WEBVTT - Protect Your Imagination | Joel Osteen 0:00:00.960 --> 0:00:03.520 Hey, thanks again for being with us today. Always my 0:00:03.760 --> 0:00:05.920 honor to be able to share God's word with you 0:00:05.960 --> 0:00:08.760 and hopefully inspire you and encourage you. If you're enjoying 0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:10.840 the podcast, I hope you'll share it with the friend 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:13.840 pass it along. Let's inspire some other people as well. 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:15.680 But know that we love you. It could be a 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:18.919 blessed day for you. Oh God bless you. It's a 0:00:19.000 --> 0:00:21.320 joy to come into your homes. And if you're ever 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:24.079 in our area, please stop by and be a part 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:26.880 of one of our services. I promise you we'll make 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:29.680 you feel right at home. I like to start with 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:33.280 something funny, and I heard about these two evil brothers 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:37.520 that were very wealthy. One of them died. His brother 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:40.120 said to the pastor, I'll make a deal with you. 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:43.960 I'll make a large donation to your church under one 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:48.120 condition if at the funeral you'll say my brother was 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:51.680 a saint. The pastor agreed, and the man made the donation. 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:55.279 During the service, the pastor said, this man was an 0:00:55.280 --> 0:00:59.480 evil man. He lied, he cheated, he stole, but compared 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:03.480 to his brother, he was a saint. Say it like 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:06.240 you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:08.760 it says. I am. I have what it says I have. 0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:11.959 I can do what it says I can do. Today 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:14.920 I will be taught the word of God. I'll boldly 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:19.040 confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:23.000 will never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:27.840 I want to talk to you today about protecting your imagination. 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:31.080 We all have pictures that we see in our mind. 0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:35.640 God created us as visual beings, like a movie screen. 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:40.199 Different images will come up, sometimes we're not even thinking 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:44.360 about it, and the negative imagination will come. We'll see 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:48.080 our business going down, our child getting off course, us 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:51.640 losing our health. There's no truth to it. It's not 0:01:51.680 --> 0:01:54.400 going to come to pass. But if you let that play, 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:59.240 you'll go through the day worried. Wrong imaginations will keep 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:03.880 you awakened. Dwelling on these negative images will cause you 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:07.200 to live in fear. It will keep you from expecting 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:12.200 God's best. It's all an imagination. It's not a reality. 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:15.799 It's just something you're seeing in your mind, and it's 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:19.480 one thing to have something to deal with that's actually happening. 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:23.839 We all face challenges, but too often we're letting these 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:28.880 wrong imaginations of what might happen, what might not work out, 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:32.680 what might fall apart to steal our joy cause us 0:02:32.720 --> 0:02:37.600 to live stressed. The good news is you control your imagination. 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:42.960 You control what pictures play in your mind. Just because 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:46.720 that negative image comes doesn't mean you have to tune in. 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:50.880 You can change the channel. The scripture tells us to 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:57.360 cast down these wrong imaginations, quit letting these negative images play. 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:01.040 When my mother was fighting terminal cancer, in the middle 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:05.120 of the night, lying in bed, she would see herself 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:08.240 being buried in a new pink dress that she had 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:11.840 never worn. That picture came up on the movie screen 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:15.400 of her life. She didn't ask for it, she wasn't 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:18.359 thinking about it. She was trying to stay in faith. 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:23.760 But these negative imaginations will come, especially when we're in 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:28.320 difficult times, and they'll show us all the worst case scenarios. 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:31.200 Have you ever noticed when you're in the heat of 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:35.400 the battle, you never see pictures of you overcoming the sickness, 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:38.880 if your business taken off, you're meeting the person of 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:44.680 your dreams. Those pictures don't automatically come. It's just the opposite. 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:47.400 If my mother would have pulled up a chair and 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:50.800 watched that movie night after night of her being buried 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:53.800 in that pink dress. That would have taken root in 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:57.640 her spirit. She would have become depressed, defeated, and might 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:01.760 not be here today. And when you see these negative pictures, 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:06.520 don't take debate. They are not a reality. That is 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:11.160 not predicting your future. That is a wrong imagination that 0:04:11.200 --> 0:04:15.240 you need to cast down. Quit worrying about something that's 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:19.440 not going to happen. Quit losing sleep over something that's 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:23.719 just in your mind. That's the enemy trying to torment you, 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:27.680 try to convince you to live stressed out, worried. He 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:30.760 knows he can't bring it to pass. He doesn't have 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:34.760 that authority, so the next best thing he'll do is 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:38.760 try to deceive you into believing that it's a reality, 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:42.440 so you don't enjoy your life. Don't fall into that trap. 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:45.760 Guard your mind. I talked to a man that was 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:49.400 very concerned about his health. His father died at the 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:53.000 age of forty six, his grandfather died at fifty one, 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:56.960 and other relatives had died early deaths as well. All 0:04:57.000 --> 0:05:01.600 through his thirties and forties, he was so stress, so fearful. 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:05.680 Every voice said, that's going to be you, too bad. 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:07.800 It's in your genes, You're not going to make it. 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:12.040 Those images would come in his mind. He saw himself 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:16.479 like his father, getting sick, going downhill. When he made 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:20.240 it to his forty seventh birthday, he was so happy, 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:24.080 so relieved. He made it past his father's He was 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:28.200 still strong and healthy. Thought said, don't get too happy. 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:31.320 You made it to forty seven, but you'll never make 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:33.880 it to fifty one. It's just a matter of time. 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:39.240 Those images kept coming, him going downhill, him losing his health. 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:42.560 But he made it past fifty one. He made it 0:05:42.600 --> 0:05:46.240 past sixty one, past seventy one, past eighty one. He 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:52.360 was ninety three years old, looked like he was seventy, strong, healthy, joyful. 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:55.400 He said, Joel, if I had it to do over again, 0:05:56.000 --> 0:06:00.000 I wouldn't have lived all those years worried, losing slight, 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:04.120 afraid that my health wasn't going to last. Are you 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:08.760 worrying about a wrong imagination, about something that's not going 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:11.560 to come to pass. Are you going to look back 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:14.720 years from now and have to say, like him, if 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:17.839 I could do it over again, I wouldn't spend all 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:22.080 that time discouraged, afraid over what I thought was going 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:26.559 to happen. Why don't you start changing the channel. Those 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:31.000 negative pictures are not a reality. Some of the things 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:34.520 the enemy is showing you he should win an Academy award. 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:38.760 It looks very real, it looks impressive, but it's all 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:42.279 made up. It is not going to happen. Quit believing 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:45.880 those lies. This scripture goes on to say, you have 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:51.120 to bring down every high thing that exalts itself above 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:54.240 what God says about you. God's not going to do 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:57.520 it for you. You have to bring it down. God 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:01.479 says you will lend and not borrow. Whatever you touch 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:05.719 will prosper and succeed. Instead of watching that picture of 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:11.119 you struggling, not having enough business, going down, cast down 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:16.880 that imagination that's exalting itself above what God promised you, 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:22.120 start seeing yourself prosperous, coming out of debt, paying your 0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:25.280 house off, having an abundance so you can be a 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:29.920 blessing to others. That image is not going to automatically come, 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:34.240 but you can create it. Use your imagination for the 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:39.080 right purposes to see what God says about you. God says, 0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:42.760 with long life, he will satisfy you. Instead of watching 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:46.320 that channel of you going downhill being buried, in that 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:50.480 pink dress, not making it past your father's death. Bring 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:56.240 down that imagination, start seeing yourself strong, healthy, living a full, 0:07:56.480 --> 0:08:01.280 blessed life. Or maybe you've gone through a disappointment, a loss, 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:04.960 an unfair situation. Life hasn't turned out the way you 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:10.480 had planned. Those images will come up of you living depressed, lonely, 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:15.120 never fulfilled. But God says he will give you beauty 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:18.480 for those ashes, that he will pay you back double 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:21.680 for what was unfair, That he will take what was 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:24.880 meant for your harm and use it to your advantage. 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:30.960 Those pictures that are showing you defeated, rejected, lonely, they 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:36.000 are exalting themselves above what God said about you. Don't 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:38.880 let them stay up, bring them down. They are not 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:42.840 a reality. See, the enemy will show you the ashes. 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:45.920 What he won't show you is the beauty that's coming. 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:49.280 He'll show you the loss. What he wants show you 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:52.640 is the new beginning that's on the way. He'll show 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:55.559 you that it's all downhill from here. What he wants 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:58.679 show you is the double that's coming, double the joy, 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:03.800 double the peace, the fulfillment. Now do your part, protect 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:08.920 your imagination, protect what you're seeing when those images come 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:12.480 that show you going downhill. They are not from God 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:17.000 and they are not a reality. Don't waste thirty years 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:22.199 living worried, stressed out. Switch over into faith. The mistake 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:26.640 many people make is they only watch one channel whatever 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:29.760 comes up in their imagination. They think that's all there is, 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:32.840 so they watch it. You need to get cable in 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:37.160 your mind. I have five hundred stations at home. When 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:40.080 I'm watching something I don't like, I don't sit there 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:43.440 and endure it. I simply change the channel. It's the 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:46.480 same way in your mind. You can have a lot 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:52.239 of different channels. On one channel, I see myself happy, fulfilled, 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:57.720 enjoying life. On another channel, I see myself healthy, hold strong. 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:02.080 On another channel. I see my self prosperous, blessed out 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:05.640 of death. On another channel. I see Victoria loving me 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:10.359 with her whole heart. On another channel, I see Victoria 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:12.920 loving me with her whole heart. I got a bunch 0:10:12.960 --> 0:10:17.280 of those channels. On another channel, I see my children 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:22.160 doing amazing things, fulfilling their purpose, leaving their mark. On 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:26.200 another channel, I see our ministry growing, helping more people. 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:31.200 In another channel, I see myself living into my nineties, healthy, strong, 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:35.280 finishing my course with joy. So when I switch on 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:39.319 one of those channels that showed me going downhill, losing 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:43.800 my health, family falling apart, business drying up, I'm smart 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:47.280 enough to say, no thanks, I'm not watching that channel. 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:51.000 I don't watch the defeat channel. I don't watch the 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:54.160 things are going downhill channel. I don't watch the bad 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:58.800 memories channel. I stay on the victory channel, the favor channel, 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:02.560 the more than enough chane channel, the overcoming channel. In 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:07.400 your mind, when these negative imaginations come up, it's real simple. 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:19.320 Change the channel. Quit watching things that are depressing you, 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:23.440 making you worried, causing you to live in fear, not 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:29.320 pursue your dreams. Cast down those imaginations. You control what 0:11:29.520 --> 0:11:33.040 plays in your mind. You can't stop all the negative 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:36.640 images from coming, but you can stop them from staying. 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:39.840 You have the remote control. Don't get stuck on that 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:42.840 one channel. There was a young lady that came down 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:45.520 for prayer. She and her husband wanted to have a 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:48.920 baby in They'd been trying for many years with no success, 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:52.959 and she'd gone through all the fertility treatments. She said, Joel, 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:56.840 I've been worried since I was in my early teens 0:11:57.160 --> 0:11:59.880 that i wouldn't be able to have a baby. Because 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:03.480 if my mother had a terrible time getting pregnant with me, 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:08.000 my grandmother had the same problem. Other family members have 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:11.840 struggled with infertility. I always knew this was going to 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:16.600 happen to me. What you constantly dwell on is creating 0:12:16.679 --> 0:12:21.880 a picture in your imagination. Many times, the enemy doesn't 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:25.840 have to put negative images in our mind. We're creating 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:28.960 them with their own thoughts. Now I told her what 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:32.160 I'm telling you. You have to change the channel. Quit 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:36.599 seeing yourself bearing, not able to have a child, disappointed, 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:41.000 cast down that imagination. God says, the fruit of your 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:45.319 womb is blessed. He says, your seed will be mighty 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:48.080 in the land. He said in Psalms, you will be 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:53.320 the happy mother of children. That means that infertility is 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:57.600 exalting itself above what God says about you. You have 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:01.280 to bring that down. She changed the chad. She started 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:05.200 seeing herself with a baby. She switched off that station 0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:10.360 of all of her relatives bearing disappointed. She started seeing 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:13.880 her and her husband playing with this baby, having fun, 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:17.560 going around as a family. Three years later, she came 0:13:17.600 --> 0:13:22.160 back with a beautiful baby girl. Medically speaking, she wasn't 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:25.880 supposed to have a child, but God has the final say. 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:32.160 God controls the whole universe. Are negative pictures keeping you 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:36.760 from your dreams? Do you see yourself overcoming that addiction, 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:41.439 happily married, accomplishing what God put in your heart? Or 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:45.280 you watching the wrong channel? The scripture tells us in 0:13:45.360 --> 0:13:49.679 Timothy to have a disciplined mind. You can't watch every 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:54.360 imagination that comes up. Your mind will naturally gravitate toward 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:58.120 the negative. If your business starts to slow down, don't 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:01.880 be surprised if in your imagine nation you start seeing 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:05.319 the creditors coming. You see you having to lay people off, 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:09.320 You see the doors closing. If you're not disciplined and 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:12.640 you let that play, you'll go around worried, stressed out. 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:17.280 What's the answer? Change the channel. You can create new 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:21.280 pictures in your mind. Start seeing your business taking off, 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:26.480 seeing new customers finding you, seeing opportunities chasing you down. 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:30.120 If you're struggling with an illness like my mom, those 0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:35.520 negative imaginations will come. You'll see yourself going downhill, not 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:39.280 able to go back to work. Be disciplined in your 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:43.360 thought life. When you're facing a physical battle, you need 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.960 all of your energy to go toward you getting well. 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:52.600 When you're watching negative imaginations, that's taking your strength, draining 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:56.560 your energy, making you weaker. Put up some new pictures. 0:14:57.040 --> 0:15:02.320 Start seeing yourself strong and healthy. See yourself out exercising, 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:07.360 full of energy. See yourself living a long, blessed life. 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:10.600 If you'll use your imagination the right way, it will 0:15:10.600 --> 0:15:13.440 help you stay hopeful and to believe that God can 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:17.120 turn it around. When God promised Abraham that he was 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:20.040 going to be the father of many nations, he was 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:23.440 in his eighties, too old to have a baby, and 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:27.520 God told him to go outside his tent, look up 0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:31.360 into the nighttime sky, and as many stars as he 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:35.320 could see. That's how many descendants he would have. It 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:38.640 wasn't a coincidence that God wanted him to have a 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:42.600 picture of it, something that he could see. God knew 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:47.440 these negative images would come. He knew Abraham would start 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:51.440 seeing himself as being too old, thinking about how impossible 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:55.320 it was. So God gave him this picture. And every 0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:58.880 time Abraham was tempted to get worried and talk himself 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:01.480 out of it, he would go out and look up 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:05.840 at the sky. He'd imagine how those stars represented what 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:10.120 God promised him. What's playing on the picture screen of 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:13.800 your mind, what God has spoken over you, how you'll 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:18.240 accomplish your dreams, break the addiction, see your health restored. 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:23.840 Or are you letting discouraging pictures play. If the only 0:16:24.000 --> 0:16:27.400 images you're seeing are negative, it's going to limit you. 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:32.640 God wants to use your imagination to create fresh vision, 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:36.280 to make you hopeful, to help you stay filled with faith. 0:16:37.000 --> 0:16:40.280 There was a gentleman diagnosed with cancer of the bladder. 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:45.000 The doctors told him that it was inoperable. He took chemotherapy, 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:47.720 but it didn't do any good, and all they could 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:50.320 do was give him some pain medicine and send him home. 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:53.120 They told him he had less than a year to live. 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:57.400 But instead of being depressed giving up on life, he 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:03.120 did something interesting. All through they he imagined armies of 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:08.040 healing white blood cells flowing through his body. He pictured 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:11.560 them coming down from his head, going through his veins 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:16.520 into his organs, attacking those cantrist cells. He said, these 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.600 images were as clear in my mind as if I 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:23.280 was watching them on television. Hundreds of times throughout the 0:17:23.359 --> 0:17:28.320 day he saw life, healing, wholeness flowing back into him. 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:32.399 The whole time thanking God that he was restoring health, 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:35.919 that he could do the impossible. He went back a 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:39.399 year later for a checkup. The doctor said, we can't 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:42.239 explain it. We don't know how this has happened, but 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:45.560 we can't find any sign of cancer in your body. 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:50.040 You may be struggling with an illness. The medical report 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:54.800 doesn't look good. But instead of dwelling on these negative images, 0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:59.560 why don't you start imagining right now, these healing cells 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:03.359 flow and through you. Picture these cells that are full 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:07.520 of the life of the Most High God, attacking and 0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:12.320 devouring every sick and disease. Sell in you. See yourself 0:18:12.359 --> 0:18:16.000 getting healthier, See yourself coming out of that sick bed. 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:19.439 Cancer is no match for our God. What's trying to 0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:22.720 stop you is no match for the creator of the universe. 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:27.320 Keep the right pictures playing in your mind. Don't let 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:30.760 your imagination be used to worry you, to defeat you. 0:18:31.119 --> 0:18:34.560 Turn it around and use it to encourage you, to 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:39.399 strengthen you, to inspire you. God said in Jeremiah, I 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:44.000 have set you over the nations, to rule over kingdoms, 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:48.399 to pull down and root out, to build and plant. 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:53.359 Notice the order before you can build and plant, before 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:56.919 the situation will turn around before you see increase. You 0:18:57.040 --> 0:19:01.840 have to pull down and root out. Like Jeremiah, God 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:04.680 has a place of victory for you where you will 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:08.119 rule over everything that's holding you back. But you have 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:12.240 to first pull down these wrong imaginations. You have to 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:16.000 root out any negative pictures. If you're going to a 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:19.359 job interview, don't imagine that you're not going to get it. 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:22.400 Don't imagine that they're not going to like you. You're 0:19:22.400 --> 0:19:26.880 defeating yourself before you get there. Pull down that imagination 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:32.280 and imagine them choosing you. Imagine you standing out. Imagine 0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:36.440 you working there, excelling at that position. If you let 0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:41.360 these negative imaginations play, they'll cause you to be weak, timid, 0:19:41.640 --> 0:19:46.240 feel unqualified. Change the channel, Joel. What if I do 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:48.439 that and it doesn't work. What if you do it 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:51.280 and it does work. If you do it and you 0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:54.600 don't get the position, that just means God has something 0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:58.280 better in store. But if you're always letting these negative 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:01.720 images play you, you will never know what you could 0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:04.919 have become. If you feel a pain in your side, 0:20:05.400 --> 0:20:08.159 thoughts will tell you, oh man, that's serious. That's the 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:11.000 same thing that took your uncle's life. He didn't make 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:13.840 it that long. Neither will you. If you're not disciplined 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:17.600 in your mind, you'll get all paniced. You'll start thinking 0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:20.520 of all the worst case scenarios. By the time you 0:20:20.560 --> 0:20:23.160 get home, you'll be righting out your will, making your 0:20:23.160 --> 0:20:26.360 final arrangements. All it was was you had too much 0:20:26.400 --> 0:20:31.000 pizza for lunch. You just needed some pepto bismo. Even 0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:34.080 if it is something serious, what's going to help you 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:37.119 to stay in peace is to keep the right images 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:41.160 in your mind. Most of the things that come against 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:44.080 us are not what we think they are. We let 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:48.040 our imaginations run wild and show us all the worst 0:20:48.040 --> 0:20:52.360 case possibilities. If you hear a siren at night your 0:20:52.400 --> 0:20:55.240 children are not home, thoughts will tell you that's your child. 0:20:56.000 --> 0:20:58.600 Your son's been in an accident. He's headed to the 0:20:58.600 --> 0:21:01.480 hospital right now, So get up, do something about it. 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:05.960 If you let that plane before long, you'll see the ambulance, 0:21:06.320 --> 0:21:09.040 you'll see the accident, You'll see it all taking place. 0:21:09.560 --> 0:21:13.480 Those are wrong imaginations that you have to cast down 0:21:14.400 --> 0:21:19.360 instead of believing those lies, worrying, imagining the worst. Turn 0:21:19.400 --> 0:21:22.800 it around. Father, Thank you that my children are in 0:21:22.840 --> 0:21:25.399 the palm of your hand. Thank you that no weapon 0:21:25.560 --> 0:21:29.000 formed against them will prosper. Thank you that your angels 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:32.200 are watching over them, keeping them from accident and harm. 0:21:32.560 --> 0:21:36.560 What am I saying, be disciplined in your mind. Don't 0:21:36.640 --> 0:21:39.919 let your imagination run wild and show you all the 0:21:40.080 --> 0:21:44.240 negative possibilities. There was a twenty three year old young 0:21:44.320 --> 0:21:47.480 lady named Sarah. She went to the grocery store to 0:21:47.480 --> 0:21:50.119 pick up a few items. When she got back in 0:21:50.200 --> 0:21:53.760 her car, she heard a loud noise and felt something 0:21:53.840 --> 0:21:56.680 hit her in the back of the head. She thought 0:21:56.720 --> 0:22:00.199 she'd been shocked. She reached up and felt what she 0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:04.800 thought were her brains coming out. She initially passed out. 0:22:05.000 --> 0:22:08.080 When she woke up, she sat in the car motionless 0:22:08.200 --> 0:22:11.119 for over an hour, holding the back of her head, 0:22:11.440 --> 0:22:14.520 trying to keep her brains in. A man walked by 0:22:14.560 --> 0:22:18.200 and noticed something was wrong called the police. The police 0:22:18.240 --> 0:22:20.760 came and asked her to open the car door. She 0:22:20.840 --> 0:22:23.760 said she couldn't she had been shot and she was 0:22:23.800 --> 0:22:27.600 holding her brains in. The police broke open the back window. 0:22:28.080 --> 0:22:33.399 They discovered a can of Pillsbury biscuits had exploded. The 0:22:33.560 --> 0:22:36.160 dough had shot out and hit her in the back 0:22:36.200 --> 0:22:40.200 of the head. Maybe what you're imagining is not what 0:22:40.240 --> 0:22:43.880 you think it is. Maybe that's not your brains after all. 0:22:44.840 --> 0:22:49.720 Here's my point. Maybe you're not stuck. Maybe the addiction 0:22:49.960 --> 0:22:54.400 is not permanent. Maybe your health isn't going downhill. Maybe 0:22:54.440 --> 0:22:58.959 your dream is achievable. Perhaps all those pictures that had 0:22:59.000 --> 0:23:03.160 been playing in your imagination are not your true reality. 0:23:03.920 --> 0:23:06.720 Maybe they're just a bunch of dough trying to keep 0:23:06.760 --> 0:23:10.080 you from moving forward. Do yourself a favor, open up 0:23:10.119 --> 0:23:12.760 the car door, let go of your brains, and get gold. 0:23:14.480 --> 0:23:18.280 About a year after I began ministering, the church was 0:23:18.320 --> 0:23:21.720 really growing and we decided to start a second Sunday 0:23:21.720 --> 0:23:24.880 morning service. Now, I announced that on the first Sunday 0:23:24.960 --> 0:23:27.040 of the year two thousand, we were going to have 0:23:27.080 --> 0:23:31.080 this new early morning service. This was in October, so 0:23:31.160 --> 0:23:34.440 I had several months to think about it. During that time, 0:23:34.960 --> 0:23:38.040 all kinds of negative thoughts told me, Joel, this is 0:23:38.080 --> 0:23:41.359 a big mistake. Nobody's going to calme. You're going to 0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:44.320 look like a fool. I tried to stay in faith, 0:23:44.560 --> 0:23:47.640 but one night I had a dream, A better description 0:23:47.920 --> 0:23:51.000 was a nightmare. It was that first Sunday of our 0:23:51.040 --> 0:23:54.119 new service. When I went out to minister, not one 0:23:54.240 --> 0:23:58.040 person was in the auditorium, not Victoria, not my mother, 0:23:58.240 --> 0:24:01.679 not a musician, not an usher, nobody. I woke up 0:24:01.720 --> 0:24:05.560 in a cold sweat. Thoughts told me you better cancel it. 0:24:06.080 --> 0:24:08.920 There's still time to call it off. You can halfway 0:24:09.080 --> 0:24:12.560 save face. All through the day, that image of that 0:24:12.680 --> 0:24:16.080 empty auditorium would come up. I had to do what 0:24:16.160 --> 0:24:20.040 I'm asking you to do, change the channel. Sometimes I'd 0:24:20.119 --> 0:24:22.119 change it and the same picture would be on the 0:24:22.160 --> 0:24:25.600 next station, kind of like watching the presidential debates. They 0:24:25.600 --> 0:24:28.520 are everywhere. I had to keep flipping and flipping till 0:24:28.560 --> 0:24:32.400 I found something encouraging. The week of that first service 0:24:32.480 --> 0:24:35.359 rolled around and I was talking to my mom. I 0:24:35.480 --> 0:24:39.000 kind of nonchalantly said, are you coming to the new 0:24:39.080 --> 0:24:43.399 service this Sunday? She looked at me puzzled and said, Joel, 0:24:43.480 --> 0:24:47.080 does it start this weekend? Thought, dear Lord, we've announced 0:24:47.119 --> 0:24:49.840 at four hundred and thirty seven times my old mother's 0:24:49.920 --> 0:24:53.680 not coming. That dream might have been a prophecy, but 0:24:54.560 --> 0:24:57.480 I said, yes, it starts this weekend. You need to come. 0:24:57.880 --> 0:25:03.720 Bring all your friends, enemy, neighbors, cousins, relatives, ancestors. It 0:25:03.840 --> 0:25:07.880 wasn't easy, but I kept changing the channel. I made 0:25:07.960 --> 0:25:11.600 up my mind. I am not watching the empty auditorium channel. 0:25:12.160 --> 0:25:15.040 I'm not watching that nobody's coming channel. I'm going to 0:25:15.080 --> 0:25:19.040 stay on the victory channel. In my imagination, through my 0:25:19.160 --> 0:25:23.000 eyes of faith, I saw thousands of people coming on 0:25:23.040 --> 0:25:25.840 that first Sunday of two thousand. I was so nervous 0:25:26.320 --> 0:25:28.840 I left the house an hour early. When I pulled 0:25:28.880 --> 0:25:32.000 up to the property, one parking lot was already full. 0:25:32.400 --> 0:25:35.080 We had over six thousand people that day, and they've 0:25:35.119 --> 0:25:39.720 been coming ever since. What am I saying? Cast down 0:25:40.040 --> 0:25:44.640 these wrong imaginations? They are not a reality. They are 0:25:44.680 --> 0:25:49.159 trying to deceive you into living worried, afraid, so you 0:25:49.200 --> 0:25:52.119 will give up on your dreams. Why is it that 0:25:52.200 --> 0:25:56.399 we let our imagination run wild only in the negative direction. 0:25:57.080 --> 0:25:59.920 We imagine the worst, Imagine what's not going to work out. 0:26:00.560 --> 0:26:03.879