Blessings Prepared for You

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See terms and conditions at UNEs 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:30.080 dot co. 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:34.800 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for downloading our podcast. 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:37.880 We enjoy spending this time with you. I hope you'll 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:41.319 leave Inspire. Make sure you subscribe to get new messages 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:44.360 every week. We appreciate your support. It helps keep the 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:45.240 ministry going. 0:01:45.640 --> 0:02:00.200 Enjoy the message. 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:03.120 Well, God bless you. It's always a joy to come 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:05.559 into your homes and if you're ever in our area, 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:07.600 please stop by and be a part of one of 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:10.240 our services. I promise you will make you feel right 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:12.720 at home. But thanks so much for tuning in, and 0:02:12.800 --> 0:02:15.240 thank you again for coming out today. And I like 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:17.919 to start with something funny. I heard about this eighty 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:20.880 five year old man. He was out fishing one morning 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:24.600 and he heard this voice saying, pick me up. Looked around, 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:27.680 didn't see anybody, thought he was dreaming. Heard it again, 0:02:27.800 --> 0:02:30.560 pick me up. He looked down and saw a frog. 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:33.840 He said in amazement, are you talking to me? The 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:36.760 frog said yes, pick me up and kiss me, and 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:40.360 I'll turn into a beautiful bride. The man quickly picked 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:42.360 the frog up and put him in his front pocket. 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:44.200 The frog said, hey, what are you doing. I said, 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:46.800 kiss me and I'll turn into a beautiful bride. The 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:49.480 man said no, thanks. At my age, I'd rather have 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:54.080 a talking frog. Hold your bibles up, say it like 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:56.880 you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what 0:02:57.000 --> 0:02:59.320 it says. I am. I have what it says I have. 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:02.400 I can do what it says I can do. Today 0:03:02.520 --> 0:03:05.200 I will be taught the word of God. I'll boldly 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:09.080 confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:12.960 will never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:17.440 I want to talk to you today. About prepared blessings. 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:20.760 When God laid out the plan for your life, he 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:25.080 lined up the right people, the right breaks, the right opportunities. 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:28.720 He has blessings that have your name on them. There 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:34.760 is promotion, contracts, a business, a spouse. He's already destined 0:03:34.760 --> 0:03:37.360 them to be yours. And if you will stay in 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:40.800 faith and keep honoring God, one day you will come 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:44.880 in to what already belongs to you. It's a prepared blessing. 0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:48.280 This is what happened way back with Adam and Eve. 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:51.120 In the Book of Genesis, it talks about how the 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:55.200 first five days God created the heavens, the earth, the sky, 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:58.680 the land, the water. When he finished the big things, 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:01.640 he didn't stop there. He started on the small things, 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:06.119 the details. And God planted a garden. He put beautiful 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:10.240 flowers in it, luscious fruit. He designed these rivers to 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:15.920 flow through it. He put precious treasures in the ground, onyx, gold, silver. 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:19.039 He went to great links to make sure it was 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:22.760 exactly like he wanted it, down to the smallest details. 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:26.120 When he got finished with it, he put the last 0:04:26.160 --> 0:04:31.279 touches on this magnificent garden. The scripture says he took Adam, 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:35.200 whom he had just breathed life into and put him 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:40.400 in the garden. Notice, Adam came in to a prepared blessing, 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:44.719 something that God had already finished for him. He didn't 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:46.719 get there and have to work night and day and 0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:50.120 constantly struggle and think how am I going to survive? 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:54.640 There were fruit trees all around, crystal clear streams flowing 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:59.039 right before him, provision everywhere he looked. He didn't have 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:01.560 to live worried, thinking, well, I got food and water, 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:04.120 but how am I going to provide for my family? 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:06.599 How am I going to make a living? There were 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:12.520 resources at his disposal, onyx, gold, silver, Everything he needed 0:05:12.760 --> 0:05:16.039 to live a victorious, abundant life was right there in 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:21.040 the garden. God had put it there, specifically prepared for him. 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:25.560 In the same way, God has some prepared blessings in 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:30.279 store for you. He's working behind the scenes, arranging things 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:34.240 in your favor, getting it all perfectly in place, and 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:37.000 at the right time, He's going to bring you into 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:41.080 your garden into what He's already finished. You couldn't make 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:44.120 it happen on your own. You didn't deserve it, you 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:47.600 didn't earn it. It's just the goodness of God bringing 0:05:47.680 --> 0:05:51.800 you into a prepared blessing. When I was twenty two 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:54.560 years old, I walked into a jewelry store and met 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:57.680 Victoria for the first time. You know what, she was 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:01.800 a prepared blessing. Looked up and said, God, you did good. 0:06:04.000 --> 0:06:07.039 There are hundreds of jewelry stores in a big city 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:10.200 like Houston that I could have gone into. But God 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:13.760 controls the universe. He knows how to bring you into 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:17.280 your garden. God said, in effect, Joel, I've got something 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:21.360 finished for you. You've been faithful, you've honored me. Now 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:25.039 I've got a prepared blessing that I'm ready to bring 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:28.720 you into it. God directed my steps. I met Victoria 0:06:28.800 --> 0:06:32.080 that day, and my life and my checkbook have never 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:37.320 been the same. Well, Joel, I've been single so long. 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:39.280 I don't think I'll ever meet the right person. 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:39.680 No. 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:43.039 God has a husband, a wife that has your name 0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:46.200 on it. God's getting it all prepared, and at the 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:49.000 right time, God will say, Okay, I'm done. Here's what 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:52.080 I've been working on. You'll meet the person of your dreams. 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:55.240 You'll say, like I did, God, this was worth waiting 0:06:55.279 --> 0:06:59.440 for it. You outdid yourself. Don't get discouraged. You may 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:03.080 not see it anything happening. But God is working getting 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:06.000 your garden prepared. When it's finished, he's going to bring 0:07:06.040 --> 0:07:09.280 you into it. You know what this building is, the 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:13.760 former Compact Center, a prepared blessing. We couldn't make this 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:16.640 happen on our own. God had been working on it 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:20.520 for over thirty years. When we needed it, God said, 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:23.360 all right, Lakewood, I'm going to bring you into what 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:28.160 I've already finished for you. We came into this beautiful garden, 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:32.120 the premier facility in the fourth largest city in America, 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:37.440 on the main freeway, nine thousand covered parking spaces. We 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:40.000 showed up and said, Wow, God, you've done more than 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:43.360 we can ask or think. What God has in store 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:47.280 for you will boggle your mind. Right now, God's getting 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:51.440 your garden prepared, putting in the right provision, lining up 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:54.960 the right people, and when it's fully in bloom, when 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:57.760 God gets it exactly like he wants it, He's going 0:07:57.800 --> 0:08:01.520 to bring you into it. Suddenly you'll be Suddenly you 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:05.920 get the contract, Suddenly your health improves, Suddenly the problem 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:09.080 turns around. When you come into your garden, it's going 0:08:09.160 --> 0:08:13.800 to be bigger, better, more rewarding than you ever imagine. 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:17.080 This is what God said in Deuteronomy chapter eight. I 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:20.800 am bringing you into a good land, a land where 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:25.320 you will eat bread without scarceness, A land with no shortage, 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:29.320 where you will not lack any good thing. Notice, in 0:08:29.360 --> 0:08:33.679 the garden God has prepared for you, there is no shortage, 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:38.200 no shortage of resources, no shortage of opportunities, no shortage 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:42.960 of creativity, of friendships, of joy and peace. In your garden. 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:46.160 You will not lack any good thing. When you're a 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:48.120 tempted to get down or look at what you don't have, 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:50.240 no turn it around. Lord. I want to thank you 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:53.160 that you're bringing me into my garden, a land of 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:56.839 no shortage, a land where my gifts and talents will 0:08:56.840 --> 0:08:59.880 come out to the full, A good land where I 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:03.920 will fulfill my destiny. A good land where I'll live healthy, 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:07.320 happy in home. A good land where my whole house 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:10.439 will honor you. A friend of mine comes from a 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:14.640 large family, and they immigrated here from another country. They 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:17.160 were very poor people and had not made much out 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:21.000 of their lives. They had a defeated mindset. He started 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:23.439 coming out to Lakewood and hearing about how we are 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:28.080 victors and not victims. One day a friend told him 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:32.040 about a job opportunity at the medical center cleaning equipment. 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.920 He went and interviewed and got the position. He was 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:41.440 working the graveyard shift overnight, making minimum wage, barely getting by, 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:44.520 but every once in a while they would have procedures 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:47.559 there at the hospital using that equipment that he cleaned. 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:51.720 He would watch very closely and study how the technicians 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:54.959 did it. At one point, one of the technicians took 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:59.959 another job. His supervisor had seen how dedicated and come 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.680 admitted he was, and even though he didn't have the 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:06.079 formal training, they promoted him and gave him that position. 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:09.880 He kept being faithful year after year. A couple of 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:13.280 years later the main technician left, they put him in 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:16.160 charge of the whole department. A few years after that, 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:19.800 he started thinking, if I could purchase this piece of equipment, 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:23.160 I could travel from hospital to hospital and do this 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:27.560 on my own. One afternoon, playing basketball with some friends, 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:31.000 he met this man that was a banker. He shared 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:33.400 his story how he wanted to start his own business 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:36.520 out of nowhere. The banker said, hey, I really like you. 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:39.200 Come by my bank tomorrow and we will loan you 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:43.400 the money. Things kept falling into place today, my friend 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:47.959 has an extremely successful large company. They were one of 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:51.400 the leaders in that field. What was that he came 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:55.880 into a prepared blessing. God had been getting his garden ready, 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:58.880 working at it, lining up the right people, putting him 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:01.240 at the right place, causing him to get good breaks. 0:11:02.240 --> 0:11:05.600 After years of being faithful, God said, all right, your 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:08.720 garden is done. I'm going to bring you into what 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:12.960 I've already prepared, into a good land. Not where you're 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.400 cleaning the equipment, but where you own the equipment. Not 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:19.040 where you're working for the company, but where you run 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:23.400 the company. That's God's dream for your life, to bring 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:27.840 you into a garden of abundance, a garden filled with favor, 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:33.280 with opportunity, with good health, with great relationships. You may 0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:36.080 not be there yet, but don't worry. Your garden is 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:40.000 on the way, David said in Psalm thirty one. God 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:43.439 has blessings stored up for those that love the Lord. 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:47.600 There are businesses stored up for you that God's about 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:51.320 to release. There is promotion stored up that has your 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:55.000 name on it, good health stored up, a new house 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:59.160 stored up, a spouse stored up. Because you love the Lord, 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:03.400 God is going to bring you into what he's already prepared. Like, 0:12:03.480 --> 0:12:08.120 my friend, you've honored God, you've been faithful. Now you're 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:10.640 not going to have to go find the blessings. The 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:14.200 blessings are going to find you. Something is looking for 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:18.000 you right now. Not defeat, not like not bad breaks, 0:12:18.600 --> 0:12:22.000 favors looking for you. Contracts are looking for you. Good 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:24.600 health is looking for you. You're going to come into your 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:30.120 garden a prepared blessing, something like you've never seen. Pastor 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:33.360 I know was about to build a new sanctuary. They 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:36.040 were starting to draw the plans and raise the funds. 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:39.200 One day, out of the blue, the mayor of his 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:41.800 city called and told how there was a group that 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:45.520 built a large building for a casino, but before they 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:48.800 could move in, it went bankrupt. They had forty acres 0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:53.160 of parking. The building you could put four football fields inside. 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:56.360 It was just a few miles from his church. The 0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:59.840 mayor asked if he would be interested in purchasing the facility. 0:13:00.440 --> 0:13:02.960 The pastor thought it would cost forty fifty million dollars. 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:05.400 It was brand new, state of the art. The mayor said, no, 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:09.480 you can purchase it for under two million dollars. A 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:12.720 man that owned a production company heard that the pastor 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:15.240 was interested. He called and said, I've got a big 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:19.280 video screen one hundred and fifty feet wide used for 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:23.040 sports and concerts. I paid three million dollars for it new, 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:25.320 but I'll sell it to you for fifty thousand dollars. 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.840 Things kept falling into place. Instead of having to build 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:33.360 a new sanctuary, God dropped a much bigger, better property 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:37.559 into their hands. That was a blessing stored up God 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:41.560 had already prepared, and at the right time, God released it. 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:44.959 If you could see what God has stored up for you, 0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:48.160 the people you're going to meet, the places you're going 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:51.520 to go, the good breaks that are going to find you, 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:55.160 you'd be amazed. It's going to be the surpassing greatness 0:13:55.280 --> 0:14:00.720 of God's favor. But too often we make excuses. We 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:03.160 come up with reasons why this is not going to 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:06.000 happen for us. Well, Joel, it sounds good today, but 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:10.400 I don't have the training, the talent, the connections. Or 0:14:10.440 --> 0:14:13.800 I come from the wrong family, I'm the wrong nationality, 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:16.400 I'm too short, I'll never come into my garden. No, 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:21.280 God is not limited by your circumstances, by your family, 0:14:21.440 --> 0:14:25.360 by who's against you. When God breathed his life into you, 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:29.680 he put a blessing on you that overrides anything that 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:32.960 comes against you. The blessings God has stored up for 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:38.080 you cannot be stopped by people, by bad breaks, by injustice. 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:42.240 God has the final say, the garden he has prepared 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:45.600 for you, He has every intention of bringing you into it. 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:49.960 We see David in the scripture as a powerful king, 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:53.960 a great leader, one of the heroes of faith. But 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:58.720 David wasn't raised in a wealthy family, an influential family. 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:02.360 He wasn't trained to take the throne, just the opposite. 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:05.960 He came from a very poor family. He was the 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:09.960 eighth son of a man named Jesse. His brothers were 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:15.320 involved in the military, they had somewhat significant positions. David's 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:18.680 job was to take care of his father's sheep. He 0:15:18.760 --> 0:15:22.240 was looked down on seeing his secondary His family thought, oh, 0:15:22.280 --> 0:15:24.920 that's just David. Let's stick him out in the shepherd's fields. 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:28.440 He's never gonna amount to much in the natural. It 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.680 didn't look like David had much of a future. Came 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:35.840 from a low income family, no education. His own father 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:40.320 didn't believe in him. But just because people write you off, 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:44.240 doesn't mean God writes you off. Circumstances may look like 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:47.440 you're stuck too bad, you'll never rise higher, but that 0:15:47.600 --> 0:15:51.680 doesn't change what God has prepared for you. The blessing 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:55.800 God put on you will override any curse. The blessing 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:57.960 will make up for what you didn't get, for who 0:15:58.040 --> 0:16:02.359 was against you, for any disadvantage. What God has prepared 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:07.640 is not affected by people or circumstances. His blessing will 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:10.560 cause you to step into the fullness of your destiny. 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:15.160 One day, the prophet Samuel came to Jesse's house to 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:19.000 anoint one of his sons as the next king of Israel. 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:22.360 Seven of these sons were lined up in the house. 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:26.800 Samuel had his bottle of oil. He went down the 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:31.040 row one by one, got to the first son. Samuel 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:34.040 turned the oil over, but the oil would not flow. 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:37.480 He knew that was not the right one. He went 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:40.360 to the next son, turned the bottle over, but again 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:42.960 the oil would not come out. He went down the 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:46.280 row again and again and again, same thing through all 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:50.440 seven sons. Samuel was kind of confused. He thought, I know, 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:53.240 God said, it's one of Jesse's sons, but the oil 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:56.520 just will not come out, he said, Jesse, I don't know, 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:58.800 maybe I missed it, but I know it's not any 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:02.600 of these sons. Jesse said, well, Samuel, I do have 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:06.159 one other son. His name is David. He's out in 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:08.600 the shepherd's fields. But I know it's not him. He's 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:11.000 the youngest, he's small, He's never gonna mount to much. 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:15.400 Samuel said, bring him in. David stood before him. Samuel 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:18.320 turned the bottle over and the oil began to flow 0:17:18.480 --> 0:17:21.840 and flow and flow. He knew right then David was 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:25.960 the next team. Here's my point. You don't have to 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:30.040 worry about somebody else getting your blessing. The oil that's 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:33.160 been prepared for you will not flow to anyone else. 0:17:34.160 --> 0:17:38.200 When Samuel tried to anoint those other sons, the oil 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:42.560 defied gravity. I can see Samuel turning the bottle over, 0:17:42.720 --> 0:17:44.760 even hitting the end, trying to make it come out. 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:49.000 It would not flow until it recognized the person that 0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:51.920 was supposed to be blessed. And when it's your time 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:56.520 to be blessed, don't worry nobody can take your blessing. Well, Joe, 0:17:56.680 --> 0:18:00.720 my coworker got the promotion I deserved. I worked tarder, 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:04.640 but my supervisor overlooked me. No, if you didn't get it, 0:18:04.640 --> 0:18:07.960 it wasn't supposed to be yours. Your oil will not 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:11.640 flow for anyone else. The blessing that belongs to you 0:18:11.920 --> 0:18:15.680 will be your blessing. Nobody can take it. Three years 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:20.720 before this facility became available, the Houston Rockets basketball team 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:23.359 tried to move out. There was a vote for the 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:27.320 whole city to approve building a new basketball arena. It 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:30.919 seemed like a sure thing. The Rockets had won championships, 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:34.600 there was a new site for a downtown location. Most 0:18:34.600 --> 0:18:38.040 people thought it would pass. But when the citizens voted, 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:42.159 much to everyone's surprise, they voted no. The Rockets couldn't 0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:46.880 move out. Looking back now, I believe it's because God 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:50.600 knew this building was supposed to be for Lakewood and 0:18:50.640 --> 0:18:53.920 we weren't ready at that time. If that vote would 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:57.040 have passed, the Rockets would have moved out, they would 0:18:57.080 --> 0:18:59.280 have sold it to someone else, and we wouldn't be 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:02.800 here today. We needed a few more years, so God 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:07.439 made sure the oil did not flow. What's destined to 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:11.560 be yours. Nobody else can have that house that has 0:19:11.600 --> 0:19:13.720 your name on it. You're supposed to have. The oil's 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:17.560 not gonna flow to someone else. That promotion, that contract, 0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:22.280 that husband, they have your name on them exclusively. That's 0:19:22.280 --> 0:19:24.720 why you don't have to worry. You don't have to 0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:29.080 get all upset. God's got you covered. Nobody's going to 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:33.600 get what belongs to you. When you see somebody being blessed, 0:19:33.920 --> 0:19:36.200 they get a big contract, they have a baby, they 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:39.920 move into a new house, don't get jealous, like, oh, man, 0:19:40.160 --> 0:19:42.520 I wish that happened for me. I go to church 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:45.600 more than they did. No, that doesn't have your name 0:19:45.680 --> 0:19:48.280 on it. If it was supposed to be yours, the 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:51.800 oil would not have flowed. You can be happy for them, 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:55.439 knowing that what God has for you will be better 0:19:55.840 --> 0:20:00.680 because it's prepared specifically for you. If if God were 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:05.240 to give you what shouldn't have been yours, it wouldn't 0:20:05.240 --> 0:20:08.480 be a blessing, it would be a burden. You're not 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:12.120 anointed for it. It's not right for you. Well, joel 0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:15.399 I wish I was married to Victoria. She's so beautiful. 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:21.040 She's a blessing to me. She'd be a burden to you. 0:20:21.040 --> 0:20:29.080 You're not annoying it for her. She takes a mega anointing. Well, 0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:31.600 joel I wish I was the pastor of that big church. 0:20:31.920 --> 0:20:35.120 It's a blessing to me, it'd be a burden for you. 0:20:35.280 --> 0:20:38.359 God has the right people lined up for you, the 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:43.520 right promotion, the right husband, the right gifts, the right breaks. 0:20:43.920 --> 0:20:47.360 Nobody can take what's yours. Your oil is not going 0:20:47.400 --> 0:20:50.480 to flow to someone else. And sometimes when we see 0:20:50.480 --> 0:20:53.800 a person blest and they get a big promotion, we think, 0:20:53.840 --> 0:20:57.520 for some reason, them being blessed is going to stop 0:20:57.600 --> 0:21:00.399 God from doing something good to us, kind of like 0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:02.840 they're using up all of God's favor. No, he has 0:21:02.880 --> 0:21:05.439 an unlimited supply. He did it for them, he can 0:21:05.480 --> 0:21:08.960 do it for you. Maybe you're single and you've been 0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:11.320 believing to meet the right person for a long time 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:14.600 and one of your good friends just got married. It'd 0:21:14.600 --> 0:21:18.040 be easy to be jealous, envious and think, oh man, 0:21:18.080 --> 0:21:20.600 that's not fair. No, turn it around. God, you did 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:22.600 it for them. I know you can do it for me. 0:21:23.240 --> 0:21:25.640 That person that has my name on it, they're coming in. 0:21:26.440 --> 0:21:29.840 You don't have to covet what somebody else has. Don't 0:21:29.880 --> 0:21:33.840 covet their spouse, or covet their gifts, or covet their 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:39.520 promotion anything they have. God has blessings specifically prepared for you. 0:21:40.160 --> 0:21:43.440 Now our prayer should be, God, give me the blessings 0:21:43.520 --> 0:21:47.040 you have prepared, not for my neighbor, not for my cousin, 0:21:47.119 --> 0:21:50.000 not for my coworker. But God, bring me what you 0:21:50.119 --> 0:21:54.359 have prepared for me. In the Scripture, the prophet Elijah 0:21:54.400 --> 0:21:57.320 was living in a certain city in God said to him, 0:21:57.720 --> 0:22:01.280 leave this place and go down to the brook Cherith, 0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:04.879 for I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. 0:22:05.560 --> 0:22:08.800 When he got to the brook, every morning, just like clockwork, 0:22:09.040 --> 0:22:12.560 the ravens brought him food. He had his provision, a 0:22:12.600 --> 0:22:17.320 prepared blessing. Here's the key. Elijah didn't have to try 0:22:17.320 --> 0:22:20.240 to find the ravens. He just had to get to 0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:23.439 where God wanted him to be, and the ravens found 0:22:23.480 --> 0:22:27.480 him in the same way. There is a place where 0:22:27.520 --> 0:22:30.800 God has commanded you to be blessed. The ravens are 0:22:30.800 --> 0:22:35.720 already there. Your provision favor abundance. The real question today 0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:40.000 is will you do what's required to get to your 0:22:40.080 --> 0:22:43.600 place of blessing. Elijah could have said God, I don't 0:22:43.600 --> 0:22:46.399 want to leave. I'm comfortable. I like it here, my 0:22:46.480 --> 0:22:49.639 friends are here. But if he would have stayed, he 0:22:49.680 --> 0:22:52.680 would have missed where he was commanded to be blessed. 0:22:53.280 --> 0:22:55.520 And sure he could have survived, he could have endured. 0:22:55.880 --> 0:22:58.280 But if you want to see God's best, you gotta 0:22:58.320 --> 0:23:02.520 be willing to do what God God's asking you to do. Maybe, 0:23:02.520 --> 0:23:05.400 down deep, you know you're supposed to get awte from 0:23:05.400 --> 0:23:08.879 some friends that are dragging you down a bad influence, 0:23:08.960 --> 0:23:12.359 causing you to compromise. As long as you stay there, 0:23:12.960 --> 0:23:16.600 you're going to miss your prepared blessing. Well, Joe, if 0:23:16.600 --> 0:23:19.480 I make these changes, I won't have any friends. I'll 0:23:19.520 --> 0:23:23.000 be lonely. You may be lonely for a season, but 0:23:23.119 --> 0:23:25.920 God will always bring you new friends. Plus he will 0:23:25.960 --> 0:23:29.520 bring you better friends. It may be difficult for a 0:23:29.560 --> 0:23:33.240 period of time, but before long you will come in 0:23:33.280 --> 0:23:37.800 to that commanded blessing where the ravens are greater opportunities, 0:23:37.880 --> 0:23:42.840 greater fulfillment, greater relationships. And it may not be leaving 0:23:42.880 --> 0:23:46.479 a friend or moving physically, it may just be in 0:23:46.560 --> 0:23:50.480 your mind. You need to leave the negative thoughts, leave 0:23:50.520 --> 0:23:53.959 the worry, leave the fear, leave the doubt, leave the anger, 0:23:54.040 --> 0:23:57.960 the resentment. God has a place of abundance, but you've 0:23:57.960 --> 0:24:00.600 got to be willing to leave what he asking you 0:24:00.680 --> 0:24:04.040 to leave, or perhaps it could be for you. You 0:24:04.119 --> 0:24:07.160 need to leave your comfort zone and take a step 0:24:07.200 --> 0:24:10.280 of faith. You can't play it safe your whole life 0:24:10.480 --> 0:24:13.760 and expect to reach your highest potential. Is there something 0:24:13.800 --> 0:24:17.159 God's asking you to leave? When my father went to 0:24:17.200 --> 0:24:19.840 be with the Lord back in nineteen ninety nine, I 0:24:19.920 --> 0:24:22.560 knew I was supposed to step up and pasture the church, 0:24:22.960 --> 0:24:26.560 but I was comfortable behind the scenes. I didn't want 0:24:26.560 --> 0:24:28.600 to get out in front of people. I didn't think 0:24:28.640 --> 0:24:31.679 I knew how to minister. It was much easier to 0:24:31.800 --> 0:24:34.760 just stay where I was. And the truth is that 0:24:35.000 --> 0:24:38.760 was my place of blessing for seventeen years. But I've 0:24:38.840 --> 0:24:42.440 learned God likes to do new things. And at one 0:24:42.480 --> 0:24:46.080 point the ravens quit coming to the brook. God told 0:24:46.119 --> 0:24:49.240 Elijah leave the brook and go to the city of Zeapath. 0:24:49.560 --> 0:24:51.879 I have a widow that's going to take care of you. 0:24:52.760 --> 0:24:56.399 His place of blessing changed. He could have thought, I 0:24:56.560 --> 0:24:59.119 know God sent me to this brook. These ravens have 0:24:59.200 --> 0:25:01.640 fed me for years. I am not leaving. He would 0:25:01.640 --> 0:25:05.320 have missed the new thing God wanted to do. Your 0:25:05.359 --> 0:25:08.960 place of blessing can change, and for those seventeen years. 0:25:09.000 --> 0:25:13.119 Behind the scenes, I was happy, fulfilled see in God's favor. 0:25:14.000 --> 0:25:16.919 But when Daddy died, I could hear God whispering in 0:25:17.000 --> 0:25:20.320 my spirit, saying, Joel, I'm moving you from behind the 0:25:20.359 --> 0:25:24.040 scenes to out in front of the people. It was uncomfortable. 0:25:24.400 --> 0:25:27.520 I didn't like it. I had to stretch myself, but 0:25:27.600 --> 0:25:33.240 I stepped in to a prepared blessing, abundance, favor, influence 0:25:33.400 --> 0:25:36.960 greater than I ever imagine. Don't hold on to the 0:25:37.119 --> 0:25:41.000 old when you know God is leading you somewhere new, 0:25:41.800 --> 0:25:44.240 be willing to take a step of faith. Get out 0:25:44.240 --> 0:25:47.520 of that comfort zone. Don't stay stuck at a position 0:25:47.560 --> 0:25:50.640 where you haven't grown in years and years. God has 0:25:50.680 --> 0:25:54.480 some greater things in front of you, prepared blessings, but 0:25:54.560 --> 0:25:57.960 you got to be willing to step into it. This 0:25:58.040 --> 0:25:59.919 is what a lady did in the scripture by the 0:26:00.080 --> 0:26:04.400 name of Ruth. After her husband and his brother were killed, 0:26:04.760 --> 0:26:07.800 her mother in law, Naomi, decided to move back to 0:26:07.920 --> 0:26:11.560 her original hometown. She didn't have any connections now that 0:26:11.600 --> 0:26:14.760 both of her sons had died, and she told Ruth 0:26:14.880 --> 0:26:17.359 and the other daughter in law, don't worry about me, 0:26:17.960 --> 0:26:19.800 do your own thing, but I'm going to go back 0:26:19.840 --> 0:26:24.040 to my original hometown. The other daughter in law left, 0:26:24.280 --> 0:26:27.520 but Ruth knew deep down she was supposed to go 0:26:27.600 --> 0:26:31.159 with Naomi and help take care of her. Naomi was 0:26:31.200 --> 0:26:35.119 an older woman, so Ruth moved to Naomi's hometown. They 0:26:35.160 --> 0:26:38.800 lived together. Every morning, Ruth would go out into the 0:26:38.840 --> 0:26:42.480 fields and pick up the leftover wheat that the workers 0:26:42.480 --> 0:26:46.439 had missed. That's how they survived. One day, the owner 0:26:46.520 --> 0:26:49.919 of the field saw Ruth. He didn't know who she was, 0:26:50.359 --> 0:26:53.560 but he told his workers to leave wheat on the 0:26:53.640 --> 0:26:57.520 ground on purpose for Ruth. Now, when she went out, 0:26:57.640 --> 0:27:03.280 the wheat was already there waiting for her a prepared blessing. Later, 0:27:03.600 --> 0:27:07.439 that owner ended up marrying Ruth. Now Ruth didn't have 0:27:07.480 --> 0:27:10.000 to work in the field anymore. She owned the field. 0:27:10.760 --> 0:27:13.600 Here's what I'm saying. When you do what God asked 0:27:13.600 --> 0:27:16.400 you to do, you move when He asked you to move, 0:27:16.720 --> 0:27:19.560 You're willing to get out of your comfort zone. When 0:27:19.600 --> 0:27:23.040 you get to your place of blessing, God will speak 0:27:23.080 --> 0:27:25.520 to people to be good to you that have never 0:27:25.560 --> 0:27:29.199 even met you. He will command his ravens to feed you. 0:27:29.440 --> 0:27:34.440 In other words, good breaks will find you. Provision divine 0:27:34.520 --> 0:27:38.520 connections supply. When you're in that place where you're commanded 0:27:38.560 --> 0:27:41.280 to be blessed, you won't be able to outrun the 0:27:41.320 --> 0:27:45.480 good things of God. Friends, there is a garden God 0:27:45.520 --> 0:27:49.720 has prepared specifically for you, just like with Adam. He's 0:27:49.760 --> 0:27:55.159 put resources in it, provision, opportunity, the right. Friends, you 0:27:55.200 --> 0:27:58.160 need to get ready. God's about to bring you into 0:27:58.200 --> 0:28:00.120 what He's already finished for you. 0:28:00.119 --> 0:28:00.239 You. 0:28:00.520 --> 0:28:04.000 It has your name on it. It's going to be bigger, better, 0:28:04.280 --> 0:28:08.080 more rewarding than you ever imagine. Stay in faith, keep 0:28:08.119 --> 0:28:10.879 doing what God's asking you to do. Be willing to 0:28:10.960 --> 0:28:13.560 lead when he asked you to leave. If you'll do this, 0:28:14.160 --> 0:28:18.800 I believe and declare you're coming into your garden favor 0:28:18.880 --> 0:28:25.560 that you didn't deserve, good, breaks that you didn't earn, Provision, abundance, healing, restoration, 0:28:26.000 --> 0:28:30.320 the fullness of your destiny in Jesus's name. If you 0:28:30.359 --> 0:28:34.800 receive it. Can you say amen? Today? We never like 0:28:34.840 --> 0:28:38.479 to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to 0:28:38.480 --> 0:28:41.240 make Jesus the lord of your life. Would you pray 0:28:41.280 --> 0:28:46.280 with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins. 0:28:47.520 --> 0:28:50.800 Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and 0:28:50.880 --> 0:28:55.120 savior friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe 0:28:55.120 --> 0:28:58.240 you got born again. Get in a good Bible based church. 0:28:58.640 --> 0:29:01.360 Keep God first place. He's going to take you places 0:29:01.480 --> 0:29:02.360 you've never dreamed. 0:29:03.120 --> 0:29:06.560 Thank you for listening to the Joel Loustin podcast. Help 0:29:06.640 --> 0:29:09.360 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:29:09.480 --> 0:29:13.360 all over the world. Visit Joeloustin dot com slash give 0:29:13.440 --> 0:29:15.120 Hope to give a gift today. 0:29:16.400 --> 0:29:19.320 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope 0:29:19.320 --> 0:29:22.720 you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to 0:29:22.800 --> 0:29:26.000 keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. 0:29:26.160 --> 0:29:28.640 I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you 0:29:28.680 --> 0:29:29.160 next time. 0:29:36.200 --> 0:29:38.680 More than ever before, people are turning to the church 0:29:38.720 --> 0:29:42.480 for their mental health struggles. Unfortunately, the church has largely 0:29:42.520 --> 0:29:45.760 been ill equipped to help. That is until now. Join 0:29:45.840 --> 0:29:48.920 yourly fifty thousand people just like you who've enrolled in 0:29:48.960 --> 0:29:52.080 the Mental Health Coach training program and become equipped to 0:29:52.160 --> 0:29:55.040 help for a limited time. Apply for a full tuition 0:29:55.160 --> 0:29:57.600 scholarship and only pay a one time tech fee of 0:29:57.640 --> 0:30:02.840 fifty four dollars if accepted. Apply now at mentalhealthcoach dot org. 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