Remove Infected Thinking

0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:03.600 Hi, this is Joelan Victoria. Thanks so much for listening 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:05.680 to the podcast and thanks. 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:06.800 For supporting the ministry. 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:08.440 We believe you're going to have an. 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:12.480 Awesome twenty twenty four, healthy, productive, and favor filled. 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:15.080 God bless you today and enjoy the message. 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:16.319 God bless you. 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:18.840 It's great to be with you today, and I hope 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:21.319 you'll stay connected with us during the week through our 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:25.440 daily podcast or YouTube channel, social media, and you can 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:26.720 come visit us in person. 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:28.800 We'd love to have you be a part of one 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:31.880 of our services. But I'd like to start with something funny. 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:34.600 And I heard about this teenager that just got his 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:38.320 driver's license and he asked his father about borrowing the car. 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:40.839 His father said, son, I'll make a deal with you. 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:44.320 If you'll bring your grades up, read your Bible every day, 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:46.320 and cut your hair, I'll. 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:46.919 Let you borrow it. 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:49.920 He came back in a few weeks and ask about 0:00:49.960 --> 0:00:52.519 the car, and the father says, son, you brought your 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.400 grades up, you've been reading your Bible, but you still 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:58.080 haven't cut your hair. The son said, Dad, I've been 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:02.120 thinking Moses had long hair, Samson had long hair, even 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:05.479 Jesus had long hair. The dad said, yes, son, and 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:06.800 they walked everywhere they. 0:01:06.720 --> 0:01:10.880 Went say like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:13.600 I am what it says I am. I have what 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:16.120 it says I have. I can do what it says 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:18.959 I can do. Today I will be taught the word 0:01:19.000 --> 0:01:23.160 of God. I boldly confess. My mind is alert, my 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:27.559 heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.600 God bless you. I want to talk to you today 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:36.600 about removing infected thinking. We all have to deal with 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:40.880 thoughts of doubt, worry and insecurity, and thoughts that tell 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:43.839 us you're not going to get well, you'll never break 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:46.399 the addiction, you can't accomplish your dream. 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:49.400 It's just a thought, seems harmless. 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:54.120 The truth is negative thoughts are like infection. If you 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:57.400 make the mistake of dwelling on them, letting it play 0:01:57.440 --> 0:02:01.280 over and over, it's like you're inviting it in. You're 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:05.520 giving it permission to become a reality. And what's holding 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:10.239 many people back is their thinking is infected. Studies show 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:15.480 that forty seven percent of adults cognitive time is spent 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:19.120 ruminating on bad things that have happened in the past, 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:22.320 or worried about what might happen in the future. 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:26.880 Nearly half of our time, we have the negative dominating 0:02:26.919 --> 0:02:29.000 our thoughts. We wonder why we. 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:32.640 Don't have joy, don't have peace, why we feel stuck? 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:33.959 It's the infection. 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:37.720 Well, Joel, I don't think I'll ever get well, that's 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:38.880 an infected thought. 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:42.920 Well, I've made too many mistakes. God could never bless me. 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:46.359 Now that infection is distorting your vision. 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:50.320 Well, I'm not attractive, I don't have a good personality. 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:53.640 As long as the infection is there, it's going to 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:54.520 limit your life. 0:02:55.320 --> 0:03:00.080 And the scripture says to bring every thought into captivity. 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:03.480 Have to lock up those negative thoughts. Don't give them 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:07.840 free reign in your mind. They may seem harmless, but 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:09.639 you need to see them in a new light. 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:10.919 They're infectious. 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:15.440 They will poison your attitude, contimidate your self image, cloud 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:16.120 your vision. 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:19.120 Has your thinking become infected? 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:22.880 Are there areas in your life where you believe you're 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:26.640 not talented in offering, come from the wrong family, You 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:28.760 could never live in that nice neighborhood. 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:32.000 That's all infection. You were created to. 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:36.760 Live happy, healthy, to rise higher. The good news is 0:03:37.200 --> 0:03:39.480 you can get rid of the infection. It may have 0:03:39.560 --> 0:03:43.480 held you back, but it's not permanent. Start locking up 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:48.120 those thoughts. Quit dwelling on all the negative, discouraging, destructive, 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:52.040 Start filling your mind with thoughts of hope, thoughts of faith, 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:56.200 thoughts of victory. I have some friends that decided to 0:03:56.280 --> 0:04:00.120 resaw their front yard. Their grasp was never really healthy, 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:03.160 so they dug it all up and had a truckload 0:04:03.200 --> 0:04:06.800 of grass delivered. They spent several days laying it out 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:08.800 and making sure it was level and. 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:09.920 Had plenty of water. 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:13.920 One night, the husband noticed a new mole on his 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:17.359 wife's shoulder, just a little bump, looked like a freckle. 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:20.440 And wife looked at it and was surprised that it 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:23.240 came up that pass, but she dismissed it, thought no 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:26.440 big deal. A couple of weeks went by, and just 0:04:26.480 --> 0:04:30.239 to be safe, she went to the dermatologist. He looked 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:33.120 at it and said, this isn't a mole, this is 0:04:33.200 --> 0:04:38.240 a tick. It had become embedded under her skin. He 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:41.279 removed the tick, and of course she's very relieved. Well, 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:45.800 fast forward two years, she started having so much fatigue 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:47.480 she was tired. 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:49.920 Have to take a nap during the day. This is 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:54.000 a very talented, high energy, successful woman, she never had 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:56.840 to take a nap. Her muscle started aching. 0:04:57.400 --> 0:04:59.240 She was so sores hard to get out of bed 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:02.720 in the morning. She started not being able to remember things, 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:03.840 foggy thinking. 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:05.160 She went and. 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:08.239 Took test after test trying to find out what was wrong. 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:13.960 They finally diagnosed her with lime disease. Lime disease comes 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:17.400 from a tick bite. When a tick is not removed 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:22.000 within twenty four hours, it can release infection into the bloodstream. 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:25.200 These parasites that invade. 0:05:24.760 --> 0:05:29.000 The organs and cells, they live and grow and causing 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:35.719 all these symptoms, fatigue, joint pain, neurological problems. What's interesting 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:39.599 is you don't feel a tick bite doesn't hurt. It's 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:41.760 not like he got stung by bee and there's this 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:43.440 pain and discomfort. 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:47.080 You never knew it happened. A tick is the size 0:05:47.080 --> 0:05:51.120 of a poppy seed. It's a little tiny insect. You 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:54.120 would think this is harmless. He could not stop me. 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:59.279 Yet that little tick carries such powerful infection it can 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:03.880 become to building. It's the same principle in our thoughts. 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:08.840 They can seem harmless, just a little whisper. You're not valuable, 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:12.680 You're not as bard as your cousins. You'll never overcome 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:17.440 this problem. It's not some big announcements, some great offense 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:22.159 where it's so obvious. The enemy is very subtle, just 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:22.960 like that tick. 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:26.160 You don't feel the bite. You hardly even know it happened. 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:30.400 It's just a suggestion. But if you let that thought stay, 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:34.080 you start to dwell on it. Maybe I'm not worthy, 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:35.360 maybe I. 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:38.200 Have seen my best days, and maybe I don't have 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:39.479 the talent that I need. 0:06:39.920 --> 0:06:44.320 Before long, that little lie is going to create major infection. 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:48.880 It's going to poison your self, imagy, contaminate your attitude, 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:53.240 distort your vision. The scripture says it's the little foxes 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:57.239 that spoil the vines with the tick. If you remove 0:06:57.279 --> 0:07:01.120 it within twenty four hours, then it can't release the 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:05.680 parasites that infect the organs and cause all that damage. 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:09.920 It's important to deal with thoughts quickly, don't let them 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:14.280 linger in your mind. Thoughts create images. Then you start 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:17.200 to see what you're thinking. If you dwell on that thought, 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:20.720 you're never gonna get well. You saw the medical report. 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:25.520 Before long, you'll see yourself going downhill. You'll see yourself 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:28.880 at your own funeral. Well, you'll never meet the right person. 0:07:29.400 --> 0:07:33.280 You'll always be single. If you let that infection take root, 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:38.040 you'll see yourself eighty years old, still single, lonely. Discourage, 0:07:38.280 --> 0:07:43.440 do yourself a favor. Remove that thought quickly may seem harmless, 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:48.840 just a little discouragement. No thoughts can carry infection. Thoughts 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:52.320 can contamidate your future. That's why the scripture tells us 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:56.280 to guard our mind. You can't stop the negative thoughts 0:07:56.360 --> 0:07:59.440 from coming, but you can stop them from staying. 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:02.160 If my friends would have known that was a. 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:05.520 Tick, they would have pulled it off immediately. They wouldn't 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:08.600 have thought twice. That's the way we need to see 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:09.960 discouraging thoughts. 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:12.280 No thanks, you're not welcome here. 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:13.040 You gotta go. 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:17.400 The longer we wait, the more damage, the more infection. 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:21.400 When I was twelve years old, one summer day, I 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:24.400 went to play baseball with my friends and we rode 0:08:24.440 --> 0:08:27.080 our bikes down to the fields. They were next to 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:29.880 the boat docks, and after playing a couple of hours, 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:33.280 we were so hot and sweaty. One of my friends said, 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:36.360 let's go jump in the river and cool off. Well, 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:38.840 my mother always told me not to get in that river, 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:42.480 it was too dirty, but all my friends took off running. 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:44.120 I followed right behind him. 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.480 We jumped off the docks and swam about fifteen minutes 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:51.079 and felt so good and refreshing. I waited a couple 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:54.080 of hours before I went back home so my shorts 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:54.600 would dry. 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:57.160 Nobody would know what I did. Well. 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:59.000 That night, I took a shower and was about to 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:02.480 go to bed. My mother said, Joel, what is all 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:06.040 over your back? I couldn't see anything. I had twenty 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:09.440 four ticks on my back. The next hour she picked 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:10.080 every one. 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:12.000 Of them out. I learned my lesson. 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:14.440 Even since one hundred and fifty degrees, I am not 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:17.640 getting in that river. But what's funny is my brother 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:19.680 Paul swam there many times. 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:22.040 He never got one. 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:24.640 I guess ticks even know what tastes good. 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:31.079 But with a tick, it doesn't do any harm unless. 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:34.680 It attaches itself to what's called a host. It needs 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:38.600 an animal or a person. By itself, the tick won't 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:41.920 do any damage. But when it finds a host, it 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:45.120 feeds off their blood. That's what causes it to grow. 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:49.600 There are three stages of its development. When it first 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:52.600 finds a host, it's too small to have any effect, 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.280 but as long as it's receiving nourishment from the host. 0:09:56.840 --> 0:09:58.240 They call it a blood meal. 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:00.800 Then it'll progress to the next stage. 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:04.560 When it reaches that final stage, then it can release 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:08.920 the infection into the blood streams. Same way in our thinking. 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:11.040 When negative thoughts come. 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:12.720 The enemy needs a host. 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:17.200 He needs someone that will welcome that thought, entertain it, 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:22.560 and make it feel comfortable. He brings thoughts of fear, worry, doubt, 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:24.920 waiting to see will you take it? 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:26.400 Will you host it? 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:30.720 He has that thought, you'll never rise any higher man, 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:35.000 You've seen your best days. Those thoughts won't do any harm. 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:38.000 If you don't welcome them, you don't dwell on it. 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:41.920 The only power he has is when he finds someone 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:45.800 to accept, to host and to believe this is the 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:49.560 one time it's good to be a bad host. You 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:52.800 have to say, hey, tick, hey worry, hey defeat. 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:56.160 You are not welcome here. You're not gonna feed off 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:56.400 of me. 0:10:57.160 --> 0:11:00.840 You're not getting my nutrients, my faith, my joy, my vision. 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:04.800 You have to starve the negative thoughts. They have no 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:06.760 effect if you don't feed them. 0:11:07.440 --> 0:11:10.760 But think about that tick feeding off of your own blood, 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:14.880 only to turn around and infect you. It's trying to 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:18.319 develop into a stage where it can release the parasites, 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:21.880 and if the host is not aware, if the host 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:26.120 is passive and complacent, then like what with my friends 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:30.640 years later, they're dealing with very difficult issues. Could have 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:33.680 been avoided if they had recognized it was a tick, 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:37.280 not a mold. If they had removed it sooner, it 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:40.840 wouldn't have cost this infection. I know a man that 0:11:41.000 --> 0:11:43.840 was told by his high school counselor that he wasn't 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:46.559 smart enough to go to college, that he should pursue 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:47.920 some kind of career. 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:50.240 That had to do with working with his hands. 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:53.559 The counselor was basically telling him, you're not that talented, 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:57.959 you had a disadvantage, don't expect much out of life. 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:00.439 This young man was seventeen years old. He didn't know 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:01.000 any better. 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:03.400 He believed that lie that he was. 0:12:03.400 --> 0:12:07.640 Not up to par Sometimes the enemy will use people 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:11.120 to try to plant the infection, to try to discourage you. 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:13.960 Speak defeat, tell you what you can't do. 0:12:14.480 --> 0:12:15.120 Here's the key. 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:18.400 Those thoughts don't have any power unless you. 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:21.959 Give them power. They need a host, They need. 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:25.080 Someone to welcome them, to feed them. Then they'll grow 0:12:25.440 --> 0:12:28.920 and become a reality. But what people say about you 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:30.680 doesn't determine. 0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:30.840 Who you are. 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:34.640 It's what you agree with, it's what you entertain, what 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:39.839 you make comfortable. If you're comfortable with doubt, fear, insecurity, 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:41.160 then it's going to stand. 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:44.960 That's what this young man did. He became a great host. 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:49.920 He lived feeling inadequate and inferior, and for years he 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:54.080 worked at the local factory in town, the same position, 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:58.280 never rising higher. His friends around him were being promoted 0:12:58.559 --> 0:13:02.439 going further, he was stuck at this same level. Thirty 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:06.320 years later, the factory closed went out of business. He 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:09.480 went across town to another factory to apply for a job. 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:10.800 Well, they had a. 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:14.360 Requirement that you had to take an IQ test. He 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:18.400 took the test and scored at a genius level. The 0:13:18.400 --> 0:13:21.400 person conducting it said he had scored the highest of 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:26.160 anyone in their sixty three year histories. That day, a 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:30.160 stronghold was broken in his mind. All those thoughts telling 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:33.839 him he wasn't good enough, talent enough, smart enough, he 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:38.240 realized they were lies. That was infection that was keeping 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:40.440 him from who he was created to be. 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:42.760 He had to remove the infection. 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:47.240 That company hired him not at an entry level position, 0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:50.000 but as a manager over the whole department. 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:51.680 He had hundreds of people under him. 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:55.480 He eventually started his own company, went on to invent 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:57.360 several products. 0:13:57.160 --> 0:13:59.440 That are patented and very successful. 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:04.960 It's amazing what will happen when you remove the infection, nool. 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:06.880 I don't think I'll ever be successful. 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:11.079 I'm limited by my lack of education, my background, by 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:15.199 my talent. Can I tell you those are infected thoughts? 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:19.480 You're hosting the wrong things. You're feeding that tick, the 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:24.360 very one that's poisoning your future. Quit hosting defeat, Quit 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:28.880 hosting mediocrity. You have greatness in you. You are made 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:32.200 in the image of Almighty God. He has crowned you 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:35.520 with his favor. He has empowered you for your assignment. 0:14:36.240 --> 0:14:41.400 Now start hosting the right things, faith, favor, confidence, victory. 0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:43.520 This is what I had to do when my father 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:44.600 went to be with the Lord. 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:47.120 I knew I was supposed to step up and pasture 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:51.000 the church, but I didn't feel qualified. My father was 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:56.280 so powerful, had so much experience. He was compelling, articulate, 0:14:56.560 --> 0:15:00.320 bigger than life. I bought into that lie that I 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:03.320 could never be what my father is. I could never 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:06.600 stand up and speak in front of people I didn't 0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:07.320 know any better. 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:09.000 I was feeding that infection. 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:13.880 I was discounting myself, thinking I'm at a disadvantage. I 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:16.720 didn't get what Daddy got. I didn't get the courage, 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:21.200 the charisma, the vision. The fact is it was in me. 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:27.240 But I was hosting the wrong thoughts. I was making fear, comfortable, intimidation, 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:30.800 welcome what I can't do, How don't have the talent? 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:32.200 Nobody's gonna listen to me. 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:35.800 I would not be up here today if I had 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:39.320 not gotten the infection out. I had to clear out 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:43.120 all the toxins. All that can't do it, not able, 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:47.920 not good enough thoughts. I started reprogramming my mind with 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:51.200 what God says about me. I am strong in the Lord. 0:15:51.400 --> 0:15:53.040 I can do all things through Christ. 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:55.600 I'm equipped, empowered, anointed. 0:15:56.320 --> 0:16:01.080 I started hosting faith, courage, victory. When I changed what 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:04.720 I was welcoming. That's when I stepped up to levels 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:08.600 that I never imagine. The enemy would love to keep 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:12.920 you from your greatness. Often it starts with little thoughts 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:16.680 like that tick. You don't even feel the bite, just 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:20.200 something subtle. You're not as good as your father. The 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:23.920 truth is you're not competing with anyone else. You have 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:27.880 what you need to fulfill your destiny quick comparing your 0:16:27.920 --> 0:16:31.600 life to others, or your looks, your gifts, your personality. 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:35.760 You are one of a kind, a designer's original. When 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:38.720 God made you, he threw away the mold. You have 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:43.240 everything you need to accomplish your assignment. This is what 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:47.320 was holding Gideon back. In the scripture, he was hiding 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:51.240 in the wine press, afraid of the enemy army that 0:16:51.400 --> 0:16:54.720 was around their city, and an angel showed up and said, 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:59.120 mighty hero, the Lord is with you. You are to deliver 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:03.560 the people of his from the Midianites. Gideon was confused. 0:17:04.080 --> 0:17:06.480 He thought, who's this angel talking about. I'm not a 0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:07.120 mighty hero. 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:12.520 I'm afraid, I'm intimidating. He said to the angel, how 0:17:12.560 --> 0:17:15.560 can I lead the people? I come from the smallest 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:19.400 tribe in all of Israel, and I'm the least one in. 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:20.399 My father's house. 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:26.920 Notice what he's been hosting, least smallest disadvantage not enough 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:31.280 when the enemy plants his lies. If you welcome it, 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:36.400 make it comfortable, it's going to become a reality. Gideon 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:39.920 saw himself as limited, when in fact he was a 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:40.680 mighty hero. 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:45.919 One translation calls him a man of fearless courage. He 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:48.399 had to do what I'm asking us to do. To 0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:49.800 remove the infections. 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:53.720 He had to lock up those thoughts telling him everything 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:57.119 he wasn't and start believing who God said he was. 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:00.680 He changed his mindset, and he went on to lead 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:05.400 the Israelites to defeat armies much larger, and. 0:18:05.440 --> 0:18:07.919 To become one of the heroes of faith. 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:11.760 This would have never happened if someone had not told 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:16.760 him that his thinking was infected. Like Gideon, lies have 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:19.920 come to us all to try to keep that mighty. 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:21.080 Hero from coming out. 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:24.639 You have to ask yourself, who told me I'm not 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:26.160 smart enough to go to college. 0:18:26.640 --> 0:18:29.520 Who told me I don't deserve to be blessed? Who 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:33.360 told me I'm not attractive? Who told me that I'll 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:37.199 never break this addiction? I can assure you it was 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:37.840 not God. 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:39.560 That's infection. 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:43.439 Like that tick that poisoned my friend, you have to 0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:44.040 remove it. 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:49.240 Quit feeding your fears, quit feeding the guilt, feeding the doubt, 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:50.719 start feeding your faith. 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:52.720 Feed what God says about you. 0:18:53.560 --> 0:18:56.240 That's why we start off every service saying, I am 0:18:56.720 --> 0:19:00.760 who God says I am. I am blessed, I am talented, 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:04.760 I am healthy, I am valuable, I am strong, I 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:09.200 am prosperous, I am victorious. One of the best ways 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:12.600 to clear up the infection is to declare who God 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:13.240 says you are. 0:19:14.440 --> 0:19:17.120 Well, Joe, this sounds good, but I think I've. 0:19:16.920 --> 0:19:20.480 Been through too many hurts to be happy again. Somebody 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:23.480 walked out on me, or I had a rough childhood. 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:27.320 It's easy to have a victim mentality think that we'll 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:31.520 live a broken, wounded life. As long as you're hosting 0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:36.000 the hurts and hosting the brokenness, then you're feeding the infection. 0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:40.000 That tic, so to speak, is going to get stronger 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:43.760 and release more poison. Now that thing has sucked enough 0:19:43.880 --> 0:19:47.960 life out of you, it's time to change what you're hosting. God, 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:50.879 you said you have beauty for these ashes, that you 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:53.840 would pay me back double for the unfair things, that 0:19:53.960 --> 0:19:57.960 what was meant for harm. You're turning to my advantage. 0:19:58.200 --> 0:20:01.040 That's how you clear up the infection and feed your 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:05.240 faith and starve all the negative. And yes, a person 0:20:05.320 --> 0:20:07.960 may have walked away, but God didn't walk away. 0:20:08.960 --> 0:20:09.960 If they left. 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:11.679 You, you didn't need them. 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:15.280 Their part in your story was over. God has someone 0:20:15.359 --> 0:20:18.360 better coming. Now I know that hurt is real. It's 0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:22.159 not easy, but that's not how your story ends. The 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:24.960 enemy would love for you to stay infected and. 0:20:25.119 --> 0:20:26.120 Hold on to the hurt. 0:20:26.600 --> 0:20:30.639 Nurse the wounds that's feeding the very thing that's poisoning. 0:20:30.680 --> 0:20:32.720 You do yourself a favor. 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:36.159 Get rid of that tip. Quit letting it contamidate to 0:20:36.200 --> 0:20:40.840 your life. You have a destiny to fulfill. Number thirteen. 0:20:41.440 --> 0:20:44.639 Moses sent twelve men to spy off the Promised Land, 0:20:44.680 --> 0:20:48.119 and ten of them came back and said, Moses, we 0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:49.000 don't have a chance. 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:51.040 The people are huge. 0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:54.800 We were in our own sits as grasshoppers, and so 0:20:55.000 --> 0:20:56.800 we were in their sights. 0:20:57.359 --> 0:21:01.400 They didn't say they called us grasshoppers. They insulted us. 0:21:01.880 --> 0:21:04.840 They said we were in our own sights as grasshoppers. 0:21:05.600 --> 0:21:10.480 They went in with a grasshopper mentality. Their thinking was infected. 0:21:11.000 --> 0:21:13.480 It wasn't that the people were too big. They had 0:21:13.520 --> 0:21:17.000 just seen God part the Red Sea, drown, their enemies 0:21:17.359 --> 0:21:20.640 change the Pharaoh's mind. They could look back and see 0:21:20.680 --> 0:21:24.600 the faithfulness of God. But when you let infection in 0:21:24.720 --> 0:21:28.160 and you start believing, doubt, and fear not able to 0:21:28.160 --> 0:21:32.040 too much, even though like Gideon, God calls you a 0:21:32.160 --> 0:21:36.040 mighty hero, that infection is going to cloud. 0:21:35.760 --> 0:21:37.800 Your vision weaken your faith. 0:21:38.680 --> 0:21:42.840 They never did make it into the promised land. Infected 0:21:43.000 --> 0:21:46.000 thinking will keep you from your destiny. 0:21:46.240 --> 0:21:48.960 Guilt, shame down on yourself. 0:21:49.240 --> 0:21:54.280 That's infection, low self esteem, inferior, not good enough. 0:21:55.040 --> 0:21:58.000 Those are all lies. God calls you a masterpiece. 0:21:58.840 --> 0:22:02.480 Well, this giant's too big, the sickness too great, the 0:22:02.520 --> 0:22:03.679 addiction too strong. 0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:08.240 You're feeding the wrong thing. Quit hosting the doubt, no 0:22:08.440 --> 0:22:09.639 more welcoming to fear. 0:22:10.200 --> 0:22:13.080 Get rid of that grasshopper thinking, and you'll make it 0:22:13.200 --> 0:22:16.560 in to your promised land. There was a young boy 0:22:17.000 --> 0:22:20.040 raised by a single parent mother, living in the. 0:22:20.040 --> 0:22:21.160 Hills of Tennessee. 0:22:21.240 --> 0:22:25.240 And this was years ago, and in this small community, 0:22:26.040 --> 0:22:29.760 children born to unwed mothers were really looked down on 0:22:29.920 --> 0:22:32.960 and almost seen his second class. And when he was 0:22:33.000 --> 0:22:35.920 three years old, the neighbors wouldn't allow him to play 0:22:35.960 --> 0:22:36.840 with their children. 0:22:37.520 --> 0:22:40.040 They would hear things like what's he doing in our town? 0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:42.320 And wonder who his father is. 0:22:42.960 --> 0:22:46.679 They were treated with shame and disrespect, And on Saturdays 0:22:46.680 --> 0:22:49.919 he would go up with his mother to the local store, 0:22:50.000 --> 0:22:55.480 and invariably people would make disparaging remarks loud enough that 0:22:55.480 --> 0:22:58.280 they could hear it, things like there they are again, 0:22:59.040 --> 0:23:02.280 did you ever figure out who his father is? This 0:23:02.359 --> 0:23:07.200 little boy grew up feeling unworthy, always being ridiculed, thinking something. 0:23:07.040 --> 0:23:08.760 Was wrong with him. 0:23:09.040 --> 0:23:12.879 Sometimes our thinking is infected from things that were no 0:23:12.960 --> 0:23:17.000 fault of our own. How we were raised, what people said, 0:23:17.560 --> 0:23:21.080 a hurtful situation that you had no control over. The 0:23:21.119 --> 0:23:24.320 good news is God is not going to leave you wounded. 0:23:25.040 --> 0:23:28.440 He's not going to let you stay infected like with Gideon. 0:23:28.720 --> 0:23:32.560 He's going to send someone or something to help you 0:23:32.760 --> 0:23:37.440 remove that infection. At twelve years old, a new minister 0:23:37.920 --> 0:23:40.720 moved into town to pastor the local church. 0:23:41.119 --> 0:23:43.040 He's a young minister, very. 0:23:42.920 --> 0:23:47.280 Gifted and passionate, and everyone was so excited. And this 0:23:47.320 --> 0:23:51.000 young boy at twelve had never been to church. One Sunday, 0:23:51.119 --> 0:23:54.760 he decided to go here this new minister everyone kept 0:23:54.760 --> 0:23:58.120 talking about, got there late and snuck in the back 0:23:58.200 --> 0:24:01.760 so no one would notice. As he listened that day, 0:24:02.240 --> 0:24:05.080 he felt a love and an acceptance that he had 0:24:05.119 --> 0:24:09.440 never felt before, like he was valuable and wanted. As 0:24:09.440 --> 0:24:13.000 he was leaving, the minister was at the door greeting everyone, 0:24:13.040 --> 0:24:16.560 and he saw the young man and he'd never met him, 0:24:16.640 --> 0:24:19.520 didn't know anything about him, but he noticed that he 0:24:19.600 --> 0:24:23.520 wasn't with anyone. The minister greeted him very friendly. Then 0:24:23.560 --> 0:24:25.920 he said, young man, tell me whose. 0:24:25.720 --> 0:24:26.359 Child are you? 0:24:27.480 --> 0:24:31.240 Everyone froze you could hear a pin drop. That was 0:24:31.280 --> 0:24:33.240 the question they'd all been wanting to ask. 0:24:33.880 --> 0:24:35.200 The boy didn't know what to say. 0:24:35.920 --> 0:24:39.160 He'd heard all the talk about how he was an outcast, 0:24:39.560 --> 0:24:42.320 the child with no father, so he just put his 0:24:42.640 --> 0:24:46.720 it down, stood there silently. The minister realized something was 0:24:46.760 --> 0:24:49.840 wrong that he knew nothing about, and he pulled the 0:24:49.880 --> 0:24:52.400 young boy close and said, oh, I know who your 0:24:52.440 --> 0:24:53.040 father is. 0:24:53.560 --> 0:24:55.760 I can see the resemblance so strongly. 0:24:56.160 --> 0:25:02.399 You're a child of Almighty God. Today a stronghold was 0:25:02.400 --> 0:25:06.400 broken off of his life. All that infection that had 0:25:06.440 --> 0:25:10.159 clouded his future and damaged his sense of worth that 0:25:10.240 --> 0:25:14.159 began to clear up. He started seeing himself as valuable, 0:25:14.440 --> 0:25:15.680 as worthy. 0:25:15.400 --> 0:25:16.200 As talented. 0:25:17.160 --> 0:25:22.240 Thirty years later, that young boy was elected governor of Tennessee. 0:25:22.320 --> 0:25:24.800 If you were to ask him, Ben Hooper would tell 0:25:24.880 --> 0:25:28.080 you the day he really got elected was the day 0:25:28.119 --> 0:25:32.520 that minister told him who his father was. I wonder 0:25:32.800 --> 0:25:36.160 if there's some kind of infection in your thinking. What 0:25:36.240 --> 0:25:40.439 people have said, what you've been through, lies The enemy 0:25:40.480 --> 0:25:42.600 has planted you didn't know better. 0:25:43.200 --> 0:25:44.399 You let the tick stain. 0:25:45.119 --> 0:25:49.840 You've been feeding the infection in welcoming the insecurity, hosting 0:25:49.920 --> 0:25:53.480 the guilt, thinking that's the way it's always going to be. No, 0:25:53.640 --> 0:25:57.600 today is your day to be free. That infection is 0:25:57.640 --> 0:26:00.919 about to clear up things that are point and your joy, 0:26:01.119 --> 0:26:05.080 your attitude, your creativity, they are being broken right now. 0:26:05.720 --> 0:26:09.200 Healing is coming, wholeness, freedom, and victory. 0:26:09.800 --> 0:26:10.760 Now do your part. 0:26:11.200 --> 0:26:14.359 No more feeding the negative, No more dwelling on the 0:26:14.440 --> 0:26:18.320 lives that you're at a disadvantage. You can't get well. 0:26:18.440 --> 0:26:21.720 You've seen your best day. Starve all that and start 0:26:21.760 --> 0:26:25.840 feeding your faith. Start hosting what God says about you. 0:26:25.840 --> 0:26:30.320 You're valuable, you're worthy, You're victorious. If you'll do this, 0:26:30.720 --> 0:26:35.040 I believe and declare. Every wrong mindset is being broken. 0:26:35.840 --> 0:26:40.080 Strongholds are coming down, grasshopper mentalities are leaving. 0:26:40.600 --> 0:26:42.360 All that infection is clearing up. 0:26:42.800 --> 0:26:47.200 Like Gideon, You're gonna rise higher, accomplash dreams, and become 0:26:47.240 --> 0:26:48.960 the mighty hero you. 0:26:48.880 --> 0:26:51.680 Were created to be in Jesus' name. 0:26:52.359 --> 0:26:55.920 If you receive it, can you say amen, Amen? 0:26:56.760 --> 0:26:57.360 I'd like to. 0:26:57.320 --> 0:27:00.000 Give you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord. 0:27:00.080 --> 0:27:04.080 If you're alive, woul't you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, 0:27:04.760 --> 0:27:08.679 I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I 0:27:08.840 --> 0:27:10.600 make you my Lord and Savior. 0:27:11.400 --> 0:27:13.960 If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got 0:27:14.000 --> 0:27:17.119 born again. We'd love to send you some free information 0:27:17.359 --> 0:27:18.679 on your new walk with the Lord. 0:27:18.960 --> 0:27:21.240 You can text the number on the screen or go 0:27:21.280 --> 0:27:22.320 to the website. 0:27:22.600 --> 0:27:25.080 But I hope you'll get into a good Bible based 0:27:25.200 --> 0:27:27.639 church and keep God first place. 0:27:29.000 --> 0:27:32.360 It's a new year, an opportunity for a fresh start. 0:27:32.840 --> 0:27:35.840 It's a new year, time to forget the struggles of 0:27:35.880 --> 0:27:39.040 the past and make room for new blessings. It's a 0:27:39.160 --> 0:27:42.919 new year, the perfect time to build expectation and faith 0:27:43.160 --> 0:27:44.680 for an amazing new season. 0:27:45.520 --> 0:27:47.720 The beginning of the year is a great time to 0:27:47.760 --> 0:27:50.760 start afresh and a new to let go of negative 0:27:50.760 --> 0:27:52.919 things of the past and to get ready for the 0:27:53.000 --> 0:27:56.959 new things God has in store. Every January we create 0:27:57.000 --> 0:28:00.560 a new devotional calendar. When you start off speach day 0:28:00.600 --> 0:28:04.440 in faith, grateful for what God has done, making positive 0:28:04.480 --> 0:28:08.040 declarations over your future, you're setting the tone for a 0:28:08.080 --> 0:28:12.480 blessed day and a victorious year. This devotional calendar will 0:28:12.520 --> 0:28:15.000 help you get your mind going in the right direction 0:28:15.400 --> 0:28:18.639 so you can live in faith expecting the goodness of God. 0:28:19.359 --> 0:28:21.800 As our way of saying thank you for your gift 0:28:21.840 --> 0:28:24.399 of any amount this first month of the year, we 0:28:24.400 --> 0:28:26.600 would like to send you a copy of our brand 0:28:26.680 --> 0:28:29.760 new twenty twenty five three hundred and sixty five day 0:28:29.840 --> 0:28:35.360 devotional calendar. Using this devotional calendar is as easy as one, two, three. 0:28:36.240 --> 0:28:40.000 One wake up with an expectancy in your heart. Two 0:28:40.440 --> 0:28:43.600 reflect on the daily scripture, verse and devotional from Joel. 0:28:43.840 --> 0:28:47.760 Three capture the Lord's promises to you on journaling lines 0:28:47.800 --> 0:28:49.080 for writing and reflection. 0:28:49.920 --> 0:28:51.960 This is going to be one of your best years. 0:28:52.240 --> 0:28:55.240 Our twenty twenty five devotional calendar is going to help 0:28:55.280 --> 0:28:57.640 you stay in faith and see the goodness. 0:28:57.320 --> 0:29:00.360 Of God in ways you've never seen victory. 0:29:00.400 --> 0:29:02.920 And I pray for you and your family every day, 0:29:03.000 --> 0:29:05.720 and thank you so much for your prayer and support. 0:29:06.240 --> 0:29:09.360 Your generosity is impacting lives around the world. 0:29:09.680 --> 0:29:12.520 And a special thank you to our Championship Hope partners 0:29:12.640 --> 0:29:13.920 for your monthly gifts. 0:29:14.200 --> 0:29:17.120 If you're not a partner, I hope you'll consider becoming one. 0:29:17.440 --> 0:29:21.480 Remember you can watch the services online live every Sunday morning, 0:29:21.920 --> 0:29:25.840 download our daily podcast, watch on YouTube now the new 0:29:25.920 --> 0:29:28.720 joel Ostine Network twenty four hours a day, and of 0:29:28.720 --> 0:29:32.240 course listen live on SERIOUSXM as well. But until we 0:29:32.280 --> 0:29:35.160 meet again, Medt, the Lord bless you and keep you, 0:29:35.440 --> 0:29:36.080 may show. 0:29:35.920 --> 0:29:37.960 You his favor and watch over you. 0:29:38.680 --> 0:29:41.400 Be sure to request your copy of the twenty twenty 0:29:41.400 --> 0:29:46.000 five devotional calendar today. Visit joelostein dot com or call 0:29:46.080 --> 0:29:49.880 us toll free