Don't Have A Critical Spirit

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What if 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:11.080 you could unlock insights about your finances in less than 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:13.600 five minutes, with a clear picture of where you stand 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.399 today and where your money can work harder. Now you 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:19.480 can visit facet dot com to take the free quiz 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:24.120 and get your financial wellness score today. That's Facet dot com. 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:26.240 This ada sponsored by Facet. Facet Wealth in Corporated is 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:28.240 an SEC registered investment advisor. This is not an offer 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:30.080 to buy yourself security s noor is it investment, legal 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:30.800 or tax advice. 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:34.039 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:37.200 our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:39.880 enjoy today's message, why don't you be a blessing and 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:42.600 share it with a friend. We appreciate you and pray 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:56.920 put God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you. 0:01:57.120 --> 0:02:00.120 It's always a joy to come into your homes. I 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:02.800 love you, and we know God has great things in store. 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:05.880 He rewards the people that seek after him. If you're 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:08.079 ever in our area, I hope you'll stop buying be 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:10.160 a part of one of our services. Give you a 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:12.880 personal invitation. I promise you will make you feel right 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:15.400 at home. But thank you so much for tuning in again, 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:17.880 thanks for coming out today. And I like to start 0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:20.400 with something funny. And I heard about this minister that 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:23.639 was out bear hunting. He searched and searched all through 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:27.639 the woods without any sign of a bear. After several hours, 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:30.880 he finally threw his gun down in frustration and went 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.960 to the stream to cool off. About that time, he 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:37.639 sees a huge grizzly bear running toward him a couple 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:41.440 hundred yards away. He falls down on his knees and says, God, 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:45.360 I need your protection. God. I'm asking you to convert 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:50.000 this bear into a Christian. Miraculously, the bear froze in 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:53.239 his tracks, put up both paws toward the heavens, and said, 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:55.360 thank you Lord for this food I'm about to eat. 0:02:57.080 --> 0:02:59.639 All right, hold up your Bible. Say it like you 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.880 mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:05.400 says I am. I have what it says I have. 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:08.600 I can do what it says I can do. Today 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:11.800 I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess. 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:15.760 My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:20.320 never be the same. In Jesus' name, Amen, God, bless you. 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:23.919 I want to talk to you today about not having 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:28.480 a critical spirit. Too many people go through life focused 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:32.400 on what's wrong rather than what's right. They've developed a 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:36.480 habit of seeing the negative. They can walk into a 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:40.960 brand new house that's beautifully decorated, you couldn't ask for 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:44.520 a nicer place, but instead of seeing a thousand things 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:47.280 that are right, they'll point out the one small scratch 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:50.640 on the floor. They're drawn to the negative. They don't 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:54.680 see the beautiful rose, they see the thorn. And in life, 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:58.240 no matter how much good there is, you can always 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:01.880 find something bad if you look for it, some fault, 0:04:02.360 --> 0:04:05.920 some weakness, something that we don't understand. And we can 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:08.960 either develop an eye for the good, or we can 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:14.000 develop a critical eye. This is especially important in relationships. 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:18.280 You can train yourself to see people's strengths, or you 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:22.320 can train yourself to see their weaknesses. You can focus 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:25.920 on what you like about your spouse and magnified their 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:29.000 good qualities, or you can focus on what you don't 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:32.479 like and magnify the things that annoy you. And this 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:36.400 is why some relationships are in such trouble. People have 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:40.120 developed this habit of being negative. Now they can't see 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:43.360 anything good It's like this man I heard about. His 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:46.480 wife was making breakfast and he asked for two eggs, 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:50.040 one scrambled and one fried. She made them and put 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:52.440 them on a plate. When he saw them, he shook 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:54.760 his head. She said, what do I do wrong? Now, 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:57.479 that's exactly what you ask for. He said, I should 0:04:57.480 --> 0:05:02.760 have known it. You fried the wrong egg. Some people 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:06.680 have become so critically minded that no matter what you do, 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.839 it's not going to be right. They never see the 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:14.000 good their spouse does. They've forgotten the reasons they fell 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:17.800 in love and got married. It's because they're magnifying the 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:21.520 wrong things. If you struggle in this area, I would 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:25.280 encourage you to make a list of the qualities that 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:29.000 you like about your spouse. Write down the things that 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:32.200 they do right. He may not be a good communicator, 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:34.960 but he's a hard worker. Put that on your list. 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.479 She may have some weaknesses, but she's a great mother. 0:05:38.960 --> 0:05:43.080 She's smart, she's intelligent. Write that down and every day 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:47.800 go over it. Start focusing on their good qualities. If 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:51.120 you're negative towards your spouse and you operate out of 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:55.000 this critical spirit, it's going to poison your whole. Out book, 0:05:55.680 --> 0:05:59.200 you won't communicate properly, you won't want to do things together. 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:02.599 It will affect you in every area. You have to 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:07.640 make a switch. Start appreciating that person's strengths and learn 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:11.800 to downplay their weaknesses. We all have faults and things 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:14.800 that can get on people's nerves. The key is what 0:06:14.880 --> 0:06:18.920 are we magnifying. When we let this critical spirit rise up, 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:22.560 we start magnifying the wrong things. That's when we start 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:26.719 complaining that the wrong egg got fried. And when we're critical, 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:30.440 we begin to nag, and we exaggerate and make big 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:32.800 deals out of things that are not big deals. Will 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:35.840 you never take out the trash? Will you never spend 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:40.160 any time with me? You're always late? Now I've discovered 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:44.160 people respond to praise more than they respond to criticism. 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:47.520 The next time you want your husband to mow the lawn, 0:06:48.040 --> 0:06:51.480 instead of nagging saying you lazy thing, when are you 0:06:51.560 --> 0:06:53.680 ever gonna mow our lawn? It looks so bad? Now, 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:56.280 just say, did I ever tell you when you're out 0:06:56.279 --> 0:07:01.160 there mowing the lawn you look really good? And when 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:04.720 I see your muscles bulging out of your shirt, that's 0:07:04.760 --> 0:07:08.479 sweat dripping down in your face. You look so handsome, 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:12.240 so attractive. You praise him like that, and he'll mow 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:17.960 the lawn every day. People respond to praise more than criticism, 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:22.120 And when we're constantly critical, we have to realize the 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:25.640 problem is not with our spouse, it's not with our boss, 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:29.040 not even with our circumstances. The problem is with us. 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:32.800 I heard about this couple that moved into a new neighborhood. 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:36.120 One morning early, while they were eating, the lady looked 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:39.680 out the window and saw the neighbor hanging her wash 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:42.520 out on the line to dry, and she noticed that 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:46.120 the wash was so dirty and so dingy. She said 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:49.360 to her husband that neighbor doesn't know how to wash. 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:53.440 Her clothes aren't clean. I wonder if she even uses detergent. 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:57.360 Day after day she made these same comments. Can't believe 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:01.480 she lets her family wear those dirty, dingy close. Several 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:04.800 weeks later, she looked out that window and the clothes 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:08.200 were just as bright and clean and beautiful as could be. 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:11.680 She was so surprised she called her husband said, honey, look, 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:15.640 the lady finally learned how to wash. I wonder what happened. 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:19.320 The husband smiled and said, honey, I got up early 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:25.720 this morning and cleaned our window. The problem was not 0:08:25.920 --> 0:08:29.480 that the neighbor had dirty laundry. The problem was the 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:33.120 window she was looking through was not clean. She was 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:36.520 seeing everything through a tainted filter. It's the same way 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:40.720 in life. How dirty our neighbor's laundry is depends greatly 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:43.840 on how clean our own window is. Here's how the 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:47.199 scripture puts it to the purer, all things are pure 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:50.959 if you can't ever see anything right. You drive down 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:54.400 the freeway and only see the traffic and construction and potholes, 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:57.760 never the beauty. You only see the scratch in the floor, 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:01.640 never the amazing house. You never see what people do right, 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:06.439 only what they do wrong. My encouragement is clean your window. 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:10.360 The problem is not with somebody else. It's an internal issue. 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:13.600 It's like this man that had an accident driving to work. 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:15.480 He got out of the car and yelled at the 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:18.160 other driver. He said, lady, you need to learn how 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:22.839 to drive. You're the fourth person that's hit me today. No, 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:25.400 at some point we need to look inside and say, 0:09:26.000 --> 0:09:28.960 maybe I'm the one that needs to change. If I'm 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:32.920 critical all the time, maybe I've developed the habit of 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:37.199 seeing the bad rather than the good. If I'm constantly skeptical. 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:42.040 Maybe I've trained myself to be cynical and sarcastic rather 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:46.760 than believe the best. If I'm constantly finding fault, perhaps 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:51.040 my own filter is dirty. Maybe I've become judgmental and 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:54.679 condemning rather than giving people the benefit of the doubt. 0:09:55.240 --> 0:09:58.120 And one thing I've learned is a critical spirit will 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:01.440 follow you everywhere you go. You can't get away from it. 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:06.120 You can leave one job angry, upset, bitter they didn't 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:08.880 treat me right. But if you don't deal with the 0:10:08.960 --> 0:10:12.560 root issue, you'll have the same problem at the next job. 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:16.840 You'll think everybody's against you and nobody can do anything right. 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:20.680 My boss doesn't know what he's doing. It's because that 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:24.640 window is tainted. I knew a young lady growing up. 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:27.920 For as long as I've known her, she has always 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:32.120 been critical. Even as a teenager at high school, she 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:35.600 would complain about things at school that I didn't even 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:38.200 think about. I never knew I had it so bad 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:42.080 until she told me I got word just the other day. 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:45.920 This would be some thirty years later that she just 0:10:46.000 --> 0:10:50.400 left another job upset, angry, thinking people didn't treat her right. 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:53.920 The sad thing is she'll go her whole life like 0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:58.040 that unless she learns to clean her window. She's looking 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:01.160 out of a window that's been tanned through a filter 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:05.960 that's gone through years of judgment, years of criticism. Parents, 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:09.280 it's so important that we deal with these issues and 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:13.280 we learn to break a critical fault finding spirit so 0:11:13.400 --> 0:11:15.960 we don't pass it down to our children. That's what 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:19.520 happened to this young lady. I remember growing up being 0:11:19.559 --> 0:11:22.600 at her home. Her parents were the exact same way. 0:11:23.080 --> 0:11:27.720 They were critical about everything, critical toward their neighbors, critical 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:31.280 toward the city. The man was always complaining about how 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:36.000 bad his employer was. A critical spirit will taint everything. 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:41.480 What's the solution. Number One, recognize your window is dirty. 0:11:42.200 --> 0:11:45.280 Number two, just as you've developed a habit of seeing 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:49.680 the worst, train yourself to see the good. Don't go 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:52.800 to work every day focused on what you don't like 0:11:52.920 --> 0:11:56.840 about your employer. Focus on something that's right. Be grateful 0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:59.880 that you have a job. Be grateful that you're not unemployed. 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:03.040 Don't drive up and down the freeway and just see 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:06.920 the traffic and the potholes and the construction. Don't look 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:09.840 out at the beauty of God's creation. Look out at 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:12.839 the trees, look up at the sky, breathe in the 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:16.920 goodness of God. When that critical spirit comes, you have 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:20.400 to deal with it one thought at a time. If 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:25.200 you see someone or something that you don't understand, you 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:29.040 don't agree with, don't be quick to judge, don't let 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:32.040 that critical spirit rise up. Just say, you know what. 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:35.480 I may not understand this, I may not agree, but 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:37.560 I'm not going to be a fault finder. I'm gonna 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:40.800 give them the benefit of the doubt. A few months 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:43.720 ago I met a young man and his girlfriend after 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:48.719 the service. They had more tattoos and more piercings than 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:52.559 anybody I had ever seen. The man had tattoos up 0:12:52.559 --> 0:12:56.080 his arm to his neck, even on his face. The 0:12:56.120 --> 0:13:00.719 young lady must have had one hundred different piercings. Were 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:04.719 unusual looking at first, that critical spirit tries to rise up. 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:06.240 Why do they look like that? 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:06.800 Boy? 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:09.000 They must have a lot of probably a lot of issues. 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.320 But instead of staying there, I took out my critical 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:15.720 eyes and I put in God's eyes. When I did, 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:19.800 I had a different perspective. I was glad that they 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:23.520 felt comfortable coming to church. I was glad that they 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:26.920 took time to honor God. They were not anything like 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:30.440 I expected. They were some of the kindest, most genuine 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:33.760 people you could ever meet. On the outside, there was 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:37.360 a thousand reasons to be judgmental, to be critical. That 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:40.839 religious spirit tries to rise up. Why do they dress 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:44.600 like that? What's their problem? But no, really, what better 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:47.559 place for them to be at church? Come to find 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:51.600 out he was the leader of a very successful heavy 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:54.480 metal band. They just had a big concert in the 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:57.480 arena the night before. He looked to be about thirty 0:13:57.559 --> 0:14:00.439 years old, and he said, Joel, I have never been 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:03.680 in church one day in my life before. This is 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:05.960 the first time I have ever set foot in a 0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:11.440 house of worship. He gave me one of their CDs 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.439 and said, listen to track number seven. That's a song 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:18.439 I wrote after listening to you. Don't judge people by 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:21.520 the outside. When you're at tempted to be critical and 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:25.640 find fault. Remember the enemy is called the accuser of 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:29.880 the brethren. Recognize where the source is coming from. He's 0:14:29.920 --> 0:14:32.280 the one that's wanting you to be critical. I don't 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:33.920 know about you, but I'm not gonna go over to 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:36.880 that side. I'm gonna stay on God's side. I'm gonna 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:40.280 believe the best. There may be a thousand things that 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:42.800 I can see that's wrong with them, but I'm gonna 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:45.560 look and look and look until I find at least 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:49.360 one thing that is right. I've been forgiven much, so 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:52.400 I'm gonna love much. And if I err, I'm not 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:55.160 gonna err on the side of judgment. I'm gonna err 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:58.440 on the side of mercy. After all, where would we 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:01.160 be without the mercy of God God? If I hadn't 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:03.920 had good parents and been raised in a good church, 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:06.880 who knows where I would be today. I'm not gonna 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.520 be condemning. I'm not gonna be a fault finder. I'm 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:12.640 gonna keep my wind decks handy, I'm gonna keep my 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:16.280 windows clean. But people today they're so quick to judge 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:19.200 and quick to find fault and quick to be critical. 0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:22.720 If somebody's not just like them, they're a little bit different. 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:25.920 Instead of giving them the benefit of the doubt, they 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:28.960 look them up and down and start to pick them apart. Well, 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:32.320 I would never dress like that, I would never drive 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:35.000 that car. Well, if I were them, I wouldn't have 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:37.920 taken a vacation in this economy. If I were them, 0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:40.200 I wouldn't send my kids to that school. If I 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:42.640 were them, I wouldn't wear that much jewelry. Now here's 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:45.480 the key. You're not them. You don't really know what 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:47.840 you would do because you haven't walked in their shoes. 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:52.120 I had a man tell me after last week's service, 0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:55.760 a visitor how his pastor just took six weeks off 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:59.440 to go on around the world cruise. And this man 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:03.120 just couldn't understand it. He went on and on complaining 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:05.840 to me and telling me how wrong that was. The 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:08.920 whole time, I'm thinking to myself, the reason your pastor 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:13.440 left was to get away from people like you. How 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:16.680 somebody spends their money, and where they go on vacation, 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:19.600 how they raise their children, what kind of car they drive, 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:23.200 I've learned that is none of my business. I don't 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.840 know about you, but I have a hard enough time 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:28.640 trying to run my own life without trying to run 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:33.440 somebody else's life. One of the best ways that we 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:37.120 can keep our window clean is to learn to mind 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:41.200 our own business. If somebody takes four vacations a year, 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:44.120 that's none of my business. If they drive around town 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:46.520 in a limousine or come to church in a boat, 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:49.560 that's none of my business. If they wear rings on 0:16:49.600 --> 0:16:51.960 every finger and rings on every toe, that's none of 0:16:51.960 --> 0:16:57.480 my business. Don't be nosy. Nosy people are critical people. 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:01.760 They want to know all the details, all the latest scoop, 0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:05.119 not so they can pray for the person, not because 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:09.560 they're genuinely interested, but because they know they'll hear something 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:13.520 juicy that'll feed their flesh and they can run tell 0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:16.560 their friends, did you hear what I heard? Did you 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:18.760 know what they did? Did you hear the latest? 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:19.240 Know? 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:22.080 Your attitude should be I didn't hear, and I don't 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:25.159 want to hear. I don't want to be poisoned. My 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:28.520 ears are not garbage cans to fill with a bunch 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:32.320 of trash. And if somebody is trying to tell you 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:36.720 something bad about somebody else, don't sit there and be passing. 0:17:37.359 --> 0:17:39.280 He said, Joel, I couldn't help it. They wanted to 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:41.480 tell me. Sure, you can just say you know what 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:44.680 I just remembered. I've got an important appointment I've got 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:47.560 to go to. I'm gonna have to excuse myself if 0:17:47.600 --> 0:17:50.520 you can't leave. Well, you know, instead of talking about 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:53.320 this person, why don't we pray for them? Stay on 0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:56.919 the offensive, don't let people poison you. If your friends 0:17:56.960 --> 0:18:01.760 are critical, fault finders, gossips, backbiters, you need to find 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:05.800 some new friends. Those spirits can rub off on you. 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:08.399 You shouldn't go to lunch every day at work with 0:18:08.520 --> 0:18:11.040 people that sit around and bad mouth the company and 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:15.520 criticize the boss and gossip and complain, you say, Joe, 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:17.200 if I don't go to lunch with them, I may 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:21.199 be lonely, yes, but I'd rather be lonely than poisoned. 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:24.680 I would rather be lonely than allow people that are 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.679 not going anywhere in life to keep me from my 0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:31.000 God given destinies. Well, Joel, if I don't go with them, 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:33.840 they may start talking about me. Now, let me tell 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:37.119 you a secret. Most likely they're already talking about you. 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:42.880 If they'll talk about others in front of you, then 0:18:42.920 --> 0:18:46.720 when you're not there, they'll talk about you. I have 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:49.439 a friend. When he was a young man, he worked 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:53.040 for this well known minister. One night they were in 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:56.840 another city on the road holding this conference, and after 0:18:56.920 --> 0:18:59.960 the service, the two main staff members for this well 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:03.639 known minister, they invited this young man to come to 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:07.199 their hotel room after service and watch the ballgame and 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:10.280 have some snacks, and so this young man went over 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:12.639 there and they were having a good time, just hanging out. 0:19:12.960 --> 0:19:15.600 But all of a sudden, these two main staff members 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:19.320 began to talk about their boss. They were so negative 0:19:19.359 --> 0:19:23.080 and so critical and judgmental toward him. This young man 0:19:23.200 --> 0:19:26.199 was shocked. Here. He was just new on staff and 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:28.800 these other two men been with this minister for over 0:19:28.840 --> 0:19:32.080 twenty years. When he heard how bad they were talking, 0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:34.760 something just stirred on the inside that said this is 0:19:34.800 --> 0:19:37.240 not right. You need to go, You need to leave, 0:19:37.760 --> 0:19:41.680 and he very politely excused himself. He never said anything 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:44.640 else about it. But a couple of weeks later, that 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:48.400 well known minister called these two staff members in and said, 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:50.800 I was praying this morning and I just feel like 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:53.240 you're no longer on board with me, so I'm going 0:19:53.320 --> 0:19:56.440 to ask you to leave. They were both dismissed. Today, 0:19:56.760 --> 0:19:59.760 this young man, he is a very well known minister 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:03.920 all over the world. But he said, I know if 0:20:03.960 --> 0:20:06.679 I had not left that night, if I would have 0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:10.520 allowed them to poison me and become critical and judgmental, 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:14.080 I would not be where I am today. Those other 0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:17.760 two men were just as gifted. They had all kinds 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:20.880 of potential. But for years and years, all they've done 0:20:21.040 --> 0:20:24.560 is floundered around. They've never walked in the fullness of 0:20:24.560 --> 0:20:27.639 what God has in store. It's because they have this 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:31.440 critical spirit. If people are stirring up things around you, 0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:35.800 talking about the leadership, talking about your family, talking about 0:20:35.800 --> 0:20:38.960 your friends, don't sit there and be a part of it. 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:42.920 That can keep you from your God given destiny. God 0:20:43.000 --> 0:20:47.480 will not promote a critical spirit, a gossip, a fault finder, 0:20:47.760 --> 0:20:52.040 someone that's sowing discord. If you have a problem with someone, 0:20:52.359 --> 0:20:55.240 go to them face to face, not behind their back. 0:20:55.960 --> 0:20:58.880 You may not agree with everything, there may be things 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:02.119 you don't understand. Don't be a gossip. Don't go around 0:21:02.280 --> 0:21:05.760 stirring up trouble. And if you're not behind the company 0:21:05.800 --> 0:21:08.560 that you work for, you need to go find another job. 0:21:09.000 --> 0:21:11.840 But as long as you're taking their paycheck, you should 0:21:11.840 --> 0:21:15.320 not be critical and condemning. You should support those people 0:21:15.320 --> 0:21:19.480 in that organization. I remember, even years ago, this man 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:23.280 was very critical toward my father. He stood up in 0:21:23.320 --> 0:21:26.680 the middle of a service and said, John Osteen, this 0:21:26.840 --> 0:21:30.560 work is going downhill. It will not continue. You are 0:21:30.600 --> 0:21:34.560 not of God. You are in error. My father said, Brother, 0:21:34.920 --> 0:21:37.600 I appreciate you coming today, but don't let the door 0:21:37.680 --> 0:21:41.000 hit you when you leave. He said, you better listen 0:21:41.040 --> 0:21:44.640 to me. I'm a prophet of God. My father said, brother, 0:21:44.680 --> 0:21:47.720 you're not a prophet. You're just a fault finder. You're 0:21:47.760 --> 0:21:50.320 just a complainer. In fact, you're where we get the 0:21:50.440 --> 0:21:56.800 term non profit organization. Year after year, my father just 0:21:56.960 --> 0:21:59.800 kept being his best, doing what God called him to do. 0:22:00.480 --> 0:22:03.199 A couple of years after that, that man, he was 0:22:03.240 --> 0:22:06.159 only in his forties, he had a heart attack and 0:22:06.280 --> 0:22:09.520 suddenly died. And I'm not saying that God is going 0:22:09.560 --> 0:22:14.000 around killing people, but I am saying when we're judgmental 0:22:14.200 --> 0:22:18.800 and critical, we step out of God's protection, we step 0:22:18.840 --> 0:22:21.719 out of his blessings and favor. And we have to 0:22:21.760 --> 0:22:25.720 realize when we are critical, we're not hurting the other person, 0:22:26.080 --> 0:22:30.800 we're hurting us. One time in the scripture, someone criticized 0:22:30.880 --> 0:22:34.480 Moses because she didn't like the wife that Moses chose 0:22:34.520 --> 0:22:38.159 to marry. His wife was another nationality, and this lady 0:22:38.400 --> 0:22:43.119 criticized and stirred up trouble, just went around gossiping about it. 0:22:43.480 --> 0:22:45.760 All the while Moses was as happy as could be. 0:22:46.200 --> 0:22:49.080 Didn't bother him. He rose above it. But in the end, 0:22:49.119 --> 0:22:52.640 the lady that criticized, she came down with leprosy. Her 0:22:52.680 --> 0:22:56.280 skin was full of disease. I don't know about you, 0:22:56.359 --> 0:22:59.080 but I'm not going to talk about people. I may 0:22:59.119 --> 0:23:03.080 not understand them, i may not agree, i may choose 0:23:03.119 --> 0:23:05.639 not to associate with them, but I'm not going to 0:23:05.760 --> 0:23:09.239 bad mouth them and try to ruin their reputation. I 0:23:09.400 --> 0:23:12.760 need God's protection. I want to stay under his covering. 0:23:13.880 --> 0:23:18.359 The scripture says here Matthew seven, Verse one, don't pick 0:23:18.400 --> 0:23:24.320 on people, don't jump on their failures, don't criticize their faults, unless, 0:23:24.320 --> 0:23:27.520 of course, you want the same kind of treatment. That 0:23:27.640 --> 0:23:31.160 critical spirit has a way of boomeranging back to you. 0:23:32.119 --> 0:23:35.359 This is saying, when we are critical and judgmental, we 0:23:35.440 --> 0:23:38.520 are so in seedes for people to be critical and 0:23:38.600 --> 0:23:42.639 judgmental back toward us. It's funny today there are some 0:23:42.800 --> 0:23:47.840 people that do nothing more than criticize other ministries. They've 0:23:47.880 --> 0:23:52.600 built an organization, They built their whole ministry on criticism, 0:23:52.680 --> 0:23:56.080 on judgment, on fault finding. They never see the good 0:23:56.280 --> 0:23:59.320 the person is doing, They never see the change lives. 0:23:59.520 --> 0:24:02.800 They over look all the fruit, and they'll find one 0:24:02.920 --> 0:24:06.200 thing they don't agree with one statement out of twenty 0:24:06.240 --> 0:24:09.200 five years of ministry, they'll blow it up and try 0:24:09.200 --> 0:24:11.760 to make a big deal about it. What they don't 0:24:11.800 --> 0:24:16.119 realize is nobody is perfect. I certainly don't claim to 0:24:16.200 --> 0:24:19.960 have perfect doctrine to be right one hundred percent of 0:24:19.960 --> 0:24:22.840 the time on every single issue. But I do know this. 0:24:23.320 --> 0:24:25.680 My heart is right, and I'm doing to the best 0:24:25.720 --> 0:24:30.399 of my ability what God wants me to do. And 0:24:30.480 --> 0:24:34.320 I love what Jesus said to people that were critical 0:24:34.400 --> 0:24:38.479 in judgmental. He said, get the telephone poll out of 0:24:38.520 --> 0:24:41.400 your eye before you try to get the toothpick out 0:24:41.440 --> 0:24:45.119 of your brother's eye. What he was saying was clean 0:24:45.400 --> 0:24:49.720 your window, look inside, deal with your own issues, and 0:24:50.080 --> 0:24:52.879 spend your time trying to improve your own life, and 0:24:52.920 --> 0:24:56.359 you'll have a whole lot less time being critical and judgmental. 0:24:57.200 --> 0:24:59.000 And when I come to the end of my days 0:24:59.040 --> 0:25:01.800 and stand before God, and he says, Joel, what did 0:25:01.840 --> 0:25:04.280 you do with the time that I entrusted you with? 0:25:04.800 --> 0:25:06.920 How did you use the gifts that I gave you? 0:25:07.640 --> 0:25:10.080 I would hate to have to say God, I spent 0:25:10.160 --> 0:25:15.159 my life criticizing other ministries, knocking people down, trying to 0:25:15.160 --> 0:25:18.840 make them look bad. Stirring everything up. Have a hard 0:25:18.880 --> 0:25:22.040 time believing that God's going to say, well done, you, 0:25:22.160 --> 0:25:24.840 good and faithful servant. You did just what I asked. 0:25:24.840 --> 0:25:28.239 You stirred it all up. Now, I imagine God's going 0:25:28.280 --> 0:25:30.560 to hand them a bottle of wind decks and say, 0:25:30.600 --> 0:25:33.320 do me a favor. Clean your window before you come 0:25:33.400 --> 0:25:36.200 up here. If not before long, you'll be finding fault 0:25:36.200 --> 0:25:39.720 with me. And in life at times you'll have to 0:25:39.760 --> 0:25:43.919 pass the test of not being critical toward people that 0:25:44.000 --> 0:25:48.040 are critical of you. Maybe at the office, somebody is 0:25:48.080 --> 0:25:50.840 trying to make you look bad, talking behind your back, 0:25:50.920 --> 0:25:54.199 taking things out of context. It's very tempting to be 0:25:54.280 --> 0:25:57.280 critical back and think two can play at this game. 0:25:57.760 --> 0:25:59.679 They said this about me, Well, let me tell you 0:25:59.720 --> 0:26:02.720 what I know about them. No, don't sink down to 0:26:02.760 --> 0:26:07.000 their level. Don't let their poison cloud your window. Learn 0:26:07.080 --> 0:26:11.560 to bless your enemies. Understand the higher you go, the 0:26:11.560 --> 0:26:15.159 more haters will come out. Everything may be fine with 0:26:15.240 --> 0:26:18.399 your co workers as long as you're at the same level. 0:26:19.080 --> 0:26:22.159 But the moment you get promoted and they see you 0:26:22.280 --> 0:26:25.080 being blessed, and you get married and you moved into 0:26:25.160 --> 0:26:28.280 that new house and you've got a healthy family, don't 0:26:28.280 --> 0:26:31.960 be surprised if they start talking, spreading rumors, trying to 0:26:32.000 --> 0:26:36.560 make you look bad. Unfortunately, not all of your friends 0:26:36.720 --> 0:26:40.600 will celebrate your victories. Not all of your coworkers will 0:26:40.640 --> 0:26:44.600 be happy when you get promoted. Some will be jealous, 0:26:45.040 --> 0:26:49.200 some will be intimidated, thinking you succeeding is making them 0:26:49.200 --> 0:26:52.120 look bad, so they'll try to tear you down. Well, 0:26:52.160 --> 0:26:54.440 I don't know why he got promoted. He's not even 0:26:54.480 --> 0:26:57.720 that talented, or why did he marry that girl. She's 0:26:57.800 --> 0:27:00.679 not even attractive, she doesn't even have a good personality. 0:27:01.480 --> 0:27:04.240 It'll be tempting to try to set the record straight 0:27:04.640 --> 0:27:07.680 and be critical back toward them, But don't fall into 0:27:07.720 --> 0:27:11.400 that trap. Let God fight your battles for you. If 0:27:11.440 --> 0:27:14.120 you will stay on the high road, God will take 0:27:14.240 --> 0:27:16.959 what they mean for harm and he will use it 0:27:17.200 --> 0:27:20.320 to your advantage. They mean it as a stumbling block 0:27:20.400 --> 0:27:22.639 to stop you, but God will use it as a 0:27:22.680 --> 0:27:26.800 stepping stone to thrust you higher. Every day I say, God, 0:27:27.160 --> 0:27:31.000 bless my enemies. Those people that criticize, talk about me, 0:27:31.080 --> 0:27:33.159 try to make me look bad. God give them a 0:27:33.240 --> 0:27:36.520 great day to day. When you do that, the more 0:27:36.600 --> 0:27:40.080 they talk, the higher you're going to go. Sometimes I 0:27:40.119 --> 0:27:42.920 feel like I'd even need to thank my enemies. If 0:27:42.960 --> 0:27:45.160 it had not been for them, I wouldn't be where 0:27:45.200 --> 0:27:47.720 I am today. They meant it to bring me down, 0:27:47.960 --> 0:27:52.000 but God used it to push me up higher. Now 0:27:52.000 --> 0:27:56.919 I'm asking you today to make a decision that you 0:27:56.960 --> 0:28:00.359 are not going to have a critical spirit your self 0:28:00.480 --> 0:28:03.800 to see the best. There's good in every situation if 0:28:03.840 --> 0:28:06.760 you'll look for it. Make a list of the qualities 0:28:06.800 --> 0:28:10.600 you like in your spouse, your children, your friends. Learn 0:28:10.680 --> 0:28:14.399 to magnify those things, the good things. I believe today 0:28:14.440 --> 0:28:19.280 that windows are getting clean. We are wiping away judgment, criticism, 0:28:19.480 --> 0:28:22.320 fault finding, maybe things that have even held us back 0:28:22.320 --> 0:28:25.080 for years. But this is a new day. I declare, 0:28:25.160 --> 0:28:28.320 It's no longer going to cloud our vision. We're gonna 0:28:28.320 --> 0:28:31.320 go out of here with clean windows, believing the best, 0:28:31.560 --> 0:28:35.200 seeing the good, minding our own business. When we do that, 0:28:35.280 --> 0:28:38.479 God promises he will fight our battles for us, He 0:28:38.560 --> 0:28:41.280 will make our wrongs right. We're going to rise higher. 0:28:41.560 --> 0:28:45.040 I believe and declare every dream, every promise, every desire 0:28:45.080 --> 0:28:47.200 God's put in your heart, You're gonna see that come 0:28:47.200 --> 0:28:50.920 to fulfillment. Amen, do you receive it today? I know 0:28:51.040 --> 0:28:51.880 you do. 0:28:53.320 --> 0:28:53.480 Well. 0:28:53.480 --> 0:28:56.040 We never like to close our broadcast without giving you 0:28:56.080 --> 0:28:58.880 an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. 0:28:59.120 --> 0:29:02.840 Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, I 0:29:02.960 --> 0:29:07.280 repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I'll make 0:29:07.360 --> 0:29:10.640 you my lord and save you. Friends, if you've prayed 0:29:10.640 --> 0:29:13.440 that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get 0:29:13.480 --> 0:29:16.360 in a good Bible based church, Keep God first place. 0:29:16.600 --> 0:29:18.880 He's gonna take your places you've never dreamed of. 0:29:19.560 --> 0:29:23.000 Thank you for listening to the joel Ostine podcast. Help 0:29:23.080 --> 0:29:25.800 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:29:25.920 --> 0:29:29.800 all over the world. Visit joelostin dot com slash give 0:29:29.880 --> 0:29:31.560 Hope to give a gift today. 0:29:32.840 --> 0:29:35.760 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope 0:29:35.760 --> 0:29:39.160 you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to 0:29:39.240 --> 0:29:42.440 keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. 0:29:42.600 --> 0:29:45.080 I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you 0:29:45.120 --> 0:29:45.720 next time. 0:29:52.840 --> 0:29:55.560 With millions of books on Amazon, there's a reading feeling 0:29:55.640 --> 0:30:00.680 for everyone. 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