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At Amica Insurance, we know it's more than just a house. It's your home. The place that's filled with memories. The early days of figuring it out to the later years of still figuring it out for the place you've put down roots. Trust Amica Home Insurance. Amica Empathy is our best policy. Join a Mission of Unity and Respect Wreaths Across America's mission brings communities together in December to place veterans wreaths on the headstones of hometown heroes, Remember, Honor, Teach. Wreaths Across America volunteers say their names so they're never forgotten and teach the next generation the value of freedom. Join the mission now. Sponsor a fresh handmade balsam fir wreath for National Wreaths Across America Day, Saturday, December 14th wreathsacross america.org what does the future hold for business? Can someone see into the future? Until then, over 40,000 businesses have future proofed their business with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one Cloud ERP bringing accounting, financial management, inventory and HR into one platform. With real time insights and forecasting, you're able to peer into the future and seize new opportunities. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning for free at netsuite.com osteen that's netsuite.com osteen hi, this is Joel in Victoria.

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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 message. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. We love you. I know God has great things in store for each one of 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 it will make you feel right at home. But thanks so much for tuning in today. I'd like to get started each week with something kind of funny. I heard about this lady that was shopping with her husband. He had asked her to not buy any new clothes. Well, she saw this dress in the window and decided to try it on. She liked it so much she bought it in secret. A couple of days later the husband discovered it and he was so upset and she explained to him that when she tried it on, it looked so good that Satan tempted her to buy it and she just couldn't resist it. He said, well why didn't you do what the scripture says and say get behind me Satan? She said, I did and he told me it looked even better from a distance. All right, 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. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever living seed of the Word of God. I'll never be the same. Never, never, never. I'll never be the same. In Jesus name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about making preparations for the good things God has in store. God has put dreams and desires in every one of our hearts. We all have promises that we're standing on, things that we're believing to come to pass. But almost always there's a time of waiting involved. Maybe you're waiting for a relationship to improve, waiting to get married, waiting for a promotion, even waiting to overcome an illness. Much of life is spent waiting. And there's a right way to wait, and there's a wrong way to wait. And too often, when things don't happen on our timetable, we get down and discouraged. And even though we have the promise in our heart, even though we know God has more in store, we just give up and settle for the status quo. I believe it's because we're not waiting the right way. And the scripture says Here in James 5, 7, be patient as you wait. Notice it doesn't say if you wait. It says, as you wait. The fact is, we're all going to wait. It goes on to say, see how the farmer waits expectantly. That's the key. We have to wait with expectancy. We're not supposed to sit around discouraged, negative thinking. My situation's never going to change. I prayed, I believed. But I don't see how I can ever get out of this mess. Joel no. To wait with expectancy means we're hopeful. We're positive. We get up every morning expecting good things. We may have problems, but we know this could be the day God turns it around. This could be the day I get the break that I need. See, waiting should not be a passive thing. When we're waiting the correct way, we're on the lookout. We talk like it's going to happen. We act like it's going to happen. We're making preparations. It's just like if you're expecting someone for dinner, you don't wait until they show up before you decide to start cooking. At least I hope you Don't. Most likely. You start early in the day, make sure the house is clean. You'll go to the grocery store, buy some flowers for the table, swing by the bakery, get your favorite dessert. Low fat, of course. You make all these preparations. Why? Because you're expecting someone? Well, that's the attitude we need to have while we're waiting for God's promises to come to pass. It's not enough to just pray. We have to put actions behind our prayers. The scripture says this faith without corresponding actions is dead. In other words, we can believe one way, we can talk one way, but if we're not putting the right actions behind our faith, it's not going to do any good. I talked to this young man that has a dream to go to college, but nobody in his family has gone before. And he began to list all of his obstacles. Joel, I don't know if I can afford it. I don't know if I make good enough grades. I don't know if they'll accept me. I don't know what my other family members will think. He was about to talk himself out of it. Finally, I had to stop him and said, hey, why don't you take a step of faith? Why don't you put some actions behind your prayers and at least go get an application? At least go tour the campus, go talk to the school counselors, make preparations to succeed. If you'll do what you can, then God will do what you can. But too often, we're believing one way, but with our actions, we're doing just the opposite, actually preparing for defeat. Maybe you come from a long line of divorce in your family. Well, you need to start planning what you're going to do on your first wedding anniversary and on your fifth anniversary and on your 25th anniversary. Talk like it's going to work out. Make plans like it's going to succeed. Not any of this. If we make it, maybe we'll go on a cruise next year. No, get rid of the if and start saying when we make it. I know. I've already planned Victoria and my 50th wedding anniversary. That girl stuck with me. I'm taking her to Dairy Queen. I'm just kidding. We're going to Sonic. That's cheaper. But stay hopeful, stay positive, and make preparations to succeed. We have to understand there's a difference between believing and expecting. You can be believing to have a child and not even be pregnant. But when you go from believing to expecting, you kick into a different gear. When you're expecting, you'll Go furnish the nursery. You'll buy clothes for a baby that's not here. You'll call your friends and relatives, let them know the good news. Hey, a baby's on its way. You make all these preparations. It affects your attitude, how you talk, how you think. And it's funny, you don't go a couple of months and say, you know what? I don't think we're expecting anymore. I don't think that baby's in you. You don't look any different. I don't feel anything. No, it doesn't matter what you see or feel. You've got a report from the doctor that says a baby's on its way. That's all you need to make those preparations. We need to do the same thing. When God puts a dream in your heart, all of a sudden one of his promises come alive. And you know your family can be restored. You know you can be healthy again. You know you can accomplish your dreams. First thing is you have to let the seed really take root. But you can't stop there. You've got to go from believing to expecting. Well, you say, joel, I'm doing that. But I don't see anything happening. I don't see my finances improving. I don't see any doors opening. My marriage is not getting any better. Now, listen to this scripture. We walk by faith and not by sight. If you can see everything happening, you don't really need any faith. But when you have nothing to stand on in the natural, but you start acting like God's word is true, you start talking like it. You're positive, you're hopeful. You're putting actions behind your faith. Let me tell you, that's what gets God's attention. That's what causes him to work supernaturally in your life. What happened? You went from believing to expecting. That's what we did. Concerning the compact center, I announced to the congregation that we were going to raise funds to renovate this place before we really knew for sure that it was going to be ours. After we won the main city council vote, a company filed a lawsuit to try to keep us from moving in. And our attorneys told us there was no guarantee that we would win. And even if we did, it could have been tied up in the courts for up to 10 years through appeals and in the natural. I should have just waited to see how everything was going to turn out. But down in here, I knew God wanted us to go forward. So I went from believing to expecting. We started making preparations just like a young couple preparing the Nursery. We started drawing the new plans, doing the studies, putting the vision out there. Let me tell you, many times I'd wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Those negative voices would come saying, joel, what are you going to do if you don't get that building? You're going to look like a fool. You've already had people give. You're going to have to give their money back. On and on, man, I had to fight the good fight of faith. I'd say, no, God, I know you're in control. And I'm not going to be moved by what I don't see. I know you are bigger than our obstacles. And God, I believe at the right time you will change things in our favor. Year and a half later, that's exactly what happened. How does the farmer wait expectantly? How does he take care of his seed? By watering it? By pulling the weeds? By keeping the soil soft? How do we water our seeds? By staying full of praise? By getting up every morning and thanking God that the answer's on the way. When those old negative thoughts come to you, telling you it's never going to happen. You're never going to get well. You're never going to get out of debt. The way you pull those weeds is by simply saying, God, I know you're a faithful God. My trust and confidence is in you. And I know you've got great things in store for my life. That's how you protect your seed, having a grateful attitude. Let me ask you today, are you believing or are you expecting? Well, Joel, I'd like to get out of debt. I'd like to have a nice house one day, but my business is so slow. I lost my main client last year. And the price of gas is so high, I don't see how it could ever happen for me. No, that kind of thinking will keep you right where you are. You've got to learn to wait with expectancy. In other words, God, I know you can do what men can't do. I know you are Jehovah Jireh, the Lord, my provider. And I realize my job is not my source. The economy is not my source. But, God, I know you are my source. See, get a bigger vision. Get rid of that limited mentality and start making preparations, even if it's something small. I love what some friends of mine did years ago. I went to their apartment. It was a very small place. They were happy. They were content. But they knew God had put bigger things in their heart. And this young couple had bought Some furniture for their den that was much too large. I mean, you could hardly walk through the den. The couches were crammed up against each other. They had tables on the end, could barely get by. And of course, I didn't say anything about it, but it looked odd to me. A few minutes later they said, joel, you'll have to excuse our den. We bought this furniture for our new house. I didn't know they were moving. I said, really? Where you going? They said, we don't know just yet. We just know we're not staying here. This is only temporary. What they were was, this is not our destiny. We're not going to just sit back and accept this. God has put bigger things in our hearts and we're making preparations to rise higher. And they stayed in that apartment several years. And when I'd see them in passing, hey, have you moved yet? Not yet. When are you moving? Their answer was always soon. I never heard them discouraged. I never saw them down and defeated. They stayed hopeful, expected. One day this young lady got a huge break, a huge promotion. Things just fell into place. Do you know where that furniture is now? It's not in their new home. They gave it to another young couple that's believing for their dream home. And see, when you put actions behind your faith, that gets God's attention. Why don't you make preparations to succeed? I know some of you are facing sickness and disease. Maybe you got some bad news concerning your health. But what I'm saying is don't start planning your funeral. Don't sit around depressed, thinking about all the other people that have died from that same disease. You got to start making plans to get well. I know when my father was having open heart surgery, it was a very serious situation. The doctors told us there was no guarantee that it would turn out okay. Do you know what my dad did? He had us bring his tennis shoes and his running suit up to the hospital and put it right beside his bed. The fact is, he was not going to be getting up running around anytime soon. But every day as he recovered, he'd look at those tennis shoes and in his mind he was saying, one day I'm going to be running again. One day I'm going to be healthy. One day I'm going to be strong. He was watering his seed, living expectantly. This is what gives us the strength to carry on. The scripture says this. Isaiah 40, verse 31, they that wait upon the Lord. The amplified tells us what it means to wait on the Lord. It says, those who expect, who look for and hope in him. What's going to happen when we live with expectancy, when we stay hopeful, when we make preparations for the goodness of God, it goes on to say, going to mount up with wings like the eagle. You will run and not get tired. You will walk and not faint. In other words, you will overcome life's challenges. You may have difficulties today, but if you can just get up every morning expecting God to turn it around, positive and hopeful, then God promises he will give you a supernatural strength that will cause you to soar like the eagles. And some of you today, you just need to put some actions behind your prayers. You are praying, you are believing, but you need to get over into expecting. I know this minister, this was years ago. He had a dream to go all over the world and share God's word. But at the time, he didn't have one open door, not one invitation. But instead of getting all down and thinking, I must have missed it, this must not be for me, no, he took a step of faith and he went out and bought a brand new set of luggage. And here he never traveled in the natural. He had much better things to spend his money on. But deep down in here, he knew one day God was going to open up supernatural doors. And he just stayed in faith. It was about six months after that he got his very first invitation. He was so excited, he brought it up and showed it to my father. And do you know, today that man travels all over the world. He has more invitations than he could ever possibly accept. See, he went from believing to expecting. He started putting actions behind his faith. We cannot be passive and have God's best. When we're really expecting, we're on the lookout for opportunities. We're doing everything we can to make our own dreams come to pass. I remember my sister Tamara, when she was about 7 or 8 years old, growing up, she decided she wanted some rabbits. We lived out in the country and we had a couple of dogs and even at one time we had a bunch of chickens. But now she wanted these rabbits. So she went to my father and said, daddy, would you please get me some rabbits? And my father was very good to us children, very generous. But he had had enough problems with these chickens. They were always getting out and we were having to round them up from our neighbors. And so he was a little tarnished on getting any more animals. He said, tamara, I love you, but we are not going to get any rabbits. Well, he might as well have told that to a tree. Tamara no more heard him. She no more Paid attention. She just kept acting like she was going to get those rabbits. Reminds me of a time in the scripture when Jesus was walking down the road on his way to pray for a little girl that was very sick. But along the way, he kept getting stopped, one delay after another. Finally, these people came up and said to his disciples, hey, tell Jesus, don't bother coming anymore. It's too late. The little girl has died. The scripture says, Jesus overhearing but ignoring. There's a principle here. Sometimes in order to stay in faith, you have to ignore a negative report. Sometimes people will try to talk you out of your dreams. Sometimes medical science will tell you there's nothing more we can do for you. Sometimes our own thoughts will even try to convince us all the reasons why it's not going to happen. Jesus heard the bad news, but he chose to ignore it. In other words, he chose to not allow it to influence him. That's what my sister Tamara did. Every two or three days, she would go back to my father and ask him again, daddy, have you thought any more about those rabbits? I really would like to have one. He would say, tamara, I don't have to think about it. We are not getting any rabbits. A couple of days later, daddy, I'd still like to have a rabbit. This went on for two or three months. Tamara was determined in her heart one day she was going to have those rabbits. Well, at one point, I could tell she was starting to wear my father down. He said, tamara, even if I wanted to get you rabbits, I have no idea where to get one. She said, I do. I know exactly where they are. I've already seen the place. He said, show me. They got in the car and drove about 15 minutes down the highway toward the church. And about 200 yards off the main road, way back in the woods, there was this little sign about this big. It had on it in handwritten letters, rabbits for Sale. See, Tamara was on the lookout. When you have a dream in your heart, you'll see things that other people don't see. We had traveled up and down that road hundreds of times, going to church. None of us had ever seen it. Finally, my father said, tamara, I'd love to get you rabbits. But still, we don't have any place to keep them. She said, yes, we do. I've already had Paul make me a cage. I thought, poor rabbits. But needless to say, Timra got her rabbits. A lot of times we're waiting for God to do everything. God, just give it to me on a silver platter. No do your part. Make preparations, Do a little research, sow some seeds, and then stay expectant. Well, Joel, what if I do this and it doesn't happen? What if you do it and it does happen? Even if it doesn't turn out the way you had hoped, you'd still be better off to live your life positive and hopeful than you would to go around all down and discouraged. That's what many people are doing. While they're waiting for their situation to change, while they're waiting to get the break they need, they get all sour. Nothing good ever happens to me. When am I going to get married? When am I going to get out of this problem? No, you've just got to turn that situation over to God. I love what David said. God, my times are in your hands. He was saying, God, I don't know when it's going to happen, but I know you know what's best for me. And I'm going to go out today expecting good things. And even if it doesn't happen, I'm not going to go to bed all disappointed. I'm going to go to bed knowing that I'm one day closer to seeing it come to pass. And I want you to make preparations to live a blessed life. Keep the vision in front of you and don't believe the never lies. I'll never get well. I'll never see my dreams come to pass. No. Shake that junk off. Stay positive, hopeful, expectant. Learn to make preparations for what God has put in your heart. Well, you say, joel, I did this. I prayed, I believed, I expected. But my loved one died. I just don't understand it. No, God still has a great plan for your life. You cannot let one setback or even a series of disappointments keep you from pressing forward and believing for God's very best. I know when my father was sick, all of us prayed that he would be healed. But Daddy went to be with the Lord. As much as I didn't like that, as painful as it was down in my heart, I knew my father had fulfilled his purpose here on this earth. And one thing I loved about my dad is he did just what I'm talking about. He died in faith the last month of his life. While he was on dialysis, he was making preparations to go back to India, and he had us checking to see if they could do dialysis over there. The fact is, he never made it back. But he died in faith, expecting to go back to India. And it's this attitude of expectancy that keeps a spring in our Step. That's what keeps life exciting. Keep the vision in front of you and stay hopeful. I know this couple. They had become estranged from their son. Some things had happened. They'd gotten at odds with each other, and now this young man wouldn't talk to them, wouldn't come visit them, wouldn't have anything to do with them. This went on month after month. It looked like they would never be reconciled. But these parents, rather than just giving up, getting all defeated, they took a step of faith. They went out and bought their son a Bible and had his name engraved on the front of it. This young man had never had anything to do with the things of God. It looked like they were wasting their money. But they put the Bible on their coffee table. And every time they walked by it, several times a day, they would just thank God that one day their son would be back home. One day he would get back on the right course. Well, seven years later, they got a phone call from their son. God supernaturally restored that relationship. Today I see that young man in church all the time. You know what he's carrying? A Bible. Not just any Bible, but the same Bible that sat on that coffee table all those years with his name on it. See, these parents waited expectantly. They made preparations for their son to come back home. Today they're reaping the benefits. It may just be something small, a dream to lose weight. I know this young lady, she was so tired of being overweight. But I'm telling you, she had dieted. She had tried, she had fought it. Nothing seemed to work. Finally, she just gave up and accepted where she was, in spite of the fact that she knew that wasn't God's best. And this is so easy to do in any area of life, to kind of just sit back and settle for mediocrity. But one day this young lady got fed up. She put her foot down and started putting actions behind her prayers. She went up to the mall and on purpose, she bought a new outfit that was two sizes too small for her. She knew she couldn't wear it. What was she doing? Making preparations to lose the weight? She went from believing to expecting. And she told how she put that outfit in her closet right by her mirror so she could see it every day. You say, joel, that would depress me. No, this inspired her. Every time she saw it, she'd say, father, thank you that I'm going to lose this weight. Thank you that every gland, every organ, every cell in my body functions normally. Thank you that I have discipline and self control. Day after day, she kept watering her seed. I saw her about a month ago. You know what she was wearing? Her new outfit. She said, joel, I not only lost 30 pounds, but I feel better today than I've ever felt before. I gave her a high five and said, you go, girl. God rewards people like that. Keep the vision in front of you. Stay determined. Tamara would have never got those rabbits if she had not already had the cages built. We would have never got this place if we had not pressed through those obstacles. Stretch your faith. Put some actions behind what you're believing. For some of you today, you've just about given up on what God has put in your heart. You just settled. You think it's never going to change, never going to get any better. But you gotta rekindle that fire. Well, Joel, it's been a long, long time. Listen to what the scripture says. Though the vision tarries, wait earnestly for it. Notice we can't wait passively. We have to wait earnestly. Wait expectantly. What's gonna happen when we do that? It goes on to say, the vision will not be one second late. That means when we stay in faith, positive, expectant, hopeful, then all the forces of darkness cannot keep God from bringing those promises to pass. Now I read a story about Gavin McLeod. He's an actor, probably best known for playing the captain of the Love Boat, popular television show. Years ago, he and his wife Patty had been married for seven years. They hit some bumps along the road and Gavin left. He told how he got real caught up in his career. Long story short, he wasn't making good choices, and they went through this divorce and Patty was just devastated. She never wanted it. Instead of just giving up and accepting that every day, she started thanking God that one day Gavin would be back home. One day that relationship would be restored. She took it one step further and started putting actions behind her faith. She told how every night at the dinner table, instead of setting one place setting, she would set two place settings. She was making preparations for him to come back home. One day, three years later, there was a knock on the front door. She opened it up and it was Gavin. She smiled and said, come on in. Your dinner's getting cold today. They've been remarried for more than 21 years. Let me ask you, how are you waiting? Negative? Discouraged? Frustrated? No. Stay hopeful. Learn to wait with expectancy. Get up every morning and water your seeds by thanking God that the answer is on the way. And then take it one step further. Start making preparations for the dreams. God's put in your heart. Talk like it's going to happen, act like it's going to happen. Keep the right attitude and if you'll go from believing to expecting, God promises due season at the right time, he will bring you the desires of your heart and the good news is they will not be one second late. 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? 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.