transcript

Speaker 1:
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Speaker 2:
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Speaker 1:
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Speaker 3:
[01:26] Hi, this is Joel in Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast, and thanks for supporting the ministry.

Speaker 4:
[01:31] If you enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend?

Speaker 3:
[01:35] We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. If you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you, we'll make you feel right at home. I like to start with something funny, and I heard about this lady that died. She was at the pearly gates, and St. Peter said, You can't come in yet. You have to correctly spell a word. She said, What word? He said, Any word. So she spelled the word love, L-O-V-E. He said, Welcome to heaven. Then Peter asked her if she would take his place for just a moment. He instructed her if anybody came up just to follow the same procedure. A few minutes, she sees her ex-husband walking up. She can't believe it. She says, What are you doing here? He said, I just had a heart attack. Did I really make it to heaven? She said, Not yet. You have to spell a word correctly. He said, What word? There was a long pause. And she said, Czechoslovakia. I want to talk to you today about emptying out the negative. It's easy to go through life holding on to things that are weighing us down, guilt, resentment, doubt, worry. The problem is when we allow these things in, they're taking up space for the good things that should be there. Imagine your life is like a container. You were created to be filled with joy, peace, confidence, creativity. But if you allow worry in, it pushes out the peace. There's not space for both. You can't go above 100%. You have a limited amount of room. If you allow guilt to take up space, that's space that you don't have for the confidence you need. And the reason some people don't enjoy their lives is because they're a container. Their heart is contaminated with so many things. They have 10% worried, stressed out over their job, 12% bitterness, mad at their neighbor, 20% guilt, beating themselves up for past mistakes, 9% jealousy, their coworker is more beautiful. They don't realize 70% of their container is negative. They wonder why they don't have joy, creativity, passion. They only have room for 30% of what they should have. And the scripture says, give no place to the enemy. It's not just talking about forces of darkness. That means give no place to guilt, give no place to worry, give no place to bitterness. It can't come in and automatically take over. You control what's in your container. You control what you think about, what you choose to allow in. And we all have negative emotions, negative feelings. You have to make the choice, I'm not going to give this jealousy, this bitterness, this anger, valuable space and let it poison my life. I'm going to protect what I allow in me. And every morning when we wake up, we need to empty out anything negative from the day before. Somebody offended you at work, they didn't treat you right. It's easy to let that offense stay. Feels good to carry around a grudge. You have to be disciplined. Say, no, I am not giving this offense any room. I am not going to let it sour my day. They hurt you once, don't let them continue to hurt you by holding on to the offense. Being offended is not harming them, it's harming you. It's taking up space you need for the good things that move you toward your destiny. Or you wake up in the morning and thoughts of worry come. How are you gonna pay your bills? What if the medical report's not good? You'll never get out of this problem. Don't allow that in. Don't make the mistake of dwelling on it. Just say, no, thanks, I know God's in control. He's got me in the palm of his hand. He'll get me to where I'm supposed to be. Take inventory of what you're giving space to. Life is too short to go through it with negative things holding us down. David said in Psalm 103, God fills my life with good things so I stay young and strong. Now I've learned if you'll empty out the negative, if you'll make room, God will fill you with good things. You empty out the worry, God will fill you with peace. You empty out the insecurity, negative things people have said about you, God will fill you with confidence. My question today is, is God trying to fill you with good things, but there's no room? Your container is full of worry, regret, bitterness, jealousy. Why don't you start emptying that out? Somebody did you wrong. You could hold on to that bitterness. Instead, God, I forgive them. I let it go. You didn't just forgive, you made room for God to fill you with good things. That's when he'll give you beauty for ashes, joy for mourning. You're in a tough season. The medical report wasn't good. You should be stressed, worried. Instead, God, I trust you. You said you would restore health back into me. You just made room for God to fill you with healing. You empty out the worry, God will give you peace in the midst of the storm. Perhaps a coworker got the promotion that you worked so hard for. Envy, jealousy will come. I wish that was me. I'm smarter than they are. I don't understand that. Instead of letting that stay, God, I know you're no respecter of persons. You did it for them. I know you can do it for me. The good news is God doesn't run out of favor. He doesn't have a limited supply. If you will empty out the jealousy, then when it's your time to be promoted, God will open doors that no man can shut. If somebody got what you wanted, that simply means it wasn't supposed to be yours. If they got the promotion, be happy for them. God has something better for you. If they got the man you wanted to date, let's make it real. If they got the girl you were interested in, don't be upset. God knows what he's doing. If it worked out your way, it would be second best. Bottom line, what has your name on it is not going to go to anyone else. Don't go around bitter with jealousy and self-pity. That will poison your life. Empty it out. God is in control. He's directing your steps. At the right time, what has your name on it will show up. God promises if we will make room, he will not only fill us with good things, but he will keep us young and strong. And the reason some people are not young and strong, and I don't mean just young physically, but young in their spirit, vibrant, passionate about life, is because they're filled with the negative. Worry will make you weak. Living stressed out will make you old, give you wrinkles, take your passion. Being bitter, angry, resentful will shorten your life. Proverbs says a relaxed attitude lengthens life. You can be 80 years old and young at heart. Your spirit never ages. I met a woman in the lobby a while back. It was her 100th birthday. She was standing there dressed impeccably, beautiful, hardly had any wrinkles, full of joy. Her mind was as sharp as can be. I asked her what her secret was so I could tell Victoria. She said, I don't worry. I let things go and I laugh a lot. She's lived by this principle. You know, in 100 years, she's had trouble. People have heard her. She's made mistakes. Life has happened. Offensive have come, but she hasn't held on to them. She's kept emptying them out. And like God promised, he's filled her life with good things, kept her young and strong. I don't want to get old, grouchy, grumpy, fall apart. I want to stay young, strong, good looking, full of faith and joy and energy. The way this happens is give no place to the negative. Get in a habit of emptying out the offenses, empty out the worry. You make a mistake, empty out the guilt. You didn't do your best, empty out the regret. Do better next time. Nobody gave you credit, empty out the self-pity. You had a bad break, you don't understand it, empty out the questions. If you'll get good at emptying out the negative, you'll be like this lady, strong, young, vibrant, full of faith and full of joy. Jesus said, blessed are the pure in heart, they will see God. That word pure in the original language is where we get our word cathartic. It means cleansing, releasing. If you have surgery, sometimes the doctor will put in a catheter, same root word. It's a tube that drains out the impurities of the body. You can't get up to use the facility. That catheter automatically takes what's not beneficial, the toxins, the infections, the waste, and flushes them out of the body. The doctor knows there will be contaminants. He's not alarmed that the body has waste and infection. He's only alarmed when it's not being released, when we're holding on to things that should be flushed out. When God says blessed are the pure in heart, he's saying you're going to be blessed when you learn how to release the impurities of life, when you get in a habit like this catheter of emptying out things that will infect you. You know what bitterness is to our spirit? It's infection. Guilt is infection, worry, doubt, self-pity. These things are not unusual. Impurities come, you have to push them out. It's when we hold on to them that it contaminates our spirit and causes us problems. You weren't created to carry around guilt, regret, bitterness, anger that poisons your life. Well, Joel, I'm bitter because I had a bad break. I'm sour because somebody walked out on me. I say this respectfully, that's simply an impurity. Why don't you release it so it doesn't infect the rest of your life? Don't let a disappointment, a divorce, a layoff, a loss poison your future. Well, Joel, I'm worried about my health, worried about my finances, worried about my children. Worry is a part of life. Those thoughts come to us all. The key is to not hold on to them. Recognize they're not beneficial. They're not moving you forward. That's an impurity that wasn't meant to stay. You have to release it. God, I don't see a way, but I know you're still on the throne. I know you're bigger than this problem. I know you're supplying all of my needs. You just released the toxin. Are you holding on to infection, to impurities, angry, jealous, worried, discouraged? Maybe you had a disappointment. Something didn't work out. Imagine there's an angel that has a delivery with your name on it. It says beauty for ashes, new beginning, new opportunities, new friendships. He's in route with one of those good things. The problem is, if you're holding on to the old, there's no place for him to deliver it. I wonder how many things are in route right now. The angel is standing by with our joy, our peace, our confidence, our creativity, our spouse, but because there's no room, because we're not releasing the toxins, the anger, the bitterness, the jealousy, the worry, then he can't deliver those good things. Instead of living blessed, excited about our future, we become infected. The good news is, you can get rid of that infection. It is not permanent. If you'll start releasing the regret, the worry, the bitterness, the anger, then it's just a matter of time before that angel shows up with your delivery. When you make room, God promises he will fill your life with good things. This is what David did. He was an expert at Empty Out The Negative. His family looked down on him, treated him like he was second class. He could have let that infection take root, lived insecure. Instead, he let it go in one ear and out the other. He knew if he held onto it, it would keep him from his destiny. David went to the palace, served faithfully King Saul. He would play the harp when Saul was sick to make him feel better. In return, Saul tried to kill him. Saul was jealous of David and chased him through the desert, made him's life miserable. David could have become better, thought, what's the use? Everybody's against me. Life is not fair. Instead, he kept his heart pure and emptied out the self-pity. Like David, we all have impurities, infections that come, people come against us. Our plans don't always work out. It's easy to think, why is this happening? In fact, it's just life. The scripture says offenses will come. They're not a problem unless you don't know what to do with them. Too many people make the mistake of hold on to them. They get bitter, live guilty with a chip on their shoulder. That's going to poison your future. You have to release the toxins of life. You may not be able to keep them from coming, but you can keep them from staying. Listen, David had a pure heart. That means he kept the infections out. It doesn't mean that he was perfect. David made mistakes. One time he committed adultery, had the lady's husband killed. For one year he tried to cover it up, swept it under a rug. He was so overwhelmed with guilt, condemnation, that he became sick and weak. That poison started to infect his life. He finally admitted his mistake. He repented, asked God to forgive him, and things begin to turn around. Once he got the infection out, then his health was restored. When you make a mistake, and we all do, don't run away from God, don't try to hide it, go to God, repent. That means don't keep doing the same thing, and then ask for forgiveness. And here's the key, you have to receive God's mercy. The enemy is called the accuser of the brethren. He'll remind you of every mistake you've made for the last 30 years. It's easy to live life in regrets, thinking about what you should have done differently. Man, I should have raised my children better. Should have been more faithful in my marriage. I should have finished college. Don't go through life looking in the rear view mirror, down on yourself, living in regrets. You can't do anything about the past, but you can do something about right now. Being against yourself doesn't help you do better. It pushes you down. The moment you ask God to forgive you, he forgave you. Why don't you forgive yourself? Why don't you empty out the guilt? Why don't you turn off the accusing voices? God doesn't remember your mistakes anymore. If someone is bringing up the negative things of your past, it's not God, that's the accuser trying to deceive you into living condemned. How much space are you given to guilt, to shame, to regret, to being against yourself? Whatever it is, it's too much. You need that space for the good things God has to move you toward your destiny. If you're giving space to guilt, you will not have the confidence you need to move forward. That will cause you to fail again. It's a negative cycle. The only way you can break it is to rise up and say, that's it, I am done living in the past, focused on my mistakes, reliving my failures, beating myself up. This is a new day. I'm emptying out all that infection. I'm gonna receive God's mercy. You have to do this by faith, because every voice will tell you, you're a hypocrite. God's not gonna forgive you. Look what you've done. Doesn't have anything to do with what you have or haven't done. It has to do with what Jesus has already done. But Joel, I made a lot of mistakes. I don't deserve to be blessed. None of us deserve it. This is what mercy is all about. That's why it's called the good news. Your sins have already been forgiven. You don't have to pay God back for your mistakes. The price has already been paid. When you fall down, don't stay down. Get back up again. When the accuser whispers, look at you. You blew it again. You'll never get it right. Just answer back, yes. I know I'm not perfect, but I am forgiven. I may not be where I should be, but I'm making progress. I'm moving forward. I'm not where I used to be. Don't let guilt poison your future. Empty it out. Sometimes it's hard to empty out the negative. When a person does us wrong, human nature wants to hold on to the hurt, become bitter, carry around a grudge. We think, I'm not going to forgive them. They don't deserve it. But you're not forgiving for their sake. You're forgiving for your sake. As long as you hold on to the hurt, the anger, the bitterness, it's not affecting them. It's infecting you. Unforgiveness is like a poisonous toxin. May feel good to hold on to it, but it will contaminate your life. A lot of times, the reason we don't forgive is because what the other person does was wrong. They were clearly at fault. But when you forgive, you're not excusing their behavior. You're not lessening the offense. You're simply getting the poison out of you. You have to forgive so you can be free. Quit looking at it like you're doing them a favor, you're doing yourself a favor. See, it takes a lot of emotional energy to hold a grudge, to live with unforgiveness. You wake up, it's always on your mind thinking about how they did you wrong. You may not realize you are spending emotional energy that you need for your dreams, for your goals, for your children. You won't become all you were created to be if you are wasting emotional energy on things that don't matter. That unforgiveness is an impurity. Yes, what they did was wrong, but you have to let it pass. You have to release it. When you do, you'll not only feel a new freedom, not only have more energy, but God will be your vindicator. He will make your wrongs right. You don't have to pay people back. You're not the judge, God is. Leave it up to him, and he'll vindicate you better than you could vindicate yourself. This is what a lady did named Mary Johnson. She was the single mother of one son. When he was 20 years old, he was out late one night at a party. This young man came up that he had never met. His name was Oshie. He was 16 years old and had been drinking. There was an altercation. In the heat of the moment, Oshie pulled out a gun and shot Mary's only son. He was instantly killed. Mary was so filled with anger and hatred, she told the judge that 16-year-old boy was an animal and he needed to be caged. When he was only charged with second degree murder, Mary was even more angry. She became a recluse, stayed in her house, wouldn't look at her son's picture. Ten years passed, she knew it was time to forgive. She could hear the still small voice telling her to let it go. She contacted the prison to see if she could visit Oshie. They said yes, but Oshie said no. He wouldn't do it. She kept asking and asking. Finally he agreed. She showed up at the prison. When she saw Oshie, he came around and gave her a big hug and held onto her. They wept and wept. Mary said, as I was embracing Oshie, I could feel hatred and bitterness rising up out of me and leaving my body. It was so strong that she fell over. Oshie had to hold her up. That day, Mary not only emptied out the unforgiveness, but she found a new son. Seven years later, Oshie was released on parole, didn't have any place to live. Mary said, you can live next door to me. She calls him her spiritual son. Mary started an organization called From Death to Life to help mothers who have lost children to violence. Now she and Oshie go out and speak at conferences and schools about unforgiveness and overcoming loss. Mary said what really helped her decide to forgive was a poem she heard about two mothers in heaven that had just become friends. One mother asked the other, who is your son? She said, my son is Jesus. I'm Mary. Mary asked, who is your son? She said, my son is Judas. When Mary Johnson heard how in this poem, Mary, the mother of Christ had befriended the mother of Judas, she knew she had to reach out to that other family. Now she helps other mothers do the same thing. Out of your pain can come to your purpose. I saw a lady on television recently. Several years earlier, her son had been killed in an accident. They asked her how she was doing and she made the statement, you never really get over it, but you can get past it. She was saying, yes, it's difficult. Yes, there was a season of mourning, but you don't have to stay in mourning. You don't have to live bitter. You don't have to get stuck in grief, in depression. You can move forward. When you go through a loss, things happen you don't understand. It's easy to think, I just need to get over this. But sometimes that's too strong. It can put more pressure on us. We think, why do I feel this way? I must be doing something wrong. Take the pressure off. You don't have to get over it, just get past it. Just keep moving forward, taking it one day at a time. God said he will never give you something that you cannot handle. You may not understand why it happened, but the scripture says God will give us a peace that passes understanding. You're not going to figure everything out. If you'll let go of the questions of life, you will have a peace that goes beyond what you can understand. Toward the end of Jesus' life, he'd been betrayed by a disciple, mocked by the soldiers, falsely accused. Now, he was hanging on the cross, wearing a crown of thorns, about to breathe his last breath. He did something significant. He could have just died and went on to heaven, that was it. But he said, Father, before I go, I need to take care of one last thing. Forgive them, for they know not what they do. They didn't ask for forgiveness. They didn't deserve it. Jesus was saying, in effect, I'm not going to leave this earth with anything negative in me. He was showing us, by example, how we should release the toxins, release the impurities. I read where Leonardo da Vinci was painting a portrait of Christ. He let some small children in the room to watch him paint. One of them accidentally knocked over the easel. He became very upset and ushered them out of the room. He sat back down to finish, but he said he could not paint the face of Christ with anger in his heart. That's what happens when we hold on to the negative. It stifles our creativity. We don't do our best work. It's because there's infection that's slowing us down. Are you allowing negative things in your container? To reach the fullness of your destiny, you need to operate at your maximum potential. If you have a little bitterness, a little guilt, a little jealousy, a little worry, if you add up all the space the little is taking, you're only operating at a fraction of what you could. I'm asking you to empty all that out. God is ready to fill your life with good things. He wants to keep you young and strong. Do your part and make room for him. Every morning, empty out the guilt, empty out the worry, empty out the discouragement. And when the impurities come, when the infection come, don't let it stay, let it pass on through. Keep your heart pure. If you do this, I believe and declare you're going to step up to a new level with more joy, more peace, more favor, healing, wholeness, the fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name. I'd like to give you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins, come into my heart, I make you my Lord and Savior. If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church and keep God first place. Victoria and I'll be right back to speak a blessing over you.

Speaker 5:
[28:20] Life throws so much at us. Disappointments, failures, challenges. We can feel so out of touch that we no longer recognize ourselves.

Speaker 3:
[28:30] Life has a way of changing us. At one time, we were outgoing and excited about our dreams, but when we go through disappointments and people do us wrong, it's easy to lose that positive, passionate person that we used to be. In my new book, Rediscovering the Forgotten You, I'll help you get back to who you really are. The joyful you, the competent you, the talented you. It's not too late, you haven't been through too much. You may have lost part of yourself, but you can find yourself. God is in the business of restoring what was lost, healing what was broken. You haven't seen the best version of you yet. It's still in front of you.

Speaker 5:
[29:09] As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount, we would like to send you a copy of Joel's brand new book, Rediscovering the Forgotten You. Take back your passion, reignite your dreams, and embrace the life you were created to live. This book shares uplifting scripture and personal stories that will help you release bitterness, silence self-defeating thoughts, and embrace, by faith, the vision of the life God designed for you. Life's challenges might have distorted the true you, but now you can reclaim, revitalize, and restore the version of yourself that you once knew or the version that you know God has made you to be. Filled with hopes and dreams, optimism and confidence, request your copy today and discover the best version of you yet.

Speaker 3:
[29:58] God is about to breathe new life, new passion, new dreams into your heart. What he started, he's going to finish. Thanks so much for being with us today. Victoria and I are praying for you and your family, for God's very best. Thank you so much for your prayer and support. Your generosity helps people all over the world. A special thank you to our Champion of Hope partners for all you do to make the ministry possible. If you're not a partner, I hope you'll consider becoming one. Until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

Speaker 5:
[30:31] Be sure to request your copy of Rediscovering the Forgotten You, available this month by simply visiting us at joellosteen.com or call 888-567-JOEL. You can also receive the God's Got You Rediscovery Duo. You'll receive Rediscovering the Forgotten You and God's Got You, Promises for Overcoming Fear. It's the perfect combination to help you rekindle your purpose, while standing firm in God's promises. In addition to these two inspiration books, you can also receive the beautifully crafted CSB Thinline Study Bible in Camel Suede Soft Leather Touch, an elegant Bible that offers a rich, immersive study experience and brings God's Word beautifully into your everyday life. This collection is more than encouragement. It is a foundation for lasting renewal, rooted in God's Word, strengthened by faith, and anchored in His promises. You can request these inspiring resources by calling 888-567-JOEL or logging on to joelosteen.com today.

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