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Gypsy Rose Blanchard (0:27)

Hey everyone, I'm Gypsy Rose Blanchard. So viewers will see in this season of Life After Lockup my struggles and mistakes I made, how I handled myself. I'm excited about motherhood. I get to share with my child the things that I didn't get to experience as a child. Myself and Ken and I grew as a couple, seeing how we navigate parenthood, seeing how we navigate our relationship. It's gonna be great.

Gypsy Rose Life After Lockup (0:51)

Gypsy Rose Life After Lockup new season premieres Monday at 9 only on Lifetime.

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Joel Osteen (1:10)

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Joel Osteen (1:12)

Simple. Hi, this is Joel in Victoria. 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 always 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 and thanks again for coming out today. I like to start with something funny each week. And I heard about this lady. She was on an airplane reading her Bible. The man next to her said, you don't believe all that stuff in there, do you? She said, of course I do. It's the Bible. He said, well, what about that guy that got swallowed by the well? She said, oh, you mean Jonah. I believe that too. He said, well, how could he possibly live all that time inside of a well? She thought about it a moment, said, I don't know. When I get to heaven, I'll have to ask him. He said sarcastically, what if he's not in heaven? She said, then you're going to have to ask him. 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. In Jesus name come. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about how heaven is cheering you on. I grew up playing sports, and I've experienced the difference it makes to have somebody in the stands that's pulling for you. When you know they're watching you, you hear them calling your name, you see their hands up in the air, it does something on the inside, causes you to jump a little higher, to run a little faster. You've got a greater determination. You know somebody is rooting for you. My parents traveled a lot when I was growing up, and they couldn't attend all of my ball games. And of course, I always played hard. But when I knew they were there, when I knew they were watching, it gave me that extra boost. It may be mental, but it affects the physical. It's proven in sports. Teams that have the home field advantage perform better if you follow football. Recently, the team that had the worst record to ever make it to the playoffs, they had home field advantage. The crowd was going wild, and do you know they beat the world champions, an incredible upset. You never know what you'll accomplish when you know you have people cheering you on, people that are rooting for you. And in the book of Hebrews, it talks about all these great heroes of faith and the amazing things that they accomplished, from Moses to Abraham, David, Sarah, Ruth, Esther, on and on. People that were known and people that were not known. It tells how in chapter 11, they dared to believe and God did incredible things through them. At the first of chapter 12, it says, since we are surrounded by, by this great cloud of witnesses, let us run our race. Notice this passage refers to our life as a race, and it paints the picture of this big stadium up in heaven. And now these saints of old, the great cloud of witnesses, they're up in the stands looking down at us, cheering us on. What I want you to see today is you're not running alone. You've got all of heaven pulling for you, from the great saints of old to your loved ones that have gone to be with the Lord. They're in those stands right now. They're watching you, saying, keep going, keep running. Don't give up. You may get tired, but get your second wind. We did it. And you can do it, too. You've got to realize you have home field advantage in this stadium, in the grandstands of heaven, you don't have any critics. Nobody's throwing popcorn at you. Nobody's heckling you. No, These people are 100% for you. They think that you're amazing. They know you've got what it takes. They're standing up right now, cheering you on. Imagine Moses calling your name, saying, go, go, go. You can accomplish your dreams. David is saying, the giants may be big, but don't get discouraged. I defeated them. You can, too. Esther is calling your name, saying, you may be afraid, but do it anyway. You've been raised up for such a time as this. Gideon is saying, you may feel weak and intimidated, but be strong and of good courage. The Lord your God is with you. All of the saints of old are pulling for you. By faith, you need to hear the roar of the crowd. By faith, you need to see them standing up, cheering you on. They're saying, we did it without automobiles, without air conditioning, without beautiful buildings, without technology, without computers and telephones. Think about what you can do. You can go further. You can accomplish your dreams. You can take new ground for the kingdom. When you realize all of heaven is pulling for you, it does something on the inside. When you know this great cloud of witnesses is calling your name, cheering you on, it'll give you that boost to go further, to accomplish more. Twelve years ago today, my father went to be with the Lord. And sure, I miss my father, but I know where he is and I know what he's doing. He's in the grandstands of heaven with the saints of old, saying, joy, you're doing good. Keep pressing forward. I'm watching you. I believe in you. I'm proud of you. I know he's cheering me on. He's saying to all of us here at Lakewood, you guys are amazing. You've taken it to a new level. You've gone further than I've ever dreamed of. Now, don't settle where you are. Keep going. Keep growing. Keep making a difference. He's cheering us on. I have people ask, Joel, do you think your dad knows what's going on? Do you think he can see the growth and the new facility and all the great things that have happened? I answered them. I don't think so. I know so. I hear him cheering me on all the time. And every one of you has loved ones that have gone to be with the Lord. They're not just up in heaven, floating on a cloud, playing a harp, singing lullabies. No, they're in the grandstands cheering you on, saying, you've got what it takes. Don't stop believing. Keep pushing forward. Go further. Dream bigger. Make Us proud. I think about Victoria's grandmother on her mother's side. This would be Georgine's mother. They called her Meemaw. Meemaw was an incredible woman. She loved the Lord. She kept that family in church. Plus, she was a hard worker. She would make every week her daughter a new dress to wear to church. She would design it and sew it herself so Georgine would have something new to wear each Sunday. She poured into those children when Victoria was visiting during the holidays. As a little girl, Victoria would get up early. She would always see her grandmother out kneeling underneath a tree. That's where she started every day, her special place of prayer. Today, Meemaw is one of the heroes of faith. She's in the grandstands of heaven cheering us all on, saying to Victoria, georgine, you go, girl. Make me proud. Do something great. Run your race. Friends, you're not running alone. Your loved ones are cheering you on. They're saying, don't settle where I was. Go further. Do more. Learn more. Love more. Give more. Help others in a greater way. Well, you say, joel, I didn't have anybody in my family like Meemaw. Didn't have anybody like your dad. No. Somebody in your family honored God, or you wouldn't be here today. You wouldn't be watching. You may not have ever met them, but somebody in your family is rooting for you. It's like a parent when your child is out on the field playing in the ball game. There may be 20 other kids in the game, but you've got your eyes on your child, watching them. Right now, there's a lot of people in the race, but somebody has their eyes on you. Somebody has their hands up for you. Somebody is saying, wow, that's my great granddaughter. That's my relative. That's my cousin. Look at them. They're amazing. I can still hear my grandmother cheering me on. She's been gone for 25 years. My grandmother thought I was the greatest thing in the world. In her eyes, I could do no wrong. My sisters used to get aggravated. They would do something wrong and they'd get in trouble. I would do the same thing, and they'd go tell my grandmother. She'd say, oh, no, Joel didn't do that. I know, Joel, you must be mistaken. It'd make them so mad. My grandmother thought I was a saint. Do me a favor. Don't tell her any differently. She's in the grandstands of heaven, still cheering me on, saying, joel, keep going. I still think you're great. I still don't think you can do any wrong. I still believe in you. She's a part of the great cloud of witnesses. Last year I went to the Dallas Cowboys opening game at their new stadium. And before the game they had all these Cowboy legends that had played years before come out on the field and line up. There must have been 15 or 20 of them. Being a sports fan, seeing those guys that were incredible during my day, it was just amazing. After the pre game ceremony, the current players came out and they were shaking hands with these legends of the game, talking to them, getting advice and encouragement. You could tell those current players were just soaking it up. I thought about in the grandstands of heaven, if we could pull out a few of the heroes of faith and visit with them for a few minutes. I wonder what they would say. I wonder what kind of encouragement or advice they might give. Some of you have had unfair things happen. Life hasn't turned out the way you had hoped and you could easily be bitter and give up on your dreams. But imagine a young man steps out of the grandstands. He says, don't get discouraged. I've been where you are. My name is Joseph. I had a great dream. I knew God's hand was upon me. But my brothers mistreated me. They sold me into slavery. I spent years working for this man, doing my best. But his wife lied about me and had me put in prison. It was unfair. I spent 13 years there. @ times I felt like God had forsaken me. I didn't see how I could ever accomplish what was in my heart. But I just kept being my best, knowing that God was in control. And one day, 23 years after I'd had that dream, God turned it around and brought it to pass. If Joseph were standing here today, he would say, don't give up on the promise God put in your heart. People may have done you wrong, you may have had some bad breaks, but God is still on the throne. What was meant for your harm, God's going to use to your advantage. Joseph's encouragement is keep being your best. Keep doing the right thing when it's hard. Keep being good to people even though they're not good to you. If you'll stay in faith, the same God that planted the dream will help you give birth to the dream. Joseph is in the stands cheering us on, reminding us that our steps are ordained by Almighty God. If it had not been for his brothers throwing him into the pit, he would have never made it to the palace. If it had not been for the lady lying about him having him put in prison. He would have never seen the dream come to fulfillment. God was ordering his steps even when it was difficult. You may kind of feel like God's forsaken you. Your life has turned out exactly opposite of how you had it planned. But Joseph stands before you and says, don't give up. I've seen the faithfulness of God. I've seen God turn it around. I've seen God vindicate me. I've seen God bring justice. I'm a living witness, a testimony of God's goodness. If God did it for me, he can do it for you. Joseph is cheering us on today. There's a young lady in the stands. Her name is Rahab. She was a prostitute. She says, I'm here to cheer on all the people that have made mistakes. You see, I didn't start out good in life. I had a big dream. I wanted to do the right thing. But I got mixed up with the wrong crowd. I made some poor choices and ended up doing something that I didn't like. I wasn't proud of it. I was embarrassed, ashamed. But I just felt trapped, like I couldn't get out. But one day I met these people from out of town. And they told me about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And I dared to believe I did them a favor. I hid them in my home. And they ended up sparing my life and my family's life. From that day forward, I was changed. I started off bad. But God not only forgave me, he not only redeemed me, but he put me in the family line of Jesus Christ because of his mercy. Now I'm a part of the heritage that brought about the Messiah. If Rahab were standing here, she would say, you may have gotten off to a bad start, but that's okay. It's not too late to change. You can begin again. God is a God of another chance. It's not how you start that matters. It's how you finish. You may have fallen down, but don't stay down. Get back up again. Your life is not over. There's still an amazing future in front of you. And if you will receive God's forgiveness and start down a different path, God will give you a new beginning and make the rest of your life greater than you ever thought possible. Think about it. Only God has the audacity to take a formal prostitute and put her in the family line of Jesus Christ. Today, Rahab is listed as one of the heroes of faith. She stands beside Moses and Abraham And David and Sarah and Esther. God is saying, you're never too far gone. Don't ever let anyone write you off. Don't let religion push you down and make you think that you're all washed up. Don't let your own thoughts convince you that you've made too many mistakes. God could never use you. Rahab stands before you and says, no, no, look at me. I'm a testimony of God's mercy. I started out bad, but I ended up as a trophy of God's grace. Rahab is cheering us on. I talked to a couple last week, and they've been members of our church for a long time and for many years they've lived a very blessed life. Successful business, happy, healthy family. But they said, joel, this last year, we've never had so many things come against us in our health, our finances, our family, everything that could go wrong. Did. The lady laughed and said, it's almost comical. Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, something else bad would happen. I can see a gentleman step out of the grandstands and say, I know just how you feel. I went through a period in my life just like you did, where the bottom fell out. My name is Job. I was tempted to give up. My wife told me to just curse God and die. I felt depressed, but I shook it off, dug my heels in, and chose to believe that God was still on the throne. I said, though he slay me, yet will I trust him? Happy to report that God didn't just bring me out of that difficulty, but he brought me out better off than I was before. I came out with twice the cattle, twice the sheep, twice the joy, twice the peace, twice the victory. I got my health back, my business back, my dreams back. Job stands on the balconies of heaven and says to all who are in tough times, all who have gone through setbacks, suffered loss in a family, a relationship, in your finances, your business. Job says, I'm here to tell you that double is coming your way. God is going to pay you back. It may look like the end, but it's not a setback. It's a setup. God's going to turn it around and make the enemy pay for bringing that trouble into your life. Now, somebody's got to receive Job's encouragement. God has not brought you this far. To leave you where you are is a test. It's not permanent. It's temporary. It may look like it's out of control, but God is in complete control. If Job were here today, he'd Say, let me leave you with one word of encouragement. Double, double, double, double is coming your way. You need to let that seed take root. And you need to start speaking double, double over your situation. You lost your health. Father, I want to thank you that I'm coming out twice as strong, twice as healthy, that I'm going to have twice the energy I'm going to feel twice as good as I used to. You lost your job. Don't go around complaining. Go around saying, father, I want to thank you for a position with twice the benefits, twice the income, twice the friends, twice the fulfillment. Somebody did you wrong in a relationship, betrayed you, walked out on you. Go through life in self pity, heartbroken, thinking, poor old me, no. If they left you, you didn't need them. They were not a part of your divine destiny. This may be hard to accept right now, but really they did you a favor. They opened the door for who God wants to bring into your life. Now you got to get in agreement and get a vision for it. Father, I want to thank you for bringing somebody twice as good as that old goat that walked out. I mean that person that walked out. Somebody that's twice as fun, twice as friendly, twice as great to be around, twice as well off and twice as good looking. When you do that, Job says, yes, yes, yes. That's what God did for me. I know this young lady. She's had seven miscarriages. She has not been able to carry the baby. She heard me talking about how God will pay you back when unfair things happen. And she let that seed take root. Several years ago, she gave birth not to one, but to two babies. She had twins. She said, joel, that seed was birthed in my spirit. When you talked about how Job came out with twice what he had before, I'm trying to plant that same seed into your spirit. Today. You're not going to come out the same. You're going to come out increased. Your mind may tell you it's never going to happen. But Job stands before you and say, no, get ready. It's on the way. God restored Double back to me and he'll do the same thing for you. Job is cheering us on. Too many people like Job, they've had unfair things happen. And now they're sitting around, they've lost their joy, lost their enthusiasm. Kind of enduring life, thinking, one day when it gets better, then I'll get happy. Then I'll believe again. But I see two gentlemen step out of the grandstands. Their names are Paul and Silas. They tell about how one Night, they were chained in prison. Earlier in the day, they had been beaten with rods unfairly. They were not given a trial. What was their charge? They had not stolen. They had not hurt anyone. They had not committed any crime. Their big charge is they were spreading the good news. But instead of complaining, getting depressed, saying, God, it's not fair. How could you let this happen? They knew God was still in control. As they sat in prison, chained, beaten, bruised, feeling bad, the scripture says, they began to sing praises to God. Can you imagine what the other prisoners must have thought? Are these two guys crazy? Why are they singing? They've just been beaten. They're in jail. What's wrong with them? They must be going to Lakewood. The whole prison quiets down to hear these two strange prisoners. What are they singing? You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille. I don't think so. All through the prison, they hear, I am a friend of God. You are good all the time. Or maybe they hear, my chains are gone. I've been set free. All of a sudden, at midnight, while they were still singing praises, there was a great earthquake. The prison doors flung open. The chains fell off. An angel came by and said, come on, let's get out of here. If that wasn't good enough, the jailer, the one that had beaten them earlier, he came and found them and began to bandage up their wounds. He said, what do I need to do to serve this incredible God of yours? Today, Paul and Silas are in the grandstands cheering us on. They're saying, when it looks dark, when all the odds are against you, when it seems unfair, that's not the time to get depressed. That's not the time to start complaining. That's the time to turn up your praise. That's the time to say, lord, you are good. You're in control. You're bigger than my enemies. Nothing can stand against you, friends. Praise can break the chains. Praise can bring down walls that are locked. Praise can turn enemies into friends. Praise can break addictions. Praise can bring healing. Praise activates God's favor. Paul and Silas are rooting for us, saying, even when it looks impossible, keep singing, keep praising, keep rejoicing, keep that smile, and God will make a way. When it looks like there is no way, another man steps out of the grandstands. He says, paul and Silas, you think you've got it bad. Joseph, you think it was unfair. Abraham, you think your promise was impossible. David, you think your giants were big? I've got you all beat. I was dead. My name is Lazarus. I was in the grave. I was already starting to stink. I was buried. It was over, impossible, done, finished. But I had two sisters that would not give up. They dared to believe that anything was possible. They rolled away the stone. Jesus spoke life, and Lazarus came back from the dead. Lazarus is saying to everyone that has situations that look dead. It's not too late. It's not over. God can still bring it back to life. God can resurrect those dead dreams. Some of you have circumstances and promises that you kind of let go of and thought, you know what, Joel? I'm too old. I've made too many mistakes. I've missed too many good opportunities. Or maybe in my health, Joel, I'd never have the energy to do that. No. The same God that raised Lazarus is about to bring back to life things that you've already given up on. Listen, 2011 is going to be a resurrection year for you. It's going to be a year where opportunities that you've missed come back across your path. You need to get ready. You're going to see some of those no eye has seen, heard or imagined blessings. That's God bringing back to life, resurrecting what you thought was dead. One final man steps out of the grandstands. He's a little smaller than the others, 5 foot 7. He says, I'm here to encourage everyone that you can overcome any obstacle. You see, I came from the poorest of the poor families. I had no future to speak of. I had no money, no education. But at 17, I gave my life to Christ. And God took me places that I've never dreamed of. That man is my father, the founder of our church. I mentioned earlier how 12 years ago today, Daddy went to heaven. And he's saying to all of us, you're not limited by your education or your family, your background, your environment. You can rise higher. You can go further. It may look impossible with men, but it is still possible with God. I can hear my father encourage us with that same poem that he quoted so many times. Great it is to dream the dream when you stand in youth by the starry stream. But a greater thing is to fight, fight, fight, fight, fight life through and say at the end the dream. All right, all right. Be seated. Just a moment. My encouragement to us today is we're not running alone. All the saints of old are cheering for you. Your loved ones that have gone to be with the Lord. They're watching you. They believe in you. They know you've got what it takes. Now put your shoulders back. Hold your head up high. Get a fresh new vision. If they could accomplish great things without the modern conveniences that we have, think about how much more we can do. Let's make them proud. Let's give Heaven something to cheer about. Don't get stuck in a rut. Rise higher. Go further than your relatives did. You may have had some bad breaks, but don't let that ruin your life. Stay in faith knowing that double is coming. And remember, like Rahab, you have not made too many mistakes. You can begin again and still do something great. If you will live life knowing that all of heaven is cheering you on, you'll run faster, go further, accomplish more, and you will make Heaven proud. And I believe and declare one day you'll be in the grandstands cheering others on as one of those heroes of faith. 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'll take you places that you've never dreamed of.