Joel Osteen (1:43)
We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. God bless you. It's great to be with you today and I hope you'll stay connected with us during the week through our Daily podcast, our YouTube channel and social media. And you can come visit us in person. Love to have you be a part of one of our services. I'd like to start with something funny. I heard about this mother. She was cooking breakfast for her two young boys. Ryan was five and Kevin was three, and they began to argue over who should get the first pancake. She saw this as an opportunity to teach them a lesson. She said, boys, boys, if Jesus were here, he would say, let my brother have the first pancake. Brian turned to his younger brother and said, okay, Kevin, you be Jesus 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. Today 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. In Jesus name, God bless you. I want to talk to you today about being a safe place. We live in a culture where there's so much judgment. People are quick to assume the worst without really knowing the facts. Just a rumor, gossip. They heard it on social media. It must be true. So they start throwing stones and trying to shame and discredit. And if we do make a mistake, and we all do, there's zero tolerance. We're going to cancel you. You should have known better. Their goal is to expose, blow out of proportion, make sure you get what you deserve. But the scripture says the mercy you show others is the mercy you're going to receive. And if you're harsh and critical and don't give people grace to be human, then when you make a mistake, people are going to be harsh and critical with you. And it's easy to find fault and kick people when they're down. Can you believe they did this? But we're not called to throw rocks. We're called to lift the fallen, to restore the broken, to heal the hurting. They don't need more judgment. They have enough people beating them down. They need someone who will pour the healing oil on someone who will help love them back into wholeness. You are never more like God than when you're helping people in need, showing mercy when they failed, pushing them up when others are pushing them down. I've never seen a day where there's so much joy over someone falling. You know, people jump on the bandwagon, spread their good news. They messed up. They got caught. I told you they were phonies. But you have to remember this. But by the grace of God, that could be you. Well, he cheated y' all. He lied. Her past finally caught up. Before you join the mob and start throwing stones, before you look down in shame and judgment, it's much better to pause and say, lord, thank you for what you kept me from. Thank you for your grace, helping me stay on the right path. If you'll walk in humility and be generous with your mercy, God will keep you on the best path. But when we get judgmental, they knew better. They're getting what they deserve. That's opening yourself up to be in their same shoes. If we don't humble ourselves. The scripture says God will humble us. It's much better if you do it than for God to do it. Learn to live as a healer, as a restorer. Not looking for opportunities to condemn, but looking for ways that you can lift people. There's enough judgment in the world, enough criticism, zero tolerance. You messed up. I'm going to expose you. Where are the healers? Where are the people that will cover their faults, show mercy for mistakes, have compassion despite their failures? And this is not excusing their behavior and covering sin. I'm talking about loving them back into wholeness, where when they come to you, they know they're not going to be judged, looked down on. You're a safe place. You're full of mercy. Your heart of compassion is open. You don't have stones of judgment, stones of condemnation. You have healing oil that you're going to pour on forgiveness. Understanding that will help them get back on their feet. In the Old Testament, there was something called a city of refuge. They lived under a law that said if you killed someone, it was an eye for an eye. You would be killed. The Israelites lived in 48 cities throughout the land of Canaan. God told Joshua to set up six cities that would be known as a city of refuge. If you accidentally took someone's life, if you made it to the city of refuge, you would be spared. Maybe you were working on your land and your axe head flew off and killed someone, or your animal got loose and harmed a person. Normally, there were no questions. You made a mistake. It's your fault. You're going to get what you deserve. But under this new law, if you could just get to one of those cities of refuge, if you could make it to that safe place, the people would take you in. They would protect you, keep you from harm. When the avenger came looking for you to pay you back, these people would step up for you. They would cover you and watch after you. Even though it was your fault. You deserved judgment. But as long as you were in the city of refuge, you were okay. I can see people that made mistakes, caused an accident. It was urgent. I got to get to that city as quickly as I can. Riding their horse, so worried, taking shortcuts. This was life or death. The avenger was coming. There was a family member, a brother, an uncle that was looking for justice. They had every right to take his life. An eye for an eye. Unless he can get to the city of refuge, then he'll be safe. This is a picture of. Of what happened to all of Us, we were born into sin. We had made mistakes, fallen short of the glory of God. We deserved judgment. The avenger was coming. But Jesus came as our refuge. He created a safe place despite our failures, despite our shortcomings. If we come to him, we don't receive the judgment we deserve. We made it to the city of refuge. David said this in Psalms. God is my refuge, a strong tower that we can run to and be safe because of what Jesus has done. If you'll come to him, you're in a safe place. There's forgiveness, there's mercy. There are new beginnings. There is beauty for ashes. Now, here's the key. Jesus said in Matthew 4, Freely you have received, now freely give. You've received all this mercy, now freely give it away. Be generous with your mercy, generous with your forgiveness. It's easy to become like the society. Judgmental, critical, zero tolerance. You don't deserve it. No. God has called you to be a safe place, a person of refuge, where when people come to you, they don't get judgment. You don't write them off because of mistakes, spread rumors and push them down. You're a healer. You're a restorer. They come to you because they know they can trust you. You're a person of honor. You protect their reputation. You shield them from lies and hate. You stand up for them and cover their faults. You love them past the guilt and shame. You help them understand that they're forgiven, that there's mercy for their mistakes. How much better would our world be if we were all a safe place? Not quick to judge, quick to condemn. No. Be a part of the solution and not the problem. Be a healer, not a condemner. Be a safe place. Compassionate understanding. Making allowances for people's weaknesses. Lakewood turns 66 years old today. It was started by my parents. Mother's Day, 1959. One reason I believe that we're still here is we've always been a safe place where anyone is welcome. Any walk of life, any background, no matter what you've done, where you are, you're not going to be judged. You're not going to be condemned. Oh, man, you're not worthy. Don't come back till you get it all together. This is a place of refuge. We're going to tell you God's mercy is bigger than your mistakes. That you're forgiven, you're redeemed, you're valuable. You're made in the image of Almighty God. You still have a purpose and destiny to fulfill. My father, he never threw rocks. He never pushed People down, never wrote anyone off. One reason was he had made mistakes. He'd gone through failures. He felt the sting of rejection and being pushed out. He was raised in poverty and defeat. He experienced great mercy, great love, great forgiveness, and freely he gave that away. He was always for the underdog. One of his greatest joys was lifting the fallen, restoring the broken, making people feel loved, valuable, wanted, no matter what they had been through. We became known as an oasis of love, a place where you could find a new beginning. We've seen it happen over and over again. I remember a young man, he was in an outlaw motorcycle game. They were known for drugs and crime and violence. He was always in and out of jail, in trouble. But he had a mother at home that was praying for him. A mother that wouldn't give up. Night and day, she would call out to God and declare his protection and his mercy over her son. One morning, he got up, looked in the mirror and said a dead man was staring back at him. He was so strung out and depressed, he took a whole bottle of pills trying to end his life. For some reason, those pills didn't have any effect on him. Why is that? God hears the prayers of a concerned mother. When someone stands in the gap for you, the enemy cannot take you out before your time. He turned on the television and there was my father talking about the goodness of God. And friend called out of the blue and said, you need to go to church today. He was so taken aback. Still high on drugs, he kind of laughed and said, no church would ever accept me. He had long hair, tattoos, skulls, you know, looked very rough. The friend said, yes, they will. I know a place. Go to Lakewood. They won't judge you. They'll help you to get free. He got on his motorcycle. It was Mother's Day. Drove to Lakewood. The other location sat in the very back in that service. He felt chains breaking off of him. Afterwards, he went back to his motorcycle in the gravel parking lot, got down on his knees, gave his life to Christ. Today, our friend Ben Priest is an amazing pastor, an amazing man of God, helping so many get back on course. This is what happens when you're a safe place. You don't condemn, find fault. They're getting what they deserve. Joel, why did he get in that gang in the first place? Why did he make those poor choices? We're not the judge. We're not the jury. We're the healers. We're the restorers. We're a place of refuge. I want to live my life in such A way that when people make mistakes, when they fail, they think, if I can just get to Joel, I know he'll help me. He won't condemn me. If I can just get to Robert, I know he'll show mercy. I know he'll understand. If I can just get to Maria, she's trustworthy, she's honorable. She'll pray for me without making me feel ashamed. God is looking for people who will be a safe place. Because so many around us are hurting, dealing with things we know nothing about. We wonder why they're not friendly and why they don't do more at the office. Why do they still have these addictions? If we walked in their shoes, we would understand. They're carrying heavy burdens that we can't see. Maybe it's a child that's breaking their heart. They're dealing with mental issues or they've been through hurts and injustice. There's a reason they're not up to par. God has put them in our path, not so we can be critical. Kick them when they're down. You know, be a safe place, be a healer. Pour oil on the wounds and help them get back on their feet. A few weeks ago, a man came up to me after the service, and he was dressed in a suit and looked very nice. And he said, joel, that was a freaking good message today. It really helped me. But he didn't use the word freaking. He used the other word. I never had anybody compliment me that way. But the fact is, I wasn't offended. I thought it was a good message, too. I just didn't use that word. But I realized this was all new to him. He wasn't raised in church like me. He was in his 50s. He told me that he hadn't been to church since he was 7 years old. I was glad that he felt comfortable coming here, that he knew this was a safe place, that we weren't going to condemn him, judge him, tell him all his faults. Here's what I've learned. Everyone is on a journey. Where they are is not where they're going to end up. Will you have the mercy, the grace, the understanding to love them while they're changing, to be a safe place where they feel comfortable coming to you because they know you're not going to throw rocks. You're not going to join the mob and push them down, canceled them because they had a failure? You're going to be a healer, a restorer. John, chapter 8. Jesus was teaching people in the synagogue, and many had gathered there intently listening. All of A sudden, the religious leaders came bursting in, dragging this woman caught in the act of adultery. They threw her down right in the middle of all the people. They could have dealt with this privately. They could have waited till the session was over and taken her to a back room. But some people want to publicly shame you instead of covering the fault, helping you get back on the right course. They'll expose your faults, call a few friends, stir up more gossip. It's interesting that the religious leaders were the ones that made this big scene. They should have been the ones that had the mercy, the ones that should have been a safe place. They didn't care about the woman. They had an agenda. They were trying to trap Jesus. First thing is, where is the man talking about injustice? They didn't drag him in. They said to Jesus, the law says to Stoner, what do you say we should do? Jesus had been up there talking the whole time, but now he went silent. He didn't say a word. When people make mistakes, when they have a failure, one of the best things we can do is go silent. Zip it up. Don't talk about them. Don't call your neighbor. Did you hear who they drug in today? Be a safe place. Be a person of honor. This lady was surrounded by a mob and they were all ready to stone her. And really, that's the society that we're in today, a mob culture. Who, who are we going to cancel? Who we're going to jump on and discredit and humiliate? Nowadays you can do it on social media, be anonymous, don't even have to put your name, just add to the hurt, the shame, the guilt. Nobody will know. Here's the catch. What you sow, you're going to reap. If you sow judgment being harsh, they made a mistake, let them have it. You're going to receive judgment. When you make a mistake, people will blow it out of proportion and humiliate disgrace. Life is too short to live that way. We're all going to make mistakes. We're all going to need mercy and forgiveness. Make sure you're giving away what you want. This lady was lying on the ground, clothes torn. She's afraid, humiliated. The mob picked up their rocks. They're ready for judgment, just waiting for the go ahead. Jesus was standing there silent. He still hadn't said anything. Then he knelt down on the ground and began to draw in the dirt with his finger. The lady couldn't get up, so Jesus went down to her. Jesus would rather be on the level of a person condemned than on the level of a person with a rock. When you stoop to help the fallen, the broken, the guilty, you're where God is. But when you have a rock, judging, condemning, you're where the mob is. Where are you in this scene? Are you a rock thrower? Or do you have compassion on the hurting? Jesus finally said to them, you who are without sin, throw the first stone. He was saying, if you never made a mistake, never failed, never done something you're not proud of, then go ahead. The fact is, we've all needed mercy. We've all done something where if God hadn't covered us, we wouldn't be where we are. The scripture says the men began to leave, one by one, from the oldest to the youngest. They all put down their rocks and walked away. Jesus said to the woman, where are your accusers? Hasn't anyone accused you? She said, no, man. Lord, he said, neither do I. Now go and sin no more. One thing this story should teach us is to not be rock throwers. When you're throwing rocks, accusations, judgment, you're on the wrong side. But Joel, they're guilty. They deserve it. Only the guilty need mercy. Paul said in Galatians, if someone is caught in sin, and you who are spiritual should gently restore them, like this lady, they're caught doesn't say, expose them. Put it on Facebook. Make sure they feel guilty. No, we're not the judge. Put down those rocks. Our job is to gently restore, to be a safe place to help them get back up on their feet. See, in the Old Testament, according to the law, this woman should have been stoned. But in the New Testament, it tells us to gently restore. The religious leaders had their rocks ready to stone. Carry out this law. Jesus said, in effect, this is a new day. No more stoning for sins. There's mercy for your sins. Now, my question, are you living under the Old Testament or the New Testament? Are you trying to condemn, expose, cancel, or. Or are you gently restoring, covering, healing? Years ago, there was a minister that had a failure in his marriage. It's a very public ordeal. Big controversy in the press went on for months and months. At one point, another minister that was very well known criticized this minister, told how he was a disgrace, should be disqualified, never again in ministry so hard and condemning. He picked up the rocks, threw stone after stone, made sure he would get knocked down. That's what happened. The other minister faded away. But when you judge something harshly, you're going to let people have it. Then what you're judging can infect you. That's why it's so important to keep your heart of compassion open. When I'm tempted to be judgmental and they're getting what they deserve, always come back to that thought. But for the grace of God, that could be me. Instead of criticizing and adding fuel to the fire, I'm going to let them know that I'm praying for them, that I believe in them, that God knows how to restore. I'm not going to live under the Old Testament. We got to stone them. I'm putting down my rocks. No stones coming from me. I'm going to live in the New Testament. I'm in the healing business. Lifting the fallen, restoring the broken, showing mercy to the guilty. And that minister, that was so harsh. A few years later, he was involved in an even bigger controversy where he got off course in a relationship and he had to step down from the ministry. When you judge things harshly, you don't give people any room to be human. And that spirit is getting off on you. You know what keeps you free? Mercy. Be in a safe place when you're helping those that have fallen. That's the heart of God. The mob is going to expose. The crowd is going to throw rocks. Don't fall into that trap. I mean, half the things we hear today are not even true. We make judgments based on social media and people that want to discredit. Some people make a living trying to expose and distort, mischaracterize. That's the mob. Joining them is only going to bring you harm. Get on God's side. Put those rocks down and be a safe place. I heard a story about a college student named Bill, and he was known on campus for his wild hair and the way he dressed. He wore an old T shirt, blue jeans, sandals, like a hippie from the 70s. He was always experimenting with drugs and smoking weed. He was a good student, but he was far out there. One day he attended a campus ministry event. Felt something he had never felt. He made a decision to give his life to Christ. They encouraged him to get into a good church. Well, there was one right across the street from the campus. It was a very formal church, very prestigious. Everyone dressed in their finest clothes. That Sunday, he got there a few minutes late and couldn't find a seat. A small auditorium was packed. As the minister was speaking, Bill began to walk slowly down the center aisle in his T shirt, blue jeans, flip flops, trying to find a seat. Everyone was intently watching. Got all the way to the front row and there were still no seats. So he sat down on the Floor right in the center of the altar. You could hear the gasp in the crowd. They had never seen anything like this. All of a sudden, the head deacon got up from the back of the auditorium and started walking toward Bill. He was in his 80s, a very distinguished man, silver hair and glasses. Impeccably dressed, he walked slowly down the aisle with his cane. There was such a commotion that the minister stopped his sermon to wait for the man to get to the front. Everyone was thinking, you can't blame him for wanting to correct the situation and remove this young man. But when he finally reached Bill, he laid down his cane and with great difficulty lowered himself to the floor and. And sat next to Bill so he wouldn't be there alone. The place erupted in applause. The minister said, the sermon I preached today, you'll forget in a week or two. But the sermon you just saw, you'll remember for a lifetime. Be a safe place. Look at people through eyes of compassion, not eyes of judgment. You don't know their story. We see what people do, but we don't know why they do it. Some are dealing with things we've never had to deal with. Carrying heavy loads, burdened by mistakes, trying to break generational baggage. Let's be healers. Let's be lifters. Jesus said, you are the light of the world. A city on a hill that cannot be hidden. You're a city that cannot be hidden. You're impacting people all around you. The question is, what kind of city are you? I'm asking you to be a city of refuge, not a city of guilt, city of condemnation, a city that cancels. Nobody wants to live in those cities. Make sure your city is full of mercy, compassion, forgiveness. Be a person that gently restores, that lifts the fallen. And I know we're going to be tempted to condemn, to find fault. Put the rocks down. We're not the judge, we're the healers. We're the ones to love people back into wholeness. If you'll be a safe place, I believe and declare there will always be mercy for you and your children in their time of need. God will cover you, protect you, restore you, and you will become all that he's created you to be in Jesus name. And if you receive it, can you say Amen? 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, we'd love to send you some free information on your new walk with the Lord. You can go to the website or text the number on the screen, but I hope you'll get into a good Bible based church and keep God First.
