ep number. . (applause) well, god bless you and welcome to lakewood. it's a joy to come into your homes each week. thanks so much for being with us. and if you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. i promise you we'll make you feel right at home. but thank you for tuning in and thanks again for coming out. i like to start with something funny. and i heard about this older woman. she came to church one sunday morning and a friendly usher met her in the back and said, "ma'am, where would you like to sit?" she said, "i'd like to sit on the very front row." he said, "oh no, ma'am, you don't want to do that. our pastor's very boring. he'll put you to sleep. let me seat you somewhere else." she looked appalled. she said, "sir, do you know who i am?" he said,

"no ma'am." she said, "i am the pastor's mother." he hung his head in embarrassment and finally looked up and said, "ma'am, do you know who i am?" she said, "no." he said, "thank god." (laughter) hold up your bible. 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 covered by mercy. we all make mistakes in life and do things that we know we shouldn't do. it's easy to live guilty, in regrets, feeling like we're all washed up. a man said to me recently how he had gotten off course in his business, made some poor decisions, he didn't have integrity. now, it was going downhill. it started to effect his marriage. and i encouraged

him to pray, to ask god to turn it around, and believe for favor. he said, "joel, i couldn't do that. it's my own fault. i brought this trouble on myself." he felt like he was disqualified. he didn't deserve god's help because his performance wasn't up to par. and we can understand how god will bless us when we're doing what's right, making good choices. it's easy to expect good things and believe for dreams to come to pass. but the beauty of mercy is even when we make mistakes, even when we go the wrong way, our performance is not perfect, god doesn't say, "too bad. you had your chance. you're on your own." no, this is where mercy shows off. god will not only help bring you out of the trouble that you got yourself in, he'll take it one step further and help clean up the mess you made. maybe a relationship you knew you weren't supposed to get in, you didn't feel good

about it. you heard the alarm going off but you ignored it and now it's a mess; causing you heartache and pain. perhaps a job you knew you weren't supposed to take it. you didn't feel good. you had that uneasiness on the inside but you overwrote it and did it anyway. now it's a mess. you're not fulfilled. you're not being treated right. god doesn't say, "i tried to tell you. maybe next time you'll listen." no, god is not holding that against you. he has you covered. his mercy is bigger than that mistake. his mercy will help not only turn it around but god will help clean it up and cause something good to come out of it. but if this is going to happen, you can't go through life guilty, condemned, beating yourself up because of past mistakes thinking, "oh, man, i knew i shouldn't have hung around those people. now i've got this addiction. i knew i should have stayed in college. i knew i should have been faithful in that relationship. what was i

thinking?" no, it takes boldness to believe that god will bless you in spite of your mistakes. the accuser will tell you you can't ask god to help you, you made the mess. you went the wrong way. you were unfaithful. god's not going to listen to you. who do you think you are? answer back, "a child of the most high god, redeemed, forgiven, covered by mercy." this is what jonah did. god told him to go to the city of nineveh and share the good news with the people. but jonah didn't want to go. he wanted to do his own thing. he went in the opposite direction. he got on a boat headed the wrong way. and they encountered a huge storm. everybody on board thought they were going to die. finally, jonah admitted, "hey everyone, i'm the problem. i'm the one that's causing all this turmoil." they didn't say, "oh, that's ok, jonah. we'll let it slide. we forgive you." no, they threw him overboard. they weren't

about to go down with him. and jonah thought he was done. it was his fault. he did exactly opposite of what he knew he was supposed to do. he was treading water in the middle of the ocean, dark, in a storm. it looked like it was over. he was getting exactly what he deserved. but god said, "jonah, you can run the other way but you can't outrun my mercy. it's from everlasting to everlasting. wherever you go, i've got you covered." the psalmist put it this way, "if you go to the depths of the sea or way up in the sky, no matter how high or how low, you can never get away from god's mercy. he'll always be there waiting for you. calling your name. giving you another chance. ready to help, ready to clean up the mess you've made. he's got you covered by his mercy." and jonah was feeling guilty, thinking that he was finished.

the situation looked impossible. no way it was ever going to turn out good. but god has a way even when we don't see a way. your situation may seem like it could never turn out right. you made the mess. now it's complicated. other people are involved. the odds are against you. be encouraged. god already has the solution. he already knows how to not just bring you out but how to clean up the mess and bring you out better. and all of a sudden, this big fish came and swallowed jonah. now he's sitting in the belly of this fish. he's, in one sense, glad that he's still alive, thankful that he didn't drown. in another sense, he's thinking, "i wish i would have died. it stinks in here. i can't see anything. i'm trapped. there's no way out." but sitting in the belly of that fish, thoughts telling him, "jonah, you deserved it. it's your own fault. too bad." instead of

listening to the accusing voices, the scripture says jonah began to pray from inside the fish. he didn't say, "god, i am so undeserving. i've made such a mess. god, just help me to survive." no, he said, "i cried unto the lord in my trouble and he answered me." that was a statement of faith. he was still in the fish. still in trouble, yet he's declaring "god has answered me." he went on to say, "i sank down to the depths of the ocean. death was near but when i lost all hope, i turned my thoughts towards you oh lord. for you snatched me from the jaws of death. now i will fulfill my vow. i know salvation and deliverance comes from you alone." notice how much of his prayer was in the past tense. like it already happened. jonah had this attitude, "god, i believe you'll not only rescue me, but

you'll help clean up this mess, that you'll bless me in spite of my mistakes, that i will still fulfill my destiny." that takes boldness to ask for god's blessings in spite of what you've done wrong. because most of the time we just live guilty, condemned, we have no passion. when you have the boldness to say, "god, i don't deserve it. i went the wrong way. but god i still believe you'll bless me. i still believe you'll show me favor. i still believe i can become who you created me to be." when you do that, god doesn't say, "who do you think you are? you know what you did wrong. you should be grateful to even be alive." no, god will do for you what he did for jonah. as soon as jonah got through praying, the scripture says god caused the fish to spit him up onto dry ground, onto that beach. friends, god controls the

whole universe. god can cause whatever's holding you back right now, the dysfunction, the addiction, the sickness, the legal problem, god can cause it in a split second to set you free. to release it's hold. god is in control even of our enemies. and jonah came out of this whale, washed himself off, thrilled to be alive. he knew it was the mercy of god. and that could have been the end of the story. that would be great. god rescued him, saved him from trouble. but god doesn't want to just bring you out. if you'll have the right attitude, shake off the guilt, get your passion back, god will give you another chance to get to where you're supposed to be. that mistake did not disqualify you. you didn't miss your destiny because you had a detour. the scripture says the word of the lord came to jonah a second time. what did god

say? "jonah, i want you to go to nineveh"; the same thing he said the first time. in other words, god didn't say, "jonah, i asked you to do this once but boy you about wore me out. i had to get up off the throne, go find that fish. jonah, you just sit on the sidelines. i'm going to find somebody else." no, god will always give you another chance, and another chance and another chance to fulfill the best plan that he has for your life. (applause) it is not too late to become who god created you to be. if you will start where you are, honoring god, being your best, serving others, the right doors will open, the right people will show up. god knows how to make up for lost time. he can get you to where he wants you to be. and the second time god asked, jonah went to the city of nineveh. he obeyed and he saw god do amazing things. the point is jonah made a wrong

turn but that did not stop his destiny. god said, "jonah, you had a detour but that's okay. i've got you covered. my mercy is bigger than that mistake. i still want you to go to nineveh. i still want you to fulfill my best plan for your life." and maybe like jonah, you've made some mistakes, taken some wrong turns. it's easy to sit on the sidelines of life and think like, "oh joel, i can't expect god to bless me. you don't know what i've done. i blew my marriage. i've got these addictions. failed in business. made a lot of poor choices." no, you are no different than jonah. you can either sit there on the beach so to speak and just be glad you're alive. or you can rise up like he did and say, "god, i blew it. i don't deserve it. but i know salvation and deliverance comes from you. lord, i believe that you can turn this mess around and still help me become who you created me to be." if you'll

have an attitude like that, the word of the lord will come to you a second time. god will give you another chance. you may be in a middle of a mess right now. it was your fault. no excuse. you don't see anything good in your future. but be encouraged. god has you covered. he's saying to you what he said to jonah. "i still want you to accomplish your dreams. i still want you to have a great marriage. i still want you to live happy, healthy, and whole. i still have a destiny for you to fulfill." and we can all look back in life and see times where we made the mess but god cleaned it up. we lost our temper and said some things that got us into trouble. we should have lost our job, but god showed us mercy, cleaned up the mess, we still have it today. or we were unfaithful in a relationship. we should have lost our marriage. we made the mess, but god showed us mercy, cleaned it up. today

we're restored with a healthy, happy family. and a lot of times when people see us blessed, enjoying life, they think it's because we did everything right. we didn't make any mistakes. but the truth is there were times we made a wrong turn like jonah but god caused it to turn out right. we took the wrong job, we got involved with the wrong people. we said the wrong things but god caused it to all work together for our good. there were some mountains we knew we weren't supposed to climb. but the opportunity looked so good we did it anyway. we got halfway up and realized "this is not what i thought it should be." i can thank god that he brought me off of mountains that i was never supposed to be on in the first place. he could have left us there and said, "hey, learn your lesson. maybe next time." no, the good news is we've been covered by mercy. one time, this business opportunity came along and it was so appealing to me, i didn't

have to pray about it. i didn't have to think twice. i knew it was something i wanted to pursue. and it took about six months to come together. on several occasions, there were these small signs that something wasn't right. i could feel that uneasiness saying, "joel, don't do it. it's not what it seems." i didn't pay any attention. i wanted it so badly, i pushed through it. we got it up and going but it never took off like we thought. there were some circumstances we didn't realize that would limit it. and we had a lot invested and we struggled and struggled, tried to make it work. but it was like we were always pushing it uphill. and when i look back, i can see how god tried to warn me, tried to get my attention. i could feel that unrest but i didn't listen. god could have said, "joel, well maybe next time you will listen. too bad for you." no, god is not holding that against us. if god only gave us what we deserved,

none of us would fulfill our destiny. and one day, out of the blue, we got word that this man was interested in purchasing it. the experts said it would never happen. he wasn't the right type of buyer. he wasn't even in the same field. but against all odds, he not only purchased it but he paid almost twice what we were told we could sell it for. that's the mercy of god cleaning up the mess. god doesn't give us what we deserve. we deserve the consequences. we deserve judgment. but god gives us mercy. he knows how to make miracles out of our mistakes. the accusing voices will tell you, "man, you are done. it was your fault. you knew not to do it in the first place. you pursued the wrong dream. now look at you. you're over your head. you can't make ends meet. just deal with it." no, god is so merciful. he'll take your wrong and he'll make it right. it may have been your fault. you could easily

live guilty. no, you've got to shake that off. god's mercy is bigger than that mistake. he knows how to make a miracle out of that mess. see, covered by mercy means you're not just covered as long as you do everything right. like jonah, you're covered even when you go the wrong way. let me make it more practical. even when we do dumb things, god still has us covered. that should make us all feel better. i read about this young man, 21 years old. he was raised in church. he knew the right thing to do. but he got off course, started partying and running with the wrong crowd. and one night when he'd had way too much to drink, his friends dared him to climb a telephone pole. he wasn't thinking clearly and he climbed up 40 feet in the air, drunk as can be. and just as he was about to reach the top, he lost his footing, slipped, and fell backwards.

tumbling back on a way to a certain death, somehow the leather belt that he was wearing caught one of the metal rods on the pole and it acted like a harness and saved his life. he was up there dangling in the middle of the night. the fire depart- ment came and rescued him. the newspaper headline read, "pants save drunk man from a fall." that's the mercy of god. even when we do dumb things, god still has us covered. bottom line: if it's not your time to go, you're not going to go. nothing can snatch you out of god's hand. you might as well quit fighting the call of god on your life. god is not going to leave you alone. wherever you go, he's going to be there. the scripture says, "god's calling is irrevocable." that means you're a marked man. you're a marked woman. god wants you. you can try to ignore it. run. hide. party it away. drink it away.

after all that, god's going to still be there saying, "i want you to go to nineveh. i've got something for you to do. i've got a destiny for you to fulfill." see, you have an assignment. somebody needs what you have. and if you don't step in to who god's made you to be, this world will not be as bright a place as it should have been. we'll all miss out. and when i say we're covered by mercy, that doesn't mean we can just live any way we want, be sloppy, compromise, take the easy way out. joel said god will clean it up. he'll catch me even when i'm drunk. no, some of you think you got your word from the lord. let me clarify this. (laughter) when you really know god, when you have a relationship with his son jesus, you want to do what's right. you may make mistakes from time to time, but you're not trying to see how much you can get away with and still feel good about yourself. deep down, you have a desire to honor god, to be

your best. and the scripture says here in titus: "god saved us not because of the good things we've done but because of his mercy." this is the key: his mercy is not based on our performance. if it was only dependent on us living a perfect life, never making a mistake, then none of us would be here. you may not have been saved by your pants from a telephone pole. but i wonder how many times god has saved us from dumb things that we've done. i can admit i've done a few. and don't look at me like that, i know i'm a saint compared to you. (laughter) but every morning i start off the day by thanking god for his goodness, for his blessings, his favor, my family, my friends, the opportunity he's given me. then i always follow it up by thanking him for his mercy. for the times i didn't make the best decision but he cleaned it up. the times i did

something dumb, he brought me out of the mess. the times he protected me that i knew nothing about. he kept the car from colliding with mine. he kept my child from harm. he saved me from pain and heartache. there are many things that we cannot see but god is holding back the forces of darkness, keeping us from accidents and harm, moving the wrong people out of the way. causing things to work out to our advantage. he's got you covered with his mercy. and the beauty is not just when we perform perfectly, not just when we measure up, but even when we blow it, even when we fail. even when we do like jonah and say, "god, leave me alone. let me do my own thing." you're still covered. you may turn your back on god but he'll never turn his back on you. you may run the other way, but god will come running toward you. sometimes people say, "joel, i've made so many mistakes, so many poor choices, i think i've missed

my destiny." i always tell them, "you're not that powerful. you think your poor choices can stop what the creator of the universe, the most high god has ordained for you." (applause) "you think that mistake is too much for the mercy of god. that somehow god is now confused, trying to figure out what to do with you next." no, god knows the end from the beginning. nothing you've done has to keep you from becoming who god's created you to be. but you've got to do your part and get back in the game. start honoring god with your whole heart and he'll get you to where you're supposed to be. dr. john redman is a pastor friend of mine and he told about this woman that he knew that was very, very depressed. it kept getting worse and finally she couldn't take it anymore. she decided to end her life. she went to bed on a saturday night and was going to do it the next morning. she

has a little dog that sleeps with her. he woke up early sunday morning and started scratching and scratching, trying to wake her up so he could go outside. while he was doing that, he hit the remote control for the television and turned it on. it just so happened that our program came on the television. she started watching and i was talking about how god has your best days still in front of you. you wouldn't be alive unless something amazing was in your future. she knew it wasn't a coincidence. something began to come alive on the inside. at the end of the program, i always encourage people to get into a good bible based church. that sunday morning, she went to dr. redman's church and gave her life to christ, got her joy back, her passion back. now, she's excited about her future. (applause) friends, god's mercy is bigger than our poor choices. if it's not your time to go, god can even use a dog to get you back on the right track. he's got you covered with his mercy.

in the scripture when god promised abraham that he was going to have a baby, he and his wife sarah were nearly 80-way too old to have a child. they waited and waited believing that somehow it would happen. but year after year went by and still no baby. and sarah got tired of waiting. talking about making a bad choice, doing something dumb. she told abraham to sleep with her maid, hagar. and they had a baby, abraham and hagar, that they named ishmael. but this was not the promised child. and this brought all kinds of dysfunction into their house. sarah got mad at abraham and said, "what were you thinking?" abraham said, "well, you told me to do it." she said, "well, you should have known better anyway." sarah became very jealous of hagar and started treating her really badly. finally, she gave abraham an ultimatum. either this woman leaves or i'm going to leave. abraham had to send hagar

and his young son, ishmael, out into the desert. it was a big mess. god could have said, "sarah, too bad. it's your fault. you brought the trouble on yourself. you were impatient. you should have just waited. but no, even though sarah made a mistake- i say it respectfully, even though she did something dumb, that did not cancel out the promise. in the natural, she was way too old. but one day god gave her a baby. she had isaac, the promised child. what am i saying? they made a big mess of things but god not only cleaned up the mess, he made a miracle out of their mistake. now, here's how amazing god is. hagar, the maid. she didn't do anything wrong. but her whole world fell apart. she was living out in the desert with her son, who everyone called a mistake; he wasn't the promised child. she didn't know how she was going to survive. but god said, "hagar

don't worry. i'm going to take care of you. and your son, who people think is a mistake, i'm going to bring out of him a great nation." god is so merciful; out of a great mess, he brought greatness. he was saying, "hagar, i'm not going to let other people's poor choices ruin your life." see, it's one thing when we make the mess and we have to deal with it. we can understand that. we brought the trouble on ourselves. but when somebody else makes the mess and it affects us, that doesn't seem fair. ishmael couldn't choose who his parents would be. he couldn't choose where he would be born. hagar didn't ask to have a baby with abraham. she was just following orders. doing what she was told. and you may be in a mess today and it was somebody else's fault. they caused you to be at a disadvantage. but be encouraged. god is saying to you what he said to hagar and ishmael, other people's

mistakes are not going to ruin your life. they may have put you at a disadvantage but know this, god has you covered. he's going to bring greatness out of that great mess. friends, nothing you've done has disqualified you. you may have made a poor choice like sarah, but god is still going to bring the promise to pass. you may have taken a wrong turn like jonah, but god's still going to cause it to turn out right. maybe somebody else's choice has had a negative effect on you. but don't worry. god's going to turn it around and use it to your advantage. shake off the guilt. quit listening to the accusing voices. god has you covered with his mercy. if you'll do this, i believe and declare god's not only going to bring you out, he's going to clean up your mess, he's going to make miracles out of your mistake. you will still fulfill your destiny and become everything god's created you to be. in jesus' name. if you receive it can

you say amen, today? (applause) well, 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 in to my heart. i make you my lord and savior." friends, if you prayed that simple prayer we believe you got born again. get in a good bible-based church. keep god first place. he's going to take you places that you've never even dreamed. . . start each day off right by having joel lead you in declaring the truth of who you are in christ through this powerful 31-day audio devotional, "i am". i am blessed. i am strong. i am talented. "i am", available this month as a thank you for your support of our ministry. if you want to know what you're going to be like five years from now, listen to what you're saying about yourself. you are prophesying your future. when you speak words of faith

and victory over your health, finances, your children you are setting the course for a victorious future. declare these powerful promises and become all you were created to be. i've written 31 promises, one for each day. it takes less than a minute. it's a great way to get the day started. request this resource, it will be a great help to you. to request your copy of "i am", visit us at joelosteen.com or call us toll free. . . . . #1 new york times bestselling author, joel osteen, delivers his newest book, "the power of i am, two words that will change your life today". this book encouraged me to use my words wisely to bless my future. i really love the book. this book was amazing. "the power of i am" has helped me greatly in my relationship with my spouse. this book has been really powerful in my own life. "the power of i am". now available. pick up

your copy today at joelosteen.com. . . this is violet. she's been waiting for this moment for awhile. a moment other kids wouldn't think twice about. her first bowl of cheerios. because now that cheerios are gluten free, violet, and many others are enjoying their first bowl today.

>> before this episode of the "kitchen experts" show, we would like to share a special message with you. >> breast cancer awareness month was in october, and for me, one month doesn't seem like it's long enough. i have five children. my wife had a lump. it seemed like the end of the world for me, and, you know, these wives or mothers are so important to all of us. my wife ended up being fine, but it was a big wake-up call, so please, breast cancer awareness -- don't let it be a month. let it be forever. please get your test. take care of all the women of the world. and thank you very much. >> absolutely. and... >> both: enjoy the show. >> hi. welcome to the "kitchen experts" show. i'm janelle marie. now, as 2014 comes to a close, we're gonna do things differently on today's show. i have had so much fun doing this show. i hope you've had fun watching it. over the past year, i've met dozens of happy ho