Wearing Your Blessings Well

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That's code iHeart fifty when 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:27.280 you sign up at unest dot co for a fifty 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:30.120 dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at UNEs dot co. 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:33.040 Hi. This is Joel and Victoria. 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:36.120 Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:36.800 the ministry. 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.280 If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a 0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:40.840 blessing and share it with a friend. 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:43.880 We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:58.520 your life, and God bless you so joy to come 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:01.360 into your homes. I love you, and we know God 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:04.080 has great things in store. If you're ever in the 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:06.400 Houston area, why don't you come out and see us. 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:08.840 I promise you these are the finest people in all 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:11.560 of Houston, Texas. Right here at Lakewood. We'll make you 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:14.600 feel right at home. Thanks for tuning in today, and 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:16.919 thank you again for coming out. And I like to 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:19.440 start with something funny each week. And these are not 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:23.680 doctrinally correct, especially today, but just to make us laugh. 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:25.919 Heard about this husband and wife. 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:30.040 They were celebrating their sixtieth birthdays together, an the angel 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:32.440 suddenly appeared and said that God was going to grant 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:34.480 them each one special request. 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:36.040 They were so excited. 0:02:36.440 --> 0:02:39.160 The wife said, my request is that we'd be able 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:42.160 to travel all over the world, and poof, when the 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:45.600 smoke cleared, she had tickets in her hand. The husband 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:48.760 hung his head in shame, said, my request is that 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.520 I'd be married to a woman thirty years younger than me, 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:55.400 and poof, when the smoke cleared, he was ninety years old. 0:02:57.600 --> 0:02:59.440 All right, hold up your Bible. 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:02.440 Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:03.880 I am what it says. 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:04.239 I am. 0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:07.200 I have what it says I have. I can do 0:03:07.320 --> 0:03:10.000 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:13.880 taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:17.320 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:22.000 the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:25.480 to talk to you today about wearing your blessings well. 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:29.680 Our God is a rewarder of those that seek him. 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:33.040 When you keep God first place and do your best 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:37.000 to honor him, the scripture says, his blessings. 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:38.760 Will chase you down and overtake you. 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:44.280 That means you will come into increase, promotion, good breaks 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:48.800 that you didn't necessarily deserve. That's God rewarding you for 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:52.000 walking in his ways. And we see this principle in 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:53.000 the Old Testament. 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:53.720 With Ruth. 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:57.280 She was out in the fields, following behind the workers, 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:01.080 gathering up the leftover wheak that they admit. She was 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:03.840 being her best, trying to take care of her mother 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:07.880 in law, Naomi, but they were barely surviving. One day, 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:11.520 the owner of the fields told those workers to leave 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:13.920 handfuls of wheat on. 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:15.000 Purpose for Ruth. 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:19.159 Now Ruth didn't have to struggle anymore, she didn't have 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:22.960 to work night and day. Ruth came into blessings that 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:27.080 were simply dropped at her feet. Every one of us 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:30.200 can look back and see times where God has left 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:34.760 us handfuls on purpose, something that we didn't deserve. We 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:37.560 didn't have to struggle, we didn't even ask for it, 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:41.120 We just stumbled into it. That's a handful on purpose. 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:46.839 Now here's my challenge. Don't apologize for God's goodness. Don't 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:50.640 downplay what God has done in your life. Don't make 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:54.719 excuses because a friend might get jealous. Don't try to 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:58.840 hide God's blessings because a coworker might judge you and 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:02.640 think that it's not fair. Know where your blessings well, 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:05.400 you may not have deserved it, but you know what, 0:05:05.640 --> 0:05:09.159 favor is not always fair, It's just the goodness of God. 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:13.800 The moment you start apologizing for what God has done 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:17.279 and downplaying his goodness is when God will go find 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:20.400 somebody else to show his favor too. Now I'm not 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:23.800 saying to go around showing off and bragging on what 0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:26.559 you have and on how great you are. Now I'm saying, 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:30.760 go around bragging on how great God is. We used 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:33.119 to sing a song growing up, Look what the Lord 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:36.400 has done all through the day. We should be bragging 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:39.039 on God's goodness. Let me tell you how God healed 0:05:39.040 --> 0:05:41.280 my mother. Let me tell you how God gave us 0:05:41.320 --> 0:05:43.279 this building. Let me tell you how I met my 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:47.360 beautiful wife Victoria. When you're bragging on God's goodness, when 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:50.040 you're giving him all the credit, you are wearing your 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:54.320 blessings well, and David said in Psalm Oneint. Eighteen, this 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:58.080 is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:01.880 That should be our attitude. Every good thing that happens, 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:04.760 this is the Lord's doing. You know what this beautiful 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:08.720 building is, It's the Lord's doing. My mother being alive 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:12.680 thirty years after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, you know 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:15.960 what that is. That's the Lord's doing. It's marvelous in 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:21.480 our eyes. If you will always see the promotion, the 0:06:21.520 --> 0:06:25.720 good break, the healing, the new opportunity as the Lord's doing, 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:29.680 you won't have any problem wearing your blessings well. But 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:32.440 I used to kind of feel guilty that God's given 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:35.760 me such a great life. I've always been happy, been 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:39.000 blessed to have great parents and grandparents, a beautiful wife, 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:41.960 and again and again, Victoria and I have seen these 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:45.760 handfuls on purpose. God blessed us in a real estate 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:48.640 deal just in an abundant way. We didn't have to 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:51.200 work for it. We were just at the right place 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:54.479 at the right time. It was the Lord's doing. But 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:57.120 when I used to see people that had a hard 0:06:57.200 --> 0:06:59.760 life and didn't have good parents and had to struggle 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:04.360 to overcome things. I would naturally try to downplay how 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:06.680 God has blessed me, after all, I didn't want to 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:10.160 make them feel bad. But I've learned that doesn't bring 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:13.280 any honor to God. God wants to us to be 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:17.120 an example of his goodness. I know now I don't 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:20.320 have to apologize if I get a handful on purpose 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:23.840 and somebody else doesn't. I don't have to hide my joy, 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:24.880 my peace, my. 0:07:24.920 --> 0:07:26.160 Victory, my possessions. 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:29.560 I don't have to dress down and look poor and 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:33.120 pitiful and depressed to show people that I'm really humble. Now, 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:37.160 when you'll wear your blessings well, giving God all the credit, 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:40.560 talking about his goodness, thanking him for what he's done, 0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:44.520 that's what really brings honor to our God. A few 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:48.600 years after I started ministering, a well known reporter referred 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:51.960 to me as the smiling Preacher, and that story caught 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:54.720 on and went all over the world. For some people 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:58.480 use that term in a derogatory sense, like why does 0:07:58.520 --> 0:07:59.559 he smile so much? 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:02.400 What's wrong with him? He couldn't be that happy. 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:05.240 And I was young and new, and at first I thought, well, 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:08.200 maybe I shouldn't smile so much. People are making fun 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:10.880 then I realized what I'm telling you. I don't have 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:14.280 to hide God's blessings. I don't have to apologize because 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:17.800 I smile all the time. I'm going to wear my 0:08:17.880 --> 0:08:20.760 blessing well. If you don't like the fact that I 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:22.400 smile so much, then take this. 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:26.560 I'll be the first to. 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:30.560 Admit I'm happy. God's been good to me. I'm blessed, 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:33.640 I'm prosperous. I got joy, I got feast, I got victory. 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:38.920 And you know what, I'm not going to apologize for 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:42.280 the goodness of God. Some of you used to be 0:08:42.360 --> 0:08:45.280 bound by all kinds of addictions and bad habits, but 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:46.640 now you're totally free. 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:47.760 Let me challenge you. 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:51.560 Wear that blessing well. Tell everyone what God has done 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:56.600 for you. They may call you far out, a fanatic man. 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:58.960 Why are you so happy? Why are you always helping others? 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:01.440 What's up with you? Just tell them I'm wearing my 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:04.720 blessing well. God's been so good to me. I can't 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:07.720 keep it to myself. I got to tell somebody I 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:10.720 once was lost, but now I'm found. I should be dead, 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:13.520 but I'm still alive. I used to live stone, but 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:14.240 now I'm. 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:15.000 In my right mind. 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:19.839 Look what the Lord has done. That's wearing your blessing well. 0:09:20.720 --> 0:09:23.440 Some of you used to be depressed and discouraged and 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:27.280 bitter and angry, but now you're joyful. You gotta smile 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:29.040 on your face. You got a spring in your step. 0:09:29.200 --> 0:09:33.079 You're excited about twenty eleven. Some of your coworkers may say, 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:35.800 come on, man, calm down, chill out, lay off that 0:09:36.040 --> 0:09:39.040 happiness stuff. Listen, Let that go in one ear and 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:42.560 out the other. Don't let them affect you. You keep 0:09:42.600 --> 0:09:45.960 wearing your blessing well, and over time, instead of them 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:48.160 affecting you, you will infect them. 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:50.040 You will help them to come up higher. 0:09:51.200 --> 0:09:54.080 When you dress your best, you're wearing your blessing well. 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:57.360 When you step up and take that promotion, you're wearing 0:09:57.360 --> 0:10:00.880 that blessing well. When God opens the and you move 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:02.800 into that new house you've been believing for. 0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:04.520 Other people may. 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:07.640 Talk or they didn't need that house. Why they leave 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:10.079 our neighborhood. They must think they're too good for us. No, 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:12.200 you're not too good for them. You're just wearing your 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:19.360 blessing well. Now, don't let some negative, jealous, critical, judgmental, bitter, angry, 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:25.280 non smiling person try to make you feel guilty, ashamed, embarrassed. 0:10:25.880 --> 0:10:28.720 Try Sometimes they'll try to convince you that you're supposed 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:33.240 to drag around defeated, depressed, never have anything to show 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:36.680 God that you're really humble, to show God that you 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:41.679 really love him. Now, that is a religious judgmental spirit. 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:46.599 If you want to please God, don't drag around broke, defeated, depressed. 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:49.440 Wear your blessings well, step up to a. 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:53.000 New level, enjoy God's favor. Be proud of who you 0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:55.720 are and of what God has done in your life. 0:10:56.520 --> 0:10:59.480 My father grew up during the Great Depression and his 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:03.520 family was very poor, and he developed this poverty mindset. 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:06.880 He was even taught in seminary that you had to 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:10.240 be poor to show that you were really holy. The 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:13.360 first church that he pastored made sure that he stayed 0:11:13.400 --> 0:11:17.439 holy by keeping him poor. He and my mother made 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.160 one hundred and fifteen dollars a week trying to raise 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:21.480 five children. 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:23.200 One time, they had a guest. 0:11:23.000 --> 0:11:25.920 Minister in the church, and my parents kept that man 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.560 in our house all during the week, and after the 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:32.480 Sunday service, a member of the congregation, a businessman, came 0:11:32.559 --> 0:11:35.080 up to my father and handed Daddy a check for 0:11:35.080 --> 0:11:39.040 one thousand dollars, one thousand dollars back then, like ten 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:42.000 thousand dollars today. He said, Pastor, I want you to 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:44.560 have this personally, because you've had a lot of extra 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:45.880 expenses keeping this. 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:46.839 Man in your home. 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:51.840 But my father had been so programmed with this poverty mentality, 0:11:52.240 --> 0:11:55.600 with this false sense of humility. He took that check 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:59.480 by the very top corner like it was poisonous, like it. 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:00.560 Might contamnminate him. 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:03.880 He said, oh no, brother, I could never keep this 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:04.679 from myself. 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.040 We must put this in the church offering. 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:10.760 Daddy walked over toward the offering plate, and with every 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:13.840 step something on the inside said, don't do it. Receive 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:16.040 God's blessings, receive God's goodness. 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:18.400 He ignored it and dropped it in the offering plate. 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:20.720 He said, when he did, he felt sick to his stomach. 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:23.520 He knew down inside he was supposed to have that, 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:26.480 and thank God. One day my father broke out of 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:30.520 that poverty mindset. He read the scripture in Psalms, the 0:12:30.640 --> 0:12:35.280 Lord takes pleasure in the prosperity of his children. He 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:39.280 began to understand that it brings a smile to God's 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:43.520 face when we live an abundant life. When we prosper 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:47.440 in our health, in our relationships, and in our finances, 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:50.680 he got a new vision. He quit feeling guilty for 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:55.079 God's blessings. He started learning how to receive those handfuls 0:12:55.160 --> 0:12:59.040 on purpose. I say this respectfully, but we have to 0:12:59.120 --> 0:13:03.080 fight that RelA religious spirit that says we're supposed. 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:06.760 To be poor and broke and defeated to prove to 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:08.680 everyone that we're really humble. 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:12.920 Now when we're poor and broke and defeated, all that 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:16.160 proves is that we're poor and broke and defeated. 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:18.200 Nobody's going to want what we have. 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:22.880 I can be poor, broken, defeated without serving God. We're 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:25.920 supposed to be examples of what it means to live 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:26.360 for the. 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:28.920 Most high God. We should be. 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:34.840 We should be so blessed, so prosperous, so kind, so generous, 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:35.679 so happy, so. 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:37.680 Peaceful that people want what we have. 0:13:38.559 --> 0:13:41.240 And if you think, like my father, that you're showing 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:44.240 God how holy you are and how humble you are 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:49.040 by not wearing your blessings, not taking that promotion, your 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:52.320 own thinking is what's keeping God from doing something new. 0:13:52.520 --> 0:13:54.320 You have to enlarge your. 0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:57.920 Vision, friends, God owns it all God blessing you in 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:00.760 a greater way is not going to bay rubbed heaven. 0:14:00.960 --> 0:14:02.400 God makes streets out of gold. 0:14:02.679 --> 0:14:04.679 If you want to bring a smile to God's face, 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:05.280 have an. 0:14:05.200 --> 0:14:06.920 Abundant life mentality. 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:10.760 One time, Victoria and I found these two acres that 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:12.800 we really wanted to buy. We wanted to build a 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:15.160 house on it, and it was a valuable piece of 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:18.360 property close into the city. And God's blessed us through 0:14:18.360 --> 0:14:21.560 our books and other avenues, and we not only tie 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:24.640 their income and we give generously, but we also believe 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:28.240 in making good investments. And I was praying and debating 0:14:28.240 --> 0:14:30.720 whether we should buy this property, and I thought, you 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:33.240 know what, we don't really need two acres to live on. 0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:34.520 We're fine where we are. 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:37.520 Down deep, I wanted it, it was a desire of 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:40.520 my heart, but I kind of felt guilty, like it 0:14:40.600 --> 0:14:43.280 was more than we needed. One day, I was on 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:46.400 an airplane thirty five thousand feet in the air. It 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:49.280 was a clear, beautiful day, and I was sitting by 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:52.240 the window looking out toward the ground, and I heard 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:55.080 God say something to me, not out loud, but just 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:56.440 down in here an impression. 0:14:56.920 --> 0:14:58.440 He said, Joe, you wonder. 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:01.720 If it's okay to buy that property. What do you 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:05.400 think those two acres look like? To me? What do 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:07.360 you think it looks like from my point of view? 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:10.880 From my perspective, Well, from where I was thirty five 0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:12.840 thousand feet in the air, two acres looked like a 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.480 little dot, just like you took your pen and touched 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:15.880 the earth. 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:16.560 It was nothing. 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:20.640 I felt God say, Joel, I give you permission. It's 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:23.480 okay to have enough land the size of a pen 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:27.720 head to me. See, we think so small, we think limited. 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:28.840 God owns it all. 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:32.440 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. We 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:34.320 have to enlarge our vision. 0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:38.040 So often we think, is it wrong for me to 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.280 want to live in a nice house? Is it wrong 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:42.720 for me to want a bigger piece of property? Is 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:45.120 it selfish for me to want to drive a nice car? 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:47.280 Is it okay for me to want to bless my 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:51.160 children and leave them an inheritance? God is saying, it's 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:55.080 okay where your blessings. Well, as long as you're keeping 0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:58.320 God first place, and you're not living selfishly, and you're 0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:01.280 not making those things of an idol, then God wants 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:04.040 to give you the desires of your heart. He takes 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:08.040 pleasure in prospering his children. I was talking to a 0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:11.040 young man after the service not long ago. He works 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:14.440 for this major retail company and he'd just gotten. 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:15.240 A big promotion. 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:18.640 In fact, he's the youngest person to ever hold this 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:22.360 position in this company. He oversees the largest region of 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:25.560 the country, and he was very excited. He knew it 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:29.280 was God's favor, but he got promoted over people that 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:32.160 had been there much longer than him, that had. 0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:33.160 Much more experience. 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:37.480 They had been his friends, but now they were sort 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:40.720 of avoiding him, starting to talk behind his back and 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:43.960 starting to try to make him look bad. He said, Joel, 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:46.600 I know this is Ephesians three twenty. This is just 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:49.640 what you've been talking about. But I feel kind of guilty, 0:16:49.720 --> 0:16:52.600 like I've done something wrong. I told him what I'm 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:56.320 telling you, that is the goodness of God were it will. 0:16:56.920 --> 0:17:00.200 Favor is not always fair, and the scripture said as 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:04.160 promotion doesn't come from people, Promotion comes from the Lord. 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:06.640 And if you don't step up and wear that blessing, 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:09.879 take that promotion with a grateful attitude, you know what'll happen. 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:13.439 God will give it to somebody else. And I've learned 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:17.400 Some people will be your friend until you get promoted. 0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:20.320 Some people will go to lunch with you as long 0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:23.199 as you're at the same level. But the moment you 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:26.880 see increase, the moment you come into a handful on purpose, 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:29.960 they get jealous and critical, try to make it look bad. 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:33.080 Just don't worry about it. God will fight your battles. 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:35.879 God will take care of your enemies. You don't let 0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:39.880 anything make you feel guilty, embarrassed, ashamed. That's the goodness 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:42.840 of God. Learn to wear it well. We see an 0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:46.480 example of this in the scripture. One time Isaac was 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:49.159 in a famine. There'd been a great draft in the 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:51.720 land for some time. Didn't look like there was any 0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:55.239 end in sight. Isaac went out to his land and 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:59.119 he planted crops right in the middle of the famine. 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:03.080 Didn't make it any but somehow, in that same year, 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:08.000 without the proper amount of water. The scripture says, Isaac 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:12.600 received one hundred times what he had sown because the 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:17.119 Lord blessed him. Notice where the blessing came from, Almighty God. 0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:21.640 It was a handful on purpose, just like Ruth supernatural increase. 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:25.200 But what's interesting is when his crops came up, when 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:29.560 God blessed him the people he was living around, the Philistines, 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:34.000 his friends. All of a sudden they got jealous of him. 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:34.840 It's funny. 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:38.000 They were fine before. As long as he was broke, 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:40.440 they were tight. As long as they were at the 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:43.000 same level, it was no big deal. But when he 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:45.840 stepped up to a new level, when he began to 0:18:45.880 --> 0:18:51.320 wear his blessings well, the scripture says, the Philistines hated Isaac. 0:18:52.000 --> 0:18:55.000 If you worry about everybody liking you, you're gonna have 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:58.320 a problem being blessed, because when you're blessed, the haters 0:18:58.320 --> 0:19:00.840 come out. When you step up to a new level, 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:05.560 the backbiter show up. When you wear that blessing well 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:08.760 and you take one of those handfuls on purpose, gonna 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:11.840 be surprised if it draws jealousy out of people. And 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:13.960 we got to get to the point where we say, 0:19:14.400 --> 0:19:18.919 not arrogantly, but in humility, I'm gonna wear this blessing well. 0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:21.760 In Spider who doesn't like it, I'm gonna take this 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:24.879 promotion in Spider who gets jealous. I'm gonna drive this 0:19:25.000 --> 0:19:27.880 car in spite of who criticizes. I'm gonna move into 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:31.639 this neighborhood in spite of who judges me. Friend's life 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:34.840 is way too short to worry about what everybody thinks. 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:38.280 If your friends get jealous and judge you and are critical, 0:19:38.440 --> 0:19:41.720 let me tell you need some new friends, because true 0:19:41.720 --> 0:19:44.520 friends celebrate you, True friends cheer your own. 0:19:44.880 --> 0:19:49.199 True friends are happy when you succeed. What would have 0:19:49.280 --> 0:19:53.480 happened if Ruth would have worried about what everybody thought. 0:19:53.600 --> 0:19:56.320 What if she'd have said, I can't take these handfuls 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.040 on purpose. I can't take this wheat for free, these 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:00.280 other workers. 0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:01.600 Or having to work for it. 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:04.440 They're gonna be jealous, They're gonna have an attitude, they're 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:05.560 gonna talk bad about me. 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:07.200 No, she understood this. 0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:11.560 Principle that favor is not always fair. She didn't apologize 0:20:11.600 --> 0:20:13.879 for it. She didn't try to hide the wheat and 0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:16.800 run off. No, she said, like David, this is the 0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:20.560 Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. In other words, 0:20:20.560 --> 0:20:24.080 she wore her blessing. Well, a friend of mine was 0:20:24.080 --> 0:20:26.560 here the other day, and he pastors a church in 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:29.920 another state, and they meet in a high school auditorium, 0:20:30.080 --> 0:20:32.600 So every Sunday they have to move their equipment in and. 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:33.840 Out, and it's a lot of work. 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:37.680 His dream is to one day build his own auditorium. 0:20:38.160 --> 0:20:40.440 We were in the back and at first I thought, 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:42.960 I Am not going to go show him our sanctuary. 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:45.080 That is gonna look like I'm bragging. 0:20:45.119 --> 0:20:47.760 It's too big. He's not gonna be impressed by it. 0:20:47.800 --> 0:20:50.439 He's gonna be depressed by it. I was tempted to 0:20:50.480 --> 0:20:54.560 downplay it and kind of apologize for it. Then I realized, 0:20:54.760 --> 0:20:57.840 I'm not bragging on us. I'm bragging on what God 0:20:57.920 --> 0:21:00.359 has done. I had to shake off that, and I 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:01.639 brought him out here and said, here it is. 0:21:01.840 --> 0:21:03.680 Look what the Lord has done. 0:21:03.880 --> 0:21:06.399 Before he left, I reminded him, if God did. 0:21:06.240 --> 0:21:08.200 It for us, he can do it for you as well. 0:21:09.040 --> 0:21:14.040 Don't apologize for God's good bliss. See, I realized the 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:18.000 reason I'm standing here is because I have parents that 0:21:18.200 --> 0:21:21.800 sowed seeds for forty years before I ever got here. 0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:27.000 I'm reaping the rewards of a generational blessing. My grandmother 0:21:27.119 --> 0:21:30.760 on my father's side, during the Great Depression, she made 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:33.280 ten cents an hour washing people's clothes. 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:36.359 She worked twelve hours a day, made a dollar and 0:21:36.440 --> 0:21:37.199 twenty cents. 0:21:37.640 --> 0:21:40.880 My father went to school with holes in his pants, 0:21:40.880 --> 0:21:43.080 and he would put cardboard in the bottom of his 0:21:43.119 --> 0:21:46.400 shoes because those shoes were so torn up. They made 0:21:46.440 --> 0:21:50.000 great sacrifices to get us where we are today. I'm 0:21:50.040 --> 0:21:54.000 going to wear my blessings well. People may criticize, they 0:21:54.040 --> 0:21:57.560 may judge you, they may find fault, but they don't 0:21:57.600 --> 0:21:59.880 know what it took to get you to where you are. 0:22:01.240 --> 0:22:03.880 They weren't there when we used to come down as 0:22:03.920 --> 0:22:06.520 a family when I was a little boy and sweep. 0:22:06.280 --> 0:22:08.119 The church out, cleaned the buildings. 0:22:08.520 --> 0:22:11.000 They weren't there when my father used to travel for 0:22:11.040 --> 0:22:14.920 several weeks at a time overseas doing missionary work. When 0:22:14.920 --> 0:22:17.080 my mother taking care of five children on her own. 0:22:17.720 --> 0:22:20.480 They weren't there when my mom was diagnosed with terminal 0:22:20.520 --> 0:22:23.440 cancer and we fought the good fight of faith. They 0:22:23.480 --> 0:22:25.399 weren't there when my father went to be with the 0:22:25.440 --> 0:22:28.560 Lord and I stepped up to pass the church practically 0:22:28.600 --> 0:22:32.240 scared to death. Some people come in at the end 0:22:32.359 --> 0:22:35.520 of the movie and they see you blessed and prosperous 0:22:35.560 --> 0:22:38.680 and healthy and sober and free and happy, and they 0:22:38.720 --> 0:22:41.879 want to judge you and criticize. But the problem is 0:22:42.119 --> 0:22:45.440 they missed the first part. They didn't see the sacrifices 0:22:45.440 --> 0:22:47.920 that your relatives may They didn't see. 0:22:47.760 --> 0:22:49.400 The struggles that you endured. 0:22:51.320 --> 0:22:55.040 They didn't see the battles that you fought, the times 0:22:55.040 --> 0:22:57.879 you felt like giving up, but you kept pressing forward, 0:22:58.359 --> 0:23:00.960 the knights that you stayed up in, prayed, maid and believed, 0:23:01.000 --> 0:23:04.199 and gave and served. They didn't see the price that 0:23:04.400 --> 0:23:07.199 was paid to get you to where you are. That 0:23:07.320 --> 0:23:10.240 blessing may look free, but the truth is it costs 0:23:10.240 --> 0:23:13.960 you something. Like Ruth that handful of purpose. It came 0:23:14.280 --> 0:23:17.600 after she buried her husband, after her father in law 0:23:17.600 --> 0:23:21.200 had died. She had suffered great heartache and pain, and 0:23:21.280 --> 0:23:23.879 I'm sure some of those workers said, hey, it's not fair. 0:23:24.280 --> 0:23:26.399 Why is this lady getting all this free wheat and 0:23:26.440 --> 0:23:29.520 we're having to work. They didn't realize Ruth had paid 0:23:29.520 --> 0:23:32.880 the price. She had proven herself as being faithful, She 0:23:32.960 --> 0:23:34.440 was taking care of her loved ones. 0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:36.480 Now God was rewarding her. 0:23:37.480 --> 0:23:40.520 Some of you, your relatives, were treated like they were 0:23:40.600 --> 0:23:43.760 second class, made to sit in the back of the bus, 0:23:44.280 --> 0:23:50.320 suffered great injustice the whole time, believing for a better day, hoping, praying, 0:23:50.600 --> 0:23:52.040 singing songs of freedom. 0:23:52.480 --> 0:23:54.560 Now you are living in the day. 0:23:54.800 --> 0:24:00.520 They dreamed of where they're blessing. Well, we don't let 0:24:00.560 --> 0:24:03.840 anyone make you feel guilty for the favor, the honor, 0:24:03.920 --> 0:24:06.639 the joy, the peace, the victory that God has given you. 0:24:07.000 --> 0:24:10.720 Somebody paid the price seeds were sown. If you could 0:24:10.760 --> 0:24:14.080 look back in your family line and see the sacrifices 0:24:14.119 --> 0:24:17.239 that people made by doing the right thing when it 0:24:17.280 --> 0:24:19.880 was hard, when it was unfair, that you would make 0:24:19.920 --> 0:24:22.760 sure that nothing kept you from wearing your blessings. 0:24:22.760 --> 0:24:23.080 Well. 0:24:23.600 --> 0:24:26.480 The scripture talks about this. It says we will live 0:24:26.520 --> 0:24:27.760 in houses. 0:24:27.280 --> 0:24:30.000 That we did not build. We will reap from vineyards 0:24:30.000 --> 0:24:31.000 that we did not plan. 0:24:31.760 --> 0:24:35.960 Those are generational blessings, God rewarding us for the seeds 0:24:36.000 --> 0:24:39.560 other people have sown. My grandmother that made ten cents 0:24:39.600 --> 0:24:42.560 an hour, Today I'm wearing her blessings. 0:24:42.560 --> 0:24:46.280 Well. My grandfather on my mom's. 0:24:45.920 --> 0:24:49.720 Side, he worked at the Baytown Exon refinery for thirty 0:24:49.720 --> 0:24:53.840 five years and never missed a single day of work. Today, 0:24:53.960 --> 0:24:57.760 I'm reaping from the seeds that he is sown. Sometimes 0:24:57.760 --> 0:25:00.440 when we stumble into that handful on par purpose and 0:25:00.880 --> 0:25:03.640 God gives us something we don't deserve, what we don't 0:25:03.680 --> 0:25:08.159 realize is somebody in our family line sowed seeds every 0:25:08.280 --> 0:25:12.280 act of kindness. Every time one of your relatives sacrificed 0:25:12.320 --> 0:25:15.879 and honored God, God saw it. They may not have 0:25:15.920 --> 0:25:19.280 reaped a reward in their lifetime, but God is faithful. 0:25:19.400 --> 0:25:22.760 He doesn't forget about it. Now, when you run into 0:25:22.800 --> 0:25:26.800 one of those handfuls on purpose, that's God honoring your past, 0:25:27.320 --> 0:25:30.160 blessing you for seeds that people have sown before you. 0:25:30.680 --> 0:25:33.160 And again, I know the reason I'm here is for 0:25:33.160 --> 0:25:37.480 forty years my parents served and gaveed and helped others. 0:25:37.920 --> 0:25:39.320 I hear reports all the time. 0:25:39.680 --> 0:25:42.200 Joe, your dad came up to the hospital and prayed 0:25:42.200 --> 0:25:45.080 for my loved one. Your mother called my friend when 0:25:45.119 --> 0:25:48.040 she was so sick and encouraged her. Your parents came 0:25:48.080 --> 0:25:50.600 to our home when we lost one of our relatives. 0:25:50.640 --> 0:25:51.439 Again and again. 0:25:52.320 --> 0:25:54.960 Just last week, a gentleman stopped me and told me 0:25:55.480 --> 0:25:58.520 how my father bumped into him on a downtown street 0:25:58.520 --> 0:26:02.280 here in Houston, back in the nineteen seventies. My dad 0:26:02.320 --> 0:26:04.720 didn't know this young man, and this young man was 0:26:04.760 --> 0:26:06.960 at one of the lowest points in his life. He 0:26:07.000 --> 0:26:09.680 had just dropped out of school, didn't have any direction. 0:26:10.200 --> 0:26:12.240 But my father came up to him and gave him 0:26:12.240 --> 0:26:14.400 one hundred dollars and he said, young men, I don't 0:26:14.440 --> 0:26:15.800 know you, but God's got a. 0:26:15.720 --> 0:26:18.720 Great plan for your life. You keep moving forward. That 0:26:18.880 --> 0:26:20.600 was a turning point in his life. 0:26:21.240 --> 0:26:24.159 He went back to school God. His education today is 0:26:24.160 --> 0:26:28.200 a medical doctrine. He's got a very successful practice. You know, Listen, 0:26:28.920 --> 0:26:32.879 when I wear my blessings, well, I'm not only honoring God. 0:26:33.480 --> 0:26:36.439 I'm honoring my earthly father who gave his life to 0:26:36.480 --> 0:26:39.439 help others. I'm honoring my mother who has cared for 0:26:39.520 --> 0:26:43.520 so many. I'm honoring my grandmother that worked tirelessly. I'm 0:26:43.560 --> 0:26:47.520 honoring my grandfather that gave and served. When you see 0:26:47.560 --> 0:26:52.560 me standing here, happy, healthy, blessed, prosperous, I make no apologies. 0:26:52.680 --> 0:26:56.840 It's the goodness of God being passed from generation to generation. 0:26:59.160 --> 0:27:01.520 I'm not going to down play it. I'm not gonna 0:27:01.520 --> 0:27:05.960 make excuses. I know God takes pleasure in the prosperity 0:27:06.000 --> 0:27:09.240 of his children, and our attitude should be not look 0:27:09.280 --> 0:27:11.800 how great I am, Look at what all I have. 0:27:12.040 --> 0:27:14.359 No turn it around, look at how great God is. 0:27:14.600 --> 0:27:16.560 Look what the Lord has done in my life and 0:27:16.600 --> 0:27:19.800 my family all through the day. We should be bragging 0:27:19.880 --> 0:27:22.600 on the goodness of God. We may not have deserved it, 0:27:22.880 --> 0:27:26.000 we didn't earn it. Many times, it's just another handful 0:27:26.119 --> 0:27:30.000 on purpose. Favor is not always fair. Now, don't let 0:27:30.040 --> 0:27:35.080 some negative, judgmental, jealous person or even your own thoughts 0:27:35.400 --> 0:27:38.159 try to convince you to not where the blessings God's 0:27:38.200 --> 0:27:38.640 given you. 0:27:39.400 --> 0:27:42.280 Drive that nice car. It is the Lord's doing. 0:27:42.840 --> 0:27:44.840 Live in that beautiful house that God gave you. 0:27:45.040 --> 0:27:46.000 It's the Lord's doing. 0:27:46.359 --> 0:27:49.119 Step up and take that promotion. It's the goodness of God. 0:27:49.560 --> 0:27:52.240 Smile even if people make fun of you, don't hide 0:27:52.240 --> 0:27:52.680 your gift. 0:27:52.760 --> 0:27:53.760 God gave it to you. 0:27:53.840 --> 0:27:57.240 Listen, people are always gonna talk. That's their problem, not 0:27:57.400 --> 0:28:00.520 yours and friends. If you will wear your blessed well, 0:28:01.040 --> 0:28:04.320 being quick to always give God the credit, then there's 0:28:04.359 --> 0:28:06.840 no limit to where God will take you. He'll make 0:28:06.920 --> 0:28:10.840 you an example of what it means to live a blessed, prosperous, 0:28:10.880 --> 0:28:14.600 abundant life. Now, I believe and declare you're not going 0:28:14.640 --> 0:28:17.520 to have an average, mediocre get by a year. You're 0:28:17.520 --> 0:28:20.720 going to have an exceptional year filled with God's far 0:28:20.800 --> 0:28:24.720 and beyond favor, increase, promotion and good breaks. Come on, 0:28:24.800 --> 0:28:26.879 give the Lord a shat of praise one more time today. 0:28:29.520 --> 0:28:31.000 We never like to close our. 0:28:30.880 --> 0:28:34.439 Broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the 0:28:34.480 --> 0:28:37.320 Lord of your life. Not talking about joining a church 0:28:37.440 --> 0:28:40.840 or finding religion. I'm talking about having a relationship with 0:28:40.880 --> 0:28:42.280 the creator of the universe. 0:28:42.360 --> 0:28:43.280 Would you pray with me? 0:28:43.880 --> 0:28:48.960 Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come 0:28:49.000 --> 0:28:49.720 into my heart. 0:28:50.800 --> 0:28:52.440 I make you my Lord and savior. 0:28:53.880 --> 0:28:56.200 Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you 0:28:56.240 --> 0:28:59.040 got born again. Get in a good Bible based church. 0:28:59.360 --> 0:29:02.440 Keep God first place. He'll take your places that you've 0:29:02.440 --> 0:29:03.120 never dreamed of. 0:29:03.360 --> 0:29:06.760 Thank you for listening to the joel Osteine podcast. Help 0:29:06.840 --> 0:29:09.560 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:29:09.680 --> 0:29:13.560 all over the world. Visit Joelostin dot com slash give 0:29:13.640 --> 0:29:15.320 Hope to give a gift today. 0:29:16.600 --> 0:29:19.040 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. 0:29:19.160 --> 0:29:21.920 I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest 0:29:21.960 --> 0:29:23.400 podcast to keep. 0:29:23.200 --> 0:29:26.200 You inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. 0:29:26.360 --> 0:29:28.840 I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you 0:29:28.880 --> 0:29:29.400 next time.