Stay Open For God To Do It His Way

0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:02.880 No one likes to talk about money. Am I saving enough? 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:05.040 Can I buy a house? Am I paying too much 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:07.760 in taxes? Will I be able to retire? What if 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:10.360 you could unlock insights about your finances in less than 0:00:10.400 --> 0:00:12.840 five minutes, with a clear picture of where you stand 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:15.720 today and where your money can work harder. Now you 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:18.759 can visit facet dot com to take the free quiz 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:23.400 and get your financial wellness score today. That's Facet dot com. 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:25.360 This ad is sponsored by Facet. Fast Wealth in Corporated 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:27.280 is an sec registered investment advisor. This is not an 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:29.080 offer to buy your self securities or is it investment, 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:30.080 legal or tax advice. 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:33.960 You're ready for a comeback, and with Purdue Global you 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:37.200 can do more than take classes. You can take charge 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:41.520 of your story, of your career, of your life, Earn 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:43.559 a degree you can be proud of, and get an 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:48.559 education employer's respect. It's time, your time, not just to 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:50.960 go back to school, but to come back and move 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:55.840 forward with Purdue Global, Purdue's online university for working adults. 0:00:56.440 --> 0:00:59.920 Start your comeback at Purdueglobal dot edu. 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:02.320 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. 0:01:02.560 --> 0:01:05.600 Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:08.520 the ministry. If you enjoy today's message, why don't you 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:10.320 be a blessing and share it with a friend. 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:13.360 We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:20.920 your life. 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:28.560 Well, God bless you. It's always our joy to come 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:31.200 into your homes. We love you, We know God has 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:33.919 great things in store. And if you're ever in our area, 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:35.760 I hope you'll stop buying and be a part of 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:36.839 one of our services. 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:39.520 I promise you this will make you feel right at home. 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:42.240 But thanks so much for tuning in today, and again 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:44.440 thank you for coming out. I'd like to start with 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.680 something funny, and I heard about this elderly lady. She 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:50.520 went to church one Sunday morning, and a friendly usher 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:52.440 met her at the back door and said, ma'am, where 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:52.880 would you. 0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:53.360 Like to sit? 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.880 She said, I want to sit on the very first row. Yes, 0:01:56.960 --> 0:01:58.760 you're said, oh no, ma'am, you don't want to do that. 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:00.840 Our pastor is very boring. 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:02.160 He'll put you to sleep. 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:06.360 Let me seet you somewhere else. She looked appalled. She said, sir, 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:07.559 do you know who I am? 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:08.880 He said, no, ma'am. 0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:13.200 She said, I am the pastor's mother. He hung his 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:15.240 head in embarrassment, And finally he looked up and. 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:17.280 He said, ma'am, do you know who I am? She 0:02:17.400 --> 0:02:17.760 said no. 0:02:18.200 --> 0:02:22.679 He said, thank God, hold up your bible and say 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:23.560 it like you mean it. 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:26.720 This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:28.560 I have what it says I have. 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:31.800 I can do what it says I can do. Today 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:35.359 I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess. 0:02:35.840 --> 0:02:39.440 My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:43.200 never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.680 I want to talk to you today about staying open for. 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:48.880 God to do it his way. 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:52.919 So often we put God in a box. We tell 0:02:53.000 --> 0:02:55.440 him how to meet our needs and when to do 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:56.680 it and. 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:57.400 Who he should use. 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:01.079 We've got all these preconceived ideas about how it's going 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:04.680 to happen. But it says in Isaiah fifty five, God's 0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:08.240 ways are not our ways. They are higher and better 0:03:08.400 --> 0:03:12.320 than our ways. The way God chooses to do something 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:16.200 may not be the way that you were expecting. If 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:20.000 you are set in your thinking with preconceived ideas of 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:22.359 how God's going to do it and who He's going 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:25.799 to use, you might miss the answer that God is 0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:30.079 sending you. You could overlook someone, not even give them 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:32.880 the time of day, Yet God sent them to be 0:03:33.000 --> 0:03:37.160 instrumental in your life. You could pass on an opportunity 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:40.240 because it's not what you had in mind. Yet the 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:43.040 fact is God is sending it to try to take 0:03:43.080 --> 0:03:46.240 you to a new level. What am I saying? When 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:49.400 the answer shows up, it may not look like the 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:53.360 answer you were expecting. One time, the Disciples were on 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:56.240 a boat. They were rowing across the lake in the 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:59.000 middle of the night, and the wind was blowing very 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:03.160 strongly again then so much so it was almost impossible 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:05.560 to get to the other side and to keep going forward. 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:09.040 As they struggled and struggled, I can hear them say, 0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:12.360 I wish Jesus was here with us. He could calm 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:14.920 these winds down. If he was here, it would be 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:19.440 so much easier. All of a sudden, Jesus came walking 0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:23.599 on the water beside the boat. The scripture says. The 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:27.800 disciples screamed in terror. They thought it was a ghost. 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:29.120 What happened. 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:33.280 Jesus showed up a different way, and they didn't recognize it. 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:37.080 They had never seen him in that form. They had 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:40.880 seen him during the day teaching on the Sea of Galilee. 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:42.120 They had seen him. 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:46.080 Feeding the five thousand, healing the lepers. They knew what 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:49.080 he looked like during the daytime, but they had never 0:04:49.160 --> 0:04:51.839 seen him in the middle of the night, during a 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:56.320 great storm, walking on the water. And sometimes when God 0:04:56.400 --> 0:05:00.400 shows up a different way, we don't recognize it. You 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:03.359 could have the answer God is sending you right now, 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:07.520 Jesus could be walking on the water right beside your boat. 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:11.360 But because the answer is not what you thought it 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:16.080 would look like, because you have preconceived ideas, it could 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:19.839 keep you from seeing what God is sending you. My 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:23.880 challenge is to stay open. The answer may not come 0:05:23.960 --> 0:05:27.400 a familiar way. It may not happen like it happened 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:31.680 last time. God may show up in another form. When 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:34.080 I look back over my own life, I can see 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:38.239 where time and time again, God blessed me through people 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:39.880 that I never expected. 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:43.479 God brought me through things in ways that I never 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:44.040 dreamed of. 0:05:44.800 --> 0:05:48.520 He showed up in another form, in the form of 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:51.440 a friend that I never expected to be a friend. 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:53.320 He used people to. 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:56.040 Help me that were not on my list of who 0:05:56.160 --> 0:05:59.120 I thought God would use. I remember when we were 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:02.400 trying to acquire this facility. There were two people that 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:06.960 came in contact with us. They were very influential, very 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:11.400 well connected, but they didn't have any kind of religious background. 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:15.119 They were a little rough around the edges. In other words, 0:06:15.160 --> 0:06:18.240 they loved to party, they loved to have a good time. 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:21.719 They were good people, but they were a little far out. 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:25.839 And it's interesting we didn't pursue them. They pursued us. 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:29.720 One of them told me, Joel, this is my personal mission. 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:32.880 I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure that 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:34.080 you get this facility. 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:37.800 My first thought was, is this right? This is like 0:06:37.920 --> 0:06:42.080 oil and water. It's not what I was expecting. God 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:43.680 showed up in another form. 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:47.359 Was I going to be open and recognized the answer 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.479 God was sending us? Or was I going to let 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:54.159 preconceived ideas caused me to miss it. I was smart 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:56.560 enough to say, God, do it your way. If you 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:59.279 want to use these people, more power to them. We'll 0:06:59.400 --> 0:07:01.599 use their health. But see a lot of times we 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:05.080 have God in this box and we think God. 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:08.440 Can't use that man. He's a sinner. He can't use her. 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:13.000 She likes to party, he's got a bad attitude, she's sarcastic. 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:16.080 He doesn't even believe in God and listen. The longer 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:19.360 I live, the more I realize. God can use who. 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:21.880 He wants to use. God can bless who he wants 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:22.400 to bless. 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:26.720 God can bring good out of who he wants to 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:27.480 bring good out of. 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:29.840 And we got to quit putting God in. 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:32.480 Our box, telling him what to do and when to 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:36.280 do it, and making these narrow minded judgments of who's 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:38.440 good and who's not good, and who God can use 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:39.600 and who God can't use. 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:40.240 Listen. 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:44.360 In the scripture, God used Rahab, the prostitute, to save 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:48.160 the people of Israel. God used a donkey to speak 0:07:48.160 --> 0:07:52.000 to a prophet. God used mud and spittle to heal 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:54.920 a blind man's eyes. God used a little boy to 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:59.240 feed five thousand. God used Pharaoh's daughter to take care 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:02.080 of baby most is. In other words, God used the 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:04.200 enemy to take care of his children. 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:05.800 Friends, God is God. 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:10.000 He can do what he wants to do. Don't put 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:13.400 God in a box and miss your miracle. He may 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:16.560 show up in another form. And some of you today 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:20.280 are too narrow minded. You've seen God during. 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:23.080 The day, so to speak, like the disciples, But. 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:26.560 Now God's showing up in another form instead of being 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:30.679 open and being willing to try something new, becoming friends 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:34.360 with someone that's not like you, trying a new opportunity 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:37.000 that you've never done before. You've got God in this 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:40.319 box thinking this couldn't be for me. I know it'll 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:44.000 never happen this way. Now you may have the answer 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:46.800 that you've been praying about, you just don't recognize it. 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:50.920 My sister Tamram had her mind made up about what 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:53.080 kind of man she was going to marry. 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:54.400 She had a list in her. 0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:55.920 Mind of what he is going to look like, what 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:58.000 he was going to do, what kind of family he 0:08:58.120 --> 0:09:02.520 was going to be from these very specific Of course, 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:07.440 there's nothing wrong with praying and believing, having ideas and goals, 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:10.640 but you have to stay open. God knows what you 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:13.760 need more than you do, and your idea may not 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:16.719 be exactly God's idea, but I can promise you this 0:09:17.040 --> 0:09:19.120 God's way will be better than your way. 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:20.880 And Tamor went. 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:24.200 Off to college and she met this young man that 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:27.839 got interested in her, but he had red hair. Well, 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:31.320 Tamra didn't want somebody with red hair. Red hair was 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:34.240 not on her list. Plus he was way too tall. 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:38.080 Tamra is about five feet. This young man was well 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:43.160 over six feet, big, strong, athletic guy played college baseball. 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:46.480 Tambra would call home say, well, this guy named Jim 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:49.160 keeps calling me and calling me. I've told him month 0:09:49.200 --> 0:09:50.880 after month, I don't want to go out with him. 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:55.319 I'm not interested in him. Well, Jim finally wore Tamra down, 0:09:55.880 --> 0:09:58.560 and just to get him to quit calling, she agreed 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:00.840 to go out to dinner. One night, they went out 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:03.280 and they just hit it off. Tamra called back and said, 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:05.960 you know what, I think I like this guy. He's friendly, 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:08.559 he's kind, he's loving, he's got a good personality, he 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:09.440 loves his family. 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:13.040 On and on. She couldn't quit talking about Jim. 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:17.000 Today, twenty five years later and four kids, Tamra and 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:22.760 Jim are still growing strong. They've passed her Faith Family 0:10:22.840 --> 0:10:26.240 Church in Victoria, Texas, and Jim was recently voted one 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:28.840 of the most influential people in all those counties. 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:30.040 What am I saying? 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:33.560 Tamra had the answer God was sending her, but she 0:10:33.600 --> 0:10:38.240 didn't recognize it. God showed up in another form. Are 0:10:38.280 --> 0:10:41.280 there people in your life right now that you're writing 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:44.439 off because they don't meet the conditions on your list? 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:47.960 They don't have the right background, the right height, the 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:51.960 right job, the right personality, the right nationality. 0:10:52.000 --> 0:10:54.040 How do you know you're not missing out. 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:58.920 On an incredible friendship because of preconceived ideas. Well, Joel, 0:10:58.960 --> 0:11:01.160 I'd never be friends with them. They don't have my 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:04.920 same interest. They work in a different department. They don't 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:07.840 meet the one hundred and twenty seven conditions on the 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:10.000 list of who would be my friend. You need to 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:13.040 get out of that little narrow box. Tamra thought she 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:15.880 would never marry someone with red hair, But do you 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:17.840 know today Tamra loves red hair. 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:21.520 You'll be amazed at what you finds you love if 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:22.640 you just give it a chance. 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:27.120 Victoria always thought she would marry someone much taller than me. 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:30.480 But think about it, how could she resist this face? 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:37.760 And what are you laughing at? Some of you women? 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:41.400 You're praying for someone tall, dark, and handsome. Can I 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:44.280 be real truthful with you? They may show up short, 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:47.480 light and not so handsome, but there'll be somebody you 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:52.480 can't live without. After all, what's on the inside is 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:56.600 more important than what's on the outside. Looks can change. 0:11:57.320 --> 0:11:59.839 I remember a whole high school buddy of mine. He 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:03.480 was the star football player. He was built with this 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:08.640 incredible physique. He had this thick, curly blonde hair. He 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:11.439 looked like he was just out of a surfer magazine. 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:15.319 All the girls were crazy about him. I saw him recently, 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:18.480 and it's funny. He still has that thick, curly hair. 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:21.160 The only difference now is he can take it off 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:21.920 and put it back on. 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:29.360 Stay open to. 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:32.720 The people God put in your life. Don't have a 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:36.480 narrow box to where everybody has to look like you 0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:39.360 and think like you, or you write them off. I 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:43.480 saw recently where these baby tiger cubs lost their mother. 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:47.840 Normally they would never survive, but somehow this big mother 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:51.960 pig found them, took them in and nursed them and 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:53.720 cared for them and protected them. 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:55.520 It was the strangest thing. 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:58.600 They had a picture it showed all these baby tiger 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:02.640 cubs cuddled up to this big mother pig. You'll never 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:05.440 know what kind of friendships you could enjoy if you'll 0:13:05.480 --> 0:13:08.600 just get outside of your box and stay open to 0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:12.560 the people God brings across your path. I remember the 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:16.400 first time I ever met Marcos Wit, our Spanish pastor. 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:20.480 Marcos is one of the most well known ministers and 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:26.320 worship leaders in all of Latin America. I had heard 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:28.480 a lot about him down through the years, but I'd 0:13:28.480 --> 0:13:32.160 never met him, never even seen him. One day, his 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:35.360 office called and asked if he could rent our facility to. 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:36.679 Have a Spanish concert. 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:39.160 Normally we don't do that, but I'd heard so much 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:41.760 good about him, we said yes. In the night of 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:44.880 the concert, I came down to meet him. I walked 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:47.760 in the back room and I saw this middle aged 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:51.959 Caucasian man over to one side, and I politely said hello, 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:54.959 and I kept walking. I wanted to meet Marcos. 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:56.960 I looked in another room. 0:13:57.000 --> 0:13:59.439 In another room, nobody was there, and I came back 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:01.520 to that main room and he came up to me 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:03.240 and he put out his hand and he said, I've 0:14:03.280 --> 0:14:05.719 been wanting to meet you. My name is Marcus with 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:08.360 I nearly passed out here. 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:13.000 He's the leading Hispanic minister in all of Latin America. 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:16.319 And I mean he is as white as me. God 0:14:16.360 --> 0:14:19.080 has a sense of humor. I told him, Marcus, I 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:20.120 don't mean to sound. 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:23.280 Surprised, but I just thought you'd look like Julio Iglesias. 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:31.240 For what happened, God showed up in another form. It 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:35.080 wasn't what I was expecting. It's funny. I had prayed 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:38.800 about believed to have a Spanish service for a long time, 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:41.360 but I always thought it would at least be led 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:43.400 by someone that looked hispanic. 0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:47.760 I almost missed Marcus. I passed right over. 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:51.760 Him because he didn't fit into my mold. Look around 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.760 in your life this week. Are there people God has 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:57.560 put there that you're writing off because they don't meet 0:14:57.600 --> 0:15:01.480 your conditions. You've already pred judged them to not be 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:03.920 for you because of how they look, or what they wear, 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:05.480 or where they come from or what they do. 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:07.720 Now, you got to get out of that box. 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:10.120 If Timber would have done that, she would have missed 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:12.640 out on a great husband, Jim. If I would have 0:15:12.640 --> 0:15:15.040 done that, we might have missed out on being blessed 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:17.600 by Marco's witt. We might not even have our Spanish 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:22.440 speaking service. Sometimes we allow tradition to keep us from 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:25.400 seeing the new thing God wants to do. Before my 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:27.720 father went to be with the Lord, I worked in 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:31.320 the television department here and we would broadcast the services 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:34.120 on Sunday, and I would work with the ushers to 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:38.360 seat the people properly. The old sanctuary held eight thousand people, 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:40.880 and at the time we would have about six thousand 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:42.200 come out on a Sunday morning. 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:44.840 One of the main ushers would. 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:47.560 Say to me time and time again, Joel, one day 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:50.160 this place is going to be filled to the top. 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:53.440 It's going to be packed full of people. I would 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:56.680 always say, I agree. I believe that too well. My 0:15:56.760 --> 0:15:58.920 father went to be with the Lord in nineteen ninety 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:01.880 nine and stepped up to pasture the church, and I 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:04.240 didn't even know this was in me, But by the 0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:07.480 end of that first year, the building was full to 0:16:07.560 --> 0:16:10.440 the very top, just like he talked about, so much 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:12.840 so that we had to start a second Sunday morning 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:15.480 service and that filled up, and then we started a 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:18.760 Saturday night service. Whenever I would see that ushered, I 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:22.160 always think to myself, he must be so happy. It's 0:16:22.200 --> 0:16:25.120 not only filled once, but it's filled twice. That's what 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:29.640 he talked about all those years. But what's interesting is 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:32.680 it didn't happen the way he thought it would happen. 0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:37.280 I don't minister exactly like my father. My father was 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:41.160 more of a fireball. I'm more laid back. My dad's 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:44.640 mission was to bring down the denominational walls so that 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:47.520 God's people could all worship together, and we are. 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:53.880 We are living in the day my father dreamed of. 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:58.240 Most people now are not really concerned whether you're Baptist 0:16:58.320 --> 0:16:59.680 or Methodist. 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:00.640 Or church God. 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:03.760 I mean, you may be here today a Catholic sitting 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:07.560 by a Pentecostal, sitting by a Presbyterian sitting by someone 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:10.600 that doesn't even know what those names mean. The walls 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:14.439 have come down, But this usher was so set on 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:17.600 it happening a certain way the way my father did 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:19.920 it that when I came along and did it a 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:21.960 little bit different, even though it. 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:25.320 Was filled up twice, he couldn't accept it. He moved on. 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:29.280 What was the problem? God showed up in another form. 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:33.399 He didn't recognize it. He was stuck in tradition. He 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:36.600 had God in this little bitty box, thinking, if it's 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:39.160 going to happen, Joel's got to be just like his dad. 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:41.280 No, God is doing. 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:43.640 A new thing, and the new thing is not going 0:17:43.680 --> 0:17:47.520 to look like the old thing. Stay open, don't get 0:17:47.560 --> 0:17:52.280 stuck in tradition. God is a progressive God. I really 0:17:52.320 --> 0:17:56.000 believe one reason that some churches are not growing today, 0:17:56.040 --> 0:17:59.679 they're even going down, is because they're stuck in what 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:02.560 God was doing forty years ago, trying to. 0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:05.119 Make it happen today. There's no anoying on it. 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:09.160 What God did back then was the right thing for then, 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:12.240 and what God is doing now is the right thing 0:18:12.280 --> 0:18:15.600 for now. And if you're going to be blessed, you're 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:19.240 going to experience God's best, you've got to let go 0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:23.040 of the traditions of yesterday and come over into the 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:26.160 God of the now and say, what God did back 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:29.800 then is great. We celebrate what my father did. We 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:33.439 celebrate the message of power to the denominational world. But 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:36.160 we can't get stuck there. This is a new day 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:39.360 and God's doing a new thing. We see this even 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:43.440 in the scripture. John the Baptist showed up wearing camel skin, 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:48.080 eating locust and wild honey, preaching like no one had 0:18:48.119 --> 0:18:52.160 ever heard before. He was different. He didn't wear robes 0:18:52.240 --> 0:18:54.600 and stay in the syn of God. What did the 0:18:54.680 --> 0:18:58.359 religious leaders say, He's got a demon, There's something wrong 0:18:58.440 --> 0:18:58.840 with him. 0:18:58.960 --> 0:18:59.880 He couldn't be right. 0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:04.040 God showed up in another form. They didn't recognize him, 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:08.640 even Jesus. They were waiting for the Messiah. But because 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:12.119 he showed up as a baby, many people didn't recognize 0:19:12.160 --> 0:19:15.480 him because he came in a manger through a young 0:19:15.560 --> 0:19:19.840 teenage girl born in a stable. Many people didn't even 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:24.600 pay attention. Jesus grew up and went about healing the sick, 0:19:25.040 --> 0:19:29.000 bringing hope to the fallen, lifting the hurting. He wasn't 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:32.199 like the other religious leaders. He didn't spend all of 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:35.120 his time in the temple in synagogues. He spent his 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:39.119 time among the people. But instead of celebrating him and 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:42.760 being happy for the good he was doing, the Scripture says. 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:44.000 They despised him. 0:19:44.600 --> 0:19:47.720 They called him a friend of sinners, a friend of 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:52.119 tax collectors. What was the problem? They didn't recognize the 0:19:52.200 --> 0:19:54.879 new thing God was doing. They had God in a 0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:58.399 little bitty box. Don't let that be You stay open 0:19:58.480 --> 0:20:02.040 for something new. God did twenty thirty forty years ago. 0:20:02.320 --> 0:20:05.600 That was great, But what God is doing today is 0:20:05.640 --> 0:20:07.920 not going to look like what God did back then. 0:20:08.320 --> 0:20:09.960 Don't get stuck in tradition. 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:14.240 If you do, you'll develop a critical spirit, and you'll 0:20:14.280 --> 0:20:16.920 start to find fault with everybody that's different than you, 0:20:17.400 --> 0:20:19.600 and you'll go find your own group so you can 0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:22.639 sit around and complain and criticize and talk about the 0:20:22.680 --> 0:20:25.399 way it used to be well, Joel, this is not 0:20:25.520 --> 0:20:27.600 the way my great grandmother had church. 0:20:28.200 --> 0:20:29.800 With all due respect, your. 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:32.680 Great grandmother is in heaven. This is not your great 0:20:32.680 --> 0:20:38.080 grandmother's day. This is your day, well, Joel, these are 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:40.359 not the songs that we sung when I was growing 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:43.960 up in church, and we sure didn't have those electric guitars, 0:20:44.680 --> 0:20:47.119 and we didn't have those lights that move around and 0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:48.000 change colors. 0:20:48.440 --> 0:20:49.800 Yes, but this is a new day. 0:20:50.200 --> 0:20:52.480 It's the same God, but he showed up in a 0:20:52.520 --> 0:20:53.200 different form. 0:20:53.320 --> 0:20:54.520 Can you recognize it? 0:20:56.680 --> 0:21:00.440 Well, Joel, you don't use as many scriptures as your 0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:04.680 father did. You don't teach line by line, verse by verse. No, 0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:08.000 that's because I'm not my father. If God wanted us 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:10.159 to be like somebody else, he would have made us 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:13.919 as clones. Now, quit trying to make what happened yesterday 0:21:14.119 --> 0:21:17.879 happened today and just enjoy what God is doing right now. 0:21:18.119 --> 0:21:20.080 This is an awesome day to be alive. 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:24.680 Would you ever dream that we would be having church 0:21:25.040 --> 0:21:28.760 in a former basketball arena. I grew up watching the 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:30.240 Rockets play basketball here. 0:21:30.960 --> 0:21:33.680 I had season tickets right back over there. In fact, 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:38.720 somebody's sitting in my seats every time I come in here. 0:21:38.800 --> 0:21:40.640 I'm still amazed at God's goodness. 0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:43.720 When I was growing up, a church of a thousand 0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:46.960 people was a big deal. Now there are churches all 0:21:46.960 --> 0:21:50.960 over with thousands and thousands of people. The scripture says this, 0:21:51.320 --> 0:21:54.800 the glory of the latter House will be greater than. 0:21:54.720 --> 0:21:56.280 The glory of the former House. 0:21:59.280 --> 0:22:02.359 That means what God is doing today in your life 0:22:02.560 --> 0:22:06.040 is going to be greater and more powerful and more exciting, 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:09.160 and more effective and more influential than what God did 0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:15.280 in the past. But if you get stuck in yesterday 0:22:15.800 --> 0:22:18.520 and you refuse to let go of tradition, you will 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:21.840 miss the greater glory, the greater influence, the greater favor. 0:22:22.359 --> 0:22:24.480 We don't serve a God of yesterday. 0:22:24.800 --> 0:22:27.359 We serve a God a right now, and what God 0:22:27.440 --> 0:22:30.840 is doing right now is going to far supersede anything 0:22:30.880 --> 0:22:34.160 God has done in the past. I hear people say, well, Joel, 0:22:34.200 --> 0:22:37.119 I'm just praying for revival. I've heard that since I 0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:37.760 was a little boy. 0:22:37.800 --> 0:22:39.840 I'm praying for a move of God's spirit. 0:22:39.920 --> 0:22:42.520 And I understand what they mean, But I don't think 0:22:42.520 --> 0:22:46.160 they realize that we are living in revival. If some 0:22:46.240 --> 0:22:49.280 thirty forty thousand people come out each week, and churches 0:22:49.359 --> 0:22:53.199 around the globe are impacting their community. God's favor is 0:22:53.240 --> 0:22:56.399 on his people like never before. This is the best 0:22:56.440 --> 0:23:00.560 time to be alive. Sometimes we think, well, if I 0:23:00.560 --> 0:23:03.320 could have just lived back there in Bible days with 0:23:03.440 --> 0:23:07.080 Moses and Abraham and David and Estra and Sarah and Ruth. 0:23:07.560 --> 0:23:09.399 You know what those people are saying up in heaven. 0:23:09.600 --> 0:23:11.920 If I could just live down there with Joel and 0:23:12.000 --> 0:23:17.680 Susan and Maria and Chris. They've got all kinds of technology. 0:23:17.800 --> 0:23:22.440 They've got basketball arenas, they've got satellites, they've got all 0:23:22.600 --> 0:23:25.880 kinds of ways to advance the kingdom. What a great 0:23:26.000 --> 0:23:28.400 day to be alive. Don't miss what God is doing. 0:23:28.880 --> 0:23:33.359 The opportunities around us, the solutions to our problems, they're 0:23:33.400 --> 0:23:35.920 all there. We just have to stay open and get 0:23:35.920 --> 0:23:38.720 God out of our little box. There's a man in 0:23:38.720 --> 0:23:41.439 the scripture by the name of Naeman. He was a 0:23:41.480 --> 0:23:44.480 captain in the army, a very important person. But he 0:23:44.560 --> 0:23:47.800 had a problem. He had leprosy. He went to the 0:23:47.840 --> 0:23:51.560 prophet Elijah and asked him to pray that God would 0:23:51.600 --> 0:23:54.000 heal him. And Elijah said, yes, God will heal you. 0:23:54.119 --> 0:23:56.359 But here's what you have to do go down to 0:23:56.440 --> 0:24:00.199 the Jordan River and wash seven times, and you be 0:24:00.240 --> 0:24:04.680 made whole. Well, Naoman had these preconceived ideas about how 0:24:04.720 --> 0:24:07.160 it was all going to happen that struck him as 0:24:07.200 --> 0:24:11.840 being odd. He said, Elijah, I thought two words that 0:24:11.960 --> 0:24:15.480 almost kept him from his miracle. I thought you would 0:24:15.560 --> 0:24:18.320 just speak to me and make me whole, like you've 0:24:18.359 --> 0:24:21.040 done for so many others. I thought you would just 0:24:21.119 --> 0:24:24.080 lay hands on me. I thought it would happen like 0:24:24.160 --> 0:24:24.920 it happened. 0:24:24.600 --> 0:24:28.320 For my great grandmother. Naeman had to make a decision. 0:24:29.000 --> 0:24:31.800 Was he going to stay stuck in tradition and miss 0:24:31.840 --> 0:24:34.920 his miracle or was he going to take a step 0:24:34.960 --> 0:24:37.760 of faith and recognize that God was doing a new thing. 0:24:38.600 --> 0:24:41.760 He finally convinced himself to go down to the Jordan River, 0:24:41.880 --> 0:24:44.280 and when he came up the seventh time, he was 0:24:44.280 --> 0:24:45.119 perfectly whole. 0:24:45.520 --> 0:24:46.359 But here's my point. 0:24:46.680 --> 0:24:50.280 He had the answer that he needed, but he almost 0:24:50.400 --> 0:24:54.560 didn't recognize it because it was not what he was expecting. 0:24:55.440 --> 0:24:58.639 Could it be that you had the answer you need today, 0:24:59.240 --> 0:25:02.199 But because it's not how you thought it would happen 0:25:02.640 --> 0:25:05.800 or who you thought God would use, you're not pursuing it. 0:25:06.040 --> 0:25:09.240 You're not moving forward. I think about my father as 0:25:09.240 --> 0:25:12.040 a young man. He had a dream to pastor a 0:25:12.119 --> 0:25:13.760 church with thousands. 0:25:13.320 --> 0:25:14.080 Of people in it. 0:25:14.600 --> 0:25:18.359 In the early nineteen sixties, that seemed impossible. There weren't 0:25:18.400 --> 0:25:21.600 any big churches back then. My dad was pastoring a 0:25:21.640 --> 0:25:25.080 small church. He was on the state board for his denomination. 0:25:25.640 --> 0:25:28.760 Everything was going great. But what my father had on 0:25:28.800 --> 0:25:33.000 the inside was bigger than anything he saw in his denomination. 0:25:33.960 --> 0:25:36.439 He prayed for God to open up new doors and 0:25:36.640 --> 0:25:40.560 give him more influence. He started preaching to his congregation 0:25:40.960 --> 0:25:43.520 with a new fire, telling them that God was a 0:25:43.560 --> 0:25:45.800 good God, that he could do miracles, that they could 0:25:45.840 --> 0:25:47.280 live a life of victory. 0:25:47.600 --> 0:25:50.400 It's this message of faith that we have today. 0:25:50.680 --> 0:25:53.760 He thought the congregation would be excited and that's how 0:25:53.800 --> 0:25:56.720 God would increase him. But it was just the opposite. 0:25:57.240 --> 0:26:00.800 They didn't like his new message of faith. It didn't 0:26:00.840 --> 0:26:04.840 fit in their denominational mold. They were steeped in tradition 0:26:05.840 --> 0:26:08.800 down deep. My father knew he was supposed to leave 0:26:08.840 --> 0:26:12.879 that church. Looked like a setback, but really it was 0:26:12.920 --> 0:26:16.080 a set up. It looked like the end of a dream, 0:26:16.240 --> 0:26:19.720 but really it was a new beginning. He didn't realize 0:26:19.720 --> 0:26:22.560 it at the time, but that was God showing up 0:26:22.640 --> 0:26:26.000 in another form. He could stay there and play it 0:26:26.119 --> 0:26:29.200 safe and let traditions set the limits for his life, 0:26:30.080 --> 0:26:33.080 or he could take a step of faith, recognizing God 0:26:33.200 --> 0:26:36.000 was doing a new thing. He took that step of faith, 0:26:36.040 --> 0:26:39.840 and that's when he started Lakewood Church in nineteen fifty 0:26:39.960 --> 0:26:44.120 nine with ninety people in an abandoned feed store. All 0:26:44.200 --> 0:26:47.440 the critics said it won't last, it'll blow over. 0:26:47.640 --> 0:26:50.119 And sure enough it did. It blew over the whole city. 0:26:50.400 --> 0:26:53.800 Here we are today, still going strong, fifty one years later. 0:26:56.400 --> 0:26:57.359 Here's my point. 0:26:58.040 --> 0:27:01.400 The answer didn't look like what he thought it would 0:27:01.440 --> 0:27:05.760 look like. He prayed for increase. At first, he got decrease. 0:27:06.200 --> 0:27:10.240 He prayed for more influence. At first, he got less influence. Friends, 0:27:10.240 --> 0:27:13.240 God knows what he's doing. If you'll stay in faith, 0:27:13.480 --> 0:27:16.040 it may look like a setback, but it'll turn out 0:27:16.119 --> 0:27:17.840 to be a set up to take you to a 0:27:17.880 --> 0:27:21.000 new level of your destiny. And some of you today 0:27:21.440 --> 0:27:24.680 you have the answer that you need, you don't recognize it. 0:27:25.240 --> 0:27:27.480 My challenge is to stay open. 0:27:27.800 --> 0:27:30.360 Don't be set in your thinking to where it can 0:27:30.400 --> 0:27:33.159 only happen one way. And you've told God how to 0:27:33.240 --> 0:27:35.399 do it and who to use and when it could happen. 0:27:35.960 --> 0:27:39.240 Let God out of your box. He may not use 0:27:39.280 --> 0:27:43.200 somebody that's on your approved to use list. He may 0:27:43.520 --> 0:27:45.840 take you in a way that you never thought possible. 0:27:46.080 --> 0:27:50.120 That's God's showing up in another form. Don't live narrow minded, 0:27:50.320 --> 0:27:54.760 get rid of preconceived ideas. God's ways are not our ways. 0:27:54.920 --> 0:27:57.640 They are better and higher than our ways. And if 0:27:57.640 --> 0:27:59.960 you will stay open and let God do it his way, 0:28:00.720 --> 0:28:04.080 then like Naeman, you'll get your miracle. Like my father, 0:28:04.160 --> 0:28:08.720 you'll see promotion. Like my sister, you'll discover lasting relationships. 0:28:09.080 --> 0:28:12.560 I believe and declare you will overcome every obstacle, defeat 0:28:12.600 --> 0:28:15.720 every enemy, and you'll become everything that God's created you 0:28:15.760 --> 0:28:15.920 to be. 0:28:16.040 --> 0:28:17.719 Amen. Do you receive it today? 0:28:19.520 --> 0:28:22.119 We never like to close our broadcast without giving you 0:28:22.160 --> 0:28:24.880 an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. 0:28:25.200 --> 0:28:29.200 Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, I'll 0:28:29.240 --> 0:28:30.360 repent of my sins. 0:28:31.520 --> 0:28:35.120 Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. 0:28:36.400 --> 0:28:38.760 Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you 0:28:38.800 --> 0:28:41.800 got born again. Get in a good Bible based church. 0:28:42.200 --> 0:28:43.400 Keep God first place. 0:28:43.680 --> 0:28:45.800 He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed of. 0:28:46.080 --> 0:28:48.920 Thank you for listening to the joel OUs Deine podcast. 0:28:49.280 --> 0:28:51.920 Help us continue to share the message of hope with 0:28:52.040 --> 0:28:55.520 those all over the world. Visit joelus deine dot com 0:28:55.560 --> 0:28:58.080 slash give Hope to give a gift today. 0:28:59.360 --> 0:29:01.840 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. 0:29:01.920 --> 0:29:04.680 I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest 0:29:04.720 --> 0:29:06.160 podcast to keep. 0:29:06.000 --> 0:29:08.960 You inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. 0:29:09.120 --> 0:29:11.560 I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you 0:29:11.640 --> 0:29:12.160 next time. 0:29:23.560 --> 0:29:26.320 With millions of books on Amazon, there's a reading feeling 0:29:26.360 --> 0:29:30.160 for everyone. 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