Your Father's World

0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:03.760 Welcome to the Joe Loostine Podcast. Help let's continue to 0:00:03.800 --> 0:00:06.760 share the message of hope with those all over the world. 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:10.760 Visit joeloostin dot com slash give hope to give a 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:13.120 gift today. 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:25.680 Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:28.640 your homes. And if you're ever in our area, please 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:31.400 stop buying. Be a part of one of our services. 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:34.160 I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:37.040 I like to start with something funny, and I heard 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:40.159 about this minister that was driving down the road when 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:43.680 he got pulled over by a policeman. The officer came 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:47.480 to his window and smelled alcohol. He saw a thermos 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:50.720 and said, sir, what are you drinking. The minister said, 0:00:50.840 --> 0:00:54.200 just water. Officer, he asked to see the thermoist. He 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:57.640 took one sniff and said, this smells like wine to me. 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:01.000 The minister said, what do you know? Jesus did it 0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:05.400 again and say it like you mean it. This is 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:08.520 my Bible. I am what it says I am. I 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:11.000 have what it says I have. I can do what 0:01:11.080 --> 0:01:13.840 it says I can do. Today I will be taught 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:17.560 the word of God. I boldly confess my mind is 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:21.319 alert my heart is receptive. I will never be the same. 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:25.920 In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want to talk 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:29.800 to you today about your father's world. We knew this 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:34.440 man growing up that was very successful, very wealthy. He 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:38.520 built a large business with offices around the world. His 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:42.479 wife of many years had died earlier. They'd never had 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:47.280 any children. He remarried a lady much younger than he was. 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:50.720 When he was sixty five, they found out that they 0:01:50.720 --> 0:01:54.480 were pregnant. He couldn't believe at that age she was 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:57.840 going to have a baby, his first child. While he 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:01.840 was excited, he was a little inted. They were used 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:05.000 to traveling the world and going whenever they wanted, and 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:08.280 now they were going to have this new responsibility. He 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:10.760 was looking forward to it, of course, but in the 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:13.720 back of his mind, thinking it was going to cramp 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:18.040 his style. His wife went into labor, left an important meeting, 0:02:18.360 --> 0:02:21.919 rushed to the hospital. When she gave birth, the nurse 0:02:22.040 --> 0:02:26.280 handed him his son. He held that baby and felt 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:29.359 something that he had never felt. He began to weep 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:32.920 and weep. He was so overcome with joy and so 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:36.919 overwhelmed with gratitude. He looked him in the eyes and said, 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:41.120 I can't wait to give you my world. He was 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:44.080 so in love with this baby. He took him wherever 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:47.000 he went, showed him off to friends. He was the 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:51.359 proudest father you could ever meet. That's the way your 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:55.680 heavenly father feels about you. He's been thinking about you 0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:59.960 a long time before you were formed in your mother's wombs. 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:04.640 He knew you. He's already planned out your days. He 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:07.840 didn't create you to be average, to be mediocre, to 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:13.600 get by in life. He's lined up amazing opportunities, good breaks, 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:17.600 the right people. He's saying to you, I can't wait 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:21.920 to give you my world. His world is big, His 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:25.839 world is abundant. His world is full of favor. He's 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:29.280 going to take you further than you've dreamed. He's going 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:32.600 to open doors bigger than you've imagined. He's going to 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:35.840 bring talent out that you didn't know you had. He's 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:39.640 been waiting for you to get here. Jesus said, it 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:44.080 is the father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:48.360 Not okay, you're here. I have to take care of you. Yes, 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:50.880 I love you, but you're a pain. You're always getting 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:54.320 into trouble. Have a new perspective. You are not a 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:58.680 burden to God. You're not inconveniencing him. You're the apple 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:02.640 of his eye. You are his most prized possession. He 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:07.240 loves showing you favor. He takes pleasure in giving you 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:11.800 his world. Paul talked about in Ephesians the Great Love, 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:15.960 wherewith God loved us. Wasn't a little love I get 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:20.080 by love. I don't bother me love. God is madly 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:23.840 in love with you. What he has in store is 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:28.920 going to boggle your mind. We think natural. God thinks supernatural. 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:31.920 We think, let me have enough to pay my bills. 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:35.480 God thinks, let me give you overflow so you can 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:39.160 help pay other people's bills. We think, let me learn 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:42.320 to live with this sickness. God thinks, let me free 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:46.640 you from that sickness. We think, let's build a new auditorium. 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:49.599 God thinks, let me give you one that's already built. 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:53.480 Let me bring you a compact center. God has things 0:04:53.480 --> 0:04:56.920 in your future that you've never dreamed of. I never 0:04:57.000 --> 0:04:59.720 dreamed i'd be a minister, never dream we'd have the 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:03.040 common never dreamed I'd write books that would go all 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:06.320 around the world. I'm not bragging on me. I'm bragging 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:10.560 on what God has done. What He has planned is 0:05:10.680 --> 0:05:14.000 much bigger than what we have in mind. The good 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:17.400 news is He can't wait to give you his world. 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:21.640 Isaiah said, God is longing to be good to you. 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:26.400 My question is are you expecting to rise higher, to 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:29.800 set new standards for your family, to break the addiction 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:33.839 to accomplish your dream. It's easy to let people talk 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:38.000 us out of it. Let's set backs, disappointments, convince us 0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:41.080 it's not going to happen. You have to get your 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:45.159 passion back. You may not see away, but God has 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:48.360 a way. He is not limited by what you don't have, 0:05:48.960 --> 0:05:53.320 by your family, by your education. His favor on your 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:57.320 life will open doors that you could not open. His 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:01.719 anointing will cause you to accomplish more with less talent. 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:07.080 His blessing will bring divine connections, people that will use 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:10.640 their influence to push you further ahead. You won't have 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:14.240 to find them, they'll find you. Now, stay in agreement 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:18.440 with God. You can't go around with a limited mentality, 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:21.800 thinking your stuff, talking about how it's not going to 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:25.760 happen all through the day. Father, thank you that you 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:28.880 are giving me your world. Thank you that you're taking 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:33.880 me where I could not go on my own. Genesis eighteen, 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:38.520 Abraham was standing outside his tent when three men came 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:42.360 traveling by. One of them asked him where his wife 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:45.720 Sarah was. Abraham told him that she was in the tent. 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:50.680 The man said, about this time next year, when I return, 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:54.920 your wife Sarah is going to have a son. Well, 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:59.000 God had promised Abraham and Sarah some twenty years earlier 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:01.359 that they were going to have a son, but it 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:06.480 hadn't happened. Now, Abraham was ninety nine years old, Sarah 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:11.160 was almost eighty. It was impossible enough to believe back then, 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:15.000 but this man was saying it was still going to happen. 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:18.720 Sarah was in the tent listening when she overheard him 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:22.000 say that she was going to have a baby. Verse twelve. 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:27.120 Says Sarah laughed to herself and thought, how can a 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:31.200 worn out lady like me have a baby, especially when 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:34.640 my husband is so old. She was saying, God, it's 0:07:34.680 --> 0:07:37.920 not just me. I admit I'm worn out, but look 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:41.800 at this old man. I'm married too. What God promised 0:07:41.840 --> 0:07:47.480 her seemed so impossible that it was funny. Sometimes God 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.520 will put things in your heart that seems so far 0:07:50.640 --> 0:07:54.120 out of rich, so beyond what you think could happen, 0:07:54.680 --> 0:07:58.160 that it's laughable. When my father went to be with 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:01.280 the Lord and I heard that voice telling me to 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:04.880 step up and pasture the church. After I got up 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:09.040 off the ground, I said, God, I've only ministered one time, 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:12.760 never been a seminary. I don't have the experience so 0:08:12.960 --> 0:08:17.040 unusual that it was funny. When I met Victoria for 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:20.520 the first time in her mother's jewelry store and saw 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:24.000 how beautiful she is, something said call her back and 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:28.080 ask her out. First, I laughed, She's not gonna have 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:30.600 anything to do with me. Then I looked in the 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:34.600 mirror and thought, what am I thinking about. I got 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:38.199 my nerve up, called her back, and God is a 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:40.640 god of miracles. We've been married thirty one years now. 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:46.120 But here's what I'm saying. Don't be surprised when God 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:50.080 puts things in you that seem laughable. You don't see 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:52.960 how it could happen. Like Sarah, you could come up 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:55.960 with a thousand reasons why it's not going to work out. 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:59.920 You're too young, too old, your family couldn't do it, 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:03.959 your boss doesn't like you. Even when it seems laughable, 0:09:04.480 --> 0:09:08.760 dare to believe. Let the seed take root. God wouldn't 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:10.920 have given it to you if he didn't have a 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:15.800 way to bring that to pass. What's interesting, Sarah laughed. 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:20.079 But Abraham got in trouble, God said Abraham. Why did 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:22.800 Sarah laugh when I said she was going to have 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:26.160 a baby. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? 0:09:27.200 --> 0:09:30.440 I love the fact that when God puts big things 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:35.080 in our hearts, even when we laugh, even when we think, yeah, right, 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:38.000 there's no way, God doesn't say, all right, you're done. 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:40.760 You laughed. I'm not going to give you my world. 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:44.600 God is so merciful. He says, all right, let me 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:47.480 give you something to really laugh about. Let me show 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:51.440 you what I can do. A year later, at eighty 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:56.040 years old, Sarah gave birth to a son. They named 0:09:56.080 --> 0:10:01.720 him Isaac. Isaac means laughter. Time she called his name, 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:05.800 she was reminded God brought to pass what I laughed at. 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:10.320 You may be laughing now in disbelief, thinking how it 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:13.800 could never work out. One day, like her, you're going 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:19.000 to be laughing in amazement, laughing with gratitude, overwhelmed with 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:23.559 the greatness of our God. Sarah held her little baby 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:28.440 that she'd waited for a lifetime, tears running down her cheeks. 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:32.679 I can hear God say, and Sarah, welcome to my world. 0:10:33.480 --> 0:10:37.320 In my world, I do the impossible. In my world, 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:40.400 I bring dreams to past. In my world, I take 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:45.480 you further than you've imagined. Sarah said in chapter twenty one, 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:49.640 God has brought me out with laughter. All who hear 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:53.440 about this will laugh with me. A little earlier, she 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:57.280 was laughing in disbelief, saying I'm a worn out old lady. 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:02.640 Now she's holding her baby, laughing amazement. The scripture says, 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:07.120 God will fill your mouth with laughter. Some of this 0:11:07.360 --> 0:11:11.320 laughter is going to be from the amazing things you see. 0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:15.920 God do what you've been dreaming about, to start the business, 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:18.320 to get out of debt, to break the addiction, to 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:22.600 finish college. It may seem laughable. The odds are against you. 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:26.400 But like her, you're about to come into this second 0:11:26.520 --> 0:11:30.480 kind of laughter. God is about to surprise you. He's 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:33.560 going to do something you didn't see coming open a 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:37.520 door that you couldn't open, cause your health to suddenly 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:40.600 turn around, show you favor that thrust you to a 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:44.480 new level. Sarah told her friends, who would have ever 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:47.720 thought I could have a baby, and yet I have 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:52.920 given Abraham a son in my old age. God has 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:56.280 some of these? Who would have ever thought blessings in 0:11:56.400 --> 0:12:00.000 store for you? Who would have ever thought my mother 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:04.160 would still be alive after being diagnosed with terminal cancer 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:08.760 thirty seven years ago? Who would have ever thought we 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:12.079 would be having church in the former Compact center. Who 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:15.040 would have ever thought you would lead your company in sales? 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:17.520 Who would have ever thought you could pay your house 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:19.880 on Who would have ever thought you would break the 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:23.440 addiction and now be helping others get ready for some 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:27.480 of these? Who would have ever thought blessings? Well, Joe, 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:31.200 this sounds good, but you don't know my situation. I 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:33.520 don't see how it can happen for me. Look what 0:12:33.600 --> 0:12:37.320 God did for Sarah. I bet you're not eighty years 0:12:37.360 --> 0:12:41.200 old believing for a baby. If you are, we need 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:45.320 to pray for you. God did it for her. He 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:48.760 could do it for you. But I don't have the connections. 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:51.480 I don't know the right people. You may not, but 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:56.560 God does you have friends in high places. The medical 0:12:56.600 --> 0:12:59.199 report says I'm not going to get well. God has 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:03.319 another report, Lord. It says you will live and not die. 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:07.640 You may be laughing now in disbelief, but God is 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:11.559 up to something. There is a time coming where you're 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:15.520 going to be laughing in amazement. Psalm one twenty six 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:20.719 says when God brought the Israelites back to Jerusalem, it 0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:24.280 was like a dream. Our mouth was filled with laughter, 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:28.480 and we sang for joy. The Israelites had been in 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:33.240 slavery four hundred years. You can imagine someone back then 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:36.200 telling them there is a day coming you're going to 0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:40.680 be free, blessed, living in the Promised Land. I'm sure 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:44.440 they would have laughed and thought, yeah, right. In this passage, 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:48.440 they're laughing in amazement. They're saying, it's like a dream, 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:51.880 it's too good to be true. And some of the 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:55.520 things you've given up on you want to believe but 0:13:55.840 --> 0:14:00.719 seems so unlikely. Stay in faith like them, You're going 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:03.800 to come into that day where God fills your mouth 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:07.240 with laughter. It's going to be like a dream where 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:10.200 you think, who would have ever thought I would be 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:15.640 where I am promoted, healthy, out of debt, blessing others, 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:19.760 seeing my children honor God. That's your father giving you 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:24.560 his world. In the scripture, God gave Joseph a dream 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:27.800 and showed him how his brothers would bow down before him, 0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:31.920 how he would lead a nation didn't happen without opposition. 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:35.360 Those brothers were jealous of him, and they threw him 0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:39.520 into a pit. They ended up selling him into slavery. 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:43.200 Joseph was falsely accused put in prison for something that 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:46.520 he didn't do. I'm sure there were times he laughed 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:49.360 and taught so much for my dream, I must have 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:55.080 heard God wrong. Thirteen years later, he interpreted a dream 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:59.080 for the Pharaoh. He was so impressed he brought Joseph 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.720 out of prison and made him the prime minister, second 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:06.680 in command only to the Pharaoh. But what Joseph went 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:11.040 through wasn't fair. He didn't do anything wrong, yet he 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:18.120 had to endure betrayals, lonely nights, disappointments. All those difficulties 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:21.600 were a part of God's plan. It was to put 0:15:21.720 --> 0:15:26.680 Joseph in a strategic position, a place of great influence 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:31.720 inside a foreign country, so during the famine, the Israelites 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:35.520 would be able to survive. Some of what we go 0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:39.200 through that we don't understand. The friend that walked away, 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:43.440 the closed door, the business that didn't make it. It's 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:47.040 not going to make sense, right now because we can't 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:50.760 see the big picture. But God knows what he's doing. 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:55.880 He's positioning you so you can carry out your purpose 0:15:56.800 --> 0:16:00.640 in the difficult times. You have to trust him, knowing 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:03.880 that he is ordering your steps. He would not have 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:07.800 allowed it if he didn't have a purpose. Like Joseph, 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:11.560 God is going to send some of you into strategic 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:17.600 positions of influence, leadership, authority. We are not called to 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:20.800 run away from the world system. We are called to 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:26.800 infiltrate the system. God is raising up more Joseph's godly 0:16:26.920 --> 0:16:31.560 people running the television networks, serving in the government, leading 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:36.200 the universities in medicine, finding the cure for cancer, aids, 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:41.560 Alzheimer's in the art, singing on Broadway, producing award winning movies, 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:47.280 leaders in technology, business, real estate development. Our father's world 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:50.720 is a big world. He is going to position you 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:56.200 higher than you've dreamed. It's because he knows he can 0:16:56.240 --> 0:17:00.800 trust you. He knows you'll handle the success, influence the 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:05.359 resources with humility. He knows you're a person of excellence 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:08.879 and integrity. A while back, we went to New York 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:13.040 to meet with a television network about carrying our program. 0:17:13.480 --> 0:17:16.040 A young lady came In the meeting, she was about 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:19.480 thirty five years old. She introduced herself as the vice 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:25.080 president of Programming, very important position at a very prestigious network. 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:28.679 She pulled me aside and told how she had watched 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:32.360 me on television since she was a teenager. How all 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:36.520 of her family attends our events. She whispered, don't worry, 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:40.800 I'm moving programming around so we can carry your program 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:46.200 What was she a Joseph. God strategically placed her there 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:50.800 so she could take the kingdom further. I know today 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:55.119 I am looking at more josephs. God is going to 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:59.040 open doors bigger than you've imagined. He's going to give 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:04.439 you influence, responsibility, authority to where you look up and think, 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.600 who would have ever thought I would end up where 0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:09.960 I am. You may hear this and think, jod this 0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:12.760 is far out. I don't see how this can happen 0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:15.400 for me. You kind of laugh under your breath. That's 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:18.919 what Sarah did, But it didn't stop God from bringing 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:22.119 the promise to pass. You may not see how it 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:27.159 could happen, neither did Joseph. Stay faithful, keep honoring God. 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:32.080 One day you'll be laughing running the network laughing franchising 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:36.280 your business, laughing, walking out of the hospital, laughing, seeing 0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:40.520 your family restored, laughing, meeting the person of your dreams. 0:18:41.520 --> 0:18:44.480 Friend of mine came to the United States from Europe. 0:18:44.680 --> 0:18:47.679 When he was a little boy, they didn't have anything. 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:51.840 This young man excelled in school. God opened the door 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:54.800 for him to go to college, and he attended law school. 0:18:54.960 --> 0:19:00.960 Kept rising higher. Today he argues cases before the Supprese Court, 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:05.200 the highest level he's spoken at the United Nations. Didn't 0:19:05.240 --> 0:19:09.080 look like he had a chance, but God strategically positioned 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:12.720 him there. He's a Joseph. What am I saying? God 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:15.840 knows how to get you to where you're supposed to be. 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:20.520 He can open doors that no man can shut. There 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:24.120 may be obstacles in your path. Things haven't worked out 0:19:24.600 --> 0:19:28.040 same way for this man. That didn't stop God. He 0:19:28.080 --> 0:19:31.639 came from a low income family. Many of the great 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:36.320 leaders in the Bible did not come from prominence. Esther 0:19:36.640 --> 0:19:41.240 was an orphan, had no parents, nobody guiding her, no income, 0:19:41.680 --> 0:19:45.360 Yet God caused things to fall into place. She ended 0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:49.320 up becoming the queen, not just for her sake, God 0:19:49.400 --> 0:19:54.679 strategically placed her there to save the Israelites. God is 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:59.640 raising up a new generation of Esther's, of Joseph's. It's 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:03.280 not it's because of your talent, your ability, your skill. 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:07.719 It's the divine purposes of God. It's his favor on 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:12.080 your life. Now do your part and honor God. Keep 0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:15.800 him first place when you're being your best, where you 0:20:15.920 --> 0:20:22.080 are not compromising, faithful, developing your skills, helping other people. 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:26.359 When you show God that he can trust you, God 0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:29.640 will take you to levels higher than you've imagined. He'll 0:20:29.680 --> 0:20:33.960 make you an esther, make you a Joseph. Joseph was 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:37.320 in charge of the food supply in Egypt. There came 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:42.520 a great famine throughout the land. Joseph's father, Jacob, sent 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:45.600 his ten sons into Egypt to try to find food. 0:20:46.320 --> 0:20:49.919 These brothers showed up at the palace, the same ones 0:20:49.960 --> 0:20:54.480 that threw Joseph into the pit thirteen years earlier. They 0:20:54.520 --> 0:20:58.560 didn't recognize Joseph. They had no idea he would have 0:20:58.600 --> 0:21:01.760 that kind of position, especially after what they had done 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:04.760 to him. And instead of trying to get even, Joseph 0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:08.000 was kind to them. He not only gave them food, 0:21:08.359 --> 0:21:10.920 but he had them go get their father and all 0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:13.760 of their families and come back and live with him. 0:21:14.440 --> 0:21:19.760 Here's my point. The brothers didn't recognize Joseph, but Joseph 0:21:19.800 --> 0:21:24.639 recognized them and showed them favor. God will put people 0:21:25.000 --> 0:21:28.720 in positions of leadership so that when you show up, 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:32.440 they will recognize you. You don't know them, but they 0:21:32.440 --> 0:21:35.359 will know you. They will want to be good to you, 0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:39.080 to open a door, to give you the contract, to 0:21:39.160 --> 0:21:43.560 set up the meeting. Their positioned to help you rise higher. 0:21:44.040 --> 0:21:46.560 You couldn't have made it happen. It's the hand of 0:21:46.600 --> 0:21:50.840 God having them there for when you show up. David, 0:21:51.119 --> 0:21:54.919 as a teenager, was out in the shepherd's fields taking 0:21:54.960 --> 0:21:59.160 care of his father's sheep. Just another ordinary day, nothing special, 0:21:59.760 --> 0:22:03.120 just being faithful. He noticed, way off in the distance, 0:22:03.359 --> 0:22:06.720 his father motioning for him to come. He thought, why 0:22:06.760 --> 0:22:08.719 is he calling me, It's the middle of the afternoon. 0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:13.600 He went home. All of his brothers were there, neighbors 0:22:13.640 --> 0:22:19.240 had gathered around. It's because the prophet Samuel, this well respected, 0:22:19.359 --> 0:22:24.440 influential man, had come to their ordinary neighborhood. While everyone 0:22:24.560 --> 0:22:28.480 was watching, Samuel pointed at David and said, that's the 0:22:28.480 --> 0:22:32.760 next King of Israel. David had never met Samuel, never 0:22:32.840 --> 0:22:36.240 sent him a resume, never followed him on social media. 0:22:36.760 --> 0:22:41.400 Yet Samuel showed up and anointed him King. God has 0:22:41.520 --> 0:22:45.600 people in positions of influence. You don't know them, but 0:22:45.800 --> 0:22:49.840 they know you. They are ordained to help you rise higher, 0:22:50.119 --> 0:22:54.400 to open a door, to show you favor. A few 0:22:54.520 --> 0:22:58.119 years after I started ministering, I was at an event 0:22:58.240 --> 0:23:02.879 in another state. Several thousand people seated in the auditorium 0:23:03.240 --> 0:23:07.040 on the stage. There were four former presidents next to 0:23:07.119 --> 0:23:10.439 each other. I was amazed seeing them up there. I 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:13.800 was seated on about the twentieth row. At one point 0:23:13.880 --> 0:23:17.159 during the program, one of the presidents looked at me 0:23:17.480 --> 0:23:20.680 and started waving. I thought, he's not waving at me. 0:23:21.359 --> 0:23:23.359 There's no way he knows who I am. I've just 0:23:23.400 --> 0:23:25.760 been the pastor a couple of years. And when he 0:23:25.800 --> 0:23:30.320 finished waving, I leaned to Victorian said I think President 0:23:30.400 --> 0:23:33.560 so and so just waved at me. She looked at 0:23:33.560 --> 0:23:37.800 me like, I think you're imagining things. About that time, 0:23:37.960 --> 0:23:41.760 he started waving again, looking right at me. Well, I 0:23:41.880 --> 0:23:44.840 know from being up here, if I waved to somebody 0:23:44.880 --> 0:23:47.399 in that section, it can look like I'm waving to 0:23:47.480 --> 0:23:51.199 one hundred people. So again I dismissed it. He turned 0:23:51.240 --> 0:23:54.240 to the former president sitting next to him. I could 0:23:54.320 --> 0:23:57.440 read his lips. He pointed at me and said, that's 0:23:57.520 --> 0:24:01.960 Joel sitting out there. President looked at me and shook 0:24:01.960 --> 0:24:05.240 his head and said, I don't know him. God left 0:24:05.320 --> 0:24:10.480 him out. But after the program, Victoria and I were 0:24:10.480 --> 0:24:14.359 about to leave when two security officers came and said 0:24:14.400 --> 0:24:18.320 the President would like to say hello. We went back there. 0:24:18.400 --> 0:24:21.320 It was like we were old friends. Joel Victoria, we 0:24:21.400 --> 0:24:24.400 watch you every week. We loved you. He said, I'm 0:24:24.440 --> 0:24:26.960 going to send you an invitation to be a part 0:24:27.040 --> 0:24:30.720 of my program that helps people around the world. He 0:24:30.920 --> 0:24:35.280 opened a door to all kinds of influential relationships. A 0:24:35.320 --> 0:24:39.520 couple of years earlier, I was working behind the scenes. 0:24:39.920 --> 0:24:43.600 I was running camera. I didn't see this coming. But 0:24:43.720 --> 0:24:47.919 our father's world is a big world. He's already lined 0:24:48.000 --> 0:24:51.639 up these who would have ever thought moments, people in 0:24:51.720 --> 0:24:54.920 positions of influence. You didn't even know they knew you, 0:24:55.240 --> 0:24:58.600 but they're going to show you favor. Well, George's because 0:24:58.680 --> 0:25:01.439 you have that church, because you're on television. That's not 0:25:01.480 --> 0:25:05.000 gonna happen for me. Okay, Sarah, you can talk yourself 0:25:05.000 --> 0:25:08.000 out of it. Y'all like that Sarah, you can talk 0:25:08.040 --> 0:25:11.680 yourself out. Here's what I love. Even though Sarah laughed, 0:25:12.280 --> 0:25:15.640 even though she didn't believe, God still brought the promise 0:25:15.680 --> 0:25:20.640 to pass. Joseph's brothers did wrong. They didn't deserve anyone 0:25:20.680 --> 0:25:24.200 to show them favor. Yet God had Joseph not only 0:25:24.240 --> 0:25:27.800 recognized them, but he was good to them despite what 0:25:27.880 --> 0:25:30.800 they had done. That tells me, even if you don't 0:25:30.840 --> 0:25:33.840 deserve it, even if you don't think it's going to happen, 0:25:34.200 --> 0:25:37.400 God is going to surprise you and do it anyway. 0:25:37.880 --> 0:25:42.800 It's because your father can't wait to give you his world. 0:25:43.560 --> 0:25:46.200 Why don't you take the limits off of him. Quit 0:25:46.240 --> 0:25:49.400 thinking of all the reasons you can't accomplish your dreams. 0:25:49.680 --> 0:25:53.280 God breathes his life into you. He's crowned you with favor. 0:25:53.640 --> 0:25:57.600 You have seeds of greatness. The prophet Joel said, wake 0:25:57.680 --> 0:26:01.240 up the mighty men, Wake up themighty women. I am 0:26:01.320 --> 0:26:05.240 looking at mighty men, mighty women. Right now I'm looking 0:26:05.280 --> 0:26:08.560 at Joseph's. I'm looking at Esther's. Now do your part. 0:26:08.760 --> 0:26:14.560 Stir your faith up, believe, be pray bold prayers, have 0:26:14.600 --> 0:26:18.560 a God size dream. If you'll do this, I believe 0:26:18.680 --> 0:26:21.760 and declare you're about to see some of these who 0:26:21.840 --> 0:26:24.639 would have ever thought moments. God is going to open 0:26:24.720 --> 0:26:27.639 doors bigger than you've imagined. He's going to cause the 0:26:27.760 --> 0:26:31.359 right people to recognize you. You're going to rise higher 0:26:31.640 --> 0:26:35.399 and reach the fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name. 0:26:35.840 --> 0:26:40.040 If you receive it, can you say amen? Today? I'd 0:26:40.080 --> 0:26:42.959 like to give you an opportunity to make Jesus the 0:26:43.000 --> 0:26:47.720 lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, 0:26:48.880 --> 0:26:53.840 I repent of my sins, Come into my heart. I'll 0:26:53.920 --> 0:26:57.800 make you my Lord and savior. If you prayed that 0:26:57.920 --> 0:27:01.480 simple prayer, we believe you got again. Get in a 0:27:01.520 --> 0:27:05.680 good Bible based church, and keep God first place. Victorian, 0:27:05.720 --> 0:27:08.320 I'll be right back to speak a blessing over you. 0:27:12.560 --> 0:27:14.960 As a thank you for your support of our ministry. 0:27:14.960 --> 0:27:17.480 This month, Jewel and Victoria would like to send you 0:27:17.520 --> 0:27:21.080 a copy of Joel's new audio devotional, Fueled by Faith, 0:27:21.359 --> 0:27:25.399 Seven Keys to Your Victory. In this new devotional, you 0:27:25.440 --> 0:27:28.560 will hear seven fifteen minute messages that will encourage and 0:27:28.640 --> 0:27:31.960 empower you to experience a life of faith and victory. 0:27:32.320 --> 0:27:35.119 Discover how to live full of hope, filled with peace 0:27:35.400 --> 0:27:38.240 and Fueled by Faith. We all have times where we 0:27:38.280 --> 0:27:41.240 face difficulties, but God wants you to keep your hope 0:27:41.240 --> 0:27:42.760 alive and your faith strong. 0:27:43.080 --> 0:27:44.960 He's right there with you in the midst. 0:27:44.760 --> 0:27:45.679 Of every battle. 0:27:46.000 --> 0:27:48.280 What was meant for your harm, He's going to turn 0:27:48.320 --> 0:27:51.320 around for your good Right now. God is working behind 0:27:51.320 --> 0:27:55.119 the scenes arranging things in your favor. Request this resource. 0:27:55.280 --> 0:27:57.560 It will encourage you and help build your faith. 0:27:58.320 --> 0:28:01.760 Request your copy of Fueled Life Faith Today at Joel 0:28:01.760 --> 0:28:05.280 Loustin dot com or Calm eight eight eight five six seven. 0:28:05.480 --> 0:28:09.000 Joel, thanks so much for your support. It's making a 0:28:09.040 --> 0:28:13.639 difference around the world. We appreciate your generosity and your prayers. 0:28:13.840 --> 0:28:17.160 It's helping to change people's lives. And a special thank 0:28:17.200 --> 0:28:19.760 you to our Champion of Hope partners for all you 0:28:19.880 --> 0:28:22.560 do to make the ministry possible. And be sure to 0:28:22.560 --> 0:28:27.000 stay connected with us on social media through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, 0:28:27.359 --> 0:28:30.720 download our podcast. We'd love to inspire you all through 0:28:30.760 --> 0:28:32.879 the week and help you keep your thoughts going in 0:28:32.920 --> 0:28:36.080 the right direction. Know that Victoria and I pray for 0:28:36.160 --> 0:28:38.760 you and your family. We believe you're going to see 0:28:38.760 --> 0:28:41.960 God's goodness and favor in new ways. He has you 0:28:42.040 --> 0:28:44.960 in the palm of his hand. He's guiding and directing 0:28:45.000 --> 0:28:49.040 your steps. Remember you're not average, you're not mediocre. You're 0:28:49.080 --> 0:28:50.960 a child of the most high God,