No More Excuses

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That's code iHeart fifty when 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:27.280 you sign up at unest dot co for a fifty 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:30.120 dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at UNEs dot co. 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:34.880 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for downloading our podcast. 0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:37.920 We enjoy spending this time with you. I hope you'll 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:41.360 leave inspire. Make sure you subscribe to get new messages 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:44.440 every week. We appreciate your support. It helps keep the 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:45.280 ministry going. 0:01:45.720 --> 0:01:57.360 Enjoy the message. 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:00.520 Bless you. 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:03.240 It's a joy to come into your homes, and if 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:05.840 you're ever in our area, please stop by and be 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:07.360 a part of one of our services. 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:09.760 I'll promise you we'll make you feel right at home. 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:12.320 But thanks so much for tuning in, and thank you 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:15.440 again for coming out. I like to start with something funny, 0:02:15.480 --> 0:02:19.000 and I heard about these three men a Baptist, a Catholic, 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:20.120 and a Charismatic. 0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:22.680 They died on the same day and went to heaven. 0:02:23.080 --> 0:02:25.680 Saint Peter met him at the gates and said, I'm sorry, men, 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:28.000 your rooms are not available yet. 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:29.520 He didn't know what to. 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:32.120 Do, and he decided to call Satan and see if 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:36.000 he would keep them for a little while. Satan reluctantly agreed. 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:39.200 A few hours later, Satan called back and said, Peter, you've. 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:40.280 Got to come get these guys. 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:45.080 The Baptist man is saving everybody, Catholic man is forgiving everybody, 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:49.200 and the Charismatic has already raised enough money for air conditioning. 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:53.600 Hold up your Bible, say it like you mean it. 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:56.679 This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. 0:02:57.120 --> 0:02:59.400 I have what it says I have. I can do 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:02.040 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:05.760 taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:09.000 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:14.280 the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:18.440 to talk to you today about no more excuses. It's 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:21.360 easy to come up with a reason why we can't 0:03:21.480 --> 0:03:25.120 accomplish a dream, why we can't be happy, why we 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:26.680 can't overcome a problem. 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:31.160 Excuses are a dime a dozen. We think I've got 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:32.519 an excuse to be sour. 0:03:33.000 --> 0:03:37.040 Traffic was bad, my boss was rude, a coworker left 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:40.520 me out. I've got an excuse to be offended. These 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:44.320 people hurt me, they didn't keep their word, they betrayed me. 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:47.480 Or I've got an excuse to settle where I am. 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:51.040 I had a bad childhood, I lost a loved one, 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:55.640 went through a breakup. As long as you're making excuses, 0:03:55.920 --> 0:04:00.440 you will justify staying where you are. Excuses give us 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:04.360 permission to settle for less than God's best. You can 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:08.600 find an excuse about anything. When my nephew, Matthew was 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:11.520 about four years old, he was out walking through the 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:14.880 woods with my father down this trail and they came 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:18.359 upon this big grandaddy long legged spider on the ground. 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:21.479 Matt was about to stomp it with his shoe. My 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:24.320 father said, Matt, don't do that. We're out here where 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:27.800 he lives. He didn't do anything wrong. Let's leave him alone. 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:32.200 Matt contemplated it for a little while. He wasn't fully convinced, 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:35.119 but he finally turned and walked off. He got about 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:39.040 fifteen steps away, He turned around, ran back and smashed 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:41.440 that spider as hard as he could with his foot. 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:43.600 My dad said, Matt, why'd you do that? 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:46.520 He looked at him and said, Granddaddy, the devil made 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:51.400 me do it. It's easy to find an excuse. I 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:55.440 can't lose this weight. My metabolism is too slow. One 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:57.520 man said, My metabolism is not slow. 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:01.680 It's in a coma. I can't break this addiction. 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:05.560 Everybody in my family has it. It's in my genes. 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.440 It's been passed down to me. Yes, it may be 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:11.479 in your genes. But the good news is you can 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:15.400 turn off those genes. You have the power to overcome it. 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:18.400 But the only way it's going to happen is. 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:20.600 If you get rid of the excuses. 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:24.400 As long as you're blaming the past, blaming a neighbor, 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:26.159 blaming the traffic. 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:27.640 The weather, then you're going to get stuck. 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:32.040 I'm asking you to throw out the excuses. It may 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:35.960 be a valid excuse, it wasn't fair. You went through 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.360 a disappointment, a sickness, a betrayal. But you have to 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:42.560 draw the line in the sand and say I refuse 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:45.280 to live my life with a chip on my shoulder. 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:47.920 Angry, upset, with no passion. 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:52.120 If you'll get rid of the excuses, God will be 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:53.080 your vindicator. 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:55.920 God will pay you back for the unfair things. 0:05:56.800 --> 0:06:00.000 This is your year to step up to a new level, 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:02.440 to see God's favor in a new way. 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:03.960 Now have this attitude. 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:09.360 No more excuses, no excuses to be unhappy. This day 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:12.440 is a gift from God. I'm going to enjoy it 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:16.520 in spite of what's going on. No excuses to settle 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:20.880 for mediocrity, give up on my dreams. I'm pursuing my goals, 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:24.120 overcoming obstacles, breaking these bad habits. 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:27.160 Or how about no excuses to. 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:30.919 Go around feeling inferior. I know who I am, a 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:34.800 child of the Most High God. Well, Joel, I don't 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:36.680 think I could accomplish my goals. 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:38.000 I'm not that talented. 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:41.440 I don't really have the connections. I didn't get what 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:44.880 my friends got. They have the looks, the personality, the 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:45.600 good breaks. 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:49.080 Here's the key. If you didn't get it, then you 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:49.800 don't need it. 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:54.159 You have exactly what you need. If you needed what 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:55.760 they had, God would have. 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:56.440 Given it to you. 0:06:56.880 --> 0:07:00.880 Now quit comparing yourself and start running your race. 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:03.560 You are anointed to be you. 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:09.320 Nobody can beat you at being you. You are fully loaded, 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:14.400 totally equipped, uniquely designed for the race that's been laid 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:14.960 out for you. 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:17.320 I get rid of those excuses I'm. 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:21.520 Too tall, too sure, too old, wrong nationality. You have 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:25.760 been fearfully and wonderfully made step up to. 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:27.000 Who you were created to be. 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:30.560 When my father went to be with the Lord, I 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:33.520 knew I was supposed to step up and pasture the church. 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:37.000 But all these excuses flooded my mind. I don't have 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:41.280 the training, I've never ministered before. My personality is too 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:44.440 laid back, my voice is not strong enough. If I 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:47.480 would have held on to those excuses, I wouldn't be 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:51.640 standing here today. Any time God is about to take 0:07:51.680 --> 0:07:55.240 you to a new level, there will be excuses you 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:56.840 have to first get rid of. 0:07:57.800 --> 0:07:59.160 Before you see promotion. 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:02.640 I have to get rid of that excuse I'm not qualified, 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:06.600 I'm not that talented. I can't do that. Before you 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:10.200 break the addiction. Get rid of the excuse I've had it. 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:14.280 Too long, I'm not disciplined enough. Before you meet the. 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:16.960 Person of your dreams, you have to get rid of 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:19.680 the excuse. I'm not that attractive, I don't have a 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:24.040 good personality. Friends, God wants to do something new in 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:26.560 your life. He wants to take you to a new 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:30.880 level of your destiny? Are you allowing excuses to hold 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:34.920 you back? When I stepped up and started ministering, I 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:38.559 would write out all my sermons by hand. I would 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:42.040 have twenty pages of notes scribbled here and there all 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:45.040 over the desk. On Saturday, I would try to put 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:48.840 them all together and hope that somehow it made sense. Now, 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:52.319 a couple of months in, Victoria came and said, Joel, 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:55.040 you're wasting so much time writing this all. 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:55.640 Out by hand. 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:59.000 You need to get a computer and start typing it. 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:01.360 That way you can and cut and pace, move it 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:04.440 around and be so much easier. Well, I had taken 0:09:04.600 --> 0:09:08.520 typing in high school, but I hadn't typed in twenty years. 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:11.560 I reached into my excuse bag and I pulled a 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.840 couple hours. I said, Victoria, I can't do that. I 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:17.800 don't know how to type, I would say, and in effect, 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:21.600 I'm limited. I'm not up to par I can't learn 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:24.720 anything new. She looked at me and said, Joel, you 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:26.560 are thirty six years old. 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:29.240 You can do anything you put your mind to. 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:31.719 We're going to get a computer, and you're going to 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:33.480 start typing out these messages. 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:36.560 She didn't ask me, she told me. 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:42.800 All I could say was just ma'am. But sometimes you 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:46.400 need someone to speak the truth in love to you. 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:51.000 Maybe you're coasting like I was, thinking that you can't 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:51.640 step up. 0:09:52.040 --> 0:09:53.360 You've reached your limits. 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:56.960 Now you have gifts and talents on the inside that 0:09:57.000 --> 0:10:00.280 you've not tapped into. I'm telling you, like Victory, it 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:04.000 told me, no ifs ands or butts, it's time to 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:05.600 lose the excuse bag. 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:07.640 Step up to a new level. 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:13.160 Start learning something new, Start training for that next program, 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:17.920 Start taking on more responsibility, or how about start writing 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:22.640 that book, Start writing those songs, start developing that business plan. 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:27.120 You have potential lying dormant on the inside right now. 0:10:27.240 --> 0:10:29.160 It's seeds of greatness. 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:32.560 The enemy would love to use excuses to keep it 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:33.720 from ever coming out. 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:37.160 You got to stir up what God put on the inside. 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.760 Quit telling yourself what you can't do, how you don't 0:10:40.800 --> 0:10:42.800 have the discipline, the training, the education. 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:47.880 You have everything you need. You are well able. God 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:50.400 has already put it in you. Now. 0:10:50.400 --> 0:10:53.560 I started typing my messages on the computer, and it 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:56.920 was like night and day difference. A couple of weeks, 0:10:56.960 --> 0:11:00.320 it all came back. I remembered how to type. Saved 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:04.120 me hours every week. Since then, I've typed seven books, 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:09.520 hundreds of messages. I'm so glad I had that idea. 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:12.800 If you've heard that saying you can't teach an old 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:17.200 dog new tricks, but I've learned it depends on what kind. 0:11:17.040 --> 0:11:17.720 Of dog you have. 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:24.280 If your dog thinks I'm limited, I'm lacking, I can't 0:11:24.360 --> 0:11:27.240 learn anything new, then that dog will get stuck. But 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:29.800 if you have a dog that says I'm well able, 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:34.000 I'm equipped, empowered, nothing's too hard for me. That dog 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:37.920 will learn new tricks. My message make sure you're the 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:43.640 right kind of dog. Are you stuck doing something the 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:48.280 old fashioned way, because like I did, you think you 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:51.240 don't have the talent, the know how, the ability to 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:55.520 step into the new or quit discounting yourself. You have 0:11:55.840 --> 0:12:00.480 what you need to live in this generation. Quit shrinking back. 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:02.959 Don't let those excuses convince you. 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:03.880 That you are lacking. 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:06.880 You're too old, too young, not up to speed, not 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:10.400 up to par. God put in you what you need 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:14.640 for this day. This is your time to shine. Get 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:19.280 rid of those limiting excuses, stay open for new ideas, 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:22.680 new ways to do things. Thing I love about my 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:26.480 mom She's eighty one years old. She sends us kids 0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:30.800 group text all through the day. Most of them make sense, 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:35.800 but I love the fact that she's not intimidated to 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:42.040 learn something new. I'm just praying she doesn't discover Instagram. 0:12:42.080 --> 0:12:46.520 But seriously, when we keep making excuses, they become a crutch. 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:50.439 That way we can justify while we're not where we're 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:54.320 supposed to be. Well, they hurt me, they did me wrong. 0:12:54.800 --> 0:12:57.400 Now I have to use this self pity crutch to 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:00.319 hobble along. I've got a reason to be this way. 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:03.960 Or my friend is more talented, they got the looks, 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:07.800 the personality, So I've got to use this inferior crutch, 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:11.040 This not up to par crutch. Or I made some 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:15.520 mistakes in life, didn't raise my kids right, blew my relationship. 0:13:15.760 --> 0:13:19.440 That's why I'm using this regret crutch. This not up 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:22.079 to par crutch. Every time you. 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:25.880 Make an excuse, it's slowing you down, it's causing you 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:30.240 to hobble. And the tragedy is some people spend their whole. 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:32.760 Life on crutches. Don't let that be you. 0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:36.679 If you'll get rid of the excuses, believe that you 0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:40.280 have what it takes, trust God to make your wrongs right. 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:45.000 Then instead of hobbling barely getting by, you'll keep stepping 0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:48.880 into new levels of your Destiny's what a young lady 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:52.680 did named Wilma. She was born prematurely back in the 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:57.160 nineteen forties, the twentieth of twenty two children. When she 0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:00.480 was four years old, she developed polio in her left leg. 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:04.199 It shriveled up so badly the doctors told her parents 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:07.840 she would probably never walk again. When other kids were 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:10.800 out playing and having fun, she was at home, not 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:15.320 able to walk. She spent two years bedridden. She could 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:18.120 have thought, Hey, this is my lot in life. I've 0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:21.120 had a bad break, got a good reason to settle 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:22.320 where I am. 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:25.680 No Wilma had this no excuses mentality. 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:29.760 A caring doctor made her a special leg brace and 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:33.720 a shoe. Against all odds, she learned how to walk 0:14:34.240 --> 0:14:37.520 at eleven years of age without her parents knowing it. 0:14:37.680 --> 0:14:40.440 She started taking off the brace, going out and playing 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:44.520 with the other kids. She developed a great passion for running. 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:47.200 Some days she'd go out and run for hours at 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:51.760 a time. One day, a coach from Tennessee State University 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:54.960 noticed how much she loved to run and how fast 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:58.560 she was. He invited her to try out for the team. 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:02.560 She not only made team, but it's sixteen years old. 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:06.880 She qualified for the nineteen fifty six Olympics went on 0:15:06.920 --> 0:15:09.920 to win a bronze medal. Four years later, in the 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:15.280 nineteen sixty Olympics, Wilma Rudolph won three gold medals went 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:16.240 on to become. 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:17.240 A national hero. 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:22.960 That's what happens when you don't let self pity become 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:25.920 a crutch. You don't sit around thinking about what you 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:26.840 didn't get. 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:28.200 How you don't measure up. 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.360 You'll beat the odds. God will get you to where 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:35.440 you're supposed to be. We've all had bad breaks, things 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:38.320 we don't understand. But if that was going to keep 0:15:38.360 --> 0:15:41.640 you from your destiny, God would have never permitted it. 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:43.920 Don't let it become a crutch. 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.360 Don't use it as an excuse to settle where you are. 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:51.600 Do like Wilma, stir up what God's put on the inside. 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:54.080 You'll go places that you never dreamed. 0:15:55.040 --> 0:15:57.440 In the scripture, there was a man that had been 0:15:57.480 --> 0:15:58.960 blind since his birth. 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:02.400 Some people ask Jesus why was he born? This way. 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:06.760 Whose fault was it his or his parents? They wanted 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:11.680 somebody to blame, an excuse, a reason. Jesus said to them, 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:15.560 it's nobody's fault. He was born this way so that 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:18.800 the goodness of God might be displayed in his life. 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:21.000 Jesus touched his eyes. 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:24.440 And instantly he could see when you have a bad break, 0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:30.200 a disadvantage, don't get stuck looking for someone or something 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:30.800 to blame. 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:33.080 You're not always going. 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:36.440 To understand why things happen in life. But if you'll 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:39.880 stay in faith, it won't work against you, it will 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:42.880 work for you. God will use it to show out 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:46.560 in your life. But like these people, it's easy to 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:49.160 want to blame the parents. It's their fault. That's why 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:52.520 he's blind. Blame the man, Blame the neighbor, Blame a friend. 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:55.400 All that's going to do is give you a reason 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:56.920 to feel sorry for yourself. 0:16:57.440 --> 0:16:59.080 Before long, you'll have that crutch. 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:03.360 Nothing that's happened to you is a surprise to God. 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:06.760 You have to take the hand you've been dealt and. 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:08.440 Make the most of it. 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:12.159 May not have been fair, but God is fair. He 0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:16.000 is a god of justice. He sees every wrong that's 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:20.400 been done to you every hurt, every disadvantage, and if 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:23.359 you won't let it become an excuse to get bitter, 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:26.560 to have a chip on your shoulder, then God said, 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:29.439 He'll take that wrong and he'll turn it around and 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:32.480 use it to your advantage. He will pay you back 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:36.920 for the unfair things. See, people can't stop your destiny. 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:40.239 What they said about you, what they did to you, 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:43.480 how they tried to make you feel, doesn't have to 0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:47.600 affect you. The only power that has over you is 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:50.879 the power that you give it. If you sit around 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:55.200 nursing your wounds, thinking about the wrong, about how bad 0:17:55.240 --> 0:17:56.240 it was, that's. 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:58.560 Going to become a crutch that will hold you back. 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:02.840 But if you'll let it go, God will fight your battles. 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:06.840 God will be your vindicator. We see this principle in 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:10.440 the life of Joseph. He went through one unfair situation 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:14.960 after another. His brothers betrayed him and sold him into slavery. 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:16.120 He could have. 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:19.000 Become bitter, thought I've got a good excuse to live 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:23.199 my life angry. He was lied about, falsely accused, and 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:26.520 put in prison, another excuse to have a chip on 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:30.639 his shoulder. He spent years in that prison for something 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:31.480 that he didn't do. 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:33.160 He could have come up with. 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:37.719 An excuse after excuse to settle where he was, but 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:42.840 Joseph knew those excuses would become crutches that would keep 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:43.920 him from his destiny. 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:47.320 He had this no excuse mentality. 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:52.600 He kept shaking off the disappointments, overlooking the offenses, doing 0:18:52.640 --> 0:18:55.840 the right thing when the wrong thing was happening. In 0:18:55.880 --> 0:19:00.720 the end, he came out vindicated, promoted in a place 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:05.560 of honor, prestige, influence. You may have had some bad breaks, 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:10.280 things you don't understand, but don't get stuck looking back, 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:12.359 reliving the negative. 0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:14.160 That is a distraction. 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:18.720 If you'll do like Joseph and keep moving forward, taking 0:19:18.760 --> 0:19:22.120 the high road, doing the right thing, God will get 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:26.080 you to where you're supposed to be. No bad break 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:30.639 can stop you. A disadvantage, and injustice, God has the 0:19:30.680 --> 0:19:34.520 final sack. Well, you say, Joel, they hurt me, they 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:39.359 did me wrong. I say this respectfully. Everybody's been hurt. 0:19:40.000 --> 0:19:42.960 You have to get over it. Well, they left me out, 0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:47.240 everybody's been left out. They lied about me, everybody's been 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:52.600 lied about. It's not worth missing your destiny over I'm 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:56.600 not saying what they did was okay. What I'm saying 0:19:57.119 --> 0:20:00.800 is it doesn't have to control the rest of your life. 0:20:00.960 --> 0:20:03.000 It would be easy to live with a chip on 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:06.880 your shoulder thinking about how wrong it is. Before long 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:10.200 you'll have that crutch that will cause you to hobble 0:20:10.800 --> 0:20:12.480 when God created you to run. 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:15.280 You've got to draw the line in the sand, say 0:20:15.320 --> 0:20:17.400 that's it. No more excuses. 0:20:17.800 --> 0:20:20.800 Can't do anything about the past, but I can do 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:23.560 something about right now. I am going to live my 0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:26.399 life in faith, trust in God to make it up 0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:31.560 to me. Friends, this day is a gift. Once we 0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:34.760 live it, we can never get it back. Life is 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:39.840 too short to waste another day angry, offended in self pity. 0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:43.639 Like Joseph, you may have had a rough start, but 0:20:43.720 --> 0:20:46.480 you don't have to have a rough finish. God wants 0:20:46.520 --> 0:20:48.920 to pay you back. He wants to give you beauty 0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:53.080 for the ashes, double for the injustice. Now I realize 0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:56.840 it's not always easy to get over it. It's not 0:20:56.920 --> 0:20:59.480 necessarily easy to move forward. 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:00.760 But here's the key. 0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:05.000 The pain of letting it go is less than the 0:21:05.040 --> 0:21:06.480 pain of holding. 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:08.040 On and missing your destiny. 0:21:08.880 --> 0:21:12.480 In the Scripture, it tells us to be imitators of Christ. 0:21:13.119 --> 0:21:16.119 His life should be our example. And if we're going 0:21:16.200 --> 0:21:19.159 to be like Jesus, that means we're going to have 0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:21.720 people come against us, try to make. 0:21:21.640 --> 0:21:22.280 Us look bad. 0:21:22.840 --> 0:21:27.440 It means we're going to be misunderstood and criticized. We're 0:21:27.480 --> 0:21:30.679 going to have a garden of gasimine or times we 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:34.119 feel alone and abandon and yes, we may even have 0:21:34.200 --> 0:21:37.480 a Judas. People that betray us turn their back and 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:42.040 walk away. It's interesting when Judas came with the soldiers 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:46.800 to betray Jesus, Jesus said to him, friend, what have 0:21:46.920 --> 0:21:50.520 you come here to do. Jesus knew he was going 0:21:50.560 --> 0:21:54.040 to betray him, but he still called him friend. His 0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:58.160 attitude was, I've already gotten over what you're about to do. 0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:02.480 Your poor choice is not gonna steal my joy nor 0:22:02.560 --> 0:22:06.399 stop my destiny. My father has the final say, and 0:22:06.760 --> 0:22:09.000 it may get a little rough, but I know in 0:22:09.080 --> 0:22:12.000 the end, I'm gonna come out wearing that victor's crown. 0:22:13.520 --> 0:22:16.560 If we will do like Jesus and not get bitter 0:22:16.760 --> 0:22:20.639 when unfair things happen, trust our father to make it 0:22:20.720 --> 0:22:23.879 up to us. At some point we two will be 0:22:23.960 --> 0:22:28.360 wearing the victor's crown. Like Joseph, You'll come out vindicated, 0:22:28.720 --> 0:22:34.160 promoted in a place of honor and influence. John chapter five. 0:22:34.320 --> 0:22:37.760 There's the story about a crippled man. He'd been lying 0:22:37.840 --> 0:22:41.240 at the pool of Bethesda for thirty eight years, and 0:22:41.240 --> 0:22:43.800 every once in a while an angel would come by 0:22:43.880 --> 0:22:44.720 and move the water. 0:22:45.359 --> 0:22:47.440 The first person in would be healed. 0:22:48.280 --> 0:22:52.480 The amplified version describes this man's condition as a deep 0:22:52.680 --> 0:22:58.480 seated lingering disorder. What is a lingering disorder? It's not 0:22:58.680 --> 0:23:02.320 just physical. But when we stay focused on negative things 0:23:02.320 --> 0:23:06.040 of the past, we keep making excuses and not move forward. 0:23:06.440 --> 0:23:11.080 Those lingering disorders can keep us from our destiny. And 0:23:11.119 --> 0:23:14.160 one day Jesus came by and saw the man lying there. 0:23:14.840 --> 0:23:18.080 It was obvious that he was crippled. Jesus knew the 0:23:18.119 --> 0:23:20.080 reason he was by the pool was to try to 0:23:20.119 --> 0:23:23.040 get well, but he asked him what seemed to be 0:23:23.240 --> 0:23:26.760 a strange question. He said to the man, do you 0:23:26.840 --> 0:23:30.919 want to get well? One version says, are you serious 0:23:31.200 --> 0:23:35.399 about getting well? By the way this man responded, it 0:23:35.520 --> 0:23:37.879 shows us why he had been that way so long. 0:23:38.680 --> 0:23:41.720 He said, yes, but I don't have anybody to help me. 0:23:42.440 --> 0:23:43.840 I'm at a disadvantage. 0:23:43.960 --> 0:23:46.200 I'm all at loan. You see my legs. 0:23:46.440 --> 0:23:49.199 When the Angel comes, everybody gets in in front of me. 0:23:49.600 --> 0:23:52.040 He made excuse after excuse. 0:23:52.960 --> 0:23:56.480 He'd use those excuses so long they had become a crutch. 0:23:57.320 --> 0:24:00.440 Now I love the way. Jesus answered back. He didn't 0:24:00.440 --> 0:24:03.639 respond to the man's sad story. He didn't say, well, 0:24:03.680 --> 0:24:06.720 I feel sorry for you. You've had a rough life. 0:24:06.800 --> 0:24:09.360 He looked him in the eyes and said an effect, 0:24:10.040 --> 0:24:14.240 if you're serious about getting well, if you're serious about 0:24:14.320 --> 0:24:18.119 moving forward, then pick up your bed, get up, and 0:24:18.200 --> 0:24:21.760 be on your way. He spoke faith over the man 0:24:22.400 --> 0:24:25.719 for the first time. When that man heard that, something 0:24:25.800 --> 0:24:30.080 came alive on the inside. He thought, you mean I 0:24:30.080 --> 0:24:33.200 don't have to keep making excuses. You mean I don't 0:24:33.240 --> 0:24:36.200 have to just sit here and wait for something to change. 0:24:36.320 --> 0:24:39.880 I can make something happen. This man got. 0:24:39.720 --> 0:24:42.720 Up, took up his bed, He walked out of their 0:24:42.800 --> 0:24:46.520 healthy in heart. I wonder how many things we would 0:24:46.600 --> 0:24:51.080 get out of defeat, depression, bad habits if we would 0:24:51.119 --> 0:24:55.439 just quit feeling sorry for ourselves, quit making excuses, and 0:24:55.480 --> 0:24:59.240 start moving forward. God is asking us today, would he 0:24:59.320 --> 0:25:03.880 asked this man, are you serious about getting well? Are 0:25:03.920 --> 0:25:09.080 you serious about overcoming that addiction? About finishing school about 0:25:09.119 --> 0:25:10.960 moving past that disappointment. 0:25:11.240 --> 0:25:13.200 Then there's something you have to do. 0:25:13.800 --> 0:25:18.440 Get up on the inside, in your attitude, in your thoughts, 0:25:18.880 --> 0:25:22.240 in your countenance, in how you talk. In other words, 0:25:22.600 --> 0:25:26.720 shake off the self pity, quit reliving the negative. You're 0:25:26.800 --> 0:25:30.240 waiting on God. But God is waiting on you. If 0:25:30.280 --> 0:25:33.280 you will get up, take up your bed, so to speak, 0:25:33.480 --> 0:25:36.840 start moving forward, that's when you'll see things begin to 0:25:36.920 --> 0:25:41.440 change in your favor. God said in Isaiah forty two, 0:25:41.800 --> 0:25:46.400 the former things have come to pass, and new things 0:25:46.560 --> 0:25:49.280 I now declare sing a new song. 0:25:49.600 --> 0:25:50.320 Unto the Lord. 0:25:51.240 --> 0:25:54.640 God is saying, the things you've been struggling with are 0:25:54.680 --> 0:25:59.560 coming to an end. The discouragement, the loneliness, the bad breaks, 0:25:59.600 --> 0:25:59.960 the deps. 0:26:00.720 --> 0:26:03.000 God is about to put a stop to it. 0:26:03.280 --> 0:26:06.359 He's going to do a new thing. But there is 0:26:06.760 --> 0:26:10.439 one requirement. The last part of this verse is the 0:26:10.480 --> 0:26:13.680 whole key. If you want to see the negative end 0:26:14.119 --> 0:26:16.720 and God do a new thing, then you have to 0:26:16.800 --> 0:26:20.600 sing a new song. You can't keep singing that all 0:26:20.840 --> 0:26:23.280 song of who hurt me? And I've been by this 0:26:23.320 --> 0:26:26.639 pool thirty eight years. I'm never gonna get well. No, 0:26:27.280 --> 0:26:30.480 throw out that song of self pity, get rid of 0:26:30.520 --> 0:26:34.200 that song of defeat. Erase that song of it's never 0:26:34.280 --> 0:26:36.399 going to work out, Start. 0:26:36.160 --> 0:26:37.920 Singing a song of victory. 0:26:38.600 --> 0:26:40.960 I may have had some bad breaks, but I know 0:26:41.080 --> 0:26:42.480 this is my due season. 0:26:42.600 --> 0:26:42.840 Year. 0:26:43.520 --> 0:26:47.119 Things are changing in my favor. I am armed with 0:26:47.280 --> 0:26:48.520 strength for this battle. 0:26:48.760 --> 0:26:52.679 I will overcome this illness. I will break this bad habit. 0:26:52.760 --> 0:26:56.880 I will finish school. I will live healthy, whole, victorious. 0:26:57.040 --> 0:26:59.040 If you want to see the new you've got to 0:26:59.240 --> 0:27:02.800 start singing the new song. In other words, no more 0:27:02.880 --> 0:27:06.639 sad songs, no more talking about who hurts you, what 0:27:06.800 --> 0:27:10.480 didn't work out. God knows everything you've been through. You 0:27:10.560 --> 0:27:14.199 don't have to constantly remind him. If you'll lose the 0:27:14.359 --> 0:27:18.400 sad song and start singing a new song, God will 0:27:18.400 --> 0:27:22.719 turn your mourning into dancing. He'll take the setback and 0:27:22.880 --> 0:27:25.840 use it as a set up to take you somewhere greater. 0:27:27.200 --> 0:27:28.879 But I wonder how. 0:27:28.760 --> 0:27:32.840 Many of us today, like this man, have these lingering disorders. 0:27:33.280 --> 0:27:35.480 We went through a hurt, a disappointment. 0:27:35.680 --> 0:27:39.280 Instead of letting it go moving forward, trusting God, we 0:27:39.359 --> 0:27:40.719 started making excuses. 0:27:41.160 --> 0:27:43.120 Now it's gone on year after year. 0:27:43.520 --> 0:27:47.200 The good news is, if you'll get rid of the excuses, 0:27:47.560 --> 0:27:51.520 it's just a matter of time before those lingering disorders 0:27:51.600 --> 0:27:54.680 will leave. That's when God will show up and begin 0:27:54.760 --> 0:27:58.720 to turn things around. Is there something you need to 0:27:58.720 --> 0:28:03.080 get over today? Childhood that wasn't so great, a friend 0:28:03.080 --> 0:28:06.680 that betrayed you, a business that didn't make it. Now 0:28:06.720 --> 0:28:09.600 you're using it as a crutch to stay where you are. 0:28:10.280 --> 0:28:13.880 Why don't you make this decision with me? No more excuses. 0:28:14.480 --> 0:28:17.160 You can't do anything about the past, but you can 0:28:17.280 --> 0:28:18.880 do something about your future. 0:28:19.240 --> 0:28:22.639 And because you have this new psalm, I believe and 0:28:22.720 --> 0:28:25.920 declare that things that have held you back are coming 0:28:25.960 --> 0:28:29.320 to an end. God is doing a new thing. You're 0:28:29.320 --> 0:28:32.080 going to see beauty for those ashes. You're going to 0:28:32.119 --> 0:28:36.720 overcome the illness, see new relationships, new opportunities, a new 0:28:36.840 --> 0:28:38.240 level of your destiny. 0:28:38.560 --> 0:28:41.560 In Jesus' name, I believe it, and if you receive it, 0:28:41.720 --> 0:28:42.320 can you say it? 0:28:42.440 --> 0:28:42.560 Men? 0:28:42.600 --> 0:28:48.080 Today, we never like to close our broadcast without giving 0:28:48.080 --> 0:28:51.080 you an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. 0:28:51.560 --> 0:28:52.560 Would you pray with me? 0:28:53.280 --> 0:28:57.160 Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins. 0:28:58.360 --> 0:29:02.280 Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. 0:29:03.880 --> 0:29:06.400 Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you 0:29:06.480 --> 0:29:09.480 got born again. Get in a good Bible based church. 0:29:09.880 --> 0:29:12.840 Keep God first place. He's going to take your places 0:29:12.960 --> 0:29:13.959 that you've never dreamed. 0:29:14.720 --> 0:29:17.600 Thank you for listening to the Joel lous Deine podcast. 0:29:17.960 --> 0:29:20.560 Help us continue to share the message of hope with 0:29:20.680 --> 0:29:24.680 those all over the world. Visit Joeloustin dot com slash 0:29:24.760 --> 0:29:26.760 give Hope to give a gift today. 0:29:28.040 --> 0:29:30.480 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. 0:29:30.600 --> 0:29:33.360 I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest 0:29:33.400 --> 0:29:34.800 podcast to keep you. 0:29:34.840 --> 0:29:37.880 Inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. I 0:29:37.960 --> 0:29:40.800 know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you next time. 0:29:47.800 --> 0:29:50.320 More than ever before, people are turning to the church 0:29:50.360 --> 0:29:54.080 for their mental health struggles. 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