I Am What God Says I Am

0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.880 No one likes to talk about money. Am I saving enough? 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:05.040 Can I buy a house? Am I paying too much 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:07.760 in taxes? Will I be able to retire? What if 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:10.360 you could unlock insights about your finances in less than 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:12.840 five minutes, with a clear picture of where you stand 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:15.720 today and where your money can work harder. Now you 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:18.759 can visit facet dot com to take the free quiz 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:23.400 and get your financial wellness score today. That's Facet dot com. 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:25.360 This ad is sponsored by Facet. Fast Wealth in Corporated 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:27.280 is an sec registered investment advisor. 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. 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:33.120 Are you ready to move your career forward? Make your 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:36.640 comeback with Perdue Global and get college credit for your work, school, life, 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:39.840 or military experiences. With these credits, you may have already 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:42.680 completed up to seventy five percent of your undergraduate degree. 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:44.800 You've worked hard to get where you are. It's time 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:46.920 to get the recognition you deserve and earn a degree 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:49.600 you'll be proud of, one that employers will trust and 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:51.840 respect when you take the next step in your life 0:00:51.880 --> 0:00:55.040 and career. Make it count with Perdue Global produce online 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:59.720 University for working adults start your comeback at Purdueglobal dot edu. 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:03.440 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:06.240 our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. 0:01:06.360 --> 0:01:08.680 If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:10.279 blessing and share it with a friend. 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:13.280 We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:28.160 your life. Oh God, bless you. We love you and 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:31.240 we know God has great things in store. We pray 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:34.280 for you every single day. We're believing that this year 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:36.160 will be your best year so far. And if you're 0:01:36.160 --> 0:01:38.240 ever in our area, come out and see us. We'd 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:39.640 love to have you be a part of one of 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:42.080 our services. But thanks for tuning in, thanks for coming 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:44.560 out today. And I'd like to start with something funny. 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:49.440 And I heard about this housework challenged husband. He decided 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:52.160 he was going to wash his new sweatshirt. He went 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:55.320 to the laundry room and wasn't there five seconds before 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:57.920 he hollered out to his wife, what setting do I 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:01.080 put the washing machine on? Said, it depends what does 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:04.000 it say on your shirt? After a long pause, he 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:09.880 hollered back, Dallas cowboys, all right, hold up your bibles. 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:12.720 Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:15.640 I am what it says I am. I have what 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:18.280 it says I have. I can do what it says 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:21.080 I can do. Today I will be taught the word 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:25.640 of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert, my 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:30.200 heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:33.600 God bless you. I want to talk to you today 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:37.919 about not letting negative voices talk you out of your dreams. 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:41.720 Too often we settle for less than what God's put 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:44.800 in our hearts. We hear so many voices telling us 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:48.040 what we can't do and how impossible it is, and 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:51.320 we end up just settling where we are. But deep 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:55.160 down on the inside, if we really be honest with ourselves, 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:59.400 we know we are watering down our dreams. What happened 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.720 that people discourage us and talk us out of pressing forward? 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:06.520 But one of the most important things that I've ever 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:11.320 learned is other people don't set the limits for my life. 0:03:11.400 --> 0:03:14.400 Other people don't have to believe in me for my 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:18.040 dreams to come to pass. There will always be critics 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:21.720 in naysayers. There will always be people telling us what 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:25.840 we can't do. You're too short, you're not talented, enough, 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:29.240 you've made too many mistakes, You come from the wrong family. 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:34.360 The negative voices come to us all, but understand other 0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:38.160 people don't determine your destiny. You do. And you have 0:03:38.240 --> 0:03:40.640 to accept the fact that not everyone is going to 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:43.400 believe in you. Not everyone is going to cheer you on. 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:47.120 It would be great if all your friends and family 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:50.800 members stood in faith and encouraged you, but a lot 0:03:50.840 --> 0:03:53.840 of times that's not the case. There will always be 0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:57.280 people that say things like, you really think you're gonna 0:03:57.280 --> 0:04:00.760 get well, My grandmother died from that same disease. You 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:03.080 really think you're going to get married, You really think 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:06.800 your family is going to be restored. Sometimes you have 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:10.600 to have a faith that stands alone, a faith that says, God, 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:13.920 I know you put this promise in me, And even 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:16.919 though no one is encouraging me, even though all the 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:20.200 voices are negative, I'm not going to allow them to 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:23.440 steal this seed out of my heart. I love what 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:25.960 the apostle Paul said there in Romans three to three, 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:30.200 What if they don't believe, will their lack of faith 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:33.640 make the faith of God of no effect? What he 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:37.239 was saying was, it doesn't matter if other people don't believe. 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:41.480 Their unbelief is not going to keep me from believing 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:45.120 in my dreams. And when God puts a promise in you, 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:49.159 it is not dependent on other people. You don't need 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:52.880 everyone to validate you. You don't need to try to 0:04:52.920 --> 0:04:57.320 get confirmation from all your friends. The truth is some 0:04:57.400 --> 0:05:00.760 people are never going to give you their approval. They 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:03.440 may clap a few times and smile on the outside, 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:08.400 but unfortunately human nature tends to be jealous. When you 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:11.040 have a big dream and you're determined to do something 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:15.680 great with your life, very often others are envious. This 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:19.479 is what happened to Joseph. His brothers didn't celebrate his dream. 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:23.160 They did just the opposite. They sold him into slavery. 0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:26.760 And when somebody doesn't believe in you, when somebody says 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:29.960 you really think you're qualified for that new position, I 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:32.280 don't think so you really think you're going to get 0:05:32.320 --> 0:05:35.400 out of debt? I don't see how. When those negative 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:39.479 voices come, you have to remind yourself the promise is 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:42.640 in me, not in them, and they don't have to 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:45.320 believe in me for my dream to come to pass. 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:49.320 And at times you may feel like nobody believes in you. 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:52.080 Your own family's not behind you. Your friends are trying 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:55.560 to discourage you. But the good news is you and 0:05:55.680 --> 0:05:59.280 God are a majority, and He's put in you everything 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:03.480 you need to fulfill your destiny. This is what David 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:06.920 had to do. When the prophet Samuel came to his house. 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:10.719 He asked David's father, Jesse, to bring in his sons 0:06:11.000 --> 0:06:14.160 so he could choose the next king. And Jesse rounded 0:06:14.240 --> 0:06:18.480 up all of his sons except David. David was the youngest. 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:21.240 He was out in the fields taking care of the sheep. 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:25.440 Jesse thought, I don't need to get David. He's so young, 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:28.640 he'll never amount to much. I haven't seen the same 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:31.880 talent in him that I've seen in my other sons. 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:36.359 I'm sure Jesse thought about how David was small in stature. 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:40.680 David had red hair, no doubt. His other sons were tall, 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:46.640 dark and handsome, kind of like me. But seriously, you 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:49.960 can imagine how David must have felt knowing that his 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:53.000 own father didn't believe in him enough to have the 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:56.120 courtesy to bring him in so the prophet Samuel could 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:59.920 see him. He could have easily let that rejection create 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:03.560 stronghold to where he thought man I'm not talented, I'm 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:07.120 not creative. I'll never do anything great. No, David had 0:07:07.160 --> 0:07:10.160 the attitude, it doesn't matter who doesn't believe in me. 0:07:10.760 --> 0:07:13.640 I know, if God be for me, who dare even 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:18.760 be against me? Even after Samuel chose David to be 0:07:18.840 --> 0:07:21.679 the next king, his brother still didn't believe in him. 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:24.960 When he went out to face Goliath. They said, David, 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:27.280 what are you doing out here? Why don't you go 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:30.120 back to those few sheep that you're supposed to be 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:32.960 taken care of. They tried to make him feel small 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:36.960 once again. David could have gotten discouraged, gone around with 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:41.600 low self esteem, feeling inferior. But David understood this principle. 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:45.640 He knew other people, even his own father, even in 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:48.600 his brothers, they didn't have to believe in him for 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:52.280 him to become everything God created him to be. And 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:55.440 sometimes we think we have to manipulate things to try 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:57.840 to win people's favor, try to talk them in to 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:00.840 believe in us. We think, I'll just play up to 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:03.640 this person, maybe they'll put in a good word for me. 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:06.200 I'll try to get on their good side, maybe they'll 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:08.920 give me a break. No, you do not have to 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:12.640 manipulate people in order to get your way. Stay true 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:15.280 to your heart. If you will be good to people 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:18.960 for the right reasons and not play politics and try 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:22.160 to win people over, God will cause you to have 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:25.360 favor with who you need to have favor with. But 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:29.080 too often I found we put too much emphasis on 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:32.960 one person. We think they're the whole key to my success. 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:36.319 Without them, it's not going to happen. But some people, 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:38.599 no matter how hard you try, they're not going to 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:41.640 believe in you, and you have to recognize you don't 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:45.520 have to have them to fulfill your destiny. I remember 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:48.120 when we were trying to acquire this place, the former 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:51.120 Compact Center, there was this one man that I really 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:54.559 wanted to win over. He was very influential, he knew 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:56.719 a lot of other people. I thought, boy, if we 0:08:56.760 --> 0:08:59.000 could just get his support, that would put us a 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:02.200 long way down the road. So I did everything I could. 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:05.360 I called and called, but I couldn't get an appointment. 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:07.680 I had a friend that knew him well and he 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:10.679 put in a good word for us, but still nothing happened. 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:13.680 Month after month went by and I was still doing 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:15.960 my best to try to make contact so I could 0:09:16.000 --> 0:09:18.440 win him over and it just so happened. One day 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:21.640 we ended up at an event together and I had 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:24.400 a few minutes to share my vision for the Compact Center. 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:28.320 But after a couple of sentences, I could tell he 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:31.800 was not for us. He was very cold and unfriendly, 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:35.280 almost like I was bothering him. He made the comment, 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:39.400 I just don't think your organization is the best use 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:42.600 for that facility, and I'm not going to support it. 0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:45.920 I left there so discouraged. I thought, Man, I spent 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:49.000 all this time trying to get in contact, and now 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:51.720 I find out not only is he not for us, 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:55.520 but he's against us. Later that night, when I was 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:59.000 thinking about it, I began to realize what I'm telling you. 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:02.240 I was putting too much faith in him. I thought 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:04.559 he was gonna solve all our problems, he was gonna 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:07.560 win over all of our critics. It finally dawned on me, 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:10.400 he doesn't have to believe in me for my dream 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:13.320 to come to pass. After all, God didn't put the 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:17.520 promise in him. He put the promise in me. So 0:10:17.600 --> 0:10:20.840 I shook that. All we stayed in faith, and we 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:23.720 saw God bring it to fulfillment. It's funny a couple 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:26.240 of years later, right after we had moved into this 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:29.679 new facility, I saw him at another event and it 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:32.360 was a night and day difference. You would have thought 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:36.160 it was his idea. He was bragging to his friend 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:38.679 about how great it was. He said, Joel, one day, 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:41.120 I'm gonna come visit you during one of your services. 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:43.720 I thought to myself, great, I'll save your seat on 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:48.480 the very top road. What am I saying? You don't 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:50.800 have to try to talk people in to believe it 0:10:50.840 --> 0:10:53.880 in you. You just stay in faith and God will 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:57.120 cause the right people to come into your life. When 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:01.560 you come across one of those naysay people that discourage 0:11:01.600 --> 0:11:03.160 you and try to tell you how it's not going 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:05.680 to happen, you've got to do what the apostle Paul 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:08.520 did and just shake it off. Have the attitude. So 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:11.800 what if they don't believe. I know my destiny is 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:15.400 not tied to them. Do not allow the negative voices 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:20.040 to take root. Words are like seeds. When something's spoken 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:23.000 over us, they get planted in the soil of our heart, 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:26.720 and whether they take root and grow depends totally up 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:30.360 to us. The way those words become a reality is 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:34.280 what we constantly dwell on. In other words, what you 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:38.280 go around meditating on is what you are watering. It's 0:11:38.400 --> 0:11:41.840 very important to pay attention to what's playing in your mind. 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:46.600 Some people have had negative things spoken over them from childhood. 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:49.480 They didn't know any better, they believed it, they played 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:52.040 it over and over, and now it's setting the limits 0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:55.000 for their life. But if you're going to live in victory, 0:11:55.280 --> 0:11:58.559 you have to be disciplined in your thought life. When 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:02.440 those voices come in David's case, saying you're not talented, 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:05.400 you're not creative, you'll never do anything great, you have 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:08.880 to immediately get rid of those lies. The longer you 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:12.160 dwell on them, the more it will affect your personality, 0:12:12.559 --> 0:12:16.160 your confidence, your self esteem, and the more difficult it 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:19.280 is to get rid of later on. I watched to 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:22.400 report on the news the other day about children that 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:26.320 had been bullied at school. It talked about how years 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:30.760 later those negative words were still impacting many of them. 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:34.400 They interviewed this one man. He was in his forties. 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:37.840 He seemed to be a very bright, talented man, but 0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:39.760 he had not been able to hold down a job. 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:44.120 He had struggled in his relationships. He told how as 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:47.920 a child he was overweight, and the other children they 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:52.040 made fun of him and called him names slow, poge, dumbo, 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:55.800 fat soul. He made the mistake of letting those words 0:12:55.840 --> 0:13:00.000 take root, and now they were keeping him in mediocrity. 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:04.439 Very important what you're meditating on young people at school. 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:08.960 Other people may try to make you feel unattractive and inferior. 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:11.760 They may call you names, but you need to let 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.360 that bounce off of you like water off of a 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:18.720 duck's back. Understand, you are not what they call you. 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:22.680 You are what you answer to. They can call you failure, loser, 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:25.760 slow poke. Don't answer to that. Just ignore it and 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:29.679 keep pressing forward and recognize you don't have a problem. 0:13:29.760 --> 0:13:32.760 They have the problem. They are so insecure they have 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:34.960 to try to push you down in order to feel 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:38.320 good about themselves. And people can call you all kinds 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:40.840 of derogatory things, but you've got to rise up and 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:43.760 say I am not who they say I am. I 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:47.320 am who God says I am. I am smart, I 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:51.600 am talented, I am creative, I am well able to 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:56.520 fulfill my destiny. I heard somebody say faith begins with 0:13:56.640 --> 0:13:59.840 stuff in your ears full of cotton. In other words, 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:03.080 I don't listen to the negative comments. People will try 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:05.760 to talk you out of your dreams. When I first 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:11.080 started ministering, I overheard people saying he can't preach, he's 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:14.520 too young, he's not as good as his father. I 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:17.400 just found some cotton balls and put him in my ears. 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:20.080 I've learned these days. I got to keep a fresh 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:24.720 supply on hand. When my father started Lakewood in nineteen 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:28.680 fifty nine, in a little Rundown feed store, people told 0:14:28.760 --> 0:14:31.960 him nobody will come to church out here. You're on 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:34.640 the wrong side of town. It's too far. You're just 0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:38.360 wasting your time. What did my dad do? Get down, discourage, 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:41.040 give up. No, he just simply put the cotton balls 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:44.040 in his ears. He kept praying, kept believing, kept being 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:47.760 his best. For forty years, he saw thousands of people 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:51.080 come out every weekend. I love the scene in the 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:54.840 movie The Pursuit of Happiness was based on a true story. 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:58.720 The father was homeless and he was raising his small 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:02.200 son on the streets. One day, they were shooting baskets. 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:04.480 The dad had just bought his son a new ball. 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:07.720 As they were playing, he said to his son, I 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:10.200 don't want you to stay out here and play all 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:13.360 day long, because you'll probably just be an average player, 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:16.480 after all, That's all I was. You're usually just as 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:18.480 good as your dad. We have the same gene. So 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:20.400 I don't want you to waste a lot of time 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:24.240 every day thinking that you'll ever really be good. You 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:26.800 could see that just took the wind out of his cells. 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:30.280 The little boy put his ball up and he walked away, 0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:34.360 feeling so dejected. Then this father felt convicted about it. 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:37.160 He went back over to him, got down, looked him 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:39.720 in the eyes, said listen to here, son. Don't you 0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:43.840 ever let anyone tell you you can't be something great, 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:48.560 not even me. And it's interesting when other people can't 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:52.440 do something very often they try to put their limitations 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:55.000 on us. In other words, that's as high as I went, 0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:57.280 That's probably as high as you'll go. No God wants 0:15:57.280 --> 0:16:01.160 you to go further. Don't let anyone convince you you 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:04.920 cannot accomplish your God given dreams, not a family member, 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:09.080 not a coach, not a friend. Certainly, be respectful, Certainly, 0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:12.240 listen to wise counsel. But remember, when it's all said 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:15.680 and done, the promise is in you, it's not in them. 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:18.840 This is what David had to do. He had to 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:23.040 rise above that rejection and say, even though my father 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:26.120 doesn't believe in me, even though my family just thinks 0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:29.400 I'm average, I love them, but what they think about 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:33.120 me doesn't determine my destiny. They may think I'm mediocre, 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:35.920 but I know I have seeds of greatness. I know 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:39.440 I'm equipped, I'm annoying. I'm going to become everything God's 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:43.200 created me to be. But many people have these strongholds 0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:46.840 in their mind. Something was spoken over them. They believed it, 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:50.200 they watered it, and now it's holding them back. But 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:52.520 you need to get to the root and find out 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:55.720 what it is. Was it a family member that told 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:59.400 you you'd never be successful. Was it a chemistry teacher 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:01.800 that I told you all you could make was c's 0:17:01.960 --> 0:17:04.640 and not a's. Was it a friend that said you'll 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:08.439 never break your addiction. No, just because they couldn't do 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:10.800 it doesn't mean you can't do it. You need to 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:14.120 reprogram your thinking. You need to get rid of those strongholds. 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.720 A study came out the other day and these researchers 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:22.359 supposedly found that one race was less intelligent than another race. 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:24.919 They measured these brain waves and came up with this 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:28.320 conclusion and A reporter asked me what I thought about it, 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:31.520 and I said, I think that's ridiculous, because I know 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:35.600 God didn't make one group less than another. We're all equipped, 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:40.520 we're all talented, we're all creative. Every one of us 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:44.640 has exactly what we need. God would not have put 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:47.520 the dream in you if he had not already given 0:17:47.560 --> 0:17:51.359 you the talent, the creativity, the determination to see it 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:54.000 come to pass. But some of you are stuck in 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:56.919 a rut, and it's because of the negative words that 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.879 have been spoken over you. You need to ask yourself 0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:03.480 who told me I'm not tall enough? Who told me 0:18:03.560 --> 0:18:06.760 I'm just an average student? Who told me that I'm 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:10.639 not that talented. If you'll get rid of the wrong voices, 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:13.800 it'll take the limits off of your life. That's why 0:18:13.840 --> 0:18:17.400 we start off every service by saying, I am who 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:20.480 God says I am. What we're saying, in effect, is 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:23.960 I am not who my chemistry teacher says I am. 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:27.000 I am not who my ex husband or ex wife 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:30.280 says I am. I am not who my critics say 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:33.640 I am. Nowadays, I am not who the bloggers say 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:37.280 I am. I am who God says I am. That 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:40.520 means we are anointed. We are equipped, we are talented, 0:18:41.000 --> 0:18:45.040 we are redeemed, we are blessed. We have the favor 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:48.600 of God. I like to take it one step further. 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:51.399 Not only I am who God says I am, but 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:54.360 I can do what God says I can do. We 0:18:54.400 --> 0:18:58.639 can accomplish our dreams. We can overcome every obstacle. We 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:01.560 can have joy in the midst of tough times. We 0:19:01.600 --> 0:19:05.000 can live God's abundant life. So you have to make 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:08.439 sure you have the right recording playing in your mind. 0:19:09.160 --> 0:19:12.520 You have to guard your thoughts because throughout life these 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:16.159 voices come that are constantly trying to tell us you 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:18.919 don't have what it takes. You heard the study, you 0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:22.080 come from the wrong family, You're not talented enough, you're 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:25.919 not attractive enough. No, God put in you everything you 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:30.240 need to accomplish your goals. God is the great architect 0:19:30.320 --> 0:19:33.719 of the universe. Before you were born, he laid out 0:19:33.760 --> 0:19:37.359 a plan for your life. He carefully studied what you 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:40.440 would need. He didn't just randomly put something in you. 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:44.200 He put in you exactly what you needed to live 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:48.560 a victorious life. Don't ever let anyone convince you that 0:19:48.640 --> 0:19:51.920 you're not tall enough, You're not talented enough. You don't 0:19:51.920 --> 0:19:54.800 have the right personality. No, that is an insult to 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:58.960 our God. God has equipped you with exactly what you need. 0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:02.800 There was a young lady by the name of Helen Hayes. 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:05.959 She had a dream to become an actress, but everyone 0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:09.439 told her that she would never really be successful because 0:20:09.480 --> 0:20:13.399 she was too small. She stood just under five feet tall, 0:20:13.440 --> 0:20:17.119 and so she went through all these stretching exercises, had 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:19.959 coaches put her on different programs to try to increase 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:22.360 her height, but none of that word. She didn't get 0:20:22.359 --> 0:20:26.040 any taller. But instead of getting discouraged and listening to 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:29.679 the naysayers, she focused on being the best that she 0:20:29.800 --> 0:20:32.840 could be. She took what God had given her and 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:35.320 made the most of it. And even though the so 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:38.960 called experts told her she was too small, down deep, 0:20:39.119 --> 0:20:42.560 she started thinking about how she was equipped. She was 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:46.520 anointed and other people did not determine her destiny. In 0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:50.040 other words, she quit dwelling on what the critics were saying, 0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:52.800 and she started dwelling on what God said about her, 0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:56.480 and she ended up becoming one of the greatest actresses 0:20:56.520 --> 0:21:00.159 of her day. In fact, later in her career, she 0:21:00.320 --> 0:21:04.200 was chosen to play a very acclaimed role as Mary, 0:21:04.440 --> 0:21:07.720 Queen of Scotland, who was one of the tallest queens 0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:11.280 that had ever lived. What am I saying? God has 0:21:11.320 --> 0:21:15.479 put in you everything you need. Quit allowing other people 0:21:15.520 --> 0:21:17.520 to tell you what you don't have and what you 0:21:17.600 --> 0:21:20.600 can't do. You need to keep a fresh supply of 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:24.280 cotton balls on hand when those negative voices come telling 0:21:24.320 --> 0:21:27.000 you you're not gonna accomplish your dreams, you're not gonna 0:21:27.000 --> 0:21:30.200 be successful. You don't have to get discouraged, don't get upset, 0:21:30.600 --> 0:21:32.920 Just smile and say you may not think so, but 0:21:32.960 --> 0:21:35.320 the good news is you don't have to believe in 0:21:35.400 --> 0:21:38.000 me for my dreams to come to pass. And I'm 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:40.280 not gonna let your lack of faith cause me to 0:21:40.280 --> 0:21:44.320 give up. I know God's promises are on their way. 0:21:44.480 --> 0:21:47.080 Sometimes in the natural we don't see how we can 0:21:47.080 --> 0:21:51.400 accomplish our dreams. Seems like there's so many obstacles to overcome. 0:21:52.080 --> 0:21:55.359 But the scripture talks about how God's word is like 0:21:55.400 --> 0:21:58.840 a seed. When it's playing it in our heart and 0:21:58.880 --> 0:22:01.159 we water it by things in the right thoughts and 0:22:01.240 --> 0:22:05.840 expecting good things, the little seed begins to grow. Jesus 0:22:05.920 --> 0:22:08.919 told a parable in March chapter four. He said, God's 0:22:08.960 --> 0:22:13.600 word is like a tiny mustard seed. When it is sown, 0:22:13.840 --> 0:22:17.000 it is less than all the other seeds, one of 0:22:17.040 --> 0:22:21.280 the smallest, But when it grows up, it becomes greater 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:24.920 than all. Notice it goes from being less than all 0:22:25.240 --> 0:22:28.159 to being greater than all. Some of you are in 0:22:28.240 --> 0:22:31.560 situations right now, in your health, in your finances, in 0:22:31.560 --> 0:22:36.640 your relationships, where God's promises seem so small in comparison 0:22:36.680 --> 0:22:39.879 to what you're facing. You could easily let that overwhelm 0:22:39.920 --> 0:22:42.240 you and think, Man, it's never going to get any better. 0:22:42.359 --> 0:22:44.760 It's never going to change. But if you will stay 0:22:44.800 --> 0:22:49.040 in faith and keep believing, something amazing is going to happen. 0:22:49.640 --> 0:22:53.200 That little seed has supernatural power in it, and it's 0:22:53.200 --> 0:22:56.360 going to take root and begin to grow. Think about 0:22:56.440 --> 0:22:59.400 an ordinary seed when you plant it in the ground. 0:22:59.800 --> 0:23:02.959 The dirt that's on top of its hundreds of times 0:23:03.000 --> 0:23:07.479 heavier and more powerful than that little seed. In the natural, 0:23:07.560 --> 0:23:09.920 it doesn't have a chance, no way it can push 0:23:09.960 --> 0:23:12.359 the dirt out of the way. I can imagine the 0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:15.200 dirt saying, little seed, I'm never gonna let you go. 0:23:15.720 --> 0:23:18.119 You're just a tiny, little nothing compared to me, and 0:23:18.160 --> 0:23:20.840 you are never gonna get out. I can see the 0:23:20.880 --> 0:23:23.879 seed smile and say, listen here, mister dirt. It doesn't 0:23:23.920 --> 0:23:27.080 matter what you say. I've got the life of Almighty 0:23:27.080 --> 0:23:29.960 God in me, and one day I am coming out. 0:23:30.880 --> 0:23:34.320 That infuriates the dirt. He says, what are you talking about. 0:23:34.359 --> 0:23:36.680 You don't have a chance. I'm hundreds of times more 0:23:36.720 --> 0:23:40.159 powerful than you. The seed just ignores him, goes around 0:23:40.200 --> 0:23:42.840 saying I'm coming up. I'm coming up. I'm coming up. 0:23:43.119 --> 0:23:46.639 Sure enough. One day the seed burst open and the 0:23:46.760 --> 0:23:51.159 life of Almighty God empowers that little seed to push 0:23:51.200 --> 0:23:54.879 the dirt that's hundreds of times heavier and more powerful, 0:23:55.000 --> 0:23:57.720 right out of the way. Eventually the seed breaks the 0:23:57.760 --> 0:24:00.399 surface of the earth. It looks back and says, I 0:24:00.440 --> 0:24:03.159 told you I was coming out. God breathed his life 0:24:03.240 --> 0:24:07.280 into mend. But here's the whole key. It depends on 0:24:07.400 --> 0:24:11.880 what voices we are feeding. You cannot go around watering 0:24:12.080 --> 0:24:15.280 what the naysayers have spoken over. You don't go around 0:24:15.359 --> 0:24:18.160 thinking about how your parents didn't believe in You don't 0:24:18.240 --> 0:24:21.880 dwell on what the medical report says. Feed your inner man, 0:24:22.160 --> 0:24:26.280 what God says about you. I am strong, I am blessed, 0:24:26.359 --> 0:24:28.919 I walk in divine Hell. I am more than a 0:24:29.000 --> 0:24:31.720 conquer My best days are still out in front of me. 0:24:32.560 --> 0:24:36.760 As you dwell on these positive, faithfulled promises, they will 0:24:36.760 --> 0:24:40.320 take root and over time become a reality. That's what 0:24:40.359 --> 0:24:44.159 the scripture says. So mightily grew the Word of God 0:24:44.400 --> 0:24:48.679 and prevailed. When I first started ministering, the voices of 0:24:48.720 --> 0:24:52.120 the critics rang out so loudly. I could hear them 0:24:52.160 --> 0:24:56.679 booming in my ear. You're not qualified, you don't have 0:24:56.880 --> 0:25:00.760 what it takes. It's never going to work out. Voices 0:25:01.000 --> 0:25:04.920 sounded like thunder. But at the same time I could 0:25:04.960 --> 0:25:08.560 hear this little voice whispering back, I can do all 0:25:08.680 --> 0:25:12.240 things through Christ. I am strong in the Lord. Those 0:25:12.280 --> 0:25:15.480 other voices would boom back, No, no, no, you're not qualified. 0:25:15.520 --> 0:25:18.920 It's not gonna work out. Little by little, I kept 0:25:19.000 --> 0:25:23.040 watering the right seeds, thanking God that he was in control, 0:25:23.520 --> 0:25:26.800 believing that I could do it, Expecting good things. That 0:25:26.840 --> 0:25:31.280 little seed begin to grow. The promises got louder and louder. 0:25:31.800 --> 0:25:34.960 One day it got to where it was exactly the opposite. 0:25:35.080 --> 0:25:39.280 The negative voices were barely a whisper. You're not qualified, 0:25:39.359 --> 0:25:42.160 you don't have what it takes the new voice boomed out, 0:25:42.560 --> 0:25:45.359 I can do all things through Christ. I am a 0:25:45.800 --> 0:25:50.320 victor and not a victimer. If you will meditate on 0:25:50.400 --> 0:25:53.800 the right thoughts, go around dwelling on what God says 0:25:53.800 --> 0:25:57.240 about you, over time, it's gonna drown out all the 0:25:57.280 --> 0:26:01.120 negative voices, and those faith filled promises will take root 0:26:01.320 --> 0:26:04.480 and become a reality. I am who I am today 0:26:04.960 --> 0:26:07.680 because of the seeds I've allowed to take root down 0:26:07.720 --> 0:26:11.200 through the years. The fact is we all have voices 0:26:11.240 --> 0:26:13.679 come in our way. The key is to learn to 0:26:13.720 --> 0:26:17.040 water the right voices. Get up every morning and remind 0:26:17.080 --> 0:26:20.920 yourself I am who God says I am. You are 0:26:20.960 --> 0:26:23.199 not what other people call you. You are what you 0:26:23.280 --> 0:26:27.040 answer to. When those negative comments come, just make a decision. 0:26:27.080 --> 0:26:29.280 I'm not dwelling on that. I know who I am. 0:26:29.520 --> 0:26:32.719 I am a child of the most High God. I 0:26:32.760 --> 0:26:35.600 believe today God's going to begin to bring out of 0:26:35.640 --> 0:26:39.280 you hidden treasures that you've had buried on the inside 0:26:39.320 --> 0:26:42.399 for years. Things you once knew you could do. You 0:26:42.480 --> 0:26:45.639 once had a dream, but you let other people or 0:26:45.640 --> 0:26:48.080 even your own thoughts, talk you out of it. But 0:26:48.200 --> 0:26:52.240 those dreams, those promises are still alive on the inside. 0:26:52.640 --> 0:26:55.080 They may have laid dormant for years, but they are 0:26:55.119 --> 0:26:58.280 still full of the life of Almighty God. And as 0:26:58.320 --> 0:27:00.600 you stir your faith up and water though those seeds, 0:27:00.760 --> 0:27:03.720 they're gonna take root. You're gonna accomplish things that you've 0:27:03.720 --> 0:27:06.520 never even thought possible. And I know some of you 0:27:06.760 --> 0:27:09.080 have had a lot of negative things spoken over you 0:27:09.640 --> 0:27:12.440 down through the years. People told you how you didn't 0:27:12.480 --> 0:27:14.800 have what it takes, and how you're not gonna be successful. 0:27:15.400 --> 0:27:18.800 It's almost like they cursed your future. But the good 0:27:18.840 --> 0:27:23.040 news is the blessing is greater than the curse. They 0:27:23.040 --> 0:27:25.760 may have spoken negative things over you, but I'm gonna 0:27:25.760 --> 0:27:29.000 speak some new words of faith and victory. And if 0:27:29.040 --> 0:27:31.960 you'll get rid of those other strongholds and let these 0:27:31.960 --> 0:27:34.680 new words take root, it can become a turning point 0:27:34.720 --> 0:27:37.880 in your life. I declare over every one of you. 0:27:37.880 --> 0:27:43.000 You are strong and courageous. You are full of talent, creativity, 0:27:43.119 --> 0:27:46.760 and wisdom. You can accomplish every one of your God 0:27:46.880 --> 0:27:51.560 given dreams. You walk in divine health, You have favor 0:27:51.600 --> 0:27:54.960 with every person you meet. Everything you touch is gonna 0:27:55.000 --> 0:27:59.080 prosper and succeed. Those seeds of greatness on the inside 0:27:59.080 --> 0:28:02.760 of you are growth and stronger and stronger. That hidden 0:28:02.800 --> 0:28:05.440 treasure is about to burst forth, and you're going to 0:28:05.480 --> 0:28:09.200 come into new seasons of increase, new seasons of favor, 0:28:09.560 --> 0:28:13.399 new seasons of God's blessings. You are who God says 0:28:13.400 --> 0:28:16.560 you are. You have what God says you have, and 0:28:16.640 --> 0:28:20.080 I declare you can do everything God says you can 0:28:20.119 --> 0:28:23.480 do if you receive it. Can you say amen? Amen? 0:28:24.960 --> 0:28:27.639 We never like to close our broadcast without giving you 0:28:27.720 --> 0:28:30.639 an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. 0:28:31.040 --> 0:28:35.520 Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, come 0:28:35.520 --> 0:28:39.880 into my heart. I repent of my sins. I make 0:28:39.920 --> 0:28:43.360 you my Lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed that 0:28:43.440 --> 0:28:46.480 simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in 0:28:46.520 --> 0:28:49.680 a good Bible based church, Keep God first place. He's 0:28:49.720 --> 0:28:52.840 going to take you places you'd never dreamed of. Thank 0:28:52.880 --> 0:28:55.480 you for listening to the Julus Dean podcast. 0:28:55.800 --> 0:28:58.440 Help us continue to share the message of hope with 0:28:58.560 --> 0:28:59.880 those all over the world. 0:29:00.200 --> 0:29:01.800 Visit joelostein dot. 0:29:01.560 --> 0:29:04.640 Com slash give Hope to give a gift today. 0:29:05.880 --> 0:29:08.800 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope 0:29:08.800 --> 0:29:12.200 you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to 0:29:12.280 --> 0:29:15.480 keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. 0:29:15.640 --> 0:29:18.120 I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you 0:29:18.160 --> 0:29:18.760 next time. 0:29:26.000 --> 0:29:28.920 Ever, wonder which foods connect as medicine or maybe you're 0:29:28.960 --> 0:29:32.280 looking to start meditation. How about finding foods that supports 0:29:32.320 --> 0:29:34.680 brain health. 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