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Joel Osteen (1:09)

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Victoria Osteen (1:40)

Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry.

Unknown Speaker (1:46)

If you enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend? We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life.

Victoria Osteen (1:53)

God bless you. Always a joy to come in your homes. We love you. We know God has great things in store and if you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started each week with something kind of funny and I heard about this man that lived in the country. One night he heard some noise and he saw some burglars stealing things from his barn. He ran to the phone and dialed 911 which but the dispatcher said, I'm sorry sir, there are no patrol cars available. You just need to lock your doors and we'll get somebody there as soon as possible. He hung up so frustrated about 30 seconds he called back and said, ma'am, don't worry about it. You don't need to send anybody. I shot all the burglars. Ninety seconds later, three patrol cars, one sheriff and two ambulances showed up and they caught the burglars red handed. The sheriff went over afterwards and said, I thought you said you shot the burglars. The man said, I thought you said nobody was available. All right, hold up your Bibles. 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 good example. Every one of us has a ministry. It may not be to be in a pulpit like this, but really your pulpit is your life. People are watching how you live, how you respond to adversity, how consistent you are, and how you treat people around you. Our actions speak louder than our words. We are called to be the light of the world. We're supposed to be the salt of the earth. That means the way we live should make other people want what we have. We should have so much joy, so much peace. We should be so kind, so generous, so good natured that it draws people to us. One of the best ways to let your light shine is to just go out and be happy, be friendly, be good to people, have a positive attitude. I heard somebody say, preach at all times. Use words only if necessary. In other words, your life is speaking to people. Maybe you work at an office where everybody's complaining, they're talking about the boss, criticizing the company. But you go in with a good attitude. You have a smile on your face. You're grateful that at least you have a job. You're focused on what's right, not what's wrong. You know what? You just ministered to those people. You just spoke into their lives. The fact is, you didn't have to say a word. You didn't have to condemn them and say you old ungrateful things. No, you just let your light shine. You let your actions do the talking. That's one of the most powerful ways to influence people. We have to realize every one of us have a ministry. You may not know how to preach, but you do know how to smile. That's a great sermon. I've got that one down. You may not be able to get up here. But you can be kind to someone, you can give an encouraging word, you can be stable in the midst of adversity. All these things send a message to people. We're supposed to be living epistles read by all men. That means people are not reading a book these days, they're reading our lives. They're watching the way we live. And I wonder what would happen if every one of us would go out each day with a smile on our face. Being good to people, kind, courteous, respectful, friendly. That would probably have a greater impact than all the sermons they could hear us speak. The Scripture says here in 2nd Corinthians 5, verse 20, we are ambassadors of Christ, God's personal representatives on the earth. We have to understand people don't see God, they see us. We need to ask ourselves, am I representing God in the way I should? Am I kind? Am I friendly? Do I draw people to me or do I push people away? I remember in high school there was this one young man that was so fun to be around. He was always happy, so good natured, we couldn't wait for him to get to school. That's the way we should be, a joy to be around, consistently happy, consistently friendly. For some people, it's sad to say, you can't wait for them to leave. They've always got a problem, always discouraged, always have a sad story. They're always draining your energy. And of course that's fine sometimes, but not all the time. If we mope around with no joy, no enthusiasm, no nobody's going to want what we have. The reason some people don't come to church today and they don't want to serve God is because they've seen so many believers that look like they've lost their last friend. The Bible tells us to be sober minded, not sober faced. We've got to get the joy from down here up to here. At that bumper sticker I saw, if you're born again, notify your face. But people today see too many mixed signals. They think they go to church every week, they honor God with their life, but they're as down and depressed as I am. Or when they have adversities, they get just as stressed out and upset as I do. Why would I want what they have? No, people should be envious of us. They should see so much stability, so much peace, so much victory. Like a magnet, it just draws them in. And after all God's done for us, the least we can do is go out each day and put a smile on Our face. We're supposed to be the light of the world. I believe the smile is the switch that turns the bulb on. It starts right here. But it's a poor representation of our God to go around negative and defeated. And the fact is we all have challenges. We can all find a reason to be unhappy, but we don't have a right to be unhappy. We represent Almighty God. I know I have people that represent me and do things on my behalf. And if they went out negative, sour, complaining, if they looked sloppy, beat up, run down, I'd say, you know what, you need to go do something else. I don't want to be represented like that. How much more Our Heavenly Father. And sure, there are days that none of us feel like being friendly. We don't feel like having a good attitude, we don't feel like smiling. But we need to remind ourselves, I'm preaching a sermon today with my life. What kind of message am I sending? People are being influenced by the way I live. I may not speak any words that are wrong, but what am I expressing with my body language? Am I pleasant to be around? Am I happy? Am I good natured? Or do people feel pressured around me? When I walk into the room, they all get tense and uptight because they can feel the stress coming off of me. I was in a department store the other day and I went up to the counter to pay. There were three registers open and I just happened to choose the one closest to me. And when I handed the man my product, he seemed like he was kind of perturbed, kind of aggravated that I had chosen him. And you know me, I'm just happy. Go lucky. I smiled at him anyway and said, hey, how you doing? He didn't say a word. He totally ignored me, acted like I was bothering him. I could feel the tension, the pressure coming off of him. And I eventually handed him my credit card to pay. And he looked down on it name and he looked back up. He said, are you that minister that's on television by the way he said it. I didn't know if that was going to be a good thing or not. I smiled and said, yes, I am. He said, that's funny. My wife and I watch you every Sunday. I wanted to say, do you ever listen? I bought my product there and was leaving out of there and just being friendly. I said, well, come see us whenever you can. He said, oh, Joe, I can't do that. I'm in charge of the greeting committee at my church. I thought, dear Lord, I wouldn't go to that place without a bulletproof vest. That man may not have realized it, but he was preaching a sermon. Hate to say it wasn't a very good one. Sometimes it does more damage than good for people to say they love God, to say they're a believer, and then they go out and treat people like that. That just keeps people from really wanting to know God. After all, if we're hard to get along with and unfriendly, going to want what we have, how's that going to possibly draw anybody in? Let's pay attention to what kind of message that we're sending out. I love what one of our members told me a while back. She was out shopping and she went up to the counter to pay. And the girl at the register saw how happy she was. This young girl had a smile on her face, and she was just radiating joy and peace. You've seen people that have a glow about them. That's what this young lady looked like. And the clerk said to her just in passing, how are you doing? She said, I'm doing great. I'm blessed, and I believe this year is going to be my best year so far. That clerk looked at her and said, do you go to Lakewood? She said, I do. She said, I should have known it. Everybody that comes in here like you goes to Lakewood. I thought, what a great testimony. That's the way that it should be. Some of you didn't think you had much of a ministry, but you're finding out you have a powerful ministry. You can impact people that I never could. You're preaching a sermon every day with your life. One of the best sermons you could ever preach is to just go out and be happy. Be good to people. Let the love of God shine through you everywhere you go. It's funny, sometimes when you smile a lot, people get suspicious of you. They look at you like, what's wrong with him? Why is he so happy over there? My attitude is, make them suspicious. I smile at everybody. Sometimes I see people looking. I'm sure they're thinking, you know what? That guy, he may be on drugs. He may look like he's kind of high. But you know what? I have to admit I'm guilty. I'm on the most high. I'm excited about life. I'm happy. I know our best days are not behind us. They're in front of us. If we're going to represent God, we should do it with joy, with enthusiasm, with honor, with excellence, integrity. It's interesting. The studies tell us that people remember less than 10% of what we say. But what they always remember is what they feel. In other words, you can say the right thing with a sour attitude and they'll go away remembering the negative. But if you can just be happy, have a smile, be kind, take time for people. That's what makes a positive impact in people's lives. People write me all the time, say, joel, I can't remember what your sermon was about, but what ministered to me was the joy that I saw in your face, the love that I felt coming through the screen, the compassion, the sincerity. That's what the phrase means. Preach at all times. Use words only if necessary. Pay attention to your body language, your voice tones, your facial expressions. Have a pleasant demeanor. When somebody does something for you at the office, the grocery store, at the mall, don't just take the receipt. Take the paper and look down. Kind of mumble, all right, thanks. No, look them in the eye with a smile on your face. In a pleasant tone. Tell them, thank you. I appreciate that. See, we can't get so busy and so preoccupied that we're not taking time for people. Slow down and show them that you care. You're not just saying thank you. That's a part of your ministry. How do you know they don't need something positive sown into their lives? They may be going through all kinds of difficulty you know nothing about. Yet one kind word, one heartfelt thank you, one genuine look of care and concern can help them make it through the day. One time, our son Jonathan and I were going to a restaurant to eat. When we walked in, I saw this man sitting at a table by himself. He was dressed in a nice suit, had on a tie. And I just naturally paused and smiled at him and said, how are you? And then walked on. No big deal. A couple of days later, we got a letter from him. He told how he was at one of the lowest points in his life. He wasn't a, quote, religious person, never been to church, never really prayed. But that morning he said, God, if you're real and you still have a plan for my life, give me some kind of sign. He said, joel, when you walked in and spoke to me, I felt a warmness going all through me. I realized that was God directing my steps. But what if I'd been too busy, too preoccupied, too focused on myself to make a deposit into that man's life? The fact is, it didn't take me five extra seconds, didn't take an extra ounce of energy, yet it made a huge impact. When you go out through the day, be more aware of the people that are around you. You're not just going to work. That's your place of ministry. You're not just going to the grocery store or going to the mall, going to the Little League field. God is directing your steps. He's constantly bringing people across your path that need what you have. Make sure that you're sowing good seeds into them. When people see you, they should feel love, feel hope, feel encouragement. You may not say anything, but with your demeanor, with the smile on your face, with the glow that God's put around you, that can communicate even more than our words. Now, I know some of you work at places where everybody's negative, everybody has a bad attitude, but you don't have to let that pull you down. I heard somebody say, you can either be a thermometer or you can be a thermostat. A thermometer just measures the temperature of the room and adjusts to that. That means if everybody's negative, sour, complaining, you sink down to their level. But a better choice is to be a thermostat. A thermostat changes the temperature in the room. You go in there with a good attitude, excited about your future, full of hope. Little by little, that environment will begin to change. I believe today I'm looking at a bunch of thermostats. There are already enough thermometers. There are already enough people that just go with the material majority. But don't let them influence you. You influence them. Bring them up to your level. You don't have to try to straighten everybody out. The Bible says God's given us the power to be a witness. Doesn't necessarily mean we have to witness, although it's good to share our faith. But one of the best witnesses you can ever have is to just be who you are. Just live your life consistently happy, consistently friendly, consistently in a good mood. Let your actions do the talking. The other day, I was in my car and I had six children with me. Two of my own and four of my nephews and nieces. And they all wanted to go to McDonald's. And so we pulled through the drive through, but the speaker was so distorted I could hardly hear. And plus, the children were kind of loud, and I was trying to place my order. My little nephew Christopher, he likes his hamburgers completely dry with nothing on it. And so I told the lady through the speaker, I want a Happy Meal with a hamburger with nothing but a bun and a piece of meat. She said, okay, would you like pickles with That? I said, no, ma'am, I don't want anything on it. Just dry. She said, all right. Would you like mayonnaise with that? I said, no, ma'am. I just want a bun and a piece of meat. She said, all right. Would you like mustard with that? I thought she was kidding. I kind of laughed and I said, ma'am, I want this hamburger completely dry. She said, all right. So you don't want the lettuce, do you? It's like that sign I saw. It says, what part of no do you not understand? This was my first order. I had five more to go. It had taken all my energy. I looked back, and the line behind me was halfway to the freeway. I was so embarrassed. I had to keep telling myself, I am God's personal representative on this earth. How would God act? Would he get upset? Would he lose his cool and give this young lady a piece of his mind? I was tempted to, but I just stayed calm. Finally, I got my order in. I pulled up to where she was to pay. When she saw me, the first thing she said was, oh, Pastor Joel, I can't believe that's you. I thought, thank you, Jesus. Did I stay calm? She pulled my book out and said, would you sign your book for me? I thought to myself, I could have written another book by the time I took to get my order. We got to talking. I said, how long have you been working here? She said, today is Wednesday. First day. She said, you know what? I'm catching on pretty good. I thought to myself, you just keep calling me by faith, sister, but you never really know who's watching you. You say, joel, you're on television. I don't have to worry about that. No, don't kid yourself. Your children are watching you. Your co workers, your neighbors, the person at the grocery store. You're preaching a sermon to everyone you interact with. They may not remember what you say, but they're going to remember what they felt. Do they feel love? Do they feel joy? Do they feel approval? Make sure you're sending out the right things. We're representing Almighty God. When I was in my early 20s, I was in India, in a small town with my father. Every morning, we would go down to the little restaurant in the place we were staying to have breakfast. We couldn't communicate verbally with them since nobody spoke English. We'd just point to what we wanted. My father would always go out of his way to be kind and respectful and warm. He really loved the people of India. And even though they didn't understand Him. He was always smiling and patting them on the back. By the end of the week, he was giving everybody a hug. And just as we were about to leave and move on to the next town, the man that owned the restaurant motioned to our driver, our interpreter. He pointed at my father and he said, who is that man? We can see God in his eyes. You think about it. My father had never spoken a word that they could understand. Yet they felt the love. They felt the compassion. What was it? Daddy just let his light shine. Words are not always necessary. Like the old poem that says, I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day. Rather men walk with me than merely show the way. What kind of sermon are we sharing with people every day? Just little things, like being kind to the lady at the grocery store. You just ministered to her. Being friendly to the security guard at the office. You just made a deposit into his life. Or even taking that neighbor some food that hasn't been feeling well. That's a ministry. The scripture tells us we are temples of Almighty God. Another way you could say it is we are containers filled with God. Everywhere we go, we should be dispensing good on somebody. Dispensing hope, dispensing encouragement, dispensing joy. You may have some difficulties in your own life, but one of the best things you can do is get your mind off yourself. Don't live ingrown. Be a giver. Make up your mind. I'm going to make a difference in the world today. I'm going to smile at people. I'm going to be friendly. I'm going to encourage someone. Well, you say man, Joel, I've got problems. I need somebody to encourage me. No. You've got to sow a seed if you will make somebody else's day. God will always make your own day. In our times of difficulty, one of the most powerful things we can do is go out and be a blessing to somebody else. But don't sit around waiting for your ship to come in. Some of you haven't sent a ship out yet. You need to start being an encourager. Start giving people hope. Start sharing your love, your joy with others. The fact is, every one of us are dispensing something. Too many go around dispensing negative things. Defeat sarcasm, self pity, pride. They don't have to say a word, but you can feel these things coming off of them. Please don't let that be you. Go out each day dispensing joy, dispensing enthusiasm. Be friendly. Let your light shine. A while back, Victoria and I were in Galveston. We were walking up and down the street, going into the little shops and Victoria had gone into this one place and I just decided to wait outside and watch the people. And I saw this lady two or three blocks away and she started waving and waving until I smiled real big and waved back at her like she was my best friend. Had no idea who she was, but I was just determined to be friendly. A few minutes later she had come a little closer as she was shopping and I noticed once again she started waving and waving. I thought, alright lady, we did this once, but we can do it again. So I smiled and waved like I hadn't seen her in years. A few minutes later she is now shopping just a few feet from me or, you know, 20, 30 yards. And I couldn't believe it. She started waving more enthusiastically than ever and so I thought I'd join in the fun. I waved and I said, hey, how you doing? And she came over, got closer to me and she looked at me kind of strange and she said, do I know you? I said, I don't know. I'm waving at you because you're waving at me. She said, I'm not waving at you. I'm waving at my sister behind you. I was as red as that flag. I'll never forget. She patted me on the back. She said, but you sure are a friendly young man. But I thought if I err, I'm going to err the side of being friendly. I'm going to err on the side of being full of joy. There are already enough sour people in our society. Our lives should overflow with the victory God's given us. If we're going to let our light shine, we've got to turn the bulb on. We have to have a smile. We have to be friendly. Let's be full of joy wherever we go. Too often we think we can only preach with our words. Supposed to go around straightening everybody out. Let me tell you what you're doing wrong. Most of the time that just makes people defensive. My father used to say, don't be a fire hose. Try to knock people down. Point out their faults, their shortcomings. Instead, just be a sprinkler. Share hope. Share a kind word, Share encouragement. Let your life be the example. Years ago, before I became a minister, I used to play basketball at this. There were a lot of young men there that were very rough. They would use bad language and argue and sometimes some scuffles would break out. I played there for several years. But I didn't go in there and try to preach to them and tell them what they were doing wrong. I did just what I'm asking you to do. I just lived my life consistently happy, consistently friendly, consistently in a good mood. I wouldn't argue with them. I always played fair. There was a questionable call. I'd let the other team have the ball. In fact, it got to be a joke. If I were on the sidelines waiting to play next, watching a game and there was a close call, they'd always say, go ask Joel. We know he won't lie. See, we all have our pulpit. You're ministering to people all around you. Your life is sending a message. And really, that was a better witness than me trying to cram something down their throat. Talk is cheap. I could have told them all day long, guys, y'all gotta quit cursing. You need to quit fighting. But a greater impact was to let my actions do the talking. Being a good example is what opens the door to a person's heart. This one young man was really struggling. He had addictions and anger problems, and he was the least likely one you'd ever think would have anything to do with the things of God. But one day he asked me if I'd start praying for him, if I'd start helping him. A lot of people would have gone in there and said, yeah, all right. Here's what you're doing wrong. You got to straighten up, live right, do this, do that. But I found most people already know what they're doing wrong. They don't need our condemnation. They need our love. They need us to be understanding. Some people, they see you do one thing wrong, they come at you like a bulldog. I'm going to straighten you out. Let me tell you, brother, you're going straight to hell. It's funny. Sometimes it seems like they're glad that we're going, but we're supposed to share good news. We have the power to be a witness. You don't have to straighten everybody out. Let your light shine. In fact, the scripture talks about wives that have husbands that are not serving God. It says, don't try to win them over with your words. Don't try to convince them with your speech. Let your life of excellence and integrity speak to them. I know too many ladies that have a husband's not coming to church. They harp on that man night and day, constantly preaching to him, quoting him scriptures, telling him what he's doing wrong. Most of the time, that drives people further away. A better approach is to just Let your light shine. Be fun to be around. Be good natured. Make him want what you have. I started praying with this young man after the ball games. He didn't even come from our same faith. But I would encourage him, give him hope. One day he showed up at Lakewood. He told me, joel, I've never felt anything like that before. It was the love of God. Today he's here all the time. His life is totally changed. He's free from his addictions. He's one of the most kind, caring people that you could ever meet. How did this happen? Not by me forcing it. Not by me condemning him. No, I simply let my light shine. I'm asking you to do the same thing. You have a ministry. You represent Almighty God. When you go out in the morning, make sure you have a smile on your face. Make sure you're friendly. Have a pleasant demeanor. Remember, people don't see God, they see us. I wonder what would happen if every one of us would go out of here dispensing good on somebody. Joy, hope, encouragement. Friends, you are a container that is filled with God. Don't keep it to yourself. Share it with others. Let your light shine. If you'll go out each day being a good example, you'll not only make a positive impact in other people's lives, but here's the beauty. God will use that seed to impact your own life. He'll cause you to come up higher. He'll show you more of his blessings and favor, and you'll live the life of victory that he has in store. Amen. Do you receive it today? We never like to close our broadcast without giving 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. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take you places that.