Joel Osteen Podcast - Connecting With The Right People | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: October 17, 2024

Life is too short to let negative people keep you from everything God created you to be. Get around people who believe in your dreams and watch God take you to places you never dreamed.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.Good things are en route to you! But if you’re holding on to the old, there’s no room for the new. Our October offer will teach you how to make room for God to bless you in ways you never thought possible! It's time to Empty Out the Negative and be filled with blessings! https://bit.ly/3XE45Nf   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, and thanks for supporting the ministry. We believe you're going to have an awesome 2024, healthy, productive, and favor-filled. God bless you today and enjoy the message. Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. We love you, and we know God has great things in store for each one of you. If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll 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 today. And thanks again for coming out. I'd like to start with something funny each week. And I heard about this teenager. He had just gotten his driver's permit. He asked his father if he could borrow the car. The dad said, son, I'll make a deal with you.

If you'll bring your grades up, read your Bible every day, and get your hair cut. I'll let you borrow the car. He came back a month later and asked about it. The dad said, well, son, you've brought your grades up. You've been reading your Bible, but you still haven't got your hair. He said, well, Dad, I've been thinking about it. Moses had long hair. Samson had long hair. Even Jesus had long hair. He said, yes, son, and they walked everywhere they went. All right, hold up your Bible. Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what

it says I have. I can do what it 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 connecting with the right people. Your destiny is too big to get there on your own. God has already arranged certain people to speak faith into you. He's placed in your path people to inspire you, to challenge you, to help you grow and

accomplish your dreams. But the reason some people never reach their highest potential is because they never get away from the wrong people. Everyone cannot go where God is taking you. You've got to connect with people that understand your destiny. People that appreciate your uniqueness. People that can call forth your seeds of greatness. Not people that are always pushing you down, telling you what you can't become,

never giving you their approval, no matter how good you do. Life is too short to drag people along. If you will get the wrong people out of your life, then God will bring the right people into your life. Some of you, the only thing that's holding you back is your inner circle. The people that are closest to you, they're with you, but they're not really for you.

You're constantly having to persuade them that you're okay and convince them to get on board. You're spending all your time and energy on someone that doesn't understand your destiny. When my father went to be with the Lord 11 years ago and I stepped up to pastor the church, most of the people were for me. They were very loving, kind, loyal to my parents.

But there were a few people, even friends that I'd known my whole life, I could tell they were not for me. No matter what I did, there was an underlying feeling of it's not good enough. There were good people. They were nice, but I never felt their approval. I had to make a decision.

Was I going to live my life trying to please them and convince them that I really am okay? And you really still should be my close friend? Or was I going to accept the fact that this was a new season and where God was taking me, they weren't going to be able to come? I had to do what I'm asking,

you to do, my attitude was, you think I'm too much of this or not enough of that, and that's fine. You have a right to your opinion. I respect that, but I also know I don't need your approval. I have Almighty God's approval, and he's the only one that really matters. Little by little, I begin to pull away. I found some people you have to love from a distance. They're still my friends, but they're not in my inner circle. The scripture says, don't cast your pearl among swine. You could

say your pearl is your gift, your personality. It's who you are. When you get around true friends, people that really believe in you, they won't be jealous of your gifts. They won't constantly question who you are. They won't try to talk

you out of your dreams. It'll be just the opposite. They'll help you polish your pearl, develop your pearl, enhance your pearl, grow your pearl. In other words, they'll give you ideas. They'll connect you with people they know. They'll help push you further along. You shouldn't stay around people that don't value your gifts and appreciate what you have to offer. That's casting your pearl among swine. Your inner circle, those closest to you, should be people that celebrate who you are. People that are happy when you succeed.

not someone that's always trying to outperform you, someone that's quickly pointing out everything you're doing wrong. It should be people that believe the very best in you. If that's not who's in your inner circle, you need to do like me and gradually start to pull away. You can be nice, you can still be friends from a distance, but your time is too valuable to spend it with people that are not 100% for you.

It's not the quantity of friends that's important. It's the quality of friends. I would rather have two good friends that I know are for me 100% than to have 50 friends that are only for me 80%. In March 5, Jesus was about to go to another city to pray for a little girl that was very sick. Words soon came back saying, you don't need to come. She's already died.

Jesus said, don't worry about it. She'll be okay. we're going to come anyway. The scripture says, Jesus would not let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John. That was his inner circle. Those other believers, they were good people, they loved the Lord, but Jesus said, I only want these three people to go. Why was that? Jesus knew when he got to the room where the little girl was dead, he needed people that wouldn't question who he was. people that wouldn't say, are you sure you're the son of God? Have you ever done this before?

What if it doesn't work? Do you have a backup plan? No, when you're in the heat of the battle, when you're in a situation where you need God's favor, you need divine healing, you need a legal situation to turn around, you can't afford to have people in your inner circle that are saying things like, do you really think you're going to get well?

My grandmother died of that same thing. Do you really think you're going to have an effie? Three 20 week, have you seen the economy? Or I know you're praying that your child will turn around. I don't mean to be negative or anything, but it seems to me like they're doing worse than ever. No, you need people that know who you are, people that are joined in spirit with you. People that will say, hey, you know what? If you're bold enough to believe, count me in. I'm bold enough to agree with you. If you say you're going to get well, I'll put my faith with yours. Father, let it happen. If you believe you can overcome that addiction, I'm not going to tell you 10 reasons why you can't do it.

My declaration is you are well able. See, you need people that will come into agreement with you and release their faith. Not people that will tell you what you can't do and release their doubt. Jesus got to the room where the little girl was and everyone was so distraught. You can imagine they were crying, weeping, sorrow. Jesus looked at them and said, don't be upset. she's not dead, she's only asleep. Their weeping turned to mocking him, making fun of him.

What do you mean she's not dead? Of course she's dead. What Jesus did next is extremely significant. I believe it's one of the keys to living a life of victory. It says in Mark 540, they laughed and jeered at him, but Jesus put them out. Notice Jesus asked them to leave. He showed them the door. He knew the importance of having people close to him that understood his destiny.

His attitude was, I don't need your doubt. I don't need you questioning me. I don't need you telling me what I can't do. I'm going to surround myself with people of faith, people that understand my assignment. You may be around people today that are constantly pulling you down, telling you what you can't become, while you'll never be successful. Understand it's scriptural to show them the door. It may be difficult, but you have to have the attitude. You have to have the attitude.

I cannot fulfill my destiny with your critical spirit. I can't accomplish my God-given dreams with you constantly pulling me down. I love you. You're a good person, but I can't have you in my inner circle. I'm going to love you from a distance. That's what Jesus did. He didn't allow anyone to go in except the girl's parents. and his inner circle, Peter, James, and John.

He got in there and spoke to the little girl, and she came back to life. But think about this. Jesus could have healed her in front of the crowd with them laughing, mocking, jeering at him. He's the son of God. He could do anything. But I believe Jesus wanted to illustrate this principle. Who you have in your inner circle is extremely important. If Jesus went to the trouble to ask everyone to leave,

the right people. If he took the time to weed out the doubters, the people that would question him, the people that just wanted to be critical, if he was that concerned about his inner circle, surely you and I should be that concerned about our own. You need to evaluate who's on your team, who's speaking into your life, who you're giving your time and energy to. In other words, who you eat lunch with every day at the office? Who you're talking to on the phone so much? Are they building you up or tearing you down? Are they inspiring you to go further or are they telling you what you can't do? Are they modeling excellence, integrity, generosity, godliness, or are they lazy compromisers not going to any place in life? No, don't spend your time with people that don't make you

better. I remember growing up, there was a man that had been with the church since my parents founded it back in 1959. He was a strong supporter and one of my father's inner circle. He was a good man, but over time as the church grew, he had a hard time accepting the changes. I came back from college in 1983 and started the television outreach. And even though I know he loved me and he loved our family, I could tell he wasn't 100% for that. Every time we went to do something new, it was like pulling teeth. He would tell us 10 reasons why it might not be a good idea.

And I'm all for listening to godly advice and getting good counsel, but we could tell where God was taking us, he wasn't going to willingly go. Out of respect, out of loyalty, my father kept him there year after year. But it was like having a car

with three good tires and one flat tire. It was constantly a struggle. Every new project, we had to spend time and energy trying to convince him to get on board. One day, through a series of unusual events, God moved him on. It was like this heavy burden

was lifted off of him. Off of us, maybe him too, I don't know, but off of us for sure. But I remember we had this big going-away party for him, and I did my best to act sad, but on the inside, I was jumping up and down. You would have thought I'd just won the Super Bowl.

But after he left, It was a night and day difference. We didn't realize how much one person in our inner circle, not totally on board, could affect the rest of the team. Some of you don't realize how much that one negative influence is holding you back. You don't know how much more you would accomplish, how much more you would grow, how much more you would enjoy life if you just make necessary changes. This man was with us, but he wasn't really full. us. There's a big difference. You need to make sure the people in your inner circle believe in who you are. They celebrate your gifts and they're pushing you further, not holding you back. Some of you today, if you don't very kindly and politely show someone the door, they're going to keep you from becoming all God's created you to be. Well, he said, well, what if I hurt their feelings? What if they keep you from your destiny? What if they keep you from accomplishing? your dreams and making a difference in our generation.

I can't think of anything worse than to come to the end of our life and realize we have not become what God's created us to be. And a lot of times we think, I know this person is not a good influence. I know they're keeping me from growing. But if I make a change, I may not have any friends. I may be lonely. And yes, you may be lonely for a season, but you never give up something for God.

that he doesn't give you something back better in return. If you'll make the change, God will not only give you new friends, he'll give you better friends. Friends that you don't have to wonder, are they for me or against me? Friends that don't try to manipulate you into who they want you to be,

but they celebrate you and help you become who God's created you to be. This may mean you have to change who you eat lunch with every day at the office. that person that's constantly complaining, you don't need that poison going into your spirit. You may have to change and not hang out with that neighbor that's always discouraged and always had a sad song and is always dumping their problems on you, expecting you to keep them fixed. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for helping people, encouraging others. That's what life is all about. But I've also found

some people don't want to be helped. They like the attention. that it brings them. They're energy suckers. You spend an hour with them. You feel like you've just run a marathon. As long as you allow it, they will drain the energy out of you. Dump their problems, unload all their heartache.

And again, it's good to be kind. There are times we have to put up with things in order to love people back into wholeness. But what I'm saying is you cannot spend your whole life trying to pull someone up and expect to fulfill your God-given destiny. Sometimes the best help

you can give a person like that is to not help them at all. Because all you're really doing is enabling their dysfunction. Now they're relying on you as a crutch. They don't have to take responsibility for their behavior. They don't have to learn to encourage themselves.

They know you'll always come running. You'll bail them out. You'll cheer them up. What they're really doing is manipulating and controlling you. but friends, you have a destiny to fulfill. You need to surround yourself with people that are not constantly taking something from you, but with people that are putting something into you. Proverbs 27 says, as iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another. Let me ask you, are your friends making you stronger? Are they challenging you to become a better parent, a better spouse, a better

giver, a better leader, a better person. You cannot soar with the eagles as long as you're hanging out with the turkeys. There may be some toxic relationships you have to get rid of. Relationships that are doing nothing but make you compromise, make you negative, make you complain. Every time you leave, you're worse than you were before. That's a toxic relationship. I've learned you cannot help a person that will not separate themselves from that toxic relationship. Years ago, when I was in my early 20s, I used to get my haircut by this young lady. She was as nice as could be. She had a good heart, but she was extremely negative. Every time I went in there, month after month, year after year, she would tell me her

problems, how the owners weren't treating her right, making her work extra hours. She had a brother that was very difficult. Often she didn't have the money to pay her rent. Her dad was very sick. On and on. Every time I left, I was depressed. She was very convincing. It's like this guy I heard about. He was sitting by the side of a bridge, about to jump and end his life.

A man stopped, ran over and said, don't jump, don't jump. Just tell me your problems. Two hours later, they both jumped. That's the way this young lady was. And I did my best to encourage her. I would pray with her. I gave her money.

I sent her customers. It was never enough. One day I realized what I'm telling you. I cannot go where God has taken me with her in my life. I love her. I'm going to pray for her, but I can't fulfill my God-given destiny putting that poison in me month after month.

I made a change. You too may have to change where you do business, where you play ball, where you work out, where you shop. Life is too short. Your time is too valuable. Your destiny is too valuable. too great to spend it with people that are constantly pulling you down, draining the life and energy out of you. The solution is found in Mark 540. Show them the door. Be kind, be polite,

but you need to gradually start pulling away. In the scripture, there's a lady by the name of Elizabeth. For many years, she's been barren, not able to have a baby. In those days, a lady was greatly looked down on if she couldn't give her husband a child. But late in life, Elizabeth conceived. Now she was so excited about finally being able to have this baby. For the first few weeks, Elizabeth is on cloud nine. Her dream is coming to pass. I can imagine as a month or two goes by,

she begins to get a little worried. She's never had a baby before. She's hoping and praying that everything's okay, but three months, four months, five months, she doesn't feel anything. She starts thinking, surely I should feel something. kind of movement by now. The longer it goes, the more concerned she becomes. One day there's a knock on her door, an unexpected guest. It's her younger cousin, a girl named Mary. She was a teenager.

Elizabeth opened the door. Mary gave her a great big hug and said, Elizabeth, congratulations. I've heard the great news you're going to have a baby. The scripture says in Luke 141, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, her baby leaped in her womb. At that moment, she knew the child was alive. She knew the promise was going to come to pass. Here's my point. God has designed people to come into your life that will make your baby leap. People that will speak life into your dreams.

People that will let you know those promises will come to pass. Mary was a divine connection. She was sent there ordained by the creator of the universe to bring hope, faith, vision into Elizabeth's life. She didn't even have to say anything profound. She just said hello and the promise came to life. Just like with Elizabeth, God has already lined up your Mary's.

And when you get around the right people, they can simply say, good morning and your baby will leave. That's a supernatural connection. But here's the key. If you keep answering the door and your baby never leaps, then you're answering the door for the wrong people. Don't answer the door when a gossip knocks. They're not going to make your baby leap.

Don't answer the door when a complainer stops by to tell you how bad life is and how you're never going to make it. They're not going to make your baby leap. They're going to make your baby depressed. Don't answer the door when a discourager shows up, when a compromiser shows up, when I can't do it, person shows up. Make a decision with me, I'm going to only answer the door for people that make my baby leap. People that inspire me, people that challenging me, people that ignite something on the inside. Mary was pregnant with Jesus, the son of God.

Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist. when the promise in Mary connected with the promise in Elizabeth, it was like an explosion of faith. When you get around the right people, when you connect with people that have big dreams, people that understand their destiny, then the promise in you is going to connect with the promise in them. You're going to see God show up and do something supernatural in both of your lives. Like Elizabeth, many of you have a promise on the inside. You know God has spoken to you, but it's been a long time. You haven't seen anything happening.

You haven't felt any movement on the inside. Now you're thinking, did I hear God right? Is the promise still in me? Am I still going to give birth? I believe God sent me today to be one of your marries. That situation that you think is over, God is saying it's still going to come to pass. The promise is in you.

It's alive and well. You may not see anything happening. You may feel like you didn't hear God right, but God is still on the throne. Right now he's arranging things in your favor. What he promised you, he will bring to pass. And if you will receive those words by faith, then down in your spirit, you'll start to feel something. A kick, a push, a shove. What is that?

That's your baby coming alive. When you get around the right people, your baby will leave. my prayer is that every time you come in these doors, every time you hear me, in some way, I'm going to make your baby leave. I'm going to remind you that you are a child of the most high God. You have seeds of greatness on the inside. There's no mistake you've made that's too much for the mercy of God. There's no obstacle too high, no sickness too great, no dream too big. You and God are a majority. When you hear words like that, if you'll let it take root, then on the inside, you'll feel faith springing up. That's your baby starting to leap. Before long, you'll be

convinced, hey, I can overcome this addiction. Wow, I just felt a kick. I can get out of debt, another push. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Now both feet are kicking. How about this? The economy's down. Business is slow. but I know my job is not my source, my God is my source, and I believe he can still prosper me. Now I feel all kinds of movement on the inside. If you're going to become all God's created you to be, you've got to get around people that will speak life, faith, vision into your future. Some of you have goals and dreams that you've given up on. You've let people talk you out of it and convince you that the promise is not going to come to pass.

They've told you that you're too old or you come from the wrong family. You've made too many mistakes. You tried and failed. It's just too late. Here's the key. If you will change who you're answering the door for and start spending time with people of faith, with people that see your potential, with people that will tell you what you can become, instead of just describing who you are right now, then your baby will start to leap once again.

The truth is, it's not too late. You're not too old. You haven't made too many mistakes. The promise is still alive. Now it's up to you and me to eliminate the wrong relationships, the people that are pushing us down, telling us what we can't become, taking and never giving. All that's going to do is cause our baby to be born, stillborn. We won't give birth to what God put in our heart. Your baby, your dream, It needs Mary. It needs that encouragement. It needs that faith being joined together. The good news is God's already lined up the right people. He already has your marries if you will just do your part and not answer the door for the wrong people. Friends, the clock is ticking on your destiny. Don't waste another moment with people that don't sharpen you.

Make sure your inner circle. Those closest to you are people that are. not just with you, but they're really for you. Connect with people that understand your destiny, people that celebrate your uniqueness. Remember, not everyone can go where God has taken you. They may be good people, but that season is over. If you don't make a change, they can keep you from getting there. If you'll make this decision that you're only going to answer the door for people that make your baby leap, then as iron sharpens iron, you're going to get better, rise higher, and I believe and declare, just like with Elizabeth, you will give birth to every

promise God put in your heart, and you will become everything God created you to be. 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'll take your places that you've never dreamed out sometimes the circumstances of life can be overwhelmingly negative what should we do when we experience these kinds of negative reports and realities our life is like a container it can only hold so much when we allow negative

things in like worry guilt and unforgiveness that's taking up space for the good things that belong to you. That's why I wrote my book, Empty Out the Negative. I'll show you how to get rid of what's limiting you so you can live a victorious, fulfilled life. When you make room for joy, peace, and faith, God will feel you afresh and anew. As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount to the ministry this month, Joel and Victoria would like to send you this powerful book, Empty Out the Negative, empty out fear, and replace it with faith. My doctor, he said, I went in there and there is no cancer in your body.

Empty out a hurt-filled childhood and replace it with confidence. So I took what Joel said and I physically replaced them with I am strong, I am worthy. I started saying those over and over and over. Empty out broken relationships and find renewed love. in a world that's just so full of so much noise and negativity and hatred and just to come and have so much encouragement filled into you, you know, is something I've never had my whole life. Are you holding on to things that are weighing you down? It's time to empty that out so you can live a positive, faith-filled life. Joel and I pray for you every day. We're believing for God's

very best for you and your family. You know, we appreciate your prayers and your support. Your generosity is impacting so many lives. Remember, you can watch the services online every Sunday morning, download our daily podcast, listen on Sirius XM, watch the new Joel Osteen Network streaming on television. But until we see you next week, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of Empty Out the Negative today. Visit Joelosteen.com or call 888-567 Joel.