Joel Osteen Podcast - The Unconditional Love of God

Episode Date: June 23, 2020

Sometimes we feel like God is counting our failures against us, but the Bible says He loved us while we were yet sinners. God is not focused on what you're doing wrong; He sees you as a work in progress. 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.

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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. I forget one Saturday afternoon when I was 16 years old. I walked in the kitchen and my father was grilling hamburgers that Saturday afternoon. I was like, yeah, I'm hungry, Dad. He said, great. He said, can you run to the store for me and pick up a few little items? I just need some mustard, some pickles, just a couple little eyes. I just a couple little I said, absolutely. I mean, I was 16 years old just waiting to get behind the wheel. Any excuse to drive, and I was right there.

So he went to give me his keys, and as he was giving me the keys, he said, now look, Victoria, he said, I want you to go straight to the grocery store, I want you to come straight back. And don't open the passenger side window. Don't roll it down because it's off the tracks. And he said, I have to get it repaired next week, so don't open the window. I took the keys from his hand and I rushed out the back door, jumped in the car, cranked it up, drove down the street to my best girlfriend's house and picked her up.

I said, we're going to the grocery store. As we were on our way to the grocery store, about to leave the neighborhood, we saw some of our friends who lived in the neighborhood walking down the sidewalk. So we started waving. I said, let's pull over so they can see us driving. So we pull over. I said, roll down the window so we can. and say hi. She looks at me and she says, I thought you said the window was broken. I said,

it's okay, it'll be fine this time. This one time won't hurt anything. So she rolls the window down and we talk to our friends and I'll never forget as I was driving off. She was rolling that window back up and it was as if time stood still. That window shattered in one million pieces. I looked at that window. I couldn't believe it. Millions of pieces. I looked at my girlfriend. I said, you're going home with me.

Listen, I'll never forget driving that car home thinking, what am I going to tell my father? Drove up the driveway, walked in the back door, and there he stood in the kitchen. With the biggest knot in my throat, I said, Dad, I've got to tell you something. I did everything you told me not to do. I said, Dad, I shattered your window.

Please forgive me. I couldn't believe what I had done. But, you know, that Saturday afternoon is a 16-year-old girl that I'll never forget my dad's response to me. As I looked at my father and he looked back at me and I'm sure he was disappointed, he looked at me with eyes of compassion. It was as if he looked past my failure, past my mistake. Somehow he saw a daughter on a journey. And he showed me unconditional love that day.

He didn't berate me. He didn't tell me how terrible I was. Somehow he found it in himself to look over my faults and show me his love. Can I tell you if an earthly father can do such a thing? How much more does our heavenly father? Look at us today. Eyes of compassion and love. So often we feel like he's looking at our mistakes, counting our failures against us.

But can I tell you the scripture says when we were yet sinners, before we even knew what was right and what was wrong, he looked down through the corridors of time and he said, I love you unconditionally. That is the heart of the father. Now, your story might not be the same with your earthly father. I don't know. But I can tell you it has helped me understand the love of my heavenly father. You see, that day, I had to do something. I had to admit what I did.

And then I had to ask for forgiveness. Then I took it one step further. I had to receive his forgiveness. Because, see, it was up to me at that point. Was I going to make a decision? that my father loved me and that he indeed forgave me, and I could shake off the shame, shake off the guilt, because see, there was something real important that I needed to do.

I needed to have a relationship with this father in my life. And if I was going to draw back and not feel like I was good enough, I would have never come and asked him for the keys again. But guess what? I did. I asked him for the keys again, and he gave them to me. I'm saying all that to say. Some of you have shrunk back. You're not asking God for the keys again.

You're saying he couldn't possibly want that for me. How could I possibly achieve that? Man, I make a mistake all the time. I can't get to where God wants me to be. If I even ask him, will he even hear me? Can I tell you, your heavenly father, is not looking at what you're doing wrong. He's looking at what you're doing right.

He sees your two good moves. Yeah, you may have blown it. You may have even blown it yesterday. But can I tell you, when you come and you say, God, forgive me, he sees us as a work in progress. We are sons and daughters in progress. And he's not holding that against us. See, I've got to tell you something,

when I asked my dad for the keys again, he didn't say to me, well, don't forget what you did. don't forget how you wronged me. He didn't come at me with guilt and condemnation. And I want to remind you today, if you're not asking for the keys because you feel guilty, maybe a little ashamed, maybe you can't even believe God would do that, that is not of God. That is the accuser. And those are the things you're going to have to shake off and make a decision today.

When I ask God for forgiveness, he freely forgives me. He pardons me. else says, he takes great pleasure in giving you the kingdom. That tells me, he's got some keys for you today. You've got to ask him, don't walk timid before God. He likes boldness. He likes tenacity. Listen, God says, come boldly before the throne of grace so you can obtain mercy and find help in your time of need. See, there's the key right there. You've got to be bold. You've got to ask for forgiveness. You've got to receive it. You've got to forgive yourself. And then you've got to know that God's going to help you get to where you need to be. Amen. He's a good father. He is an

amazing father today. 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 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. 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.

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