Strategically Ordered Steps

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What if 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:11.080 you could unlock insights about your finances in less than 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:13.600 five minutes, with a clear picture of where you stand 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.399 today and where your money can work harder. Now you 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:19.480 can visit facet dot com to take the free quiz 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:23.280 and get your financial wellness score today. That's face t 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:25.679 dot com. This add a sponsored by Facet. Facet Wealth 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:27.840 in Corporated is an sec registered investment advisor. This is 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:29.800 not an offer to buy yourself securities, nor is it investment, 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:30.759 legal or tax advice. 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:34.000 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:37.160 our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:39.840 enjoy today's message, why don't you be a blessing and 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:40.840 share it with a friend. 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:43.840 We appreciate you and pray put God's very best in 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:58.120 your life. Well, God bless you. 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:00.960 It's always a joy to come into your homes, and 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:03.800 if you're ever in our area, please stop by and 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:06.360 be a part of one of our services. I promise 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:08.880 you we'll make you feel right at home. Thanks so 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:11.400 much for tuning in, and thank you again for coming 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:14.320 out today. I like to start with something funny and 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:18.600 I heard about this elderly minister he was dying. He 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:21.640 sent for two of his members, an our s agent 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:25.400 and a lawyer to come to his house. When they arrived, 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:27.799 he motioned for both of them to sit on each 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:30.799 side of the bed. They were very moved to be 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.960 with the minister in his final moments. At one point, 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:37.440 the lawyer said, very sincerely, sir, why did you choose 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:41.000 both of us? The minister mustered up some strength and said, 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:43.320 Jesus died between two sinners. 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:47.120 That's how I want to go. Hold up your Bible, 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:49.880 say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:52.440 I am what it says I am. I have what 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:54.920 it says I have. I can do what it says 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:55.359 I can do. 0:02:55.880 --> 0:02:58.760 Today I will be taught the word of God. I'll 0:02:58.840 --> 0:03:02.760 boldly confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive. 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:06.440 I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, God 0:03:06.560 --> 0:03:09.040 bless you. I want to talk to you. 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:15.119 Today about strategically ordered steps. God is not a random God. 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:20.239 He's not vague approximant. Maybe I'll do this, maybe I'll 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:20.519 do that. 0:03:21.120 --> 0:03:23.679 God is precise, exact. 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:27.440 He's already laid out the plan for your life down 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:31.920 to the smallest details. And just as God will strategically 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:36.920 bring good breaks promotion the right people, God will also 0:03:37.200 --> 0:03:42.880 use adversities, disappointments, closed doors to move us toward our destiny. 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:46.760 At the time, we may not understand it. We think 0:03:47.000 --> 0:03:50.640 this couldn't be God. I lost my biggest client, I'm 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:51.960 in a legal battle. 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:53.080 My friend turned on me. 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:56.440 No, God wouldn't have allowed it unless he had a 0:03:56.520 --> 0:04:00.400 purpose for it. God doesn't just randomly say, let me 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:03.360 give them some heartache, a bad break, let this person 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:07.320 reject them of God is strategic. He may not have 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:10.760 sent it, but if he allowed it, he can use 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:11.880 it to your advantage. 0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:15.160 God sees the big picture for our life. 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:17.680 He knows what we're going to need in a month, 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:21.960 in a year, and in twenty years. In the scripture, 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:25.479 Samson wanted to marry a young lady from another tribe. 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:27.600 His parents didn't want him to do it. 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:31.760 God had instructed them to not get involved with foreigners, 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:35.279 to stay with their own clan, But the scripture says 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:40.040 his parents didn't realize the Lord was at work in this, 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:46.520 creating an opportunity to disrupt the Philistines who ruled Israel 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:50.920 at that time. This is a situation doesn't necessarily fit 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:54.880 into our theology. God told them not to marry foreigners, 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:58.320 yet God was the one that led Sampson to do it. 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:02.600 God knew years down the road he needed an insider 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:05.640 in the Philistine's camp to carry out his plan. 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:07.120 Here's my point. 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:12.200 We're not always going to understand why something happens. True 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:17.560 faith is trusting God when it doesn't make sense, believing. 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:20.200 That he's strategic, that he knows what he's doing. 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:24.680 It may be uncomfortable, we don't understand it, but deep 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:28.200 down we have to know that if God allowed it, 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:32.520 that somehow it's going to further us ultimately toward our 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:33.400 divine destiny. 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:35.880 Proverbs twenty puts it this way. 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:40.000 Since the Lord is directing our steps, don't try to 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:44.200 figure out everything that happens along the way. Why did 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:47.400 my business go down, Why did my child get into trouble? 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:50.440 Why did my relationship not work out? You may never 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:53.320 know why, but you can come back to this core 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:57.320 truth that God knows what he's doing. His plan for 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:02.240 your life is good, and even in opposition, like with Samson, 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:08.120 God is creating opportunity. Somewhere down the road. It's not 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:10.880 going to work against you. It's going to work for you. 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:15.600 And if you don't understand this principle, you'll live frustrated 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:19.800 because there are times in God's divine plan where it 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:23.800 will look like you're going the wrong direction. Your back 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:27.040 is facing your goal. You know you're supposed to be 0:06:27.120 --> 0:06:30.520 going this way, but you're headed just the opposite. This 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:34.080 is what faith is all about. Will you trust him 0:06:34.600 --> 0:06:37.600 when it seems like you're going the wrong way. Will 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:40.560 you keep a good attitude when you're praying for increase 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:44.800 but seeing decrease? Will you stay in faith when you 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:47.840 were the most qualified but you got passed over? 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:51.880 Friends, God knows what he's doing. He would have never 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:52.599 allowed that. 0:06:52.880 --> 0:06:54.960 If it was going to keep you from your destiny. 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:59.600 He's too strategic to just randomly put that into the 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:03.240 plan for your life. It may not seem good, but 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:06.440 if you'll keep moving forward, one day you will see 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:09.600 what God was up to. I've seen in my own life. 0:07:10.160 --> 0:07:14.240 God doesn't always take us the most logical way. We 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:16.920 think we'll go from A to B to C. That 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:20.920 makes sense, that's logical. But God's ways are not our ways. 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:23.760 He may take it from A to B all the 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:26.880 way up to R and then back to C, then 0:07:26.960 --> 0:07:30.080 to M, then to F. If you could see the 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:33.240 plan God has for your life on a map, it 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:36.760 would not be in a straight line. Imagine a bunch 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:40.280 of stepping stones. They would start off straight towards your goal. 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:44.520 Then there's a turn and another turn. Now you're headed 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:47.960 back to where you started. Wrong direction doesn't make sense. 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:50.320 Then there's a U turn, goes back up a little 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:51.440 higher than it dips. 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:52.040 Down, on and on. 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:56.600 At some point, you could be on a stepping stone 0:07:57.080 --> 0:08:01.000 God ordained for you. He strategically placed it before the 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:05.160 foundation of time. But the stone you're on is facing 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:09.560 the opposite direction of your goal. It's easy to think, Joel, 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:11.000 this is not God's plan. 0:08:11.520 --> 0:08:14.080 I'm going the wrong way. Why do these things keep 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:18.640 happening to me? Stay in faith. God's plan is not strength. 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:22.440 There are curves, detours, U turns, shortcuts. 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:24.200 God knows what he's doing. 0:08:24.560 --> 0:08:29.280 He's strategically directing your steps. It may be uncomfortable, but 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:31.720 God's the one that put the stepping stone there. It's 0:08:31.800 --> 0:08:34.520 all a part of his plan. And we all want 0:08:34.559 --> 0:08:36.800 to go to a higher level. We all want to 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:40.880 see more of God's favor. But sometimes you have to 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:44.400 come off the mountain that you're on and go down 0:08:44.559 --> 0:08:47.920 into the valley, not to stay, not to live, but 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:49.960 so you can go up to a higher mountain. 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:53.560 God has something better, something bigger. 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:57.600 You haven't seen, heard, or imagined what God has in store, 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:03.680 but too often think, God, I'm going backwards. You said higher, 0:09:04.000 --> 0:09:08.439 and I'm going lower. You said rain, I'm seeing drought. No, 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:11.880 don't get discouraged. God is simply bringing you down that 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:14.800 one mountain so you can go up to a higher mountain. 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:19.640 He is strategically positioning you to see more of His goodness. 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:22.480 And if you will stay in faith, one day you 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:25.800 will look back and say, it was good that I 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:27.920 got pushed out of that job, or I would have 0:09:28.000 --> 0:09:31.319 been stuck in a limited environment. It was good that 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:33.880 person left me, or I would have never met the 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:36.559 love of my life. It was good I went through 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:40.360 the difficulty. Not only made me stronger, not only developed 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:44.600 a greater confidence in God. But in the opposition, God 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:48.439 was creating opportunity. He was putting me in position for 0:09:48.559 --> 0:09:53.120 something bigger, something better, something greater. We see this principle 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:56.400 in the life of Joseph. God knew there was going 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:59.560 to be a famine in the land. The Israelites couldn't 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:02.560 survive without food from the Egyptians. 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:05.400 So years earlier, God. 0:10:05.280 --> 0:10:07.640 Put a dream in the heart of a young man 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:12.319 named Joseph that he would rule a nation. As a teenager, 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:15.520 he had the promise from God. His goal was in 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:18.719 front of him. He started out great. He was his 0:10:18.840 --> 0:10:22.439 father's favorite child, wearing his coat of many colors, headed 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:26.319 toward his destiny. But his brothers were very jealous of him. 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:30.199 They threw him into a pit and eventually sold him 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:34.559 into slavery. I'm sure Joseph thought, God, where are you. 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:38.480 You said I would lead a nation, but now I'm 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:43.040 a slave. This doesn't make sense. The truth is he 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:46.920 was in God's perfect will. He was just on one 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:51.240 of those stones facing the opposite direction. Here's the key. 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:56.440 Those stones are temporary. That's not where you're permanently headed. 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:59.000 Don't stay focused on where you are. 0:10:59.880 --> 0:11:00.720 You isolate. 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:05.720 One stone, one bad break, one disappointment, one dry season, 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:10.640 You'll get bitter sour. That stone is simply one step 0:11:11.000 --> 0:11:12.880 in the plan God has for your life. 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:14.520 It is not the final peace. 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:18.280 God says his plans for you are for good and 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:23.160 not evil. The end of your path is victory, dreams fulfilled. 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:26.559 Promise is coming to pass. Now, don't judge your future 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:31.760 by one negative stepping stone. Joseph kept being his best, 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:35.080 kept honoring God even though things weren't going his way. 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:39.360 He ended up second in command of all of Egypt. 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:43.480 The dream came to pass. Here's how strategic God is. 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:46.200 There was a great famine in the land. 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:50.920 Jacob, Joseph's father, thought that Joseph. 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:54.920 Was dead hadn't seen him in many years. Jacob told 0:11:55.000 --> 0:11:58.400 his other sons to go to Egypt and see if 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:01.720 there's any way that could poss buy food. They were 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:05.640 about to starve to death. God used the famine to 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:08.880 send them to Egypt. They would have never gone that 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:13.559 way without the adversity. In the same way, God will 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:19.640 use dry seasons, disappointments, closed doors to reposition us to 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:22.360 get us to where He wants us to be. God 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:26.240 knows what's best for us. The brothers showed up at 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:29.360 the palace and there was Joseph in charge of the 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:34.280 food supply running the whole nation. Some twenty years earlier, 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:40.240 God strategically orchestrated Joseph to be inside a foreign country. 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:44.040 Not only so his dream could come to pass, but 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:47.400 so that God's people could flourish in a time of famine. 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:52.280 That's how precise God is. He's looking years down the road. 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:55.199 We can see a little way, but God knows what 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:58.440 you're gonna need thirty years from now. The good news 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:03.000 is God is lying up people today that years later 0:13:03.440 --> 0:13:09.280 will be instrumental in you fulfilling your destiny. Nothing randomly happens. 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:12.600 If Joseph's brothers hadn't rejected. 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:14.880 Him, he would have never made it to the throne. 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:18.800 Now, quit losing sleep over people that don't accept you, 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:22.520 people that try to make you look small, disrespect you, 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:23.839 dismiss you. 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:24.679 Listen. 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:27.839 If they weren't in your life, you couldn't make it 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:33.120 to your throne. God ordained them not to hold you back, 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:36.360 but to move you forward. They may think they're pushing 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:39.959 you down, Really they're pushing you up. You may be 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:43.480 on one of those stepping stones facing the wrong direction. 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:48.280 It may set you back for a season, but don't worry. 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:52.200 A u turn is coming. At some point you're going 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:54.040 to step past the stone. 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:54.720 Of being rejected. 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.959 In light about you'll pass a step past the stone 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:03.040 of a bad break, disappointment, a closed door, and like Joseph, 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:08.120 you will step into promotion, into abundance, into new levels, 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:13.120 into the fullness of your destiny. Now my challenge, don't 0:14:13.200 --> 0:14:17.840 get stuck on one of those negative stepping stones. People say, well, Joel, 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:20.120 if God's so good, why did I have the bad 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:23.080 break in the first place? Why did my child get 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:26.160 off course? Why am I still struggling at work? This 0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:32.760 that adversity, that difficulty is simply a test. God strategically 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:36.400 placed you there. He would have never allowed it if 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:39.640 you couldn't handle it. It may be a big challenge, 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:42.240 but it is no match for you. You are a 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:45.680 child of the most high God. You have been armed 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:49.960 with strength for every battle. You have the most powerful 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:54.320 force in the universe breathing in your direction. Now, don't 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:55.760 complain about the difficulty. 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:59.560 Dig your heels in. Have the attitude. I am in it, 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:00.480 win it. 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:03.480 I am not going to let what somebody said about me. 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:09.120 This rejection, this breakup, this closed door, this disappointment, this 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:12.600 sickness caused me to get sour. I know it's a 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:16.680 part of God's plan. He strategically placed me here. When 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:19.360 it's all said and done, it's not going to work 0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:19.920 against me. 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:21.400 It's going to work for me. 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:25.120 You have that kind of attitude, you better get ready 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:28.200 like Joseph. You're not going to stay in the pit 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:33.400 in defeat, in depression, in lack. You're headed to the throne. 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:37.000 You're headed to victory. You're headed to the fullness of 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:41.200 your destiny. Listen, people can't stop it. Bad breaks can't 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:44.880 stop it. Disappointments can't stop it. All the forces of 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:47.520 darkness cannot stop what God. 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:50.040 Has strategically ordained for your life. 0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:54.800 Think about some of the stepping stones in Joseph's life. 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:58.120 He had the promise, the dream that he would rule 0:15:58.200 --> 0:16:01.520 a nation. A stone in the right direction. Then he 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:05.200 was thrown into a pit, a stone the opposite way, 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:09.560 still part of God's plan. Potterphar's wife lied about him, 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:10.920 they put him in prison. 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:13.440 Two stones go in the wrong direction. 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:17.520 In prison, a friend, another inmate when he got out, 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:18.800 forgot all about Joseph. 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:23.000 Another stone the wrong way. Joseph could have thought, this 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.960 is a pattern, this is my destiny. These stones are 0:16:26.000 --> 0:16:26.960 going the wrong way. 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:31.160 Thirteen years, disappointments, betrayals, injustice. 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:33.240 Surely he missed God's plan. 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:37.640 Now God is directing our steps, not just when things 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:40.680 are going our way. Not just when the door's open 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:44.400 we're promoted. People are good to us, But even when 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:45.240 the doors. 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:48.720 Close, people aren't good to us. The report wasn't good. 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:52.760 Those stones going in the wrong direction are still the 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:57.200 hand of God. My question is will you trust him 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:00.720 even when you don't understand it. Will you keep a 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:05.240 good attitude knowing that it's going to turn to your advantage. 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:09.120 Just like with Joseph, you will come into your uturn. 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:14.080 The same God that orchestrated him being betrayed, light about 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:20.320 thrown into a pit, orchestrated him being promoted, vindicated, taking 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:25.239 the throne, fulfilling his dream. Listen, don't be discouraged by 0:17:25.320 --> 0:17:30.040 what you're going through. Your time is coming. Where you 0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:32.119 are is not where you're staying. 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:34.280 You may be in the valley. 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:37.520 God allowed you to go there, not to stay, but 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:39.760 so you could come up to a higher mountain. 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:42.040 God has new levels in store for you. 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:48.040 In Genesis chapter fifteen, God told the Israelites that he 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:52.000 was taking them into a foreign land. They would be mistreated, 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:57.000 suffer hardships. He was saying, there will be negative stepping 0:17:57.040 --> 0:18:00.159 stones going in the wrong direction. You'll be tempted to 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:03.560 think it'll never work out, but God gave them the promise. 0:18:03.880 --> 0:18:09.200 You'll go through difficulties, but afterwards you will come out 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:14.520 with great abundance. Friends, there will always be and afterwards. 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:19.840 Every person goes through unfair situations, uncomfortable times. 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:22.280 We don't like it, but it's a part of God's plan. 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:26.480 If you'll keep passing the test, doing the right thing 0:18:26.680 --> 0:18:30.359 when the wrong thing is happening, afterwards you will come 0:18:30.440 --> 0:18:37.600 out promoted, increased, stronger, healthier, happier, blessed with great abundance. Now, 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:42.200 don't get discouraged by the problem. It's all a part 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:46.280 of the process that God uses to bring about the promise. 0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:48.920 God is not just going to bring you out, He's 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:50.359 going to bring you out better. 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:54.920 He's directing your steps. He's still in control of your life. 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:58.080 Nothing that's happened to you is a surprise to God. 0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:02.720 He allowed that difficult calty not to defeat you, but. 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:06.639 To promote you. God is saying to us what he 0:19:06.760 --> 0:19:07.919 said to the Israelites. 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:13.480 If you will keep moving forward after the hardship, after 0:19:13.640 --> 0:19:18.280 the breakup, after the disappointment, there will be great joy, 0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:24.840 great opportunities, great health, great relationships, great abundance come in 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:28.800 your way. A few years after Victoria and I were married, 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:33.560 we received an unexpected tax bill in the mail. The 0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:36.240 person we hired to do our tax returns lived in 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:40.040 another state. He was unfamiliar with a certain tax law 0:19:40.200 --> 0:19:43.919 in Texas. Now we owed thousands of dollars. We were 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:46.879 a young couple saving up for a down payment for 0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:49.040 a home, and this was going to take all of 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:52.800 our funds. To make matters worse, more than half of 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:56.480 what we owed was because of penalties. I thought, God, 0:19:56.600 --> 0:20:00.400 this is not fair. I hired a professional, he made 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:03.200 a mess. Now I'm having to pay for his mistakes. 0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:06.720 And this all happened around Christmas of that year, and 0:20:06.840 --> 0:20:10.280 we did our best have a joyful spirit, but in 0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:12.600 the back of our minds we could always feel the 0:20:12.720 --> 0:20:13.960 weight of this problem. 0:20:14.880 --> 0:20:17.280 We ended up finding a man to help us get 0:20:17.280 --> 0:20:20.879 it straightened out. He was a tax attorney. For a 0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:21.840 couple of weeks. 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:25.159 He was at our house every night going over documents, 0:20:25.280 --> 0:20:29.359 filling out new forms. We would eat together, run errands together. 0:20:29.600 --> 0:20:33.840 We ended up becoming good friends. Ten years later, I 0:20:34.040 --> 0:20:36.639 was working here at the church at Lakewood in the 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:41.080 television ministry. My parents were the pastor. After one service, 0:20:41.160 --> 0:20:44.680 a man came up said, Joel, my cousin has a 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:50.359 construction permit for the last full power commercial television station 0:20:50.600 --> 0:20:51.240 in Houston. 0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:53.240 He would like you to be a part of it. 0:20:54.080 --> 0:20:56.720 Well, a TV station in a major market like Houston 0:20:56.840 --> 0:21:01.680 is extremely valuable. I was young know anything about negotiating 0:21:01.720 --> 0:21:05.480 a contract for a television station. Then I thought, I'll 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:08.639 call my attorney friend, the one I met during the 0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:12.920 tax issue. Three months later, we had a contract, We 0:21:13.040 --> 0:21:15.600 put the station on the air. My father went to 0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:18.200 be with the lord. I became the pastor. Four years 0:21:18.280 --> 0:21:22.240 later we acquired this place, the former Compact Center was 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:24.880 going to cost about one hundred million dollars to renovate. 0:21:25.600 --> 0:21:28.920 We decided to sell the station. We sold it for 0:21:29.040 --> 0:21:30.040 a huge profit. 0:21:30.840 --> 0:21:34.240 Those funds were instrumental in us being able to renovate 0:21:34.359 --> 0:21:35.040 this facility. 0:21:35.760 --> 0:21:38.720 But it all started with that tax issue. 0:21:39.680 --> 0:21:43.000 What I thought was a setback was really a setup 0:21:43.320 --> 0:21:48.320 for God to do something greater. For a season, I 0:21:48.520 --> 0:21:51.760 was going the opposite direction. But if I had not 0:21:52.000 --> 0:21:55.120 had that problem, I would have never met the tax attorney. 0:21:55.720 --> 0:21:58.680 Without my attorney friend, I would have never pursued the 0:21:58.720 --> 0:22:02.639 television station. Without the station. We may not have had 0:22:02.680 --> 0:22:06.840 the funds to move into this facility. That difficulty was 0:22:06.920 --> 0:22:12.520 strategically orchestrated by God. At the time, I didn't understand it, thought, God, 0:22:12.640 --> 0:22:14.240 this is ruining our Christmas. 0:22:14.320 --> 0:22:17.640 This is not right. I could hear God whispering, Joel 0:22:17.960 --> 0:22:20.280 trusts me. I know what I'm doing. 0:22:20.920 --> 0:22:23.520 It may be uncomfortable, you may not like it, but 0:22:23.640 --> 0:22:27.840 it's ultimately going to work to your advantage. The longer 0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:33.560 I live, the more I realize everything is working. 0:22:33.400 --> 0:22:33.960 For our good. 0:22:34.760 --> 0:22:37.119 We don't like the disappointments. We don't like when a 0:22:37.200 --> 0:22:39.600 friend betrays us. We don't like a closed door. But 0:22:39.720 --> 0:22:42.520 if it didn't happen, you wouldn't make it into the 0:22:42.560 --> 0:22:43.880 fullness of your destiny. 0:22:44.880 --> 0:22:45.680 I know a gentleman. 0:22:46.040 --> 0:22:48.560 He's in his late seventies, and he was in his 0:22:48.680 --> 0:22:52.960 bedroom on a ladder taking a heavy mirror off the wall. 0:22:53.400 --> 0:22:55.320 He got the mirror off, but when he did, he 0:22:55.440 --> 0:22:58.080 lost his balance and began to fall backwards. 0:22:58.640 --> 0:22:59.800 He threw the mirror over. 0:23:00.720 --> 0:23:03.640 When he fell, he hit the dresser and he broke 0:23:03.760 --> 0:23:06.879 a bunch of his ribs. They took him to the hospital. 0:23:07.560 --> 0:23:10.919 The doctor just so happened to notice the main artery 0:23:11.119 --> 0:23:15.040 in his neck was ninety eight percent blocked. Any moment 0:23:15.119 --> 0:23:18.720 he could have a major stroke, probably not survive. The 0:23:18.840 --> 0:23:22.520 cardiologist told him, you're a walking time bomb. We've got 0:23:22.560 --> 0:23:25.160 to do a procedure right now. They did the procedure, 0:23:25.440 --> 0:23:28.680 everything went well. My point is if he had not 0:23:29.040 --> 0:23:33.360 had the fall, without that difficulty, he wouldn't have known 0:23:33.840 --> 0:23:38.240 that he was in great danger. See, every setback is 0:23:38.359 --> 0:23:43.119 not the enemy. We don't like the disappointments, the uncomfortable times, 0:23:43.440 --> 0:23:47.840 but when you realize God is strategically directing your steps. 0:23:48.240 --> 0:23:51.760 Nothing can happen without God's permission, then you will not 0:23:52.000 --> 0:23:53.080 be frustrating. 0:23:53.520 --> 0:23:53.879 Friends. 0:23:54.400 --> 0:23:57.320 The enemy is not in control of your life. God 0:23:57.440 --> 0:24:00.800 is in control of your life. And yes there are 0:24:01.040 --> 0:24:04.760 forces of darkness that come against us. But like with Job, 0:24:05.320 --> 0:24:09.800 Satan had to ask permission to even test Job. If 0:24:09.840 --> 0:24:13.400 that disappointment, that bad break was going to serve no purpose, 0:24:13.640 --> 0:24:17.480 God would have never allowed it. Quit fighting everything that 0:24:17.600 --> 0:24:20.960 doesn't go your way. God has you in the palm 0:24:21.119 --> 0:24:25.520 of his hand. Nothing can snatch you away. You may 0:24:25.600 --> 0:24:29.600 not like what you've gone through, but every difficulty has 0:24:29.720 --> 0:24:32.960 deposited something on the inside. You wouldn't be who you 0:24:33.119 --> 0:24:37.359 are today or where you are today, without the difficult times. 0:24:38.040 --> 0:24:43.520 In that opposition, God was creating opportunity. He was developing you, 0:24:44.119 --> 0:24:49.840 repositioning you, getting you prepared for greater abundance. A while back, 0:24:50.320 --> 0:24:53.359 Victoria lost a ring that her mother had given her. 0:24:54.080 --> 0:24:56.240 It was a diamond band that had been in the 0:24:56.320 --> 0:24:59.960 family for several generations, and sometimes when we would try, 0:25:00.800 --> 0:25:04.159 Victoria would hide the ring different places in the house. 0:25:04.800 --> 0:25:08.359 So for months and months we searched everywhere. 0:25:08.880 --> 0:25:13.320 We looked in every drawer, every cabinet, every pocket. I 0:25:13.440 --> 0:25:16.480 took out every seat cushion, looked in the seat, in 0:25:16.600 --> 0:25:19.120 the couch, under the couch, under the bed. That ring 0:25:19.400 --> 0:25:23.000 was nowhere to be found. At one point, Victoria's mom 0:25:23.320 --> 0:25:25.520 noticed that she hadn't been wearing the ring and asked 0:25:25.560 --> 0:25:25.879 about it. 0:25:26.400 --> 0:25:27.640 Victoria said, oh, Mom. 0:25:27.720 --> 0:25:31.960 I've got it put away in a real safe place. Thought, yes, 0:25:32.040 --> 0:25:32.480 so safe. 0:25:32.560 --> 0:25:33.480 We can't even find it. 0:25:35.119 --> 0:25:38.960 About three years later, we were driving home late one 0:25:39.119 --> 0:25:44.080 night from Victoria, Texas. Was after midnight. I was very tired, 0:25:44.320 --> 0:25:47.560 ready to get home. Victoria kept saying, Joe, you better 0:25:47.640 --> 0:25:50.440 slow down. You're going to get a ticket. I said, 0:25:50.480 --> 0:25:52.440 I am not going to get a ticket. I was 0:25:52.520 --> 0:25:56.400 just barely going over seventy. The seed limit was sixty five. 0:25:56.760 --> 0:25:58.800 I was out in the middle of the country, the 0:25:58.920 --> 0:26:01.760 middle of the night. There wasn't a car on the road. 0:26:02.640 --> 0:26:03.040 All of a. 0:26:03.040 --> 0:26:04.960 Sudden, look in my rear view mirror, and here's these 0:26:05.040 --> 0:26:07.880 red light flashes. I looked at Victoria said, you made 0:26:07.920 --> 0:26:13.560 me get this ticket. She called it into existence. The 0:26:13.680 --> 0:26:16.360 officer came up and I handed him my driver's license. 0:26:16.800 --> 0:26:18.960 He said, I need to see your proof of insurance. 0:26:19.600 --> 0:26:23.360 Victoria opened the glove compartment and started looking. We could 0:26:23.400 --> 0:26:28.160 find every document except our current insurance. She finally pulled 0:26:28.280 --> 0:26:32.080 everything out of the glove compartment, started digging around back 0:26:32.119 --> 0:26:33.040 in there, and you got. 0:26:33.000 --> 0:26:35.639 The officer standing right there, very nerve wracking. 0:26:35.960 --> 0:26:38.480 The middle of the night. You couldn't see anything. She 0:26:38.680 --> 0:26:41.800 was maneuvering her hand back and forth, and one point 0:26:42.160 --> 0:26:45.760 she felt something sharp way down in a crack, thought 0:26:45.800 --> 0:26:46.240 what is this? 0:26:46.440 --> 0:26:48.920 And she struggled and struggled. Finally got it out. It 0:26:49.119 --> 0:26:51.240 was the ring she had been looking for for three 0:26:51.280 --> 0:26:52.080 and a half years. 0:26:53.080 --> 0:26:57.119 Now. I still don't understand why God used my pain 0:26:57.400 --> 0:26:58.320 to find her ring. 0:26:59.600 --> 0:27:00.560 That makes sense. 0:27:02.520 --> 0:27:06.600 Victoria was so excited she forgot all about the insurance card. 0:27:07.680 --> 0:27:10.600 She was over there rejoicing and here I was about 0:27:10.640 --> 0:27:15.720 to go to jail. She ended up finding the current 0:27:15.920 --> 0:27:18.680 insurance card that we needed on the very top of 0:27:18.800 --> 0:27:21.480 the stacks. It was one of the first things she 0:27:21.680 --> 0:27:24.840 looked at. It was almost like God caused her to 0:27:24.960 --> 0:27:28.760 overlook it. I handed it to the officer. He said, 0:27:28.760 --> 0:27:31.960 are you that minister, I said, I am. He said, 0:27:32.000 --> 0:27:34.320 if I come to Houston, will you save me a 0:27:34.440 --> 0:27:37.080 seat in your church? I said, I'll save you a 0:27:37.119 --> 0:27:37.640 whole section. 0:27:41.240 --> 0:27:44.080 He handed it back, said good night, be careful you 0:27:44.200 --> 0:27:44.440 can go. 0:27:45.880 --> 0:27:50.000 Sometimes what we think is a set back is really 0:27:50.080 --> 0:27:53.280 a set up for God to do something great. God 0:27:53.400 --> 0:27:55.920 knew we would never dig way back in that glove 0:27:56.040 --> 0:27:59.240 box unless there was a police officer standing there in 0:27:59.320 --> 0:28:03.359 the middle of the God works in mysterious ways. Everything 0:28:03.480 --> 0:28:07.880 about your life has been strategically ordained. You may not understand, 0:28:07.960 --> 0:28:11.040 it may not make sense. That's what faith is all about. 0:28:11.600 --> 0:28:14.480 Some of you are living frustrated, upset because of what 0:28:14.640 --> 0:28:18.000 somebody said, what didn't work out. Come back to that 0:28:18.160 --> 0:28:20.639 place of peace. It's not going to work against you. 0:28:20.960 --> 0:28:24.639 It's going to work for you. Like God promised the Israelites. 0:28:24.920 --> 0:28:29.600 I believe and declare you're coming into an afterwards, after 0:28:29.720 --> 0:28:33.400 the storm, after the difficulty, there will be great joy, 0:28:34.000 --> 0:28:38.400 great health, great relationships, great opportunities, great abundance. 0:28:38.480 --> 0:28:41.920 Come in your way in Jesus' name. If you receive it. 0:28:42.200 --> 0:28:43.280 Can you say them in today? 0:28:45.160 --> 0:28:47.880 We never like to close our broadcast without giving you 0:28:47.960 --> 0:28:50.760 an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. 0:28:51.040 --> 0:28:52.000 Would you pray with me? 0:28:52.640 --> 0:28:57.920 Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins, Come 0:28:57.960 --> 0:29:03.000 into my heart. Thank you, my Lord and savior. Friends, 0:29:03.040 --> 0:29:05.240 if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got 0:29:05.360 --> 0:29:08.480 born again. Get in a good Bible based church. Keep 0:29:08.560 --> 0:29:09.480 God first place. 0:29:09.840 --> 0:29:12.000 He'll take your places that you've never dreamed of. 0:29:12.960 --> 0:29:16.360 Thank you for listening to the Joel Ustine podcast. Help 0:29:16.480 --> 0:29:19.160 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:29:19.280 --> 0:29:23.160 all over the world. Visit joeloustin dot com slash give 0:29:23.280 --> 0:29:24.920 Hope to give a gift today. 0:29:26.240 --> 0:29:29.160 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope 0:29:29.160 --> 0:29:32.800 you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast. 0:29:32.480 --> 0:29:35.440 To keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying 0:29:35.520 --> 0:29:38.160 for you. I know God's best is still ahead. We'll 0:29:38.160 --> 0:29:38.960 see you next time. 0:29:46.160 --> 0:29:48.880 With millions of books on Amazon, there's a reading feeling 0:29:48.960 --> 0:29:53.440 for everyone. 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