Announcer (17:02)

No.

Joel Osteen (17:02)

Nothing you've done has stopped your destiny. The mercy of God is bigger than any mistake you've made. The true you is still in you. The blessed you, the faithful you. The honored you. The righteous you. In the scripture, Peter was out fishing one morning, bringing his boat close to the shore. And Jesus came walking by. Said peter, come and follow me. I'm going to make you a fisher of men. Peter had never met Jesus, never had a conversation with him. Yet Jesus called him by name. Can you imagine how surprised Peter was? How does this man know my name? I know who he is. He's that teacher everyone's talking about. Yet he called me Peter. God knows your name. He's the one that created you. He's the one that calls you a masterpiece. Not me, Joel. I'm not a religious person. Neither was Peter. He didn't have any kind of faith. He wasn't refined, respected. He was a fisherman. He used bad language. He was hot tempered, impulsive. He would tell you what he thought. Yet God chose him to be his disciple, one of the 12 that would change the world. Out of all the people Jesus could have chosen, he didn't choose a religious leader, didn't choose the priest in the synagogue, didn't choose the mayor of the city. He chose Peter. He already knew Peter would deny him three times. He already knew Peter would fall asleep in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus needed him the most. He. He already knew Peter was hot tempered, that he would curse, that he would cut off the soldier's ear. Why would Jesus choose someone like this? Because God looks beyond the flaws, the mistakes, the weaknesses. And he sees the masterpiece in the rock. He sees what we can become. He hasn't lost the vision of the true you. How he made you before you were formed in your mother's womb. Jesus looked at Peter and said, you are Simon, but you shall be called Peter. Simon represents shifting sand, being unstable, inconsistent. But Peter means rock. Jesus was telling him who the true you was. At one point, Jesus said, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. When Jesus said that Peter was anything but a rock, he was unreliable, hot tempered. Yet God called out the true you, the faithful you. It didn't happen overnight. But God kept chiseling away Peter's weaknesses, chiseling away the hot temper, chiseling away the inconsistency. When the church was starting in the Book of Acts, they needed someone to give the inaugural address this prominent position. Who did they choose? Peter. But now it wasn't the impulsive Peter. The inconsistent Peter. The denied Jesus Peter. This was the rock. It was the true Peter. The faithful Peter. The strong Peter. The anointed Peter. The powerful Peter. Here's what I'm saying. Don't get discouraged because of who you are right now. God still has his chisel. He's still removing things that are limiting your destiny. You haven't seen your best days. The rock in you is still going to come out. The successful you, the holy you, the favored you. Now, like those two artists that saw the slab of marble but said it's got too many flaws, there will probably be people that try to discount you, tell you what you can't become, how you're not talented enough. You've made too many mistakes. Don't let them talk you out of becoming the true you. The good news is they're not your artist. They don't have the chisel. You're not dependent on what they think, what they can do. Your sculptor is the most high God. He has not lost the vision of who he created you to be. See, my dad was raised very poor. His family were cotton farmers and they lost everything in the Great Depression. His mother made 10 cents an hour washing people's clothes. There were times they didn't have enough money for food. He had to drop out of high school to work on the farm. At 17 years old, he gave his life to Christ, the first one in his family. He felt this calling to become a minister. Had no money, no education, no training. But he told his parents he was going to leave the farm and go out and start ministering. They said, john, you don't know how to minister. You're going to get out there and fail. You better stay on the farm and work with us. They loved their son, but they could only see the limited John the poor John the not talented John the defeated John. They looked at that marble, so to speak. Nothing good can come out of that. Look at all the flaws, the deficiencies, the imperfections. If Daddy would have believed who they said he was, he would have never fulfilled his destiny. People can't see what God put in you. Don't let their negative words limit your life. Tune it out. You're not who people say you are. You are who God says you are. He says you're a masterpiece. He says you have greatness in you. He says you are destined to leave your mark. But my father grew up with this limited mindset, this poverty mentality. It's all he had known. Struggle, lack, mediocrity. But we serve A God that has a chisel. He doesn't let how you were raised, what you didn't get, odds being against you, keep you from your purpose. Little by little, God removed the poverty mindset. He chiseled away the mediocrity. Not good enough. My father rose up against all odds. He did great things, pastored churches, founded Lakewood, impacted the world. In that poor, Disadvantaged, not educated 17 year old man was a world changer, a history maker. If you only knew what was in you. The true you is not limited by your environment. The true you is not dependent on what other people think about you. The true you is not at a disadvantage because you have flaws and weaknesses. But the enemy would love for us to go through life feeling inferior, focused on our weaknesses, weighed down with regrets, guilty from past mistakes, condemned, ashamed. But what the enemy put on you, God is about to take off of you. This is a new day. The chisel is at work. He's chiseling away wrong mindsets, Chiseling away negative words that have been spoken. Chiseling away guilt and shame, chiseling away hurts, brokenness, offense. You're about to step into a new level of your destiny. The true you is about to come out. The blessed you, the free you, the healthiest you, the victorious you. I know a young woman. She was raised in a very dysfunctional home. Seven years old. The police showed up at her house, told her to put her belongings in a trash bag. She's going to spend the night somewhere else. She grabbed her pajamas, toothbrush and rushed out. She was taken to a shelter. Her mother and stepfather were arrested for child abuse. She'd never met her biological father. Eventually she was turned over to him. But that wasn't any better. He was on drugs and in and out of jail. She became very angry. She couldn't understand why no one would love her. She got to the point where she built up walls so she didn't have to feel. She became numb to the pain. She didn't feel happy, sad, depressed. She felt nothing. At 16 years old, she moved out on her own. Hurting, broken, lonely. By the grace of God. She showed up at Lakewood. She heard us talking about how God is our heavenly Father, how he has good things in store for us, how he will give us beauty for the ashes. She never felt that love before. She'd never had anyone speak faith and victory into her, tell her who she really was. One day she gave her life to Christ. She said. I realized I was no longer an orphan. I was adopted by my heavenly Father, the Right. People begin to show up, doors begin to open. Today that young woman, Desiree, right here on the front row, is on staff with us. A beautiful girl. She has the joy, the smile, the victory. Here's what I've learned. God will not leave you at a deficit. What you didn't get, what wasn't fair, what you feel robbed of. God is going to make it up to you. He's going to pay you back for the unfair things. But if you would have seen Desiree years back, you would have seen the broken you, the abandoned you, the angry you. All these things the enemy had put on her to try to keep her from her destiny. But underneath the shame, the anger, the rejection was the masterpiece. There was this beautiful, confident, radiant, talented young woman. Maybe like her, you're carrying shame, hurts, brokenness. Life has put you at a disadvantage. God said in Joshua, this day I am removing the shame from my people. This day, God is breaking chains. This day, strongholds are coming down. This day, things that have hindered you are being chiseled away. Through my eyes of faith, I see the true you, the blessed you, the free you, the restored you, the joyful you. I see the masterpiece God created you to be. The two years that Michelangelo worked on sculpting David, he did it all in private, wouldn't let anyone come in. When he finished, he revealed it to the public. Now 500 million people have seen it in person. You think about that old piece of rock, flaws, weaknesses. Other artists said it was not useful. Yet it's been seen by half a billion people. When God's working on you, chiseling away what's not necessary, often he'll do it in private. He'll keep you hidden, not noticed. But when it's your time, when God says you're ready, he'll cause you to be seen. You'll become a trophy of his grace. Where people think, wasn't that the old rock that had flaws? Wasn't that the fisherman? Now he's up there leading. Isn't that the young boy from the Great Depression? Now he's the pastor. Wasn't she abandoned by her parents? And look at her now. God's going to cause you to shine, to be an example of what he can do. Despite imperfections, despite what life throws your way, you may have some things that are limiting you now worry. God still has his chisel. He's still working on you. I believe and declare the true you is about to come out. What's holding you back is being broken. The shame is being removed. You're about to step into favor, freedom, wholeness to become the masterpiece God created you to be in Jesus name. And if you receive it, can you say Amen? I'd like to give you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you say it with me? Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior. If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. We'd love to give you some free information in your new walk with the Lord. You can text the number or go to the website. I hope you'll get into a good Bible based church and keep God first place.

Announcer (29:02)

We all carry a mental picture of what our life can be. Is yours limited? Do you picture yourself stuck? Inadequate? Defeated? Are you willing to change your mindset in order to experience a life of blessing and abundance?

Joel Osteen (29:17)

We all have a picture in our mind of ourself, our family, our future and if that picture is negative, you see yourself at a disadvantage. Your problem's too big. It's gonna limit your life. My new book, the Abundance Mindset will help you see yourself the right way. If you'll change those negative pictures, start seeing yourself blessed, healthy, rising high or accomplishing dreams, then things will begin to shift in your favor. You have to see it on the inside before it'll come to pass on the outside. We'll send you the Mindset Journal too. These tools will help you get your inner vision in the right place so you can move into the favor and blessing that God has for you.

Announcer (30:00)

As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount this month we would like to send you a copy of Joel's book the Abundance Mindset and this inspiring Mindset Journal. Joel shares powerful scriptures and encouraging thoughts about how to move from barely enough to more than than enough. How to be someone else's miracle and experience miracles in your own life. As you make the book and journal a part of your daily walk, you'll be built up every day regarding how to tap into God's favor and blessing. How not to talk yourself out of the dreams and opportunities he has already prepared for you. How to experience life to the fullest. Request your copies today and begin to see a new picture of yourself that will lead to new measures of blessing, favor, promotion and abundance.

Joel Osteen (30:50)

Let's go into 2025 with an abundant mindset. I believe you're going to see the goodness of God in new ways. Victoria and I want you to know we pray for you and your family every day for God's very best. We want to thank you for your prayer and support. You are impacting people all over the world. A special thank you to our Champion of Hope partners for your monthly support. If you're not a partner, I hope you'll consider becoming one. Remember, you can watch the services online every Sunday morning, Download our daily podcast, listen on Sirius XM, watch on YouTube. Also the new Joel Osteen network streaming on television 24 hours a day until we see you again. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Announcer (31:36)

Be sure to request your copy of the Abundance Mindset Book and Mindset journal today. Visit joelostein.com or call 888-567-JOEL for an additional donation. This month we are also offering His Goodness Abundance Bowl. You can request this inspiring resource by calling 888-567-JOEL or logging on to joel osteen.com or today if you've never been.

Joel Osteen (32:03)

To Lakewood, we have a great opportunity. We call it Homecoming Weekend. We'd love to meet you and your family. You can see the building and attend one of the services. It's a great time to be a part of the Lakewood family. Looking forward to seeing you Homecoming Weekend.

OnDeck Representative (32:25)

Building a business may feel like a big jump, but on deck small business loans can help keep you afloat. With lines of credit up to 100,000 doll term loans up to 250,000, OnDeck lets you choose the loan that's right for your business. As a top rated online small business lender, OnDeck's team of loan advisors can help you find the right business loan to fit your needs. Visit ondeck.com for more information. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by Ondeck or Celtibank. Ondeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

State Farm Representative (32:59)

If your small business is booming and ready to expand, you might say something like it's happening.

Joel Osteen (33:07)

Crushed it.

State Farm Representative (33:08)

But if you need someone who can actually help protect your growing business, just.

Joel Osteen (33:12)

Say, like a good neighbor State Farm.

State Farm Representative (33:14)

He's there. And just like that, your State Farm agent can help you get the coverage you need for your new space for your small business insurance needs. Like a good neighbor State Farm is.

Angel Soft Representative (33:25)

There a role that feels like paradise and always at a heavenly prize?

Joel Osteen (33:32)

Angel Soft, Angel Soft, soft and strong.

Angel Soft Representative (33:36)

So it's pick up a pack today. Angel Soft, soft and strong.