Staying In The Game

Joel @ Lakewood Church

· It's easy to lose your passion when things don't work out, but you have to shake off the pity. You can't let the hurt cause you to sit on the sidelines.

· Don't let the bad break make you bitter. You have to have a made up mind that you are going to be faithful.

· Momma Dodie: diagnosed with terminal cancer but she still drove mIles to pray for others. She was injured but still in the game.

· God will take your scars and turn them into stars for His glory.

Isaiah 61:3 NIV

and provide for those...beauty instead of ashes...

Isaiah 60:1 AMP

ARISE [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you--rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!

· God has an after this planned for me!

Job 42:16-17 NIV

After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, an old man and full of years.

· NFL Player Torrey Smith Honors Brother Who Died In Motorbike Crash Hours Before Game Time

· People would understand if you sat on the sidelines "nursing your wounds" but when you get in the game in spite of the circumstances you give the enemy a nervous breakdown.

· God understands

Hebrews 4:15 NIV

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

· Ruth (example)

Ruth stayed in the game after losing her husband and was given a husband who was the richest in the land and ended up in royal lineage.

Ruth 4:21-22 NLT

Salmon was the father of Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David.

· The rest of my days will be the best of my days!

********Victoria Osteen*********

Turn Your Worrying into Worship

· God cares about what I care about.

Psalm 55:22 NIV

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

· Don't worry.

Matthew 6:25 NIV

...do not worry about your life....

Matthew 6:27, 33 NIV

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

·Look up and not down.

Luke 21:28-29 NIV

When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

· You can tell worrying from planning because you are frustrated and not displaying the fruit if the spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 NIV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

· Sarah (example)

Hebrews 11:11 NIV

And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.

Standing on the promises of Christ!

Spare the Rod Keep the Discipline

People are so focused on "protecting" children that they are failing to discipline those children. This is sad since discipline is the best form of protection that you can give your children. Children need to be trained to display order and obedience appropriate to EVERY setting. This means that your child needs to know that there are rules everywhere which may differ from the rules that he or she is accustomed to. Even though those rules are different, they still must be followed. Your child needs to know that if those rules are not followed there are consequences that may differ from the consequences that he or she is used to. I am not saying that you have to be okay with consequence that you deem inappropriate for your child.

If you have a problem with the way another adult disciplines your child, it is your responsibility to talk to that adult about that IN PRIVATE. In addition to (and before) you talk to that adult about your issue, address the infraction that led to the discipline! More than likely, the adult who YOU entrusted your child's care to did not arbitrarily discipline your child. Your child did something wrong! Even if YOU don't think it's wrong, it was wrong in the setting that you left your child in. Children need to know that there are different rules EVERYWHERE and just because it's okay in one place (i.e. at your house) doesn't mean it's okay everywhere else.

As a child, I would tell my mom when adults disciplined me. Her FIRST question was always, "Well, what did you do?" Whether or not she had a problem with what they did was not what she chose to discuss with me; I think that was an excellent decision. Children should know that adults are backing each other up and they aren't going to play us against each other. 

The bottom line is, police can KILL your child if he or she breaks the rules: DON"T LET IT GET THAT BAD. Teach them early that there are rules everywhere, those rules may differ from the rules that you are accustomed to, if those rules are broken then there will be consequences, and those consequences may differ from the consequences that you are used to.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

verb (used with object)

10.

to train by instruction and exercise; drill.

11.

to bring to a state of order and obedience by training andcontrol.

12.

to punish or penalize in order to train and control; correct;chastise.

It's Not Over

John Gray @ Lakewood Church

There are times when you pray thinking you need it immediately, but God's timing doesn't lineup with your expectations. What makes it worse is that peopledown the street who don't seem to be living for God are doing great. Lazarus was in such a situation. JOHN 11

John 11:3 KJV

Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

♥ Your right now is no match for the eternity that is within God.

♥ There is a promise in the midst of the process.

♥ You have creative power in your mouth.

♥ Your situation is not proof that God is not mad at you.

John 11:4 KJV

When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

John 11:11 KJV

These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

Hebrews 12:2 KJV

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

♥ If God made you a promise that's what's going to happen.

♥ But we never imagine that death will meet you in the middle.

John 11:20 KJV

Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

♥ Mary had an attitude!

John 11:25-27 KJV

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

John 11:35 KJV Jesus wept.

John 11:43 KJV

And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

♥ he had to call Lazarus by name because if he said come forth everything dead woulda got up!

The seed of God's word is a deposit until the promise arrives.

Sent from the Elders.

YOUR AMERICAN IDOL: Hero's v. Idols

Some heros use their powers for good...others use their powers for bad.

Elijah was sent by God to deliver a message to Ahab.

Green Lantern was chosen and faced the impossible. He called us

Idols lead you to trouble and heros lead you to truth.

When you woship and put other things before God you end up in a lot of trouble.

1 Kings 18:17 NLT

When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, "So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?"

Elijah challenged the other prophets.

1 Kings 18:17, 21 NLT

When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, "So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?" Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, "How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!" But the people were completely silent.

You are going to have to choose.

Even when you don't make a choice, you choose.

Putting God first gets results.

Sent from the Elders.

There Is Another Ingredient Coming

Pastor Joel at Lakewood Church

Life is not always fair, but God is always fair. You can't isolate one bad break because it is only 1 ingredient.

Romans 8:28 NLT

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

The Osteens used to make cookies, one time they did not have any baking soda and figured that it was such a small portion that it wouldn't make any difference but the cookies came out flat.

Some people are bitter on life but all the ingredients haven't come.

1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Stop being discouraged. God always ends with it's good so if its not good, then it's not over.

Using the cookie analogy, vanilla extract doesn't taste good until you add all the ingredients.

Joel had an unfair tax problem which lead him to becoming friends with an atorney who helped him negotiate a contract for a television station which he sold to renovate the Compaq Center!

NAOMI let a season of mourning turn into a lifetime of mourning. Don't become known as what you went through. No matter what know that you are in it to win it.

Exodus 15: 22...bitter water becomes sweet.

Stop listening to the condemning voices and forgive yourself. God wouldn't allow something if it wasn't for your good.

***********Victoria Osteen***********

DEFINING MOMENTS

John 21:6 NLT

Then he said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get some!" So they did, and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

They were professional fisherman and they had to ignore history: they hadn't captured any fish all night. They had to be obedient. That was a God moment.

Maintain GOD moments to take hold of destiny moments. The God moments always require a obedIence AND sacrifice.

My actions and words make a difference. Look for the best and let other people win.

Sent from the Elders.

Profit over People?

It seems like everywhere I go "management" is browbeating employees into doing whatever it takes to increase sales. Valuable real estate on sales floors are being crammed with "budget" items to encourage purchasing while aesthetics and comfort are sacrificed. I myself have held positions where I was "encouraged" to offer sales suggestions; for EVERY customer I was to offer  "complementary" sales items. I've watched my coworkers be bullied into bullying customers to sign up for credit cards. Everyone is so focused on profit that people on both ends, consumers and employees, are abused.

The blatant selfishness amazes me. How did we come to this? How did it get so bad? I guess it's a vicious cycle. Before I started my own business and ventured into contract work, I always wished that my coworkers would rally against the bullies; I am a peace lover and deem it pertinent to respect authority, however when employers force you to work harder for little to no money and/or benefits I believe that it wouldn't continue if someone stood up and said "no".

Unfortunately many workers are scared that the least "discrepancy" will warrant termination. So the workforce silently suffers as the level of abuse dished out by upper management increases. What's even more appalling is that as hours, pay, and benefits are cut upper management and investors continue to make a profit. What's worse is that the workforce ties itself to the plow so that  the world seems to rest on the job and a little money is better than no money at all. Right?  NEWSFLASH: when you settle for less than you deserve, you end up with less than you settled for.

We are settling. People decided that profit was more important than people and we the people are agreeing. By suffering in silence we are saying that it's ok. By continuing to profit while business fails we are saying it's okay. When you decide to look out for yourself you decide to fail. Profit is not more important than people. When we value people over profit profit increases; when we value profit over people profit eventually decreases.

The only person I can control is myself so I plan to go out and value some people. Will you join me?

Trusting God's Timing

**********PASTOR JOEL*************

~There is a set time for my blessing and when you realize that, it takes the pressure off.

~It takes faith because God does tell us that there are set times.

Hebrews 4:3 NKJV

For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,' " although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Habakkuk 2:3 NKJV

For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.

~Quit worrying about who is getting ahead of you and run your own race.

~Israelites into the promised land.

~Think about how precise God's timing is. It is down to the split second. If it hasn't happened yet, then it is not time.

~The appointed time is the best time because God sees the big picture.

Hebrews 6:12 NLT

Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith and endurance.

~Promises are like babies if God lets us have them too early then it may not be healthy for anyone involved.

Psalm 31:15 NLT

My future is in your hands.

Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.

~Abraham and Sarah

~If you let go of Ishmael then Isaac will show up.

~Rest in God's Timing

Psalm 37:1, 4 NLT

Don't worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires.

Psalm 46:10 NLT

"Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world."

Exodus 14:13-14 NLT

But Moses told the people, "Don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm."

~Moses and Pharoah

*********VICTORIA OSTEEN***********

♥ READ GOD'S WORD AND FIND OUT WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT YOU.

Romans 10:17 NLT

So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

Romans 12:3 NKJV

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

♥GOD'S POWER COLLIDES WITH MY FAITH AND WHAT I SAY FRAMES MY WORLD.

Matthew 17:20 NKJV

So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

♥ ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS PUSH THROUGH.

Mark 5:25-34 NKJV

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?" But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' " And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."

Sent from the Elders.