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Speaker 1: This is Joel and Victoria. Thanks so much for listening

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Speaker 1: to the podcast. Twenty twenty four is going to be

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Speaker 1: an amazing year for you and your family. Know that

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Speaker 1: we're praying for you, so get ready, keep your expectations up.

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Speaker 2: It's going to be a great year.

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Speaker 1: Hope you enjoyed today's message. Well, God bless you. It

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Speaker 1: is always a joy to coming to your homes. We

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Speaker 1: know that God has good things in store for you.

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Speaker 1: He rewards the people that seek after him and we

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Speaker 1: just counted an honor to spend this next half hour

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Speaker 1: or so with you. So thanks for tuning in. And

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

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

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Speaker 1: It's a lot better in person that it is on TV,

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Speaker 1: so come out and be a part of one of

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Speaker 1: these and we'd love to have you. But glad to

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Speaker 1: have you joining us by TV today. And I like

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Speaker 1: to start with something funny each week. And I heard

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Speaker 1: about this pastor that was walking down the street and

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Speaker 1: he came upon this group of young boys that were

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Speaker 1: surrounding this little dog, and he asked them what they

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Speaker 1: were doing, and they said, we're having a contest. Whoever

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Speaker 1: can tell the biggest lie can keep the dog. He

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Speaker 1: went into a ten minute sermon, beginning with don't you

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Speaker 1: know lying is a sin and ending with when I

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Speaker 1: was your age, I never told a lie. There was

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Speaker 1: complete silence. Just when he thought he had gotten through

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Speaker 1: to them, the youngest boy spoke up and said, all right,

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Speaker 1: give him the dog. All right, hold up your bible.

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Speaker 1: Say it like you mean it. Ready, 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 the importance of being a peacemaker. If we're going

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Speaker 1: to have healthy relationships, then we've got to learn how

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Speaker 1: to keep the strife out of our lives. And probably

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Speaker 1: the greatest opportunity that we have for conflict is in

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Speaker 1: dealing with people. Because we're all different. We have different

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Speaker 1: personalities and different temperaments, and we've got to learn to

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Speaker 1: give everybody a little bit of room. I've discovered. Just

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Speaker 1: because somebody is not like me, and just because they

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Speaker 1: don't agree with every decision that I make, that doesn't

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Speaker 1: necessarily mean that I'm right and they're wrong. We're just different.

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Speaker 1: And it takes maturity to get along. It takes maturity

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Speaker 1: to not start something over a little issue, takes a

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Speaker 1: mature person to not go around offended all the time.

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Speaker 1: And if we're going to keep the strife out of

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Speaker 1: our lives, then we've got to learn how to give

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Speaker 1: people the benefit of the doubt. We've got to learn

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Speaker 1: how to overlook some things. See, every person has faults,

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Speaker 1: every one of us has weaknesses, and we should not

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Speaker 1: expect the people we're in relationship with to be perfect,

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Speaker 1: no matter how great of a person they are, no

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Speaker 1: matter how much you love them, if you're around them

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Speaker 1: long enough, you will have an opportunity to be offended.

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Speaker 1: You'll have an opportunity to get and to strife. There's

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Speaker 1: no such thing as a perfect spouse, a perfect boss,

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Speaker 1: or even a perfect pastor, although I'm very close. And

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Speaker 1: what are you all laughing at? But if we're putting

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Speaker 1: these unrealistic expectations on people, expecting them to be perfect,

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Speaker 1: not only is that not fear to that person, but

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Speaker 1: it's going to be a source of frustration for us.

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Speaker 1: We're always going to be disappointed. And I know people

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Speaker 1: that kind of have the attitude, well, I love you

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Speaker 1: as long as you never hurt me, as long as

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Speaker 1: you never make a mistake, or I'll be your friend.

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Speaker 1: As long as you treat me just right, as long

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Speaker 1: as you do it my way, then I'll accept you.

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Speaker 1: Then I'll be happy. You know, that's very unfair. That's

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Speaker 1: way too much pressure on that person. And the scripture

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Speaker 1: says that love makes allowances for people's weaknesses. Love covers

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Speaker 1: a person's faults. In other words, you've got to give

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Speaker 1: people a little room. You've got to learn to overlook

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Speaker 1: some things. Quit picking at people perfection, out of your spouse,

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Speaker 1: out of your children, out of the people you're in

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Speaker 1: relationship with. Learn to show a little mercy. I know,

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Speaker 1: even with Victoria, I couldn't find a better wife. I

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Speaker 1: couldn't find a more loving, caring, generous person. And yet

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Speaker 1: there are some things I have to overlook. There are

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Speaker 1: some things that I have to make allowances for. It

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Speaker 1: nothing wrong with her, She's just human. But if I

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Speaker 1: were a fault finder, if I were critical and picking

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Speaker 1: out things here and there, keeping an account of everything

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Speaker 1: she did wrong, then our relationship wouldn't be what it

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Speaker 1: is today. You know as well as I do. All

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Speaker 1: that does is open up the door to strife. Before long,

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Speaker 1: we'd bid odds with each other, arguing, fighting, No make

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Speaker 1: allowances for each other's weaknesses, and learn not to wear

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Speaker 1: your feelings on your shoulder. Don't be easily offended. There

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Speaker 1: is nothing worse than living with a touchy person. And

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Speaker 1: if somebody offends you, if somebody does you wrong, you've

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Speaker 1: got to learn to just shake it off and move on.

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Speaker 1: The scripture says love believes the best in people. Hey,

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Speaker 1: you said, Joel, my husband, he hardly even spoke to

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Speaker 1: me this morning, or he didn't even thank me for

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Speaker 1: cooking dinner the other night. Well, that's a great opportunity

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Speaker 1: to show him some mercy. Love covers a fault instead

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Speaker 1: of going through the day all offended and all upset.

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Speaker 1: Have you ever thought about the fact that maybe he

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Speaker 1: wasn't feeling enough to part, Maybe he's under a lot

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Speaker 1: of pressure at work, maybe he's a little stressed out.

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Speaker 1: Why don't you give him the benefit of the doubt?

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Speaker 1: Why don't you believe the best in him? My father

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Speaker 1: used to say, everybody has the right to have a

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Speaker 1: bad day every once in a while if somebody does

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Speaker 1: something you don't like, if they're rude, or they walk

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Speaker 1: by without speaking. Let me tell you, you're gonna have

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Speaker 1: to be the bigger person. You got to swallow your

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Speaker 1: pride and say, you know what, I don't believe they

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Speaker 1: really meant to do that. I'm gonna overlook it and

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Speaker 1: move on. See what I'm saying is, instead of immediately

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Speaker 1: going to the negative and seeing the worst, let's get

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Speaker 1: in the habit of immediately going to the positive. Let's

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Speaker 1: get in the habit of believing the best in people.

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Speaker 1: That's what it means to cover a fault. And the

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Speaker 1: scripture says here in First Corinthians thirteen, verse five that

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Speaker 1: love keeps no record of wrongs done to it. And

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Speaker 1: some of you would see your relationships go to a

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Speaker 1: whole new level if you just get rid of the

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Speaker 1: record book. I know people that have a mental list

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Speaker 1: of everything anybody's done wrong to them for the last

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Speaker 1: twenty years. I mean, they'd make a great accountant. They've

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Speaker 1: got a detailed record every time their spouse hurt them

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Speaker 1: every time their boss was a little rude, and every

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Speaker 1: time their parents missed the grandkid's ballgame. Now, get rid

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Speaker 1: of your record book. Let those things go. Somebody told

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Speaker 1: me the other day, Joel, every time my wife and

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Speaker 1: I have a little disagreement, she brings up every mistake

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Speaker 1: I've made for the last ten years. Well, you did

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Speaker 1: this last year, and ten years ago you did that,

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Speaker 1: and last month you hurt me. You know, as long

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Speaker 1: as you're bringing up all that junk, you're gonna have

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Speaker 1: strife in your life. You say, Joel, it's true. I'm

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Speaker 1: telling now I'm the one that's right.

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Speaker 2: One.

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Speaker 1: Let me ask you, do you want to be right

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Speaker 1: or do you want to have peace? Do you want

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Speaker 1: to have your way all the time? Or do you

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Speaker 1: want to have healthy relationships? Many times we can have both.

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Speaker 1: I heard somebody say any married man should forget his

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Speaker 1: mistakes because there's no point in two people remembering the

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Speaker 1: same thing. You get the message, get rid of those

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Speaker 1: record books. And in our relationships, especially in our marriages,

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Speaker 1: it's so important that we not keep scoring. I've heard

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Speaker 1: people say, well, I took out the trash last week,

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Speaker 1: I did the dishes, and I changed the diapers. You

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Speaker 1: have it. I had to go to work, I dealt

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Speaker 1: with the boss, I put up with the traffic. Now

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Speaker 1: put away your scorecard. All that does is make you

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Speaker 1: more competitive. It's going to bring out bitterness and resentment,

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Speaker 1: and before long you're going to be treating that person

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Speaker 1: less than you know you should. You've got to work

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Speaker 1: together respectful, and learn not to pick at little things

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Speaker 1: here and there. Friends, there is strength in unity. There

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Speaker 1: is strength when you're in agreement. You and your spouse

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Speaker 1: are more powerful together than you are apart. And sometimes

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Speaker 1: in order to keep the peace, you just got to

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Speaker 1: be the bigger person. And overlook some things you say, Joe,

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Speaker 1: my husband is lazy and he does this and he

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Speaker 1: does that. Well, that may be true, but that tells

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Speaker 1: me you got your record book out. That tells me

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Speaker 1: you're keep in a detailed account. I'm asking you today

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Speaker 1: to throw that thing away. I'm asking you to make

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Speaker 1: allowances for the sake of peace. And even if you

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Speaker 1: don't do it for yourself, do it for your family,

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Speaker 1: do it for your children. Lets some things go. I mean,

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Speaker 1: you got to make an effort to keep strife out

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Speaker 1: of your life. I heard about this lady that was

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Speaker 1: driving through an intersection. She accidentally turned too sharply and

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Speaker 1: she sideswiped this other car and she couldn't believe it.

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Speaker 1: It was her brand new car, a wedding gift. She

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Speaker 1: was so upset. So she pulled over to the side

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Speaker 1: of the road and this older gentleman got out of

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Speaker 1: his car and he began to examine the damage, and

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Speaker 1: it was pretty beat up. The front bumper was messed up,

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Speaker 1: and so he went over to where she was and

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Speaker 1: she was sitting in her car there, just crying, so distraught,

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Speaker 1: and she said, you know, I just got married and

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Speaker 1: my husband gave me this car as a wedding gift,

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Speaker 1: and he is going to be so upset. I don't

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Speaker 1: know what I'm going to do. And that older gentleman

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Speaker 1: tried to console her. He said, no, it'll be okay.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure he'll understand. And after they talked for a

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Speaker 1: few minutes, he said, if I could just get your

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Speaker 1: insurance information and we'll exchange that and be on our way.

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Speaker 1: And she said, you know, I don't even know if

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Speaker 1: I have an insurance card, and he said, well, it's

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Speaker 1: usually in the glove compartment. Why don't you check? She

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Speaker 1: opened it up, and sure enough it was there, and

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Speaker 1: attached to the little envelope that the insurance card was

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Speaker 1: in there was a note. It said, honey, just in

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Speaker 1: case you ever have an accident, please remember I love

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Speaker 1: you and not the car. That's the kind of people

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Speaker 1: we need to strive to be. Show mercy. Don't keep

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Speaker 1: a record of every mistake. Learn to cover some of

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Speaker 1: those weaknesses. You say, Joel, my spouse and I we're

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Speaker 1: just not really that compatible. We just can't get along.

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Speaker 1: We are so different. Now, do you know God puts

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Speaker 1: you with someone different than you are on purpose? That

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Speaker 1: is not a mistake. Opposites attract. God knew what you needed.

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Speaker 1: You have strengths and weaknesses. That other person has strengths

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Speaker 1: and weaknesses, and most likely your strengths make up for

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Speaker 1: their weaknesses, and their strengths make up for your weaknesses.

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Speaker 1: You compliment each other. You should not compete with that

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Speaker 1: other person. You should complete that other person. Really, you

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Speaker 1: need each other. But you've got to learn to get

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Speaker 1: along and not allow these little weaknesses or little quirks

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Speaker 1: in people's personalities to cause conflict cause strife. For instance,

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Speaker 1: you're a very neat and a tidy person. You like

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Speaker 1: everything put perfectly into place. But your husband, he's a

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Speaker 1: little more sloppy. He tends to leave things lying around,

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Speaker 1: and you've told him a thousand times to not leave

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Speaker 1: his shoes in front of the TV. So you go

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Speaker 1: in there one night, and sure enough, there they are,

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Speaker 1: and that just really aggravates you. And so you make

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Speaker 1: the mistake of going in there and finding him, and

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Speaker 1: you stay. One of you ever gonna start picking up

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Speaker 1: your shoes. All I do is clean up around here.

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Speaker 1: I'm so tired of working at this house. Oh that's

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Speaker 1: the wrong approach. Why don't you be the peacemaker? Why

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Speaker 1: don't you be the bigger person? You need to learn

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Speaker 1: to just pick the shoes up and put them away

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Speaker 1: quietly so you can enjoy the rest of your evening.

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Speaker 1: What I'm saying is, don't make a big deal out

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Speaker 1: of things that are not a big deal. That really

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Speaker 1: is not worth allowing strife into your home, that is

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Speaker 1: not worth starting an argument over. Why don't you just

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Speaker 1: let that go? Well, you said, Joe, and my wife,

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Speaker 1: I've told her a thousand times to put the garage

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Speaker 1: down when she comes home, but she forgets and that

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Speaker 1: just aggravates me. That gets on my nerve. No, why

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Speaker 1: don't you cover for Why don't you make allowances for

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Speaker 1: her weaknesses like she does yours. But you said, Joel,

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Speaker 1: when's he ever gonna change? When's he ever gonna change?

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Speaker 1: Let me tell you when people are going to change.

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Speaker 1: They'll change when you quit nagging them. They'll change when

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Speaker 1: you keep a good attitude and quit complaining about it.

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Speaker 1: And see if you'll do your best to cover a

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Speaker 1: weakness and go out of your way to keep strife

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Speaker 1: out of your life. You know what you're doing. You're

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Speaker 1: so in a seed for God to change that person.

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Speaker 1: You can't change people, only God can. You can nag

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Speaker 1: them night and day, but it's only going to make

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Speaker 1: matters worse. It's only going to bring more strife in

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Speaker 1: more division. In the scripture, in Romans twelve, verse sixteen

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Speaker 1: says we need to adapt and adjust in order to

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Speaker 1: keep the peace. It doesn't say that everybody should adapt

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Speaker 1: and adjust to us. Now, we've got to be willing

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Speaker 1: to change if we're going to have peace in our lives.

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Speaker 1: That means you can't have the attitude if my wife

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Speaker 1: starts doing what I ask or two, then we'll have

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Speaker 1: peace in our home. If my husband will start putting

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Speaker 1: his stuff away, then we'll begin to get along. Or

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Speaker 1: if my boss will start treating me better, then I'll

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Speaker 1: start treating him. Okay, No, you have to make adjustments

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Speaker 1: in order to keep the peace. In other words, you've

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Speaker 1: got to just swallow your pride and go put the

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Speaker 1: shoes away, and then don't go announce to him that

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Speaker 1: you did it well. I picked up your shoes again.

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Speaker 1: I've done it a thousand times. I don't know when

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Speaker 1: you're ever going to learn. No, just put the stinking

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Speaker 1: shoes away and move on out. We'll make sure you

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Speaker 1: get it today. But you may not realize when you

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Speaker 1: do your part to keep strife out of your home,

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Speaker 1: you are honoring God. And when you honor God, God

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Speaker 1: will always honor you. And now, I believe one of

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Speaker 1: the main keys is we have to adapt. We have

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Speaker 1: to make adjustments. Quit waiting for the other person to change.

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Speaker 1: You be the peacemaker in your family. And sometimes we

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Speaker 1: allow strife in over the smallest, most insignificant things. We

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Speaker 1: argue over things that don't even matter, little petty things.

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Speaker 1: I remember one time Victoria and I were driving out

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Speaker 1: of our neighborhood, and we stopped to look at this

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Speaker 1: new house that was being built, and I simply made

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Speaker 1: the comment, I wonder why they put the garage over there.

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Speaker 1: That's not the way I would have done it. And

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Speaker 1: Victoria said, well, I think he did that so he'd

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Speaker 1: give him more room on his lot. And I kind

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Speaker 1: of studied it and I said, no, that wouldn't give

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Speaker 1: him any more room. She said, sure, it would, Joe

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Speaker 1: give him a whole lot more room. Do you know.

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Speaker 1: Fifteen minutes later, we were still debating why that guy

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Speaker 1: put his garage where he did. Our voice tones were

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Speaker 1: getting louder, our words were getting sharper. Finally it dawned

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Speaker 1: on me, why are we arguing over where this guy

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Speaker 1: put his garage. We don't even know who the man is.

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Speaker 1: That's not worth losing our joy over. That's not worth

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Speaker 1: losing your peace over. And I'm asking you today to

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Speaker 1: let go of all of this petty stuff. I'm asking

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Speaker 1: you to quit arguing over things that don't matter. Do

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Speaker 1: you know. I know people that have gotten a divorce

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Speaker 1: all because they stayed stirred up over these little insignificant things.

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Speaker 1: They allow it to fester it takes root, and before

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Speaker 1: long they're living at each other's throat. And the funny

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Speaker 1: thing is, they know, deep down in here they really

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Speaker 1: love each other. But through the years they've allowed strife

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Speaker 1: to get in. They didn't take it seriously. They begin

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Speaker 1: to argue, they started treating each other disrespectfully, and sure enough,

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Speaker 1: eventually that relationship was destroyed. Jesus said in the Book

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Speaker 1: of Matthew, a house divided is continually being brought to destruction,

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Speaker 1: and it will not stand notice. Jesus said, if you

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Speaker 1: allow strife into your relationship, it is being brought to destruction.

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Speaker 1: In other words, it may not happen overnight, may not

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Speaker 1: happen in a couple of months or even a couple

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Speaker 1: of years. But if you allow strife to stay, and

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Speaker 1: you don't think anything about arguing, holding grudges and keeping

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Speaker 1: the record book and making sar pastic remarks, you may

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Speaker 1: not realize it that that relationship is in the process

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Speaker 1: of being destroyed. That strife is chipping away at your foundation.

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Speaker 1: And unfortunately, unless you make a decision to do something

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Speaker 1: about it, you could very well look up one day

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Speaker 1: and think to yourself, man, what in the world have

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Speaker 1: I done? Now I'm challenging you today to do whatever

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Speaker 1: it takes to keep strife out of your life. Don't

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Speaker 1: be hard headed, don't be stubborn. Some of you have

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Speaker 1: been at odds with people in your life, month after

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Speaker 1: month after month, not speaking to them, giving them the

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Speaker 1: cold shoulder. Listen, you need to make things right. Life

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Speaker 1: is way too short to live it that way. I

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Speaker 1: talked to a man a while back, and he was

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Speaker 1: so broken, so defeated. I asked him what was wrong.

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Speaker 1: He explained how he and his father got at odds

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Speaker 1: with each other over a business decision, and they hadn't

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Speaker 1: spoken in over two years time. And he said, Joel,

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Speaker 1: I knew deep down in here that I needed to

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Speaker 1: make it right, but I just kept putting it off

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Speaker 1: and putting it off and putting it off. And earlier

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Speaker 1: that week he had got a call from somebody telling

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Speaker 1: him that his father had had a heart attack and

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Speaker 1: was no longer with us. You can imagine what he

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Speaker 1: has to deal with now. Don't wait until you cannot

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Speaker 1: do it, do it today. Swallow your pride and apologize,

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Speaker 1: even if it wasn't your fault. Quit having to have

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Speaker 1: the last word in every argument. How many times have

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Speaker 1: we heard the still small voice right down in here,

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Speaker 1: tell us walk away, keep the peace, just let it go.

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Speaker 1: But we ignore it. We end up getting into a great,

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Speaker 1: big argument and all kinds of turmoil could have been

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Speaker 1: avoided if we'd just been the bigger person and walked away.

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Speaker 1: And understand, it's not always about being right. It's about

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Speaker 1: keeping strife out of your life, because you can win

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Speaker 1: every argument in the world. But if it opens the

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Speaker 1: door to turmoil, if it brings the vision and tears

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Speaker 1: you apart, in the end, you really didn't win it all.

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Speaker 1: You've been much better off to just let it all go.

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Speaker 1: And some of you today, if you don't make some changes,

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Speaker 1: if you don't heed what's being said, then that relationship

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Speaker 1: is not going to last. And I believe that God

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Speaker 1: always gives us a warning. God always gives us a

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Speaker 1: wake up call, and he's simply saying today, quit being

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Speaker 1: so argumentative, quit being a fault finder, quit keeping your

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Speaker 1: record books, let all that stuff go, and start being

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Speaker 1: a peacemaker. Well, you say, Joel, I'll do it as

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Speaker 1: soon as my husband changes. I'll do it as soon

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Speaker 1: as my boss starts treating me better. No, if you

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Speaker 1: wait for somebody else to be the peacemaker in your life.

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Speaker 1: You may wait around your whole lifetime. Peace starts with you.

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Speaker 1: You've got to make the first move. Well, Joel, I

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Speaker 1: apologize first, last time. That's not fair. It's his turn

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Speaker 1: to apologize. Well, it may not be fair, but it

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Speaker 1: can keep you together. Swallow your pride, be the bigger person.

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Speaker 1: Do it anyway. When you do that, you're so in

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Speaker 1: a sick When you do it, you're passing the test.

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Speaker 1: Let me tell you, God will always make it up

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Speaker 1: to you. I think about the story of Abraham. One

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Speaker 1: time he moved to a new land with his nephew Lot,

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Speaker 1: but the land wasn't big enough to support both of them,

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Speaker 1: and the Bible says in Genesis thirteen, verse seven that

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Speaker 1: Lot's herdsmen began to get into strife with Abraham's herdsman. Well,

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Speaker 1: what did Abraham do? He immediately begin to deal with it.

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Speaker 1: He knew if he allowed that strife to continue before long,

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Speaker 1: it would not only be affecting the herdsman, but it

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Speaker 1: would affect his relationship with Lot. He knew that strife

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Speaker 1: would eventually bring turmoil to the whole family, and so

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Speaker 1: Abraham took the high road. He said in verse eight, Lot,

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Speaker 1: I don't want there to be any strife between you

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Speaker 1: and me, and he let Lot choose the best piece

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Speaker 1: of land. In other words, to avoid strife. He allowed

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Speaker 1: Lot to be right. He allowed Lot to have it

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Speaker 1: his way, even though technically Abraham, he was the older gentleman,

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Speaker 1: he should have been able to choose the best peace

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Speaker 1: of land. My point is, sometimes you're gonna have to

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Speaker 1: let the other person be right simply for the sake

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Speaker 1: of peace. Sometimes you're gonna have to swallow your pride,

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Speaker 1: and no matter how much it hurts, you got to

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Speaker 1: let the other person do it their way just so

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Speaker 1: you can keep strife out of your life. It may

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Speaker 1: not be fair. You may know beyond a shadow of

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Speaker 1: a doubt that you're right and they're wrong. Doesn't matter.

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Speaker 1: You got to just bite your tongue, let it go,

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Speaker 1: and trust God to make it up to you. The

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Speaker 1: Bible says that because Abraham kept the peace because he

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Speaker 1: refused to get into strife, God turned it around and

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Speaker 1: honored him by giving him the whole country. You too,

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Speaker 1: if you will make a decision to keep the peace

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Speaker 1: even though it's not your fault, even though somebody's done

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Speaker 1: you wrong and you've got a good cause to get

401
00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,480
Speaker 1: in there and argue. If you'll keep the peace anyway,

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Speaker 1: let me tell you, God will honor you and bring

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Speaker 1: you out with an abundance. And some of you today,

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00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,159
Speaker 1: the only thing that's keeping you from getting out of

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Speaker 1: strife is the fact that you know you're right and

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Speaker 1: you know the other person's wrong, and you just can't

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Speaker 1: let it go. You think, Joe, that's not fair. Well,

408
00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:16,240
Speaker 1: it may not be fair. But if you will just

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Speaker 1: leave it up to God, take the high road like

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Speaker 1: Abraham did, and just refuse to get into strife, then

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Speaker 1: in the end God's gonna bring you out better off

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Speaker 1: than you were before. And the Bible doesn't say that

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Speaker 1: if we're in strife, as long as it's not our fault,

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Speaker 1: then it's okay. Now, when we're in strife, no matter

415
00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,080
Speaker 1: whose fault it is, it's going to bring destruction and turmoil.

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00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:40,040
Speaker 1: We have to make adjustments to keep the peace. We

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Speaker 1: have to do our part. I heard about this couple

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Speaker 1: that had made your problems in their marriage, and the

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Speaker 1: truth is the man was the main cause. He was

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Speaker 1: very selfish, very argumented it and basically he was just

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00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:57,199
Speaker 1: a very hard to get along with, critical, negative person.

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Speaker 1: And neither of these two people would give an in Now,

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Speaker 1: this woman, she really loved God. She went to church

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Speaker 1: every week and did her best to live a life

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Speaker 1: of integrity. But the man, he was just the opposite,

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Speaker 1: wouldn't have anything to do with the things of God.

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00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,920
Speaker 1: Very cold and sarcastic about that. And so this lady

428
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,520
Speaker 1: prayed and prayed for God to change her husband. Year

429
00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:21,440
Speaker 1: after year went by, nothing got better. They just continued

430
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:24,359
Speaker 1: to live in strife. And one day she was praying

431
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,400
Speaker 1: and she said, God, why do I have to live

432
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:28,760
Speaker 1: in such a terrible environment? When are you ever going

433
00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:32,239
Speaker 1: to change my husband? And God spoke something back to her,

434
00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:34,800
Speaker 1: not out loud, but right down in here, and he said,

435
00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:38,520
Speaker 1: I'm going to change your husband as soon as you change.

436
00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:41,840
Speaker 1: She said, God, what do you mean, he's the problem,

437
00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:44,159
Speaker 1: He's the one that mean inn argumented, do I go

438
00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:47,680
Speaker 1: to church every Sunday? God said, no, you're not doing

439
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,080
Speaker 1: all you can to keep the peace. You become indifferent

440
00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:54,320
Speaker 1: to this situation and you're being a part of allowing

441
00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:57,400
Speaker 1: that strife to stay into your home. Then God said

442
00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,760
Speaker 1: something very interesting. He said I'm going to hold you

443
00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:04,920
Speaker 1: responsible because you know the truth, you know the right

444
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,400
Speaker 1: thing to do, and when you start doing that, I'll

445
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:11,240
Speaker 1: begin to change your husband. See the Scripture says to

446
00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:14,360
Speaker 1: him that knows what's right and doesn't do it, then

447
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:17,439
Speaker 1: it's sin. And a lot of times we're waiting for

448
00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:19,480
Speaker 1: the other person to change. We know they're wrong, we

449
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,960
Speaker 1: know they're at fault. We have to realize God is

450
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,720
Speaker 1: going to hold us responsible to do what we know

451
00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:29,359
Speaker 1: to do. When we allow strife into our homes, we

452
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,040
Speaker 1: just simply open up the door to trouble. A few

453
00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:35,400
Speaker 1: years ago, Victoria and I and our two children went

454
00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:38,000
Speaker 1: for a bike ride together out at the park, and

455
00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:40,679
Speaker 1: this day had not gone real well for me. I

456
00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,720
Speaker 1: was kind of aggravated at something Victoria had done. I

457
00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:46,320
Speaker 1: didn't think it was right. It just kind of irritated me.

458
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:49,399
Speaker 1: I remember so clearly that I chose to hold on

459
00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,479
Speaker 1: to it. I could have so easily overlooked it. It

460
00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:55,280
Speaker 1: wasn't any big deal. I could have so easily just

461
00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,160
Speaker 1: let it go and enjoyed the day at the park.

462
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,520
Speaker 1: But no, I chose to stay sour. I was kind

463
00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:03,280
Speaker 1: of giving her the cold shoulder. Didn't want to have

464
00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:05,240
Speaker 1: too much to do with her. And so we're out

465
00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:07,159
Speaker 1: at the park riding our bikes, and I got my

466
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,359
Speaker 1: little daughter, Alexandra on my bike seat behind me, and

467
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:12,639
Speaker 1: Jonathan had just learned how to ride his bike a

468
00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:15,160
Speaker 1: few months earlier, so we had to go kind of slow.

469
00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:17,879
Speaker 1: He wasn't real sure of himself, and I had gotten

470
00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:21,320
Speaker 1: maybe fifty or one hundred yards ahead of Heat and Victoria,

471
00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,200
Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, this biker came riding the

472
00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:26,840
Speaker 1: other way. It passed me, going very very fast, and

473
00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:29,800
Speaker 1: my first thought was, man, I hope Jonathan is careful.

474
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,600
Speaker 1: This guy is flying well. Sure enough, just as he

475
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,159
Speaker 1: got up there close to Jonathan, Jonathan saw him and

476
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:37,760
Speaker 1: he got spooked and he turned right into his path

477
00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,199
Speaker 1: and they had head on, and I mean it was

478
00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:43,560
Speaker 1: a loud collision. I thought for sure he had broken

479
00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:45,560
Speaker 1: an arm or a leg or something. It just sounded

480
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,320
Speaker 1: so bad, and I set my bike down. I ran

481
00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:50,400
Speaker 1: back there as fast as I could, and I picked

482
00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,240
Speaker 1: up little Jonathan, and I was amazed that he wasn't

483
00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:55,320
Speaker 1: hurt that badly. I mean, he was skinned up on

484
00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:59,000
Speaker 1: his legs, in his arms, he didn't have any broken bones. Fortunately,

485
00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:02,040
Speaker 1: that other rider was okay as well. But when everything

486
00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,760
Speaker 1: kind of calmed down, something said on the inside of

487
00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:09,639
Speaker 1: me so strongly, Joel, you brought all this on yourself.

488
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:13,240
Speaker 1: You had the choice to make things right. You had

489
00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,760
Speaker 1: the choice to keep the strife out, but you chose

490
00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,280
Speaker 1: not to. And see, I knew better. I can relate

491
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:21,639
Speaker 1: to what that lady was saying. I knew I was

492
00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:24,920
Speaker 1: holding onto the offense. I knew I wasn't treating Victoria right.

493
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:28,919
Speaker 1: And this is what happens. The scripture says, don't give

494
00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:32,240
Speaker 1: any foothold to the enemy. All he's looking for is

495
00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:35,760
Speaker 1: a little foothold of strife, a foothold of arguing, a

496
00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,639
Speaker 1: foothold of heaven unforgiveness. And of course I'm not saying

497
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,560
Speaker 1: that every accident is because of this, but I knew

498
00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,439
Speaker 1: I had brought this on ourselves. And see, when we

499
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,800
Speaker 1: choose to hold on to strife and to not forgive,

500
00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,000
Speaker 1: and to be hard headed and to not overlook little things,

501
00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,320
Speaker 1: what we're really doing is stepping out of God's protection.

502
00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,520
Speaker 1: We're stepping out of God's blessings and favor. And that's

503
00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,680
Speaker 1: why I'm challenging you today to do everything you can

504
00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:04,160
Speaker 1: to keep strife out of your life. Don't be hard

505
00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,640
Speaker 1: headed like I was. Be the bigger person. Swallow your

506
00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:11,560
Speaker 1: pride and keep the peace. Learn to overlook some things,

507
00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:15,199
Speaker 1: give people the benefit of the doubt. Remember, you and

508
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:18,080
Speaker 1: I have to adapt and adjust if we're gonna have peace.

509
00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:21,480
Speaker 1: And again, it may not always be fair, but we

510
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:23,920
Speaker 1: have to ask ourselves do I want to be right

511
00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:26,359
Speaker 1: or do I want to have peace? Now? I know

512
00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:28,720
Speaker 1: God's dealing with some of you right now, and I

513
00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,280
Speaker 1: believe today can be a turning point in your life

514
00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:34,120
Speaker 1: if you will just simply make a decision that you're

515
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,240
Speaker 1: gonna swallow your pride and you're gonna do everything it

516
00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:39,159
Speaker 1: takes to keep the peace. Let me tell you, if

517
00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:42,200
Speaker 1: you do that, God promises you're gonna be blessed. He said,

518
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:45,120
Speaker 1: Blessed are the peacemakers. If you will have that kind

519
00:26:45,119 --> 00:26:48,359
Speaker 1: of attitude, your relationships are going to get better and better.

520
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:50,280
Speaker 1: And I believe you're going to experience the life of

521
00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:53,000
Speaker 1: victory that God has in store. Amen, how many to

522
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:57,160
Speaker 1: receive it today? But I know you do. We never

523
00:26:57,320 --> 00:26:59,959
Speaker 1: like to close our broadcast without giving you an off

524
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,240
Speaker 1: opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. Would

525
00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:07,679
Speaker 1: you pray with me, Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent

526
00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:12,280
Speaker 1: of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you

527
00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:16,479
Speaker 1: my Lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer,

528
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:19,200
Speaker 1: we believe you got born again. Get in a good

529
00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,440
Speaker 1: Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's going to

530
00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:24,280
Speaker 1: take your places you've never dreamed of.

531
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,199
Speaker 2: Breathtaking, that's what you feel when you look out at

532
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:34,440
Speaker 2: majestic mountain peaks. Yes, God's creation truly is a masterpiece.

533
00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,320
Speaker 2: But even as you consider his handiwork, you might also

534
00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:43,320
Speaker 2: feel less that, not good enough, or not valuable. The

535
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:47,719
Speaker 2: image before you is incredible, but the confidence inside is lacking.

536
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,520
Speaker 1: How do you overcome this? The opinion you have of

537
00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:55,600
Speaker 1: yourself is your most important opinion. Too often we see

538
00:27:55,640 --> 00:28:01,359
Speaker 1: ourselves as ordinary, not talented, unattractive. Self image is setting

539
00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:04,080
Speaker 1: the limits for our life. The key is to get

540
00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:07,040
Speaker 1: an agreement with who God says you are. He calls

541
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:11,720
Speaker 1: you a masterpiece, strong, talented, valuable. If you'll have the

542
00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:15,280
Speaker 1: right image of yourself, you'll rise higher and become who

543
00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,040
Speaker 1: you were created to be. We have a new resource

544
00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,560
Speaker 1: that will help you do just that. It's called you

545
00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,680
Speaker 1: are a masterpiece. It's filled with inspiration and encouragement that

546
00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:29,000
Speaker 1: will remind you who you really are, gifted, chosen, approved.

547
00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:31,359
Speaker 1: It will help you get rid of the wrong self

548
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:35,400
Speaker 1: image and start seeing yourself as the masterpiece God created

549
00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:35,840
Speaker 1: you to be.

550
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,600
Speaker 2: Azar Thank you for your gift of any amount to

551
00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:42,360
Speaker 2: the ministry this month, we want to send you Joel's

552
00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:48,000
Speaker 2: inspiring Newbrook. You are a masterpiece. God made you unique,

553
00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:51,960
Speaker 2: with a divine purpose and a bright future. As these

554
00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:55,600
Speaker 2: truths sink down in your spirit, the majesty of God's

555
00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,760
Speaker 2: glory will arise within you. Yes, God has breathed his

556
00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:04,680
Speaker 2: life life into you. He approved you, equipped you, empowered you.

557
00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:08,640
Speaker 2: Stop believing the lies about you and start hearing what

558
00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:09,840
Speaker 2: God says about you.

559
00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:12,600
Speaker 1: Thanks so much for being a part of the ministry

560
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,680
Speaker 1: victory and I pray for you and your family every day.

561
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:18,400
Speaker 1: Believe it, it's going to be a favor filled twenty

562
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:23,040
Speaker 1: twenty four. We appreciate your prayer and support. Your generosity

563
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,720
Speaker 1: is impacting people around the world. Remember you can watch

564
00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:30,760
Speaker 1: the services live online Sunday mornings, see all the music

565
00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:34,960
Speaker 1: and ministry download our daily podcast. Until we meet again,

566
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,120
Speaker 1: May the Lord bless you and keep you.

567
00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:40,360
Speaker 2: Be sure to request your copy of that you were

568
00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:50,480
Speaker 2: a masterpiece Today, visit Joelostein dot com