Blessed with Persecution | Joel Osteen | Lakewood Church Service

Oh, we came to praise the Lord. Woo! Come on, every voice in the room. Come on. Oh, and I've got a reason to praise the Lord. Oh my soul, praise the Lord. Oh my soul. Oh, I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep it inside?

Praise the Lord. Oh my soul. I praise God 'cause you're sovereign. Praise God 'cause you reign Praise 'cause you rose and defeated the grave. I praise 'cause you're faithful. Praise 'cause you're true. Praise 'cause there's nobody greater than you. Our praise. Oh, we praise you. He's worthy. He defeated the grave.

Oh, praise God is true. Praise God. There's nobody greater than you. Praise the Lord. Come on. If you got breath in your lungs, lift up your voice. He's worthy. Oh my soul. My God is alive. How could I keep? Oh, I won't be quiet. Oh, how could I keep?

I won't be quiet. I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep it inside the Lord, oh my soul? Hey, good morning everyone. Welcome to Lakewood today. Thanks so much for coming out. How many of you are ready to worship the Lord this morning? God's been good to us.

You brought us through another week and we feel so blessed to have you with us in the house today watching and listening as well. But uh I really believe the service is better because you took time to come out. You know, you brought joy with you and peace with you, victory with you.

And really, you could be doing anything today. You know, running errands, going grocery shopping, resting, but you made the decision, I'm going to go to the house of the Lord today. You're putting God first place. And I learned this when I was a little boy that when you honor God, God will honor you.

In other words, you can't give God something without him giving you more back in return. So, I hope you know that God saw you take the time to come today. And it's always our prayer and our declaration that not one of us are going to leave the same way we came in.

So, I hope you're ready to receive. I think part of that is you got to let go anything that's trying to weigh you down. I mean, there's always some kind of worry or discouragement or guilt or, you know, it's there's something that's trying to take our joy and our peace.

But if you'll come back to that place of peace and say, "God, I'm in your hands today." You know, my future is in your hands. And when you release that, God will fill you a fresh and a new with joy and peace and vision. And that's always our our prayer.

You know, like I said, you're going to go out of here better than you were before. So we just believe, declare, not an average get by week, but how about a blessed week where you see the goodness of God in greater ways. So thanks so much for coming out.

Amen. Yes, it is so good to have you in the house of the Lord this morning. And we are going to have a blessed week. But we're going to first have a blessed day because today is a special day. Today is a super special day. This is the day that the Lord has made and we will be glad and rejoice in it.

So today is our promise day. So I want to encourage you that God made you and he made today and he knew where you were going to be and he knew what you were going to need. So today he has made something special for each and every one of us.

So let's get a new perspective. This isn't an ordinary Sunday. This is a Godmade Sunday. Amen. This is a Godmade day and he's got things in store for you and I. So, let's just open our heart today and let's just let the baggage go, the things that are trying to distract us and weigh us down.

And let's just say, God, right now, I'm going to make the most of this opportunity. I'm going to make the most of this moment because I know that there is miracles in the making right now. And that's what you got to believe in your heart. what you're doing right now.

You're planting seeds in your life. You're coming into the house of the Lord. You're worshiping God today. You are planting amazing seeds in your life that I believe are going to come to fruition in the days and weeks ahead. So, just know today, God's going to put great things on the inside of you.

And as the blessings go up, as the praises go up, I believe his blessings are coming down. Amen. Amen. And father, we thank you so much that we have this day and this opportunity to spend with you, to spend with one another, that God, that we believe that we are planting seeds because we are blessing you, because we are honoring you.

And so, Father, as we sing these songs of praise, as we put words to our joy, Father, we ask that you would receive it like a fresh smelling aroma, that Father God, you would be blessed and that Father, those blessings would come down on us in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, "Amen." Are you glad to be in the house of the Lord this morning? God is good, Amen. Lord God, we love you today and we do see sing hallelujah and thank you Lord for all that you've done. Lord, we know you chose us before we could choose you.

You woke us up this morning and gave us another day to be alive with family and friends and health and opportunity. And Lord, we don't take it for granted. We know it all comes from you, our father, in heaven above. And we just say thank you, Lord, for all that you've done in our lives, for bringing us to where we are.

And Lord, we thank you for what you have planned for each one of us. We know you didn't bring us this far to leave us where we are. But Lord, we believe the best part of our lives are still in front of us. Lord, that even while we're worshiping you today, that every force that's tried to stop us has been broken in the name of Jesus.

Depression, anxiety, addictions, maybe it's sickness or trouble at home, in our finances. Lord, we believe today is a breakthrough day that you're doing what only you can do. For Father, our eyes are upon you today. I know there are giants in some of our paths, but Lord, we believe you can bring down anything.

That no weapon formed against us will ever prosper. So Lord, we come back to a place of faith today, a place of trust. We believe you being for us is greater than anything trying to stop us. So Lord, thank you for all you've done and what you're about to do in our lives.

And Lord, I just thank you that we all have wisdom, that we have clear direction for our lives. Father, you said you'd give us the power to obey. You said that you're our doorkeeper, that you open and close the doors in our lives. And Lord, I thank you that we will make decisions that honor you, that move us toward our God-given destiny.

Father, for the mistakes we've made, we ask for your forgiveness and we receive your mercy. Lord, I thank you that you can still get us to where we're supposed to be. That your mercy is bigger than any mistake. So Lord, we shake off the guilt, the condemnation, and we start moving forward in faith, believing that you do have good things in store for each one of us.

Lord, I do lift up those that are fighting battles in their health here in the building watching and listening. Lord, you said you'd restore health back to your people. Lord, I thank you right now that healing and wholeness is flowing into all those that need it. Lord, you can even do what medicine cannot do.

That you have the final say. So Lord, I just speak victory and life and healing that we will run and not be weary. That the number of our days you will fulfill in good health in Jesus' name. And Lord, I do lift up those as well that not physically, but they're in tough times.

They've gone through loss. They've gone through heartache. Father, you said you're close to the brokenhearted. Let them feel your presence right now. Let them know that we're praying. Lord, I thank you that you're comforting them. That even though it may seem like it's the end, that you have a new beginning.

That you have beauty for ashes. Lord, you said weeping endures for a night, but joy is coming in the morning. So, Lord, I thank you for the joy that's on the way. Lord, I speak fresh vision over your people. Fresh anointing, fresh favor, fresh attitudes, fresh momentum, fresh growth, leaving the negative in the past and getting ready for the new things you have in store.

That we are victors and never victims in Jesus' name. And if you receive it, can you say amen today? Amen. So awesome to have you with us today. It's our honor. We make a declaration of faith in every service. So say it like you mean it. Ready? I am blessed, prosperous, redeemed, forgiven, healthy, whole, talented, creative, confident, secure, disciplined, focused, prepared, qualified, motivated, valuable, free, determined, equipped, empowered, anointed, accepted, and approved.

Not average, not mediocre. I am a child of the most high God. I will become all I was created to be in Jesus name. Amen. You sound great today. We were singing that song a while ago. It comes from the Bible. It says, "Let the weak say I am strong.

Let the poor say I am rich." You know, it's not just, you know, let's just be positive words. You are you are prophesying your future. you are declaring, you know, what's going to happen, you know, in in the future. And so that's why it's so important that we get our words aligned with what God says about us.

That's why I love to say it. You know, we do it every service. I am blessed, prosperous, redeemed. You know, you don't always feel that way, but you know what? You're prophesying it. You're drawing in what you're saying. I just encourage you. Listen to what you're saying about yourself.

You know, that's what you're going to be like 5 years from now. So, don't go around, I don't know, Joy. My back's been hurt and I don't think I'll ever get out. No, you got to zip all that up. And I'm not saying to deny the facts, but how about this?

Okay. Oh, you know, I got my child. My child may be off course, but here's what I'm going to declare. As for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. God's working in our lives. I don't know, man. I got this financial difficulty. Yeah, I'm not denying that.

But Lord, I want to thank you that I lend. I don't have to borrow. That I am above and not beneath. start speaking life over yourself, over your family, over your future. I even love you. Remember when David went out to face the giant? I mean, the guy was twice his size.

I mean, he could have said, "Hey, man, y'all pray for me. He's big. I don't know if I can do it." You know, that's kind of natural. But you remember what he said? He said, "This day I will defeat you and feed your head to the birds of the air."

Man, you got to have a report of victory. You may have some giants in your life, but why don't you speak faith, speak victory, speak what God says about you. Let me tell you, God has you in the palm of his hand. And he knows everything that's happening in your life.

It's not a surprise to him. And when you get in tune with God, that's your thoughts, your attitudes, your words. That's what causes the creator of the universe to go to work. That's why I tell you every week, 2026 is not going to be an average get by year.

But how about a blessed year, a productive year, a healthy year, a favorfilled year. Come on, let's keep speaking it out, declaring what God says about us. That's where the life and the health and the victory is. But we love you guys. We we pray over you every day and we speak victory over you every day.

I hope you're doing the same over your family and friends. But we take a moment in every service to pray individually. If you'd like to for us to agree with you in prayer, something's concerning you or just over a dream, why don't you meet a prayer partner at the front of your section all over the building, somebody would be there and be happy to pray for you.

Rest of you, you're welcome to be seated if you'd like and we'll take this next song to pray. Our beautiful online family and listening live on SiriusXM, thanks for always being a part. We love you. Victoria is there to pray for you and speak a blessing over your lives.

We are so glad that you've joined us for this time in our service where we pray and we want to pray for you today. I want to encourage you that when you pray, God hears you. He knows what you need. The Bible says before you even ask. But our job is to pray.

Pray without ceasing. The scripture says, and I just want to encourage you, you know, when we pray, when we invite God into our situation, you know, that anchors our soul. And it says in Hebrews that this is the hope we have, that we are anchored in our soul, firm and secure.

And so, that's what I want to do today. I want to I want to reinforce our anchor because some of you may have been praying for a while, but let me tell you something. And when things feel uncertain, when prayers seem delay, that's when it's time to come back and anchor, just drive that anchor in a little deeper because God wants to keep us steady in the storm.

He doesn't want us drifting. He doesn't want doubt to take us to and fro, but he wants us anchored in him. And so today, when we pray, we're just setting ourselves even stronger in God. So, if you need prayer today, we would love to invite you to put it in the chat because we want to stand in agreement and pray with you.

We already have a few prayer requests that have come in. So, I want to share those with you right now. And some are for healing and and for jobs, for financial freedom, for family, but Joshua says he needs healing from a tumor that's causing him pain. So Joshua, we're going to stand in agreement with you that God will make you ever withhold.

That you'll get the right help that you need and that God will lead you and direct you and you will get on the other side of this pain and this this tumor that's trying to come against your body and you may have a sickness in your body today or you may have some symptoms and you don't know quite what it is.

Let's pray. Let's pray with Joshua and Opal. Opal says her hand is uh is is hurting. It's it's messed up. So, she really needs prayer on her hand. And you know, you think, well, you know, uh tumor and hands, those seem a little different. But the truth is, pain is pain.

And when it's yours, it hurts and it's serious. And so God doesn't care if you pray for your little toe. He wants you to bring all these things to him. So whether it's a bad situation or just something that's irritating and bothering your body, we're going to pray about that today.

We're going to ask God to just reveal to us anything that we can do to help ourselves, but we're going to ask him to do everything that we can't do. So today, if you need prayer for healing in your body, I'm just going to stop right now and pray.

Father, I ask you right now in the name of Jesus that you would heal bodies that you would cause symptoms to cease from being in Jesus' name and go to the root of that problem and Father, drive it out in Jesus' name. We call our bodies healed and healthy.

You created our bodies and Father, you know how they function and you know how they work. So, Father, you know how to fix them. And that's what we're asking you for today, a healed body. whatever symptoms, whatever uh is been diagnosed in in my brothers and sisters body, Father, we are declaring that by the stripes of Jesus, we are whole.

And Father, that you are working ever with wholeness in our bodies. And Father, whatever it is, just take us to the right places. Let us have the right doctors. Give us the right care. Whatever we need to do, Father, we have ears to hear and eyes to see what you have for us. and we want to walk in obedience and honor to you, Father.

And so, Father, we thank you that you take sickness from the midst of us in Jesus name. Amen. And amen. I want you to hold on to that promise, whatever it is that God is your healer and your restorer in Jesus' name. We also have Jesse who has some unresolved problems with his co-workers.

And so, Jess, I just tell you what, got listen to the message today. A great message for you. Cindy praying for a promotion at her job. So whether you have some disputes, some conflicts, be it in your workplace, your family, we're just going to pray right now. And that and that those who need financial breakthroughs will get financial breakthroughs.

If you need restoration in your marriage, uh within your family unit, we're going to pray for that, too. So let's just stand in agreement right now. Father, I thank you. You know everyone by name. You know every hair on their head, whether they have a unresolved situation. Father, with a coworker, with a family member, any disputes, lawsuits, we say cease from being in Jesus' name.

Father, we thank you that you can br build bridges, that you can mend fences, that Father, you can work all things out according to your glory and your riches in Christ Jesus. And so, Father, we thank you right now, that you are working behind the scenes. And Father, we may not see it or feel it, but we're trusting you that you will do it.

That you will give financial breakthroughs for those who need it, Lord. And that, Father God, you'll give them cars and houses and whatever they need. Father, we stand in agreement. And Lord, we ask you that you bless the family unit. You bless our relationships, God. That you would show us how to love each other.

That you would show us how to overlook an offense. that you, Father God, would give us the grace to be the bigger person and Father, that you will work all these things out in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen. Whatever you need today, I want you to know that God heard you.

He sees your heart, and he is going to bless you and work with you to to just become everything that he's called you to be. So, thank you for spending this time with us in prayer. We've just just reinforced our anchor. We're going to stand strong and steadfast in Jesus' name.

God bless you. You know, no matter what age you are in life, when we go through hard things, it's easy to put on what I call the old man. It has nothing to do with age and everything to do with outlook and attitude. See, the old man's spirit has many willing helpers.

Fear, complacency, anxiety, and judgment. The enemy loves for you to put on the old man. In your 20s, you may have gone through something traumatic and here comes the old man saying, "Maybe you should give up. Your life is over." In our 30s and 40s, we went through loss and think the life we knew is over.

So instead of beginning a new chapter, taking another leap of faith and put on the old man, isolate ourselves, stop trying. In our 50s and 60s and 70s, it gets easier put on the old man and woman, doesn't it? We've carried the weight of responsibility in life. We have some miles on us.

At this age, people remind you of how much life you've lived and how old you are. They'll label you. Here comes the old man. You're start you start thinking maybe I am too old. You even speak it over yourself. Not in a positive way. Even though you have so much life still ahead of you, you still might believe I'm too old.

I've heard it said, "Yuth is not a time of life. It is a state of mind." But the old man is saying in your ear, "Your best days are ahead are behind you." And this can affect your faith, your outlook, your identity. But let me encourage you today.

That's not God. He always wants to do something new in us. And here's what I need you to do. When you feel the old man's spirit on you, you need to take off the old man. You need to have some faith. No matter what age you are, what you've been through, you need to get your fire back.

It's never too late to accomplish your goals and your dreams. Amen. You see, in the Bible, Caleb, he led Israel's army at 85 years old, and he declared, "Give me this mountain." And they drove out their enemies and took possession of the lo the land. It's never too late. in your 50s and 60s.

Who says you can't start that business? Get the job you've always wanted, buy that house you've dream dreamed of having. Colonel Sanders started franchising KFC at 65 years old. Martha Stewart didn't launch her billion-dollar company until she was well into her 50s. Morgan Freeman won his first Academy Award at the young age of 67.

You know what's interesting? I can't find anywhere in the Bible where it talks about retirement. Come on. Look, you may retire one day from your job, but don't you ever retire from your purpose. You have so much to give. Pastor Joel says, "Keep learning. Keep growing. Keep giving.

If you're still alive, God wants to use you. Every day you are alive is a new beginning. At 75, you should say, "I'm just getting started." Let me ask you a question. How old would you be in your heart if you didn't know how old you are? The Bible says in Isaiah 40:31, "But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.

They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Here's what I want to encourage you today. Keep dreaming, right? Keep believing. No matter what age and what hand you've been dealt, nothing is over. Amen. That's what my friend Gwen did after going through a painful divorce and years of helping her son get off drugs.

She could have put on the old person's spirit and given up on her dreams. Instead, in her late 60s, she kept serving, kept believing, and her youth was renewed like the eagle. Watch this. We grow up with these what I call fairy tale stories of how life is going to be in our future.

My former husband was a womanizer and he expected me to stay in the marriage and he continued that lifestyle because that was the culture of the community that he was from. And there was so much hurt in that, so much betrayal that I felt. Unfortunately, what I didn't expect is how much of a toll it took on my son.

And one day I was at home and he came and knocked on my door. So he said that um he's on heroin. I nearly fell out. Couldn't believe it. Not my son. and my son who I'm I have in church every week. Well, it got to the point where several years later, I'm hitting rock bottom financially because um I'm always getting him out of trouble.

I'm still standing with the Lord. I'm still believing for so many things to change uh in my life. I just did what I always do and that is I continue to to serve and take my mind off of what I was experiencing and um focus more in to being a servant uh to people and their needs uh uh here at Lakewood.

I still believed that God would bless me with another home. But by my taking my money and constantly getting uh my my son out of trouble and I say to myself, "Okay, you know, I'm going to start it all over again." Pastor Joel's messages. It was just unbelievable to me that whatever I went through week by week, he would be speaking to that particular situation.

This past July, I turned 70 and I started the journey with getting approved for a home. And I thought, Lord, I didn't expect for it to be this long, but this is your plan for me. And one thing I've learned along the way is that your plan is always the best plan.

And lo and behold, I was connected with an Althia Marus and she said, "Hey, I want you to come ride with me." We ride out through in the the Conroy area, the school district in that area. Turns out they had a job fair that Wednesday. I went to the job fair and a couple of days I was hired.

And that to me said, "Okay, you got a job offer here, so you got to live out here. You got to be closer." Finally, uh, I got the word that I was approved for a home. I believe that my testimony is one even for the older generation, for my generation that is still believing God uh for those things that they may have been waiting for for a long time.

It's been worth the wait. It proves that it's never too late. It is never too late. Come on. Gwen's right here on the front row. Gwen, stand. Come on, give her a big hand. We honor you, Gwen. She's one of our teachers in Conroe. Making a difference in kids' lives.

I forgot to tell you one more part of the story. Her son's drugfree and living his best life now. It's never too late when we're so proud of you. We love you. Let me pray for you right now. Father, I just pray for each and every person. I don't know where they are in their life, what age they're at, Father, but God, you always have a purpose for those who will seek after you.

And God, I believe what the scripture says that if we trust in you that our youth will be renewed like eagles. And God, Gwyn's example, Father, in her 70s, she's teaching. She just got a new house, Father. God, if you could do it for Gwen, can't you do it for someone else in this room today, Father?

So, Father, let us lift our expectations today. I don't know what somebody's going through. Maybe they've stopped believing. Maybe they put on that old man's spirit. Father, I just ask that they'll do what we said today. Let them take off that old man's spirit. And, Father, let them put on your spirit, God.

Show them their purpose. Show them the plan. Open up the new job. Give them a home. Father, bless them in every aspect of their life. And Father, as you do, let their light shine like Gwen's, Father, and be example. And we thank you for it in Jesus' name.

And if you receive it today, church, come on. Can you give the Lord one more big hand clap today? Hey, Lakewood. Each year, your giving allows us to come alongside thousands of teachers and students to provide them supplies and resources that helps vulnerable families all over our city.

And this past week, we had an amazing opportunity to work with two schools to have a teacher appreciation outreach. Teachers and the support staff at schools are such an important part of investing into the next generation, and we wanted to be intentional about investing in them. During these outreaches, you provided every teacher at the school with tangible resources to bless them, but you also provided them an opportunity for Lakewood volunteers to reflect Jesus' love and heart and action.

We offered warm hugs and open prayers, and we continue to pray for all our teachers that they will be encouraged and know that Lakewood Church is here and cares about them. So, our teachers got to come in and have warm, smiling faces from all of Lakewood's family. So, we greatly appreciate that.

It kind of helped the vibe. So, it was very exciting for our teachers just to start a Monday with breakfast, a smile, a little gift to take home. Um, with our campus, we don't have a PTO. So, this was very exciting to have just another face to tell them thank you for everything that they do.

We cannot do this work in silos. And even though sometimes it may feel that way, the the school is the heart of the community. And so without that community support, then it just makes the work more difficult. Every time Lakewood comes to our school, and it's been about three or four times since I've been the principal, like no matter what, they always pray for us.

And so that just leaves me feeling extremely blessed and extremely grateful. They're are generational builders. So, it's so important for us to be able to be the hands and feet of Jesus and come and just tell them how grateful we are for everything that they do. Our community wouldn't be the same without teachers that invest in these students and just love on them.

All of these stories, large and small, happen because of your faithfulness. And we are so thankful you allow us to be an extension of your faith to help bring hope to teachers in our city and to give hope to the world. That's so good. Lakewood, thank you for all that you do. and we honor all the teachers, all those in the education field, but thanks for that just your consistency, being a blessing, being with us today.

And every time we meet on Sundays, we take a moment to worship the Lord with our tithes and our offerings. So that's what we'll do now. always want to thank you for just being so generous and consistent and just um keeping the ministry going. Not only he helping people in the community, which is very important, but y'all know the media goes out all over the world.

And my brother Paul's over in Africa now operating on people for probably another month or two. And so it all happens because of you guys. So, thanks for that. And I was thinking about what it says in 2 Corinthians. I I read it this week. It says, "When you sow sparingly, you'll reap sparingly.

But when you sow generously, you will reap generously. And that's what I think about Lakewood givers because you guys are generous. You know, Lakewood's been going on for 67 years. And you know, you not maybe not all been here that long, but those of you that have, you know, through the years there's been generous people.

And just being here today and not only your giving, but not only your giving of your finances, but a lot of you give your time and you volunteer and all that. You are you are generous givers. And so the promise we're standing on for you, one of the promises, many, but one of them is you're going to you're going to reap generously.

You're going to see the open windows of heaven because you continue to honor God and keep him first place. So when when you give, I think this is important. You know, I think it's easy these days because it's, you know, you can give online and you can click a button and all that and that's all that's all great, but don't just do it out of habit.

When you give, give in faith. Say, God, I'm giving this money. You gave it to me. I'm giving. I'm giving joyfully. And Lord, I'm giving it knowing that I'm planting a seed that's going to help people all over the world. And Lord, that you give seed back to the sewer.

That you will you will let me reap a harvest from what I'm giving. So, I hope you'll give in faith. Know that we pray for you. And we're just speaking an abundant 2026 over you and your family. The the job's not our source. God is our source. He controls it all.

So, let's stay in faith in our giving. That is so good. It reminds me of Ephesians 3:20. It says, "God can do exceedingly abundantly above all you ask or think according to the word that workketh within you." And what's interesting about that is is when you're obedient to God, when you are the hands and feet of Jesus, when you are doing God's work, you that you have the word working in you.

And so God says, "I can do so much when the word is working in you." you. So, I just want to encourage you today that God can do anything. He can go beyond your expectations. But like Joel said, you got to stir up your faith. You got to know that, hey, God, I you know, I am sewing.

I believe that you're going to do for for me what I can't do for myself. You know, it's interesting because Jesus asked a blind man. He said, "What do you need?" Jesus knew that man was blind, but he wanted him by faith to say, "I need my sight."

What are you saying to God by faith today? You saying, "God, I'm being obedient. The word's working in me. Can you give me a financial breakthrough? Can you heal my child? Can you do something for me?" See, he was he said it in faith. God wants you to ask.

He knows what you need. But when you ask in faith and you're obedient, he can do exceedingly abundantly above all you ask, think, or imagine. So that's why we we don't ever want you to get tired of hearing about giving because giving really unlocks so much in your life.

It is a key. When you're generous, God says, "I love a generous giver. A cheerful giver." It that is a key to unlock amazing things in your life. So, we just want you to know how much we appreciate you being here, serving here, giving here, being a part of this family.

You go out all over Houston, and I hear it all the time. The best people go to Lakewood. The best people, people all want to pray for me go to Lakewood, you know. So, anyway, we love you guys so much. You mean the world to us. So, thank you for being who you are.

That's so good. Let me pray. Lord, thank you for all of our generous givers today. And Lord, we're giving in faith joyfully. We know you've given us these funds that we can give today. We recognize you're the source of all good. And Lord, as we give, I I thank you what you promise, the open windows of heaven.

Let their gifts and talents come out to the full. Lord, I thank you that you're bringing the contracts and businesses and opportunities and just the ideas, the creativity. Lord, I thank you that we all will lend and not borrow, above and not beneath, so that we can fulfill the purposees you've called us to. and bring the gospel all over the world.

And Lord, I just thank you you'll entrust us with greater influence and resources. And Lord, that you'll bless your people in greater ways. You know, Lord, they're good stewards here at Lakewood. And I thank you for it, doing it in advance in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen. God bless you 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 777977. Mail a check to P. Box 27450 Houston, Texas 77227 or call us toll-free at 888567 Joel.

All right, man. Thanks for being at Lakewood. Are you glad to be here on a Sunday morning worshiping a good God today? We're so honored to have you here. Do you mind all standing one last time? We're going to hold up our Bibles in a moment, but I just want to tell you what a joy it is to have you here.

And if you're visiting with us, a special welcome to you. I'd love to meet you after the service. I'm always right back over by the bookstore lobby afterwards and be my joy to say hello to you. But thanks for coming out. We're going to have a great summer here at Lakewood.

Hope you stay plugged in. you know, a lot of negativity in the world. It's good to get around to some faithfilled people like here at Lakewood. You know, I I enjoy coming. I know I'm the pastor, but I enjoy coming to just be around faithfilled people, people that build you up.

And so, thanks for being here. And Gwen, I love that story. Wherever Gwen go anyways, right there, Gwen, I love that story, Gwen. You know what? It's a testimony of the faithfulness of God. And Gwen's a mighty woman of faith. Come through a lot. But look what the Lord can do at 70 years old.

And that's why we tell you, you know, I already said it. You know, you don't know what God has in store for you. She never knew at 70 she'd be getting her first home, but you don't know what God's going to do in your life. Let's let's be believers and not doubters.

There's enough doubters in the world. Let's let's be people that say, you know what, God, I think 2026 a blessed year in my life and new things that you're doing that just opens opens up your mind and your spirit to receive what God has for you. But anyway, I'm not supposed to be saying all that, but it's good.

But hey, all the men, Monday, uh, Friday night on May 29th, all the all the men, I'd love for you to meet us out here. We're going to have a great time, a an annual men's night that we have and just a time of fellowship and teaching and camaraderie.

And afterwards, we got the big food trucks out there. Just a lot of fun. But man, maybe you want to bring a neighbor with you that night. We just get together and have a great time. We'd love to have you be a part. But thank you all for coming out today.

Adam, when you see yourself on the big screen, can you give our TV audience a great big Lakewood welcome? God bless you. It's great to be with you today, and 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'd 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. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, everliving seed of the word of God. I'll never be the same. Never, never, never. I'll never be the same in Jesus' name. God bless you. If you'd like to open your Bibles to Mark chapter 10 and verse 29, you're welcome to.

Mark chapter 10. And we'll put the scriptures up on the screen as well. And don't forget, we have a great service at 2:00 today. It's all in Spanish. Monday night, the Bible study. Wednesday night, Pastor Nick and our team have a great Wednesday night one-hour service. Real powerful here.

If you can come back for midweek, we'd love to have you. But again, thanks for coming out today. 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 co-workers 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 and 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 going to 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 from me, houses, brothers, sisters, property, you will receive a hundred times more in this life.

Not in the sweet buy and buy, not when you get to heaven, but in your lifetime." God was saying, "I'm going to promote you and open doors and 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 going to bless you and all the persecution will leave. I'm going to promote you and the negative chatter will stop. I'm going to 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 and he'll try to discredit, minimize, make you look bad.

It's tempting to get upset, want to straighten him out, and why are they doing this? Well, stay in peace. You can't have the blessing without the persecution. And sometimes we don't enjoy the blessing because we're fighting with the opposition, upset over what they said, trying to get rid of something we can't get rid of.

Can you handle the blessing? Can you deal with the persecution and not let the criticism get under your skin and not fight battles with small-minded people? The enemy would love for you to miss the blessing because you're focused on the persecution. The truth is, you can't change that.

You're not the problem. The blessing is the problem. You're being persecuted because of what God has done. The flip side is if God took away the blessing, then people would leave you alone. If you didn't have his favor causing you to shine and stand out, set new levels, nobody would bother you.

But for where God is taking you, the assignment on your life, the greatness on the inside, there's going to be some of these 100 times blessings where God catapult you ahead, takes you where you've never imagined. Now, the key is you have to learn to enjoy the blessing despite the persecution.

You can't be blessed in a greater way without having greater persecution. We want big blessings with little opposition. But it doesn't work that way. Paul said, "A wide door of opportunity is open to me and there are many adversaries." Big doors, big opposition. But can I encourage you?

We serve a big God. You don't have to fight it. It's not your job to fix people, change the critic's mind, stop the politics at work. That's God's job. The scripture says he will silence the lying lips. He shut the mouths of hungry lions to save Daniel. He can shut the mouths of people that are trying to discredit you.

He'll vindicate you better than you can vindicate yourself. Stay on that high road. Overlook the offenses. Don't pay any attention to the negative chatter. You have a destiny to fulfill. You have an assignment to accomplish. Your time is valuable. Don't waste it fighting battles that you're not supposed to fight.

Trying to stop something that God says is a part of the package. The blessing comes with persecution. When we hear that word persecution, we can think of oppression by the government, people put in prison for their faith, even martyrdom, losing their lives. And that's part of it. But the word Paul used for persecution there in the Greek is much broader.

It means pressure, resistance, harassment. It's talking about people coming against you that resent the blessing, that try to stop your progress and ruin your reputation. Jesus was warning his disciples, "I'm going to bless you in great ways, but don't be surprised when it stirs up trouble. When you get unfair judgment, when opposition comes out of the woodwork."

Here's the good news. The blessing on your life is stronger than the persecution. The trouble cannot stop your purpose. The jealous people, the ones that try to pull you down, that's a sign that his favor is on you. The hundfold blessing often will come with hundfold chatter. Don't sweat it.

It's a part of the package. See, God could have just as easily said, "I'm going to bless you with a hundfold and take away all the trouble. Quiet all the naysayers. You're not going to have any pressure." That wouldn't take any faith. God wants to see what you're made of.

Will you trust him when things come against you that are not fair? Will you stay in faith when you're misunderstood? When people are talking bad behind your back? When that coworker does his best to get on your nerves? You are tempted to lose your cool, tell him off.

No, come back to that place of peace. Those are battles you're not supposed to fight. A mark of maturity is when you can enjoy the blessing despite the persecution. When you don't spend your valuable time trying to get rid of the opposition, focused on who did you wrong, got to put out this fire, you just move forward in faith, being your best, thanking God that he's fighting your battles.

For 17 years, I worked behind the scenes here at Lakewood, and I didn't really have any enemies to speak of. Very little persecution or opposition. Life was good. But when my father passed and I stepped up to pastor the church, I saw that hundfold blessing, so to speak.

I never dreamed I could do this and never dreamed we'd have the former compact center. I'd have books and media. But along with that great blessing came great persecution, people that didn't understand. They would try to discredit pressure, opposition, trouble. If you focus on that, you'll miss the blessing.

You'll spend all your time frustrated trying to fix things you can't fix. The persecution is a sign that you're blessed. They're not against you. They're against the favor God put on you. God gives you grace for every season that you're in. When I work behind the scenes doing the television production, I love that.

I thought I'd do that the rest of my life. But when God promoted me and I had greater influence and favor, I also had the ability to ignore the negative chatter, to overlook the insults, to enjoy my life despite the persecution. And sometimes the reason we're living upset and frustrated is we're not tapping into that grace.

We're trying to do it all on our own. Fix this person, respond to this comment, pay that coworker back. That's not your job. You have the grace to ignore it, to rise above it, to enjoy life despite what's coming against you. What are you focused on? The blessing or the persecution?

To get rid of all the persecution would mean that God would have to get rid of all the blessings? Acts chapter 5, the disciples were seeing favor in great ways. People brought the sick out of the villages and they were healed and these big crowds were gathering. Church was multiplying.

The whole city was impacted. They had never seen this kind of influence and favor. Well, you'd think everybody would be happy. People being healed and freed and uplifted. But verse 17 says, "The high priest and his friends reacted with great jealousy." Some people are so smallminded they can't handle the blessing on your life.

Instead of celebrating people being healed, the church growing, the high priest got jealousy. He had the disciples arrested and put in jail. Here they had just seen great favor, the biggest victories of their life. Now they're seeing great persecution. Many times you're not being persecuted because you're doing something wrong.

It's because you're doing something right. You're being good to people, going the extra mile at work, loving your family, making a difference. Yet, people try to push you down, discredit you. Don't let it bother you. It's not you that's offending them. It's the blessing on your life. It's what God put on you.

You can't stop it. And the good news is they can't stop it. You stay in peace and God will take care of the opposition. In the middle of the night, while the disciples were sleeping, an angel came and opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.

The angel told them to go to the temple and share the good news. Early the next morning at daybreak, they were back in the temple teaching. The blessing on your life doesn't make you untouchable, but it does make you unstoppable. God wouldn't have allowed the opposition if it's going to keep you from your purpose.

And when doors close that are unfair, don't worry. God knows how to open them. When people do you wrong, jealousy, trying to discredit you, they think they're pushing you down, but it's going to backfire. God knows how to use it to push you up. They think they're discrediting you, but God knows how to prepare a table in the presence of your enemies. how to make you shine in front of those that tried to make you look bad.

The next morning, the high priest sent for the disciples. He's going to put them on trial and hopefully get rid of them. But when his men went to the jail, the disciples were gone. They went back and told the high priest, "The guards were still outside, the doors were still locked, but when we went in, nobody was there."

God knows how to supernaturally turn things around. He opens doors that no man can shut. You are not at the mercy of what's come against you. They may have more power, influence, resources, but no weapon formed against you will prosper. You are unstoppable. Jealous people cannot stop you.

Sickness can't stop you. Injustice can't stop you. The past can't stop you. You may be facing great persecution today. Things that don't make sense. You're being good to people and honoring God and taking care of your family. God sees what's happening. He knows the sacrifices you've made. How you've done your best to keep him first.

That persecution is not how your story ends. The same God that delivered the disciples is about to deliver you. The same God that parted the Red Sea from Moses. The same God that kept King Saul from killing David. The same God that brought Joseph out of that pit, he's working in your life right now.

It's going to happen quickly. Something you can't explain. You didn't see it coming, but suddenly the opposition is gone. Suddenly, you're vindicated. Those enemies will become your foottools. You will walk on what tried to hold you back. It's because the blessing on your life makes you unstoppable. Yes, persecution comes, but the blessing will override it.

Yes, people will do you wrong, but God will make it right. Yes, they'll try to push you down, but God will lift you up. The high priest and his men were scratching their heads. They didn't know what had happened. About that time, word came that the disciples were in the temple teaching.

They rushed there and when they saw them, the scripture says they were afraid that if they treated the disciples wrong, the people would kill them. Notice how the tables had turned. The ones that used to persecute them were now on defense. They were concerned for their own life.

God knows how to turn things. You don't have to fight battles. God sees the injustice. He hears every negative word spoken against you. He knows when people are jealous, hurtful, and trying to discredit you. It's not you they're coming against. It's the blessing he put on you. Don't take it personally.

God takes it personally. He's your defender. You remember in the scripture, Saul was the greatest enemy of the church. He went door todo and would drag people out of their homes and have them thrown into prison. not just in Jerusalem, but he traveled to other cities trying to stop the message of faith.

The scripture says he was breathing out murderous threats against the followers of Christ. Well, one day while he was on the road to Damascus with letters in hand from the authorities to arrest believers, a light suddenly shined down on him. He fell off his animal and couldn't see it.

Laying there on the ground, a voice boomed out. Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? He was confused. He said, "Who are you?" The voice said, "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting." What's interesting is Saul had never met Jesus. He'd never heard him teach. They'd never interacted.

Jesus could have said, "Saul, why are you persecuting my followers?" Or, "Why are you persecuting the church?" But he said, "Why are you persecuting me?" See, when people persecute you, God takes it personally. When they come against you, really, they're coming against him. Jesus said in effect, "Saul, you're not attacking them.

You're attacking me." Can I tell you, God knows how to defend himself. Nothing can stand against him. This is why you don't have to try to fix everyone. Straighten him out. Stop that noise. Have a new perspective. They're not attacking you. They're attacking the blessing God put on you.

You don't have to defend yourself. You have a defender. The most high God will take care of your persecutors. But here's what I've learned. If you take matters into your own hands, God will step back and let you do it on your own. He won't override that choice.

That's going to cause stress and frustration. Can't sleep at night. No, let God deal with it. He'll take care of your souls. He'll deal with those that are jealous, try to discredit and leave you out. He knows how to knock people off their horse, so to speak, how to change their minds and cause them to see you in a new light.

Friend of mine worked for this company for many years. He's very faithful, hard worker, always doing more than required, but his supervisor was never for him. He was jealous. He'd leave him out of meetings and try to discredit him. It looked like my friend was stuck being limited by this unfair supervisor.

The scripture says, "Never avenge yourself, but leave the matter in the hands of God." That's what he did. He didn't get bitter. He didn't try to pay the man back. He just kept being his best, shining where he was. He understood with the blessing comes persecution. One day the owner of the company needed something done, but the supervisor was out of town.

So my friend worked with the owner that week. He got him all the reports he needed and sat in meetings and gave him his advice. The owner was so impressed a few months later he decided to restructure the staff. He called this man in and the supervisor. He said to my friend, "I'm making you the vice president.

From now on, you'll run the company and report directly to me. He turned to the supervisor and said, "From now on, you'll report to him." God knows how to vindicate you. You don't have to force these things to happen. Prove to people, get even, change their mind. No.

Stay in peace. Keep doing the right thing. You can't have the blessing without some persecution. If you'll stay on that high road at the right time, God will turn things in your favor. He'll take care of your souls. They're not attacking you. They're attacking the blessing and favor God put on you.

You don't have to defend what God has done. God will defend himself. You keep shining, keep loving, keep being good to others, and God will move the wrong people out of the way. He'll silence the negative chatter. He'll promote you in the presence of your enemies. Paul said in 2 Thessalonians, "God will pay back those who persecute you, and he will provide rest for you who are being persecuted."

Maybe you're in a situation now that's not fair. God sees the injustice. He sees you doing the right thing, taking the high road, overlooking the offense. Your time is coming. There's already a moment that God has scheduled to turn things in your favor. What you couldn't make happen will suddenly fall into place.

The vindication, the promotion, the honor. Don't sweat the persecution. You wouldn't be persecuted if you weren't blessed. People would leave you alone if you weren't that talented. You wouldn't have opposition if you weren't a masterpiece making a difference. The fact that you have persecution is a sign that the blessing of God is on your life.

He's promised rest is coming. It's not always going to be a struggle. I know you're strong. You can withstand. But that's not how your story ends. God's about to lighten the load, lift that burden like he did for my friend where it's not a struggle. You don't have to overlook the injustice anymore.

God is going to step in and pay back those who persecute you and give you rest from a season of struggling from a se to a season of ease. But sometimes when we're blessed and we have jealous people and things coming against us, it's tempting to shrink back just man, I don't want to stir anything up.

No, don't apologize for God's blessings. Don't water down your dreams and hide your gifts so you won't make any waves and people won't talk about you. If they can't handle you being blessed, you don't need them in your life. If they're going to judge you for shining brightly and fine fault because you're happy and generous and have a big vision, they are not for you.

They get jealous, dust your feet off and move on. Don't waste your time with small-minded, petty, insecure people that cannot celebrate who God made you to be. You need people that cheer you on, that are inspired by your vision, that encourage you to go higher, that don't persecute you.

They promote you. They're not jealous. They challenge you to become all you were created to be. Genesis 26. There was a great famine in the land and everyone was struggling and trying to survive. Isaac was about to leave and find a more fertile place, but God told him to stay there and plant his crops.

That didn't make sense really. There was no water. Nothing could grow. But Isaac was obedient. He went out and seated all of his fields. Well, the Philistines, the people that lived around him, they thought he was not all there. They laughed and made fun. But in a few months, the scripture says Isaac received a hundfold harvest.

He had his biggest harvest in the middle of a famine. That's that whole hundfold blessing that Jesus talked about. When you obey, when you keep him first, you're going to see these times where God shows out in your life. If the story stopped there, it'd be great. Let's celebrate the blessing.

But with the blessing comes persecution. The Philistines that thought he was so far out, verse 14 says, they became jealous of him. They tried to make his life miserable. They clogged up his wells. Water was the source of life. But Isaac didn't fight with them. He didn't try to get even, defend himself.

He knew it wasn't about him. It was about the blessing on his life. He kept moving forward and settled in another place. That wasn't far enough away. They clogged up those wells. It happened again, but on the third time, they left him alone. He said, "God has brought me to Rahobath, a wide and spacious place.

They meant it for harm, but God used it to take him to a bigger, more fruitful place. He was blessed before, but now because of the persecution, because he kept God first place, he came out better than even the hundfold harvest. He was blessed in abundance. But like with Isaac, with the blessing comes the persecution.

With the favor comes the Philistines. They were fine as long as Isaac was suffering in the famine. But once he saw increase, they found fault. They stirred up trouble. The question today is, can you handle the blessing? Will you stay in peace when persecution comes? Will you enjoy the favor despite the negative chatter?

You can't have the blessing without the persecution. Maybe you need to have a new perspective. You'll never get to the place where you're so blessed that all the trouble goes away. The negative chatter, the jealousy that's connecting to the blessing. What I'm saying is it doesn't have to bother you.

That's not your battle. Quit fighting with people trying to pay back, prove, defend. God is your defender. He sees what's not fair. Stay in peace. Keep honoring him. I believe and declare he's going to pay back those who persecute you. Like Isaac, you will flourish in the famine.

Like the disciple, supernatural doors are about to open. the right people showing up, vindication, promotion, a table in the presence of your enemies in Jesus name. And if you receive it, can you say amen? Let's pray together. If you have five minutes, stick with me if you can.

We'll just seal it in prayer. Lord, I thank you for what we've heard today. I know it falls on great ground. Faithful people here at Lakewood and many watching and listening. And Lord, we commit that we're going to live from a place of peace. We're not going to go around fighting everything, trying to figure out why this is happening.

Lord, we rest in you today. We know you're our defender. And Lord, we know it's it's a part of the package. And so, Lord, we trust you to move the wrong people, to turn the negative situations. Lord, we're going to stay in faith. We're going to keep honoring you.

And Lord, I ask that you'd help us to enjoy each day. Help us to recognize it's a gift that you've given us. That we can live in faith that we can turn it over to you. That you are our defender. Lord, I thank you that you haven't brought us this far to leave us where we are.

That will continue to move forward. See your goodness and mercy. Father, as your people go out this week, watch after them, their children. Thank you that your angels are protecting them in Jesus' name. With our heads bowed in prayer, just a quick question. If your heart stopped beating in the next few minutes, are you at peace with God?

Do you know where you'd spend eternity if you died a few minutes from now? If not, I would love to pray with you. I'm not here to condemn anybody. I'm here to help you find a new beginning. I know this comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

In just a moment, if you're not at peace with the Lord, or maybe you are a Christian, but you've grown cold toward God, you know, you need to rededicate, you need a fresh new start. If that's you, in just a moment, I'm going to ask you to take a step of faith and stand right where you are, and we'll pray together.

I can't think of a better time to get on the road to victory than right now. God is not mad at you. Your sins have already been forgiven. All you have to do is accept the free gift of Christ's salvation. Will you do it today? In your thoughts, the enemy will whisper, "Do it next week.

Do it another time." Listen. The Bible says, "Today is the day of salvation." You're not hearing this by accident. Well, Jo, it's embarrassing to stand in front of everyone. Have people at the house. I can't lift my hand. Listen to what Jesus said. If you won't be ashamed of me before people, then I won't be ashamed of you before my father in heaven.

I'm going to give you a great opportunity to show God that you're not ashamed of him. If you're not at peace with the Lord or you just need to rededicate your life, you need a fresh new start, a new beginning. If that's you, would you be bold? Take that step of faith and stand right where you are and we'll pray together.

Would you do that? Come on, Lakewood. Let's give them a hand as they sing all over the building. Come on, don't put it off. I feel like ought to be a few more. Anybody else? Your heart's beating fast up top watching, listening? Anybody else? Well, God bless you.

Please remain standing if you don't mind. Let me tell you how proud we are of you. Uh, more importantly, I know that God's never going to be ashamed of you because you took this step of faith. Today, we're going to be praying for you. The scripture says that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Let me help you to call. Do you mind all praying this after me if you would please? Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior. Amen. Remain standing one more moment. I want to tell you how much we love you.

Like I said, we're going to be praying for you and also want to give you a personal invitation to come back and be with us on a regular basis. This next year of your life is an incredibly important time and we'd love to have you back here. If you're in person, on the radio, however you do it, if you can come in person, hope you'll get plugged in.

Got some great teams that you can get on and I really would love to see you meet some of the great people at Lakewood. Like I said earlier, people that'll lift you up. And I know you're you're busy and Sunday's a day off and you could be resting, but let me tell you, there is a blessing on your life when you put God first place and you get into a community of faith.

And we'd love to have you here at Lakewood. We're going to help you grow. People ask me, "What's the next step?" Well, after service, I'd love to meet you. I'll be over there maybe 20 minutes or so. It's a little place we've got called New Beginnings and you can meet some of our staff and they'll give you some resources and just different ways that you can get connected here.

But if you got a moment right out there otherwise I'm always back that way if you can't do it today. But I hope you will stop by. Know this. The moment you stood up, God washed away all your sins, your mistakes, your failures. You are starting with a fresh, clean slate.

Write it down in your Bible. May 17, 2026. a new day of victory in your life in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Well, let's all stand together if you would please. Thanks for coming out today. How many of you going home better off than you were before? Amen. Oh, we love you guys and going to be a blessed week.

Let me speak this blessing. Until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord show you his favor and have mercy on you. And may the Lord watch after you and give you his peace. God bless you. Have a great week, a favorful week.

See you back real soon.