Hi, this is Joel in Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry.

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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. And if you're ever in the Houston area, please stop by. Be a part of one of our services. These are the finest people in all of Houston, Texas right here at Lakewood. We'd love to have you come out. But thanks for tuning in. Thank you again for coming out today.

I like to start with something funny. I heard about this wife. She was taken a nap on Valentine's Day in the afternoon. When she woke up, she called her husband, said, honey, I had a dream that you bought me a beautiful diamond ring for Valentine's Day.

What do you think this dream means? He said, you'll find out tonight. That evening, he brought home a small box beautifully wrapped. She was so excited. She opened it up.

It was a book entitled The Meaning of Dreams. 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 removing negative labels. Throughout life, people are constantly sticking labels on us, telling us what we can and cannot become.

Sometimes this is good. People speak faith into us. They encourage us. But then there are times that people put negative labels on us. You cannot stop the negative comments. You can't prevent the negative labels, but you can choose to remove them.

As a teenager Walt Disney was told by his art instructor that he wasn't creative. He didn't have any imagination. Disney was smart enough to remove that label. He went on to do pretty good.

Lucille Ball was told that she didn't have any acting skills. She should try a different profession. She removed that label, starting out of Lucy for many years.

Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade. He told he wasn't smart enough. He went on to become one of the greatest prime ministers that's ever lived.

The common denominator in the success of these people is they chose to remove the negative labels. The same way today, people put labels on us.

My father went to be with the Lord in 1999. I stepped up to pastor the church. I had never ministered before. One Sunday after the service, I overheard two ladies talking in the lobby. One said, he's not as good as his father. The other answered back, yes, I don't think the church is going to last.

I was already insecure. I already felt unqualified and boom, another negative label. Not good enough, not up to par, inferior. That's the way the enemy works. He would love to put labels on you to keep you from reaching your highest potential.

He doesn't fight you for where you are. He fights you for where you're going. He knows God has amazing things in your future. He'll try to discourage you, intimidate you, make you feel inferior.

Words are like seeds. If you dwell on them long enough, they will take root and become what was said.

I tried to remove that negative label, but it wasn't easy. Those thoughts would play in my mind again and again. You're not good enough. You don't have what it takes.

It was like trying to peel a bumper sticker off of a car that's been there a long time. You peel it and it tears. You've got to work and work. I fought those thoughts in my mind day after day.

Finally, I removed that negative label and I put some new labels on. I can do all things through Christ. I am strong in the Lord. I am anointed.

Here's my point. If I had made the mistake of wearing that negative label, I don't believe I would be standing here today.

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