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This is Joel and Victoria. 34 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 6: Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting 35 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 6: the ministry. 36 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 5: If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a 37 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 5: blessing and share it with a friend. 38 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 6: We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in 39 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:58,520 Speaker 6: your life, and God bless you so joy to come 40 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 6: into your homes. I love you, and we know God 41 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 6: has great things in store. If you're ever in the 42 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:06,400 Speaker 6: Houston area, why don't you come out and see us. 43 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 6: I promise you these are the finest people in all 44 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,560 Speaker 6: of Houston, Texas. Right here at Lakewood. We'll make you 45 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 6: feel right at home. Thanks for tuning in today, and 46 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:16,919 Speaker 6: thank you again for coming out. And I like to 47 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 6: start with something funny each week. And these are not 48 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:23,680 Speaker 6: doctrinally correct, especially today, but just to make us laugh. 49 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 4: Heard about this husband and wife. 50 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 6: They were celebrating their sixtieth birthdays together, an the angel 51 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 6: suddenly appeared and said that God was going to grant 52 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 6: them each one special request. 53 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 4: They were so excited. 54 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 6: The wife said, my request is that we'd be able 55 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 6: to travel all over the world, and poof, when the 56 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 6: smoke cleared, she had tickets in her hand. The husband 57 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 6: hung his head in shame, said, my request is that 58 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 6: I'd be married to a woman thirty years younger than me, 59 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 6: and poof, when the smoke cleared, he was ninety years old. 60 00:02:57,600 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 4: All right, hold up your Bible. 61 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 6: Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 62 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 6: I am what it says. 63 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:04,239 Speaker 4: I am. 64 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 6: I have what it says I have. I can do 65 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 6: what it says I can do. Today I will be 66 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 6: taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind 67 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 6: is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 68 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 6: the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 69 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 6: to talk to you today about wearing your blessings well. 70 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 6: Our God is a rewarder of those that seek him. 71 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 6: When you keep God first place and do your best 72 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 6: to honor him, the scripture says, his blessings. 73 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 4: Will chase you down and overtake you. 74 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 6: That means you will come into increase, promotion, good breaks 75 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 6: that you didn't necessarily deserve. That's God rewarding you for 76 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 6: walking in his ways. And we see this principle in 77 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 6: the Old Testament. 78 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 4: With Ruth. 79 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 6: She was out in the fields, following behind the workers, 80 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 6: gathering up the leftover wheak that they admit. She was 81 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 6: being her best, trying to take care of her mother 82 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 6: in law, Naomi, but they were barely surviving. One day, 83 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 6: the owner of the fields told those workers to leave 84 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 6: handfuls of wheat on. 85 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 4: Purpose for Ruth. 86 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:19,159 Speaker 6: Now Ruth didn't have to struggle anymore, she didn't have 87 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 6: to work night and day. Ruth came into blessings that 88 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 6: were simply dropped at her feet. Every one of us 89 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 6: can look back and see times where God has left 90 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 6: us handfuls on purpose, something that we didn't deserve. We 91 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 6: didn't have to struggle, we didn't even ask for it, 92 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 6: We just stumbled into it. That's a handful on purpose. 93 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:46,839 Speaker 6: Now here's my challenge. Don't apologize for God's goodness. Don't 94 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 6: downplay what God has done in your life. Don't make 95 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,719 Speaker 6: excuses because a friend might get jealous. Don't try to 96 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,840 Speaker 6: hide God's blessings because a coworker might judge you and 97 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 6: think that it's not fair. Know where your blessings well, 98 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 6: you may not have deserved it, but you know what, 99 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:09,159 Speaker 6: favor is not always fair, It's just the goodness of God. 100 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 6: The moment you start apologizing for what God has done 101 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,279 Speaker 6: and downplaying his goodness is when God will go find 102 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 6: somebody else to show his favor too. Now I'm not 103 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 6: saying to go around showing off and bragging on what 104 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:26,559 Speaker 6: you have and on how great you are. Now I'm saying, 105 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 6: go around bragging on how great God is. We used 106 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,119 Speaker 6: to sing a song growing up, Look what the Lord 107 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 6: has done all through the day. We should be bragging 108 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 6: on God's goodness. Let me tell you how God healed 109 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:41,280 Speaker 6: my mother. Let me tell you how God gave us 110 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:43,279 Speaker 6: this building. Let me tell you how I met my 111 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:47,360 Speaker 6: beautiful wife Victoria. When you're bragging on God's goodness, when 112 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 6: you're giving him all the credit, you are wearing your 113 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 6: blessings well, and David said in Psalm Oneint. Eighteen, this 114 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 6: is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. 115 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 6: That should be our attitude. Every good thing that happens, 116 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 6: this is the Lord's doing. You know what this beautiful 117 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:08,720 Speaker 6: building is, It's the Lord's doing. My mother being alive 118 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 6: thirty years after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, you know 119 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 6: what that is. That's the Lord's doing. It's marvelous in 120 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:21,480 Speaker 6: our eyes. If you will always see the promotion, the 121 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:25,720 Speaker 6: good break, the healing, the new opportunity as the Lord's doing, 122 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 6: you won't have any problem wearing your blessings well. But 123 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 6: I used to kind of feel guilty that God's given 124 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 6: me such a great life. I've always been happy, been 125 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 6: blessed to have great parents and grandparents, a beautiful wife, 126 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:41,960 Speaker 6: and again and again, Victoria and I have seen these 127 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 6: handfuls on purpose. God blessed us in a real estate 128 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 6: deal just in an abundant way. We didn't have to 129 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 6: work for it. We were just at the right place 130 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:54,479 Speaker 6: at the right time. It was the Lord's doing. But 131 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 6: when I used to see people that had a hard 132 00:06:57,200 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 6: life and didn't have good parents and had to struggle 133 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:04,360 Speaker 6: to overcome things. I would naturally try to downplay how 134 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 6: God has blessed me, after all, I didn't want to 135 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 6: make them feel bad. But I've learned that doesn't bring 136 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 6: any honor to God. God wants to us to be 137 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 6: an example of his goodness. I know now I don't 138 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 6: have to apologize if I get a handful on purpose 139 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 6: and somebody else doesn't. I don't have to hide my joy, 140 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 6: my peace, my. 141 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 4: Victory, my possessions. 142 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 6: I don't have to dress down and look poor and 143 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:33,120 Speaker 6: pitiful and depressed to show people that I'm really humble. Now, 144 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 6: when you'll wear your blessings well, giving God all the credit, 145 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 6: talking about his goodness, thanking him for what he's done, 146 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 6: that's what really brings honor to our God. A few 147 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 6: years after I started ministering, a well known reporter referred 148 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 6: to me as the smiling Preacher, and that story caught 149 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 6: on and went all over the world. For some people 150 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:58,480 Speaker 6: use that term in a derogatory sense, like why does 151 00:07:58,520 --> 00:07:59,559 Speaker 6: he smile so much? 152 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 4: What's wrong with him? He couldn't be that happy. 153 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 6: And I was young and new, and at first I thought, well, 154 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 6: maybe I shouldn't smile so much. People are making fun 155 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 6: then I realized what I'm telling you. I don't have 156 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,280 Speaker 6: to hide God's blessings. I don't have to apologize because 157 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 6: I smile all the time. I'm going to wear my 158 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 6: blessing well. If you don't like the fact that I 159 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 6: smile so much, then take this. 160 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 4: I'll be the first to. 161 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 6: Admit I'm happy. God's been good to me. I'm blessed, 162 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 6: I'm prosperous. I got joy, I got feast, I got victory. 163 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 6: And you know what, I'm not going to apologize for 164 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 6: the goodness of God. Some of you used to be 165 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 6: bound by all kinds of addictions and bad habits, but 166 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 6: now you're totally free. 167 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 4: Let me challenge you. 168 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,560 Speaker 6: Wear that blessing well. Tell everyone what God has done 169 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 6: for you. They may call you far out, a fanatic man. 170 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 6: Why are you so happy? Why are you always helping others? 171 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:01,440 Speaker 6: What's up with you? Just tell them I'm wearing my 172 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,720 Speaker 6: blessing well. God's been so good to me. I can't 173 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 6: keep it to myself. I got to tell somebody I 174 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 6: once was lost, but now I'm found. I should be dead, 175 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 6: but I'm still alive. I used to live stone, but 176 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 6: now I'm. 177 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 4: In my right mind. 178 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:19,839 Speaker 6: Look what the Lord has done. That's wearing your blessing well. 179 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,440 Speaker 6: Some of you used to be depressed and discouraged and 180 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 6: bitter and angry, but now you're joyful. You gotta smile 181 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 6: on your face. You got a spring in your step. 182 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 6: You're excited about twenty eleven. Some of your coworkers may say, 183 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 6: come on, man, calm down, chill out, lay off that 184 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 6: happiness stuff. Listen, Let that go in one ear and 185 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:42,560 Speaker 6: out the other. Don't let them affect you. You keep 186 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,960 Speaker 6: wearing your blessing well, and over time, instead of them 187 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 6: affecting you, you will infect them. 188 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:50,040 Speaker 4: You will help them to come up higher. 189 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,080 Speaker 6: When you dress your best, you're wearing your blessing well. 190 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 6: When you step up and take that promotion, you're wearing 191 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 6: that blessing well. When God opens the and you move 192 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 6: into that new house you've been believing for. 193 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 4: Other people may. 194 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 6: Talk or they didn't need that house. Why they leave 195 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,079 Speaker 6: our neighborhood. They must think they're too good for us. No, 196 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 6: you're not too good for them. You're just wearing your 197 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 6: blessing well. Now, don't let some negative, jealous, critical, judgmental, bitter, angry, 198 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 6: non smiling person try to make you feel guilty, ashamed, embarrassed. 199 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 6: Try Sometimes they'll try to convince you that you're supposed 200 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 6: to drag around defeated, depressed, never have anything to show 201 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,680 Speaker 6: God that you're really humble, to show God that you 202 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:41,679 Speaker 6: really love him. Now, that is a religious judgmental spirit. 203 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:46,599 Speaker 6: If you want to please God, don't drag around broke, defeated, depressed. 204 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,440 Speaker 4: Wear your blessings well, step up to a. 205 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 6: New level, enjoy God's favor. Be proud of who you 206 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 6: are and of what God has done in your life. 207 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:59,480 Speaker 6: My father grew up during the Great Depression and his 208 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,520 Speaker 6: family was very poor, and he developed this poverty mindset. 209 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 6: He was even taught in seminary that you had to 210 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:10,240 Speaker 6: be poor to show that you were really holy. The 211 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 6: first church that he pastored made sure that he stayed 212 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:17,439 Speaker 6: holy by keeping him poor. He and my mother made 213 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 6: one hundred and fifteen dollars a week trying to raise 214 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 6: five children. 215 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 4: One time, they had a guest. 216 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 6: Minister in the church, and my parents kept that man 217 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:28,560 Speaker 6: in our house all during the week, and after the 218 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 6: Sunday service, a member of the congregation, a businessman, came 219 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:35,080 Speaker 6: up to my father and handed Daddy a check for 220 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 6: one thousand dollars, one thousand dollars back then, like ten 221 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 6: thousand dollars today. He said, Pastor, I want you to 222 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,560 Speaker 6: have this personally, because you've had a lot of extra 223 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 6: expenses keeping this. 224 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:46,839 Speaker 4: Man in your home. 225 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:51,840 Speaker 6: But my father had been so programmed with this poverty mentality, 226 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 6: with this false sense of humility. He took that check 227 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 6: by the very top corner like it was poisonous, like it. 228 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:00,560 Speaker 4: Might contamnminate him. 229 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:03,880 Speaker 6: He said, oh no, brother, I could never keep this 230 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:04,679 Speaker 6: from myself. 231 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 4: We must put this in the church offering. 232 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 6: Daddy walked over toward the offering plate, and with every 233 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,840 Speaker 6: step something on the inside said, don't do it. Receive 234 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 6: God's blessings, receive God's goodness. 235 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 4: He ignored it and dropped it in the offering plate. 236 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 4: He said, when he did, he felt sick to his stomach. 237 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,520 Speaker 6: He knew down inside he was supposed to have that, 238 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 6: and thank God. One day my father broke out of 239 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 6: that poverty mindset. He read the scripture in Psalms, the 240 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:35,280 Speaker 6: Lord takes pleasure in the prosperity of his children. He 241 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 6: began to understand that it brings a smile to God's 242 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 6: face when we live an abundant life. When we prosper 243 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:47,440 Speaker 6: in our health, in our relationships, and in our finances, 244 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:50,680 Speaker 6: he got a new vision. He quit feeling guilty for 245 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:55,079 Speaker 6: God's blessings. He started learning how to receive those handfuls 246 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 6: on purpose. I say this respectfully, but we have to 247 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:03,080 Speaker 6: fight that RelA religious spirit that says we're supposed. 248 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:06,760 Speaker 4: To be poor and broke and defeated to prove to 249 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:08,680 Speaker 4: everyone that we're really humble. 250 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 6: Now when we're poor and broke and defeated, all that 251 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 6: proves is that we're poor and broke and defeated. 252 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 4: Nobody's going to want what we have. 253 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 6: I can be poor, broken, defeated without serving God. We're 254 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:25,920 Speaker 6: supposed to be examples of what it means to live 255 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 6: for the. 256 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:28,920 Speaker 4: Most high God. We should be. 257 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 6: We should be so blessed, so prosperous, so kind, so generous, 258 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:35,679 Speaker 6: so happy, so. 259 00:13:35,679 --> 00:13:37,680 Speaker 4: Peaceful that people want what we have. 260 00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:41,240 Speaker 6: And if you think, like my father, that you're showing 261 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,240 Speaker 6: God how holy you are and how humble you are 262 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:49,040 Speaker 6: by not wearing your blessings, not taking that promotion, your 263 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,320 Speaker 6: own thinking is what's keeping God from doing something new. 264 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 4: You have to enlarge your. 265 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 6: Vision, friends, God owns it all God blessing you in 266 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 6: a greater way is not going to bay rubbed heaven. 267 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 4: God makes streets out of gold. 268 00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:04,679 Speaker 6: If you want to bring a smile to God's face, 269 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 6: have an. 270 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 4: Abundant life mentality. 271 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:10,760 Speaker 6: One time, Victoria and I found these two acres that 272 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 6: we really wanted to buy. We wanted to build a 273 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 6: house on it, and it was a valuable piece of 274 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 6: property close into the city. And God's blessed us through 275 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 6: our books and other avenues, and we not only tie 276 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:24,640 Speaker 6: their income and we give generously, but we also believe 277 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 6: in making good investments. And I was praying and debating 278 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 6: whether we should buy this property, and I thought, you 279 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:33,240 Speaker 6: know what, we don't really need two acres to live on. 280 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:34,520 Speaker 4: We're fine where we are. 281 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 6: Down deep, I wanted it, it was a desire of 282 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 6: my heart, but I kind of felt guilty, like it 283 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 6: was more than we needed. One day, I was on 284 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 6: an airplane thirty five thousand feet in the air. It 285 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 6: was a clear, beautiful day, and I was sitting by 286 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:52,240 Speaker 6: the window looking out toward the ground, and I heard 287 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 6: God say something to me, not out loud, but just 288 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 6: down in here an impression. 289 00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 4: He said, Joe, you wonder. 290 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 6: If it's okay to buy that property. What do you 291 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 6: think those two acres look like? To me? What do 292 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:07,360 Speaker 6: you think it looks like from my point of view? 293 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:10,880 Speaker 6: From my perspective, Well, from where I was thirty five 294 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 6: thousand feet in the air, two acres looked like a 295 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 6: little dot, just like you took your pen and touched 296 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 6: the earth. 297 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 4: It was nothing. 298 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 6: I felt God say, Joel, I give you permission. It's 299 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 6: okay to have enough land the size of a pen 300 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,720 Speaker 6: head to me. See, we think so small, we think limited. 301 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:28,840 Speaker 6: God owns it all. 302 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:32,440 Speaker 4: The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. We 303 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:34,320 Speaker 4: have to enlarge our vision. 304 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,040 Speaker 6: So often we think, is it wrong for me to 305 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,280 Speaker 6: want to live in a nice house? Is it wrong 306 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 6: for me to want a bigger piece of property? Is 307 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 6: it selfish for me to want to drive a nice car? 308 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:47,280 Speaker 6: Is it okay for me to want to bless my 309 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 6: children and leave them an inheritance? God is saying, it's 310 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 6: okay where your blessings. Well, as long as you're keeping 311 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:58,320 Speaker 6: God first place, and you're not living selfishly, and you're 312 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 6: not making those things of an idol, then God wants 313 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 6: to give you the desires of your heart. He takes 314 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 6: pleasure in prospering his children. I was talking to a 315 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 6: young man after the service not long ago. He works 316 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 6: for this major retail company and he'd just gotten. 317 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:15,240 Speaker 4: A big promotion. 318 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,640 Speaker 6: In fact, he's the youngest person to ever hold this 319 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:22,360 Speaker 6: position in this company. He oversees the largest region of 320 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,560 Speaker 6: the country, and he was very excited. He knew it 321 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:29,280 Speaker 6: was God's favor, but he got promoted over people that 322 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 6: had been there much longer than him, that had. 323 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 4: Much more experience. 324 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 6: They had been his friends, but now they were sort 325 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 6: of avoiding him, starting to talk behind his back and 326 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 6: starting to try to make him look bad. He said, Joel, 327 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,600 Speaker 6: I know this is Ephesians three twenty. This is just 328 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 6: what you've been talking about. But I feel kind of guilty, 329 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 6: like I've done something wrong. I told him what I'm 330 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:56,320 Speaker 6: telling you, that is the goodness of God were it will. 331 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,200 Speaker 6: Favor is not always fair, and the scripture said as 332 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:04,160 Speaker 6: promotion doesn't come from people, Promotion comes from the Lord. 333 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:06,640 Speaker 6: And if you don't step up and wear that blessing, 334 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,879 Speaker 6: take that promotion with a grateful attitude, you know what'll happen. 335 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:13,439 Speaker 6: God will give it to somebody else. And I've learned 336 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,400 Speaker 6: Some people will be your friend until you get promoted. 337 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 6: Some people will go to lunch with you as long 338 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,199 Speaker 6: as you're at the same level. But the moment you 339 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:26,880 Speaker 6: see increase, the moment you come into a handful on purpose, 340 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,960 Speaker 6: they get jealous and critical, try to make it look bad. 341 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 6: Just don't worry about it. God will fight your battles. 342 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,879 Speaker 6: God will take care of your enemies. You don't let 343 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,880 Speaker 6: anything make you feel guilty, embarrassed, ashamed. That's the goodness 344 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 6: of God. Learn to wear it well. We see an 345 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 6: example of this in the scripture. One time Isaac was 346 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:49,159 Speaker 6: in a famine. There'd been a great draft in the 347 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:51,720 Speaker 6: land for some time. Didn't look like there was any 348 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:55,239 Speaker 6: end in sight. Isaac went out to his land and 349 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:59,119 Speaker 6: he planted crops right in the middle of the famine. 350 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:03,080 Speaker 6: Didn't make it any but somehow, in that same year, 351 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:08,000 Speaker 6: without the proper amount of water. The scripture says, Isaac 352 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 6: received one hundred times what he had sown because the 353 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:17,119 Speaker 6: Lord blessed him. Notice where the blessing came from, Almighty God. 354 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:21,640 Speaker 6: It was a handful on purpose, just like Ruth supernatural increase. 355 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:25,200 Speaker 6: But what's interesting is when his crops came up, when 356 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:29,560 Speaker 6: God blessed him the people he was living around, the Philistines, 357 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 6: his friends. All of a sudden they got jealous of him. 358 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:34,840 Speaker 4: It's funny. 359 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:38,000 Speaker 6: They were fine before. As long as he was broke, 360 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:40,440 Speaker 6: they were tight. As long as they were at the 361 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 6: same level, it was no big deal. But when he 362 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 6: stepped up to a new level, when he began to 363 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:51,320 Speaker 6: wear his blessings well, the scripture says, the Philistines hated Isaac. 364 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 6: If you worry about everybody liking you, you're gonna have 365 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 6: a problem being blessed, because when you're blessed, the haters 366 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 6: come out. When you step up to a new level, 367 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 6: the backbiter show up. When you wear that blessing well 368 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,760 Speaker 6: and you take one of those handfuls on purpose, gonna 369 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:11,840 Speaker 6: be surprised if it draws jealousy out of people. And 370 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:13,960 Speaker 6: we got to get to the point where we say, 371 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:18,919 Speaker 6: not arrogantly, but in humility, I'm gonna wear this blessing well. 372 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 6: In Spider who doesn't like it, I'm gonna take this 373 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 6: promotion in Spider who gets jealous. I'm gonna drive this 374 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,880 Speaker 6: car in spite of who criticizes. I'm gonna move into 375 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:31,639 Speaker 6: this neighborhood in spite of who judges me. Friend's life 376 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:34,840 Speaker 6: is way too short to worry about what everybody thinks. 377 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:38,280 Speaker 6: If your friends get jealous and judge you and are critical, 378 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:41,720 Speaker 6: let me tell you need some new friends, because true 379 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 6: friends celebrate you, True friends cheer your own. 380 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:49,199 Speaker 4: True friends are happy when you succeed. What would have 381 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:53,480 Speaker 4: happened if Ruth would have worried about what everybody thought. 382 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 6: What if she'd have said, I can't take these handfuls 383 00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:59,040 Speaker 6: on purpose. I can't take this wheat for free, these 384 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:00,280 Speaker 6: other workers. 385 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:01,600 Speaker 4: Or having to work for it. 386 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,440 Speaker 6: They're gonna be jealous, They're gonna have an attitude, they're 387 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:05,560 Speaker 6: gonna talk bad about me. 388 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:07,200 Speaker 4: No, she understood this. 389 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 6: Principle that favor is not always fair. She didn't apologize 390 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:13,879 Speaker 6: for it. She didn't try to hide the wheat and 391 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,800 Speaker 6: run off. No, she said, like David, this is the 392 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 6: Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. In other words, 393 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 6: she wore her blessing. Well, a friend of mine was 394 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 6: here the other day, and he pastors a church in 395 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,920 Speaker 6: another state, and they meet in a high school auditorium, 396 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,600 Speaker 6: So every Sunday they have to move their equipment in and. 397 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:33,840 Speaker 4: Out, and it's a lot of work. 398 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:37,680 Speaker 6: His dream is to one day build his own auditorium. 399 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:40,440 Speaker 6: We were in the back and at first I thought, 400 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:42,960 Speaker 6: I Am not going to go show him our sanctuary. 401 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:45,080 Speaker 4: That is gonna look like I'm bragging. 402 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:47,760 Speaker 6: It's too big. He's not gonna be impressed by it. 403 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,439 Speaker 6: He's gonna be depressed by it. I was tempted to 404 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:54,560 Speaker 6: downplay it and kind of apologize for it. Then I realized, 405 00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 6: I'm not bragging on us. I'm bragging on what God 406 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,359 Speaker 6: has done. I had to shake off that, and I 407 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:01,639 Speaker 6: brought him out here and said, here it is. 408 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:03,680 Speaker 4: Look what the Lord has done. 409 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:06,399 Speaker 6: Before he left, I reminded him, if God did. 410 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:08,200 Speaker 4: It for us, he can do it for you as well. 411 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 6: Don't apologize for God's good bliss. See, I realized the 412 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:18,000 Speaker 6: reason I'm standing here is because I have parents that 413 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,800 Speaker 6: sowed seeds for forty years before I ever got here. 414 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:27,000 Speaker 6: I'm reaping the rewards of a generational blessing. My grandmother 415 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 6: on my father's side, during the Great Depression, she made 416 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:33,280 Speaker 6: ten cents an hour washing people's clothes. 417 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,359 Speaker 4: She worked twelve hours a day, made a dollar and 418 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:37,199 Speaker 4: twenty cents. 419 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:40,880 Speaker 6: My father went to school with holes in his pants, 420 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 6: and he would put cardboard in the bottom of his 421 00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:46,400 Speaker 6: shoes because those shoes were so torn up. They made 422 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:50,000 Speaker 6: great sacrifices to get us where we are today. I'm 423 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,000 Speaker 6: going to wear my blessings well. People may criticize, they 424 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:57,560 Speaker 6: may judge you, they may find fault, but they don't 425 00:21:57,600 --> 00:21:59,880 Speaker 6: know what it took to get you to where you are. 426 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:03,880 Speaker 6: They weren't there when we used to come down as 427 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 6: a family when I was a little boy and sweep. 428 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 4: The church out, cleaned the buildings. 429 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 6: They weren't there when my father used to travel for 430 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 6: several weeks at a time overseas doing missionary work. When 431 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:17,080 Speaker 6: my mother taking care of five children on her own. 432 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,480 Speaker 6: They weren't there when my mom was diagnosed with terminal 433 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,440 Speaker 6: cancer and we fought the good fight of faith. They 434 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:25,399 Speaker 6: weren't there when my father went to be with the 435 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 6: Lord and I stepped up to pass the church practically 436 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 6: scared to death. Some people come in at the end 437 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:35,520 Speaker 6: of the movie and they see you blessed and prosperous 438 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:38,680 Speaker 6: and healthy and sober and free and happy, and they 439 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:41,879 Speaker 6: want to judge you and criticize. But the problem is 440 00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:45,440 Speaker 6: they missed the first part. They didn't see the sacrifices 441 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:47,920 Speaker 6: that your relatives may They didn't see. 442 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:49,400 Speaker 4: The struggles that you endured. 443 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 6: They didn't see the battles that you fought, the times 444 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:57,879 Speaker 6: you felt like giving up, but you kept pressing forward, 445 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:00,960 Speaker 6: the knights that you stayed up in, prayed, maid and believed, 446 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:04,199 Speaker 6: and gave and served. They didn't see the price that 447 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:07,199 Speaker 6: was paid to get you to where you are. That 448 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,240 Speaker 6: blessing may look free, but the truth is it costs 449 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,960 Speaker 6: you something. Like Ruth that handful of purpose. It came 450 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 6: after she buried her husband, after her father in law 451 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:21,200 Speaker 6: had died. She had suffered great heartache and pain, and 452 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:23,879 Speaker 6: I'm sure some of those workers said, hey, it's not fair. 453 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,399 Speaker 6: Why is this lady getting all this free wheat and 454 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:29,520 Speaker 6: we're having to work. They didn't realize Ruth had paid 455 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,880 Speaker 6: the price. She had proven herself as being faithful, She 456 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:34,440 Speaker 6: was taking care of her loved ones. 457 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:36,480 Speaker 4: Now God was rewarding her. 458 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 6: Some of you, your relatives, were treated like they were 459 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:43,760 Speaker 6: second class, made to sit in the back of the bus, 460 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:50,320 Speaker 6: suffered great injustice the whole time, believing for a better day, hoping, praying, 461 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 6: singing songs of freedom. 462 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:54,560 Speaker 4: Now you are living in the day. 463 00:23:54,800 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 6: They dreamed of where they're blessing. Well, we don't let 464 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:03,840 Speaker 6: anyone make you feel guilty for the favor, the honor, 465 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,639 Speaker 6: the joy, the peace, the victory that God has given you. 466 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 6: Somebody paid the price seeds were sown. If you could 467 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 6: look back in your family line and see the sacrifices 468 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:17,239 Speaker 6: that people made by doing the right thing when it 469 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:19,880 Speaker 6: was hard, when it was unfair, that you would make 470 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,760 Speaker 6: sure that nothing kept you from wearing your blessings. 471 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 3: Well. 472 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 6: The scripture talks about this. It says we will live 473 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:27,760 Speaker 6: in houses. 474 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 4: That we did not build. We will reap from vineyards 475 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,000 Speaker 4: that we did not plan. 476 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:35,960 Speaker 6: Those are generational blessings, God rewarding us for the seeds 477 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,560 Speaker 6: other people have sown. My grandmother that made ten cents 478 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:42,560 Speaker 6: an hour, Today I'm wearing her blessings. 479 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 4: Well. My grandfather on my mom's. 480 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 6: Side, he worked at the Baytown Exon refinery for thirty 481 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:53,840 Speaker 6: five years and never missed a single day of work. Today, 482 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 6: I'm reaping from the seeds that he is sown. Sometimes 483 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,440 Speaker 6: when we stumble into that handful on par purpose and 484 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:03,640 Speaker 6: God gives us something we don't deserve, what we don't 485 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:08,159 Speaker 6: realize is somebody in our family line sowed seeds every 486 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 6: act of kindness. Every time one of your relatives sacrificed 487 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,879 Speaker 6: and honored God, God saw it. They may not have 488 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:19,280 Speaker 6: reaped a reward in their lifetime, but God is faithful. 489 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:22,760 Speaker 6: He doesn't forget about it. Now, when you run into 490 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 6: one of those handfuls on purpose, that's God honoring your past, 491 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:30,160 Speaker 6: blessing you for seeds that people have sown before you. 492 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,160 Speaker 6: And again, I know the reason I'm here is for 493 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:37,480 Speaker 6: forty years my parents served and gaveed and helped others. 494 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:39,320 Speaker 4: I hear reports all the time. 495 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,200 Speaker 6: Joe, your dad came up to the hospital and prayed 496 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:45,080 Speaker 6: for my loved one. Your mother called my friend when 497 00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 6: she was so sick and encouraged her. Your parents came 498 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 6: to our home when we lost one of our relatives. 499 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:51,439 Speaker 4: Again and again. 500 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:54,960 Speaker 6: Just last week, a gentleman stopped me and told me 501 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:58,520 Speaker 6: how my father bumped into him on a downtown street 502 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 6: here in Houston, back in the nineteen seventies. My dad 503 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 6: didn't know this young man, and this young man was 504 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:06,960 Speaker 6: at one of the lowest points in his life. He 505 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,680 Speaker 6: had just dropped out of school, didn't have any direction. 506 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:12,240 Speaker 6: But my father came up to him and gave him 507 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,400 Speaker 6: one hundred dollars and he said, young men, I don't 508 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 6: know you, but God's got a. 509 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:18,720 Speaker 4: Great plan for your life. You keep moving forward. That 510 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:20,600 Speaker 4: was a turning point in his life. 511 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,159 Speaker 6: He went back to school God. His education today is 512 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:28,200 Speaker 6: a medical doctrine. He's got a very successful practice. You know, Listen, 513 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,879 Speaker 6: when I wear my blessings, well, I'm not only honoring God. 514 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,439 Speaker 6: I'm honoring my earthly father who gave his life to 515 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,439 Speaker 6: help others. I'm honoring my mother who has cared for 516 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:43,520 Speaker 6: so many. I'm honoring my grandmother that worked tirelessly. I'm 517 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 6: honoring my grandfather that gave and served. When you see 518 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:52,560 Speaker 6: me standing here, happy, healthy, blessed, prosperous, I make no apologies. 519 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:56,840 Speaker 6: It's the goodness of God being passed from generation to generation. 520 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:01,520 Speaker 6: I'm not going to down play it. I'm not gonna 521 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:05,960 Speaker 6: make excuses. I know God takes pleasure in the prosperity 522 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 6: of his children, and our attitude should be not look 523 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 6: how great I am, Look at what all I have. 524 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:14,359 Speaker 6: No turn it around, look at how great God is. 525 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:16,560 Speaker 6: Look what the Lord has done in my life and 526 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:19,800 Speaker 6: my family all through the day. We should be bragging 527 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 6: on the goodness of God. We may not have deserved it, 528 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:26,000 Speaker 6: we didn't earn it. Many times, it's just another handful 529 00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:30,000 Speaker 6: on purpose. Favor is not always fair. Now, don't let 530 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:35,080 Speaker 6: some negative, judgmental, jealous person or even your own thoughts 531 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:38,159 Speaker 6: try to convince you to not where the blessings God's 532 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:38,640 Speaker 6: given you. 533 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,280 Speaker 4: Drive that nice car. It is the Lord's doing. 534 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:44,840 Speaker 6: Live in that beautiful house that God gave you. 535 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:46,000 Speaker 4: It's the Lord's doing. 536 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:49,119 Speaker 6: Step up and take that promotion. It's the goodness of God. 537 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:52,240 Speaker 6: Smile even if people make fun of you, don't hide 538 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:52,680 Speaker 6: your gift. 539 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:53,760 Speaker 4: God gave it to you. 540 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:57,240 Speaker 6: Listen, people are always gonna talk. That's their problem, not 541 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,520 Speaker 6: yours and friends. If you will wear your blessed well, 542 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:04,320 Speaker 6: being quick to always give God the credit, then there's 543 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:06,840 Speaker 6: no limit to where God will take you. He'll make 544 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:10,840 Speaker 6: you an example of what it means to live a blessed, prosperous, 545 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,600 Speaker 6: abundant life. Now, I believe and declare you're not going 546 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 6: to have an average, mediocre get by a year. You're 547 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:20,720 Speaker 6: going to have an exceptional year filled with God's far 548 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:24,720 Speaker 6: and beyond favor, increase, promotion and good breaks. Come on, 549 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:26,879 Speaker 6: give the Lord a shat of praise one more time today. 550 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 4: We never like to close our. 551 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:34,439 Speaker 6: Broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the 552 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:37,320 Speaker 6: Lord of your life. Not talking about joining a church 553 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,840 Speaker 6: or finding religion. I'm talking about having a relationship with 554 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:42,280 Speaker 6: the creator of the universe. 555 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:43,280 Speaker 4: Would you pray with me? 556 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:48,960 Speaker 6: Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come 557 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:49,720 Speaker 6: into my heart. 558 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:52,440 Speaker 4: I make you my Lord and savior. 559 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:56,200 Speaker 6: Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you 560 00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:59,040 Speaker 6: got born again. Get in a good Bible based church. 561 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:02,440 Speaker 6: Keep God first place. He'll take your places that you've 562 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:03,120 Speaker 6: never dreamed of. 563 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:06,760 Speaker 7: Thank you for listening to the joel Osteine podcast. Help 564 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 7: us continue to share the message of hope with those 565 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:13,560 Speaker 7: all over the world. Visit Joelostin dot com slash give 566 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:15,320 Speaker 7: Hope to give a gift today. 567 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,040 Speaker 4: Thanks so much for listening to today's message. 568 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:21,920 Speaker 6: I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest 569 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:23,400 Speaker 6: podcast to keep. 570 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:26,200 Speaker 4: You inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. 571 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:28,840 Speaker 4: I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you 572 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 4: next time.