Don't Allow Critical Voices To Steal Your Dreams

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See terms and conditions at 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:30.080 UNEs dot co. 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:33.959 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:36.759 our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:39.240 If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:40.800 blessing and share it with a friends. 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:51.720 Reappreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:56.280 And I dress you. 0:01:57.000 --> 0:01:59.760 It is always a joy to come into your homes. 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:02.360 We're believing that this is going to be the best 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:05.280 year of your life so far. We pray for you. 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:08.440 We speak God's blessings over you, so I hope that 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:10.720 you'll get that down on the inside as well. But 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:13.480 thanks so much for tuning in today. I like to 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:15.480 get started each week with something kind of funny. And 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:19.440 I heard about this older preacher. He was very near death. 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:22.880 He sent word for two of his members, an ours 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:26.320 agent and a lawyer to come to his house. When 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.000 they arrived, he motioned for them to sit on each 0:02:29.040 --> 0:02:31.640 side of the bed. The men were very moved to 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:34.640 be with the minister in his final moments. Finally, the 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:37.639 lawyer asked, Sir, why did you choose both of us? 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:41.760 The minister mustard up enough strength to say, Jesus died 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:43.919 between two sinners, and that's how I want to go. 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:48.320 All right, hold up your Bible, say it like you 0:02:48.440 --> 0:02:52.040 mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says. 0:02:52.080 --> 0:02:55.160 I am. I have what it says I have. I 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:58.080 can do what it says I can do. Today I 0:02:58.120 --> 0:03:01.600 will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess. 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:06.080 My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:07.040 never be the same. 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:09.040 In Jesus's name. 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:12.359 God bless you. I want to talk to you today 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:16.440 about not allowing the critical voices to steal the dream 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:19.280 out of your heart. If you're going to do anything 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:22.760 great in life, you're going to be criticized. People are 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:27.640 gonna talk, find fault be judgmental. We've all had times 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:31.519 when somebody doesn't understand us, they don't accept. 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:33.320 Us, and we can feel the sting. 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:36.440 Of that rejection. But our job is not to try 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:39.280 to win over all of our critics and prove that 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:42.400 we're right and they're wrong. Our job is to run 0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:45.440 our race focused on what God's put in our heart 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:50.360 and not allow the critics and the naysayers to distract us. Now, 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:52.800 I found some people have been through a lot of 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:55.680 hurt in their own life. The only way they know 0:03:55.720 --> 0:03:58.680 how to respond is out of that hurt. It's just 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:02.480 their nature to dish out criticism, to be judgmental, to 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:05.600 be a fault finder. But here's the key. You can't 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:09.480 let their messed up life poison your life. They may 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:13.040 be spewing out the bitterness, the criticism, the rejection, but 0:04:13.120 --> 0:04:15.800 you've got to learn to just shake that off. Don't 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:19.440 let that poison get on the inside of you. Friends, 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:22.839 you are called to be an eagle, to soar, You're 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:26.760 called to do great things, But throughout life, there will 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:30.600 always be a few crows crowing at you. There'll always 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:33.440 be a few chickens pecking at you, trying to bring 0:04:33.480 --> 0:04:36.839 you down. There'll even be a few hawks here and 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:39.880 there trying to argue with you, trying to fight with you, 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:42.680 trying to get you all distracted. What you've got to 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:44.839 do is learn to rise above that. 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:46.000 Do you know? 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:50.560 The chickens, the hawks, the crows, they cannot live at 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:54.360 the elevation that an eagle lives at. There's been eagles 0:04:54.400 --> 0:04:57.359 spotted as high as thirty thousand feet up where the 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:01.239 big jets fly. When a crow is pestering an eagle, 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:04.279 even though the eagle is much bigger and stronger and 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:08.120 more powerful, the eagle doesn't fight with the crow. He 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:11.200 doesn't chase the crow around, thinking I'll show you your 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:12.120 little troublemaker. 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:14.880 No, the eagle is much smarter than that. 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:18.480 When the crow's pestering the eagle, the eagle simply flies 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:23.120 up higher. He knows the crow cannot live at his altitude. 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:25.640 He knows he doesn't have to fight, so he just 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:28.960 puts his wings out, he catches the thermal winds, and 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:32.840 before long, that old crow is nowhere to be found. 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:35.680 And the truth is, we all have a few crows 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:38.080 in our lives. Some of us have a whole flock. 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:42.640 We all have people that are gonna gossip, try to 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:45.279 make you look bad, try to blow things out of proportion. 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:49.240 And if we're not careful, even though God's created us 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:52.839 as eagles, we'll sink down to their level. Start talking 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:56.240 bad about them, start trying to argue, prove that we're right. 0:05:56.800 --> 0:05:59.599 But that's just like that eagle chasing around a crow. 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:02.560 What a waste of his time. Now I'm asking us 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:07.200 today to start rising up higher. Start overlooking offenses, start 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:10.600 shaking things off. Don't spend all your time trying to 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:14.000 change your critics' mind. The way you defeat them is 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:17.640 by simply going up higher. In other words, let your 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:21.160 life do the talking. Let the way you live, the 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:25.000 integrity of your heart, the excellence of your work, the 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:29.120 kindness of your character. Let those things answer your critics. 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:33.200 Many times words are not even necessary. You want an 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:36.760 answer a critic, stay peaceful even when they're talking about you, 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:41.520 Be respectful even when they're being disrespectful. Do your best 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:44.240 even when they're mocking you and making fun of you. 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:47.520 If you'll stay on the high road. Time will always 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:52.440 answer your critics. In eighteen sixty five, Abraham Lincoln gave 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:56.960 his famous speech, the Gettysburg Address. The next day, the 0:06:57.040 --> 0:07:00.000 Chicago Paper said it was one of the worst speechs 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:05.880 in history. They use words like shameful, silly, unintelligent, But 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:09.600 we know today the Gettysburg Address is regarded as one 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:13.120 of the most brilliant speeches of all time. See Time 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:17.600 answered his critics. Thomas Edison was ridiculed for trying to 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:21.880 invent a light bulb. He felled over a thousand times. 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:25.800 His critics had a heyday making fun of him laughing. 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:29.560 But toward the end of Edison's life, a reporter asked 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:32.760 him what he thought about all of his critics. Edison 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:35.680 didn't say a word. He simply walked over and flipped 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:40.120 on the light bulb. Enough said, let your actions do 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:44.480 the talking. Words are not always necessary. Even Jesus, when 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:48.720 he was being criticized, when people were making false accusations, 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:51.840 what did he do? The scripture says he answered, not 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:54.920 a word. In other words, he rose above it. His 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:58.520 attitude was my life will do the talking. Time will 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:03.280 answer my critics. When somebody's talking about you, and being disrespectful. 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:06.160 We have to make a decision. Am I going to 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:09.360 be a chicken and start talking bad about them? Am 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:11.720 I going to be a crow and argue and try 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:14.000 to prove that I'm right? Or Am I going to 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:16.680 be an eagle and rise above it and let my 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:20.760 life answer my critics. There's something about a person that's 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:24.119 being talked about and criticized, but he just keeps giving 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:28.080 it his best, being promoted, seeing God's blessings in favor. 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:31.600 Even an athlete think about. You can criticize the guy, 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:35.319 bad mouth them, say he's all washed up, but then 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:38.600 he goes out week after week, hits home runs, makes 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:41.600 game winning catches, plays like a superstar. He doesn't have 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:45.120 to answer his critics. He lets his actions defend himself. 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:47.920 The same way, we should not spend all of our 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:51.160 time trying to win our critics over. We should spend 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:56.240 that same time improving our own skills, bettering our own life. 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:58.200 I know when my father went to be with the 0:08:58.240 --> 0:09:02.040 Lord and I first started ministry, I heard some people saying, well, 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:05.360 I don't really think Joel can preach. And the reason 0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:08.640 I didn't argue is because I agreed with them. I 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:11.800 had never preached before. I didn't know how. But instead 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:15.600 of letting that insult me get me all discourage and ah, 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:17.960 they're right, I'm not too hot at this. No, I 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:23.480 spent that same time and energy studying, reading, praying, learning, practicing. 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:26.000 I haven't arrived, but I've grown from where I was 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:31.080 eight years ago. And if people are talking, if people 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:35.600 are being disrespectful and saying demeaning things about you, instead 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:38.800 of letting that get you upset and all soured, why 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:42.960 don't you just prove them wrong, work hard, develop your skills, 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:45.880 be the very best that you can be. We need 0:09:45.920 --> 0:09:50.520 to let our actions answer our critics. Another important key 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:53.240 is don't let your critics keep you from taking a 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.439 step of faith. I know people that play it safe 0:09:56.520 --> 0:09:59.280 all the time. They won't do what God has really 0:09:59.320 --> 0:10:02.400 put in their heart because they're afraid somebody will talk. 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.680 They're afraid they'll be criticized, and they let the fear 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:09.240 of what people are gonna think keep them from stepping out. 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:12.400 We have to accept the fact that not everybody is 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.080 going to understand us. And when you have a big 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:18.839 dream for your life and you start pressing forward doing 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:23.079 something new, don't be surprised if you ruffle a few feathers, 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:25.600 if you get out of the box that your family 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:29.000 and friends are used to, they may not cheer your own. 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:32.480 Everybody may not be excited about your dreams. 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:34.000 In fact, some people are. 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:36.200 Gonna get jealous. Who does he think he is? 0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:37.640 He just thinks he's better than us. 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:42.280 But you cannot let people keep you from pursuing your dreams. 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:44.920 Only you know what God has put in your heart, 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:48.960 and you really shouldn't expect everyone else to understand. Certainly, 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:52.600 people will criticize, they'll find fault. You may even have 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:55.480 to go through some rejection, but you've got to just 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:57.880 shake that off and keep pressing forward. 0:10:58.360 --> 0:11:01.040 This is what Joseph did. Had a big dream in 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:01.520 his heart. 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:04.800 He wasn't satisfied to just sit back and accept the 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:08.800 status quo. And not everybody understood him. And one day 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:12.120 his brothers saw him coming wearing his coat of many 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:15.640 colors that his father had given him. And those brothers 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:19.559 weren't jealous because Joseph was a sharp dresser. They weren't 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:23.319 jealous because he was their father's favorite. They were jealous 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:26.000 of the dream God put in his heart. They were 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:28.559 jealous of the fact that Joseph wasn't just going to 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.320 sit around and do what all the other family members 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:35.680 were doing. He had a dream to rise higher. Many times, 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:39.319 when you have a dream to increase, when you start 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:42.280 doing something out of the ordinary, your critics will come 0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:45.240 out of the woodwork. They're fine as long as you're 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:47.160 in your box, as long as you're all at the 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:51.360 same level. But very often when you start pressing forward, 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:54.199 that'll stir up that critical, jealous spirit. 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:56.679 And this is where so many people miss it. 0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:59.600 They get distracted and they start trying to prove that 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:03.280 they're They get revengeful, they get defensive. But you need 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:06.720 to recognize what's happening. Don't let that stuff poison you. 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:11.480 Learn to just shake it off. Joseph's brothers they rejected him, 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:15.240 They sold him into slavery, and it wasn't easy. Do 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:17.480 you know what Joseph did. He just shook it off. 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:20.920 He did not let their rejection steal the dream out 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:24.000 of his heart. I'm sure at times he was discouraged. 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:26.800 I'm sure he didn't understand it. But I love the 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:30.319 fact he didn't let it poison him. He didn't get bitter, 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:33.480 he didn't spend his time thinking of ways to pay 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:36.959 his brothers back. He didn't go around blaming God. No. 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:40.160 Year after year, he just kept shaking it off. And 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:43.360 you know the story. One day God brought justice into 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:47.040 his life. One day, some fifteen years later, he was 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:50.120 put in charge of all the affairs of Egypt. But 0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:53.560 how many times today when we go through some rejection, 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:57.640 somebody's talking about us, something unfair happened. Do we let 0:12:57.720 --> 0:13:00.160 that poison us and we end up giving up up 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:03.760 on our dream? Well, it wasn't fair. I don't understand 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:06.280 why my own family rejected me. I don't understand why 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:10.079 they're talking about me. No nobody ever said life was 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:12.880 going to be fair. But the good news is God 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:16.520 is fair. God is a god of justice, and God 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:20.080 is keeping the records. God knows every person that's ever 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:25.120 mistreated you. He knows every time they talk behind your back. 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:29.320 He can feel the hurt, the pain, the rejection. And 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:32.200 God wants to restore you. He wants to bring you 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:35.200 out better off than you were before. But the key 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:38.160 is you have to stay on the high road. You 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.000 have to be an eagle. You can't let that stuff 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:44.200 poison you and cause you to get bitter. You can't 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:46.240 get in there and try to fight with him and 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:49.360 fix it all in your own strength. No, just turn 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:52.640 it over to God. Trust him to fight your battles. 0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:56.320 Trust him to take care of your critics. It may 0:13:56.320 --> 0:14:00.000 not happen overnight, but one day God will bring justice 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:03.440 us into your life. He'll make your wrongs right some 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:06.520 of you today you need to get your dream back. 0:14:06.960 --> 0:14:09.880 Does it matter who has rejected you, does it matter 0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:13.360 what you've been through and how impossible it looks. God 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:17.080 is a supernatural God. If you'll keep shaking it off 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:20.120 and not let the poison get in you, then all 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:23.520 the forces of darkness cannot hold you back. When God's 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:26.960 ready to promote you, just like Joseph, you will be promoted. 0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:31.040 God will make sure your dreams come to pass. But 0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:35.120 we have to accept the fact that not everybody is 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:39.000 going to believe in you. You have to believe in yourself. 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:43.240 You and God are a majority, and sometimes you may 0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:46.800 feel like everybody has turned against you. Men told me 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:49.840 the other day his friend of over thirty years, a 0:14:49.920 --> 0:14:53.000 business partner, all of a sudden got jealous of him, 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:57.560 started talking, spreading rumors, and the pain was real. He 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:00.720 was so hurt by it. But you cannot let someone 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:03.880 else's poison get on the inside of you. If your 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:06.480 friends reject you, just stay on the high road and 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:09.480 God will give you some new friends, says in Psalms. 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:13.200 Even if your mother and father reject you, God will 0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:16.560 adopt you as his very own child. Don't give up 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:20.000 on those dreams. Recognize not everybody's going to cheer you on. 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:23.680 Not everybody's going to encourage you. Some people are going 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:26.440 to talk behind your back and try to bring you down. 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:29.120 But that does not change what God has put in 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:32.440 your heart. Your destiny is not tied to what other 0:15:32.480 --> 0:15:35.320 people are saying about you. You may have been through 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:38.320 a lot in the past. Maybe people have hurt you, 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:41.360 done you wrong, but quit looking back. The past is 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:44.000 the past. Let God take care of the people that 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:48.320 hurt you. Let God bring justice into your life. One 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:52.040 thing I loved about Joseph he stayed focused on the future. 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:55.800 He didn't spend that time bitter. He could have thought, 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:58.360 you know, God, why did this happen to me? It's 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:01.840 so unfair. My own family rejected me. What did I 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:05.280 do to deserve this? No, he just shook it off. 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:08.560 You got to quit trying to figure everything out. People 0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:10.560 ask me, Joel, whose fault was it? What did I do? 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:14.160 Some things you're never going to understand. The main thing 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:17.160 is let it go right now so it doesn't poison 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:20.480 your life. Do like Joseph and keep your eyes focused 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:23.320 on the future. I've known people that have gone through 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:25.840 some kind of rejection, some kind of hurt, and they 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:29.240 let that become the central focus of their life. By that, 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:31.880 I mean they're always talking about it. It's always in 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:35.240 the front of their mind. But that's just like picking 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:37.840 a wound that's trying to heal. It's never going to 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:40.800 get better unless you leave it alone. Let it go. 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:43.880 This is a new day. God has a new beginning. 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:46.800 Somebody may have walked out of a relationship on you, 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:49.520 somebody may have done you wrong, but that doesn't mean 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:53.080 that God doesn't have another plan. When one door closes, 0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:56.520 God always opens up another door. And the scripture says 0:16:56.560 --> 0:17:00.960 here Isaiah sixty one, verse seven, God will give us 0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:06.080 a twofold recompense for our former shame. That means when 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:10.320 people mistreat us, when unfair things happen, if we'll stay 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:12.600 on the high road and just keep shaking it off, 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:15.719 then God will pay us back double for all that 0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:19.159 hurt and pain, He'll add up the heartache, the sorrow, 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:22.200 the mistreatment, and he'll pay you back with twice the joy, 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:26.240 twice the peace, twice the favor, twice the victory. And 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:28.160 some of you today you need to get a new 0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:31.880 vision for your life. Somebody may not have treated you right, 0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:35.159 somebody may be talking about you right now, but the 0:17:35.200 --> 0:17:38.359 good news is really what they've done is qualified you 0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:41.359 for double They did it for your harm, but God 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:44.280 wants to turn it around and use it to your advantage. 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:47.880 So you got to do your part, though. Quit dwelling 0:17:47.920 --> 0:17:51.160 on it, quit living discourage. Well, Joel, I've been through 0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:54.160 so much. I just don't see how my dreams could 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:56.479 ever come to pass. Now, you've got to keep shaking 0:17:56.520 --> 0:17:58.879 that stuff off. You need to get up every morning 0:17:58.920 --> 0:18:01.000 and just say God, you know the people that have 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:03.520 hurt me. You know it wasn't fair. But God, I 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:06.080 know you're a God of justice, and I just want 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:07.720 to thank you. Right now. I'm going to come out 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:10.959 of this with twice the joy, twice the peace, twice 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:15.119 the honor, twice the victory. Understand, God doesn't want to 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:18.680 just barely bring you out of your difficulties, all beat 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:21.600 up and bedraggled, half dead. Well, at least, Joel, I'm 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:24.480 still here, still breathing. That's good, But that's not the 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:27.120 way our God works. He wants to make the enemy pain. 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:29.760 He wants to bring you out better off than you 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:33.119 were before. Why don't you get a vision for Double today. 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:37.720 I've known people that have gone through a breakup in 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:41.320 a relationship, something very unfair happened, and now they have 0:18:41.440 --> 0:18:45.040 no dream for their life. They internalize everything, Well, it 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:48.600 was my fault, and if I just tried harder, or 0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:51.359 maybe if I'm just a little more attractive. Now, have 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:54.199 you ever thought about that other person probably had a 0:18:54.200 --> 0:18:57.240 few problems of their own. Instead of spending all that 0:18:57.320 --> 0:19:01.240 time blaming yourself and trying to pay your critics back 0:19:01.280 --> 0:19:04.080 and trying to get even, I'm asking you to spend 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:07.520 that same amount of time thanking God that Double is 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.560 on its way. Well, you say, Joel, I heard somebody 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:12.200 talking about you again last week. 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:15.199 Really, in a sense, that's good news God, you heard that. 0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:18.880 I'm believing for Double. What I'm saying is get your 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:23.480 fire back. Most of the time, when we experience criticism 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:26.879 or rejection, we do just the opposite. We get down 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:31.720 and discouraged, We get revengeful, defensive. No shake that junk off. 0:19:31.960 --> 0:19:34.960 God is in control of your life. He has you 0:19:35.000 --> 0:19:37.760 in the palm of his hand. He said, no weapon 0:19:37.840 --> 0:19:41.240 formed against you will ever prosper. What the enemy means 0:19:41.280 --> 0:19:43.240 for evil, what God wants to use for your good. 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:45.920 If he did it for Joseph, he'll do it for you. 0:19:46.600 --> 0:19:48.960 Don't be a chicken and sit around in self pity. 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:51.600 Don't be a crow and try to pay people back. 0:19:51.920 --> 0:19:54.560 Rise up and be the eagle that God created you 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:57.560 to be. I know my father he went through a 0:19:57.600 --> 0:20:01.560 great rejection, a great disappointment. Back in the late nineteen fifties. 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:05.200 He was a pastor of a very successful church. Things 0:20:05.280 --> 0:20:08.159 were going great, but my sister Lisa was born with 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:12.200 something like cerebral palsy, and this really challenged my dad's faith. 0:20:12.800 --> 0:20:16.040 He went away for several weeks and he got alone. 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:19.000 He began to search the scriptures in a new way, 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:22.439 and he saw how God was a healing god, a 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:25.320 good God. He went back to his church and he 0:20:25.359 --> 0:20:28.960 preached with a new fire, a new enthusiasm. He thought 0:20:28.960 --> 0:20:32.240 everybody would be excited, but it was just the opposite. 0:20:32.440 --> 0:20:34.560 Many of them didn't understand. 0:20:35.200 --> 0:20:38.000 They were very steeped in their traditional ways and they 0:20:38.000 --> 0:20:43.000 didn't like this quote new message. People started talking, started criticizing, 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:46.560 started judging him. See, anytime you step out to do 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:50.520 something out of the ordinary, not everybody will understand. And 0:20:50.600 --> 0:20:54.000 here's a key. The dream in your heart may be 0:20:54.080 --> 0:20:57.720 bigger than the environment that you're in. Sometimes you got 0:20:57.760 --> 0:21:00.000 to get out of that environment in order to see 0:21:00.200 --> 0:21:06.160 that dream fulfilled. You think about it like an oak tree. 0:21:06.240 --> 0:21:09.200 If you plant it in a pot, it can only 0:21:09.240 --> 0:21:12.440 grow so big. Once its roots feel that pot, it's 0:21:12.480 --> 0:21:15.639 gonna quit growing. But the problem is not with the tree. 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:18.880 The problem is with the environment that is in. It's 0:21:18.920 --> 0:21:22.399 stifling its growth. And some of you have bigger things 0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:25.479 in your heart than the environment that you're in. But 0:21:25.520 --> 0:21:29.119 the problem is where you are. It's safe. You've been 0:21:29.160 --> 0:21:31.920 at that job for twenty two years, you've been hanging 0:21:31.960 --> 0:21:34.520 around those friends since you're in high school. But you 0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:37.159 know down in here it's holding you back. You know 0:21:37.200 --> 0:21:40.000 you have more on the inside, but you're kind of 0:21:40.040 --> 0:21:42.960 afraid you may ruffle some feathers, you may hurt some feelings. 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:46.280 Are you afraid you might step out there and fail. Listen, 0:21:46.320 --> 0:21:48.720 I don't know about you. I'd rather take a step 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:51.480 of faith and fail than have to look back and 0:21:51.560 --> 0:21:55.600 wonder all my life what I could have been. People 0:21:56.359 --> 0:21:59.959 may reject you, they may criticize, but really, life is 0:22:00.119 --> 0:22:03.440 way too short to live it just trying to please everybody. 0:22:03.560 --> 0:22:06.119 Life is too short to go around worried about what 0:22:06.160 --> 0:22:09.600 people are going to think. Some of my father's lifelong 0:22:09.680 --> 0:22:13.400 friends started talking about him, judging him, and really they 0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:17.200 weren't bad people, they just didn't understand. My father knew 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:19.280 the best thing for him to do was to just 0:22:19.320 --> 0:22:24.040 move on, and so he left that place hurt and dejected. 0:22:24.720 --> 0:22:28.680 He could have allowed that one negative experience to poison 0:22:28.760 --> 0:22:32.520 the rest of his future. He could have gotten bitter, angry, 0:22:32.600 --> 0:22:35.679 gone around blaming God, blaming people. You know what my 0:22:35.680 --> 0:22:39.280 father did, He basically just shook it off. He accepted 0:22:39.280 --> 0:22:42.000 the fact that not everybody was going to understand him. 0:22:42.480 --> 0:22:46.080 He recognized the dream in his heart was bigger than 0:22:46.119 --> 0:22:48.760 the environment that he was in. So he went down 0:22:48.800 --> 0:22:52.639 the street to an abandoned feed store and started Lakehood. 0:22:52.960 --> 0:22:55.920 That was on Mother's Day in nineteen fifty nine. We've 0:22:55.920 --> 0:22:59.679 been going strong ever since then. That some of you 0:22:59.720 --> 0:23:04.240 did do Like my father. You have so much more 0:23:04.359 --> 0:23:07.040 in you, but you're letting the fear of what people 0:23:07.080 --> 0:23:10.080 will say or what people will think. Well, my family 0:23:10.200 --> 0:23:13.400 understand you're letting that hold you back, But you got 0:23:13.400 --> 0:23:16.720 a break free from trying to please everybody. You got 0:23:16.720 --> 0:23:18.840 to get out of the safe zone and get over 0:23:18.880 --> 0:23:21.840 into the faith zone. I talked to a young man 0:23:21.880 --> 0:23:24.760 the other day. He grew up in a very small town. 0:23:25.119 --> 0:23:28.399 He came from a great family, loving parents, five brothers 0:23:28.400 --> 0:23:31.320 and sisters. He was the youngest, and all of his 0:23:31.400 --> 0:23:34.439 other siblings had stayed there close and worked in the 0:23:34.440 --> 0:23:37.560 little town. But this young man had a dream of 0:23:37.560 --> 0:23:40.600 something bigger in his heart. He really struggled with it 0:23:40.640 --> 0:23:43.359 because he loved his family. He loved his parents, but 0:23:43.480 --> 0:23:46.879 he knew in order to fulfill his destiny he needed 0:23:46.920 --> 0:23:49.720 to take a job offer with a company several hundred 0:23:49.800 --> 0:23:52.959 miles away in a larger city. He told me it 0:23:53.000 --> 0:23:56.040 was the hardest thing that he had ever done. His family, 0:23:56.080 --> 0:24:00.280 his parents loved him, but they didn't understand him. Brothers 0:24:00.320 --> 0:24:03.640 and sisters started talking, what he thinks, He's better than us, 0:24:03.760 --> 0:24:06.679 He's too good for our small town had nothing to 0:24:06.720 --> 0:24:10.840 do with that. But that rejection cut him like a knife. 0:24:11.000 --> 0:24:14.760 Here the people that were closest to him didn't understand him. 0:24:15.320 --> 0:24:18.080 He was so tempted to get bitter. He was tempted 0:24:18.080 --> 0:24:20.760 to think, I'll show you and not have anything to 0:24:20.760 --> 0:24:24.520 do with him. But instead he chose to be an eagle. 0:24:24.920 --> 0:24:27.760 He chose to rise above it and just shake it off. 0:24:28.200 --> 0:24:31.480 He recognized not everybody was going to understand him, not 0:24:31.600 --> 0:24:34.840 everybody was going to cheer him on. Just like Joseph, 0:24:34.960 --> 0:24:38.080 he kept doing his best, didn't let it poison him. 0:24:38.760 --> 0:24:40.920 When he would come back for the holidays to visit 0:24:40.960 --> 0:24:43.919 his family, although they were kind of cold, he was 0:24:43.960 --> 0:24:44.720 the bigger person. 0:24:45.200 --> 0:24:46.879 He loved them anyway. 0:24:46.960 --> 0:24:50.160 In spite of their rejection, he would send them gifts. 0:24:50.480 --> 0:24:55.200 He supported his parents. This young man continued to get promoted, 0:24:55.480 --> 0:24:58.639 and today he not only owns his own business, but 0:24:58.720 --> 0:25:02.200 he's a leader in his life. Filled He's extremely talented, 0:25:02.520 --> 0:25:06.879 extremely successful. But he could have so easily succumbed to 0:25:06.920 --> 0:25:09.480 that pressure, thinking, oh man, I don't want to ruffle 0:25:09.520 --> 0:25:12.560 some feathers, and what's my family members gonna think. He 0:25:12.600 --> 0:25:15.800 could have easily lived just to please people. But the 0:25:15.880 --> 0:25:18.800 problem with that is We'll never know what we could 0:25:18.800 --> 0:25:22.520 have been. We'll never know the abundant life that God 0:25:22.560 --> 0:25:23.520 really had in store. 0:25:24.320 --> 0:25:26.360 This is what David faced when. 0:25:26.160 --> 0:25:28.040 He was a young man. He was out in the 0:25:28.080 --> 0:25:31.920 shepherd's fields taking care of his father's sheep, and one 0:25:32.000 --> 0:25:34.840 day his dad asked him to go take his brother 0:25:34.960 --> 0:25:37.080 some food. They were out on the front lines of 0:25:37.119 --> 0:25:40.600 the battle. When David got out there, he heard Goliath 0:25:40.760 --> 0:25:44.400 taunting the people of Israel, and something rose up in him. 0:25:44.920 --> 0:25:47.840 He knew he wanted to fight Goliath. God put that 0:25:47.960 --> 0:25:52.240 dream in his heart. But David's older brother, Eliab tried 0:25:52.280 --> 0:25:56.320 to discourage him. He said, sarcastically, David, what are you 0:25:56.400 --> 0:25:59.640 even doing here? And with whom have you left those 0:25:59.680 --> 0:26:02.439 few suh sheep noticed he was trying to make him 0:26:02.480 --> 0:26:05.119 feel small. He was saying, David, you're never going to 0:26:05.160 --> 0:26:07.920 do anything great in life. You're just a shepherd boy. 0:26:08.000 --> 0:26:11.280 You don't have what it takes. David could have let 0:26:11.280 --> 0:26:12.400 that rejection. 0:26:12.400 --> 0:26:14.959 Sink in and keep him from pressing forward. 0:26:15.440 --> 0:26:17.520 He could have stayed out there and the shepherd's fills 0:26:17.520 --> 0:26:20.960 his whole life. But no, David knew he had something 0:26:21.000 --> 0:26:24.280 bigger on the inside. He was content where he was. 0:26:24.680 --> 0:26:28.200 That was a time of training, but he wasn't satisfied 0:26:28.240 --> 0:26:31.160 to stay there. And isn't it interesting how his own 0:26:31.240 --> 0:26:34.720 family came against him. His brother was really saying, David, 0:26:34.880 --> 0:26:37.919 don't ruffle any feathers, just stay where you are. But 0:26:38.040 --> 0:26:41.720 David would not have fulfilled his destiny if he'd stayed 0:26:41.760 --> 0:26:44.960 in that environment, if he'd let that rejection and criticism 0:26:45.040 --> 0:26:48.000 sink in. I don't believe we'd be talking about him today. 0:26:48.720 --> 0:26:51.560 And some of you, too, will not fulfill your God 0:26:51.640 --> 0:26:55.280 given dreams in the environment that you're in right now. Now. 0:26:55.280 --> 0:26:57.440 I'm not saying to be foolish and pack up and lead, 0:26:57.800 --> 0:27:00.679 but I am saying you cannot let the fear of 0:27:00.720 --> 0:27:03.280 what people are gonna say or what people are gonna 0:27:03.280 --> 0:27:05.840 think keep you from doing what you know in your 0:27:05.840 --> 0:27:09.760 heart God's called you to do. Friends, you have seeds 0:27:09.800 --> 0:27:13.120 of greatness on the inside. You know where the most 0:27:13.200 --> 0:27:16.359 valuable treasure in all the world is. It's not in 0:27:16.400 --> 0:27:19.560 the diamond minds of South Africa. It's not in the 0:27:19.560 --> 0:27:22.680 oil fields of the Middle East. It's in the cemeteries 0:27:22.720 --> 0:27:27.119 all around us. Buried in those graveyards are dreams that 0:27:27.200 --> 0:27:31.159 never came alive. Books that were never written, businesses that 0:27:31.200 --> 0:27:35.600 were never started, relationships that were never formed. Somebody was 0:27:35.640 --> 0:27:39.680 afraid to take a risk, somebody was afraid they'd be criticized, 0:27:40.119 --> 0:27:43.320 or maybe somebody tried it and failed once and so 0:27:43.400 --> 0:27:46.320 they just gave up. Don't let that be you. You 0:27:46.440 --> 0:27:48.520 have a treasure on the inside. 0:27:48.760 --> 0:27:50.359 You have so much to offer. 0:27:50.880 --> 0:27:54.840 But throughout life, everything in the world will come against 0:27:54.920 --> 0:27:56.679 you to try to get you to give up on 0:27:56.720 --> 0:28:03.040 your dreams. People, circumstances, criticism, rejection, sometimes even your own family. 0:28:03.560 --> 0:28:06.080 You got to dig your heels in and just keep 0:28:06.080 --> 0:28:09.320 pressing toward what God has put in your heart. When 0:28:09.359 --> 0:28:13.000 you suffer rejection, when people do you wrong, be quick 0:28:13.040 --> 0:28:16.399 to forgive. Don't get discouraged, learn to just shake it 0:28:16.440 --> 0:28:19.440 off and start believing. For double and some of you 0:28:19.520 --> 0:28:22.520 are way overdue. If you've had more than your share 0:28:22.600 --> 0:28:25.640 of negative things come against you, people pulling you down, 0:28:26.200 --> 0:28:28.720 trying to keep you from rising higher. Listen, you got 0:28:28.720 --> 0:28:31.280 to get your fire back, get your hopes up again, 0:28:31.400 --> 0:28:34.800 keep that dream alive. Remember it's not over until God 0:28:34.840 --> 0:28:35.560 says it's over. 0:28:35.880 --> 0:28:37.520 God has the final say. 0:28:39.520 --> 0:28:42.320 If you will keep your heart free from the poison 0:28:42.360 --> 0:28:45.760 of offense, the poison of criticism, and just stay on 0:28:45.800 --> 0:28:48.280 the high road and keep doing your best. I know 0:28:48.360 --> 0:28:50.479 God will do for you what he did for Joseph. 0:28:50.680 --> 0:28:53.640 He'll bring justice into your life. He'll make your wrongs right. 0:28:53.720 --> 0:28:56.280 He'll take care of your critics and you too. We'll 0:28:56.280 --> 0:28:58.840 see those dreams come to pass. Amen. Do you receive 0:28:58.880 --> 0:29:03.000 it today? We never like to close our broadcast without 0:29:03.000 --> 0:29:05.760 giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of 0:29:05.800 --> 0:29:09.640 your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, 0:29:10.760 --> 0:29:15.560 I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I 0:29:15.720 --> 0:29:19.400 make you my Lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed 0:29:19.400 --> 0:29:22.520 that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get 0:29:22.520 --> 0:29:25.240 in a good Bible based churn. Keep God first place. 0:29:25.560 --> 0:29:28.000 He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed of. 0:29:28.920 --> 0:29:32.360 Thank you for listening to the juel Ustine podcast. Help 0:29:32.440 --> 0:29:35.160 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:29:35.280 --> 0:29:39.160 all over the world. Visit Joeloustine dot com slash give 0:29:39.240 --> 0:29:40.920 Hope to give a gift today. 0:29:42.200 --> 0:29:45.120 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope 0:29:45.120 --> 0:29:48.520 you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to 0:29:48.600 --> 0:29:51.800 keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. 0:29:51.960 --> 0:29:54.440 I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you 0:29:54.480 --> 0:29:54.960 next time.