Joel Osteen Podcast - Choose Faith in Spite of the Facts

Episode Date: January 15, 2020

Learn how Jesus operated out of faith instead of mental facts. Discover what Proverbs 3:5-6 means when we are taught to “lean not on our own understanding.” Find inspiration to believe in God’s miracle-working power in your life, no matter the situation! 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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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. And thanks so much for being with us today. And if you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you it will make you feel right at home. But thank you again for tuning in. And thank you, so much for coming out. I like to start with something funny, and I heard about this elderly couple. They were having a terrible time with their memory. They went to the doctor, and he instructed them to start writing down everything they had been forgetting. The next night, they were watching television.

The wife said, I sure would like a bowl of ice cream. The husband said, I'll go get it for you. She said, honey, you know what the doctor said. You better write it down. He said, I'm just going into the kitchen. I'm not going to forget it. A few minutes he came back. handed her a plate of bacon and eggs. She shook her head and said, I should have known it. You forgot my toast. 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 choosing faith in spite of the facts. There are times in life when the facts are not our friend. The facts will say, you can't get well. You saw the medical report. Or you can't accomplish your dreams. You don't have the training, the education. You don't know the right people. You'll never break that addiction.

You've had it too long. If you just focus on the facts, they'll keep you from your destiny. the facts can talk you out of your dreams. The facts can convince you to settle for mediocrity. But I've learned that God is bigger than the facts. You may not see a way in the natural, but he's a supernatural God. He can do what medicine cannot do. He can promote you without the training.

He can make rivers in a desert. He's not limited by the laws of nature, science, finance. Don't let the facts fool you. when you believe all things are possible. When I was in my late teens, I was driving to lunch with some friends. We saw these two men coming out of a house carrying a television and a stereo.

They were stealing it. We knew the people that lived there, they were out of town. I pulled into a convenience store and called 911. The operator said, What's your emergency? I was very young and nervous. I started telling him where we were coming from

and who was with me and where we were going. He said, sir, I don't need any of that. Just give me the facts. He said it twice, very sternly. All I want are the facts. In the same way, when you're believing for a problem to turn around, believing for a child to get on the right path, believing to get out of debt,

in your heart, you'll hear a voice saying, it's going to happen. God can make a way. Favor is coming. Healing is coming. You'll feel faith. rising up. But in your mind, you'll hear another voice saying, just give me the facts. I don't want to hear all that faith stuff. I don't want to know what you're believing for, what you're hoping will

happen. All I want are the facts. In other words, what does the medical report say? How much do you have in the account? Where is your child right now? The real battle is taking place in our mind. And the scripture says, lean not to your own understanding. There are times, take this in the right sense, you have to turn your mind off. Your mind will tell you all the reasons why it's not going to happen. If you stay focused on the facts, the details, what the experts have said, before long, you'll talk yourself out of it. Now, I'm all for having common sense, being wise, but sometimes there is no logical solution.

There is no way in the natural. This is when faith kicks in. God, I believe you're bigger than these facts. I don't see a way, but I know you can still make a way. But too often, we only look at things from a natural, logical point of view. This is my financial statement. These are the numbers, Joel. Nothing to debate about this.

This is what the medical report says. These are the grades my child is making in school right now. That's all true in the natural. What I'm saying is we serve a supernatural God. He is not limited by the facts. He controls the whole universe. He spoke worlds into existence. He flung stars into space.

The facts may tell you, you'll never get out of debt. But one touch of God's favor can put you into overflow. The facts will say, you can't accomplish your dreams. It's been too long. You're too far behind. One touch of God's favor can put you 50 years down the road. The facts may tell you you'll never get well. You'll always have that addiction, always have that depression. One touch of God's favor can set you instantly free. I had a man tell me last week how he had

been filled with anger and hatred his whole life. This is all he'd ever known. He was in his 40s. He didn't like himself. He wanted to do better. But the facts said, this is who you are. Just deal with it. But about two months ago, he accidentally flipped on our broadcast. Didn't have any kind of spiritual background. But as he listened, something began to come alive on the inside. He said, Joel, when I prayed that prayer at the end of the program, it's like I became a totally different person. All the anger and hatred instantly left me. One touch of God's favor can override the facts. God can override what the medical report says. He can override what people are telling you you can't do. He can override what you think you're lacking. Don't let the facts keep you from your destiny. Choose faith,

dare to believe. God did not put you here on planet earth to be average, to be addicted, to be overcome, to barely get by. He put you here to be victorious, to be free, to leave your mark on this generation. The facts may say otherwise, but don't let that fool you. God is not limited by the facts. When you believe, you tap into the most powerful force

in the universe. When Victoria and I were first married, one night we were walking through this nice neighborhood. There was this beautiful two-story house almost finished being built, and we walked up to look in it. It had big windows, high

ceilings, spacious rooms. was so beautiful. Victoria said, Joel, one day we're going to live in a house just like this. She might as well have said, Joel, one day we're going to go to the moon. I know more believe that. I said, Victoria, I work for a church. I'm never going to be able to afford a house like this. And being the great man of faith that I am, I went on and on trying to talk her out of it, telling her all the reasons why it wasn't going to happen. She wouldn't hear it. It went in one ear and out the other, she said, no, Joel, I feel it down in my spirit. One day it's going to happen. Two years later, we unexpectedly sold property. God blessed us more than we could ever imagine.

And we were able to move into a house just like the one that she saw. The difference was, I was focused on the facts. I knew what we made, what we saved, and what it took kids to send kids to college, the cost of living. I had the projections, the spreadsheets, the financial data. All the facts said it would not happen in my lifetime. Now, Victoria had the same facts, the same information, but instead of letting the facts talk her out of it, she chose to believe what God put in her heart. She wasn't denying the facts. She wasn't living in a fantasy land. She was simply saying it's not possible in the natural, but God, I know you're a supernatural God. You're not limited by our income, by our position, by our background, by our circumstances.

You have all power. You can get us to where you want us to be. When you take the limits off of God, he'll amaze you with this goodness. Don't do like I did and let the facts talk you out of God's best. you've thought long enough of all the reasons why you can't live in a nice house or why your children will never honor God, why you won't break that addiction. No, the facts may be against you, but can I tell you God is for you? His power is greater than any force that's trying to hold you back. His favor can thrust you to a new level. His goodness can turn your children around. His mercy can set you free from every addiction. His love can restore, rebuild, set you on a new path, give you a new beginning. Shake off the doubt. Shake off the negative voices. If God be for you, who dare be against you?

He wouldn't have put that dream in your heart if he wasn't already planning on bringing it to pass. You don't have to figure out how it's going to happen. It may not work on paper. The odds may be against you. That's okay. That's not your job. job is to believe. God, the medical report says, I'm not going to get well, but you said with long life, you would satisfy me. God, my children aren't doing right, but you said, as for me and my house,

we will serve the Lord. The facts say, I'll never get out of debt, but God, you said, I will lend and not borrow. I am the head and not the tail. If you're going to see God's best, you've got to choose faith in spite of the facts. The fact is the fact that you're going to be. The fact that told my mother that she had a few weeks to live with terminal cancer in 1981. But my mother chose faith and she's still alive and healthy today, 81 years old. The facts said, I couldn't pastor the church after my father went to be with the Lord. I had never ministered. I didn't have the training, the experience, but I chose faith in spite of the facts. And everything's worked out pretty good so far. The facts said, we were, we. We were

would never get this facility, the former compact center, a city-owned building. The fact said the city is not going to let a church have it. The odds were against us. But I've learned when God laid out the plan for your life, he didn't go check to make sure all the facts would line up so it would happen. The facts don't limit him. He's not up in the heaven scratching his head thinking, oh, I wanted Joel's mom to live a long life. I didn't know she'd have cancer at 48 years old. Or I wanted Lakewood to have the compact center. I didn't know that company would file a lawsuit

to try to keep them from moving in. No, God is not moved by the facts. He has ways to get you to your destiny that you've never thought of. One good break, one phone call, one idea, one divine connection can catapult you

into a new level of your destiny. I know a young man that applied for a scholarship at this major university. There were only 20 scholarships available in the field he wanted to study. Over 3,000 people applied. The odds were not in his favor. He could have thought there's no use even believing for this.

His chances were less than one half of 1% not good at all. But instead of letting those facts talk him out of it, his attitude was, God, the odds are against me, but I know you are for me. And if you want me in this university, I believe you can. can open the door and make it happen. A few months later, he received an email saying, congratulations. Out of the 3,000, you were one of the 20 chosen. When you believe it activates God's power. And if he had to sat around thinking, ah, it's not going to happen. I never get any good breaks. I'm not that smart. I come from the wrong family. Then it wouldn't have happened. You have to

take the limits off of God, dare to believe. Sometimes the facts will say, it's been too long. The dream is never going to come to pass. The problem's not going to turn around. It's too late. This is what happened with Jesus. One time he was walking through this town. A man came up to him, a leader in the synagogue, fell at his feet and said, Jesus, my little girl is so sick. Would you please come to my house and pray for her? Jesus told him that he would come, but he kept getting delayed along the way again and again. Find him, finally. Finally, one of the men's assistants came up to the disciples that were standing behind Jesus and said, no use bothering Jesus anymore. It's too late. The little girl has died. The scripture says

Jesus overhearing, but ignoring. He heard the facts. He got the official report. She's dead. Jesus could have gotten discouraged and thought, oh, man, I blew it. I should have gotten there sooner. No, he simply ignored the negative report. and if you're going to stay in faith, you can't go through the day thinking about all the odds that are against you, how you'll never get well, how big your obstacles are. No, the facts may not look good, but you've got to do like Jesus and choose to ignore them. Choose to not dwell on them. Choose to stay in faith. Jesus went to the house, prayed for the little girl. She came back to life. His attitude was, the facts don't stop me, I'm bigger than the facts.

When I speak waves obey me. When I speak blind eyes open, red seas part, the dead come back to life. I wonder how many situations we'd see turn around. How many dreams we'd see come to pass? If we would simply start ignoring the negative reports. The facts may be against you. That's one report, but God always has another report. The medical situation may say you'll never get well.

But God says, I'm restoring health back into you. I will heal you of your wounds. Now here's the big question. Whose report are you going to believe? Faith or fact? Sometimes fact is easier because you can see it. It makes sense. It's right before you.

But the scripture says we walk by faith and not by sight. The facts may say you're hurt. You're lonely. through a breakup. Nothing good is in your future. You've heard that long enough. But there's another report that says, God has beauty for your ashes, joy for your mourning, what was meant for your harm. He's going to use to your advantage. Why don't you choose to believe that report? And the facts can tell you, you're not going to get out of debt until you're 167 years old. You've calculated it. You've run all the numbers. You've got the facts. But faith says God's

blessings are chasing you down. Your cup will run over. Whatever you touch will prosper and succeed. Like Jesus, I'm sure you've heard plenty of these negative reports. It may not have been from other people, but even your own thinking, saying things like, you've reached your limits. You're not that talented. You're not attractive. You're not smart enough. Start ignoring those lies. Don't give them the time a day. You wouldn't be alive unless God had something amazing in your future. He has equipped you, empowered you, and anointed you. You have everything you need to fulfill your destiny. Now, sometimes the facts say otherwise, but Paul said in Corinthians, the things we see are temporary. One version says they are subject to change. Your finances

may be low today. The good news is they are subject to change. You may be lonely, but that's subject to change. God has a divine connection, the right person coming your way. Or you may have had that addiction for 20 years, but don't believe that lie that's the way it's always going to be. That may be the way that it's been, but that's not the end of your story. It's subject to change. In a split second, God can set you free. The key is don't let it become permanent in your thinking. don't let the facts convince you that's the way it's always going to be. No, today is a new day. God is saying the things you've been praying about. The things you've been believing for are about to come to pass. You're about to see the breakthroughs, the healing, the favor, the promotion, the victory is headed your way.

First Kings chapter 17, there was a widow living during a great famine. She was a single parent mother. all of her funds had run out. She had no food, no way to survive. She went outside to gather up some firewood. And she was going to cook the last little bit of flour and oil that she had. She and her son were going to eat what they thought would be their last meal. The facts said she was done. In a great famine, no food, no income, all the odds were against her. There was a knock on the door. It was the prophet Elijah. He was a free. He was a free. friend of the family. After he greeted them, he said, would you do me a big favor? I'm so hungry, would you please make me something to eat? She said, Elijah, I would love to, but all I have is this little bit of flour, little bit of oil. It was going to be our last meal. He said, I understand

that. Just make me something first. And you guys can eat what's left over. I'm sure she thought, Reverend Elijah, I really loved you, but I'm not about to give you my last meal. It seemed like he was being selfish, but Elijah knew what he was doing. It's the principle when you put God first, he'll take care of you. All of her logic, all of her reasoning said, don't make him something when you're starving to death. But in spite of what her mind told her, she chose to do it. She cooked the last bit of flour, the last little bit of oil, made him some bread. She and her son ate what was left over.

The next day, she went to those containers. expecting them to be empty, but much to her surprise, there was still some flour left, still some oil. This happened day after day, month after month. The supply never ran out. God supernaturally multiplied it. What's interesting is God didn't stop the famine. The conditions around her were just the same. God simply blessed her in the midst of the famine. Sometimes we think that the economy has to improve for us to do better. Joel, my job has to increase my company and then I can rise higher. No, God can bless you right in the middle of the famine. He can bless you in spite of what's going on around you. Let me make it more practical. You can be in a dysfunctional situation

at work, people that don't like you, trying to hold you down. The facts say too bad, just learn to live with it. No, that doesn't stop God. When it's his time to promote you, all the forces of darkness cannot hold you down. Or how about at home? A situation, parents that don't support you or a child that's not doing right. In a bad neighborhood, the facts say you're stuck. Good luck. Just endure it.

No, God can reach down in the middle of that dysfunction, in the middle of the chaos, and say, I'm going to promote you, I'm going to increase you. I'm going to take you where you've never dreamed. when God blesses you in the midst of the famine, then everyone around you will know his favor is on your life. See, the conditions don't have to be just right. You just have to be right. If you'll honor God, take the limits off of him,

he'll prosper you even in a desert. He'll make you an example of his goodness. And the facts may say you'll never get out of that environment. You'll never rise out of that rut, that struggle, that lack. It's all around you. You're surrounded by mediocrity. No, the odds may be against you, but the most high God is for you. He doesn't have to change the whole environment. You need to get ready. God's going to bless you in spite of your circumstances. He's going to promote you right in the middle of a famine. I was in Kenya, Africa, several years ago. We were visiting this orphanage. The family that running,

are great people. The father left a prestigious job teaching at the university to come back and start the orphanage. Now he and his grown sons and daughters have 200 acres where they take care of 500 children. We ask about their support and how they raised funds. The father told how they were self-sufficient. They farmed the land and that's how they provide the food and nutrition for the children. They've developed their own unique irrigation system. They're so successful they sell their produce to the local grocery stores. What's interesting is when they purchased the property, they were told that they wouldn't be able to grow crops there because the soil was too unhealthy and there wasn't enough rain.

The experts told them they would never be able to sustain themselves off the land. And that's what's happening all around. For miles and miles, nobody else can grow crops. It's dry and barren. but when you get to their property, it's like an oasis out in the desert. The university sent people out to take soil samples, to do studies, try to figure out what's different about their property. They can't understand how their soil can be so rich and fertile,

and right next door, it's totally different. When this father told me, he smiled and said, Joel, it's the blessing of God on our life. Friends, God controls the environment. He's not limited by what somebody has told you. He's not limited by what the experts have said with all due respect. God has the final say. The facts don't have to line up for him to bless you.

You don't have to be the smartest, the most talented, the strongest. What's more important than all of that is God's blessing on your life. Why don't you take the limits of him? Don't let the facts talk you out of what God put in your heart. one time in the Old Testament, the Israelites were surrounded by a major army. This army had cut off their food supply. They were waiting for them to starve to death. And then they were going to go take the land. The prophet Elijah showed up and said to the Israelites, by this time tomorrow, there will be so much food, you'll be able to buy a loaf of bread for only one penny.

The king's assistant said, Elijah, what are you talking about? That's totally important. impossible. The problem with this assistant is he was only looking at it in the natural. He started checking all the facts. We're surrounded. We're outnumbered. We have no food. We're starving. We're weak. In other words, he checked the stock report. He looked at his financial statement. He watched the nightly news. Came to the conclusion. There's no way. It's never going to happen. When he told Elisha that he thought it was impossible, Elisha did something. significant. He didn't just blow him off and say, well, we'll see. He looked at this assistant and said, it will come to pass. But because you doubted, because you didn't believe, it will not happen for you.

You won't see any part of it. Later that day, four lepers were sitting outside the city gates. They started walking toward the enemy's camp. God caused it to sound like a huge army was approaching. the enemy panicked and took off running for their lives, left all of their food and supplies. The lepers went back and told the Israelites that the enemy was gone and there was an abundance of food. This assistant who didn't believe was in charge of the city gates. When he opened them up to let the people out, they were so excited he got knocked down and was trampled to death. everyone else could buy bread for one penny a loaf, but not him. It happened just like Elijah said. Now my encouragement is when God puts a promise in your heart, you may not see how

it can happen. All the facts may say it's impossible, but do yourself a favor. Don't tell God all the reasons why you don't believe, why you can't get well. That will keep it from happening for you. You have to turn your mind off. He's a supernatural God. He's not limited by your circumstances. He's limited by what you believe. The odds may be against you today, but don't ever forget the most high God is for you.

The facts don't stop him. The economy doesn't stop him. A medical report doesn't stop him. He has all power. If you'll start choosing faith in spite of the facts, I believe and declare new doors. are going to open. Dreams are going to come to pass. Problems are going to turn around. Favor, healing, breakthroughs, abundance. Victory is coming your way. In Jesus' name. If you receive it 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 you where you've never dreamed. Thank you for listening to the Joel Osteen 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 for their mental health struggles.

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