Develop Your Pearls

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See terms and conditions at UNEs dot co. 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:33.040 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:36.120 Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:36.800 the ministry. 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.280 If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a 0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:40.840 blessing and share it with a friend. 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:43.880 We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:48.080 your life. 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:58.560 God bless you to joy to come into your homes. 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:00.000 We love you. 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.320 If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop 0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:04.280 buy and be a part of one of our services. 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:06.680 I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:09.400 But thanks so much for tuning in today and thanks 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:11.920 again for coming out. I'd like to start each week 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:14.240 with something funny and I should mention this. 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:15.840 This was sent to me from a woman. 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:19.640 But according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:24.680 while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer, 0:02:25.280 --> 0:02:28.480 male reindeer lose their antlers at the start of winter 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:33.560 in late November. Female reindeer keep their antlers until spring. 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:38.360 This means all of Santa's reindeer, from Rudolph to Blitzen 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:39.520 had to be female. 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:42.240 She goes on to say, we should have. 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:45.440 Known only women would be able to drag around a 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:49.840 fat man in a red velvet suit all around the 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:55.120 world in one night and not get lost. All right, 0:02:57.360 --> 0:03:01.000 I don't know about you men, but I'm offended. Hould 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:03.480 your Bible up say it like you mean it. This 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:06.040 is my Bible. I am what it says. I am. 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:07.840 I have what it says I have. 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:11.040 I can do what it says I can do. Today 0:03:11.160 --> 0:03:14.600 I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess. 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:18.560 My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will 0:03:18.600 --> 0:03:22.200 never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:26.600 I want to talk to you today about developing your pearl. 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:31.600 Pearls are made from irritations and oyster feeds. Off the 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:34.800 bottom of the ocean, and occasionally it will get a 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:39.040 grain of sand lodged on the inside. That sand causes 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:40.560 the oyster discomfort. 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:42.360 It doesn't like it. 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:44.600 It rubs and rubs trying to get rid of it, 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:50.440 but eventually it's formed into a beautiful pearl. Pearls are expensive. 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:54.720 People pay thousands of dollars for pearls. Ladies wear them 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:58.520 around their neck. But the fact is that pearl is 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:00.640 birthed out of something un comfortable. 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:04.400 The oyster would have preferred to not deal with it. 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:07.400 If you could ask it, it would say, I don't 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:11.320 like being uncomfortable. Don't give me any more. Irritations make 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:17.440 everything easy. No, God designed the irritation to become something beautiful, 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:21.000 to make it more valuable. In the same way, every 0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:25.040 irritation in our life is designed to become a pearl. 0:04:25.880 --> 0:04:29.160 The scripture talks about how God is the potter and 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.599 we are the clay. One way that God forms us 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:35.719 and molds us is by allowing us to be in 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:40.800 situations where we're uncomfortable. We're not getting our way, we're 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:44.120 not being treated right. It's not happening as fast as 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:48.440 we would like. This pressure brings to light impurities in 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:55.960 our character, things like pride, selfishness, being critical, being easily offended. 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:57.240 Things that we need to get rid of. 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:01.400 We may not like it, but God used is every situation, 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:05.440 every traffic jam, every person that's hard to deal with, 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:07.040 every time we could get. 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:07.760 Our feelings hurt. 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:11.200 We need to remind ourselves this is only a test. 0:05:11.680 --> 0:05:15.000 This is an opportunity to come up higher. See, the 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:19.599 irritation was never designed to frustrate you. It was designed 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:22.800 to help you grow, to help you develop that pearl. 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:27.560 Now I've learned you can't pray away every uncomfortable situation. 0:05:28.480 --> 0:05:30.360 You can't rebuke every trial. 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:34.520 God allows difficulties to help grow us up. 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:37.400 He uses people that are hard. 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:40.599 To get along with like sandpaper to rub the rough 0:05:40.680 --> 0:05:44.240 edges off of us. And if we don't understand how 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:47.839 God operates and the process he uses, then we'll go 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:52.159 through life frustrated, wondering why God's not answering our prayers, 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:55.040 trying to run from everything that's difficult. 0:05:55.440 --> 0:06:00.480 Joel, my supervisor gets on my nerves. He's inconsiderate. I 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:01.599 don't have to put up with this. 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:04.680 I'm gonna leave this job. So have you ever thought 0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:07.520 about God? May have put him in your life to 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:11.200 help develop your pearl, so you could learn to love 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:13.839 those that are not lovely, so you could learn to 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:15.960 be good to people that are not being good to you, 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:20.640 so you could develop patience, kindness, long suffering. 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:23.000 You know what long suffering is. 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:26.599 It's when you have to suffer a long time putting 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:29.839 up with something that you don't like. I learn long 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:35.280 suffering growing up with my brother Paul. If every irritation 0:06:35.480 --> 0:06:37.479 can become a pearl. He helped me to have a 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:41.839 whole strand. Between him and my sister Lisa, I could 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:42.280 open up. 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:43.040 A jewelry store. 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:46.919 But if you leave that job because the boss is 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:49.760 hard and you don't let God do the work in you, 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:53.240 that next position you take, there'll be two more people 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:56.920 just like him. That's God having you on the Potter's will, 0:06:57.120 --> 0:07:00.640 spinning you around and around. He'll give you another opportunity 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:05.880 to pass that test. But understand that irritation, just like 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:10.760 the oyster, is not God trying to make our lives miserable. No. 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:14.840 God knows there's a pearl in you waiting to be formed. 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:18.560 The only way it can be developed is by passing 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:22.440 these tests, by being kind to a coworker that's not 0:07:22.600 --> 0:07:25.760 kind to you. By biting your tongue when you feel 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:29.080 like telling somebody off, by keeping a good attitude even 0:07:29.120 --> 0:07:32.720 when you get stuck in traffic, those are opportunities to 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:36.600 develop our pearl and our attitude should be. If this 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:39.840 is where God has me, I must need it. I'm 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.280 not going to fight against it. I'm not going to 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:45.600 try to pray it away. I'm going to embrace the 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:48.720 place where I am. I know God's given me the 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:51.840 grace to be here. He's got me on the Potter's wheel. 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:55.000 So I'm going to keep a good attitude, knowing right 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:59.520 beyond this irritation is a beautiful pearl. You may be 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:02.240 unc comfortable and kind of have to suffer through it. 0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:05.240 But if you'll stay on the wheel, if you'll be 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:08.480 willing to change and not try to pray away every 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:12.280 traffic jam and pray away every difficult person. But let 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:15.840 God use that to refine you, to develop your character. 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:17.560 That's when you grow. 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:20.440 When you pass those tests, you'll step. 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:21.960 Into a new level of your destiny. 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:27.040 And Paul said in Romans eight eighteen, these present sufferings 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:32.520 are nothing compared to the glory that's coming Paul was mistreated, 0:08:33.000 --> 0:08:36.480 lied about, persecuted. He had to put up with all 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:40.720 kinds of unfair things, but he didn't complain. He didn't 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:44.840 try to run from every difficult situation. He said, in effect, 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:48.160 these hard times, these irritations are. 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.960 No big deal. They're helping to develop my pearl. 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:53.280 I know God's going to use them to do a 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:56.719 work in me. The scripture talks about how if we're 0:08:56.760 --> 0:08:59.880 going to share in Christ's glory, we're going to have 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:04.440 to be willing to share in his sufferings. This suffering 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:11.600 doesn't mean accidents, tragedy, cancer, injustice, abuse. I'm not telling 0:09:11.640 --> 0:09:14.160 you to put up with those things we stand against that. 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:17.760 The suffering this is talking about is when we have 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:21.560 to say no to our flesh and not get upset 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:24.840 when we don't get our way and treat someone right 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:28.480 that's treating us wrong, and stay in faith even though 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:33.800 it's unfair. When we pass those tests, our flesh, that's 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:35.480 the natural part of us, is. 0:09:35.440 --> 0:09:36.400 Not going to like it. 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:39.320 We're going to be uncomfortable, and we're going to do 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:41.840 and to do what we feel. But if you will 0:09:41.880 --> 0:09:44.920 stay on the high road and be willing to suffer 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:49.520 through that period, of being uncomfortable. Then you're allowing God 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:53.960 to refine you. Your character is being developed, that pearl 0:09:54.160 --> 0:09:58.839 is being polished. The scripture talks about Timothy said, how 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:02.880 there are different level that we can grow into vessels 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:06.520 of clay and wood use for ordinary purposes. 0:10:07.320 --> 0:10:08.319 But if you'll let. 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:12.400 God refine you, if you'll be willing to change and 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.720 you don't get stuck at one level in your attitude 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:19.160 and how you treat people and how you handle disappointment, 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:22.560 but you continue to let God refine you, then you 0:10:22.600 --> 0:10:27.040 will become a vessel of gold used for God's highest purposes. 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:30.240 A lot of people get stuck at clay, at wood, 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:33.240 at silver, but I know today I'm looking at people 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:33.599 like me. 0:10:34.040 --> 0:10:35.320 We are going for the gold. 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:38.960 But we all start off at the exact same place. 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:46.719 We're a lump of hard clay. We've got impurities, pride, selfishness, impatience, anger, resentment. 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:50.160 And God puts us on the potter's wheel, begins to 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:53.480 spin us around, and he comes across one of those lumps, 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:57.400 those impurities. He will put us in a situation to 0:10:57.480 --> 0:11:00.520 work that out of us. The key is to pass 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:04.320 the test. Don't fight against everything that you don't like. 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:09.439 Learn to overlook an offense, make allowances for somebody that's 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:12.480 hard to get along with. Quit getting your feelings hurt 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:16.040 because they offended you. Toughen up and pass those tests. 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:18.480 Let the irritation become a pearl. 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:19.960 Here's a key. 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:23.880 If you're praying about a situation and God is not 0:11:24.040 --> 0:11:28.080 removing it, it's not changing, that's a sign that God's 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:31.319 using it to do a work in you. When we 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:35.079 were trying to acquire this facility, I prayed, I believed 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:38.040 I stood in faith, but it didn't look like anything 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:42.560 was happening. Month after month went by, even year after year. 0:11:43.000 --> 0:11:48.640 We had all kinds of opposition, two lawsuits, battle after battle. Finally, 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:51.600 three and a half years later, God gave us the victory. 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:56.200 What's interesting is God could have given us the victory 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:59.200 the first week just as easily as he gave it 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:00.920 to us and a half years later. 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:04.000 He's God. It wouldn't have been any big deal. 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:06.880 He could have just said to the angels, make it happen. 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:11.240 He would have saved a so much struggle, so much effort. 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:14.439 But do you know, during those three and a half years, 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:17.640 I learned to trust God like I had never trusted 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:22.200 him before. Some things you can only learn by experience. 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:25.400 You have to go through the fire, so to speak, 0:12:25.559 --> 0:12:29.520 for that pearl to be developed. Those three and a 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:33.920 half years, I was uncomfortable. There was pressure, not knowing 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:38.080 what was going to happen. But without that irritation, I 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:41.480 would have never developed the pearl of really learning how 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:44.640 to trust God. We can say all day long, God, 0:12:44.679 --> 0:12:47.920 I trust you, God, I believe you. But when you're 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:51.160 put in a situation where you have to use your 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:54.360 spiritual muscles, where you have to show God what you're 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:58.640 made of, that's where you prove what you believe. And 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:01.080 some of you are there right now in what the 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:05.280 scripture talks about the fire of affliction, where you could 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:08.760 either give up and get sour, or you can dig 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:11.280 your heels in and say, God, I'm going to show 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:14.040 you what I'm made of. I'm going to forgive that 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:17.480 person that hurt me. I'm going to keep believing even 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:18.719 though it looks impossible. 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:21.760 I'm going to stay in faith even though it was unfair. 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:26.840 Listen, when you pass those tests, something is deposited on 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:28.360 the inside. 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:29.360 That nothing can take away. 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:33.840 There's a trust, a confidence, a knowing that can only 0:13:33.880 --> 0:13:37.840 be developed by going through the fire of affliction. Now 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:41.920 I've learned that God is not as interested in changing 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:46.880 my circumstances as he is in changing me. Where you 0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:50.240 are is not near as important as who you are. 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:54.000 While God is changing the where, allow. 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:56.440 Him to change the who. He wants to bring the 0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:57.280 pearl out of you. 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:02.200 The question I asked myself often is how much have 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:05.520 I grown in the last five years? Do I have 0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:09.520 a better attitude? Do I trust God more? Do I 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:13.040 treat people better? Am I more patient? Do I forgive 0:14:13.200 --> 0:14:17.600 quicker friends? We should be growing, We should be bearing 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:20.480 more fruit. We shouldn't be at the same place this 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:24.360 year as we are last year. If you're still getting 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:27.840 upset over the same things that you were five years ago, 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:29.240 let me put it real direct. 0:14:29.600 --> 0:14:30.880 It's time to grow up. 0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:35.360 If five years ago that same person is getting on 0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:39.280 your nerves and they're still stealing your joy, you need 0:14:39.320 --> 0:14:42.800 to look inside and make some changes. God is not 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:45.960 going to change them. He wants to use them to 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:51.200 change you. Life is flying by. We cannot waste the 0:14:51.320 --> 0:14:56.000 time going around the same mountain year after year, Like 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:56.720 the people of. 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:58.520 Israel headed toward the Promised Land. 0:14:59.000 --> 0:15:01.880 Do you remember and that was an eleven day journey 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:05.440 that took them forty years to make you and I 0:15:05.520 --> 0:15:09.160 cannot afford forty years to learn lessons that we can 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:12.240 easily learn in a fraction of the time. You got 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:14.360 to dig your heels in, put your foot down and 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:15.120 say that's it. 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:16.480 This is a new day. 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:19.200 I'm not going to keep going around that same mountain 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:22.480 having a bad attitude every time I don't get my way, 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:27.080 arguing with my spouse over the same petty issues, giving 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:31.240 into the same temptation time and time again. Now look inside, 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:34.640 determine you're going to make the changes. The sooner you 0:15:34.760 --> 0:15:37.760 start passing these tests, the better off you're going to be. 0:15:38.360 --> 0:15:40.680 There's a pearl in you. 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.200 You may have a lot of rough edges, you may 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:46.200 have a thousand areas you need to improve in. But 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:50.000 know this, as long as you're moving forward, God is 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:53.720 pleased with you. As long as you're making progress, even 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:55.400 if it's small, God is up in. 0:15:55.400 --> 0:15:56.520 The heavens cheering you on. 0:15:57.240 --> 0:15:59.600 But if your attitude is no better now than it 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:02.480 was five years ago, God is saying, come on, now, 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:05.960 let's get busy. He's got you on the Potter's will. 0:16:06.640 --> 0:16:09.560 You can pray all day long. God deliver me from 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:13.200 these rude people. God take away all these inconveniences. God, 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:16.160 change my spouse is not going to happen. God wants 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:19.880 you to change. You've got to pass that test. Every 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:23.600 time you pass it, it will get easier and easier 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:28.280 and easier. The truth is, God may never remove the irritation, 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:31.360 but you will have grown to such a point that 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:33.080 it doesn't even bother you anymore. 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:34.320 What's happening. 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:38.080 Your character is being developed, That pearl is being polished. 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:42.000 One Peter four to twelve says that trials are to 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:46.080 test our quality. We may not like it, but trials 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:49.720 are beneficial. They bring to light things that we need 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:53.160 to deal with. Most of the time, you're going to 0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:56.320 be tested in the areas that you need to improve in. 0:16:57.080 --> 0:17:00.760 For instance, if you struggle with being impatient, don't be 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:04.280 surprised if you get behind every slow driver that's out there. 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:08.640 You'll catch every light, find every freeway with construction, get 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:09.680 caught by every train. 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:11.240 God has you. 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:14.840 There for one reason, not to frustrate you, but to 0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:16.720 refine you. 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:18.600 You've got to recognize that. 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:22.640 Trial, that irritation is not a coincidence. 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:24.920 It's a test of your quality. 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:28.600 Are you gonna get upset, lose your cool maybe like 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:31.200 you've done in the past, Or are you gonna say, 0:17:31.520 --> 0:17:35.520 I recognize this is an opportunity to grow. God wouldn't 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:37.440 have me here if I didn't need it. So I'm 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:39.919 gonna stay in peace and keep a good attitude and 0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:43.520 pass this test. When you do that, you're coming up higher. 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:47.080 Any time you pass the test, you're headed for promotion. 0:17:47.920 --> 0:17:50.600 When Victoria and I first got married and we were 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:53.080 about to go somewhere, I would ask her if she 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:55.240 was ready to leave, and she would say yes. 0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:56.760 So I would go sit in. 0:17:56.720 --> 0:18:01.040 The car and wait and wait and wait five minutes, 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:02.399 ten minutes, fifteen minutes. 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:04.760 I'd get so frustrated. I'd go back in. 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:07.479 I said, Victoria, I thought you said you were ready. 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:09.760 She would say I am ready. I would say, well, 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:12.800 would you mind walking out to the car. This would 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:15.639 happen time and time again. I'd get so stressed, so 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:18.639 been out of shape. I was praying, God, you gotta 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.679 change her. God make her into this, God make her 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:24.880 into that. I had her on the potter's wheel. One 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:28.359 day I realized I'm not the potter. God is, and 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:32.199 it's funny. God never changed her. He used her to 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:34.679 change me. My prayer's backfired. 0:18:35.040 --> 0:18:38.200 God has a sense of humor. Now. 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:41.960 When she says she's ready, I know that means in general, 0:18:42.080 --> 0:18:46.080 she's ready. It's kind of like the two minute warning 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:49.960 in football. The clock officially says two minutes, but you 0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:53.159 know it's gonna take fifteen or twenty minutes. When she 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:56.840 says she's ready, now, I'll go sit down, watch TV, get. 0:18:56.680 --> 0:18:59.000 Something to eat, take a walk. It's no big deal. 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:03.840 She doesn't realize God has used her to help develop 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:10.000 my pearl. She's a good irritation though. So often we 0:19:10.040 --> 0:19:13.199 pray for God to change the other person. God change 0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:16.480 my spouse, God change my child. God you've got to 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:20.080 change my boss. I've learned, don't ever pray for God 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:24.000 to change somebody else without first saying, God, change me. 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:29.240 And some of you are still getting upset over the 0:19:29.320 --> 0:19:32.679 same petty issues. And if you don't make these changes, 0:19:32.880 --> 0:19:36.720 you'll go the next twenty thirty years being upset frustrated. 0:19:37.240 --> 0:19:40.280 It's not worth it. They may never change, but you 0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:44.280 can change. I know this lady. Her husband doesn't come 0:19:44.320 --> 0:19:46.960 to church with her, and there are a lot of issues. 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:47.000 In her home. 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:50.000 She's been dealing with for years. She used to come 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:53.160 down front for prayer. She had this list of all 0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:55.679 the things that she wanted God to fix, and she 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:58.639 didn't think she could be happy unless they all turned around. 0:19:58.880 --> 0:20:02.520 The main thing was her I saw her recently and. 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:04.480 She was just beaming with joy. 0:20:04.840 --> 0:20:07.640 She was more beautiful and more at peace than I'd 0:20:07.680 --> 0:20:10.760 ever seen her before, and I thought, surely everything must 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:13.920 have worked out. But she said, now, joy, my husband 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:16.160 is just the same, still got a lot of issues. 0:20:16.520 --> 0:20:19.800 He hasn't changed, But you know what I have changed. 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:22.959 I don't let that frustrate me anymore. I don't let 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:26.600 him keep me from enjoying my life. What happened, She 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:30.800 let that irritation become a pearl. When you can be 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:35.439 happy not because of your circumstances, but in spite of 0:20:35.480 --> 0:20:37.760 your circumstances. 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:38.359 Then nothing can take your joy. 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:43.199 You may be in a trial right now that is 0:20:43.240 --> 0:20:46.600 a test of your quality. I was in New York 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:49.480 City last week, and early one morning I went to 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:52.680 this little diner to eat breakfast. A gentleman sitting a 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:56.000 couple of tables over came up and told how when 0:20:56.040 --> 0:20:59.800 he walked into the restaurant that morning was very windy outside. 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:03.320 The person in front of him let the door slam 0:21:03.440 --> 0:21:06.879 in his face. This person clearly saw that he was coming, 0:21:06.920 --> 0:21:09.359 but he just let it go like he did it 0:21:09.400 --> 0:21:12.800 on purpose. Normally, this man would have gotten in his 0:21:12.960 --> 0:21:16.160 face and told him what he thought. But he'd been 0:21:16.200 --> 0:21:19.320 watching our broadcast the last few weeks about staying on 0:21:19.359 --> 0:21:22.720 the Potter's wheel grow and coming up higher. He said, 0:21:23.080 --> 0:21:25.800 just when I was about to let him have it, Joel, 0:21:25.880 --> 0:21:29.840 I heard your voice saying let it go and God 0:21:29.880 --> 0:21:33.800 will fight your battles. He let it go and sat 0:21:33.840 --> 0:21:37.359 down to eat breakfast. He felt a joy bubbling up 0:21:37.359 --> 0:21:40.760 on the inside, like something that he had never felt before. 0:21:41.320 --> 0:21:44.160 When I walked in there five minutes later, he said, Joel, 0:21:44.200 --> 0:21:47.240 I nearly passed out. I knew that was God saying 0:21:47.280 --> 0:21:50.600 that he was pleased with me. Friends, when you pass 0:21:50.720 --> 0:21:54.439 these tests, you will feel God's sense of approval. You 0:21:54.480 --> 0:21:57.320 will feel a new joy on the inside. You'll know 0:21:57.400 --> 0:22:00.159 the creator of the universe is smiling down on you. 0:22:01.280 --> 0:22:03.080 I was reading about how up in the. 0:22:03.040 --> 0:22:07.560 Northeast, fishing for codfish had become a big business, but 0:22:07.640 --> 0:22:11.720 this company had a major problem with the distribution. When 0:22:11.760 --> 0:22:14.480 they frozed the fish and shipped it out like they 0:22:14.480 --> 0:22:17.919 did their other product, they found, for some reason that codfish, 0:22:18.080 --> 0:22:21.760 after it had been frozen, lost all of its taste. 0:22:21.840 --> 0:22:24.560 They decided to try shipping the fish in these big 0:22:24.600 --> 0:22:28.120 tanks of water alive. They thought for sure that would 0:22:28.119 --> 0:22:32.240 fix the problem, but actually it made it worse. Because 0:22:32.320 --> 0:22:35.639 the fish were sitting in the water inactive, they got 0:22:35.680 --> 0:22:39.159 soft and mushy, and again they lost their taste. They 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:43.919 were very puzzled. Somebody had an interesting idea. They decided 0:22:44.040 --> 0:22:47.600 to put a catfish in the tank with the codfish. 0:22:47.960 --> 0:22:49.159 The catfish is the. 0:22:49.240 --> 0:22:52.800 Natural enemy of the codfish, so when those codfish were 0:22:52.840 --> 0:22:57.040 being shipped, they had to stay active and alert, constantly 0:22:57.080 --> 0:22:58.800 looking out for that catfish. 0:22:59.040 --> 0:23:00.800 Do you know that salt the problem. 0:23:01.240 --> 0:23:05.000 Sometimes what we think is an enemy, what we think 0:23:05.119 --> 0:23:08.520 is there to defeat us. The truth is God put 0:23:08.520 --> 0:23:12.719 it there to make us better. Like iron sharpens iron, 0:23:12.920 --> 0:23:15.679 that's going to sharpen you and cause you to grow 0:23:15.720 --> 0:23:18.479 and force you to come up higher. Some of you 0:23:18.840 --> 0:23:22.199 may work with a catfish. You may be married to 0:23:22.280 --> 0:23:27.200 a catfish, Your mother in law may be the catfish 0:23:27.560 --> 0:23:30.720 have a new perspective This person was not put here 0:23:30.800 --> 0:23:31.480 to defeat me. 0:23:31.840 --> 0:23:34.040 They're here to help me polish my pearl. 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:38.640 The reason it's uncomfortable is because God loves you too 0:23:38.720 --> 0:23:41.719 much to leave you alone. He has too great a 0:23:41.800 --> 0:23:44.439 future in front of you to let you stay at 0:23:44.480 --> 0:23:47.480 the same level you're at right now. So He'll use 0:23:47.560 --> 0:23:51.280 these difficulties to grow us up, to develop our character, 0:23:51.720 --> 0:23:54.800 so we will be prepared for the amazing future he 0:23:54.880 --> 0:23:58.840 has in store. The scripture says that our faith is 0:23:59.000 --> 0:24:03.840 tried in the of affliction, just as fire test and 0:24:03.960 --> 0:24:08.200 purifies gold. Some of you are in that refiner's fire 0:24:08.400 --> 0:24:11.760 right now. You're going through a tough time. You don't 0:24:11.920 --> 0:24:14.720 like it. It's not fair, But let me encourage you. 0:24:15.040 --> 0:24:18.560 If you'll stay in faith and keep pushing forward, you're 0:24:18.600 --> 0:24:23.159 going to come out of that refined, purified, stronger, better 0:24:23.200 --> 0:24:27.320 off than you were before. I was reading about this 0:24:27.440 --> 0:24:30.560 couple that loved to go shopping for antiques, and one 0:24:30.640 --> 0:24:33.600 day they were in this small country store. Up on 0:24:33.680 --> 0:24:37.040 the shelf, they saw the most beautiful teacup they had 0:24:37.040 --> 0:24:37.919 ever seen before. 0:24:38.040 --> 0:24:39.160 It was magnificent. 0:24:39.680 --> 0:24:42.720 Now, as they were standing there admiring it, the teacup 0:24:42.800 --> 0:24:46.760 began to talk. It said, I haven't always looked like this. 0:24:47.440 --> 0:24:51.560 There was a time that nobody wanted me. I wasn't attractive. 0:24:51.800 --> 0:24:55.040 I was just a hard lump of clay. But then 0:24:55.080 --> 0:24:58.239 this potter came along and begin to shape me and 0:24:58.359 --> 0:25:01.399 mold me. And I said, hey, what are you doing. 0:25:01.840 --> 0:25:06.119 You're making me uncomfortable. That hurts Leave me alone. He 0:25:06.240 --> 0:25:10.159 simply smiled and said not yet. Then he put me 0:25:10.200 --> 0:25:11.720 on a wheel and began. 0:25:11.640 --> 0:25:13.640 To spin me around and around. 0:25:13.920 --> 0:25:17.440 I got so dizzy, but after a while I had 0:25:17.480 --> 0:25:21.520 taken on a new shape. He formed me into this teacup. 0:25:22.240 --> 0:25:24.960 I thought he was finished, but then he put me 0:25:25.080 --> 0:25:28.600 into a furnace. It was so hot I didn't think 0:25:28.640 --> 0:25:31.800 I could stand it. When he came and checked on 0:25:31.880 --> 0:25:34.359 me and looked through that window of the furnace, he 0:25:34.440 --> 0:25:37.480 had a sparkle in his eyes. I screamed out, let 0:25:37.520 --> 0:25:39.880 me out of here, it's too hot, but he smiled 0:25:39.920 --> 0:25:43.359 and said not yet. He finally took me out and 0:25:43.520 --> 0:25:45.560 put me up on a shelf so I could cool off, 0:25:46.080 --> 0:25:48.680 and I thought, thank goodness, is over. Now I can 0:25:48.720 --> 0:25:51.520 go back to being my normal self. But then the 0:25:51.600 --> 0:25:54.480 potter came and got me and began to paint me, 0:25:55.160 --> 0:25:59.280 changing me from this gray to this beautiful blue. The 0:25:59.320 --> 0:26:02.800 paint was dicky, it was uncomfortable. I thought I was 0:26:02.840 --> 0:26:04.920 going to choke. I told him to stop. 0:26:04.760 --> 0:26:06.160 But he said not yet. 0:26:06.920 --> 0:26:10.400 Then he put me into a second oven, twice as 0:26:10.480 --> 0:26:13.160 hot as the first one. This time I knew it 0:26:13.240 --> 0:26:16.439 was over. I screamed, I'm not kidding. I can't take it. 0:26:16.480 --> 0:26:20.680 I'm going to die again. He said not yet. Finally 0:26:20.720 --> 0:26:23.000 he opened the oven door put me on a shelf. 0:26:23.320 --> 0:26:25.960 A few weeks later, he came by and handed me 0:26:26.119 --> 0:26:30.200 a mirror, And when I looked at myself, I couldn't 0:26:30.240 --> 0:26:35.000 believe how beautiful I had become. I couldn't believe how 0:26:35.040 --> 0:26:38.760 much I had changed. I didn't look anything like that 0:26:38.920 --> 0:26:41.960 old lump of clay I used to be. There was 0:26:42.000 --> 0:26:45.280 a time that nobody wanted me. But now I'm this 0:26:45.400 --> 0:26:51.639 beautiful teacup, valuable, expensive, unique, all because of this potter. 0:26:52.200 --> 0:26:56.320 He made me into something amazing. That's the way God 0:26:56.359 --> 0:26:59.479 works in all of our lives. He's changing us little 0:26:59.560 --> 0:27:02.119 by little from glory to glory. 0:27:04.160 --> 0:27:06.520 But on the way to the glory. 0:27:06.119 --> 0:27:08.399 There may be a little bit of suffering that we 0:27:08.520 --> 0:27:11.080 have to endure. There are going to be times that 0:27:11.119 --> 0:27:14.000 we say, God, get me off of this potter's will. 0:27:14.320 --> 0:27:15.560 I can't take it anymore. 0:27:16.200 --> 0:27:20.359 I can't deal with this child, I can't handle this boss, 0:27:20.400 --> 0:27:22.840 this grouse. Gee, God, I can't put up with this 0:27:22.960 --> 0:27:26.040 catfish in my life anymore. But God is going to 0:27:26.080 --> 0:27:27.960 smile and say not yet. 0:27:28.359 --> 0:27:28.600 See. 0:27:28.640 --> 0:27:32.760 God sees your value. He knows what he's making you into. 0:27:33.680 --> 0:27:36.440 Sometimes when we look at ourselves, we think I got 0:27:36.440 --> 0:27:39.040 a lot of flaws, Joel, I got a hot temper. 0:27:39.320 --> 0:27:42.320 I got a problem with my mouth. I'm not that disciplined. 0:27:42.720 --> 0:27:46.240 We see the clay, but God sees the beautiful teacup. 0:27:46.840 --> 0:27:50.200 The good news is you're not a finished product. God 0:27:50.280 --> 0:27:52.720 is still working on you. And if you will work 0:27:52.760 --> 0:27:56.720 with God and let him remove those impurities, God will 0:27:56.720 --> 0:27:59.359 make more out of your life than you've ever dreamed of. 0:28:00.040 --> 0:28:02.800 One day you'll look back and say, like that teacup, 0:28:03.000 --> 0:28:04.320 I can't believe. 0:28:04.080 --> 0:28:05.399 How far God has taken me. 0:28:06.280 --> 0:28:10.240 The scripture says, after you have passed the test, you 0:28:10.280 --> 0:28:14.320 will receive the victor's crown of life. My challenge is, 0:28:14.359 --> 0:28:17.360 past your test, there's a victor's crown waiting for you. 0:28:17.960 --> 0:28:21.359 Recognize God has you on the wheel don't fight against it. 0:28:21.680 --> 0:28:23.040 Let God refine you. 0:28:23.480 --> 0:28:27.320 These present sufferings are nothing compared to the glory that's coming. 0:28:28.000 --> 0:28:31.360 And if you will stay mouldable, pliable, be willing to change, 0:28:31.440 --> 0:28:33.080 let me tell you you won't be at this. 0:28:33.119 --> 0:28:35.480 Same place next year as you are right now. 0:28:35.720 --> 0:28:39.080 God will take every irritation and turn it into a pearl. 0:28:39.440 --> 0:28:42.240 You won't get stuck at wood, at clay, at silver. 0:28:42.640 --> 0:28:42.720 No. 0:28:42.840 --> 0:28:46.120 I believe in declare you'll become that vessel of gold, 0:28:46.240 --> 0:28:49.640 that vessel of honor, use for God's highest purposes. 0:28:49.800 --> 0:28:50.920 Do you receive that today? 0:28:52.080 --> 0:28:54.800 We never like to close our broadcast without giving you 0:28:54.840 --> 0:28:57.520 an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. 0:28:57.960 --> 0:29:02.000 Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, I 0:29:02.120 --> 0:29:03.200 repent of my sins. 0:29:04.560 --> 0:29:08.200 Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. 0:29:09.480 --> 0:29:11.760 Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you 0:29:11.840 --> 0:29:14.600 got born again. Get in a good Bible based church, 0:29:14.880 --> 0:29:16.120 Keep God first place. 0:29:16.400 --> 0:29:18.640 He's going to take your places you've never dreamed of. 0:29:19.000 --> 0:29:22.400 Thank you for listening to the Joelus Deine podcast. Help 0:29:22.520 --> 0:29:25.240 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:29:25.320 --> 0:29:29.240 all over the world. Visit Jolostin dot com slash give 0:29:29.320 --> 0:29:31.000 hope to give a gift today. 0:29:32.280 --> 0:29:34.720 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. 0:29:34.840 --> 0:29:37.600 I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest 0:29:37.640 --> 0:29:39.040 podcast to keep you. 0:29:39.080 --> 0:29:42.160 Inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. I 0:29:42.200 --> 0:29:45.040 know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you next time.