Seizing Your God-Given Opportunities

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See terms and conditions at 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:30.080 UNEs dot co. 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:33.959 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:37.120 our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:39.840 enjoy today's message, why don't you be a blessing and 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:42.640 share it with a friend. Reappreciate you and pray for 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:56.720 God's very best in your life. Oh God bless you. 0:01:57.200 --> 0:01:59.600 It is always a joy that coming to your homes. 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:02.480 We love you and we believe that this is going 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:04.680 to be your best year so far. We pray for 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:07.400 you every day. If you're ever in our area. I 0:02:07.440 --> 0:02:09.240 hope you'll stop by and be a part of one 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:12.320 of our services. But thanks for tuning in today. I 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:14.680 like to get started each week with something kind of funny, 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:17.400 and I heard about this man and his wife. They 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:20.360 argued for months over who should make the coffee in 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:23.440 the morning. The man definitely thought it was a wife's job. 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:27.760 She just didn't agree. After several heated debates, she finally said, 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:30.480 I can prove from the Bible that it's your job. 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:33.560 He said, there's nothing in the Bible about making coffee. 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:36.000 She said, sure there is, And she called him over 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:39.200 and opened her Bible and pointed to the Book of Hebrews. 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:44.960 All right, hold up your Bible. Say it like you 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:48.720 mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says. 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:51.760 I am. I have what it says I have. I 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:54.480 can do what it says I can do. Today I 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:58.040 will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess. 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:02.360 My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will 0:03:02.400 --> 0:03:06.400 never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:10.200 I want to talk to you today about taking advantage 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:14.760 of your God given opportunities. God created every one of 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:18.560 us to be successful. Before the foundation of the world, 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:22.560 he laid out an exact plan for our life, and 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:26.160 in this plan he has marked moments that are going 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:29.920 to come across our path. These moments are not ordinary, 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:35.080 They are destiny altering moments. They are designed to thrust 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:39.400 us years ahead, and it says they're in Ecclesiastes chapter nine, 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:44.480 verse eleven, that time and chance come together for every person. 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:48.960 That means you will have opportunities to meet the right people, 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:54.800 opportunities to advance in your career, opportunities to fulfill your dreams. 0:03:55.400 --> 0:04:01.720 God has already prearranged times of increase blessing. You may 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:04.520 not be seeing a lot of good breaks right now, 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:07.600 maybe you're stuck in a rut. But let me encourage 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:12.720 you in your future. There are seasons of favor, seasons 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:17.400 of increase. God ordained moments that He's already planned out 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:21.160 for you. But too many people miss these moments. They 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:25.760 tried and failed, so they quit believing, or they're distracted. 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:29.119 They've got so much clutter in their life they can't 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:33.279 hear the still small voice telling them that it's their season. 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:37.520 The scripture talks about how Jesus wept over a certain 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:43.080 city because they missed their hour of visitation. Every person 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:47.080 has times of visitation. We may go five years and 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:50.200 nothing big is happening. Then all of a sudden, a 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:54.479 God ordained moment comes along. A person, we meet, a 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:57.719 house we shouldn't have qualified for, but we did, a 0:04:57.760 --> 0:05:01.120 position at a new company. In a split second, we're 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:04.560 thrust years ahead. I can look back over my own 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:08.800 life and see the moments that altered my destiny, moments 0:05:08.839 --> 0:05:11.599 that propelled me to a higher level. When I was 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:14.839 in my early twenties, I walked into a jewelry store 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:17.279 to buy a battery for my watch. That's where I 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:21.640 met Victoria. A marked moment. Think about all the things 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:24.280 that had to fall into place. There are hundreds of 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:27.720 jewelry stores here in Houston. My watch battery had to die, 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:31.800 Victoria had to be working that day. That wasn't a coincidence. 0:05:32.240 --> 0:05:35.760 That wasn't a lucky break. That was God bringing time 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:40.120 and chance together. He ordained that moment before the foundation 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:43.600 of the world. That's why we don't have to worry. 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:47.040 We don't have to go around frustrated because things aren't 0:05:47.080 --> 0:05:49.839 happening as fast as we would like. All we have 0:05:49.960 --> 0:05:52.880 to do is stay in faith, knowing that God is 0:05:52.920 --> 0:05:56.680 directing our steps. As long as we keep believing our 0:05:56.839 --> 0:06:01.520 marked moments are on their way. How love what David said, God, 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:05.479 My times are in your hands. He was saying, God, 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:09.120 already know you've got supernatural breaks planned out for me. 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:12.640 You've got the right people, the right opportunities. So I'm 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:15.000 not gonna live stressed out. I'm going to stay in 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:18.440 peace knowing that you will get me to my final destination. 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:22.240 We have to recognize the different seasons of our lives. 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:26.360 It's easy to get frustrated when our dreams aren't coming 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:30.960 to pass on our timetable. But every season is not harvest. 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:36.080 There are plowing seasons, There are planting seasons, there are 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:39.760 watering seasons. And sure we would love for every season 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:42.520 to be a time of increase left and right, good 0:06:42.520 --> 0:06:46.120 breaks here and there, but without the other seasons, we 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:50.800 wouldn't be prepared. It's during the plowing seasons when God's 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:53.400 bringing issues to light that we need to deal with. 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:57.919 That's what's getting us prepared for promotion. If you're not 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:00.719 making as much progress as you would love, like, here's 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:04.599 the key, don't lose any ground, don't go backwards, hold 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:08.200 your position, keep a good attitude, and do the right 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:10.880 thing even when it's hard. When you do that, you 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:15.640 are passing the test, and God promises your marked moments 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:18.480 are on their way. A few years after Victoria and 0:07:18.520 --> 0:07:21.360 I were married, we were living in a beautiful townhouse, 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:24.360 just as happy as can be, and one day, out 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:27.840 of the blue, Victorias said we need to sell this place. 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:30.520 And when she said it, right down in here, I 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:34.239 felt peace. I knew that it was right in the natural. 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:37.800 We could have thought we're fine, we're comfortable here, but 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:42.600 we paid attention to that still small voice, that inward witness, 0:07:42.680 --> 0:07:47.000 telling us something better is on the horizon. A marked 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:50.920 moment is coming, a season of increase. And so we 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:54.440 went out looking. We knew every home for sale in 0:07:54.480 --> 0:07:57.560 every neighborhood within ten miles of us. We look for 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:02.280 months and months, and one Sunday afternoon we found this old, 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:05.160 run down house. But it was on a beautiful piece 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:08.840 of property. The windows were broken out, had water dripping 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:11.880 from the ceiling. But something down in here said, this 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:15.600 is it. This is a God given opportunity. We took 0:08:15.640 --> 0:08:18.560 that step of faith. In less than three years, we 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:21.600 sold that property for more than twice what we paid for. 0:08:21.640 --> 0:08:27.600 It a marked moment that one God ordained opportunity put 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:30.880 us at a new level. Time and chance came together 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:34.280 and we took advantage of it. Well, you say, Joel, 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:37.160 I don't have those kind of resources. I wasn't raised 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:40.720 in a family like yours. That doesn't matter. God doesn't 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:43.600 say time and chance are not gonna come together for 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:46.000 you if you don't have the right name, or if 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:48.680 you've made too many mistakes. Now, I want you to 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:53.280 get this down in your spirit. God has preordained marked 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:56.559 moments for every one of you. He has already lined 0:08:56.640 --> 0:09:00.000 up the right people, the right breaks, the right opportunity 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:04.400 of these He's prearranged them for your future. I was 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:06.960 reading about a young lady that was working at a 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:12.120 small restaurant in Los Angeles. She was waiting on tables, cooking, cleaning, 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:15.840 basically doing it all. One day, her boss, the owner, 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:19.680 said that the customers were requesting desserts. At that time, 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:22.559 they didn't make any, and he told her she was 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:24.960 going to have to start coming in early every morning 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:28.679 to make deserts. And her first reaction was to argue, 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:31.880 she thought, I already work hard enough. That's not fair. 0:09:32.520 --> 0:09:35.800 But instead of getting bitter, she decided that she was 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:38.520 going to see that as a challenge and make the 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:43.200 best desserts she possibly coulked. She started off making pies. 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:47.600 These pies really caught on. The customers loved them. In fact, 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:49.680 people would come to the restaurant just to have a 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:53.000 piece of her pie. And the pies got so popular 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:57.640 one day she decided to start her own pie business. 0:09:58.040 --> 0:10:00.880 She took a step of faith and things just fell 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:03.960 into place. She was able to find a facility, she 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.840 got the equipment that she needed. It was a marked moment, 0:10:08.080 --> 0:10:11.800 a season of increase. It wasn't long before her little 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:16.040 business began to grow. They had so many customers. Eventually 0:10:16.120 --> 0:10:19.520 they had to open up a second location, and then another, 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:24.640 and another and another. By nineteen sixty four, Marie Calendar 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:29.560 had one hundred and fourteen locations in fifteen different states. 0:10:30.160 --> 0:10:33.320 It doesn't matter where you are right now. God has 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:36.880 marked moments for every one of you. You may not 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:39.120 be able to figure it out, but that's okay. That's 0:10:39.160 --> 0:10:42.720 not your job. Your job is to believe God's already 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:45.320 got it figured out. Wall you say, Jeel, I'm just 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:48.040 not that talented. Can you make a pie. Look what 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:52.360 happened to her. I want you to get a bigger vision. 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:57.720 There are exciting things in your future. The right people 0:10:57.800 --> 0:11:01.360 are out there. The breaks you needed have already been 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:04.760 lined up by the creator of the universe. What can 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:09.280 stop them? Not the enemy, not other people. Nobody can 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:12.920 keep you from your destiny except you. Some of you 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.079 have gotten a lot of bad breaks. You tried and felled, 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:18.840 and now you're just kind of sitting on the sidelines 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:21.959 of life, not expecting anything good. But you've got to 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:25.480 shake off that defeated mentality, rise up and say, this 0:11:25.559 --> 0:11:28.560 is a new day. It may not have happened in 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.000 the past, but it's going to happen in the future. 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:34.000 I know God has marked moments come in my way. 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:37.240 I think about how just a little over five years 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:41.160 ago we were searching for property to build a new sanctuary. 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:44.640 On twice the land we found was sold out from 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:48.640 under us. It was unfair. We were very disappointed, But 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:53.080 I found sometimes God closes a door because we're believing 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:56.240 too small. If He were to answer our prayers every 0:11:56.320 --> 0:11:59.040 time and give us everything we asked for, wouldn't always 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:03.000 be his best. Don't be discouraged over your closed doors. 0:12:03.400 --> 0:12:06.920 The steps and the stops of a good person are 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:09.679 ordered by the Lord. If a door closes, it that 0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:13.040 just means God has something better and most likely bigger 0:12:13.120 --> 0:12:16.560 in store. A few months after that door closed on us, 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:20.360 we got word that the Compact Center, this place was 0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:23.760 coming available. Getting this place was more than we could 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:26.800 even ask or think. Let me tell you, God's dream 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.720 for your life is so much bigger than your own. 0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:32.600 He has breaks lined up for you in the future 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:35.560 that if he told you right now, it boggleed your mind. 0:12:36.120 --> 0:12:38.439 He has people he's going to bring across your path, 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:41.920 opportunities you're going to encounter to where you'll look back 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.680 and say, man, that was a marked moment. I could 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:48.680 have never orchestrated that all on my own. That's the 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:52.439 way our God is. The scripture says, no person has 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:56.800 ever seen, heard, or imagined the wonderful things He has 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:59.920 in store. And I think about how this one mare 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:05.400 moment acquiring the Compact Center thrust our ministry probably fifty 0:13:05.480 --> 0:13:08.559 years further down the road as far as reaching people, 0:13:08.600 --> 0:13:12.240 as far as credibility. That one event did more than 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:14.920 I could do in my whole lifetime in my own 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:18.400 effort it was a marked moment, planned before the foundation 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:21.360 of time. I met a man that helped design the 0:13:21.400 --> 0:13:25.320 Compact Center. He was one of the original engineers. He 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:28.320 told how way back in the sixties, he laid out 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:32.160 the entry and exit ramps of the freeway to flow 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:35.640 perfectly into this building. He worked with the city to 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:38.560 time all the lights around here so that this place 0:13:38.640 --> 0:13:41.520 would have the best advantage. I thought about how good 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:45.280 God is. Forty years ago he had people working on 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:49.440 our behalf friends. God's got it all planned out. You 0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:53.000 got to know in your future, He's already lined up 0:13:53.120 --> 0:14:00.160 favor increase, good breaks, supernatural opportunities, divine connections. He has 0:14:00.240 --> 0:14:04.079 great things in store. He's already marked your moments. Well, 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:06.160 you said, Joel, I've made a lot of mistakes, made 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:09.959 a lot of poor choices. I'm sure I've blown my opportunities. No, 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:14.040 God is full of mercy. He knew every mistake you 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:17.080 would ever make, and He has already marked moments to 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:21.040 bring you out. Where you are is no surprise to God. 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:24.320 He's not up in the heavens all baffled thinking. Man, 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:27.000 I never knew he'd get that far off track, didn't 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:29.600 know he'd blow it that bad. No, God knew you 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:32.440 were gonna be where you are before the foundation of time. 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:37.520 He's already marked your moments of mercy, marked moments of restoration. 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:42.240 In fact, God has solutions to problems you haven't even had. 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:45.760 He knows this store's gonna close, they're gonna get a 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:48.960 little off course here, make a mistake there. And so 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:51.240 I'm gonna have this person come into their life, and 0:14:51.320 --> 0:14:53.760 this opportunity corrected a little more, and this other one 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:56.240 give them a break. God's got it all figured out. 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:59.560 I read about this man. He was a pastor years 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:03.400 ago of a large church here in America, very successful, 0:15:03.720 --> 0:15:06.040 but he made some poor choices. He got off track. 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:09.240 To make a long story short, he ended up losing 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:13.280 his ministry and losing his family. It's a very sad situation. 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:16.760 Years and years had gone by, he was still trying 0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:19.840 to put his life back together. One day he decided 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:22.760 to go visit some friends in South America, and a 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:25.480 pastor of a local church asked him to speak for 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:28.960 when he walked on the platform, he sat down next 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:33.720 to this Brazilian pastor didn't even speak English, and this 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:37.840 Brazilian man looked at him almost in utter amazement. He 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:40.960 began to weep and weep, and he took the pastor's hand, 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:43.960 and this American man didn't really know what was going on. 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:46.760 He was kind of confused about it. Then all of 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.800 a sudden, he felt this presence come over him, like 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:52.560 a warm glow. He said, it was just like it 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:56.080 was purging him of all that hurt and pain. He 0:15:56.200 --> 0:15:59.640 told how that moment was a turning point in his life. 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:02.640 So the first time he was able to forgive himself, 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:06.760 he felt like he was totally free, totally restored. A 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:09.920 couple minutes later, after the Brazilian pastor quit praying for him, 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:14.280 he asked him through an interpreter, what was this man doing? 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:16.320 Why did he pray for me like that? What just 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:19.640 happened to me? The Brazilian said back to him something 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:23.520 very unusual. He said, twenty years ago, when I was praying, 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:27.480 your face came up before me, and God spoke to 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:29.800 my heart and said, one day you will meet this 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:33.120 man and you are to help bring healing and restoration 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:37.600 to him. What's interesting is twenty years earlier, that man 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:41.400 wasn't even married, He wasn't even in the ministry. What 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:45.040 am I saying, God? Knows the end from the beginning. 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:49.600 He has solutions to problems you haven't even had. You 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:53.240 don't know he may have spoken to someone twenty years 0:16:53.280 --> 0:16:57.040 ago about that situation you're dealing with right now. God 0:16:57.080 --> 0:17:01.560 has already marked your moments for mercy, your moments for restoration. 0:17:02.120 --> 0:17:04.560 He knows how to get you back on the right track. 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:07.199 Why don't you get your hopes of Why don't you 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:10.399 start believing that, no matter what you have or haven't done, 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:12.760 that your best days are still out in front of you. 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:15.919 This is what my father had to do. Back in 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:19.760 nineteen fifty nine. He was pastoring a very successful church. 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:23.040 They had just built a beautiful new sanctuary. But my 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:26.879 sister Lisa was born with something like cerebral palsy, and 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:29.800 my father began to search the scriptures in a new way. 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:33.600 He started preaching with a new fire about how God 0:17:33.680 --> 0:17:37.919 could heal, how God could do miracles. But unfortunately his 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:42.760 congregation didn't understand his new message, and my father knew 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:45.000 the best thing for him to do was to leave 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:48.960 that church. He was devastated. He felt like everything he'd 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:51.520 worked for for years had just gone down the drain. 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:54.240 He didn't really know what he was going to do 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:56.800 or where he was going to go. But do you 0:17:56.880 --> 0:18:01.760 know that disappointment wasn't a surprise to God. There was 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:05.119 a lady in the neighborhood that owned a little feed store. 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:08.560 It just so happened a few months earlier it had 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:12.760 closed down. When she heard about my father's dilemma, she said, 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:15.440 why don't you use my feed store as a church. 0:18:15.520 --> 0:18:18.320 I'll loan it to you. That's where Lakewood was founded. 0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:21.479 Little did she realize she would be a part of 0:18:21.520 --> 0:18:26.400 everything that we're doing today a marked moment, little things 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:30.280 and big things. God's already march your moments. Why don't 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:32.760 you quit worrying about it? Why don't you quit losing 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:35.320 sleep over it? God has you in the palm of 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:40.119 his hand. There's nothing that you're facing right now and 0:18:40.240 --> 0:18:43.159 nothing you will ever face in the future that God's 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:46.760 not already aware of. The good news is He's already 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:50.639 got it figured out. The scripture says, these are the 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:53.919 plans I have for you, says the Lord plans to 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:57.720 prosper you, plans to bless you, plans to give you 0:18:57.880 --> 0:19:02.040 hope and a bright future. One verse says God has 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:05.440 pre arranged for you to live the good life. That 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:09.639 means for every setback, God's prearranged to come back. For 0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:16.400 every failure, God's prearranged mercy, for every disappointment, God's prearranged restoration. 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:23.200 For every unfair thing, God has prearranged vindication. Friends, your future, 0:19:23.320 --> 0:19:27.359 in God's eyes, is looking extremely bright. The scripture talks 0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:31.840 about how for everything there is a purpose, there's a season, 0:19:32.240 --> 0:19:35.679 and there's a time. The purpose is set by God. 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:40.280 That's eternal. We can't change that, but the season is 0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:44.000 our window of opportunity to accomplish it. It's not going 0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:47.320 to last forever, and it's important to learn to move 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:50.560 at the right time. Now, I was reading about a 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:54.640 baby locust. It's called a hopper. It can't quite fly 0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:57.719 just yet, but it can jump up to two hundred 0:19:57.760 --> 0:20:00.480 times its height, and the way it learns how to 0:20:00.520 --> 0:20:04.760 fly is when it hears the winds blowing, when it 0:20:04.840 --> 0:20:08.679 sees the tree tops rustling. It's sensitive enough to know 0:20:09.280 --> 0:20:12.840 this is my time to jump. It recognizes if it'll 0:20:12.920 --> 0:20:16.280 jump at the right time and catch the right winds, 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:20.680 it can fly. Timing is critical, and like that little locust, 0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:23.200 we need to know when it's our time to jump, 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:26.359 so to speak. We have to stay sensitive. Even in 0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:30.280 adult locust, when they want to migrate miles and miles, 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:34.080 they have to wait for the perfect wind conditions. The 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:37.560 locust doesn't have the most aerodynamic body. It kind of 0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:41.160 got a large body for its small, straight wings. They 0:20:41.280 --> 0:20:44.840 understand the importance of timing, so when they see the 0:20:44.880 --> 0:20:48.040 tree tops rustling, when they hear the winds blowing, they say, 0:20:48.040 --> 0:20:51.040 all right, it's our time, let's go now. In the 0:20:51.119 --> 0:20:54.919 same way, we have to be sensitive and listen to 0:20:54.960 --> 0:20:57.919 what we're hearing down in here. There's a window of 0:20:58.000 --> 0:21:00.960 opportunities to step out in faith. I know in my 0:21:01.040 --> 0:21:03.879 own life there have been times where, for years I 0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:06.680 know it's a plowing season. I'm not seeing a lot 0:21:06.680 --> 0:21:09.280 of increase. I'm just being my best day in and 0:21:09.359 --> 0:21:12.719 day out, being faithful, being good to people. It's a 0:21:12.800 --> 0:21:16.639 maintaining season, and several years will go by. Then all 0:21:16.680 --> 0:21:19.400 of a sudden, I see all kinds of increase, all 0:21:19.480 --> 0:21:22.800 kinds of favor, good breaks left and right. What happened? 0:21:22.960 --> 0:21:26.280 I entered into a new season. I know it couldn't 0:21:26.320 --> 0:21:29.840 just be me. My wings aren't that big. I've caught 0:21:29.880 --> 0:21:32.840 the wind of God's favor. I've got in the jet 0:21:32.920 --> 0:21:37.520 stream of God. But too often we miss our opportunities 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:41.440 because we don't recognize it's our season. I've sat by 0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:44.600 people in a service and they clap during the songs, 0:21:45.000 --> 0:21:48.439 but they clap on the offbeat. Everybody is clapping at 0:21:48.480 --> 0:21:51.639 one point, they're clapping at another. Quit looking at your neighbor. 0:21:53.480 --> 0:21:56.879 They're doing the right thing. The problem is they're doing 0:21:56.920 --> 0:21:59.720 it at the wrong time. You need to pay a 0:21:59.760 --> 0:22:02.959 tea to the winds in your life, and for some 0:22:03.080 --> 0:22:06.560 of you, there's about to be a shifting. You've been 0:22:06.640 --> 0:22:09.240 struggling and not seeing a lot of good breaks, but 0:22:09.359 --> 0:22:13.959 the winds are about to change in your favor. I 0:22:14.119 --> 0:22:17.520 was out running the other day and the first quarter 0:22:17.600 --> 0:22:20.560 of mile or so the wind was blowing so strongly 0:22:20.720 --> 0:22:23.560 against me, probably twenty twenty five miles an hour, and 0:22:23.760 --> 0:22:26.480 I felt like I was running uphill. It's taking all 0:22:26.480 --> 0:22:29.679 of my energy. Finally I was able to turn, and 0:22:29.680 --> 0:22:32.199 the path I run on is a big square, and 0:22:32.280 --> 0:22:35.359 I knew coming back the last mile or so that 0:22:35.440 --> 0:22:37.399 wind was going to be blowing in my face again. 0:22:37.760 --> 0:22:39.960 I was kind of dreading it, but when I made 0:22:39.960 --> 0:22:43.119 the turn to come to the final home stretch, I 0:22:43.240 --> 0:22:47.760 was pleasantly surprised. The winds had changed directions. They were 0:22:47.800 --> 0:22:50.960 no longer blowing against me, they were blowing with me. 0:22:51.600 --> 0:22:54.159 There was a night and day difference. I could feel 0:22:54.200 --> 0:22:58.119 those winds propelling me forward. I believe that's what's going 0:22:58.200 --> 0:23:00.760 to happen to many of you. The winds that have 0:23:00.840 --> 0:23:03.960 been trying to hold you back and cause you to struggle, 0:23:04.200 --> 0:23:08.359 are about to change in your direction. You've been through 0:23:09.119 --> 0:23:12.800 flowing seasons, you've been through planting, you've been through watering. 0:23:13.240 --> 0:23:16.280 Now you're about to come into harvest. You're gonna have 0:23:16.400 --> 0:23:19.680 times where you can feel God breathing in your direction. 0:23:20.400 --> 0:23:22.840 You're going to accomplish things where you look back and 0:23:22.880 --> 0:23:24.640 say that had to be the hand of God. I'm 0:23:24.640 --> 0:23:27.239 not that smart, I'm not that talented. What happened. You 0:23:27.320 --> 0:23:30.240 entered into a new season. You got the wind of 0:23:30.280 --> 0:23:33.880 Almighty God blowing behind you. You may be in some 0:23:33.960 --> 0:23:36.680 kind of storm today and all kinds of things coming 0:23:36.720 --> 0:23:41.160 against you, but understand God is in control of those winds. 0:23:41.880 --> 0:23:45.639 Just a simple shift can make a huge difference. The 0:23:45.680 --> 0:23:48.880 same winds that are trying to defeat you, God can 0:23:49.000 --> 0:23:52.240 change their directions and cause them to be the very 0:23:52.320 --> 0:23:55.560 winds that will propel you into a higher level. When 0:23:55.560 --> 0:23:58.200 my father went to be with the Lord, the winds 0:23:58.240 --> 0:24:01.560 that tried to sink me, God turned around and use 0:24:01.680 --> 0:24:03.960 them to be the winds to push me into my 0:24:04.040 --> 0:24:09.159 divine destiny. What am I saying today? What the enemy 0:24:09.320 --> 0:24:12.160 means for your harm? God is going to turn around 0:24:12.280 --> 0:24:15.639 and use to your advantage. Now I can sense in 0:24:15.720 --> 0:24:20.320 my spirit today the winds are shifting. I can sense 0:24:20.400 --> 0:24:24.200 new seasons of increase, new seasons of favor, new seasons 0:24:24.240 --> 0:24:27.960 of God's blessings. When you hear these winds blowing, you 0:24:28.000 --> 0:24:30.680 can't just sit back, think God, Joel, it's not gonna 0:24:30.680 --> 0:24:33.280 happen to me. I never get any good breaks. No, 0:24:33.400 --> 0:24:37.240 you will miss your hour of visitation when you hear 0:24:37.359 --> 0:24:38.960 the winds blow. And you've got to do like that 0:24:39.040 --> 0:24:42.040 little locust and say this is my season. I can 0:24:42.080 --> 0:24:46.280 hear the winds of God's favor. I've been through plowing, planning, watering. 0:24:46.480 --> 0:24:49.840 I'm coming into harvest. I'm gonna become everything God's created 0:24:49.840 --> 0:24:52.320 me to be. And you may have a lot coming 0:24:52.359 --> 0:24:56.160 against you, but have you ever realized all it takes 0:24:56.280 --> 0:24:59.960 for the last to be first is the winds changing directly. 0:25:00.720 --> 0:25:02.879 If it's all blowing this way, you may feel like 0:25:02.920 --> 0:25:05.560 you're last way back here. But when the winds turn 0:25:05.600 --> 0:25:07.600 around blow this way, all of a sudden, you're first. 0:25:08.119 --> 0:25:12.520 What happens, The winds shifted, You entered into a new season. 0:25:13.080 --> 0:25:16.960 If you're in difficult times, instead of complaining and getting discouraged, 0:25:17.119 --> 0:25:19.239 you need to get up every morning and say it, 0:25:19.280 --> 0:25:23.160 by faith, Father, thank you that the winds are shifting 0:25:23.200 --> 0:25:26.040 in my direction. Thank you that the tide of this 0:25:26.200 --> 0:25:29.719 battle is turning. Don't talk about the storm. Talk to 0:25:29.800 --> 0:25:33.200 your storm. Look at that situation and declear by faith, 0:25:33.480 --> 0:25:36.600 you will not defeat me. No weapon formed against me 0:25:36.600 --> 0:25:39.959 will ever prosper. I have marked moments come in my way. 0:25:40.280 --> 0:25:42.600 I'm not only gonna come out, I'm gonna come out 0:25:42.640 --> 0:25:46.880 better off than I was before. I love what David 0:25:46.960 --> 0:25:50.080 did when he went out to face Goliath. He could 0:25:50.119 --> 0:25:53.720 hear the tree tops rustling. He knew it was his season. 0:25:54.240 --> 0:25:57.160 He'd been faithful in the wilderness for years, he'd been 0:25:57.200 --> 0:26:01.160 through the plowing seasons. Now he could sin the winds 0:26:01.160 --> 0:26:04.280 were shifting, and even though Goliath was two or three 0:26:04.320 --> 0:26:07.879 times his size, people tried to talk him out of it. David, 0:26:07.880 --> 0:26:09.920 you don't have a chance. David, you're gonna get hurt. 0:26:10.480 --> 0:26:13.560 Other people couldn't hear the winds. They couldn't sense what 0:26:13.640 --> 0:26:17.000 he was sensing. When you know it's your time, don't 0:26:17.000 --> 0:26:19.800 get talked out of it. I've seen people sit back 0:26:20.080 --> 0:26:23.960 twenty years allowing other people to discourage them, talk them 0:26:23.960 --> 0:26:26.280 out of their dreams. What do you really think you 0:26:26.280 --> 0:26:27.720 can do that? I don't know if you have what 0:26:27.800 --> 0:26:28.280 it takes. 0:26:28.640 --> 0:26:28.720 No. 0:26:28.880 --> 0:26:31.679 Other people don't know what's in you. They don't know 0:26:31.720 --> 0:26:34.639 what you're capable of. Because God didn't put the dream 0:26:34.720 --> 0:26:37.320 in them. He put it in you. And when you 0:26:37.400 --> 0:26:40.840 hear the wind blowing like that little locust, you gotta say, 0:26:40.960 --> 0:26:43.399 this is my time. And if you'll get in the 0:26:43.440 --> 0:26:46.159 wow of God, you'll be amazed at how far you 0:26:46.200 --> 0:26:50.000 can go. When God's breathing in your direction. There's a 0:26:50.080 --> 0:26:54.119 supernatural ease when you're in your season. There's a grace 0:26:54.240 --> 0:26:57.760 to do things that you couldn't do before. They said, David, 0:26:58.040 --> 0:27:01.080 you better not take a chance Goliath. He's too big 0:27:01.119 --> 0:27:04.120 to hit. David said, I don't think so. He's too 0:27:04.160 --> 0:27:09.160 big to miss. David spoke to his mountain. He said, 0:27:09.200 --> 0:27:12.880 Goliath this day, I will defeat you and feed your 0:27:12.920 --> 0:27:15.679 head to the birds of the air. What caused that 0:27:15.720 --> 0:27:18.800 little stone to slay the giant? God breathed his life 0:27:18.840 --> 0:27:21.800 into it. The wind of Almighty God got behind it. 0:27:22.400 --> 0:27:25.159 That's what happens. When you step into your season, you 0:27:25.200 --> 0:27:29.080 will accomplish things that you never thought possible. You say, Joel, 0:27:29.119 --> 0:27:31.159 I don't see how this could happen for me. I 0:27:31.200 --> 0:27:33.159 don't have the money, I don't have the education, I 0:27:33.200 --> 0:27:35.640 don't have the talent. You know, the scripture says, it's 0:27:35.680 --> 0:27:38.560 not gonna happen by our might or by our power. 0:27:38.680 --> 0:27:41.720 It's gonna happen because of the breath of Almighty God. 0:27:42.480 --> 0:27:46.120 You know what's happening today. God's breathing in your direction. 0:27:47.200 --> 0:27:49.160 Sometimes we think of a breath, it's just a little 0:27:49.200 --> 0:27:52.080 puff of air. That's not the way God breathes. The 0:27:52.119 --> 0:27:55.240 scripture talks about when the Holy Spirit came, it was 0:27:55.359 --> 0:27:59.840 like a rushing, mighty wind. That's what I envisioned behind 0:28:00.119 --> 0:28:04.000 every one of you, the force of Almighty God. Everywhere 0:28:04.040 --> 0:28:07.200 you go. You need to imagine the most powerful force 0:28:07.320 --> 0:28:11.199 in the universe is breathing in your direction. What happens 0:28:11.240 --> 0:28:14.560 when God breathes your way. Every enemy will be defeated, 0:28:14.960 --> 0:28:19.640 obstacles will be overcome, favor will increase, dreams will come 0:28:19.680 --> 0:28:23.640 to pass. What happened, God breathe in your direction. A rushing, 0:28:23.960 --> 0:28:27.040 mighty wind is backing you up. You've got to rise 0:28:27.119 --> 0:28:29.240 up in your authority and say, you know what, this 0:28:29.400 --> 0:28:32.840 is my season. I can hear the wind starting to blow, 0:28:33.119 --> 0:28:36.200 so I'm going to step into the flow. Friends, things 0:28:36.240 --> 0:28:40.200 are shifting in your favor. Your future is filled with 0:28:40.320 --> 0:28:46.200 marked moments, a blessing, increase, promotion. God has already ordained 0:28:46.240 --> 0:28:49.240 before the foundation of the world, the right people, the 0:28:49.400 --> 0:28:53.479 right opportunity, time and chance are coming together for you. Now. 0:28:53.480 --> 0:28:56.160 I'm asking you to get a vision for it. I'm 0:28:56.200 --> 0:28:58.960 asking you to get your hopes of don't miss your 0:28:59.000 --> 0:29:02.400 hour of visitation. And even when it's difficult, you just 0:29:02.480 --> 0:29:05.360 remember the same winds that are trying to defeat you 0:29:05.720 --> 0:29:08.000 are the winds God's gonna use to push you to 0:29:08.080 --> 0:29:11.200 a new level. If you'll go out each day with expectancy, 0:29:12.040 --> 0:29:14.600 knowing that God's breathing in your direction, I know You're 0:29:14.600 --> 0:29:17.160 gonna rise higher and higher. You're gonna see more of 0:29:17.160 --> 0:29:19.800 God's blessings and favor and you'll live the life of 0:29:19.880 --> 0:29:22.880 victory he has in story. Amen, do you receive it today. 0:29:24.400 --> 0:29:27.240 We never like to close our broadcast without giving you 0:29:27.280 --> 0:29:30.200 an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. 0:29:30.440 --> 0:29:33.320 Would you pray with me? Just say it, Lord Jesus, 0:29:34.560 --> 0:29:39.160 I'll repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I 0:29:39.280 --> 0:29:43.080 make you my Lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed 0:29:43.080 --> 0:29:45.920 that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get 0:29:45.920 --> 0:29:48.840 in a good Bible based church. Keep God first place. 0:29:49.120 --> 0:29:51.480 He's gonna take your places that you've never dreamed of. 0:29:52.200 --> 0:29:55.640 Thank you for listening to the Julus Dean podcast. Help 0:29:55.720 --> 0:29:58.440 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:29:58.560 --> 0:30:02.440 all over the world at Joeloustein dot com slash give 0:30:02.520 --> 0:30:04.200 Hope to give a gift today. 0:30:05.480 --> 0:30:08.400 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope 0:30:08.400 --> 0:30:11.800 you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to 0:30:11.880 --> 0:30:15.080 keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. 0:30:15.240 --> 0:30:17.720 I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you 0:30:17.760 --> 0:30:18.280 next time.