Joel Osteen Podcast - Having The Right Motives | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: February 16, 2024

If you want to go far in life, you have to regularly examine your motives. What you do is not as important as why you do it. When your heart and actions line up, God will release His blessings over your life. 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.You are not average, not ordinary. You Are a Masterpiece created in God’s image. Our February offer has extraordinary promises of God to give you mental, physical, and spiritual strength. Grow stronger each day seeing yourself the way God sees you!Request your copy now, https://bit.ly/490TjEF. 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.

Victoria and I are always blessed to have you join us for the podcast and know that we pray for you and just speaking blessings over you and your family. It is such a joy to know that you are out there putting the Word of God in you. I know you're going to love this message. God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes each week. And we come with good news. We know that God is on your side.

And we just believe that he's going to bless you today for tuning in. We know he rewards people that seek after him. So thanks for tuning in. If you're ever in our area, come out and see you. give you a personal invitation. You'll love our new facility, and we'd love to meet you one-on-one, so stop by whenever you can. You know, I like to get started each week with something kind of funny, and I heard about these three aspiring psychiatrists. They were taking their first test on emotional extremes, and the professor asked the first student from the University of Arkansas,

what's the opposite of sadness? He replied happiness. He asked the next student from Oklahoma, what's the opposite of depression? He replied joy. He asked the third student from Texas A&M, what's the opposite of woe? W-O-E. The Aggie looked kind of confused and finally he said, Giddy up. Hold up your Bible. Say it like you mean it. Are you ready? This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the Word of God, I boldly confess, my mind is alert, my heart is receptive, I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want to talk to you today about the importance of having pure motives. What we do is not near as important as why we do it, because we can do the right thing and have the

wrong motive, and the truth is we're not going to be blessed. And I know people today, they're very nice and kind to somebody. They'll go out of their way to do them favors. And that's great. We should treat people good. But the problem is they're not doing it because they love them. They're not doing it because they care. They're doing it to get something from them. They have an ulterior motive. And so they'll kind of play up to them to try to get what they want. But really, all that is is being a phony. That's being a pretender. We're never going to be blessed like that. Our heart and our actions need to match up. And the scripture says here in Romans 12 verse 9, love from the center of who you are, don't fake it. What does that mean? Be real. Don't go around being two-faced,

pretending, acting one way, talking one way, yet on the inside, you're thinking something totally opposite. No, keep your heart pure. It's interesting back in Bible days, the Pharisees did a lot of good things, but they didn't receive any reward because they were doing them for the wrong reason. They went to the temple regularly, but they didn't go to worship. They went to be well thought of. They went to try to build their reputation. And they'd stand outside and pray these long, fancy prayers, not because they were concerned. They just wanted everybody to hear them. They wanted to draw attention to themselves. And they even gave their money. They helped the poor, but again, not because they cared, they were just trying to impress people. And see, they did the right

thing, but they had the wrong motive, and it kept them from being blessed. And we, too, need to find out why we're doing what we're doing. Let's not just look on the surface. Let's go deeper than that. It's what's going on on the inside that really counts. And I don't think these days we're taught enough to examine our motives. And on a regular basis, we need to get quiet and just ask ourselves, why am I doing this? Am I being nice to this person because I really care? Or am I just trying to get something from them? Am I giving to really help this cause? Or am I just putting on a show trying to impress people? Or do I go to church because I want to, because I love God? Or am I going like the Pharisees just to be well thought of? Or do I go just because my parents make me go?

No, I don't know about you, but I want to really get to know myself. And if I have wrong motives, I don't want to go my whole lifetime and not realize it. I want to search my heart and get it out in the open so I can deal with it. And it's funny how we'll regularly check the oil in our cars. If we have to, we'll change that oil two or three times a year. We know if the oil gets dirty and it breaks down, it's going to affect the performance of that car. Really, the oil is the key to the engine running smoothly. We may not see it. It's on the inside. It's hidden. All we can see is the exterior. And we can clean up the car and polish it. But really, that's all superficial. If the oil is all filthy and corroded, no matter how beautiful the outside, eventually that car is

not going to run very well. Well, our motives are just like the oil. And if we don't check them on a regular basis and make sure that they're pure, make sure we're doing things for the right reason, then it's going to affect our performance. It's going to keep us from rising higher. And this is one of the main areas that keeps people in mediocrity. What's going on on the inside? God is a God of hearts. And our inner life is more important than our outer life. And on the outside, we can be doing all the right things. But what's really going to determine how how we're going to go is what's going on down in here. And I don't want us to be like the Pharisees and go year after year giving, serving, doing the right things, but we're not seeing any good

results because we're doing them for the wrong reason. Well, you say, Joel, I've volunteered here in the nursery for six years and nobody even thanks me anymore. Nobody even tells me they appreciate me. I just don't understand it. I don't think that's right. Well, that may not be right. Maybe somebody's not doing their job, but let me ask you, are you working under men or are you working under God? Are you doing that just to impress people, to be well thought of like the Pharisees? Or are you doing it simply to honor God? See, what I'm saying today is examine your heart. And please don't go another six years, not being blessed because you're doing it for the wrong motive. Our attitude should be, God, it doesn't matter if they never tell me thanks. I'm not doing it

for them. I'm doing it for you. And I know you're keeping the records. So I'm going to keep my head held high. I'm going to keep doing my very best knowing that my reward is coming. If you have that kind of attitude, you're going to be blessed. And I know sometimes facing the truth about ourselves can be uncomfortable. Sometimes it's hard to admit, well, maybe I didn't do it for the right motive. Maybe I didn't did do that for the wrong reason. Human nature, we like to make excuses. We like to blame others and, hey, it's not my fault. But I'm asking us all today to take a good look inside and be honest with yourself. If you get upset and disappointed with people because you gave them something and they didn't give you anything in return, well, the fact is, you gave with the wrong motive. Well, Joel, I gave him

tickets to the ball game. I thought for sure he'd put in a good word for me at the office. I thought for sure I'd get that new contract. No, that's the wrong reason. And the Bible says the pure in heart are going to be blessed. When we have wrong motives, it's like we're always giving, we're serving, we're doing the right things, but like the Pharisees, we're not receiving any reward. We're not seeing any of that fruit. And if that's happening in your life, first thing to do is look on the inside. Make sure that you're doing it with a pure heart. And parents, it's so important that we teach our children to do things for the right reason. They need to learn this at a very early age. This is going to determine how high they're going to go because they can have all the education in the world. They can have

all the talent. But if they don't learn the importance of doing things with the right motive, they'll never become all God's created them to be. And I know people today that are very talented, they're following all the right principles and they work the formulas just right. But it seems like they just can't get ahead, and it's because there's a problem on the inside. And the only way we really get to know ourselves is to get in touch with our motives. We've got to get beyond the surface and not just look at what we do. Let's go deeper than that. When we find that maybe our motives are not right, we need to be willing to face the truth, and then let's be quick to make the necessary adjustments. The good news is we can all change. And if you have to be willing to face the truth, and

If you have a habit of giving to people to try to get something from them, well, next time you just make a decision, hey, I'm going to give you this and not expect anything in return. I'm going to give you this simply to be a blessing. Or maybe you tend to play up to people to try to buy their friendship, to try to buy their favor. Well, just make a decision to stop. Don't do it anymore. Well, you said, Joel, if I quit doing that, what if they put me out of their group? What if they won't be my friend anymore?

Well, God will give you some new friends. And let me tell you, you don't need friends like that anyway. You need people that will love you and accept you for who you are and not for what you can do for them. And the fact is, nobody can perform perfectly all the time. And if people are putting that kind of pressure on you, not only are they going to be disappointed, but you're not going to be happy. Don't be a people pleaser. Be a God pleaser. And God would rather you have a pure heart than go through life pretending, playing up to people,

trying to win their acceptance. The Apostle Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 4 verse 2, we refuse to wear mask and play games. Rather, we keep everything out in the open, the whole truth is on display. That's the kind of people we need to be. Our attitude should be, my life is an open book. I'm not a phony. I don't go around saying one thing, meaning something else. No, the whole truth is on display. What we're saying is, what you see is what you get. One time the disciples had been out fishing all night long, and early the next morning, Jesus came along, and he said, boys, have you caught anything? And I think it's interesting that Jesus called them boys. I mean, obviously they were grown men. But he must have seen some kind of immaturity,

something that he didn't like. I don't know, maybe a wrong motive, a wrong attitude. And he said, boys, have you caught anything? They said, no, Jesus, we hadn't caught a single fish. He said, well, throw your nets on the right side of the boat and you'll catch a great haul of fish. And they did that and they caught so many fish that their nets begin to break. And one principle I think we can liken this to is having wrong motives is like fishing on the wrong side of the boat. It's like you're fishing with this single little pole. You may catch something every once in a while. You're working the right principles.

Few things may go your way, but you're not going to catch that much. You're not going to experience God's abundant life. But when you do it God's way and you have right motives and you get on the right side of the boat, that's the equivalent of fishing with a great big net. You don't have to struggle to make things happen. You don't have to manipulate people. You don't have to fight your way to the top. No, when you have the right motive and an obedient heart, the Bible says that God's blessings will chase you down and overtake you. I mean, when you have a pure heart, you can't even outrun the good.

good things of God. I remember just a few years ago, we were searching for property to build a new sanctuary on. And I can tell you, our heart was to simply help more people. We weren't trying to just build a big building. We weren't trying to just one-up somebody. No, you'll never be blessed like that. And you've heard me tell the story. We searched and searched for a long time, and twice the property that we found was sold right out from under us. It wasn't fair, wasn't right? It wasn't right. But We didn't get mad. We didn't try to get even. We just said, God, this situation is in your hands.

You know our motive is to help others. You know our heart is pure. And it wasn't long after that that we got word that the compact center was coming available. And things just supernaturally begin to fall into place. I mean, really, we didn't have to come to it. It came to us. When you have the right motives and you have a pure heart,

all the forces of darkness can't keep the blessings of God. from chasing you down. That's when you're fishing with a great big net. That's when you're going to see God do more than you can even ask or think. On the other hand, though, when our heart is not right, we can be doing the right thing, but like those disciples, we're not seeing any good results. We're not catching any fish. Nothing's going our way. We can't seem to get ahead. Well, we need to check the inside. And sometimes I've found we can be doing something for so long that we don't even realize it, but we're not doing it for the right reason. I have this friend. She worked at this

big company years ago, and she wanted so badly to be accepted by everyone. And she'd been through a lot of hurts in her life, a lot of rejection. And so she just naturally went overboard doing things for her boss. And she'd bring him coffee in the morning and make sure she got him donuts. If he needed her to work late, she'd certainly stay in work late. She never missed his or his wife's birthday, always had them an appropriate gift. One time she told how she even went over to their house and cleaned it all up for them. And she didn't

like doing this. She said she didn't want to do it. She did it only because she thought this was the way she could have the boss's favor. She thought this was the only way she could have his approval. And what's interesting is she was doing all the right things, but she

wasn't seeing any right results. She was constantly struggling, just always working, worn out, run down, no joy, no energy. And one day, she and the boss got into this disagreement. It got a little bit heated, and he said something to her that really opened

her eyes. He called her by name, and he said, you know, nobody does any more right than you do. Nobody works any harder, and I can't put my finger on it, but something is just not right. And that just cut her to the heart. I mean, she

was so hurt, so wounded, and she began to sit around and salt for a couple of days. And see, when somebody speaks the truth to us, especially when we don't want to hear it, our defense mechanisms go up. And so she's sitting there having a pity party thinking, man, hear, everything I do for you.

And all I get in return is this. No gratitude, no appreciation. But she said a couple of days later, when she got quiet and she really got honest with herself, she began to realize that she was doing all those things for the wrong reason.

Yes, she loved that couple, but the main reason she was doing it was to buy their friendship, to be accepted, to be well thought of. And I wonder how many of us today are fishing from the wrong side of the boat. We're doing the right thing, but like her, we have the wrong motive, and it's keeping us from being blessed. And really, this was all born out of her insecurity. And what's interesting is she didn't even realize she was doing it. She had been doing it so long this is all she had ever known. And I've found it's very easy for us to live in self-deception.

It's very easy to go around playing games, pretending, trying to manipulate people, and we don't even realize that we're doing it. And that's why I'm challenging us today on a regular basis to examine our motives. And we need to understand everything we're doing for the wrong reason is just wasting our time. We're just spinning our wheels, working, struggling, but not making any progress. It's like we're fishing with that little pole, and God wants us to have this great big net. And I've found we can do a whole lot less with right motives and get much greater results than doing a lot of things with the wrong motive. I remember years ago, I wanted to meet this man that owned a professional sports team.

He lived in another state. He was very influential, very well thought of. And one day this man I knew called me and invited me to go to a banquet. it. It was a charity event. And the truth is, I didn't really want to go. This man was not normally somebody I'd do something with. He was a fine gentleman, but I told him, I'm sorry, my schedule's really full, and I'm just not going to be able to do it. Well, a couple of days after that, I found out that this man I wanted to meet was going to be there. And not only this, but this gentleman who had invited me, he was personal friends with this man. And all of a sudden,

I had a desire to go. Suddenly, he became my best friend. So I called him up and I said, hey, buddy, old pal, my schedule has opened up. You think I'd still be able to go. He said, oh, sure, Joe, I'd love to have you. Now, he didn't know it, but I knew down in here, the only reason I was going was to meet this other man.

I wasn't going to support the charity. I wasn't going to be his friend. I was going because I wanted something from him. I had an ulterior motive. Now, quit looking at me like you've never done this before. We're going to give you the mic next, and you're going to confess your faults. But sure enough, we went, and, you know, a couple of hours into that, he took me over and introduced me to his friend.

And do you know it was the strangest thing in the world? I promise you, that man never even looked at me. He put out his hand over to the side, and we shook hands, but he never turned his head. He just kept talking to his friend. I couldn't believe it. He didn't even know what I looked like. I could have been a monkey over there. And I'll never forget, when I left that night,

I said to myself right down in here, that was the biggest waste of time. See, I was fishing from the wrong side of the boat. I had my little tiny fishing pole over here. And of course, there's nothing wrong with wanting to meet somebody, but God sees our hearts. And if I'd just change my attitude and said, you know what, I'm going to go to enjoy this time being with you.

And if I get to meet that man fine. If not, though, my main reason for coming is to be your friend, is to support this cause, then I believe things would have turned out differently. Friends, we can fool a lot of people, but we can't fool God. And he's looking right down in here. What's going on on the inside? It's much better to just get it out in the open and deal with it. When an opportunity comes up, the first thing that we should do is check our motive.

We ought to ask ourselves, why do I want to do this? And if it's not for the right reason, let's recognize it's going to be. be a waste of our time. Even in spiritual things, do you know you can go to a Bible study for the wrong reason? If you go just to look good or just to keep up with your neighbor or just to impress somebody, well, it's good that you're going, but if you want to be blessed, if you really want to make it worth your while, you need to go with the right motive. You can even get up and go read your Bible in the morning with the wrong motive. Well, I just want to show my wife I'm more spiritual than she is. I'm going to stay in here an extra 10 minutes today. No, that's being a Pharisee. That's

being a phony. When you go read your Bible, do it to honor God. Do it because you want to grow and feed your spirit man. I know people that read their Bible because they think they're getting brownie points with God. Their attitude is, God, I'm going to do your favor today. I'm going to read you a chapter. No, God already knows the Bible. He wrote it. Don't do it for his sake. Do it for your own sake. Keep your heart pure. When an opportunity, comes up, the first thing we should do is check our hearts. Make sure we're doing it for the right reason. That's when we're going to really have God's blessings in favor. A couple of years ago, this man called me. He lived in another country, and he asked me to come over and speak for him.

And normally, I don't go out and speak other places, except the events that we do on the road. But what's interesting is this gentleman offered a very substantial donation if I would come. It wasn't for me. It was for the building project, but it was enough to make me think, wow, this could get us a long ways down the road. And at first, I begin to reason it all out. I thought, what's a couple of days of my time going to hurt? I could make an exception in this case. We could really use these funds. And I don't know technically, if there'd have been anything wrong if I had gone. But when I really begin to search my heart, when I really begin to look down in here, I realize that for me, this wasn't going to be right.

And don't get me wrong, this man was very sincere, and he was very generous, but I knew down in here the only reason I would really be going was to get that donation. And I know that's not right. If I can't go to help the people with a pure heart, I'm not only going to waste his time, but I'm going to waste my own time. And so I just graciously declined it, and I felt very good about it. And do you know, the next couple of weeks, we received in the mail several large donations from people that had never given to our ministry before. And when we added them up, they totaled more than double

what that man had offered if I'd come to speak for him. Friends, you never miss out if you'll just keep your heart pure. If you'll honor God by having the right motive, he'll always make it up to you in abundance. And I believe if I had gone, not only would we not have received

those other donations, but I believe that money that he had given, we just needed it for something else, just an added expense. In other words, we never really gained. One thing I've learned is you've got to do things with the right motive. You can't fool God. He's keeping the records.

Always remember, he's the one that brings promotion. Promotion doesn't come from your boss or your supervisor or your banker. Promotion comes from Almighty God. And I'm asking you today, I'm asking you today to stay on the high road. I'm asking you to make sure that your motives are right. when you have a pure heart, that's when you're going to increase and experience God's very best. This inner life is so important because on the outside we can all put on a good show. I mean, I could have gone and spoken for that man, and nobody in the world would have known it wasn't right except me and God.

But you know what? He's the one that matters. I want to fish with a net. I don't know about you, but I'm throwing away my fishing pole. I'm going to get on the right side of the boat. That's when we can expect a great heart. hall of God's blessings. You know, too many people today, they're like the Pharisees. They were pretenders. When they did good things for people, when they gave their gifts, they always made

sure they did it in public. They wanted everybody to see how great they were. But listen, that's a sure sign of a wrong motive. The scripture says, when you give, don't even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. That means this. Don't go announce it to everybody.

Don't go make a big deal about it. If you do that, you better enjoy it because that's the only reward you're going to get. But on the other hand, if you'll do it God's way and give in secret, give without making a big deal about it, then the Bible says God sees that. And what you do in secret, God will reward you openly. I don't know about you, but I'd rather get my reward from Almighty God than from other people. You know, I think about my father. He was very careful about his giving. And he made several large donations to India. And more in once the people call back and ask if they could put his name on a building, maybe a Bible school or some kind of hospital. And I'll never forget what Daddy did. He always told him, no, please don't

put my name on anything. That's just between me and God. Just keep that quiet. No wonder he was blessed. No wonder God honored him. When you go to do good things, when you're able to bless somebody, when you can, just do it in secret. The mark of a pure motive is that you want to help others and you're not looking for any kind of recognition. The scripture says in 1 Corinthians that we can build on all different kinds of foundations, a foundation of wood, of straw, of hay. In other words, on things that are not going to last.

Or we can build on a foundation made of pure, solid things like gold and silver. And one day, all of our work will be judged. Every motive will be clearly known. Why we did what we did will be revealed. every person we've helped, every gift we've given, every friendship we've developed. The scripture says all of our work will have to pass through the fire. And everything done with impure motives will be burned up.

It may have been a good thing, but if we did it for the wrong reason, it's not going to last. We will only be rewarded for the things we've done with a pure heart. And I'm asking you today to go beyond the surface and go a little bit deeper. There are already enough Pharisees. There are already enough pretenders. Let's be real. And David said, God, test my motives. I want to live according to your truth.

That's the prayer we should pray every day. God, search my heart. Show me areas I need to change. Show me how I can come up higher. Friends, I want you to receive your full reward. And I know every one of you has the seed of a pure heart on the inside of you right now. God put it there.

But you have to do your part and regularly examine your motives. And be honest, be willing to change if something's not right. You've got to work with God to keep your heart pure. We get ourselves into trouble when we feel the conviction. We know God's dealing with this, but we just ignore it. No, we need to learn to face the truth about ourselves, and then let's be quick to make the adjustments. And if you'll do your best to keep your heart pure, just remember you're not fishing with a little pole, you're fishing with a great big net. When you have right motives, you're on the right side of the boat. That's when God can pour out his blessings. and you can expect to live that life of victory that he has in store. Amen. Do you receive it today? We never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life.

Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you, my Lord and Savior. If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church. God first place. He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed out. Breathaking. That's what you feel when you look out at majestic mountain peaks. Yes, God's creation truly is a masterpiece. But even as you consider his handiwork, you might also feel less that, not good enough, or not valuable. The image before you is incredible, but the confidence inside is lacking. How do you overcome this?

The opinion you have of yourself is your most important opinion. Too often we see ourselves as ordinary, not talented, unattractive. That wrong self-image is setting the limits for our life. The key is to get an agreement with who God says you are. He calls you a masterpiece, strong, talented, valuable. If you'll have the right image of yourself, you'll rise higher and become who you were created to be. We have a new resource that will help you do just that. It's called You Are a Masterpiece.

It's filled with inspiration and encouragement that will remind you who you really are. Gifted, chosen, approved. It will help you get rid of the wrong self-image and start seeing yourself as the masterpiece God created you to be. Azar thank you for your gift of any amount to the ministry this month. We want to send you Joel's inspiring new book. You are a masterpiece. God made you unique with a divine purpose. and a bright future.

As these truths sink down in your spirit, the majesty of God's glory will arise within you. Yes, God has breathed his life into you. He approved you, equipped you, empowered you. Stop believing the lies about you and start hearing what God says about you. Thanks so much for being a part of the ministry. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day. Believing it's going to be a favor-filled 2024.

We appreciate your prayer and support. Your generosity is impacting people around the world. Remember, you can watch the services live online Sunday mornings, see all the music and ministry. Download our daily podcast. Until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of the You Were a Masterpiece Today. Visit joelosteen.com.