Joel Osteen Podcast - Having A Strong Will | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: August 18, 2023

The strength of your will is going to determine whether or not you reach your full potential. When you do your best, God will help you become everything you were created 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 visit JoelOsteen.com/GiveHope Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of the Joel Osteen Podcast ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend? We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you. Always a joy to come into your homes.

We love you and we're believing for God's very best in your life. And if you're ever in our area, I hope that you'll stop by and see us. Be a part of one of our services. We give you a personal invitation, and I promise you we will make you feel right at home. But thank you so much for tuning in today. I'd like to get started with something funny each week. And, of course, these are not doctrinally correct.

It's just to make you laugh. But listen to this one. A cat and a mouse died on the same day and went to heaven. After a couple of weeks, Peter asked the mouse, how do you like it so far? The mouse replied, great, but it's so big, do you think I could get a pair of roller skates? Peter said, no problem and gave him the skates. A few weeks later, Peter saw him. all the cat and asked him how he liked it. The cat replied, it's great, and just when I thought it

couldn't get any better, I discovered the meals on wheels. All right, hold up your Bible. Say it like a minute. 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. You sound great as usual. I want to talk to you today about having a strong will and being determined that you're going to live a life of victory. It's so easy to get complacent to where we're not really believing for anything better. We're not pressing forward and we're not expecting anything to change. Well, Joel, I've always had this sickness. Or my marriage has been due.

from the start. Or this business, this is just so slow, I don't think it'll ever get any better. But no, you've got to get rid of that passive, complacent mentality. If you're going to experience God's best, you've got to stay aggressive, and you've got to be determined that no matter what comes against you, you are not going to give up and just settle for mediocrity. The strength of your will is going to determine whether or not you reach your full potential in life. And really, there's nothing any stronger than your own will. If you want something bad enough, if you're persistent and you refuse to give up, then you can see that come to pass. And I realize willpower alone is not enough. But when God

sees you doing all that you can do, when he sees your resolve, that's when he's going to show up and help you do what you could not do. But the problem today is many people are weak-willed. They don't have determination. They don't know how to dig their heels in and just fight the good fight of faith. And I've discovered the more passive you are, the more passive you will become. The more complacent you are in a certain area, unless you do something about it, it will not get better, it'll get worse. And that's why I want to challenge you today to start being more aggressive. Get your fire back. Get your enthusiasm back. And don't just sit back and take what life brings your way. Be persistent and have that bulldog mentality.

Winston Churchill said, the reason the nose of the bulldog is slanted backwards is so it can continue to breathe while it's holding on to something. In other words, he is not going to let go until his goal has been accomplished. That's a strong will. That's persistence. And our attitude should be, I am determined to live in victory. I am determined to have a good marriage. I am determined to get out of debt. I'm determined to see my family serve God.

See, we've got to have some backbone. We have to have a made-up mind. And you've got to learn to press through the disappointments in life. You've got to press through the tough times when you don't feel like doing it. This is where so many people miss it. They give up when it gets difficult and they don't have any feelings cheering them on. But understand, your will doesn't have anything to do with how you feel. You may not feel like having a good attitude.

You may not feel like treating that person right. You may not feel like being disciplined in your spending. But listen, you've got to go deeper than that and do what you know is right and not just what you feel like doing. For instance, you may get up tomorrow and you feel like being depressed. Well, you're going to have to make a choice.

I'm either going to go through this day down and defeated, just being ruled by my feelings, or I'm going to exercise my free will, and I'm going to choose to put a smile on my face. I'm going to choose to be happy and enjoy this day. it is an act of your will. When King David got up in the morning, he didn't always feel real good.

He had all kinds of problems. Saul was trying to kill him, all these things coming against him, yet he got up and said, this is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. I think he was kind of talking to himself. He was saying, I may not feel like it,

but I am choosing to get into an attitude of faith and victory. I like what Joshua said. I don't know exactly what was going on in his family, but he got up and said, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. He exercised his will. And when we get up in the morning, one of the first things we should do is set the tone for that day. Before you ask yourself how you feel, before you start thinking about any of your problems, before you read the newspaper, right at the very beginning, you need to make a decision,

I will enjoy this day. I will be good to other people. I will keep a smile on my face. I will honor God in whatever I do. Friends, start exercising your will. Don't be passive. Don't be complacent. And don't learn to just live with things.

Well, Joel, I've had this problem a long time. No, today is a new day. God is still on the throne. And if you believe, then all things are possible. That means if you get over into that attitude of faith and expectancy, see. If you start doing what you can do, then God will show up and do what you can't do. If you'll do the natural, then God will do the supernatural. But let me tell you, God is not going to do for you what you can do for yourself. God helps the people that help themselves.

You may be here today, and you're kind of down and discouraged. You had a disappointment last week, and you're thinking, yeah, God, I'm going to get my joy back as soon as everything turns around. Soon as my back quits hurting. Soon as my marriage gets, better. As soon as I get that promotion at work, no, you've got it backwards. You've got to get happy first, then God will begin to change things in your life. The scripture tells us

to put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. If you're living under that heaviness today, you're carrying around all your burdens, listen, man, you've got to get rid of all that junk. Quit worrying about everything. Quit dwelling on your problems night and day. And instead

just learn to give God praise. Say, Father, I thank you that you're in control of my life. I thank you that you have good things in store. I know that I am a victor and not a victim. When you get into that grateful attitude, not only will you get your joy back, but that's what allows God to work supernaturally in your life. And it's so important that we stay filled with hope. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. You've got to know that there are good days up ahead. You may not have seen it happen in the past. You may have been praying about something for a long time, but the good news is it could happen today.

Today could be the day you get the break you need. Today could be the day you see your child come back home. You single people, today could be the day that you meet the man or woman of your dreams. Quit looking around. Today could be the day you see that business take off. All it takes is one touch of God's favor. And it could happen today. And you know what? If it doesn't happen today, it may happen tomorrow.

Don't you dare go to bed all disappointed? Well, I knew it wouldn't work for me. No, you should go to bed with a smile on your face saying, Father, I thank you. Now I know I'm one day closer to seeing it all come to pass. You've got to stay filled with hope. You've got to learn to expect good things. God meets us at the level of our expectations. If you go out each day, not expecting to get any good breaks, not expecting things to turn around, then unfortunately that's exactly what's going to happen.

But if you'll get out of that passive, negative mentality and start expecting good things, you'll be amazed at what will happen. You should expect doors to open for you that may not open for somebody else. You're a child of the most high God. You should expect to be at the right place at the right time. you should expect people to want to be good to you. If you will raise your level of expectancy, I can promise you this,

you will see more of God's favor in your life. But friends, a passive attitude is one of the worst things we can have. You say, Joel, you don't know what I've been through. I've had so many disappointments, and this happened to me, and that happened to me. I don't think it's ever going to change. No, you've got to just keep on believing.

God has promised, if you will keep the right attitude, he will take all the negative, unfair things that have happened, and he'll turn them around and use them to your advantage. But it's not going to happen if you're in self-pity. It's not going to happen if you're always complaining and always focused on your problems. You've got to have some resolve. You've got to have a made-up mind.

David said in Psalm 51, God renew a right spirit within me. The Amplified says, God renew a persevering and steadfast spirit. Notice when God considers our spirit to be right, it's when it's steadfast, when we're persevering, when we're pressing forward. In other words, a person with a right spirit has a warrior mentality. A warrior is a fighter. A warrior knows how to endure hardships.

When times get tough, a warrior doesn't give up and run and hide. No, a warrior digs his heels in and stands his ground. And a warrior may get knocked down, but he doesn't stay down. he gets back up again. And the truth is, all of us in life face disappointments. We all face setbacks. You may be here today, and you've had more than your share of unfair things that have happened. Maybe you lost a loved one that was so dear.

Maybe your marriage didn't work out. Some kind of dream has died, and you just feel like life has kind of pushed you down. But let me challenge you, you may be knocked down on the outside, but you've got to learn how to get up on the inside. Because as long as you can get up on the inside, the enemy cannot keep you down and defeat it. As long as you will have this war your mentality and just keep on keeping on, you can overcome any obstacle you face in life. I know some people watch this from the hospitals or maybe you're at home lying flat on your back. You think, Joel, I can't even stand up.

But no, the good news is nothing can keep you from standing up on the inside. That sickness may have you down physically, but you just keep you. getting up down in here. God sees your determination. He'll reward that attitude of faith. I think about the lady in Mark chapter 5. She had been sick for 12 years suffering from some

kind of bleeding disorder. And she went to all these different doctors. She spent all the money she had, but it didn't do any good. She could have easily given up. She could have easily had that pity party and said, God, it's not fair. But no, she was determined. She made a decision

that she was going to press through the crowd and get to Jesus as he came walking by. I'm sure she didn't feel like doing it. I'm sure she was kind of weak from losing all that blood. But the scripture says, she kept saying to herself, when I get to Jesus, I know I will be made whole. And I like that. She kept saying to herself.

She didn't say it one time and quit. She said it again and again. I know there are good days up ahead. This may be tough, but I know things are about to change. I'm about to be made whole. When you're in a difficult situation, one of the best things you can do is just what she did. Speak words of faith and victory over your life. Some of you have always allowed yourself to talk to you.

You're always dwelling on those negative, discouraging thoughts, but you need to do like she did and start talking to yourself. In other words, I know I am more than a conquer. No weapon formed against me is going to prosper. I am well able to fulfill my destiny. You need to start talking to yourself instead of a lot of. letting yourself talk to you. This lady had depressed through the crowd. That's somebody with a strong will.

That's somebody with determination, with resolve. If she would have had that weak, defeated, passive mentality, we wouldn't be talking about her today. But she fought her way through the crowd. And you know the rest of the story. The last moment she reached out and touched the hymn of his garment

and immediately she was made whole. And Jesus stopped right there and said, who touched me. The point is, when you have that never say die attitude, you can stop Almighty God in his tracks. God rewards a determined, persistent spirit. And if you're going to live in victory, you've got to dig your heels in and press through the crowd. The crowd can represent

self-pity, negative thinking. The crowd can represent your disappointments, your broken dreams. The crowd can represent the people that are trying to discourage you. But whatever it is, you've got to press past all that junk like this lady did if you're ever going to see your dreams come to pass. Don't you know

she could have easily gotten complacent. She could have easily said, I've tried everything. There's no hope. I might as well just learn to live with this thing. But no, she had that warrior mentality. She refused to give up. She wasn't going by her feelings, or she

would be at home in bed. She didn't listen to all the naysayers, or they certainly would have talked her out of it. She was knocked it down on the outside. In the natural, she had a pretty good reason to be down and discouraged. But thank God, she knew how to get up on the inside. Some of you here today, you have been learning to live with things that are far less than God's best. You've gotten complacent. You think, oh, Joel, my marriage's never going to get better.

You should see my finances. No, you've got to get back up on the inside. Get your fire back. have that warrior mentality. Your attitude should be, I'm going to stick with this thing until I see it come to pass. I'm going to keep pressing forward.

I'm not going to settle halfway. I'm going to be all that God's created me to be. You're going to have to get a vision of it on the inside. You've got to see yourself living in victory before it's ever going to come to pass. And through your eyes of faith, you've got to be able to see yourself the way you want to be.

That's what's going to help you to stand strong. God told Abraham, look up to the sky. For as many stars as you can see, that's how many descendants you're going to have. Why did God tell him to do that? He wanted him to have a visual image of it in his heart.

When you're tempted to get discouraged, you think, Joel, my dreams are never going to come to pass. I don't think I'm ever going to get married, or my business is never going to prosper. You need to be able to close your eyes right then and see that dream fulfilled. You've got to keep it in front of you. That's what's going to give you the hope

and the encouragement to just keep pressing forward. I heard an interesting report about one of the tsunami victims. He was a young man in his early 20s, and he told how he had been swept out to sea, and he was just barely making it. He found this piece of wood that he was using to help float on, but it wasn't enough to hold him up completely. And so he'd been treading the waters for hours and hours.

He'd just come to the end of his own strength. He didn't think he could go on anymore, and he was just basically getting ready to accept the fact that he's going to take a few more breaths, and that was going to be it. But about that time, he remembered that he still had his wallet in his pocket. And somehow he was able to pull it out. And in it, there was a picture of his wife and newborn child. When he saw that picture, it gave him a new hope, a new determination, a new resolve.

And every time he was tempted to give up and just go under, he would close his eyes and see that picture of his family. In other words, he kept the prize in front of him. He kept the reward in his imagination. And he told how that gave him what he called a supernatural strength to just keep on keeping on, to make a long story short, even though he felt like giving up, even though he felt like he was at the end of his strength, he dug his heels in and continued on for another two and a half days. Miraculously, someone spotted him. He was rescued and later reunited

with his family. And in this interview, he was holding the picture and he said, this is what has saved my life. Well, let me ask you today, do you have the picture in front of you? Do you see your dreams coming to pass? Do you see yourself rising higher? Do you see

yourself free from that addiction? Do you see your family serving God? If you will keep the prize in front of you, that will help you to just keep pressing on day after day. The Bible says Jesus endured the pain of the cross because he was looking forward to the joy that was set before him. Even Jesus was able to go through all he went through, the pain, the agony, sweating great drops of blood because he wasn't focused on where he was. He was focused on what was coming. He knew he was bringing hope and salvation

to mankind. And some of you today, you need to get a bigger vision for your life. All you can see is more of the same. But that's not going to give you any hope. You've got to see yourself stronger, happier, healthier, see yourself rising higher and accomplishing your dreams. Don't ever get complacent. You've got the seed of Almighty God on the inside of you. You were created to live in victory. You were destined to do great things, to be happy, to excel, to be a blessing to others. That's why you will never be fulfilled in mediocrity. You will never be fulfilled with a passive, complacent attitude. Because God wants us to always be growing.

He has new mountains for you to climb. He wants to take your places that you've never even dreamed of. Well, you say, Joel, I've been through so many disappointments. It's so hard. It's taken so long. No, you need to get a new attitude. You have the power of the Most High God on the inside of you. You are not a weak, defeated, not able to person.

the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is on the inside of every one of you. That means you are well able to do what you need to do. You are well able to stand strong. You are well able to outlast the enemy. You are well able to resist that temptation. You just got to tap into the power on the inside. And like that young man, when you come to the end of your own natural ability, you can rest assured, Almighty God will show up and give you his supernatural ability.

But it is not going to happen if we lose the desire. It's not going to happen if we get passive and just sort of give up. In John chapter 5, there's this story about a crippled man that was just like that. He had gotten very complacent. He was lying beside the pool of Bethesda. Every time an angel would come along and trouble the waters, the first one in the pool would be healed. And this man had been lying there for 38 years.

One day Jesus came along and asked him a very interesting, interesting question. He said, sir, do you want to get well? The amplified version says, are you really serious about getting well? Now, I believe Jesus asked him that question to challenge his thinking. After all, it was obvious that he wanted to get well. He had been lying there for 38 years. But see, Jesus knew he wasn't in an attitude of faith. He knew he wasn't standing up on the inside. He was just lying there kind of feeling sorry for himself. And by the way he answered back, we can see his attitude. He said, oh, Jesus, I don't have anybody to help me. Every time the angel comes, somebody beats me. I'm always getting left out. He had that poor, pitiful me attitude.

And that's the way many people are today. They've had some disappointments. Some unfair things have happened. Now they've got that chip on their shoulder. They're going around feeling sorry for themselves, kind of living negative and depressed. I really love the way Jesus answered him back. He didn't say, oh, brother, I know you've had a tough life, and I feel sorry for you. It's really bad. No, Jesus gave him a command. He was friendly, but he spoke firmly. He said, sir, get up, pick up your bed, and walk.

And I believe when he heard those words, he first had to get up on the inside. All of a sudden, he was filled with hope, with faith, with expectancy. And once he got up on the inside, he was able to get up on the outside. The Bible says he was instantly healed. But some of you today, and I don't mean this disrespectfully, but you've been lying around, maybe not physically, but mentally and emotionally you're defeated. You don't think you'll ever rise higher and be more successful. You don't see how your family could ever serve God, or you don't think you'll ever break that

addiction. Well, Joel, I've been this way so long. I don't have anybody to help me. I come from the wrong side of the tracks. Now, you've got to get up on the inside. You will never change your life unless you first change your thinking. you've got to get out of that defeated mentality and start having that warrior mentality. Your attitude should be, I may have been sick for a long time, but it's a new day, and I know God is restoring health under me.

Or maybe I've had this addiction for many years, but I know my day of deliverance has come. Or my child, no, he's not doing right today, but you know what? As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. See, you've got to be a warrior. You've got to get up on the inside. it doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down, you just keep getting back up again and again and again. God sees your resolve. He sees your determination. And my prayer is that Lakewood is going to be filled with warriors. Not people that are always under their circumstances.

Not people that are always down about something. No, our attitude should be, even if the enemy does his best, his best will never be enough. He may knock me down, but he can't keep me down. Nothing he can do can keep me from getting up on the inside. Amen. You got to stay determined. Friends, you can do whatever you really want to do. How strong is your will? Every time I talk about being determined and having a strong will, I think about my grandmother.

My dad's mother was a very feisty person. Really, she was one of a kind. They were very poor people. They came out of the Great Depression and lost everything that they had. And later in life, something very interesting happened. My grandmother, there on the farm, took up dipping snuff. You didn't realize I come from such a sophisticated background, did you?

One time somebody asked my father, can you chew tobacco and go to heaven? He said, sure you can, but you'll have to go to hell to spit. But grandmother Osteen took up dipping snuff, and my poor grandfather, he just couldn't stand it. And he begged her and begged her and begged her to quit doing it. She said, Jack, I've tried and tried, I just can't. I'm hooked on this stuff. This went on month after month, year after year. Finally, Granddady got desperate.

He said, Ellie Mae, I will make a deal with you. And yes, that was her name. And no, we are not the Beverly Hillbillies. He said, Ellie Mae, I'll make a deal with you. If you quit dipping that snuff, I'll give you $1,000 cash. You've got to understand back there, especially to them. That's just like saying I'll give you $50,000. Man, she wanted that money so bad she could taste it.

And she tried and tried and tried and tried. but once again, she was just not able to stop doing it. Well, eventually, my grandfather died and went to be with the Lord, and grandmother didn't like living single. She wanted to find herself another man. And so one day, she met this man 12 years younger than she was. She was so excited, he was good looking, he had a great personality. She was on cloud nine.

But she got to thinking, if this man finds out that I dipped snuff, not only will he never marry me, he'll never even ask me out on a date. Once she realized that, do you know how long it took her to quit dip and snuff? That long. She did it immediately. She didn't have any withdrawals. She didn't have to go to snuff dippers anonymous. She did it in a split second.

What she couldn't do in years and years, she did instantaneously. You know why? All because her want to got big enough. And in the same way, you and I can do anything we want to do. The real question today is how bad do you want to do it? Do you really want to get well? You can break that addiction if you want too bad enough. You can forgive that person that hurt you if you really want to.

You can make that marriage work if you have a strong enough desire. So my message to you today is to dig your heels in and shake off that old passive, complacent mentality and start doing everything you can to bring your dreams to pass. You've got to show the enemy that you're more determined than he is. Remember, when we get up in the morning, we got to set the tone for the day. I will be victorious. I will enjoy this day.

Friends, don't sit around in self-pity. Don't sit around focused on your problems. Start pressing forward. Get up on the inside. You have everything you need to live a life of victory. If you'll have a strong will and be determined and press past the pain of your feelings, let me tell you, God will reward you. He'll pour out his blessings in favor.

He'll open up doors that look impossible, and you'll experience the life of victory. He has in store. Amen. How many of you receive it today? Can you say amen? We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you, my Lord and Savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church. Keep God first place. He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed of. Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast

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