 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:10.720 every morning we would go down to the little restaurant 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:13.760 in the place we were staying to have breakfast. We 0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:17.760 couldn't communicate verbally with them since nobody spoke English. We 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:20.800 just point to what we wanted. My father would always 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:23.640 go out of his way to be kind and respectful 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:26.679 and warm. He really loved the people of India, and 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:30.159 even though they didn't understand him, he was always smiling 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:32.399 and patting him on the back. And by the end 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:34.760 of the week he had given everybody a hug. And 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:37.040 just as we were about to leave and move on 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:39.919 to the next town, the men that owned the restaurant 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:43.480 motion to our driver, our interpreter. He pointed at my 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:46.280 father and he said, who is that man? We can 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:49.600 see God in his eyes. You think about it. My 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:52.679 father had never spoken a word that they could understand, 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:56.159 yet they felt the love, they felt the compassion. What 0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:59.800 was it that had just let his light shine? Words 0:18:59.840 --> 0:19:03.119 are not always necessary, Like the old poem that says, 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:06.400 I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day, 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:10.080 I'd rather men walk with me than merely show the way. 0:19:10.800 --> 0:19:13.880 What kind of sermon are we sharing with people every day? 0:19:15.200 --> 0:19:19.280 Just little things like being kind to the lady at 0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:23.040 the grocery store you just ministered to her, being friendly 0:19:23.080 --> 0:19:25.600 to the security guard at the office you just made 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:28.959 a deposit into his life, or even taking that neighbor 0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:32.240 some food that hasn't been feeling well. That's a ministry. 0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:36.800 The scripture tells us we are temples of Almighty God. 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:39.480 Another way you could say it is we are containers 0:19:39.760 --> 0:19:43.679 filled with God. Everywhere we go, we should be dispensing 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:50.119 good on somebody, dispensing hope, dispensing encouragement, dispensing joy. You 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:52.560 may have some difficulties in your own life, but one 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:54.520 of the best things you could do is get your 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:59.240 mind off yourself. Don't live ingrown be a giver. Make 0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:01.399 up your mind. I'm gonna make a difference in the 0:20:01.440 --> 0:20:05.000 world today. I'm gonna smile at people. I'm gonna be friendly. 0:20:05.119 --> 0:20:08.280 I'm gonna encourage someone. Well, you say, man, Joel, I 0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:12.000 got problems. I need somebody to encourage me. Now you've 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:14.640 got to sew a seed. If you will make somebody 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:17.879 else's day, God will always make your own day. And 0:20:17.880 --> 0:20:20.680 in our times of difficulty, one of the most powerful 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:23.240 things we can do is go out and be a 0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:26.960 blessing to somebody else. Don't sit around waiting for your 0:20:26.960 --> 0:20:28.919 ship to come in. Some of you hadn't sent a 0:20:28.920 --> 0:20:31.600 ship out yet. You need to start being an encourager, 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:35.760 Start giving people hope, start sharing your love your joy 0:20:35.800 --> 0:20:39.239 with others. The fact is every one of us are 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:47.560 dispensing something. Too many go around dispensing negative things, defeat, sarcasm, self, pity, pride. 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:49.480 They don't have to say a word, but you can 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:52.320 feel these things coming off of them. Please don't let 0:20:52.400 --> 0:20:57.639 that be you. Go out each day dispensing joy, dispensing enthusiasm. 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:01.520 Be friendly, Let your light shine. While back, Victoria and 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:03.960 I were in Galveston. We were walking up and down 0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:06.760 the street going into the little shops, and Victoria had 0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:09.480 gone into this one place and I just decided to 0:21:09.520 --> 0:21:12.280 wait outside and watch the people. And I saw this 0:21:12.440 --> 0:21:15.280 lady two or three blocks away, and she started waving 0:21:15.480 --> 0:21:18.960 and waving, so I smiled real big and waved back 0:21:19.000 --> 0:21:21.080 at her like she was my best friend. Had no 0:21:21.200 --> 0:21:23.520 idea who she was, but I was just determined to 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:26.560 be friendly. A few minutes later, she had come a 0:21:26.560 --> 0:21:29.760 little closer as she was shopping, and I noticed once 0:21:29.800 --> 0:21:32.880 again she started waving and waving. I thought, all right, lady, 0:21:32.920 --> 0:21:34.520 we did this once, but we can do it again, 0:21:35.440 --> 0:21:37.679 so I smiled and waved like I hadn't seen her 0:21:37.720 --> 0:21:41.359 in years. A few minutes later, she is now, you know, 0:21:41.400 --> 0:21:43.520 shopping just a few feet from me, or you know, 0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:46.399 twenty thirty yards, and I couldn't believe it. She started 0:21:46.440 --> 0:21:49.359 waving more enthusiastically than ever, and so I thought I 0:21:49.400 --> 0:21:51.680 was joining the fund. I waved and I said, hey, 0:21:51.720 --> 0:21:54.840 how you doing? And she came over and got closer 0:21:54.840 --> 0:21:56.400 to me, and she looked at me kind of strange. 0:21:56.520 --> 0:21:59.479 She said, do I know you? I said, I don't know. 0:21:59.520 --> 0:22:01.199