WEBVTT - Move Forward 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:02.880 No one likes to talk about money. Am I saving enough? 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:05.040 Can I buy a house? Am I paying too much 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:07.760 in taxes? Will I be able to retire? What if 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:10.360 you could unlock insights about your finances in less than 0:00:10.400 --> 0:00:12.840 five minutes, with a clear picture of where you stand 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:15.720 today and where your money can work harder. Now you 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:18.759 can visit facet dot com to take the free quiz 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:23.400 and get your financial wellness score today. That's Facet dot com. 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:25.360 This ad is sponsored by Facet. Fast Wealth in Corporated 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:27.280 is an sec registered investment advisor. 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The units 0:01:11.560 --> 0:01:14.080 stap makes it easy for grandparents and family friends to 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:17.160 give funds to a child's investment account for a limited time. 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:19.440 Download the uns stap and use the code I heeart 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:21.720 fifty at sign up to receive a fifty dollars bonus 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:24.280 when you fund your account. That's code iHeart fifty when 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:27.280 you sign up at unest dot co for a fifty 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:31.280 dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at UNEs dot co. Hi. 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:34.880 This is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for downloading our podcast. 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:37.920 We enjoy spending this time with you. I hope you'll 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:41.360 leave Inspire. Make sure you subscribe to get new messages 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:44.440 every week. We appreciate your support. It helps keep the 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:45.280 ministry going. 0:01:45.680 --> 0:02:00.200 Enjoy the message. 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:04.320 Well, God bless you and welcome. Thanks so much for 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:06.800 letting us come into your homes. And if you're ever 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:10.200 in our area, please stop by. These are the finest 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:12.919 people in all of Houston, Texas right here at Lakewood. 0:02:13.000 --> 0:02:15.320 We'd love to have you visit. But thanks for tuning 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:17.959 in and thank you again for coming out today. 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:20.200 And I'd like to start with something funny, and I 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:23.480 heard about this college professor. He was going to prove 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:27.000 to his class that there is no God. He said, God, 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:30.080 if you're real, then knock me off this platform. 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:33.880 I'm giving you fifteen minutes to do it. Every minute that. 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:36.919 Went by, he taunted God, I'm still here, God, I'm 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:39.000 waiting the last minute. 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:41.320 Three hundred pound football. 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:44.920 Player walking down the hallway overheard him. Came running toward 0:02:45.000 --> 0:02:48.800 him full force, put his shoulder down, knocked the professor, sent. 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:52.040 Him flying off the platform. Professor got up in the day, 0:02:52.120 --> 0:02:53.680 said what in the world do you do that for? 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:57.160 The football player replied, God said he was busy, so 0:02:57.200 --> 0:03:02.240 he sent me. Old your Bible up, say it like 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:02.800 you mean it. 0:03:03.120 --> 0:03:05.799 This is my Bible. I am what it says. I am. 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:08.520 I have what it says I have. I can do 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:11.040 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:14.800 taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind 0:03:14.919 --> 0:03:18.040 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:23.040 the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 0:03:23.080 --> 0:03:25.680 to talk to you today about moving forward. 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:28.480 It's easy to go through life. 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:31.680 Looking in the rear view mirror, focused on what didn't work. 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:35.560 Out on who heard us, on the mistakes we made. 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:38.920 If only I would have finished college, If only I 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:42.040 would have spent more time with my children, if only 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:45.040 that company wouldn't have laid me off after twenty years. 0:03:45.120 --> 0:03:46.000 That's just not right. 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:50.160 But as long as you're living in regrets, focused on 0:03:50.200 --> 0:03:53.000 the negative things of the past, it's going to keep 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:55.520 you from the bright future God has in store. 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:58.880 You've got to let go of what didn't work out. 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:02.440 Let go oh of the hurts and pains, Let go 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:06.840 of your disappointments, your failures. You can't do anything about 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:10.400 the past, but you can do something about right now. 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:14.720 And whether it happened twenty years ago or twenty minutes. 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:17.000 Ago, let it go and move forward. 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:22.120 If you keep bringing negative baggage from yesterday into the day, 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:25.840 it will poison your future. You may have had an 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:29.520 unfair past, I'm not debating that. What I'm saying is 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:32.800 you don't have to have an unfair future. You may 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:35.279 have gotten off to a rough start in life, but 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:36.960 it's not how you start that matters. 0:04:37.040 --> 0:04:41.000 It's how you finish. Don't let what somebody did or 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:43.839 didn't do for you be an excuse to live sour. 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:48.240 Don't let a bad break, a divorce, a betrayal, a 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:51.680 bad childhood cause you to settle where you are. Move 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:55.359 forward and God will pay you back. Move forward and 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.839 God will indicate you. Move forward and you'll come into 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:02.400 a new beginning. Nothing that's happened to you is a 0:05:02.480 --> 0:05:06.279 surprise to God. The loss of that loved one didn't 0:05:06.279 --> 0:05:09.360 catch God off guard. The business that didn't make it, 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:13.200 the relationship that didn't work out did not stop God's 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:17.040 plan for your life. Now, the real question is are 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:20.760 you going to get stuck, fall into self pity, become bitter, 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:24.360 let the past poison your future, or are you going 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:27.160 to shake it off and move forward knowing that your 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:31.640 best days are still up ahead. In your automobile, there's 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:34.600 a big wind shield in the front and a very 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:38.440 small rear view mirror. The reason the windshield is so 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:42.159 large and the rear view mirror is so small is 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:46.000 because what's happened in your past is not nearly as 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:49.919 important as what's in your future. Where you're going is 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:53.919 much more significant than where you've been. But if you 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:57.279 stay focused on the past, you'll get stuck where you are. 0:05:57.760 --> 0:05:59.720 And this is the reason a lot of people don't 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:04.320 have no enthusiasm for life. They're dragging around all this 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:09.080 negative baggage from the past. Somebody offended them last week, 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:13.400 they've got that stuffed in their resentment bag. Last month 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:15.800 they lost their temper, said some things they shouldn't have. 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:20.280 They've got that in their guilt and condemnation bag. Ten 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:22.960 years ago they lost a loved one. They still don't 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:26.200 understand it. They've got that hurt and pain in their 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:30.880 disappointment bag. They carry around their bag of regrets, all 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:33.560 the things they wish they would have done differently. They've 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:37.120 got their divorce in a specific bag. Been mad at 0:06:37.120 --> 0:06:40.120 their spouse for years. If they went to take an 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:43.240 airline flight, they couldn't afford it. They've got twenty seven 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:47.200 bags they drag around with them everywhere they go. Friends, 0:06:47.680 --> 0:06:51.279 life is too short to live that way. Learn to 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:55.920 travel light. Every morning when you first get up, forgive 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:59.320 the people that did you wrong the day before. Forgive 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:02.599 your spouse for what they said. Forgive your boss for 0:07:02.680 --> 0:07:06.880 being rude. Forgive yourself for the mistakes you've made at 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:07.800 the start. 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:08.119 Of the day. 0:07:08.400 --> 0:07:13.080 Let go of the disappointments the setbacks from yesterday. Start 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:17.600 every morning afresh and anew God did not create you 0:07:17.760 --> 0:07:19.880 to carry around all that baggage. 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:22.520 Some of you have been holding on to it for years. 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:26.160 It's not going to change unless you do something about it. 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:28.840 You got to put your foot down and say that's it. 0:07:29.400 --> 0:07:33.000 I'm not living in regrets anymore. I'm not focusing on 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:36.240 my disappointments. I'm not dwelling on who hurt me, on 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:39.600 what didn't work out. I'm letting it go and moving 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:43.760 forward with my life. See, we should focus on what 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:46.960 we can change, not what we cannot change. 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:49.480 What's done is done. 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:54.200 If somebody offended you, mistreated you, disappointed you, you can't 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:57.840 undo that. You can either get bitter, pack it in 0:07:57.880 --> 0:08:00.040 a bag and let it weigh you down, or. 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:01.560 You can forgive them and go on. 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:05.680 If you lost your temper yesterday, you can either beat 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:10.160 yourself up, carry around the guilt and condemnation, or you 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:13.840 can ask for forgiveness, receive God's mercy, and do better today. 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:17.600 If you didn't get that promotion, you can get sour, 0:08:17.880 --> 0:08:20.520 go around with a chip on your shoulder, or you 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:23.240 can shake it off knowing that God has something better 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:27.720 in store. No matter what happens in life, big or small. 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:31.480 If you will learn to let it go and move forward. 0:08:32.080 --> 0:08:33.439 Then your past. 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:36.680 Doesn't have to poison your future. I met a lady 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:39.559 after the service a few years ago who had been 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:42.920 through a divorce. We prayed several times that God would 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:45.960 bring somebody new into her life. One day she met 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:49.800 this man, fine godly man, very successful. She was so 0:08:49.960 --> 0:08:53.720 happy about it, but she made the mistake of dragging 0:08:53.800 --> 0:08:57.040 all of her negative baggage into this new relationship. 0:08:57.679 --> 0:08:59.400 She was constantly talking. 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:02.240 About what she'd been through and how she was mistreated. 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:05.080 She had a victim mentality. 0:09:05.280 --> 0:09:08.440 The man told me later she was so focused on 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:10.240 her past, so caught. 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:12.839 Up in what she had been through. He couldn't handle it. 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:13.720 He moved on. 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:17.480 That's what happens when we hold on to the hurts 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:18.600 and pains of the. 0:09:18.520 --> 0:09:21.600 Past, it will poison you everywhere you go. 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:26.320 You cannot drag around the baggage from yesterday and expect 0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:29.880 to have good relationships today. You've got to let it go. 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:34.000 Quit living life looking in that rear view mirror, start 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:37.400 looking out the great big windshield. You may have had 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:41.280 some bad breaks, but that did not stop God's plan. 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:42.079 For your life. 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:45.600 He still has something amazing in front of you. When 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:48.760 one door closes, if you'll stay in faith, God will 0:09:48.800 --> 0:09:50.319 always open up another. 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:52.280 Door when one dream dies. 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:55.800 Don't sit around self pity talking about what you've lost. 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:57.520 Dream another dream. 0:09:58.120 --> 0:10:01.800 Your life is not over because you lost a loved one, 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:05.640 you went through a divorce, you got laid off. You 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:09.080 wouldn't be alive unless God had another victory in front 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:13.360 of you. Now, quit mourning over what you've lost, Let 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:15.600 go of what didn't work out. 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:16.800 How do you let it go? 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:21.560 Quit thinking about it, Quit talking about it. Quit reliving 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:25.160 all the negative things that have happened to you. When 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:28.400 those pictures come up on the movie screen of your mind, 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:33.360 change the channel. You have the remote control. You don't 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:36.600 have to watch everything that comes up. If you keep 0:10:36.679 --> 0:10:41.000 reliving negative memories, thinking about how unfair it was, how 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:44.520 could they do that to me? That wound will never heal. 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:48.120 Every time you think about it, you're reopening it. 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:50.559 The mind is very powerful. 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:54.800 When you replay negative experiences, you will feel the same 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:59.120 emotion as when it first happened. Before long, you'll be sad, angry, 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:02.880 depressed better. I know people when that picture comes up 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:05.320 on the movie screen of their mind, the negative memories 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:09.000 instead of quickly changing the channel. They go, pull up 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:11.560 a chair, so to speak, get a bag of popcorn, 0:11:11.640 --> 0:11:15.199 watch it for the next fifteen minutes. The scripture says, 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:18.800 think on things that are pure, things that are wholesome, 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:22.160 things that are of a good report. If you're going 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:25.320 to keep moving forward, you've got to be disciplined in 0:11:25.440 --> 0:11:29.080 your thought life. The negative memories will try to replay 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:32.800 again and again. You've got to guard your mind. Some 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:34.760 of you would go to a new level if you 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:39.880 would simply start changing the channel. Quit replaying the disappointments, 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:42.079 quit reliving the bad breaks. 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:44.559 Every time you watch that you think. 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:47.600 About it, you're reopening the wound. It's making it more difficult. 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:51.520 I walked into a government building one time. There were 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:55.520 two sets of double doors about fifteen feet apart. They 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:58.920 were both automatic doors. When you walk through the first 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:02.120 set of doors, you had to let them totally close 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:05.560 until the next set of doors would open. As long 0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:08.360 as I stayed that that first set, the second set 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:11.480 would not open. It's the same principle in life. 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:12.559 If you're sitting. 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:16.440 Around nursing your wounds, feeling sorry for yourself, you're not 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:19.600 going to see anything new. You've got to let those 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:23.960 doors totally close. Let go of the disappointments, let go 0:12:24.080 --> 0:12:27.440 of the failures. You cannot change the past, but you 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:29.200 can change the future. 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.719 If you'll move forward, you'll see the new things. 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:35.199 God wants to do. And this is what the scripture says. 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:39.240 God will give you beauty for ashes. Here's the key. 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:42.640 You have to let go of the ashes before you 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:48.760 can receive the beauty. Ashes represent our broken dreams, our failures, 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:52.760 our disappointments are hurts. We all have our share of ashes. 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:56.880 As long as you're holding onto the ashes, thinking about 0:12:56.880 --> 0:13:01.240 the disappointment, mad at somebody, bitter the past, then you 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:05.480 won't receive the beauty, and exchange has to take place. 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:09.120 It's an act of faith to say God, I'm forgiving 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:12.880 this person that hurt me, or I lost my biggest client, 0:13:13.080 --> 0:13:14.920 but I'm not going to have a chip on my shoulder. 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:17.480 My friend betrayed me, but I'm going to keep a 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:22.280 good attitude. That's when God can give you the beauty. Well, Joel, 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:25.600 they hurt me too badly. I can't forgive them. That's 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:26.920 a heavy price to pay. 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.079 If you won't let go of the old, you can't 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:30.960 receive the new. 0:13:32.000 --> 0:13:35.080 Well, we prayed for our mother, and she didn't get 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:37.960 healed like your mother. We don't understand it. I don't 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:41.240 claim to understand it all. I'm simply asking you to 0:13:41.320 --> 0:13:44.120 let go of the ashes, let go of the disappointment, 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:48.480 let go of the blame. Take those ashes, your broken dreams, 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:50.800 you hurt, your failures, even your questions. 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:54.600 Put them into God's hands and say God, it wasn't fair. 0:13:55.320 --> 0:13:56.000 They hurt me. 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:59.640 My dream didn't work out, but I refuse to live 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:02.760 life looking in the rear view mirror. You promised me 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:06.760 beauty for ashes. So right now I'm releasing the bitterness. 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:10.480 I'm forgiving the person that hurt me. I'm letting go 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:14.280 of the disappointments. I know a man that lost his 0:14:14.320 --> 0:14:17.320 wife over ten years ago. She was killed in an 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:21.480 automobile accident. It's a very tragic situation. Now, of course, 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:25.120 there's a normal period for grieving. That's a part of 0:14:25.160 --> 0:14:28.200 the healing process. That's the way God made us. But 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:31.920 some ten years later, this man was still grieving. He 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:36.120 let a season of mourning turn into a lifetime of mourning. 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:40.640 He ended up a very bitter, angry man. What happened. 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:44.160 He's holding on to the ashes God wants to give 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.240 him beauty, but because he won't let go of the old, 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:51.120 he can't receive the new. The enemy would love for 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:54.240 you to spend your whole life sitting in the ashes, 0:14:54.920 --> 0:14:58.840 Bitter over a relationship that didn't work out, angry over 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:02.560 a job you didn't get, feeling sorry for yourself because 0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:03.200 of a loved. 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:03.680 One that died. 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:07.480 No turn loose of those ashes. If you went through 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:11.080 a divorce, let it go. God has somebody better in 0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:14.880 your future. If you weren't treated right growing up, let 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:17.040 it go and God will make it up to you. 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:21.040 If you lost a loved one, they're up in heaven 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:22.280 right now celebrating. 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:24.600 You know what they would want me to tell you. 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:26.120 Move forward. 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:31.240 Quit mourning over something that's over and done. Quit mourning 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:34.760 over what you cannot change. If God wanted them to 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:37.920 still be here, they would still be here. If God 0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:40.360 wanted you to have that position that you didn't get, 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.920 you would have it. Shake off the self pity, shake 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:47.240 off the disappointment. The apostle Paul put it this way, 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:53.040 forgetting what lies behind, I strain toward what lies ahead. 0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:57.000 That word strain indicates it's going to take effort. 0:15:57.800 --> 0:15:59.080 You go through a bad break. 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:02.440 A laws easy thing to do is sit around talk 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:04.040 about how bad life's treating you. 0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:07.000 But if you're going to keep moving forward, you've got 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:08.240 to have a strong will. 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:11.400 You've got to rise up like Paul and say that's it. 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:15.240 I am not holding onto these ashes. I know what's 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:18.480 in my future is greater than what's in my past, 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:21.960 So I am pressing forward in life. This is what 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:26.120 the prophet Samuel had to do. Samuel had invested a 0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:29.720 lot of time and energy into his relationship with Saul. 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:33.880 Back when Saul was a young man, Samuel chose him 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:37.040 at the Lord's command to be the next king of Israel. 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:39.640 Samuel took Saul under his wing. 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:41.240 He did his best to. 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:46.240 Make sure that Saul would succeed, but unfortunately Saul wouldn't 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:50.800 walk in obedience and God rejected him as king. Well, 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:53.640 you can imagine how Samuel must have felt. He had 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:57.000 put all this time and effort and energy into Saul, 0:16:57.160 --> 0:16:59.720 and now it looks like it was all a big 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:04.520 wayte of time. I'm sure Samuel was heartbroken sitting around 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:08.040 feeling sorry for himself, thinking about what didn't work out. 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:09.720 In first Samuel. 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:13.600 Sixteen, God said Samuel, how long are you going to 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:17.560 mourn over Saul? God is asking us the same thing. 0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:21.440 How long are you going to mourn over what you've lost? 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:24.439 How long are you going to be discouraged over a 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:27.760 relationship that didn't work out, over a job you didn't get, 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:31.639 over somebody that hurts you. There is a problem with 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:36.520 excessive mourning. It stops God from releasing the new things 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:40.760 he has for you. God told Samuel, fill your horn 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:42.119 with oil and. 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:42.920 Be on your way. 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:46.640 I am sending you to the house of Jesse. I've 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:49.400 chosen one of his sons to be the next king. 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:53.920 God was saying, Samuel, if you'll quit mourning and instead 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:58.200 get up and start moving forward, I'll give you another king, 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:03.400 Saul his first choice. But just because Saul wouldn't walk 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:07.520 in obedience, God didn't say I'm sorry, Samuel, Saul blew it. 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:11.960 That ruins everything. No, God always has another plan. And 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:15.840 if you'll quit dwelling on the disappointment, quit feeling sorry 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:19.840 for yourself, and instead do what the scripture says, fill 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:23.199 your horn with oil. That simply means put on a 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:26.640 new attitude, put the smile back on your face, get 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:29.399 the spring back in your step, get your hopes up, 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:33.760 start expecting God's goodness. That's when you'll see the new 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:37.720 things God has in store now. Samuel could have said, God, 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:40.720 I can't do it. I'm too heartbroken. They hurt me 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:43.480 too bad. I spent too much time with Saul. If 0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:45.720 he would have done that, he would have missed out 0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:49.399 on choosing David, one of the greatest kings that's ever lived. 0:18:50.359 --> 0:18:50.880 Just like with. 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:55.720 Samuel, what you may think right now is a big disappointment, 0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:57.439 a big stumbling block. 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:01.040 God is going to turn it into a step stone. 0:19:00.920 --> 0:19:04.160 To take you into the greatest days of your life. 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:07.600 I have a friend that was married for many, many years. 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:11.359 One day he came home and his wife had left 0:19:11.359 --> 0:19:14.240 a note on the kitchen table saying that she had 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:17.320 fallen in love with somebody else and was moving away. 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:21.280 Of course, he was very devastated. When I saw him, 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:22.600 he looked twenty years. 0:19:22.400 --> 0:19:23.600 Older than he really was. 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:26.960 He said, I don't understand it. I love this lady. 0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:30.520 I'll never find another person like her. He thought he 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:33.760 had seen his best days, and he grieved that loss. 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:37.320 He went through a season of mourning, but he didn't 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:41.520 let it turn into a lifetime of morning didn't happen overnight, 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:44.119 but eventually he got his passion back. 0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:47.720 He put on a new attitude. He made the decision 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:49.120 he wasn't going to live. 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:52.040 Life looking in the rear view mirror, kept moving forward. 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:56.119 About three years later he met this beautiful young lady. 0:19:56.520 --> 0:20:00.639 They ended up falling in love getting married. Old Joel, 0:20:00.920 --> 0:20:04.080 I have never been this happy in all of my life. 0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:07.199 I never knew what true love really was. And this 0:20:07.359 --> 0:20:09.760 is the way God is. If you'll let go of 0:20:09.840 --> 0:20:14.240 the ashes, not get bitter, God will do something greater 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:18.720 than you've ever imagined. When my father was alive, I 0:20:18.840 --> 0:20:21.960 used to tell Victoria, I wonder what's gonna happen to 0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:24.719 me and what's gonna happen around here when my father 0:20:24.880 --> 0:20:27.600 goes to be with the Lord. My father and I 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:31.000 we had traveled the world together for seventeen years. I 0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:33.119 worked with him day in and day out here at 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:35.920 the ministry. He'd come over to our house many nights, 0:20:36.040 --> 0:20:39.040 we'd have dinner, go watch the Astros play baseball. 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:42.040 Much of my world was built around my father. 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:45.080 In the back of my mind, I thought, when my 0:20:45.200 --> 0:20:47.040 dad dies, it will never. 0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:49.320 Be as good as it is right now. 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:52.479 When my dad went to be with the Lord nineteen 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:55.679 ninety ninety suddenly had a heart attack. I mourned the 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:59.040 loss of my father, but I didn't get better, didn't 0:20:59.080 --> 0:21:00.000 have a chip on my show. 0:21:00.720 --> 0:21:01.880 I didn't feel cheated. 0:21:02.280 --> 0:21:06.359 I knew the number of my father's days God had fulfilled. 0:21:06.560 --> 0:21:08.400 I knew it was a part of God's plan. 0:21:09.200 --> 0:21:12.720 And I say this very respectfully because I still love 0:21:12.760 --> 0:21:16.520 and miss my father. But what I thought would be 0:21:16.600 --> 0:21:20.000 my darkest hour turned out to be my brightest hour. 0:21:20.720 --> 0:21:23.600 I thought I could never be as happy and fulfilled 0:21:23.760 --> 0:21:27.000 as when my dad was here. But like with Samuel, 0:21:27.440 --> 0:21:31.560 God had another plan. God had something better for the 0:21:31.600 --> 0:21:32.680 new season. 0:21:32.359 --> 0:21:33.000 Of my life. 0:21:33.800 --> 0:21:36.200 When you go through a loss of disappointment, it's easy 0:21:36.240 --> 0:21:39.080 to think it'll never be like it used to be. 0:21:39.960 --> 0:21:43.480 If you'll stay in faith and keep moving forward, you're right. 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:45.960