Joel Osteen (0:00)

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Victoria Osteen (0:40)

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Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. 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. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. We love you. 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 so much for tuning in today and thanks again for coming out. I like to start each week with something funny and I should mention this was sent to me from a woman, but according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer, male reindeer lose their antlers at the start of winter. In late November, female reindeer keep their antlers until spring. This Means all of Santa's reindeer from Rudolph to Blitzen had to be female. She goes on to say, we should have known only women would be able to drag around a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost. All right. I don't know about you men, but I'm offended. Hold your Bible up. 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 developing your pearl. Pearls are made from irritations. An oyster feeds off the bottom of the ocean, and occasionally it will get a grain of sand lodged on the inside. That sand causes the oyster discomfort. It doesn't like it. It rubs and rubs, trying to get rid of it. But eventually it's formed into a beautiful pearl. Pearls are expensive. People pay thousands of dollars for pearls. Ladies wear them around their neck. But the fact is, that pearl is birthed out of something uncomfortable. The oyster would have preferred to not deal with it. If you could ask it, it would say, I don't like being uncomfortable. Don't give me any more irritations. Make everything easy. No. God designed the irritation to become something beautiful to make it more valuable. In the same way, every irritation in our life is designed to become a pearl. The scripture talks about how God is the potter and we are the clay. One way that God forms us and molds us is by allowing us to be in situations where we're uncomfortable. We're not getting our way, we're not being treated right. Not happening as fast as we would like. This pressure brings to light impurities in our character. Things like pride, selfishness, being critical, being easily offended, things that we need to get rid of. We may not like it, but God uses every situation, every traffic jam, every person that's hard to deal with. Every time we could get our feelings hurt, we need to remind ourselves this is only a test. This is an opportunity to come up higher. See, the irritation was never designed to frustrate you. It was designed to help you grow, to help you develop that pearl. Now, I've learned you can't pray away every uncomfortable situation. You can't rebuke every trial. God allows difficulties to help grow us up. He uses people that are hard to get along with like sandpaper, to rub the Rough edges off of us. And if we don't understand how God operates and the process he uses, then we'll go through life frustrated, wondering why God's not answering our prayers, trying to run from everything that's difficult. Joel, my supervisor, gets on my nerves. He's inconsiderate, he's grouchy. I don't have to put up with this. I'm going to leave this job. Have you ever thought about God? May have put him in your life to help develop your pearl so you could learn to love those that are not lovely. So you could learn to be good to people that are not being good to you. So you could develop patience, kindness, long suffering. You know what long suffering is? It's when you have to suffer a long time putting up with something that you don't like. I learned long suffering growing up with my brother Paul. If every irritation can become a pearl, he helped me to have a whole strand between him and my sister Lisa. I could open up a jewelry store. But if you leave that job because the boss is hard and you don't let God do the work in you, that next position you take, there'll be two more people just like him. That's God having you on the potter's wheel, spinning you around and around. He'll give you another opportunity to pass that test. But understand that irritation, just like the oyster, is not God trying to make our lives miserable. No. God knows there's a pearl in you waiting to be formed. The only way it can be developed is by passing these tests. By being kind to a co worker that's not kind to you. By biting your tongue when you feel like telling somebody off. By keeping a good attitude even when you get stuck in traffic. Those are opportunities to develop our pearl. And our attitude should be, if this is where God has me, I must need it. I'm not going to fight against it. I'm not going to try to pray it away. I'm going to embrace the place where I am. I know God's given me the grace to be here. He's got me on the potter's wheel. So I'm going to keep a good attitude. Knowing right beyond this irritation is a beautiful pearl. You may be uncomfortable and kind of have to suffer through it. But if you'll stay on the wheel, if you'll be willing to change and not try to pray away every traffic jam and pray away every difficult person, but let God use that to refine you, to develop your character, that's when you grow. When you pass Those tests, you'll step into a new level of your destiny. And Paul said in Romans 8:18, these present sufferings are nothing compared to the glory that's coming. Paul was mistreated, lied about, persecuted. He had to put up with all kinds of unfair things. But he didn't complain. He didn't try to run from every difficult situation. He said, in effect, these hard times, these irritations, are no big deal. They're helping to develop my pearl. I know God's going to use them to do a work in me. The scripture talks about how if we're going to share in Christ's glory, we're going to have to be willing to share in his sufferings. This suffering doesn't mean accidents, tragedy, cancer, injustice, abuse. I'm not telling you to put up with those things. We stand against that. The suffering this is talking about is when we have to say no to our flesh and not get upset. When we don't get our way and treat someone right, that's treating us wrong. And stay in faith, even though it's unfair. When we pass those tests, our flesh, that's the natural part of us is not going to like it. We're going to be uncomfortable, and we're going to want to do what we feel. But if you will stay on the high road and be willing to suffer through that period of being uncomfortable, then you're allowing God to refine you. Your character is being developed, that pearl is being polished. The scripture talks about, Timothy said, how there are different levels that we can grow into vessels of clay and wood used for ordinary purposes. But if you'll let God refine you, if you'll be willing to change and you don't get stuck at one level in your attitude and how you treat people and how you handle disappointment, but you continue to let God refine you, then you will become a vessel of gold used for God's highest purposes. But a lot of people get stuck at clay, at wood, at silver. But I know today I'm looking at people like me. We are going for the gold. But we all start off at the exact same place. We're a lump of hard clay. We've got impurities, pride, selfishness, impatience, anger, resentment. God puts us on the potter's wheel, begins to spin us around, and he comes across one of those lumps, those impurities. He will put us in a situation, to work that out of us. The key is to pass the test. Don't fight against everything that you don't like. Learn to overlook an offense, make allowances for somebody that's hard to get along with, quit getting your feelings hurt because they offended you. Toughen up and pass those tests. Let the irritation become a pearl. Here's a key. If you're praying about a situation and God is not removing it, it's not changing. That's a sign that God's using it to do a work in you. When we were trying to acquire this facility, I prayed, I believed, I stood in faith. But it didn't look like anything was happening. Month after month went by, even year after year, we had all kinds of opposition. Two lawsuits, battle after battle. Finally, three and a half years later, God gave us the victory. What's interesting is God could have given us the victory the first week just as easily as he gave it to us. Three and a half years later, he's God. It wouldn't have been any big deal. He could have just said to the angels, make it happen. He would have saved us so much struggle, so much effort. But do you know, during those three and a half years, I learned to trust God like I had never trusted him before. Some things you can only learn by experience. You have to go through the fire, so to speak, for that pearl to be developed. Those three and a half years, I was uncomfortable, There was pressure, not knowing what was going to happen. But without that irritation, I would have never developed the pearl of really learning how to trust God. We can say all day long, God, I trust you. God, I believe you. But when you're put in a situation where you have to use your spiritual muscles, where you have to show God what you're made of, that's where you prove what you believe. And some of you are there right now in what the scripture talks about, the fire of affliction, where you could either give up and get sources, or you can dig your heels in and say, God, I'm going to show you what I'm made of. I'm going to forgive that person that hurt me. I'm going to keep believing even though it looks impossible. I'm going to stay in faith even though it was unfair. Listen, when you pass those tests, something is deposited on the inside that nothing can take away. There's a trust, a confidence, a knowing that can only be developed by going through the fire of affliction. And I've learned that God is not as interested in changing my circumstances as he is in changing me. Where you are is not near as important as who you are. While God is changing the where, allow him to change the who he wants to bring the pearl out of you. A question I ask myself quite often is, is how much have I grown in the last five years? Do I have a better attitude? Do I trust God more? Do I treat people better? Am I more patient? Do I forgive quicker? Friends, we should be growing. We should be bearing more fruit. We shouldn't be at the same place this year as we are last year. If you're still getting upset over the same things that you were five years ago, let me put it real direct. It's time to grow up. If five years ago that same person is getting on your nerves and they're still stealing your joy, you need to look inside and make some changes. God is not going to change them. He wants to use them to change you. Life is flying by. We cannot waste the time going around the same mountain year after year like the people of Israel headed toward the Promised land. Do you remember that was an 11 day journey that took them 40 years to make. You and I cannot afford 40 years to learn lessons that we can easily learn in a fraction of the time you got to dig your heels in, put your foot down and say, that's it. This is a new day. I'm not going to keep going around that same mountain having a bad attitude every time I don't get my way. Arguing with my spouse over the same petty issues, giving into the same temptation time and time again. No. Look inside, determined you're going to make the changes. The sooner you start passing these tests, the better off you're going to be. There's a pearl in you. You may have a lot of rough edges. You may have a thousand areas you need to improve in. But know this, as long as you're moving forward, God is pleased with you. As long as you're making progress, even if it's small, God is up in the heavens cheering you on. But if your attitude is no better now than it was five years ago, God is saying, come on now, let's get busy. He's got you on the potter's wheel. You can pray all day long. God, deliver me from these rude people. God, take away all these inconveniences. God, change my spouse. Happen. God wants you to change. You've got to pass that test. Every time you pass it, it will get easier and easier and easier. The truth is, God may never remove the irritation, but you will have grown to such a point that it doesn't even bother you anymore what's happening. Your character is being developed. That pearl is being polished first. Peter 4:12 says that trials are to test our quality. We may not like it, but trials are beneficial. They bring to light things that we need to deal with. Most of the time. You're going to be tested in the areas that you need to improve in. For instance, if you struggle with being impatient, don't be surprised if you get behind every slow driver that's out there. You'll catch every light, find every freeway with construction, get caught by every train. God has you there for one reason. Not to frustrate you, but to refine you. You've got to recognize that trial, that irritation, is not a coincidence. It's a test of your quality. Are you going to get upset, lose your cool, maybe like you've done in the past? Or are you going to say, I recognize this is an opportunity to grow? God wouldn't have me here if I didn't need it. So I'm going to stay in peace, keep a good attitude, and pass this test. When you do that, you're coming up higher. Anytime you pass the test, you're headed for promotion. When Victoria and I first got married and we were about to go somewhere, I would ask her if she was ready to leave. And she would say yes. So I would go sit in the car and wait and wait and wait. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. I'd get so frustrated, I'd go back in and say, victoria, I thought you said you were ready. She would say, I am ready. I would say, well, would you mind walking out to the car? This would happen time and time again. I'd get so stressed, so bent out of shape, I was praying, God, you got to change her. God, make her into this. God, make her into that. I had her on the potter's wheel one day I realized I'm not the potter, God is. And it's funny. God never changed her. He used her to change me. My prayers backfired. God has a sense of humor. Now, when she says she's ready, I know that means in general she's ready. It's kind of like the two minute warning in football. The clock officially says two minutes, but you know that's gonna take 15 or 20 minutes when she says she's ready. Now, I'll go sit down, watch tv, get something to eat, take a walk. It's no big deal. She doesn't realize God has used her to help develop my pearl. She's a good irritation, though. So often we pray for God to change the other person. God, change my spouse. God, change my child. God, you gotta change my boss. Well, I've learned Don't ever pray for God to change somebody else without first saying, God, change me. And some of you are still getting upset over the same petty issues. And if you don't make these changes, you'll go the next 20, 30 years being upset, frustrated. It's not worth it. They may never change, but you can change. I know this lady. Her husband doesn't come to church with her. There are a lot of issues in her home she's been dealing with for years. She used to come down front for prayer. She had this list of all the things that she wanted God to fix. And she didn't think she could be happy unless they all turned around. The main thing was her husband. I saw her recently, and she was just beaming with joy. She was more beautiful and more at peace than I'd ever seen her before. And I thought, surely everything must have worked out. But she said, no, Joel, my husband is just the same. Still got a lot of issues. He hasn't changed. But you know what? I have changed. I don't let that frustrate me anymore. I don't let him keep me from enjoying my life. What happened? She let that irritation become a pearl. When you can be happy not because of your circumstances, but in spite of your circumstances, then nothing can take your joy. You may be in a trial right now. That is a test of your quality. I was in New York City last week, and early one morning I went to this little diner to eat breakfast. A gentleman sitting a couple of tables over came up and told how when he walked into the restaurant that morning, it was very windy outside. The person in front of him let the door slam in his face. This person clearly saw that he was coming, but he just let it go like he did it on purpose. Normally, this man would have gotten in his face and told him what he thought. But he'd been watching our broadcast the last few weeks about staying on the potter's wheel growing, coming up higher. He said, just when I was about to let him have it, Joel, I heard your voice saying, let it go and God will fight your battles. He let it go and sat down to eat breakfast. He felt a joy bubbling up on the inside like something that he had never felt before. When I walked in there five minutes later, he said, joel, I nearly passed out. I knew that was God saying that he was pleased with me. Friends, when you pass these tests, you will feel God's sense of approval. You will feel a new joy on the inside. You'll know the Creator of the universe is smiling down on You. I was reading about how up in the Northeast, fishing for codfish had become a big business. But this company had a major problem with the distribution. When they froze the fish and shipped it out like they did their other product, they found for some reason that codfish, after it had been frozen, lost all of its taste. They decided to try shipping the fish in these big tanks of water alive. They thought for sure that would fix the problem, but actually it made it worse because the fish were sitting in the water inactive. They got soft and mushy, and again they lost their taste. They were very puzzled. Somebody had an interesting idea. They decided to put a catfish in the tank with the codfish. The catfish is the natural enemy of the codfish. So when those codfish were being shipped, they had to stay active and alert, constantly looking out for that catfish. Do you know that solved the problem. Sometimes what we think is an enemy, what we think is there to defeat us. The truth is, God put it there to make us better. Like iron sharpens iron. That's going to sharpen you and cause you to grow and force you to come up higher. Some of you may work with the catfish. You may be married to a catfish. Your mother in law may be the catfish. Have a new perspective. This person was not put here to defeat me. They're here to help me polish my pearl. The reason it's uncomfortable is because God loves you too much to leave you alone. He has too great a future in front of you to let you stay at the same level you're at right now. So he'll use these difficulties to grow us up, to develop our character, so we will be prepared for the amazing future he has in store. The scripture says that our faith is tried in the fire of affliction, just as fire tests and purifies gold. Some of you are in that refiner's fire right now. You're going through a tough time. You don't like it. Fair. But let me encourage you, if you'll stay in faith and keep pushing forward, you're going to come out of that refined, purified, stronger, better off than you were before. I was reading about this couple that loved to go shopping for antiques. And one day they were in this small country store. And up on the shelf they saw the most beautiful teacup they had ever seen before. It was magnificent. As they were standing there admiring it, the teacup began to talk. It said, I haven't always looked like this. There was a time that nobody wanted me. I wasn't attractive. I was just a hard Lump of clay. But then this potter came along and began to shape me and mold me. And I said, hey, what are you doing? You're making me uncomfortable. That hurts. Leave me alone. He simply smiled and said, not yet. Then he put me on a wheel and began to spin me around and around. I got so dizzy. But after a while, I had taken on a new shape. He formed me into this teacup. I thought he was finished, but then he put me into a furnace. It was so hot, I didn't think I could stand it. When he came and checked on me and looked through that window of the furnace, he had a sparkle in his eyes. I screamed out, let me out of here. It's too hot. But he smiled and said, not yet. He finally took me out and put me up on a shelf so I could cool off. And I thought, thank goodness it's over. Now I can go back to being my normal self. But then the potter came and got me and began to paint me. Changing me from this gray to this beautiful blue. The paint was sticky. It was uncomfortable. I thought I was going to choke. I told him to stop, but he said, not yet. Then he put me into a second oven twice as hot as the first one. This time I knew it was over. I screamed, I'm not kidding. I can't take it. I'm going to die again. He said, not yet. Finally, he opened the oven door, put me on a shelf. A few weeks later, he came by and handed me a mirror. And when I looked at myself, I couldn't believe how beautiful I had become. I couldn't believe how much I had changed. I didn't look anything like that old lump of clay I used to be. There was a time that nobody wanted me. But now I'm this beautiful teacup. Valuable, expensive, unique. All because of this potter. He made me into something amazing. That's the way God works in all of our lives. He's changing us little by little. From glory to glory. But on the way to the glory. There may be a little bit of suffering that we have to endure. There are going to be times that we say, God, get me off of this potter's wheel. I can't take it anymore. I can't deal with this child. I can't handle this boss. That's grouchy. God, I can't put up with this catfish in my life anymore. But God is going to smile and say, not yet. See? God sees your value. He knows what he's making you into. Sometimes when we look at ourselves, we think, I Got a lot of flaws, Joel. I got a hot temper. I got a problem with my mouth. I'm not that disciplined. We see the clay, but God sees the beautiful teacup. The good news is you're not a finished product. God is still working on you. And if you will work with God and let him remove those impurities. God will make more out of your life than you've ever dreamed of. One day you'll look back and say, like that teacup, I can't believe how far God has taken me. The scripture says after you have passed the test, you will receive the victor's crown of life. My challenge is pass your test. There's a victor's crown waiting for you. Recognize God has you on the wheel. Don't fight against it. Let God refine you. These present sufferings are nothing compared to the glory that's coming. And if you will stay moldable, pliable, be willing to change. Let me tell you, you won't be at this same place next year as you are right now. God will take every irritation and turn it into a pearl. You won't get stuck at wood, at clay, at silver. No, I believe and declare you'll become that vessel of gold. That vessel of honor used for God's highest purposes. Do you receive that 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 you've never dreamed of. When was the last time you asked God to do something that seemed impossible? If you only pray small, ordinary prayers, you'll live a small, ordinary life. I have a new book called Pray Bold. I'll challenge you to stretch your faith and believe for the big things God puts in your heart. Victoria and I used to have season tickets to watch the Rockets play basketball here. We never dreamed it could be ours. But when they moved out, somehow we had the faith to pray a bold prayer. God made things happen that we could never make happen. It's the same for you. Who knows what God will do in your life if you'll dare to pray bold? Ask him for your dreams. Ask for your healing. Ask for your freedom. That's when God will show up and do more than you could ever imagine.