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Hi, this is Joel and 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 a joy to come into your homes. We love you. We know God has great things in store. If you're ever in the Houston area, why don't you come out and see us? I promise you these are the finest people in all of Houston, Texas, right here at Lakewood. We'll make you feel right at home. Thanks for tuning in today and thank you again for coming out. And I like to start with something funny each week. And these are not doctrinally correct, especially today, but just to make us laugh. I heard about this husband and wife. They were celebrating their 60th birthdays together. An angel suddenly appeared and said that God was going to grant them each one special request. They were so excited. The wife said, my request is that we'd be able to travel all over the world. And poof, when the smoke cleared, she had tickets in her hand. The husband hung his head in shame, said, my request is that I'd be married to a woman 30 years younger than me. And poof, when the smoke cleared, he was 90 years old. 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 wearing your blessings. Well, our God is a rewarder of those that seek him. When you keep God first place and do your best to honor him, the scripture says his blessings will chase you down and overtake you. That means you will come into increase promotion, good breaks that you didn't necessarily deserve. That's God rewarding you for walking in his ways. We see this principle in the Old Testament with Ruth. She was out in the fields following behind the workers, gathering up the leftover wheat that they had missed. She was being her best, trying to take care of her mother in law, Naomi. But they were barely surviving. One day, the owner of the fields told those workers to leave handfuls of wheat on purpose for Ruth. Now Ruth didn't have to struggle anymore. She didn't have to work night and day. Ruth came into blessings that were simply dropped at her feet. And every one of us can look back and see times where God has left us handfuls on purpose. Something that we didn't deserve. We didn't have to struggle. We didn't even ask for it. We just stumbled into it. That's a handful on purpose. Now here's my challenge. Don't apologize for God's goodness. Don't downplay what God has done in your life. Don't make excuses because a friend might get jealous. Don't try to hide God's blessings because a co worker might judge you and think that it's not fair. Don't wear your blessings well. You may not have deserved it, but you know what? Favor is not always fair. It's just the goodness of God. The moment you start apologizing for what God has done and downplaying his goodness is when God will go find somebody else to show his favor to. And I'm not saying to go around showing off and bragging on what you have and on how great you are. No, I'm saying go around bragging on how great God is. We used to sing a song growing up. Look what the Lord has done all through the day. We should be bragging on God's goodness. Let me tell you how God healed my mother. Let me tell you how God gave us this building. Let me tell you how I met my beautiful wife, Victoria. When you're bragging on God's goodness, when you're giving him all the credit, you are wearing your blessings well. And David said in Psalm 118, this is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. That should be our attitude. Every good thing that happens, this is the Lord's doing. You know what this beautiful building is? It's the Lord's doing. My mother being alive 30 years after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, you know what that is? That's the Lord's doing. It's marvelous in our eyes. If you will always see the promotion, the good break, the healing, the new opportunity as the Lord's doing, you won't have any problem wearing your blessings well. But I used to kind of feel guilty that God's given me such a great life. I've always been happy, been blessed to have great parents and grandparents, a beautiful wife. And again and again, Victoria and I have seen these handfuls on purpose. God blessed us in a real estate deal just in an abundant way. We didn't have to work for it. We were just at the right place at the right time. It was The Lord's doing. But when I used to see people that had a hard life and didn't have good parents and had to struggle to overcome things, I would naturally try to downplay how God has blessed me. After all, I didn't want to make them feel bad. But I've learned that doesn't bring any honor to God. God wants us to be an example of his goodness. I know now I don't have to apologize if I get a handful on purpose and somebody else doesn't. I don't have to hide my joy, my peace, my victory, my possessions. I don't have to dress down and look poor and pitiful and depressed to show people that I'm really humble. No, when you wear your blessings well, giving God all the credit, talking about his goodness, thanking him for what he's done, that's what really brings honor to our God. A few years after I started ministering, a well known reporter referred to me as the smiling preacher. And that story caught on and went all over the world. But some people use that term in a derogatory sense, like, why does he smile so much? What's wrong with him? He couldn't be that happy. And I was young and new and at first I thought, well, maybe I shouldn't smile so much. People are making fun. Then I realize what I'm telling you. I don't have to hide God's blessings. I don't have to apologize because I smile all the time. I'm going to wear my blessing. Well, if you don't like the fact that I smile so much, then take this. I'll be the first to admit I'm happy. God's been good to me. I'm blessed, I'm prosperous. I got joy, I got peace. I got victory. And you know what? I'm not going to apologize for the goodness of God. Some of you used to be bound by all kinds of addictions and bad habits. But now you're totally free. Let me challenge you. Wear that blessing well. Tell everyone what God has done for you. They may call you far out, a fanatic. Man. Why are you so happy? Why are you always helping others? What's up with you? Just tell them I'm wearing my blessing. Well, God's been so good to me, I can't keep it to myself. I got to tell somebody. I once was lost, but now I'm found. I should be dead, but I'm still alive. I used to live stone, but now I'm in my right mind. Look what the Lord has done. That's wearing your blessing well, some of you used to be depressed and discouraged and bitter and angry, but now you're joyful. You got a smile on your face. You got a spring in your step. You're excited about 2011. Some of your co workers may say, come on, man, calm down, chill out. Lay off that happiness stuff. Listen, let that go in one ear and out the other. Don't let them affect you. You keep wearing your blessing well. And over time, instead of them affecting you, you will infect them. You will help them to come up higher. When you dress your best, you're wearing your blessing well. When you step up and take that promotion, you're wearing that blessing well. When God opens the door and you move into that new house you've been believing for, other people may talk, well, they didn't need that house. Why'd they leave our neighborhood? They must think they're too good for us. No, you're not too good for them. You're just wearing your blessing well. Now, don't let some negative, jealous, critical, judgmental, bitter, angry, non smiling person try to make you feel guilty, ashamed, embarrassed. Sometimes they'll try to convince you that you're supposed to drag around defeated, depressed. Never have anything to show God that you're really humble. To show God that you really love him. No. That is a religious, judgmental spirit. If you want to please God, don't drag around broke, defeated, depressed. Wear your blessings well. Step up to a new level. Enjoy God's favor. Be proud of who you are and of what God has done in your life. My father grew up during the Great Depression and his family was very poor. And he developed this poverty mindset. He was even taught in seminary that you had to be poor to show that you were really holy. The first church that he pastored made sure that he stayed holy by keeping him poor. He and My mother made $115 a week trying to raise five children. One time they had a guest minister in the church and my parents kept that man in our house all during the week after the Sunday service, a member of the congregation, a businessman, came up to my father and handed Daddy a check for $1,000. $1,000 back then, like $10,000 today. He said, pastor, I want you to have this personally because you've had a lot of extra expenses keeping this man in your home. But my father had been so programmed with this poverty mentality, with this false sense of humility. He took that check by the very top corner like it was poisonous, like it might contaminate him. He said, oh, no, brother. I could never keep this for myself. We must put this in the church offering. Daddy walked over toward the offering plate, and with every step, something on the inside said, don't do it. Receive God's blessings. Receive God's goodness. He ignored it and dropped it in the offering plate. He said when he felt sick to his stomach, he knew down inside he was supposed to have that. And thank God. One day my father broke out of that poverty mindset. He read the scripture in Psalms. The Lord takes pleasure in the prosperity of his children. He began to understand that it brings a smile to God's face when we live an abundant life, when we prosper in our health, in our relationships, and in our finances. He got a new vision. He quit feeling guilty for God's blessings. He started learning how to receive those handfuls on purpose. I say this respectfully, but we have to fight that religious spirit that says we're supposed to be poor and broke and defeated to prove to everyone that we're really humble. No, when we're poor and broke and defeated, all that proves is that we're poor and broke and defeated. Nobody's going to want what we have. I can be poor, broke and defeated without serving God. We're supposed to be examples of what it means to live for the most high God. We should be. We should be so blessed, so prosperous, so kind, so generous, so happy, so peaceful that people want what we have. And if you think like my father, that you're showing God how holy you are and how humble you are by not wearing your blessings and not taking that promotion, your own thinking is what's keeping God from doing something new. You have to enlarge your vision, friends. God owns it all. God blessing you in a greater way is not going to bankrupt heaven. God makes streets out of gold. If you want to bring a smile to God's face, have an abundant life mentality. One time, Victoria and I found these two acres that we really wanted to buy. We wanted to build a house on it. It was a valuable piece of property close into the city. And God's blessed us through our books and other avenues. And we not only tithe our income and we give generously, but we also believe in making good investments. And I was praying and debating whether we should buy this property, and I thought, you know what? We don't really need two acres to live on. We're fine where we are. And down deep I wanted it. It was a desire of my heart. But I kind of felt guilty, like it was more than we needed. One day I was on an airplane 35,000ft in the air. It was a clear, beautiful day. I was sitting by the window looking out toward the ground, and I heard God say something to me. Not out loud, but just down in here, an impression. He said, joel, you wonder if it's okay to buy that property. What do you think those two acres look like to me? What do you think it looks like from my point of view, from my perspective? Well, from where I was 35,000ft in the air, 2 acres looked like a little dot, just like you took your pen and touched the earth. It was nothing. I felt God say, joel, I give you permission. It's okay to have enough land the size of a pinhead. To me see, we think so small, we think limited. God owns it all. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. We have to enlarge our vision so often we think, is it wrong for me to want to live in a nice house? Is it wrong for me to want a bigger piece of property? Is it selfish for me to want to drive a nice car? Is it okay for me to want to bless my children and leave them an inheritance? God is saying, it's okay. Wear your blessings well. As long as you're keeping God first place and you're not living selfishly and you're not making those things an idol, then God wants to give you the desires of your heart. He takes pleasure in prospering his children. I was talking to a young man after the service not long ago. He works for this major retail company, and he'd just gotten a big promotion. In fact, he's the youngest person to ever hold this position in this company. He oversees the largest region of the country. And he was very excited. He knew it was God's favor. But he got promoted over people that had been there much longer than him, that had much more experience. They had been his friends, but now they were sort of avoiding him, starting to talk behind his back, starting to try to make him look bad. He said, joel, I know this is Ephesians 3:20, this is just what you've been talking about, but I feel kind of guilty, like I've done something wrong. I told him what I'm telling you. That is the goodness of God where it willed favor is not always fair. The scripture says, promotion doesn't come from people. Promotion comes from the Lord. And if you don't step up and wear that blessing, take that promotion with a grateful attitude, you know what will happen? God will Give it to somebody else. And I've learned some people will be your friend until you get promoted. Some people will go to lunch with you as long as you're at the same level. But the moment you see Increase, the moment you come into a handful on purpose, they get jealous and critical. Try to make you look bad. Listen, don't worry about it. God will fight your battles. God will take care of your enemies. You don't let anything make you feel guilty, embarrassed, ashamed. That's the goodness of God. Learn to wear it well. We see an example of this in the scripture. One time, Isaac was in a famine. There had been a great drought in the land for some time. Didn't look like there was any end in sight. Isaac went out to his land and he planted crops right in the middle of the famine. Didn't make any sense. But somehow in that same year, without the proper amount of water, the scripture says Isaac received 100 times what he had sown because the Lord blessed him. Notice where the blessing came from? Almighty God. It was a handful on purpose, just like Ruth. Supernatural increase. But what's interesting is when his crops came up, when God blessed him, the people he was living around, the Philistines, his friends, all of a sudden, they got jealous of him. It's funny. They were fine before. As long as he was broke, they were tight. As long as they were at the same level, it was no big deal. But when he stepped up to a new level, when he began to wear his blessings, well, the scripture says the Philistines hated Isaac. If you worry about everybody liking you, you're going to have a problem being blessed. Because when you're blessed, the haters come out. When you step up to a new level, the backbiters show up. When you wear that blessing and you take one of those handfuls on purpose, don't be surprised if it draws jealousy out of people. And we got to get to the point where we say, not arrogantly, but in humility, I'm going to wear this blessing. Well, in spite of who doesn't like it, I'm going to take this promotion. In spite of who gets jealous, I'm going to drive this car. In spite of who criticizes, I'm going to move into this neighborhood. In spite of who judges me. Friends, life is way too short to worry about what everybody thinks. If your friends get jealous and judge you and are critical, let me tell you, you need some new friends. Because true friends celebrate you. True friends cheer you on. True friends are happy when you succeed. What would have happened if Ruth would have worried about what everybody thought. What if she would have said, I can't take these handfuls on purpose. I can't take this wheat for free. These other workers are having to work for it. They're going to be jealous. They're going to have an attitude. They're going to talk bad about me. No, she understood this principle, that favor is not always fair. She didn't apologize for it. She didn't try to hide the wheat and run off. No, she said, like David, this is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. In other words, she wore her blessing well. Friend of mine was here the other day, and he pastors a church in another state. They meet in a high school auditorium. So every Sunday they have to move their equipment in and out. It's a lot of work. His dream is to one day build his own auditorium. We were in the back. At first I thought, I am not going to go show him our sanctuary. That is going to look like I'm bragging. It's too big. He's not going to be impressed by it. He's going to be depressed by it. I was tempted to downplay it and kind of apologize for it. Then I realized, I'm not bragging on us. I'm bragging on what God has done. I had to shake off that guilt, and I brought him out here and said, here it is. Look what the Lord has done. Before he left, I reminded him, if God did it for us, he can do it for you as well. Don't apologize for God's goodness. See, I realize the reason I'm standing here is because I have parents that sowed seeds for 40 years before I ever got here, reaping the rewards of a generational blessing. My grandmother on my father's side during the Great depression, she made 10 cents an hour washing people's clothes. She worked 12 hours a day, made a dollar and 20 cents. My father went to school with holes in his pants, and he would put cardboard in the bottom of his shoes because those shoes were so torn up. They made great sacrifices to get us where we are today. I'm going to wear my blessings. Well, people may criticize, they may judge you, they may find fault, but they don't know what it took to get you to where you are. They weren't there when we used to come down as a family when I was a little boy and sweep the church out, clean the buildings. They weren't there when my father used to travel for several weeks at A time overseas doing missionary work when my mother taking care of five children on her own, they weren't there. When my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer and we fought the good fight of faith, they weren't there. When my father went to be with the Lord and I stepped up to pastor the church, practically scared to death. Some people come in at the end of the movie and they see you blessed and prosperous and healthy and sober and free and happy. And they want to judge you and criticize. But the problem is they missed the first part. They didn't see the sacrifices that your relatives made. They didn't see the struggles that you endured. They didn't see the battles that you fought, the times you felt like giving up, but you kept pressing forward. The nights that you stayed up and prayed and believed and gave and served. They didn't see the price that was paid to get you to where you are. And that blessing may look free, but the truth is it cost you something. Like Ruth, that handful of purpose. It came after she buried her husband, after her father in law had died. She had suffered great heartache and pain. And I'm sure some of those workers said, hey, it's not fair. Why is this lady getting all this free wheat and we're having to work? They didn't realize Ruth had paid the price. She had proven herself as being faithful. She was taking care of her loved ones. Now God was rewarding her. Some of you, your relatives were treated like they were second class, made to sit in the back of the bus, suffered great injustice the whole time, believing for a better day, hoping, praying, singing songs of freedom. Now you are living in the day they dreamed of. Wear their blessing well. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty. Favor the honor, the joy, the peace, the victory that God has given you. Somebody paid the price. Seeds were sown. If you could look back in your family line and see the sacrifices that people made by doing the right thing, when it was hard, when it was unfair, then you would make sure that nothing kept you from wearing your blessings. Well, the scripture talks about this. It says we will live in houses that we did not build. We will reap from vineyards that we did not plant. Those are generational blessings. God rewarding us for the seeds other people have sown. My grandmother that made 10 cents an hour, today I'm wearing her blessings. Well, my grandfather on my mom's side, he worked at the Baytown Exxon refinery for 35 years and never missed a single day of work. Today I'm reaping from the seeds that he has sown. Sometimes when we stumble into that handful on purpose, God gives us something we don't deserve. What we don't realize is somebody in our family line sowed seeds. Every act of kindness, every time one of your relatives sacrificed and honored God, God saw it. They may not have reaped a reward in their lifetime, but God is faithful. He doesn't forget about it. Now, when you run into one of those handfuls on purpose, that's God honoring your past, blessing you for seeds that people have sown before you. And again, I know the reason I'm here is for 40 years, my parents served and gave and helped others. I hear reports all the time. Joel, your dad came up to the hospital and prayed for my loved one. Your mother called my friend when she was so sick and encouraged her. Your parents came to our home when we lost one of our relatives again and again. Just last week, a gentleman stopped me and told me how my father bumped into him on a downtown street here in Houston. This was back in the 1970s, and my dad didn't know this young man. And this young man was at one of the lowest points in his life. He had just dropped out of school, didn't have any direction. But my father came up to him and gave him $100. And he said, young man, I don't know you, but God's got a great plan for your life. You keep moving forward. That was a turning point in his life. He went back to school, got his education. Today he's a medical doctor, got a very successful practice. You know, listen, when I wear my blessings well, I'm not only honoring God. I'm honoring my earthly father who gave his life to help others. I'm honoring my mother who has cared for so many. I'm honoring my grandmother that worked tirelessly. I'm honoring my grandfather that gave and served. When you see me standing here, happy, healthy, blessed, prosperous, I make no apologies. It's the goodness of God being passed from generation to generation. I'm not going to downplay it. I'm not going to make excuses. I know God takes pleasure in the prosperity of his children. And our attitude should be not. Look how great I am. Look at what all I have. No, turn it around. Look at how great God is. Look what the Lord has done in my life, in my family, all through the day. We should be bragging on the goodness of God. We may not have deserved it. We didn't earn it many times. It's just another handful on purpose. Favor is not Always fair. Now don't let some negative, judgmental, jealous person or even your own thoughts try to convince you to not wear the blessings God's given you. Drive that nice car. It is the Lord's doing. Live in that beautiful house that God gave you. It's the Lord's doing. Step up and take that promotion. It's the goodness of God. Smile. Even if people make fun of you, don't hide your gift. God gave it to you. Listen, people are always going to talk. That's their problem, not yours. And friends, if you will wear your blessings well, being quick to always give God the credit, then there's no limit to where God will take you. He'll make you an example of what it means to live a blessed, prosperous, abundant life. And I believe and declare you're not going to have an average mediocre get by year. You're going to have an exceptional year filled with God's far and beyond favor, increased promotion and good grace. Come on, give the Lord a shout of praise one more time today. We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Not talking about joining a church or finding religion. Talking about having a relationship with the Creator of the universe. 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. When was the last time you asked God to do something that seemed impossible? If you only pray small ordinary prayers, you'll live a small ordinary lie. I have a new book called Pray Bold. I'll challenge you to stretch your faith and believe for the big things God puts in your heart. Victoria and I used to have season tickets to watch the Rockets play basketball here. We never dreamed it could be ours. But when they moved out, somehow we had the faith to pray a bold prayer. God made things happen that we could never make happen. It's the same for you. Who knows what God will do in your life if you'll dare to pray bold. Ask him for your dreams. Ask for your healing. Ask for your freedom. That's when God will show up and do more than you could ever imagine.