Joel Osteen Podcast - Have a Peacemaker's Heart

Episode Date: April 9, 2019

When I looked up the synonyms of “a peacemaker,” it states “a diplomat, an arbitrator, a mediator, a calmer, a soother, a go-between.” It reads like the characteristics of Jesus, doesn’t it? It’s the attitude that He walked in while He was on this earth. He made peace for us so that we can make peace for others. We can be reconcilers of peace. We have to walk with the heart of a peacemaker. 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.

No one likes to talk about money. Am I saving enough? Can I buy a house? Am I paying too much in taxes? Will I be able to retire? What if you could unlock insights about your finances in less than five minutes with a clear picture of where you stand today and where your money can work harder? Now you can.

Visit facet.com to take the free quiz and get your financial wellness score today. That's facet.com. This ad is sponsored by Facet Wealth Incorporated is an SEC registered investment advisor. This is not an offer to buy or sell securities, nor is an investment, legal, or tax advice. Are you ready to move your career forward? Make your comeback with Purdue Global and get college credit for your work, school, life, or military experiences. With these credits, you may have already completed up to 75% of your undergraduate degree.

You've worked hard to get where you are. It's time to get the recognition you deserve and earn a degree you'll be proud of, one that employers will trust and respect. When you take the next step in your life and career, make it count with Purdue Global. Purdue's online university for working adults. Start your comeback at PurdueGlobal.edu. He'll forget about the video game you gave him on his birthday.

Wow, thanks, Grandpa. But he'll never forget how you invested in his future with the UNEST app. Wow, thanks, Grandpa. The UNST app makes it easy for grandparents and family friends to give funds to a child's investment account for limited time. Download the UNEST app and use the code IHeart50 at Sign Up to receive a $50 bonus when you fund your account. That's code IHeart50 when you sign up at UNEST.C for a $50 bonus.

See terms and conditions at UNS dot. See you. Hi, this is Victoria. Thank you so much for downloading this podcast. I believe God has amazing things in your future. I hope you enjoy this message. All people, amen. I want to encourage us all today to have a peacemaker's heart, a peacemaker's heart, the heart of a peacemaker's maker. You see, we all want to live in peace. We all want people to be at peace with us. We want peace in our families, we want peace in our homes. But the way we're going to have peace is to make peace. Peacemaker is a compound word. Peace maker. We should be the maker of peace. The maker of peace. You see, we have the ability to draw the line in the sand and say, I'm not going to step over

this line into strife, into division. I'm going to make peace. And how do we do that? The Bible says we make peace. We make unity through the bond of peace. See, it's our responsibility. No one. We don't have to depend on anyone to make peace for us. It's our responsibility to resolve the differences and the conflicts in our life honoring God. See, that's what a peacemaker does.

He honors God. It's an attitude. And that's why I described it as developing us. heart of a peacemaker because it's an attitude that we have to develop. It's something that we have to realize is our responsibility. See, Jesus gave a sermon on the mound and he gave all the beatitudes. And he told about these beatitudes. You could call them, these are attitudes that bring the blessings of God in our life. And he said in Matthew 519, he said, blessed are the peacemakers. For they shall be sons of God. blessed are those who are willing to let go of an offense.

Blessed are those who don't walk in the pathway of conflict. Blessed are those who don't have to have their way all the time. Blessed are those who are willing to keep the peace. See, we have to learn how to reconcile our differences and honor God. See, it's about unity. and the only way we're going to find unity is through the bonds of peace. Unity doesn't mean we're all going to agree on everything. Unity doesn't mean we're all clones and we look alike.

We act alike. We talk alike because we all know that ain't happening. We're all from different backgrounds. We have different opinions, different ways of doing things. So we have to learn that peace is what's going to bind us together. You know, it's so interesting in families and with coworkers and in partnerships with business, husbands and wife. The interesting thing is this.

We start out good. We have the same goal in mind. We want to be successful at this task. We want to have peace in our homes. We want to raise kids that are thriving and well able to accomplish things. We want to have financial security. These are all common goals that we start out. out with. But somewhere along the way because we differ in our personalities and the way we do

things, we begin to get in conflict. We have the same goal, but we do it differently. And that conflict sidetracks us and gets us off course so we don't have the desired outcome or it extends and prolongs the outcome. You see, those are the things. At the end of the day, it's not the way you do it or I do it, that's going to bring the happiness. At the end of the day, it's going to be peace that binds us together in unity that brings the happiness, the achievement, the outcome of the goal. You see, there is a place in your spirit that says, I am a peacemaker. And because I'm a peacemaker, I can trust God to fight my battles for me. I can trust God to bring the outcome, even if it's not the way I would do it. The attitude of a peacemaker is what we all need.

We're all going to face challenges along the way. Those challenges are getting along with people because we all want our way. We all want to do it our way. Our way or no way. You know sometimes it can get to the lowest part of our maturity. And it can be, if you don't do it my way, I'm not going to be happy. In fact, if you don't do it my way, we're not moving forward from this point. That is what is hindering our outcome. We've got to learn that if we want peace, it starts with us. We can make it. I was talking to a beautiful, really sharp, brilliant young girl the other day, and we were having a conversation. I could just see how sharp she was and with it and right on the ball. And she began to tell me I have a strong personality.

You know, I love to win. I love the feeling of winning. She says, just something about being right. It's a great feeling. And then she paused. And she said, you know, those traits of mine, those personality traits, I'm realizing they're beginning to slowly demise my marriage. They're beginning to change the atmosphere of my home. It's beginning to affect my children. You see, if you have to be right all the time, And you love that feeling of being right? You're making other people feel wrong. You see, we don't want to make the people in our life feel wrong.

We've got to let other people be right. We've got to allow them to be right. It doesn't mean that you have to agree with everything that they're saying. Just let them be right. It doesn't make you wrong. It makes you a peacemaker. It makes you a peacemaker. makes you a person who says, I'm going to make peace.

Because I don't want to be right all the time. It's too costly. It's too expensive. It isn't worth the price of my home, of my family, of my children, of my job. It's too costly. We have to be willing to be a peacemaker. I looked up the synonyms for peacemaker and listen to some of these words. It's diplomat. arbitrator, mediator, calmer, soother, go-between. Sounds like the characteristics of Jesus, doesn't it? It sounds like the attitudes that he walked this earth with,

and he won anyway. You see, he is saying our attitudes should be like that. You see, he made peace for us so that we could make peace for others. We could be reconcilers of peace. When Joel and I were really young in our marriage, before he was ever the pastor, we were at a meeting. And he was talking to this gentleman. And I came up a few minutes into the conversation.

But this gentleman was talking passionately and really had these convictions about what he was talking about. He was going on and on. And to me, some of them sounded a little unrealistic and a little bit. bit wrong in my opinion, but I wasn't going to say anything because I really wasn't part of the conversation. So I just sat there and listened. And I looked at Joel and Joel was standing there with a pleasant look on his face. He was being very cordial. And I thought, oh, okay. All right. So as I was standing there, just listening to the conversation, a little while later, Joel had somehow given us an exit point. He had dismissed us and said, hey, we got to go. So as we were leaving,

And a little later we were in the car going home. And I said to Joel, I said, hey, you know, who was that guy? And what did you think about his opinion? And, you know, I didn't know what I thought about. I don't know if I agree with all that. And I said, did you agree with his opinion? And Joel said, no, I didn't. And I said, well, you were standing there so nice and everything.

I thought maybe you did. I'll never forget what he said. He said, Victoria, I wasn't put on this earth to straighten everybody else. out. You know, some people think they were. They're the judge and the jury. I thought that was so profound. Very deep. I thought, I like that. I'm going to remember that. Have you ever interjected in a conversation? And later on, when you left, maybe when you got home, you thought, why did I do that? I just wish I wouldn't have said anything. We ought to adapt that motto. I wasn't on this earth to straighten everybody out. You know, that doesn't mean that we can't have opinions,

likes, and dislikes that differ. You know, even in the most difficult conversations, if we will come from a place of honoring God, from a place of a peacemaker, a place of unity, That's how we're going to make it in this life. That's how we're going to keep the bond of peace. We all know that we have to have difficult conversations, but it's not about having our way. It's about saying, God, I want to converse with this person. I want to be intelligent about it.

But I don't have to have my way. I can let someone else be right. And God, it doesn't have to be done my way. There is more ways to oppose. point than just my way. There's more ways to a common goal than just my way. Sometimes you've got to know when to take your hands off of it. And when you've got to say, God, this isn't the way I would do it. But you know what? I'm going to zip it up because I'm going to keep unity through the bond of peace, through the common ground of peace. And God, I'm not going to try to fight my way. I'm going to allow you

to step in. And you see, God says, you're not blessed when you're right. You're not blessed when you win every argument. He says the blessing comes from being a peacemaker. See, there's a blessing on the other side of that promise. And we've got to walk in that place of a peacemaker's heart. The Bible says in Ephesians, it says to bring unity through the spirit through the bond of peace. If we're going to achieve unity, we're going to have to be active, and we're going to have to take the initiative to do what it takes to make the peace.

The scripture says, you know, as far as it's up to you, the buck stops there. Be at peace with all men. Let's be instruments of peace because there's a blessing in the life of a peacemaker. Amen. Amen. He's an awesome God. Thank you for listening to the Joel Osteen podcast. Help us continue to share the message of hope with those all over the world.

Visit joelosteen.com slash give hope to give hope. a gift today. Thanks for listening to the podcast. Be sure to subscribe so you can get all of the latest messages. Know that we pray for you. God bless you. Be a barbecue hero with delicious ultra low net carb, hero bread, buns and tortillas. Soft and fluffy, high in fiber and with zero grams of sugar and up to 10 grams of protein coming in at under 100 calories per serving. Oh, and did I mention, they taste like their mouthwatering traditional versions. It's enough to have the neighbors asking for seconds. Use code IHM 10 for 10% off your first hero bread purchase at hero.co. That's IHM 10 for 10% off at hero.co. More than ever before, people are turning to the church for their mental health

struggles. Unfortunately, the church has largely been ill-equipped to help. That is, until now. Join nearly 50,000 people, just like you, who've enrolled in the mental health coach training program and become equipped to help. For a limited time, apply for a full tuition scholarship and only pay a one-time tech fee of $54, if accepted. Apply now at mental healthcoach.org. That's mental health coach.org. Summer is here and our sleep is just as important as our weekend plans. So get the sleep you deserve with Lisa. For a limited time, save up to $700 off select mattresses plus two free pillows during our summer sale. Check out our hybrid mattress designed to keep you cool during those hot summer nights. Lisa also offers free shipping and a risk-free 100-night trial. Get the sleep you deserve.

Shop our summer sale now and save up to $700 off select mattresses. Plus two free pillows at Lisa.com. That's L-E-E-E-S-A.com. Exclusion supply, visit Lisa.com for details.