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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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. God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. If you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services.
I promise you, we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks so much for tuning in and thank you again for coming out. I like to start with something funny and I heard about this man that was walking on the beach and God said, son, you've been so faithful. I'm going to grant you one special wish. He was so excited. He said, God, I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, but I'm afraid to fly.
So my wish is that you would build me a bridge across the ocean. God said, son, that's totally impossible. Think of the logistics of that. Now take some time and wish again. He said, okay, God, I've been divorced four times. All my ex-wives say I am so insensitive. My wish is that I would be able to understand a woman.
I want to know why she thinks like she thinks and why she feels like she feels. It was a long pause. God said, do you want two lanes or four lanes on that bridge? And all the men said amen. 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 be positive or be quiet. Every one of us has promises that we're standing on, things that we're believing for. Maybe it's to get out of debt or to be healthy again, to meet the right person, to start our own business.
We know God has spoken to us, but we don't see any sign of it happening. Nothing is changing. It looks just like it did six months ago. The mistake we make too often is we start to talk ourselves out of it. Well, I don't think I'm going to get out of debt. Business is too slow. Or I could never accomplish my dreams. I'm too old, Joel. I miss my opportunity.
We don't realize our words are what's keeping the promise from coming to pass. You cannot talk defeat and expect to have victory. The moment you speak something out, you are giving life to what you're saying, either good or bad. That's what allows it to become a reality. Negative thoughts come to every person. You can't stop the thoughts from coming. The key is don't verbalize the negative.
You may think it, but don't speak it out. If you're not going to say anything good about your health, your finances, your children, your future, do yourself a favor. Zip it up. Don't say anything at all. Be positive or be quiet. Proverbs 6 says, we are snared by the words of our mouth. Do you know you can talk yourself out of your healing? You can talk yourself out of a promotion.
Negative words can keep you from your God-given destiny. This is what almost happened to a man in the scripture named Jeremiah. God gave him a great promise that he would become a prophet to the nations. But when he heard this, he was very young and unsure of himself. He said, God, I can't do that. I can't speak to the nations. I'm too young. I wouldn't know what to say.
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Chapter 2: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
You've been praying for years that God would bring somebody great into your life, but right before they show up, you let your guard down, start saying, oh, it's not going to happen. I'm too old. Nobody's interested in me. God has to say to the angel, don't go any further. The good news is that promise is still in your future. God didn't cancel it because we get negative.
He still has the right person for you, and if you'll zip up the doubt and switch over into faith, at the right time, they will show up. God will release what negative words have delayed. God still has your healing, your promotion, your restoration. Now do your part. Quit talking about how it's not going to happen. You may not see a way, but God still has a way.
It may look impossible, but God can do the impossible. Just because you don't see anything happening doesn't mean God is not working. Right now, behind the scenes, God is arranging things in your favor. He's lining up the right people. He's moving the wrong people out of the way. He's positioning you exactly where he wants you to be. Now, don't delay the promise by speaking negative words.
Our son Jonathan is 17 years old and we're in the process of applying to different colleges. Some schools only accept 5% of the students that apply. That means, of course, that 95% of the applicants get turned down. It's easy to think, why do we even want to apply to those schools? It's practically impossible. More than nine out of 10 get denied. Jonathan, don't get your hopes up.
I don't see how you could get in there. If we're not careful, we'll talk ourselves out of it. You may think those thoughts, but don't make the mistake of verbalizing them. Learn to turn it around. God, I know you have my son in the palm of your hand. You've already picked out the right college for him to attend.
There may be only a 5% chance for some schools, but God, I know with you, there's a 100% chance he'll get in exactly where you want him to go. God, you control the whole universe. That's much better than going around, all the odds are against me. Doesn't look good. I don't see how it's going to happen. No, zip that up. If you can't be positive, at least be quiet. You are prophesying your future.
If you say, I'll never get in, then you'll never get in. If you say, this problem is going to sink me, then it will sink you. If you say, I'll never be able to afford a nice house, you'll never be able to afford a nice house.
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Chapter 3: How do our words influence our outcomes?
You're being snared by the words of your mouth. Luke chapter one, an angel appeared to a man named Zachariah. The angel told him that his wife Elizabeth was going to have a baby and they were to name him John. Zachariah was very surprised because he and his wife were way up there in years. He said to the angel, are you sure this is going to happen? It sounds great, but do you see how old we are?
To me, it just doesn't seem possible. The angel said, Zachariah, I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of Almighty God. And what God says will come to pass. But God knows the power of our words. He knew if Zachariah went around speaking defeat, it would stop his plan. So God did something unusual.
The angel said, Zachariah, because you doubted, you will remain silent and not be able to speak until the baby is born. Zachariah left there unable to talk. Couldn't say one word for nine months until that child was born. Why did God take away his speech? God knew he would go out and start telling his friends how it wasn't going to happen.
Hey man, this angel appeared, said we're going to have a baby. He must've got the wrong person. We're too old. God knows with our words, we are prophesying our future. A lot of times we think, well, Joel, God's God. If he wants to bless me, he'll bless me. No, God works by laws. Yes, God wants to bless you, but it will not happen if you're speaking defeat over your life.
That's why the scripture says, put a watch over your mouth. In other words, be careful what you allow to come out of your mouth. This is especially important in difficult times. That's when it's easy to get negative. Start saying, well, I don't think I'm ever going to get well. I've had this sickness for three years. Put a watch over your mouth. Don't prophesy that defeat.
If you're going to say anything, say what God says. I will live and not die. God is restoring health back unto me. The number of my days, He will fulfill. That's what we should be saying. The thought comes, you'll never accomplish your dreams. You'll never rise any higher. You've gone as far as you can go.
You can't stop the thoughts from coming, but you can choose to not give them life by speaking them out. When you don't speak it, that thought will die stillborn. It can't take root and become a reality. But when you say it, you are giving birth to what you're speaking. All through the day, you need to ask yourself, is what I'm about to say what I want to come into my life?
Because what you're saying, you're inviting in. When you say, I'll never get out of debt, the economy's too slow, you're inviting struggle and lack. When you say, this problem's too big, I don't think I'll ever get out of that, you're inviting defeat, mediocrity. you need to send out some new invitations. When you say, I will lend and not borrow, God's favor surrounds me like a shield.
Whatever I touch prospers and succeeds. You are inviting increase, good breaks, success. When you say, I will overcome this problem, I am more than a conqueror. If God be for me, who dare be against me? You're inviting strength, healing, restoration, vindication, breakthroughs. Now pay attention to what you're inviting. Well, I'll never pass this algebra course. I've never been good in math.
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Chapter 4: What does the story of Jeremiah teach us about speaking positively?
The scripture says you've got to call the things that are not as if they already were.
Amen.
I didn't feel confident, but I call myself confident. I didn't feel anointed, but I call myself anointed. Now, you may not feel blessed, but you need to call yourself blessed. The circumstances may not say you're prosperous, but by faith, you need to call yourself prosperous. You may not feel healthy today, but don't go around telling everyone how you're not going to make it.
Start calling yourself healthy, whole, strong, full of energy, full of life. When Joshua was leading the people of Israel toward the promised land, they came to the city of Jericho. It stood between them and their destiny. They couldn't go around it, they had to go through it. The problem is, Jericho was surrounded by a huge, thick, tall wall made up of stone and mortar.
Didn't look like there was any way the Israelites could get in. but God told them to do something that sounded strange, to march around that wall for six days, and on the seventh day, they were to march around seven times. If that wasn't odd enough, God gave them one final instruction, the key to the whole thing working.
He said, while you're marching around the walls, I don't want you to say one word, not a whisper, not a short conversation, not an update on how it's going. Keep totally silent. Why did God not allow them to speak? God knew after a couple of times around, they'd start saying, what in the world are we doing out here? This wall's never going to fall. Look how thick it is. It's been here for years.
Joshua must have heard God wrong. Somebody else speak up, yeah, and I'm tired and I'm hot and I'm hungry. This dust is getting in my face. God knew they would talk themselves out of it. In fact, it had happened years before. Their parents, their relatives were camped next door to the promised land. But when the spies came back and told everyone how big their enemies were,
That negative report spread like wildfire throughout the rest of the camp. Before long, all two million people were complaining, saying, we don't have a chance. We'll never defeat these enemies. Even though they were next door, their negative words kept them from going in. God knew it had happened once and it would happen again, so he told them to be quiet.
He was saying, in effect, I know you're not going to be positive, so just stay silent. There are times in all of our lives where it's difficult to be positive. That's okay. Just stay silent. Don't tell everyone what you're thinking. You know how the story ends. On the seventh time around, on the seventh day, the walls came tumbling down. Here's the question today.
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Chapter 5: How can negative thoughts hinder our progress?
I hate to say it, but your son is no longer alive. She said, don't ask questions. Just get me a horse ready. Men, we know better than to mess with a woman who's got her mind made up. She got on this horse and took off toward Elisha's house as fast as she could. You can imagine, like the Lone Ranger, she was riding in to bring justice.
When Elisha saw the dust billowing up in the sky a couple of miles away, at one point, he noticed it was his friend, the woman that had built the extra room on her house. Elisha told his assistant Gehazi, go find out what's wrong. Gehazi jumped on his horse and met the woman way down the road, stopped her, said, hey, Elisha's concerned. Why are you coming unexpectedly in such a hurry?
Is anything wrong? I love the way she answered. She said, no, all is well. She kept heading full steam ahead. Gehazi thought about it and said, that doesn't make sense. He caught back up to her a second time. Let me ask you again. Is everything okay with your husband? She said, all is well. Is everything okay at your house? All is well. Then he asked, is everything okay with your son?
She said it again, all is well. She was speaking it by faith. A lot of times when we face difficulties, somebody asks us how everything's going, we do just the opposite. Oh man, let me tell you, my business is so slow. My stocks are down. My back's been hurting. Dishwasher broke. Somebody dented my car. Traffic was backed up. Usher wouldn't let me sit where I wanted to sit this morning.
It's easy to talk about the problem, how bad it is, how it's never going to work out. But in those tough times, when you feel like complaining, you got a good reason to be sour. You lost a job. A friend did you wrong. You're not feeling well. That's when you have to dig your heels in and say it by faith. Business is slow, but all is well. God is still on the throne.
He's Jehovah Jireh, the Lord my provider. or the medical report wasn't good, but all is well. God is my healer. Nothing will snatch me out of his hands. She made it finally to Elisha's house. She said, Elisha, this son you promised me has died. In other words, I didn't ask for the boy.
Elijah, you prophesied it and God gave him to me and I know if you will come pray for him, he will come back to life. He got on his horse, went to her house, prayed for the little boy and he came back to life. A great miracle. But here's what I want you to see. Even in her darkest hour, even when it looked impossible, she refused to get negative and speak defeat.
When Gehazi asked, is everything okay? She could have said, no, I'm in the midst of a great tragedy. I'm facing the biggest challenge of my life. Nobody would have faulted her for that. But this lady chose to speak faith, even though her mind was being bombarded with doubt. She had a watch over her mouth. She wasn't going to be snared by her words. When you're hurting and
You've been through a disappointment. You've suffered a loss. You've got to do like her. Say it by faith. All is well. It may not look well, may not feel well in the natural. You should be complaining, talking about how bad it is, but instead you're making a declaration of faith. All is well. That's when the most powerful force in the universe goes to work.
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