Blessed with Persecution | Joel Osteen
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What is the message introduction and opening prayer for this episode?
Hi, it's Joel and Victoria. What a joy to be with you today. We always count it an honor to know that we're praying for you and your family.
We sure hope you enjoy this podcast today. And we just are praying for you and know that God is for you. So enjoy today's message.
God bless you. It's great to be with you today. I hope you'll stay connected with us during the week through our daily podcast, our YouTube channel, social media, and you can come visit us in person. We'd love to have you be a part of one of our services. I like to start with something funny. I heard about this mother. She had two young sons that were known for their mischievous behavior. Anytime trouble occurred, they were certain to be a part of it. She decided to take them to see their pastor one at a time. The pastor said to the first boy, son, where is God? He sat there silently. He asked again, where is God? Still no reply. The third time he asked, the boy bolted out the door, ran home and told his brother, God is missing and they think we did it.
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 blessed with persecution. We all believe for God's goodness on our lives, and we stand on His promises that we'll lend and not borrow, and that our children are mighty in the land, that we are crowned with His favor. That's releasing our faith. That's what activates God's blessing and favor. But what we don't always realize is the blessing never comes alone. The blessing brings jealous people, being criticized, misunderstood.
If you expect everyone to be for you, all your friends to celebrate your promotion, your coworkers to be happy you got that new house, you're going to be frustrated. Blessings stir up jealousy. Favor causes people to become critical. Promotion brings resistance. You can't have the blessing without opposition. It's a part of the package. When you understand this, you don't let it bother you. You don't try to fight all those battles and straighten everyone out, convince the jealous people to be for you. You stay on the high road, let God deal with the opposition while you enjoy the blessings. This is what Jesus told his disciples. They had left everything to follow him, made great sacrifices, put their careers on hold.
Peter asked in effect, what are we gonna get in return? What's in this for us? And Jesus didn't get upset. Hey, Peter, you're selfish. You should be grateful that I chose you. No, Jesus wanted to be good to them. He said in verse 29, anything you've given up for me, houses, brothers, sisters, property, you will receive a hundred times more in this life. not in the sweet by and by, not when you get to heaven, but in your lifetime. God was saying, I'm going to promote you, open doors, give you houses you didn't build, cause you to break barriers, set new standards, blessings you've never seen. But he said, there's one caveat, one qualification. I have to make clear, this is all going to happen with persecution.
Not, I'm gonna bless you and all the persecution will leave. I'm gonna promote you and the negative chatter will stop. I'm gonna give you so much influence, there won't be any trouble. No, the blessing attracts trouble. Favor attracts criticism. New levels attract new devils. Here's the key, don't take it personally. It's not you they don't like, it's the favor on your life. Some people can't handle you being blessed. They're fine as long as you stay at the same level. Don't make any waves. But when God promotes you and doors open and you start shining brightly, that stirs up jealousy in people. Brings out a critical spirit. He'll try to discredit, minimize, make you look bad. It's tempting to get upset.
Want to straighten them out. And why are they doing this? Well, stay in peace. You can't have the blessing without the persecution.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the message introduction and opening prayer for this episode?
0:01–5:46
2
How does Joel explain that blessings often bring opposition?
5:46–11:20
3
What did Jesus tell his disciples about receiving a hundredfold blessing and persecution?
11:20–16:10
4
How should you respond when favor draws criticism and jealousy?
16:10–30:10