Joel Osteen Podcast - Become A Miracle

Episode Date: August 28, 2019

Helping hurting people is the closet thing to the heart of God. Let this message inspire you to live your life looking outward. Discover the many godly ways to become someone’s miracle and how easy it can actually be. ----Visit https://joelosteen.com to receive daily updates and encouragement from Joel Osteen.----Have you followed Joel Osteen on Instagram? https://instagram.com/joelosteen. 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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The UNEST app makes it easy for grandparents and family friends to give funds to a child's investment account for limited time. Download the UNEST app and use the code IHeart50 at sign up to receive a $50 bonus when you fund your account. That's code IHeart50 when you sign up at UNEST.co for a $50 bonus. See terms and conditions at UNES. See you. Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for downloading our podcast. We enjoy spending this time with you. I hope you'll leave inspired. Make sure you subscribe to get new messages every week. We appreciate your

support. It helps keep the ministry going. Enjoy the message. Well, God bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes. And 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. Thanks so much for tuning in. And thank you. you again for coming out today. I like to start with something funny and I heard about this minister. He was walking down the street when he came upon this group of young boys that were surrounding a small dog. He asked them what they were doing. They explained they were having a contest and whoever could tell the biggest lie would get to keep the dog. The minister launched into a 10-minute sermon, starting with don't you know lying is a sin and ending with when I was your age, I never told a lie. It was complete,

just when he thought he'd gotten through to them. The youngest boy spoke up and said, all right, give him the dog. Hold up your Bible. Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about becoming a miracle. Many people right now are praying for a miracle. They're saying, God, please send me a friend. God, I need help with these children. I need training. God, I need a good break. We have to realize we can become the miracle they need. God uses people. He has no hands to

heal except our hands, no voice to encourage except our voice, no arms to hug, except our arms. and God will bring people across our path so we can be the answer to their prayer. You may not realize it, but you are a miracle waiting to happen. Somebody you know is lonely. They're praying for a friend. You're the miracle that they're waiting for. Somebody got a bad medical report. They're worried.

Praying, God, please send me a sign. Let me know that you're still in control. You are that sign. A simple phone call. you want to let you know it's all going to work out you just became their miracle somebody is discouraged saying god i don't understand this subject i'm not going to pass this course god send me somebody you are that somebody take time to become the miracle be aware of who's in your life they're not there by accident god put them there on purpose it's because you are full of miracles

there is healing in you. There's restoration, there's friendship, there are new beginnings. Life is so much more rewarding when you realize I can be the answer to somebody's prayer. I can lift the fallen. I can restore the broken.

I can be kind to a stranger. I can become someone's miracle. My brother Paul is in Africa right now. Most of you know he's a surgeon. For the next several months, he'll be operating on less fortunate people. way back in the middle of nowhere. It's a remote village hundreds of miles from the nearest city. The clinic is just a small, 10 building, barely has electricity, minimal medical supplies, only one doctor.

On a recent visit, a young man came in in the middle of the night that had been gored by an elephant's tusk, went right through his midsection. Paul took him back to the makeshift operating room to hopefully spare his life. The problem was there was no blood in the blood supply to replenish him with. Paul could have thought, too bad. I'd love to help you, but you're going to need several pints of blood, and it's just not your lucky day. Now, before he operated, he took 30 minutes and gave his blood. He operated on the young man, then replenished the blood he had lost with his own blood.

What was he doing? Becoming a miracle. He could have prayed, God, he's in bad shape. he sure needs a miracle. No, Paul realized, I am his miracle. We all know that God can do great things. We know God that can do miracles, but what I want us to see is he's put miracles in you. You can be the answer to someone's prayer. You can be the good break they're looking for. You can be the help they've been longing to have. It may not be something as dramatic as saving their life. It may be just teaching your co-worker the skills you know.

helping that family that's struggling with the rent, taking that young man to baseball practice with your son each week. It's no big deal to you, but it's a miracle to them. It's what will push them toward their destiny. What kind of world would this be? If we all had the attitude, I am a miracle waiting to happen. I've heard it said,

sometimes we don't need a miracle, we just need each other. Look around at who's in your life. Listen to what they're saying. Is there any way that you can help? Can you put in a good word for them at the office? Do they need a dress for a special occasion? And you've got a dozen in your closet you're never going to wear? Do they live here alone?

Their family's in another state. You could invite them to have lunch with your family from time to time, make them feel welcome. Those are opportunities to become a miracle. Good friend of mine grew up in the projects, very poor. came from a single parent family, and there wasn't always stability in the home. His dream was to become a television journalist. He loved to read and write.

Against all odds, he got a scholarship to a major university. He's African American. He was accepted at this mostly white Ivy League school. His roommate came from a very prestigious, influential family. He came from just the opposite, from the project, a low-income family. But these two young men hit it off and became the best of friends. He told his roommate his dream of becoming a journalist. His roommate said, if you're going to be a journalist, you've got to have a better vocabulary.

You don't know enough words. Every day, this roommate would get the dictionary out and teach his friend one new word, had him use it in sentences all through the day. This went on for four straight years. what was this roommate doing becoming a miracle he took time to care he realized his friend

was in his life for a reason today this young man is one of the top newscasters in America he works for a major network seen on one of the most prestigious news programs but I wonder where he would be if his roommate had

not taken time to become a miracle when you say Joel I don't want to hear about being a miracle I need a miracle. Here's the key. If you will become a miracle, God will always make sure that you have the miracles that you need. As long as you're sowing these seeds, the right people will be in your future. The right opportunities, the breaks you need. God will get you to where you're supposed to be. That's what it says in Proverbs 11. When you refresh others, you will be refreshed. If you want your dream to come to pass, help somebody else's dream come to pass. If you need to be. If you need,

a miracle, become a miracle. When you take time to invest in others, the seeds you sow will always come back to you. I met two ladies after the service a few years ago, and one of them was a little older and one younger, and I thought they were mother and daughter, but the older one said, no, we're not, but she's just like my daughter. And she told how before we moved the church from the northeast location to this new facility, she didn't know if she would be able to continue to come. She's a widow and not used to driving on the freeways. She was very concerned about it. One day after service, she was telling a group of friends her dilemma. This young lady that she had never met before overheard what she was saying. She stepped up and said,

how about I'll come pick you up each Sunday and bring you. The lady looked at her very surprised. She said, are you serious? Where do you live? Come to find out, they live 30 minutes apart. But that didn't stop this young lady. She could have thought, well, I'd love to help you, but that's a long way. I'm busy in my career and gas is really high. No, she saw this as an opportunity to become a miracle. Now, every Sunday morning, like clockwork, she pulls up in her driveway, 9.30 in the morning, brings her to church.

After this older lady told me the story, she hugged this young girl and said, Joel, she's my miracle. you can't help everyone, but you can't help someone. There are people God has put in your path that are connected to your destiny. As you help them rise higher, then you will rise higher. As you meet their needs, God will meet your needs. As you become a miracle, God will give you miracles. But just the opposite is true. If we're too busy to help someone else, we're not going to have the help we need.

if we're too caught up in our own dreams to invest in others, or too worried about our own problems to encourage somebody else, we're going to get stuck. Reaching your highest potential is dependent on you helping someone else reach their potential. It's like a boomerang. When you help somebody else rise higher, it always comes back to you and you'll rise higher. Jesus told a parable in Luke chapter 10 about a man that was walking down the road

when he was attacked and beaten by these bandits. They left him on the ground almost dead. In a little while a priest came by, saw the man from a distance, thought, boy, he's in bad shape. He sure needs a miracle. I'll be praying for him. Kept on going. Another man came by, a Levite.

He did a little better. He went over to the man and checked him out, felt sorry for him. Thought, boy, this is really unfair. I hope somebody helps him. went on down the road. The third man, a Samaritan came by, like the first two, he thought, boy, he sure needs a miracle, but he took it one step further and said, you know what? I am his miracle. I'm at the right place, at the right time. God put him in my path so I can be a healer, so I can be a

restore, so I can give him a new beginning. The Samaritan went to him, got down on his knees, and begin to care for him. He gave him water from his canteen, took off his scarf and bandaged up his wounds. He then gently lifted him off the ground, placed him on his animal. He held him mile after mile as they walked to the nearest city. They got to the local inn, the hotel.

He paid the owner. Said, you take care of him. Let him stay as long as he had like. Give him anything that he needs, and I promise you this, I'll come back and pay for any way. extra expenses. My question today is, which man are you? It's easy to get so busy. Joel, I don't have time to help others. I got my own problems. No, helping others can be the key to see in your

situation turn around. Those people you see that need encouragement, that need a ride, that need you to give blood, that need help in accomplishing a dream, those are opportunities for you to go to a higher level. When you refresh others, you will be refreshed. It's interesting. The first example Jesus used was a priest. He couldn't stop. He had to get to the temple. He had religious duties to fulfill. Didn't have time to bother with this man. After all, if he helped him, he might get his white robe bloody. He might not look presentable at the temple. Had all kinds of excuses. But can I tell you, true religion gets dirty. True religion doesn't hide behind stained glass or fancy clothes. It goes to where the needs are. When you get down low to lift somebody up, in God's eyes, you can't get any higher.

The closest thing to the heart of God is helping hurting people. When you take time to restore the broken, you pour the healing oil on their wounds, encouraging them, wiping away their tears, letting them know that there are new beginnings. That's the religion Jesus talked about. True religion doesn't judge people to see if they deserve our help. Well, she's in need, Joel, but I don't think she's living the right kind of life. He's hurting,

but it's his own fault. He's got the addiction. They brought the trouble on themselves. Now, Jesus said, it's the sick who need the doctor, not the healthy. God didn't call us to judge people. He called us to heal people. He called us to restore people. He called us to become their miracles.

Anybody can find fault. Anybody can be critical and come up with excuses to pass on by. That's easy. But where are the people that will take time to care? Where are the people that will get down and dirty and help love them back into wholeness? This third man, the Samaritan, he immediately went to the man and started helping him,

making a difference. He didn't think twice he became the man. miracle. That's the kind of people I want us to be. Not pastor buyers. Not too busy in our career, too busy with church work. Not people like the second man that feel sorry for them. I wish it hadn't happened. I feel bad. I'm going to be praying. No, let's become the miracle. God is counting on us. You can lift the fallen. You can heal the hurting. You can be a friend to the lonely. You can help a dream come to pass. You are full of miracles. A friend of mine, young lady named Tammy Trent, she's a popular Christian singer.

She told how she and her husband went to a tropical island for a vacation to celebrate their 11th anniversary. Her husband was a very skilled diver. He could go underwater without an air tank for six or seven minutes at a time. They got to the beach on the first day, so excited. The husband jumped in the water and started exploring the underwater caves. Tammy stayed on the beach to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Ten minutes went by and she didn't see a sign of her husband. Got a little worried.

20 minutes, still no sign. 30 minutes still didn't see her husband. She began to panic. She told the authorities. They sent out boats and started looking hour after hour. Long story short, her husband drowned. They found his body the next day. Tammy was not only in shock, totally devastated,

but she was in this foreign country all alone with nobody that she knew. Her parents immediately made arrangements to come the next day. The problem is this all happened on September 10th, 2001. The next day was 9-11. All flights were grounded. She was there for days by herself. She felt alone and forgotten. She was so numb, she couldn't even think straight.

She finally was able to pray and said, God, if you still care, send somebody to help me. God sends somebody to let me know that you're still there. A few minutes, there was a knock on her hotel door. It was the housekeeper. She was an older Jamaican woman. She said, I don't mean to get in your business, but when I was cleaning the room next door, I couldn't help but hear you crying through the walls. And I was wondering if there's anything that I could pray with you about.

Tammy told her what had happened. And this older Jamaican housekeeper put her loving arms around Tammy and held her like she was her own daughter. That moment, thousands of miles from home, Tammy knew that God was still in control. See, this housekeeper, she took time to be a healer. She was sensitive to the needs around her, even hearing the cries from another room. She knew one reason she was here on earth was to help wipe away the teeth. tears. That day she poured healing oil on Tammy's wound. She became a miracle. And the scripture talks about how one day God will wipe away all the tears. There will be no tragedy, no more

sickness, no more pain. But in the meantime, God is counting on you and me to wipe away those tears. Are you lifting the fallen? Are you restoring the broken? Are you taking time to help somebody in need? It's great to come to church and celebrate. This is important. We're We come to be encouraged and filled up and strengthened. But our real assignment begins when we leave this building. Look around and find the discouraged. Listen for the cries for help. You may not hear them with your ears, but you can hear them with your heart.

You see when somebody's down. All of a sudden you feel that compassion flowing out to them. You think, man, I need to take them out to dinner. I need to go encourage them. Don't put it off. don't be a passer buyer. That's God wanting you to bring healing. There's a tear that needs to be wiped away.

Years ago, I went into this restaurant to eat lunch. There was a little diner, and you order your food up at the front. As I was walking to the counter, I saw this man sitting at a table by himself. Now, our eyes met. He nodded at me. When they did, I immediately felt a compassion toward him. I knew I was supposed to encourage him in some way. But he was dressed in a nice suit.

He looked well to do, and I was in my shorts and had our son Jonathan with me. He was about two years old at the time. And I thought, I'm not going to go encourage him. He's doing just fine. Kept putting it off and putting it off. But I couldn't get away from it. I ordered my food. On the way out, since he had nodded at me, I decided to stop by his table and just being friendly.

I said, hello, and ask him how it was going. He kind of laughed and said, not very well. Things are kind of rough. I didn't think much about it. I just smiled and said, well, I know this, it's going to get better. He thanked me as the end of the conversation, 10, 15 seconds, and I left. A few months later, I received a letter in the mail from him. He told how he was at the lowest point of his life at that time.

He's going through a divorce. His whole world had fallen apart. For months, he'd been in depression. But he said, when you made that statement that it's going to get better, it was like something re-ignited on the inside. That day was a turning point in his life. He came out of the depression,

he got his fire back, today he's moving forward. Here's what I want you to see. I didn't say anything profound. I didn't feel chill bumps when I said it. I simply took time to show him that I cared. We don't realize what we carry. We've got the most powerful force

in the universe on the inside. What may seem ordinary to us, no big deal, but when God breathes on it, it becomes extraordinary. It can be life-giving. A simple act of kindness, simple hug, words of encouragement, letting somebody know that you care. That can be the spark that brings them back to life. 1995, a young lady gave birth to baby twin girls. They were born very premature. One of them was diagnosed. diagnosed with a severe heart problem and wasn't expected to live. The hospital's policy was to keep the babies in separate incubators. Several days passed and this one baby continued to go downhill, was very close to death. One of the nurses felt strongly that the baby should be put in the same

incubator like they were in their mother's womb. After much hard work and much persuasion, she convinced the hospital to make an exception to their policy. and the babies were put in the same incubator side by side. Overnight, somehow the healthy baby managed to put her arm around her little sick sister. Much to everyone's surprise, that little sister, health started to improve. Her temperature came back to normal. Her heart stabilized, little by little. Day after day, she got better and better.

Today, both of those young ladies are perfectly healthy. I brought a picture of the babies right here. It's called the rescuing hug. Here's my point. We don't always see how powerful we really are. God has put healing in you. Your hugs can cause people to get better. Your kind words can put people back on their feet. The scripture says a gentle tongue brings healing. A phone call, giving them a ride, taking them out to dinner, encouraging them in their dreams, there are miracles in you waiting to happen. And some people just need to know that you believe in them. When you tell them, hey, you're amazing, you're going to do great things.

I'm praying for you. That may seem simple to you, but to the other person, it can be life-giving. It can help them blossom into all they were created to be. One time in the scripture, Moses was on the top of this big hill watching a battle that was taken place. He was holding his rod up in the air. As long as he had his rod up, the Israelites were winning. But the battle went on hour after hour and he got tired. Every time he put his hands down, the Amalekites would start to win.

Finally, Moses couldn't take it any longer. He was too tired. His brother Aaron and a friend Her were at the bottom of the mountain, watching all this take place. They could have prayed, God, we need a miracle. God keep the Amalekites from defeating. us. Now they had this attitude, we can become the miracle. They rushed up to the top of the hill. God on each side of Moses and they held his hands in the air. Because they became the miracle,

the Israelites won the victory. There are people God puts in our path that need us to hold up their hands. They're not going to win by themselves. They need your encouragement. They need your rescuing hug. They need to know that you care. They're praying for a miracle. Don't miss the opportunity. Do like Aaron and her and become the miracle. I saw a report on the news a while back. It's about a young lady named Megan.

She was a junior in high school and a star long distance runner on the track team. At the state track final, she had already won first place in the 1600 meter race. Now she was competing in the 3,200 meter. As she came around the final curve, about 50 meters, from the finish line. She saw the girl in front of her start to wobble. Her knees begin to buckle. She couldn't run in a straight line, finally fell to the ground. What happened next made news around the world. Instead of Megan passing her by, seeing that as an opportunity to beat another runner, Megan stopped running, went over to the girl, picked her up off the ground, put her arm around

her shoulders, and begin to carry her toward the finish line. The people in the stands begin to cheer. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. When she got to the finish line, Megan turned so her opponent could cross the line in front of her. Technically, they should have both been disqualified because you're not allowed to touch another runner. But the state made an exception

and gave them both a finishing time. Megan said afterward, helping her cross that finish line was more satisfying to me than winning the state championship. It's great to receive a miracle, but there's no greater feeling than to become a miracle. Who are you carrying? Who are you lifting up?

Who are you helping to cross that finish line? Your destiny is connected to helping others. Isaiah put it this way. When you feed the hungry, when you clothe the naked, when you help those in need, then your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly come. if you will make it your business to become a miracle, God will make it his business to give you miracles. You will never lack his blessings in favor. Friends, you are the answer to somebody's prayer. You can give a rescuing hug this week. You can help a friend cross the finish line.

You are the miracle that they're believing for. When you go out each day, have this attitude, I'm a miracle waiting to happen. And if you will live, not thinking about, how you can get a miracle, but how you can become a miracle, then I believe and declare, just like God promised, your light is going to break forth like the dawn. Your healing, your promotion, your vindication will quickly come. You will rise higher, overcome every obstacle, and become everything that God's created you to be in Jesus' name. If you receive it, can you say amen today? We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of 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 you places that you've never dreamed of. Thank you for listening to the Joel O'S-Deen podcast. Help us continue to share the message of hope with those all over the world. Visit joelosteen.com slash give hope to give a gift today. Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you next time. More than ever before, people are turning to the church

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