Don’t Be Defined By Your Mistakes

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Download the uns stap and use the 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:20.840 code I heeart fifty at sign up to receive a 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:23.400 fifty dollars bonus when you find your account. That's code 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.400 iHeart fifty when you sign up at unest dot co 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:29.319 for a fifty dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:30.120 UNEs dot co. 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:32.480 We're so glad to have you with us on the 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:36.120 podcast today. Twenty nineteen is going to be an awesome 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:39.240 year in your life. When you're finished listening, I hope 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:41.840 you'll take a minute and write a quick review. Your 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:45.520 encouragement will help others to be inspired and encouraged. 0:01:45.800 --> 0:02:08.600 Enjoy the message now. 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:01.480 Well, God bless you. It's to come into your homes 0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:04.440 and if you're ever in our area, please stop buying. 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:07.440 Be a part of one of our services. I promise 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:10.480 you we'll make you feel right at home. I like 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:12.880 to start with something funny, and I heard about this 0:02:13.000 --> 0:02:16.440 elderly couple that had been married for over sixty years, 0:02:16.760 --> 0:02:19.840 never had an argument, never had a crossword. They were 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:22.520 at a church function. Someone asked them the secret of 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:26.200 their success. The man told how he always treated his 0:02:26.240 --> 0:02:29.280 wife with respect, and how he took her on trips 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:32.320 around the world. He said, in fact, for our twenty 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:36.520 fifth wedding anniversary, I took her to Beijing, China. Everyone 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:40.079 politely applauded. Someone said, what'd you do for your fiftieth 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:43.760 wedding anniversary? He said, I went back and picked her up. 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:48.360 Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:51.320 I am what it says I am. I have what 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:53.840 it says I have. I can do what it says 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:56.880 I can do. Today I will be taught the word 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:01.800 of God. I boldly confess. Mind is alert, my heart 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:06.000 is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.680 God bless you. I want to talk to you today 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:14.359 about don't be defined by your mistakes. We can all 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:17.920 look back and see times where we gave in to temptation, 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:22.160 We let our guard down and compromised. We were sloppy 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:25.920 and didn't handle the situation the way we should. It's 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:30.800 easy to be defined by one moment in life, by divorce, 0:03:31.400 --> 0:03:34.160 by business. It didn't make it by how we raised 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:38.600 our children. The enemy is called the accuser. He would 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:42.240 love to convince you to let that one mistake, that 0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:45.640 one season, to cause you to live down on yourself, 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:50.680 not be passionate about your dreams. But that mistake didn't 0:03:50.720 --> 0:03:54.600 stop God's plan. You may have failed, but you are 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:58.200 not a failure. That was a moment in your life. 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:03.160 That was one season. It doesn't determine your future. Don't 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:07.000 let that mistake define who you are. If you go 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:13.120 around wearing negative labels divorced, addicted, failled, compromised, it will 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:16.320 keep you from the fullness of what God has in store. 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:19.840 If you're a baseball fan, you may remember the name 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:23.600 Bill Buckner. He was a star player for the Boston 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:27.160 Red Sox for many years. He had more hits than 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:31.200 Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams. One season he won the 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:35.160 batting title had the highest batting average in all of baseball. 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:38.880 He was a great teammate, a leader in the clubhouse. 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:43.560 But in nineteen eighty six, during the World Series, he 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:48.160 went to field a slow rolling ground ball and missed it. 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:51.320 It went right between his legs and the other team 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:55.320 scored and tied the game. That opponent went on to 0:04:55.400 --> 0:05:00.440 win the World Series. The fans were so upset Ronald 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:04.080 they never let him live it down. He became known 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:09.240 as the player that missed the groundball. Despite his illustrious career, 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:12.880 despite all of his hits, all the runs he scored, 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:16.719 they didn't remember any of that. All they remembered was 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:21.360 that one bad play, that one mistake. Bill Buckner passed 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:25.880 away earlier this year, thirty three years after that game. 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:31.240 The first line in the National Associated Press article was 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:36.239 Bill Buckner, a star hitter who became known for making 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:40.719 one of the most infamous plays in baseball. People will 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:44.359 try to define you by your mistakes. They'll try to 0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:47.839 stick labels on you. Reminds you of all the times 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:51.440 you failed, the times you compromised, the times you didn't 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:56.200 measure up. Sadly, some people will choose to remember your 0:05:56.240 --> 0:06:01.320 failures more than your victories, Like with Bill. Despite all 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:04.799 the good you do, despite the time you make sacrifices 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:08.440 to help others, you're honoring God. But when you make 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:12.640 one mistake, when you go through one bad season, don't 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:16.560 be surprised if people don't try to convince you to 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:20.400 live condemned like you're washed up. Well, God's not gonna 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:23.719 bless you. You missed the ground ball he went through 0:06:23.720 --> 0:06:28.400 the divorce you gave into temptation. Just sit on the sidelines. No, 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:32.839 don't let people label you. They don't determine your destiny. 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:37.840 They cannot stop what God has ordained for your life. 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:42.720 The only one that can stop you is you. If 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:46.479 you let your mistakes define you, if you wear labels 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:49.760 that people stick on you, if you believe the lies 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:54.040 from the accuser, that will keep you from your destiny. 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:58.039 And when someone keeps bringing up your past mistakes trying 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:01.320 to get you to live condemned, they may not realize it, 0:07:01.800 --> 0:07:05.840 but they're working for the accuser. The enemy uses people. 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:09.600 You can't stop them from putting labels on you, but 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:13.360 you can take them right off. I am not defined 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:16.960 by my mistakes. I'm defined by what God says about me. 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:22.800 I'm forgiven, I'm redeemed. My past is over, my mistakes 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.840 are behind me. My failures are in my yesterday, and 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:30.840 you know what, I'm not bringing them into today. God's 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:36.320 mercy is new every morning. Receive that mercy and move forward. 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:40.040 What about the failure, It's in the past. What about 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:44.360 the mistake, It's covered by mercy. What about the divorce, 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:49.040 the compromise, the times I've blown it, That's over and done. 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:52.440 Life is too short to let what happened in the 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:56.080 past to keep you from the great things God has 0:07:56.120 --> 0:08:01.160 in your future. After Jesus was crucis and rose from 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:04.480 the dead, he appeared to some of the disciples as 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:08.160 they were meeting in a room. Thomas wasn't there that day. 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:11.760 They went out afterwards and found him. They thought Thomas 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:14.800 would be excited to know that they had seen the Lord. 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:18.920 Thomas wasn't buying it. He said, unless I see him 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:22.640 with my own eyes, unless I feel the nail prints 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:26.520 in his hands, I'm not going to believe. Eight days later, 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:30.560 all the disciples were in a room. Jesus came walking 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:33.959 through the door. He went right up to Thomas, held 0:08:33.960 --> 0:08:37.360 out his hands and said, see the nail, Prince, feel 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:41.040 the scars in my side. Thomas fell on his knees 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:46.240 and said, Lord, I believe. What's interesting is Thomas doubted 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:50.320 that one time. But he's become known as doubting Thomas. 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:54.480 People have stuck their labels on him. You would think 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:57.400 that he had doubted his whole life, that he was 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:01.959 always questioning his faith. But this was just eight days 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:06.720 of his life. It's easy to judge people by one mistake. 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:11.240 It's easy to let one failure define who you are. 0:09:12.120 --> 0:09:16.880 If Thomas would have worn that label doubter failure, he 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:19.960 would have missed his purpose. And we hear a lot 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:23.840 about doubting Thomas. What we don't hear much about is 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:27.160 Thomas is the one that took the gospel to India. 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:31.679 It's believed that he took the message of Christ further 0:09:31.760 --> 0:09:35.680 than any disciple. I've been to India many times with 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:39.840 my father. It seems like every other believer is named Thomas. 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:43.959 He made a great impact with his life. We call 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:49.079 him doubting Thomas. You know what God calls him, believing Thomas. Forgiven, Thomas, 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:54.760 anointed Thomas, favored Thomas in the same way. God is 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:59.079 not judging you by one mistake, by one bad season. 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.960 Why are you beating yourself up? Why are you wearing 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:06.080 labels that people have stuck on you? Why have you 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:11.559 settled where you are? There is an incredible future awaiting you. 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:15.600 You haven't made too many mistakes, you haven't missed your chance. 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:19.720 If you'll Remove the labels that are telling you everything 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:23.559 you're not, how you've blown it. You doubted, you failed, 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:26.920 that's in the past. That doesn't have to stop you. 0:10:27.600 --> 0:10:30.120 The enemy would love for you to go through life 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:37.160 living condemned, wearing negative labels, doubter, failure, divorce, unworthy. Do 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:40.960 yourself a favor. Take off those labels and put on 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:47.679 what God says about you forgiven, redeemed, blessed, qualified, victorious. 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:54.320 Sometimes we make mistakes with good intentions. Bill Buckner wasn't 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:57.880 trying to miss the ground ball. He wasn't being undisciplined 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:02.160 slacking off. He was being his best and still missed it. 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:06.640 You may have done your best, but the relationship didn't 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:10.080 make it. You gave it your all, but the business 0:11:10.160 --> 0:11:14.720 didn't succeed. Like Thomas, your heart is right, you love God, 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:18.480 but you didn't handle the situation the proper way, and 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:21.600 now it sets you back. This is what happened to 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:25.440 Moses as a young man. God gave him the dream 0:11:25.880 --> 0:11:29.600 that he would deliver the Israelites out of slavery. He 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:32.200 knew he was supposed to do it, but he got 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:35.000 in a hurry and did it out of God's timing. 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:40.720 He saw a Hebrew slave being mistreated by an Egyptian supervisor. 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:44.800 He didn't think anyone was watching, and he killed the supervisor. 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:50.080 Moses wasn't trying to make a mistake, He wasn't being defiant. 0:11:50.440 --> 0:11:53.600 He just made a bad choice. He had to flee 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:57.679 for his life. He spent forty years on the backside 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:01.640 of the desert in hiding. It looked like that one 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:07.720 mistake stopped his destiny, that that one bad choice disqualified him. 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:11.800 I'm sure in the desert, thoughts told him, Moses, You're 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:15.280 a failure. What were you thinking? Why are you so impatient? 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:19.079 You blew it. He was wearing all these negative labels. 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:23.200 He thought that mistake would define him. The good news 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:27.520 is God doesn't judge us by one mistake, or by 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:31.280 two mistakes, or for some of us, by ten thousand mistakes. 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:36.640 God's calling on your life is irrevocable. He doesn't change 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:41.400 his mind. Moses had given up, He had accepted that 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:45.959 he would never accomplish his dream. But God doesn't give up. 0:12:46.640 --> 0:12:50.320 You may have counted yourself out, God has already counted 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:54.360 you in. He chose you before you could choose him. 0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:59.440 That mistake is not who you are it's what you did. 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:04.920 It didn't cancel your destiny. That one bad season doesn't 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:09.280 determine the rest of your life. Forty years later, when 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:13.800 Moses was eighty years old, God came to him and said, now, Moses, 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:18.480 it's time go deliver my people. I can imagine Moses 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:22.160 nearly passed out. God, are you sure you mean after 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:25.800 I failed, after I blew it, after I was impatient, 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:30.040 You're still going to use me. Here's the key. God 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:34.480 doesn't define us by our mistakes. He refines us by 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:38.600 our mistakes. He will take those failures and those wrong 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:41.600 turns and use it to do a work in us. 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:47.480 The scripture says Moses became the most humble man in 0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:50.679 all the earth, out in the desert. He learned to 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:53.840 be patient. He learned to trust God in a new way. 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:58.000 If you'll keep the right attitude, God will use your 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:02.679 failures to get you prepared for where he's taking you in. 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:05.960 Like Moses, you may have blown it. You feel like 0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:08.760 you're out in the desert, convinced that you've seen your 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:13.200 best days. No, get ready, your time is coming. God 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:16.560 is about to do a new thing. That relationship that 0:14:16.600 --> 0:14:20.080 didn't work out, that's not how your story ends. God 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:24.520 has someone else coming, someone better than you've imagined. That 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:28.560 addiction that you're struggling with. It is not your destiny. 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:33.280 That is a season, not a lifetime. Don't let it 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:37.360 become permanent. Take off that label that says addicted. Put 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:43.720 on some new labels, free, whole, restored. My father was 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:47.880 married at an early age, and unfortunately the marriage didn't 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:52.200 work out. He had to resign from his church. Denominational 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:55.480 leaders told him that he had never pastor again. He 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:59.560 didn't know any better. He put their labels on him failure, 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:05.680 washed up, unqualified. He didn't get into the marriage thinking 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:09.360 it was going to fail. He had good intentions, but 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:14.040 sometimes life doesn't turn out the way we thought. That's 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:18.000 when the enemy goes to work over time trying to 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:22.000 convince you to let that mistake define who you are. 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:28.480 My father took the bait. He lived condemned, ashamed, embarrassed. 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:32.560 He thought that mistake would define the rest of his life. 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:36.720 So he got out of the ministry and started selling insurance. 0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:40.760 One day he learned what I'm telling you, that our 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:46.280 failures don't cancel God's plan. God has already taken into 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:50.760 account every mistake we would ever make. My father took 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:54.760 off the negative labels. He stopped seeing himself as washed 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:59.880 up and started seeing himself as forgiven, as redeemed, as 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:03.040 a child of the most high. He got his passion 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:06.800 back and got back in the ministry, started pastoring a church, 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:11.040 eventually met my mother. They fell in love and were 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:15.480 married for almost fifty years. Daddy pastored Lakewood for forty years. 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.720 It would have never happened if he had let that 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:23.280 mistake define who he was. If he would have gone 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:27.480 around wearing negative labels down on himself, he would have 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:31.440 missed his purpose. You may have made mistakes, but you 0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:36.200 have to learn to forgive yourself. Quit beating yourself up 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:40.800 over what didn't work out. Sometimes we can forgive others 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:45.080 easier than we can forgive ourselves. People tell me, Joel, 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:48.400 I didn't raise my children right. I blew my marriage, 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:52.480 wasted years of my life on drugs. That's in the past. 0:16:53.280 --> 0:16:56.800 You can't change what's behind you, but you can do 0:16:56.880 --> 0:17:01.960 something about what's in front of you. Mercy is bigger 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:05.680 than any mistake that you've made. He can still get 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:08.520 you to where you're supposed to be, but you have 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:13.720 to do something important forgive yourself. Quit dwelling on everything 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:17.200 you've done wrong, how you should have been more disciplined, 0:17:17.520 --> 0:17:20.960 how you didn't control your temper the moment you ask 0:17:21.080 --> 0:17:25.080 God to forgive you, he forgave you. Not only that, 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:30.080 he doesn't remember your mistakes. Why don't you quit remembering 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:35.520 what God has forgotten. Quit replaying your failures, Quit reliving 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:38.920 your mistakes, thinking of the times that you didn't measure up. 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:43.720 That's just making you more guilty, more condemned. When Jesus 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:47.600 was about to be crucified, he told Peter that he 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:51.920 would deny him. Three times before the rooster crowed that night, 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:56.359 Peter said, not me, Lord, I'm your main disciple. I'll 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:00.800 never let you down. Later that evening, Peter did exactly 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:05.840 what Jesus said. What's interesting is Jesus already knew that 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:09.159 Peter was going to fail. He already knew he was 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:13.720 going to blow it, but he chose them as his disciple. Anyway. 0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:19.400 You would think God would choose people more disciplined, more faithful, 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:24.040 more committed. But God knows we're not perfect, he knows 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:28.200 we're going to make mistakes. Peter was so down on himself, 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:32.320 so ashamed. The scripture says he went out and wept 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:37.280 bitter tears. Was it long after that that Jesus was crucified. 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:40.600 Peter never had the chance to tell him that he 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:44.560 was sorry. He had to live with this guilt, this heaviness. 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:48.679 Two ladies went to the tomb to check on Jesus's body. 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:53.679 An angel appeared said, don't be afraid. Jesus has risen. 0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:58.960 Now go tell his disciples and Peter that he is alive. 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:03.159 Of all the people God could have mentioned at that 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:08.399 critical time, the only one he specifically pointed out was Peter. 0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:13.359 God was showing us I don't define you by your mistakes. 0:19:13.880 --> 0:19:19.199 I don't cancel your destiny because you failed. Fifty days later, 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:23.120 the church was about to be birthed. They needed someone 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:26.600 to give the inaugural address, someone to speak at this 0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:31.960 historic event. I can imagine the disciples talking, Matthew, you 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:35.680 should do it. You're a great speaker. You would be good. John, 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:39.399 you should do it. You're very powerful. Then someone spoke 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:42.840 up and said, no, Peter, it's supposed to be you. 0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:47.760 I remember Jesus said you are Peter, and upon this 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:54.520 rock I will build my church. All the disciples chimed in. Yes, Peter, 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:59.040 you're definitely the one. He said, There's no way. Fifty 0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:03.280 days ago, I denied him. I blew it. I failed. 0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:06.960 I'm ashamed. It was my worst moment. He was wearing 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:10.960 all these labels telling him that he had missed his destiny. 0:20:11.800 --> 0:20:14.960 Just as he is about to walk away, condemned, guilty, 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:18.560 something rose up on the inside. He said, Hey, wait 0:20:18.600 --> 0:20:22.800 a minute, I'm not defined by my mistakes. One bad 0:20:22.960 --> 0:20:26.720 night doesn't cancel what God has ordained for me. He 0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:30.480 stood up and spoke to the crowd. Three thousand people 0:20:30.600 --> 0:20:34.320 came to know the Lord. Maybe you two have failed. 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:38.200 The good news is God already knew it was going 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:43.040 to happen. It didn't stop your destiny. You're still going 0:20:43.080 --> 0:20:46.199 to accomplish your dream. You're still going to have a 0:20:46.240 --> 0:20:49.679 happy family. You're still going to meet the right person. 0:20:50.400 --> 0:20:54.800 Now do your part. Take off the negative labels. Quit 0:20:54.880 --> 0:20:58.040 dwelling on what you don't deserve. How many times you've 0:20:58.040 --> 0:21:02.040 blown it. God is saved. Get back in the game. 0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:06.680 If Peter can stand up fifty days after he denied 0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:10.760 Christ and start the church, then you too can still 0:21:10.840 --> 0:21:16.760 become all you were created to be. Matthew Chapter three 0:21:16.880 --> 0:21:20.480 Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. When he came 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:24.600 up out of the water, this voice boomed out announcing 0:21:24.720 --> 0:21:27.040 that he was the son of God. It was a 0:21:27.080 --> 0:21:32.160 significant moment. Jesus ministry was about to begin. You would 0:21:32.240 --> 0:21:35.560 think Jesus would go back to Galilee where all the 0:21:35.640 --> 0:21:40.080 people were start teaching and healing. But right after this 0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:44.760 first public endorsement, right after this sign of God's favor, 0:21:45.400 --> 0:21:50.480 the scripture says Jesus was led by the spirit into 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:54.520 the desert to be tempted for forty days. If you 0:21:54.560 --> 0:21:57.720 would have seen Jesus out in the desert, you could 0:21:57.760 --> 0:22:00.280 have thought, I just saw him come out out of 0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:03.760 this glorious moment. I just heard the voice saying he 0:22:03.920 --> 0:22:06.560 was the son of God. What's he doing out here? 0:22:07.000 --> 0:22:11.680 This is a mistake, He's off course. Sometimes what we 0:22:11.800 --> 0:22:14.959 think is a mistake is really the hand of God. 0:22:15.800 --> 0:22:19.080 It doesn't say the enemy led him into the desert. 0:22:19.440 --> 0:22:23.640 It says the Spirit led him into the desert. There 0:22:23.680 --> 0:22:28.040 will be times God takes you into things you don't understand. 0:22:28.760 --> 0:22:33.040 Feels like a failure. The door closed, the person walked away, 0:22:33.520 --> 0:22:36.679 the contract didn't go through. You could be down on 0:22:36.760 --> 0:22:40.000 yourself thinking, God, I was being my best. What did 0:22:40.040 --> 0:22:43.600 I do wrong? How do you know that wasn't the 0:22:43.640 --> 0:22:48.640 spirit leading you out there. Some doors are supposed to close, 0:22:49.359 --> 0:22:53.640 Some people are supposed to walk away. Some opportunities are 0:22:53.680 --> 0:22:57.760 not supposed to last. On the way to our destiny 0:22:58.280 --> 0:23:02.880 life with Jesus, God will lead us into a desert experience, 0:23:03.359 --> 0:23:06.760 into something that doesn't make sense. And if we let 0:23:06.920 --> 0:23:10.880 what seems like a failure define us, then we will 0:23:10.960 --> 0:23:14.639 miss what God really had in mind. As soon as 0:23:14.760 --> 0:23:18.760 Jesus passed the test, after those forty days, he came 0:23:18.840 --> 0:23:23.159 out of the desert and started his ministry. What looked 0:23:23.240 --> 0:23:26.320 like a failure, what looked like he was off course, 0:23:26.760 --> 0:23:30.359 was really leading him to a new level of his destiny. 0:23:31.320 --> 0:23:35.200 Quit being discouraged over what didn't work out. You did 0:23:35.240 --> 0:23:38.760 your best, but the business didn't make it feels like 0:23:38.800 --> 0:23:42.800 a failure. Now that's not how your story ends. God 0:23:42.960 --> 0:23:46.359 led you into the desert because he has something much 0:23:46.440 --> 0:23:49.720 bigger in your future. He had to close that door 0:23:50.240 --> 0:23:52.520 to get you to the fullness of what He has 0:23:52.560 --> 0:23:58.160 in store. Every silent season is not the enemy. Every 0:23:58.320 --> 0:24:02.439 desert experience is not a bad thing. You don't know 0:24:02.520 --> 0:24:05.600 what God is up to. When we go through what 0:24:05.800 --> 0:24:09.000 seemed like a failure, it's easy to think, Joe, I 0:24:09.040 --> 0:24:12.840 don't have God's favor now, nothing's working out. No, stay 0:24:12.880 --> 0:24:15.600 in faith. You're on the verge of a new level. 0:24:16.040 --> 0:24:20.000 God's about to take you where you've never been. Now, 0:24:20.280 --> 0:24:24.280 keep passing these tests. Other people may judge you by 0:24:24.280 --> 0:24:27.760 where you are. Look down on you. Think you're finished. Man, 0:24:27.800 --> 0:24:30.560 you're in the desert. You're way off course. Don't pay 0:24:30.560 --> 0:24:34.560 any attention. God has the final say. They may discount 0:24:34.600 --> 0:24:37.560 you now, but your time is coming. They will see 0:24:37.600 --> 0:24:42.800 you promoted, honored in a position of greater favor. A 0:24:42.800 --> 0:24:47.000 friend of mine pastor to church for thirty years, very successful. 0:24:47.480 --> 0:24:49.840 He poured his heart and soul into it, and he 0:24:49.960 --> 0:24:53.480 saw God's blessings and favor. But a few years back 0:24:53.840 --> 0:24:57.840 things begin to go downhill. So he started working harder 0:24:57.880 --> 0:25:00.879 than ever. He would meet with men in their home 0:25:00.960 --> 0:25:04.400 at night and started a six am prayer meeting. Did 0:25:04.440 --> 0:25:08.440 everything he could to keep it going, but instead of increasing, 0:25:08.640 --> 0:25:12.800 it kept decreasing. Eventually he saw the writing on the 0:25:12.840 --> 0:25:15.520 wall and had to turn it over to another group. 0:25:16.240 --> 0:25:19.200 They came and brought their own members and started afresh 0:25:19.280 --> 0:25:23.760 and anew. After thirty years, he left there feeling like 0:25:23.800 --> 0:25:27.000 a failure. They didn't give him a going away party, 0:25:27.600 --> 0:25:31.160 Nobody said thank you. Some of his peers looked down 0:25:31.200 --> 0:25:33.920 on him, saw him as a quitter. Why didn't you 0:25:33.960 --> 0:25:36.520 stick with it? Why didn't you push through it? He 0:25:36.600 --> 0:25:40.480 felt shame and embarrassment. All those years of work, had 0:25:40.520 --> 0:25:43.600 nothing really to show for it. He thought his legacy 0:25:43.600 --> 0:25:47.000 would continue, But this new group came in, changed the 0:25:47.080 --> 0:25:50.760 name of the church, basically just bought the building. He 0:25:50.800 --> 0:25:54.880 couldn't understand it. After such a long season of favor, 0:25:55.240 --> 0:25:58.359 How could it come to an end so abruptly. He 0:25:58.480 --> 0:26:01.560 was certain that was the end to me, closing the door. 0:26:02.000 --> 0:26:05.720 The truth is, it was the spirit leading him into 0:26:05.760 --> 0:26:10.120 the desert. It was God taking him through a silent season, 0:26:10.520 --> 0:26:13.760 not to leave him there, but to increase him, to 0:26:13.840 --> 0:26:17.359 take him somewhere that he had never been. A couple 0:26:17.359 --> 0:26:20.679 of years later, he had the opportunity to work with 0:26:20.800 --> 0:26:25.800 another ministry. Today, he's impacting more people in a week 0:26:26.240 --> 0:26:28.960 than he would in a whole year at his church. 0:26:29.480 --> 0:26:32.440 He and his wife never dreamed they see this much 0:26:32.520 --> 0:26:36.440 influence in favor. Some of the same peers that look 0:26:36.520 --> 0:26:38.800 down on him, made fun of him. Now they want 0:26:38.880 --> 0:26:42.119 him to come and help their church. They're celebrating what 0:26:42.240 --> 0:26:47.159 he's doing. Maybe what you think is a failure is 0:26:47.240 --> 0:26:51.439 really just a desert experience. It's all a part of 0:26:51.480 --> 0:26:55.120 God's plan to get you to where you've never dreamed. 0:26:55.880 --> 0:26:58.800 You think you've missed it. Why did this door closed? 0:26:59.320 --> 0:27:02.639 Why did these people walk away? What did I do wrong? Nothing? 0:27:02.920 --> 0:27:06.240 It's God leading you. On the other side of that 0:27:06.359 --> 0:27:11.440 silent season is a new level. Don't judge your future 0:27:11.880 --> 0:27:15.320 by where you are in the desert. You can't let 0:27:15.359 --> 0:27:18.560 what you don't understand, what doesn't make sense cause you 0:27:18.600 --> 0:27:22.080 to get better sour give up on your dreams. Nor 0:27:22.240 --> 0:27:25.560 keep doing the right thing, keep being good to people, 0:27:25.800 --> 0:27:29.320 keep honoring God, and like my friend, you're going to 0:27:29.359 --> 0:27:33.560 come into something more than you've imagined. When you look back, 0:27:33.840 --> 0:27:37.800 you will realize it wasn't the enemy stopping me. It 0:27:37.880 --> 0:27:40.919 was the spirit leading me. It was God taking me 0:27:41.040 --> 0:27:44.840 through a silent season so he could launch me further 0:27:44.920 --> 0:27:49.960 than I call it possible. My challenge today, don't let 0:27:50.000 --> 0:27:54.080 what you've been through tain't the rest of your life. 0:27:54.160 --> 0:27:56.760 God wouldn't have allowed it if it was going to 0:27:56.840 --> 0:27:59.960 keep you from your purpose, whether you brought the tray 0:28:00.320 --> 0:28:04.160 on yourself or whether the spirit led you into the desert. 0:28:04.720 --> 0:28:08.400 One thing I can assure you, God is not finished 0:28:08.400 --> 0:28:12.600 with you. Your mistakes did not cancel your destiny. You 0:28:12.640 --> 0:28:17.239 wouldn't be alive if there wasn't something awesome in your future. Now, 0:28:17.280 --> 0:28:20.159 why don't you take off all the negative labels and 0:28:20.200 --> 0:28:24.840 put on some new labels forgiven, redeemed child of the 0:28:24.880 --> 0:28:29.080 Most High God. If you'll do this, I believe and declare, 0:28:30.040 --> 0:28:35.679 despite your mistakes, despite your failures, despite your doubts, you 0:28:35.720 --> 0:28:39.400 are still going to leave your mark and become who 0:28:39.480 --> 0:28:43.120 you were created to be. Right now, Guilt is leaving, 0:28:43.640 --> 0:28:49.280 discouragement is leaving, favor is coming, promotion is coming, breakthroughs 0:28:49.320 --> 0:28:53.360 are coming, healing is coming. The fullness of your destiny 0:28:53.800 --> 0:28:56.840 in Jesus' name, and if you receive it. Can you 0:28:56.880 --> 0:29:01.320 say amen? Today? I'd like to give you an opportunity 0:29:01.560 --> 0:29:04.720 to make Jesus the lord of your life. Would you 0:29:04.720 --> 0:29:09.040 pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I'll repent of 0:29:09.120 --> 0:29:14.000 my sins. Come into my heart. I'll make you my 0:29:14.160 --> 0:29:18.560 lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, 0:29:18.640 --> 0:29:21.600 we believe you got born again. Get in a good 0:29:21.680 --> 0:29:24.600 Bible based church, Keep God first place. 0:29:25.560 --> 0:29:29.000 Thank you for listening to the joelus Deine podcast. Help 0:29:29.080 --> 0:29:31.800 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:29:31.920 --> 0:29:35.800 all over the world. Visit Joelustin dot com slash give 0:29:35.880 --> 0:29:37.560 Hope to give a gift today. 0:29:38.840 --> 0:29:41.760 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope 0:29:41.760 --> 0:29:45.160 you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to 0:29:45.240 --> 0:29:48.440 keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. 0:29:48.600 --> 0:29:51.040 I know God's best is still ahead. 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