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Joel Osteen (1:17)

Hi, this is Joel in Victoria. Thanks so much for listening to the podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. We believe you're going to have an awesome 2024 healthy, productive and favor filled. God bless you today and enjoy the.

Victoria Osteen (1:32)

Well, God bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes and if you're ever in our area, please 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 and thank you again for coming out today. I like to start with something funny and I heard about this cat and mouse that died on the same day and went to heaven. After a few weeks, St. Peter saw the mouse and asked him how he liked it. He said, oh it's great, but it's so big. I would love to get some roller skates. Peter said no problem. Got him some roller skates. A few weeks later, Peter saw the cat, asked him how he liked it. He said, oh it's fantastic. And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I discovered the Meals on Wheels. Hold up your Bible. 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 dropped but not forgotten. We all go through situations where life is not fair. I met a man last week. He had just been laid off after 25 years with the same company. He felt betrayed, alone, forgotten. Like he'd been dropped. A friend of mine, his father, was killed in an accident when he was 2 years old. All through school he used to think, why does everybody else have a dad? But I don't. There was an emptiness on the inside. Dropped as a little boy. Sometimes other people's poor choices have a negative effect on us. Maybe you were raised in an unhealthy environment. Now you're still struggling with the same addictions, same depression, same anger. It keeps getting passed down. Some people have been mistreated, taken advantage of. Now they have to deal with guilt, shame, feeling like they don't measure up. It wasn't even their fault somebody else dropped them. I've learned you can't live very long without being dropped. Dropped by an illness, dropped by divorce, dropped by a friend that turns on you. It's easy to get discouraged and think, man, this is my lot in life. It's never going to change. Now, you may have been dropped, but the good news is God knows how to pick you back up. David said, God lifted me out of the pit and set my feet upon a rock. David had been dropped by rejection, dropped by people coming against him, dropped by his own mistakes and failures. But God said, in effect, david, don't worry. That drop is not the end. That bad break, that person that hurt you, that addiction, that sickness, is not the end of your story. You may have been dropped, but you need to get ready. God is about to lift you. He's about to set you on a higher place. He's going to take you where you could not go on your own, to a new level, with new opportunities, new friendships, new joy, new health, new fulfillment. You're not going to come out the same way. The scripture talks about how God will pay us back double for the unfair things that have happened. When you go through a disappointment, when you get dropped, don't get bitter, don't get discouraged. Get ready for double. Get ready for increase. Get ready for favor. Get ready for new levels. Friends, God has not forgotten about you. He has seen every tear you've shed, every hurt, every lonely night, every person that's done you wrong. God is a God of justice. He told the Israelites when they were in slavery, being mistreated, taken advantage of. I am coming down to deliver you. He was saying, I'm coming down to pick you back up. Coming down to bring justice. Notice what causes God to get off the throne. What causes the creator of the universe to stop what he's doing and take action? It's when he sees you being mistreated. When God sees that injustice, he doesn't sit back and say, well, too bad. No. He says, that's my son. That's my daughter, my most prized possession. They've been dropped. Now I got to get up and do something about it. When God goes to work, all the forces of darkness cannot stop him. People can't stop him. Bad breaks can't stop him. Sickness can't stop him. God will make your wrongs right. He'll pay you back for the trouble. He'll get you to where you're supposed to be. But the truth is, we all get dropped in life. And it's easy to feel alone, forgotten. Like you don't matter. But don't believe those lies. God said in Isaiah, I will not forget you. I have carved you into the palm of my hand. Every time God opens his hand, he sees your name. He's reminded of you. You may have had some bad breaks, some closed doors. Some people come against you. But God has not forgotten about your dreams. He has not forgotten about the promises that he's given you. He didn't forget about that baby you want to have, that husband or wife you've been praying about, that wholeness, that healing, that freedom that you need. Stay in faith. Life happens to all of us. You may get dropped, but remember, it's only temporary. God sees it. He's not only going to lift you back up, but he's going to set you on a higher place. You're going to come out better off than you were before. This is what happened to a young man in the scripture named Mephibosheth. He was the grandson of King Saul and the son of Jonathan. He was born into royalty, destined to one day take the throne. His future was very bright. As a child, he was being raised by loving nurses. People that treated him with great kindness made sure to meet his every need. They knew they were dealing with the future king. But when he was five years old, his father and his grandfather, King Saul, were both killed in a battle. News messengers rushed to Mephibosheth's house to tell them the terrible news. And to inform them that the army was on their way to try to wipe out all of King Saul's relatives. A nurse picked up little Mephibosheth in a great panic, took off, running out of the house as fast as she could. She was trying to save his life. She had good intentions, trying to help the young boy. But on the way down the stairs, she tripped and dropped Mephibosheth. Both of his legs were broken. He became crippled and could never walk again. Here, Mephibosheth had not done anything wrong. Wasn't his fault, yet he's having to pay the price. Somebody else's mistake doesn't seem fair. Sometimes in life, well meaning people can drop you. They didn't mean to hurt you, they made a mistake and said some things that they shouldn't have. Or they worked all the time, struggling to make ends meet. They weren't there when you really needed them. Perhaps they had bad habits, addictions passed down to them. Now they're passing them on down to you. They weren't bad people. They had our best interest at heart. But like this nurse, they dropped us. We can become crippled with low self esteem, crippled with addictions, crippled with depression. Even though Mephibosheth was the grandson of the king, even though he had royalty in his blood, he ended up living in a place called Lo Debar that was one of the poorest, most rundown cities of that day. Year after year went by, I'm sure he thought, nobody remembers me. I used to be somebody important, somebody that was respected. I used to be excited about my future. I had big dreams. But look at me now. I'm a crippled, I can't even walk. I'm living in the slums. Nobody cares about me. I don't have any friends. And it wasn't even my fault somebody else dropped me. He felt alone, forgotten, like it would never change. But here's the beauty. Nothing goes unnoticed with our God. God saw his father killed and taken away at a young age. God saw the well meaning nurse drop him. God saw his once normal legs that could run and jump and play, instantly becoming crippled. God saw the despair, the poverty, the lack that he was living in. God didn't say, well, Mephibosheth, you sure got some bad breaks. You need to find you a more sure footed nurse next time. She really messed your life up. No, God said mephibosheth, I have not forgotten about you. I've got you carved into the palm of my hand. You're always on my mind. Yes, you may have been dropped. But that bad break is not the end. I am a God of justice. I am going to pay you back for what has happened. One day, King David was on the throne of Israel, sitting in the palace, minding his own business, when all of a sudden, he felt this desire to be good to some of Saul's relatives. Now, this is unusual because Saul was the one that tried to kill David. He was the one that chased David through the wilderness and made his life miserable. Yet David said in 2 Samuel 9, Is there anyone left from the house of Saul that I might show kindness to? Why would David want to be kind of one of his enemies? That was God whispering in David's ear, giving him a desire to be good to someone that had been dropped. God can make things happen that you could never make happen on your own. You may say, joel, I'm stuck. I've had these bad breaks. I'll never accomplish my dreams, never get out of this mess, never be fulfilled. No, you need to get ready. Your time is coming. God is about to whisper in somebody's ear to be good to you. You didn't deserve it. You couldn't earn it. But for no reason, somebody gives you a good break. Somebody offers you the job. Somebody gives you the contract. Somebody steps up and solves the problem for you. Don't get discouraged. Justice is coming. Restoration is coming. New beginnings are on their way. When David asked if any of Saul's relatives were still alive, one of his assistants said, we've searched and searched. There's only one grandson left. It's the son of Jonathan. His name is Mephibosheth, but he's crippled. He can't even walk. David, no use wasting your time with him. He's never going to amount to anything. They tried to talk David out of it. David said, no, you go find him right now and bring him to the palace. Well, Mephibosheth was living in hiding, in exile, hoping that nobody knew that he was related to King Saul. After all, Saul had not treated David right. Imagine what the people thought when they saw these officials from the palace wearing their royal uniforms, show up in Lo Debar and start searching through the slums for this crippled man named Mephibosheth. The whole city was stirring, buzzing with excitement. Word finally reached Mephibosheth that people were there from the palace. He asked, what in the world are they doing here in Lo Debar of all places? They said, mephibosheth, they're looking for you. His heart skipped a beat. He thought, oh, man, my Luck has run out. They finally found me. They're going to get rid of me. The officials came bursting in, said, mephibosheth, get up and come with us. You're being summoned by the king. The problem is Mephibosheth couldn't walk. They had to carry him to the palace. They traveled hour after hour, finally arrived and told King David that he was there. David went out to meet Mephibosheth. He was expecting to see someone that looked like King Saul. His grandfather, Saul, stood head and shoulders above the rest. Saul looked like a king. He had a presence that commanded respect. Saul walked like he was royalty. Here's his grandson. Now, David is expecting some kind of resemblance. But when David opens the door and sees Mephibosheth on the ground, frail, emaciated, legs shriveled up, hair not combed, clothes dirty, David said to his assistant, are you sure this is the grandson of the king? Are you sure this man is royalty? They said, yes, sir, we are certain. David looks at him, says, mephibosheth, what happened to you? Mephibosheth wouldn't look at David. He was too insecure, too afraid, too embarrassed. He said, king David, when I was 5 years old and my father and grandfather were killed, somebody dropped me, and my life has never been the same. That could have been the end of the story. David thought, well, too bad for you. You should have seen how your grandfather treated me. I don't feel sorry for you one bit. You're getting what your family deserved. Mephibosheth is there on the ground, afraid, trembling, thinking that it's the end. David smiles and says, mephibosheth, don't worry. I'm not going to harm you. I'm going to be good to you from now on. You're not going to live in Lo Debar. You're going to live in the palace with me. Now, I'm going to give you all the land that belonged to your grandfather, King Saul. You're not going to go out and have to work it and farm the land. I'm going to give you a full staff to farm the land for you and give you the profits. They'll do all the work and you'll reap all the benefits. Last thing, Mephibosheth. Every night, you will always sit at my table. Dinner with me. Not with my staff, not with my military leaders. No, you have a permanent seat at the king's table. Maybe today, like Mephibosheth, you feel like you've been dropped, had a bad break. A loss weren't treated right, it'd be easy to settle there. Be discouraged, not expect anything good. No. You need to get ready. You're about to be summoned to the palace. God is about to pay you back. Not just what should have been yours. God is going to give you what belonged to your forefathers. It's going to be far and beyond favor. You didn't have to work for it. It's just the goodness of God paying you back. Bringing justice. And you may not see how it can happen, but God has the right people he can speak to about you. He's softening the right hearts. God's going to pay you back for an unfair childhood. Pay you back for the person that did you wrong. Pay you back for that baby you couldn't have. Don't sit around in self pity. There's a seat at the king's table waiting for you. God has already prepared it. It has your name on it. It's a seat of favor, a seat of healing, a seat of restoration, a seat of increase. Friends, you have royal blood in your veins. The Most High God breathed his life into you. He has destined you to live in the palace. That means a place of blessing, a place of wholeness, a place of honor, a place of victory. Now, don't settle for Lo Debar. Don't get comfortable surviving, enduring, barely getting by. Well, Joel, I've had a lot of bad breaks. My life hasn't turned out the way I thought. That may be true. But that didn't change who you are. You're still royalty. You still have that crown of favor. You still have the DNA of Almighty God. Get this down in your spirit. It's payback time. People may have tried to push you down, but God's about to push you back up. Circumstances may have dropped you, but God is called the glory and the lifter of our head. There's about to be some lifting. Some things that you could not make happen. The favor of God. Opening up new doors, causing people to be good to you. Paying you back for that injustice. What's interesting is Mephibosheth never did get healed. He continued to be a cripple the rest of his life. It could have seemed like this story doesn't have a good ending. But I've learned that if God doesn't remove the difficulty, if he doesn't totally turn it around, God will make it up to you. You may have lost a loved one. You can't bring that person back, but God can make the rest of your life so Rewarding, so fulfilling that it will help take away that pain. Or perhaps somebody walked out of a relationship, broke your heart, did you wrong. God can bring somebody new into your life that is so loving, so kind, so good looking, so well off, you don't even miss that old goat that left you. I mean that person that left you. God knows how to pay you back. Mephibosheth never walked again. But sitting at the king's table every night, having people wait on him, bring his food, farm his land, give him the profits, for some reason, I don't think he ever complained. All he could say was, lord, thank you for remembering me, thank you for your favor, thank you for your mercy. When God overwhelms you with his goodness, when he brings you out with double, you won't complain about who hurt you and what didn't work out and how unfair it was. You'll be so amazed that God remembered you and promoted you and had people to carry you would you couldn't go on your own like Mephibosheth. All you'll be able to do is thank God for his goodness in your life. My sister Lisa, her husband Kevin, they tried for many years to have a baby with no success. And Lisa went through all the fertility treatments and had a couple surgeries even, but still no baby. Finally, the doctors told her that she would never be able to have a child. And other people have had that same negative report, but against all odds, they've had a baby anyway. We've all seen God make a way where there was no way. But for Lisa and Kevin, it didn't happen. Lisa could have felt like she had been dropped infertility. But God is a God of justice like Mephibosheth. If it doesn't turn out your way, God will make it up to you. One day, out of the blue, Lisa received a phone call from a lady we know in another state that runs a ministry that helps teenage girls. This lady said, lisa and Kevin, I've got a young lady about to give birth to twins. Something told me that I should call you to see if you would be interested in adopting these babies. When Lisa and Kevin heard that, something leaped on the inside. They knew those babies were supposed to be theirs. They ended up adopting them a few years later, adopted a baby boy. Today they have three amazing teenage children as happy as can be. Lisa said, here's how good God is. I have three children and I never had to get pregnant one time. God will make it up to you. Mephibosheth was summoned to the palace. But he couldn't get there on his own. He had to be carried to the palace each night at dinner. He couldn't get to his seat by himself. He had to be carried to his seat. You may think, joel, I'm never going to accomplish my dreams. I'm crippled. I've got this sickness, this addiction, this depression that I'm dealing with. No, when you can't get there on your own, God will always have somebody there to carry you. You're not alone. You're not forgotten. God has you in the palm of his hand. And God is not looking down at you because you're still crippled, so to speak. You're still struggling with some issues. God saw the times you've been dropped. You didn't go down by yourself, and you're not going to come up by yourself. God has already lined up the right people to carry you, to encourage you, to help you do what, which you could not do on your own. When Jesus was carrying the cross on his way to be crucified, he was so weak, so exhausted, he fell down under the weight of the cross. He couldn't carry it anymore. There was a man named Simon that just so happened to be there. He picked up the cross and carried it the rest of the way for Jesus. The point is, you don't have to be strong all of the time. Even Jesus fell down under the weight of the cross. The good news is there will always be a Simon there for you. Somebody to help you, somebody to encourage you, somebody to get you to where you're supposed to be on the cross. Even Jesus felt alone, forgotten. He was so stressed that he sweat great drops of blood. At one point, he cried out, my God, why have you forsaken me? He was saying, God, I've been dropped. It looked like the end, but the enemy never has the final say. God does. Three days later, Jesus was sitting at the king's table. The victor, not the victim. Friends, God is a God of justice. When you don't have the strength to move forward on your own, don't worry, God will have angels to carry you. God is not going to let you stay in Lo Debar. He's going to keep working, moving, restoring, speaking to the right people until he gets you to your seat at the king's table. Dinner is not complete without you there. You may have been dropped, had bad breaks. You feel broken, crippled. But today you're being summoned to the table. We need your presence. We need your gifts. We need your smile, your joy, your laughter. Not pushed down not half hearted. No. This is a new day. Isaiah said, God will give you the oil of gladness instead of mourning. A crown of beauty instead of ashes, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness. There's too much heaviness in our world. People are letting circumstances and the stress of life push them down. I believe today, as God is breathing new hope into your heart, the gladness is coming and the sadness is leaving. The heaviness is going and joy is on its way. Your life is going to be filled with a new laughter. The scripture calls it joy unspeakable, full of glory. Years ago, there was a young man in South Korea that was dying from tuberculosis. One lung had already collapsed as he lay on his bed at home waiting to die. He was in so much pain that he started calling out to his different gods. One by one, he cried out to this God, please come and help me. No answer. He called out to another God, please won't you help me? Still not an answer. Again and again and again. Finally, in desperation, he said, if there's any God up there anywhere, I don't ask you to heal me. I just ask you to show me how to die. He was alone, felt forgotten. Dropped by a life threatening illness. No fault of his own. You wouldn't think that God would have anything to do with him. He wasn't a believer. He doesn't come from our same faith. But the scripture says, call on the name of the Lord and he will answer you. It doesn't say call if you come to church. Call if you know the scripture. Call if you live the right kind of life. No anyone is welcome to call. There's a seat at the king's table waiting for you. A few hours later, a young college student walking through his neighborhood felt what she described as an inexplainable love drawing her to that house. She went over and knocked on the door. His mother answered. The young lady said, I know this is odd. You don't know me, but is there anything that I can pray with you about? His mother began to weep, told how her son was on his deathbed in the back bedroom. The young lady went back and prayed for her son. And that day, he gave his life to Christ. Long story short, God healed him. He went on to become Dr. David Yonggi Cho, the pastor of the largest church in the world there in South Korea. Friends, God has not forgotten about you. You may be dealing with an illness, a loss, a bad break. You feel like life has dropped you. You need to get ready. God is about to lift you back up, not bring you out the same. He's going to set you on a higher place, bring you out better off than you were before. It's payback time. God is about to make some things up to you. He's already spoken to the right people to come find you with healing, with encouragement, with blessing. Like Mephibosheth, I believe and declare you're coming into the palace. The place of healing, the place of blessing, the place of abundance. You will take your seat at the King's table and become everything God's created you to be in Jesus name. If you receive it, can you say Amen 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 you've never dreamed of.