Lakewood Church Service | Paul Osteen, M.D. | You Have Everything You Need ((music playing)) You fight the battle. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Your mercy's are new every morning. Steadfast love will never end. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Every hour, every minute of my life has been part of your design. Lord, the whole world's in your hand. Every trial, every battle that I face, God, you met me there with grace. Every part has served your plan. Through it all, you've been so so good. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Good morning, Lakewood. Welcome everyone. It's so good to have you today. Thanks for coming out. Uh how many of you are ready to worship God? Are you ready to hear a good word from my brother Paul? It's so amazing. It's going to be great. I love that song. God has been so faithful to us, hasn't he? God is faithful. He's faithful all the time. We say God is good. He's good all the time. Well, you know, he's faithful all the time. He's faithful to his promises. The Bible says in Hebrews, "Let us hold fast uh fast to our confession of hope without wavering because faithful is God who promised." Amen. He's just faithful. Hey, you may be going through something right now. God is faithful. He's faithful to his word. He's faithful to his promise. Maybe he's dropped a promise in your heart. Just know that God is faithful. We don't see how it will all work out, but God is working behind the scenes. Amen. He's directing your steps. He's bring it bringing it all together. The Bible says that he works everything for our good and his purposes. Amen. Anyway, as I said, we're so glad to see you today and welcome to those of you that are on watching online. Let's give them a good hand clap. We love you. We love you. We're so glad you tuned in. Hey, how many f first time visitors do we have here? Can I see your hands? Wow. Who else? Welcome. Thank you so much for coming. We're always glad to hear you have you here. You know, I'm just going to remind you what Joel always tells us. Your week is going to go better because you came to church and and you honored God with your time. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord, what will happen to them? You will flourish. You will flourish in every area of your life. And Joel always says, you're not going to leave this place the same as when you came in. You're going to go out with more victory, more faith, more hope, more encouragement, and you're going to have a blessed new week. Do you agree in Jesus' name? Amen. Amen. So, let's let's begin with a celebration of praise and worship to God. The Bible says to enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter into his courts with praise, and bless his holy name, for his mercy endures forever. So, we're here to worship God, the almighty God. I was reading a scripture the other day that says, "God is a mighty warrior." Listen, he's the mighty warrior that is fighting your battles for you. Amen. God is a healer who is healing your you of sickness and disease. He is the redeemer. He is the restorer. Amen. He is the chain breaker and he's going to break every chain in your life. So as you worship God, know that he is working on your behalf in Jesus name. Father, we thank you. We thank you that we can come to you today. We can worship together. We can pray. Father, we can hear your word. Father, we're going to be like sponges and just draw in everything. Soak in everything that you have for us. But father, first we worship you. First we give you thanks. We give you praise for your goodness, for your mercy, for your everlasting love. And we say have your way in the service today. Have your way in our lives today in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you as you worship Here and now looking back on where I've been. Still as good as you were then. There's no limit to your love. Through it all. Through it all. You've been so so good. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) You've been faithful ((music playing)) cuz through it all, you've been so so good. Kept your word like you said you would. Through it all. Through it all, He's been so so good. Kept His word like He said He would Your mercies are new every morning. Steadfast love will never end ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) I won't be silent for the Lord is in this place. Oh, I can't be quiet. cuz he's worthy of all praise. He has been good. He has been kind. He has been faithful all the time. Now with everything within me, I will sing. Come on church! Praise the Lord of all creation. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Oh we can't be quiet ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) We praise you Lord. ((music playing)) We bless you God. ((music playing)) Come on church, we sing. There is nothing that my God can't do. Come on. I've seen him move the mountains. He's got nothing left to prove. So when I see a giant up ahead, I will keep relying on this truth and not forget that God didn't lead us this far to leave us where we are. Even here, even now he'll finish what he starts. If he's done it before, he'll do it again. Even here, even now. He's faithful to the end. There is nothing that my God can't do. He conquered sin and death. Now he's got nothing left to prove. So if I need reminding here again. The resurrection power gives me faith ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) here, right now. Lift up your voice. Let this place become your... ((music playing)) As the praises rise, the walls come down. So until we see it, I feel faith rising in this place. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Oh God, you're faithful. You're faithful. Time and time again. So right here, right now, lift up your voice. Let this place become...holy ground. As the praises rise, the walls come crumbling down. So until we see it, oh, I feel faith stirring in the room. Oh, sing it again. So right here with your hands lifted high. Let this place become. Overflow. Overflow. As the praises rise, the walls come down. So until we see it by faith, we're going to keep on singing. So until we see it, oh, we'll keep believing for we are standing on holy ground. And I know that there are angels all around. Let us sing. Let us praise you Jesus now. For we are standing in his presence on holy ground. ((music playing)) We are ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Jesus ((music playing)) we are standing in his presence ((music playing)) Your presence on holy ground. ((music playing)) The Lord is here right now. ((music playing)) And we cry holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy. ((music playing)) When I reach the end of my own strength, that's when you step in and prove your faithfulness. I remember what my weapon is. And with lifted hands, I watch you move again. Are you not the God who is in heaven? The one who reigns forever. My eyes are on you. My eyes are on you, Lord. You fight the battle ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Here come the angels. Here come the victory. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) you fight the battle ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Father, we thank you that you are fighting our battles for us. And though it seems sometimes that we out are outnumbered, I thank you, Lord Jesus, that those who are for us are more than those who are against us. We thank you that your angels are fighting on our behalf. They're hastening to bring your word to pass. Father, I thank you that we can depend on you in everything. Father, in everything, we trust you. We thank you, Lord Jesus, for your goodness in our lives. and we come boldly right now to your throne of grace to find help and mercy in our time of need. Father, I pray for those who are fighting battles right now that every force that is trying to stop them is broken in the name of Jesus. We know that no weapon formed against them shall ever pro prevail or prosper. That you are making a way where there seems to be no way. Father, you are the way maker. Father, I thank you, Father. And I pray that you will give us the wisdom to make great decisions. That we will clearly hear your voice. That we will obey your word and follow you all the days of our lives. Father, I pray that you would close the wrong doors and open the right doors. May we follow your favor every way we go. May we follow your peace, Father, in Jesus' name. I pray for those who are sick in their bodies. Father, I pray for your healing anointing right now that is touching people in this sanctuary all over the world as they listen. Father, I thank you that you're driving out sickness and pain and by the stripes of Jesus, we are healed. Father, we remind you of your word. You said that if we worship you, you would remove sickness from the midst of us and the number of our days, you will fulfill. Father, I pray that you'd restore health, healing, Father, energy in Jesus' name. Thank you, Father, that they'll live a long healthy life. In the name of Jesus, we look to you as our healer. Father, I pray for those who have gone through loss, the loss of a job, maybe the loss of a marriage, the loss of a loved one. Father, I pray that you would touch them in their grief. That you would comfort them like no one else can. And that you would remind them that you are very present with them. That they are not forsaken. And Father, that you will turn their mourning into dancing, their sorrow into joy. Father, that this is a temporary time. But Father, you are healing them and restoring them. And Father, that their life is not over. that you have so much more for them in the future in Jesus name. Father, I thank you that your hand of blessing and protection is upon all of us, upon our children, upon our families, those we that we have people in the military, family in the military. Father, I thank you that your angels are surrounding us all. Father, and they're protecting us in Jesus' name. And I pray, Father, that you would restore families. You would restore marriages. You will restore children to their parents, Father. those who are away from you. Father, I just pray right now that you would send laborers into their pathway. That they would turn their hearts back to you, that they would hear your voice, Father, and that they would return to you and return to church. And Father, that you will fulfill your purpose for them. We say that Satan cannot have one of our children in the name of Jesus. I thank you, Father, that they are mighty in the land and they will do all that you've called them to do. Father, we've marked them for you and I thank you, Lord Jesus, that there you're restoring them. Father, I thank you that we are blessed and cannot be cursed. I thank you that every generational curse, sin, sickness, wrong thinking, and addictions are broken right now in the name of Jesus. I thank you, Jesus. You are the chain breaker. You are the chain breaker. And father, I thank you that right now desires are changing. Father, people are changing, Father, and they are f they will follow you. They will turn to you. They will quit trying to do it on thems uh by themselves, but they will allow your Holy Spirit to set them free because whom the Son sets free is free indeed. We declare that they are free. We declare that they are free in the name of Jesus. Father, we thank you, Lord Jesus. And and we pray we pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hey, let's make our declaration together right now. I love this. Death and life are in the power of your words. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. That's why we have to get the word of God in us and we have to declare the word of God. So, are you ready? Let's go. I am blessed, prosperous, redeemed, forgiven, healthy, whole, talented, creative, confident, secure, disciplined, focused, prepared, qualified, motivated, valuable, free, determined, equipped, anointed, anointed, accepted, and approved. Not average, not mediocre. I am a child of the most high God and I'll become all I was created to be in Jesus name. Amen. Love that. I love that. Well, we're going to take the time to pray with you oneon-one in just a moment. But, you know, I want to remind you that one of the greatest privileges we have as believers is the privilege of prayer. You know, God said, "I want you to come boldly into your my throne of grace to find help and mercy." Whether you've sinned, whether you're hurting, whether you're going through the toughest time of your life, God's invitation is to come boldly into his throne of faith. It's an invitation that is there available at all times. And when we pray, prayer moves mountains. Did you know that prayer brings uh uh heaven down here on earth? I think about how Jesus said, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." When you pray on earth, heaven moves. Amen. When we pray, we are inviting God into our situation and we open the door for his wisdom and direction and give him permission to work in our lives. When we pray, we are able to release our burdens on the Lord. We're to cast our cares on the Lord because God said that he will help us and sustain us. This is prayer. When you pray, you can just talk to God and tell him how you feel like David did in the Psalms. It's therapy to talk to God. God has invited us to commune with him. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears my voice, I will come in and I will what? I will fellowship with you. See, God wants to fellowship with you. Just like he walked in the garden with Adam and Eve, when Jesus came, he restored our fellowship with God. And he wants us to walk with him and talk with him and trust him. I, as I've gotten older, I think I've realized that the fight of faith is just holding on to our trust in God. The enemy wants to take our faith. He wants to take the word out of our heart. He wants to steal the word. The Bible says, and the fight of faith is simply trusting God will do what he said he would do. It is reminding yourself, Lisa, you got to trust God in this. Lisa, God didn't call you to bear this burden. Cast it on the Lord. And so, when we go to God in prayer, it's an act of trust. God, you're my source. God, I'm trusting you. And so, I just want to encourage you be uh because the Bible says in Philippians 4, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, in everything, not just some things, not just little things, not just big things, but in everything with prayer and supplication, make your requests known to God. And then something happens. There's this transaction. The peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus. There's power in prayer. It's a privilege to be able to talk to God anytime and anywhere. So, so let's be quick to cast our cares in the Lord and slow to worry. Amen. Let's be quick uh to uh to trust God instead of being anxious. And God is faithful, expecting to move on your behalf. Prayer is a privilege. Hey, take God up on his offer. Open that door. Let him come in. Talk to him more and more all throughout your day. It's not a one-time thing on your knees. You don't have to be on your knees. I like to get on my knees sometime, but I'd rather just walk and pray or sit and pray or when I'm in my car, pray or or when I need something, pray. And when I start to worry, I pray instead. That's just the life of talking to God. And so I encourage you to be men and women of prayer. Amen. If you'd like prayer with a prayer partner, you can come to the front of your section. There's someone who will pray with you. The rest of you, you may be seated. And let's continue to worship the Lord. Good morning, Lakewood family. We're so glad to have you joining us from all over the world. And this is the time in our service where we get to pray for your needs. And I just want to encourage you that Jesus said, "Where two or more are gathered in my name, I will be in the midst." And we're we're way more than two people gathered in his name. And I want to encourage you that God is in the midst. And when he's in the midst, anything is possible. miracles are possible. So, I want to encourage you to drop in the comments uh your prayer request or if you want um you anytime you can put your prayer request in our online prayer community at joeloin.com/ community. You can do that anytime and we'll pray for your needs. But, um uh I want to start out with a couple of praise reports. Uh Vanessa posted that she that God blessed her with a new home. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. And Chase uh posted that God performed a financial miracle in his life. A very expensive college loan was forgiven and the money he paid into it was given back. So praise the Lord. God is a God of miracles. I want to remind you that he spoke the whole universe into existence. He parted the Red Sea. He raised Jesus from the dead after 3 days. There is absolutely nothing that God can't do. He is a miracle working, waym making, mountainoving, promisekeeping God. And I believe that he's got a miracle with your name on it if you will stretch your faith and believe for it. you know that this uh person that got the loan forgiven uh and and Vanessa who got a new home, you know, God is no respector of persons. What he did for them, he'll do for you. So, we're going to we're going to pray for your needs right now. Um first of all, I want to hit the the healing space. Uh Barb said that she needs healing for her sister who is losing her eyesight. I want to share a quick testimony from the online healing services that I do every month with Pastor Lisa Gomez. We had a woman who was blind and she couldn't even see our faces and uh we prayed for people's eyesight and their eyes and she was completely healed. This woman is now on staff at Lakewood Church. So um God is a mighty miracle working healing God. So Barb, we're going to pray for your sister's eyesight. Jane says she's having neck pain. So I just want to pray for everybody who needs healing. Father, I ask you to touch every person watching this from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet. Wipe out every trace of sickness, disease, cancer, infection, pain from their bodies in the mighty name of Jesus. I declare over them that they are healed by the stripes of Jesus. Lord, I ask you to touch them right now and heal their bodies in Jesus mighty name. Amen. Well, we have some financial requests. Um Lena is asking for financial breakthrough so that she doesn't lose her home. Lena, I declare over you, you're not going to lose your home in Jesus' name. Monica needs a breakthrough in her business and her finances. So, Father, I just lift up every person who needs a financial breakthrough. I thank you that you are Jehovah Gyra, the Lord our provider. You said in Psalm 23:1, "The Lord is our shepherd. We shall not lack." The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:19, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus." So Lord, I ask you to meet every financial need. And I pray Lord that your people would prosper in their finances, in their jobs, Lord, everything they set their hands to do would be blessed in Jesus mighty name. Okay. I want to pray for the family. uh family space because, you know, we're going into the Christmas season and we're going to be around our family members and I know a lot of people have have challenges with their families and um I just want to lift up all the families. So, Father, I just pray for for peace, unity, reconciliation, forgiveness in all the families. Lord, I pray for weward spouses, weward children, Lord, estranged family members, unsaved family members. Father, I just pray, Lord, that you would touch our families and bring healing and restoration and peace and reconciliation in the mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. And I want to I want to encourage you that Christmas is especially a miracle season. You know, we're celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus, who was born of a virgin. That was one of the greatest miracles. And so, I I I believe that Christmas is a miracle season. And I believe that you're going to get a Christmas miracle breakthrough in Jesus mighty name. Jesus said in Matthew 21:22, "Whatever things you ask for in prayer, believing, you will receive." We've prayed this morning. I believe you're going to receive a Christmas miracle. And I just want to pray blessings over you, your family this Christmas. I believe that you're going to have the most blessed Christmas ever. And I also pray that God just if if you need your joy restored, if I know a lot of people are feel down this time of year, ask ask for God to restore your joy. Pour his joy and peace upon you that you would have joy in this season. renewed joy. Jesus said, "I came that your joy may be complete." Joy is a fruit of the spirit. God wants you to have joy. So, I pray for your joy to be uh full this season. And uh I just pray blessings over you. Have a very merry Christmas. We love you and God bless you. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Amen. Amen. Hey, you may be seated, Lakewood family. Hey, I got a question for you. Have you ever been in a fight? See, some of y'all I heard it over here. Y'all are too quick. You said, "Yeah, like yesterday." I'm like, "Wait, whoa, relax." like chill. All right, let me take it a step further. I want to see if you've like be really honest here. Have you ever lost a fight? Oh, a little less boldness now. Have you ever lost a fight because you approached it the wrong way? Don't worry, this is a safe space. See, cuz back in my day, I was in three or four fights. Now, of those three or four fights, I lost three or four times. But I don't condone it, but who's counting? Who's counting anyway? I don't worry about it. Uh, you get me though. It can be the small fights, too. I'm not even talking about against other people. Like laying in the bed in the middle of the night, your phone died, you need to plug in your phone charger. So, you don't get up and turn on the light. You just reach down and keep trying to plug in the phone the charger to the wall until you eventually got to get up and turn the light on anyway. Being lazy. Isn't it crazy the lengths we will go to win a battle the wrong way? Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12-13 says it like this. Says, "For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so that you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil." Then after the battle, you will be standing firm. This scripture shows me that when you're a believer in Jesus Christ, there's a right and a wrong way to try to win the battles we face every single day. Things we don't see, but we have to fight. Think about it like this. In 1st Samuel 17, David, before facing the go the the giant Goliath, tried on Saul's armor. He wasn't even a part of the army. His older brothers were, but he was just a young shepherd boy. As a matter of fact, he puts on all this armor. Looks kind of crazy. It's a grown man's armor. It's a little heavy. It's like, man, I'm not even supposed to be out here. I'm only here cuz my dad told me to take my brother's lunch. The Bible says he can't even walk. It's so heavy. He can't even move. He looks silly. And I wonder if this is how we look when we try to pick the wrong weapons to fight the battles that are bigger than us. I wonder if we look like this when we when we try to fight low self-esteem and we say, "You know what? I'm going to need a boxing glove for this one. I'm going to need it. I'm going to need it." And and we try to fight low self-esteem and poor mental health and depression and we don't pull out a boxing glove. We we we like I don't even know what you do with this. Like it's the right fight. It's the wrong weapon. Or or or how about this? Maybe when we try to fight for our marriage or strengthen our relationships or improve the connections with our family over the holidays cuz Christmas is coming and we run to social media. We don't get a bicycle. We we don't we don't we run to social media. We don't talk to them. We just go and talk about them. It's the right fight. It's just the wrong weapon. My four-year-old would love this, by the way. What about at work or at school when you desperately want to go far in life and be successful and you want to be all that God created you to be, but you're trying to control everything, every outcome, every opportunity, every detail, every opinion of the co-workers and the and the teammates cuz you don't want them to pass you up. So, you you you want to be all that God created you to be, but you you say, "I need a boxing glove to fight this battle." It's like it's a boxing glove, but it's not a boxing glove. You know what I mean? Like this looks crazy. Like how do you even use this? You just like like you're not doing any damage with this. It's the right fight, but the wrong weapon. Or maybe when we're trying to get closer with God. But we think the path to him is to do more, do better, work harder. Maybe he'll notice me. I wonder if again we look like this. We go right fight, wrong weapon. Be honest. Like, doesn't this look crazy? If anybody pulled up to you and was like, "Oh, you in trouble." Like, wouldn't you be like, "You look crazy." That's how David ultimately looked. And I feel like a lot of times how we look, too. He said, "Yeah, this isn't for me. This isn't for me." So, he took off the armor and used what was already in his possession. He took the staff, the sling, and the shepherd's bag. And miraculously, he went and defeated Goliath in a battle where the odds were seemingly against him. Here's the hope. You will win the battle when you use the right weapons. You will be victorious when you fight God's way. And I came to tell you a simple yet powerful encouragement. Use what you got. You don't got to complain or gossip and tear others down. You can use those words to pray to the God who can give you the victory. You don't got to throw hands and fight other people. You can throw up your hands and worship the one who has a name above every other name. You don't have to isolate and run from your problems. You can actually connect with community who will walk with you right in the middle of them and hold your hand as you walk out of them. Use what you've got the right weapons the right way. You've got prayer. You've got to praise. Does anybody in here believe that they have the right weapons already on the inside today? Yeah. Amen. See, I couldn't help but be reminded of a family who seen this kind of strategy being real victory recently. And my guy Chris, he didn't come from a Christian household or upbringing. He went through life like many men do. Working extremely hard, loving football, having a sense of pride, trying his best to control all of the outcomes, living life by what he thought was going to bring the most success. His wife, Priscilla, had more of a faith-based background, but wanted a different thing for her life, too. So, she started fighting her battles differently as well. But she chose the right weapons. She started getting into the word of God and watching sermons from people like Joyce Meyer and Joel Ostein and encouraging Chris to watch with her online. He wanted to honor her wishes. So he agreed and eventually they stopped by Lakewood Church on a trip to Houston. And that service challenged them to do this. Give a year of your life and watch everything change. Now it would be easy it would be easy to say they dropped everything and moved to Houston right away. While that was what they eventually wanted to do, Priscilla wanted to launch a business here. And Chris reverted back to some of the selfishness and the pride, the need for control and stability they worked so hard to build. Knowing these plans, he was secretly trying and failing to get promoted and even applied for another position in their hometown. Naturally, Priscilla was upset. I don't blame her. He was worried that the move would feel like a financial burden. So he tried to take matters into his own hands. It was the right fight. It was the wrong weapons. And Priscilla chose to try to force Chris to change and force him to read the Bible more or pray more. But instead of focusing on the problem, it started to become more focused on resistance toward each other. And when she chose to fight the right way and only then with the right weapons, God did another work, but this time in both of their hearts. God closed those doors that Chris was applying for and open one that would allow him to have a remote position. And they were off to Houston. And guess when they were able to close on their first house? In December of 2023, exactly one year after visiting Houston. Is that crazy? Over time, Chris stopped planning his schedule around football season, which was consuming his free time, and started being present at home. He started fighting for his family with the right weapons, the time, the intentionality. He wasn't just around anymore. He was active. He got to Houston and got involved with everything he possibly could. After Priscilla prayed that his relationship would be stronger with the Lord, their schedule soon looked something like this. Monday, men's winning challenge. Tuesday, maximize manhood. Wednesday, volunteering for youth and being a part of parent collective where their kids were now attending. Thursday, being a part of leadership. Friday, marriage life group together. Sunday, going to service. They literally took off the gloves of selfishness, pride, striving, busyness, and replaced them with the right kind of weapons to win. Community, prayer, worship, surrender. They paired the right fight, becoming all that God had created them to be with the right weapons to see the victory he designed for us to have. Now, Lakewood family, the Christmas are seeing generational change and blessing. Their kids are thriving and seeing breakthrough at a young age and doing things like engaging in services, being a part of student leadership, praying over their peers. Their family is connected and stronger than ever. and family. They're sitting right here on the front row as strong members of our church community becoming all that God created them to be. Come on, Lakewood. Can we celebrate the Christmas? Amen. Amen. Maybe you're in the room and you say, "Dvonte, I'm not at that part of my story yet. I am inspired and I want to be like David. I want to be like Chris or Priscilla. I've been fighting all the right battles, but I want to be and I want to see better cuz I've been choosing the wrong weapons. I'm fighting the wrong way against the wrong enemy. Doing this on my own in my own strength. But I'm ready to take the silly looking armor off and put on God's so that when the battle is over, I too will stand firm with the victory that he wants me to have. We're getting ready to worship in a minute, but I just want to pray because if that's you, whether you're in the room, you're listening, or you're watching online, if you want victory in your life, would you just jump up on your feet and let me pray over you? Maybe you say, "Man, I've been trying all the wrong things for too long, but I want victory in my life. I want to use the right weapons for the right fight. I want to do this God's way." Let me just pray for you. Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you for every single person that's standing, every household that they represent. Father, I thank you that you are replacing generational curses with generational blessing. Father, I thank you that victory is on the way. That they will see it in the present time, God, both in the here and the now. In Jesus' name, all God's people said, Come on. All God's people said, Amen. Amen. Let's worship together. Oh, it may look it may look like I'm surrounded, but I'm surrounded by you. ((music playing)) I'm surrounded by surrounded by you. I am surrounded by surrounded by you. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Hey Lakewood family. I am here in North Houston and we are volunteering with the Salvation Army today. We are preparing for our Lakewood Christmas drive. This is one of 12 different drives that we're going to be involved in across our city. We have drives that we're working in in Fifth Ward, Third W, Sunnyside, Greens Point, just all over our city. And you know what's important to us today is that we are getting to celebrate the joy of Christmas. You know, the joy of Christmas can mean a lot of different things to people, but for us as believers, we know that the joy of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. So, the heart of the Salvation Army is to spread the good news of Jesus and to meet people's needs without discrimination. That's what the Salvation Army is all about. And we wouldn't be able to do that um without the help of Lakewood, with all of you that do that help us throughout the community. for example, uh we wouldn't be able to serve over 11,500 children and seniors this year without the help of Lakewood Church. So, when we have so many volunteers who are willing to come out and give of their time to help fill all of these angels, like we're just grateful for it. We have about 90% of our adopted angels are from uh corporations, but you guys are the only church and you guys come out to help. It takes about 100 volunteers per ship to make that happen. So you guys are helping fulfill the bags of angels where we wouldn't be able to do this without you guys. As a family, we've been to different parts of the world. We've served in different ministries, different outreaches that Lakewood has participated in. And one thing is always true. The need exists and that God always answers prayers. Today, as a family, we get to be able to answer that prayer as one, as a group, to be able to see that that need exists here in Houston in our own community, just like it does on the other side of the world. And the reality is we get to be an answer once again, not even not only on the other side of the world, but here locally. We're so excited that we get an opportunity this Christmas to bring that tangible joy and hope to people here in our city and all over the world. So, I just want to say thank you so much for being a part of this drive so that we can bring joy to families here in Houston. Thank you for supporting the Lakewood Christmas toy drive. You know, Jesus went about doing good and helping people and you are doing the very same thing. When you are giving to these children, helping their families, you are doing something good for them. Things that they will never forget. And I believe because they receive these gifts from this ministry that they will have the love of God in their heart. And that's what we're hoping for all of the children and all of their families that they will receive it as a gift from God. So, thank you so much because we know that every good and perfect gifts comes from the Lord. You are doing something good and very perfect in the eyes of God. And we do appreciate you. We'll take a moment today to worship the Lord with our tithes and our offerings. And want to thank you for your generosity, for your donations, and as we're in this Christmas season, a time of giving. Well, you guys are such great givers. And we just want to speak blessings over you and your family as you celebrate Christmas and as we keep God first place. I I see in that video I I think about the scripture. It says when you help those in need. I I think it says when you help the poor you are lending to the Lord and he will repay you. Well that's what you do every week through the ministry through helping people. The media goes out bring helping people found salvation and hope and restoration. So know that God sees you. You are lending to the Lord. And it's our prayer, our declaration. You're going to see God repay you in ways you've never dreamed. The scriptures calls it the open windows of heaven. Blessings that you cannot contain. Let's have an abundant mentality. Let's know our God's a big God. And he created it all. He owns it all. And as you stay faithful like you do and consistent, you're going to see God do some unusual, uncommon things in every area of your life. in your career, in your finances, in your relationships. We just speak those blessings. But thanks so much. Let me pray. Lord, thank you for our generous givers here at Lakewood watching, listening online, live on SiriusXM. Lord, we do speak blessings over each one of them. Lord, you see the sacrifices they make, their their generosity, their consistency, and Lord, I thank you that you will repay them, their lending to you. I just do thank you, Lord, that their gifts and talents will come out. Opportunity would be drawn to them. bonuses, raises, inheritances, Lord, things that they could not make happen on their own, supernatural provision. Lord, I thank you. You've done it in the past, but thank you that we'll finish the year strong, that you'll bless your people so we can be a bigger blessing wherever we go in Jesus' name. God bless you today as you give. Here are some ways you can give. Using your smartphone, scan the QR code located on the screen. Then select the online giving option that is the most convenient for you. Go to lakewoodurch.com/give. Text give hope to 77977 or mail a check to P. Box 27-450, Houston, Texas77227 or call us toll-free at 888-567 Joel. Merry Christmas Lakewood. Would you stand at your feet one more time and join us in singing this Christmas classic? Hark the herald angels sing. Glory to the newborn king. Peace on earth and mercy mild. God and sinners reconciled. Joyful all ye nations rise. Join the triumph of the sky. The angelic host proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem. Hark the herald angels sing glory to the newborn king. ((music playing)) Prince of peace. Hail the son of righteousness. Light and life to all he brings with ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Glory to the newborn king. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Angels we have heard on high sweetly singing o'er the plains and the mountains in reply echoing their joyous ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) So good. You may be seated if you will. Going to welcome you again like my sister Lisa did to the service today. Let me just recognize the first-time visitors one more time. Can you raise your hand? We are so glad you're here. Welcome. And I wanted to say from our family and the Lakewood staff to all of you, we pray that this would be a peacefilled, joyfilled, God's presencefilled Christmas season for each and every one of you. We love you and we pray for you each and every day. Two quick reminders. U let's don't forget uh Christmas Eve fall uh falls on Wednesday this year. So we'll have a Christmas Eve service that Wednesday. We'd love to have you a part of a 1-hour Christmas service. We'll have communion. And then I'm really personally very excited about something that's happening in January. We're beginning our midweek service again and uh Pastor Serena and Pastor Nick will be in charge of that and I'm excited about it. You want to be involved in that. So you can find out more on the web if you have more questions. But anyway, before we get started, um I was thinking about whenever I I meet you guys um either around the church here, sometimes out in town. As a matter of fact, it happened yesterday at a jewelry store where I was at. But I was thinking about baptisms. I meet so many of you and fall jam. I got to talk to so many homecoming. Almost always you you guys have one comment and three questions for me. The one comment is this. You are so much better looking than your brother. But then you have three quick follow-up questions. Number one is why does he make fun of you in front of millions of people on our international TV broadcast? Does it hurt your feelings? And do you ever want to get back? And you know, I reassure you every time I meet you. No, it doesn't hurt my feelings. We love to have fun and tease and joke and laugh and I would never in a million years want to get back at him. But I was going through some old photos recently and I thought I would show you some here. Here's a picture of my dad and my four siblings. I was at college, but you see Joel and Lisa and Tamron and April there. And and then this is one of my dad, my all of our family, my mom and dad. My dad's rocking the leisure suit there from the 70s. And that's Joel and I petting our dog Scooter. He's the subject of many of my dad's illustrations and sermons in the past. But then that got me to thinking, who do we kids look like? I mean, who do they look like? Who do I look like? And my mom used to think that I look like my her dad, my granddad, Roy Pilgrim, someone I was very close to. And you know, I see a little resemblance there. I can see that. And then most people think my sisters look like my mom. And you know, I I think there's a great resemblance there. But then, but then I just couldn't figure out who Joel looks like. I promise you, I searched through hundreds of pictures of our extended family members and I just couldn't figure out who he looked like. And so, it was a great mystery. I was about to give up my search and the Lord provided. I noticed something in the picture that I showed you before. In the right hand corner, you notice our dog Fifi got into the picture. And lo and behold, when I zoomed in on Fifi, hey, I'm not saying anything. You have to draw your own conclusions. But the next time you see Pastor Fifi, I mean Pastor Joel, tell him his brother solved the mystery. Amen. How are we supposed to have church after that? Let me pray for us. Father, thank you for the ability to come into your presence today. Father, thank you for the Holy Spirit that's with us. Thank you, Jesus. You said where any two of us are gathered, you're there in our midst. And thank you that you're walking up and down the aisles. You're sitting beside each seat. Father, you're here to minister to us whatever we need need. Thank you for your word that's alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword that can penetrate our hearts and can cause us to grow and change and be become more like you. Father, thank you that your word's going to be planted in the good soil of our hearts and that we will change. We'll never be the same. We say it never, never, never in Jesus name. And everybody said, "Amen." Well, I want to let me tell you the title of my message today is you have everything you need. You have everything you need. There's going to be several uh scriptures up on the screen for you. And there also be those of you that like to take notes, there'll be a lot of uh my notes will be on the screen as well. I want to talk to you about something that um I've been meditating on and thinking about for several months now. something that I feel like God's been dealing with me personally about. It's something that I really feel can help our marriages. It can help us become better parents. It can really help every part of our life. And it's a simple thought that has to do with change. If you define change, it's the act or process through which something becomes different. Now note, change can happen suddenly, in an instant, or it can be a process, something that happens in steps, a little at a time. If you think about it, change is a big part of our Christian lives. At the beginning of our Christian walk, we were changed. When we accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior of our life, the Bible teaches us that in a moment, we were changed. Jesus calls this being born again. Paul tells us in Ephesians, "But God, because of his great love for us, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ, even when we were dead in our transgressions, it is by grace that you've been saved." You see, we were spiritually dead, but in an instant, we become spiritually alive. Second Corinthians says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. The old is gone and the new has come." Again, there's an instant change. We go from being old to new. And then in Colossians, the Bible says that we're changed or transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God. God rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves. When we trusted Jesus as savior, the Bible tells us in an instant all of our sins are forgiven, past, present, and future. And in an instant, we become righteous in God's eyes, clothed in his righteousness. Look at this passage in 2 Corinthians. God made Jesus on the cross made him who knew no sin become sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. And Romans tells us for the if by the trespass of one man, talking about Adam, death reign through that one man, how much more will those who receive not earn God's abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Remember the prodigal son? He was clothed with the robe the father gave him. It was a robe that the son didn't earn. It's a robe the son didn't deserve. It was a gift from the father. In the same way, when we make Jesus the Lord and Savior of our life, we are clothed with God's righteousness. Now, I like to illustrate it like this. Pastor Anan and Pastor Caleb are going to help me. Pastor Anan is represents Jesus. He's clothed in God's righteousness, a gleaming white robe. He's the sinless, spotless lamb of God. He is holy. He's blameless in God's sight. Pastor Caleb represents us before we were saved. The Bible teaches that because of our sin, our righteousness is like filthy rags. So that's the robe he's wearing. But on the cross, like the scripture that I just read, a divine exchange takes place. Jesus took our sin on him. And on the cross, he shed his blood. His body was broken so that we could be forgiven of our sins. But that's not all that happens. He does something incredible as well. He then gives us his righteousness. It's not something that we earn, not something that we deserve. It's a gift that we receive. Now, when God looks at us, we look just like Jesus. holy, blameless, righteous, just as if we'd never sinned. But realize, Satan is the accuser. He will try to convince you to live your life by guilt and condemnation, thinking that you look like this, when in reality, you're the righteousness of God in Christ. You're clothed in his righteousness. Thanks, guys. And then when we make Jesus the Lord and Savior of our life, another instant change takes place. The Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us. We are now temples of God's spirit. Corinthians says, "Do you not know that your your bodies are a temple of God and God's spirit dwells in you?" God's spirit dwells in us to lead us, to guide us, to teach us, to help us, and to empower us to fulfill God's plan and purpose for our life. When we made Jesus the Lord and Savior of our life, we were changed. But then the Bible teaches us as followers of Jesus, we look forward to a day when he comes back when we will be changed. Look at Paul's words. Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with imperishable and the mortal mortal with immortality. And John says it like this. Dear friends, now we are children of God and what we will be has not been made known. But we know when Christ appears, we will be changed for we will be like him. We will see him as he is. But then here's what I feel like God's been dealing with me about. We were changed when we met Jesus. And we will be changed when he comes back again. But while we're here on this earth, we are being changed. Look at Paul's words in 2 Corinthians. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the spirit. And wherever the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord, who is the spirit, makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. During our time here on earth as followers of Jesus, we are being changed. We're being progressively transformed into his image. It's not a it doesn't happen instantly. It's a process. We cooperate with the Holy Spirit. We allow the Holy Spirit little by little to make us more and more like Jesus. We do our part and the Holy Spirit does his part. He helps us and empowers us to change. But here's the question that I feel like God's been asking me. Even though I've known the Lord for a long time, am I still changing? Am I still growing? Am I still becoming more and more like Jesus? Am I yielding myself more and more to the Holy Spirit to allow him to change me? Am I bearing more and more fruit because of the work of the Holy Spirit in my life? Or have I become stuck or stagnant? Have I become complacent and now I'm no longer changing? I think of that scripture in Philippians that says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy." If there's anything like that, think on these things. Am I doing that more and more each day? Am I walking in more humility than I did a year ago? Am I more self-aware with fewer and fewer blind spots? Am I more teachable and open to correction? Am I more like Jesus in my thoughts, in my desires, and in my actions? Am I growing in wisdom? Am I more consistently resisting temptation and throwing off the sin that so easily entangles? Is my heart of compassion more and more open to those in need around me? And then, am I allowing God's spirit to produce fruit in my life? Paul is very clear what about what that fruit looks like. He says, "The fruit of the spirit, the result of God's inddwelling presence is love and peace and joy and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. Am I growing in those?" When I think about the people that I know who've been walking with Jesus for a long time, people who are passionate about him and stay close to him and people who are teachable and have allowed the Holy Spirit to do his work in their lives, they are almost always the most patient, kind, loving, peaceful, gentle, joyfilled, humble, compassionate people that I know. People who are being changed more and more into the image of Jesus. was someone I know growing up in high school. He was a couple of years older than I was and his name is Ben Priest. He was a part of a motorcycle gang and he had a reputation in high school for being very mean and very violent and into drugs and hanging around with a really really rough crowd. He was someone who honestly all of us didn't want anything to do with. We were afraid of him. I never knew Ben's backstory. His father had left his family when he was seven years old. And that had had an impact on him growing up as a young boy. All he saw growing up, he told me, was dysfunction and violence in his home and in his family. He had been shot and stabbed and run over by a car. He was addicted to drugs. One Sunday in his mid20s, he was at the end of his rope. He was ready and prepared to kill himself that day. But that very Sunday, he got a call from someone in another state who said, "Ben, you need to go to church today." He said, "I don't even know of a church to go to." She said, "Go to Lakewood Church, find Pastor Ostein, my dad, and go to that church." And so high and strung out that Sunday night, Ben made his way to Lakewood Church on the very day he was determined to kill himself. The usher brought him in, and as they do, they brought him right down front. And my dad that night talked about the love of God, how God loves you and God can change your life. He's a God who can change what you cannot change. And Ben's heart was moved. He felt like my dad was speaking directly to him. That night, May 11, 1980, 9:55 p.m., Ben knelt down beside his motorcycle in the crush crushed concrete parking lot of our old campus, and he prayed this simple prayer. He said, "Jesus, I don't even know if you're real, but if you are real, I'll give you all of me." Then said he felt the presence of Jesus standing beside him at that moment. He said he felt a love like he had never felt before. And he said he felt like Jesus hand reached into his chest and changed his heart. All of his desire for drugs and alcohol left immediately. He said, "In an instant, I found a father who would never leave me." Ben prayed, "God, fill me with your love." And God began to do that. He asked God to teach him how to be a husband and a a father because he had never had any example of that in his life. And God did. And God called Ben to the ministry, not only to a pastor, a great church here in Houston, but a ministry to motorcycle gangs where he and his members share the love of Jesus with those gang members. When you meet Ben now, he's a different person. You would never ever you'd never ever be afraid of Ben now. He's the most gentle, kind, loving man, full of humility and compassion and tenderness toward people. You see, Ben looks like Jesus. I called Ben a couple of weeks ago and I asked him, I said, "Ben, what did you do to position yourself to allow God to do this change in your life?" And he said, "Surrender yourself totally to Jesus and then spend time with him every day. Let him fill you with his love." He said, "When you're when you know you're loved by God, it will change you on the inside." He said, "Keep your heart open and pliable and teachable and stay full of the Holy Spirit." And he said, "Jesus, walking with Jesus can heal and redeem your past no matter how difficult or troubled it was. You may be here this morning and you've had a difficult past. Hear what God wants to say to you through Ben. He can heal and redeem your past, no matter how difficult or troubled it was. You see, Ben was changed in that parking lot at the old church. And he will be changed when Jesus comes back. But Ben is allowing God to continually to change him into the image of Jesus. Now, I want to contrast Ben with someone else I knew growing up. He was one of the original members here at Lakewood and he was a good man and there's no doubt in my mind that he had surrendered his life to Jesus. He faithfully attended church and my dad took him under his wing, took him even on a missions trip. He sat under my dad's ministry for a long time. But this man was full of anger and rage and he was mean and violent. And I experienced this firsthand. Anytime you were around him, you could feel that rage and that anger and he'd fly off the handle. And over the years that we observed his life that we knew him, he never changed. He never allowed the Holy Spirit to do a work in his life. He was mean and angry to his wife and they had a troubled and difficult marriage. He was mean and abusive to his son. And when his son got older, he would have nothing to do with his father. And sadly, this man died in his early 50s of a heart attack. Here's my point to these two examples. Just because you surrender our lives to Jesus doesn't mean we automatically change into his image. There are things that we have to do to allow the Holy Spirit to change us and make us more and more like Jesus. Well, what are some of those things that we have to do to allow the Holy Spirit to change us? The first is this title of my message. Realize we have everything we need to change and become like Jesus. Peter tells us his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Think about that. Every believer has the power and the potential inside him or her to grow and change and become like Jesus. God didn't give it just to just a few people like Ben. He gave his power and his potential to each and every one of us. I have a friend named Roy. He's going been going to Lakewood for years and he became addicted to drugs and alcohol at 13 years of age. He came to Lakewood and got saved, but he continued to struggle with this addiction. What I love about Roy though is even though he struggled, he stayed faithful to Lakewood. One day, many years after being saved, sitting in a service right here at Lakewood, Roy said that this verse came alive to him. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. He said in that moment he realized that he had what he needed to break that addiction. The power of God was in him. The potential of God to change him was inside him. Jesus could do for Roy what Roy couldn't do for himself. And God did that. And Royy's been clean and sober now for decades. and he still faithfully attends and serves here at Lakewood. We have everything we need to change and become like Jesus inside of us because God's spirit lives inside of us. Second, I think it's important that we have a desire to grow and change to be like g more like Jesus. It has to be a priority. It has to be something that we want. In other words, like that man I mentioned, let's not be content to live the same way we've always lived. and not change. Let's desire to be changed. Jesus said it like this, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." You see that desire, that craving there. Joel prays this over us every week. Lord, make us and mold us into who you want us to be. Help us not to be the same place we are ne next year that we are now. Help us to grow and mature and become all you have for us to be. Help us not to get stuck or stagnant. That's a great prayer for all of us to pray every day. Lord, my desire is for you to make me and mold me into your image. Change me into who you want me to be. To change and grow, we need to make it a priority to spend time with Jesus every day. Listen to Jesus words. I am the vine and you're the branches. If you remain in me, if you stay connected to me, you will bear much fruit. But listen to the ne this next one. Apart from me, you can do nothing. In order to grow and change and become like Jesus, we need to maintain this vital connection to him. One of the ways we do that, stay connected to Jesus is through prayer. Lisa mentioned it. Prayer is a a time where we acknowledge Jesus' presence in our lives. We worship him. We thank him for what all he's done for us. We we talk to him like we would a friend. We listen to his voice when he speaks to us. It's where we confess our sins and our mistakes and where we receive his forgiveness. And prayer is where we ask Jesus, like Lisa said, to help us with every detail of our lives. You see, we stay connected to Jesus, stay connected to the vine through prayer. And then we stay connected to Jesus through spending time reading and obeying the scriptures, letting his word, God letting the Holy Spirit illuminate God's word to to us. Second Timothy says, "Every scripture has been inspired by the Holy Spirit, the breath of God. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into a path of godliness. Then you will be fully mature and perfectly prepared to fulfill any assignment God gives you. As we spend time with Jesus in prayer and in his word, we will grow in godliness. We will mature. We'll become more and more like him and we'll be fully prepared for the assignment that God has for our lives. My dad used to remind us that in Jesus day there were thousands of people who came just to see Jesus to watch his miracles and hear his teachings. There were 500 people who followed him from town to town. There were 12 who spent three years with him. There were three that were in his inner circle. But there was one, the Apostle John, who laid on his chest. My dad said he wanted to be the one to lay on the chest of Jesus, the one closest to him. My dad wanted to stay connected to the vine. He wanted to bear fruit. He wanted to be all he could be for Jesus. You see, friends, spending time with Jesus probably is the most important key to becoming more and more like him. But here's a fact of life, though. There will always be things to compete for our time with Jesus. I think this is part of Satan's plan. He doesn't want us to mature. He doesn't want us to fulfill our destiny. Remember the parable of the sewer. The seed that fell in the soil with weeds represents the person who receives the message. But because of all the busy distractions, his heart is divided and his ambition for wealth results in suffocating the kingdom message and prevents him from bearing spiritual fruit. Think about that. Distractions can keep us from bear bearing spiritual fruit. My encouragement to myself and to you this morning is let's not be too busy to spend time with Jesus. To stay connected to the vine. It's how we bear fruit. It's how we allow him to change us more and more into his image. To grow and change, we need to spend time with godly people. Proverbs says, "If you if you want to grow in wisdom, walk with wise people. But if you walk with the wicked, you'll become like them." we become like the people we spend time with. It's so important that we not consistently surround ourselves with people who compromise, people who don't honor God, who pull us away from our walk with God. Instead, surround ourselves with people who are passionate for Jesus, people who are godly, people who live their lives to honor him, people who inspire us to become more and more like Jesus because we become like the people we spend time with. To grow and change, we need to be a part of a community of faith. We need to have a church home and put down our roots in the house of the Lord. We need to be a part of a community of of believers who gather to worship God together just like we have this morning to pray together to have our faith stren strengthened together to be taught the word of God together so that we can grow more and more become like Jesus and fulfill the destiny that God has for our lives. The psalmist said it like this. Those that are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish. In other words, they will produce more and more fruit and become more and more like Jesus. Number six is this. To grow and change, we need to make listening to and obeying the voice of the Holy Spirit a priority in our lives. Holy Spirit's inside of each and every one of us to lead us and guide us and help us and empower us to be that all to be all that God wants us to be. So it is so vitally important that we listen to his voice and obey what he asks us to do. He will reveal things to us that need to be changed in our lives and then he will empower us to change and be more and more like Jesus. Let me give you an example. For many years we lived on a farm out 50 on 55 acres on a farm in Magnolia. We had horses and cows and hay fields and lots of different pastures and hay pastures and ca pastures where the cows could graze. And these pastures were all fenced off from each other. And in order to get to a pasture, you had to open a gate. And every gate had a different latching or locking mechanism. Some had a bolt that you slid in. Others were had changed and you can you connected them with things like this or a a clip like this or one like this. But they were all different. Every one of them was different. And when I would go feed the cows, my three girls loved to ride on the tractor with me. They were probably six, seven, and eight years old at the time. And when we came to a gate, they took turns jumping off the tractor and opening it so they could drive through. And then they closed it and latched the gate behind me when I was done. My two oldest girls had absolutely no problem figuring out all the different latching mechanisms of each gate. My youngest though, when it was her turn, she struggled to figure it out. She would try for a while, but when she couldn't do it, you know what? I'd get down off the tractor and I'd go show her how to do it. I was very patient with her. I did this probably 10 times, each time trying to teach her how to open the gate, but she could never figure it out. Finally, I didn't want to embarrass her, so I thought I was doing the right thing. I just skipped her turn. I'd let the other girls open the gates, but I quit asking her. This went on for a couple of months and I thought nothing about it. One day I was out in my office about a hundred yards from our house doing just what I've been talking to you about today. Spending time with Jesus, reading my Bible and praying right in the middle of my devotional time. I heard the Holy Spirit whisper these words to me down in my spirit, clear as a bell, unmistakable. He said, "If you don't change the way you're treating your daughter Sophie, you're going to injure her self-esteem." I was totally taken aback, totally surprised. I wasn't thinking about that, but instantly I knew that it referred to me not asking her to open the gate. So, I called the house and asked Sophie to come out to my office. Honestly, I didn't know if I'd injured her. I didn't know how she'd react, but I got down on my knees in front of her and I said, "Sophie, I need to ask for forgiveness for something." I said, "I am sorry that I haven't been asking you to open the gates for me anymore." It's all I needed to say. She immediately got big tears in her eyes. She collapsed in my arms and began to cry and cry and cry, her little chest heaving against me. Little did I know how my actions were hurting my little girl. That afternoon, I went to Tractor Supply. I bought 10 new latches, ones that I knew she could open, and I replaced every latch on every gate. After that, anytime I drove up to a gate and I asked her to open it for me, she had jumped down. She ran to that gate. She opened it and with such pride and joy and a sense of accomplishment. I am so thankful to the Holy Spirit that he spoke to me. thankful that I was given the opportunity to change. So thankful I didn't do something to permanently hurt my daughter. You see friends, to grow and change, we need to make listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit a priority in our life. And then seven, to grow and change, we need to realize sometimes we have blind spots. Sometimes there are things we can't see about ourselves that we need to change and we need other people to help us. Few years ago, something happened that made this so so apparent to me and it has to do with my daughters again. One day, my daughters and I were having three of us were having a conversation. Four of us actually were having a conversation in our kitchen. We'd been talking for a few minutes. I don't even remember what we were talking about. But then suddenly, my oldest daughter got upset and began to cry and she walked off and went to her room. I had absolutely no idea what had happened. So, a few minutes later, I went up to her room and I asked her what was going on. and she responded. She said, "Dad, you were harsh and unkind with me and I'd hurt her feelings. I absolutely didn't know what she was talking about. I thought nothing could be further from the truth. I basically discarded everything she said to me. So, I left without saying anything else to her." About 15 minutes later, it was still bothering me and I was thinking about it. So, I decided to go ask one of my other daughters what had happened. To my surprise, when I asked her, she said, "Dad, you were so unkind and harsh to her." I still didn't believe it. I went to my third daughter and I asked her the same thing. Guess what she said? She said, "Dad, you were so unkind and harsh to her." I asked her, "How was I unkind and harsh?" She said, "With the words you used, with the way you used your words, with your facial expression, and with your body language." I then realized I couldn't see something about myself that was glaringly obvious to everyone else in the room. Like a horse with blinders on, I had a blind spot. I needed other people that I know and trust and that love me and have my best interest in mind to help me see what I couldn't see about myself so that I could change and become more like Jesus. Jesus said these words, "First acknowledge your own blind spots and deal with them. Then you'll be capable of dealing with the blind spot of your friend." I went up immediately and took full responsibility for what had happened. I asked my daughter to forgive me. Now, I try to welcome other people that I know and love and trust and have my best interest in mind to help me see what I may not be able to see about myself so that I can change and become all God wants me to be. Proverbs 27 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another the character of another." We need each other to sharpen our character, to help us, to encourage us, to correct us, to inspire us so that we can be more and more like Jesus. Here's my encouragement to you this morning. We were changed when we trusted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We will be changed one day when Jesus comes back. But let's continue to grow and change during our time here on earth. Let's not get stuck or stagnant. Remember, you have everything you need to change all the power and the potential you need. Let's do our part. Let's let's ask God to mold us and make us into his his image. Let's spend time with Jesus every day, staying connected to the vine through prayer and studying the scriptures. Let's surround ourselves with people who encourage us and inspire us to be like Jesus. Let's stay planted in the house of the Lord and let's make listening to the Holy Spirit and obeying the Holy Spirit a priority in our lives and realize that we may have blind spots and we need others to help us all so that we can grow and become all that Jesus has for us. As we do this, I believe and declare for myself and for all of you, we will be changed. We will bear more and more fruit. We will look more and more like Jesus. We will fulfill God's plan and purpose for our lives. And what most importantly, we will make an impact for Jesus and his kingdom. If you receive it, would you say amen? Father, thank you for your word. Father, thank you that it's fallen on the good soil of my brothers and sisters hearts. Father, thank you that we are not going to just be hearers of your word, but Father, we're going to be doers. We're going to heed what we've heard and put it into action. Father, Father, I pray you'd bless the Lakewood family, those that are here, those that are watching. Give them a good week. Father, I pray you would protect them, protect their children as they finish up in school, maybe then ones that are uh traveling from college. Be with their friends and family members as they travel or perhaps our members travel to see their family. Be with them, Father. As I said earlier, may this be a peacefilled, joyfilled, your presencefilled Christmas for everyone in Jesus name. With your heads still bowed, let me ask you a question. If you died in the next five minutes, do you know where you'd spend eternity? If not, I'd like to pray a simple prayer and like invite you to pray like Ben did many years ago to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Or maybe you say, "Paul, I knew the Lord at one time, but I'm not living right. I'm not doing right. I I need a new beginning. I need to start over with Jesus. If that's you, I'm going to invite you to pray with me as well. So, if you want to make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life or you want to come back to him, not going to ask you to put your hand up. I'm just going to ask you to pray this prayer. And all of us at Lakewood are going to pray with you. Just say, "Dear Jesus, I ask you to forgive me of my sins. I repent. I ask you to come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior in Jesus name." Friends, if you prayed that prayer, we believe something changed on the inside. You were born again. As Joel said, give us the next year of your life. If you do that, come as often as you can. Tune in as often as you can. We promise you at the end of that year, your life will not be the same for the better. There's a lot of information you can get from from the seat back right in front of you. There's a QR code you can learn about Lakewood or ways that you can be involved. But write it in your Bible. December the 14th, 2025. A new day of victory in your life. Amen. Would you stand? Let me leave you with a blessing. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord show his favor to you and have mercy on you. May the Lord watch over you and give you his peace. God bless. See you next week and merry Christmas.