Joel Osteen Podcast - Conceiving The Good Things of God | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: November 24, 2023

God is always trying to plant seeds of hope, favor and increase into our hearts, but those seeds will never take root if we don't make an effort to believe them. If you want to see God’s promises pass over your life, you have to start by making room for them in your thinking. 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.From challenge to victory, from heartache to hope, from frustration to favor—it’s only a prayer away. Kick-start your prayer life this November with Praying With Confidence: Guided Prayers for Life's Moments.  Request your copy now and carry inspiration wherever you go https://bit.ly/40sQglR.  Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of the Joel Osteen Podcast ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks so much for listening to the podcast. Did you know you can watch our weekend services live online each week? Of course, we'd love to have you in person if you're ever in the Houston area, but the next best thing is our online services. Thanks for downloading the podcast today, and we hope you enjoy the message. Well, God bless you. It is always a joy to come into your homes. We love you. We know God has good things in store for you. He rewards people that seek after him. And we just trust today you'll be blessed

and inspired, and just thank you for tuning in. If you're ever out in our area, come by and see us. We'd love to have you. We'll make you feel right at home. But again, thanks for watching today. And I like to get started with something funny each week. So listen to this one. A pastor decided to skip church one Sunday and go play golf. He told his assistant he wasn't feeling well and drove to a golf course in the next city where no one would know him. He teed off on the first hole and suddenly the wind picked up the ball, carried it an extra hundred yards and blew it right into the hole for a 420 yard hole in one. An angel said to God, what did you do that for?

God smiled and said, who's he going to tell? Hold up your Bibles. Say it like you mean it. Ready? 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 conceiving the good things God has in store. You cannot give birth to something if you don't first conceive it. And I believe that God is always trying to plant new seeds in our heart, seeds of hope, seeds of increase, seeds of change. But if the condition of our heart is not right, even though the seed is there, we still will not conceive it. And by conceive, I mean you've got to make room for it in your thinking.

You've got to believe you can rise higher. Believe you can accomplish your dreams. Believe the marriage can be restored. Believe you can live a healthy life. The seed has to take root. Conception is the very first step. It will not come to pass on the outside until you conceive it on the inside. And every one of us should be pregnant with our dreams.

We should be pregnant with the good things of God. Too many people today are going around stuck in a rut. They think they've reached their limits in life. They don't believe for anything good. They don't expect things to change. And then they wonder why nothing gets better. It's because their thinking is limited. You cannot give birth to a baby if you don't first conceive it.

You've got to make room for it in your own mind. You need to look out through your eyes of faith and see that coming to pass. And Jesus said here in Matthew 9, verse 17, you cannot put new wine in old wine skins. And back in those days, the wine skins were made out of leather. And when the leather would get old, it would become hard and stiff, and it couldn't expand anymore. And so if you put the new wine in there, it would burst, and of course you'd lose that wine. And one thing Jesus was saying through this passage is you cannot have a new life with old thinking.

And many times, just like an old wine skin, we get stuck in our ways, We get set in our attitudes. We get set in our thinking. And here God is trying to pour out the new wine. He's trying to give us a new beginning, to increase us, to promote us. But the real question is, are we willing to get rid of our old wine skins?

Are we willing to enlarge our vision? You cannot go through life thinking that you've reached your limits in a negative frame of mind and expect to have God's blessings. Well, Joel, my marriage will never get better. I'll never get out of debt. I'll never go any further. No, God has so much more in store for every one of you.

He wants to take you to new levels, but you have to do your part and let the seed take root. And the first step to change in your life is you've got to change your thinking. You've got to quit looking at what you can't do and start looking at what you can do. You and God are a majority. If God be for you, who dare even be against you? And if you're ever going to rise up and be all God's created you to be, you've got to get rid of limited thinking and you've got to start having ponderty. possibility thinking. You've got to enlarge your vision. You've got to believe that you can be all God's

created you to be. Act like it's true. Talk like it's true. Let that seed take root. I can tell you, we wouldn't be moving into the compact center if we had not done just that. We had to enlarge our vision. We could have thought, man, that's too much money. There are too many obstacles. It's too big. It's never going to happen. No, we simply said, God, not our will, but your will be done. We're ready. We believe you can make a way. We believe you can make a way. We believe you can. can fight our battles for us. We know that no man can stand against you. We got an image of victory on the inside. And the seed began to grow and grow. And today we're seeing it all come to pass. I would challenge you as well, have a big vision for your own life. Don't talk yourself out of the

new things that God is trying to do. He wants to increase you. He wants to restore what the enemy has stolen. Why don't you let this new seed of hope take root in your heart today? Why don't you dare to believe that God can and will bring that to pass? You remember when God told Abraham that his wife Sarah was going to have a child? They were both way up there in years. In fact, they were close to 80 years old. And when Sarah heard it, the first thing she did was laugh and laugh. She said, Abraham, what are you talking about?

I'm never going to have a baby. I'm an old lady. See, the condition of her heart was not right. God was trying to plant that new seed, but her thinking kept it from happening. She had to conceive it in her heart before she could ever conceive it in her physical body. And year after year went by no child. Finally, some 20 years later, she gave birth to her son named Isaac. But I believe one of the main reasons why it took so long was because she wasn't willing to get rid of her old wine skin.

She couldn't conceive it in her heart. Many of you today, you're looking for something new in your life, a new beginning, a new season. The only way that's going to happen is for you to get rid of those old mindsets that are holding you back. Well, Joel, I'll never lose this weight. This is the way I've always been. My marriage will never get better.

You know, we've always had problems. I'll never get out of debt. My child will never change. You've got to get rid of that defeated mentality. Our attitude should be, I can do all things through Christ. God is going before me making my crooked places straight. I know whatever I touch is going to prosper and succeed.

Well, Joel, you just start. don't know my family, man, they're all negative. We've always been defeated, discouraged. No, you can set a new standard. You are not being limited by your environment. You're not being limited by your past. What's going to limit you is your own thinking. You've got to get rid of those old wineskins. And you need to have a new image of yourself rising higher, accomplishing your dreams. You should see yourself setting new standards for your family to live by. This is just what my father did. Daddy grew up in a very poor family. They were cotton farmers and they lost everything they had during the Great Depression. And so Daddy went to high school with holes in his pants, holes in his

shoes. Didn't look like he had a very bright future in front of him. And he could have easily just settled in there for the status quo. No, at the age of 17, Daddy gave his life to the Lord. And God planted a new seed in his heart. God gave him a dream that one day he would pastor a church with thousands of people in it. Back then, that was unheard of. 60 or 70 years ago, there weren't any big churches like there are today. And in the natural, that seemed impossible. He didn't have any education to speak of, never been to seminary. They didn't have any money. But my father didn't let any of that stop him. He conceived that seed. He got a vision of it on the inside. And Daddy began to see himself rising up out of that environment. He began to see himself doing great things for God, touching people,

all over the world. And you know the story. He did just that. He fulfilled his destiny. And every one of you can do the same thing. No matter where you are, no matter how many odds are against you, you can rise higher. You can break out of the barriers of the past. The seed is being planted. I don't know, maybe right now, you can feel God speaking to you. You can feel faith rising in your heart. But understand, having the seed there is not enough. It's a two-way street. We have to conceive it. The seed can be in you your whole lifetime, but until you believe it and act on it, it's not going to do you any good. God said in the book of Isaiah, 43, verse 19, behold, I am doing a new thing. Can you not perceive it? Notice, God is always trying to do new

things in our lives. He is always trying to increase us, to give us better marriages, to give us more influence. But isn't it interesting? God asked the question, can you perceive it? In other words, God was saying, are you making room for it in your thinking? Are you believing for a better marriage? Are you believing to excel in your career? Or have you got stuck in that rut like so many people today thinking that they've already reached their limits? Now, why don't you enlarge your vision? You've got to learn to conceive the new things that God's trying to do in your life. I remember many years ago, Victoria and I used to live in this older home. It was built way back in the 40s and it had some foundation problems. So some of the floors were crooked. It was in pretty bad shape, but we really loved the neighborhood that it was in. It was on a great piece of property, and so we stretched and we spent everything we could just to buy that place. And during the week, probably several times a week, we'd go out and take a walk through the neighborhood, and there were all these new homes being built. And they were big, two-story homes, really beautiful, really nice. And one day, as we were walking,

we decided to go through this one house that was just being finished up. Nobody. lived there yet, of course. And so we went in. And like I said, it was just so beautiful. I remember the living room was two stories and had windows all the way up to the top. It was just so inspiring. And as we walked out, we were standing on the front porch and I'll never forget what Victoria said. She said, Joel, one day we're going to live in a house just like this. And she might as well said to me, Joel, one day we're going to live on Mars. I know more believe that. I said, Victoria, what are you talking about? We could never afford a place like this. We'd say, but for a whole lifetime and still not having. That just went in one ear and out the other ear.

Didn't bother her a bit? She said, no, Joel, I feel it right down in here. One day, we're going to have a nice house like this. Do you know we stood out there on the sidewalk and debated that for like 30 minutes? She told me all the reasons why it could happen and me being the great man of faith that I am. I told her all the reasons why it would never happen. But see, God was trying to plant a new seed in my heart. God was trying to use her to get me to enlarge my vision, to believe for the extraordinary. But like many people, I just looked at the natural. I tried to figure it out in my own thinking. And every time I did, my mind said, tilt, tilt, tilt. It is not going to happen. This is impossible. We have to understand

God's ways are not our ways. We think naturally, but God thinks supernaturally. And Jesus said, if you can believe, then all things are possible. In other words, if you'll just let the seed take root, there's no limit to what God can do in your life. You may not be able to figure out how your business is ever going to grow. It looks like you plateaued. It looks like you're having a lot of problems, but don't do like me. Let the seed take root. God can give you one new idea, or he can give you one new client that could turn everything around. God could cause you to bump into somebody, to be at the right place at the right time, and somebody offer you a brand new opportunity. Conceive it on the inside. Let hope fill your heart.

Or maybe you're here today and you don't see how your health could ever get better. Every doctor, every specialist has told you it's just too bad. You've got to learn to live with it. Nothing they can do, but no, God made your body. God can supernaturally fix what's wrong. God can create what you need. Why don't you let a new seed of hope take root? Why don't you start declaring every day God is restoring health back into me?

I am getting better and better with long life he's going to satisfy me. See, you've got to get rid of those old mindsets, old wine skins, enlarge your vision, and take the limits off of God. Several months went by, and every time we went out to walk, Victoria did the same thing. One day we're going to have one of these houses. Well, finally, I had heard that so much, I gave in. I let her convince me, and I let that seed take root. I thought, after all, what's it going to hurt to put my faith out there? What's it going to hurt to get my hopes up?

What's it going to hurt to believe? I'd rather believe for something great and get half of it rather than believe for nothing and get all of it. And so we went out there and every day we walked. We just kept on thanking God for his goodness. Father, thank you that you're causing people to want to be good to us. Thank you that your hand of favors upon us. Thank you that you're going to show your goodness in our lives. We just kept watering that seed.

And do you know one day out of the clear blue, a builder knocked on our door, and he offered to buy half of our property for more money than we'd paid for the whole thing. He eventually ended up building two houses there, one for us and one for somebody else, and we sold ours. Long story short, several years later, we were living in a house just like Victoria had said. I've learned now to listen to her more often, you know. But I don't believe that any of that would have happened if I had not first conceived it on the inside. I had to enlarge my vision.

I had to see it through my eyes of faith. And some of you today, God has been trying and trying to plant new seeds in you, but like me, you keep thinking, man, that's never going to happen. I've got too many odds against me. I'll never get promoted. I've gone as far as my education allows. Or I'll never get married. Oh, I've been single so long.

Now, why don't you let a new seed take root? As I said, you can't give birth to something if you don't conceive it. You've got to change your thinking, change your attitude. Start believe in God for more. start expecting his favor. Got to make room for it in your own mind. I like to think about it like a couple that's expecting a baby. Once they find out that they're pregnant,

they start making preparations for that child. And the fact is they've never physically seen their baby. The only proof they have probably is a doctor's report or some kind of test. But yet they'll go out and buy baby clothes and baby furniture and get the house all baby proof. See, they're making plans. A baby has been conceived. A child is on its way.

Well, we should do the same thing. Once the seed takes root, not only make preparations in your mind, but you need to take some steps to show your faith. For instance, I know this couple that had a son that was on drugs. He was in his mid-20s, and he had been running with the wrong crowd, living on his own, just living a very rebellious life. And we had prayed together here at this altar many, many times. That young man was just breaking his parents' heart. But they refused to give up on him.

They refused to accept that as the way it always had to be. They had a seed of hope in their heart. And they let it take root. And they believed that one day he would be in here with them serving God. They believed that he would be productive and fulfilling his destiny. And they made preparations for him to turn his life around. They went out and bought a Bible and had his name engraved on it. This young man would never come home, hardly even spoke to the parents, very much at odds with them.

But they just put that Bible. on their coffee table. And every time they walked by and saw his name, they just used that as a reminder to thank God that their child was going to come back home, to thank God that one day their family would be reunited. Do you know seven years went by? They never saw any sign of change. The son hardly even spoke to them. But one Friday night, they told, for no apparent reason, he knocked on the door, said, Mom and Dad, I want to come back home. I want to get my life straightened out. And just like the prodigal son, they received him back with open arms. and got him the help that he needed.

And now almost every time I see that young man, he's holding that Bible that his parents had bought for him over seven years before. So always got it with him. See, the seed took root, and they showed their faith by making some preparations. I know this other couple, they'd tried for several years to have a baby,

but with no success. They'd gone through all the fertility treatments, and it didn't look like anything was happening. But one day they decided to take it a step further, and just to show their faith, they went out and bought a little baby outfit, just a little set of clothes, and they put it there in their kitchen so that they could see it every time they were in there. It helps to keep the vision in front of you. It says in the back to write your vision down, do something to help you keep your faith up.

Well, just several months after she had taken that step of faith and bought those clothes, that young lady conceived. And not too long ago, we dedicated their little child here at the altar. Do you know what that baby was wearing? those very clothes that they had bought for her. And the truth is, that was not the first time they had seen their baby wearing those clothes. They had seen him many times through their eyes of faith. See, the seed took root. They made preparations. They showed their faith. Maybe you're here today and you've gone through some kind of disappointments, a marriage, a relationship didn't work out. Some kind of

dream has died, but I would just encourage you that that is not the end. God still has a great plan for your life. And when one door closes, I know God will always open up another door. Don't wallow around in self-pity. Don't go around thinking, man, I've blown it. Life's all downhill from here. No, God wants to take the negative things that have happened to you and turn them around and use them to your advantage. If one dream dies, you've got to dream another dream. If you get knocked down, get back up again, God is still in control. But don't let the enemy convince you that it's never going to get me better and you're never going to get well. When you're your those are great stories, but I know I'll never have a nice house. My family will never be restored.

No, you've got to get rid of that old wine skin. God does have good things in store for you. And no matter what you've been through, no matter how impossible it looks, it's not too difficult for our God. God created the whole universe and he's got you in the palm of his hands. And if you will just dare to believe, if you'll dare to get your hopes up, you can rise higher. You can break out of the bondages of the past. and you can see a new beginning in your life. And some of you are so focused on your faults and everything that you've done wrong and you're just convinced that God is finished with you

and you just need to sit on the sidelines of life. But that could not be further from the truth. Why don't you receive God's mercy? Why don't you learn to forgive yourself and start expecting God's blessings and his favor? I know too many people, they're only focused on their faults and weaknesses. Do you got to quit looking at what you are not

and start looking at what you can? be. You may have some habits today that you're not proud of, or maybe you struggle with some addictions. Let me tell you, if you go around always feeling bad about yourself, guilty and condemned, that new seed of change will never take root. One of my favorite scriptures is Philippians 1-6. You all know it. Be confident of this. He that began a good work in you will continue to perform it until it's perfectly complete. That means I may not be all I want to be, but the good news is God is not through working on me. I am not a finished product.

If we're ever going to rise higher, we have to have the right image on the inside. You've got to quit looking at what you're not and what you don't have and what you can't do. Listen, you are a child of the most God. You have his power on the inside of you. You can do whatever you need to do. You can accomplish things that you never even thought possible.

When you're up against obstacles or maybe some opportunities come your way, don't you dare shrink back in fear, learn to rise up and become all God's created you to be. I know, I never dreamed that I would be up here. I never dreamed this was even in me. But when Daddy went to be with the Lord, I felt that I was supposed to step up and pastor this church. But the first thing I thought of were all the reasons why I couldn't do it. I thought, you know what, I've never spoken before, and I'm not a preacher, and I don't feel qualified. There was this battle taking place on the inside. God was trying to plant a new seed in me.

He was trying to promote me and take me into my divine destiny, but I had to make a decision. Was I going to conceive the seed and, hey, believe that I can do this and take that step of faith? Or was I going to do like I did with that first house and keep my old wine skin and say, man, I can't do that. I'm too nervous. I'm too shy. I don't have what it takes. No, thank God this time I had learned. I let the seed take root.

The first thing I did is I begin to see myself up here ministering to people. I begin to see the building full. I begin to see myself succeeding. I had it on the inside. And sure there were nights where I woke up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat thinking, what have I done?

Nobody's ever going to show up. But no, I learned to get rid of those thoughts of defeat. And I just speak to myself, Joel, you can do all things through Christ. You are strong in the Lord and the power of His might. I'd tell myself I am well able to fulfill my destiny. What was happening is the seed was taking root

and growing and growing. Today I'm seeing it come to pass. I'm seeing God do more than I could even ask or think. You can do the same thing. You have so much more in you. God has planted seeds of greatness. He wants you to excel at whatever he's called you to do. Why don't you take the limits off of him today? Why don't you start enlarging your vision? You can be happier. You can be healthier. You can be more fulfilled. But I can tell you, it all starts by conceiving it on the inside. In other words, You need to get a picture of it. You need to have an image of it. What you see is so very important.

And some people, when they look out into the future, all they see is more of the same, mediocrity, defeat, failure. The whole problem is they're conceiving the wrong seeds. You've got to get rid of that junk and start seeing yourself rise in higher. Start seeing yourself healthier and happier in fulfilling your God-given destiny. That's the only way the seed is going to take root. You've got to keep seeing it through your eyes of faith. In Genesis chapter 30, there's a story about Jacob and his uncle Laban.

Jacob had worked for Laban for many, many years, but it wasn't a very good relationship. Laban had not treated him fairly, and so Jacob was ready to go out on his own and do his own thing. But he said, Laban, I'll continue to take care of your flocks if you'd like me to. And Laban said, that'd be great, but what do you want me to pay you for? And Jacob said, well, I'll make a deal with you. If you'll give me all the spotted and streaked sheep and goats, that'll be my power. and you can keep all the solid colored ones. They're more valuable anyway. And that way we'll always know the difference. Yours are solid, mine are streaked and spotted. Laban said that sounds fine.

But Laban was so dishonest. He went out during the night and he took practically all the animals that should have been Jacobs and gave him to one of his sons. And then he made sure he took all the male spotted and streaked animals. And so Jacob not only didn't get what he was supposed to, he didn't have any way for his flocks to reproduce. But in verse 37, Jacob did something so interesting. It says that he cut fresh cut branches off the tree, and he peeled the bark off of them in certain places to make them look spotted and streaked.

I guess the branches were kind of brown, and when he pulled the bark off, it was white. And so now he's got all these spotted and streaked branches, and he put them in front of the watering troughs, where the animals would come to drink water. And not only would they drink water there, but that's where they made it. That's where they bred and conceived. And so imagine, as these animals are breeding, they are staring at these spotted and streaked ross. And do you know the Bible says that when Laban's animals gave birth, even though they were solid in color,

their babies that were born were spotted and strict. God supernaturally made it up to Jacob. He ended up having twice as many blocks as his uncle Laban. But the point I want you to see is I believe, one reason that Jacob put the spotted and streaked branches in front of those animals is because he knew they would produce what they saw. And really, it's the same principle with us today. We are going to produce what we're continually looking at. And you are a child of the most high God. You were created to live in victory, in health, in abundance. But do you know, if you stay focused on the wrong things, if you have the wrong image on the inside,

you will not produce what you should. The seed will not take root. And some of you today, you need to peel some new branches. You need to start looking at some better things. Get a bigger vision for your life. What kind of image do you have of yourself? If you see yourself not able to, then you will never be able to. If you see yourself defeated and lonely, then you're going to live that kind of life.

You've got to change what you're seeing. Why don't you peel some new branches? You ought to put scripture verses up all over your house, at the desk, in your car. Everywhere you go, you should see I can do all things through Christ. I am more than a conquer. I'm the head and not the tail. Everything I touch prospers and succeeds. If you start looking at that day in and day out, you'll create a new image on the inside. That seed will take root, and you'll begin to rise to new levels of God's victory. So I just challenge you again today, have a big vision for your life. Get rid of those old wine skins. Go beyond the barriers of the

past and start expecting God to do great things in your life. You can rise higher. You can go further. Learn to conceive the good things of God. Let those seeds of faith and hope and victory really take root. Remember, you've got to conceive it on the inside before it's ever going to come to pass on the outside. And I can tell you, God has so much more in store for every one of you. He wants to take you places that you've never even dreamed of. And if you'll just dare to believe, dare to take the limits off of God, I can tell you firsthand, there's no limit to what God will do in your own life. He'll pour out his blessings in favor, and you'll live the life of victory he has in store. Amen.

How many of you receive it 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 that you've never dreamed of. Sometimes life can make you feel like you are just living in the dark. Even your prayers don't feel like they're making it to heaven. But God is listening, and his light is about to shine. We know God is all powerful, that he can answer any prayer. But sometimes we don't know what to pray. We don't think we deserve God's goodness.

Maybe we're inconveniencing him, or he has more important things to deal with. But God is concerned about every detail of your life. He's waiting to hear your prayers. I have a new resource called praying with confidence, guided prayers for life's moments. When you face challenges or obstacles that seem too big, you'll find prayers that will build your faith, prayers that will move the hands of God. There are prayers you can pray for peace and comfort, prayers for your family and hell, prayers for your dreams and goals. As you make these prayers your own, pray with confidence, that's when you'll see the creator of the universe go to work.

I hope you'll request your copy today. With a gift of any amount this month, we would like to immediately send you a copy of praying with confidence, guided prayers for life's moments. In this new resource, Joel shares how to pray. You need a breakthrough when you need strength. Yes, when life's moments happen and you're not sure how to pray, praying confident prayers will put you on the right path. You'll enter new seasons in your prayer life that will turn challenges to victories, heartache to hope, frustration, to newfound favor.

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