Remembering The Good

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This is not an 0:00:57.440 --> 0:00:59.440 offer to buy yourself security snor is it investment Legal 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:00.640 or taxi by He'll. 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:02.800 Forget about the video game you gave him on his birthday. 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.000 Wow, thanks Grandpa, But. 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:07.200 He'll never forget how you invest it in his future 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:08.240 with the uns stapp. 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:10.400 Wow, thanks Grandpa. 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:13.560 The unit stap makes it easy for grandparents and family 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.280 friends to give funds to a child's investment account for 0:01:16.319 --> 0:01:18.720 a limited time. Download the uns stapp and use the 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:20.800 code I heeart fifty at sign up to receive a 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:23.319 fifty dollars bonus when you find your account. That's code 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:26.320 iHeart fifty when you sign up at unest dot co 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.280 for a fifty dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:30.080 UNEs dot co. 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. 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:39.240 If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:40.920 blessing and share it with a friends. 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:43.840 We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:59.080 your life. Well, God bless you always a joy to 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:01.640 come into your home. We love you, and if you're 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:04.080 ever in our area, please stop by and be a 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:07.120 part of one of our services. I promise you we'll 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:09.480 make you feel right at home. But thanks so much 0:02:09.520 --> 0:02:12.000 for tuning in, and thank you again for coming out today. 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:14.880 I like to start with something funny. And I heard 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:18.560 about this teenager. You've just gotten his driver's license. You 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:22.000 ask his dad about borrowing the car, and his dad said, son, 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:22.480 I'll make a. 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:23.000 Deal with you. 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:26.760 If you'll bring your grades up, read your Bible every day, 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:29.880 and cut your hair, I'll let you borrow the car. 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:33.720 Month later, he came back and asked about it. Dad said, well, son, 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:36.680 you've brought your grades up, you've been reading your Bible, 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:39.680 but you still haven't cut your hair. He said, well, Dad, 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:43.560 I've been thinking about it. Moses had long hair, Samson 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:47.840 had long hair, even Jesus had long hair. Dad said yes, Son, 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:52.320 and they walked everywhere they went. Hold up your Bible. 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:55.600 Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:56.880 I am what it says. 0:02:56.919 --> 0:02:57.239 I am. 0:02:57.720 --> 0:02:59.920 I have what it says I have. I can do 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.600 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:06.200 taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:09.440 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:14.200 the same. In Jesus's name, God bless you. I want 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:18.440 to talk to you today about remembering the good. Our 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:22.280 memory is very powerful. You can be driving in your car, 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:25.800 all of a sudden, you remember a tender moment with 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:28.560 your child, a hug, a kiss. 0:03:28.400 --> 0:03:30.840 Could have been five years ago, something funny. 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:33.839 That they did, But when you remember it, it'll bring 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:36.680 a smile to your face. You'll start to feel those 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:40.920 same emotions, joy and warmth, just like it was happening again. 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.560 On the other hand, you can be enjoying the day. 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:48.680 Everything's going great, but then you start to remember a 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:53.040 sad event where you weren't treated right, somebody did you wrong, 0:03:53.280 --> 0:03:56.440 you went through a loss. Before long, you'll be down 0:03:56.560 --> 0:04:01.160 and discouraged. What made you sad, dwelling on wrong memories? 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:05.760 What made you happy? Dwelling on right memories? And it's interesting. 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:10.240 Our mind will naturally gravitate toward the negative. A study 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:14.920 showed how positive and negative memories are handled by different 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:19.520 parts of the brain. A negative memory takes up more space, 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:23.960 there's more to process. Because of this, we will remember 0:04:24.000 --> 0:04:28.320 the negative more than the positive. The example they used 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:32.880 is a person will remember losing fifty dollars more than 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:37.479 they will remember gaining fifty dollars. The negative carries more weight. 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:41.080 It has a greater impact than the positive. I can 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:44.400 walk off this platform and one hundred people tell me Joel, 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:47.600 that was good today. I really enjoyed it. But then 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:51.320 one person can say I didn't get anything out of it. 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:54.560 Didn't make sense to me. In the old days, that's 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:57.840 all I'd think about. That one negative comment would play 0:04:57.880 --> 0:04:58.799 over and over. 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:00.440 That's how it's in. 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:05.240 Our brain takes up more space. Knowing this, we have 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:09.320 to be proactive. When the negative memories come back to 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:11.000 the movie screen of your mind. 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:13.080 Many people pull up a. 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:17.600 Chair, get some popcorn, watch them all over again. Can't 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:18.599 believe they hurt me. 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:21.920 That was so unfair. Why do I have all these 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:22.719 bad breaks? 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:26.960 Now here's my message. That's not the only channel. There's 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:32.760 another movie playing. It's not your defeats, your failures, your disappointments. 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:37.760 It's a channel filled with your accomplishments, your victories, the 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:41.320 things you've done right, the times you were promoted, you 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:43.960 met the right person, you bought the new house, your 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:48.760 child was born healthy. Instead of staying on that negative channel, 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:52.599 you got to switch over to your victory channel. You're 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:55.560 not going to move forward into the new things God 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:59.599 has in store. If you're always replaying. 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:01.080 The negative things that have happened to you. 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:05.640 We've all been through disappointments, set backs, and bad breaks, 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:10.039 those memories will play the most often. The good news 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:14.160 is you have the remote control. Just because the memory 0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:15.960 comes up doesn't mean you have. 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:18.440 To watch it. Learn to change the channel. 0:06:19.080 --> 0:06:21.039 A couple of years after my father went to be 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:24.080 with the Lord, I was over at my mother's house 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:27.680 to pick something up and nobody else was home. As 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:32.040 I was walking through the den, I begin to immediately 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:34.320 see the night that my father died. 0:06:35.040 --> 0:06:36.919 He'd had a heart attack in that room. 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:39.839 I could see him lying on the floor, and when 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:43.880 I arrived, the paramedics were trying to get his heart restarted. 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:47.800 That whole night started to replay in my mind, and 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:51.240 I started to feel those same type of emotions. I 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:54.760 did just what I'm asking you to do. I said, no, thanks, 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.880 I'm not going there. I'm not going to relive that 0:06:58.040 --> 0:06:59.960 night and get all down and discourage. 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:02.560 I simply changed the channel. 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:06.400 I started remembering all the great times I'd had with 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:09.240 my father. I remember the times that we laughed and 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:12.640 had fun, the times we had traveled the world. I 0:07:12.720 --> 0:07:14.960 remember the times where he used to come over to 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:18.480 our house and play with our little son Jonathan. There 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:21.960 was another channel. I just had to switch over to it. 0:07:23.000 --> 0:07:26.320 Some of you need to start changing the channel. You're 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:31.600 reliving all your hurts, disappointments, bad breaks. As long as 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:35.880 you're replaying that, you're never going to really heal. It's 0:07:35.960 --> 0:07:38.760 like a scab that's starting to get better, but if 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:40.880 you keep picking at it, it has to start all 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:45.760 over again. Emotional wounds are the same way. If you're 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:49.840 always reliving your hurts, watching them on the movie screen 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:53.640 of your mind, talking about it, telling your friends, that's 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:55.080 just reopening the wound. 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:57.520 You have to change the channel. 0:07:58.280 --> 0:08:01.280 May be difficult. They have had a lot of unfair 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:04.760 things happen. But when you look back over your life, 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:08.280 can you find at least one time where God's done 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:11.360 something good for you? Can you remember at least one 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:14.320 time where it was the hand of God promoting you, 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:16.000 protecting you, healing you. 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:18.920 Then switch over to that channel, get your mind going 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:19.880 in a new direction. 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:24.400 Reporter asked me not long ago, what my biggest regret 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:28.880 was my biggest failure. I don't mean to sound arrogant, 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.400 but I don't remember my biggest regret. 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:34.679 I'm not dwelling on that channel. I don't go there. 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:37.720 Sure we all make mistakes, we all do things we 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:40.880 wish we'd done differently, but that is not supposed to 0:08:40.920 --> 0:08:44.320 be on the forefront of our minds. You're supposed to 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:49.880 remember what you've done right, the times you've succeeded your victories, 0:08:49.960 --> 0:08:53.400 the times you overcame the temptation, the times you went 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:55.920 out of your way to be kind to a stranger. 0:08:56.679 --> 0:08:59.760 The reason some people are not happy is they remember 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:04.280 every mistake they've made since nineteen twenty seven. They got 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:07.680 a running record. The enemy doesn't have to accuse them, 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:09.720 they do it for him. 0:09:10.320 --> 0:09:11.760 Do yourself a big favor. 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:16.360 Change the channel. Quit dwelling on how you don't measure up. 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:19.120 And you should have spent more time with your children 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:22.119 growing up. And you should have been stronger, more disciplined, 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:26.480 resisted that temptation. No, you may have fallen, but dwell 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:28.440 on the fact that you got back up again. 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:29.520 You're here today. 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:33.160 You may have made a poor choice, but dwell on 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:35.640 the fact that you've made a lot of great choices. 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:39.240 You may have some weaknesses, but dwell on the fact 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:42.640 that you have a whole lot of strengths. Quit focusing 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:45.800 on what's wrong with you and start focusing on what's. 0:09:45.679 --> 0:09:47.000 Right with you. 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:50.320 You're not going to become everything God's created you to 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:55.040 be if you're against yourself. You have to retrain your mind, 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:58.559 be disciplined about what you allow yourself to dwell on. 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:02.720 Those negative memories take up the most space. Those movies 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:06.199 are going to play the most often. Recognize what's happening 0:10:06.480 --> 0:10:10.160 and learned to change that channel. Several years ago, I 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:12.280 was playing basketball with our son Jonathan. 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:13.440 We've done this for. 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:17.760 Many years, one on one, him versus me. This day, 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:21.160 for the first time, he beat me fair and square, 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:24.520 fifteen to fourteen. I gave him a high five and 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:29.000 then told him he was grounded. But during the game, 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:31.760 at one point he went around me and was about 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:34.040 to go up for a shot, and I timed it 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:36.600 just right. I came out of nowhere and I blocked 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:39.960 his shot. I mean I swatted the ball away over 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:43.800 into the bushes. I felt like a professional. A couple 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:46.679 of days later, we were playing up at the gym 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:50.719 some friends. Jonathan said, Dad, tell everybody about what. 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:51.719 Happened the other night. 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:54.199 I said, oh yeah, Jonathan, went up for a shot. 0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:55.240 I timed it just perfect. 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:57.560 I went He said, no, Dad, I meant tell him 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:01.640 about how I beat you for the first time. The 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:04.880 funny thing is I didn't remember my defeat. 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:07.479 I remembered my victory. 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:12.360 First thing that came to my mind was not how 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:15.640 I'd lost the game, but something that I'd done right. 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:19.640 It's because I've trained my mind to remember the good. 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:23.200 You know, some people won the game, but they remember 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:26.760 every mistake they made. They never feel good about themselves. 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:28.559 They never did it good enough. 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:30.160 It's all in how. 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:34.000 We've trained our mind. It depends on what channel we're watching. 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:37.680 I cannot find one place in the scripture where it 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:42.800 tells us to remember our defeats, remember our failures, remember 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:47.080 our hurts. No, it says again and again, to remember 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:48.679 the great things. 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:49.640 God has done. 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:54.200 In other words, stay on your victory channel. Remember how 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:57.120 God gave you that promotion even though you weren't the 0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:01.560 most qualified. Remember how God brought your child back on 0:12:01.600 --> 0:12:05.120 the right course when it looked pretty bad. Remember when 0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:07.480 you went through that loss. You should have had a 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:11.320 nervous breakdown, but you felt a supernatural strength. And here 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:13.040 you are today, better than ever. 0:12:13.760 --> 0:12:15.160 The Psalm has put it this way. 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:18.840 I recall the many miracles God has done for me. 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:23.320 I cannot stop thinking about them. They are constantly in 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:28.080 my thoughts. Notice they're supposed to be constantly in our mind. 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:31.400 The mistake we make too often. 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:35.320 Is we remember what we should be forgetting our hurts, 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:39.559 our failures, our disappointments, and we forget what we should 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:43.720 be remembering our victories, our accomplishments, the times God's brought 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:48.280 us through. In the Old Testament, God commanded them to 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:53.319 have certain festivals, certain celebrations. One of the main reasons 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:57.320 is so they would remember what God had done. Several 0:12:57.360 --> 0:12:59.680 times a year, they all stopped what they were doing, 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:03.760 come together, and they would celebrate how God brought them 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:07.319 out of slavery, how God defeated this enemy, how God 0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:12.439 protected them over here they were required to remember. Now 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:15.880 the place talks about how they put out memorial stones. 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:20.600 These were big boulders we might call them historical markers 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:25.640 today that reminded them of specific victories. Every time they 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:28.559 walked by, they'd say, Oh, yeah, that stone is for 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:31.760 when God brought us out of slavery. That stone is 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:35.080 for when God healed my child. That stone is for 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:40.320 when God provided for our needs, these memorial stones helped 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:44.440 it to stay fresh in their memory. In the same way, 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:48.160 every one of us should have our own memorial stones. 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:52.240 When you look back over your life, you should remember 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:56.400 not the times you failed, you went through a breakup, 0:13:56.760 --> 0:13:57.560 your boss did you. 0:13:57.640 --> 0:13:59.400 Wrong, the business went down. 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:04.360 Remembering what you should be forgetting switch over to the 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:08.560 other channel. Remember when you were lonely and God brought 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:12.600 somebody great into your life. Remember when the medical report 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:16.880 said it was impossible, but God supernaturally healed you. Remember 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:19.160 when it was dark you didn't think you'd have another 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:22.240 happy day, but God not only turned it around, he 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:23.200 gave you beauty for. 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:24.960 Ashes, joy for morning. 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:29.480 All of us should have our memorial stones out. Last 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:33.840 Tuesday was the thirty one year anniversary that my mother 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:35.880 was healed from terminal cancer. 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:38.880 Thirty one years ago. 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:42.240 The doctors told her she had a few weeks to live, 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:44.400 but another year just went by. 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:47.920 She's still healthy in hole. That's a memorial stone. 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:52.240 I remember December first, two thousand and three, when Mayor 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:55.680 Lee Brown handed us the key to this beautiful facility. 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:59.720 This building is a memorial stone. I still thank God 0:14:59.760 --> 0:15:04.240 for I remember when I walked into a jewelry store 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:08.440 and saw Victoria for the first time. God answered her prayer. 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:12.960 I mean God answered my prayer. I still thank God 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:17.200 for that. I remember when my dad died. I didn't 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:19.880 think I could minister, never done this before, but God 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:20.320 gave me. 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:22.840 The grace to step up and pastor the church. I 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:25.320 put out a memorial stone. 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:29.320 My question, do you have any memorial stones out in 0:15:29.400 --> 0:15:34.080 your own life? What you are remembering will determine what 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:35.640 kind of life you're going to live. 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:38.920 If you're remembering all your defeats. 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:40.920 Your failures, your hurts, it's going to cause you to 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:43.880 be stuck in a rut. If you could just change 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:47.800 what you're remembering, start remembering your victories, that can cause 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:49.040 you to go to a new level. 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:52.080 You may be in a tough time, you're facing. 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:55.560 An obstacle, but when you remember the right things, you 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:57.640 won't be saying, oh, man, this is gonna be the 0:15:57.720 --> 0:15:59.840 end of me. I'm never gonna get out. No, you'll 0:15:59.880 --> 0:16:01.400 be saying, God, you did it. 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:04.200 For me once. I know you'll do it for me again. God. 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:06.680 I've seen your goodness in the past, I know I'll. 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:07.480 See it in the future. 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:11.640 This is what David did when he was about to 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:16.080 face Goliath, a giant nearly twice his size. He could 0:16:16.120 --> 0:16:20.120 have focused on how big Goliath was, how Goliath had 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:23.120 more training, more equipment, more experience. 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:25.480 That would have just made him discouraged. 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:30.040 The scripture says David remembered how he had killed a 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:33.200 lion and a bear with his own hands. 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:36.240 What was he doing remembering his victories. 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.640 He could have remembered how his brothers mistreated him, tried 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:43.880 to make him feel small, or how his father had 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:47.240 disrespected him. There were a lot of things in David's 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:51.120 past negative, like in all of our lives. But David 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:56.160 understood this principle dwelling on your defeats, your failures, your hurts. 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:59.240 That causes you to stay stuck in a rut. He 0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:03.160 chose in dead to dwell on his victories. He not 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:07.400 only overcame that obstacle, but many others. He became everything 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:10.679 that God created him to be. You may be up 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:14.320 against a giant today. The way you're going to overcome 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:18.000 is just like David, not going around thinking, oh, this 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:20.400 is impossible, it's never going to work out. 0:17:20.640 --> 0:17:22.760 No, All through the day, start. 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:26.680 Remembering your victories, Go over your memorial stones. Lord, I 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.919 remember that time when all the odds were against me, 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:31.280 but you made a way. 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:31.600 God. 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:35.280 I remember how you protected me, blessed me, promoted me, 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:41.159 vindicated me, made my wrongs right. Recall your victories, remembering 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:42.800 the good things God has done. 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:45.000 That's what helps you to stay strong. 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:48.680 It would do us all good on a regular basis, 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:52.920 just like God required the Israelites to go back over 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:57.320 one by one the major victories in our life, the 0:17:57.359 --> 0:18:01.040 major successes. You say, Joe, I don't have anything big 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:04.560 like you. God didn't heal my family member of cancer. 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:08.000 I didn't get a big facility. Maybe not, but God 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:11.520 has done something great for every one of us. Remember 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:13.880 the day your child was born healthy. 0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:16.760 That was the goodness of God. That was a miracle. 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:19.919 Remember when God gave you that job. That was his 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:23.640 hand of favor. Remember when God spared your life from 0:18:23.640 --> 0:18:26.080 that accident. Now the split second and you would have 0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:29.800 been harmed. That was His angels watching over you. Remember 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:32.480 that person God brought into your life you fell in 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:36.080 love and got married. That wasn't a coincidence. That was 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:40.359 the goodness of God. Keep your memorial stones out, go 0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:43.840 over them on a regular basis. I really believe some 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:46.320 of you. If you'd spend the same amount of time 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:50.919 dwelling on your victories as you do your disappointments, you 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:54.280 see your life go to a whole new level. I 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:58.200 love how in the Old Testament they celebrated their victories. 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:02.840 Every year we had a party, singing, dancing, a festival. 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:06.960 Imagine somebody comes over to your house. You're having a 0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:11.200 big party. The music is going, everybody's having fun. They 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:15.600 ask you, what kind of party is this? Wedding party, 0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:19.520 birthday party, super Bowl party? You tell them no, we're 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:23.560 celebrating what God has done. Five years ago, God spared 0:19:23.600 --> 0:19:24.680 my life from an accident. 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:28.240 Or ten years ago I got free from this addiction. 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:32.679 We're celebrating me being sober for ten years, or maybe 0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:34.320 thirty one years ago. 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:36.040 God healed my mother of cancer. 0:19:36.400 --> 0:19:39.560 We're taking time to thank God for the great things 0:19:39.560 --> 0:19:44.000 that he's done. When you develop this habit of remembering 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:48.280 the good not only affects your personality, how you carry yourself, 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:51.440 your attitude, but it will effect the way you pray. 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:54.959 It won't be God, Please, I need healing. 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:55.240 God. 0:19:55.280 --> 0:19:58.159 I'm sick. I need a miracle. God, you gotta bless me. 0:19:58.560 --> 0:20:00.719 No, you'll say, Lord, I want want to thank you 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:03.119 for how you've healed me in the past. Lord, I 0:20:03.160 --> 0:20:04.840 want to thank you for how you've taken care of 0:20:04.840 --> 0:20:07.160 me through the years. God, I know if you did 0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:08.480 it once, I just want to. 0:20:08.440 --> 0:20:10.480 Thank in advance that you'll do it again. 0:20:11.160 --> 0:20:14.040 See if you're just praying for your needs, God, I 0:20:14.160 --> 0:20:18.560 need this, I need that, you'll probably end up discouraged. 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:22.080 But when you thank God for what he's already done, 0:20:22.760 --> 0:20:27.119 when you remember your victories, how he's promoted you, protected you, 0:20:27.480 --> 0:20:30.520 healed you. By the time you're done praying, you'll be 0:20:30.600 --> 0:20:34.320 all fired up. You'll be strong, you'll be confident. You 0:20:34.480 --> 0:20:38.240 know that answer is on the way. Think about the Israelites. 0:20:38.600 --> 0:20:42.919 God supernaturally brought them out of slavery. God sent plague 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:46.240 after pledge on their enemies. They were living next door, 0:20:46.480 --> 0:20:50.200 but none of those plagues ever affected them. They came 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:53.280 to a dead end at the Red Sea, looked like 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:56.400 it was over. Pharaoh and the army changed their mind 0:20:56.480 --> 0:20:57.640 coming after them. 0:20:57.920 --> 0:20:58.720 So you know the story. 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:01.840 God supernaturally part of the sea that went through on 0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:05.920 dry ground. God gave them water out of a rock. 0:21:06.760 --> 0:21:10.160 He brought them food, out in the desert. They had 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:11.879 seen again and again. 0:21:11.880 --> 0:21:13.560 God's incredible miracles. 0:21:14.280 --> 0:21:17.000 Yet in spite of all of this, they never made 0:21:17.040 --> 0:21:20.880 it into the Promised Land. Psalm seventy eight tells us 0:21:21.160 --> 0:21:26.000 one reason why. It says they forgot about all the 0:21:26.080 --> 0:21:30.840 amazing miracles God had done for them and their ancestors. 0:21:32.000 --> 0:21:34.520 When you forget what you should. 0:21:34.160 --> 0:21:37.680 Be remembering, it can keep you out of your promised land. 0:21:38.720 --> 0:21:42.880 They got discouraged, started complaining. Here they had seen God 0:21:42.960 --> 0:21:47.160 do the impossible again and again, but because they forgot 0:21:47.200 --> 0:21:51.800 about it, they got worried negative afraid they missed out 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:55.920 on God's best? Are you forgetting what God has done 0:21:55.960 --> 0:21:59.480 in your life? Have you let something that was once 0:21:59.560 --> 0:22:04.600 a mirror become ordinary? Doesn't excite you anymore? You don't 0:22:04.600 --> 0:22:07.840 thank God for it? Now when you look back over 0:22:07.880 --> 0:22:11.159 your life, remember what it took to get you to 0:22:11.200 --> 0:22:11.840 where you are. 0:22:12.320 --> 0:22:15.000 Big things and even little things. 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:18.880 The next time you're tempted to think my problem's too big, Joel, 0:22:19.680 --> 0:22:20.280 I'll never. 0:22:20.160 --> 0:22:21.560 Accomplish my dreams. 0:22:21.880 --> 0:22:25.680 No, go back and remember all the red seas God 0:22:25.720 --> 0:22:26.560 has parted for you. 0:22:27.240 --> 0:22:30.159 Remember all the enemies God's defeated for you. 0:22:31.160 --> 0:22:35.960 Remember the times God has shown your favor, shown your mercy, 0:22:36.240 --> 0:22:39.719 restored you. Every one of us can look back and 0:22:39.760 --> 0:22:42.720 see the hand of God in our life, just like 0:22:42.760 --> 0:22:46.080 the Israelites. You can say, like me, God has opened 0:22:46.160 --> 0:22:48.919 doors for you that should have never opened on their own. 0:22:49.480 --> 0:22:51.920 God has helped you accomplished what you could have never 0:22:51.960 --> 0:22:55.600 accomplished on your own. God has brought us through difficulties 0:22:55.760 --> 0:22:59.600 that at one time seemed totally impossible. If we're going 0:22:59.680 --> 0:23:03.439 to stay encouraged and step into the new doors and 0:23:03.640 --> 0:23:07.320 see God turn the negative around, one of the keys 0:23:07.880 --> 0:23:12.440 is you can't forget what God has already done. In fact, 0:23:12.440 --> 0:23:16.800 the scripture says we should tell our children and our grandchildren. 0:23:17.480 --> 0:23:21.720 We should pass down stories of God's goodness. That's why 0:23:21.760 --> 0:23:24.639 I never get tired of telling how God gave us 0:23:24.680 --> 0:23:28.119 this beautiful facility, how God healed my mother of cancer, 0:23:28.160 --> 0:23:31.080 and how God gave me the courage and ability. 0:23:30.920 --> 0:23:33.320 To step up and pastor of the church. I'm not 0:23:33.440 --> 0:23:36.400 bragging on me. I'm bragging on what God has done. 0:23:36.480 --> 0:23:39.520 I can say with David, so can you Where would. 0:23:39.240 --> 0:23:42.439 We be without the goodness of God? Don't keep it 0:23:42.480 --> 0:23:47.680 to yourself. Tell your children, your grandchildren, how many times 0:23:47.920 --> 0:23:51.119 did I hear my father tell his story. How he 0:23:51.280 --> 0:23:54.840 was coming home from a nightclub two o'clock in the morning, 0:23:55.400 --> 0:23:59.680 seventeen years of age, no purpose, no direction in life. 0:24:00.359 --> 0:24:02.920 He looked up at the stars and he began to 0:24:02.960 --> 0:24:06.200 think about his life and his eternal destiny. 0:24:07.080 --> 0:24:08.080 Walked in his house. 0:24:08.880 --> 0:24:12.080 On the table in the den was the family Bible, 0:24:12.680 --> 0:24:16.320 just there for decoration. His family knew nothing about God. 0:24:16.359 --> 0:24:19.959 They weren't religious people. My father felt drawn to it, 0:24:20.600 --> 0:24:23.440 went over and opened it. Just so happened. It fell 0:24:23.480 --> 0:24:27.560 open to a picture of Jesus standing at a door 0:24:27.680 --> 0:24:31.959 and knocking. The caption read, if you open the door, 0:24:32.400 --> 0:24:37.920 I will come in. My father didn't understand religion or theology, 0:24:38.280 --> 0:24:42.440 but he could understand opening a door. The next day 0:24:42.840 --> 0:24:44.760 he went to church with a friend of his and 0:24:44.800 --> 0:24:48.600 gave his life to Christ. Without that night, we wouldn't 0:24:48.640 --> 0:24:49.639 be sitting here today. 0:24:50.280 --> 0:24:52.919 Wasn't a coincidence. It was the mercy of God. 0:24:53.720 --> 0:24:57.680 Don't forget what it took to get you to where 0:24:57.680 --> 0:24:58.080 you are. 0:24:58.960 --> 0:24:59.800 You didn't get. 0:24:59.600 --> 0:25:03.239 Here just in your own strength, your own education, your 0:25:03.280 --> 0:25:06.920 own talent. There were a lot of miracles along the way, 0:25:07.800 --> 0:25:10.280 not only in your life, but in the people that 0:25:10.400 --> 0:25:13.440 came before you, the people that raised you. If you'll 0:25:13.480 --> 0:25:17.480 look closely, you'll see God's goodness all through your family life. 0:25:18.240 --> 0:25:20.679 You should not only remember it, but tell it to 0:25:20.720 --> 0:25:24.640 your children, your grandchildren, pass it down to the next generation. 0:25:25.320 --> 0:25:28.280 I've learned the more you brag on God's. 0:25:28.040 --> 0:25:31.160 Goodness, the more of his goodness you will see. 0:25:31.320 --> 0:25:31.960 It's interesting. 0:25:32.040 --> 0:25:34.520 In the Old Testament we hear a lot about the 0:25:34.640 --> 0:25:38.399 staff that people would carry around with them. It wasn't 0:25:38.680 --> 0:25:41.919 just a walking stick, not just something to keep wild 0:25:41.960 --> 0:25:45.720 animals away. It was more significant than that. Back in 0:25:45.800 --> 0:25:49.320 those days, they were a nomadic people. That meant they're 0:25:49.359 --> 0:25:53.600 always on the move. Of course, they didn't have computers 0:25:53.640 --> 0:25:57.120 files paper like we have today. One of the main 0:25:57.240 --> 0:26:01.920 ways they kept important records, important dates was to etch 0:26:01.960 --> 0:26:03.200 it on their staff. 0:26:03.800 --> 0:26:05.360 That was their personal record. 0:26:06.000 --> 0:26:09.680 On this date, we defeated the Amalekites on this date, 0:26:09.880 --> 0:26:13.320 my son was born. On this date, God brought water 0:26:13.520 --> 0:26:18.639 out of a rock. Their staff was literally their personal 0:26:18.800 --> 0:26:22.919 record of their history with God. When Moses part of 0:26:22.920 --> 0:26:25.160 the Red Sea, what did he do? He held up 0:26:25.320 --> 0:26:28.520 his staff. He was saying, in a fact, Lord, we 0:26:28.600 --> 0:26:31.400 thank you for all the things you've done in our 0:26:31.480 --> 0:26:34.000 past Lord, we remember. 0:26:33.800 --> 0:26:36.480 How you have delivered us time and time again. 0:26:36.960 --> 0:26:41.159 They were remembering the great things God had done. Even David, 0:26:41.320 --> 0:26:43.960 when he went out to face Goliath, he didn't just 0:26:44.080 --> 0:26:48.120 take his slingshot. The scripture says, he took his staff. 0:26:49.040 --> 0:26:51.240 No doubt he had etched on it. On this date, 0:26:51.640 --> 0:26:54.680 I killed a bear with my own hands. On this date, 0:26:54.760 --> 0:26:58.360 I killed a lion. On this date, the prophet Samuel 0:26:58.440 --> 0:27:02.560 anointed me the next king of Israel. Can imagine just 0:27:02.720 --> 0:27:05.960 before he fought Goliath, he ran back over and looked 0:27:05.960 --> 0:27:08.600 at his staff one more time, read over it, just 0:27:08.640 --> 0:27:11.800 to give him that final boost. Then he went out, knowing, God, 0:27:11.920 --> 0:27:13.880 you did it for me back then. I know you'll 0:27:13.880 --> 0:27:17.639 do it for me again. Some of you today you 0:27:17.760 --> 0:27:20.440 need to get your staff out. You're up against a 0:27:20.480 --> 0:27:24.320 big challenge. Your dreams look impossible. Instead of going around 0:27:24.400 --> 0:27:27.520 thinking it's never going to work out, no, start dwelling 0:27:27.640 --> 0:27:28.560 on your victories. 0:27:29.200 --> 0:27:32.679 Start thinking about the times you've killed the lion and 0:27:32.720 --> 0:27:34.760 the bear in your own life, so to speak. 0:27:35.200 --> 0:27:39.159 Recall all the times God has promoted you, put you 0:27:39.280 --> 0:27:42.800 at the right place, healed a family member, made away 0:27:42.840 --> 0:27:45.800 when you didn't see a way don't forget about what 0:27:45.880 --> 0:27:49.600 God has done on a regular basis. Go back over 0:27:49.720 --> 0:27:53.520 your memorial stones. That's the equivalent of holding your staff up. 0:27:54.280 --> 0:27:57.440 When those negative memories come back up and they come 0:27:57.480 --> 0:28:00.720 to all of us hurts, failures, appointments. 0:28:01.160 --> 0:28:02.600 The trick of the enemy. 0:28:02.680 --> 0:28:05.119 Is to keep you so focused on that that you 0:28:05.200 --> 0:28:08.359 get stuck in a rut. No, remember that is not 0:28:08.520 --> 0:28:12.359 the only channel. Get your remote control out and switch 0:28:12.400 --> 0:28:15.399 over to your victory channel. Get your mind going in 0:28:15.480 --> 0:28:17.679 the right direction, and your life will go in the 0:28:17.720 --> 0:28:18.360 right direction. 0:28:19.119 --> 0:28:21.760 If you'll develop this habit of remembering the. 0:28:21.640 --> 0:28:25.680 Good, your accomplishments, your victories, the times God's brought you through, 0:28:26.000 --> 0:28:29.119 then you will have the faith, the courage, and the 0:28:29.240 --> 0:28:33.120 confidence to step in to the amazing future God has 0:28:33.160 --> 0:28:33.639 in store. 0:28:34.080 --> 0:28:36.240 I believe and declare, just like. 0:28:36.320 --> 0:28:40.200 David, you will defeat every enemy, You will overcome every obstacle, 0:28:40.440 --> 0:28:43.520 and you will become everything God's created you to be. 0:28:43.680 --> 0:28:45.280 Amen, He receive it today. 0:28:46.680 --> 0:28:49.640 We never liked you pose our God's task without giving 0:28:49.680 --> 0:28:51.200 you an opportunity to make. 0:28:51.120 --> 0:28:52.680 Jesus the lord of your life. 0:28:52.880 --> 0:28:57.280 Would you pray with me, Just say, Lord Jesus, I 0:28:57.440 --> 0:29:02.160 repent of my sins. I'm into my heart. I make 0:29:02.240 --> 0:29:05.760 you my Lord and Savior. Friends, if you prayed that 0:29:05.880 --> 0:29:09.120 simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Getting in 0:29:09.240 --> 0:29:12.680 the good Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's 0:29:12.720 --> 0:29:14.920 going to take your places that you've never dreamed of. 0:29:15.720 --> 0:29:19.160 Thank you for listening to the joelus Deine podcast. Help 0:29:19.280 --> 0:29:22.000 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:29:22.080 --> 0:29:26.000 all over the world. Visit jolostin dot com slash give 0:29:26.040 --> 0:29:27.760 Hope to give a gift today. 0:29:29.040 --> 0:29:31.480 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. 0:29:31.600 --> 0:29:34.360 I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest 0:29:34.400 --> 0:29:35.800 podcast to keep. 0:29:35.640 --> 0:29:38.600 You inspired all through the week. 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