Fake Friends | Joel Osteen – Joel Osteen Podcast

I hope you and your family are having a great summer. Victorian, are praying for you, believe in for God's very best in your life, and it's always my pleasure to be able to share a message with you. I hope you're encouraged and inspired today. Oh God bless you. It's great to be with you today. And I hope you'll stay connected with us during the week through our daily podcast, our YouTube channel, and social media, and you can come visit us in person. We'd love to have you be a part of one of our services. I let you start with something funny, and I heard about these three sisters, ages ninety six, ninety four, and ninety two that lived together.

One night, the ninety six year old draws a bath and she puts one foot in and stops. She hollers downstairs, I can't remember if I was getting in or getting out. The ninety four year old says, hang on, I'll come up and help you, and she gets halfway up the stairs and stops and says, I can't remember if I was going up or coming down. The ninety two year old shook her head, said, man, I hope I never get that forgetful. She knocked on wood for good luck.

Then she said, hang on, I'll come help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door. No, no, no, that's not us. We're gonna have sound mind clear minds. In Jesus' name, Come on, say 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 recepted. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want to talk to you today about fake friends. There are people, I should say ushers lock the doors. But there are people that God brings into our lives that are amazing people.

They love us unconditionally. They cheer us on, celebrate our victories, and stick with us through thick and thin. But in the midst of all these great people will be some fake friends, people that have hidden agendas and ulterior motives. They're not concerned about you. They're concerned about what you can do for them. They see you as an opportunity in they'll use control and manipulation to get what they want, guilty into doing things, make you feel bad because you can't meet their expectations. A fake friend is two faced.

They clap when you succeed and act like they're happy. Down deep, they're jealous. They were hoping you would fail. They compliment you on your new outfit and act excited about the promotion, but behind your back talk about how you didn't deserve it, make derogatory remarks. Fake friends create unnecessary drama, stir things up, bring confusion. They act like they're watching after you doing your favor. Their real agenda is to get you upset, cause your strife and turmoil.

If you don't have discernment and recognize who's a true friend who has your best interest at heart, and who's a fake friend who's just here for what you can do for them, that life can be frustrating. Jesus said in Matthew you will know them by their fruit. Does it say you will know them by their words? People can say one thing. They can talk a good game, but they're not always who they say They are. Their actions and how they treat you, what they do is who they are. You won't have to go up to an apple tree and ask it, what kind of tree are you? You look at the fruit. This is an apple.

I know it's an apple tree. You've never gone to an apple tree and found a lemon growing on one of the branches, never gone to an orange tree and found a banana growing off of it. The tree will only produce the fruit of what it is. If someone is always telling you one thing, but the fruit is different, the fruit is not lying. The fruit is who they are. Well, I'm loyal, I'm faithful, I'm always going to be there for you. But they never show off. They always have an excuse. They're always too busy. That's who they are.

If they're gossiping, talking bad about people, stirring up trouble, that's showing their true colors. Pay attention to people's fruit. Well, Joel, they're nice to me, they compliment me, they say kind things. But behind your back, when you're not around, you hear how they talk bad about you, push you down, discredit you.

And I'm all for giving people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they're having a bad day, but if it happens again and again, when it's a pattern, their fruit is not lying. That's who they are. Bottom line is you don't need faith for you don't need people. You have to play up to people that have hidden agendas, people that are too faced. They're not helping you move forward.

They're keeping you from your destiny. If you'll get rid of the wrong people, God will bring the right people. And sometimes the reason we're not seeing true friends is we're holding on to the wrong friends. Down deep, we know something's not right. Our discernment's going off. They don't have integrity. They just stir me up. They just want what I can do for them. We try to defend them, make excuses. You need to make a change. You don't have to make a big announcement. You're fake. I'm done with you. Just little by little, spend less and less time with them. The scripture says, to redeem the time.

Your time is too valuable to spend with people that are draining your energy, that have hidden agendas, that don't really care about you. But what you can do for them life is flying by. The enemy would love for us to waste years distracted, confused, trying to figure out what they meant control. Do yourself a favor, get rid of the fate friends. You have a destiny to fulfill.

There's a calling on your life. We have a responsibility to live with purpose and not be sidetracked by people that can pull us off course. This is what happened with Sampson. His birth was predicted by the prophets. He was destined to save the Israelites, and God gave him supernatural strength and this power to defeat his enemies. But Sampson started hanging around the wrong people. He fell in love with a lady named Delilah. She was beautiful hi.

He was so infatuated and so caught up, he ignored what he was feeling inside. He didn't pay attention to the alarms that were going off. God will always give you a warning. There will be an uneasiness and unrest. Don't push it down. That's God speaking to you. That's the spirit of discernment telling you be careful. Something is faith.

It's not what it looks like. Sampson was a Hebrew and the Philistines were trying to capture him because he was so powerful. They couldn't defeat him by normal means, so they decided to try to trick him. They told Delilah to go seduce him and try to find a secret of his strength. They said in verse five, if you'll do this, will each pay you eleven hundred pieces of silver. She got all dressed up and put her fake eyelashes on, her hair extensions in, got her new Louis Vatan bag, strutted in there to see Sampson. He looked up and saw how beautiful she was. He thought he was dreaming. He was so caught up in how amazing she looked on the outside. He didn't think anything about what was happening on the inside. What were her motives?

Why was she there? Who is this girl? She was so nice, kind, beautiful. Sampson thought this must be the hand of God, when in fact it was the enemy at work. She wasn't there because she cared about Sampson. She was there because of what Samson could do for her. She had a hidden agenda. She could get paid a bunch of silver for just finding out a secret. She acted so loving, Sampson, You are everything I dreamed of.

You are so good looking. I want to spend my life with you. All eyes don't believe everything you hear. The scripture says, test the spirit, dig down a little deeper, listen to what you're feeling inside. Every person is not who they say they are. When there's a hidden agenda, they'll say what you want to hear. They'll use manipulation, deception, flattery to try to get what they wanted. She had Sampson lay his head in her lappings. She said, now, sammy boy, if you really love me, please tell me the secret of your strength. What's amazing. If Sampson knew she was trying to trick him, he knew she wasn't being truthful, but he didn't take it seriously. He thought he could play around with it. He told her, if

you tie me up with seven fresh bow strings that have never been dried, then I will become weak, have the strength of an ordinary man. She's knuck out and told the Philistines. While he was sleeping, they came in and tied him up with seven fresh bow strings. Delilah woke him up. Sampson, Samson, the Philistines are here. He sat up and broke those strings like they were nothing.

I was so upset. She came and said, Sampson, you lied to me. If you loved me, you would tell me the truth. The whole time. She's been lying. She's got an ulterior motive. She's working for the enemy. Now she's trying to make him feel guilty for not telling this secret. This happened two more times. Sampson made up things where he could be captured, but it wasn't the truth.

You would think Sampson would see right through this man. This girl is not for me. She's in it for herself for what she can get out of me. Has seemed obvious. She's a fake. She's two faced. She's saying she loves Sampson to his face, but behind his back, she's telling the enemy how to capture him. Look at this pattern. Three times she's done something so obvious to show her colors. She asking the secret, then runs tells the Philistines. How could Sampson not see that she was a phony? Times you need to step back and examine relationships.

Which ones have a pattern of causing your trouble, a pattern of bringing strife and drama where you feel guilty, you feel used. Perhaps you have a Delilah, a person that's saying one thing but meaning something else, a hidden agenda, using you for their gain. On the outside, they may have great qualities, looks, position, charm, but what's going on on the inside. What's happening behind the scenes. If there's a pattern of things that are not right, lack of integrity, a pattern of feeling guilty it's always my fault, I'm not enough, a pattern of manipulation, drama, You're having to defend yourself, recognize what's happening. A fake friend is going to drain your energy, take your peace, and cloud your vision.

Best thing you can do is put up some boundaries. Stop allowing them to manipulate you. Quit letting them get that close to you. Don't share those secrets, those hidden dreams that you know they're going to use against you. Now, I'm not saying they're a bad person. They just don't have your best interests at heart. They may be kind, they tell you nice things, they say they care about you, so did Delilah. You have to judge them by their actions, not by what they say. Look at the track record, study the patterns. Ask yourself, why do I always feel drained when I spend time with them? Why am I having to constantly defend myself? Why do what I tell them in confidence? Three other people ask me about Sampson

kept overarieting all these signs of a fake friend of a hidden agenda, and he had plenty of opportunities to make a change, but he didn't do it. Kept asking and pleading with him. Samson, you know how much I love you. How could you do me this way? Tell me the secret of your strength? Verse seventeen says she pressed him very hard with her words, day after day until his soul was vexed unto death. That means she nagged and nagged until he couldn't take it anymore. This time he told her the truth. If you cut my hair, I'll lose my strength. They cut it and captured him.

That was it. She got her pieces of silver. He ended up bound and missed his destiny. Now I realize not every fate friend is going to be this dramatic, but the principle is there. They don't have your best interests at heart. It's all about what you can do for them. They'll pretend and charm, try to make you feel bad when you don't do what they want. Recognize what's happening. True friend doesn't pressure you into doing things you don't want. They don't try to manipulate you into getting their way. That's people with hidden agendas, ulterior motives.

They play up to you and get on your good side and build your trust because eventually they're going to try to get something from you. I pray every day God give me discernment, Help me to see things for what they really are. Help me to know who doesn't have good motives, who's trying to manipulate, who's pretending, who's two faced. I heard someone say I asked God to protect me from my enemies, and I started losing friends.

Sometimes it's not the enemy holding us back, it's fake friends. It's deliless people that we're allowing in our lives that don't have good motives, that are only out for what we can do for them. If you're going to fulfill your destiny, you have to be st and take control of your life. You have a responsibility to redeem your time, to use the gifts God's given you to make the most of each day. Like the apostle Paul tells us, when my father went to be with the Lord and I stepped up to pass through the church, I was very insecure and I didn't know if I could do it.

This was all new to me and I'd never ministered before. There was a man that I had grown up with that was a part of the church and a friend of our family. And it was a good man, and I believe had good intentions, but he saw this as an opportunity to take the church where he wanted it. To God. He would encourage me and tell me I was doing good, but there was always this underlying message that I needed to do more of this and less of that. I felt this pressure that I was being squeezed into a mold that I didn't want to be in.

It wasn't anything overtly or negative. It was just the feeling I would get from him, little subtle innuindows, you know, Joel, to really be good if you did it this way, or I think you'd be better off doing it this other way. And I'm all for taking advice, getting good counsel. But only you can hear what God is saying to your spirit. God may confirm what he's saying through other people, but God is not going to tell someone else what you need to do for your life. He's not gonna give them direction. He's gonna come straight to you. Seeing the Old Testament, God would speak to the prophet to tell the people what to do. But since Jesus came.

The Holy Spirit lives on the inside of each one of us. You don't need a prophet to speak to you, a priest, a rabbi, pastor a friend. God will speak directly to you. And yes he can use people, but deep down you know what bears witness to your spirit. Nothing this man was telling me felt right to me, and over time he got more and more outspoken. I'm very nice, I like to please people. But something rose up in me so strongly. I thought to myself, I am not going to be who you called me to be.

I'm gonna be who God called me to be, because when we come to the end of life, we're not going to answer to people. We're gonna answer to God. And I was nice, I was kind, but I didn't let him pressure me into his mold. Eventually he got upset and left the church and we had a party. I mean, we were so upset. But I don't mean this derogatory. But he was a fake friend. He didn't want what was best for me. He wanted to manipulate me into doing what he wanted. All those times he was encouraging me wasn't out of a pure spirit. There was a hidden agenda. I got a wind joel over so I can get my I can tell you this.

If I had not been strong and taking control of my life, I wouldn't be up here today. If I had not listened to the discernment, if I had pushed down that feeling that this is not right doesn't bear witness, and just giving into what he wanted, letting him control me, I would have missed what God called me to do.

It's good to evaluate why we do things. Am I doing this out of guilt because this person is going to look down on me? If I don't, that's a fake friend. A true friend wants the best for you. A true friend will get an agreement with what God put in your heart and cheer you on, even if it's not what they were hoping for. And yes, they may challenge you, they may give you good advice. They're not going to pressure you try to make you feel bad if you don't do what they want. If not, it's manipulation. Too many of us are letting other people run our lives, all the demands, the expectations. If I don't stop by jeels, they'll get their feelings hurt. If I don't call them three times a week. They're not

gonna be happy. Here's the key. You're not responsible to keep everyone happy. Your responsibility is to keep yourself happy, keep yourself peaceful, keep yourself focused. If you have a friend that always stirs things up, brings drama, gets you upset. Did you hear what they said about you? You shouldn't let that happen. Can I tell you you don't need that friend. They're a peace stealer. They're a drama queen.

You have enough drama in your life. You don't need them bringing drama. Some people's hidden agenda is to stir things up, turn you against your coworker, get you jealous of your neighbor, critical of your cousin. You don't have time for that. They don't have your best interests at heart. That's a fake friend. Their gold is to create chaos, discontentment.

When they're around, there's always some kind of trouble. But God is not the author of confusion. Your friends shouldn't drain you upset you. True friends bring peace. True friends bring joy. You're better when they leave, not worse off. We all know Judas the most famous fate friend. He was one of Jesus' disciples. He traveled with Jesus, saw the miracles, saw Lazarus come back to life, saw the food multiplied, saw Jesus going around being good to people.

All this love and compassion. You would think Judas would be lawyal, trustworthy, someone you could count on. But when Jesus was in the garden of Gaseimonea about to be crucified, Judas came up with the Roman soldiers to betray him. When he saw Jesus, he said hello, Rabbi and kiss Jesus. Seemed like a friendly greeting, a warm embrace. Look at how people can be two faced. The kiss was assigned for the soldiers to arrest Jesus. Behind the friendly greeting was a hidden agenda, and Jesus knew all along what was going to happen. After the kiss, Jesus said to Judas in verse fifty, do what you came to do. Friend.

He called Judas friend. He could have called him enemy, betrayer, hypocrite, but he called him friend. Jesus was showing us that not everyone that calls your friend is truly a friend. Some people that seem like therefore you have hidden agendas. They see all the goods you do. They see you loving your family, excelling at work, being a blessing to others.

Instead of celebrating you and cheering your on, sometimes the enemy will plant a set of jealousy, of bitterness, a seed of strife. We all have a few enemies in life, people that don't want us to succeed. But sometimes the enemy is not obvious. It's a fake friend. It's a Judas, someone that greets us warmly but has wrong motives, that gives us that friendly kiss, but not out of affection, it's out of betrayal. Pay attention to your enemies, but stay aware of your friends. May not be something so dramatic like Judas betraying Jesus. But friends can get jealous, friends can turn manipulative, friends can have wrong motives. And again it doesn't mean they're a bad person and you have to never see them again. No, but you should

be aware so you don't open yourself up to harm. The scripture says, don't cast your pearls among swine. Your pearls are your gifts, your dreams, your personality. And I've learned some people can't handle your success. They were fine as long as you were at the same level in the same department, you're still single. But if you pass them up and see more favored you get married, you move into that nicer house that can stir them up.

They may applaud you on the outside, but on the inside they think they don't deserve that promotion. I'm smarter than they are. A true friend will celebrate your success. They're not competing with you, trying to outperform you, secretly hoping you'll fail, You'll get left out. You don't need people like that. If you see these signs of people critical not for you, sometimes you just feel it on the inside. Something's not right. Don't make excuses for don't try to win them over. Just move forward and God will bring you friends that do celebrate you, friends that are happy when you succeed. And I'm sure you have some of those friends now, amazing people that you dearly love, that you can always count on. And I would guess

that you may have a few fake friends as well. The key is to know the difference. You need to know when Judas is among you. Jesus never got rid of him. He was a part of his destiny, but he knew who he was now a fake friend. You don't bring into your inner circle. You don't tell them things that are confidential that you don't want repeated. You don't let them control and manipulate you. You set some boundaries.

You don't play up to them, waste your valuable time trying to keep them happy. These may be coworkers that are going to be there for the next ten years, maybe family members, relatives that you know have hidden agendas. They act like they like you, but better they don't want you to succeed. That's okay. You have the grace to handle it. You don't let them upset you. You don't take the bait when they try to stir you up.

You don't get offended when they leave you out, You stay in peace. You know who they are. They're just a fake friend. Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on that donkey palm Sunday. People shouted Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, celebrating his arrival. All this praise and people cheering him. On three days later, the same people were shouting, crucify him. He's not our king.

Jesus had a lot of fake friends, to deal with in our journey. We're gonna have some fake friends. You can't get rid of them, but you need to be aware. Are you spending time and energy trying to keep people happy that have ulterior motives, or if you're doing things out of guilt pray they don't meet your demands, they get upset. Maybe you have some delilahs, people with hidden agendas trying to take advantage of you. Warning only what you can do for them. Pay attention to who's in your life. Listen to the warnings, don't override that uneasiness.

That's God's speaking to you. Remember you will know them by their fruit, not by their words, but by their actions. Notice patterns that are not right, things that don't ever change. You don't have time to waste playing games, being distracted. That may have happened in the past, but this is a new day. God is going to show you people that have hidden agendas. He's going to reveal wrong motives.

You don't have to be rude to them, just quietly spend less and less time with them. If you'll weed out the wrong people. I believe and declare God is going to bring you true friends that want the best for you, that push you forward, that are loyal, trustworthy, that help you become all you were created to be in Jesus' name, And if you receive it, can you say amen? I'd like to give 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 into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. We'd love to send you some free information on your new walk with the Lord. You can text the number on the screen or go to the website. But I hope you'll get into a good Bible based church and keep God first place. It's amazing what happens when you take a few moments throughout the day to connect with God. A moment to thank him for his goodness, a moment to declare his promises, a moment to remember that he's working. Now love to send you a new resource three minute Moments with God. These short readings will help you refocus your thoughts, gain a fresh perspective knowing that God is ordering your steps. You don't need hours

to connect with God in just a few minutes, you can turn your thoughts toward Him and be encouraged by his promises. As you make time for him, you'll have greater peace and strength, and you'll step into the favor that belongs to you.

Three Minute Moments with God is a powerful new devotional designed to meet you right where you are inside. You'll find topical readings for whatever you're facing, whether you need peace, wisdom, healing, or hope. Each one is filled with scripture and encouraging thought, a heartfelt prayer, and faith building declarations. So in just a few focused minutes, you can quiet the noise, turn your heart toward God, and set the atmosphere for Him to move. It's yours as a thank you for your gift to the ministry today, be shared to request your copy of three Minute Moments with God available this month by visiting us at Joelostein dot com or call eight eight eight five sixty seven.

Joel. Know today that God has you in the palm of his hand. As you take time to acknowledge Him throughout the day, He's gonna fight your battles and get you to where you're supposed to be. Victoria and I are praying for you and your family every day. Thank you so much for your prayer and support. Your generosity takes this message of hope to people all over the world who need their own moment with God now. Special thank you to our champion of Hope partners. You monthly support makes a difference every single day. If you're not a partner, I hope you'll consider becoming one. Until next time, let the Lord bless you and keep you be shared.

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Sixty seven Joel.

With an additional gift, you can also receive the three Minute Promise, Power and Authority Collection featuring Abundance, Assurance and Authority. A rich, empowering study drawn from the Passion translation. It opens up who you already are in Christ, what's already yours, and the authority you already carry. Because your next moment with God could change everything. Know who you are, walk in what's yours, Step into every moment with confidence. You can request these inspiring resources by calling eight eight eight five sixty seven Joel or logging on to joelostein dot Com Today, Call or click anytime, twenty four hours a day,

Fake Friends | Joel Osteen

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