Joel Osteen Sermon Empty Out The Negative : It is easy to go through life holding on to things weighing us down like resentment, doubt, pride and guilt. The problem is that when we allow these things in, they are taking up space for the good things that should be there. Imagine your life is like a container and that you were created to be filled with joy, peace, confidence but if you allow worry in, it pushes out the peace because there is no space for both.
The reason some people don’t enjoy their lives is because their container or heart is competitive with so many things. They are mostly worried, stressed out , bitter, guilty (beating themselves up for past events), jealous and they don’t realise that ten percent of their container is negative.
The Scripture says give no place to the enemy. You control what is in your container, what you think about, what you choose to allow in. We all have negative emotions and feelings but you have to make the choice “I am not going to give this negativity valuable space and let it rule my life. I am going to decide what I allow in there”.
Take care of what you give in to. Life is too short to go through with negative things holding us down. David says in Psalm 103; God fills my life with good things so I can stay young and strong. If you empty out the negative, God will fill you with good things and that is when you become beautiful for ashes, joy for morning. God has something better for you. What has your name on it is not going to somebody else.
In any situation of negativity, just imagine there is an angel with a gift that has your name on it. It says beautiful for ashes, the problem is if you are holding on to it the old there is no place for him to deliver the present. If you don’t let go the worries, he can’t start delivering those good things. When you make room, it is just a matter of time before that angel shows up with your delivery.
The Scripture says offenses will come but they are not a problem, we just don’t know what to do with them. You can’t keep them from coming but you can keep them from staying.
Don’t go through life looking in the rear-view mirror because you can’t do anything about the past but you can do something about right now. Being against yourself doesn’t help you do better, it pushes you down. It doesn’t have to do with what you have or haven’t done, it has to do with what Jesus has done. I have made many mistakes, I don’t deserve to be blessed, none of us deserve it but it is all about His mercy and that is why it is called His goodness. You don’t have to pay God back for all your mistakes because the price has already been paid. When you fall down, don’t stay down but get back up.
Sometimes it is hard to empty out the negative, because when a person does something wrong, human nature wants to hold it in the heart, carry around the grudge but they don’t deserve the attention you are giving. Do not forgive them for their sake, forgive them for your sake. It takes a lot of emotional energy to hold a grudge, to live with unforgiveness. What they did was wrong but you’ve to let it pass and release them. When you do, you’ve freedom and God has your vindicator.
You never really get over the negatives but you can get past it. Yes, it is difficult but you don’t have to stay grieving. Keep the pressure off and let go. You move forward gradually taking it one day at a time. God will never give you something you can’t handle. You might not understand how you will get there. But the scripture says; God will give you a peace for your piece. If you add up the little spaces all the negatives have taken, you will have only a fraction left. Let it out. Every morning empty out the negative and when the impurities come don’t let it stay. Just as Jesus, leading by example on the cross when he was about to pass on. He said, father forgive them for they know not what they do. Jesus was emptying out all the negative before giving up the ghost. Let out the negative every day of your life.