Joel Osteen Podcast - Be Fully Persuaded | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: February 22, 2024

When you’re fully persuaded, you’re confident that God is going to do exactly what He promised. Choose to dwell on thoughts of victory instead of doubt. Even when the odds are against you, make up your mind to believe that God can do the impossible.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 visitJoelOsteen.com/GiveHope.You are not average, not ordinary. You Are a Masterpiece created in God’s image. Our February offer has extraordinary promises of God to give you mental, physical, and spiritual strength. Grow stronger each day seeing yourself the way God sees you! Request your copy now, https://bit.ly/490TjEF.   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.

We're believing you guys are going to have a great February and an awesome 20-24. I love how you're putting God first place. He sees you taking the time. Thanks for being with us today. We believe this is going to be a great year. Thank you for always being a part of this podcast. Well, God bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes. We love you, and we know God has great things in store for you. 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 thanks for tuning in. Thanks for coming out again today. I like to start with something funny each week,

and I heard about this lady that was out shopping with her husband. He had asked her to not buy any more new clothes. She saw this outfit in the store window and decided to try it on. And she liked it so much, she secretly bought it. A couple of days later, the husband discovered it. He said, honey, I asked you not to buy any more clothes. She said, well, I didn't mean to, but when I tried it on, it looked so good, Satan tempted me,

and I just couldn't resist it. He said, why didn't you use the scripture and say, get behind me Satan? She said, I did. And he said, it looked even better from a distance. Hold your Bible up. 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.

same. In Jesus name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about being fully persuaded. When you're fully persuaded, you are confident that God is going to do what he promised. Your mind may try to talk you out of it. It may not look like it will ever happen. All the odds are against you, but deep down, you have this unshakable confidence. You know God is a faithful God and he will bring it to pass. When you are fully persuaded, you don't focus on your impossibilities, you focus on your God. It may be taken a long time. You don't see how it could work out, but you're not worried. You're not living frustrated, always trying to figure it out. There's a peace. There's a rest. You know God is in complete control. You may not see a way, but you know God has a way.

It may look impossible, but you know God can do the impossible. But you know God can do the impossible. You are fully persuaded. This is so important because there's always something that's trying to cause us to waver and doubt what God has told us. Our own thoughts will tell us, you'll never accomplish your dreams. You're too old. You're too young. You come from the wrong family. You've made too many mistakes on and on. You turn on the news and other voices will tell you, the economy is so bad. Unemployment is so high. You'll probably lose your job next. And by the way, swine flu is coming your way. Good news. Sometimes even well-meaning friends can dampen your faith. You're fighting a sickness instead of encouraging you. They say, you've got what? Isn't that the worst kind?

I think that's what my grandmother died of. If you don't guard your mind and be selective about what you dwell on, then you'll start focusing on your impossibilities and how it's never going to work out. That's going to keep God from doing great things in your life. When you're fully persuaded, no matter what somebody tells you, no matter how impossible it looks, you know God is still on the throne. And he would not have put the promise in your heart unless he had every intention of bringing it to pass. So you don't get discouraged. You don't let other voices talk you out of it. You don't allow your own thoughts to cause you to waver and doubt. Your attitude is, if God said it, he will do it. If he spoke it, he will bring it to pass. I am fully persuaded.

This is what Abraham did. God gave him a promise that he was going to have a child. In the natural, it was impossible. Both he and his wife Sarah were well beyond the childbearing years, nearly a hundred years old. But it says in Romans four that Abraham did not waver in his faith, but he was fully convinced that God would do what he promised. Notice it says he did not waver. That doesn't mean that he never had one doubt, never had one moment of unbelief. Sure he did. He was human. Just like us, there were times he thought, this is never going to happen. I'm too old. It's been too long. I must have heard God wrong. He even tried to help God out and he had a baby through Sarah's assistant. He made a mistake. I'm sure he got discouraged. I'm sure there were times that he felt like

giving up, but he never did that. He didn't allow that seed of unbelief to take root and become permanent. He always came back to this place of faith. He dug down deep and said, I know God has put this promise in my heart. It may not be possible in the natural, but I know I serve a supernatural God. He can do what men cannot do when I believe all things become possible. How did Abraham have this unwavering faith when all the odds were against him? Everyone knows you can't have a baby at a hundred years old. I'm sure he was the talk of the town. I can see him walk into the grocery store. People begin to snicker and say there's that crazy man. He thinks he's going to have a baby. His elevator doesn't go all the way up.

He had to deal with those negative voices coming against him. He had to struggle with his own discouraging thoughts. How did he stay strong in faith? I can see how he could have a glimmer of hope, but it says that he was fully persuaded. What was his secret? It's found in verse 19. He did not consider the weakness of his own body, nor the deadness of Sarah's womb. Friends, the key is don't consider your circumstances. Consider your God. Your circumstances may look dead. Your financial situation may seem impossible. The medical report may look hopeless. And if you just consider that, you're going to get discouraged. And eventually that doubt and unbelief will keep you from God's best. You've got to do like Abraham and say, I'm not going to just consider what my mind is telling me.

I'm not going to consider the doom and gloom from the experts. Not going to consider how big my problem is. I'm going to consider how big my God is. He flung the stars into space. He spoke the worlds into existence. He's not limited by the natural. He has supernatural power. His laws supersede natural laws.

one time we were headed to one of our events on the road. It started at 7.30 and we had left in plenty of time, but the freeway was barely moving. There was a car stalled up ahead. Shouldn't have taken us any more than 30 minutes to get there, but we'd already been driving for over an hour. And it looked like we wouldn't make it in time. And one of our men called the venue where we were having the meeting and they said, we will send the police officers to come escort you. They met us on the freeway. and one of the officers got in our car to drive. And instead of staying in the normal lane of traffic, he got over into the shoulder on the very inside and began to drive down the freeway. Once we got past the stall car, he didn't drive 55, the speed limit. He went 65, 70.

We passed other patrol cars. They didn't stop us. When they saw the officer, they just waved at each other. The reason we could break the law was because the law was riding with us. Without that officer, we could have got pulled over. We could have gotten a ticket, but because the law was in our car, we could supersede what the speed limit says.

In the same way, in the natural, it may look impossible for you to get well. The laws of medical science may say no way, but the good news is someone is riding with you that can supersede those laws. God's law supersedes the laws of medicine, the laws of science, the laws of finance, the laws of nature. But so often we just consider the natural and what we can see and where we are right now. This is what I make. And if I get a cost to live and raise for the next 20 years, this is where I'll be. And we analyze it and do the projections, look at the charts, dissect all the data. And it's good to have a plan.

But sometimes in life, you'll face circumstances where every report, every expert will tell you, it's never going to work out. It's impossible. You might as well just settle where you are. Now, that's when you have to dig your heels in like Abraham and say, no way, I have come too far to stop now. I'm not going to consider just what my bank account says. I'm not going to consider just what the medical report says. I'm going to consider what my God says. my business may be slow, the economy may be down, but God says he will prosper me even in the middle of a desert. My bank account may say, you're not going to make it, but God says, I'll supply all of your needs.

My checkbook may look like I'll never get out of debt, but God says I will lend and not borrow. The medical report may say, just learn to live with that sickness, but God says, I'm restoring health back into you. When I consider just how I feel, I may be discouraged, lonely. I don't see anything good in my future. But when I consider my God, I know that my best days are still ahead. My future will be brighter than my past. My greatest victories are not behind me. They are still out in front of me. My question to you today is, are you considering your circumstances or are you considering your God? He is Jehovah Jira, the Lord, our provider. Jehovah Rafa, the Lord, our healer. He is called the great I am. He is saying today, I am everything you need. If you're sick, I'm your doctor. If you're struggling, I'm your provider. If you're worried, I'm your peace. If you're lonely, I'm your friend. If you're in trouble, I'm your deliverer. If you need a good

break, I'm your favor. When you consider God and not your circumstances, then God's going to show up and do amazing things. in your life. One time Moses was leading the people of Israel headed toward the promised land, and they began to complain because they didn't have any meat to eat. They were out in the middle of the desert. And God said, Moses, tell the people to stop complaining. I'm going to give you meat for 30 days in a row. Moses' mind began to take off 90 to nothing, trying to figure it all out. He ran the calculations of how many people there were and how many flocks they had. And how many flocks they had. It didn't make sense. There were over two million people out there. There were not any grocery stores. They weren't close to any major cities. Finally, he said, God, this is impossible. I've run all the

numbers. I've had my experts analyze it. Bottom line is this. If we killed all of our animals and butchered all of our flocks, we still would not have enough meat for 30 days in a row. came up with all these excuses. What was his problem? He was considering his circumstances instead of considering his God. Even though God had just parted the Red Sea a little bit earlier,

somehow Moses had forgotten that God supersedes the laws of nature. When God says it's going to happen, it's not if it's going to happen, it's when it's going to happen. I love the way that God answered him back. He said, Moses, When did I become weak?

He was saying in effect, Moses, have I somehow lost my power? Have you forgotten that I control the universe? Do you realize that when I speak, all of heaven comes to attention? The angels go to work to carry out what I say. The scripture says, God calls the winds to change directions and hundreds of thousands of quail begin to blow into the camp. There were so many quail. all they had to do is go out and pick one up.

They didn't have to struggle. They didn't have to hunt night and day. They could just tell their teenager, hey, go get us four quail for dinner tonight. This was home delivery way before Domino's. Out there in the middle of the desert, that doesn't make sense. What happened?

God breathed in their direction. And all of a sudden, the impossible became possible. You may be facing situations right now where looks like you'll never get out of. All the experts and the reports and the data says no way. Your dream is too big. Your problem too great.

Your marriage's too far gone. Your health too bad. You could come up with a thousand reasons to just give up on what God's put in your heart and settle where you are. But just like with Moses, all God has to do is breathe in your direction and things will begin to change.

When God breathes on your life, supernatural doors were open. Had a gentleman tell me not long ago how his business was very, very slow, looked like he would go under. He owned a small manufacturing company. He had one main competitor in town. They were a national company, much bigger, had many more resources. With the economy going down, made it harder and harder for him to stay open. He wasn't married to the business, but he really,

really believed that's what God wanted him to do. So he kept praying, believe, and hoping, not considering his circumstances, but considering his God. And just when he thought he was going to have to close down, he got word that this national company, his main competitor, had a change in leadership and a change in direction, and they decided to pull out of this market. So instead of him closing down, they closed down. Now he's breaking all kinds of. of records. He said, Joel, if you would have told me last year that I'd be doing three times what I did before, I would have said that's impossible. Friends, God has all kinds of ways to to meet your needs. You may not be able to beat the competition, but you don't know,

God may remove the competition. I think about Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was a teenage girl living in Nazareth. That was one of the poorest, most run-down cities of that region. One day in angel appeared and said, Mary, you are highly favored of God. You're going to give birth to a son without knowing a man. He will be the son of God. You are to name him Jesus. God gave Mary this promise that was almost unbelievable. You can imagine the thoughts of doubt and unbelief that must have bombarded her mind, saying, you're not going to have a baby without a man. That's impossible. That defies the laws of nature. That's never happened. before. And if Mary would have just considered her circumstances, she would have certainly given up

and thought, man, I must be seeing things. I need to get out more often. No, she understood this principle. If God says it, he will bring it to pass. Mary answered the angel back. She didn't say, oh, that sounds far out. I don't see how that can happen. Besides, I think you've got the wrong young lady. I don't come from a wealthy family. We're not real influential. I'm just a plain old ordinary girl. No, Mary was bold. She made a statement of faith. She looked the angel in the eye and said, be it unto me, even as you have said. In other words, she said, I'm in agreement. Let it happen. If God says I'm highly favored, I believe I'm highly favored. If God says the impossible is going to happen, I believe the impossible is going to happen. That's the way we need to be when God puts a promise in our

heart. Instead of trying to reason it out, we don't come up with excuses like Moses did. We don't act like God has become weak. No, we do like Abraham and become fully convinced. You may be fighting a sickness right now, but God's put the promise in your heart that he is going to restore health back into you. You can either say, well, Joel, I don't know if that's going to happen. You should see the medical report. My grandmother had this same sickness, been in my family line for five generations, you can talk yourself out of it, or you can do like Mary and say, God, I'm in agreement with you. If you say I'm going to be well, then I believe I'm going to be well. In your finances, it may look impossible for you to ever get out of death.

But because you're a giver, God's giving you the promise that he's going to open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings that you cannot contain. Don't make excuses. God, do you know, where I work? God, have you seen the stock market lately? God, do you know what the cost of living is? No, be like Mary. God, I agree. Let it happen. Mary answered the angel and said, I believe this promise will come to pass. I'm in agreement, but I do have one question, how is this going to happen? You may have a how in your life right now. In other words, I believe I'm going to accomplish my dreams, Joel, but how am I going to do it? How am I going to get well? how am I going to overcome this addiction?

What the angel said to Mary, I believe God is saying to each one of us. He said, Mary, here's how it's going to happen. The power of the most high is going to come upon you. In other words, God's going to breathe in your direction and supernatural things are going to happen. How are you going to get well? The power of the most high is going to breathe health and healing into your body.

How are you going to accomplish your dreams? It looks impossible. No, the most high, the great I am, the creator of the universe, is going to breathe his favor. When God breathes on your life, supernatural opportunities will come your way. You will get breaks that you didn't deserve. Family members that were off course will suddenly turn around. Problems that look permanent will turn out only to be temporary. What happened?

The power of the most high came upon you. but like Mary, you've got to do your part and say, God, if you say it will happen, then I will believe it will happen. God, if you say I'm highly favored, then I'm not going to drag through life defeated like a weak worm of the dust. I'm going to put my shoulders back. I'm going to hold my head up high and act like I'm highly favored. God, if you say, as for me and my house, we can serve the Lord, then I'm going to believe as for me in my house. We will serve the Lord. It may not look like it. All the odds may be against you.

Your mind is telling you, forget it. That's just wishful thinking. Never going to happen. No, don't talk yourself out of it. Don't consider your circumstances. Consider your God. He is all powerful. One touch of his favor can turn any situation around.

It may look like it's too far gone, but it's not over until God says it's over. He always has the final say. One time Jesus was on the beach and he saw these men putting away their fishing nets. They had been out fishing all night. He went up to them and asked if he could borrow their boat so he could push away from the shore and teach the large crowds of people that have gathered. They had never met before, but they allowed Jesus to borrow the boat.

When he got finished as a way to thank them, Jesus told them to launch out into the deep and they would catch a great number of fish. These men begin to reason in their mind. They thought this man is a teacher. We are professional fishermen, and here he's telling us how and when to fish. Doesn't he know this is how we make our living? We've been doing this for many years. We are experts in our field.

We know when the fish bite and when the fish don't bite, and now is not the time to fish. Nothing is biting. Friends, do you realize, sometimes you can know too much. Sometimes our own intellect can keep us from God's best. I had a lady tell me last week, Joel, you were talking about your friend

that overcame cancer three times. But the kind of cancer I have is very rare. It's less than 1% of all the cancers. There's no good treatment for it. The life expectancy is only this long and on and on. She told me all the details of why she couldn't get well, and story after story of people that didn't make it, and how there was no medicine that could possibly treat that type of cancer, when she got finished, she had convinced

me. I was depressed, too. I wanted to go home, go to bed. I had been singing, I am a friend of God. Now I was singing, you picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille. What's her problem? She knows too much. She has analyzed it and re-analyzed it and studied it and researched it and thought about it. No wonder she can't have any faith. And I know it's good to have information. I'm not saying to hide our head in the sand, but at some point, you've got to say, I'm not going to allow any more doubt and unbelief to come into my mind. Yes, I want to know the facts, but I do not need to know every detail of why I'm not going to get well or why I'm not going to get out of debt or why I'm not going to accomplish my dreams. Sometimes you just have to turn your mind off. If you listen to some

of the experts on the economy long enough, they'll talk you into going under. They'll talk you into living a defeated life. It's like this guy I heard about. He was standing on the side of a bridge about to jump, so discouraged, so depressed, he's going to end it on. This man came up and said, don't jump, don't jump, I want to help you. Tell me what the problem is. For the next three hours, he told the man his problems. When he got finished, they both jumped. I want to know the facts, but I don't want to know too much. If you don't cut that off, all it's going to do is depress you. You've got to get out of the natural and say this may be impossible with men, but I know with God all things are possible. The fisherman said to Jesus as

politely as they could. Sir, we've been fishing all night and we didn't catch anything. We are very knowledgeable. We are very experienced. This is not our first time out. And we appreciate your advice. We appreciate your suggestion. But we are extremely tired. We need to get home and get some rest. This is not a time to go fish. Jesus said, listen, men, this may not make sense to you. You may not understand it, but I know what I'm talking about. When I say there are fish out there. It may defy the odds. It may seem like a waste of your time, but you've got to realize I control the fish. There may not have been fish out there last night or the night before or last year, but I can assure you there are fish out there right now. Jesus convinced them.

They thought, all right, seems strange, seems odd. Nevertheless, at your word, we will do it. That's the attitude we've got to have. This doesn't even make sense, Joel, for me to believe. It doesn't even make sense for me to get my hopes up. Nevertheless, if God says so, I'm going to believe so. Those men went out and caught so many fish that their nests begin to break. But it all boils down to this. Are you considering your circumstances or are you considering your God? Are you fully persuaded? God's going to do what he promised or have you talked yourself out of it. It's easy to think that your dream is too big or your problem is too great. God has put things in my heart, places he wants to take our ministry, that will take

a hundred million more dollars coming in each year than we have right now. In the natural, I can say, oh, that's never going to happen. No use even believing. No, I've learned to do like Mary. God be it under me, even as you have said. I am fully persuaded. God's going to do amazing things. I've seen him do it in the past, and I know he'll do it in the future.

It says about Abraham, he hoped on in faith against all hope. And what God has put in your heart may seem too big, may seem very unlikely. But don't do like the fishermen almost did and talk yourself out of it. Don't do like Moses and run all your calculations and tell God why it's not going to work out. Do like Abraham and against all hope, keep hoping on in faith. Let's do like Mary and say, God, we know you control the whole universe. verse. It may look impossible, but we believe the power of the most high will come upon us. My prayer is that you will become fully persuaded, not halfway, not three-fourths, but fully convinced

that God will do everything he's promised in your life. And if you'll put this principle into action and don't consider your circumstances, but consider your God, then just like God gave Abraham a child at 100 years old, God will do unusual things in your own life. He will bring promises to pass that looked impossible. You will accomplish dreams far greater than you ever imagined. You will overcome obstacles that looked insurmountable. You'll be able to say, God's been good to me. He has shown up and shown out in my life in an amazing way. Amen. Do you receive that today? 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 you've never dreamed of. Breathtaking, that's what you feel when you look out at majestic mountain peaks. Yes, God's creation truly is a masterpiece. But even as you consider his handiwork, you might also feel less that, not good enough, or not valuable. The image before you is incredible, but the confidence inside is lacking.

How do you overcome this? The opinion you have of yourself is your most important opinion. Too often, we see ourselves as ordinary, not talented, unattractive. That wrong self-image is setting the limits for our life. The key is to get an agreement with who God says you are. He calls you a masterpiece, strong, talented, valuable. If you'll have the right image of yourself, you'll rise higher and become who you were created to be. We have a new resource that will help you do just that.

It's called You Are a Masterpiece. It's filled with inspiration and encouragement that will remind you who you really are. gifted, chosen, approved, it will help you get rid of the wrong self-image and start seeing yourself as the masterpiece God created you to be. Azar thank you for your gift of any amount to the ministry this month. We want to send you Joel's inspiring new book. You are a masterpiece. God made you unique with a divine purpose and a bright future.

As these truths sink down in your spirit, the majesty of God's glory will arise within you. Yes, God has breathed his life into you. He approved you, equipped you, empowered you. Stop believing the lies about you and start hearing what God says about you. Thanks so much for being a part of the ministry. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day. Believing it's going to be a favor-filled 2024.

We appreciate your prayer and support. Your generosity is impacting. people around the world. Remember, you can watch the services live online Sunday mornings, see all the music and ministry. Download our daily podcast. Until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of the You Were a Masterpiece Today. Visit joelowstein.com.