Enlarge Your Circle Of Love

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This is not an 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:29.080 offer to buy your self securities or is it investment, 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:30.080 legal or tax advice. 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:33.960 You're ready for a comeback, and with Purdue Global you 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:37.200 can do more than take classes. You can take charge 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:41.520 of your story, of your career, of your life, Earn 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:43.559 a degree you can be proud of, and get an 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:48.559 education employer's respect. 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The units stap 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:14.360 makes it easy for grandparents and family friends to give 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:17.160 funds to a child's investment account for a limited time. 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:19.440 Download the uns stap and use the code I heeart 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:21.720 fifty at sign up to receive a fifty dollars bonus 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:24.280 when you fund your account. That's code iHeart fifty when 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:27.280 you sign up at unest dot co for a fifty 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:30.120 dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at UNEs dot co. 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:33.040 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:36.120 Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:39.039 the ministry. If you enjoy today's message, why don't you 0:01:39.120 --> 0:01:41.200 be a blessing and share it with a friend. We 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:48.080 appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. 0:01:56.080 --> 0:01:59.160 Well, God bless you. Always enjoy to come into your 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:00.760 homes and we love you. 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:03.120 We know God's got great things in store for each 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:05.720 one of you. He rewards people that seek after him. 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:07.800 If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll come 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:09.760 out and be a part of one of our services. 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:11.960 I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:14.800 But thanks so much for tuning in today. I like 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:16.799 to get started each week with something kind of funny. 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:19.639 And I heard about this little girl. She was attending 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:22.600 a wedding for the first time. She asked her mom, 0:02:22.960 --> 0:02:26.520 why is the bride wearing all white? The mom smiled 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:30.000 and said, all white is the color of happiness. Today 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:33.080 is the happiest day of her life. The little girl 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:35.600 thought about it and said, why is the groom wearing 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:40.280 all black? All right, hold up your bible. Let's say 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:43.320 it like we mean it. This is my Bible. I 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:45.960 am what it says I am. I have what it 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:48.560 says I have. I can do what it says I 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:51.799 can do. Today I will be taught the word of God. 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:57.000 I boldly confess. My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:00.119 I will never be the same. I am about to 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:05.680 receive the incorruptible, the indestructible, ever living seed of. 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:06.480 The Word of God. 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:11.080 I'll never be the same, never, never, never, I'll never 0:03:11.160 --> 0:03:11.799 be the same. 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:14.640 In Jesus' name, God bless you. 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:18.960 I want to talk to you today about enlarging your 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:23.240 circle of love. Too often we only associate. 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:25.120 With people just like us, the people that. 0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:28.760 Look like us, people that have our same interest, our 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:33.840 same personality types. It's easy to include them. We're comfortable, 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:36.640 that's what we're used to. But what about the people 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.960 that don't dress like us, the people that don't come 0:03:40.000 --> 0:03:43.840 from our same background, people that we see as being different. 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:46.600 It's very easy to just write them off and think 0:03:46.960 --> 0:03:50.520 they're not like me. They don't come from my same faith, 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:54.160 or they've got an addiction and I don't. They're old 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:57.120 and I'm young. I don't have to interact with them. No, 0:03:57.280 --> 0:03:59.880 God put the people in your life for a reason. 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:05.240 His love is inclusive, not exclusive. And that man at 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:08.800 the office may not come from our same faith, but 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:11.080 that doesn't give us the right to treat him like 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:12.120 he's second class. 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:14.640 Enlarge your circle of love. 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:18.440 Find somebody that you would normally not be friendly to 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:21.920 and reach out to them. You don't have to agree 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:27.160 with everything about them, Just be kind, be friendly, show acceptance. 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:30.479 Too many people have their walls up. Well he's got 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:33.080 long hair, he's got an ear ring. Or they're a 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:36.600 Democrat and I'm a Republican. They're a Baptist and I'm 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:37.279 a Catholic. 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:41.840 Or Joel, he's an Aggie, I'm a longhorn. No get 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:43.400 outside of your box. 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:48.120 Don't let these labels and these preconceived ideas keep you 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:50.960 from reaching out to other people. The scripture says here 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:54.640 in John seven twenty four, be honest in your judgment 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:59.599 of people. Do not decide at a glance, superficially and 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:03.560 by appearances. We don't realize how many times we look 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:06.840 at someone and in a split second we decide if 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.400 we're going to like them or not. We size them 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:11.680 up to see if they fit into our box. Do 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:14.200 they look like me? Do I approve the way they 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:17.160 wear their hair? Do I like their clothes? All this 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:20.160 can take place in just three or four seconds. We 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:23.520 categorize them and they don't measure up to our standards. 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:25.960 They don't fit into our box. We just write them off. 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:29.240 We make a judgment, yet we don't even really know 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:32.880 the person. Much of this comes from how we were raised. 0:05:33.360 --> 0:05:35.719 I know, when I was growing up, if I saw 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:39.800 somebody smoking, I immediately thought, man, they're a ciner. They 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:41.920 got a lot of problems. In my mind, that was 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:43.560 a big category. 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:45.320 But as I got older. 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:49.920 I began to realize being overweight, living stressed out, that's 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:53.240 just about as unhealthy as smoking. But I would never 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:56.960 see an overweight person in that same light. Had all 0:05:56.960 --> 0:06:00.000 these categories in my mind of how I judged people. 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:04.440 I've learned since not to make those judgments. Don't look 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:07.520 at someone and decide in a glance, get to know 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:10.359 the person. I've seen people that have all kinds of 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:13.799 hang ups, yet there's some of the warmest, kindest. 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:15.200 People you could ever possibly meet. 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:19.080 And really what causes us to judge is pride. We 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:22.520 think I would never do that, I would never smoke, 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:26.080 I would never wear what she has on. No, we 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:28.560 don't know what we would do. We haven't walked in 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:31.880 their shoes. We weren't raised the way they were raised. 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:37.040 We haven't had the experiences that they have had. Most 0:06:37.120 --> 0:06:40.640 of our behavior is based out of our experiences. The 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:43.720 only person that really knows is that other person. Let's 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:47.360 not make these quick judgments. After all, if it were 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:49.800 not for the grace of God, there's no telling where 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:50.520 any of us would be. 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:51.400 Now. 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:54.440 I've seen people they look down on people that struggle 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:56.599 with their weight. In the back of their mind, they 0:06:56.680 --> 0:06:59.279 kind of think, well, they're just lazy, just undisciplined. I 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:02.040 would never let myself get that out of shape. No, 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:04.919 you don't know the battles they fight. You don't have 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:07.839 their genetics, you don't have their metabolism, you don't have 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:08.719 their appetite. 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:12.440 Don't make judgments. Give people the benefit of the doubt. 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:15.640 When we see other people that struggle in an area, 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:17.720 maybe they have a negative quality. 0:07:18.320 --> 0:07:19.080 Instead of being. 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:21.600 Quick to judge and condemn and be critical, what we 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:24.320 really should do is a father, thank. 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:26.760 You for giving me grace in that area. Thank you 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:29.600 that I don't struggle with that. We don't know what 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:30.560 people have been through. 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:33.800 Some people have hang ups because of the way they 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:37.720 were raised. They couldn't help it. We don't choose our environment. 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:40.360 We didn't pick our parents. I talked to a lady 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:43.440 last week. She's in her sixties. As a little girl, 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:48.240 she was mistreated physically, emotionally, verbally. It's a very traumatic, 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:51.840 hurtful experience. And for the most part, she's over that today. 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:55.520 But she said, I still have things that I deal with. 0:07:55.600 --> 0:07:58.040 I still have things that affect me in my thoughts, 0:07:58.320 --> 0:08:01.600 in my mind from what happened way back then. Even 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:05.160 though we overcome things doesn't mean we don't still have 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:09.760 some residual effects. Let's quit being so judgmental. Let's give 0:08:09.800 --> 0:08:14.560 everybody a little bit of room. Let's be more understanding. Well, Joel, 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:18.280 he's got long hair, he's got a tattoo, he's far out. 0:08:18.320 --> 0:08:20.240 I just don't agree with that now. 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:23.600 As far as I know, Jesus had long hair, Moses 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:26.320 had long hair, Charlton Heston had long hair. 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:27.760 I saw the movie. 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:31.520 We have to get past this thinking that as long 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:34.480 as you're like me, then I'll accept you. If you 0:08:34.559 --> 0:08:37.080 look like me, if you come to my church, if 0:08:37.120 --> 0:08:38.360 you have my same interests. 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:38.719 No. 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:41.200 Some of you have people in your life right now 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:43.760 that could bring you great joy. You could have a 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:47.880 great friendship, but you've already judged them and put them 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:51.480 into a not for me category in your mind. Yet 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:53.920 you've not even taken time to get to know that person. 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:56.920 A very close friend of mine told how when she 0:08:57.000 --> 0:08:59.480 was in college, a young man invited her out on 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:02.679 a date. They had known each other for several years, 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:05.880 just casually enough to say hi. They'd never really talked before, 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:09.120 but when he invited her out, she immediately said no. 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:12.320 She already had her mind made up the kind of 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:14.079 man she was going to date. What he's going to 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:18.120 look like, his qualities, his personality. In her mind, this 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:20.600 young man didn't meet any of those requirements. He was 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:24.360 too tall, he had read hair, he wasn't outgoing enough, 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:27.880 all these things that didn't measure up to her standards. 0:09:28.400 --> 0:09:30.960 And of course, it's fine to have personal tastes, but 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:34.240 don't be so close minded that you don't at least 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:35.959 get to know someone. 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:40.000 Month after month, he kept inviting her out. He wasn't bothersome, 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:41.199 but he was persistent. 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:44.400 One day she finally gave in. They went out with 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:46.880 another young couple. She had already made up her mind 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:49.520 she wasn't going to like him, but that night she 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:52.240 saw sight of him that she had not seen before. 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:57.679 He was kind, friendly, outgoing, loving. Today that couple has 0:09:57.720 --> 0:09:59.600 been married more than twenty one years. 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:03.240 I have four beautiful children. The point I want you 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:05.040 to see is. 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:08.600 That young lady almost missed out on somebody God brought 0:10:08.600 --> 0:10:13.240 into her life because she judged him based on superficial things. 0:10:13.559 --> 0:10:17.320 She judged him without really getting to know him. I 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:18.360 wonder how many of. 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:21.199 Us miss out on great friendships because we do. 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:24.200 The same thing. We make a quick judgment in our mind. 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:27.160 We size a person up to see if they fit 0:10:27.240 --> 0:10:29.839 into our box. If they don't, we just write them off. 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:32.400 All we know is her hair's too long, or I 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:34.720 don't like the way they look. They come from a 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:37.920 different nationality. I'm sure we couldn't have anything in common. 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:43.600 The word prejudice means to prejudge. In other words, I 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:46.480 judge you, and I'm gonna make a decision whether I 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:49.760 accept you or not based on your appearance, based on 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:52.920 what I see on the surface. What a shallow way 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:55.839 to live, you think about it. We didn't choose our race. 0:10:56.040 --> 0:10:58.959 God chose it for us. That means we shouldn't hold 0:10:58.960 --> 0:11:01.880 that against another part. For the most part, we don't 0:11:01.960 --> 0:11:04.760 choose our looks. I'm sure we can stay in shape, 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:08.559 take care of ourselves, but we can't change our overall makeup. 0:11:09.280 --> 0:11:12.600 Don't prejudge someone because they don't meet up. 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:15.959 To your standards. Maybe they weren't blessed with good looks 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:16.760 like you and me. 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:23.800 At least this time I included you. You know how 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:26.200 human nature is. We all think we're the best looking. 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:29.120 It's like this lady I heard about. She felt like 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:31.720 she was so young and she had aged so well. 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:34.320 And one day she went to the dentist office and 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:36.680 she noticed the name of this one dentist up on 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:39.960 the wall, and she thought, that's the same name of 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:42.240 a guy I dated in high school. 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:42.840 Thirty years ago. 0:11:43.000 --> 0:11:45.480 I wonder if it could be him. A few minutes later, 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:46.959 this old man came. 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:50.760 Out, wrinkled gray hair glasses. She thought, surely that couldn't 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:52.479 be him. He is so old. 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:54.760 She said, sir, did you go to such and such 0:11:54.840 --> 0:11:57.680 high school and graduating such and such year? 0:11:58.040 --> 0:11:59.080 He said, I sure did. 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:01.400 She said, wouldn't And you know it, I think you 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:04.440 were in my class. He squinted his eyes and said, really, 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:12.280 what subject did you teach? We see ourselves through rose 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:15.400 colored glasses, we say everybody else through that magnifying glass. 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:19.240 Much of our wrong judgment is based. 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:20.720 On the culture we were raised in. 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:24.960 We don't understand the new Young people these days wear 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:26.480 their hair much more messy. 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:29.080 Sometimes it looks like they just got out of bed. 0:12:30.040 --> 0:12:31.880 Not long ago, we were leaving the house and I 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:33.920 said to our twelve year old son, Jonathan, you need 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:36.800 to run comb your hair. He said, Daddy, I just did, 0:12:38.240 --> 0:12:41.720 And I thought, okay, but styles come and go. I 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:44.800 like my hair back up off of my forehead. This 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:47.160 is my style. Been wearing it like this for years. 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:51.040 My son Jonathan, he likes his hair as far down 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:53.319 on his forehead as he can get it and still 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:54.040 be able to see. 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:57.360 One time I told him, Jonathan, I don't particularly like 0:12:57.400 --> 0:12:58.199 your hair like that. 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:00.480 He said, Daddy, would I get in trouble if I 0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:01.960 told you I didn't like yours. 0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:07.719 I said, you just did. Oh, you got to give 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:08.640 people a little room. 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:11.679 I went to buy some jeans the other day and 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:15.040 the only ones I could find had these tears all 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:15.560 through them. 0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:20.240 They were faded, raggedy, beat up. I thought, at least 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:21.280 i'd get a discount. 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:25.880 I got home and Jonathan said, oh, Dad, you got 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:29.400 some cool jeans. I love those tears. I thought, yeah, 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:32.640 those tears cost me a lot of money. It's a 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:37.640 generational thing. When my father was a teenager, the founder 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:40.760 of our church growing up back in the nineteen. 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:43.160 Thirties, he wore what they called a zoot suit. 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:46.960 The pants were up to hear, the jacket went down 0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:50.200 to hear. He had this hat cocked over to one side. 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:52.040 Now out of this pocket, he had a. 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:54.959 Long gold chain and he'd walk around swinging that chain, 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:59.800 looking like a cool cat. Today we would say he's 0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:07.480 got some bling, but as a teenager. As a teenager, 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:11.120 my father was one of the far out ones. Isn't 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:13.920 it interesting that God called him to be the pastor 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:17.280 of a great church. Some of you are wondering about 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:22.440 you're a young people. You're wondering about your children. Maybe 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:23.240 because they got. 0:14:23.120 --> 0:14:24.840 Messy hair, baggy pants. 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:28.280 They talk a language you can't understand, and I don't 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:29.040 mean speaking in. 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:32.520 Tongues, so you don't know what God's gonna do with 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:33.360 that young person. 0:14:33.840 --> 0:14:37.160 God looks past the surface, He looks at our heart. 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:39.760 Sometimes we think, oh, they got long hair, they're just 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:41.520 a hippie, they got some bling. 0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:44.000 I'm sure they're up to no good. Or he's got 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:45.720 a tattoo. I know he's going to hell. 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:51.640 Now I realize not everybody has my same taste. Not 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:54.800 everybody was raised in the culture I was raised in. 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:57.800 I'm gonna stay open. I'm gonna look past. 0:14:57.560 --> 0:15:01.960 The surface and not makejudgements without getting to know someone. 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:06.040 When we make these superficial judgments, it affects the way 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:09.479 we treat that person. When I first started dating Victoria, 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:12.640 some of my friends were kind of stand offish toward her. 0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:17.000 They were very reserved and almost unfriendly. Several months later, 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:20.000 they told how they thought, because she was so beautiful 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:23.440 and carried herself so confidently, that she would surely be 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.520 stuck up. They found out later she was just the opposite. 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:28.880 You can't find a more down to earth loving person. 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:32.560 But they had already judged her in their minds to 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:36.240 be arrogant and unfriendly simply because of her looks. That's 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:39.360 what we do many times. We make these judgments. Then 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:42.160 we go into a relationship with all these walls up, 0:15:42.720 --> 0:15:45.000 treating people the way we think they're going to be. 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:48.600 It's much better to just stay open and look past 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:52.000 the surface. And even if there are some things about 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:54.720 a person that we don't understand, let's give them a 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:58.600 little room. God's made us all different. Heard this lady 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:02.120 tell how one day her son came home with a tattoo. 0:16:02.360 --> 0:16:04.920 She was so upset she couldn't believe it. 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:07.600 She didn't want her son to have any tattoos, and 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:11.560 she went on and on telling him how disappointed she was. 0:16:12.040 --> 0:16:14.080 Finally, the young man pulled up his sleeve. 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:16.160 And he said, oh, mom, it's just a tattoo with 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:19.120 your name on it. She said, oh, well, maybe just 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:23.720 one would be Okay, I don't personally care for tattoos, 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:26.720 but when I see somebody that has one, I'm not 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:30.080 going to judge them and put them into a certain category. 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:32.880 Several years ago, a young man came up to me 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:35.840 in a mob. He had tattoos all over his arm, 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.200 completely covering them, and he had lived a very rough 0:16:39.280 --> 0:16:42.040 life recently had got it turned around. Now he was 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:44.960 serving God, and he was about to spend thousands of 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:48.440 dollars to try to have those tattoos surgically removed. He 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:51.600 asked my opinion, and I asked what his motive was 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.360 for doing that. He said, well, Joe, the main reason 0:16:54.440 --> 0:16:56.280 I want to get rid of him is because I 0:16:56.320 --> 0:16:59.360 don't think my new friends will accept me looking like this. 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:02.240 I told him, you do what you feel good about 0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:04.840 concerning the surgery. But let me tell you, if your 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:07.600 friends want to accept you the way you are, they're 0:17:07.600 --> 0:17:10.359 not really your friends. You can't be in your best 0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:12.720 and God will give you some true friends. 0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:17.320 That kind of judgment is based out of pride. 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:22.840 There's nothing God dislikes anymore than being holier than thou 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:27.440 having a better than you attitude. The scripture says that's 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:30.520 a stitch in the nostrils of God. In other words, 0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:34.600 being proud, being judgmental, looking down on people that don't 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:37.399 meet up to our standards in God's eyes. That's the 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:40.199 very worst I heard about. This man that went to 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:43.760 a real fancy church. He was dressed in blue jeans, 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:47.959 cowboy boots, and an old cowboy hat. He walked in 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:50.240 on a Sunday morning, sat down on the third row. 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:53.119 Much of the congregation were appalled. 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:57.840 They sent letters to the minister expressing their concern. Afterwards, 0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:00.600 the minister got him aside and told him he needed 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:04.000 to ask God how to dress before he came back 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:07.280 to his church. The next Sunday, the man showed up 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:10.840 dressed exactly the same. The minister scolded him and said, 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:13.320 I told you to ask God how to dress before 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:15.840 you come back to my church. The man said, I 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:18.199 did ask God, but he told me he didn't know 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:23.880 because he's never been here before. We got to have 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:29.160 a wide circle of life. Let's quit judging people by 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:32.960 the exterior. I found whether I wear blue jeans or 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:35.560 whether I wear a suit, it doesn't affect the annoying. 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:40.399 It's not affected by it's not affected by. 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:48.080 Cotton or denim from my brother Paul's sake, or polyester. Seriously, 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:52.560 you know what affects the annoying the attitude of our heart. 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:56.040 Some people look like a saint on the outside, but 0:18:56.119 --> 0:19:01.600 on the inside they're full of poison, pride, judgment, criticism, 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:05.520 like a pharisee. They look down on other people. They 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:07.960 have a little bitty circle of love. If you don't 0:19:08.000 --> 0:19:11.640 look like them, talk like them, think like them, they 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:12.320 shut you out. 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:14.000 You're outside their circle. 0:19:14.400 --> 0:19:16.560 On the other hand, I've known people that have some 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:20.320 hang ups. They don't perform perfectly all the time, yet they. 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:21.840 Have a pure heart toward God. 0:19:22.280 --> 0:19:24.560 Let me tell you, God is more pleased with that 0:19:25.280 --> 0:19:27.720 than he is a person that performs perfectly all the 0:19:27.760 --> 0:19:31.159 time but has a lousy heart. What's going on on 0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:34.760 the inside is more important than what people see on 0:19:34.840 --> 0:19:35.640 the outside. 0:19:36.400 --> 0:19:37.920 One time, a man. 0:19:37.800 --> 0:19:40.280 Came up to me in the visitor's reception and he 0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:41.320 looked like a biker. 0:19:41.359 --> 0:19:44.520 He was dressed real rough. I hope you're not offended. 0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:45.800 When I tell you this, But he said, Joel, I 0:19:45.840 --> 0:19:47.879 got to tell you that was a hell of a 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:51.520 sermon today. I thought, next time, tell me what you 0:19:51.600 --> 0:19:56.480 really meant. That didn't bother me. I realized he comes 0:19:56.520 --> 0:20:00.240 from a different background, no doubt, he wasn't raised like me. 0:20:00.920 --> 0:20:04.080 Hopefully over time he'll come up higher. But I believe 0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:06.679 that his heart was pure down in here where it 0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:09.199 really counted. He was as sincere as he can be. 0:20:10.040 --> 0:20:12.520 It's funny the way I was raised. If you said hell, 0:20:12.800 --> 0:20:15.520 you were probably going to go there. I mean, if 0:20:15.520 --> 0:20:17.560 we said dog gonet, that was a big deal in 0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:20.800 my family. But we can't go around shutting people out 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:24.000 because they're not just exactly like us. Well, I don't 0:20:24.040 --> 0:20:26.800 think she should come to church, Joel looking like that. 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:29.360 That dress is not appropriate. That's too revealing. 0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:34.000 Yes, I'm all for dressing modestly, but I would rather 0:20:34.080 --> 0:20:35.639 her be here than out in. 0:20:35.640 --> 0:20:36.880 The bars or the clubs. 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:40.600 I'd rather than be here than out on the streets somewhere. 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:44.480 We have to give people a little room while they're 0:20:44.520 --> 0:20:48.520 in the process of changing. Jesus said, it's the sick 0:20:48.560 --> 0:20:51.760 who need a doctor, not the healthy. But if they 0:20:51.800 --> 0:20:55.560 come into our churches feeling so condemned, or if they 0:20:55.600 --> 0:20:57.640 get around us during the week and we shut them 0:20:57.640 --> 0:21:01.200 out looking down on them being holy, than now, they 0:21:01.240 --> 0:21:03.520 may never become all God's created them. 0:21:03.560 --> 0:21:05.920 To be. If there's anything that fires me. 0:21:06.000 --> 0:21:09.639 Up is to see people judging and being critical toward 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:12.720 a person, yet they know nothing about what that person 0:21:12.760 --> 0:21:13.320 is going through. 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:16.640 That young lady may be here on her last leg. 0:21:16.920 --> 0:21:19.040 She may be thinking, let me go to church one 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:21.160 more time to see if I can get my life 0:21:21.200 --> 0:21:21.840 straightened out. 0:21:22.560 --> 0:21:24.840 What a shame if we would be so full. 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:29.200 Of pride or so judgmental that she felt unwelcome. Why 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:31.880 don't you give her the benefit of the doubt, thinking 0:21:32.359 --> 0:21:35.439 maybe she wasn't raised like I was, Maybe she didn't 0:21:35.640 --> 0:21:38.439 get the breaks that I got. Maybe she's doing the 0:21:38.480 --> 0:21:40.840 best she can with what she's got. 0:21:41.400 --> 0:21:45.040 Let's have a wide circle of love. That's what I love. 0:21:46.280 --> 0:21:48.000 That's what I love about you guys. 0:21:48.160 --> 0:21:53.399 You make everyone feel welcome, rich, poor, black, white people 0:21:53.400 --> 0:21:55.879 that have it together, and people that are trying to 0:21:55.920 --> 0:21:59.679 get it together. The scripture talks about the same amount 0:21:59.680 --> 0:22:02.480 of mirdy we show to other people, that's the amount 0:22:02.520 --> 0:22:05.320 of mercy God will show back to us. I believe 0:22:05.560 --> 0:22:09.119 we can even store up mercy for our children, for 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:12.760 our grandchildren. When you have a large circle of love, 0:22:13.440 --> 0:22:17.199 you're mercy falling, even though you don't understand somebody. You 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:20.120 don't judge them, You give them the benefit of the doubt. 0:22:20.560 --> 0:22:23.680 You're friendly anyway. You help them come up higher when 0:22:23.720 --> 0:22:26.320 you live your life like that than when you need 0:22:26.400 --> 0:22:30.200 mercy or your children or your grandchildren. God will make 0:22:30.200 --> 0:22:34.000 sure mercy is extended back to you. There's too much 0:22:34.240 --> 0:22:38.280 judgment in our society today. We're so quick to condemn. 0:22:38.359 --> 0:22:40.639 We shut people out of our group if they're not 0:22:40.760 --> 0:22:43.479 exactly like us. I don't know about you, but I'm 0:22:43.480 --> 0:22:45.240 gonna have a. 0:22:44.680 --> 0:22:46.240 Large circle of love. 0:22:46.920 --> 0:22:50.280 I may not understand everyone, I may not agree with them, 0:22:50.760 --> 0:22:52.840 but that's not gonna keep me from being good to them. 0:22:52.960 --> 0:22:55.760 It's not gonna keep me from showing God's kindness. 0:22:56.359 --> 0:22:56.600 I know. 0:22:56.680 --> 0:22:59.600 I get letters all the time from atheist. 0:22:59.520 --> 0:23:02.520 They say, oh, we love watching your program. I think 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:05.720 that's great. Doesn't bother me a bit. I don't judge them. 0:23:06.000 --> 0:23:08.640 If they don't believe like me, that doesn't mean they're 0:23:08.680 --> 0:23:12.040 a bad person. We have to understand it's not our 0:23:12.160 --> 0:23:16.360 job to convert everyone. It's our job to simply present 0:23:16.440 --> 0:23:17.000 the truth. 0:23:17.440 --> 0:23:18.800 The Holy Spirit. 0:23:18.520 --> 0:23:24.040 Is the only one that can convict people. Sometimes we 0:23:24.119 --> 0:23:27.119 think we have to make people believe, but only God 0:23:27.160 --> 0:23:30.840 can do that Jesus said, the way people will know 0:23:31.080 --> 0:23:34.440 where his disciples is by our love for one another. 0:23:35.160 --> 0:23:38.000 Today there are so many walls up. You're not from 0:23:38.080 --> 0:23:41.560 my group, You're not from my same faith. You're a Methodist, 0:23:41.560 --> 0:23:44.520 you're a Catholic, you're a Pentecostal. People ask me, Joel, 0:23:44.560 --> 0:23:47.240 what are you? We're just a group of believers that 0:23:47.320 --> 0:23:48.920 are excited about serving God. 0:23:49.320 --> 0:23:50.840 I don't want any labels on me. 0:23:52.359 --> 0:23:56.080 Somebody said, well, are you an evangelical? I don't even 0:23:56.080 --> 0:23:59.399 know what evangelical means. All I know is this, I 0:23:59.480 --> 0:24:02.520 believe in Jesus, I believe in sharing my faith, and 0:24:02.560 --> 0:24:03.440 I love everyone. 0:24:04.320 --> 0:24:07.800 Well, Joel, what about what about the Muslims? 0:24:07.880 --> 0:24:10.880 I love them too. They are God's creation. What about 0:24:10.920 --> 0:24:14.600 the Hindus? They are God's creation? What about the Buddhists? Joel? 0:24:14.640 --> 0:24:16.480 You don't want them in here? Do you sure? I do? 0:24:16.760 --> 0:24:20.160 I've got a wide circle of love. I know our God, 0:24:20.480 --> 0:24:22.640 the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God 0:24:22.680 --> 0:24:25.080 of Jacob. He loves the Muslims as much as he 0:24:25.119 --> 0:24:29.760 loves the Christians. He loves the Buddhists, the Hindus, the atheists, 0:24:30.040 --> 0:24:30.760 all the same. 0:24:31.160 --> 0:24:33.640 And if God does surely we can as well. 0:24:34.320 --> 0:24:37.320 I see too many people looking down on people of 0:24:37.400 --> 0:24:40.080 other faith, thinking, well, they don't believe in Jesus like 0:24:40.119 --> 0:24:42.400 I do, But it doesn't say to love them as 0:24:42.400 --> 0:24:45.200 long as they believe like us. We're supposed to love 0:24:45.240 --> 0:24:49.320 people unconditionally. We should never look down on someone. What 0:24:49.440 --> 0:24:53.120 a shame to treat another one of God's creation with 0:24:53.280 --> 0:24:56.919 less love and less respect just because they don't agree 0:24:56.960 --> 0:24:59.840 with us. We have to realize when we get to heaven, 0:25:00.000 --> 0:25:02.639 there's not going to be a Baptist section, a Methodist section, 0:25:02.800 --> 0:25:05.760 a Catholic section. Let's put the Pentecostals way over there, 0:25:05.800 --> 0:25:10.040 they're so loud. No, We're gonna all be up there together. 0:25:10.200 --> 0:25:13.600 It's gonna look just like Lakewood, all people, all races, 0:25:13.880 --> 0:25:22.639 all walks of life. There's gonna be Democrats and Republicans, tattoos, 0:25:22.880 --> 0:25:28.800 no tattoos, bling and no bleing, denim and cotton, long 0:25:28.880 --> 0:25:33.960 hair and beautiful hair. Get outside of your normal box, 0:25:34.520 --> 0:25:36.520 be open to people that are not just like you. 0:25:37.359 --> 0:25:38.360 A while back, we. 0:25:38.359 --> 0:25:40.840 Had a significant amount of funds that we were going 0:25:40.920 --> 0:25:44.520 to give to organizations that were helping people affected by 0:25:44.640 --> 0:25:48.520 Hurricane Katrina, and our staff made the recommendations. And I 0:25:48.600 --> 0:25:50.520 knew most of the people on the list, or at 0:25:50.600 --> 0:25:50.879 least I. 0:25:50.880 --> 0:25:51.520 Knew of them. 0:25:51.920 --> 0:25:54.320 But there's this one man on the list that I 0:25:54.400 --> 0:25:58.120 knew had been critical toward us, And when I saw 0:25:58.160 --> 0:26:01.159 his name, I had to think long and hard. Do 0:26:01.240 --> 0:26:04.040 we want to give him a large donation knowing that 0:26:04.080 --> 0:26:05.520 he's out there knocking us. 0:26:06.040 --> 0:26:08.919 My first thought was absolutely not. I'm nice, but not 0:26:09.040 --> 0:26:11.520 that nice. But after I. 0:26:11.480 --> 0:26:13.560 Thought about it and prayed about it, I thought, you 0:26:13.600 --> 0:26:15.359 know what, I'm gonna be bigger than this. 0:26:15.560 --> 0:26:17.640 I'm will widen my circle of love. 0:26:18.160 --> 0:26:20.640 He drew a circle and shut me out, I'm gonna 0:26:20.680 --> 0:26:25.440 draw bigger circle and shut him in. I thought, he 0:26:25.480 --> 0:26:28.480 doesn't even really know me, because if he did, he 0:26:28.720 --> 0:26:32.320 liked me. At least that's what I thought. We hand 0:26:32.359 --> 0:26:35.040 delivered the funds. A couple months later, I got a 0:26:35.040 --> 0:26:37.760 call from a friend of mine that works in that organization. 0:26:38.280 --> 0:26:40.440 He said, Joel, our CEO, got up. 0:26:40.320 --> 0:26:43.359 In front of the staff today and he apologized for 0:26:43.440 --> 0:26:46.720 everything he's ever said about you. I thought, isn't that 0:26:46.800 --> 0:26:51.080 interesting When we widen our circle of love, it changes 0:26:51.119 --> 0:26:54.119 people's hearts. Now, the rest of you critics don't expect 0:26:54.119 --> 0:26:54.920 me to pay you off. 0:26:57.320 --> 0:26:58.840 But sometimes when if. 0:26:58.760 --> 0:27:01.119 Somebody does us wrong, easy thing to do is to 0:27:01.160 --> 0:27:03.640 say forget you. See, if I give you the time 0:27:03.680 --> 0:27:07.040 of day, now be the bigger person, so a seed 0:27:07.240 --> 0:27:10.040 of kindness, go out of your way to do something 0:27:10.040 --> 0:27:13.399 good for them. Talks about in proverbs when we are 0:27:13.520 --> 0:27:16.280 kind to our enemies, when we return good for evil, 0:27:16.480 --> 0:27:18.960 it's like keeping coals of fire on their head. 0:27:19.560 --> 0:27:21.639 And that's not talking about making them suffer. 0:27:21.760 --> 0:27:24.800 It means when you're good to people that don't deserve it, 0:27:25.240 --> 0:27:29.000 that softens their hard heart. Those coals of fire help 0:27:29.080 --> 0:27:31.679 melt away the judgment and the criticism that they have 0:27:31.840 --> 0:27:35.080 toward us. And again, it's easy to love people that 0:27:35.119 --> 0:27:38.439 are just like us. But I'm asking us today to 0:27:38.600 --> 0:27:43.360 widen our circle of love. Find somebody that's not like you, 0:27:44.080 --> 0:27:48.480 and instead of making a quick judgment, instead of stereotyping them, at. 0:27:48.480 --> 0:27:50.280 Least take time to get to know them. 0:27:50.760 --> 0:27:53.640 And even if you don't have common interest, doesn't mean 0:27:53.680 --> 0:27:57.080 you still can't be kind and respectful. Get outside of 0:27:57.160 --> 0:28:00.159 your normal box. I bet every one of us has 0:28:00.160 --> 0:28:01.000 someone in our. 0:28:00.880 --> 0:28:03.160 Life right now that we're kind of shutt now thinking 0:28:03.200 --> 0:28:05.840 all they're just not like me. So let's have an 0:28:05.840 --> 0:28:06.520 open mind. 0:28:06.800 --> 0:28:09.919 If you'll have a wide circle of love and not 0:28:10.080 --> 0:28:13.040 make judgments based on the appearance, it will not only 0:28:13.040 --> 0:28:15.399 make a difference in other people's lives, it'll make a 0:28:15.440 --> 0:28:18.520 difference in your own life, because when you sol mercy, 0:28:18.760 --> 0:28:21.840 you're gonna read mercy. When you're good to others, God 0:28:21.880 --> 0:28:25.080 will always be good to you. He'll pour out his blessings, 0:28:25.080 --> 0:28:28.040 his favor. You'll live that life of victory he has 0:28:28.040 --> 0:28:31.960 in story. Amen, do you receive it today? We never 0:28:32.080 --> 0:28:35.240 like to close on broadcast without giving you an opportunity 0:28:35.359 --> 0:28:37.359 to make Jesus the lord of your life. 0:28:37.560 --> 0:28:41.960 Would you pray with me? Just say Lord Jesus, I'll 0:28:42.000 --> 0:28:43.080 repent of my sins. 0:28:44.400 --> 0:28:49.880 Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. Friends, 0:28:49.880 --> 0:28:52.280 if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got 0:28:52.320 --> 0:28:55.240 born again. Get in a good Bible based church, keep 0:28:55.280 --> 0:28:56.240 God first place. 0:28:56.560 --> 0:28:59.040 He's gonna take you places that you've never dreamed of. 0:29:00.120 --> 0:29:03.400 Thank you for listening to the Joels Deine podcast. Help 0:29:03.520 --> 0:29:06.280 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:29:06.360 --> 0:29:10.240 all over the world. Visit jolostein dot com slash give 0:29:10.320 --> 0:29:12.360 Hope to give a gift today. 0:29:13.320 --> 0:29:15.760 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. 0:29:15.880 --> 0:29:18.640 I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest 0:29:18.680 --> 0:29:20.080 podcast to keep you. 0:29:20.120 --> 0:29:23.160 Inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. I 0:29:23.200 --> 0:29:26.080 know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you next time.