Transcript
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National Council for Mental Wellbeing Spokesperson (0:56)
visit angi.com Substance Use Disorder and addiction is so isolating. And so as a Black woman in recovery, hope must be loud. It grows louder when you ask for help and you're vulnerable. It is the thread that lets you know that no matter what happens, you will be okay.
National Council for Mental Wellbeing / Monday.com Announcer (1:19)
When we learn the power of hope recovery is possible, find out how@startwithhope.com, brought to you by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and the AD Counsel.
Victoria Osteen (1:29)
Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and
Joel Osteen (1:33)
thanks for supporting the ministry.
Victoria Osteen (1:35)
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 is always a joy to come into your homes. We love you and we're believing this is going to be your best year so far. If you're ever in our area, stop by and see us. I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks for tuning in. Thank you again for coming out today. I'd like to start with something funny and I heard about this husband. He was quietly reading the newspaper when his wife walked up behind him and hit him on the head with a frying pan. He said, what was that for? She said, that was for the piece of paper I found in your pocket with the name Mary Lou on it. He said, oh honey, that's just one of the horses that I bet on at the racetrack last week. She apologized and went about her business. Three days later she walked up and hit him with a bigger Frying pan. When he came to, he said, what in the world was that for? She said, you, horse just called. 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 receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about living a no excuses life. It's easy to come up with a reason why we can't be our best. And I've found most people have what they think is some kind of handicap, something that's holding them back. It may be something about their personality or something about their looks that they don't like. Or maybe they've been through an unfair situation. A divorce, a business partner cheated them. They got a bad break. I've had people tell me, joel, I'm just the wrong nationality. I come from the wrong family. We all have things that we feel like could be a disadvantage, things that make it harder on us. It may even be a physical handicap where you can't get around like you used to. You can't see as well, you're physically challenged in some area. But just because you have a, quote, disadvantage, just because you've been through a tough time, that doesn't mean you're supposed to sit back and settle where you are. God still has something great for you to do. You may not look like everyone else. You may not be able to do what others can do. But if you will stay in faith and not get negative toward yourself or negative toward your future, then what you think is a liability is going to turn out to be an asset. What you think is a disadvantage, God is going to turn around to be an advantage. Many of you know who Joyce Meyer is. She's a great minister, a good friend. She told how in her early days she couldn't stand the sound of her voice. Her voice is very deep. In fact, when people used to hear her on the radio, they thought she was a man. She gets so discouraged and say, God, why do I have such an odd voice? God, why can't I just have a nice, polite, feminine voice? But over the years, she began to realize that her voice is so distinct, it makes her stand out. When people hear it, it draws their attention. What she thought was a liability ended up being an asset. You need to quit looking at yourself as being odd and start seeing yourself as Being unique, you are not too tall or too short. You are just the right size. You have just the right personality, just the right looks, just the right talents. When God made you, he wasn't having a bad day. He made you like you are on purpose. When God got finished creating you, he stepped back and said, that was good. I like that. Another masterpiece. And sure, there are things about us that we may not like, things that we wish were different. But you can't allow that to cause you to get sour and keep you from pursuing your dreams. I think about my mother. She had polio as a child. She had to wear braces on her legs. Today, one of her legs is much smaller than the other one. When she goes to buy shoes, she has to buy two pairs because her feet are two different sizes. But one thing I've always loved about my mother is she has never let that stop her from pressing forward. She could have easily been kind of embarrassed by it. She could have shrunk back and tried to hide it, let it cause her to feel less than. But she never did that. She has this no excuses mentality. She knows she's been made in the image of Almighty God. Growing up, that never stopped her from wearing shorts, never stopped her from wearing dresses. She still wears dresses today, 75 years old, still showing off her legs that don't look like her. Fool you. She loves it. That never stopped her from doing things like working in the yard. It never stopped her from praying for other people that needed healing. She could have thought, I can't pray for them to get well. My legs are not well. No, you don't have to be perfect for God to use you. You've got to take the hand that you've been dealt and make the very most of it. Believe that God turns it around. Believe that he'll bring healing. But even if it doesn't happen, you can still honor God by being the best that you can be right where you are. My sister Lisa, was born with something like cerebral palsy. The doctors told my parents that she'd never be able to walk, never be able to feed herself. They said you might as well get prepared to take care of a disabled child. Of course, my parents were devastated. They prayed. They believed. They stood in faith. And little by little, Lysa got better and better. Today, she's perfectly normal. She's on staff with us here, ministers for us many times. I have another friend by the name of David Ring. You may know him. He's a minister like Lisa. He, too was born with cerebral Palsy. But God's plan for his life was different. David Ring didn't get healed. When he talks, it takes him three or four times as long to get the words out. When he walks, his legs and arms don't function like most of ours. He could have easily sat at home and thought, too bad for me, I've got this disability. My speech is slow, I can't get around God. I thought you wanted me to do something great. I thought you wanted me to be a minister. I must have been wrong. I've got this handicap. No, you've got to know David Ring. There's nothing that slows him down. He goes all over the world, speaking to thousands of people, telling them about the goodness of God and about how they too can overcome any obstacle. When he gets up to speak, it's very difficult to understand. As I said, he speaks very slowly. But I love the way he always starts. He says, my name is David Ring. What's your excuse? Think about this. Lisa was healed from cerebral palsy and she's honoring God with her life. David Ring is living with cerebral palsy and he's honoring God with his life. What am I saying? You've got to take what God's given you and make the very most of it. You cannot sit around thinking, why did this happen to me? Why did she get healed and I didn't get healed? Why did my marriage not work out? Why do my neighbors have power and I still don't? Quit focusing on all the whys. Faith is all about trusting God, even when you don't understand it. And the fact is, God could have healed David just like he healed my sister Lisa. But God is a sovereign God. I don't claim to understand it all, but I do know this. God is a good God. He has a great plan for your life, a destiny for you to fulfill. And no matter how many disadvantages come your way, no matter how many setbacks try to pull you down, if you'll shake off the self pity, shake off the blame, dig your heels in and keep pressing forward. Then no setback, no disadvantage, no handicap can keep you from becoming everything that God's created you to be. And I'm asking you today to get rid of the excuses. Quit dwelling on your disappointments and how unfair it was and who hurt you. No, God has something great right where you are. There are no handicaps except in our mind. But too many people are waiting for God to remove everything and make them perfect. Then they're going to pursue their dreams. Then they're Going to go after their destiny. No, you need to go after your destiny right now. Honor God with what you have. He wants to take that liability and turn it into an asset. But here's what you have to accept. God may not remove it, but he will use it to your advantage. In the scripture, there was a man that was born blind. Some people were asking Jesus, why was he born this way? Whose fault was it? His or his parents? They were trying to find somebody to blame. Some reason, some excuse. We tend to do the same type of things today. But I love the way Jesus answered. It's found in John 9, verse 3. He said, it's not anybody's fault, not his nor his parents. The reason he was born this way was so that the goodness of God could be displayed. Jesus is saying, when you have a setback, when life deals you a tough blow, don't get bitter, don't settle there. Recognize you are a prime candidate for God to show his favor and goodness through. In other words, if you feel like you have a disadvantage, if you feel like you have a disability, a handicap, instead of saying, oh man, it's not fair, God, no. Your attitude should be, God, I'm ready. I know you have something great in store and I refuse to live defeated and depressed. I know this disadvantage is simply another opportunity for you to show up and show out. That's exactly what a young man did by the name of Tony Melendez. He was born without any arms. As a little boy, he had a desire to play the guitar. Something on the inside said, you're supposed to sing and write music. Tony didn't know any better. Instead of saying, too bad for me, I'd love to play the guitar, but I don't have any arms. No. His attitude was, I may not have any arms, but I do have feet. I may not have any fingers, but I do have 10 toes. Tony learned to play the guitar with his feet. You may have seen him. He can play better with his feet than most of us can play with our hands. What am I saying? When God puts a dream in your heart, when he puts a promise on the inside, he deposits in you everything you need to accomplish that dream. God wouldn't have given Tony the desire without giving him the ability. It just wasn't the, quote, normal way, the way most of us would be used to. Tony had to be bold enough to say, I am living a no excuses life. Yes, this may look like a handicap. Yes, in the natural, I may have a disadvantage, but I know with God there are no handicaps. I know when God made me, he wasn't having a bad day. He made me with a purpose, with a destiny to fulfill. And I'm going to do my best to bring honor to him. He has that can do mentality. But some of you today are sitting there thinking of all the reasons why you can't become everything God's created you to be. Well, Joel, I'm not tall enough. I'm not that talented. My voice is odd. No, all those things that you think are disadvantages are really advantages just waiting to come to life. Today, Tony has unprecedented favor. There's all kinds of opportunity to sing and share his story of faith. What's happening. Because he had this no excuses mentality, because he didn't see himself as handicapped. God's using him to do great things. And the truth is, none of us will ever have to face most likely, anything that dramatic. Our biggest issue is we think our nose is too big or we're too short or. I went through a divorce, Joel. That's my handicap. That's why I'm coasting. No, you've got to shake that off. If you will have this no excuses mentality and keep pressing forward, God will take every liability and he'll turn it into an asset. I remember even when I first started ministering, I didn't think that I had the right personality to do this. I'm really laid back and easygoing. My mother has said she has never seen me angry a day in my life. And in my mind, to be a good minister, you needed to get mad every once in a while. You needed to have that dynamic, outgoing personality. I said, God, you're going to have to change me. I have a disadvantage. I'm quiet, I'm soft spoken. I'm more reserved. Even my father, he was more of a fireball and he could get the crowd worked up. I've seen these other ministers and they have great voices and they preach these deep theological messages that are so eloquent they can move the whole congregation just the way they move, enunciate the words, and they're so dramatic. And I think, here I've got this southern draw and I just get up here and talk so normally. And when my father went to be with the Lord, I said, God, I don't know. I'll try. I'll see what happens. But what I thought would be a liability turned out to be an asset. I realized that God made me. I began to realize that God made me like this on purpose. No, I don't have the booming Voice? No, I don't have the dynamic personality. No, I don't preach the fancy sermons. But one thing I do have is the good looks. All right, I couldn't resist. Oh, boy. I hope you know I'm kidding.