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Start a show together with your included Paramount Plus subscription. Walmart Plus members save on this plus so much more. Start a 30-day free trial at walmartplus.com. Paramount Plus is central plan only. Separate registration required. See Walmart Plus terms and conditions. Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks so much for listening to the podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. We believe you're going to have an awesome 2024. Healthy, productive, and favor-filled. God bless you today and enjoy the message.
Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes each week and we come with good news. I know God rewards the people that seek after him. And I believe that's you or you wouldn't be tuned in today. So thanks for being a, letting us be a part of this next 30 minutes. And if you're ever in our area, I hope you'll come by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you this will make you feel right at home, but thanks so much for tuning in today.
I like to get started each week with something kind of funny. And I heard about this pastor. He was out in the lobby after the service greeting people. And he saw this man that he hadn't seen in a long time and he pulled him aside and he said, sir, you need to join the army of the Lord. The man said, what are you talking about? I am in the army of the Lord. And the pastor said, well, how come I only see you on Christmas and at Easter? And he whispered back, I'm in the secret service. Come
Come on, hold your Bibles up and 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. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living seed of the Word of God.
I'll never be the same. Never, never, never. I'll never be the same in Jesus' name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about being excited about your life and not taking for granted what God has done for you. Too many people have lost their passion for life. They've lost their enthusiasm. At one time, they were excited about their dreams. They got up every day with purpose, with passion, with
But now because of the time that's passed and disappointments and the pressures of life, they're not excited about them anymore. They've lost their fire. Or maybe at one time you were excited about that person that you're married to.
You were so in love and so passionate, but now that relationship has become stale. You're just going through the motions of life, getting up, going to work, coming home. But God does not want us to live that way. We should get up every day with enthusiasm, excited about that day. We should be grateful that we're alive.
grateful for the opportunities in front of us, grateful for the people in our lives. And the truth is most of life is very routine and anything can become stagnant if we allow it to. You can have the most exciting job in the world, but if you let it, it can become boring.
Or you can be married to the finest, most loving, caring person around. But if you don't cultivate that marriage and put something into it, over time, it's going to get stagnant. We have to work at it if we're going to stay fresh. It doesn't automatically happen. And I believe every day we need to stir ourselves up. The Apostle Paul told Timothy, fan your flames.
He was saying, Timothy, don't let your fire go out. Stay passionate about your life. Stay enthusiastic about your dreams. And you may be here today and you don't feel very enthusiastic. Maybe in the natural, you don't have any reason to be excited about your life. But my word to you is fan your flame. Don't let your fire go out. Keep your hope alive. Some of you have just a little flicker in there. That fire is barely making it.
You're about to give up on one of your dreams or maybe in that relationship, you're not very excited about it anymore. But the good news is the fire is still in there. Now you got to do your part and fan your flame. That means instead of dragging around, finding every reason you can to be unhappy, you got to change your focus and quit looking at what's wrong in your life and start being grateful for what's right in your life.
Your attitude should be, I am not going to live my life defeated and depressed. All my dreams may not have come to pass. I may have some obstacles in my path, but I know God is still in control. I know he's got great things in store for me. So I'm going to get up each day excited about my life. And I realize everything may not be perfect in your life, but if you don't learn to be happy where you are, you will never get to where you want to be.
You may not have the perfect job, but you should thank God at least you have a job. Some people would love to have your job. Why don't you fan your flame? Why don't you go to work this week with a new enthusiasm? Don't drag in there with a long face, waste half the day playing on the internet. No, give your employer a hundred percent. Do it with all your heart to the best of your ability. Stay passionate about your work.
Everybody else may be goofing off. Everybody else may have a sour attitude, but let me tell you, you're not everybody else. You're a child of the most high God. And I'm asking you to not be a part of the problem. Be a part of the solution. Do you know enthusiasm is contagious?
If you'll go in there with a smile on your face, full of life, full of joy, full of victory, before long, you'll rub off on others. And that whole place will come up to a higher level all because of you. You got to let your light shine. And the scripture says there in Romans 12, verse 11, to never lag in zeal, but be a glow and on fire serving the Lord. My question to you today is, are you on fire? Are you a glow?
Do you get up each morning? One lady is. Do you get up each morning? Do you get up each morning passionate about your dreams? Are you grateful for the place that God's given you to live? Oh, no, Joel, I'm in this tiny apartment. I can't stand it. I want a bigger house. No, you got to learn to be happy right where you are. Understand it dishonors God for us to go around complaining and thinking about everything that's wrong in our life.
You may not be living in your dream house, but at least you should thank God you got a roof over your head. Thank God you're not out there in the cold. You said, you're my husband. We don't have anything in common. We don't get along anymore. No, he may not be the perfect husband, but why don't you thank God at least you have somebody to love? Do you know how many people are lonely today? Ladies, you may not believe this, but some lady would love to have your husband. I know some of you are thinking, can I give you a number? No.
Be grateful for that man. Be grateful for that woman. We need to recognize every day is a gift from God. We may not even be here tomorrow. What a shame to live this day negative and defeated. And the truth is, we all have obstacles in our path. We all have challenges to overcome. But our attitude should be, thank God I'm alive. Thank God I've got air to breathe. Thank God I've got a great country to live in. Thank God I've got family. Thank God I've got opportunity. Thank God I've got a
I'm going to make the most of this day. I'm going to give it my very, very best. Well, Joel, I would do that, but I just found out I have to work late next week. I have to mow my lawn when I get home. I got to take care of these kids all day. Let me tell you, you don't have to do anything. You get to do it. God is the one that's giving you your breath. You couldn't mow that lawn if God didn't give you the strength. You wouldn't be able to work late next week if God hadn't opened up that door of opportunity. You need to change your perspective.
Don't do things out of obligation because you have to do it with a good attitude In other words, I don't have to go to work today. I get to go to work I don't have to take care of these children. They're a blessing I get to take care of them. I don't have to give I get to give see the scripture says in isaiah 119 When we are willing and obedient we will eat the good of the land and it's one thing to be obedient That's good. That's better than not doing it
But if you want to really experience God's best, you've got to be more than obedient. You've got to be willing. You've got to do it with the right attitude. It's one thing to give because you have to. It's another thing to give because you want to. It's one thing to go to work to pick up a paycheck. It's another thing to go to work to be a blessing to somebody else.
It's one thing to stay married to that person because it's the right thing to do. People may look down on you if you don't, but it's another thing to stay married to that person and to treat them with respect and honor and help them reach a higher level. That's being willing and obedient. When you do that, there's no limit to what God will do in your life.
And it's so important that we get beyond just being obedient. That's easy. Anybody can do that. Let's take the next step and let's be willing. Let's do it with a good attitude. I read an interesting article a while back. It talked about how most children are born with enthusiasm. They're excited, they're happy. They have a real zeal for life.
But this study showed by the time the average child reaches 10 years of age, the enthusiasm starts to fade and our children begin to take on a negative bent toward life. And I believe in the same way, God has put enthusiasm on the inside of each one of us. But if we're going to keep it, we have to work on it. On a daily basis, we have to stir it up.
And as I said, too often we allow disappointments and stress and pressures and just the time that's passed. Before long, that's just dragging us down and we're not even passionate about our lives anymore. And many times the root cause is we are focused on the wrong things. We are looking at what we don't have instead of what we do have. And I heard about this man. He was very down and discouraged. And he went to see his minister and he said, "'Nothing's going right in my life. "'I don't have any reason to be excited.'"
The minister said, all right, let's just do a little exercise. He got out this legal pad and he drew a line right down the center. And he said, on this left side, we're going to list all of the good things in your life, everything that's going right. And on this other side, we're going to list all your problems and all these things that are bothering you. And the man kind of chuckled. He said, well, I'm not going to have anything to put on the asset side.
The minister said, fine, let's just go through the exercise. And the man put his head down and the minister said, I'm so sorry to hear that your wife passed away. That man jumped back. He said, what are you talking about? My wife didn't pass away. She's alive and healthy. He said, oh, and he wrote down on the asset side, has a wife alive and healthy.
Then he said, I'm so sorry to hear that your house burned down. He said, my house didn't burn down. I got a beautiful house. He said, oh, he wrote down has a beautiful house.
Then he said, I'm really sad to hear that you lost your job, got laid off. The man said, where are you getting all this nonsense? I've got a great job. Wrote it down, has a great job. About that time, the man caught on. He said, give me that list. He took it and he wrote down a couple dozen more good things in his life. By the time he got finished, he went out of there with a different attitude. You see, he just had to change his perspective.
It's so easy to get focused on what's wrong. It's so easy to take for granted what's right. But you notice when he began to focus on the good, that's when he got his enthusiasm back. That's when he got his passion back.
And if you struggle with staying excited about your life, if you struggle with staying passionate, you too need to make a list of all the things that you had to be grateful for. All the things God's blessed you with. If you have your health, write it down. I'm healthy. If you can see, write it down. I can see. If you're good looking like me, write it down. I'm good looking. I'm good looking.
If you got a job, I've got a job. I've got family. I've got friends. I've got children. Make that list. And then every day before you leave the house, you need to go over it two or three times. You got to get your mind going in the right direction. Your life is going to follow your thoughts. And at the first of the day, you have to set the tone for the whole day.
If you can just go out with a grateful attitude and a positive frame of mind, you'll not only feel better, but you're going to draw in the good things of God. We attract what we continually think about. If you get up thinking, man, life's a drag, nothing good ever happens to me, I know my marriage isn't going to last. When you do that, you're going to attract a defeat, failure, mediocrity.
But if you can just learn to turn it around and go out with a grateful attitude, thinking about how blessed you are and how good God's been to you, then you're going to draw in the goodness of God. But I think about how many times we lie in bed in the morning and we think, man, I don't want to go to work today. I've got so many problems. I'm sick and tired of cleaning this house. Listen, you just paved the way to have a lousy day. You just paved the way for defeat.
Now, when those old negative, discouraging thoughts come, you got to learn to turn it around. Get your list out. Go over it. I'm alive. I'm healthy. I've got a wife. I've got children. I've got so many good things. See, you got to fan your flame. Keep your mind going in the right direction. And I would encourage you, put that list up on your bathroom mirror or somewhere you can see it all through the day again and again. That'll help you to stay excited about your life.
Another thing that's important to keep in front of us is our goals. Some people have lost their passion for life simply because they're not pursuing anything. But understand, God created us to always be reaching for something. You need something to be striving toward. If you get up in the morning with no motivation, no dreams, no goals, then you're certainly going to become stagnant.
It may be a goal to finish school or to be a better parent or to increase in your career, but we should always have something in front of us. We should always be growing and really we never arrive. Even after we accomplish one goal, we should immediately set another goal. And the whole reason some of you are not enthusiastic about your life is you don't have anything in front of you. And it may be because you don't feel well.
or you're having a problem in your marriage or your finances, but please don't let those things keep you from dreaming a dream. If you're not healthy, have a dream to get healthy. If you're in debt, have a dream, hey, I'm gonna get out of debt and then get up each day knowing that you're pressing towards something. Well, you say, Joel, I'm retired. I'm just kicked back, taking it easy. No, even you need to have something in front of you. What I'm saying is it is not healthy to not have something to pursue every day.
I'll never forget years ago, my father and I met Jacques Cousteau. He was that famous underwater explorer. He did all that research on life under the sea. Daddy and I were on a flight down to the Amazon jungle. Mr. Cousteau was on there and we got to talking. He was an older gentleman at that time, probably in his early 80s.
And what made such an impression on me was how passionate he was about his life. He got to telling us about this new project he was working on. He explained it in great detail, went on and on. And just as we were about to leave, he told us about his 10-year plan and all that he had hoped to accomplish. I thought, man, most people, especially his age, they're not thinking a week or two out. Here he's thinking 10 years down the road.
And really that's one of the things that helps us to get up each day with enthusiasm You may not have something that exciting but god has put something in your heart And if your assignment right now is to raise your children do it with passion do it with enthusiasm Maybe you have a dream to start a business a dream to own your own home a dream to be in the ministry Keep it in front of you
The scripture says in Proverbs, where there's no vision, the people perish. We need something to always be striving toward. I think about my dad. He kept a globe everywhere he worked. At his chair at home where he studied, he had one there. On his desk at the office, he had a globe there. Daddy's passion was to share God's love all over the world. And that globe reminded him of that. And even later in my father's life, when he had to go on dialysis,
He asked us to check to see if they could do dialysis over in India. That's where his heart was. And although daddy never made it back to India once he started dialysis, notice that didn't keep him from dreaming.
In fact, that was one of the very things that helped him to get up every day with enthusiasm in spite of his adversity. Some of you today, like my father, you've got big challenges in your path, but don't fall into that trap of giving up on your dreams. Keep something in front of you. God still has something for you to do.
If you make the mistake of dwelling on the wrong things and letting your mind wander, before long, you'll be planning your own funeral. And that's exactly what the enemy wants you to do. Now I'm challenging you, no matter what it looks like in the natural, keep your dreams alive. You may be a mother raising small children and you're facing serious illness. You need to keep a picture of your children in front of you. You should get up every day and say, I'm going to be here to raise my children. I'm going to live and not die.
or maybe you're struggling financially, but you have a dream of owning your own home. Well, I challenge you to keep that dream alive. Put a picture up of the home you would like to have. Keep it in front of you. You need something to be striving toward. Another reason we tend to lose our enthusiasm is because we let what once was a miracle become too common to us. We get used to it. It becomes routine and it doesn't excite us anymore.
For instance, maybe at one time you were excited about your job. You prayed and believed and you know God opened up that door. God supernaturally gave you that position. You couldn't wait to get to work every morning. You got there and gave it 100%.
But now a few years later, the newness has worn off. It's become kind of routine and you don't really like going to work anymore and you're kind of down and discouraged. You know what's happened? You've let your miracle become too common. You need to go back and remember how God brought you to where you are. You need to fan your flame. And I'm not saying that we never want to move on, but too many times we are taking things for granted that we should still be excited about.
I know a friend of mine, one time he complained and complained about his job. He told me how they weren't treating him right. He wasn't being paid enough money. He couldn't stand his boss. On and on it went. And one day, the most interesting thing happened. The company announced that they were going to downsize and lay off about half of the employees. And it looked like he was going to get laid off. And do you know, all of a sudden, he really started liking his job. It's amazing how that can change us.
And fortunately, right at the last, they decided to keep him. And you would have thought he just won the lottery. He wanted to go in there and kiss his boss on the cheek. And it's interesting how things like that can change our perspective. And you may be a little more excited about your job if you could just realize you may not always have it. Or maybe you would be more excited about that person that you married if you just realize they may not always be here.
And some of you have allowed your marriage to get stale and stagnant. At one time, you were so excited, you couldn't keep your eyes off that other person. But now, over the years, you've allowed yourselves to grow apart. You don't enjoy each other like you should. You don't have time for hugs and kisses and compliments. Too busy to talk at night, you might miss your favorite TV program. No, don't take that other person for granted.
You need to get the spark back that brought you together in the first place. And I've found you're going to get out of your marriage what you put into it. You cannot sit around and wait for that other person to change. You have to change. Bring some freshness to your marriage. Get out of your normal routine. Do something different. Variety will help that relationship to not get stale. And I know I'm a very routine person and I have to make myself on purpose get out of my normal routine.
Victoria and I have a date night every Friday night. We usually go out to eat, but a couple weeks ago, we went and rode go-karts. Thank God I'm still alive.
Few weeks back, we took our bikes down to the park and just rode them around. But you got to do something to bring some freshness. And some of you, if you don't make these simple changes, that relationship is not going to last. You need to get that fire back for each other. Don't lose that enthusiasm for the other person. Don't let that miracle, that person God has brought into your life become so common that you just take it for granted and they don't excite you anymore.
Or I don't know, maybe at one time you were excited about that house God's given you. You prayed, you believed, and you know God opened up the door. But now you think, man, I got to clean this place. My gutter's messed up. My dishwasher quit working. Taxes are so high. No, you are focused on the wrong things. God blessed you with that house. No doubt at one time, it was a dream come true.
And we should never lose the amazement of what God has done. Every time I drive by this building, I'm amazed. I've made up my mind 20 years from now, I'm still going to be amazed. I say, God, you've done more than we could even ask or think. See, God told the people in the book of Revelation, I'm not happy with you because you've lost your first love. In other words, you're not excited about what I've done for you.
And too often we do the same thing. We let something that was so great at one time become so routine that we really don't appreciate it like we should. I heard this reporter ask a famous heart surgeon how he kept his excitement.
This man had developed a certain procedure and he had performed it over 10,000 times. And by now it was so routine and so ordinary. They said, do you ever get tired of doing it? And I loved his answer. He said, no, it's because I act like every operation is my very first one. He was saying, I don't take for granted what God's allowed me to do. I don't let it become so common that it doesn't excite me anymore.
And many of you today, like me, you can say that God's done great things in your life. He's taken you further than you could dream. He's brought great people into your life. He's opened up great doors. I'm challenging you to not get so used to that that it doesn't excite you anymore. Don't let the fact that it's now routine keep you from being passionate and living every day with enthusiasm.
Sometimes I hear people complain about their children. Well, I'd be more enthusiastic, Joel, if I didn't have to stay here and take care of my children all day. I'd be excited if I was a famous heart surgeon. No, you're missing the point. Do you know your children are a miracle? Think back to the day they were born. No doubt you had tears running down your cheeks. You were so overjoyed. You knew that was a gift from God.
Don't let that become so common that you just take it for granted and it doesn't excite you. I know the other day I was in a hurry to leave the house and I was trying to get everybody rounded up.
And somebody had given us a label maker, a little machine that prints out labels. And my children love to play with that. And our 10-year-old son, Jonathan, he had it out and he was typing a message. And I said, Jonathan, you got to put that thing away. We got to go right now. He said, Daddy, just give me a few more seconds. I want to finish this up. I said, no, Jonathan, put it up. We got to go. And we're kind of going back and forth. And I was getting all uptight. Finally, he got finished and printed it out. And it said, best daddy in the world. Amen.
And I thought we can stay here a little longer and print a few more of those out. But sometimes we can get so caught up in our plans and in such a hurry, we miss the miracles all along the way. Take time for your children. Look in their eyes every day and tell them how much you love them, how proud you are of them. Think of the joy and the fulfillment they bring you. That alone should be enough to cause us to get up each day with enthusiasm.
And when you're tired, you're cleaning up after them, cooking them dinner, and you're tempted to have a bad attitude, learn to turn it around. Say, Father, thank you for these children. Thank you for this gift that you've given me. See, I believe there are miracles all around us. The people in your life, the doors God has opened, every one of you can look back and see things that have happened along the way, and it had to be the hand of God.
It had to be God's favor that caused you to be at the right place at the right time. All of a sudden you met someone and fell in love. Are you qualified for that home and you shouldn't have? Or you got that promotion unexpectedly. That's not a coincidence. That was God directing your steps. Don't take it for granted. Don't let it become so common that it doesn't excite you anymore. Fan your flame, stir yourself up.
Make a decision that you're going to live every day with enthusiasm. Get up in the morning and think about all the things you have to be grateful for. If you need to, make that list. Keep it in front of you and then go out each day pressing towards your God-given dreams.
I can tell you this, if you'll stay on fire and aglow, if you'll never lag in zeal, God will take you places that you've never dreamed of. He'll pour out His blessings in favor and you'll live that life of victory He has in store. Amen. Do you receive it today? We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart.
I make you my Lord and Savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take you places that you've never dreamed of. God has put a specific dream in your heart. Maybe it's a dream for a better career, a blessing that enables you to bless others, to be in a healthy, loving relationship, to launch your own business or ministry endeavor.
We all have dreams, but sometimes setbacks and opposition can rob us of our dreams. So how do you make your dreams a reality?
One way you know it's a God-given dream is you can't accomplish it on your own. We never thought we'd be having church in a former basketball arena, but this is what can happen when you take the limits off of God. When you believe what God put in your heart, that's when He steps in and makes ways where you never saw ways. I'd love to send you my newest book, It's Time to Dream Again. It'll help you to hold on to what God promised and not get discouraged by how impossible it looks or how long it's taking.
You are closer than you think. God's working behind the scenes right now. Stay in faith. You're going to see the greatness of God bring your dreams to pass.
As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount to the ministry this month, Joel and Victoria would like to send you this dream-releasing, life-affirming book, It's Time to Dream Again. You might sense that your dreams have been buried, but with this book, you'll see that they are actually a hidden treasure just waiting to be uncovered and come to life.
God's plan for you is significant. His dreams for you are beyond what you could imagine. Don't wait another day. It's time to dream again. This book will help you gain a fresh perspective for your dreams and to believe for everything God has put in your heart. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day. Thank you so much for your prayer and support. Your generosity is making a difference around the world.
Remember, you can watch the services live online every Sunday. Download the daily podcast or our YouTube channel. Listen on Sirius XM. We will keep you encouraged and inspired. But until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of It's Time to Dream Again today. Visit joelostein.com or call 888-567-JOEL.
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