Making Miracles Out Of Mistakes

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See terms and conditions at UNEs 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:30.080 dot co. 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:32.960 Hi. This is Joel and Victoria. 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.080 Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:36.759 the ministry. 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:39.240 If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:40.440 blessing and share it with a. 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:43.840 Friends, reappreciate you and pray for God's very best in 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:58.000 your life. Always a joy to come into your homes. 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:01.000 We love you and we know that God has great 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.240 things in store for each one of you. If you're 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:05.960 ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by be 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:08.360 a part of one of our services. I promise you 0:02:08.480 --> 0:02:10.520 will make you feel right at home. But thank you 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:13.079 so much for tuning in. I like to get started 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:15.720 with something funny each week. And I heard about this 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:19.360 little girl. She was sitting on her grandfather's lap. She 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:23.519 noticed how wrinkled his face was, and she contemplated the 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:27.480 difference between hers and his. She said, Grandaddy, did God 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:30.480 make you? He laughed and said yes, honey, God made 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:33.119 me a long time ago. She said, well, did God 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:35.680 make me? He said yes, God made you just a 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:38.960 little while ago. She thought about it a moment and said, granddaddy, 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:40.760 God's getting better, isn't he. 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:45.720 All right, hold up your Bible, say it like. 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:48.760 You mean it. This is my Bible. I am what 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:51.640 it says I am. I have what it says I have. 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:55.160 I can do what it says I can do. Today 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:58.399 I will be taught the word of God. I boldly 0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:02.600 confess my mind, and this alert my heart is receptive. 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:04.560 I will never be the same. 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:10.560 I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever living 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:16.080 seed of the Word of God. I'll never be the same, never, never, never, 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:17.919 I'll never be the same. 0:03:18.400 --> 0:03:20.800 In Jesus's name God bless you. 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:24.480 I want to talk to you today about how God 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:28.640 can make miracles out of our mistakes. Too many people 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:31.880 are sitting on the sidelines of life, feeling washed up. 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:36.320 They've made mistakes, gone through setbacks, now they don't feel 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:38.840 like they have much of a future. I hear it 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:40.360 all the time, Joel, you. 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:41.400 Don't know what I've done. 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:45.240 I have these addictions. I ruined my marriage, I failed 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:49.240 in business. No, God still has a great plan for you. 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:53.960 A negative past does not disqualify you from having a 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:58.040 bright future. No mistake you've made is too much for 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:02.040 the mercy of God. Got to get your fireback. You've 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:05.120 got to stay filled with hope. This is not going 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:09.720 to happen if you're sitting around negative, condemned in self pity. 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:12.440 All that's gonna do is keep you from the new 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:15.760 things God wants to do. And it's so important to 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:19.040 learn to receive God's mercy when you. 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:19.800 Make a mistake. 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:23.279 Don't just ask for forgiveness. Take it one step further 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:27.599 and say, Father, I'm receiving your mercy. What you're saying 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:31.040 is God, I believe You're not only forgive me, but 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:34.279 you still have great things in store, and you have 0:04:34.360 --> 0:04:37.279 to do this by faith, because everything in your mind 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:40.520 is going to tell you you don't deserve it. You're 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:42.680 a hypocrite. You know what you did, God's not gonna 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:46.560 bless you. That's the enemy trying to deceive you into 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:48.120 living guilty and condemned. 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:50.360 Now, how many people swallow his. 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:55.080 Lies and go through life with no enthusiasm, no excitement 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:56.159 toward their future. 0:04:56.680 --> 0:04:58.320 Please don't let that be you. 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:02.640 God is not looking for perfect people. If he was, 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:06.000 we'd all be disqualified. He's looking for people. 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:06.479 That have a heart. 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:09.520 That's right. And if you have a heart toward God 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:12.640 and you get up each day doing your best, you 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:15.760 don't have to live guilty and condemned. And when those 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:19.360 old thoughts come telling you you don't deserve God's blessings, 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:20.200 just say. 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:21.000 You're exactly right. 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:23.400 I know I don't deserve it, but that's what mercy 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:26.479 is all about. Let it remind you of the goodness 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:30.080 of God. But some of you are going around so 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:33.680 focused on your mistakes and the opportunities. If you've missed, 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:35.920 you kind of think, man, I could never have God's 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:38.880 best for me. But no, it's not as easy to 0:05:38.960 --> 0:05:42.000 mess up God's plan for your life. As you may think. 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:45.320 Moses is listed as one of the heroes of faith, 0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:48.839 but he made plenty of mistakes. As a young man, 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:51.599 he knew that God wanted him to help deliver the 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:55.080 people of Israel. That dream was in his heart, but 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:57.520 he tried to do it in his own strength. He 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:00.560 went out and killed a man. He didn't think anybody 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:03.320 saw that. The next day, some of his own men 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:04.920 came up to him and said. 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:07.359 Moses, are you going to do to us what you. 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:11.360 Did to that other man. He realized they did see him, 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:13.320 and he had to flee for his life. 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:15.960 He ended up spending years on the. 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:18.640 Back side of the desert. It looked like he missed 0:06:18.720 --> 0:06:22.159 up God's plan. Looked like God would just find somebody else. 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:25.760 Let Moses stay out there and defeat in mediocrity. But no, 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:29.760 God never gives up on us. The scripture says God's 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:31.680 callings are irrevocable. 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:35.799 That means the dreams, the desires, the calling God has. 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:37.839 On your life, he will never take it back. 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:40.040 We may slow it down, we. 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:42.440 May make it more difficult, but if we will stay 0:06:42.480 --> 0:06:45.839 in faith and keep believing, we can still see God's 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:49.520 best plan come to pass. Forty years later, when God 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.679 was ready to deliver the people of Israel, he didn't 0:06:52.760 --> 0:06:55.400 raise up a new leader. He didn't go find a 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:58.560 younger man, somebody that had made fewer mistakes. He went 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:02.120 right back to Moses. Here. Moses was eighty years old, 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:05.560 he had spent forty years out there. I'm sure he 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:08.400 must have felt like a failure. I'm sure at times 0:07:08.400 --> 0:07:10.680 he told his family, man, God had a call on 0:07:10.760 --> 0:07:13.080 my life, but I made a mistake. I blew it. 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:15.440 No, God always gives. 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:19.280 Us another opportunity. God was saying, in effect, Moses, I 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:21.760 haven't forgotten about you. I'm the one that put the 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:24.080 dream in your heart, and I'm going to give you 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:27.840 another chance to see that come to pass. This time 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:31.720 Moses rose up and fulfilled his calling. But see, it's 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:34.800 much more difficult to mess up God's plan for your 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:38.080 life than you probably realize, because God's always going to 0:07:38.120 --> 0:07:41.400 give you another chance. Some of you today you're just 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:45.040 sitting on the sidelines, thinking you've made too many mistakes. 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:48.280 Now you've given up on those dreams. You can tell me, Joel, 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:50.880 I did this, I did that. It's been so many 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:54.440 years now, God is saying to you I still have 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:57.680 another way to bring those dreams to pass. I still 0:07:57.760 --> 0:08:00.400 have a great plan for your life. But you've got 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:03.640 to get your hopes up. Quit dragging around focused on 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:07.120 your mistakes and the opportunities that you've missed, and how 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:09.640 you didn't finish college and you didn't spend enough time 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:10.400 with your family. 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:13.160 No, you can't do anything about the past. 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:16.680 Let that go and just be your best today. And 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:21.760 know this, nothing that's happened in your past can disqualify 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:25.400 you from the bright future God has in store. Forty 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:29.880 years later, Moses saw his dreams come to pass. Why 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:33.360 don't you start believing that some of the opportunities you 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:36.080 missed down through the years will come across your path 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:39.920 once again. God is a god of another chance. If 0:08:39.920 --> 0:08:42.640 we'll stay in faith and keep our hopes up, he 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:45.520 can do for us what he did for Moses. I 0:08:45.559 --> 0:08:48.760 have a navigation system in my car. I can type 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:52.520 in and address and it will automatically calculate the fastest 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:55.160 way to get there. It highlights it on the screen, 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:57.199 shows you the way to go, and I'll back out 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:00.600 of my driveway. But sometimes I don't take it advice 0:09:00.960 --> 0:09:02.240 and I go a different way. 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:04.000 And what I like about. 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:07.680 It is the system doesn't stop just because I get 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:12.160 off course. It immediately updates and calculates a new route. 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:14.080 From where I am. It can still get me there. 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:16.000 You have one, you know what I mean. You can 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:19.040 drive one hundred miles in the wrong direction, zigzag through 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:23.680 the woods. The whole time is constantly making adjustments telling 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:26.439 you the fastest way to get to that original location. 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:29.680 That's the way God is. He didn't say to Moses, 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:32.120 you blew it, turn a navigation system off. 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:32.640 He's done. 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:36.080 No. When we get off course, God immediately comes up 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:39.520 with another way. He finds another route to still bring 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:40.640 those dreams to pass. 0:09:42.320 --> 0:09:42.839 And I'm not. 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:45.680 Saying that we can live sloppy lives and think, well, 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:47.520 Joel told me God so good, he'll get me there. 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:48.480 I'll live however I want. 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:52.200 No, I'm talking about people that have a heart to 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:54.560 serve God, people that have a heart to do right. 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.400 You make mistakes once in a while, Well you don't 0:09:57.400 --> 0:10:01.120 have to sit around feeling all washed up. God still 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:04.040 has a way to bring your dreams to pass. A 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:06.440 lot of people today they think God's mad at them, 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:09.360 and he's keeping a record of everything they've done wrong. 0:10:09.880 --> 0:10:12.680 When they made poor choices, they wouldn't dare go to 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:15.679 God and ask him for his help. They think they 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:18.600 have to pay for their mistakes. The way most people 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:21.000 do it is they give up on their dreams, go 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:24.319 around depressed and defeated, thinking that they're paying God back. 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:27.800 But the good news today is the debt has already 0:10:27.840 --> 0:10:31.320 been paid. Why don't you receive God's mercy? Why don't 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:34.880 you believe He still has great things in store for you. 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:38.440 You may have made mistakes, but nothing you've done is 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:41.520 too much for the mercy of God. The scripture says 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:45.480 here in James one, verse five, if anyone needs wisdom, 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:50.920 let him ask God, who gives generously to everyone without 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:52.600 finding fault. 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:55.560 Notice God is not a fault finder. 0:10:56.040 --> 0:10:58.560 That means I may have made mistakes, I may have 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:01.800 gotten myself into trouble. But if all be bold enough 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:05.560 to ask God, he will help me and not condemn me, 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:08.839 and not find fault. But a lot of times when 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:12.199 we make mistakes, we wouldn't dare go to God. We think, man, 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:14.200 I got myself into this trouble too bad. I got 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:17.480 to get myself out. But this is what mercy is 0:11:17.520 --> 0:11:20.120 all about. If we could just learn to come to 0:11:20.200 --> 0:11:23.240 God and say, God, I blew it. I admit I 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:26.760 did wrong, but I believe because I'm your child, and 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:29.760 because you are full of mercy, you will still give 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:31.319 me wisdom and help. 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:32.280 Me to get out of this trouble. 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:35.680 When you come with that boldness, with that confidence, that's 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:39.960 what pleases God. I think about our son, Jonathan, he's 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:42.839 eleven years old. If all of a sudden I heard 0:11:42.920 --> 0:11:45.800 him screaming, Daddy, come help me. I look out the 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:48.040 window and I see he's hanging by a tree. He's 0:11:48.080 --> 0:11:50.960 about to fall, He's about to get hurt. I wouldn't say, well, 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:54.560 let me think about how good he's been lately, Victoria. 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:57.040 Has Jonathan been doing his chores and let me go 0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:00.000 check his bedroom? The whole time he's screaming, Daddy, please 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:02.080 please help me. Hang on, Jonathan, I got to check 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:06.040 your report card. No, those thoughts wouldn't even come into 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:06.560 my mind. 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:07.679 He's my son. 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:10.400 Whenever he needs help, I'm gonna do whatever I can. 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:14.679 That's the way God is. He's not focused on your mistakes. 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:19.439 He's not looking for ways to make your life miserable. 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:23.120 God wants you to succeed. He created you. 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:26.440 To live his abundant life. Don't go around with that 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:29.520 old nag and feeling. Man, God's not please with me, Joel, 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:31.760 I'd be a hypocrite to ask for his help all 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:34.800 the mistakes I've made. Know you are the apple of 0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:39.320 God's eye. You are his most prized possession. Nothing you've 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:43.200 done or ever will do, will keep God from wanting 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:44.040 to be good to you. 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:45.760 Dare to believe. 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:50.240 Shake off that old guilty, unworthy feeling doesn't please God. 0:12:50.280 --> 0:12:53.840 For us to drag around negative, defeated feeling like a failure, 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:56.920 thinking that we're paying God back for our wrong choices. 0:12:57.400 --> 0:12:59.520 Now you're a child of the most high God. 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:00.920 What pleases him. 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:03.679 Is when you put your shoulders back, dust yourself off, 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:05.600 and say, I may have made mistakes, I may have 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:08.240 blown it, but I know God is full of mercy 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:10.720 and he still has a great plan for my life. 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:14.640 That's what it means to come boldly to the throne 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:15.199 of grace. 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:19.000 To receive mercy, you have to be determined. 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:22.480 If you give in to guilt and condemnation, you'll go 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:26.600 through life beaten down, feeling unworthy, no joy, no peace, 0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:27.280 no victory. 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:29.559 Well joy, you don't know what I've done. 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:32.320 Let me ask you, is it too much for the 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:36.040 mercy of God? Do you think your mistakes could somehow 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:40.120 cancel out God's plan for your life? God created the 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:44.360 whole universe, The scripture says, God has already written down 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:45.520 every day. 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:47.240 That you would live in his book. 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:52.199 I cannot fathom the creator of the universe, hundreds, maybe 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:55.240 millions of years ago writing in his book on this day, 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:57.960 my son or my daughter is going to make a 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:01.320 mistake that's too much for my mercy. Now where you 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:04.520 are is not a surprise to God. What you struggle 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:08.040 with doesn't have him baffled. God already knows He does 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:10.280 not require a perfect performance. 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:12.360 He just asked that our heart. 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:15.160 Would be right now. I'm asking you today to get 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:17.880 up every morning knowing that God has a bright future 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:21.120 in store. Does it matter what you've done, Does it 0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:24.800 matter what somebody has done to you? Nobody or nothing 0:14:24.960 --> 0:14:28.440 can stop God's plan from coming to pass except you. 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:31.960 You have to shake off complacency and start believing that 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:36.040 every dream, every desire, every possibility God's put in your 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:40.280 heart will come to pass. When Jonathan was small, I 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.720 had a sports car that I took very good care 0:14:42.760 --> 0:14:45.760 of I'd wash it once or twice a week, sometimes 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:48.880 by hand, and polish it and make sure it was perfect. 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:51.080 Now I had this bucket that I kept all my 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:53.720 sponges and towels in that I used to clean the 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:56.200 car up at the front of the garage. One day, 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:59.040 i'd spend a couple of hours washing it, and I 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:01.720 had buffed the pain, made it look like glass. I 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:04.680 could see my reflection. So proud of it. And a 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:07.360 few hours later, little Jonathan came in. He must have 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:10.000 been about three years old, and he smiled real big 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:12.600 and said, Daddy, I just washed your car for you. 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:17.240 And I thought to myself, surely you didn't. He said, 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:18.600 do you want to see? I thought, you, I do 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:21.600 want to see. So we went out there and I 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:25.960 nearly passed out. He had taken my dirtiest towel, the 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:28.120 one I used for my tires, and he had gone 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:31.240 around my whole car and just rubbed that in. I 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:34.080 felt sick to my stomach. He looked it up me 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:36.440 so proud. He said, Daddy, what do you think. I 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:38.520 just said, oh, Jonathan, thank you so much. 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:41.400 I just flat lied. 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:44.800 But he went in to tell Victoria I got the 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:48.120 hose started over, cleaned up the mess. What's my point? 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:51.920 Jonathan's heart was right. He thought he was doing good. 0:15:51.960 --> 0:15:54.240 He thought he was doing me a favor. I've asked 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:57.640 him since not to do me any more favors. But 0:15:57.720 --> 0:15:59.800 I didn't get on to him. Now, Jonathan, why'd you 0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:01.680 do that? Now? I gotta spend all this time. No, 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:03.640 I just cleaned up the mess and didn't say a 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:06.520 word about it. I wonder how many times God does 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:09.680 that for us. We make a mess, we make some 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:14.400 poor choices, but because our heart is right, God causes 0:16:14.440 --> 0:16:15.160 it to work out. 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:17.160 He doesn't say anything about it. 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:20.840 We may never know that he changed something here, caused 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:22.360 the right people to come along there. 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:24.320 What would have been a big mess. 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:27.600 Because of his mercy, he cleaned it up and caused 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:28.880 it to work out for our good. 0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:30.120 That's the way God is. 0:16:30.360 --> 0:16:32.920 When your heart is right, he'll clean up the mess 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:35.640 and not even condemn you for it. There's a story 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:38.560 in Luke chapter seven. Jesus is at the home of 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:42.040 a Pharisee about to have dinner. This lady comes in. 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:45.360 Her name is Mary. The scripture says she is a 0:16:45.400 --> 0:16:49.760 notorious sinner. Everyone there knows that she spends all of 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.760 her time in the red light district. That's the kind 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:54.920 of lady she is. That's how she makes her money. 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:58.320 And she's got this jar of perfume and she pours 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:01.520 it on Jesus's feet. She begins to wash them and 0:17:01.600 --> 0:17:04.760 dry them with her own hair. And the Pharisees, they 0:17:04.760 --> 0:17:08.080 were the religious leader. They begin to complain. They said, 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:11.040 if Jesus were really a prophet, he would know what 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:13.919 this lady's profession is. He would know she's got a 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:17.880 terrible reputation around here. Jesus knew what they were thinking, 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:21.280 so he answered them back with a story. He said, 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:24.679 suppose a lender has two people that owe him money, 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:28.000 one five dollars and one five hundred dollars, and this 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:32.040 lender forgives both of their debts. Which one would love 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:35.400 the most? They answered back the one that he forgave 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:37.960 the most. He turned to the woman and said, you 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:41.359 see this, lady, when I came into your house, you 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:44.159 didn't greet me with a kiss on the cheek, You 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:46.240 didn't offer me a drink, you didn't offer to wash 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:49.640 my feet. Yet she has not stopped doing so. Though 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:53.520 her sins be many, they are now forgiven you think 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:56.639 about it. Mary had had a rough past, but because 0:17:56.680 --> 0:17:59.159 her heart was right, she didn't have to have a 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:02.760 rough future. God had a plan here. She had spent 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:06.080 years making wrong choices. She had spent years going down 0:18:06.080 --> 0:18:09.760 the wrong path. Most people in her shoes wouldn't dare 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:12.760 go to God. They'd feel too guilty, too condemned. But 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:17.760 somehow Mary understood the mercy of God. She understood where 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:20.360 she was was not where she had to end up. 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:23.840 She knew God still had a bright future, and her 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:27.840 negative past didn't have to disqualify her from having God's 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:31.359 best plan. That day, she left there a changed woman. 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:35.600 Years later, when Jesus was crucified and rose from the grave, 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:39.760 the first person the angel spoke to was not one 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:40.920 of the religious leaders. 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:44.160 Was it one of the disciples. Wasn't the apostle Paul. 0:18:44.840 --> 0:18:47.840 The first person the angel spoke to to tell that 0:18:47.960 --> 0:18:52.119 Jesus was alive was this lady Mary. She seemed like 0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:55.600 an unusual choice. She had a negative past. She was 0:18:55.680 --> 0:19:01.119 considered a social outcast, called a notorious sinner. Friends, God 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:03.919 is not near as concerned about your past as he 0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:06.879 is your future. Where you've been is not near as 0:19:06.880 --> 0:19:11.600 important as where you're going. The whole key was Mary's 0:19:11.640 --> 0:19:15.280 heart was right. If God can cause her to fulfill 0:19:15.320 --> 0:19:19.000 her destiny and play such an important role in history, 0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:22.679 surely God can make miracles out of our mistakes. Surely 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:25.160 God still has great things in store for each one 0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:28.840 of us. I love the scripture in Zephini three nineteen. 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:33.280 God is gathering together the outcast and the limping ones. 0:19:33.760 --> 0:19:37.359 That means the people that society has written off, the 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:40.640 people that have had a negative past. And you may 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:43.119 feel like you are as far from God as you 0:19:43.200 --> 0:19:46.480 possibly can be. You've missed up, made mistakes, people have 0:19:46.560 --> 0:19:49.359 written you off. But I can tell you with confidence, 0:19:49.680 --> 0:19:52.560 God still has a great plan for your life. 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:54.600 He did it for Mary, he can do it for you. 0:19:55.119 --> 0:19:58.080 And if you'll just dare come to God and say God, 0:19:58.280 --> 0:19:59.040 I messed up. 0:19:59.520 --> 0:20:00.840 I know I haven't lived like. 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:04.439 I should have, but I believe your mercy is bigger 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:07.560 than any mistake that I've ever made. When you come 0:20:07.600 --> 0:20:10.359 with that kind of boldness, that opens the door for 0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:13.440 God to do great things in your life. See, God 0:20:13.480 --> 0:20:16.240 will never write you off. He doesn't see you like 0:20:16.320 --> 0:20:19.840 other people see you. Sometimes people may look down on you, 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:21.800 think that you don't have much to offer. 0:20:21.880 --> 0:20:23.400 You've got these addictions, you've had. 0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:26.560 A rough past. But God doesn't look at what you are. 0:20:27.119 --> 0:20:30.840 He looks at what you can become. He sees your potential. 0:20:31.520 --> 0:20:33.800 One thing I love when I look out here at Lakewood, 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:37.240 I see all different types of people. Some of you 0:20:37.320 --> 0:20:40.080 grew up in church like I did. Others of you 0:20:40.359 --> 0:20:43.040 grew up in the bars and the clubs. Some of 0:20:43.040 --> 0:20:45.640 you went to Ivy League schools. Some of you spent 0:20:45.760 --> 0:20:49.320 time in prison. Some of you come from well to do, 0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:54.280 loving families. Others of you come from negative, dysfunctional families. 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:57.560 Somebody told me last week, Joel, my family put the 0:20:57.600 --> 0:20:58.840 funk in dysfunction. 0:21:00.920 --> 0:21:02.919 You may feel like that's you, but you know what, 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:04.439 none of that matters to God. 0:21:04.520 --> 0:21:07.120 He knew you before you were born, and he already 0:21:07.160 --> 0:21:08.920 has a great plan for your life. 0:21:09.320 --> 0:21:12.280 First step, the first step. 0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:15.840 Is doing what Mary did and coming to God. Receive 0:21:15.920 --> 0:21:18.639 his forgiveness, receive his mercy, Let him give you a 0:21:18.680 --> 0:21:21.440 new beginning. I had a friend that grew up in church, 0:21:21.480 --> 0:21:24.480 but he got off course and started making poor choices, 0:21:24.520 --> 0:21:28.040 and he ended up the leader of an outlaw motorcycle game. 0:21:28.440 --> 0:21:31.359 They were constantly in trouble with the law. This friend 0:21:31.400 --> 0:21:33.960 had all kinds of addictions. When he got up in 0:21:34.040 --> 0:21:36.600 the morning, the first thing he would do was get high. 0:21:37.160 --> 0:21:40.240 His life was totally out of control. One day he 0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:42.640 hit rock bottom. He was going to end it all 0:21:42.680 --> 0:21:45.680 by taking a whole bottle of pills, but something down 0:21:45.720 --> 0:21:48.280 in here told him to go to church one more time. 0:21:48.960 --> 0:21:52.600 On Mother's Day, he showed up to Lakewood higher than 0:21:52.640 --> 0:21:56.000 a kite, had that long beard, long hair, tattoos, leather 0:21:56.040 --> 0:21:58.760 all over him, and normally the first couple of rows 0:21:59.040 --> 0:22:02.080 are reserved for some staff, but for some reason that day, 0:22:02.240 --> 0:22:04.240 the usher took him all the way down to the 0:22:04.280 --> 0:22:07.320 front and sat him on the very first row. He 0:22:07.359 --> 0:22:09.639 said he was so high he couldn't remember anything that 0:22:09.720 --> 0:22:12.280 was said. All he could remember was the love that 0:22:12.320 --> 0:22:15.520 he fell. That's the mercy of God. You take one 0:22:15.560 --> 0:22:19.360 step toward God, He'll come running towards you. That day, 0:22:19.400 --> 0:22:22.280 he left the service, went out to the parking lot, 0:22:22.280 --> 0:22:24.840 and on his knees, he asked Jesus to come into 0:22:24.880 --> 0:22:27.240 his life, right in front of his motorcycle. That was 0:22:27.280 --> 0:22:30.359 a turning point. Today, that gentleman is a pastor of 0:22:30.400 --> 0:22:34.200 a church. He started a new motorcycle group, and now 0:22:34.240 --> 0:22:37.359 he goes all over sharing with other bikers what God 0:22:37.359 --> 0:22:43.000 has done for him. See God can take your mess 0:22:43.080 --> 0:22:44.520 and turn it into your message. 0:22:44.920 --> 0:22:46.240 He can use you to help. 0:22:46.119 --> 0:22:49.520 Other people in that same situation. This young man got 0:22:49.560 --> 0:22:52.439 off the right track, but notice God gave him another 0:22:52.520 --> 0:22:56.160 opportunity to get back on track. He was considered a 0:22:56.160 --> 0:22:59.720 social outcast. People looked down on him. But see God 0:22:59.760 --> 0:23:02.960 look set you differently. He looks at the heart. You 0:23:03.040 --> 0:23:05.160 may be thinking, man, I've blown it. I'm so far 0:23:05.200 --> 0:23:08.000 from where I should be, But I believe like him. 0:23:08.080 --> 0:23:11.080 Deep down, you have a tender heart toward God. Deep 0:23:11.119 --> 0:23:14.119 down you want to do what's right. Beyond the hard 0:23:14.240 --> 0:23:18.040 outer shell, beyond the facade that everybody else sees. You 0:23:18.160 --> 0:23:21.080 have a desire to get back on to God's best path. 0:23:21.560 --> 0:23:25.960 The good news is your negative past doesn't disqualify you 0:23:26.200 --> 0:23:28.840 from having a bright future. God still has a plan. 0:23:29.440 --> 0:23:32.760 You're never too far gone with our God. Society may 0:23:32.800 --> 0:23:35.679 write you off, but God wants to gather up the outcast, 0:23:35.880 --> 0:23:38.880 the limping ones. He can still make something great out 0:23:38.880 --> 0:23:42.000 of your life. One thing I find interesting about this 0:23:42.080 --> 0:23:44.399 man is he had a mother at home that was 0:23:44.440 --> 0:23:48.280 always praying. That reminds me Moms and dads, let's never 0:23:48.480 --> 0:23:52.320 quit praying for our children. Does it matter where they are, 0:23:52.680 --> 0:23:55.919 what it looks like. Nothing's too hard for our God. 0:23:56.680 --> 0:23:59.199 All it takes is one touch of his favor. He 0:23:59.200 --> 0:24:02.560 can turn any life life around. In John chapter six, 0:24:02.920 --> 0:24:06.320 Jesus had just sped the multitudes with the little boy's lunch. 0:24:06.920 --> 0:24:09.119 When they got finished, they had more left over than 0:24:09.119 --> 0:24:11.840 when they started. That's what happens when you give your 0:24:11.840 --> 0:24:14.680 life to God. He'll always make so much more. 0:24:14.560 --> 0:24:15.000 Out of it. 0:24:15.680 --> 0:24:19.560 Afterwards, Jesus said to the disciples, gather up the fragments 0:24:19.840 --> 0:24:24.840 so that nothing will be wasted. Notice God never waste anything. 0:24:25.520 --> 0:24:29.480 People today have been abused, been divorced, been through other failures, 0:24:29.800 --> 0:24:32.400 and it's easy to just settle for mediocrity and think, man, 0:24:32.440 --> 0:24:35.280 I've blown it so many times. But no, God still 0:24:35.320 --> 0:24:37.920 has a plan. You can come to him with nothing 0:24:37.960 --> 0:24:41.760 but broken pieces, broken dreams, a broken marriage, a messed 0:24:41.840 --> 0:24:44.879 up life. God can still make something great out of it. 0:24:45.440 --> 0:24:47.520 When you say, Joel, I was abused growing up. 0:24:47.760 --> 0:24:48.320 Wasn't fair. 0:24:48.359 --> 0:24:51.160 That's why I'm angry, That's why I'm bitter. No give 0:24:51.200 --> 0:24:54.560 that fragment to God. He still has a plan. He 0:24:54.600 --> 0:24:57.280 can use you to help other hurting people. Well, my 0:24:57.359 --> 0:24:59.920 spouse walked out on me, left me for somebody else. 0:25:00.440 --> 0:25:03.159 Stay filled with hope. God still has a good future. 0:25:03.200 --> 0:25:05.800 He can bring somebody new into your life. Or maybe 0:25:05.840 --> 0:25:08.840 you think, Joel, I'm so far from where I should be. 0:25:09.280 --> 0:25:12.119 I've made so many mistakes. I have so many failures. 0:25:12.280 --> 0:25:16.000 Now you have to receive God's mercy and keep pressing forward. 0:25:16.320 --> 0:25:19.359 If you'll keep your heart pure and stay filled with hope, 0:25:19.640 --> 0:25:20.880 God will never. 0:25:20.920 --> 0:25:22.720 Waste anything that you go through. 0:25:23.040 --> 0:25:25.360 Somehow he'll use it to still get some good out 0:25:25.359 --> 0:25:28.719 of it. In Jeremiah chapter eighteen, it talks about a 0:25:28.800 --> 0:25:32.520 potter sitting at the wheel working on a vessel, some 0:25:32.680 --> 0:25:35.520 kind of pot of clay, and it says the vessel 0:25:35.720 --> 0:25:40.040 becomes marred in the potter's hands. That means it's messed up, 0:25:40.440 --> 0:25:43.679 it's broken, it's got cracks and defects. But the potter 0:25:43.760 --> 0:25:45.800 doesn't just throw it away and say too bad, let 0:25:45.840 --> 0:25:50.040 me get something else. It says, the potter remakes the 0:25:50.160 --> 0:25:53.600 vessel once again. When it's all said and done, the 0:25:53.680 --> 0:25:57.760 vessel is stronger and more beautiful than it ever was before, 0:25:58.280 --> 0:26:01.479 and of course the Potter Report. Since God and all 0:26:01.520 --> 0:26:05.200 of us in life go through failures, disappointments, things where 0:26:05.200 --> 0:26:08.480 people didn't treat us right, we end up hurt, broken, 0:26:08.760 --> 0:26:10.960 maybe feeling like we don't have much of a future. 0:26:11.400 --> 0:26:13.919 But God is saying through this passage, if you'll just 0:26:13.960 --> 0:26:18.360 stay filled with hope, I'll take your broken pieces, the hurts, 0:26:18.520 --> 0:26:21.879 the failures, the disappointments, and I'll use them not just 0:26:21.920 --> 0:26:24.440 to put you back together, but I'll bring you out 0:26:24.720 --> 0:26:27.480 better off than had that not ever even have happened 0:26:27.520 --> 0:26:31.400 to you. There's a famous poem that talks about how 0:26:31.440 --> 0:26:34.280 a bird with a broken wing will never fly again. 0:26:34.680 --> 0:26:38.400 It's a very sad, depressing poem. But one day somebody 0:26:38.440 --> 0:26:40.840 took it and put a new end on it. They 0:26:40.880 --> 0:26:43.600 told how when God gets a hold of the bird, 0:26:43.800 --> 0:26:46.720 he begins to heal it and restore it and breathe 0:26:46.800 --> 0:26:49.600 new life back into it. And it ended up by saying, 0:26:49.840 --> 0:26:52.679 the bird with the broken wing will fly twice as 0:26:52.760 --> 0:26:55.880 high again. That's what God wants to do for every 0:26:55.920 --> 0:26:57.920 one of us. For some of you today, you've just 0:26:57.960 --> 0:27:01.920 about written yourself off, living guilt and condemned. You've got 0:27:01.920 --> 0:27:04.639 to get a new vision for your life. God is 0:27:04.800 --> 0:27:07.760 full of mercy. He doesn't want you to stay where 0:27:07.760 --> 0:27:11.320 you are. He wants to restore and breathe new life 0:27:11.400 --> 0:27:14.600 back into you. His dream is to take your broken 0:27:14.680 --> 0:27:18.160 pieces and bring you out better off than you were before. 0:27:18.680 --> 0:27:21.400 So you've got to shake off that old, negative, defeated, 0:27:21.480 --> 0:27:22.359 guilty spirit. 0:27:22.640 --> 0:27:23.680 This is a new day. 0:27:24.359 --> 0:27:26.560 Nothing that you've done is too much for the mercy 0:27:26.600 --> 0:27:30.520 of God. Give him those fragments, give him the broken pieces, 0:27:30.560 --> 0:27:33.280 and just say, God, I've made a mess of my life, 0:27:33.760 --> 0:27:36.399 but I believe that you are good enough to still 0:27:36.440 --> 0:27:39.600 make miracles out of my mistakes. God, I'm just bold 0:27:39.680 --> 0:27:42.919 enough to believe even though I don't deserve it, because 0:27:42.920 --> 0:27:45.719 of your mercy, you still have good things in store 0:27:46.320 --> 0:27:49.440 when you come with that boldness, with that confidence. Believe 0:27:49.480 --> 0:27:52.239 it in the goodness of God that allows him to 0:27:52.280 --> 0:27:55.160 do great things in your life. If you will stay 0:27:55.160 --> 0:27:58.280 in faith, keep your hopes up, keep your heart pure, 0:27:58.760 --> 0:28:01.960 I know that God will we make your life into 0:28:01.960 --> 0:28:05.840 something more beautiful and more rewarding than you ever thought possible. 0:28:05.920 --> 0:28:07.639 Amen, do you receive it this morning? 0:28:09.200 --> 0:28:12.040 We never like to close our broadcast without giving you 0:28:12.119 --> 0:28:15.080 an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. 0:28:15.240 --> 0:28:19.560 Would you pray with me, Just say, Lord, Jesus, I 0:28:19.680 --> 0:28:24.600 repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make 0:28:24.640 --> 0:28:28.159 you my Lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed that 0:28:28.240 --> 0:28:31.159 simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in 0:28:31.200 --> 0:28:34.400 a good Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's 0:28:34.400 --> 0:28:36.600 going to take your places that you've never dreamed of. 0:28:37.000 --> 0:28:39.880 Thank you for listening to the joel OUs Deine podcast. 0:28:40.200 --> 0:28:42.840 Help us continue to share the message of hope with 0:28:42.960 --> 0:28:46.920 those all over the world. Visit Joeloustin dot com slash 0:28:47.000 --> 0:28:49.000 give Hope to give a gift today. 0:28:50.280 --> 0:28:53.200 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope 0:28:53.200 --> 0:28:56.600 you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to 0:28:56.680 --> 0:28:59.840 keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. 0:29:00.080 --> 0:29:02.480 I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you 0:29:02.560 --> 0:29:03.040 next time.