Joel Osteen Podcast - Having Uncommon Faith | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: December 28, 2023

To experience new levels of God's goodness, you have to move beyond average faith. Uncommon faith requires boldness to believe for the extraordinary. When you’re filled with uncommon faith, you know there's no limit to what God can do in 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 visit JoelOsteen.com/GiveHope.Daily inspiration. Scriptural promises. Get ready for a new year of faith with the Hopes & Dreams 2024 Planner. Our special December offer will let you journal your thoughts, record your prayers, and hold on to the dream God has placed in your heart. Request your copy today! https://bit.ly/3T8xgqS  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 for listening to the podcast, and we want to tell you how much we love you. Trusting you're going to have a blessed Christmas season with you and your family. Know that we pray for you every day. Just speak in God's blessings and favor. We love you. We are praying for you, and we hope you have a very merry Christmas.

Enjoy the podcast today. Well, God bless you. It's always a joy to come into your homes. If you're ever in our area, stop by and see us. I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. Thanks for tuning in. Thanks again for coming out. I like to start with something funny each week. And I heard about this church service on Sunday morning. Everything was going great until a big bolt of lightning hit. When the smoke cleared, Satan himself was standing behind the podium. People panicked, ran out as fast as they could.

All except one lady, she was sitting on the front road just as calm as could be. Satan was appalled. He said, lady, do you know who I am? She said, sure I do. He said, aren't you a afraid of me? She said, no, not the least bit. He said, why not? She said, why should I be? I've been married to your brother for 30 years. 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 having uncommon faith. Uncommon faith is not average faith. It's not ordinary. It's above and beyond. It's where you have a boldness and a confidence

to believe for the extraordinary. Average faith says God help me to survive this recession. Uncommon faith says, God, I believe. leave, you'll prosper me right in the midst of this recession. Average faith says, maybe one day I'll get out of this problem. I don't know. It's pretty bad. Uncommon faith says, I know I'm not only coming out. I'm coming out better off than I was

before. When you have uncommon faith, you don't just believe to make your monthly house payment. You believe to totally pay your house off. You don't just ask God to help me to control my addiction. No, you ask God to totally set you free. Uncommon faith is radical faith. It's extreme where you believe God can do anything. You don't make little plans. You don't say, God, just let me go as far as my parents did. Let me do as much as they did. Then I'll be okay. Then I'll be successful. No uncommon faith says, God give me a double portion. Let me do twice as much as those that went before me. Let me give twice as much. Let me have twice the influence, twice the wisdom, twice the friends, twice the creativity, twice the income. Well, you say, Joel, that's kind of bold. Who do you think you are? Here's who, a child of the most

high God, full of uncommon faith. And some of you today, you have average faith, and that's good. You love God. You believe to make it through. But if you want to see God amaze you with his goodness, you need to take it one step further and come over into uncommon faith. Take the limits off of God. Believe you can rise higher. Believe you can overcome every obstacle. Our faith is what pleases God. If you want to be more pleasing to God,

one way is to simply release your faith in a greater way. I read a story about a little seven-year-old girl. Her name is Jamie and she lives on a farm with her parents. They had a cow that was about to give birth. birth. And the father had already told the family that they were not going to keep any more cows. They had enough. And anytime a new little calf was born, they would either give it away or sell it. But for some reason, little Jamie really wanted to keep this cow. She had it set in her heart. And so she began to plead and plead with her father day after day. Daddy, please make an

exception. Let me keep this cow. Just one more little calf from me. After a couple of weeks, she wore her father down. He said, Jamie, I'll make a deal with you. If the calf is born black, then you can keep it. But if it's brown or spotted like our other cows, then we're going to get rid of it. They agreed. They had a deal. Well, little Jamie didn't know any better. She started praying and asking God that that calf would be born black. Every night before she went to bed, she said, Father, I want to thank you that this little calf is going to be as black as can be. and that there won't be any doubt about it that it belongs to me. That's uncommon faith.

Most of us adults would never pray for anything like that. We would think that's far out. You can't pray about a cow. That's radical. That's extreme. But here's what I've learned. Radical faith gets radical results. Extreme faith gets extreme results.

A few weeks later, the little calf was born. It was not only black, but right between their eyes, there was this J. Remember, her name is Jamie. It's like God put a big stamp on it. God said, I want to make sure you understand this little calf belongs to Jamie. What am I saying?

When you release your faith in uncommon ways, you're going to see God begin to do uncommon things. The medical report may say it's impossible for you to get well. But there is another report that says with God, all things are possible. When you have this uncommon faith, you rise up and say, you know what, that's for me. Even though I don't see a way, God, I know you can make a way. So I want to thank you for restoring health back into me. In your finances, it may look like you'll never get out of debt. You'll never see your business take off. But there's another report that says God's favor surrounds you

like a shield. It says you are blessed and whatever you put your hands to will prosper. Well, you say, Joel, I don't think so. Not with this economy. My business is so slow. I'm just trying to make it through. No, that's average faith. That's going to keep you right where you are. You've got to come over like little Jamie into uncommon faith. Our attitude should be, God, you said that I would lend and not borrow. You said, because I'm a giver, you would open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings that I cannot contain. So God, I'm asking for your supernatural. favor, draw new clients to me, cause me to stand out in the crowd, let my gifts and talents come out to the full. God, give me breaks that I don't even deserve. When you tap into that uncommon faith, there's a boldness and a confidence to ask for God's goodness in greater ways. This is what allows God to do the unusual. I know people say, Joel, I don't want to bother God. If he wants me blessed, then he'll bless me. If he wants me well, then he'll bless me. If he wants me well, then then he'll make me well. No, the scripture says, you have not because you ask not.

My question is, do you ever ask for the uncommon? Do you ever go beyond asking for your daily needs to ask for God's extraordinary favor and unusual breaks so you can accomplish your dreams, overcome obstacles? This is just what Joshua did. He was in the midst of a great battle. He and his men were trying to finish off this army. but the sun was going down. They were running out of daylight. And Joshua knew that if he couldn't get this army totally defeated, then later on they would rise up and cause him problems. He could have easily gotten discouraged.

Thought it's not going to happen too bad for me. But Joshua had this uncommon faith. He was bold. He said, God, I know this is unusual. I know this is out of the ordinary, but I'm asking you to stop the sun. so I can have more daylight and totally complete this task. Imagine the nerve of Joshua.

He asked God to do something that had never been done before. God could have said, Joshua, who do you think you are? I am not going to stop the sun. That's kind of selfish. That might disrupt other people. No, when you have this uncommon faith, it brings a smile to God's face. I can see God turn to the angels and say, listen to what this man is saying. He's extreme. He's radical. He believes I can do anything. He's asking me to

stop the sun. God said in effect, Joshua, you're bold enough to ask it, then I'm bold enough to do it. The scripture says the sun stood still until he completely finished off that army. It goes on to talk about how there had never been a day like that before. The people stood there in utter amazement. What happened? God interrupted the entire universe just because one man had uncommon faith. I remember when I first started ministering right after my father went to be with the Lord. I was very concerned that the crowds were going to stay up and people were going to continue to come. I was doing my best every week praying, believe, and studying. But I knew from years past that any time it rained on Sunday mornings, the crowds would be down.

At our older facility, the parking was spread out on 30 acres all around the building. It's not covered like it is here. And so if it ever rained, it was almost impossible to get in the auditorium without being totally drenched. And this was all very new to me, being up in front of people. I'm naturally more quiet and more reserved. But for some reason, back then, I especially had this uncommon faith, this unusual boldness. and every week I would pray that it would not rain during our Sunday morning services. I never told anybody about it, only Victoria.

I know other people would think that's far out. Joel, that's extreme. You can't pray that it's not going to rain. Who do you think you are? But God is my witness for two years on the Sundays I was ministering. It might rain an hour before the service or two hours after the service, but it never once rain during those Sunday services. There were times when I would leave my house 30 minutes away,

and it would be raining very heavily. But when I got close to the church, a couple of miles away, it was like somebody had a big umbrella over the property. It was just as dry as could be. I would start on Wednesdays watching the weather reports. I know more about high pressure, low pressure, dew points. I could fill in for a weatherman. But if I saw any sign of bad weather on the weekend, I'd go to work. I'd start praying,

God, I'm asking you to hold this rain off. I would bind, I would loose, I'd rebuke, I'd confess, I'd sing, I'd shout, no rain. One time there was a major storm predicted for Sunday morning, 90% chance of rain, thunder and lightning. I could hardly sleep the night before. But I got off on that Sunday and lo and behold, it was just as clear and beautiful as can be. The front had gotten delayed. And some people think, oh, that's just a lucky break. That's just a coincidence. But I'm bold enough to believe that was the hand of God holding back the rain. It's funny, on the weekends that I wasn't speaking, I wouldn't pray. And time and time again, it would rain. I thought that's okay. I am not using my faith

for somebody else's services. Now, no, this may sound far out, but we serve a far out God. He wants to do exceedingly abundantly above. All we can ask, think, or imagine. When you have uncommon faith, you will see uncommon results. You may not need something as trivial as good weather. Maybe you need for God to heal a child. Maybe you need a relationship restored. You need favor at work with a client.

You need a break in that legal situation. Are you releasing your faith for the extraordinary, for the uncommon? and I have a friend that has a daughter. Years ago, when she was about three years old, she was involved in an accident. Something fell on two of her fingers and cut the very tips of them off. They rushed her to the emergency room,

and after they stopped the bleeding, a leading plastic surgeon came in and examined the little girl's fingers. He said to the father, I'm sorry to tell you this, but there's nothing we're going to be able to do to restore your daughter's fingers totally back to normal.

The bone has been cut. There will always be a little bit shorter, and she'll never have fingernails on these two fingers. All they could do was a skin graft to try to smooth things over. And this father was very respectful, but he said, doctor, I believe that God can restore my little girl's fingers and make them normal once again. The doctor looked at him very odd.

He was from another country and didn't have any kind of religious upbringing. That was very strange to him. And the doctor said, well, sir, you can't. and believe like that if you want to, but I'm just telling you the facts. The bone has been cut. They will always be shorter and for sure she will not have fingernails on those two fingers. A little later, the man's wife came in. The doctor got her off to the side and said, your husband is in shock. He won't accept the fact that the tips of your daughter's fingers have been cut off. She said, that's fine. I'll talk to them about it. They did the skin graft surgery.

Six weeks later, they went back for the checkup. When the doctor removed the bandages from the little girl's fingers, the first words out of his mouth were, oh my God. The husband was alarmed. He said, doctor, what's wrong? He said, nothing's wrong. Your little girl has fingernails, and it looks like the length is the exact right link. Friends, God can do what people cannot do. God's laws supersedes the laws of nature.

And I'm not saying for us to be flaky and go around denying reality, but too often we just accept things as the way it's always going to be. Joel, this is what the expert told me. That may be true, and I respect that, but there is another expert that breeds his life into you. God created your body. He holds you in the palm of his hand. And just like he can keep you.

the rain back, God can heal a little girl's fingers. Just like he stopped the son for Joshua, he can help you overcome your obstacles. Just like he caused a cow to be born black with a white Jay, God can give you favor to accomplish your dreams. The question is, are you bold enough to ask? Are you releasing your faith in radical ways? This is what my father did. He was raised in extreme poverty. His parents were cotton farmers and they lost everything they had during the Great Depression. My father had no money, no education at the time, no future to speak of. But at the age of 17, Daddy gave his life to Christ. God put a dream in his heart that one day he would minister to people around the world. In the natural, it looked totally impossible. You might as well

said that he was going to go to the moon. He had no connections, no way to get out of that limited environment. All he had was this uncommon faith. He dared to ask God for the right breaks, the right opportunities to open up the right doors. Years later, as we would travel to India together, everywhere we went, when the young Indian ministers saw my father, they would hold up their Bibles and say in their own language, this is my Bible. I am what it's. says I am. We were way back in the jungles of Thailand, walking by this little hut, and we saw a family in there watching a video of my father ministering from Lakewood. Going down the Amazon River, back in the villages, we saw people reading my father's books in Spanish. How could it be that

a young boy with no resources, no connections, could fulfill his dream? And not only touch people here, but people all over the world? It was because he had this uncommon faith. My father didn't settle where a lot of people would have settled. When all the odds were against him, instead of giving up, he believed that God would make a way. He was bold enough to ask for God's favor. He saw God take in places that he never even dreamed up. What's holding you back? It's easy to make excuses. I come from the wrong family, Joel. I didn't get good breaks like you did. I've had this problem too long. The economy's too down. I've made too many mistakes. No, God can still get you to your final destination. I want to light a new fire under you today. There is no obstacle too difficult for you to

overcome. There is no dream that God's put in your heart that is too big for you to accomplish. Ask yourself, is my faith radical? is what I'm believing for, the vision for my life, is it big enough to make someone think, what's his problem? Who does he think he is? Or have you gotten stuck in a rut to where you're just accepting where you are as the way it's always going to be? No, if you're not stretching your faith, you're not tapping in to everything God has in store. I love the story of Elisha. For years and years, he took care of the prophet Elijah. He was his assistant.

He would make sure he had food and watered. He traveled with him from city to city. The prophet Elijah was an older gentleman, very well known, well respected, for the great miracles he performed and just for being a man of God. When Elijah got way up there in years and was about to go to heaven,

he said to his assistant, Elijah, you've been faithful to me all this time. Now, what do you want me to do for you before I leave? you would have thought Elijah would have asked for something simple just give me a bonus give me a couple weeks off, throw me a party no, Elisha was thinking

in uncommon ways he said Elijah I would like to have a double portion of your spirit he was saying I want to do twice the miracles that you've done I want to have twice the influence twice the wisdom

twice the friends twice the income I'm sure Elijah nearly passed out. I'm sure he thought, boy, you are bold, you are something else. He said, Elisha, you have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, that's the key word. He was saying, it may be hard. You've asked for something big. Nevertheless, it will happen. It is not too big for God. If you study his life, you'll find out that's exactly what happened. He did twice the miracles. He had a double portion of his anointing. I wonder what would happen if each one of us would be bold enough to say, God, I'm asking you to let me do twice what my parents did. Let me have twice the influence, twice the

wisdom, twice the favor, twice the income. When my father went to be with the Lord, people used to come up to me and say, Joel, do you think you can continue on what your dad and mom have started? I never said this arrogantly, but I would always tell them, I don't think that I can just continue it. I believe that I can go further. That's the way God intended it for every generation to increase. And it's interesting. The former sanctuary that my mom and dad built, it had 8,000 seats. This new auditorium has 16,000 seats, exactly double. And I'm not bragging on me. I'm simply making the case that if you will take the limits off of God and release your faith in uncommon ways, then you will see God do uncommon things. You'll look up like Joshua and say, wow, I have never

seen anything like this before. I know I was raised in church. And still, every time I come in to this new facility, a former basketball arena where I used to have season tickets to watch the Rockets play. And I see all you guys gathered to worship. And I see all you guys gathered to worship. And I I think about how good God's been to us. Just like Joshua, I stand there in amazement and say, wow, God, you have shown up and shown out in amazing ways. Here's the beauty. If we will step it up and believe for the uncommon, then what is uncommon to us will become

common to our children. My children think nothing about coming to a church this large in a former basketball arena. It's just normal to them. and God willing, when it's their time to take over and our children step it up and believe for the uncommon and they see that double portion released, then God's going to take our children places that we cannot even fathom right now. What am I saying? Don't be satisfied to maintain the status quo in your family.

God wants you to go further. He wants you to set a new standard. Believe for that double portion. Be bold like Elisha. and say, God, let me go twice as far as those that have gone before me. Maybe you're facing a situation today that looks too far gone. Looks like it's too late, like it could never change. That's what happened to a young lady in the scripture by the name of Martha.

Her brother Lazarus was extremely sick. Martha and her sister Mary were good friends with Jesus. And so they sent word for Jesus to come to their home as quickly as possible. But Jesus was out of town. He kept getting delay after delay, and long story short, Lazarus died. Four days later, Jesus showed up at their home. Martha said something amazing. She had this uncommon faith.

She said there in John 11, verse 21, Jesus, if you would have been here sooner, my brother would not have died. Here it comes. But I know even now, whatever you ask, God will do it for you. Sometimes you have to have an even now faith. It looks impossible. Looks like it's over. The medical report says you're done. The marriage is on the last leg. You're down to your final paycheck. That's when you've got to dig your heels in and say like Martha, God, I know even now you can still turn it around. My health is going downhill, but even now you can bring healing to my body. My child has. I'm going downhill. But even now, you can bring healing to my body. My child has. hadn't spoken to me in 10 years, but even now you can restore this relationship. My finances are running out, but even now you can prosper me. Have an even now faith. Jesus asked them to roll away the stone where Lazarus was buried.

They made excuses. Jesus, you don't want to do that. It stinks. It smells very bad. He's been in there for four days. They tried to talk Jesus out of it. He said, no, just do what I'm asking. They finally did.

And you know the story. Jesus prayed, Lazarus came back to life. But it all started when a young lady named Martha dared to believe for the extraordinary. An uncommon faith says, even though my situation looks dead, even though it looks like I'll never accomplish my dreams, looks like I'll never be vindicated. No, when you have this radical faith, you know it's not over till God says it's over. And just like God raised Lazarus from the dead, God can resurrect your dead dream. He can resurrect a dead marriage, dead health, dead finances. May have gotten so bad, you feel like it stinks, smells bad, no way in the natural.

Good news is, God has a way, even when it looks like there is no way. And when you're down to nothing, if you'll stay in faith, then God is up to something. When you believe all things are possible, you have got to shake off discouragement, shake off going around negative and defeated. God is still on the throne. Let me just declare it over you. What you thought was the end is going to turn out to be a new beginning.

That job you lost, you thought it was over, but God's going to open up a new position, a better position. People may have lied about you, tried to ruin your reputation, but God is going to vindicate you. God is going to make your wrongs right. The economy may be down, but God is going to supernaturally increase you.

He's going to draw new clients to you. You may have had unfair situations growing up. All the odds may be against you right now, but know this, no person can keep you from your destiny. No obstacle is too high. No enemy is too powerful. And what's happened in your past is not nearly as important as what's going to happen in your future.

Right now, the creator of the universe, His face is shining down on you. He is going to open up doors that no man can shut. He is going to bring the right people across your path, the right breaks, the right opportunities. Not only that, God is going to restore the years that have been stolen, the years where people have treated you wrong. It may look like it'll never work out,

but God is going to get you to your final destination. You are going to become everything he's created you to be. My challenge to you is to have, an uncommon faith. Believe big, dream big, dare to ask big. You may have been through disappointments. You had some setbacks. We all have. But remember, every setback is simply a set up for a greater comeback. Don't you dare settle where you are. God wants you to set a new standard for your family. You can overcome every obstacle. You can accomplish every God-given dream. The creator of the universe is breathing in your direction.

And if you will have this uncommon faith, a radical faith, and even now faith, then just like with Joshua, God will do the extraordinary. Just like with my father, God will take it from the cotton fields to impacting the world. Just like Jamie and the black cow, God will give you favor that no person can deny. And just like with Martha, God will turn impossibilities around. He will resurrect dead dreams. And when it's all said and done, you'll be able to say, God has been good to me. He has shown up and shown out in my life in amazing ways. 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. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based church. church, keep God first place. He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed of. Do you have a dream that's waiting to happen? But it often feels like you'll never get there. Is your dream? To start a business? To see a loved one come to the Lord. Are you asking God, will it ever happen? Sometimes it feels like our dream is so far off, but I believe you're closer than you think. You're on the verge of seeing things change in your favor, new doors opening, the right people showing.

up. I'd love to send you our new hopes and dreams 2024 planner. It's not only a calendar, but it has scriptures and inspiration, a place to journal. It'll help you stay focused and encouraged so you can see your dreams come to pass. As you support the ministry this month with a special end of year gift of any amount, we would like to bless you with the hopes and dreams 2024 planner. With the new planner, you will start the new year with fresh ideas, fresh hope, and endless possibilities. You'll find monthly calendars and plenty of space to plan for a better day ahead. Plus, there are inspiring scriptures and thoughts that will encourage you to believe for your dreams. Thank you so much for your prayer and support, your year-in giving.

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