god bless you it's a joy to come into your homes you're ever in our area
please stop by be a part of one of our services I promise you we'll make you
feel right at home I like to start with something funny and I heard about this
minister that died and he was standing in line at the pearly gates the men in
front of him was dressed in a loud t-shirt sunglasses blue jeans st. Peter
asked him his name he said I'm Joe Cohen taxi cab driver New York City Peter
checked his list handed him a gold staff silk robe and said welcome to heaven the
Minister stepped up said I'm Reverend Joseph snow pastor of st. Mary's
Cathedral Peter checked the list handed him a wooden staff cotton robe he said
hey wait that couldn't be right taxi cab driver got a gold staff and this is all
I get Peter said sir up here we work by
results when you preached people slept but when he drove people prayed say it
like you mean it this is my Bible I am what it says I am
I have what it says I have I can do what it says I can do today I will be taught
the Word of God I boldly confess my mind is alert my heart is receptive I will
never be the same in Jesus name god bless you I want to talk to you
today about a son not a slave we've all been through disappointments had unfair
situations because of negative things in the past or even mistakes that we've
made it's easy to forget who we really are and too often we've developed a
slave mentality we think we're at a disadvantage so we don't pursue dreams
we don't believe for good breaks we don't pray bold prayers we live like
we're a slave to the addiction slave to depression slave to mediocrity but as
long as we have a slave mentality it will limit our life the scripture says
beloved now are you the son of God you may have a lot coming against
you but you are not a slave you were a son sons think differently than slaves
you may struggle with an addiction but a son says I have a right to be free there
may be obstacles in your path but a son knows the forces that are for me are
greater than the forces that are against me the Israelites had been in slavery
for hundred years they were mistreated and taken advantage of
God saw the injustice and sent plagues on the Pharaoh and his people Pharaoh
finally decided to let them go the Israelites headed out toward the
promised land I'm sure they were excited this was a dream come true until Pharaoh
changed his mind and came chasing after them he got six hundred of his fastest
chariots his strongest warriors and he was quickly approaching the Israelites
came to a dead end at the Red Sea they had nowhere to go
Pharaoh was saying in effect you're my slaves I own you I'm taking you back God
was saying you're my sons I've redeemed you I'm taking you forward I can imagine
this debate was going back in for the Israelites were trying to choose who
they were going to believe you're a son or you're a slave that same debate is
taking place about you one voice is saying you're a slave
you'll never get well you'll always struggle in your finances you'll always
be addicted God says you're a son I've equipped you empowered you and anointed
you now you get to choose which way you go if you believe the lie that you're a
slave that you've reached your limits then it will keep you from your purpose
but when you rise up and say I'm no longer a slave I'm a son I'm not a slave
to my past I'm not a slave to who hurt me I'm not a slave to addictions to
poverty to lack to depression I'm a child of the Most High God when
you know you're a son you not only think differently but you talk differently
instead of I'll never break this addiction I am free I am whole said if I
never get good breaks blessings are chasing me down
fever surrounds me goodness and mercy are following me stop thinking like a
slave and start thinking like a son not thinking about what you were what you've
been through the mistakes you've made but start thinking about who you are you
are free you are blessed you are a masterpiece you are victorious fearow
came chasing after the Israelites in other words the past came chasing them
what they had been through what didn't work out the past will always come
chasing you mistakes you've made disappointments failures hurts saying
you're not a son look what you've been through was it fair you prayed and it
didn't work out the enemy would love for you to become a slave to your past live
guilty discouraged with the chip on your shoulder don't fall into that trap the
past doesn't have to hold you back we've all had negative things happen things we
don't understand but God has beauty for those ashes he
has mercy for mistakes he has new beginnings nothing that's happened in
your past nothing that you've done has to keep you from the good things God has
in store don't become a slave to your past quit thinking about it quit
reliving the hurts quit dwelling on the failures this is a new day if you will
let go of the old then you'll see the new things God has in store Pharaoh came
chasing the Israelites because he thought he owned them he saw them as his
property you need to tell Pharaoh tell the enemy tell the past till the
addiction you don't own me I was bought with the
precious price I belong to the God who spoke worlds into existence I'm not your
slave I'm his son you have to know who you are
and who you belong to fear doesn't have any right to you
it doesn't own you poverty doesn't own you you may have an addiction but it
doesn't own you don't see it as your master as bigger more powerful you'll
never be free it's temporary it cannot stay your body is a temple of
the Most High God you are not a sick person trying to get well you're a well
person fighting off sickness you are not an addict
trying to get free you're a free person fighting in addiction you're not a poor
person trying to get ahead you're a prosperous person fighting off poverty
you are not a slave to any negative thing God created you to be free healthy
whole victorious and sure we all have things come against us but they're not
permanent it's just a matter of time before it changes in your favor
the Israelites even if they escaped and got away from the Pharaoh in one sense
they would always be runaway slaves as long as Pharaoh was chasing them even
though they were free thoughts would tell them you're still a slave you're
just a slave that got away sooner or later you'll be caught they would have
to live with that threat that Pharaoh might catch back up with them but at the
dead end at the Red Sea when they had nowhere to go
Moses held up his rod and the waters parted these two million Israelites
former slaves went through on dry ground when Pharaoh and the chariots came
chasing the waters closed up they were all drowned God not only freed them from
slavery but he eliminated their oppressed
so they wouldn't have to live with the threat that they might be recaptured and
taken back to slavery God didn't want them to see themselves as just runaway
slaves slaves that had been freed by taking care of the Pharaoh he removed
that label they were no longer runaway slaves now they were simply sons
daughters of the Most High God in the same way God not only freed us
from sin from guilt from depression from sicknesses but he took care of our enemy
you don't have to live with the threat that you might be recaptured your
oppressor has been defeated the enemy has no power over you you're not a
runaway slave you're a son but here's the whole key after all God has done for
us freed us from slavery defeated our enemy if you don't see yourself the
right way it will keep you from your destiny and this is what happened to the
Israelites after seeing God free them from slavery deliver them from the
Pharaoh bring water out of Iraq when they came to the promised land you'd
think they would be full of faith ready to take the land but when they saw how
big the people were they told Moses we'll never defeat them they're too big
for us let's just go back to Egypt let's go back to being slaves they had been in
slavery so long they had seen so much injustice their problem was they never
quit seeing themselves as slaves they didn't think they could live at a higher
level their attitude was we're just poor old slaves we never get any good breaks
God brought them out of slavery but slavery never got out of them you may
have struggled in an area for a long time but don't have a limited mindset
you have to give God permission to increase you it starts in your thinking
you can't see yourself as a slave and enjoy the blessings of a son and if you
grew up in lack not having enough mediocrity
don't let that poverty spirit get in you that is not who you are you're the one
to break the curse you're the one to set a new standard God is about to loose
resources promotion ideas opportunities have a vision for increase see yourself
as a Sun rising higher you have seeds of greatness you are not limited by how you
were raised by your family by what you didn't get you're not a slave to lack
you're not a slave to depression you're not a slave to fear the oppressor has
been taken care of your days of struggle your days of sickness your days of
loneliness or coming to an end God is about to do a new thing he's going to
break bondages that have held you back things that have been in your family
line for generations are about to turn in your favor like the Israelites after
400 years of slavery oppression injustice that was ten generations
nothing changed they were born into it year after year didn't expect anything
different but one day God said enough is enough
he supernaturally brought them out but that first group that God freed from
slavery that was good but that wasn't God's best they never made it into the
Promised Land because they saw themselves as slaves but God didn't give
up on them he didn't say I'm done with this family God took their children in
it was because they had a different mindset I believe in your family you're
going to be the generation that goes into the Promised Land
what your relatives did or didn't do does not have to stop you you're going
to see houses that you didn't build vineyards that you didn't plan
opportunities chasing you down promotion that you didn't deserve blessings you
can't explain favor that trusts you further than you can imagine
now don't talk yourself out of it Joel not me man I've reached my limits my
family always struggles get rid of that slave mentality and start having an
abundant mentality the other day a repairman came over to our house to fix
the air conditioner he had to come inside and go up in the attic when he
came in he didn't stop by the refrigerator get something to drink
he didn't sit on my couch and watch some television he didn't go out my back door
and enjoy my back yard he went straight to the attic and took care of the
problem he knew he couldn't come in and make himself at home he was there as a
servant not as a son but when our son Jonathan comes in he doesn't say dad can
I go to the refrigerator and get something to drink dad can I sit here
and watch some television he doesn't ask for permission he acts like he owns the
place and the truth is he does he's my son everything I have is his
I like the fact that he knows who he is he's confident in what belongs to him so
he goes boldly to the refrigerator the scripture tells us to come boldly to the
throne of grace not as a servant not saying God I know I don't deserve it God
I know I'm unworthy if you want to make God happy if you want to put a smile on
God's face go to him with boldness go to him like he's proud of you like you
deserve to be there like he wants to be good to you ask him for your dreams pray
bold prayers you're not inconveniencing him you don't have to earn God's law you
don't have to work for his approval you don't have to pay God back for your
mistakes never once says Jonathan come in and
said dad I did wrong today I don't deserve to eat here let me work for you
let me earn the right to have this meal he did that number one I check his
temperature number two as a father I would be disappointed I would think
doesn't he know he's my son and I want to be good to him are you trying to earn
God's goodness be good enough work hard enough then maybe you'll deserve God's
blessings that's a slave mentality why don't you
start believing that you're a son you're already in the family jesus said it is
the father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom God is longing to be good to
you are you living like a son knowing that you have rights knowing that God's
pleased with you or you living like a slave feeling unworthy like you don't
deserve God's goodness in the story of the prodigal son
the young man asked his father for his inheritance and left home he wasted all
the money partying living wild making poor choices he was so desperate he
ended up working in a hog pen feeding the halls' he became so hungry
he had to eat the hog food to survive sitting in the hog pen he thought the
servants at home lived better than I do I'm going to go
back to my father's house after all I've done after this big mess I know I can't
live at home but maybe my father will hire me back as one of his servants
because of his mistakes he stopped seeing himself as a son and
started seeing himself as a servant he thought he didn't deserve his
father's goodness he didn't think he had a right to be in the family anymore how
many of us have disqualified ourselves from God's goodness we knew at one time
we were a son at one time God was gonna help us favor us bless us but we made
poor choices we got off course now we believe that lie that somehow we've gone
from a son to a slain that God wouldn't have anything to do with us this young
man got his nerve up and headed back home he was prepared for his father to
let him have it to say don't even think about coming on this property but as he
got closer he noticed his father was standing at the end of the driveway it
looked like he was looking for him all of the sudden the father took off
running toward his son that son thought oh great
he's going to stop me before I get on the property he's gonna come out here
and yell at me but the father grabbed him started hugging him kissing him the
son went into his speech dad I don't deserve it but maybe you can hire me
back as one of your servants father stopped in said what are you talking
about don't you know you're my son and you'll always be my son there's nothing
you can do to change the fact that you're a son when you gave your life to
Christ you were born into the family of God you can't get unborn you can't make
a mistake too big you can't get too far off course you may disqualify yourself
but God never disqualifies you are you living like a slave when in fact you're
a son you're trying to convince God to hire you back as a servant when God is
saying go kill the fatted calf my son is home God has already received you back
into his family but what if his son would have turned said dad no I can't
accept your goodness I don't deserve it let me just work out here with the
servants to try to pay you back it would have ruined this story how many of us
are doing the same thing we're not receiving God's goodness we're beating
ourselves up for our failures we're letting the accuser convince us that
we've somehow gone from a son to a slave I loved the fact when this son returned
home the father never brought up his past he didn't say okay I'll let you
come back but you shouldn't have done that God is not interested in your past
the enemy will work overtime trying to remind you of all your mistakes make you
feel guilty unworthy don't believe those lies you're
not going to be a son when you perform good enough you're a son right now
you're a daughter right now why don't you come on back into the family start
believing again start dreaming again you can start a party up in heaven
you can cause God to turn on the music and begin a celebration when he sees you
shake off a slave mentality and start having a son mentality
he says about you go kill the fatted calf we're going to have a party my son
my daughter has come back home years ago there was a man in Europe he saved up
all of his money to come to America after months and months he finally had
just enough to purchase the ticket on the ship it was going to take two months
to cross the ocean so he took a suit case filled with food all he could
afford were cheese and crackers when the other people on the ship went
to the big nice dining room to have their fancy dinners he would go over
into the corner and it his cheese and crackers this went on day after day he
could smell the other food he wanted to join them so badly but he just didn't
have the resources the last day of the trip a man came over said I can't help
but notice you're always over here eating cheese and crackers why don't you
come in and have dinner with us hen was kind of embarrassed he said I
saved up all my money but I only had enough to buy the ticket I didn't have
enough to buy the meals the man shook his head said didn't you realize the
meals were included with the ticket you had a right to be in here with us the
whole time I wonder how many of us are missing out on God's best because we
don't realize the meals have been paid for we're over in the corner so to speak
like a servant eating the cheese and crackers when God is saying you're a son
step up to the table I've paid the price there's a place with your name on it you
may have made mistakes forgiveness has been paid for mercy has been paid for
you had bad breaks people did you wrong new beginnings have been paid for beauty
for Ashes belong to you why don't you come on up to the table you're
struggling in finances nobody in your family has gotten ahead don't get
satisfied with cheese and crackers abundance has been paid for new levels
are in your future sometimes what's holding us back is we don't really know
who we are we think we're average ordinary when in
fact we are royalty we are sons daughters of the Most High God
when God breathed his life into you he crowned you with his favor he put a robe
of righteousness on you he said you've been fearfully and wonderfully made
don't go through life with a cheese and crackers mentality have a son mentality
and abundant mentality in the scripture an angel told Gideon he was to go out
and save the Israelites from the enemy army that was approaching Gideon said I
can't do that I come from the poorest family and I am the least one in my
father's house he was saying you have the wrong person
I'm not at the dinner table I'm eating cheese and crackers he had a slave
mentality I'm at a disadvantage he didn't realize he was royalty a few
chapters later Gideon was talking with his enemies he
asked them what the men he was trying to find look like they said they look like
you get in like a king son Gideon felt inadequate like he didn't measure up
but even his enemies could see he was a king's son you may feel like you're at a
disadvantage he's causing you to shrink back not pursue dreams like Gideon you
may not be able to see it but even the enemy knows you're royalty even the
enemy knows you are destined to do great things why don't you put down the cheese
and crackers and step up to who you were created to be you're no longer a slave
you're a son you used to be maybe a slave to fear to addictions to poverty
to depression but you've been born into a new family when I look at you you know
what I see I see masterpieces I see royalty I don't see average people I
don't see anyone addicted I don't see anyone sick and weak I don't see anyone
in poverty and lack I see blessed people victorious people
favorite people I see keys sons kings daughters now do your part shake off the
slave mentality start having a son mentality if you'll do this I believe
and declare every chain that's holding you back is being broken God is going to
release healing favor breakthroughs abundance you're going to rise higher
and become everything he's created you to be in Jesus name
if you receive it can you save him today I'd like to give you an opportunity to
make Jesus the Lord of your life would you pray with me just say Lord Jesus
I'll repent of my sins come into my heart I'll make you my Lord and Savior
if you prayed that simple prayer we believe you got born again get in a good
Bible based church and keep God first place your partnership makes this
ministry possible your faithful and consistent monthly support makes you a
champion of hope the vision of Joel Osteen ministries is to use every avenue
available to present the hope of Jesus Christ to people everywhere we know it
is this hope and the transforming power of the gospel that makes an eternal
difference in people's lives to partner with Joel Osteen ministers visit Joel
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