The True You

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That's code iHeart fifty when you sign 0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:27.920 up at unest dot co for a fifty dollars bonus. 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:30.080 See terms and conditions at uness dot co. 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:34.160 The true you is the blessed you, the happy you, 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:38.440 the successful you, the forgiven you. It's still in you. 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:41.720 The beauty of our God is. He never loses the 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:45.640 vision of the true you. He still remembers the reverence 0:01:45.720 --> 0:01:46.720 he felt when. 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:47.520 He created you. 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:53.920 Despite all the falls, weaknesses, disappointments, he still sees the masterpiece. 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:57.080 He still knows who you really are. Hi, this is 0:01:57.120 --> 0:02:00.440 Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and 0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:02.120 thanks for supporting the ministry. 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:04.600 If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a 0:02:04.600 --> 0:02:06.160 blessing and share it with a friend. 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:09.200 We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:10.000 your life. 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:11.079 Well, God bless you. 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:13.640 It's great to be with you today, and I hope 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.160 you'll stay connected with us during the week through our 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:20.200 daily podcast, our YouTube channel, social media. We'll keep you 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:24.080 encouraged and inspired. I'd like to start with something funny, 0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:26.800 and I heard about this minister that died and he 0:02:26.919 --> 0:02:29.760 was standing in line at the Pearly gates. The man 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:33.280 in front of him was dressed in a loud T shirt, sunglasses, 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:34.200 and blue jeans. 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:35.760 Saint Peter asked his name. 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:39.639 He said, I'm Joe Cohen, taxicab driver, New York City. 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:43.280 Peter checked his list, handed him a gold staff and 0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:45.239 silk robe, said, welcome to Heaven. 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:46.880 Minister stepped up. 0:02:47.120 --> 0:02:50.840 I'm Reverend Joseph Snow, pastor of Saint Mary's Cathedral. Peter 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:54.480 checked his list, handed him a wooden staff and cotton robe. 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:57.120 He said, wait a minute, that couldn't be right. The 0:02:57.160 --> 0:02:59.840 taxicab driver got a gold staff and this is all. 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:03.440 Peter said, sir. Up here, we work by results. 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:07.560 When you preached, people slept, but when he drove, people prayed. 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:10.320 Say it like you mean it. 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:13.720 This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:16.480 I have what it says I have. I can do 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:19.160 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:22.959 taught the word of God. I boldly confessed. My mind 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:26.200 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:31.040 the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:34.240 to talk to you today about the true you. On 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:37.200 the inside of every one of us is a blessed person, 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:42.840 someone confident, valuable, talented. The scripture says you have been 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:47.600 fearfully and wonderfully made. The word fearful in the original 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:52.200 language means to stand in awe, to reverence. It implies 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:57.480 honor respect. When God created you, he stood back in reverence. 0:03:57.960 --> 0:03:59.240 He looked at you in awe. 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:03.880 He called you a masterpiece. God didn't make anyone average. 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:07.200 He didn't say I didn't do very good on that one. 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:11.600 They have a bunch of flaws. They're going to be angry, insecure, jealous. 0:04:12.080 --> 0:04:16.160 You've been exceptionally made. But what happens is we go 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:20.760 through life and we make mistakes, develop bad habits. People 0:04:20.800 --> 0:04:25.040 do us wrong, and shame comes, Guilt comes, insecurity. 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:27.200 We don't feel like a masterpiece. 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:31.080 We feel condemned. How can I be successful? Look what 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:34.520 I've been through? Or I'm struggling with an addiction. I'm 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:39.640 not that talented. But underneath the insecurity, the bad breaks, 0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:44.000 the failures, there's the true you, the one that God created. 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:47.640 The true you is the blessed you, the happy you, 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:50.360 the successful you, the forgiven you. 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:52.040 It's still in you. 0:04:52.640 --> 0:04:55.440 The beauty of our God is he never loses the 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:59.520 vision of the true you. He still remembers the reverence 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:00.640 he fell when. 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:01.480 He created you. 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:08.160 Despite all the flaws, weaknesses, disappointments, he still sees the masterpiece. 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:10.599 He still knows who you really are. 0:05:11.560 --> 0:05:14.000 But life tries to put all these things on us 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:18.600 to keep the true You from coming out. Impatience, jealousy, 0:05:18.920 --> 0:05:22.440 bad breaks. The good news is God is not going 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:25.240 to leave us like that. He's going to keep working 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:29.320 on us, making us, molding us until the true you 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:33.680 comes out, the free you, the blessed you, the patient you, 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:39.520 the victorious you. God specializes in removing everything that's not 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:40.200 the true You. 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:44.720 Well, Joel, I'll always struggle with this addiction. I've had it. 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:47.560 Since high school. It's just who I am. That is 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:50.840 not who you are. That's something the enemy put on 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:53.480 you to try to keep the true you from ever 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:56.920 coming out. The true you is free, The true you 0:05:57.040 --> 0:06:01.520 is whole. That addiction is not how you're ends. God 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:02.800 is working right now. 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:04.120 Freedom is coming. 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:07.719 Chains are breaking, strongholds are coming down. 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:09.960 You're about to see the free you. 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:12.440 You're about to step up to who you were created 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:16.440 to be. The forces that are for you are greater 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:19.960 than any force that's trying to stop you. I'm calling 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:23.160 out the free you, the blessed you, the happy you, 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:26.680 the favored you now get in agreement with God. 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:30.080 Not I'll always struggle with this, but I am free. 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:33.800 I am whole. You need to see the free you, 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:35.679 not that defeated you. 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:39.000 Depressed you, the hurt you see, the happy you, see, 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:43.120 the successful you, the married you, the valuable you. Well, 0:06:43.160 --> 0:06:46.040 you may have gone through bad breaks. Someone walked out 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:49.360 on you. You weren't raised in a good environment. It's 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:52.960 easy to carry the hurts. Let that limit your vision. 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:54.840 Carry the shame, go. 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:58.279 Around feeling unworthy, like you don't deserve to be blessed. 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:02.320 Don't believe those lies. The enemy would love for you to. 0:07:02.279 --> 0:07:06.320 Live discouraged, thinking nothing good is in your future. No, 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:09.520 the true you is still in you, the happy you, 0:07:10.160 --> 0:07:12.480 the restored you, the valuable you. 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:16.880 What people did to you did not stop the true you. 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:21.400 What wasn't fair didn't change who God created you to be. 0:07:22.120 --> 0:07:22.760 He's in the. 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:27.160 Process right now of removing everything that's not the true you. 0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:31.440 The anger is not the true you. I'm just hot tempered. 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:34.280 I can't help. But my father was this way, my 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:37.400 grandfather too. That's not who you really are. 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:40.440 It may be the way you are now. But you're 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:43.160 the one to break the cycle. You're the one to 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:46.200 see it come to an end. The true you is calm, 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:52.040 cool and collected. Buy into those lies that you can't change. 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:56.240 God is removing everything that's not the true you. He 0:07:56.280 --> 0:07:59.360 loves you too much to leave you alone. He's going 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.760 to keep work on you until he sees the masterpiece 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:06.960 who he created you to be. In the early fifteen hundreds, 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:10.800 a twenty six year old artist named Michael Angelo had 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:14.280 a dream to sculpture King David out of a huge 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:18.000 piece of marble, twelve thousand pound block that stood over 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:22.360 twenty feet tall. He worked tirelessly for two years, chiseling 0:08:22.480 --> 0:08:27.320 and shaping with great precision, great detail. When he revealed 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:32.320 the finished product, this fourteen foot tall marble image of David, 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:38.080 it was magnificent, so beautiful, so inspiring. Someone asked Michael 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:42.440 Angelo how he could accomplish such an incredible feat, how 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:45.200 he could make this amazing statue. 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:45.840 Out of an old piece of rock. 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.400 He said, I had a vision in my mind of 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:54.200 King David, and I just kept removing everything that wasn't him. 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:57.440 That's the way God is. He knows who we really are. 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:02.320 He can see the masterpiece in the throughout life, He'll 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:06.520 keep removing things that are not who we are. The impatience, 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:11.320 the insecurity, unworthiness. I'm not valuable. Look at what I've 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:13.480 been through, chisel, chisel, that's. 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:14.040 Not who you are. 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:17.440 The pride, the arrogance, chisel chisel. 0:09:17.280 --> 0:09:18.480 That doesn't belong on you. 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:23.400 The unforgiveness, the resentment they hurt me, they did me wrong. 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:26.760 Chisel chisel, that resentment is not who you are. 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:30.880 I never do something great, Joel. Nobody in my family 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:32.920 is successful. I'm not that talented. 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:38.800 Chisel chisel, that limited mindset, that mediocrity doesn't belong on you. 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:42.600 It may try to come, try to dissort your image, 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:47.600 affect your personality, limit your future. The good news is 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:51.640 we have someone far greater than Michelangelo working on us. 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:53.199 We have the creator of. 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:59.000 The universe, the God who makes spectacular solar systems, magnificent 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:01.560 mountain ranges, amazing sunsets. 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:04.160 That's the artist that's working on you. 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:09.520 He's chiseling away everything that's not the true you see. 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:11.319 He can see things that we can't see. 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:15.920 So often we let our circumstances determine who we are. 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:20.120 How people treat us determine our value, how good we 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:25.480 perform determine our worth. God looks beyond all that, Like 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:28.640 in the scripture, with David, he sees the giant killer 0:10:28.840 --> 0:10:32.440 in the shepherd Boy. Like with Gideon, he sees a 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:37.559 mighty hero in a man that's hiding, afraid, intimidated. Like 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:41.960 with Rahab, he sees a respectful, honored woman that's in 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:46.480 the family line of Jesus, in a former prostitute. God 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:50.360 knows what's in you. You may have made mistakes, done 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:51.720 things that you're not proud of. 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:57.199 God sees the redeemed you, the restored you, that honored you. 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:00.360 You may be intimidated, thinking you're not that talented. 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:02.760 God sees the giant killer. 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:06.240 He sees the history maker in you. Or maybe life 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:10.520 has thrown your curves. You've been hurt, abandoned, betrayed. God 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:14.280 sees the valuable you, the blessed you, the favored you. 0:11:15.400 --> 0:11:18.480 Nothing that's happened to you has changed the true you. 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:23.199 God looks beyond our mistakes, the hurts, the bad breaks, 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:25.920 and he sees who he created you to be. 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:29.120 He hasn't lost the vision of who you are. 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:33.120 The good news is he still has the chisel. He 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:36.160 still knows what to remove, so the best you will 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:39.800 come out. The talented you, the confident you, the loving you, 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:45.520 the free you. Now sometimes when God's chisels is uncomfortable, 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:46.880 we don't like him. 0:11:47.280 --> 0:11:49.600 I don't want to bite my tongue. I don't want 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:51.640 to overlook the offense. I want to tell them all 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:54.760 be pliable. Work with God. 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:58.440 Let him remove that hardness that's keeping you from going 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:02.120 to new levels. Driving to work, get caught in traffic 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:05.760 construction on the freeway, some jerk, I mean, some person 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:09.800 cut you off. You'll be tempted to get upset offended. 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:14.280 Let it sour you day, recognize what's happening. God's chiseling 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:18.000 away the impatience. It's giving you an opportunity to grow. 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:21.480 The impatient you will try to keep the true you 0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:25.120 from coming out at the office. You're not getting the 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:28.680 credit you deserve. People are taking your ideas. You could 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:32.360 live offended, trying to get revenge pay them back. No, 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:35.880 let God be your vindicator. Let him fight your battles. 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:39.440 He sees what's happening. He knows what's not fair. He 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:42.880 has the chisel out. You think it's about them, but 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:46.800 really it's about you. That's an opportunity to show God 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:50.080 that you trust him, that you'll stay in peace and 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:54.480 not let people steal your joy. Sometimes God will remove 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:58.959 things we don't understand, remove a friendship, someone that's pulling 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:01.400 us down, causing us to compromise. 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:03.160 We don't like change. 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:06.080 We were comfortable. Now we're going to have to stretch 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:10.600 and grow. Don't fight the chisel. God knows what he's doing. 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:13.079 He's not going to leave something on. 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:15.160 You that will keep you from your purpose. 0:13:15.920 --> 0:13:18.640 He'll never ask you to do something and then not 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:22.000 give you the ability to do it. If he's asking 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:24.880 you to walk away, you know a season is coming 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:25.480 to an end. 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:27.319 That's the chisel at work. 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:30.840 If you're stubborn you fight it, you're going to miss 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:34.160 the greater things God has in store. He's not trying 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:36.840 to take something from you. He's trying to get something 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:39.760 better to you. He wants to bring out the true you. 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:44.160 The true you is more blessed, more successful, more peaceful 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:47.440 than you can imagine. Friend of mine work for this 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:51.000 company for over twenty years. He's the nicest person in 0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:54.920 the world. Always kind, respectful, go in the extra mile. 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:57.920 He called one day and said, Joel, I just got 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:00.600 fired from my job. They said I didn't have a 0:14:00.600 --> 0:14:03.920 good attitude. They were letting me go. Almost fell out 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:07.200 of my chair. This would be like Mother Teresa getting fired. 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:11.840 I couldn't believe it. Sometimes God will close a door 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:16.280 because we're stagnant. If he didn't push us into our destiny, 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:19.440 then the true you would never come out. We don't 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:24.040 realize there's so much more in us, gifts, talents, potential. 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:27.320 God will chisel away things that are. 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:30.920 Keeping you from your greatness. Sometimes they're good, but they're 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:35.040 not the best. Trust him when you don't understand. He 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:38.880 won't remove something unless he has something better coming. He 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:41.240 won't use the chisel if it's not going to make 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:44.280 you better. Yes, it may hurt at the time, it 0:14:44.320 --> 0:14:45.800 may be uncomfortable, but. 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:47.840 God knows what he's doing now. 0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:51.600 About six months later, my friend called so excited. He 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:56.600 just got this dream job, this position running a large company, 0:14:56.640 --> 0:14:59.600 managing all these people. He said, I never knew this, 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:04.600 was never dreamed I'd be this successful, this fulfilled. Let 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:07.600 God remove what he knows is keeping you from the 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:14.960 true you. Unforgiveness is keeping you from shining. Insecurity, compromise, anger, 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.840 that's blocking the best you from coming out. Be willing 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:21.960 to change. You don't have to be perfect, but we 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:25.560 should be growing. We should be better now than we 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:29.840 were five years ago. We should be kinder, more respectful, 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:31.040 better attitude. 0:15:31.600 --> 0:15:34.040 We should be more confident, more secure. 0:15:34.760 --> 0:15:40.600 We should forgive quicker, overlook offenses easier. We should compromise less, 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:45.040 resist the temptation more often. That means we're letting the 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:48.440 chisel chip away things that are hindering our growth. 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:51.520 We're seeing more of the true you coming out. 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:55.880 What's interesting is that large rock that Michael Angelo carved 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:59.480 the statue of David out of fifty years earlier, two 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:02.920 of the most accomplished artists of that time, these very 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:06.640 well known sculptures, looked at the rock and said there 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:09.240 was no way they could work with it had too 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:13.960 many flaws, too many imperfections. They were given the chance first, 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:17.080 but they turned it down because the marble had. 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:19.520 Too many blemishes, too many defects. 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:24.400 Fifty years later, young Michael Angelo came along. He saw 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:28.520 the same block of marble, the same defects, same flaws, 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:31.240 but he looked beyond the imperfections. 0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:35.000 He said, I see a masterpiece in this rock. I 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:37.000 see King David in this stone. 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:40.720 Like those first two artists, other people may look at 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:43.680 you and think they'll never amount to mutch. Look at 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:47.520 their failures, look at their weaknesses they struggle with an addiction, 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:50.400 or look at what they've been through, look at all 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:55.040 the bad breaks, the disappointments. All they see is your flaws, 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:57.520 your blemishes, what hasn't worked out. 0:16:58.000 --> 0:16:59.920 They may discount you, write you off. 0:17:00.360 --> 0:17:04.800 But then, like Michelangelo did, God comes along He says, hey, 0:17:04.840 --> 0:17:08.240 wait a minute, don't abandon that piece of rock. Yes, 0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:11.760 I see flaws, I see weaknesses, but I see something else. 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:13.280 I see a masterpiece. 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:17.680 I see a blessed, strong, forgiven, favored. 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:19.040 Child of the most High God. 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:22.639 It's not that God doesn't see the flaws, but he 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:25.479 knows how to remove the flaws. He knows how to 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:28.520 make you and mold you to where the best you 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:32.040 comes out. Now quit believing those lies that you've made 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:33.040 too many mistakes. 0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:34.920 You're too far off course. 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:38.800 You see yourself as the failed you, the broken you, 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:40.520 the guilty you. 0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:40.600 Know. 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:44.639 Nothing you've done has stopped your destiny. The mercy of 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:48.440 God is bigger than any mistake you've made. The true 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.840 you is still in you, the blessed you, the faithful 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:53.200 you that honored you. 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:54.040 The righteous you. 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:58.719 In the scripture, Peter was out fishing one morning, bringing 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:02.800 his boat close to the sh Jesus came walking by, said, Peter, 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:04.119 come and follow me. 0:18:04.560 --> 0:18:06.280 I'm gonna make you a fisher of men. 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:11.040 Peter had never met Jesus, never had a conversation with him, 0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:15.200 Yet Jesus called him by name. Can you imagine how 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:18.520 surprised Peter was. How does this man know my name? 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:22.240 I know who he is. He's that teacher everyone's talking about. 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:26.400 Yet he called me Peter. God knows your name. He's 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:29.320 the one that created you. He's the one that calls 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:33.719 you a masterpiece. Me joel, I'm not a religious person. 0:18:34.119 --> 0:18:36.960 Neither was Peter. He didn't have any kind of faith. 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:42.160 He wasn't refined, respected, He was a fisherman. He used 0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:46.120 bad language, he was hot tempered, impulsive, he would tell 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:49.320 you what he thought. Yet God chose him to be 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:53.119 his disciple, one of the twelve that would change the world. 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:57.159 Out of all the people Jesus could have chosen, he 0:18:57.200 --> 0:19:01.000 didn't choose a religious leader. He didn't choose the priest 0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:03.840 and the synagogue, didn't choose the mayor of the city. 0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:08.440 He chose Peter. He already knew Peter would deny him 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:09.200 three times. 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:12.760 He already knew Peter would fall asleep in the garden 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:14.879 of gasinimony when Jesus. 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:15.479 Needed him the most. 0:19:15.920 --> 0:19:19.320 He already knew Peter was hot tempered, that he would curse, 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:21.440 that he would cut off the soldier's ear. 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:24.359 Why would Jesus choose someone like this? 0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:29.520 Because God looks beyond the flaws, the mistakes, the weaknesses, 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:33.320 and he sees the masterpiece in the rock. He sees 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:37.359 what we can become. He hasn't lost the vision of 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:40.960 the true you. How He made you before you were 0:19:41.040 --> 0:19:44.800 formed in your mother's womb. Jesus looked at Peter and said, 0:19:44.960 --> 0:19:49.480 you are Simon, but you shall be called Peter. Simon 0:19:49.560 --> 0:19:55.200 represents shifting sand, being unstable, inconsistent, but Peter means rock. 0:19:55.960 --> 0:19:59.560 Jesus was telling him who the true you was. At 0:19:59.560 --> 0:20:02.800 one point, Jesus said, you are Peter, and upon this 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:06.760 rock I will build my church. When Jesus said that 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:11.680 Peter was anything but a rock. He was unreliable, hot tempered. 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:15.400 Yet God called out the true you, the faithful You. 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:20.440 It didn't happen overnight, but God kept chiseling away Peter's weaknesses, 0:20:20.760 --> 0:20:25.880 chiseling away the hot temper, chiseling away the inconsistency. When 0:20:25.920 --> 0:20:28.800 the church was starting in the Book of Acts, they 0:20:28.840 --> 0:20:33.160 needed someone to give the inaugural address, this prominent position. 0:20:33.560 --> 0:20:35.280 Who did they choose? Peter? 0:20:36.240 --> 0:20:40.000 But now it wasn't the impulsive Peter, the inconsistent Peter 0:20:40.359 --> 0:20:41.680 that denied Jesus Peter. 0:20:42.280 --> 0:20:43.200 This was the rock. 0:20:43.760 --> 0:20:47.680 It was the true Peter, the faithful Peter, the strong Peter, 0:20:48.000 --> 0:20:49.240 the anointed Peter. 0:20:49.119 --> 0:20:50.119 The powerful Peter. 0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:54.880 Here's what I'm saying, don't get discouraged because of who 0:20:54.920 --> 0:20:55.960 you are right now. 0:20:56.520 --> 0:20:58.320 God still has his chisel. 0:20:58.560 --> 0:21:01.800 He's still removing things that are limiting your destiny. 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:05.399 You haven't seen your best days. The rock in. 0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:08.840 You is still going to come out the successful. 0:21:08.240 --> 0:21:10.760 You, the holy you, the favored you. 0:21:11.720 --> 0:21:14.199 Now, like those two artists that saw the slab of 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:18.080 marble but said it's got too many flaws, there will 0:21:18.119 --> 0:21:21.800 probably be people that try to discount you, tell you 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:25.280 what you can't become, how you're not talented enough, You've 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:28.840 made too many mistakes. Don't let them talk you out 0:21:29.080 --> 0:21:30.240 of becoming the true you. 0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:34.240 The good news is they're not your artist. They don't 0:21:34.240 --> 0:21:34.959 have the chisel. 0:21:35.520 --> 0:21:38.480 You're not depending on what they think what they can do. 0:21:38.840 --> 0:21:42.000 Your sculptor is the most high God. He has not 0:21:42.160 --> 0:21:46.240 lost the vision of who he created you to be. See, 0:21:46.240 --> 0:21:50.040 my dad was raised very poor. His family were cotton farmers, 0:21:50.080 --> 0:21:53.680 and they lost everything in the Great Depression. His mother 0:21:53.760 --> 0:21:57.239 made ten cents an hour washing people's clothes. There were 0:21:57.280 --> 0:22:00.440 times they didn't have enough money for food. Out of 0:22:00.480 --> 0:22:03.560 high school and to work on the farm. At seventeen 0:22:03.640 --> 0:22:06.720 years old, he gave his life to Christ, the first 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:09.880 one in his family. He felt this calling to become 0:22:09.920 --> 0:22:14.600 a minister, had no money, no education, no training. But 0:22:14.680 --> 0:22:16.639 he told his parents he was going to leave the 0:22:16.720 --> 0:22:18.800 farm and go out and start ministry. 0:22:19.480 --> 0:22:22.280 They said, John, you don't know how to minister. You're 0:22:22.280 --> 0:22:24.440 going to get out there and fail. You better stay 0:22:24.480 --> 0:22:26.000 on the farm and work with us. 0:22:26.800 --> 0:22:29.679 They loved their son, but they could only see the 0:22:29.760 --> 0:22:33.800 limited John, the poor John, the not talented John that 0:22:33.920 --> 0:22:37.600 defeated John. They looked at that marble, so to speak. 0:22:38.080 --> 0:22:40.520 Nothing good can come out of that. Look at all 0:22:40.560 --> 0:22:44.960 the flaws, the deficiencies, the imperfections. If Daddy would have 0:22:45.000 --> 0:22:47.760 believed who they said he was, he would have never 0:22:47.880 --> 0:22:52.400 fulfilled his destiny. People can't see what God put in you. 0:22:53.080 --> 0:22:56.840 Don't let their negative words limit your life. Tune it out. 0:22:57.080 --> 0:22:59.560 You're not who people say you are. You are who 0:22:59.560 --> 0:23:00.240 God says. 0:23:00.040 --> 0:23:03.520 As you are. He says you're a masterpiece. He says 0:23:03.560 --> 0:23:06.840 you have greatness in you. He says you are destined 0:23:06.840 --> 0:23:07.720 to leave your mark. 0:23:08.400 --> 0:23:13.280 But my father grew up with this limited mindset, his poverty, mentality. 0:23:13.680 --> 0:23:17.600 It's all he had known, struggle, lack, mediocrity. But we 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:21.120 serve a God that has a chisel. He doesn't let 0:23:21.200 --> 0:23:24.600 how you were raised, what you didn't get odds being. 0:23:24.520 --> 0:23:26.800 Against you keep you from your purpose. 0:23:27.520 --> 0:23:31.520 Little by little, God removed the poverty mindset. He chiseled 0:23:31.520 --> 0:23:33.040 away the mediocrity. 0:23:33.440 --> 0:23:34.280 Not good enough. 0:23:34.960 --> 0:23:37.680 My father rose up and against all odds, he did 0:23:37.720 --> 0:23:43.600 great things, pastored churches, founded Lakewood, impacted the world in 0:23:43.640 --> 0:23:49.040 that poor disadvantage. Not educated, seventeen year old man was 0:23:49.080 --> 0:23:53.240 a world changer, a history maker. If you only knew 0:23:53.440 --> 0:23:57.040 what was in you. The true you is not limited 0:23:57.119 --> 0:24:01.000 by your environment. The true you is not dependent. 0:24:00.640 --> 0:24:02.360 On what other people think about you. 0:24:02.880 --> 0:24:05.679 The true you is not at a disadvantage because you 0:24:05.720 --> 0:24:09.560 have flaws and weaknesses. The enemy would love for us 0:24:09.560 --> 0:24:13.600 to go through life feel an inferior, focused on a weaknesses, 0:24:14.080 --> 0:24:19.000 weighed down with regrets, guilty from past mistakes, condemned, ashamed. 0:24:19.680 --> 0:24:22.560 But what the enemy put on you, God is about 0:24:22.600 --> 0:24:25.120 to take off of you. This is a new day. 0:24:25.560 --> 0:24:29.920 The chisel, as it were, He's chiseling away wrong mindseense, 0:24:30.560 --> 0:24:34.720 chiseling away negative words that have been spoken, chiseling away 0:24:34.880 --> 0:24:37.600 guilt and shame, chiseling away. 0:24:37.480 --> 0:24:39.440 Hurts, brokenness, offense. 0:24:39.800 --> 0:24:42.320 You're about to step in to a new level of 0:24:42.359 --> 0:24:43.159 your destiny. 0:24:43.640 --> 0:24:46.879 The true you is about to come out the blessed. 0:24:46.520 --> 0:24:50.960 You, the free you, the healthiest you, the victorious you. 0:24:52.240 --> 0:24:54.639 I know a young woman. She was raised in a 0:24:54.760 --> 0:24:58.880 very dysfunctional home. Seven years old, the police showed up. 0:24:58.840 --> 0:24:59.439 At her house. 0:25:00.000 --> 0:25:02.280 She told her to put her belongings in her trash bag. 0:25:02.560 --> 0:25:04.919 She's going to spend the night somewhere else, and she 0:25:04.960 --> 0:25:08.920 grabbed her pajamas, toothbrush and rushed out. She was taken 0:25:08.960 --> 0:25:12.800 to a shelter. Her mother and stepfather were arrested for 0:25:12.880 --> 0:25:17.240 child abuse. She had never met her biological father. Eventually 0:25:17.280 --> 0:25:19.920 she was turned over to him, but that wasn't any better. 0:25:20.400 --> 0:25:22.840 He was on drugs, in and out of jail. 0:25:23.560 --> 0:25:26.719 She became very angry. She couldn't understand why no one 0:25:26.760 --> 0:25:29.280 would love her. She got to the point where she 0:25:29.359 --> 0:25:32.280 built up walls sure she didn't have to feel. She 0:25:32.400 --> 0:25:33.720 became numb to the pain. 0:25:34.000 --> 0:25:37.920 She didn't feel happy, sad, depressed, She felt nothing. At 0:25:37.960 --> 0:25:43.320 sixteen years old, she moved out on her own, hurting, broken, lonely. 0:25:43.960 --> 0:25:46.679 By the grace of God, she showed up at Lakewood. 0:25:47.320 --> 0:25:50.240 She heard us talking about how God is our heavenly father, 0:25:50.760 --> 0:25:53.120 how he has good things in store for us, how 0:25:53.160 --> 0:25:53.720 he will give. 0:25:53.680 --> 0:25:57.439 Us beauty for the ashes. She never felt that love before. 0:25:57.840 --> 0:26:01.119 She'd never had anyone speak faith and victory into her 0:26:01.160 --> 0:26:04.000 and tell her who she really was. One day she 0:26:04.080 --> 0:26:07.159 gave her life to Christ. She said, I realized I 0:26:07.320 --> 0:26:08.679 was no longer an orphan. 0:26:09.040 --> 0:26:11.359 I was adopted by my heavenly father. 0:26:12.040 --> 0:26:15.240 The right people begin to show up, doors begin to open. 0:26:15.680 --> 0:26:16.080 Today. 0:26:16.359 --> 0:26:18.640 That young woman, Desiree, right here on the front row, 0:26:18.760 --> 0:26:21.159 is on staff with us, a beautiful girl. 0:26:21.400 --> 0:26:25.760 She has the joy, the smile, the victory. Here's what 0:26:25.840 --> 0:26:26.439 I've learned. 0:26:27.200 --> 0:26:30.399 God will not leave you at a deficit. What you 0:26:30.480 --> 0:26:33.840 didn't get, what wasn't fair, what you feel robbed of. 0:26:34.280 --> 0:26:36.400 God is going to make it up to you. He's 0:26:36.400 --> 0:26:39.639 going to pay you back for the unfair things. But 0:26:39.680 --> 0:26:42.560 if you would have seen Desiree years back, you would 0:26:42.600 --> 0:26:46.480 have seen the broken you, the abandoned you, the angry you. 0:26:47.240 --> 0:26:49.679 All these things the enemy had put on her to 0:26:49.760 --> 0:26:53.119 try to keep her from her destiny. But underneath the shame, 0:26:53.320 --> 0:26:55.960 the anger, the rejection was the masterpiece. 0:26:56.320 --> 0:26:56.880 There was this. 0:26:56.800 --> 0:27:02.120 Beautiful, confident, radiant, talented young woman. Maybe like her, you're 0:27:02.160 --> 0:27:08.000 carrying shame, hurts, brokenness. Life has put you at a disadvantage. 0:27:08.200 --> 0:27:11.879 God said in Joshua. This day I am removing the 0:27:11.960 --> 0:27:15.920 shame from my people. This day God is breaking chains. 0:27:16.520 --> 0:27:20.119 This day, strongholds are coming down. This day, things that 0:27:20.160 --> 0:27:24.000 have hindered you are being chiseled away. Through my eyes 0:27:24.040 --> 0:27:27.040 of faith, I see the true you, the blessed you, 0:27:27.320 --> 0:27:30.400 the free you, the restored you, the joy for you. 0:27:30.600 --> 0:27:34.879 I see the masterpiece God created you to be. The 0:27:34.920 --> 0:27:38.840 two years that Michael Angelo worked on sculpting David, he 0:27:38.920 --> 0:27:41.760 did it all in private, wouldn't let anyone come in. 0:27:42.359 --> 0:27:45.280 When he finished, he revealed it to the public. Now 0:27:45.320 --> 0:27:49.240 five hundred million people have seen it in person. You 0:27:49.320 --> 0:27:53.800 think about that old piece of rock, flaws, weaknesses. Other 0:27:53.920 --> 0:27:56.840 artists said it was not useful. Yet it's been seen 0:27:57.040 --> 0:27:58.520 by half a billion people. 0:27:59.440 --> 0:28:03.200 When working on you, chiseling away what's not necessary. 0:28:03.640 --> 0:28:06.639 Often he'll do it in private. He'll keep you hidden, 0:28:07.080 --> 0:28:10.640 not noticed. But when it's your time, when God says 0:28:10.640 --> 0:28:12.919 you're ready, he'll cause you to be seen. 0:28:13.359 --> 0:28:15.479 You'll become a trophy of his grace. 0:28:15.800 --> 0:28:19.320 Where people think, wasn't that the old rock that had flaws? 0:28:19.960 --> 0:28:23.200 Wasn't that the fisherman Now he's up there leading, isn't 0:28:23.200 --> 0:28:25.840 that the young boy from the great depression. Now he's 0:28:25.840 --> 0:28:29.360 the pastor wasn't she abandoned by her parents and look 0:28:29.400 --> 0:28:29.680 at her. 0:28:29.720 --> 0:28:30.000 Now. 0:28:30.440 --> 0:28:33.040 God's going to cause you to shine, to be an 0:28:33.080 --> 0:28:38.080 example of what he can do despite imperfections, despite what 0:28:38.120 --> 0:28:40.920 life throws your way. You may have some things that 0:28:40.960 --> 0:28:44.560 are limiting you. Now, don't worry. God still has his chisel. 0:28:44.920 --> 0:28:48.600 He's still working on you. I believe and declare the 0:28:48.720 --> 0:28:51.560 true you is about to come out. What's holding you 0:28:51.680 --> 0:28:55.520 back is being broken. The shame is being removed. You're 0:28:55.520 --> 0:28:59.560 about to step into favor, freedom, wholeness, to become the 0:28:59.640 --> 0:29:03.400 mess peace. God created you to be in Jesus's name, 0:29:03.800 --> 0:29:08.360 and if you receive it, can you say amen? I'd 0:29:08.400 --> 0:29:11.120 like to give you an opportunity to make Jesus the 0:29:11.160 --> 0:29:12.160 Lord of your life. 0:29:12.520 --> 0:29:16.840 Would you say it with me? Lord Jesus, I repent 0:29:16.880 --> 0:29:21.560 of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you 0:29:21.640 --> 0:29:22.880 my Lord and savior. 0:29:24.400 --> 0:29:26.720 If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got 0:29:26.760 --> 0:29:27.360 born again. 0:29:27.920 --> 0:29:30.040 We'd love to give you some free information and your 0:29:30.120 --> 0:29:31.080 new walk with the Lord. 0:29:31.120 --> 0:29:33.640 You can text the number or go to the website. 0:29:33.840 --> 0:29:36.480 I hope you'll get into a good Bible based church 0:29:36.640 --> 0:29:39.640 and keep God first place. Thanks so much for listening 0:29:39.640 --> 0:29:42.800 to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can 0:29:42.840 --> 0:29:46.400 receive the latest podcast to keep you encouraged and inspired 0:29:46.480 --> 0:29:47.280 all through the week. 0:29:47.440 --> 0:29:49.680 Help us to continue to share the message of hope 0:29:49.680 --> 0:29:53.120 with those all around the world. Visit Joelosting dot com 0:29:53.240 --> 0:29:55.840 or click the link in the description to partner with 0:29:55.920 --> 0:29:56.480 us today. 0:29:56.720 --> 0:29:59.160 We hope you'll share this message with a friend and 0:29:59.240 --> 0:30:02.360 be sure to follow on social media. We're praying for you. 0:30:02.760 --> 0:30:05.520 I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you 0:30:05.600 --> 0:30:06.040 next time.