Hi, this is Joel in Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoy 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 each week. We love you and we know God has great things in store for each one of you. And if you're ever in our area, I hope you'll come out and be a part of one of our services. We would love to have you, and I promise you will make you feel right at home. But thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started each week with something kind of funny. And I heard about this minister that was out walking down the street and he came upon this group of young boys that were surrounding a little dog. He asked them what they were doing, and they explained that they were having a contest and whoever could tell the biggest lie would get to keep the dog. And the minister launched into a ten minutes sermon on lying, beginning with don't you know lying is a sin? And ending with when I was your age. I never told a lie. There was complete silence. Just when he thought he had gotten through to them, the youngest boy spoke up and said, all right, give him the dog. 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 staying filled with hope and believing that your time is coming. God has put promises in every one of our hearts. You have dreams and desires, things you want to accomplish, situations you want to see change. But so often because it's taken so long, or because we tried and failed, we went through a disappointment, somebody didn't treat us right now, we've given up on those dreams. We've gotten complacent and we're not pursuing what God has put in our hearts. But I want to encourage you today to get your fire back. You have to stay filled with hope. It may be taken a long time, but God is a faithful God, and He's saying, no matter how long it's been, no matter how impossible it looks, if you'll stay in faith, your time is coming. Every dream that's in your heart, every promise that's taken root. God not only put it there, but He has every intention of bringing it to pass. And I want you to have this attitude. My time is coming. I've been giving and giving, haven't seen a lot of results, but that's okay. I know my time is coming. Or I'm living in a small apartment. All my friends have nice homes. I'm not discouraged. I know my time is coming. Or I really want to get married. Haven't met anybody yet, but I know God's in control at the right time. He's gonna bring the right person. My time is coming. This is what hope is all about. Believing that the promise God put in you will come to pass. And I love what David said. I have pitched my tent in the land of hope. Let me ask you where have you pitched your tent? What are you expecting each day? What kind of attitude do you have? Well? Joel I've been praying for my child for five years. I don't think he's ever going to change or everybody on my job gets promoted except me. I tried to start this business, but nobody would help me. No, you pitched your tent in the wrong place. You're not believing for God's blessings in favor. You're not expecting God to turn that around. You need to go dig up your stakes, hack up your belongings, and move out of the land of discouragement. Move out of the not going to happen subdivision, move out of can't do it vil. It's time to leave self pity estates. Get out of those areas and move into a land of hope, a land of faith, a land where you know anything is possible, a place where you know your time is coming. And sometimes you just need something spoken over your life. You need someone to jump start your faith, to breathe new life into your dreams. You may have been through a thousand disappointments in the natural. You may have every reason to give up on what God's put in your heart. But I'm asking you to let this simple phrase take root. Your time is coming. God is in control of your life. He knows exactly where you are. He knows even the hidden dreams he's put in you. The scripture calls them the secret petitions of our heart. Those are the things that you haven't told anybody about. Maybe you thought they would never work out, or you buried them because they didn't happen on your timetable. But God still has a way to bring them to pass. And you need to draw the line into sand and say that's it. I'm done being complacent, I'm done settling for mediocrity. I'm willa believe that every dream, every promise, even the secret petitions of my heart are going to come to fulfillment. When you have this kind of attitude, all the forces of darkness cannot stop God from bringing it to pass. And when you get up in the morning, you're tempted to be discouraged, and the negative thoughts come telling you it's never gonna happen. You're never gonna get married, you're never gonna get out of debt, you're never gonna be happy. This is as good as it gets. Now you have to shake that off and just say, Father, you said the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter. You said, no good thing. Will you withhold because I walk up rightly? You said, because I delight myself in you, you would give me the secret petitions of my heart. So, Father, I want to thank you that you're in control of my life. Good things are in store, and I believe my time is coming. Stay in an attitude of faith and attitude of expectancy. And when you go through unfair circumstances, and we all do. Somebody does you wrong, or you get some bad breaks, don't make the mistake of constantly dwelling on that. Too many people have pitched their tent in the land of self pity. Somebody mistreated them a year ago, five years ago, thirty years ago. They're still allowing it to poison their life. The scripture says here in Zachariah nine, verse twelve, if you will be a prisoner of hope, God will restore back to you double everything that was stolen. That means if somebody does you wrong, instead of getting negative and bitter, your attitude should be they just did me a favor. They just qualified me for double. And I'm gonna believe my time is not only coming, I'm gonna come out with twice the joy twice the peace twice the victory. That's an attitude of hope, an attitude that says I will not be defeated. It may look impossible, but I know God can do the impossible. They may have treated me wrong, I'm not worried. I know God is my vindicator. It may be taking a long time, but in due season, I know I will reap if I just don't give up. This is what Joseph did. He spent thirteen years in prison for something that he didn't do. The whole time though he was faithful, he kept being good to people, he kept a good attitude. How could he have possibly not gotten better. Joseph understood this principle that his time was coming, and some of you, like Joseph, had been through a series of losses. Life hasn't treated you fair, and it's easy to think it's never gonna get any better. This is just my lot in life, and if we're not careful, our own negative thoughts are drawn in more of the negative. It started with one unfair situation, and we perpetuate it by having the wrong mindsets. But I'm asking you today to break out of that rut. You may have been through unfair situations. But it's not over until God says it's over. God always has the final say, and he is a god of justice. God sees every wrong that's ever been done to you. He sees every unfair situation. He says, if you will stay in faith, if you'll keep your hopes up, he will make your wrongs right. He'll bring justice into your life. Your attitude should be. It may have been unfair, they may have done me wrong, but I refuse to get better. I know my time is coming. There's a lady in the scriptures by the name of Naomi. Her name means my joy. So everyone said hello Naomi. They were saying, hello, my Joy, Good morning Naomi, good morning, my Joy. But Naomi went through a series of losses. Her husband died, she was so distraught. Then her sons were killed in battle. All these negative things came against her, and she made the mistake of letting the bitterness get on the inside. She got soured on life. Her attitude was, all my dreams have been shattered. I'm never gonna be happy. Just leave me in my heartache and misery. But friends, that's not God's plan. And sure, it's difficult when we go through a time of loss, and there's a proper time for grieving. But we can't let a season of mourning turn into a lifetime of morning. Naomi got so bitter she actually changed her name tomorrow. Morrow means sorrow. When somebody said, hey, Naomi, how you doing, she said, don't call me that anymore. I don't have any joy, I don't have any hope. Call me by my new name. Now. Every time someone called her morrow, they were simply reminding her of her heartache and pain. Just made her more and more defeated. What am I saying, don't let life change your name. You may have been through unfair situations. Maybe one of your dreams has died, the bottom fell out. Let me assure you God still has a great plan for your life. When one door closes, he will always open up another door. You need to dig your heels in and say I may have been through a lot, but I've come too far to stop now. I refused to get better. I refused to live my life negative. I know God has great things in store. What was the difference between Joseph and Naomi. Joseph knew even though it wasn't fair, even though life dealt him some tough blows. He understood his time was coming. He pitched his tent in the land of hope, David said, and saw him twenty seven. What would have happened to me if I had not believed to see the goodness of God? No matter what comes your way, let this take root. You have to believe you're gonna see God's goodness again. You've got to believe you're gonna see God turn it around. Believe you're gonna see God open up new doors. There's something about a person filled with hope. Now I've learned, when you feel like dying, you gotta talk about living. When you feel like giving up, you gotta talk about pressing forward. When you don't see any way out, you got to talk about how God can make a way. And know this, the enemy always fights you the hardest when he knows God has something great in store. When the bottom falls out, it looks like you hit an all time low and it couldn't get any worse. You don't know what God has around the corner. That's not the time to get better. That's not the time to get negative. That's the time to put your shoulders back and just boldly declare it. My time is coming. I am a victor and not a victim. I read about this man. He was out on his boat and a big storm arose and his boat capsized, and long story short, he ended up on a deserted island all by himself. And week after week went by, and he was so miserable, so distraught, he didn't think he would ever be found. He prayed and prayed, but it seemed like the heavens were silent. Nothing got any better. In fact, just when he thought he couldn't get any worse, while he was out one day trying to find some food, when he came back, he noticed the little thatched rufe hut that he had built somehow had caught on fire. He just sat there and watched it go up in flames. It was like pouring salt on his wounds. He said, God, I give up. I asked you to help me, but one bad thing after another happens to me. So down, so discouraged. Well. About an hour later, the coastguard showed up to rescue him. He couldn't believe it. He was thrilled. He said, how in the world did you find me? They said, we saw the smoke coming from the fire that you build. My point is, sometimes what looks like a disappointment to us is simply God getting us in position to go to a new level. And if it looks like if you feel like your hut's on fire today, instead of getting negative and bitter, why don't you get a different perspective, Why don't you get a bigger view and believe that God's gonna somehow, some way turn that around and use it to your advantage. But some of you, kind of like Naomi, you feel like your light has been put on hold. You've had so much come against you, so many things aren't working out. That's when those negative thoughts come telling you it's never gonna change, it's never gonna get any better, you're never gonna get well, You're never gonna be happy. Now, don't believe that never lies. God is saying your time is coming. Joseph waited thirteen years. It looked impossible in the natural. He didn't have a chance, but God still had a plan. Even in prison. The people Joseph was good too. They said that they would help him, but when they got out, they forgot all about him. Maybe you were counting on somebody to give you breaks. You were good to them, you went out of your way to help them succeed, but when you needed help, there were nowhere to be found. But understand your destiny is not tied to them. Don't be discouraged because somebody walked away. Don't be bitter toward a boss, a business associate, a friend that got promoted and forgot all about you. You don't need them to succeed. God already has the right people lined up to come into your life. He already has your divine connections. You just stay in and God will get you to where you need to be. In the scripture, there's a man by the name of Simeon. One day God told him, you will not die until you see the birth of Christ. He didn't understand it all, but he let that promise take root deep down on the inside. He didn't tell anybody about it. It was just between him and God. Some commentaries say that he waited up to twenty years. I can imagine the older he got, the more he was tempted to think, I must not have heard God right. It's never gonna happen. It's been five years, been ten years. No. Simeon had to do just what I'm asking us to do. When those negative thoughts came, he had to shake it off and say, no, my time is coming. The promises in me. God put it in my heart, and I will not go to my grave until I see it fulfilled. He got up every morning hoping, believe, in expecting. Sure enough, some twenty years later he saw that promise come to pass. And I believe God has spoken something like that to every one of us. Deep down on the inside. You have dreams that you know are gonna come to pass before you leave this earth. It may be a promise that a child is going to get back on the right path. But it's been five years, ten years, fifteen years. It's good to do what Simeon did. Just remind God, God, you put this promise in me that as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And I believe I will not go to my grave until I see my whole family serving you. Maybe God's put a promise in you that one day you're gonna get married. You've been through some disappointment, some broken relationships, and you're getting a little older, and you're attempted to think it's not gonna happen. No, God's already got the right person picked out, and you're never too old. Last week I met a couple in their nineties. They had just gotten married. They were here on their honeymoon. And I know, I know you don't want to wait till your nineties. I'm just giving you the worst case scenario. I heard about this eighty five year old woman. She went on a blind date with a ninety two year old man. She came home very frustrated and her daughter said, Mom, what's wrong. She said, I had to slap him three times. The daughter said, you mean he tried to get fresh. She said, no, I thought he was dead. God has the right person picked out for you, not that man. Just stay in faith, Navy. God's put a promise in you that one day you're gonna write a book. One day you're gonna be in management, one day you're gonna have a successful business. One day you're gonna have a ministry. But now, like Simeon, everything's trying to tell you why it's not going to happen. Are you're getting too old, you don't have the right connections, You made too many mistakes. Sometimes the more we believe, the more we pray. The less likely it looks, and it's easy to get complacent and to let the seed die still born. But I'm asking you to do what Simeon did, no matter how long it's been, no matter how tempted you are, to get discouraged, get up every morning and just to clear it by faith. My time is coming, the promises in me, and I will not die until I see it come to pass. Well, Joel, I've been giving. I've been tithing my income from ten years. I don't see anything happening now. God is saying, stay faithful, your time is coming. Well, I've been working at this job for twenty years, showing up early, giving it my best. I never get promoted. No, don't get better, don't get negative. You're not working under man, You're working under God. And if you'll keep the right attitude, your time of promotion is coming. God's keeping the records. He sees every seed you've ever sewn, and what you so you will reap. The scripture talks about when you're so in tears, you will reap enjoy. That means the so in seasons are usually the most difficult. It's hard to keep a good attitude when all your friends are being blessed, but you're not. And on top of that, they don't work as hard as you do. They don't give like you, they don't serve like you. That's a time of testing. It's hard to go through disappointments. Have people do us wrong, and stay positive and hopeful and be good back to them. Those are seasons of sewing. And if you'll do the right thing, even when it's hard, when you sow in tears, you will always reap in joy. I'm asking you to have a new attitude towards what God's put in your heart. Maybe taken a long time, but God still has a plan to bring it to pass. And if Simeon we're standing before us today, he said, don't give up on that promise. Your time is coming. You need to let that sink deep down on the inside. Some of you thought it was over. Some of you thought you made too many mistakes. Sir, you thought you're getting too old. But God is saying this is your season. Keep your faith stirred up. I think about Moses. God put a promise in him that he would deliver the people of Israel, but he made a major mistake. He killed somebody and had to run for his life. Forty years went by. It looked like he was done, seemed like it was over. But understand, God never aborts a dream. We may give up on it, we may delay it, but the seed God put in you never dies. All it takes is for you to start believing once again. When Moses was eighty years old, God came back and said, Moses, it's your time now. Forty years later. You may have made mistakes, maybe you've blown some good opportunities, joined the crowd y'all have. The good news is God never disqualifies us. God never writes us off. Well, you said, Joey, you don't know what I've done. You don't know the life I've lived. You don't know the people I've heard. No, nothing you've done is too much for the mercy of God. If you get knocked down, all you gotta do is get back up again, don't stay down. I love the fact that God's mercy doesn't count us out, It counts us in. If you've ever watched a boxing match where one of the boxers gets knocked down, the referee comes over and counts to ten, one, two, three, all the way up to eight, nine, ten, you're out, you're done, you're disqualified. But God's mercy is just the opposite. When we get knocked down, when we make a mistake. God comes over and counts ten, nine, eight, all the way down to three two one. God says, not you're out. He says, all right, get back up again. It's time to begin again. Mercy counts us in, doesn't count us out. Some of you today, your time is not coming. Your time is already here. You've sown into so many others. You've been faithful day in and day out. You've done the right thing when the wrong thing was happening. Just like Joseph, God is saying it's your time. Now. You're entering into a new season. You may have had a lot of great things happen in the past, but you haven't seen anything yet. Your best days are not behind you. They are still out in front of you. For some of you, it's gonna be a new season of increase, a new season of promotion, a new season of blessing. For others, it's gonna be a time of vindication, a time where God's gonna make your wrongs right. Where like Joseph, He's gonna bring justice into your life. For some of you, it's gonna be a time of supernatural strength where you'll be able to break addictions, break bad habits, break wrong mind sets. For some of you, it's gonna be a time where those hidden dreams that you've had buried for years will begin to come to pass. God will open up new opportunities. He will begin to bring the right people across your path. It's because you've been faithful, because you've been a prisoner of hope, You're gonna enter into a new season of victory. You may have been through a lot of unfair things, maybe you've had a lot of heartache and pain, but let me declare over you, you will give birth to more in the future than you've lost in the past. Even the secret petitions of your heart. God's gonna bring them to fulfill me. Well, you say, Joel, that sounds great and not love for it to happen to me. But I've been through so many disappointments. I just don't see how. No, the seed is not going to take root with that kind of attitude. You gotta rise up and say, hey, you know what this is for me, I'm entering into a new season and with my faith. I'm gonna ignite this moment with my faith. I'm gonna ignite the dream on the inside. Scripture talks about how we have to fan the flame. Moses at eighty years old saw his time come. Joseph, after thirteen years of being done wrong, saw his time come. If God did it for them, he can do it for you. Keep your faith stirred up. You've served others, You've given generously, You've sacrificed your time, and that's great. That's what life is all about. But understand, God rewards obedience. When you obey, there's always a blessing that will follow. And if you will let this seed take root and go out expecting good things, believing that God's working in your life, believing that those promises will come to pass. If you do that, you will see God's goodness in a greater way. I think about Peter. One time he was in the boat with all the other disciples and they saw Jesus come walking up on the water. Why did Peter want to get out? Why did he all of a sudden think he could do that? Well, you said, gee, it's because he had seen Jesus open the blind eyes and cleanse the lepers and do all those miraculous things. Yes, that's true, but the other disciples in the boat had seen the same things. Why didn't they want to get out? It's because Peter understood it was his time. He stirred his faith up. He ignited that moment and believed he could do what God put in his heart. Jesus said, Peter, you want to get out of the boat. He said, yes, I do. He said, well get out. Peter stepped out of the boat and he walked on the water. Well, you say, yeah, Joel, but he sank, he went under. Yeah, but he walked more than me and you, some of you today, you need to have that same kind of boldness. Don't just believe that your time is coming. Start believing that your time is here. All the dreams that you buried, those desires that you thought would never work out, It's time to start believing again. You need to have the attitude. It's my time to come up to a new level. I've seen it happen for others, but it's my time to see God's blessings in favor. It's my time to accomplish my dreams. It's my time to break these addictions. So I'm not gonna sit around wishing it would happen anymore, bitter, hurt, jealous. No, I'm not changing my name. I don't have time for any of that. This is my season of increase, this is my season of promotion, my season of blessing. If you do that, you're saying in effact what Peter said, God, can I come with you? I believe it's my time. Now. You notice what Jesus said. He didn't say, Peter, stay in that boat. Don't you know I'm the son of God. No, he said Peter. I like your attitude of faith. I like the fact you believe you can do great things. That tells me it's your time now. Every one of us has dreams in our heart that we haven't seen come to pass. Let's stay filled with hope. Don't get complacent and think it's never to happen. No, right now, behind the scenes in your life, God is arranging things in your favor. Right now, I believe the chains of mediocrity, the chains of failure, the chains of lack, the chains of addiction are being broken off of us. It may look like your dream has died, that the good news is God can resurrect that dead dream. He did it for Moses, he can do it for you. I want some prisoners of hope. I want you to know, deep down on the inside, no matter where you are in life, your time is coming. Get up every morning and declare it by faith. If you do that, you won't be disappointed. I believe, like Simeon, before you leave this earth, you'll see every dream, every desire. God will bring them to pass. He'll pour out his blessings in favor, and you're gonna live the life of victory he has in story. Amen, do you receive it today? We never like to close our broadcasts without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say Lord, Jesus, I'll 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 gonna take your places you've never dreamed of. Thank you for listening to the joel OUs Deein podcast. Help us continue to share the message of hope with those all over the world. Visit joel OUs deein dot com slash give hope to give a gift today. Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you next time.

Hi, this is Joel in Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoy 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 each week. We love you and we know God has great things in store for each one of you. And if you're ever in our area, I hope you'll come out and be a part of one of our services. We would love to have you, and I promise you will make you feel right at home. But thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started each week with something kind of funny. And I heard about this minister that was out walking down the street and he came upon this group of young boys that were surrounding a little dog. He asked them what they were doing, and they explained that they were having a contest and whoever could tell the biggest lie would get to keep the dog. And the minister launched into a ten minutes sermon on lying, beginning with don't you know lying is a sin? And ending with when I was your age. I never told a lie. There was complete silence. Just when he thought he had gotten through to them, the youngest boy spoke up and said, all right, give him the dog. 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 staying filled with hope and believing that your time is coming. God has put promises in every one of our hearts. You have dreams and desires, things you want to accomplish, situations you want to see change. But so often because it's taken so long, or because we tried and failed, we went through a disappointment, somebody didn't treat us right now, we've given up on those dreams. We've gotten complacent and we're not pursuing what God has put in our hearts. But I want to encourage you today to get your fire back. You have to stay filled with hope. It may be taken a long time, but God is a faithful God, and He's saying, no matter how long it's been, no matter how impossible it looks, if you'll stay in faith, your time is coming. Every dream that's in your heart, every promise that's taken root. God not only put it there, but He has every intention of bringing it to pass. And I want you to have this attitude. My time is coming. I've been giving and giving, haven't seen a lot of results, but that's okay. I know my time is coming. Or I'm living in a small apartment. All my friends have nice homes. I'm not discouraged. I know my time is coming. Or I really want to get married. Haven't met anybody yet, but I know God's in control at the right time. He's gonna bring the right person. My time is coming. This is what hope is all about. Believing that the promise God put in you will come to pass. And I love what David said. I have pitched my tent in the land of hope. Let me ask you where have you pitched your tent? What are you expecting each day? What kind of attitude do you have? Well? Joel I've been praying for my child for five years. I don't think he's ever going to change or everybody on my job gets promoted except me. I tried to start this business, but nobody would help me. No, you pitched your tent in the wrong place. You're not believing for God's blessings in favor. You're not expecting God to turn that around. You need to go dig up your stakes, hack up your belongings, and move out of the land of discouragement. Move out of the not going to happen subdivision, move out of can't do it vil. It's time to leave self pity estates. Get out of those areas and move into a land of hope, a land of faith, a land where you know anything is possible, a place where you know your time is coming. And sometimes you just need something spoken over your life. You need someone to jump start your faith, to breathe new life into your dreams. You may have been through a thousand disappointments in the natural. You may have every reason to give up on what God's put in your heart. But I'm asking you to let this simple phrase take root. Your time is coming. God is in control of your life. He knows exactly where you are. He knows even the hidden dreams he's put in you. The scripture calls them the secret petitions of our heart. Those are the things that you haven't told anybody about. Maybe you thought they would never work out, or you buried them because they didn't happen on your timetable. But God still has a way to bring them to pass. And you need to draw the line into sand and say that's it. I'm done being complacent, I'm done settling for mediocrity. I'm willa believe that every dream, every promise, even the secret petitions of my heart are going to come to fulfillment. When you have this kind of attitude, all the forces of darkness cannot stop God from bringing it to pass. And when you get up in the morning, you're tempted to be discouraged, and the negative thoughts come telling you it's never gonna happen. You're never gonna get married, you're never gonna get out of debt, you're never gonna be happy. This is as good as it gets. Now you have to shake that off and just say, Father, you said the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter. You said, no good thing. Will you withhold because I walk up rightly? You said, because I delight myself in you, you would give me the secret petitions of my heart. So, Father, I want to thank you that you're in control of my life. Good things are in store, and I believe my time is coming. Stay in an attitude of faith and attitude of expectancy. And when you go through unfair circumstances, and we all do. Somebody does you wrong, or you get some bad breaks, don't make the mistake of constantly dwelling on that. Too many people have pitched their tent in the land of self pity. Somebody mistreated them a year ago, five years ago, thirty years ago. They're still allowing it to poison their life. The scripture says here in Zachariah nine, verse twelve, if you will be a prisoner of hope, God will restore back to you double everything that was stolen. That means if somebody does you wrong, instead of getting negative and bitter, your attitude should be they just did me a favor. They just qualified me for double. And I'm gonna believe my time is not only coming, I'm gonna come out with twice the joy twice the peace twice the victory. That's an attitude of hope, an attitude that says I will not be defeated. It may look impossible, but I know God can do the impossible. They may have treated me wrong, I'm not worried. I know God is my vindicator. It may be taking a long time, but in due season, I know I will reap if I just don't give up. This is what Joseph did. He spent thirteen years in prison for something that he didn't do. The whole time though he was faithful, he kept being good to people, he kept a good attitude. How could he have possibly not gotten better. Joseph understood this principle that his time was coming, and some of you, like Joseph, had been through a series of losses. Life hasn't treated you fair, and it's easy to think it's never gonna get any better. This is just my lot in life, and if we're not careful, our own negative thoughts are drawn in more of the negative. It started with one unfair situation, and we perpetuate it by having the wrong mindsets. But I'm asking you today to break out of that rut. You may have been through unfair situations. But it's not over until God says it's over. God always has the final say, and he is a god of justice. God sees every wrong that's ever been done to you. He sees every unfair situation. He says, if you will stay in faith, if you'll keep your hopes up, he will make your wrongs right. He'll bring justice into your life. Your attitude should be. It may have been unfair, they may have done me wrong, but I refuse to get better. I know my time is coming. There's a lady in the scriptures by the name of Naomi. Her name means my joy. So everyone said hello Naomi. They were saying, hello, my Joy, Good morning Naomi, good morning, my Joy. But Naomi went through a series of losses. Her husband died, she was so distraught. Then her sons were killed in battle. All these negative things came against her, and she made the mistake of letting the bitterness get on the inside. She got soured on life. Her attitude was, all my dreams have been shattered. I'm never gonna be happy. Just leave me in my heartache and misery. But friends, that's not God's plan. And sure, it's difficult when we go through a time of loss, and there's a proper time for grieving. But we can't let a season of mourning turn into a lifetime of morning. Naomi got so bitter she actually changed her name tomorrow. Morrow means sorrow. When somebody said, hey, Naomi, how you doing, she said, don't call me that anymore. I don't have any joy, I don't have any hope. Call me by my new name. Now. Every time someone called her morrow, they were simply reminding her of her heartache and pain. Just made her more and more defeated. What am I saying, don't let life change your name. You may have been through unfair situations. Maybe one of your dreams has died, the bottom fell out. Let me assure you God still has a great plan for your life. When one door closes, he will always open up another door. You need to dig your heels in and say I may have been through a lot, but I've come too far to stop now. I refused to get better. I refused to live my life negative. I know God has great things in store. What was the difference between Joseph and Naomi. Joseph knew even though it wasn't fair, even though life dealt him some tough blows. He understood his time was coming. He pitched his tent in the land of hope, David said, and saw him twenty seven. What would have happened to me if I had not believed to see the goodness of God? No matter what comes your way, let this take root. You have to believe you're gonna see God's goodness again. You've got to believe you're gonna see God turn it around. Believe you're gonna see God open up new doors. There's something about a person filled with hope. Now I've learned, when you feel like dying, you gotta talk about living. When you feel like giving up, you gotta talk about pressing forward. When you don't see any way out, you got to talk about how God can make a way. And know this, the enemy always fights you the hardest when he knows God has something great in store. When the bottom falls out, it looks like you hit an all time low and it couldn't get any worse. You don't know what God has around the corner. That's not the time to get better. That's not the time to get negative. That's the time to put your shoulders back and just boldly declare it. My time is coming. I am a victor and not a victim. I read about this man. He was out on his boat and a big storm arose and his boat capsized, and long story short, he ended up on a deserted island all by himself. And week after week went by, and he was so miserable, so distraught, he didn't think he would ever be found. He prayed and prayed, but it seemed like the heavens were silent. Nothing got any better. In fact, just when he thought he couldn't get any worse, while he was out one day trying to find some food, when he came back, he noticed the little thatched rufe hut that he had built somehow had caught on fire. He just sat there and watched it go up in flames. It was like pouring salt on his wounds. He said, God, I give up. I asked you to help me, but one bad thing after another happens to me. So down, so discouraged. Well. About an hour later, the coastguard showed up to rescue him. He couldn't believe it. He was thrilled. He said, how in the world did you find me? They said, we saw the smoke coming from the fire that you build. My point is, sometimes what looks like a disappointment to us is simply God getting us in position to go to a new level. And if it looks like if you feel like your hut's on fire today, instead of getting negative and bitter, why don't you get a different perspective, Why don't you get a bigger view and believe that God's gonna somehow, some way turn that around and use it to your advantage. But some of you, kind of like Naomi, you feel like your light has been put on hold. You've had so much come against you, so many things aren't working out. That's when those negative thoughts come telling you it's never gonna change, it's never gonna get any better, you're never gonna get well, You're never gonna be happy. Now, don't believe that never lies. God is saying your time is coming. Joseph waited thirteen years. It looked impossible in the natural. He didn't have a chance, but God still had a plan. Even in prison. The people Joseph was good too. They said that they would help him, but when they got out, they forgot all about him. Maybe you were counting on somebody to give you breaks. You were good to them, you went out of your way to help them succeed, but when you needed help, there were nowhere to be found. But understand your destiny is not tied to them. Don't be discouraged because somebody walked away. Don't be bitter toward a boss, a business associate, a friend that got promoted and forgot all about you. You don't need them to succeed. God already has the right people lined up to come into your life. He already has your divine connections. You just stay in and God will get you to where you need to be. In the scripture, there's a man by the name of Simeon. One day God told him, you will not die until you see the birth of Christ. He didn't understand it all, but he let that promise take root deep down on the inside. He didn't tell anybody about it. It was just between him and God. Some commentaries say that he waited up to twenty years. I can imagine the older he got, the more he was tempted to think, I must not have heard God right. It's never gonna happen. It's been five years, been ten years. No. Simeon had to do just what I'm asking us to do. When those negative thoughts came, he had to shake it off and say, no, my time is coming. The promises in me. God put it in my heart, and I will not go to my grave until I see it fulfilled. He got up every morning hoping, believe, in expecting. Sure enough, some twenty years later he saw that promise come to pass. And I believe God has spoken something like that to every one of us. Deep down on the inside. You have dreams that you know are gonna come to pass before you leave this earth. It may be a promise that a child is going to get back on the right path. But it's been five years, ten years, fifteen years. It's good to do what Simeon did. Just remind God, God, you put this promise in me that as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And I believe I will not go to my grave until I see my whole family serving you. Maybe God's put a promise in you that one day you're gonna get married. You've been through some disappointment, some broken relationships, and you're getting a little older, and you're attempted to think it's not gonna happen. No, God's already got the right person picked out, and you're never too old. Last week I met a couple in their nineties. They had just gotten married. They were here on their honeymoon. And I know, I know you don't want to wait till your nineties. I'm just giving you the worst case scenario. I heard about this eighty five year old woman. She went on a blind date with a ninety two year old man. She came home very frustrated and her daughter said, Mom, what's wrong. She said, I had to slap him three times. The daughter said, you mean he tried to get fresh. She said, no, I thought he was dead. God has the right person picked out for you, not that man. Just stay in faith, Navy. God's put a promise in you that one day you're gonna write a book. One day you're gonna be in management, one day you're gonna have a successful business. One day you're gonna have a ministry. But now, like Simeon, everything's trying to tell you why it's not going to happen. Are you're getting too old, you don't have the right connections, You made too many mistakes. Sometimes the more we believe, the more we pray. The less likely it looks, and it's easy to get complacent and to let the seed die still born. But I'm asking you to do what Simeon did, no matter how long it's been, no matter how tempted you are, to get discouraged, get up every morning and just to clear it by faith. My time is coming, the promises in me, and I will not die until I see it come to pass. Well, Joel, I've been giving. I've been tithing my income from ten years. I don't see anything happening now. God is saying, stay faithful, your time is coming. Well, I've been working at this job for twenty years, showing up early, giving it my best. I never get promoted. No, don't get better, don't get negative. You're not working under man, You're working under God. And if you'll keep the right attitude, your time of promotion is coming. God's keeping the records. He sees every seed you've ever sewn, and what you so you will reap. The scripture talks about when you're so in tears, you will reap enjoy. That means the so in seasons are usually the most difficult. It's hard to keep a good attitude when all your friends are being blessed, but you're not. And on top of that, they don't work as hard as you do. They don't give like you, they don't serve like you. That's a time of testing. It's hard to go through disappointments. Have people do us wrong, and stay positive and hopeful and be good back to them. Those are seasons of sewing. And if you'll do the right thing, even when it's hard, when you sow in tears, you will always reap in joy. I'm asking you to have a new attitude towards what God's put in your heart. Maybe taken a long time, but God still has a plan to bring it to pass. And if Simeon we're standing before us today, he said, don't give up on that promise. Your time is coming. You need to let that sink deep down on the inside. Some of you thought it was over. Some of you thought you made too many mistakes. Sir, you thought you're getting too old. But God is saying this is your season. Keep your faith stirred up. I think about Moses. God put a promise in him that he would deliver the people of Israel, but he made a major mistake. He killed somebody and had to run for his life. Forty years went by. It looked like he was done, seemed like it was over. But understand, God never aborts a dream. We may give up on it, we may delay it, but the seed God put in you never dies. All it takes is for you to start believing once again. When Moses was eighty years old, God came back and said, Moses, it's your time now. Forty years later. You may have made mistakes, maybe you've blown some good opportunities, joined the crowd y'all have. The good news is God never disqualifies us. God never writes us off. Well, you said, Joey, you don't know what I've done. You don't know the life I've lived. You don't know the people I've heard. No, nothing you've done is too much for the mercy of God. If you get knocked down, all you gotta do is get back up again, don't stay down. I love the fact that God's mercy doesn't count us out, It counts us in. If you've ever watched a boxing match where one of the boxers gets knocked down, the referee comes over and counts to ten, one, two, three, all the way up to eight, nine, ten, you're out, you're done, you're disqualified. But God's mercy is just the opposite. When we get knocked down, when we make a mistake. God comes over and counts ten, nine, eight, all the way down to three two one. God says, not you're out. He says, all right, get back up again. It's time to begin again. Mercy counts us in, doesn't count us out. Some of you today, your time is not coming. Your time is already here. You've sown into so many others. You've been faithful day in and day out. You've done the right thing when the wrong thing was happening. Just like Joseph, God is saying it's your time. Now. You're entering into a new season. You may have had a lot of great things happen in the past, but you haven't seen anything yet. Your best days are not behind you. They are still out in front of you. For some of you, it's gonna be a new season of increase, a new season of promotion, a new season of blessing. For others, it's gonna be a time of vindication, a time where God's gonna make your wrongs right. Where like Joseph, He's gonna bring justice into your life. For some of you, it's gonna be a time of supernatural strength where you'll be able to break addictions, break bad habits, break wrong mind sets. For some of you, it's gonna be a time where those hidden dreams that you've had buried for years will begin to come to pass. God will open up new opportunities. He will begin to bring the right people across your path. It's because you've been faithful, because you've been a prisoner of hope, You're gonna enter into a new season of victory. You may have been through a lot of unfair things, maybe you've had a lot of heartache and pain, but let me declare over you, you will give birth to more in the future than you've lost in the past. Even the secret petitions of your heart. God's gonna bring them to fulfill me. Well, you say, Joel, that sounds great and not love for it to happen to me. But I've been through so many disappointments. I just don't see how. No, the seed is not going to take root with that kind of attitude. You gotta rise up and say, hey, you know what this is for me, I'm entering into a new season and with my faith. I'm gonna ignite this moment with my faith. I'm gonna ignite the dream on the inside. Scripture talks about how we have to fan the flame. Moses at eighty years old saw his time come. Joseph, after thirteen years of being done wrong, saw his time come. If God did it for them, he can do it for you. Keep your faith stirred up. You've served others, You've given generously, You've sacrificed your time, and that's great. That's what life is all about. But understand, God rewards obedience. When you obey, there's always a blessing that will follow. And if you will let this seed take root and go out expecting good things, believing that God's working in your life, believing that those promises will come to pass. If you do that, you will see God's goodness in a greater way. I think about Peter. One time he was in the boat with all the other disciples and they saw Jesus come walking up on the water. Why did Peter want to get out? Why did he all of a sudden think he could do that? Well, you said, gee, it's because he had seen Jesus open the blind eyes and cleanse the lepers and do all those miraculous things. Yes, that's true, but the other disciples in the boat had seen the same things. Why didn't they want to get out? It's because Peter understood it was his time. He stirred his faith up. He ignited that moment and believed he could do what God put in his heart. Jesus said, Peter, you want to get out of the boat. He said, yes, I do. He said, well get out. Peter stepped out of the boat and he walked on the water. Well, you say, yeah, Joel, but he sank, he went under. Yeah, but he walked more than me and you, some of you today, you need to have that same kind of boldness. Don't just believe that your time is coming. Start believing that your time is here. All the dreams that you buried, those desires that you thought would never work out, It's time to start believing again. You need to have the attitude. It's my time to come up to a new level. I've seen it happen for others, but it's my time to see God's blessings in favor. It's my time to accomplish my dreams. It's my time to break these addictions. So I'm not gonna sit around wishing it would happen anymore, bitter, hurt, jealous. No, I'm not changing my name. I don't have time for any of that. This is my season of increase, this is my season of promotion, my season of blessing. If you do that, you're saying in effact what Peter said, God, can I come with you? I believe it's my time. Now. You notice what Jesus said. He didn't say, Peter, stay in that boat. Don't you know I'm the son of God. No, he said Peter. I like your attitude of faith. I like the fact you believe you can do great things. That tells me it's your time now. Every one of us has dreams in our heart that we haven't seen come to pass. Let's stay filled with hope. Don't get complacent and think it's never to happen. No, right now, behind the scenes in your life, God is arranging things in your favor. Right now, I believe the chains of mediocrity, the chains of failure, the chains of lack, the chains of addiction are being broken off of us. It may look like your dream has died, that the good news is God can resurrect that dead dream. He did it for Moses, he can do it for you. I want some prisoners of hope. I want you to know, deep down on the inside, no matter where you are in life, your time is coming. Get up every morning and declare it by faith. If you do that, you won't be disappointed. I believe, like Simeon, before you leave this earth, you'll see every dream, every desire. God will bring them to pass. He'll pour out his blessings in favor, and you're gonna live the life of victory he has in story. Amen, do you receive it today? We never like to close our broadcasts without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say Lord, Jesus, I'll 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 gonna take your places you've never dreamed of. Thank you for listening to the joel OUs Deein podcast. Help us continue to share the message of hope with those all over the world. Visit joel OUs deein dot com slash give hope to give a gift today. Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you next time.