Joel Osteen Podcast - Developing A Tender Conscience | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: September 29, 2023

Your conscience is like an inward monitor. God gave it to you to serve as a compass for your soul. If you’ll be sensitive and listen to your conscience, He will help you make the right decisions for your life.Your best days are still ahead, and together we can make a difference in this world with the message of God's hope and love.To give visit JoelOsteen.com/GiveHope Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of the Joel Osteen Podcast ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoyed today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend? We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you. Always a joy to come into your homes.

We love you. We know that God has good things in store for you. If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. I say it often, but these are the finest. people in all of Houston right here. So we'd love to have you be a part. Come out and join us sometime. Thanks for tuning in today. You know, I'd like to get started with something funny each week.

And, of course, most of these jokes are not doctrinally correct. And especially today, it's just a joke, just to make you laugh. But anyway, a woman died and found herself standing at the pearly gates. Peter said, you can't go in unless you correctly spell a word. What word she asked? Any word, Peter replied. So she spelled the word love, L-O-V-E. And Peter welcomed her heaven. He then asked her to take his position. He instructed her to follow the same procedure should anyone arrive. A few minutes later, the woman sees her ex-husband coming up. What are you doing here? He said, I just had a heart attack. Did I really make it to heaven? Not yet, she said. You've got to correctly spell a word. What word, he asked. After a long pause, she replied, Czechoslovakia.

Hold up your Bible. Say it like you mean it. Are you ready? This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. 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 developing a tender conscience. The conscience is just like an alarm. When you're about to do something that's not beneficial or something that's going to get you into trouble, all of a sudden, you're going to feel uncomfortable right down in here. There's going to be an unrest and uneasiness. That's God trying to warn you. Don't ignore that. Don't override that uneasiness. See, the conscience is like an inward monitor. It's called the

compass of our souls. It helps us to know what is right and what is wrong. One of the best friends you can ever have is your own conscience. I like what Abraham Lincoln said. He said, my presidency is over, I may not have one other friend on earth, but I will have at least one friend, and that friend is on the inside of me. He was saying, I'm going to listen to my conscience. I'm going to heed what it's saying to me. And really, there's no telling how much trouble that we could avoid, how much heartache we could avoid if we'd simply pay more attention to what we're feeling right down in here. I hear people say all the time, I know I shouldn't do this, but I know I shouldn't say this but. No, I shouldn't buy

this, but. See, they know what they should do. The alarm is going off. They can feel that sense of disapproval, but the problem is, many times we don't obey our conscience. The truth is, much of the trouble that we get ourselves into,

if we look back, we can see how God tried to warn us again and again and again. No, don't make the mistake of overriding your conscience. Respect it. Just like you respect your ball, or you respect someone that has authority over you, you wouldn't disobey them. Well, learn to treat your conscience in the same way.

That's God leading you and trying to keep you out of trouble. How many times have you been in a conversation with your spouse and things get a little heated up and you can feel yourself getting aggravated, ready to want to argue? And all of a sudden that check goes off. Something right down in here says, let it go, drop it, bite your tongue, walk away, keep the peace. Well, that's your conscience trying to keep you out of trouble. That's God trying to warn you. But too many times we just ignore it. We do our own thing.

We end up having a big argument, getting all upset, ruining the rest of the evening. And really, it all could have been avoided if we just paid attention to what our conscience was trying to say to us. Friends, learn to be sensitive. Stop when your conscience says stop. Quit having to have the last word. Men quit looking at your wives.

Somebody said a woman always has the last word in an argument. Anything after that is a brand new argument. But pay attention to what you're feeling right down in here. Don't ever override your own conscience. This will spare you so much heartache and pain. I know one time my father was driving down the feeder road, about to get on the freeway. He was in a big hurry.

He was running late to this meeting, and he was going well over the speed limit. And just as he came up to this big curve in the road, that alarm went off right. down in here. Something said to him, you better slow down. There's a policeman around the corner. And Daddy told how it was so distinct.

He felt it so strongly, but he was in that big hurry, and he just ignored it. Didn't pay any attention. Well, sure enough, when he got around the corner, there was a police officer standing there holding his radar gun out, and he just flagged my dad over. He came up to the window, and Daddy had a big smile on his face.

He said, officer, you're never going to believe this, but God told me you were up here. That officer looked at him like he was from another planet. He took Daddy's license and went to his car and he came back a couple of minutes later and he's kind of shaking his head. He said, listen here, preacher, I'm going to let you go. But the next time God speaks to you, you better listen.

This friend of ours was a Methodist minister for many years and he told how one time he got pulled over by the police and he has a real big southern draw. And he said, oh officer, please don't give me a ticket. I'm just a poor old preacher. The officer said, I know that. you on television last Sunday. The point is

don't override your own conscience. When you feel uncomfortable down in here, when you have that uneasiness, just pull back and see what God is trying to say to you. You may be in the middle of a conversation. All of a sudden, the alarm goes off, and you know you need

to button it up, or you know you need to walk away. Don't ignore that. You may be just about to buy something, just about to eat something, just about to make some plans, and that check goes off right down in here. Well, be sensitive. If you'll learn to listen to your conscience,

God will keep you out of trouble. He'll even protect you from danger. I remember this young man that used to do some work for us. One day I saw him, and it looked like he had been in some type of accident. His face was all bruised. He had these black eyes, and he had some stitches on this arm. I said, man, what in the world happened to you? Were you in a wreck or something?

And he began to explain how on his way home from work, he had gotten carjacked. He'd stopped at this light and these guys came and pulled him out of his car. He didn't have a wallet and so they just ended up beating him up and leaving him there. Then he said something so interesting. He said, you know, Joel, the funny thing was, on my way home that night, something told me to not go that way. Right down in here, as distinct as it could be, he said, something said, you better go another way.

And it was so strong that he even debated it in his mind. He thought I always go this way. This is the quickest way. Why should I go another way? And understand, this young man was not what you'd consider to be a religious type person, but he said, I know that was God trying to warn me. I know that was God trying to protect me. These were his exact words.

He said, Joel, if I had only just listened. And really, that's what I'm saying to all of us today. Before you get into trouble, before you make a poor decision, God is always going to warn you. That alarm is going to go off right down in here. It may not be something as dramatic as this young man. It may just be an alarm to keep your mouth closed in order to avoid an argument. It may be an alarm to turn off the TV to keep your mind pure.

Or an alarm to just change your attitude. But whatever it is, if you'll be sensitive and pay attention to it, then God will lead you. Don't be like this young man and try to figure it all out. Well, why can't I go that way? Or why can I say this? She started it. It's her fault. No, you've got to get out of your head and start listening to your heart.

If you will obey what you're feeling down in here. If you'll obey your conscience, God will help you to make good decisions. He'll help you to live his abundant life. And understand, just because somebody else is doing something, does it mean it's okay for you to do it? Well, Joel, all my friends are going to see this movie, and they're good people. They love God. I don't know why I shouldn't go.

No, don't compare yourself to anybody else. and don't try to have to justify your actions. You've got to learn to listen to your own heart. If you have that uneasiness down in here, if your conscience is not clear, it doesn't matter what everybody else is doing. Follow how God is leading you. Every person is at different stages.

You're not always going to understand why you can or can't do certain things, but you've got to go deeper than that and be obedient anyway. I know some pastor friends that do certain things that I don't feel comfortable with. It's not a sin, but it's just something

that personally, right down in here, I don't feel good about. Doesn't mean they're bad people. I don't judge them and condemn them. But I know just because they do it doesn't mean that it's right for me. I've learned I've got to keep my own conscience clear. And in the same way, ladies, you may have some friends

at work that dress a little more revealing than you do. Maybe they're even in a position of leadership and you kind of think, well, I guess that's okay for me. No, you've got check with your own heart. God deals with us individually. You don't know all the details in that person's life. Who knows, maybe God is speaking to them, but they're not listening. Or maybe they've come a long way. They're making progress. God is pleased, but you're just at a different stage.

If you make the mistake of comparing and you have to justify your actions, before long, you'll be going against your conscience, and that will always keep you from God's best. and don't make excuses. Well, everybody speeds out there on the highway, Joel. I saw him going 75 miles an hour, and he's even on staff at Lakewood. No, just because you saw my brother Paul speeding, just because somebody else is doing it

doesn't mean that it's okay for you. Keep your own conscience clear. And there may even be things that your husband or wife or your good friend does, and it doesn't bother them a bit, but when you go to do it, it just doesn't feel right. You have that check. But what I'm saying is only do what is right for you. And something else that's important to understand,

don't judge that other person. Don't condemn them. Let God deal with them. Well, I can't believe you went to see that movie. I can't believe you don't get up and pray every morning like I do. No, maybe they're not at that level. And God didn't call us to be somebody else's conscience. Quit judging and just focus on keeping your own conscience clear.

There's no telling how much God would bless us, no telling how happy and fulfilled our lives would be if we simply learn to maintain a clear conscience. If we just learn to not move forward when we feel that sense of disapproval down in here. And it may not be something big. It may just be something small. But if we can't be faithful in the little things,

how can God trust us in the big things? If we can't keep our mouth closed to avoid an argument or if we can't slow down on the freeway when our conscience is convicting us, then those seemingly small things, things will keep us from rising higher. And what's interesting is most of the time, deep down in here, we know what we should do, but too often we just make the mistake of not doing it. And what's happening is we're overriding our consciences. And understand, every time you ignore your

conscience, every time you push it down, you don't pay any attention, the next time that voice will speak a little softer, then the next time, a little softer, the next time even more softly. And unfortunately, you can get to the place where you have totally drowned out the voice of your conscience. For instance, maybe you're about to say something rude to someone, and all the sudden that check goes off right down in here. You feel that uneasiness and something tells you, bite your tongue, don't do it. But if you just ignore that, and you override it and do it anyway, number one, you're going to feel guilty. And if you don't go back and make things right and apologize, then the next time you're in that situation, the alarm won't be quite as loud.

The voice won't be quite so strong. And you can get to the place where you've done it so long, you become desensitized to it. You can come to the point where you're acting a certain way or treating people a certain way. And even though it's not right, you don't even realize that you're doing it. And you may be here today and you're kind of hard and rude with people. And you've been that way so long, you're so set in your ways, you don't really hear the alarm. anymore. Or maybe you've been watching questionable things so long that it doesn't bother you much anymore. And that's why we need to pray every single day. God help me to develop a tender conscience.

God help me to be sensitive to your voice. I don't know about you, but I don't want to have areas in my life where I'm stuck in mediocrity all because I'm not obeying my conscience. The Bible talks about in 1 Timothy chapter 4 how a conscience can become seared. That simply means that it becomes numb in that area. We don't have any feeling in it. Say you're at home watching TV one night, and, you know, it kind of gets a little bit vulgar, kind of gets a little off color.

And all of a sudden, that alarm goes off. Something says, get up, turn it off. Don't put that trash in your mind. But if you just sit there time after time and ignore it month after month, before long, that won't bother you anymore. You'll become numb to that. It's like it's no big deal, you know?

What's it going to hurt to watch this stuff? I know people today that are involved in a relationship outside of their marriage. They're not being faithful, and it really doesn't even bother them too much. And I can assure you, when they first started to give into that temptation, the alarm went off. I can guarantee you, at first, they felt uncomfortable down in here. They were uneasy. They knew it wasn't right. But month after month, as they turned the alarm off, now it's no big deal.

They've sort of justified it in their mind. Everybody's doing it. See, they've totally drowned out the voice of their conscience. They pushed it down so much they don't feel the uneasiness anymore. And that's why I encourage you so strongly to be quick to obey. Don't be hard-headed. Don't be stubborn and have to do it your own way. That will only lead to heartache and pain.

I met a man a few weeks ago. His family lives in another country. He's been here in the States for several years working with his company. And he began to tell how he was involved with this other woman. And they had been in this relationship for a couple of years. But he felt so badly about it. He said, Joel, I just feel terrible. I know that it's not right.

I can hardly sleep at night. And I really want to change, but I just can't seem to do it. And I told him, you're in a very interesting situation. You are the exception to the rule. Because most people that have been overriding their consciences that long don't care anything about it. They don't feel anything. They're not concerned. And I said, you should thank God that you still have a tender conscience.

You should be grateful that you still have that concern. And I challenged him to do his best to make the necessary changes before that uneasiness wore off. And really, that's the danger. That's what should concern us more than anything that we're doing something wrong for so long that we don't even realize that we're doing it. We become numb in that area.

And again, I think that's why we need to pray every day. God help me to stay sensitive to your voice. God don't let me to get hard and cold and numb in any area of my life. In my attitude, in how I treat people, in what I say, in what I do, and what I watch. God help me to have a tender conscience. Friends, God rewards obedience. If you have things in your life big or small that you know in here are not right, I believe God is saying today is the time to make changes.

Get into God's best path. Don't keep overriding. your conscience. Some of you have been pushing that alarm down for a long time. When you have 10 or 15 years of doing something a certain way, it's very easy to just want to stay right where you are. If you will be open and honest with yourself, and when you feel God convicting you in here, if you have the desire to change, God will help you to change. And it is better to go through a little pain of change than it is to go 20 or 30 years stuck in mediocrity. And I found the more obedient

are, the easier it will be to obey. Obedience breeds obedience. Just the opposite is true. Disobedience breeds more disobedience. And you can increase the sensitivity of your conscience, or you can decrease it. Every time you obey, your conscience is getting a little more sensitive. It's just like a window. When you obey, you're letting a little more light in. The next time, it'll be a little easier. Your heart will be a little softer, and you'll do it a little quicker. You can get to the point where you're so sensitive that when you first feel that uneasiness, you first feel that slight uncomfortable feeling down in here that will get your attention and cause you to make changes.

And really, that's the kind of people God wants us to be. When we hear the still small voice, when we first feel that little nudge, we are quick to take action. See, don't be the kind of person that has to have 10 warnings and 12 sirens go off and you still don't get it. Be quick to obey. And understand this, when you live an obedient life, you don't have to worry about being blessed. That's when God's blessings will chase you down and overtake you. When you obey, you cannot outrun the good things of God. And remember, I'm talking about obeying your own conscience.

Not obeying what your neighbor does or what your co-worker doesn't do. They don't set the standard. Obey what God is telling you right down in here. And as I said, God takes us all in stages. You may be here today and you kind of have a problem with your attitude. You've got a problem with being negative. Well, the good news is God does not expect you to change overnight. He is not going to be disappointed with you and just write you off if you don't turn it around in one week's time.

No, God, all he asks is that you keep making progress. He doesn't want you to be at this same place next year as you are right now. He's going to lead you in his own special way. And if you will be sensitive and just do your best to keep your own. own conscience clear, then God will be pleased, and he'll begin to release more of his blessings in your life. And really, this is something that we all can do, because God meets us at our own level. I don't have to keep up with you, and you don't have to keep up with me. I just have to be true to my own heart. I know the areas God deals with me in. I can hear that alarm going all. I always do

my best to not go against my own conscience. That's what I'm challenging you to do as well. I know this young man that I went to college with. He was very short with people. I mean, basically, he was just kind of hard and rude. In a sense, he could be nice if you knew him, but if you didn't know him, he was just very matter of fact. And one day, we were at this restaurant together with a group of the guys from the school,

and the waiter got his order all mixed up. And this young man just jumped down his throat. I mean, he let him have it. He embarrassed him in front of all of us. And it was so uncalled for. I mean, anybody can make a mistake. but he just didn't show him any mercy. Anyway, we got back to the dorm later that night,

and he came into my room, about an hour later, and he asked me if he could borrow my car. I said, sure you can, but where are you going this late? He said, you know, Joel, I feel terrible. I treated that waiter so bad. I can't even sleep, and I'm going to go back there and apologize to him. And do you know, I saw that young man change over the course of that year. He went from being hard and cold and rude

to be in one of the kindest, most considerate people you could ever meet. My point is, God will help you to change if you will simply work with him. None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes, but if we can just learn to obey our own conscience, if we can just do like that young man and be big enough to say, I'm sorry, I didn't treat you right, I'll do better next time. If you will be sensitive and maintain a clear conscience, there's no limit to what God will do in your life.

And you know as well as I do, when we have a guilty conscience, we don't feel good about ourselves. We can't pray with boldness. We feel condemned. We don't expect good things. We're not fulfilled. The best thing we can do is just go back and make things right. Like that young man, swallow your pride and be quick to obey. Why don't you apologize to the people you need to apologize to?

Don't live with a guilty conscience. Or maybe you need to say, God, I'm sorry for watching all that junk. Forgive me. Oh, God, I'm sorry for having such a critical attitude toward that person. Listen, when you do that, your conscience will go back to that place of ease. That heavy burden will be lifted off of you. You'll be able to sleep well. Not only that, God will help you to do better next time.

I remember years ago, one time after the service, my father came back into the television area. And myself and four or five of the crew members were back there. And it just so happened. When Daddy walked in, we were all laughing, real big, and having a good time. something real funny had just happened. But for some reason, my father thought that we were making fun of something that had happened in the service.

The truth is, it didn't have anything to do with that. And now, Daddy was very kind. He was a very compassionate person, but this seemed to just set him off. And he began to chew us out and let us know that we should not be making fun of people and things and on and on and on. I said, again, Daddy, it had nothing to do with that.

It was totally unrelated. Well, he left there, and of course, we felt kind of badly about it. But when I got home that night, a couple of hours later, I'll never forget my father came into my room and he said, Joel, I got to talk to you. I blew it tonight. I know I was wrong. I know I made a mistake and I'm asking you to forgive me. I just want to apologize. Do you know Daddy called each of those other young men that night as well and apologized to them? It must have been close to midnight, but he would not go to bed with having that heaviness on his heart. And what an impression that made upon me. What an impression it made. upon those other young man. He was not too proud to apologize. He was not too proud to admit that he made a mistake. See, my father had a tender conscience. He wouldn't even go to bed with that feeling of heaviness.

No wonder God blessed him. No wonder God used him in a great way. And if we can just learn to have that same kind of pure heart and be sensitive, and whatever area it may be in, be quick to obey. Be quick to forgive. be quick to apologize, be quick to change your attitude. That's what's pleasing to God.

If you're here today and you have things hanging on to your conscience, people you need to apologize to, habits you need to break, things you know you need to do, don't live life guilty. Make the necessary changes. Make those adjustments. And listen, I'm not here to condemn anybody. I'm here to help you come up higher. And I can tell you this, life is too short to live at compromising.

With unforgiveness, with bad attitudes, going around treating people poorly, pay attention to what you're feeling on the inside. Live your life with a clear conscience. Get into God's best plan. The scripture says there in Matthew 622 that the lamp of the body is the eye. The spiritual eye, you might say, is our conscience. Goes on to say that if the eye is good, the whole body will be filled with light. In other words, if your conscience is clear, life is going to be good. You're going to be happy. You're going to have a positive vision, and you'll be enjoying God's blessings. But the next verse describes many people today.

Says in the Amplified, if our conscience is full of darkness, then how dense will that darkness be? I think about how many people are living with a heaviness. They've always got this nagging feeling. Something's always bothering them. They're not happy. Well, the problem is they don't have a clear conscience. They've swept things under the rug. They've ignored the warnings.

They've gotten hard and cold in certain areas. Listen, that's not going to change until you make the adjustments. And what I'm saying today, if there are things that you are doing that you know you should not be doing, then make some adjustments. Or if there are things that you should not be doing and you're doing them, then make those changes. And as I said, it may not be something big. you may not be in some kind of great sin, but maybe God is dealing with you just about having a better attitude

or about spending more time with your children, about eating healthier. Whatever it is, make a decision that you're going to pay more attention to your conscience, and not only that that you're going to be quick to obey. That's when all that heaviness is going to leave. I like what the Apostle Paul said in Acts 23.

He said, I have lived before God with a perfectly clear conscience. that should be the goal of every one of us. When our conscience is clear, condemnation won't bother us. When we have a clear conscience, we're going to be happy. Other people may try to judge us or condemn us, but that'll just bounce right off of us. Sometimes people say, Joel, why don't you do more of this or more of that?

Listen, I know I'm not perfect, but I also know this. My conscience is clear before God. I know that I'm doing my best to please him. That's why I can sleep well at night. That's why I can lie down at peace. That's why I can have a smile on my face. Friends, this is a very freeing way to live. So let me challenge you again.

Pay close attention to your conscience. Respect it. Don't ignore those warnings. Be quick to obey. And pray every day, God help me to have a tender conscience. Remember, every time you obey, your conscience, your heart is getting a little bit softer and you'll do it a little quicker the next time.

So make a decision with me that you're going to do your best to maintain a clear conscience. If you do that, I know God will take you from victory to victory, and you'll experience the abundant life he has in store. Amen. How many of you receive it this morning? We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins.

Come into my heart. I make you, my Lord and Savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born. and again. Get in a good Bible-based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed of. Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to keep you encouraged and inspired all through the week. Help us to continue to share the message of hope with those all around the world. Visit Joel Osteen.com or click the link in the description to partner with us today.

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