Letting The Past Be The Past

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This is not an 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:29.759 offer to buy your self securities, nor is it investment, 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:30.760 legal or tax advice. 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:33.959 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:36.759 our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.240 If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:40.800 blessing and share it with a friend. 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:43.840 We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:58.320 your life. Above, bless you again and always enjoy to 0:01:58.360 --> 0:02:01.400 come into your homes Etui. We come with good news. 0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:03.560 We know God is on your side and He's got 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:05.880 good things in store for each one of you. If 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:08.200 you're ever in our area. I hope you'll stop by 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:10.960 and see us. We give you a personal invitation. I 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:13.080 say it often, but these are the finest people in 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:15.799 all of Houston, Texas, right here at Lakewood. So come 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:17.680 out and we'll make you feel right at home. But 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:20.799 thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started 0:02:20.800 --> 0:02:22.799 each week with something kind of funny. And I heard 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:27.000 about these two famous baseball pitchers. They were discussing whether 0:02:27.080 --> 0:02:29.120 or not there would be any baseball up in heaven, 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:32.720 and they agreed that whoever died first would come back 0:02:32.720 --> 0:02:34.760 and tell the other one if indeed there was any 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:37.239 baseball in heaven. And sure enough, a few months later, 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:39.600 one of the men died, and just like he promised, 0:02:39.639 --> 0:02:42.399 he came back. He said to his friend, I've got 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:45.040 good news and I've got bad news. The good news 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:47.800 is there is baseball up in heaven. The bad news 0:02:47.880 --> 0:02:54.040 is you're scheduled to pitch next Thursday. All right, hold 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:55.400 your bibles up and say it like you me in 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:58.600 that you ready. This is my Bible. I am what 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:01.400 it says I am. I have what it says I have. 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:04.680 I can do what it says I can do. Today 0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:07.760 I will be talked the word of God, I boldly 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:12.280 confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I 0:03:12.360 --> 0:03:16.440 will never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. 0:03:17.720 --> 0:03:20.440 We've been talking about how important it is that we 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:23.600 let go of the past, and whether something happened twenty 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:26.679 years ago or twenty minutes ago, we've got to learn 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:29.840 to just let it go and move on. As long 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:32.960 as we're dragging the pains of yesterday over end of 0:03:33.000 --> 0:03:36.520 this day, we're never going to experience God's best. And 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:40.400 what's done is done. You cannot undo what happened yesterday. 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:43.720 If you made some mistakes, let it go and do 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:47.840 better today. If somebody hurts you, forgive them and move on. 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:51.120 If you went through a disappointment, some kind of setback, 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:54.080 don't stay focused on it. Know that God is still 0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:56.600 in control of your life. And if you'll let go 0:03:56.640 --> 0:03:59.080 of the old and quit thinking about it and quit 0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:01.800 talking about it, God has promised he will bring you 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:04.600 a new beginning. And I know some of you have 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:07.480 been through a lot of unfair things in life. Maybe 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:11.720 somebody walked out of a relationship that's painful, that's difficult. 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:14.280 But if you want God to open up a new door, 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:17.719 you've got to forgive them and move forward. Or maybe 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:20.760 somebody cheated you in a business deal. We'll let it go. 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:23.200 God will make it up to you. Maybe you weren't 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:26.159 treated right growing up, the people that raised you weren't 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:29.159 very fair. Well, there's nothing you can do about that now. 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:32.040 And if we make the mistake of holding on to 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:34.680 our hurts and pains, we're going to end up going 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:37.960 around with a victim mentality, and that's going to stop 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:41.120 God from doing anything new. And the scripture says here 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:44.159 in Isaiah sixty one, verse three, that God wants to 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:48.440 give us beauty for our ashes, joy for our mourning, 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:52.320 rejoicing for our heaviness. But here's the key. You've got 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:54.760 to let go of the ashes before you will ever 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:59.280 receive the beauty. The ashes represent what's left over after 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:03.640 something's been up. In other words, they represent our broken dreams, 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:07.440 our disappointments, our hurts, our failures. And we all have 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:10.479 our share of ashes. But in order for God to 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:14.080 give us beauty for those ashes and exchange has to 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:17.840 take place, You've got to let go of those shattered dreams. 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:21.120 You've got to quit focusing on your disappointments. You've got 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:24.200 to forgive the people that have hurt you, release all 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:27.520 that bitterness. Then God will give you the beauty. Hey, 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:29.560 you say, Joel, man, I just can't forgive them. They 0:05:29.640 --> 0:05:32.880 hurt me too badly. Friends, That's a heavy, heavy price 0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:34.880 to pay. If you don't let go of the old, 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:38.719 God can't bring the new well, Joel. I prayed and prayed, 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:41.839 but my plan still didn't work out. I prayed and prayed, 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:43.680 and my loved one still didn't get healed. I just 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:47.599 don't understand why. No, you may not ever understand why. 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:50.760 Just turn loose of the ashes, learn to trust God. 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:53.279 He wants to restore back to you. He wants to 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:55.919 give you a new beginning. But you cannot make the 0:05:55.960 --> 0:05:59.240 mistake of being trapped in the past, going around with 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:03.040 that victim mentality. I know this man, he lost his 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:06.359 wife over ten years ago, who was very tragic. She 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:09.760 was killed in an automobile accident. And of course it's 0:06:09.839 --> 0:06:12.680 normal to go through a period of grieving. That's the 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:16.479 way God made us. And if you've lost something a job, 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:19.120 a marriage, a loved one, I'm not saying that you 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:21.800 should never feel any kind of sorrow or never feel 0:06:21.800 --> 0:06:25.640 any kind of discouragement. No, that's normal. In fact, grieving 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:28.359 is a part of the healing process. And if you 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:31.039 just try to bury that on the inside and ignore 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:34.039 it and you never properly grieve over it, it's going 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:36.840 to be very difficult to overcome. It's okay to grieve. 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:39.479 I know when my father went to be with the Lord. 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:42.480 The first several months, there were many mornings I got 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:45.359 up and just wept, and I could feel that weeping 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:48.640 healing me. I could feel that pain getting less and less. 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:52.160 And see, proper grieving has a way of cleansing us 0:06:52.160 --> 0:06:54.360 from our hearts. It has a way of healing us. 0:06:54.920 --> 0:06:57.720 But the problem with this gentleman was that he was 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:01.160 still grieving some ten years later. He had allowed a 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:04.680 season of mourning to turn into a lifetime of morning, 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:08.880 and he ended up a very angry, bitter man. When 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:11.160 I saw him, I do my best to encourage him, 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:13.120 let him know there're gonna be good days up ahead. 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:17.200 But he would never receive that. He was always making excuses, 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:20.640 blaming God, blaming other people. He'd say, Joel, you don't 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:22.880 know what I've been through. You don't understand it. It's 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:26.080 just so unfair, on and on and I don't mean 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:29.200 to sound harsh, but over a period of time I 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:33.400 realized he didn't really want to get well. He enjoyed 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:36.920 walling around in that self pity. And the sad thing is, 0:07:37.200 --> 0:07:39.880 even to this day, he is living a very negative, 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:43.960 defeated life. What's his problem. He's holding on to the ashes. 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:47.000 God wants to give him the beauty. God wants to 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:49.920 give him a new beginning. But until he lets go 0:07:50.000 --> 0:07:53.080 of the old, God can't bring the new. And when 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:55.920 you and I are tempted to sit around feeling sorry 0:07:55.960 --> 0:07:59.680 for ourselves thinking about how unfair our life is, we 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:02.880 need to ask ourselves, do we really want to get well? 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:07.080 Or have we gotten kind of comfortable in that self pity. No, 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:09.840 don't fall into that trap. And one good thing to 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:13.000 always remember is, no matter how much you've been through, 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:17.320 no matter how unfair your life seems, somebody somewhere has 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:19.600 it a whole lot worse than you do. You may 0:08:19.600 --> 0:08:21.800 have gone through a whole lot, but I guarantee you 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:24.480 some people would love to have your life. Some people 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:27.240 would gladly trade places with you. And why don't you 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:30.400 quit focusing on what you've lost and start focusing on 0:08:30.440 --> 0:08:33.560 what you've got left. Quit looking at everything wrong in 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:36.079 your life and start looking at what's right in your life. 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:40.280 You may have lost your home in this you may 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:43.360 have lost your home in this recent hurricane, but you 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:46.320 can thank God that you're still alive. You may have 0:08:46.360 --> 0:08:48.880 walked out with nothing but the clothes on your back, 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:50.880 but you can thank God at least you were able 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:53.520 to walk out of there. And friends, I'm challenging you 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:56.559 today to shake off that self pity, shake off that 0:08:56.679 --> 0:08:59.920 victim mentality. You've got to shake off the past. You 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:02.719 weren't treated right growing up. If I can be very 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:04.840 blunt with you, you got to get over it. Quit 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:07.400 talking about it, Quit thinking about it. If you went 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:10.760 through a bitter divorce, somebody walked out on you, let 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:13.680 it go. When one door closes, God will always open 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:16.760 up another door. But you got to quit mourning over 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:21.320 something you can't shame. Quit being depressed over something that's 0:09:21.360 --> 0:09:24.400 over and done. Too many people are holding on to 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:27.200 their ashes. I talked to a young lady a couple 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:30.720 of years ago. She was so sour because her parents 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:32.800 weren't able to send her to college and she was 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:36.000 hoping to get a scholarship and Unfortunately, it just all 0:09:36.040 --> 0:09:38.199 fell through at the last moment and she couldn't get 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:40.320 the finance and she wanted, And now she's working at 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:42.800 a job she doesn't like. I mean, you could feel 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:45.160 the poison coming out of her. She was so negative 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:47.760 and bitter. And I told her just what I'm telling you. 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:50.600 You got to change your attitude. Be grateful for what 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:53.120 you have. Then God will give you a new beginning. 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:56.280 And see, the enemy would love for us to spend 0:09:56.320 --> 0:10:00.680 our whole lifetimes sitting in the ashes, rest over a 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:03.800 job we didn't get, being bitter over a relationship that 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:07.400 didn't work out, feeling sorry for ourselves because a loved 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:11.199 one died. No turn loose of the ashes today can 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:15.160 be a new beginning. Our attitude should be I refuse 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:17.960 to live my life looking in my rear view mirror anymore. 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:21.479 That is over and done. I'm forgetting what lies behind, 0:10:21.600 --> 0:10:24.480 and I am pressing forward to the great things God 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:27.160 has in store. If you do that, God will give 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:31.240 you beauty for your ashes. God will give you joy 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:33.960 for your morning. And this is just what the prophet 0:10:34.040 --> 0:10:36.760 Samuel had to do. He had invested a lot of 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:41.160 time and effort into his relationship with Saul. When Saul 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:44.679 was just a young man, Samuel chose him, at God's direction, 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:48.000 to be the next king of Israel. And Samuel took 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:50.840 Saul under his wing, and little by little he helped 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:54.199 train him and teach him. Samuel did his best to 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:57.760 make Saul a success and a pleasing king under God. 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:01.840 But unfortunately Saul I just wouldn't walk in obedience, you 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:04.960 know the story. Eventually God rejected him as being the king. 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:08.680 And you can imagine how Samuel must have felt here. 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:11.720 He's put all this time and effort and energy into Saul, 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:14.640 treated him just like he were his own son, and 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:16.640 now it looks like it was a great, big waste 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:19.800 of time. Maybe some of you feel that same way today. 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:23.400 You did your best to make that relationship work out, 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:26.040 you put your heart and soul into it, but now 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:29.160 it looks like you've spent years and years building something 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:32.120 that's not going to last. And that's just how Samuel felt. 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:35.480 He was heartbroken. But God said something very interesting to 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:39.400 him in First Samuel sixteen, verse one. He said, Samuel, 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:43.280 how long are you going to mourn over Saul? I 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:46.520 believe God's asking us that today, how long are you 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:49.360 going to mourn over what you've lost. How long are 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:52.600 you going to mourn over those broken dreams? Friends, There's 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:56.760 a problem with excessive mourning. There's a problem with continually 0:11:56.800 --> 0:12:00.480 staying focused on your disappointments. It stops God, God from 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:04.120 bringing the new. God went on to say, Samuel, fill 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:07.560 your horn with oil and be on your way. For 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:09.920 I am sending you to the house of Jesse. I've 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:13.360 chosen one of his sons to be the next king. Notice, 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:16.840 God said, in effect, Samuel, if you'll quit mourning and 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:19.560 instead get up and be on your way, I'll give 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:25.240 you another king. In other words, God always has another plan. Yes, 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:28.840 Saul was God's first choice, but just because Saul wouldn't 0:12:28.880 --> 0:12:32.040 be obedient, God didn't say sorry, Samuel saw blew it 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:35.480 and that ruins everything. No, God had another plan. And 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:38.720 if you'll quit focusing on your disappointments and quit going 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:41.719 around feeling sorry for yourself, and instead do what the 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:45.520 scripture says, fill your horn with oil, That simply means 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:49.400 put a smile on your face, change your attitude, let 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:52.680 the past be the past, start moving forward. If you 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:55.800 do that, God will lead you to the new beginnings 0:12:55.840 --> 0:12:58.400 He has in store. Samuel could have said, well, God, 0:12:58.559 --> 0:13:01.000 i just can't do it. I'm too hard, I've spent 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:03.679 too much time with Saul. Nor if he'd done that, 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:06.760 he would have missed out on choosing King David, one 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:09.240 of the greatest kings in the Bible. And in the 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:12.960 same way, when we walla around in our disappointments, we're 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:15.160 going to miss out on the new things God wants 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:17.560 to do. We got to get up and get go 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:20.880 and be on our way. God has another plan. I 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:23.400 love the story of Ruth in the Bible. She went 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:27.240 through a great disappointment. One day, her husband and her 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:30.199 brother in law were killed in a battle, and as 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:33.280 you can imagine, Ruth was devastated. Her whole world was 0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:37.200 turned upside down. But it's interesting Ruth didn't get bitter, 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:40.840 she didn't go around blaming God. She knew God could 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:44.640 give her a new beginning. And Ruth's mother in law, Naomi, 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:48.200 was already a widow and when this all happened, she 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:51.480 decided to move back to her homeland, and she encouraged 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:53.280 these two daughters in law, the ones that had just 0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:55.920 lost their husbands, to move back to their homeland go 0:13:56.000 --> 0:13:58.839 their separate ways as well. And this one daughter in 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:02.000 law took no mes advice and she went back home. 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:05.120 And I don't know, but maybe she left there a 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:08.720 little bit bitter and angry. Here her dreams have been shattered. 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.360 She's just lost her husband. I can imagine she's going 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:15.679 home very broken, defeated, bitter. But not Ruth. She had 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:18.760 a different attitude. She said, no, Naomi, I'm not gonna 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:22.120 leave you. I'm gonna go wherever you go, and I'm 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:25.240 gonna help take care of you. Notice Ruth, in her 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:28.200 time of need, she didn't sit around feeling sorry for herself. 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:30.920 She didn't take the easy way out, go home defeated 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:34.280 and depressed. She got her mind off of herself and 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:36.600 she went out and helped somebody else. In me, she 0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:38.840 helped Naomi. She knew if she could let go of 0:14:38.840 --> 0:14:41.480 the old, God would bring her the new. She and 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:44.800 Naomi moved to this other city. They didn't have any 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:47.600 kind of provision, nothing to eat, and so Ruth would 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:50.120 go out into the fields early in the morning and 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:53.280 gather up the leftover grain that the reapers had missed. 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:56.400 This is how they survived. The men that owned those 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:59.520 fields was named Boaz. He was one of the wealthiest 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:02.760 and most influential men in that area. And he loved God. 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:06.000 And he noticed Ruth out there every day working so 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:09.560 diligently gathering up the grain. The more he watched her, 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:12.560 the more he liked her. Long story short, they fell 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:15.560 in love and eventually they got married. God gave Ruth 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:18.360 a new beginning. He gave Ruth beauty for her ashes. 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:21.800 Here's what I always think about. Bo As wasn't just 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:23.840 one of the workers, and that would have been great. 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:26.680 He wasn't just the supervisor. He was the man that 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:30.160 owned that whole area. God did more than Ruth could 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:33.480 even ask her think. He gave her joy for her morning. 0:15:34.400 --> 0:15:36.480 God wants to do the same for every one of you. 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:39.400 And if you've been through some kind of loss, some 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:42.480 kind of broken relationship, you need to know God has 0:15:42.520 --> 0:15:46.080 another Boas out there. He still has somebody great he 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:49.400 wants to bring into your life. Too many people today 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:53.320 they're living with this victim mentality. They're so focused on 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:55.800 what they've been through and who hurt them and how 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:59.280 unfair it was. They don't realize. But all they're doing 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:03.040 is drag the pains of yesterday into the present. Just 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:04.800 like they get up every morning and go get this 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:08.520 big boatload of junk and bring it into the day. Now, 0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:10.920 don't do that. Let the past be the past. You 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:14.320 should not let your past poison your future. You may 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:16.880 have been through a lot, maybe one of your dreams 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:19.840 has died, but you got to know God has another dream. 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:22.560 He's got a bright future in store for every one 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:25.480 of you. Now, of course, recently we've seen all the 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:29.000 devastation from Hurricane Katrina. We've seen so much of the 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:31.360 suffering and so many of the people that are affected. 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:33.520 I know some of you are even here. I talked 0:16:33.520 --> 0:16:36.040 to some earlier. A lot of you watch by television 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:37.920 and how our hearts go out to you. We've been 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:41.160 praying and raising money, doing everything we can. But I 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:44.640 would encourage you, especially to don't fall into that trap 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:48.680 of getting bitter and going around feeling sorry for yourself. Listen, 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:52.120 you are not a victim. You are a victor. God 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:57.200 says he always causes you to trial. God said he 0:16:57.280 --> 0:17:00.800 would take this negative and somehow, some way turn it 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:03.640 around and use it to your advantage. Now, I would 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:06.479 just challenge you, don't let this set back be a 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.200 stumbling block to cause you to get bitter and weaken 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:13.159 your faith. Let this setback be a stepping stone for 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:16.320 God to do greater things in your life. We're believing 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:18.600 you're not only gonna come out, but God's gonna bring 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:20.960 you out better off than you were before. If you 0:17:21.080 --> 0:17:23.560 lost your home, we're believing you're not gonna come out 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:25.440 with the same house, but you're gonna come out with 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:27.879 a better house, a bigger house, a brand new house. 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:31.880 We're believing you're not gonna come out with the same 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:34.240 level job, but you're gonna come out with a better job, 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:37.800 with better benefits, in a better environment, making more money. 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:39.880 If you lost your car, we're believing God's gonna bring 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:42.000 you out with a better car, brand new car. Why 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:44.440 don't you get a vision for it. Don't sit around 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:47.320 in self pity and pour on me. Life's not fair. No, 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:50.199 life may not be fair, but God is fair, and 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:53.240 God has you in the palm of his hand. He said, 0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:57.560 a little sparrow never even falls without God noticing it. 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:01.160 You can rest assured God sees what you've been through. 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:03.879 He's closely watching you, and his dream is to not 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:08.080 only bring you out, but to bring you out stronger, healthier, happier, 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:10.800 better off than you were before. Your attitude should be. 0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:14.000 This may be difficult, it may not be fair, but 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:16.320 this is the hand I've been dealt, and I am 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:19.159 not gonna sit around feeling sorry for myself. I know 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:21.840 God is in control and in the end, He's gonna 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:27.520 use all this to my advantage. And understand this, here's 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:31.040 what I found. The enemy always fights you the hardest 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:33.960 when he knows God has something great in store for you. 0:18:34.720 --> 0:18:38.199 So if you're in tough times, if you're in difficult times, 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:40.720 no doubt your camp right next door to your promised land. 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:44.040 Don't get bitter, don't go around all sour. You got 0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:46.800 to shake off that victim mentality and start having that 0:18:46.920 --> 0:18:51.320 warrior mentality. See, a warrior is a fighter. A warrior 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:54.359 knows how to endure hardships. And a warrior may get 0:18:54.480 --> 0:18:56.800 knocked down, but he doesn't stay down. He gets back 0:18:56.880 --> 0:18:59.320 up again. And I know some of you today you're 0:18:59.359 --> 0:19:02.840 discouraged because of the negative circumstances in your life, and 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:06.000 you're kind of waiting for God or somebody to cheer 0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:08.680 you up. But really, friends, God is waiting on you. 0:19:09.320 --> 0:19:13.320 The scripture says in Isaiah sixty, verse one, arise from 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:17.159 the depression in which the circumstances have kept you rise 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:20.119 to a new life. Notice, if you want a new life, 0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:22.600 if you want a new beginning, there's something you're gonna 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:24.280 have to do. You've got to rise up out of that. 0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:27.120 In other words, you've got to change your attitude, put 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:30.040 the smile back on your face. Quit mourning over something 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:33.000 you can't do anything about. Quit going around focused on 0:19:33.040 --> 0:19:36.400 your disappointments, and instead dig your heels in and make 0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:39.600 the most with what you've got left. See, God told 0:19:39.640 --> 0:19:43.639 Joshua to go in and possess the Promised Land. That 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:47.800 word possess implies action. If you want God to restore 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:50.480 back to you, If you want to really live in victory, 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:53.560 you cannot sit around thinking about how unfair your life 0:19:53.640 --> 0:19:56.320 is and how badly somebody has treated you. You got 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:58.720 to be aggressive, You got to be energetic, be on 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:01.520 the offensive. And really, this is one of the main 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:04.600 things that kept the children of Israel from ever going 0:20:04.640 --> 0:20:08.040 into their Promised Land. They had been through all that 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:11.880 slavery for years and years over in Egypt. God miraculously 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:15.280 brought them out, But their whole problem was they never 0:20:15.359 --> 0:20:18.880 got rid of their slave mentality and when times got 0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:22.040 tough and things didn't go their way, instead of standing 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:24.439 strong and fighting the good fight of faith, they just 0:20:24.520 --> 0:20:27.760 easily gave up. They had that poor, pitiful meat attitude. 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:30.239 And here they were camps right next door to their 0:20:30.280 --> 0:20:33.679 promised land. Because they were so focused on what they 0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:36.720 had been through and so focused on their enemies, they 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:40.240 never did make it in Their negative mindset kept them 0:20:40.240 --> 0:20:43.359 from God's best. And I know plenty of you are 0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:46.679 here today and you have a thousand good reasons to 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:49.159 live your life with a chip on your shoulder. I know, 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:51.560 like these people, you've been through a lot of unfair things, 0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:54.200 and you can give me a thousand excuses why it's 0:20:54.240 --> 0:20:56.879 okay for you to feel sorry for yourself. But friends, 0:20:56.880 --> 0:20:59.399 I'm asking you to let all that go. I'm asking 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:02.160 you to chew to be a victor and not a victim. 0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:05.040 And I think about David. He's one of my favorite 0:21:05.040 --> 0:21:07.000 people in the Bible. He knew how to let go 0:21:07.080 --> 0:21:10.000 of the ashes. One day, while he and his men 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:13.960 were out protecting the borders of Israel, their hometown was 0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:17.360 attacked and destroyed. When they came back and saw all 0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:21.679 the devastation, they were heartbroken. The city was totally burned down, 0:21:22.000 --> 0:21:24.880 their possessions were stolen, and on top of that, all 0:21:24.880 --> 0:21:27.760 of the women and children had been kidnapped. It was 0:21:27.800 --> 0:21:30.919 the darkest day of David's life. The Bible says that 0:21:31.000 --> 0:21:34.320 David wept until he could not weep anymore. And I'm 0:21:34.359 --> 0:21:36.560 sure David was just like you and I, he was 0:21:36.560 --> 0:21:39.159 tempted to get negative and bitter. I'm sure he was 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:41.960 tempted to say, God, I don't understand this, this doesn't 0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:44.480 seem fair. I was out doing what you asked me 0:21:44.520 --> 0:21:47.880 to do. How could you allow this to happen? But understand, 0:21:48.160 --> 0:21:51.040 just because we're in God's will doesn't mean we're not 0:21:51.080 --> 0:21:53.919 gonna have some obstacles to overcome, doesn't mean we're not 0:21:53.920 --> 0:21:57.560 gonna have some battles to fight. Here, David was not down, 0:21:57.840 --> 0:22:00.199 But the whole key is he didn't stay down. He 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:03.639 had that warrior mentality. And as he sat there among 0:22:03.680 --> 0:22:06.800 the ruins of his city, watching the smoke and ashes 0:22:06.880 --> 0:22:10.040 filled the air, David did something that none of those 0:22:10.040 --> 0:22:13.520 other six hundred men would do. The scripture says that 0:22:13.640 --> 0:22:18.240 David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. In other words, 0:22:18.240 --> 0:22:20.480 he made a decision. I'm not going to sit here 0:22:20.520 --> 0:22:23.280 in the ashes of defeat feeling sorry for myself. I 0:22:23.320 --> 0:22:26.240 am going to rise up out of this. Sure enough, 0:22:26.240 --> 0:22:29.800 he dusted himself off, he washed his face, and he said, 0:22:29.800 --> 0:22:31.760 come on, men, we're going to go attack the enemy. 0:22:32.200 --> 0:22:34.760 And the Bible says they rose up and they recovered 0:22:34.840 --> 0:22:37.239 every single thing that had been stolen. They got their 0:22:37.280 --> 0:22:40.080 wives and children back, they got their flocks and herds, 0:22:40.119 --> 0:22:44.240 all their possessions. And you know, really, if this were 0:22:44.280 --> 0:22:46.359 the end of the story, it'd be a pretty happy ending. 0:22:46.920 --> 0:22:49.720 But no, God always brings you out better. He never 0:22:49.760 --> 0:22:52.679 brings you out the same way. David looked around and 0:22:52.720 --> 0:22:55.119 he saw all the enemies flocks and herds, and all 0:22:55.119 --> 0:22:57.960 the enemies gold and silver. He told his men to 0:22:57.960 --> 0:23:00.280 gather that up as well. And then when they left 0:23:00.280 --> 0:23:02.520 out of there, they walked out with twice what they 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:05.800 had before. And see, the very thing that comes against 0:23:05.880 --> 0:23:08.800 you to try to destroy you could be the very 0:23:08.840 --> 0:23:11.679 thing God uses to increase you and take you to 0:23:11.720 --> 0:23:15.840 a whole new level of the thread. But friends, this 0:23:15.880 --> 0:23:18.400 is not gonna happen. If you're sitting around in defeat 0:23:18.560 --> 0:23:21.320 mourning over what you've lost, it's not gonna happen. If 0:23:21.320 --> 0:23:24.320 you're going around with a sour attitude, complaining all the time. 0:23:24.560 --> 0:23:26.439 You got to let go of the ashes if you 0:23:26.480 --> 0:23:28.920 want God to give you the beauty. If you'll quit 0:23:29.000 --> 0:23:32.360 mourning over what you've lost and instead put on that 0:23:32.400 --> 0:23:35.200 war your mentality, God will not only bring you out, 0:23:35.240 --> 0:23:37.199 he'll bring you out better off than you were before. 0:23:37.640 --> 0:23:40.120 I like that scripture. Weeping may endure for a night, 0:23:40.280 --> 0:23:43.560 but joy is coming in the morning. I have this 0:23:43.640 --> 0:23:46.119 friend of mine. A couple of years ago, he lost 0:23:46.160 --> 0:23:49.040 his job. He worked for a good company, and he'd 0:23:49.080 --> 0:23:51.240 been there for a long time. He was making good money, 0:23:51.240 --> 0:23:53.720 a very good position, and I thought for sure he 0:23:53.720 --> 0:23:56.679 would be very upset and very distraught about it. But 0:23:56.760 --> 0:23:59.000 when he came up, man, he had a smile on 0:23:59.080 --> 0:24:02.240 his face. He was as happy as can be. He said, Joel, 0:24:02.280 --> 0:24:03.920 I don't know if you've heard, but I just lost 0:24:03.920 --> 0:24:06.680 my job. But I can't wait to see what God 0:24:06.720 --> 0:24:09.639 has in store. See, he had been knocked down, but 0:24:09.720 --> 0:24:12.879 he didn't stay down. He had that warrior mentality. His 0:24:12.960 --> 0:24:15.520 attitude was, this thing is not going to defeat me. 0:24:15.760 --> 0:24:18.439 I know I'm a victoria, not a victim. I know 0:24:18.520 --> 0:24:21.320 when one door closes, God always opens up a bigger 0:24:21.359 --> 0:24:23.960 and a better door. That's the kind of people God's 0:24:24.000 --> 0:24:27.320 looking for. People that have that never say die spirit, 0:24:27.600 --> 0:24:30.240 People that know God always causes us to try out. 0:24:31.040 --> 0:24:34.399 Our attitude should be even if the enemy does his best, 0:24:34.520 --> 0:24:37.400 his best will never be enough. He may knock me down, 0:24:37.400 --> 0:24:39.680 but he can't knock me out. When it's all said 0:24:39.720 --> 0:24:42.160 and done, the smoke settles and the dust clears, I'm 0:24:42.200 --> 0:24:48.000 still gonna be standing strong. Amen. I heard a story 0:24:48.080 --> 0:24:51.719 about these two frogs. They fell into this bowl of cream, 0:24:52.160 --> 0:24:54.320 and the sides were so slick that they couldn't climb 0:24:54.400 --> 0:24:56.400 up out of it, and so they had to paddle 0:24:56.440 --> 0:24:59.080 and paddle and paddle to just try to stay alive. 0:24:59.119 --> 0:25:01.280 And this went on on and on and on, and 0:25:01.440 --> 0:25:03.959 finally this one frog got so tired he just gave up. 0:25:04.440 --> 0:25:06.360 He said to his buddy, man, it's not worth it. 0:25:06.600 --> 0:25:09.080 We're never gonna get out. We're just wasting our time. 0:25:09.160 --> 0:25:11.800 I'm giving up. And sure enough, under he went. You 0:25:11.840 --> 0:25:14.240 didn't see any more of him. But this other frog 0:25:14.320 --> 0:25:17.399 was a little more determined. He had that warrior mentality 0:25:17.440 --> 0:25:20.360 I'm talking about, and he just kept paddling and paddling 0:25:20.400 --> 0:25:23.800 and paddling, trying his best to stay alive. Well, after 0:25:23.840 --> 0:25:26.639 about thirty minutes went by, he noticed that that cream 0:25:26.760 --> 0:25:30.280 was getting harder and harder. It was more and more difficult, 0:25:30.320 --> 0:25:32.040 but he just kept at it and kept at it. 0:25:32.160 --> 0:25:34.439 Well another fifteen or twenty minutes. Did you know he 0:25:34.480 --> 0:25:37.600 had paddled so much that that cream had turned to butter, 0:25:38.080 --> 0:25:39.920 And now he could just step on top of it 0:25:40.040 --> 0:25:44.200 and hop on out. And sometimes that's what we've got 0:25:44.200 --> 0:25:46.560 to learn to do in life. When it looks like 0:25:46.600 --> 0:25:48.480 there's no way out, you got to just keep on 0:25:48.600 --> 0:25:52.159 keeping on, keep on shaking off the past, keep on 0:25:52.320 --> 0:25:55.440 pressing forward, keep on shaking off self pity. You know, 0:25:55.480 --> 0:25:57.879 when those whole negative thoughts come telling you it's never 0:25:57.920 --> 0:26:00.320 gonna get better, might as well give up. It's never 0:26:00.320 --> 0:26:02.879 going to change. You're never gonna get out of that situation. No, 0:26:03.000 --> 0:26:06.360 don't believe that junk. With every right decision you make, 0:26:06.760 --> 0:26:10.000 every time you shake off a disappointment, every time you 0:26:10.040 --> 0:26:13.080 press forward, every time you overlook an offence, God is 0:26:13.160 --> 0:26:15.920 watching that you are passing the test, and you're getting 0:26:15.920 --> 0:26:18.919 one step closer to seeing it all turn around. But 0:26:18.960 --> 0:26:22.200 I'm convinced these days, really, we give up too easily. 0:26:23.040 --> 0:26:25.560 I was reading about the apostle Paul, and he went 0:26:25.600 --> 0:26:28.439 through so many hardships, so many unfair things. But I 0:26:28.520 --> 0:26:32.200 love what he said Second Corinthians four, verse eight. He said, 0:26:32.200 --> 0:26:35.640 we are troubled on every side, but we're not crushed. 0:26:36.240 --> 0:26:39.560 We're perplexed. We don't understand why these things happen to us, 0:26:39.680 --> 0:26:42.680 but we don't give up and quit. We get knocked down, 0:26:42.960 --> 0:26:45.960 but we get back up again and keep on going. Now, 0:26:46.080 --> 0:26:49.159 as Paul said, a warrior may get knocked down, but 0:26:49.240 --> 0:26:52.040 a warrior is not going to get knocked out. And 0:26:52.080 --> 0:26:53.760 some of you today, you may feel like you've been 0:26:53.840 --> 0:26:56.199 knocked down. You've been through some tough times. But I 0:26:56.200 --> 0:27:00.239 would just challenge you. Don't stay down, don't develop that 0:27:00.359 --> 0:27:03.920 victim mentality, don't walla around in self pity, get back up, 0:27:04.320 --> 0:27:07.199 dust yourself off, and do like David, press forward to 0:27:07.240 --> 0:27:09.680 the good things God has in store. I was thinking 0:27:09.720 --> 0:27:12.119 about Job when he went through all of that trouble, 0:27:12.119 --> 0:27:14.159 and he lost his family, he lost his health, he 0:27:14.240 --> 0:27:18.520 lost his business. The scripture says that Job sat down 0:27:18.840 --> 0:27:22.000 among the ashes, and that's the mistake many of us 0:27:22.040 --> 0:27:25.320 make today when trouble comes and life deals us a blow. 0:27:26.000 --> 0:27:29.040 Instead of having that warrior spirit like David, like the 0:27:29.080 --> 0:27:32.400 apostle Paul, we just give up and get down and discouraged. 0:27:32.960 --> 0:27:37.040 And it's interesting. Job's situation didn't change until he changed 0:27:37.040 --> 0:27:40.399 his attitude. Then God showed up and intervened and turned 0:27:40.440 --> 0:27:44.240 everything around. Let me ask you today, are you sitting 0:27:44.280 --> 0:27:47.280 in any ashes? Are you holding on to things that 0:27:47.359 --> 0:27:49.720 you know you need to turn loose up? Are you 0:27:49.760 --> 0:27:52.920 allowing your past to poison your future? Now? If that's you, 0:27:53.200 --> 0:27:55.440 let me challenge you to make a decision to rise 0:27:55.520 --> 0:27:58.679 up out of that. Today can be a new beginning. 0:27:59.200 --> 0:28:01.240 You got to quit more warning over something that you 0:28:01.280 --> 0:28:03.760 can't change. If you're gonna go forward, you gotta quit 0:28:03.800 --> 0:28:07.000 looking backwards. Friends, I believe your best days are right 0:28:07.000 --> 0:28:09.480 out of head. I know God has a great plan 0:28:09.640 --> 0:28:11.920 in store for every one of you, and no matter 0:28:11.960 --> 0:28:14.280 what you've been through, no matter how unfair it seems, 0:28:14.680 --> 0:28:17.680 if you'll do your part and shake off the self pity, 0:28:17.760 --> 0:28:21.080 shake off the disappointments and instead have this war your mentality, 0:28:21.520 --> 0:28:23.440 and I can promise you God will do his part. 0:28:23.640 --> 0:28:26.399 He's promised he'll give you beauty for your ashes, joy 0:28:26.440 --> 0:28:29.439 for your morning, rejoicing for your heaveness. You'll experience the 0:28:29.440 --> 0:28:32.320 life of victory he has in story. Amen, how many 0:28:32.320 --> 0:28:36.119 of ever receive it today? We never like to close 0:28:36.160 --> 0:28:39.760 our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus 0:28:39.840 --> 0:28:42.040 the lord of your life. Would you pray with me? 0:28:42.680 --> 0:28:48.160 Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come 0:28:48.160 --> 0:28:53.400 into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. Friends, 0:28:53.400 --> 0:28:55.840 if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got 0:28:55.840 --> 0:28:58.800 born again. Get in a good Bible based church. Keep 0:28:58.840 --> 0:29:01.560 God first place. He's going to take your places that 0:29:01.640 --> 0:29:02.600 you've never dreamed of. 0:29:03.280 --> 0:29:06.720 Thank you for listening to the joel Ostein podcast. Help 0:29:06.800 --> 0:29:09.520 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:29:09.640 --> 0:29:13.520 all over the world. Visit Joelostein dot com slash give 0:29:13.600 --> 0:29:15.320 Hope to give a gift today. 0:29:16.560 --> 0:29:19.480 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope 0:29:19.520 --> 0:29:22.880 you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to 0:29:22.960 --> 0:29:26.160 keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. 0:29:26.320 --> 0:29:28.800 I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you 0:29:28.840 --> 0:29:29.440 next time. 0:29:36.600 --> 0:29:39.280 With millions of books on Amazon, there's a reading feeling 0:29:39.360 --> 0:29:44.320 for everyone. For example, Raquel's whoa when she first entered 0:29:44.360 --> 0:29:48.000 the kingdom by dragging back is different to Ari's whoa 0:29:48.400 --> 0:29:51.440 when he found out there was more than one crime scene, 0:29:51.880 --> 0:29:56.640 which is also different to Ava's whoa the moment when 0:29:56.640 --> 0:30:01.560 the stable boy became a stable man from WHOA two 0:30:01.600 --> 0:30:06.040 Whoa two. 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