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

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

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Speaker 2: If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a

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Speaker 2: blessing and share it with a.

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Speaker 1: Friend, reappreciate you, and pray for God's very best in

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Speaker 1: your life. So God bless you. Always a joy to

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Speaker 1: come into your home. We love you and we're believing

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Speaker 1: for God's very best in your life. If you're ever

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Speaker 1: in our area, I hope you'll come out and be

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Speaker 1: a part of one of our services. These are the

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Speaker 1: finest people in all of Houston, right here at Lakewood,

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Speaker 1: so come on out. We'd love to have you. But

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

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Speaker 1: week with something funny, and I heard about these three

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Speaker 1: men that were out hiking through the wilderness. They came

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Speaker 1: upon this very violent, raging river. They needed to get

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Speaker 1: to the other side. The first man prayed, God, please

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Speaker 1: give me the strength to make it across, and poof,

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Speaker 1: God gave him big arms and strong legs and he

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Speaker 1: was able to swim across in two hours. Seeing this,

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Speaker 1: the next man said, God, please give me the strength

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Speaker 1: and the tools I need to make it across and

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Speaker 1: poof God gave him a boat he was able to

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Speaker 1: row across in thirty minutes. The next man said, God,

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Speaker 1: give me the strength, the tools, and the intelligence to

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Speaker 1: make it across, and poof God turned him into a woman.

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Speaker 1: She looked at the map heightd five minutes upstream and

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Speaker 1: then walked across the bridge, and yes, that was sent

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Speaker 1: to me by a woman. Hold up your Bible. Say

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

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

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

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

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Speaker 1: I boldly confess. My mind is alert, my heart is receptive.

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Speaker 1: I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, God

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

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Speaker 1: the importance of having the right associations. Who your friends are,

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Speaker 1: who you choose to associate with, will have a great

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Speaker 1: impact on whether or not you fulfill your God given destiny.

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Speaker 1: We become like the people we continually associate with. If

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Speaker 1: you associate with successful people, there's a good chance you're

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Speaker 1: going to be successful. If you associate with people that

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Speaker 1: have a big vision, people that have a dream, people

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Speaker 1: that are going places. They will inspire you to accomplish

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Speaker 1: more than you thought possible. But just the opposite is true.

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Speaker 1: If you hang around lazy, undisciplined people, people that are

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Speaker 1: negative and critical, people that are always having a problem,

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Speaker 1: that defeat is going to rub off on you. It's

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Speaker 1: so important that we choose the right people to associate with,

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Speaker 1: and it's good to have friends that you encourage and

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Speaker 1: you build up. Maybe you're helping someone overcome in a

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Speaker 1: certain area, you're an inspiration to them. We should be

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Speaker 1: reaching out to others. But what I want us to

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Speaker 1: see today is it's it's equally important that you have

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Speaker 1: someone in your life that inspires you, someone that's more

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Speaker 1: successful than you are, someone that's been where you're trying

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Speaker 1: to go. You need a friend or a mentor that

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Speaker 1: you can learn from. You should study that person, watch

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Speaker 1: how they treat other people, See how disciplined they are,

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Speaker 1: how they carry themselves, and over time, those good qualities

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Speaker 1: are gonna rub off on you. There's this lady I know,

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Speaker 1: she's in the business world, and we become friends, and

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Speaker 1: every time I'm around her, she inspires me. I thought

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Speaker 1: I was a big thinker, but I'm small compared to her.

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Speaker 1: She thinks on a whole different level. And the other

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Speaker 1: day we were discussing this project to help the needy. Now,

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Speaker 1: I said, well, I'm gonna call some of my minister

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Speaker 1: friends and see if they want to join in and help.

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Speaker 1: She said, that's fine, But I'm gonna call the CEO

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Speaker 1: of this corporation, one of the biggest in the world.

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Speaker 1: Then I'm gonna call my friend that runs this now

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Speaker 1: at work and see if he wants to turn it

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Speaker 1: into a television special. I'll talk to him about getting

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Speaker 1: sponsors to underwrite the whole thing. The more she talked,

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Speaker 1: the more I thought, you go, girl. I like the

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Speaker 1: way she thinks. She inspires me to think bigger. You

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Speaker 1: need people like this in your life. If you're the

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Speaker 1: smartest one in your group, your group is too small.

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Speaker 1: If you're the one always coming up with the best

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Speaker 1: ideas and giving the advice and solving the problem, you've

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Speaker 1: outgrown that circle. You need people in your life speaking

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Speaker 1: vision into you. There should be someone in your circle

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Speaker 1: of friends that has more wisdom, more experience, more insight

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Speaker 1: than you do. If not, it's limiting your growth. Now

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Speaker 1: I know people that like to feel like a big fish.

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Speaker 1: The only problem is they're in a little bitty tank.

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Speaker 1: Their circle is too small. They've always got to be

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Speaker 1: the smartest, the greatest, the wisest. They're insecure. If anybody's

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Speaker 1: a b of them, too proud to ask for advice,

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Speaker 1: all that's doing is limiting them. You take a fish,

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Speaker 1: put it in a five gallon aquarium. It can only

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Speaker 1: grow so big. Its growth is being restricted by its environment.

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Speaker 1: The circle is too small. You take that same fish

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Speaker 1: and put him in the ocean where he belongs. He

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Speaker 1: has unlimited potential, and God has already ordained the right

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Speaker 1: people to come into your life to speak vision, to

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Speaker 1: challenge you, to inspire you. You need to stay open.

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Speaker 1: I'm the first to admit I don't know everything. One

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Speaker 1: reason I am where I am today is because I

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Speaker 1: found people that were a whole lot smarter than I am.

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Speaker 1: God brought them across my path and I watched them.

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Speaker 1: I study them, I learn from them. They help me

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Speaker 1: go to a new level. You need to stay open

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Speaker 1: to who God's bringing across your path. I like to

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Speaker 1: have people around me that, just by their example, by

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Speaker 1: the way they lived their life, they challenge me to

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Speaker 1: come up higher. I have this one friend he loves

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Speaker 1: to give. Every time I'm around him, I'm inspired. I

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Speaker 1: leave thinking I'm gonna be a bigger giver. I love

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Speaker 1: the fact he always has giving on his mind. I

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Speaker 1: have another friend that is so nice to his wife.

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Speaker 1: He treats her so good. At first, it almost made

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Speaker 1: me sick. I mean, he is so goody everything is, honey,

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Speaker 1: let me do this for you. Hang on, honey, there

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Speaker 1: may be a little dust on the seat. Just a second, honey,

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Speaker 1: you may get a little wet. I'm thinking to myself,

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Speaker 1: she is not going to melt. But after a month

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Speaker 1: or two of being around all that good, it began

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Speaker 1: to convict me. I thought, maybe I can come up

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Speaker 1: higher in this area. And don't you say amen, Victoria.

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Speaker 1: We need friends like that in our lives. Not friends

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Speaker 1: that are running around on their spouse, friends that are disrespectful,

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Speaker 1: friends that compromise, friends that don't have any goals. You

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Speaker 1: have enough things trying to pull you down in life.

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Speaker 1: Surround yourself with people that are gonna help you rise higher.

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Speaker 1: People that are more respectful, people that are more disciplined,

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Speaker 1: people that have a bigger vision than you do. I've

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Speaker 1: made up my mind. I'm not gonna hang out with

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Speaker 1: critical people. I hear somebody that always has a bad report,

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Speaker 1: They're always complaining, always finding fault. That's a red flag.

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Speaker 1: I know they're not for me. I don't need that

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Speaker 1: in my life. I'm not gonna hang around stingy people.

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Speaker 1: I'm not gonna spend a lot of time with people

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Speaker 1: that are never happy, people that don't have integrity, nose

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Speaker 1: the people, people that don't have any goals. I may

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Speaker 1: not have any friends why, I don't want those qualities

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Speaker 1: to rub off on me. We need to set these

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Speaker 1: boundaries in our own thinking. You don't have to announce

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Speaker 1: it to any So you hear somebody that's always gossiping,

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Speaker 1: always stirring up trouble, cross them off your list. They're

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Speaker 1: not for me. And sure you can still be kind

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Speaker 1: and polite, Hey, how you doing, but you shouldn't let

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Speaker 1: them into your inner circle. Life is too short to

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Speaker 1: spend it with the wrong people. Young people, this is

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Speaker 1: extremely important. Choosing the wrong friends can steal your destiny.

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Speaker 1: Don't hang around with people at school that have a

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Speaker 1: bad attitude, that are always getting into trouble, always bucking

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Speaker 1: the system. You need to find friends that are going

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Speaker 1: to make something out of their life. Hang around people

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Speaker 1: that are disciplined, people that are focused, people that are

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Speaker 1: going places. Don't be concerned about fitting into the right

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Speaker 1: crowd and being the most popular, having the most friends.

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Speaker 1: It's not the quantity of our friends that matter. It's

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Speaker 1: the quality of our friends that really counts. I would

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Speaker 1: rather have one friend that has his head on straight,

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Speaker 1: that's going places, than twenty friends that are just floating

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Speaker 1: downstream doing what everybody else is doing. The scripture says

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Speaker 1: here in Proverbs twenty seven seventeen, as iron sharpens iron,

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Speaker 1: so a friend sharpens a friend. Notice our friends should

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Speaker 1: be sharpening us. Some of you today, you've outgrown your tank.

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Speaker 1: You've outgrown that circle of friends. They were fine for

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Speaker 1: a time. You blessed them and they blessed you. But

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Speaker 1: now God's trying to increase you, and those friends are

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Speaker 1: holding you back. They were in your life for a season.

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Speaker 1: But you've grown, You've come up to a higher level,

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Speaker 1: and if you're going to continue to rise, you have

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Speaker 1: to break out of the rut and cultivate some new friendships.

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Speaker 1: I know this pastor, he started a church years ago

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Speaker 1: and for a long time. He was happy and growing.

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Speaker 1: He knew he was fulfilling his destiny. But a while

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Speaker 1: back he began to feel like he was stuck in

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Speaker 1: a rut. He had several hundred members, but he knew

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Speaker 1: God had put bigger things in his heart. And so

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Speaker 1: he talked to the people that helped him start the church,

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Speaker 1: his inner circle of friends, about trying some new things

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Speaker 1: and starting some different programs. But man, they discouraged him.

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Speaker 1: They said, that'll never work here. We need to just

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Speaker 1: keep doing what we've been doing. That man knew he

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Speaker 1: needed to get different people speaking into his life. He

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Speaker 1: knew he was the biggest fish in his tank, and

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Speaker 1: that's never healthy. And one day he met this minister

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Speaker 1: that was extremely successful. He had been where this man

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Speaker 1: was trying to go. This minister was so kind he

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Speaker 1: took him under his wing, and for several years, this pastor,

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Speaker 1: once a month flew across the country to spend just

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Speaker 1: a few minutes with this other minister. He studied him,

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Speaker 1: He watched how he led the staff, He talked to

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Speaker 1: different members of his church. He took in everything he could,

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Speaker 1: all the while his friends back in home they didn't

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Speaker 1: understand it. They said, you're wasting your time and your money.

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Speaker 1: It's so expensive, you don't need to fly out there.

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Speaker 1: But no, this man understood the power of right associations.

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Speaker 1: He knew the more time he spent with that man,

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Speaker 1: the more his faith was growing, the more his vision

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Speaker 1: was increasing. Something was happening on the inside. And today

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Speaker 1: that pastor has a church with thousands of people. In fact,

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Speaker 1: his ministry is much larger than the men that mentored

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Speaker 1: him all those years. But what happened He found somebody

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Speaker 1: that had what he wanted. He got around him, learned

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Speaker 1: from him, Those same qualities, those same characteristics, got off

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Speaker 1: on him, and he not only went to his level,

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Speaker 1: he took it above and beyond. And could it be

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Speaker 1: today that the thing that's holding you back is you

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Speaker 1: don't have the right people in your life. You don't

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Speaker 1: have anyone inspiring you, anybody that's modeling what you want.

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Speaker 1: If this man would have stayed in that same group

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Speaker 1: of small minded thinkers, I don't mean they weren't good people,

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Speaker 1: because they were, but he had out grown that tank.

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Speaker 1: If he had not gotten into a bigger circle, he

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Speaker 1: would have those same frustrations, those same struggles. Today he

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Speaker 1: had to get around somebody that had what he wanted,

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Speaker 1: somebody that had been where he was trying to go

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Speaker 1: so he could be inspired and challenged. You need to

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Speaker 1: surround yourself with people that motivate you to go forward,

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Speaker 1: and not people that are constantly tempting you to shrink back.

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Speaker 1: You shouldn't sit around at work all day and let

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Speaker 1: somebody fill your mind with gossip. Don't go home every

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Speaker 1: night and spend hours on the phone with a friend

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Speaker 1: that's dumping all their problems on you, singing their sad song.

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Speaker 1: That's fine once in a while, we should be loving

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Speaker 1: and caring. You can pray for them and encourage them.

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Speaker 1: But what I'm saying today is if you're going to

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Speaker 1: become all God's created you to be, you have to

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Speaker 1: eliminate any kind of toxic relationships. If somebody is always

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Speaker 1: taking and never giving, that's not a healthy relationship. When

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Speaker 1: you leave, if you feel drained and tired and depressed

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Speaker 1: and worse than you were before, that should be a

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Speaker 1: red flag something is not right. Recognize they are stealing

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Speaker 1: your victory. Well, you say, Joel, I don't want to

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Speaker 1: hurt their feelings. I've known them a long time. No,

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Speaker 1: you can be kind. You can be polite, but little

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Speaker 1: by little you need to spend less and less time

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Speaker 1: with that person. You may not want to hurt their feelings,

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Speaker 1: but let me ask you this, what if they keep

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Speaker 1: you from fulfilling your God given destiny? Now I found

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Speaker 1: some people don't want to come up higher. Some people

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Speaker 1: don't want to change. They're too comfortable where they are.

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Speaker 1: They want discipline themselves to make the right choices. So

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Speaker 1: you have to be strong and have the attitude I

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Speaker 1: have a destiny to fulfill. You may not want to

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Speaker 1: come up higher, that's fine, but you're not gonna keep

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Speaker 1: me from coming up higher. You may not want to

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Speaker 1: be happy, fine, but I'm gonna live my life happy.

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Speaker 1: We have to separate ourselves from relationships that are holding

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Speaker 1: us back. And I'm not talking about a marriage relationship.

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Speaker 1: That's a different story. Some of you are thinking you

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Speaker 1: got the words you needed today. I'm talking about the

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Speaker 1: people we choose to spend our free time with. If

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Speaker 1: you're spending all your time with negative, critical people, people

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Speaker 1: that compromise, people that always see the worst, you're not

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Speaker 1: going to be able to form the right friendships. You

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Speaker 1: have a responsibility, first and foremost to keep yourself happy,

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Speaker 1: healthy and whole. God has entrusted you with a gift.

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Speaker 1: You have a treasure on the inside, something that nobody

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Speaker 1: else has. But if you don't make the right connections,

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Speaker 1: you won't make it to the right destinations. And God

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Speaker 1: has already ordained the right people to come into your life,

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Speaker 1: but you'll never meet them if you're constantly hanging around

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Speaker 1: the wrong people. You need to look at your friends

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Speaker 1: and see if they have anything that you want. If

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Speaker 1: they don't have any joy, they don't have any victory,

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Speaker 1: and they're always complaining, and they're not as far along

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Speaker 1: as you are. Recognize they're not adding anything to you.

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Speaker 1: And yes, maybe they're there so you can inspire them.

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Speaker 1: Maybe your job is to help them come up higher.

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Speaker 1: But what I'm saying is you should not spend all

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Speaker 1: your time with people like that, because if you're going

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Speaker 1: to continue to grow, if you're going to rise higher,

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Speaker 1: you have to have people that inspire you, people that

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Speaker 1: are further down the road than you are. I think

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Speaker 1: about Daniel. The scripture says that he had an excellent spirit.

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Speaker 1: If you study is life, you'll find that Daniel chose

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Speaker 1: excellent friends. You know who he hung out with shadrack

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Speaker 1: me Jack a Bendigo, the three Hebrew teenagers that refuse

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Speaker 1: to bow down to the King's golden idol. No wonder.

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Speaker 1: Daniel was a person of excellence. His friends were people

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Speaker 1: of courage, people of integrity, people that wouldn't compromise, people

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Speaker 1: that had a big dream for their life. You need

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Speaker 1: to make sure the people you're choosing to spend time

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Speaker 1: with have qualities that you want, because whether you realize

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Speaker 1: it or not, it's rubbing off on you. Don't think

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Speaker 1: you can sit at the lunch room every day for

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Speaker 1: an hour and let people fill your mind with gossip

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Speaker 1: and bad mouth the company and not have it affect you. Ah,

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Speaker 1: you say, Joel, I just listen, I don't join in.

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Speaker 1: Know that poisons going into the inside. If you stay

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Speaker 1: there long enough, by default, more often than not, you'll

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Speaker 1: become a gossiper, just like them. What's the solution. Find

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Speaker 1: somewhere else to eat lunch, sit at a different table,

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Speaker 1: go outside. Yes they may talk about you, Yes they

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Speaker 1: may think you're odd, but listen, people like that. If

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Speaker 1: they're not talking about you now, they're going to be

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Speaker 1: talking about you later. Your time's coming. You need to

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Speaker 1: just rise above it. We have a destiny to fulfill.

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Speaker 1: You are going places. Keep that poison out of your life.

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Speaker 1: Psychologists tell us there's something called the law of the group.

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Speaker 1: That is, we associate with people the way we see ourselves.

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Speaker 1: Have you ever noticed how most of the time, people

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Speaker 1: that gossip find other people that gossip. Negative people gravitate

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Speaker 1: to other negative people. Complainers seem to always find the

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Speaker 1: other complainers. That's where that saying comes from. Birds of

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Speaker 1: a feather flock together. We find people just like us.

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Speaker 1: Knowing this, I would encourage you to evaluate your friendships.

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Speaker 1: If your friends are all negative, they always compromise, They're

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Speaker 1: always having problems. You need to get some new friends.

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Speaker 1: Because victorious people associate with other victorious people. That's why

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Speaker 1: we're all here today. Overcomers hang out with other overcomers.

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Speaker 1: Happy people gravitate toward other happy people. Successful people associate

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Speaker 1: with other successful people. I was reading how Henry Ford,

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Speaker 1: Thomas Edison, and Harry Firestone all had summer homes next

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Speaker 1: door to each other in Florida. They spent much of

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Speaker 1: their summers together. You think about there are three of

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Speaker 1: the most brilliant minds that have ever lived. They helped

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Speaker 1: change the course of history. You notice they didn't spend

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Speaker 1: a lot of time with negative can't do it people.

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Speaker 1: They associated with other dreamers, with other men of big vision,

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Speaker 1: no wonder, they soared to new heights. If you want

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Speaker 1: to know what you're going to be like five years

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Speaker 1: from now, just take a look at your friends. That's

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Speaker 1: a good indication. I have a friend that just got

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Speaker 1: a big promotion. God blessed him, and something that he

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Speaker 1: had been hoping for and working toward for years finally

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Speaker 1: came to pass, and he was so excited about it.

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Speaker 1: We have this other friend that had been hoping and

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Speaker 1: praying for this same type of opportunity for even a

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Speaker 1: longer period of time. Now I was wondering what he

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Speaker 1: was going to think. Sometimes it's easy when you see

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Speaker 1: somebody succeed, especially at something that you want, it's easy

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Speaker 1: to get jealous and critical towards them. And I was

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Speaker 1: so happy that my friend was genuinely happy for this

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Speaker 1: other man. He called him and congratulated him. I could

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Speaker 1: tell that he was sincere about it, and I thought,

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Speaker 1: that's the kind of friends we need to cultivate, people

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Speaker 1: that will celebrate our victories, not people the moment God

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Speaker 1: promotes you, they start talking and criticize and get all jealous.

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Speaker 1: It's already enough haters in the world. It's already enough cynical, sarcastic,

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Speaker 1: critical people. Less surround ourselves with friends that are secure

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Speaker 1: enough to celebrate each other's victories. When you hear people

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Speaker 1: talking about somebody, you know you have a responsibility to

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Speaker 1: put an end to it. You should say, you know what,

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Speaker 1: I'm I talk about them. I'm glad they got promoted

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Speaker 1: because I know if God did it for them, he'll

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Speaker 1: do it for me. One thing I found is you

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Speaker 1: cannot help a person that will not separate himself from

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Speaker 1: toxic influences. No matter how much you pray or encourage

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Speaker 1: or advise. They've always got that poison going into them.

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Speaker 1: They've got to be willing to get rid of the source.

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Speaker 1: It may not be something terribly big or abusive, but

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Speaker 1: just hanging around somebody that's got a jealous, critical spirit

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Speaker 1: that's poisoning your life, or hanging around someone that's arrogant, condescending,

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Speaker 1: always looking down on others, that's polluting you on the inside.

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Speaker 1: And I realize there are no perfect people. We all

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Speaker 1: have something that we're dealing with I heard somebody say

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Speaker 1: every person has a little dysfunction. But what I'm saying is,

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Speaker 1: don't get around people that empower that dysfunction. Your friends

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Speaker 1: should bring out the best in you and not the worst.

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Speaker 1: If you struggle with being impatient, don't hang around other

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Speaker 1: impatient people. That's empowering the wrong things. If you tend

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Speaker 1: to be a little negative and you struggle with discouragement

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Speaker 1: and depression, don't go find five other friends that are

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Speaker 1: depressed so you can sit around talk about your problems.

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Speaker 1: You need to find friends that are happy, friends that

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Speaker 1: are positive, friends that are full of faith. What you're

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Speaker 1: around is contagious. Do you realize faith is contagious? Joy

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Speaker 1: is contagious, Hope is contagious. That's why when you come

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Speaker 1: in here and get around all these other faith filled believers,

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Speaker 1: these victoris are not victums. You can't help but leave

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Speaker 1: full of more faith, full of more joy, full of

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Speaker 1: more hope, full of more victory. If contagious, what are

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Speaker 1: we doing, We're empowering the right thing. I know this

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Speaker 1: man that struggled with his temper for years and years.

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Speaker 1: His father was hot tempered, and other people in his

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Speaker 1: family for the longest time, it didn't look like he

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Speaker 1: could overcome. But eventually, through prayer, through counseling, through right thinking,

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Speaker 1: he was able to change. He's a totally different person.

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Speaker 1: His wife and family are so thrilled. And one day

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Speaker 1: up at the gym, he met this other men playing

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Speaker 1: ball and they became over time good friends, and he

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Speaker 1: liked everything about him. The only problem was this new

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Speaker 1: friend had an anger issue on the court. At times,

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Speaker 1: he'd lose his cool and get all upset and people

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Speaker 1: would have to come try to calm him down. Other

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Speaker 1: times during the week, he saw his friend have these angry,

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Speaker 1: emotional outbursts, just what he was set free from, and

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Speaker 1: he reached out to him, tried to get him to

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Speaker 1: come to church, tried to get him to see some

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Speaker 1: of our counselors. But over time he realized his friend

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Speaker 1: was not willing to change, and even though he enjoyed

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Speaker 1: his company, even though he really liked him, he made

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Speaker 1: the difficult decision to put an end to that relationship.

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Speaker 1: He said, I couldn't take the chance. That's just what

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Speaker 1: I came out of and I knew if I didn't

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Speaker 1: get away from him, I would go right back to

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Speaker 1: being hot. Tempered and angry myself. He recognized if he

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Speaker 1: stayed in close relationship with that man, all it would

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00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:22,919
Speaker 1: do was enable his dysfunction. I'm asking you today to

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Speaker 1: separate yourself from people that are bringing out the worst

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Speaker 1: in you. May be difficult, but here's the key. What

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00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,800
Speaker 1: you want walk away from is where you stop growing.

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00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:38,920
Speaker 1: If you want separate yourself from toxic influences, you won't

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00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,720
Speaker 1: rise any higher. And some of you, even two years ago,

402
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Speaker 1: you felt an uneasiness down in here about that relationship.

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Speaker 1: You knew back then that was God talking to you

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00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,359
Speaker 1: about making a change. It was causing you to compromise,

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00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,880
Speaker 1: bringing out the worst. But again and again you put

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Speaker 1: it off until you do what you know in your

407
00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:01,960
Speaker 1: heart you should do. You're going to be stuck. And

408
00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:04,680
Speaker 1: sometimes we think, why isn't God blessing me? Why don't

409
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:07,600
Speaker 1: I see God's favor? Well? Are we doing what God

410
00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:10,960
Speaker 1: has asked us to do? Today is a day of decision.

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Speaker 1: If you have the wrong people in your life, God

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00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:18,320
Speaker 1: can't bring the right people in. You may be thinking, well, Joe,

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Speaker 1: if I make these changes, I may not have any friends.

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Speaker 1: I may be lonely. No, just the opposite is true

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Speaker 1: that act of obedience is what allows God to open

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Speaker 1: new doors to bring the people He's ordained to be

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Speaker 1: in your life, the right people. And yes, you may

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Speaker 1: go through a season of being lonely, but I'd rather

419
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Speaker 1: be lonely for a little while knowing that I'm so

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Speaker 1: in a seed to come up higher, then go year

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Speaker 1: after year with a bunch of friends that I know

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Speaker 1: are keeping me from being my very best. You need

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Speaker 1: to make sure you have people speaking vision into you,

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Speaker 1: people that have been where you're trying to go. I've

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00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:02,240
Speaker 1: been blessed my whole life to be around good mentors

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Speaker 1: and people that I could look up to. I grew

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Speaker 1: up with a great father, he was my best friend,

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Speaker 1: and Daddy modeled excellence, integrity, compassion. I like to believe

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Speaker 1: that rubbed off on me. Recently, I've been honored to

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Speaker 1: spend time with Billy Graham, to hear his heart and

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00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:24,080
Speaker 1: see his love and just his compassion for people. That

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Speaker 1: inspires me to become everything God's created me to be.

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00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,920
Speaker 1: You need some heroes in your life, people you can

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Speaker 1: look up to, people you can admire, people that will

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00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:38,200
Speaker 1: help bring the seeds of greatness out of the inside.

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00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:43,960
Speaker 1: I think about how Elisha hung around the prophet Elijah.

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00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:46,000
Speaker 1: He was with him day in and day out. He

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00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:49,639
Speaker 1: served him, took care of him. In the end, Elisha

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00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:54,960
Speaker 1: received a double portion of Elijah's annoying. You become like

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Speaker 1: the people you hang around, even Joshua. He stayed closely

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Speaker 1: with Moses. When Moses went on the mountain to receive

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00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:04,879
Speaker 1: the Ten commandments, he couldn't go up there, but he

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Speaker 1: waited at the base of the mountain. He didn't want

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Speaker 1: Moses out of his sight. The scripture says Moses put

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Speaker 1: his hands on Joshua, and he received a part of

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Speaker 1: moses annoying, a part of his authority, a part of

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00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:21,720
Speaker 1: his honor. Who you associate with will have a great

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00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:25,040
Speaker 1: impact on whether or not you fulfill your destiny. Now

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00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:28,000
Speaker 1: I believe, and I don't mean this arrogantly, but even

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00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:32,320
Speaker 1: being associated with our ministry here the favor of God's

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00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:36,280
Speaker 1: put on us because of your association, that favors rubbing

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Speaker 1: off on you blessings, honor, promotion, integrity, joy, peace. You

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00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:49,520
Speaker 1: can increase through association. So I challenge you evaluate your friendships.

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00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:53,880
Speaker 1: Make sure you have some kind of mentor someone speaking

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00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,520
Speaker 1: vision into you. Don't be the smartest one in your group.

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00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:02,200
Speaker 1: Get a bigger circle and eliminate any toxic relationships. It

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00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:05,840
Speaker 1: may be difficult, but remember you're going places you have

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00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:09,200
Speaker 1: a destiny to fulfill. Get around people that will bring

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00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:13,000
Speaker 1: out the best, not people that enable that dysfunction. And

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00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:16,640
Speaker 1: if you'll be selective about who your friends are, make

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00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:18,879
Speaker 1: sure you choose people that build you up, people that

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00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,320
Speaker 1: inspire you. Then I know you'll rise higher and hire.

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00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:25,400
Speaker 1: God will pour out his blessings, his favor, and you'll

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00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:27,960
Speaker 1: live the life of victory he has in story. Amen,

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00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,800
Speaker 1: do you receive it today? Well, we never like to

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00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,960
Speaker 1: close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make

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00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:37,720
Speaker 1: Jesus the lord of your life. Would you pray with me?

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00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:42,960
Speaker 1: Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come

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00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:47,679
Speaker 1: into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. Friends,

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00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,000
Speaker 1: if you've prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got

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00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,960
Speaker 1: born again. Get in a good Bible based church. He's

472
00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:55,199
Speaker 1: going to take your places that you've never dreamed of.

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00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:58,400
Speaker 3: It's easy to let the day get away from us

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00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,439
Speaker 3: before the day even starts. The first few minutes of

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00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:04,640
Speaker 3: your morning are more powerful than you might think. Life

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00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:07,720
Speaker 3: moves really fast sometimes, and it can be easy to

477
00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:10,600
Speaker 3: begin each day by zeroing in on your problems.

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00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,320
Speaker 1: But here's the truth. How you start the day can

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00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:16,359
Speaker 1: determine what kind of day is going to be. And

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00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:19,480
Speaker 1: I'd love to send you my devotional three minute Mornings

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00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:21,240
Speaker 1: Start your Day the Blessed Way.

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00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:23,919
Speaker 2: Three minutes doesn't seem like a lot of time, but

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00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,440
Speaker 2: when you put God first place and get your mind

484
00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,080
Speaker 2: going in the right direction, is setting the tone for

485
00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:30,920
Speaker 2: a blessed, productive day.

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00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,040
Speaker 1: It's filled with inspiration and encouragement to help you begin

487
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:37,359
Speaker 1: each day with a fresh attitude, grateful that you're alive.

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00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:40,640
Speaker 1: It's amazing what happens when you take three minutes and

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00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,320
Speaker 1: speak blessings over your life and declaring God's favor. Three

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00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:46,360
Speaker 1: Minute Mornings is our gift to you.

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00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:49,280
Speaker 3: As our way of saying thank you for your gift

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00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,760
Speaker 3: of any amount. This month, we would like to send

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00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:55,400
Speaker 3: you a copy of Joel's new devotional three Minute Mornings

494
00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:59,320
Speaker 3: Start your Day in faith. This powerful book will open

495
00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:03,240
Speaker 3: the pathways to experience God's presence and peace in your life,

496
00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:07,760
Speaker 3: and there you will find renewed energy, assurance, and wisdom

497
00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:11,160
Speaker 3: to face your day. The Bible promises that God is

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00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:14,560
Speaker 3: a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. So as

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00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:17,880
Speaker 3: you cause for only three minutes and take in his

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00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:21,640
Speaker 3: wonderful promises in this book, you will be positioning yourself

501
00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:24,800
Speaker 3: to receive all the amazing things that God has in

502
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:28,400
Speaker 3: store for you. Please request your copy today and watch

503
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:33,640
Speaker 3: anxiety turn to divine answers, weakness to strength, problems to

504
00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:39,959
Speaker 3: renewed possibilities, frustrations to God's favor. Yes, only three minutes

505
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,000
Speaker 3: will transform your entire day.

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00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:44,840
Speaker 1: From the time I was a little boy, my parents

507
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,760
Speaker 1: taught me the value of starting the day off in faith.

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00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:51,440
Speaker 1: Three minute mornings will help you do just that. Victoria

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00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:54,400
Speaker 1: and I pray for you every day for God's very best.

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00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:57,280
Speaker 1: We want to thank you for your prayer and support.

511
00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:01,080
Speaker 1: You're impacting people all over the world. A special thank

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00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:04,160
Speaker 1: you to our Champion of Hope partners for your monthly support.

513
00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:07,560
Speaker 1: If you're not a partner, I hope you'll consider becoming one.

514
00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:11,360
Speaker 1: Remember you can watch the services online every Sunday morning,

515
00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:15,959
Speaker 1: download our daily podcast, listen on Serious Exam, watch our

516
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:20,000
Speaker 1: YouTube channel and the Joel Ostein Network streaming on television

517
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,960
Speaker 1: twenty four hours a day until we see you again.

518
00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:25,200
Speaker 1: May the Lord bless you and keep you.

519
00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:28,960
Speaker 3: Be sure to request your copy of three Minute Mornings

520
00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:32,880
Speaker 3: Start your day in faith. Visit Joelostein dot com or

521
00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:36,800
Speaker 3: call eight eight eight five six seven Joel for an

522
00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:40,360
Speaker 3: additional donation. This month, we are also offering the Faith

523
00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:44,120
Speaker 3: and Freedom Bundle. You'll receive an additional devotion, all filled

524
00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:47,160
Speaker 3: with daily wisdom to guide you in living with favor,

525
00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:51,760
Speaker 3: focus and freedom. Also available, our Morning Power and Peace

526
00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:57,520
Speaker 3: Collection includes Power, provision and peace beautifully bound and timeless elegance.

527
00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:02,160
Speaker 3: This dynamic New Testament the Passion Translation helps you walk

528
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Speaker 3: in God's best. You can request these inspiring resources by

529
00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:10,160
Speaker 3: calling eight eight eight five six seven Joel or logging

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00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:14,640
Speaker 3: on to Jolosdein dot com today. Call or click any time,

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00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:19,400
Speaker 3: twenty four hours a day, be inspired every morning. Request

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Speaker 3: your copies today