Joel Osteen Podcast - Giving Your Dreams A New Beginning | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: July 19, 2024

When God created you, He filled you with the potential to do incredible things. Don't let disappointments keep you from becoming everything God created you to be! 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.God wants to release His goodness and favor over you. Now is your time to break free from stress and walk fully in His blessing. Our July offer, 55 Ways to Be Blessed and Not Stressed, gives short, powerful readings packed with God’s promises! Request your copy today,  https://bit.ly/4cxwUAz  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. Welcome. It's a joy to come into your homes each week. We love you and we know that God has great things in store for each one of you. And I've been saying it almost every weekend. We're believing that 2006 is going to be your best year so far. So you get in agreement with us, and I know God's going to do great things in your life. Hey, come out and see us whenever you can. Don't come through Houston without stopping by.

These are the finest, most blessed, friendly people in all of town. Come by and see us sometime. And God bless you. I like to start with something funny each week. And, of course, you know, these are not doctrinally correct, especially today's, just to make us laugh. But I heard about these three men, a Baptist, a Catholic, and a charismatic. they suddenly died and went to heaven and St. Peter met them and said, I'm sorry, guys,

your living quarters are not ready quite yet. He didn't know what to do, so he called Satan and asked if he would keep them for a little while. Satan reluctantly agreed, and a few hours later, Satan called back and said, Peter, you've got to come get these guys. The Catholic man is forgiving everybody. The Baptist man is saving everybody, and the charismatic has already raised enough money for air conditioning.

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 stirring up the gift that's on the inside. every one of you is full of incredible potential. God has put seeds of greatness in you. He's given you dreams and desires. You have something to offer that nobody else has. But too often, we allow adversities, disappointments, and setbacks to push these things down.

And we find that we're not pressing forward anymore. We're not stretching. We're not believing to rise any higher. And it's interesting. I've seen some of the most gifted, talented people around go through some of the most unfair, unfortunate experiences. Divorce, abuse, neglect. It's easy to think, why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve any of this? Well, here's what it is. It's because the enemy knows what's on the inside of you. He knows what you're carrying. He's going to do everything he can to keep that seed from taking root. He doesn't want your gifts and talents to come out. He doesn't want us to accomplish our dreams. He wants us to drag around, live in a very average, mediocre life.

But understand this. God did not create any person without putting something extremely valuable on the inside. And life may have tried to push you down through disappointments, through setbacks, through divorce. In the natural, you don't see how you could rise any higher. You don't see how you're ever going to be happening. but you need to dig your heels in and say, no, I know what I have on the inside. I'm a child of the most high God. I'm full of his can-do power. I'm going to rise up and become everything God's created me to be. See, Paul told Timothy to stir up the gift. You've got to stir up your gifts,

stir up your talents, stir up the potential, stir up your dreams. It's up to you. And some of you these gifts and talents and dreams, they are pressed down beneath depression and discouragement. Beneath negative voices, people telling you that you can't. Beneath weaknesses, beneath failures, they're pressed down. But the good news is they're still in there. Now you've got to do your part and start digging them out.

I love what God said in Isaiah 4319. Behold, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs forth. Can you not perceive it? You may have had more than your share of unfair negative experiences, but know this, God wants to do a new thing. He wants to give you a new beginning. Don't give up on your dreams. Don't go around thinking that you peaked. You've reached your limits in life. Well, Joel,

you don't know my situation. I've gone as far as my education. You don't know my family. No, I may not know any of that, but I do know our God. And he is an all-powerful God. He has more in store for every one of you. And my question for you is, can you perceive it? Can you make a room for it. First place it starts is right here in our thinking. If your thinking is limited, then your life is going to be limited. Well, you said, Joel, I've gone through bankruptcy. I tried and failed. Well, let it go. This is a new day. Well, my marriage didn't work out. I'm so disappointed. Never dreamed I'd be here in life. Well, that's unfortunate, but it's not the end. When one door closes, God will always open up another door. God wants to give you this new beginning.

He still has a great plan for your life. But you know when that's going to happen? Whenever you quit looking back, whenever you quit grieving over what you've lost. There's nothing that will keep us from the good things of God anymore than living in the past. Years ago, I went into a government building. There were two sets of double doors.

They were about 15 feet apart. They were both automatic doors. And when you went through the first set of doors, you had to let them totally close before the next set of doors would open. As long as I stayed at the first set, the next set would not open. I had to go beyond that.

And really, it's the same way in life. You have to let go of your disappointments. Let go of your failures. Let those doors totally close. There's nothing you can do about them anymore. You cannot change the past, but you can do something about the future. And what's in front of you

is much more important than what's behind you. And I believe that if you will have the right attitude, you will give birth to more in the future than you've lost in the past. Quit looking back. This is a new day. It may seem like those dreams have died, but God can resurrect your dead dreams. He is a supernatural God.

And when we believe, all things are possible. And some of you feel like that life has kind of knocked you down through disappointments, through unfair situations. But whatever you do, don't stay down. Get back up again. dust yourself all. If you can't find anybody to encourage you, you've got to learn to encourage yourself.

Get up in the morning, put your shoulders back, look in the mirror, and say, you know what, I've come too far to stop now. I may be knocked down, but I'm not knocked out. I'm going to get back up again. I know I'm a victor, not a victim. See, you've got to keep yourself stirred up

if you're going to see these new doors begin to open. I know too many people that are living in the land of God, good enough. Joel, I don't like my job, but it's good enough. My husband and I, we don't get along, but it's good enough. We're surviving. I'm not using my gifts. I'm not doing anything I like, but it's good enough. At least I'm working. No, don't ever let good enough be good enough. Keep pressing. Keep believing. You've got great things on the inside. You are not made to be average. You were

made to excel. You were made to leave your mark on this generation. Every day you need to say, I am talented. I am creative. I am annoyed it. I am equipped. I am well able. I will see my dreams come to pass. Declare it by faith. But understand throughout life, we will always have forces opposing us to try to keep us from becoming all God's created us to be. And many times the adversities, the unfair situations, that's simply the enemy trying to discourage us and to deceive us into giving up on our dreams. And you may feel like you're at an empty place in life today. Not much is going your way. You've been through difficulties.

But I believe God has brought you here to begin to restore you, to encourage you, to fill you with his hope. He wants to resurrect your dreams. He wants to do a new thing. And I want a light of fire under you today. You have a gift on the inside. You are talented. You are creative.

That's exactly why the enemy is trying to push. you down to keep your gifts, to keep your creativity, to keep your joy, your smile, your personality, your dreams from ever coming out. He would love for them to lie dormant your whole lifetime, but thank God, it's not up to him, it's up to you. And you may have gotten off to a rough start in life. You may have had more than your share of unfair things happen, but it's not how you start that counts, it's how you finish. Why don't you shake off the past? Shake off that discouragement. God is still in complete control of your life. He's got you in the palm of his hand. And if you'll keep your trust in him, he promised that no weapon formed against you will ever prosper.

It may seem unfair. It may be difficult, but he said he'd turn it around and use it all to your advantage. Don't get complacent. Don't let good enough, be good enough. Keep yourself stirred up. The forces that are for you are greater than the forces that are against you. The scripture says, weeping may endure for a night, but joy is coming in the morning. You've got to get your dreams back. Get your fire back. Don't just survive your marriage. Get a new vision for it today.

Don't just drag into work doing the same thing. Start taking some steps of faith. You've got more in you. Push yourself a little bit. May not have happened in the past, but this is a new day. If you'll keep pressing, hoping, believing, not only will you rise higher, but you'll see things begin to change in your favor. Well, you say, Joel, I tried and I failed.

We'll dream another dream. Well, I've suffered a big loss, a big setback. Get back up and go again. That's what we all have to do. I think about Adam and Eve. They went through a great disappointment. Their son Cain killed their son Abel. You can imagine how devastated

and distraught they must have been. But they said in Genesis 4, verse 25, God has appointed another seed unto us. they were saying in effect we may be knocked down we feel like we've been wiped out but we're not going to stay down

because we know God has another seed and in your difficult times when you don't feel like it could get any worse you got a bad report from the doctor of relationship didn't work out God is saying to you take heart I'm going to appoint another seed I'm going to do a new thing

and for everything that you've lost everything that's been stolen and everything that's been taken away, know this. God has another plan. He has another seed. And the reason God uses the word seed is because that talks about the future. That talks about what's coming.

And if you can just do your part and let go of the old and instead start pressing forward, you will give birth to more in the future than you've lost in the past. I see so many people, they have a tough time of letting go what lies behind. They're always focused on who hurt

them and how unfair it was and why'd this happen to me. And the whole time, their gifts, their talents, that dream is just being pressed down. All the potential is lying dormant on the inside. This is what almost happened to my father. My dad was married at a very early age in life, and unfortunately, it didn't work out. And of course, we're not for divorce. I don't believe that's God's best. But you know as well as I do. Sometimes it happens. You can't unscramble eggs. You can't undo the past. You've got to let it go and move on. But my father was so devastated. He felt like his days of ministry were over. He didn't think he'd ever have a family again. He basically thought that he had ruined his life, ruined his future. And he was just sitting around,

depressed, defeated, dejected. But one day, he did what I'm asking you to do today. Instead of settling for good enough, instead of staying focused on his mistakes and dwell on on all his failures, he let it go. He told me the hardest thing for him to do was to receive God's mercy. See, the enemy would love to sit on your shoulder and remind you of every mistake you've ever made. But the Bible says that when we confess our sins,

God not only forgives us, he doesn't remember them anymore. And so if somebody keeps bringing up your past, you need to know it's not God. And if God let go of it, Why don't you let go of it? That's what my father did. One day he got up,

dusted himself off. He said, yes, I've made some mistakes. Yes, I've made some poor choices. But I know God has another seed. I know he's got another plan. And it wasn't long after that that he met my mother. Eventually they got married. And over the years,

God blessed them with four average children and one exceptional child. I didn't say as me. But God gave my father a new beginning. He gave him a second chance. Daddy went on to touch people all over the world. He went on to do great things. But I was thinking about how many people today, like my father,

are sitting around, wallowing in their mistakes, feeling guilty, condemned, frustrated, feeling like they're washed up in life. And the whole time, their gifts, their talents, their dreams are being wasted. No, please, don't let that be you. if you've made mistakes, know this. God is the God of a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance.

And I'm not saying to take the easy way out and bail out of a marriage, no, you stick with it, make it work. But if you're already past that, if it's already over and done, what I'm saying is don't you dare sit around thinking that life is over and that you're never going to be happy. No, God has another seed. He wants to give you that new beginning. And your best days are not behind you.

They are in front of you. Quit looking back. Quit living depressed. Receive God's mercy. Start pressing forward in line. See, when you drive home today, you've got a big windshield on the front of your car

and you've got a little bitty rearview mirror. And the reason the windshield is so large and the rear view mirror is so small is because what's happened in your past is not near as important as what's in your future. Where you're going is much more. important than where you've been.

But if you stay focused on the past, you're going to get stuck right where you are. How do we let go of the past? Quit thinking about it. Quit talking about it. Quit reliving every negative experience. I think about David. One time he had a little baby

that was very, very sick, near death. And so David prayed and prayed for a whole week. He didn't eat. He hardly slept. But unfortunately, at the end of the week, the little child died. And they thought David would be so distraught

and so devastated, but it's interesting what he did. When he got the bad news, he got up off the floor, went out and washed his face, put on some new clothes, got something to eat, and went to the temple to worship. And his men were so surprised. They thought he'd go around depressed month after month. But no, David made a decision to just accept it and move on. And one of your dreams has died. Of course, there's a proper time for grieving.

But at some point, we've all got to do like David. we've got to get up, dust ourselves off, put on some new clothes, start pressing forward in life. Don't let the disappointment become the central theme of your life. You've got to quit mourning over something that you can't change. God wants to give you that new beginning, but you have to let go of the old before you'll ever receive the new. I know sometimes we hear those voices telling us, we're never going to rise higher. We're never going to see our dreams come to pass. It's been too long.

but don't ever believe those lies. I love what Caleb did. When Caleb was a young man, he and Joshua were the ones that told Moses, we are well able to take the promised land. But it was the other ten spies that said, no, Moses, the people are too big.

And they talked Moses and the rest of the children of Israel out of it, and they never did make it into the promised land. But now Caleb is 85 years old. This is some 40 years after this encounter. And what I love about Caleb is he still hadn't given up on the dream God put in his heart. A lot of people that age would be sitting back in a rocking chair thinking about the good old days, but not Caleb.

He kept himself stirred up. You know what he did? He went back to the exact same place, the same mountain where those others refused to go in. And he said, God, 85 years old, give me this mountain. He was saying, in effect, I don't want another place to leave. live. I don't want something easy. I've still got this dream in my heart. 40 years later, he's still pressing toward it. The interesting thing is, that mountain had five giants living on it. It looked like he could have found a place that had maybe one

enemy, two enemies. But Caleb said, no, I don't care how many enemies there are. God promised me this place. And even though it's 40 years later, I'm going to keep pressing. I'm going keep believing until I see that come to pass. That's the kind of attitude we need to have. We give up too easily. Well, Joel, I didn't get the promotion that I've been praying for. I don't guess it's going to happen. My husband and I, we can't get along. I guess it's over. No, keep pressing. Keep believing. You've got to keep yourself stirred up. You've got the gifts, the talents, the dreams. It's when we get complacent that we don't see them come to pass. Another important key to reaching our full potential is we have to put. We have to put

ourselves in an environment so the seed can grow. I know people that are extremely talented, they've got incredible potential. Their whole problem is the people they hang around. If you hang out with people that are lazy and undisciplines, people that don't have any dreams, people that are negative and critical, then by the environment you're choosing to put yourself in, it's going to keep you from rising any higher. You cannot hang out with negative people and expect to live a positive life. And if all your friends are depressed and defeated, they don't have any dreams,

you've got to make some changes. You're not going to pull them up, they're going to end up pulling you down. Now, I know you love your friends, but the best thing you could do is break away from people like that and put yourself in a healthy, positive, faith-filled environment.

This is extremely critical because it doesn't matter how great the seed, if you don't put it in good soil, it's not going to take root. grow. And I know people today that are living in a very abusive environment.

Physical abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse. And they just stay there year after year after year. The person is very dominating and controlling. They're afraid to leave. Afraid they'll be lonely. Afraid they'll never beat anybody. And so they stay in a very abusive

relationship. But friends, I don't believe that's God's best. And as I said, I'm all for sticking together. and trying to make things work out. But understand, God did not create you to be mistreated and abused. Many times, that is just a negative cycle that just keeps getting repeated. Your mother was in an abusive relationship, and now you are, and unless you make some changes, your daughter will be as well. Now, I've had people tell me, Joel, I don't know why I'm drawn to people like this. I get out of one bad relationship, and I get into another one, this twice is bad. Or I know I should get

I know it's not good for me, but I just can't leave. I feel kind of guilty. No, listen, you have a responsibility to keep yourself healthy and whole. You have a gift. God has entrusted you with his talents, with his dreams. It may be painful, but the best thing you could do is get away from somebody like that. Don't allow somebody to treat you that way. You are extremely valuable. You are made in the image of Almighty God. Well, you say, Joel, if I take a stand, do what you're saying, set some boundaries, they may leave, they may walk away. Truth is, that'd be the best thing that could ever happen. I heard somebody say, there's something called the gift of goodbye.

That means when somebody like that chooses to leave, you may not realize it, but they just did you a great big favor. Don't look back, keep looking forward, get ready for the new thing God wants to do in your life. And all of us, at times, will have people that leave our lives. they may not be bad people. It's just that season is over. And we may not understand it, but God knows what he's doing. Maybe they're holding us back. Maybe they're keeping us from spreading our wings.

Maybe they're not being a good influence. And I found sometimes, if you don't keep things stirred up, God will stir up things for you. When somebody leaves your life, a relationship's over, a business partner, a friend, a neighbor, a coworker, don't take it personally. Don't get upset. Don't try to talk them into staying.

Let God do the new thing. And understand, your destiny is not tied to the people that walk away from you. You may think, man, I need them, Joel. They're a great friend. I count on them. He's a great business partner. No, you don't have to have them to fulfill your purpose. And when God is finished with something, there's no amount of glue that can hold it together.

You might as well let it go. Do like David, wash your face, go out and get ready for something new that God wants to do. You have to keep yourself in a healthy environment, even physically. If you tend to struggle with discouragement and depression, don't sit around in a dark house all day long. Thinking about your problems, having a pity party, open the windows, let the sun shine in,

put on some good praise music. You've got to create an uplifting, positive environment. When you're tempted to get discouraged, don't you dare. Go find five other friends that are discouraged and sit around and talk about your problems. Find somebody to cheer you up. Find somebody that's happy.

Come out here to Lakewood. We'll do it. But get around people that are going to inspire you to rise higher. You have to be careful who you associate with. Do you know people can steal the dream out of your heart? I think about how many people told us that we'd never get this facility. Business leaders, experts, Joe, don't waste your money. Don't waste your time. It's not going to happen. I could have easily given up. I could have thought, you know what? They're probably smarter than me in this area. And maybe I should just let it go. but I said, no, God, I believe you put this in my heart. And I'm not going to look up 50 years from now and say, I wonder what would have happened if I just believed.

I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't to let them talk me out of that. I can't think of anything worse than coming to the end of your life and having a bunch of regrets. What could have happened? What might have happened? What should have happened? I remember one consultant that we hired every time we met, he told us all the reasons why it wasn't going to work out.

He always had a negative report. One day I got smart enough to say, you know what? We don't need him on our team. He is contaminating our environment. He's pulling everybody down. You've got to surround yourself with people that encourage you. People that build you up. Not a bunch of negative, critical, can't do it people.

And sometimes the people that will discourage you the most are the people that are closest to you. I think about David when he told his older brother, Elyab that he wanted to fight Goliath. Eelib tried to put him down. He said, David, what are you even doing out here on the battlefield? You're supposed to be at home taking care of

our father's few sheep that he's left you with. Tried to make him feel small. He's really saying, David, you're never going to do anything great. You don't have what it takes. And David had to make that choice. Was he going to believe that lie or believe what God put in his heart? He could have said, well, maybe he's

right. I'm just a kid. I don't feel too talented. Maybe I will get killed. out there. But no, David said, Elieab, I don't care what you say about me. I know who I am. I know what God's put on the inside of me. I'm going to step out and fulfill my God-given destiny. He did just that. Isn't it interesting that even Jesus had to leave his hometown of Nazareth because the people were so filled with unbelief? He even knew if he stayed in that negative environment, it would hold him back. You may have family members, cousins, aunts, uncles,

relatives, brothers, sisters. They're good people. You love them. You treat them with respect. But you know you cannot be around them on a daily basis. You have to love them from a distance. Because listen, life is too short to be pulled down by negative, jealous, cynical people. It doesn't matter how great your gift is. Doesn't matter how great that seed is. If you don't put it in the right environment, it's not going to take root and grow. It's not going to really flourish. You need to hang around other dreamers, hang around people that are going to help you become, oh, God's created you to be. The good news today is God has already given you everything you need to live his life of victory. He's put the seeds of greatness on the inside. Let me challenge

you again, stir up your gifts, stir up your talents, stir up those dreams. God wants to do a new thing. You may have been through more than your share of unfair situations, but you've got to let the past be the past. This is a good. This is. a new day. Remember God has another seed. He can resurrect those dreams. There are good days up ahead. Why don't you make a decision to do like Caleb?

Dig your heels in and keep pressing. Keep believing. Keep stretching until you see it all come to pass. Now I know this. If you'll stay in the right environment and keep yourself stirred up, you're going to rise higher and higher. You're going to see your gifts and talents come to the full and I

believe you'll live that life of victory that God has in store. Amen. But 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. 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 the stresses of life can feel like you're just getting by. God wants to bless us, but how do you move from barely enough to just enough to more than enough?

We all face difficulties and people that are hard to deal with. You can't eliminate all the stress, but if you'll handle it the right way, you don't have to live stressed out. Much of our frustration is we're trying to control things that we can't control, letting things stress us that don't have to. I'd love to send you by new book, 55 ways to be blessed and not stressed. I'll show you practical things you can do to live more peaceful and enjoy each day. You can move from stressed to blessed and fully realize God's goodness, favor, and blessings. 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, life-transforming resource. Fifty-five ways to

blessed and not stressed. With this book, you'll not just see one pathway forward, but 55 powerful, life-changing ways to kill the stress and give life to a life of blessing. These 55 promises will open God's floodgates and release double the impact of his divine direction, opportunity, and blessing every day. Now expect, declare, and receive a blessed, not stressed, over the top outpouring in your life. How much time are you spending worried, upset, and frustrated? Life is too short to live stressed. If you'll make some simple adjustments, you can live blessed and not stressed.

Victoria and I want you to know we're praying for you, that you'll experience peace and joy and see your dreams come to pass. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Your generosity is impacting lives all over the world. Remember, you can watch the services online Sunday mornings, Download our daily podcast, listen on SiriusXM, YouTube, social media. But until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of 55 ways to be blessed and not stressed today.

Visit Joelosteen.com or call 888-567 Joel.