How to Walk In Greater Levels of Self control - Joel Osteen

krypter says when you're planted in the house of the Lord you will flourish you're planted or you wouldn't be here on a Saturday night so as you leave tonight under your breath gordon paint come will flourish this week thank you for good in this mercy flourish in every good area but we appreciate your being here how many of your visiting one more time just want to welcome you again god bless you great to have you I'd love to meet you after the service I'll be in the bookstore lobby over there and just be my joy and honor to shake your hand but push it you're all coming out Victoria now we'll be ministering next weekend on Thanksgiving weekend so I hope you'll come out if you have friends and family bring them out but we're going to have a we're gonna have a great service every time where it late could anybody's at Lakewood but I like to start with something funny and I heard about these three men a Baptist a Catholic and a charismatic they died on the same day and went to heaven st. Peter met him at the pearly gates said I'm sorry men your rooms are not available yet he didn't know what to do and finally decided to call Satan and see if he'd keep them for a little while say you can reluctantly agreed a few hours Satan called back and said Peter you've got to come get these guys the Baptist man is saving everybody the Catholic man is forgiving everybody and the charismatic has already raised enough money for air-conditioning say it like you mean it this is my Bible I am what it says I am I have what it says I have I can do what it says I can do tonight I will be taught the Word of God I boldly confess my mind is alert my heart is receptive I will never be the same I am about to receive the incorruptible indestructible everliving seed of the word of God I'll never be the same never never never I'll never be the same in Jesus name god bless you if you'd like to open your Bibles to first Peter chapter 5 and verse 6 you're welcome to will put the scriptures on the screen as well and first Peter chapter 5 and don't forget we have great services all day tomorrow I think you know the schedule but two o'clock Spanish speaking seven o'clock a young adult service Monday night my brother Paul speaking in the Bible study Wednesday night pastor Nick Nilsson one of our staff pass there's always something good before you here at Lake Hood but thanks for being here tonight I want to talk to you tonight about healed through humility we all have times where we know we're supposed to do something but it doesn't seem fair to forgive that person that hurts you be kind to that neighbor that's not treating you right I volunteer at the hospital even though nobody's saying thank you everything on the inside will say I'm not forgiving them it was their fault they should ask me for forgiveness I'm not working on that small project serving in the nursery I'm more qualified than that but if you're going to reach your highest potential you have to humble yourself and do things you may not understand it takes humility to be the bigger person and overlooking offense takes humility to let somebody else be right for the sake of peace takes humility to not have to have your way all the time but to be open to other people's opinions we see this in the scripture with Peter he had fished all night and caught nothing early the next morning as he was coming in about to put his boat away jesus said to him launch out into the deep and you will catch a great haul of fish Jesus a Peter could have said Jesus I love you but you're a teacher you need to stick with your profession I'm a fisherman I have years of training I know where the fish are and I fished all night nothing is by thee he could have let pride talk him out of it I'm an expert I know what I'm doing instead he humbled himself and said Jesus if you say launch out doesn't make sense to me but I trust you you know what's best so I'm going to take this step of faith when he did he caught so many fish that his net begins break his promotion was in his humility when you swallow your pride and say this may not make sense but I'm going to do what God's asking me to do I'm all humble myself and be good to this person it's done me wrong I'm going to be my best at work even though they're not giving me credit I'm going to give my friend this gift even though I need it more for myself when you walk in humility you will see the Great Hall of fish like Peter your promotion your healing your breakthrough it's in your humility the scripture says Jesus humbled himself and became obedient it doesn't say he was obedient because he was so strong-willed so long righteous that he always did the right thing even Jesus had to humble himself it takes humility to walk in obedience because without humility Jesus could have said I'm the son of God I don't have to put up with these insults I'm not going to go to the cross it was his humility that kept him from retaliating against those that did him wrong his humility is why he could hang on the cross and say Father forgive them they don't know what they're doing his humility is the reason he could spend his life serving others when he had every right to be served there are times God asked us to do things that seemed hard your flesh will rise up and tell you all the reasons to not go back out to put the boat away and not launch out again or to not bite your tongue but to tell somebody offer to slack off at work they don't appreciate you anyway that's when you have to do like Jesus and humble yourself so you can become obedient you have to put your pride down and say no I'm not going to be offended because they left me out I'm not going to be sour because they didn't do it my way I'm not going to be too proud to ask for forgiveness to say I'm sorry to admit that I was when we don't have humility we think we're always right we'll be stubborn hard to get along with our relationships will be much better if we'll humble ourselves and let someone else be right honor them by letting them have their way when Victoria and I were first married she didn't like me to come into the kitchen after I had worked out and washed my hands she didn't want my sweat to be around the food the problem was when I came from the back door the most convenient sink was the kitchen sink it was right in my path this was too easy I didn't want to walk to the back and you know most of the time let me do this even do this in order for a long time to say this for a long time I would just run in there when she wasn't watching and washed my hands and hoped that she wouldn't see me and she never harped on me about it but I knew she didn't like me to do I reasoned it out thought it's not hurting anything I'm making careful not to drip and besides this is my house too I don't feel like walking all the way back to the back here I just spent 90 minutes playing basketball running up and down the court but when I came home I didn't want to walk 30 feet to the back pride will cause us to make lame excuses to where we owned we were stubborn and we only see it our way one day I was in there washing my hands about to real quickly and I heard something down in here say Joel when are you going to start honoring your wife by doing what she's asking you to do I thought that couldn't be God when we don't like it it's not God but there may be things that you don't feel like a right you shouldn't have to do that one way you can honor God is by honoring the people in your life well I shouldn't have to walk to the back I shouldn't have to clean the mess that they made I shouldn't have to sit in this section where the ushers asked me to sit God is saying will you do it for me when you walk to the back for me when you clean up the mess for me will you overlook the offense for me do it unto God when you honor God God will always honor you a few years later we built a new house I put a sink right at the back door first time victori went in to wash our hands I said don't even think about washing your hands and my saying I wonder how much better our relationships would be if we start walking in humility honoring the other person letting them have their way not having to always be right I know a couple that argued for years about the best way to drive out of their neighborhood there were two main rounds the husband thought is one way the wife thought it was other the other and every time they drove out practically it was a point of contention they both thought they were right and they were both very stubborn pride says I've got to have my way or I'll look bad I can't give in now or I'll look weak I'll have to admit that I was wrong it's very freeing when you can say let's do it your way it's no big deal I don't have to be right this couple they were great people but that spirit of pride begin to tear their relationship apart one week they heard me speaking on this subject and they both made the decision to put down their pride they quit arguing over petty things and they started honoring each other they told me how that message saved their marriage I believe other relationships would be saved if we'd start walking in humility honoring God by honoring each other the healing for your relationship is in your humility it's in you umbly humbling yourself and doing your part to get along well Joel when he starts treating me better then I'll start treating him better you have to make the first move your humility can start the healing when they see you taking the high road not being contentious not being stubborn not having to have your way that's when things will begin to change the scripture says it's the little foxes that spoil the vines if I would have kept washing my hands in this kitchen sink year after year that disrespect would have grown the dishonor would have gotten bigger and before long these little things are tearing our families apart I'm asking you to put your pride down and start walking in humility what can you do to get along better with people what can you do to strengthen your relationships not what can somebody else do you can't make them change but if you will change if you'll start treating them with respect doing what you can to honor them being kind serving them the seeds you're sowing will come back to you just as little foxes can spoil the vines little acts of kindness can make a big difference when Victoria started seeing me go to the back to wash my hands she had to go in and check and make sure something wasn't wrong with the kitchen sink when she realized I was doing it just to honor her just because she asked our relationship went to a new level she started cooking me better TV dinners but I had to lighten it up a little but little things can make a big difference for the first 15 20 years of our marriage before we had helped Victoria never filled her car up with gas any time I saw that was close to getting low I'd go fill it up just a small thing but little acts of kindness are what help it helps to hold things together I wonder you know how much better our relationships would be if we'd swallow our pride not have to have our way all the time not keeping score if you do this I'm going to do that always trying to one-up each other instead what if we spent that same energy honoring each other believe in the best overlooking offenses the healing is in your humility not in heaven your way not in getting evening not in holding a grudge I have a friend when he was in his 20s he had a disagreement with his father and it turned into a huge argument my friend left the house very angry and didn't speak to his father for 30 years wouldn't have anything to do with him his life was a constant struggle couldn't seem to get ahead never got any good breaks lived in a small apartment with his family one day he learned from his sister that his father was in the hospital he knew he needed to make things right he put his pride down got in his car and drove for hours to the hospital he went in to see his father after all these years they both wept and wept he said dad I'm sorry I was wrong please forgive me he started honoring his father he would come that the father would come to his house and spend the weekends with him and his children it wasn't long after this that this young man received a promotion at work that he'd been trying to get for over 10 years he didn't know how he would be able to send his child to college but unexpectedly his child got a full scholarship after years of living in a small apartment they were able to purchase their first house one thing after another begin to fall into place what am I saying the promotion was in his humility when he made the decision to humble himself and forgive his father and let go of the wrong that's when the favor came on his life pride keeps us from rising higher even though his father was at fault as well when you walk in humility you can be the bigger person you can forgive people you can show mercy you can start the healing when you humble yourself that's what gives you the power to walk in obedience but as long as we allow pride in we'll make excuses they don't deserve it they hurt me joy it was their fault that all may be true but holding on to it doesn't make it better if you'll let it go and move forward God will make it up to you you'll see his favor in new ways 2nd Kings chapter 5 there was a captain in the Syrian army named Naaman he was a very powerful man well respected and influential he had just helped the Syrians to defeat the Israelites everything was going great except Naaman had leprosy he had captured a young lady in Israel and brought her back as his maid I can imagine not everyone knew that he had leprosy he kept his armor on would try to hide it but this young lady she lived at his house when she saw how devastating the leprosy was she was very concerned she got her nerve up and said sir there's a prophet in Israel where I come from named Elisha if you'll go see him he'll pray for you and I know our God will heal you Naaman could have thought who are you to tell me what to do I'm a captain I take orders from the king of my nation and now you a slave a teenager a woman you're telling me to go back to the nation I had just defeated and asked them for help I don't think so he could have dismissed it ignored it sent her away been offended but something on the inside said this girl knows what she's talking about naman told the king of Syria what the maid said he wrote a letter to the king of Israel on Naamans behalf Naaman headed out to Israel think about the humility this took he had to take the advice of a maid and then be willing to go to another country and admit he needed help if he'd have been too proud he'd stayed at home sometimes your answer won't come from people that look like you people from your same culture people that you're used to you're going to have to do like him and get out of your comfort zone and be willing to listen to someone like this made may be somebody that's under you they don't have the training the experience the key is treat everyone with respect value every person's opinion if Naaman would have dismissed his maid he would have missed his miracle don't judge the people God put in your life by the outside by their title their position their well deciding who's important who you're going to listen to God uses everyone Mammon arrived in Israel with his horses chariots it's a big ordeal a huge entourage he gave the letter to the king of Israel the king was upset he said am i God do you expect me to heal you why are you asking me for help the Prophet Elisha heard about it and said send him to me Naaman arrived at Elijah's house after a long journey knocked on the door the assistant answered he said I'm naman I'm here to see Elisha the assistant said yes I know but he's busy so he sent me he sent me to you Naaman was used to dealing with heads of Nations he was he gave advice to the king of people would have loved to have an audience with him but this assistant said to him Naaman said Elijah said to you naman if you'll go wash in the Jordan River seven times you'll be healed look at all the times Neiman had to put his pride down a young maid told him what to do the king wouldn't help him elisha wouldn't see him now he has to go wash in a dirty river these were all tests on the way to your miracle on the way to your healing on the way to your promotion there will be plenty of opportunities to let pride stop you it may not happen the way you think through the people you think stay open don't get set in your ways don't write people off because they don't look like you they don't live in your neighborhood they don't attend your church God likes to do unusual things Naaman almost talked himself out of it he had done well up to this point but when he was told that he had to wash in the Jordan River that was the straw that broke the camel's back he said that's a dirty River we have much better rivers in Syria I'm not washing there let's go back home he turned around to leave when the scripture says his servant spoke up notice again not appear not the king not Elijah but an underling somebody he normally wouldn't pay attention to the servant said Elisha naman if Elijah would have asked you to do a hard thing he would have done it why don't you do this easy thing Naaman went to the river he washed once nothing happened twice nothing three times nothing he looked at his skin and thought if it was going to work surely I'd be getting better by now he was tempted to get discouraged but he kept washing five times nothing six times nothing imagine the humility this took to wash in your enemy's dirt River again and again every voice was saying hey man you look like a fool you are wasting your time but on the seventh time when he came up out of the water his skin was as clear as a baby he was completely healed God was showing us the healing was in the humility when you humble yourself and do what God's asking you to do even when it doesn't make sense to forgive the person that did you wrong to be kind to the co-worker that betrayed you to take advice from somebody that's outside your normal circles as you pass these tests things will begin to change the blessing is in the obedience the way to be obedient is to walk in humility because without humility you'll say I'm not listening to the maid what does she know I'm not doing this simple thing washing the river serving the children's ministry I want to be on the platform know do what God is asking you to do don't overanalyze it don't reason it out just do it would you all I've been doing it but I don't see anything changing you're right where Naaman was the first six times nothing happened but that didn't mean something was wrong you were right on schedule the good news is you're about to come up from your seventh dip we're suddenly healing comes and suddenly you're promoted suddenly you see the breakthrough keep doing the right thing you're close to your seventh time this is what happened with my father he'd been pastoring a denominational church for many years he was very successful they'd seen great growth and just built a beautiful new auditorium but in 1959 he felt something stirring on the inside he knew he was supposed to leave that church and launch out on his own but the only building he could find was an abandoned feed store he could have thought God you had me leave my big prestigious church come to come down to this rundown feed store I had thousands of members and now I have 90 members this doesn't make sense but God's ways are not our ways my father had to put his pride down for 13 years lakewood barely grew still had less than 200 members a fraction of what he had before friends would come by John what are you still doing pastoring this small church he didn't get discouraged he kept being his best serving those 90 people doing what he knew God put in his heart the scripture says when you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God in due time he will exalt you when you walk in humility there is a due time God is already established to catapult you to the next level a do time where God will thrust you forward when you come up out of your seventh depth when it's your due time all the forces of darkness cannot hold you back when God is ready to exalt you you'll be exalted in 1972 13 years after my father started Lakewood he came into his due time it was like somebody opened up a faucet people started coming from all over the city Lakewood grew to a church of thousands if my father was here he would tell you the promotion was in the humility he had to be willing to do something that didn't make sense to Pastor 90 people for years when he had been pastoring thousands but God knows what he's doing he knows how to get you to the next level like with Naaman he knows how to cure the leprosy but it may not happen the way you thought through the people you thought on the timetable you thought but if you keep walking in humility being obedient like my father you will come in to your due time where God does more than you can ask her thing in the story of the prodigal son the young man left home and wasted his inheritance living wild partying making poor choices he ran out of money and ended up working in a hog pen feeding the Hogs there was a famine in the land and he had to eat hog food to survive he was miserable depressed dirty and it was nobody's fault except his own one day sitting in the hog pen he thought to himself the employees at my father's house the staff back at home they live better than I do I should go back home something came alive on the inside a spark of hope he was excited then he thought what am I thinking I can't let them see me like this I can't admit that I was wrong I look like a fool pride rose up and tried to keep him from going back home the scripture says when he came to himself he said I will arise and go back to my father's house he came to the point where he humbled himself he admitted I've blown it I've made a mistake he put his pride down and headed back home his father was looking for he received him with open arms gave him a hug said let's kill the fatted calf we're going to have a party are you letting pride keep you out of the father's house worried about what people will think your image can I tell you we've all blown it we've all made mistakes don't let pride keep you out the new beginning is in your humility when you do like this young man and say God I've made mistakes I admit I'm not where I should be but I'm ready to come back home god will receive you with open arms that's the first step to getting out of the hog pan you don't have to be perfect God is not looking at your performance he's looking at your heart with Joel but I don't have it all together none of us do it's in our weaknesses God's power shows up the greatest when you come to God with humility and ask him for help he'll not only receive you back but like you did for the prodigal son he'll put a ring on your finger signifying your authority he'll give you a robe of Honor signifying his favor and he'll say let's have a party he'll celebrate you and take you further than you've ever imagined Prince the new beginning the healing the promotion it's in your humility I'm asking you to humble yourself and do what God's asking you to do maybe he's asking you to forgive or to treat somebody better or like my father to take a step of faith whatever it is don't talk yourself out of it may not seem fair may not make sense but if you'll put your pride down and do it anyway then you are setting yourself up for a due time now believe and declare because you've humbled yourself God is about to exalt you like Naaman you're about to come up from your seventh day where suddenly healing comes Promotions vindication abundance the fullness of your destiny in Jesus name and if you receive it can you say Amen tonight amen well let's play together if you can stay with me for five minutes we'll finish up here but lord thank you for what we've heard tonight I know it falls on great ground faithful people here at Lakewood and so many watching and listening and lord I thank you that we're going out of here a little bit lighter a little bit for you that this word will take root in the good soil of our hearts with their heads bowed in prayer if your heart stop beating in the next few minutes are you at peace with God do you know where you'd spend eternity if you died a moment or two from now if not I would love to pray with you I'm not here to condemn anybody I'm here to help you find a new beginning and I know this comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in just a moment if you're not at peace with the Lord or maybe you are a Christian but you've grown cold' award God you know in your heart of hearts you need to rededicate recommit your life to Christ you need a fresh new start if that's you in just a moment I'm going to ask you to take a step of faith and stand right where you are I can't think of a better time to get on the road to victory than right now you heard me just talk about it God's not mad at you your sins have already been forgiven all you have to do is accept the free gift of Christ salvation will you do it tonight the enemy in your thoughts will tell you do it later do it next week listen the Bible says today is the day of salvation with Joel it's embarrassing to stand in front of everyone listen to what Jesus said if you won't be ashamed of me before people then I won't be ashamed of you before my father in heaven I'm going to give you a great opportunity to show God that you're not ashamed to him if you're not at peace with the Lord or you just need to rededicate we commit your life to Christ you need that fresh new start that new beginning if that you would you be bold take that step of faith and stand right where you are and we'll pray together would you do that come on like what let's give them a hand all over the building as they stand come on don't put it off anybody else feel like they'll to be a few more anybody else take that step of faith tonight don't be left out anybody else well god bless you please remain standing if you don't mind let me tell you we're proud of you more importantly I know the angels are rejoicing in the heavens it's going to be a new beginning in your life why don't we all pray this if you would please everyone listening Lord Jesus I repent of my sins come into my heart make you my Lord and Savior amen remain standing one more moment let me tell you how much we love you I also want to give you a personal invitation and a challenge to come back and be with us on a regular basis we ask new believers give us the next year of your life make a commitment to come whether you feel like it or not I'll make a promise to you your life will never be the same for the better when you come back next week bring somebody with you friend a family member if you need anything after service right up here you can meet some of our staff I'll be that way if you can't do it tonight I'm out there anytime after i minister last thing the moment you stood up God washed away all your sins your mistakes your failures you are starting with a fresh clean slate write it down in your Bible it is November 18 2017 a new day of victory in your life in Jesus name Amen well let's all stand together if you would please thanks for coming out tonight how many of you going home better off than you were before amen amen well let me speak the blessing until we meet again may the Lord bless you and keep you may the Lord show you his favor and have mercy on you and may the Lord watch over you and give you his peace god bless you we love you very much have a great week a faithful week and we'll see you back real soon hello welcome to Lakewood Church my name is Brandon thank you so much for tuning in online or on Sirius XM we're so honored to have you with us tonight I want to take just a quick moment to talk to you about getting connected here at Lakewood you know throughout the Bible we say the importance of getting connected into a community of believers in 1st Corinthians 12 the Apostle Paul put it this way now you're the body of Christ and each of you a part of it like the Apostle Paul I want to tell you tonight that you matter you're valuable you have an important part to play in God's kingdom let 2017 be the year that you say yes to getting plugged into a community of believers now no matter what you're facing tonight I know the way forward is by putting Jesus Christ first place in your life one of the most practical ways we can put in first place in our life is by getting plugged into a good Bible based church if you're in the Houston area I want to personally invite you to come and join us be a part of one of our services here at Lakewood and no matter where you live we've got great ways for you to get connected check out Joel Osteen dot-com or Lakewood Church com or download the Joel Osteen or Lakewood Church mobile apps to see all the ways you can get connected we'll know we love you very much we're praying for you all the time have a great night [Music]

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Length: 36min 34sec (2194 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 10 2018