Can You Handle The Blessing?

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This is not an 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:29.759 offer to buy your self securities, nor is it investment, 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:30.760 legal or tax advice. 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:33.240 God is going to bless you in a greater way. 0:01:33.680 --> 0:01:37.759 You have to be able to handle greater persecution. Don't 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:41.520 get upset when people turn on you. Don't be revengeful 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:45.240 and use your influence to pay them back. Live bitter, 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:50.000 always thinking about what they said. Ignore it, don't give 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:54.160 it the time of day, Keep shining, keep dreaming, keep 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:57.280 being good to people, and God will take care of 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:01.040 the persecutors. He'll deal with the critics, the jealous people, 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:04.800 the opposition. Hi. This is Joel and Victoria, thanks for 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:08.160 listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:10.640 If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:12.200 blessing and share it with a friend. 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:15.200 We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:22.600 your life. God bless you. It's great to be with 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:25.440 you today, and I hope you'll stay connected with us 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:28.600 throughout the week. We have a daily podcast that you 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:32.000 can download. You can go to our YouTube channel watch 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:35.560 the messages anytime. You can follow us on social media, 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:38.880 but I promise you this we'll keep you inspired and encouraged. 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:41.239 Thanks again for tuning in, though, and thank you all 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:43.920 for coming out in person. I like to start with 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:47.080 something funny, and I heard about this husband that died 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:51.320 and he left his wife twenty thousand dollars. After the funeral, 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:54.320 his wife told a friend that she was totally broke. 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:56.640 The friend said, what do you mean. I thought you 0:02:56.720 --> 0:02:59.880 said you had twenty thousand. She said, I did, but 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.600 I spent five thousand on the funeral and fifteen thousand 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:07.079 on the memorial stone. The friend said, wow, that must 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:09.520 have been some kind of stone. How big was it? 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:11.720 She held up her finger and said three and a 0:03:11.760 --> 0:03:16.720 half carrots, say like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:19.600 I am what it says I am. I have what 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:22.120 it says I have. I can do what it says 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:24.880 I can do. Today I will be taught the word 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:29.200 of God. I boldly confess. My mind is alert, my 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:33.600 heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:37.360 God bless you. I want to talk to you today 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:41.360 about can you handle the blessing. We all love to 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:45.680 be blessed, to see new doors opening, our business taking off, 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:48.400 we meet the person of our dreams, or we move 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:51.480 into that new house. We know that's God taking us 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:54.800 where we can't go on our own. But here's the key. 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:59.960 The blessing doesn't come by itself. Jesus told his disciples 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:06.080 in March chapter ten. Anything you give up for my sake, houses, property, people, 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:12.000 you will receive in this life one hundredfold return with persecution. 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:15.160 He could have said I'm going to give you the blessing, 0:04:15.560 --> 0:04:19.120 the houses, the resources, the promotion, and left it there, 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:22.960 but he added this asterisk, so to speak, and said, 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:26.440 I'm going to bless you, but with that blessing is 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:31.599 going to come opposition. Jealousy, criticism, people that are not 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:34.960 for you. The question is not so much can you 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:39.440 handle the blessing. The question is can you handle the persecution? 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:45.719 Can you handle being misunderstood, talked about, left out. Everyone 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:49.520 is not going to celebrate your success. All your friends 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:53.159 won't be happy when you get that promotion, All your 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:56.359 relatives won't cheer you on when you move into that 0:04:56.440 --> 0:04:59.719 new house, when your business increases, when you get in 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:03.440 game aged. The favor on your life will stir up 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:08.359 the jealousy, the competition, the envy in certain people. Don't 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:12.120 get upset. It's not about you. It's about the blessing 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:16.039 on your life. You can't have the blessing without some 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:19.760 kind of persecution. If you're going to be blessed on 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:23.039 a greater level, you're going to be persecuted on a 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:27.279 greater level. If you can handle the persecution, then God 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:30.520 can trust you with the blessing. As long as you're 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:34.839 going to be offended, upset, fight with people, then the 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:38.520 blessing wouldn't be a blessing. You have to pass the 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:43.440 test of overlooking insults, ignoring what people are saying, not 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:47.040 paying attention to the critics, those trying to discredit you. 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:50.480 They wouldn't be talking if you weren't making a difference, 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:53.800 if you weren't a leader, if you weren't shining brightly. 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:58.320 Let God deal with the naysayers. Let God take care 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:00.440 of those that are trying to make your life bad, 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:04.920 trying to stir up trouble, leaving you out. Some people 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:08.680 can't handle your success. They were fine as long as 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:11.800 you were at their level. They had no problem as 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:14.600 long as you were in the same department, as long 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:17.040 as you were single like them, as long as you 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:20.560 lived in their neighborhood. But when God blessed you in 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:24.240 a greater way, it can stir things up. You have 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:28.360 to be okay with them not being okay with you. 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:32.040 Your time is too valuable to worry about what people 0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:36.159 think about you. Your assignment is too important to try 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:40.119 to convince everyone to like you. Don't waste your time 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:43.839 and energy trying to make someone before you that's never 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:47.320 going to be for you. You don't need everyone to 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:50.760 celebrate you. You don't need all your co workers, all 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:54.160 your relatives to cheer you on. If you become too 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:58.320 dependent on people what they think. Do they validate me? 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:01.640 Are they happy with my say? Says, then if they 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:05.680 don't meet your expectations, if they don't approve you, you'll 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:09.760 spend your time trying to get their approval upset because 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:13.560 they're not for you. Don't look to people, look to God. 0:07:14.240 --> 0:07:18.360 People can get jealous, people can be competitive, moody. You 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:22.800 don't need their approval. You have Almighty God's approval. When 0:07:22.880 --> 0:07:26.480 Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, it was a great miracle. 0:07:26.880 --> 0:07:30.160 You would think everyone would be happy, everyone would celebrate 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.600 that this man had life again. He could see his children, 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:37.440 he could go enjoy his family. But the leaders in 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:40.920 the synagogue were jealous. They didn't like the fact that 0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:44.440 it brought more attention to Jesus. They were already plotting 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:48.520 to kill him. But the scripture says the religious leaders 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:52.960 decided to kill Lazarus too. Here Lazarus, all he did 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.640 was come back to life. Wasn't even his choice. God 0:07:56.760 --> 0:07:59.760 chose to bless him, to make him an example of 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:04.560 his goodness. But with that great blessing came great persecution. 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:08.119 If God is going to bless you in a greater way, 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:12.679 you have to be able to handle greater persecution. Don't 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:16.440 get upset when people turn on you. Don't be revengeful 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:20.160 and use your influence to pay them back. Live bitter, 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:24.920 always thinking about what they said. Ignore it, don't give 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:29.040 it the time of day. Keep shining, keep dreaming, keep 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:32.200 being good to people, and God will take care of 0:08:32.240 --> 0:08:35.960 the persecutors. He'll deal with the critics, the jealous people, 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:41.560 the opposition. What's interesting is the religious leaders never did 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:45.079 kill Lazarus. They came up with a plan, they had 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:50.000 a strategy, but it never succeeded. That's because people can't 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:54.160 stop your destiny. The blessing on your life is greater 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.439 than any force that's trying to hold you back. Now, 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:00.800 don't stay focused on the persecution. Why did they turn 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:03.480 on me? Why are they talking about me? Why aren't 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:08.160 they for me? It's because the blessing comes with persecution. 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:13.280 It's a test. Can you handle the opposition, the jealousy, 0:09:13.559 --> 0:09:17.400 the people stirring up trouble. You know who gets jealous 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:22.800 when you succeed? Small minded people. Small minded people think 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:25.840 you going up makes them look bad, so they try 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:29.400 to pull you down. Instead of believing that what God 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:33.439 did for you, he can do for them, they start criticizing, 0:09:33.800 --> 0:09:37.240 finding fault, trying to make you look bad. They think 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:41.480 God's favor is limited, that you being blessed is keeping 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:46.120 them from rising higher. They don't realize God has unlimited favor. 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:49.000 What he's done for you, he can do for them. 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:52.480 I've seen this in my own life. God has taking 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:56.079 me places that I've never dreamed. I recognize that it's 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:58.839 his goodness. I couldn't have done this on my own. 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:04.960 Many friends, family members, and other ministers that have celebrated 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:07.440 what God has done in my life, people that have 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:11.480 been very for me. I've noticed how certain ministers that 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:15.200 were behind me, happy for my success, cheered me on. 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:19.439 God has blessed them in great ways. They've seen increase 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:23.400 in favor and continued to rise higher. But there were 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:26.800 a few ministers that weren't for me. They didn't know me, 0:10:27.240 --> 0:10:31.040 but they were hard, critical, jealous. They tried to stir 0:10:31.160 --> 0:10:34.720 up trouble. I didn't pay any attention. I didn't get 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:38.560 bitter talk badly about them. I just kept running my race, 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:41.720 doing what I've been called to do. I understand this 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:46.840 principle that with the blessing comes persecution. Now I've noticed 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:50.240 that these ministers that were very hard and critical have 0:10:50.400 --> 0:10:53.680 seen very little growth. In fact, some of them have 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:58.000 gone way down. It's because they can't handle the blessing. 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:01.280 If you can't celebrate people that are ahead of you, 0:11:01.960 --> 0:11:04.920 if you can't be happy when they get promoted, when 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:08.360 their child gets a scholarship, when they get married, when 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:12.280 their dream comes to pass, that's going to limit how 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:17.560 high God will take. You don't have a small minded mentality. 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:22.079 Your friend being promoted doesn't mean that God can't promote you. 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:26.600 Your family member moving into that nice house shouldn't intimidate you. 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:30.319 It should inspire you. God didn't run out of favor. 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:32.320 If he did it for them, he could do it 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:32.679 for you. 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:33.640 Now. 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:38.160 I believe that God is about to release greater blessings, 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:44.439 greater influence, greater resources, favor that you haven't seen. But 0:11:44.480 --> 0:11:46.920 for this to happen, you have to be able to 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:50.160 handle the blessing. You have to get to the point 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:54.280 where you're not bothered by persecution. You're okay with people 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:58.840 not liking you. You're not defensive when people don't understand you. 0:11:58.880 --> 0:12:02.600 Don't live bitter because they won't before you. If you'll 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:06.040 show God that you can handle the blessing, he'll open 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:09.760 doors that you could never open. He'll cause opportunity, the 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:13.200 right people to come to you favor that will thrust 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:17.360 you ahead. In Genesis twenty six, there was a great 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:20.680 famine in the land and the people had very little food, 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:24.839 and God told Isaac to not leave, but to stay 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:27.840 in the city of Jerrar, and God would bless him there. 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:33.439 It was controlled by the Philistines. Everything was fine, friendly neighbors. 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:37.600 Then Isaac went out and planted his crops. He stepped 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:41.280 out in faith and sowed seeds in a time of famine. 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:45.760 Didn't make sense. I can imagine his neighbors laughing, Isaac, 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:48.880 what are you doing. We're in a drought. There's no 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:52.840 water for your crops. But the scripture says that same 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:58.280 year Isaac harvested one hundred times what he planted. It's 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:02.520 significant that Jesus said you would receive one hundredfold what 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:05.560 you give up for the cause of Christ. Here's this 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:09.280 one hundred times harvest. In the middle of the famine. 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:13.559 Isaac was blessed in a great way. Verse thirteen says 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:18.120 he became a wealthy man, and his wealth continued to increase. 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:22.199 He acquired large flocks of sheep, great herds of cattle, 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:26.720 and many staff. He was blessed in abundance. The next 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:32.120 verse says, soon the Philistines became jealous. Didn't take long 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:36.760 before the blessing stirred up trouble. It's funny how when 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:41.400 you step out in faith like Isaac. You're obedient, you stretch, 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:45.920 take risks, pray, and believe God blesses you. Then people 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:50.199 get jealous. The fact is, the Philistines could have planted 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:53.800 their crops, they could have stepped out in faith. But 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:57.120 people that won't do what you're willing to do will 0:13:57.120 --> 0:14:01.240 be quick to find fault when you're blessed. The Philistines 0:14:01.280 --> 0:14:04.720 had no problem with Isaac as long as he was suffering. 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:07.959 But as soon as God blessed him, as soon as 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:10.920 his business took off, as soon as he stood out, 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:15.760 they became jealous. Critical started finding fault. And they didn't 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:19.240 just talk about him. They clogged up his wells. They 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:22.760 filled them full of dirt. The king said, Isaac, you've 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:26.400 become too wealthy and too powerful for us. You have 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:30.960 to move somewhere else. Isaac could have argued, I'm not leaving, 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:34.800 this is my property. He could have been baited into 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:39.640 conflict started fighting the Philistines. Instead, he moved to the 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:45.520 valley and lived there. He understood with the blessing comes persecution. 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:51.200 The Philistines couldn't handle his success. The king admitted, you're 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:55.840 too powerful for us. It wasn't about Isaac. He didn't 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:59.320 take it personally. It was about the blessing on his life. 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:03.320 When people don't accept you, when they leave you out, 0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:07.040 they try to stir up conflict, don't take it personally. 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:10.480 It's not about you. It's about the favor that God's 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:14.920 put on you. If you can't handle the persecution, then 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.840 God won't trust you with the blessing. Are you upset 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:22.280 over who's against you, who turned on you, who's talking 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:25.840 about you? It comes with the blessing. But if you 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:28.880 get bent out of shape every time you face persecution, 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.760 that's going to keep you from the abundance that belongs 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:37.520 to you. With great favor comes great haters. With great 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:42.600 abundance comes great opposition. With great blessing comes great persecution. 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:46.640 We pray for the blessings. God give me great favor, 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:51.920 great influence, great ideas. That's good. I believe in asking big. 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:55.520 But we should add to that prayer and God, help 0:15:55.560 --> 0:15:59.280 me to endure great persecution. Help me to not live bitter, 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:02.200 to pay people back, help me to stay on the 0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:06.320 high road, and trust you to fight my battles. It's 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:10.200 not a coincidence that Isaac experienced one of the greatest 0:16:10.240 --> 0:16:13.400 blessings of his life in the middle of the famine, 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:17.600 against all odds. The scripture says his harvest was tremendous, 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:21.720 one hundred times what he planted. If it stopped there, 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:25.840 it would be great blessings with no trouble, blessings with 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:29.680 everyone happy for you, blessings with all your friends celebrating. 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:34.000 But it goes on to say, soon the Philistines were jealous. 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:39.200 When you see great blessing, Soon someone will not understand. 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:43.600 Soon a family member will get jealous. Soon a coworker 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:46.520 will try to stir up trouble. And this is not 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:50.680 to discourage you, but to prepare you. If you're prepared, 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:53.800 you don't get better. You don't try to straighten them out. 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:56.920 You do like Isaac and say, God, I know with 0:16:57.040 --> 0:17:01.560 the blessing comes persecution. So I'm going to pass this test. Father. 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:04.080 Thank you that you're in control, think you that you're 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:07.520 fighting my battles. Thank you that what you started no 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:11.600 person can stop. Steal on the high road. Don't pay 0:17:11.640 --> 0:17:16.119 attention to jealous, small minded people. When Joel, they clogged 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:19.240 up my wells. They did me wrong. God saw it. 0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:22.520 He blessed you in the famine. Do you think they 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:25.720 can stop him from blessing you again. He knows how 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:29.520 to unclog wells. He knows how to silence your accusers. 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:33.600 The scripture says, those that have hated you will be 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:37.680 put to shame. Their humiliation will be obvious to all. 0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:41.520 And sometimes the way God pays you back is he 0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:44.960 keeps blessing you when others are trying to discredit you. 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:48.200 He keeps taking you up when they're doing their best 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:51.359 to pull you down. I work behind the scenes here 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:54.840 at Lakewood for seventeen years. When my father went to 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:57.880 be with the Lord, I stepped up to pastor the church. 0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:00.639 I didn't think I would ever be a miss it. 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:04.040 God suddenly took me from the background to the foreground. 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:08.560 Much to my surprise, the church started growing. People started 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:12.600 coming and watching in record numbers. With all this influence 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:16.639 in favor came persecution. I had never dealt with that. 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:19.840 When I was behind the scenes, I didn't have any 0:18:20.119 --> 0:18:22.720 enemies to speak of. And people that would try to 0:18:22.760 --> 0:18:26.280 discredit me. I had to learn what I'm telling you. 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:30.080 Here's the key. The grace is there to handle it. 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:34.159 God doesn't let you face anything that's too much. You 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:37.280 have what it takes to not be offended, to not 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:40.840 live defensive, to not let what they say get down 0:18:40.880 --> 0:18:44.119 in your spirit. God wouldn't have given you the blessing 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:47.200 if he hasn't given you the grace to handle it. 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:51.960 This doesn't happen automatically. You have to rule your emotions. 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:55.520 You have to not dwell on the offense, not think 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:58.639 about what they said. When you're attempted to get bitter, 0:18:59.119 --> 0:19:03.040 get upset, take that same time to thank God for 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:08.000 how he blessed you. Don't let jealous people steal your blessing. 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:11.840 Don't let critical people, people that are never going to 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:15.160 be for you, keep you from the greatness that God 0:19:15.200 --> 0:19:20.160 put in you. Jesus had many critics, Many people said 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:23.880 hurtful things, things that were untrue. He could have straightened 0:19:23.920 --> 0:19:27.560 them out, spent time arguing trying to change their mind, 0:19:28.240 --> 0:19:31.639 but the scripture says he answered them not a word. 0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:35.679 He didn't give them the time of day. Don't waste 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:39.840 your time trying to change your critics' mind. Don't argue 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:42.960 with people that don't matter. What they think of you 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:47.000 is not going to stop your destiny. Their opinion is 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:50.320 not going to keep you from your purpose. That negative 0:19:50.400 --> 0:19:54.520 chatter is a distraction. It's the enemy trying to bate 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:58.760 you into conflict, to get you off course. You can't 0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:02.600 stop what they're saying, but you can ignore it. You 0:20:02.680 --> 0:20:05.920 cannot let it get down in your spirit. You don't 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:09.560 have to respond to the negative. A response gives that 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:14.920 person credibility. Don't validate what they're saying by answering them. 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:18.360 You have a destiny to fulfill, you have an assignment 0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:22.960 to accomplish. Do like Jesus and ignore it. This was 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:27.239 difficult for me at first. My personality type is to 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:29.920 want everybody to like me. But I had to learn 0:20:30.000 --> 0:20:32.760 that some people are not going to like you, and 0:20:32.800 --> 0:20:36.520 that's okay. Some people are not going to accept you, 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:40.520 and that's fine. Everyone is not supposed to be for you. 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:44.880 Sometimes we're trying to change people's minds that are never 0:20:45.000 --> 0:20:48.520 going to be for us. You keep honoring God, being 0:20:48.640 --> 0:20:51.879 your best, and God will cause the people you need 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:54.560 to be for you, and he'll take care of your 0:20:54.600 --> 0:20:57.920 critics when it's the right time. Just like he closed 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:01.080 the mouths of hungry lions, he'll close the mouths of 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:05.320 those trying to discredit you. That's not your battle. That 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:08.640 battle is the Lord's. But if you don't let him 0:21:08.680 --> 0:21:12.159 fight it, you'll live defensive trying to prove to people 0:21:12.160 --> 0:21:15.080 that you're okay, prove to them that you're not what 0:21:15.160 --> 0:21:19.359 they said. You're letting them change who you are. You 0:21:19.400 --> 0:21:22.439 don't need them to be for you. Having them on 0:21:22.520 --> 0:21:25.240 your side, changing their mind is not going to move 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:30.360 you forward. The best response is let your life, your success, 0:21:30.520 --> 0:21:34.680 your example do the talking. When I had been ministering 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:37.960 for a few years, I was still young and not 0:21:38.000 --> 0:21:40.600 sure of myself. I was at a book signing in 0:21:40.680 --> 0:21:44.479 another state. This lady came up with the newspaper. It 0:21:44.520 --> 0:21:47.639 was folded in two. On the top half, it had 0:21:47.680 --> 0:21:51.560 a big picture of me, big smile, hair, just right, 0:21:51.880 --> 0:21:54.959 good looking. I was feeling good. I had made the 0:21:55.000 --> 0:21:58.399 paper over to the side. It had the word in 0:21:58.520 --> 0:22:03.639 bold letters positively. I thought, that's good. They're saying I'm positive. 0:22:04.119 --> 0:22:06.560 She asked me to sign it. When I finished, I said, 0:22:06.600 --> 0:22:09.480 let me look at this. I was proud. I opened 0:22:09.520 --> 0:22:14.040 it up and under the word positively was the word dangerous. 0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:18.120 It wasn't a favorable article. Now that picture didn't look 0:22:18.160 --> 0:22:22.280 so hot. Now I was tempted to be discouraged, offended. 0:22:22.960 --> 0:22:26.080 Then I thought to myself, is it dangerous to tell 0:22:26.119 --> 0:22:29.280 people about the goodness of God and give them hope, 0:22:29.560 --> 0:22:33.040 let them know they can break addictions, overcome an illness, 0:22:33.880 --> 0:22:37.080 let go of their past, reach their dreams. Is it 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:39.679 dangerous to tell people that they're made in the image 0:22:39.680 --> 0:22:44.480 of God, a masterpiece, crowned with favor, royal blood flowing 0:22:44.560 --> 0:22:48.399 through their veins, with seeds of greatness. I had to 0:22:48.400 --> 0:22:51.520 make a decision. Was I going to let someone I 0:22:51.560 --> 0:22:55.080 had never met change who I am, someone that didn't 0:22:55.160 --> 0:22:58.520 understand me, that wasn't for me, to cause me to 0:22:58.560 --> 0:23:02.359 be defensive, to prove to them that I'm not harmful? 0:23:02.640 --> 0:23:05.879 Or was I going to ignore the naysayers, run my 0:23:06.119 --> 0:23:10.640 race and let God fight my battles. Don't change who 0:23:10.680 --> 0:23:14.720 you are for someone that isn't going to be for you. 0:23:15.040 --> 0:23:18.240 No matter what you do. It's not about you. It's 0:23:18.280 --> 0:23:21.359 about the one hundredfold blessing on your life. It's about 0:23:21.440 --> 0:23:24.560 you having a harvest in a famine. Like Isaac, it's 0:23:24.600 --> 0:23:27.800 about you setting a new standard for your family, breaking 0:23:27.840 --> 0:23:32.159 the addiction, graduating from college. You don't have to respond. 0:23:32.600 --> 0:23:35.560 You don't have time to deal with every negative comment, 0:23:36.080 --> 0:23:40.120 every person that doesn't like or understands you. Be in Isaac, 0:23:40.760 --> 0:23:43.639 take the one hundredfold and move forward with your life. 0:23:44.480 --> 0:23:48.520 The King told Isaac, you're too powerful for us. Like Isaac, 0:23:48.800 --> 0:23:52.000 you're too powerful for some of your friends. You're too 0:23:52.040 --> 0:23:55.119 anointed for some of your coworkers. You're too favored for 0:23:55.160 --> 0:23:59.440 those critics. You're too blessed for those naysayers. Where God 0:23:59.560 --> 0:24:03.520 is taking you, they can't go. The sooner you move on, 0:24:04.200 --> 0:24:07.439 the sooner you quit responding, The sooner you quit giving 0:24:07.680 --> 0:24:10.960 the negative your time and attention, the better off you're 0:24:11.000 --> 0:24:14.359 going to be. You have the grace to rise above it, 0:24:14.720 --> 0:24:17.440 the grace to ignore it, the grace to not let 0:24:17.480 --> 0:24:21.560 it bother you. Well, Joel, when they stopped saying things 0:24:21.600 --> 0:24:24.680 about me, When they change their mind, then I'll quit 0:24:24.720 --> 0:24:30.040 being offended, upset, defensive. It's a test. With that blessing 0:24:30.280 --> 0:24:33.760 came persecution. Are you going to let it keep you 0:24:33.800 --> 0:24:37.560 from enjoying the blessing? If you focus on the persecution, 0:24:38.240 --> 0:24:41.760 live sour trying to straighten people out. It will keep 0:24:41.840 --> 0:24:45.399 you from the greater blessings that belong to you. Step 0:24:45.440 --> 0:24:49.560 into that grace and move forward. This is what David 0:24:49.600 --> 0:24:53.119 did when he was a teenager out in the shepherd's 0:24:53.160 --> 0:24:56.240 fields taking care of his father's sheep. He didn't have 0:24:56.400 --> 0:25:00.960 much opposition as long as he was alone in the fields, 0:25:01.280 --> 0:25:05.920 not having much influence, his gifts still hidden. Nobody criticized, 0:25:06.240 --> 0:25:10.080 nobody tried to stop him. But after he killed Goliath, 0:25:10.520 --> 0:25:15.119 he became an overnight hero. King Saul eventually sent for David, 0:25:15.480 --> 0:25:17.760 had him to come to the palace and become his 0:25:17.960 --> 0:25:22.800 armor bearer. One day, Saul overheard people singing, Saul has 0:25:22.880 --> 0:25:27.520 killed thousands and David has killed tens of thousands. Saul thought, 0:25:27.800 --> 0:25:31.480 this guy's more popular than I am. Saul became jealous. 0:25:31.960 --> 0:25:35.960 He couldn't handle David's success. One day, while David was 0:25:36.000 --> 0:25:39.320 playing the heart for Saul, trying to make him feel better, 0:25:39.640 --> 0:25:42.680 Saul took a spear and threw it at David, trying 0:25:42.680 --> 0:25:46.679 to kill him. David dodged it and barely missed him. 0:25:47.320 --> 0:25:51.119 When God promotes you gives you more influence, you have 0:25:51.200 --> 0:25:55.960 to get good at dodging spears. Someone throws an insult, 0:25:56.000 --> 0:25:59.280 dodge it. Throws jealousy, tries to make you look bad, 0:25:59.359 --> 0:26:03.040 dodge it. Throws criticism, says things that aren't true, dodge it. 0:26:03.880 --> 0:26:07.439 The persecution is a sign that people can see the 0:26:07.520 --> 0:26:11.640 favor on your life. Saul wasn't throwing spears at any 0:26:11.720 --> 0:26:14.280 of his other men. He wasn't trying to stop his 0:26:14.400 --> 0:26:19.520 cheapest staff, his lieutenant, his general. He saw something special 0:26:19.600 --> 0:26:23.000 on David. He could sense that David had greatness. That 0:26:23.160 --> 0:26:26.480 stirred up the jealousy, and that's why he chased David 0:26:26.560 --> 0:26:30.400 through the desert. David kept dodging spears, doing the right 0:26:30.440 --> 0:26:34.000 thing when the wrong thing was happening, and eventually Saul 0:26:34.080 --> 0:26:37.600 was killed in a battle and David took the throne. 0:26:37.760 --> 0:26:41.919 You keep dodging the spears, overlooking the wrongs, staying on 0:26:41.960 --> 0:26:45.120 the high road, and God will take care of your saws. 0:26:46.000 --> 0:26:48.320 You have to get to the point where you're not 0:26:48.440 --> 0:26:52.280 moved by persecution, You're not bothered by the jealousy, not 0:26:52.400 --> 0:26:56.440 offended by what someone said, not losing sleep over those 0:26:56.480 --> 0:26:59.560 that are throwing spears. You know it's a part of 0:26:59.600 --> 0:27:04.520 the pack. You can't be blessed without persecution. When those 0:27:04.560 --> 0:27:08.480 spears start coming, that means you're about to take the throne. 0:27:08.560 --> 0:27:12.160 You're about to see God's favor in a new way. Now, 0:27:12.200 --> 0:27:14.760 don't get bent out of shape by who's against you. 0:27:15.359 --> 0:27:17.920 What they said, why do they leave me out? They 0:27:18.000 --> 0:27:21.680 can't stop your destiny. Where God is going to take 0:27:21.720 --> 0:27:26.600 you is going to require greater discipline, greater focus, and 0:27:26.680 --> 0:27:30.840 greater obedience. There will be plenty of opportunities to pick 0:27:30.920 --> 0:27:34.119 up their spear and throw it back, to live defensive, 0:27:34.600 --> 0:27:38.440 to get baited into conflict, like with Isaac. When they 0:27:38.480 --> 0:27:41.600 see God show out in your life, Favor you in 0:27:41.680 --> 0:27:46.439 the famine, prosper you in the pandemic. Some people won't understand. 0:27:47.080 --> 0:27:50.920 They'll try to discredit you, find fault, don't take the bait, 0:27:51.480 --> 0:27:54.520 keep your heart pure, be good to those that aren't 0:27:54.560 --> 0:27:58.800 good to you. Overlook what they said. Not all used 0:27:58.840 --> 0:28:02.960 to bother me, But now I'm comfortable with persecution. I 0:28:03.000 --> 0:28:05.840 don't fall apart when things come against me. I'm not 0:28:06.040 --> 0:28:09.480 bothered by the jealousy. I've lived long enough to tell 0:28:09.520 --> 0:28:13.000 you God has the final say. He will take care 0:28:13.119 --> 0:28:16.879 of those that try to stop you. My question is, 0:28:17.600 --> 0:28:21.160 can you handle the blessing. Can you withstand the persecution, 0:28:21.760 --> 0:28:25.320 keep a good attitude with negative chatter, not be bitter 0:28:25.520 --> 0:28:29.400 over the jealousy. I already know the answer, Yes you can. 0:28:30.000 --> 0:28:33.560 I'm looking at powerful people, I'm looking at focused people, 0:28:33.800 --> 0:28:37.000 and I'm looking at favored people. You've been grace for 0:28:37.119 --> 0:28:41.000 every situation. Now tap into that grace, stay on the 0:28:41.080 --> 0:28:45.520 high road, and get ready. I believe and declare because 0:28:45.600 --> 0:28:48.719 you can handle it. God is about to release a 0:28:48.760 --> 0:28:52.560 new level of blessing, a new level of resources, a 0:28:52.600 --> 0:28:57.560 new level of influence, anointing, creativity, something that you've never 0:28:57.680 --> 0:29:02.080 seen favor that catapults you. Go ahead in Jesus's name, 0:29:02.480 --> 0:29:04.880 and if you receive it, can you say men? Today? 0:29:06.320 --> 0:29:09.200 I'd like to give you an opportunity to make Jesus 0:29:09.280 --> 0:29:11.680 the lord of your life. Would you pray with me? 0:29:12.320 --> 0:29:17.400 Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come 0:29:17.440 --> 0:29:21.280 into my heart. I'll make you my lord and savior. 0:29:22.720 --> 0:29:25.240 If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got 0:29:25.280 --> 0:29:28.280 born again. We'd love to send you some new information 0:29:28.400 --> 0:29:30.480 on your new walk with the Lord. Just text the 0:29:30.560 --> 0:29:33.280 number on the screen, or you can go to the website. 0:29:33.720 --> 0:29:36.760 I hope you'll get into a good Bible based church 0:29:37.040 --> 0:29:40.520 and keep God first place. Thanks so much for listening 0:29:40.520 --> 0:29:43.680 to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can 0:29:43.760 --> 0:29:47.320 receive the latest podcast to keep you encouraged and inspired 0:29:47.400 --> 0:29:48.160 all through the week. 0:29:48.360 --> 0:29:50.560 Help us to continue to share the message of hope 0:29:50.560 --> 0:29:54.040 with those all around the world. Visit Joelosting dot com 0:29:54.160 --> 0:29:56.760 or click the link in the description to partner with 0:29:56.840 --> 0:29:57.360 us today. 0:29:57.600 --> 0:30:00.120 We hope you'll share this message with a friend and 0:30:00.200 --> 0:30:02.959 be sure to follow us on social media. We're praying 0:30:03.040 --> 0:30:06.120 for you. I know God's best is still ahead. We'll 0:30:06.160 --> 0:30:07.000 see you next time. 0:30:08.920 --> 0:30:11.640 With millions of books on Amazon, there's a reading feeling 0:30:11.720 --> 0:30:16.040 for everyone. 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