Joel Osteen Podcast - A Shift Is Coming | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: November 1, 2023

One touch of God’s favor can shift you from lack to abundance, from struggle to opportunity. If you'll get in agreement, He'll make what should have taken years happen in a fraction of the time. 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 For more on living the life God intended for you, get Joel’s NEW book, 15 Ways to Live Longer and Healthier—AVAILABLE NOW! https://www.joelosteen.com/15waysbook 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.

Hi, this is Joel and Victoria, and thanks so much for listening to the podcast. Don't forget I have a new book out, 15 ways to live longer and healthier. I think you'll be blessed and encouraged by it. We love you so much, and we hope you enjoy the message. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. If you're ever in our area, please stop by and 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, but thanks for tuning in. you again for coming out today. I like to start with something funny. Heard about this 85-year-old lady. She went on a blind date with a 90-year-old man. She returned to her daughter's home later that evening and seemed upset. Daughter said, Mom, what's wrong? She said, I had to slap him three times. She said, you mean he tried to get fresh? She said, no, I thought he was dead. Hold up your Bible. Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says. I 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 how you're coming in to a shift. One touch of God's favor can put you 50 years down the road. You can be at a lower position at the office. You're going along, being your best, honoring God, and suddenly things change. One good break, one idea, one person that likes you. You look up and find yourself at the top. You didn't see it coming. Things just fell into place. That's God shifting things in your favor.

God can cause opportunity to find you. He has unexpected blessings to where suddenly you meet the right person. Suddenly your health improves. Suddenly you're able to pay your house on. What happened? You came into a shift. God breathed in your direction. What used to be a struggle is not a struggle anymore. What should have taken years happened in a fraction of the time. Now you may feel like you're stuck today. You could never accomplish a dream, never overcome a problem. It's been too long. You've missed too many opportunities. God is saying, no, get ready. I'm about to shift things. Doors are going to open for you that have not opened in the past. The people that were against

you are going to suddenly change their mind and before you. That problem that's dogged you for years look like it never change is going to suddenly turn around. This is the year of the shift. Because you've honored God, he's going to put you in a position that you, you're going to you could have never attained on your own. It's not just your education, not just your talent, or the family you come from. It's the hand of God shifting you to a new level of your destiny. And I'm not just trying to make you feel good today. I'm prophesying a shift is coming. A shift in your health, a shift in your finances, a shift in a relationship. It may not look like it in the natural, but we serve a supernatural God.

He's about to breathe in your direction in a new way. The enemies you've seen in the past, you will see no more. The addictions, bad habits that are holding you back are being broken, and God's favor is being released in a new way. It's going to propel you forward. What should have taken you 40 years to accomplish, God's going to do in a split second. The shift is acceleration.

The shift is going beyond where you could go on your own. The shift is overcoming what a medical report says is impossible. The shift is seeing that wayward child change his mind and get back on the right course. The shift is having your best year when the circumstances say you should have a down year. The shift is seeing Jehovah Jira, the Lord our provider, not only provide, but do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond. Now our attitude should be, God, I'm ready. I'm taking the limits off of you. I'm enlarging my vision.

I may not see a way, but I know you have a way. I declare I'm coming into a shift. Now, those doors that were closed in the past, you need to go check again. Things have shifted. The dream you had to start a new business, to go back to college, to take that mission strip. May not have happened the first time, but that's okay.

It's prepared you for this time. Don't give up on it. It's a new day. Things have shifted. Pursue it again. When God breathes in your direction, people change their mind. Close doors suddenly open. The nose turn into yeses, the not nows into it's your time.

I know a man that had been out of work for over three years. He's in construction management. For 25 years, he had a very good position at a successful company. A few years ago, when the economy went down and building tapered off, his company didn't have any business and had to let him go. He went to interview after interview, month after month, no success. He ended up taking a much lower level position in a small city and had to travel a couple of hours every day to work.

He's taken a toll on his health, his marriage, his life, his savings, look like it never changed. But about six months ago, his former boss called and said, hey, are you ready to go back to work? That company landed the largest contract in their history. He not only got his job back, but all of his benefits were restored. He used to have to travel around the country. Now he gets to stay at home. Plus, they increased his salary significantly. He said this is exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond. What happened? He came into a shift.

Suddenly things changed in his favor. One phone call, one contract, one good break. He went from barely getting by to heaven more than enough. Now you need to get ready. These shifts are in your future. The Israelites had been in slavery for many years, mistreated by their captors. They were forced to work long hours.

not given the proper rest or food. When they didn't meet their quotas, they were beaten with rods. It was very unfair. But one day through a series of events, God supernaturally brought them out. As they were leaving, the scripture says,

God caused them to have favor with their enemies. Notice, God caused them to have favor. The same people that had oppressed them for years, the same ones that had pushed them down and mistreated them, suddenly changed their mind. They said, in effect, we've decided that we like you now. We want to be good to you. On their way out, they gave the Israelites their gold, silver, and jewels. What happened?

The Israelites came into a shift. God changed their enemy's mind. Proverbs says that God can turn the heart of a king. we may not be able to change people's mind, but God can. He controls the whole universe. Now, you may have people in your life like this, people that don't like you, boss that's hard to get along with, family member that's disrespectful. It's easy to get discouraged and think, this is always going to be this way. They're always going to be against me. No, stay in faith. God has a shift coming. God knows how to cause them to like you. God can cause them. to see you in a new light.

They may have been against you year after year, but when God shifts things, they'll go out of their way to be good to you. Instead of hindering you, they'll help you. Bottom line, God will not allow any person to keep you from your destiny. They may be bigger, stronger, more powerful, but God knows how to shift things around

and get you to where you're supposed to be. I have a friend that never really liked his supervisor. Nobody at the company did. This supervisor was very hard to get along with and condescending. He'd been a source of frustration year after year. The supervisor was a young man. Look like he could be at the company 20, 30 years. My friend has a good attitude, but deep down,

he thought this is going to be a pain to put up with this guy. One morning, he got to work and everything seemed like normal. but the management called a staff meeting and told how this supervisor's wife got transferred to another state and he had just resigned and was no longer with the company. Half the staff fell on their knees

and began to thank God. What happened? A divine shift. Suddenly God changed things. Now, quit worrying about the people that are trying to hold you back. God knows how to move the wrong people out of your life and bring the right people in. And even if God doesn't move them, says in Psalms,

you can run through a troop and leap over a wall. God can cause you to go over them or around them or even through them, but God is going to get you to where you're supposed to be. Now, some of you feel like you're too far back. The obstacles are too big. You could never really get ahead. No, all God has to do is breathe in your direction. direction. One simple shift can take you from the back to the front. One good break, one idea,

one divine connection. Years ago, I was at an amusement park with our two children. We were in line for a very popular ride. At first it was all single file. But when you got close to the front, you went into this little building about 20 feet by 20 feet and weighted. We were the first ones in this new batch, first ones into the building. So we walked all the way to the front by these big double doors and waited. Other people began to come in. They were excited about getting on the ride, and they started maneuvering their way in front of us.

Now I'm more laid back and easygoing. I wasn't going to get in there and try to fight for our position. We ended up at the very back of the room, right where we came in. A few minutes, a young lady came out that worked at the park, and she gave instructions and told what was going to go on. Then she said, okay, we're ready to go. Turn around and go back out the same doors you came in. I wanted to say, nanny, nanny, boo, boo.

But in the same way, all God has to do is shift the direction and you'll go from the back up to the front. The truth is, you are one shift from seeing a dream come to pass. One shift from paying your house off. one shift from seeing your health improve. One shift from meeting the right person. Hey, you say, Joy, you're just getting people's hopes up. You're right. You can't have faith if you don't first have hope.

When you go out with the attitude, God, I believe things are shifting in my favor this year. That's not just being positive. That's your faith being released. God says to the angels, listen to what they're saying. They believe I'm all powerful. They believe I can do the impossible. Let me move this person out of the way.

Let me open up this new door. Let me line up this new relationship. Let me turn that negative situation around. It says in Isaiah that this is God's year to act. Not next year, not five years, not in the sweet by and by. This is the year. God's going to shift things in your favor. He's getting it all lined up.

What you could not make happen on your own, God is going to cause you to accomplish. It's going to be bigger than you thought. It's going to happen quicker than you imagined and it's going to be more rewarding than you ever dreamed of. Genesis chapter 48. There's a story of when Jacob was a old man very close to death. His son Joseph came to visit him and say his goodbyes. He and his father were very close. Joseph was Jacob's favorite child. He was the youngest son, the one that Jacob gave the coat of many colors to, if you remember. At one point, Jacob thought

Joseph was dead, lived very sadly, until he found out indeed Joseph was alive and living in Egypt. They reunited, and now Jacob, the father, was about to pass. Joseph was standing before him with his two sons,

Manassah and Ephraim, Jacob's grandsons. Jacob said, Joseph, I'm going to bless your sons as if they were my own children. The right hand in those days always gave the greatest blessing. It belonged to the firstborn son. That was the tradition.

So Joseph put his oldest son, Manasse, in front of Jacob's right hand, and his younger son, Ephraim, in front of his left. Jacob was nearly blind. He couldn't see. When he went to give the blessing, Jacob crossed his hands and put his right hand on the right hand on the, younger son, Ephraim, and his left hand on Manassah, the older son. Joseph said, no, Dad, you can't see.

I had them lined up. I put Manassah in front of your right hand. He deserves it. Give him the greater blessing. Jacob said something, very interesting. It gives us insight into our God. He said, no, Joseph, I've crossed my hands on purpose. Ephraim may have come second.

He may have been in the back. He doesn't deserve it, didn't qualify for it. He's not next in line, but I'm shifting him to a new position. I'm taking him from the back up to the front. I'm going to give him what he doesn't deserve. That's the way our God is. He has shifts in your future that will put you at a position that you didn't earn, you didn't qualify for, you weren't next in line, you didn't have seniority.

but God, just like he did with Iphraim, is going to cross his hands and say, I'm going to move them up from the back to the front. From not being qualified to suddenly being qualified. From being looked down on disrespected to being honored seen with influence and credibility. In fact, some people will be bothered by it. I think that's not fair. I worked harder. I have more seniority. But the fact is, it's just the goodness of God.

God said because you honor him, he would give you houses that you didn't have to build. You would reap from vineyards that you did not plant. That's God crossing his hands, giving us what should have taken years to earn. God is saying to you what Jacob said to I'm going to bless you on purpose. I'm going to move you up. I'm going to accelerate your dreams. I'm going to give you what you didn't deserve. I'm going to shift you into a position that you could have.

never gotten to on your own. Now, we can all make excuses. Joel, this is not for me today. I'm not qualified. I've made too many mistakes. I don't have the talent, the size, the personality, the confidence. God says, I know all that. I created you, but I'm about to cross my hands and bless you in such a way that everyone will know it's me and not you. Now, don't talk yourself out of it. Moses said, God, not me. I stutter. I can't go speak to Pharaoh. God said, Moses, don't worry about it. I'm crossing my hands. I'm giving you what you need. Gideon said, God, I come from the poorest family. I'm the least one around here. I can't lead this army. God said, Gideon, don't worry. I'm crossing my hands. You're coming into a shift. I'm going to move you from

the back to the front. David could have said, God, I'm too small, too young, too inexperienced. There's a whole army of talented, successful, confident warriors that can go face Goliath. God said, David, I know that. I could have chosen them, but I'm crossing my hands. I'm moving you up. From the background to the foreground, from the shepherd field to the battlefield all the way to the throne. Esther could have said, God, I can't go in there and speak to the king.

He's not going to listen to me. I'm an orphan. I don't have any influence. God said, Esther, don't worry, I got you covered. I'm crossing my hands. I'm going to give you respect, credibility, honor that you didn't deserve. You didn't work for. What am I saying? A shift is coming. Whatever level you're at, God is about to cross his hands and put you at a position you could have never gotten to on your own. He's going to give you what you weren't in line to receive.

Now, why don't you start expecting unprecedented favor? Believe in for God to do something new in your life. And I know many of you can say like me that God's been good to you. You're blessed and healthy and got a good family, a great job, and that's all perfect. But can I tell you, you haven't seen anything yet. God has shifts in your future that if he showed you now, you wouldn't believe it. It's exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond. You think you're hitting on all cylinders,

but if you only knew what God has in store, it's like you're in second gear. You're making progress, you're healthy, you're moving forward, but God is about to shift you out a second, pass third, pass forth into overdrive. You're going to see the surpassing greatness of God's favor. Because you've honored God, living a life of excellence and integrity, God's going to take you beyond your training, beyond your

education, beyond your income, beyond where anyone in your family has gone. This shift is going to put you at a place where you look back and say, wow, God, you have amazed me with your goodness. When the Israelites were in the desert headed toward the promised land, they had manna to eat each day. something like bread. After a while, they got tired of it. They complained to Moses that they didn't have any meat to eat. God told Moses what the people were saying. God said, Moses, I'm going to give you meat, not for one day or five days or 20 days,

but for a whole month. Moses said, God, that's impossible. There are two million people out here. Even if we butchered all of our flocks, all of our herds, we wouldn't have that much meat. God answered back. Moses, is there any limit to my power? He was saying, just because you don't see away, Moses, doesn't mean that I don't have a way. All I have to do is shift a few things around and I can bring it to pass.

That's what God did. Numbers 1131, God shifted the wind and brought quail in from the sea and caused it to fall into their camp. Notice how good God is. They didn't even have to go out and hunt or fish. The quail came to them. They just went out of their tent, picked up as many as they wanted. What am I saying? God knows how to shift things so that blessings come to you.

The right people search you out. Good breaks finds you. I have a friend. He works for a professional sports team. He wasn't raised in church. and started watching our program and he gave his life to Christ. He decided to get into a good Bible-based church.

All he had were very casual clothes. T-shirts and jeans, tennis shoes. He went to a church and they were very accepting like ours. It doesn't matter what you wear. But he had a desire to dress up to go to church. He had never owned a suit before. Went up to the mall and looked at some different suits, but they were more than he wanted to spend.

He could certainly afford it. he was just very frugal. And one day he was out running an errand and he randomly met this man. They struck up a conversation. This man found out how my friend worked for this professional sports team. The man told how he loved to go to the games

whenever he could get a ticket. But most of the time, they were sold out. My friend is very generous. He said a lot of times I have extra tickets. I'll call you and you can come to a game. The man attended a game and afterwards he was thanking my friend he said, you've been so good to me, I want to do something good for you.

I own a clothing store. I want to make you a custom-made suit. Last time I talked to my friend, he said, Joel, I have 16 custom-made suits that this man has given me. Eight sports coats, a tuxedo. My whole closet is filled with dress clothes. Friends, when you honor God, when you're good to people, kind, compassionate, merciful, the blessings will come looking for you. Like the quail, you don't have to go after them. God will shift things to cause the right people to come across your path. God will put you at the right place at the right time.

So provision, opportunity, it comes to you. Zachariah said it this way. It's not by might nor by power, but by the spirit of God. That word spirit in the Hebrew means breath. it's saying it's not going to happen just by our talent, just by our connections, just by who we know. It's going to happen because God breathes in our direction. God shifts the winds and blows healing, promotion, restoration our way. How are you going to get well?

The medical report says it's impossible. No, God is breathing, healing your way. Health, wholeness, restoration is headed toward you. how are you going to accomplish your dreams? You may not know the right people or have the money or feel like you have the talent. No, God is breathing ideas, resources, the right people. If you will stay faithful and just keep honoring God, like my friend, suddenly things will change. Suddenly you come into abundance.

Suddenly your child straightens up. Suddenly you get well. A few years ago, one of our faithful members, had a major stroke. He was only in his mid-50s, but he was paralyzed on the whole left-hand side of his body, couldn't walk or talk. The prognosis wasn't good. He was told that with intense therapy, he might be able to regain his speech, but he would never be able to walk again. For two years, he had no feeling on the left side of his body. It's in a wheelchair, had to have constant care. It didn't look good, but this man had been coming to Lakewood.

He knew God could breathe in his direction. He knew all God had to do was shift the winds and blow healing and restoration his way. One morning, he woke up and suddenly he began to have feeling on the left side of his body. The doctors, the therapists, the nurses, they were amazed. They couldn't understand it. Long story short, three weeks ago, he walked into Lakewood, with no help for the first time since he'd had that stroke.

He spoke just as clearly as I'm speaking to you. He didn't stumble when he walked. He didn't limp. He walked like nothing had ever been wrong. What happened? He came into a shift. God breathed

in his direction. What he could not do in his own power, in his own strength, suddenly became possible. Some of you have struggled in an area. your health, your finances, with the relationship for a long time, and you keep wondering, is it ever going to change? God is saying, yes, a shift is coming. I'm going to shift you out of sickness into health. I'm going to shift you out of lack into abundance. I'm going to shift you out

of struggle into ease. I'm about to cross my hands and give you what you did not deserve. Now, you need to get ready. This is the year of the shift. Because you have been faithful and God, I believe and declare, God is going to put you at a position you could have never gotten to on your own. Doors are going to open for you that have not opened before. What should have taken you 40 years to accomplish, God's going to do in a split second. You're coming into acceleration. Suddenly a dream comes to pass. Suddenly a promise is fulfilled. Suddenly the negative turns around. You need to get ready for the surpassing greatness of God's favor. 2013 is going to be an exceptional year for you and your family. You're going to come into these shifts in Jesus' name.

If you receive that today, can you say amen? 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 into 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 your places that you've never dreamed of. Sometimes life can make you feel like you are just living in the dark. Even your prayers don't feel like they're making it to heaven. But God is

listening and His light is about to shine. We know God is all powerful, that he can answer any prayer, but sometimes we don't know what to pray. We don't think we deserve God's goodness. Maybe we're inconveniencing him, or he has more important things to deal with. But God is concerned about every detail of your life. He's waiting to hear your prayers. I have a new resource called praying with confidence, guided prayers for life's moments. When you face challenges or obstacles that seem too big, you'll find a new resource.

Find prayers that will build your faith, prayers that will move the hands of God. There are prayers you can pray for peace and comfort, prayers for your family and health, prayers for your dreams and goals. As you make these prayers your own, pray with confidence, that's when you'll see the creator of the universe go to work. I hope you'll request your copy today. With a gift of any amount this month, we would like to immediately send you a copy of praying with confidence,

guided prayers for life's moments. In this new resource, Joel shares how to pray when you need a breakthrough, when you need strength. Yes, when life's moments happen and you're not sure how to pray, praying confident prayers will put you on the right path. You'll enter new seasons in your prayer life that will turn challenges to victories, heartache to hope, frustration, to newfound favor.

Be sure to request your copy of Praying with Confidence, guided prayers for life's moments today. Visit Joel Osteen.com or call 888-567 Joel.