Joel Osteen Podcast - Activating Faith Instead of Fear | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: August 3, 2023

Faith and fear have something in common. They both ask us to believe something is going to happen that we cannot see. Instead of using your energy to worry, use it to believe. God is going to turn things around in your favor. 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 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.

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Purdue's online university For Working Adults Start your comeback at PurdueGlobal.edu Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoy today's message,

why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend? We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. God bless you. Always a joy to come into your homes. We love you and we know God rewards the people that seek after hand. I believe that's you or you wouldn't have tuned in today or you wouldn't have come out. So just bless you.

And if you're ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and be a part of one of our services. We would love to have you, but thanks for tuning in today. I like to get started each week with something kind of funny. And I heard about this old country farmer. He was taking his nephew camping for the first time. His nephew had five degrees and was one of the smartest men alive. They set their tent up and quickly fell asleep.

The middle of the night, the farmer said to the nephew, look up. What do you see? The nephew said, I see millions of stars. He said, I know. that, but what does that tell you? He said, astronomically, that tells me there are billions of galaxies. Meteorologically, that tells me

it's going to be a beautiful day. Theologically, that tells me God is a great creator. What does it tell you? The old farmer shook his head, said it tells me somebody stole our tent. All right, 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 as 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 choosing faith instead of fear. Now all through the day, we have the choice to either believe that God is in control, believe that he's taken care of us, believe that good things are in store, or we can go around worried, expecting the worst, wondering if we're going to make it. I hear people say, I'm afraid I'm going to lose my job.

I'm afraid this marriage is not going to last. Or I'm afraid my child is going to get mixed up with the wrong crowd. They don't realize it, but they're choosing fear instead of faith. Fear and faith have something in common. They both ask us to believe something is going to happen that we cannot see. Fear says, believe the negative. That pain in your side, that's the same thing your grandmother died from. Probably be the end of you.

Faith says that sickness is not permanent. It's only temporary. Fear says business is slow. You're going to go under. Faith says, God is supplying all of your needs. Fear says you've been through too much. You're never going to be happy. Faith says your best days are still out in front of you.

Here's the key. What we meditate on is what's going to take. root. If we go around all day thinking about that fear and we let it play again and again, it can become a reality. That's what Job said. The thing I feared came upon me. I had a man tell me not long ago how everything was going great in his life. He'd recently gotten engaged. His business was blessed. But instead of enjoying it, instead of thanking God for it, he said, Joel, I'm afraid it's not going to last. I'm afraid it's too good to be true. I told him what I'm telling you, when you act on fear like that, you are drawing in the negative.

You are actually helping that fear come to pass. When that thought comes saying, you're doing good, but get ready, it's going to come to an end. Don't let it take root. Just switch over into faith and say, Father, you said your favor will last for a lifetime. You said goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. That's choosing faith instead of fear. I remember. I remember Remember one time I was facing a situation that had the potential to turn out really bad. It'd gone on for months and months and involved other people. Every morning when I woke up, the first thought that came to my mind was this is not going to work out. It's going to cause you a lot of heartache.

You might as well make plans for defeat. That's the way fear is. It'll try to dominate your thought life. If you allow it, fear will keep you awake at night. Fear will steal your joy, steal your enthusiasm. I was so tempted to be worried and go around with that dark cloud following me around. But one day, I heard God say something to me. Not out loud.

It was just an impression down in here. He said, Joel, if you worry about this and you keep mulling over all the reasons why it's not going to work out, then because of your worry, you're going to allow that to come to pass. But if you will trust me and use that same energy to believe instead of worry, then I will turn it around and cause it to work out to your advantage. When I heard that, I got a new perspective. I realized that worry, fear, wrong thinking, that's not just a bad habit. That is allowing the negative to come to pass.

I made a decision from that moment on, I wasn't going to worry about it anymore. When I was tempted to get discouraged, I just used that as a reminder to thank God that he was in control and to thank him that he was fighting my battles for me. And several months later, that situation not only resolved in my favor, but it turned out better than I could even imagine. It was like God was putting an exclamation point on it saying, see, Joel, if you'll just believe, if you'll just trust me, I'll not only bring you out, but I'll bring you out better off than you were before. And today, we have so many opportunities to worry and live in fear. People are worried about the economy, worried about their health, worried about their children. God is saying to you what he said to me.

Don't use your energy to worry. Use your energy to believe. It takes the same amount of energy to believe as it does to worry. It's just as easy to say, God is supplying all of my needs as it is to say, I'm never going to make it. It takes the same amount of effort to say,

I'm going to live a long, healthy life as it does to say, I don't think I'll ever get well. I hear people say, well, Joel, I'm afraid I'm going to be. get laid off. And I understand what they're saying. They're concerned. It may be valid, but you can't go around meditating on that, expecting the worst, expecting to have a bad year. When you do that, you're using your faith in reverse. Instead of constantly worrying,

just say, God, my life is in your hands. I know you're guiding and directing my steps, and I'm not expecting defeat. I'm not expecting failure. I'm expecting to have a blessed year. I'm expecting to go over and not under. Well, you say, Joel, what if I do that and it doesn't happen? What if you do it and it does happen? Even if you were to get laid off, you don't have to get discouraged. Well, I knew it wouldn't work for me. No, you can stay in faith, knowing that when one door closes,

God's going to open up another door. And if you'll keep the right attitude, he'll give you a better job with better benefits, making better money. Let me ask you today. Are you using your individual? energy to believe, or are you using your energy to worry? Are you expecting God's favor? Or are you expecting to just barely get by? Jesus said there in Matthew 929, have what your faith expects. When our son

Jonathan was just a little baby, I was holding him in a restaurant. As we were eating dinner, this couple came up that we didn't know, just being friendly and started talking to us. and they were complimenting us on how good Jonathan was and how quiet he was being. But just before they left the restaurant, they said, you just wait till he gets to be about two years old. It's like he'll turn into a different person. He's good now, but those terrible twos are coming.

I wanted to say thank you so much for your encouragement. Boy, they really lifted my spirits. But when we left there, I told Victoria, I am not receiving that. It is not going to be the terrible twos for us. It's going to be the terrific twos. And do you know, we didn't have a problem with Jonathan when he was two or three or four? He got to be about 10 years old.

People started saying, just wait till he gets to be a teenager. You talking about giving you problems, giving you headaches. Well, Jonathan's been a teenager for almost a year. Do you know, he still hadn't started cursing. He still hadn't gotten rebellious. He's just as kind, as respectful as he's always been. next thing people will say, well, just wait till he turns 18, gets out on his own, wait till he hits 40, Joel, when he gets to be 75, I've made up my mind, I am not going to let people talk me into settling for mediocrity.

I'm not activating my fears, I'm activating my faith. We're not expecting our children to cause us problems. We're expecting them to excel. We're expecting them to do great things in life. Your children, are going to rise to the level of your expectations. If you expect them to give you trouble and cause you headaches, not amount to much, because you're putting your faith in your fears, you're allowing that to come to pass. Really, it's like you're believing that in. Too many people today are going around expecting the worst. It's like this lady I heard about. Practically every night for years, she thought she heard a burglar downstairs. She would make her husband get up at least once a week, year after year and go downstairs, check it out, make sure everything was all right.

Sure enough one day she thought she heard something. She told her husband, get up, get up. Somebody is downstairs. He got up, went down so routinely like he had done a thousand times before. This time his eyes got so big, he was staring down the barrel of a gun. The burglar said, don't make a sound, just give me your valuables. He went and got the valuables, handed him to the burglar. burglar turned around, was about to run off. He said, hey, wait a minute. You can't leave yet. You got to come upstairs and meet my wife.

He said, she's been expecting you for 30 years. We've got to change what we're expecting. Quit expecting the worst and start expecting God's favor. I know people that are being talked in to heaven a bad year. They've listened to the news report so long they're expecting their finances to go down. They're expecting to barely get by. No, our attitude should be, I'm expecting to have my best

year so far. I'm expecting God to prosper me in the desert. I'm expecting every negative situation to turn around. If we're going to stay in faith, we've got to be careful who our friends are. Be careful who you associate with. Do you know

fear is contagious? Worry is contagious. Negativity is contagious. If you're around people that are always, complaining and discouraged, that spirit can get off on you. I read an article that talked about how we can catch other people's emotions just like we can catch a cold. They did a study where they gave a group of people a mild electrical shock and they measured their brainwaves from the time they heard they were going to get the shock till the time that was over. What's interesting is they had

another group in the room that were just there to watch. They measured their brainwaves as well. And even though they were not getting the shock, they experienced the same fears as the people that were getting the shock. The researcher's conclusion was, just seeing other people's fears is enough to make us afraid. If your friends are constantly complaining, talking about how bad it is and how they're not going to make it, and they've got that report of doom and gloom, let me give you some good advice. Find some new friends. That worry, that fear, that discouragement is contagious. If you stay around them long enough, there's a good chance you're going to catch what they have. I know you love your friends. You don't have to be rude.

Don't go announce to them tomorrow morning. Joel told me you're contagious, man. I'm staying away from you. No, be more tactful than that. And do me a favor. Don't use my name either. You can be kind. You can be respectful, but just gradually begin to pull back and don't spend as much time within. You shouldn't go to lunch every day with somebody that's always crying the blues and talking about how bad the economy is. You can't do that and not expect it to affect you. I know some of you may have to be around people like that. Maybe a co-workers like that and you don't have a choice. Perhaps you married somebody like that. If that's the case, God will give you the grace to overcome. But what you need to do is when you're not around them, you need to take

heavy doses of faith. Heavy doses of hope. Filled your mind with victory. I heard about this man. His friends decided to play a trick on him. He went to work one morning feeling great, just as happy as can be. When he walked in, the receptionist said, are you feeling okay today? He said, yeah, I feel great. Why? She said, I don't know. You just look a little different. You look a little bit pale. He didn't think about anything about it and went to his office. 10 minutes later, a coworker came in and said, are you real tired? You don't look up to par. He said, no, I feel fine. A few minutes he started thinking, maybe I am a little tired. Another man came by, they talked for a moment. Then he said, do you have a fever? You really look warm. The guy began to loosen his tie. He said, you know what?

I am feeling kind of hot. Another man came by and said, you look terrible today. What's wrong with you? By 10 o'clock in the morning, the man had gone home sick. That is the power of suggestion. If we don't guard our mind and be careful about what we allow in, we can be talked into a whole lot of things. If you get up in the morning first thing, turn the news on, hear how bad it is, driving to work you put on more doom and glue. At lunch, you go to people that talk about how bad it is. You can be talked in to live in a defeated life. You can be talked into dragging through the day. The funny thing is, just like with this man, there's nothing really wrong with you.

just because they said it doesn't mean that it's true. Just because a so-called expert predicts it doesn't mean we have to swallow it and live our life by it. Have you ever thought about the experts could be wrong? Well, the next three years are going to be dreadful and disastrous. Just make plans to get by. Now, we can either start loosening our tie and say, you know what, I am feeling a little bad,

or we can say, you know what, I feel just great. I know God is still on the throne. He is Jehovah Jira, the Lord my provider. I am stronger than ever. I'm asking you today to not go home sick. Don't give up on your dreams and make plans to survive just because somebody talked you out of it. That's one report, but I've got another report.

It says you are blessed. You are prosperous. You are talented. You are creative. You are well able to do what God's called you to do. And I know I like to watch the news. I like to know what's going on. But I'm careful to recognize.

when I've got the information I've needed and when it's just redundant doom and gloom that I don't need to be hearing again and again. With today's technology, 24-hour cable, internet, radio, some days the same bleak picture is told a hundred different ways. Every hour, it looks like a new headline,

but really it's just the same old news being repackaged. And if we're not careful, we'll get worn down and we'll start to accept it. We'll begin to think that it's okay to fail. it's happening to everybody. Just a matter of time before I lose my house, I wonder when I'm going to get laid off. Wonder when my health is going to go down.

No, turn that off and keep your mind filled with thoughts of victory. Now, I've learned, just as you can be talked into having a bad year, you can be talked into having a great year. Yes, fear is contagious, but the good news is faith is contagious. Victory is contagious. Joy is contagious. That's why it's so important. to come out to a place like Lakewood.

You need to get around other people of faith on a regular basis. You know what's happening today? You're not catching a cold, you're catching healing. You're not catching defeat. You're catching victory. You're not catching doom and gloom. You're catching hope.

You're catching a bigger vision. You're catching God's favor. I've got to warn you, we are contagious. Whether you realize it or not, you are getting stronger, you're getting more joy, you're getting more peace, your faith is increasing. When you get around other people that are blessed and happy and prosperous and full of faith, they are making you better. I know sometimes you may not feel like

coming to church. You've had a long week. You're tired, discouraged. Or maybe you don't feel like turning the television on early in the morning, but that's when you need to do it more than ever. You need somebody speaking faith into you. You need to be around other believers that will lift your spirits. We are drawing strength from each other. You may not know that person sitting on your left or your right, but their faith, their joy, their peace, their victory, they're making you better. You're going to go out of here today, you know, stronger than you were before, in part because of them. They are highly contagious. But when we give in to these thoughts of fear, it distorts our perspective. Fear is like a fog. It obscures our vision. It makes things look

worse than they really are. And I read where a dense fog that covers seven city blocks and is a hundred feet thick can be contained in less than one glass of water. In other words, it looks big. It looks intimidating. But the fact is, there's nothing really to it. It's just a bunch of vapors that can fit in a small glass. And when that fear comes against your mind saying you're not going to make it, that sickness is going to be the end of you. Your marriage, your family, you're not going to stay together. Just look at that fear and say, you look big. You sound impressive, but I know better. There's nothing really to you. You're just like a fog. We were flying out of Calgary, Canada earlier this week, and our plane was delayed an hour or so because of the fog.

And when we were finally able to take off, I was amazed. We weren't in the air 15 seconds before we broke through that fog. And you could look down and see it was just a small pocket of fog. And Probably didn't cover more than a quarter of a mile area. What's funny is, when we were at the airport, we thought the whole city was fogged in. We thought everything must be shut down. But in reality, it was just a tiny pocket of fog. And that's the way fear is. It looks much bigger than it is.

It looks much more intimidating. It'll tell you, you're never going to get well. That child is never going to change. Your finances are going to keep getting worse and worse. You need to look at that fear and say you sound impressive. You look tough, but I know the truth. There's nothing really to you. You may talk a good talk, but I know your bite is not near as big as your bark.

You may look permanent, but I know you're only temporary. And things in my life may be a little dark and cloudy right now. Looks like it's never going to change. But I've got inside information. I know the sun is still shining, and it's just a matter of time before this fog. pace and it's going to be just as clear and beautiful as it's always been. Don't give into that fear. It's just a fog. It's not near as bad as it's telling you. But when we make the mistake of dwelling on it, those fears turn into imaginations. Our mind will start playing

out every worst case scenario, just like you're watching a movie. Negative thoughts turn into negative imaginations. If you allow it, a small fear can multiple. apply and get blown way out of proportion. For instance, you have that pain in your side. It's nothing. You just had too much for dinner. But that thought will come. That's cancer. Your mother had it. Your grandmother had it. Now it's your time. If you swallow that lie, go around worried and discouraged. Before long, you'll start to see yourself in the hospital. You'll see yourself not able to take care of your children. You'll see yourself at your own funeral. No, you've got cast down those wrong

imaginations. Don't let negative pictures play on the movie screen of your mind. You are the owner. You've got the remote control. Change the channel. If you're going to let your imagination run wild, let it run wild in the right direction. Put on the movie of you accomplishing your

dreams. Show the scene of you overcoming that obstacle. See yourself healthy, prosperous, rising higher. You've got to do it by faith. in the natural it may look like your family is never going to stay together. But your attitude should be, I'm changing the channel. I'm not watching that movie. I see my family restored.

I see my children excelling. I see us fulfilling our destiny. You've got to choose the right channel. Some of you today, you would go to a new level if you'd just be more disciplined in your thought life and not allow those negative images to constantly play. I heard about this 23-year-old woman. She went to the grocery store and got some groceries. She got back in her car and sat down and she heard a loud noise and felt something hit the back of her head. She thought she had been shot.

She reached up and felt what she thought were her brains coming out. She initially passed out. She woke up a few minutes later and sat there motionless for over an hour holding the back of her head. A gentleman walked by and noticed that something, was wrong. He called the police. The police showed up and asked her to open the car door. She said she couldn't. She had been shot and she was holding her brains in. The police broke open the window and they discovered a can of Pillsbury biscuits had exploded. That dough had hit the back of her head. That's what she thought was her brains. Don't let your imagination run wild

in the wrong direction. That is a true story, and I've got to tell you, she was blonde. But some of us today, you're not even listening to me now, some of us today kind of feel like we've been shot. The economy's bad, we've got a health issue, got this big problem. God is saying, you're fine. It's not what you think. It's just a loud noise, but this two shall pass.

Put on the right channel. Don't allow those negative issues. images to play in your mind. I remember about a year after I first started ministering, the church was really growing and we decided to take a step of faith and start a second Sunday morning service. And so I announced that on the first Sunday of the year 2000, we were going to start this new morning service. And that was in October. And so I had several months to think about it. And during that time, I had all these negative thoughts come telling me that it was a big mistake. Nobody was going come, and I was going to get there and look like a fool. All these fears were coming against my mind.

And I did my best to stay in faith. But one night I had a dream. A better description would be a nightmare. And in this dream, it was that first Sunday of the new service. When I walked out to minister, there was not one person in the auditorium. Not Victoria, not my mother, not one choir member, not one usher, nobody. I woke up in a cold sweat. The end of the was working overtime on my mind. He said, Joel, there's still time to cancel it. You can still call it off and maybe halfway, save face. It was very difficult to get that image of an empty auditorium out of my mind. I didn't tell anybody about the dream, but I was a little bit worried about it. The week of that first service, I saw my mother, and I was talking to her and just kind of ask her

nonchalantly trying to get some information out of her. I said, mother, are you coming to the new service this weekend? She said, Joel, does it start this week? I thought, dear God, that dream might have been a prophecy. I said, yes, it starts this week, mother, and you need to bring your friends, enemies, cousins, relatives, and ancestors. I had to do what I'm asking you to

do. When those negative images came up, I kept changing the channel. I made up my mind. I wasn't going to watch the empty auditorium channel. I wasn't going to watch the defeat channel. I wasn't choosing the fear channel, I put on a different movie. Through my eyes of faith, I saw that place full. I kept telling myself, this fear is just a fog. It's trying to intimidate me, but I know there's nothing really to it. I pulled up the first Sunday of the year 2000. I got there like an

hour early. I'll never forget. When I pulled in, one parking lot was already totally full. There were over 6,000 people at that new service. They've been coming ever since then. What am I saying? You've got to cast down those wrong imaginations. Do not let those negative pictures play on the movie screen of your mind. You've got the remote control. Change the channel. Don't be talked into having a down year. I'm trying to talk you into having a great year.

There is no obstacle too big for you. No enemy too powerful. Our God is all powerful. And you may not see how it can happen, but don't use your energy to worry. Use your energy to believe. God has brought you through in the past, and he is going to bring you through in the future. Surround yourself with people of faith, people that speak victory into you.

If you'll be disciplined in your thought life and learn to choose faith instead of fear, let me just declare it. You're going to overcome every obstacle. You're going to defeat every enemy, and you're going to see every dream, every promise God put in your heart. It will come to pass. Amen. Do you receive that today? I know you do.

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. Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to keep you encouraged and inspired all through the week.

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