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Conditions 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 message. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. We love you and we know God has great things in store for you. And if you're ever in the Houston area or 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'd like to start with something funny and I heard about this elderly couple. They'd been married for over 60 years. They were at a church fellowship and someone asked them the secret of their success. The man told how he always treated his wife with respect and he took her on trips all over the world. He said, in fact, for our 25th wedding anniversary I took her to Beijing, China. Everyone kind of clapped. Someone spoke up and said, what did you do for your fiftieth wedding anniversary, he said, I went back and picked her up. 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. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about living with confidence. Too many people go through life intimidated, insecure. They think everyone is smarter and brighter and more talented, more beautiful. They put others on a pedestal and look down on themselves. And yes, it's good to celebrate people. It's good to be happy for their accomplishments. But can I tell you, you are someone to be celebrated. You are talented. You are smart. You are attractive. There's something great about you. You're not supposed to always be celebrating others. You need to learn to celebrate yourself. I hear people say, you should see how beautiful my sister is. My co worker is so talented. My classmate is an awesome football player. And that's fine. But you can't get so caught up in how great they are that you lose sight of how great you are. You're good at something that they're not. Don't make the mistake of idolizing people to where you put them on such a pedestal and think they're so much smarter and more talented and more beautiful that you feel intimidated, like you don't quite measure up. And of course, they may have more natural strength or talent or ability, but the truth is, they have faults and weaknesses just like we all do. It's fine to celebrate them. Say, wow, aren't they great? As long as you can follow it up by saying, you know what? I'm great, too. I'm smart, too. I'm talented, too. Don't be intimidated by other people's gifts. Be confident in who you are. It's like this man I heard about. He was the mayor of his city. He was in a parade, riding down Main street in a float with his wife sitting next to him while he waved at the different people in the crowd. At one point, he spotted his wife's former boyfriend. He owned the local gas station. He kind of snickered and whispered to his wife, aren't you glad you didn't marry him? You'd be working at a gas station. His wife said, no, if I'd have married him, he. He would be the mayor. You've got to know who you are. A child of the Most High God. Listen. God breathed his life into you. You have royal blood flowing through your veins. He crowned you with his honor and favor. Now you got to put your shoulders back, hold your head up high and walk confidently. Talk confidently, think confidently, act confidently. People are going to treat you the way you present yourself if you have a less than mentality. You go around intimidated and you don't look people in the eyes when you speak to them. You barely speak up when you talk. You may not realize it, but you are communicating. I'm not important. I'm less than. I don't deserve your attention. The way you carry yourself is constantly sending out these subconscious messages. You can be as talented as can be, but if you don't look people in the eyes by your actions, you're saying you don't need to pay attention to me. If you speak in a mealy mouthed voice and people can barely understand you, you act like you're bothering them. That lack of confidence is communicating more than your words. You're sending out the wrong messages. Get in a habit of looking people in the eyes when you speak to them. It doesn't matter if they're smarter, more educated, more successful, more beautiful. Listen, they are no more of a child of God than you are. Speak clearly, speak strongly, don't mumble and act like you're bothering them. Speak with confidence. Make sure your posture is good. Stand up tall. When we slump over, we're communicating weakness. We're saying, I'm not really proud of who I am. I read where 80% of communication is nonverbal. It's voice tones, body language, facial expressions. It's our posture. When you meet someone, make sure you stand up tall. Look them in the eyes and shake their hand with a good firm handshake. A firm handshake communicates I'm determined, I'm confident, I'm secure, I'm proud of who I am. Had people shake my hand and it feels like a dead fish. No life, no grip, no enthusiasm. They've got their head down, you can barely understand them. And I'm not finding fault. I'm simply saying much of this is because we are intimidated. We have low self esteem, we don't understand who we really are. The scripture says here that God has made us to be kings and priests unto him. Men, you need to start seeing yourself as a king. Women, you need to start seeing yourself as a queen. Start carrying yourself like royalty. And I don't mean with arrogance, thinking that we're better than other people. No, I'm talking about in humility. Stand up tall, speak strongly. Be confident. Be secure in who you are. No, you're not better than anyone else. But can I tell you, you're not less than anyone else. It doesn't matter how many degrees they have behind their name. It doesn't matter how many important people they associate with. Well, hell, Joel, I'm kind of intimidated because they come from such an influential family. No, you need to understand. You come from the ultimate family. Your heavenly father is the creator of the universe. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew you before you were formed in your mother's womb. When you showed up on planet Earth, you didn't come as ordinary, as average. No. God crowned you with favor. He crowned you with honor. Now, you need to start thinking like you're royalty and talking like you're royalty and walking like you're royalty. Carry yourself like the king, the queen God created you to be. I remember one time, years ago, we had a king from an African nation visit our services. When he walked in, you would have thought he owned the place. He was as nice as can be, very personable, very humble. But he carried himself with such strength and dignity. He radiated confidence, royalty, influence, importance. We talked afterwards, and I'll never forget what he told me. He said, joel, I'm very honored to represent my country. And I try to do it with strength and dignity. Friends, do you realize you and I represent the kingdom of God? The scripture says we are Christ ambassadors. When we go around intimidated, feeling less than, like we don't measure up, everybody's better than us. We're not representing our kingdom very well. I was in England the other day and I saw a ceremony on television where they were honoring the queen. When the queen walked in the room, you could feel the strength, the confidence that emanated from her. She had her head held high, this pleasant smile. And she waved at everyone like they were all her best friends. What's interesting is there were very many important people in the room. There were presidents of other nations, world renowned movie stars, top entertainers, famous athletes, CEOs, scientists, some of the smartest, most talented people around. I say this respectfully, but the queen was not the most beautiful woman in the room. There were other ladies there, much younger, much more beautiful. But by the way the queen carried herself, you would have thought she was the cat's meow. She had it going on. Strong, confident, secure. The queen was not the most talented person in the room, nor the most educated, nor the fittest, nor the wealthiest. A lot of people would have been Intimidated, not her. You know why? She knows who she is. She's the queen. She comes from a long line of royalty. It's been ingrained in her thinking those thoughts. You're not average. You're not ordinary. You're exceptional. You're one of a kind. It's not so much what she does that gives her this confidence. It's not what she has. It's based solely on the fact of who she is. And when you understand who you are and whose you are, it'll drive out all intimidation, all inferiority. You'll put your shoulders back and go around confident and secure. I can imagine some mornings when the queen wakes up, the same thoughts come to her that come to all of us. Thoughts like, you're not as beautiful as your sister. You're not as smart as your neighbor. You're not as talented as your co worker. Be intimidated. Be insecure. Keep your head down. What does she do? She just shakes it off. Her attitude is, what are you talking about? I'm the queen. I've got royalty in my bloodline. Doesn't matter how I compare to other people in my DNA. I have generations of prestige, influence, royalty, victory, it's ingrained in me. And if we could just see ourselves as the kings, the queens God made us to be, we'd never be intimidated again. You don't have to be the most talented to feel good about yourself. You don't have to have the most money to be the most successful, to be the most beautiful. When you understand who you are, it'll affect the way you carry yourself. When you realize the Creator of the universe breathed his life into you. And you too come from a long line of royalty. Maybe not in the natural, but when you gave your life to Christ, you entered into a new bloodline. And in this spiritual bloodline, it says, we are to reign in life as kings. That means instead of being intimidated, instead of feeling inferior because somebody's more important, more influential, when you know who you are, you can be like the queen and just walk in the room, totally at ease, smile, wave at everybody like they're your best friends. Listen, ladies. You may not be the most beautiful, but be confident. You're the queen. Not crowned by people, but crowned by Almighty God. What would we think if the President walked into an important meeting and he had his head down? Other world leaders were there and he wouldn't look them in the eyes. He mumbled when he spoke. Weak. Intimidated. We would say, come on now. You represent our country. Stand up tall, be strong. Act like you're proud of who you are. That's exactly the way God thinks. When we go around intimidated, thinking we don't measure up, everybody's smarter than us. God says, come on now. I breathe my life into you. I put seeds of greatness on the inside. I've crowned you with my favor. Now do you a part and be proud of who you are. Stand up tall, be confident. Start acting like the royalty God's created you to be. Now, you may not feel confident, but if you will act confident, the feelings will eventually come. When my father went to be with the Lord and I stepped up to pastor the church, I didn't feel confident. I felt intimidated. I felt afraid. But every Sunday morning when I would step up to minister, I would stand up tall and act as confidently as can be. I've learned you gotta fake it till you can make it. In other words, you cannot wait for the feelings to come. You can create the feelings by acting the way you want to be. When your supervisor asks you to do something that you've never done before, you feel unqualified. Don't immediately respond, oh, I can't do that. I'm not talented in that area. I don't have what it takes. How do you know unless you try dare to take that step of faith? You have gifts and talents on the inside, just like I did that you have not yet tapped into. There is potential in you that has not yet been released. And if we act in fear instead of acting in faith, we'll never discover the treasures that God's put on the inside. I believe in the coming days, God is going to present you with opportunities to do something you've never done before. You'll have the desire, but you may feel unqualified. And it's easy to focus on everything you're not. Well, I'm not trained in that area. I'm not talented over there. I. I don't have what it takes. I tried and failed once before. No. Quit focusing on what you're not and start focusing on what you can become. You have the greatest power in the universe on the inside of you right now. When you are weak, he is strong. When you don't see a way, God will make a way. When enemies come against you, God will fight your battles for you. For some of you, you're always celebrating someone else. But God is saying, this is your time. This is your moment. He's about to release an opportunity that can thrust you to a whole new level. It may look impossible. You've never done it before. Your Mind will tell you, no way, that's too big. I'm not qualified. But if you'll dare take that step of faith, you will discover potential that you didn't know you had. It shouldn't have happened in the natural, but the power of the most high God is breathing in your direction. And God can open doors that no man can shut. You're going to accomplish dreams that you never thought possible. Some of you are going to write a best selling book. Some of you, instead of working at that company, you're going to be running the company. Instead of teaching at that school, you're going to be in charge of that school. Instead of always celebrating others up front, you're going to be the ones up front being celebrated. Now you need to get ready. When those opportunities come, don't you dare shrink back. You rise up with confidence and say, I am well able. I'm a child of the most High God. Equipped, empowered, anointed. I can do what God is calling me to do. I've heard it said that confidence to the believer is what fuel is to a jumbo jet. You can have a huge jet with all this power, all this capability, but if you don't put any fuel in it, it's not going to go anywhere. In the same way, you have all kinds of potential. God has placed in you seeds of greatness. That means you have the ability to rise higher, to go further, to accomplish more. But if you never put any confidence in your jet, it's going to get stuck in the Runway. In other words, if you just shrink back and think, well, I can't take that management position. I'm not qualified, I'm not trained in that area. I would love to write a book, Joel, but I don't know how. I wish I could speak in front of people, but I'm too afraid. No, you've got to put some fuel in your jet. You've got to take some steps of faith. I have a good friend that immigrated here from another country. They were very poor people in the natural. All the odds were against him. He didn't come from an influential family. He had a very limited education. No real training, no real connections. But one day he overheard about a job opportunity in the medical center here in Houston. And it was to run one of these big pieces of X ray equipment. He had no training in that field, but he went and applied for the job. They asked him if he had any experience. He told them no. But he followed it up by saying, I'm a very fast learner. I'M extremely smart. I can read the manual and figure out how to run it. I'll come in early and learn from the other technicians, but I promise you I'll have no problem running this equipment. He was so sure of himself, so confident, he convinced them. They gave him the position over other people that had more experience but less confidence. And when you think confidently and talk confidently and believe that you're a child of God and you've got what it takes, it'll not only give you more confidence, but it'll cause other people to put more confidence in you. Some of you today, you need to sell yourself better. You're too timid. You're always downplaying your abilities and discounting what you can do. Well, Joel, if they want to see my resume, they can read it. No, sometimes you have to be your resume. Sometimes you have to say, hey, I can do this. I'm well able. I've got what it takes. I'm a child of the most high God. When other people see that you believe in yourself, they'll be much more likely to open the door so you can go further and give you more opportunities. Quit underselling yourself. It's not humility to discount your abilities and downplay what you can do. Now, I know I'm not saying to go around bragging all the time, but I am saying sometimes you've got to rise up like my friend and say, listen, I can do this. I've got what it takes. Give me a shot. I'll make you proud. Several years later, the head technician left that hospital and took another position. They called my friend end and said, we're thinking about offering you the position of manager over this whole department. What do you think? He immediately said, I'll be a great manager. He went on and on to list all of his strengths, tell them all the reasons why he could do it. The truth is, he didn't have any management experience, but deep down he believed it was a part of his God given destiny. Instead of shrinking back, being intimidated, thinking of all the reasons why he couldn't, he told them all the reasons why he could. And again, this strong sense of confidence coupled with his proven track record got them to give him that job opportunity. And if you will display confidence, if you will believe in yourself, it will cause other people to put more confidence in you. I watched a football game on television several years ago and it was a very exciting game. The score kept going back and forth. It ended up going into overtime. At one point, the home team had the ball and they were marching down the field trying to score a touchdown. But they got stopped. They had to decide whether they were going to punt the ball or whether they were going to attempt this long field goal to win the game. It was very windy. The wind was blowing against the kicker. Meaning that he'd have to kick into the wind, of course, make it much more difficult. Not only that, this kicker had already missed two field goals earlier in the game. This attempt would be further than the two that he had already missed. The coach called timeout. There was this big commotion on the sidelines as the coach tried to decide should he play it safe and punt the ball away or should he attempt this game winning field goal. And he couldn't make up his mind. So the coach decided to ask the kicker how he felt about it. He looked up and down the sidelines, he couldn't find the kicker anywhere. That's because the kicker was already on the field, getting lined up, preparing to attempt that field goal. When the coach saw the kicker already out there, in spite of the two misses, in spite of the wind blowing in his face, that sealed the deal. The coach let him attempt it. And sure enough, that kicker stepped up. He kicked the ball right through the uprights. The game winning field goal. The crowd went wild. They carried him off the field. Some of you today like him. You've tried and failed. You've made mistakes. My question is, are you getting back on the field? Are you in the game? Are you looking for new opportunities? If that kicker would have stayed on the sidelines to wait to see what the coach thought, he probably would not have had that opportunity. If you will sell yourself, if you'll have the attitude, this is my time, this is my moment. I may have tried and failed, but this is a new day. The power of the most high God is in me. When you rise up with confidence like that, you're putting fuel in your jet. You never know where it's going to take you. Living with confidence means that we never lose our poise. In other words, you may feel fear on the inside. You may be intimidated, but don't ever show fear. Don't ever let people see you intimidated. When you go on that job interview, you may be very nervous, but don't show it. Don't go in there and make excuses. Well, I'm just a little uptight. I'm just a little bit nervous. No, be strong, be confident. Fake it if you have to. Better way to put it is faith it if you have to. This is what faith is all about. Not acting on what we feel, but acting on what we know. When your company offers you that management position, you may feel unqualified. But know this. God would not have given you the opportunity if he had not already equipped you. God is saying to us today what he said to Gideon many years ago. Be strong, you mighty man of fearless courage, you mighty woman of fearless courage. Even if you're shaken on the inside, you got to dig your heels in and say, I'm not going to let one person see me intimidated. I may feel fear, but I'm going to act strong. I may be intimidated, but I'm going to act confident. I may feel unqualified, but I'm going to act like I'm well able. I learned this from one of my basketball coaches growing up. He always instilled in us, no matter how big the opponents are, no matter how far behind you fall, don't ever show any sign of weakness. When I was in the seventh grade, our basketball team was playing the number one basketball team in our district. In seventh grade. I was only 4ft 11 inches tall. I was very small. The young man I was going to be guarding was 6ft 1. The coach called me aside and said, joel, he's going to be a lot bigger, he's going to be a lot stronger. But don't you dare get out there and look intimidated. You play like you're the greatest basketball player in the world. Some things you can fake and some things you can't. I should mention our team was all white. Their team was all black. So you know, it was going to take a miracle. We were playing in their gym and the game was at a special time, two o'clock in the afternoon. So all the seventh grade class was dismissed so they could come to the gym to watch us play. Well, normally there'd just be a couple dozen parents out there, but this day the gym was packed full of hundreds and hundreds of screaming seventh grade grade students. And when we walked in the gym, we were single file and I was toward the back of the line. Those students started booing and hissing, trying to intimidate us. But when they saw me and how small I was, they started laughing and cheering. In a few seconds, they were all chanting my number. 21. 21. I was so embarrassed when I saw the young man I was going to guard. I wanted to go back and get on the bus, but I kept hearing the coach telling me, don't show any weakness. Don't show any fear. Don't let them see you intimidated. Now I felt intimidated. I felt fear, but I just kept acting like I was Michael Jordan. It helped my self esteem, not necessarily my game. But when the guy was guarding went up to take a shot and I was crouched over playing defense, I'll never forget, I could see his knees at eye level. I thought, I have never seen any white knees at eye level. Funny thing is, we got beat that day. But when I went to get on the bus and we were leaving, all these students from their school were lined up giving me high fives, congratulating me. What am I saying? In life you're going to find yourself in situations where you're over your head, you feel unqualified, you're up against a huge opponent. Maybe a legal situation that looks impossible, a medical report where you could easily be afraid and intimidated. You've got to dig your heels in and say, I may feel fear, but I'm not going to show any fear. I'm going to keep my poise knowing that the Creator of the universe is in complete control of my life. And if God be for me, who dare be against me? Friends, I'm trying to put some more fuel in your jet. You have incredible potential. I'm asking you to put your shoulders back, hold your head up high. You are representing the most high God. Carry yourself like the king, like the queen, like the royalty he's created you to be. Let's get in a habit of looking people in the eyes. Speak with a strong clear voice. Don't downplay your abilities. Don't discount yourself. Sell yourself. If you don't believe in you, others won't either. It's good to celebrate people, but you need to start by celebrating yourself. If you will shake off the intimidation, the insecurity, and rise up with confidence knowing who you are, let me tell you, the Creator of the universe will breathe in your direction. And when he does, you will overcome every obstacle, defeat every enemy, accomplish every dream. I believe and declare over each one of you. You will become everything God's created you to be. And you will have everything God intended for you to have. 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's going to take you places that you've never dreamed of.