Joel Osteen Podcast - Hope On - Victoria Osteen

Episode Date: May 10, 2017

There’s a scripture I love that says, “Those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength.” Think about that for a moment. We all need strength. Have you ever thought about how strength is tied to hope? When you hope in the Lord, that means you have confident expectation that God is bigger than your problems. When you trust Him, that’s how your strength is renewed! 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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Purdue's online university for working adults. Start your comeback at PurdueGlobal.edu. The other day I was down here at the altar and I was praying for a beautiful young woman. She was telling me what she was concerned about and what she wanted me to pray for.

And then she looked right, at me and she said, I feel unnoticed by God. I feel like God doesn't even care about what's going on with me. You know, I believe that sometimes we can all feel that way. We get struggling with something so long in our life. We wonder, God, where are you? Do you even see what's going on in my life? do you even care? Sometimes we're in a room like this and we feel like just one person in the crowd. God, how do you find me in the midst of all these people? But can I tell you today, God's eyes are on you? I want to be the one that reminds you God sees you. The Bible says that he knew you before the foundation of the world, that he handpicked you. See, he knows every single hair on your head.

Now, that blows my mind, but God is God. And if he said it, I believe it. No matter what I feel like, if I feel alone in a crowded room, I'm going to stand on the word that God says, he knew me. He knows my down sitting. He knows my uprising. The Bible says he knows my thoughts from afar. I don't even have to speak anything, and God already knows me. You see, God knows you today. But if we're going to overcome those crushing feelings of feeling alone, feeling uncared for, we're going to have to stir up our faith. We're going to have to remind ourselves every day.

God does know me. He does care for me. And me and God, we're a majority. We can do anything but fail. See, with God, anything is possible. Anything is possible. Whatever you're facing, it's possible. If you take hold of God, Luke chapter 131, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on this Sabbath day.

There was people all around. It was crowded. And he began to teach them. And in the middle of his teaching, he stopped. He stopped because he took notice of a woman that was in the crowd. You see, the woman that was in this crowd, she wasn't dressed beautifully. She didn't walk in late, and that's why he noticed her. The woman that was in this crowd, the Bible says, was crippled.

In fact, she was bent over like a horseshoe. It said she couldn't even straighten up. Luke describes her as a woman that was afflicted with a spirit of infirmity. Now, we don't know what that infirmity was, but it was something that had bound her up. We don't know what had happened in her life, why her body was so weak and so frail. But she was in the synagogue that day, bent over low. Now, if I ask you to stand up right now, and I said, hey, let's everybody, let's bend over. You would go, Victoria, quit being so silly. You'd probably laugh a little bit. You'd be there.

But if you were bent over for 18 years, it wouldn't be so funny. You see, the Bible says she was bent over for 18 long years. You see, I'm sure there were people standing and there were people sitting. The most amazing thing to me that day was that Jesus knows. You know, her. See, he fixed his eyes on her that day. I'm sure when she came in, she didn't feel like anybody knew who she was. She felt very unnoticed. But the good news is, Jesus saw her, and he knew all about her. In fact, he immediately called that woman forward. He stopped everything that he was doing, and he called her forward. Can you imagine that switch? little woman. I don't know how old she was, but she was been over, so she just appears to me like

she'd have felt pretty frail and old. She might not have been. We just know she had it for 18 years, but she began moving slowly towards Jesus. And he spoke this word to her. He said, woman, you are free from your infirmity today. You're free. I mean, she was shuffling and she heard those words, I'm free from my infirmity today. Then he touched her. And the Bible said she immediately stood up. She hadn't stood up for 18 years. This woman had been looking at the ground. All she had seen was the dust of the ground and people's feet. She wasn't, didn't even see their faces. She didn't even see Jesus that day. But when he said you are loosed from what is by in you and he touched her and she stood up. Can you imagine the first face she had seen in this upright

position? Was the face of God? It was a face of Jesus. You see, she felt like no one saw her. She had an identity of being crippled. But Jesus saw her as a daughter of Abraham. You see, he didn't see a crippled woman when everyone else did. He saw a daughter of promise, and he set her free that day. Now, I was thinking about this. She'd been crippled for 18 years. She'd been looking down at the ground. I wonder how long it took her to realize that she was set free,

that she wasn't crippled anymore. I mean, she was standing up straight, but, you know, when you've been a certain way for so long, it's hard to believe you can be another way. It's kind of like an attitude. When that attitude's had you for so, you've had this attitude for so long, somehow that attitude has you.

I wonder how long it took her to realize she just got set free. And I believe that I'm talking to somebody today that's bent down under a heavy load. You don't even realize that you're a son or a daughter of promise and that God has already spoken the word and he's already set you free. He's already freed you from what would bind you.

But you just don't realize it yet. You see, the enemy wants you low, real low. He wants you looking down. He certainly doesn't want you to see the face of your Savior. He doesn't want to see you to see that you are a son and daughter of promise. You see, he called her a daughter of Abraham. There was some opponents in the crowd that didn't want her healed that day. They were looking for all the reasons that women shouldn't be healed.

But you know what he said? He said, this woman is the daughter of Abraham. She has every right and every authority to be healed any day of the week. And sometimes people try to keep you bent over with their words, with the situation. man, your own mind tries to keep you way down. But can I tell you, you have all power and authority to stand up straight because Jesus is already calling you forward. We've got to shake the dust off of us and stand up and move forward.

You know what I admire about this woman? I admire the fact that she was in the synagogue that day. she didn't let her bent over crippled condition, keep her from the position of hearing what Jesus had to say. And too often, we allow the conditions in our life to keep us from our position of faith. We say, I can't come to church today. I'm too tired. Man, my boss has me working six days a week. My children have me running them to every activity that there are.

I'm tired. I need to rest. You see, nobody would have blamed that woman for staying home on the Sabbath day. But she didn't. See, she didn't allow her condition to change her position. She was a daughter of promise, whether she knew it or not. And that's what kept her going. I want to encourage you today to stir your faith. Don't allow anything to bend you over, to bind you up, because whom the sun sets free is free indeed. You are free indeed today. You've been bought with a great price. You are joint heirs with Jesus Christ. You have a covenant between you and God. You see, that's what that woman had. That's what Jesus saw. He didn't see her crippled body. he saw his covenant with her. He saw an agreement that couldn't be broken. And you stand in a

position today of covenant. There is an agreement between you and God that cannot be broken. There's no devil on earth that can bind you anymore because you'll free, free, free indeed. You see, it's up to us to get ourselves under the word, to understand that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, today, and forever. He's going to be the same for you as he is for your children. He is the same Jesus with the same covenant, blood covenant. You see, when we stir up our faith and we realize the power that Jesus has towards us, we will say God can.

When we stir up our faith and realize the love he has for us, we'll say God will. Listen, God can and God will reposition you no matter what situation you're in right now, and he'll call you forward and you will become everything he's intended you to be. Amen? Do you believe that today? Thank you, Lord. We receive that today. As a thank you for your support of our ministry this month,

Joel and Victoria would like to send you a copy of Joel's new series. Expect the unexpected. You'll learn how to live your life with an attitude of expectancy. It's time to expect better. It's time to expect more. Get ready to receive God's best. Get ready to expect the unexpected. Request your copy of Expect the Unexpected today at Joeloste.com

or call 888-567 Joel. God can surprise you in ways you've never dreamed. He likes to do unusual things, things you don't see coming. Raise your expectations and get ready to see God's favor in new ways. You may have reached your limits, but God has no limits. Request this resource, it will help build your faith so you can see the fullness of what God has in store. In all the years of listening to Joel, the message of joy has really impacted my life. He talks about how things happen that are not ideal, things that we don't,

plan for, but joy is found in us because Jesus is in us. I'm really grateful that I have access to the program to encourage and motivate me every week. Your support is making a difference. Thanks for partnering with us. Your prayers, your generosity is touching lives around the world. And a special thank you to our champion of hope partners for all you do to make the ministry possible. Victoria and I pray for you and your family every day. We're believing for God's very, very best that you're going to see a bountiful, fruitful, prosperous year. Until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

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