Joel Osteen Podcast - Further, Faster | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: November 22, 2023

All it takes is one touch of God's favor to propel you toward your dreams. When you get your faith, thoughts and expectancy going in the right direction, you're giving God room to take you further than you've ever gone before. 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, and thanks so much for listening to the podcast. Don't forget I have a new book out, 15 ways to live longer and healthier. I think you'll be blessed and encouraged by it. We love you so much, and we hope you enjoy the message. Well, God bless you. Thanks so much for letting us come into your homes. We love you, and if you're ever in our area, please stop by and be a part of one of our services. I'll promise you this.

We'll make you feel right at home. But thanks so much for tuning in, and thank you again for coming out. I'd like to start with something funny. I heard about this lady that surprised a burglar in her kitchen one night late. She was home alone, no weapon, and she didn't really know what to do. She thought, I'll just say a scripture verse. She shouted out, Acts 238. The burglar suddenly froze in his tracks, wouldn't move.

The police soon arrived, and they were amazed at how a woman with no weapon could do this. They asked the burglar, what was it about this scripture that had such an effect on you? you. He said scripture, what scripture? I thought she said she had an axe in 238. 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 going further faster. We're living in a day where God is speeding things up.

What should have taken you a lifetime to accomplish, because you honor God, he's going to do it in a fraction of the time. In your career, maybe it should take you 20 years to work your way up to that position, 20 years to build your business up. No, things have shifted. God's going to give you breaks that you didn't deserve. he's going to bring the right people across your path. You're going to see opportunity like you've never seen before. It's going to take you further, faster. Get those two words down in your spirit.

It may look like in the natural, it's going to take you years to get out of debt, years to get well, years to overcome that problem. No, you need to get ready. You've come into this shift. Think of it like a car. When you shift from second gear up to fourth gear, The engine is still running at the same speed.

It's not working any harder, but you're going faster. You're covering more ground. The higher gears have greater capacity. They're designed to go faster. In the same way, because you've kept God first place, he's shifting you to a higher gear. You're going to go further, faster. Not because you're working harder, trying to make it all happen.

No, you're putting forth the same. effort, being your best every day, but all of a sudden, you get a good break that thrust you years down the road. You get a promotion that you weren't qualified for. You're going to look up and think, how did I get here? Should have taken me another 20 years, but here I am. Medical report said it'd take me five years to recover, but I did it in six months. Should have taken me most of my career to get into management, but here I am at the age of 30. What is that? God taking you further, faster. Part of the shift is acceleration. It's not going to take as long to accomplish your goals as you think. Not going to take as long to get out of that problem as it looks.

Almighty God, the creator of the universe, is breathing in your direction. He's going to cause things to fall into place. The right people are going to be drawn to you. Good breaks, opportunities, healing, restoration, favor. It's not going to be business as usual. You've come into a shift. It's going to be business as unusual. In December of 2003, we signed a 60-year lease with the city of Houston for this facility. We always wanted to own it, but the lease was the best thing to make it happen at the time.

Deep down, I knew sometime during that 60-year period, God would give us the ability to purchase it. 2003, I was 40 years old. I would be 100 years old at the end of the lease. I said, God, I want to purchase this building in my lifetime. I don't want to leave it up in the air for the next generation. Three years ago, seven years into our 60-year lease, the city was running low on funds. The tax revenues were not what they projected. They decided to sell off some of their excess properties to make up for the shortfall in the budget. The mayor's all, office called and asked if we would be interested in purchasing the facility, buying out the lease. A building like this to build a day would cost $500 million. And of course, we were interested,

but we had to see what the sale price was going to be. The city did an appraisal. They had to take into account that whoever bought the property, they would still have to honor our 60-year lease. The appraisal came back, not at $100 million, not at $50 million, but it's $7.5 million. Today, we own this beautiful facility, free and clear, no lease involved. Here's my point. What could have taken 60 years, God did 53 years sooner. He took us further faster.

Now, you may think it's going to take you 30 years to get out of debt, 30 years to pay your house off. You've already run the numbers, calculated it all. By the time you're 107 years old, going to be debt-free. Yeah, you're going to be in heaven, debt-free. No, you don't know what God is up to. You don't know what God is already destined to come across your path. One phone call like we received, one contract, one good break, one inheritance, and you're totally debt-free. You're into overflow. Now, you need to get ready. God is saying it's going to happen sooner than you think. I am shifting things in your favor, you're going to come

into acceleration. What should have taken you a lifetime to accomplish he's going to do in a split second of time. Now, don't talk yourself out of it. I don't know, Joel. I don't have the seniority. I got all these college loans, this debt. I've gone as far as I can.

No, be a believer and not a doubter. You may not see a way, but God still has a way. Our attitude should be, God, I'm in agreement with you. I believe you have shifted. You have shifted things in my favor. You are taking me further, faster. I will accomplish my dream sooner than I think. I will overcome these problems quicker than I thought. When you do that,

Almighty God will open doors that no man can shut. He'll connect you to the right people. His favor will thrust you years down the road. Back in 1949, there was a young minister named Billy Graham traveling the country, holding meetings in the large auditoriums. He was having success, but he wasn't really nationally known. That summer, he conducted a meeting in Los Angeles in a big tent. A gentleman showed up by the name of William Randolph Hearst. Mr. Hurst owned newspapers all across the country. He was so touched that night, he sent a message to all of his publishers to write favorable articles about Billy Graham. the next week the whole country was talking about this young minister.

He came to national prominence Billy Graham practically overnight because of this one man. What was that? A divine shift. God taking him further, faster. Could have taken him his whole lifetime to gain that kind of respect and credibility. But God used one man to show him favor and opened doors that took Billy Graham to a new level. Now the good news is, God has already lined up the right people for you. They are already in your future. It's just a matter of time before they show up.

They will open doors that you could not open. They will show you favor even though you didn't ask. They will use their influence to make you look good. They're ordained by God to accelerate his plan for your life. And what's interesting is Billy Graham didn't search him out. He searched Billy Graham out. You don't have to go try to find the right people. You just honor God and the right people will find you. They'll pick you out of a crowd. They'll knock on your door. They'll show up at your office. For some reason, they will want to be good to you. That's a divine connection. God will cause them to use their expertise.

even their funds to take you further faster. Here's what will happen. You'll accomplish more in less time. You'll be promoted beyond your education. You'll increase beyond your experience. The right people will help you go where you could not go on your own. We have some good friends named Jerry and Jana Lackey. They attended Lakewood for many years.

Then they moved to Botswana, Africa to do missions work. They live out in the middle. middle of nowhere, taking care of the orphans, and feeding the poor and teaching people, doing amazing work. One time, they didn't have electricity, any of the modern conveniences that we have. But they've stayed faithful year after year. They've seen God's blessings. They've built orphanages and clinics and schools and God's favor's been on their life. But their big dream was to build a major youth center. 70% of the population in Botswana, is under the age of 25.

This youth center would be a place where the young people could come and grow and learn and make friends. But it was going to cost $5 million. That's a lot even here. But over there, where the annual income is less than $1,000, that was unheard of. Jerry and Jana, they've raised funds over the years, but nothing even close to this magnitude. But one day a German businessman was visiting Botswana with his wife. They fell in love with the country.

Got back home to the States. They wanted to do something to help. They Googled the phrase Botswana orphanages, and the lackey's organization came up. It's called Love Botswana Outreach. He sent them a donation for $20,000. He said, I want to do more. A few weeks went by.

He sent them a three-hundredth. hundred thousand dollar donation. The lackeys were just so thrilled. He said, I want to come see you. That man and his wife showed up in Botswana. They stayed at this very exclusive safari resort, right there about 15 miles from the lackeys' missions complex. Jerry went to pick him up one morning. The man that owned the resort said to Jerry, hey, the resorts for sale, would you like to buy it? He thought Jerry was a wealthy businessman. Jerry kind of laughed, said, man, I'm a missionary living down the road. I don't have that kind of money, but thank you.

Well, this German businessman overheard the conversation. He asked Jerry to find out more about it. Jerry thought he wanted to buy it for himself. But that German man bought this big, exclusive, beautiful resort and gave it to Jerry and Jana for their outreaches. They were overwhelmed. The German man came to see their missions complex, and he noticed the plans they had drawn for this big youth center. This was the greatest thing that Jana and Jerry had ever dreamed to do, something that they prayed and believed that somehow they could accomplish in their lifetime.

The man asked them how much it was going to cost. They said, $5 million. He said, I'll write you a check. And on April 4th, in just a few days, they're going to dead. totally debt-free, that brand-new youth facility. What was that? God taking them further faster. They're young people in their 40s. Notice where I'm calling young now? It looked like they'd be praying, believing, raising funds their whole life. But they came into this shift. God brought one man across their path, a divine connection. Listen, you don't need everyone to help you.

You just need one person, God ordained, and you will accomplish in a split second what could have taken you your whole lifetime. Well, Joe, I don't know. This will happen for me. I never get any good breaks. It's not going to happen with that attitude. You cannot think thoughts of defeat and lack all day and expect to have abundance. You can't talk mediocrity and expect to have victory.

You are prophesying your future. If you want to see this shift occur in your own life, you've got to get an agreement and say, yes, God, this is for me. I believe you've lined up the right people. I know they're already in my future. I just want to thank you that I'll accomplish my dreams sooner than I think. In the natural, it may not look like it, but remember, we serve a supernatural God. He's about to release floods of his favor, floods of healing, flood of good breaks. Take the limits off of God. Don't think of all the reason this is not going to work. God wouldn't have given you the dream unless he already had a way to bring it to pass. If you will stay in faith, like the lackeys, it will not only happen sooner than you think, it'll be bigger than you imagine. That's the way our God is. He likes to do exceedingly,

abundantly, above and beyond. I read about a certain kind of plant. It's called the Chinese bamboo. For the first four years, it barely grows above ground. You hardly see anything happening. Even though you water it, fertilize it, make sure it's getting sunlight, it looks like you're wasting your time. But what you can't see is under the ground, it's developing a massive root system. The roots are spreading out in every possible direction. In the fifth year, once the roots are properly established, the plant will take off and shoot up to as high as 80 feet in the air, from zero to 80 feet all in one year. Many of you, like Jerry and Jana, you've been faithful. You've given, you've served, you've helped others. You've sown a lot of seeds, but you haven't seen

a lot of progress. Yes, God's been good to you. You're grateful, but nothing really out of the ordinary. That was the equivalent of your four years of developing roots. You were proving to God that you would be faithful. You were proving you would do the right thing when it was hard. Now, you need to get ready. God is saying you're coming into your fifth year. You're going to see explosive growth that will take you to levels beyond your income, beyond your training, beyond your experience. In this fifth year, good breaks. will find you. The right people will search you out. Opportunity will come knocking on your door. The fifth year is harvest time. It's favor time. You're going to reap from all the seeds that you've

sown down through the years. Nothing you've ever given has gone unnoticed. Every sacrifice you've made, every time you stop to help someone, God sees that. The scripture talks about how God will reward us in this life, not just the sweet by and by. Because you've been faithful, there is a harvest stored up. Like the lackeys, God is about to release everything that belongs to you. It's going to happen sooner than you think. It's going to be bigger than you imagine. God is going to bring out gifts and talents you didn't even know you had. He's going to open up new doors of opportunity. This fifth year is when God is going to shoot you up higher than you ever even. dreamed of. A lady in the scripture named Ruth experienced this fifth year. She was living in a foreign country taking care of her mother-law, Naomi. They were both widows. They were very poor. They

didn't have any income. Ruth would go out into the fields early every morning and gather up the leftover wheat that the workers had missed. That's how they were living off of leftovers. Day after day, month after month, Ruth was very faithful. She could have gone back to her hometown and done her own thing, but she didn't want to leave Naomi, her mother-in-law, an older woman by herself. She sowed these seeds of kindness and generosity. It looked like this was her lot in life to struggle, to barely get by, to live off of the leftovers. But one day, a man named Boaz, he owned all those fields, the wealthiest man in the area, he noticed Ruth. He told him. He told him.

his workers to leave handfuls of wheat on purpose for Ruth to make it easier on her. Ruth was very grateful. She didn't have to work so hard. She kept being her best, kept honoring God. She came in to her fifth year. Boaz, he ended up falling in love with Ruth, and they got married. Now, instead of working in the field, Ruth owned the field. She didn't have to pick up leftovers ever again.

God took her further faster. What I love about this story is it shows us the heart of God. Ruth was satisfied living off of leftovers. She was content. Her needs were being supplied, but God wasn't satisfied. That was fine for a season, time of testing and proving for root. But God did not want that to be permanent. God didn't want Ruth to spend her life gathering up leftovers.

working in the field, God wanted her to own that field. And friends, God's dream for your life is much bigger than your own. Don't get satisfied just having your needs supplied. Yes, be grateful, but God has so much more in store. He wants you to come into overflow, into abundance to where you can be a greater blessing wherever you go. You may be working for that company, but God knows how to to shift things to where you own your own company. God does not want you to spend your life

cleaning that office. God wants you to be running that office. You may be teaching at that school and that's great, but don't be surprised if you end up running that school. You may be working behind the scenes like I was for 17 years, but then you come into your fifth year and you see explosive growth and God takes your places that you've never even dreamed of. What have am I saying? Make room for God to do something big in this new year. Go out every day with this expectancy. God is working in my life right now. Lord, I just want to thank you for explosive blessings, for divine connections, for unprecedented favor. That's what a man in the scripture did by the name of Nehemiah. He had a dream to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. In the natural, it was impossible.

He was living a thousand miles away, working as a cup bearer for the king. He didn't have the money, the position, the resources. On paper, he didn't have a chance. But Nehemiah knew that God's favor was on him. He asked this king for permission to take a leave of absence to go and rebuild that wall. Notice his boldness. He wasn't a high-level cabinet member. He wasn't a senior advisor in the administration.

administration, he was working in the kitchen, cooking food, cleaning the tables. He could have thought, who am I? I could never do something big. I don't have the influence. I don't have the money. I don't know the right people. No, Nehemi 2 verse 8 shows us his attitude. He said, the king granted me this request because the gracious hand of God was upon me. He was saying, it may not look like it in the natural, but I have a secret weapon, something that you cannot see, the favor of God is on my life. Nehemiah went out and started rebuilding the wall. He had all kinds of opposition. City leaders wouldn't give him a permit.

Critics tried to stop him. Bandits came up and he had to fight them off. One thing after another, he just kept being his best doing what God called him to do. That should have taken him years and years, but Nehemiah rebuilt that one. wall in just 52 days. What was that? God taking him further, faster. God had it all lined up. God gave him favor with the king. God arranged the right people, the resources, the protection. Should have taken years. That wall had been down for a long time. Should have taken him his whole lifetime. But with God's help, he did it in 52 days. Now, your dream may seem too big. Think, oh man, Joel,

waited too long. I've missed too many opportunities. I don't have the resources, the connections. No, just like with Nehemiah, God has it all figured out. Because you've honored him, God is saying, I'm bringing you into your fifth year. I'm going to connect you to the right people. I'm going to give you breaks that you didn't deserve. I'm going to open doors that you weren't qualified for. I'm going to give you wisdom beyond your years. God is going to accelerate his plan for your life. You could be going along normal pace, been that way for years and years, but now you've hit this shift. Get ready for acceleration. Get ready for new doors to open. Get ready for the right people to show up at your doorstep. Have this attitude of expectancy

further, faster. Now here's the key. There will always be opposition to you moving forward. when Nehemiah came into his fifth year, the opponents came out of the woodwork. Everything tried to stop him. Don't be discouraged by the opposition. That's a sign that God has shifted things. Now the enemy, he don't want you to move forward. As long as you're complacent, stay where you are, that's no problem. But when you start taking new ground, when you start praying God-sized prayers,

when you know God has shifted things in your favor, don't be surprised if you have opposition. All that means is you are close to your victory. You are close to see in these explosive blessings. Have a good friend. It's been in a legal situation for the last year. It's been very heavy on her heart. She was told that it could take 10 years to resolve. Her opponents, they could drag it out just to make her life miserable. At one time, she was a very upbeat, fun person to be around. But after month and months of waiting and setbacks and pressure. It's like she was a different person. No joy, no peace, no victory, very solemn, very serious. It looked like there could be years and

years of this stress and frustration. But just last week, she got the good news that the case was totally resolved, all in her favor. Everything was cleared up. She said, Joel, I can't even tell you what a load this is being lifted off of me. What happened? She came into her fifth year. What could have taken 10 years, even 20 years, God did in less than a year. Just like with her, because you've been faithful, problems you've struggled with for years are going to suddenly resolve, unexpectedly turn around. God is going to cause things to fall into place. The right people are going to show up. You need to get ready for acceleration. Friends, God has shifted you into a higher gear. He's enlarging your capacity.

You're going to accomplish more in less time. You're going to go further putting forth the same amount of effort. What is that? You've come into your fifth year. God is accelerating his plan for your life. Let me declare it. It's not going to take a lifetime for you to accomplish your dreams. it's going to happen in a fraction of the time. It's not going to take you 30 years to get out of debt. Supernatural increase is coming your way. It's not going to take you years to work your way up in that company. Explosive growth is in your future. It's not going to take years to overcome that addiction, to break that bad habit, to get healthy again. It's going to happen sooner than you think. Now do your part. Stay in agreement with God. get up every morning and say, Lord, I want to thank you that you're taking me further, faster.

And then go out each day with that expectancy that God is at work in my life right now. If you do this, I believe and declare. Like Jerry and Janalaki, you're going to see divine connections. The right people come across your path. Like us in the building, what should have taken 60 years, God's going to accelerate to a few years. and like Ruth, instead of working in the field, you're going to end up on in the field. God's going to do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond. Further, faster.

Come on, give the Lord a shout of praise 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 were 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 health, 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 joelosteen.com or call 888. 567 jaw