Faithful in the Routine

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It's time, Your time, not just to 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:06.199 go back to school, but to come back and move 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:11.080 forward with Purdue Global, Purdue's online university for working adults. 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:15.480 Start your comeback at Purdueglobal dot edu. 0:01:28.400 --> 0:01:31.200 Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:34.160 your homes. And if you're ever in our area, please 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:36.759 stop by and be a part of one of our services. 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:39.440 These are the finest people in all of Houston right 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:42.080 here at Lakewood, but we'd love to have you come out. 0:01:42.480 --> 0:01:45.080 Thanks for tuning in to day. I like to start 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:48.080 with something funny, and I heard about this lady. She 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:52.120 was so stressed out, so overworked. She needed a break, 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:55.280 but she knew her boss wouldn't let her off unless 0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:58.760 she acted crazy. So she stood on top of her 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:02.400 desk put both hands over her head like a circle. 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:06.080 The boss came in, said what are you doing. She said, 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:09.480 I'm a light bulb. I'm putting off light. He said, 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:12.399 you need to go home. You're not thinking clearly, get 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:16.560 some rest. She walked out. Her coworker started to follow her. 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:19.120 The boss said, where are you going. She said, I'm 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:23.600 going home too. I can't work in the dark. Say 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:26.680 it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:29.040 am what it says. I am. I have what it 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:31.520 says I have. I can do what it says I 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:34.600 can do. Today I will be taught the word of God. 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:39.320 I'll boldly confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive. 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:43.440 I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, God 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:47.040 bless you. I want to talk to you today about 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:51.760 faithful in the routine. There are times in life we 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:55.000 feel like we're going in circles. We're doing the right 0:02:55.080 --> 0:02:59.600 thing but not making much progress. We don't see anything changing, 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:03.280 and it's easy to lose our passion and get discouraged. 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:06.880 But one test we all have to pass is being 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:11.280 faithful when nothing new is happening. We're just going to work, 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:15.960 raising children, coming home, doing the same thing again. It's 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:18.920 easy to be our best when we're getting good breaks, 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:22.720 things are falling into place. That doesn't take much faith. 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:26.720 But what about when you're working hard but not getting 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:30.640 the credit. You're being your best, but your marriage isn't improving. 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:35.240 You're honoring God but not see an increase. Will you 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:38.600 trust him when it feels like you're going in circles? 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:42.119 Will you stay passionate when you're doing the same thing 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:47.120 again and again when you're faithful in the routine. Something 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:51.960 is happening that you can't see. Your character is being developed, 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:57.160 your spiritual muscles are getting stronger. You're being prepared for 0:03:57.280 --> 0:04:00.480 where God is taking you, and the routine peness of 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:05.560 life is not exciting, but it is necessary. You won't 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:09.280 become all you were created to be without being your 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:14.320 best when it's mundane, being excellent, having a good attitude. 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:19.200 When it's just another ordinary day, nothing exciting is happening. 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:23.719 You're just singing in the choir another sunday, going to 0:04:23.800 --> 0:04:27.200 work with a smile, another week doing the right thing 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:30.599 with a good attitude. Another month. You could see it 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:33.960 as boring. When is this going to change? But you 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:38.839 understand this principle. You're being prepared and when God can 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:42.920 trust you to be faithful in the ordinary, then he'll 0:04:42.960 --> 0:04:47.799 take you into the extraordinary. When you're faithful in average days, 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:52.800 then you will see exceptional days. But sometimes we're frustrated 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:55.839 because we know we have more in us, but we're 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:59.400 not seeing it happen. We don't understand why we're not 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:03.960 making p But God will always put bigger things in 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:08.000 your spirit before they come to pass. You may be 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:11.880 dealing with something mediocre. But God is preparing you for 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:16.360 something great. David was anointed to be the king as 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:19.520 a young man. Then God sent him back to the 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:24.039 shepherd's fields. He had a king's anointing, yet he was 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:29.000 taking care of sheep. Your anointing will supersede where you 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:33.080 are right now. God called David to rule a nation, 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:37.120 but he was doing a menial task day in and 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:43.560 day out, nothing exciting, boring routine. He could have gotten discouraged. God, 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:46.080 why isn't it happening? You said I would be the king. 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:50.160 If he had not passed this test of being faithful 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:53.200 in the routine, he would have never taken the throne. 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:57.520 Like David, you may know you have more in you. 0:05:57.520 --> 0:06:00.640 You can feel those seeds of greatness. But you're doing 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:05.960 something menial, something beneath your training. You're being overlooked at work. 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:10.000 Nobody takes your advice. At home, nobody says thank you, 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:15.240 just another ordinary day. I'm asking you to be faithful 0:06:15.480 --> 0:06:19.400 where God has you now, be faithful in the routine. 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:23.760 This is where David excelled out in the shepherd's fields. 0:06:23.839 --> 0:06:27.600 He didn't slack off, he didn't show up late, he 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:30.760 didn't have a sour attitude, thinking, when I get to 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:34.120 where I'm going, then I'll give it my all. When 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:36.760 I take the throne, then I'll show people what I'm 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:39.960 made of. Now he showed what he was made of 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:45.359 when nobody was watching. He understood he wasn't working under people, 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:49.720 he was working under God. He was excellent where God 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:53.640 had him, even though he didn't like it. That's what 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:57.840 led to the throne, all those ordinary days of being 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:03.760 his best, excellent where God has you now? Well, Joel, 0:07:03.800 --> 0:07:06.000 this is not where I want to be. I don't 0:07:06.040 --> 0:07:08.760 want to work for this supervisor. I know more than him. 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:11.080 I don't want to live in this apartment. I want 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:13.680 my own house. I don't want to sing in the choir. 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:16.400 I want to be on the stage with you. Now, 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:19.760 here's the key. Go get your own stage. First off, 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:24.000 here's the key. You'll never make it to the stage 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:28.320 if you're not faithful where you are you want see promotion, 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:31.320 if you're not being your best where God has your 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:36.360 right now. Thirteen years later, after being faithful in the 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:41.000 shepherd's fields, going through all kinds of unfair situations, David 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:46.680 suddenly took the throne. Passing the test in ordinary days 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:51.040 is what leads to exceptional days. That's when you'll see 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:55.360 moments of favor where God thrust you years ahead. And 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:58.280 it's not the big things that hold most people back. 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:02.480 It's the small things. Being faithful day in and day out, 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:06.160 going to work with the good attitude, sitting in traffic 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:10.600 not complaining, showing up to church week after week. Faithful 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:15.280 in the routine is what prepares you for promotion. You 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:18.600 may feel like you're going in circles, you're not making 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:22.640 much progress, but the right attitude is I may not 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:26.320 like where I am, but God, since you have me here, 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:29.200 I know this is where I'm supposed to be. So 0:08:29.280 --> 0:08:32.560 I'm going to keep being my best, giving, serving, helping 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:36.679 others write where I am. We read about the heroes 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:39.840 of faith in the Scripture. Their lives seem like they 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:43.880 were so exciting, but the truth is most of their 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:48.680 life was routine. Yes, Moses parted the Red Sea, he 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:52.439 told Pharaoh let the Israelites go. Those were great miracles, 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:55.080 but it was just a few days of his life. 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:59.840 There will be more ordinary days than there are exciting days. 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:04.240 If you live from big event to big event, waiting 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:08.520 for something exciting to keep you encouraged. You'll be disappointed. 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:13.800 Learn to enjoy where God has you right now. This 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:17.559 is the day the Lord has made. It may be routine, 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:21.600 it may feel like you're no closer to your dreams 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:24.880 than you were years ago. But when you do the 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:29.200 ordinary with a good attitude, that's getting you prepared for 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:32.880 the new things God has in store. And sometimes the 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:37.480 reason God is not changing the circumstances is he's using 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:42.679 the circumstances to change us. If we'll start passing these tests, 0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:47.000 being patient when it's taken longer than we like, staying 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:50.120 in faith when we're not getting our way, Heaven a smile. 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:55.400 Even when we're uncomfortable. We're growing, we're developing. We're showing 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:59.600 God that we trust him. Like with David. That's when 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:03.240 you'll not just be anointed for the throne, you'll take 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:06.640 your throne. The scripture talks about how God is the 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:10.480 potter and we are the clay. The potter takes a 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:13.360 lump of clay and puts it on the wheel. It 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:17.839 spins it around again and again. The clay could say 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:21.800 I don't like going in circles. I don't like this spinning. 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:26.120 It's boring. I want to do something exciting. Let me 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:29.800 off this wheel so I can make progress. What the 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:34.640 clay doesn't realize is it is making progress. While it's 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:39.559 going in circles. The potter is forming it, shaping it. 0:10:39.559 --> 0:10:43.240 It seems routine to the clay. It seems like it's stuck, 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:47.320 But while it's spinning, the clay is coming up higher. 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:50.600 It can't tell it at the time, but it's rising 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:54.280 up from a lump of clay into a beautiful vase. 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:58.280 If you were to ask the clay after it was formed, 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:01.440 after it'd gone through the p it would tell you 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:05.640 the spinning was for my good. I didn't like it 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:09.240 at the time. I couldn't see anything happening, But without 0:11:09.280 --> 0:11:13.120 this spinning, I wouldn't be who I am. You may 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:16.560 feel like you're spinning today. You're doing the same thing 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:21.720 over and over, not making much progress. But like that clay, 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:25.280 when it feels like you're going in circles, something is 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:28.920 happening that you can't see. You'll come in up higher. 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:34.760 God is making you, molding you. It may seem ordinary routine, 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:38.840 but when you're faithful where you are, you keep doing 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:42.400 the right thing, even though you're not making progress. You 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:45.439 have a song of praise when you could be complaining. 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:49.199 You are rising higher. You may not see it, but 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:53.600 the spinning is working for you. When Joshua was leading 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:57.160 the Israelites toward the Promised Land, they came to the 0:11:57.200 --> 0:12:02.040 city of Jericho. It was surrounded a huge wall fifteen 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:05.920 feet wide thirty five feet thick. There was no way 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:09.080 in the natural for the Israelites to get past that 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:13.040 wall and make it to the Promised Land. Joshua prayed 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:16.559 and asked God what they should do, and God told 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:21.480 him to have the Israelites march around the city of Jericho. 0:12:22.280 --> 0:12:25.000 I'm sure Joshua thought, God, we need to get in 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:28.000 the city, and you're telling us to walk around it. 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:31.679 You want us to go in circles. They marched the 0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:36.320 first day and nothing happened. Second day, nothing happened, third day, nothing. 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:39.960 The whole time, the people thought, this is a waste 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:44.840 of time, this doesn't make sense. Six days they walked 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:51.000 in circles, ordinary routine, didn't see anything changing. On the 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:54.480 seventh day, God told them to march around seven times. 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:57.320 The last time they were to let out a great 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:01.720 shout and blow their trumpets. When they did, those huge 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:06.240 walls came tumbling down a great miracle. But even though 0:13:06.280 --> 0:13:10.280 the walls fell, the Israelites should have had trouble getting 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:14.079 past all the rubble, the debris, the walls were so big. 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:18.320 But researchers have found the walls fell in such a 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:22.000 way that it created a perfect ramp. Some fell on 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:26.120 the inside, some on the outside, just like an overpass. 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.280 The Israelites were able to go in and take the land. 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:33.959 When you're faithful in the routine, God will make things 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:37.800 happen that you couldn't make happen. You may have been 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:41.120 doing the right thing for a long time. You feel 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:45.400 like you're being left out, you're being falling behind. But 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:49.880 God is closely watching you. He sees you walking around 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:53.640 the walls. He sees you doing the right thing. Even 0:13:53.720 --> 0:13:58.040 though nothing is changing. Your time is coming. It's going 0:13:58.080 --> 0:14:02.840 to happen suddenly, un expectedly. What looked like an ordinary 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:06.120 day is going to turn out to be an exceptional day. 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:10.720 You thought you'd have to march around another month, another year. 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:14.920 Suddenly those walls are going to come down. God has 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:20.680 explosive blessings. No wall is too big, no obstacle too high, 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:25.080 no enemy too powerful. One touch of God's favor can 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:29.200 catapult you years ahead. The psalmist said, you can run 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:32.480 through a troop and leap over a wall. God will 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:35.680 get you to where you're supposed to be. But why 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:40.000 did God have them march around in circles seven days 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:43.000 do the same thing over and over. Seemed like a 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:46.920 waste of time. Didn't make sense. He's God, He could 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:49.840 have brought the walls down the first time, Joshua ask 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:55.320 But marching around that city was a test. God wanted 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:59.440 to see. Would they be faithful in the routine. Would 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:03.240 they trust him when they were going in circles? Would 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:07.120 they do the right thing when it seemed ordinary. You're 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:11.680 not always going to understand why something isn't changing, why 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:15.240 you're not making progress, why those people won't treat you right. 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:18.840 Don't get caught up in the wise. It is simply 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:23.040 a test. Keep being faithful where you are and those 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:27.320 walls will come down. When they were marching around the city, 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:31.080 God told them to not say a word. They couldn't 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:35.680 whispered each other, they couldn't discuss the situation. God knew 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:38.640 if he didn't keep them quiet, they would have talked 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:41.880 themselves out of it. Why are we walking around, Joshua, 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:46.040 has lost his mind. I'm tired, I'm hot, I'm thirsty. 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:49.080 If they would have gone around the walls with a 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:52.680 negative report, even though they were doing the right thing, 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:56.480 it would not have happened. When you feel like you're 0:15:56.480 --> 0:16:00.840 going in circles, you're not making much progress, don't start 0:16:00.880 --> 0:16:04.080 talking about how it's never going to happen, how you'll 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:07.440 never get well, your business will never take off. Do 0:16:07.560 --> 0:16:10.720 yourself a favor and zip it up. You can do 0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:14.840 the right thing with the wrong attitude and miss the blessing. 0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:18.400 But every day you go around the walls with a 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:22.000 good report. Father, thank you, you're restoring health backing to me. 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:24.880 Thank you that I'll lend and not borrow. Thank you 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:28.080 that this is my year of Yes, that's passing the test. 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:33.240 Like with the Israelites, that obstacle that should have stopped you, 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:37.160 will not only suddenly come down, but it will become 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:40.120 a ramp where you can move right past it. The 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:45.280 scripture says God will make your enemies your footstools. That means, 0:16:45.400 --> 0:16:48.400 instead of being a stumbling block to stop you, they 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:51.320 will become a stepping stone so you can rise to 0:16:51.360 --> 0:16:55.520 the next level. But on the surface, it looked like 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:58.960 the shout is what brought the walls down, But the 0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:03.680 truth is a shout without the obedience of marching around 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:07.680 the walls wouldn't have had the same effect. Sometimes we're 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:11.560 wondering why the walls aren't falling. We shouted, we prayed, 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:14.679 we believed. But the shout only works if you do 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:19.000 the first part, if you're faithful in the routine. A 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:22.159 friend of mine came to America from India when he 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.800 was twenty years old to attend Bible College. He was 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:29.840 very poor, but a couple from California paid his way 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:34.159 over and his tuition, and things were going great. He 0:17:34.160 --> 0:17:36.760 couldn't believe he was in America. This was a dream 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:40.720 come true. Everything was fine until the man that was 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:45.000 supporting him lost his job. Now this young man had 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:48.800 no income, no way to stay in school, no money 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:52.440 to get back home. He started going through the neighborhoods 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:55.880 asking people if he could mow their lawns, but nobody 0:17:55.920 --> 0:17:59.640 would hire him. He walked to the local grocery store 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:03.119 and found that every night they would put out food 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:07.000 in the dumpster. That's how he survived for a whole year. 0:18:07.800 --> 0:18:10.720 A job came available as a janitor at the school. 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:14.280 But he told how he was at such a disadvantage 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:17.040 he didn't see how he could ever rise any higher. 0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:20.600 He thought that was his lot in life. But year 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:24.800 after year he kept being faithful, doing the right thing 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:28.439 when he wasn't getting any good breaks. He met a 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:32.679 young lady in school. They fell in love. The problem is, 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:36.440 at this Bible school, they didn't approve of an Indian 0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:40.360 dating someone from America. This was many years ago, back 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:43.080 in the seventies, and of course it's changed now. But 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:47.080 he was forced to lead the school. Two years later 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.600 he married the young woman. They became youth pastors in 0:18:50.640 --> 0:18:54.679 another state. Ten years after that, the president of that 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:59.280 college resigned. The board called and asked if he would 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:02.640 become the next president. He went from having to get 0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:06.560 food out of dumpsters, to clean in restrooms, to be 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:09.760 enforced to leave the school, to being in charge of 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:13.439 the whole college. Frins. God is a god of justice. 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:17.480 He'll make your wrongs right. But at the time it 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:20.800 seemed like he was going in circles, seemed like nothing 0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:25.800 was happening. But God had a plan. The spinning wasn't comfortable, 0:19:26.280 --> 0:19:29.600 it wasn't always fair, but it was for his good. 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:33.399 God was getting him prepared to go places that he 0:19:33.520 --> 0:19:37.200 never dreamed. But it was all based on him being 0:19:37.320 --> 0:19:41.240 faithful in the routine, doing the right thing when he 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:44.760 wasn't being treated right. You may have gone through some 0:19:44.800 --> 0:19:48.880 disappointments as well, maybe situations that you feel like put 0:19:48.960 --> 0:19:52.520 you at a disadvantage. But no person can keep you 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:56.840 from your destiny. No bad break can stop what God 0:19:56.880 --> 0:20:00.560 has ordained for you. Don't get discouraged, don't try to 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:05.680 pay people back. The disappointments, the bad breaks, the betrayals, 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:10.159 they are all a part of God's plan. God uses 0:20:10.240 --> 0:20:14.200 things we don't like, things we don't understand, to push 0:20:14.320 --> 0:20:18.560 us into our purpose. And sometimes it feels like things 0:20:18.600 --> 0:20:22.239 are spinning out of control. The truth is they are 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:27.360 spinning in control. God is directing your steps, he's closing doors, 0:20:27.640 --> 0:20:31.119 he's moving the wrong people out. He controls the universe. 0:20:31.880 --> 0:20:36.080 He won't allow the spinning unless ultimately it's going to 0:20:36.160 --> 0:20:39.919 work to your advantage. Now, the challenge is to trust 0:20:40.040 --> 0:20:44.560 Him while you're spinning. Trust him when you don't understand it. 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:48.600 When Moses was born, the pharaoh had put out a 0:20:48.640 --> 0:20:52.000 decree that all the male babies were to be killed 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:56.960 for three months Moses' mother hid him. She didn't take 0:20:57.000 --> 0:21:00.960 him outside, they didn't go for a walk. Nobody knew 0:21:01.040 --> 0:21:05.680 he was here. He wasn't celebrated, he wasn't noticed. They 0:21:05.680 --> 0:21:08.639 didn't have a birthday party for him. He was hidden 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:14.159 like Moses. Sometimes God will hide you. You will go 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:17.520 through a season where you're not being noticed, You're not 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:22.040 being celebrated. You have all these gifts, so much to offer, 0:21:22.520 --> 0:21:28.000 but you're being overlooked, ignored. These times when God hides us, 0:21:28.400 --> 0:21:32.560 these are times of testing, times of proving. Are you 0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:36.560 going to keep being your best even though you're being overlooked. 0:21:37.359 --> 0:21:41.840 My father and mother started Lakewood with ninety people in 0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:46.960 nineteen fifty nine. My dad had been overseas holding meetings 0:21:47.119 --> 0:21:50.560 with tens of thousands of people, but he knew he 0:21:50.640 --> 0:21:54.000 was supposed to come back and pastor Lakewood. But for 0:21:54.160 --> 0:21:57.960 thirteen years it was like my father was hidden. The 0:21:58.080 --> 0:22:01.720 church didn't grow. My father was a great minister, he 0:22:01.880 --> 0:22:06.640 was dynamic, he was anointed, but all these gifts, all 0:22:06.680 --> 0:22:11.679 this ability, was going unnoticed. He wasn't being celebrated like 0:22:11.720 --> 0:22:16.040 he'd been overseas. He wasn't seeing growth and increase. But 0:22:16.160 --> 0:22:20.000 those thirteen years, my father was hidden. He preached to 0:22:20.080 --> 0:22:23.280 the ninety people like he was preaching to ninety thousand. 0:22:23.760 --> 0:22:27.000 He gave it his all. He was there three services 0:22:27.040 --> 0:22:30.520 a week, never took time off. He lived to pour 0:22:30.600 --> 0:22:34.680 in too. Those ninety people he could have gotten discouraged, God, 0:22:34.720 --> 0:22:38.280 why am I not seeing any growth? Instead, he was 0:22:38.440 --> 0:22:43.000 faithful in the routine, Faithful when he wasn't being celebrated, 0:22:43.359 --> 0:22:47.040 faithful when he wasn't making much progress. He was spinning. 0:22:47.720 --> 0:22:50.560 What he couldn't see is he was coming up higher. 0:22:51.160 --> 0:22:54.600 His character was being developed. He was showing God what 0:22:54.720 --> 0:22:58.719 he was made of. If you're not faithful when you're hidden, 0:22:59.200 --> 0:23:02.520 how can God trust you to be faithful when you're 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:06.560 out in the open. And the scripture says when Moses 0:23:06.680 --> 0:23:10.080 could be hidden no longer, his mother put him in 0:23:10.119 --> 0:23:13.359 a basket and sent him floating down the Nile River. 0:23:14.200 --> 0:23:17.080 Out of all the people that could have found him, 0:23:17.359 --> 0:23:20.720 it just so happened. FAA's daughter was at the river 0:23:20.800 --> 0:23:24.240 bank taken a bath. She heard the cries coming from 0:23:24.240 --> 0:23:28.639 the basket. She took Moses in and raised him in 0:23:28.720 --> 0:23:33.440 the palace as her own son. Moses went from being 0:23:33.560 --> 0:23:37.840 hidden to being noticed by one of the most influential 0:23:37.920 --> 0:23:41.919 families of that day. When you pass the test of 0:23:42.000 --> 0:23:45.680 being faithful in the routine, there will come a time 0:23:45.880 --> 0:23:49.080 where God will say you can be hidden no longer. 0:23:49.680 --> 0:23:52.600 He will cause the right people to see you, the 0:23:52.760 --> 0:23:56.240 right people to celebrate you. You'll not only be noticed, 0:23:56.520 --> 0:24:00.239 but you will be celebrated. Those thirteen years, if my 0:24:00.240 --> 0:24:03.919 father was hidden, but in nineteen seventy two, it was 0:24:04.000 --> 0:24:07.080 like God brought him out into the open. The church 0:24:07.200 --> 0:24:10.719 begin to grow from a couple hundred to thousands and thousands. 0:24:11.320 --> 0:24:16.600 You may feel like you've been hidden, overlooked, ignored, staying couraged. 0:24:17.000 --> 0:24:20.320 God is about to bring you out His face is 0:24:20.359 --> 0:24:22.400 going to shine down on you in a new way. 0:24:23.000 --> 0:24:25.399 You're not going to have to make it happen like 0:24:25.560 --> 0:24:28.679 Pharaoh's daughter. The right people are going to find you. 0:24:29.480 --> 0:24:32.560 Doors are going to open that you couldn't open. Promotion 0:24:32.880 --> 0:24:36.960 is going to track you down. John Chapter two. Jesus 0:24:37.040 --> 0:24:40.359 was at a wedding in Galilee. His mother came to 0:24:40.440 --> 0:24:44.080 him and said they had run out of wine. Jesus 0:24:44.119 --> 0:24:48.119 told the workers to fill up the stone pots with water. 0:24:48.920 --> 0:24:52.280 There were six of them. They held thirty gallons each. 0:24:52.840 --> 0:24:55.520 That was one hundred and eighty gallons of water that 0:24:55.560 --> 0:24:59.400 they needed. If the workers took a three gallon bucket 0:25:00.200 --> 0:25:03.680 to the well, that would take sixty trips to get 0:25:03.680 --> 0:25:07.879 that much water. I could imagine the workers thinking, what 0:25:07.920 --> 0:25:11.000 are we doing this for? We need wine? Why are 0:25:11.000 --> 0:25:15.960 we pumping water? They could have talked themselves out of it. Instead, 0:25:16.359 --> 0:25:20.199 they kept doing the ordinary, pumping the water, filling the 0:25:20.240 --> 0:25:25.800 pots again and again, trip after trip, faithful in the routine. 0:25:25.880 --> 0:25:28.920 It was water when they pumped it out, and water 0:25:29.040 --> 0:25:31.840 when they poured it into the pots. It would have 0:25:31.840 --> 0:25:35.080 been easy to stay in faith if when they drew 0:25:35.119 --> 0:25:37.760 it out of the well it suddenly turned into water, 0:25:38.480 --> 0:25:40.520 or if when they poured it into the pots they 0:25:40.560 --> 0:25:43.200 saw the miracle right then they would have been excited. 0:25:43.800 --> 0:25:48.639 But nothing was changing. It was routine, ordinary, looked like 0:25:48.760 --> 0:25:52.399 they were going in circles. But when God can trust 0:25:52.480 --> 0:25:57.320 you to be faithful getting water, faithful when nothing is happening, 0:25:57.680 --> 0:26:00.919 faithful when it seems ordinary, that He will take you 0:26:01.320 --> 0:26:06.000 into the extraordinary. You may be believing for wine, but 0:26:06.080 --> 0:26:11.360 all you're seeing is water. Be faithful in your water days. Well, Joel, 0:26:11.440 --> 0:26:13.960 I'm just doing the ordinary. I'm just going to work 0:26:14.240 --> 0:26:18.040 being my best raising my children honoring God. But I'm 0:26:18.040 --> 0:26:22.000 not making any progress. Don't be discouraged by what you 0:26:22.119 --> 0:26:25.840 don't see. You're in your water days. The good news 0:26:25.960 --> 0:26:29.800 is wine is coming. It's going to happen suddenly. It's 0:26:29.840 --> 0:26:34.480 going to be unexpected. After these workers filled up the pots, 0:26:34.960 --> 0:26:38.840 after they were faithful in their water days, Jesus told 0:26:38.880 --> 0:26:41.679 them to draw some out and take it to the 0:26:41.680 --> 0:26:44.840 host of the party. When they did, it not only 0:26:44.880 --> 0:26:48.720 turned into wine, but when the host tasted it, he said, 0:26:49.160 --> 0:26:53.080 you have saved the best wine for last. When you 0:26:53.200 --> 0:26:57.120 pass this test of being faithful in the routine. God 0:26:57.160 --> 0:27:00.160 has saved the best for last. What's in your future 0:27:00.320 --> 0:27:03.920 is going to be more rewarding, more exciting than anything 0:27:03.960 --> 0:27:07.840 you've imagined. Now, I'm challenging you to stay faithful in 0:27:07.920 --> 0:27:12.600 the routine. Stay faithful when you're going in circles. Remember 0:27:12.880 --> 0:27:16.440 the spinning is working for you. It's getting you prepared 0:27:16.680 --> 0:27:19.760 for the new things God has in store. Many of 0:27:19.800 --> 0:27:23.159 you have passed this test. You've been faithful day in 0:27:23.280 --> 0:27:27.760 and day out. I believe and declare like Joshua, the 0:27:27.800 --> 0:27:30.200 walls that have held you back are about to come 0:27:30.200 --> 0:27:33.639 tumbling down. Like Moses. You may have been hidden, but 0:27:33.720 --> 0:27:36.520 you're about to come out into the open. God is 0:27:36.560 --> 0:27:39.880 going to turn your water into wine. Take you into 0:27:39.920 --> 0:27:43.919 the fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name. If you 0:27:43.960 --> 0:27:47.760 receive it, can you say it? Men? Today, I'd like 0:27:47.840 --> 0:27:50.720 to give you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord 0:27:50.760 --> 0:27:55.080 of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, 0:27:56.240 --> 0:28:00.840 I'll repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I 0:28:01.000 --> 0:28:04.760 make you my Lord and savior. If you've prayed that 0:28:04.840 --> 0:28:08.199 simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in 0:28:08.240 --> 0:28:12.440 a good Bible based church, keep God first place. Victoria 0:28:12.440 --> 0:28:14.520 and I will be right back to speak a blessing 0:28:14.640 --> 0:28:15.000 over you. 0:28:17.000 --> 0:28:19.400 As a thank you for your support of our ministry 0:28:19.440 --> 0:28:21.840 this month, Jewel and Victoria, I would like to send 0:28:21.840 --> 0:28:25.200 you a copy of Joel's new three message series, Favor 0:28:25.240 --> 0:28:28.919 of God. You were not created to barely get by. 0:28:29.000 --> 0:28:33.680 You were highly favored and were created to thrive. Request 0:28:33.720 --> 0:28:37.080 your copy of Favor of God today at Joelostein dot 0:28:37.080 --> 0:28:40.560 com or call eight eight eight five six seven. Joel. 0:28:41.360 --> 0:28:43.800 It may feel like the odds are against you. You 0:28:43.880 --> 0:28:47.520 don't have the connections, the experience, the talent, but one 0:28:47.600 --> 0:28:49.840 touch of God's favor would take you to a whole 0:28:49.880 --> 0:28:51.760 new level. Stay encouraged. 0:28:52.160 --> 0:28:53.360 You have an advantage. 0:28:53.560 --> 0:28:55.040 You have the favor of God. 0:28:55.480 --> 0:28:59.720 David said, God has crowned you with favor. Request this resource. 0:29:00.080 --> 0:29:02.760 It will help you to live favor minded and believe 0:29:02.800 --> 0:29:04.440 for the fullness of your destiny. 0:29:04.640 --> 0:29:06.920 Eleven years ago, we were trying to add another child 0:29:06.960 --> 0:29:09.480 to our family. We soon found out that my wife 0:29:09.560 --> 0:29:12.680 had some medical issues. What we've learned through this ministry 0:29:12.920 --> 0:29:14.960 is that God is the god of the impossible. Not 0:29:15.040 --> 0:29:17.040 only is my wife healed and we were able to 0:29:17.080 --> 0:29:19.480 add a little baby girl to our family, but just 0:29:19.560 --> 0:29:21.360 recently we've added a baby boy. 0:29:22.080 --> 0:29:25.560 Your support is changing lives. Thank you for your prayers 0:29:25.560 --> 0:29:28.680 and generosity. We couldn't do it without people like you. 0:29:29.240 --> 0:29:31.400 If you would like to partner with us to take 0:29:31.440 --> 0:29:34.160 Hope around the world, go to the website and find 0:29:34.160 --> 0:29:37.520 out how together we can make a difference. Victoria and 0:29:37.600 --> 0:29:40.480 I pray for you every day. Believe in twenty seventeen 0:29:40.520 --> 0:29:43.360 will be your best year so far. Until we meet again. 0:29:43.640 --> 0:29:47.040 Remember you're not average, You're not mediocre. 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