Time To Stop Running

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Start your comeback at Purdueglobal dot edu. 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:04.080 The problem with running is it doesn't go away. Ignoring 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:06.800 it doesn't mean it's going to disappear before you can 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:08.920 move forward. You're going to have to come back and 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:12.399 deal with it. It's much better to face the giants now. 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:16.160 Don't go ten years living below your potential because you 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:18.360 didn't want to do the hard thing. You didn't want 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:21.840 to be uncomfortable. When you take that step toward your giant, 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:24.679 God's going to step in and help you to do it. Hi, 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:27.440 this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:30.759 podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoy 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:33.440 today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:35.920 it with a friend. We appreciate you and pray for 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:42.320 God's very best in your life. God bless you. It's 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:44.720 great to be with you today, and I hope you'll 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:48.080 stay connected with us during the week through our daily podcast, 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:52.520 our YouTube channel, social media. We'll keep you encouraged and inspired. 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:55.360 I like to start with something funny, and I heard 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:58.440 about this pastor. He was walking down the street when 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:01.320 he came upon this group of young boys that were 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:04.920 surrounding a small dog. Yes what they were doing. They 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:08.320 explained that they were having a contest. Whoever could tell 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:11.480 the biggest lie would get to keep the dog. The 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:14.680 pastor launched into a ten minute sermon, starting with don't 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:17.720 you know lying is a sin? And ending with when 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:20.600 I was your age, I never told a lie. There 0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:23.240 was complete silence, and just when he thought he'd gotten 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:25.840 through to them, the youngest boy spoke up and said, 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:29.360 all right, give him the dog. Say it like you 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:32.360 mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:34.720 says I am. I have what it says I have. 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:37.800 I can do what it says I can do. Today 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:41.320 I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess. 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:45.320 My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will 0:02:45.360 --> 0:02:49.240 never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:53.120 I want to talk to you today about time to 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:57.040 stop running. It's easy to avoid things in life that 0:02:57.080 --> 0:03:00.560 we should be dealing with. We've been through hurts, people 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:04.239 did us wrong. Instead of forgiving and moving on, we 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:08.240 push it down, or maybe we need to apologize. We 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:11.400 need to make things right, but that's uncomfortable, so we 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:15.359 keep putting it all. Sometimes we run from our fears. 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:19.359 A new door opens. We know it's a God given opportunity, 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:24.880 but we're afraid, we feel unqualified. Instead of confronting our fears, 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:28.840 we shrink back. Some people spend their whole life running, 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:32.679 running from dealing with their temper, running from getting back 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:35.760 in shape, running from the call of God on their life. 0:03:36.400 --> 0:03:38.800 As long as you're running, you're going to miss the 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:42.720 greatness that God put in you. You can't conquer what 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:47.520 you don't confront. Too often, we're comforting what we should 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:51.960 be confronting. We're making excuses. But you can't run from 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:56.160 everything that's uncomfortable. He can't ignore issues, sweep them under 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:59.680 the rug, thinking they'll go away. When you get honest 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:02.880 with you, when you confront what you know you need 0:04:02.920 --> 0:04:06.720 to deal with. Yes, it may be uncomfortable, but God 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:10.400 gives you the grace, the strength, the power to do 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:14.320 what you couldn't do on your own. When David saw Goliath, 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:18.320 everything in his mind said he's too big. You better 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:20.960 run the other way like everyone else in the army. 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:26.320 But the scripture says David ran quickly toward Goliath. He 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:29.479 knew if he didn't confront this giant, if he didn't 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:34.040 face his fears, he would miss his destiny. He was uncomfortable, 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:37.839 his emotions weren't supporting him. But as he ran to 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:44.640 the giant, he began to feel strength that he never felt. Confidence, boldness, skill, expertise. 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:48.760 He slung that rock and defeated Goliath. When you run 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:52.080 to your giants, God will make things happen that you 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:56.000 couldn't make happen, so you won't reach your destiny. Running 0:04:56.080 --> 0:05:00.200 from things that are hard, running because it's uncomfortable, you 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:04.400 don't feel like forgiving, you don't dealing with a bad attitude. 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:08.039 But when you're running from your giants, you're running from 0:05:08.080 --> 0:05:11.800 your destiny. When you're running to your giants to what 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:14.680 you know you need to confront, what you need to 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:18.359 deal with, you're running to your purpose. Don't take the 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:22.040 easy way out and spend your life running running from 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:25.840 your past, running from your mistakes, running from people that 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:30.560 did you wrong, running from fears insecurity pride. God is 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:35.640 saying it's time to stop running. Face those giants, confront 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:38.599 what you've been ignoring. On the other side of that 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:42.920 giant is a new level of your destiny. Like with David, 0:05:43.240 --> 0:05:46.120 when God sees you make a move to start running 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:49.960 toward what's hindering you, to deal with what you've been ignoring. 0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:53.440 God will breathe on your life and it won't be 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:57.120 as difficult as you think. He'll go before you and 0:05:57.160 --> 0:06:01.640 make your crooked places straight. Running in some area the day, 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:06.360 running from making things right in a relationship, running from 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:10.320 getting your finances in order, running from starting that business, 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:13.960 writing that book, going back to school, thinking you don't 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:17.359 have what it takes. That's what Gideon was doing. He 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:21.080 was hiding in a wine press when an angel came 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:24.279 and told him he was to lead the Israelites in battle, 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:28.440 that he was a mighty man of fearless courage. Down deep, 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:31.240 Gideon knew this was true. He knew the call of 0:06:31.279 --> 0:06:34.279 God was on his life. He could sense greatness was 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:38.200 in him. But he was at a decision point. Was 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:43.479 he going to keep running, letting fear insecurity I'm not qualified, 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:47.200 keeping from his destiny, or was he going to face 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:51.320 his fears. Was he going to confront or just stay comfortable. 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:55.720 You can't become all you were created to be staying comfortable. 0:06:56.400 --> 0:06:59.440 Don't run from things that are hard, don't shrink back 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:01.960 because you don't want to put forth the effort. It's 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:05.680 uncomfortable to get honest and deal with your temper. It's 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:09.479 uncomfortable to forgive someone that hurts you. It's uncomfortable to 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:12.400 say I need help with this addiction. I'm going to 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:16.680 deal with this bad habit. Gideon stopped running. He faced 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:20.360 his fears, confronted his insecurity. He became one of the 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:24.440 heroes of faith. We all face these times like Gideon, 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:27.560 where we have to make that decision. Am I going 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:29.840 to keep putting off what I know I should do? 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:33.160 Am I not going to rock the boat? Deal with 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:36.880 this bitterness? How I treat people, how I see myself. 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:41.520 Are you going to comfort your insecurity, your temper, your hurts, 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.880 or are you going to confront it. The problem with 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:49.320 running is it doesn't go away. Ignoring it doesn't mean 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:52.960 it's going to disappear before you can move forward. You're 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:55.400 going to have to come back and deal with it. 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:58.920 It's much better to face the giants now. Don't go 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:02.320 ten years living below your potential because you didn't want 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:05.240 to do the hard thing. You didn't want to be uncomfortable. 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:08.800 When you take that step towards your giant, God's going 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:11.840 to step in and help you to do it. Nineteen 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:15.920 ninety three, Mary Johnson's only son was at a party 0:08:15.960 --> 0:08:19.720 one night and things got out of control. Shots were fired. 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:23.000 Her twenty one year old son was killed. When she 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:26.600 heard the news, she was so devastated she passed out. 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:30.160 Three days later, they charged a sixteen year old boy 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:34.400 in his killing. That day. She said hate filled her heart. 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:38.760 She was so angry she couldn't sleep at night. At 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:42.120 the trial, she viewed her son's killer as an animal. 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:47.280 She not only hated him, she hated everyone. Mary knew 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:51.160 she needed to forgive, She knew the anger was destroying her, 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:53.880 but she wouldn't do it. She kept putting it all 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:57.040 year after year. He didn't deserve it. It's not right. 0:08:57.080 --> 0:09:01.079 He hurt me too badly. As long as you making excuses, 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:05.080 comforting what you should be confronting, it's going to limit 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:09.000 your life. When you hold on to unforgiveness. It's not 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:12.680 hurting the other person, it's hurting you. We've heard the 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:16.400 saying time heals all wounds. That may be true in 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:21.240 one sense, but you can't bury hurts guilt insecurity and 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:24.360 think they're going to just go away. Those are toxins 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:28.920 that will contamidate your life. Mary kept running. She didn't 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:30.880 want to deal with it. She didn't want to put 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:33.920 herself through the pain. It was too hard to forgive. 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:37.960 But to get free, to be whole, you have to 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:40.480 do the hard things. You have to be willing to 0:09:40.480 --> 0:09:44.040 be uncomfortable. What I've learned is it's not going to 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:47.680 be as difficult as you think when you stop running, 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:50.360 When you deal with what you know you need to 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:53.160 deal with, there will be a grace to do what 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:56.120 you've never done. The reason you think it's going to 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:59.280 be too hard, you haven't stepped into that grace yet 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:04.080 when you make a move. One day, Mary made the 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:07.120 decision that I'm asking us to make. She said, in 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:10.000 the fact, I'm gonna stop running. I'm not gonna let 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:13.720 this anger, this hatred ruin the rest of my life. 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:16.480 She called the prison and asked if she could visit 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:21.599 the young man that took her son's life. They were surprised. Reluctantly, 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:25.640 the young man agreed. She walked in that day, uncomfortable, 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:29.480 not knowing what to expect. They talked for two hours. 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:32.920 The young man told how sorry he was. As she 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:35.760 was leaving, he asked if he could give her a hug. 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:40.760 As they embraced, Mary said, I felt anger and hatred 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:44.120 rising up from the soles of my feet and leaving 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:47.440 my body. It was like a cleansing. She felt a 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:50.800 heavy weight lift off of her. From that day forward, 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:55.640 she's never had any bitterness, anger, hostility. When you stop 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:58.680 running and deal with what you know is hindering you, 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:01.040 it's not going to be as hard as you think. 0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:04.240 God is going to give you the grace. He's going 0:11:04.280 --> 0:11:07.480 to prepare people's hearts. He's going to help you to forgive. 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:12.319 Don't spend your life running what you run from, you'll 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:15.240 always have to go back and deal with before you 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:20.280 can move forward. When we comfort and don't confront, all 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:23.120 we're doing is putting off where God wants to take us. 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:27.920 We're delaying seeing new levels of our destiny. Here's the key. 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:30.640 God will never ask you to do a hard thing 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:34.280 and not give you the ability to do it. When 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:37.840 he's asking you to do something difficult, the grace is there, 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:41.199 but you have to step into it. Your mind will 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:44.800 say you can't forgive. They hurt you too badly. You 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:47.520 can't break the addiction. Just learn them to live with it. 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:52.640 You can't do something great. You're insecure, you're unqualified. Don't 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:56.240 believe those lies. There's nothing the enemy would love any 0:11:56.280 --> 0:12:00.480 more than for you to spend your life running, running 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:03.760 from God's call on your life, running from your fears, 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:07.280 running from your hurts, running from your past. It's time 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:11.800 to stop running. The only way out is through. You 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:14.959 can't go around it, you can't ignore it, and it'll 0:12:14.960 --> 0:12:18.679 go away. Time won't cause it to disappear. But if 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:22.319 you'll confront it, you can conquer it. If you'll face 0:12:22.360 --> 0:12:26.000 your giants, God will give you strength to defeat what 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:29.760 should defeat you. When you do what you can, God 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:32.680 will do what you can when you do the natural, 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:36.840 God will do the supernatural in your own strength. You 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:39.920 may not be able to forgive, to break the habit 0:12:40.120 --> 0:12:42.839 to lead the company, but you're not on your own. 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:47.000 When you stop running, God steps in and gives you 0:12:47.120 --> 0:12:52.160 power favor ability that you've never had. God brought the 0:12:52.240 --> 0:12:55.880 Israelites out of slavery and parted the Red Sea, and 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:59.199 they took them toward the promised land. They were camped 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:02.960 next door. God had already promised in the victory. All 0:13:03.000 --> 0:13:05.319 they had to do was go in and take the land. 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:08.520 But the people living there were much bigger. He had 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:13.479 more experience, more equipment. The Israelites were afraid and intimidated. 0:13:13.960 --> 0:13:17.320 He told Moses, we can't go in there. Instead of 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:20.800 running to the giant, they ran from the giant. They 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:25.360 spent forty years in the desert running. My prayer is, God, 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:28.880 help us to not waste years of our life running 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:33.360 from things that You've already promised we can conquer. Shesian 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:36.720 six talks about putting on the armor of God, helmet 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:40.640 of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the 0:13:40.679 --> 0:13:43.720 shoes of peace, the shield of faith, all these awesome 0:13:43.760 --> 0:13:47.920 things to protect us. What's interesting is there's nothing for 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:52.360 our backside. There's no armor to cover our rear. That's 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:56.080 because God never created us to be running. He created 0:13:56.160 --> 0:14:00.280 us to confront our giants, to face our fear, to 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:04.640 stand strong in faith. Don't be like the Israelites and 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:08.160 spend years of your life running from things that God 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:11.840 has already given you victory. Over All He needs is 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:14.600 for you to stop running. Deal with it. He'll be 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:18.840 right there to help you. Forty years later, the children 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:22.640 of these Israelites were back at the Promised Land. What's 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:26.680 significant is The giants weren't gone. God didn't clear out 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:29.320 the path and just walk into the land. They still 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:33.720 had opposition. What you don't confront, your children will have 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:37.160 to deal with. But when you stop running, when you 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:41.600 face your fears, defeat bad habits, forgive the wrongs, you 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:46.200 are breaking generational curses. You are putting an end to 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:50.560 negative cycles that keep getting passed down. I want to 0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:54.400 make it easier on my children, my grandchildren. I'm not 0:14:54.440 --> 0:14:56.680 going to run from things that are hard. I'm not 0:14:56.720 --> 0:14:59.400 going to take the easy way out. Live afraid of 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:03.280 the giants, intimidated by the size of the dream, letting 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:06.840 my mistakes stop my destiny. No, let's go into our 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:11.400 promised land. The children of these Israelites, this new generation, 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:15.120 they had a different attitude. They saw the same giants, 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:20.040 same intimidation, same thoughts, cam saying you don't have a chance. 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:24.520 Their response was, no, thanks, We're not running. We're not 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:27.760 going to spend our life wandering in the desert. We 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.800 know greater is he that's in us than what's coming 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:35.960 against us. They faced the opposition and went into the 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:40.800 land their parents could have had forty years earlier. Why 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:44.200 don't you confront things that your parents and those that 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:47.960 went before you didn't confront. Maybe they learned to live 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:50.920 with the addiction. You can face it and conquer it. 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:56.080 No more running, no more accepting it. Don't take another lap, 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:59.400 take a stand. You're the one to go into the 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:04.160 Promised Land. You have to be honest with yourself. It's 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:08.600 easy to ignore things, make excuses. You may need to 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:14.080 confront pride, Confront a bad attitude, Confront compromise. Maybe you 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:17.360 need to apologize to someone. You need to make things right. 0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:21.080 The longer you put it off, the longer you're wandering. 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:24.520 To go into the Promised Land. You have to be 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:27.800 willing to deal with things that you know are limiting you. 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:32.560 The Psalmist said, God, keep me from lying to myself. 0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:36.320 That's a powerful prayer. Sometimes we don't want to pray that. 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:38.600 We want to keep things hidden. We don't want to 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:42.280 deal with things that are uncomfortable. But it's much better 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:47.040 to be open and honest. God show me areas where 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:50.440 I need to change. Not my spouse I have a 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:53.360 list of thirty things they need to do, Not my cousin, 0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:56.240 not my child. But where do I need to come 0:16:56.320 --> 0:17:00.080 up highed? When you live out of a place of humility. 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:03.160 You're willing to deal with things that God brings to light. 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:06.199 There's no limit to how high God will take you. 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:10.040 We all have areas we need to grow. Just tempting 0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:13.480 to make excuses, Joel, I've always been hot tempered, I've 0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:18.119 always held grudges. I've always been critical, negative, arrogant, defensive. 0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:21.720 This is just who I am. No, you're running, You're 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:25.119 comforting what you should be confronting. If you'll do like 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:28.840 Mary and face those giants, you'll step in to a 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:32.480 new level of your destiny. This is what Jacob did. 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:37.440 He lived compromising, cheating people. He tricked his brother out 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:40.680 of his birthright. Esau had been out hunting all day. 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:44.440 He came home so hungry. He was famished. He could 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:47.399 smell the aroma from the pot of stew that Jacob 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:50.880 had made, and he wanted some so badly. Jacob said, 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:53.760 I'll give it to you if you'll give me your birthright. 0:17:54.640 --> 0:17:59.199 The birthright in those days were very valuable. Esau was 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:02.840 his twin, but he was the firstborn son. They always 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:07.879 received double the inheritance. Jacob was so manipulative that he 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:12.120 took advantage of his brother, not thinking correctly. Esau gave 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:16.159 him his birthright for a pot of stew. Years later, 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:20.280 when their father Isaac was about to pass, he called 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:23.520 Esau in to give him the blessing that belonged to 0:18:23.560 --> 0:18:27.359 the firstborn son. Isaac was nearly blind, couldn't see it. 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:32.159 Jacob dressed up like Esau, put on his clothes, his shoes, 0:18:32.200 --> 0:18:34.920 his cologne, walked in and said, Dad, here I am. 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:38.960 I'm ready for my blessing. Isaac was a little skeptical. 0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:42.199 He said, is this Jacob or is this Esau. Jacob 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:46.160 said it's me, Dad, it's Esau. Isaac said, come closer, 0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:49.600 I want to feel your arms. Esau was very hairy, 0:18:49.960 --> 0:18:54.480 like my brother Paul Jacob this way, Jacob had on 0:18:54.520 --> 0:18:57.600 a coat of animal fur. His dad felt and said, 0:18:57.640 --> 0:19:01.040 I guess it is Esau. He gave Jacob the blessing 0:19:01.280 --> 0:19:04.639 that belonged to Esau. When Esau found out, he was 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:07.720 so angry that Jacob had to flee for his life 0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:12.800 started running. He lived in exile, worked for his uncle Laban. 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:18.320 What's interesting is Laban was dishonest with Jacob. He promised 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:21.080 him one daughter in marriage, but when the time came, 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:24.639 he tricked him and gave him his other daughter. Be 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:28.280 careful what you sew, because what you saw is going 0:19:28.359 --> 0:19:32.000 to come back to you. Twenty years later, Jacob got 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:36.480 tired of running decided to go back home. What significant 0:19:36.600 --> 0:19:39.199 is the only way he could get home was to 0:19:39.200 --> 0:19:43.240 go through the city of Edom, where Esau lived. What 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:46.280 you run away from, you'll always have to go back 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:50.000 and deal with home for Jacob. Could have been different direction. 0:19:50.720 --> 0:19:53.800 Esau could have moved to another country, but right in 0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:59.240 Jacob's path was Esau. When we ignore push down, that 0:19:59.280 --> 0:20:02.280 doesn't mean it goes away. That's still going to be 0:20:02.280 --> 0:20:05.960 between you and your destiny. The good news is God 0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:09.119 will give you the grace to deal with it. Jacob 0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:11.680 sent word to his brother that he wanted to make 0:20:11.760 --> 0:20:15.320 things right. They'd been at odds for too long. Esau 0:20:15.400 --> 0:20:18.520 agreed to meet him. As they were traveling down the road, 0:20:18.880 --> 0:20:22.160 Jacob saw Esau and all of his men coming toward him. 0:20:22.800 --> 0:20:26.720 Can imagine the apprehension Jacob, not knowing how his brother 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:29.200 is going to respond. Is he going to be angry? 0:20:29.680 --> 0:20:31.920 Try to get revenge? Ll this be a big fight? 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:36.879 Esau got closer and started running toward him. Jacob was 0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:41.120 expecting the worst. But Esau grabbed Jacob and hugged him, 0:20:41.400 --> 0:20:44.720 wouldn't let him go. Went over to Jacob's wife. His 0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:49.119 children hugged them too. After all he had done to Esau, 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:53.240 he never dreamed one day they would be hugging affectionately. 0:20:54.119 --> 0:20:57.160 But when you stop running, when you deal with things 0:20:57.160 --> 0:21:00.119 that you push down, when you get honest with your 0:21:00.119 --> 0:21:03.760 self and make things right, the grace of God goes 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:07.879 before you. God will soften people's hearts. He'll make your 0:21:07.920 --> 0:21:12.560 crooked places straight. Like Jacob, you may have made mistakes. 0:21:12.800 --> 0:21:16.560 We all have. You may need to apologize, You may 0:21:16.600 --> 0:21:19.120 need to ask for forgiveness. You may need to call 0:21:19.160 --> 0:21:21.840 that loved one you haven't spoken to and make peace. 0:21:22.600 --> 0:21:26.719 Don't wander twenty years like he did, running from your past, 0:21:27.240 --> 0:21:30.880 making excuses for your failures, thinking that's just who you are. 0:21:31.359 --> 0:21:35.200 Stop running. Ask God to help you to change. When 0:21:35.200 --> 0:21:38.120 you make a move, you'll see his hand of favor 0:21:38.560 --> 0:21:42.560 making things happen that you couldn't make happen. That night, 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:46.800 before this big encounter, Jacob went to the brook by 0:21:46.880 --> 0:21:50.480 himself to be alone with God. He was reflecting back 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:53.439 on his life, no doubt, thinking about how he had 0:21:53.480 --> 0:21:57.399 treated Esau. Jacob didn't like who he had become. He 0:21:57.480 --> 0:22:01.120 knew he was better than this, and appeared that night. 0:22:01.640 --> 0:22:04.040 He looked like a man, and the Angel and Jacob 0:22:04.080 --> 0:22:08.400 started wrestling. Jacob must have known there was something significant 0:22:08.440 --> 0:22:12.360 happening because he said to the angel, I'm not leaving 0:22:12.680 --> 0:22:16.639 until you bless me. The angel asked him, what is 0:22:16.680 --> 0:22:20.320 your name? That seemed like an odd question. Why did 0:22:20.359 --> 0:22:23.159 he care what his name was? This was the same 0:22:23.280 --> 0:22:27.200 question that Jacob's father asked him when he was there 0:22:27.240 --> 0:22:31.520 to get Esau's blessing. I could imagine a debate was 0:22:31.600 --> 0:22:35.560 going on in Jacob's mind, thoughts telling him, just tell 0:22:35.640 --> 0:22:38.320 him that you're Esau like you did with your father. 0:22:38.600 --> 0:22:41.879 Just keep pretending, keep being dishonest. This is just who 0:22:41.960 --> 0:22:45.960 you are. Jacob thought about it, then said, no, I'm 0:22:46.000 --> 0:22:48.760 not living like this anymore. I'm not going to keep 0:22:48.800 --> 0:22:53.200 compromising making decisions that I'm not proud of. He said 0:22:53.240 --> 0:22:58.840 to the angel, I am Jacob. His name means trickster caniver. 0:22:59.600 --> 0:23:03.960 He was admitting I don't have integrity. I deceive people. 0:23:04.560 --> 0:23:08.600 He got honest with himself. He quit running. The Angel 0:23:08.640 --> 0:23:11.600 didn't say It's about time. He needed to get right 0:23:11.840 --> 0:23:14.920 you're never going to be blessed. When he admitted who 0:23:14.960 --> 0:23:19.080 he was, God changed his name to Israel, which means 0:23:19.119 --> 0:23:23.480 prince with God. The principle is when you get honest, 0:23:24.119 --> 0:23:28.879 you don't make excuses. That's when God changes things. You 0:23:28.920 --> 0:23:33.000 don't have to keep running from your mistakes, from your past, 0:23:33.160 --> 0:23:36.280 from what you're not proud of. When you go to God, 0:23:36.640 --> 0:23:39.080 he's not going to condemn you. He's going to help 0:23:39.119 --> 0:23:42.119 you rise out of what's holding you down and thrust 0:23:42.200 --> 0:23:46.280 you into your destiny. Jacob never dreamed he would be 0:23:46.320 --> 0:23:49.760 called a prince with God. He never dreamed he would 0:23:49.760 --> 0:23:53.600 have a good relationship with his brother, never dreamed he'd 0:23:53.600 --> 0:23:57.000 be able to live in his hometown without fear of 0:23:57.040 --> 0:24:00.040 all the negative things in his past. But when you 0:24:00.160 --> 0:24:03.680 quit running, when you live open and honest before God, 0:24:04.200 --> 0:24:07.040 when you deal with things he brings to light, he'll 0:24:07.040 --> 0:24:10.360 not only restore you, but he'll make things better than 0:24:10.400 --> 0:24:15.359 you've ever imagined. Later in my father's life, I range 0:24:15.400 --> 0:24:19.280 for all these radio stations to carry his messages. All 0:24:19.320 --> 0:24:21.280 I needed him to do was to come down once 0:24:21.320 --> 0:24:23.880 a month, half an hour, and we'd make the openings 0:24:23.920 --> 0:24:27.280 and closings. Was very easy I'd worked on this for 0:24:27.320 --> 0:24:30.600 six months and everything fell into place. But when I 0:24:30.640 --> 0:24:34.200 asked my father, he said, Joel, I'm seventy five years old. 0:24:34.760 --> 0:24:37.360 I'm not looking for any more work. I just want 0:24:37.359 --> 0:24:41.359 to pastor the church and relax. I was so disappointed. 0:24:41.840 --> 0:24:44.560 I said, God, you put a big vision in my heart. 0:24:44.880 --> 0:24:47.520 I'm young. I don't want to do less. I want 0:24:47.520 --> 0:24:50.480 to do more. I thought, maybe this is the time 0:24:50.560 --> 0:24:53.600 to go work somewhere else. I had an opportunity to 0:24:53.680 --> 0:24:57.520 work for one of prominent ministries of that time. But 0:24:57.560 --> 0:25:00.720 when I got quiet, I could hear a still small 0:25:00.800 --> 0:25:05.120 voice saying, Joel, this is your father's vision. Just because 0:25:05.160 --> 0:25:08.320 he's not doing what you want doesn't mean you should leave. 0:25:08.800 --> 0:25:13.240 Stay here, honor what he wants to do. Sometimes when 0:25:13.320 --> 0:25:16.520 we're not getting our way, we want to run. We're 0:25:16.520 --> 0:25:19.679 not getting the credit. They don't see my talent. This 0:25:19.840 --> 0:25:23.320 supervisor is not fair. I'm out of here, and yes, 0:25:23.359 --> 0:25:25.879 there are times we need to move on, but you 0:25:25.960 --> 0:25:31.000 can't run every time it's uncomfortable in your marriage, your job, 0:25:31.200 --> 0:25:34.560 your school. If I had not stayed there and honored 0:25:34.560 --> 0:25:38.639 my father, I don't believe I would be up here today. 0:25:38.920 --> 0:25:41.360 Some of the things we want to run from. It's 0:25:41.400 --> 0:25:45.600 a test. God is seeing how we'll serve when we're 0:25:45.600 --> 0:25:48.600 not being treated right. What kind of attitude will we 0:25:48.640 --> 0:25:52.320 have when it's not fair? We're uncomfortable not getting the credit. 0:25:53.160 --> 0:25:56.600 Don't have a run in mentality. Every time you don't 0:25:56.640 --> 0:26:00.000 get your way, you change jobs, change friends, change church, 0:26:00.440 --> 0:26:05.240 change spouses. Stop running grow in those times. Let your 0:26:05.320 --> 0:26:09.080 roots go down deep. Don't be moved by what's not 0:26:09.200 --> 0:26:13.119 working out. Your character is being developed. God is seeing 0:26:13.280 --> 0:26:17.719 what you can trust you with. Genesis sixteen, Hagar was 0:26:17.760 --> 0:26:21.400 the maid that Abraham had a baby with out of wedlock. 0:26:21.920 --> 0:26:24.760 It was Abraham's wife, Sarah that had the big idea, 0:26:25.359 --> 0:26:29.480 but Sarah was so upset she started making Hagar's life miserable. 0:26:30.160 --> 0:26:34.840 Verse six says Sarah treated her harshly, so Hagar ran away. 0:26:35.720 --> 0:26:38.000 Hagar had had enough. She thought, I don't have to 0:26:38.000 --> 0:26:40.840 put up with this. I'm out of here. She left 0:26:40.960 --> 0:26:44.800 went out in the wilderness, and angel showed up and said, Heygar, 0:26:45.480 --> 0:26:48.879 what are you doing out here? She said, I'm running away. 0:26:49.440 --> 0:26:52.800 These people aren't treating me right. The angel didn't say, 0:26:52.800 --> 0:26:55.359 how that makes sense. I don't blame you, he said, 0:26:55.840 --> 0:27:00.560 go back to Sarah and submit to her authority. Anything 0:27:00.600 --> 0:27:03.600 you run from you're eventually going to have to go 0:27:03.680 --> 0:27:07.440 back and deal with. I'm not talking about staying in abuse, 0:27:07.640 --> 0:27:10.960 but I am saying you can't run every time things 0:27:11.000 --> 0:27:14.240 get hard and reach your destiny. You can't pack up 0:27:14.440 --> 0:27:18.840 because you're uncomfortable. God won't have you somewhere and not 0:27:18.960 --> 0:27:21.960 give you the grace to be there. The angel went 0:27:22.000 --> 0:27:25.280 on to say, if you'll go back and serve Sarah, 0:27:25.520 --> 0:27:28.480 God will give you more descendants than you can count. 0:27:29.400 --> 0:27:32.320 When you stop running, you do the right thing when 0:27:32.320 --> 0:27:35.920 it's hard, there is a blessing that follows. God will 0:27:35.960 --> 0:27:38.679 show out in your life. Take you the levels that 0:27:38.720 --> 0:27:43.480 you've never dreamed. Are you running from something today? Are 0:27:43.520 --> 0:27:47.439 you comforting what you should be confronting. Don't go another 0:27:47.520 --> 0:27:50.520 year out in the wilderness, putting off what you know 0:27:50.640 --> 0:27:54.320 you should do. Get honest with yourself, deal with the 0:27:54.320 --> 0:27:57.679 issues God's bringing to light. It may be difficult, but 0:27:57.760 --> 0:28:00.359 when you take that step, the grace of God. God 0:28:00.520 --> 0:28:03.000 is going to make it easier than you think. If 0:28:03.000 --> 0:28:07.200 you'll stop running, I believe and declare, like the children 0:28:07.320 --> 0:28:11.239 of the Israelites, You're going to break negative cycles that 0:28:11.280 --> 0:28:14.720 have held your family down and go into your promised land. 0:28:15.480 --> 0:28:17.720 Like Mary, You're going to have the power to deal 0:28:17.720 --> 0:28:21.040 with issues. Heavy weights are about to lift off of you. 0:28:21.800 --> 0:28:25.000 Like Jacob, You're going to rise out of mediocrity and 0:28:25.080 --> 0:28:28.520 become all you were created to be in Jesus' name. 0:28:28.960 --> 0:28:33.080 If you receive it, can you say then, I'd like 0:28:33.160 --> 0:28:36.000 to give you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord 0:28:36.000 --> 0:28:40.520 of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say it, Lord, Jesus, 0:28:41.240 --> 0:28:46.200 I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I 0:28:46.360 --> 0:28:50.160 make you my Lord and Savior. If you prayed that 0:28:50.240 --> 0:28:53.600 simple prayer, we believe you got born again. We'd love 0:28:53.640 --> 0:28:55.680 to send you some free information on your walk with 0:28:55.720 --> 0:28:58.320 the Lord. Just text the number or go to the website. 0:28:58.720 --> 0:29:01.280 I hope you'll get into a good Bible based church 0:29:01.520 --> 0:29:05.080 and keep God first place. Thanks so much for listening 0:29:05.160 --> 0:29:08.280 to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can 0:29:08.360 --> 0:29:11.920 receive the latest podcast to keep you encouraged and inspired 0:29:12.000 --> 0:29:12.800 all through the week. 0:29:12.960 --> 0:29:15.200 Help us to continue to share the message of hope 0:29:15.200 --> 0:29:18.640 with those all around the world. Visit Joelosting dot com 0:29:18.760 --> 0:29:21.600 or click the link in the description to partner with us. 0:29:21.600 --> 0:29:24.320 Today. We hope you'll share this message with a friend 0:29:24.600 --> 0:29:27.200 and be sure to follow us on social media. We're 0:29:27.240 --> 0:29:30.280 praying for you. I know God's best is still ahead. 0:29:30.560 --> 0:29:31.560 We'll see you next time. 0:29:33.800 --> 0:29:36.520 With millions of books on Amazon, there's a reading feeling 0:29:36.600 --> 0:29:41.080 for everyone. 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