Joel Osteen Podcast - It's Time To Believe Again | Joel Osteen

Episode Date: July 20, 2023

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and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoyed 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. And God bless you. It is always a joy to come into your homes. We love you and we know God has great things in store

for each one of you. If you're ever in our area, stop by and see us. I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks for tuning in. again for coming out today. I like to start with something funny each week, and I heard about this man. He got caught shoplifting at the grocery store. He was in court, and the judge said, sir, I understand you stole a can of peaches. How many peaches were in that can? He said, five, Your Honor. He said, all right, I'm going to give you one week in jail for each peach. You got five

weeks in jail. The man's wife stood up and said, Your Honor, may I say something? He said, yes, what is it? She said, he stole a can of peas too. 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 not accepting things as permanent. When we've dealt with something for a long time and not seen any kind of change,

it's easy to think this is never going to get better. I've struggled in my marriage for years. This is as good as it gets. I've had this addiction since I was a teenager. Or I've tried and tried to qualify for that new home. It's never going to happen. Too often we get discouraged and just accept it as the way it's always going to be.

I have people tell me, Joel, I've always been negative. That's just who I am. I've always had this sickness. I'm just learning to live with it. They've convinced themselves that it's never going to change. In their mind, they've allowed a stronghold to form. Now, really, it's their own thinking that's holding them back. Because the problem is, if we don't believe it's going to get any better, and we start accepting sickness as the norm, and we accept not having enough as the norm, We accept a lousy marriage as the norm. That's our faith at work, and it allows it to become the norm. If you believe it's permanent, then it's going to become permanent.

If you believe it will never get better, then it won't. If you believe you've reached your limits, then you have. The problem is our own thinking. The moment we accept it and allow the stronghold to take root, we've lost the battle. But here's the key. You have to view everything negative. in your life. Every obstacle, every limitation, every sickness, every problem. View it as only temporary. It is not going to last forever. That sickness is just a season. It is not going to keep you from your

destiny. You may have had it for 20 years. The doctor's telling you, just learn to live with it, but in your mind, you cannot allow it to become permanent. Every day you need to say, Father, thank you that this two shall pass. Sickness cannot live in my body. It's on foreign territory. It is only temporary. You have to stand against the lie of permanency. Maybe in your career, you feel like you're stuck. You haven't had a promotion in a long time. Business is kind of low. That thought will come to your mind. I've done pretty well. I've done good enough. This is okay. No, you have to have the attitude. I am not settling here. I know I have more in me. I'm going to accomplish everything.

dream. I'm going to reach every goal. I know it's just a matter of time before those new doors begin to open up. If you have to stand in faith your whole lifetime, you should never accept mediocrity in your marriage, in your career, in your finances, in your health, in your family. Don't allow those strongholds to take root. It is only temporary. And it'll help you to stay in faith if you'll recognize God is working in your life right now. You may not see anything happening, but that doesn't mean God is not working. It says in Philippians 2.13, God is constantly at work in those who believe. That means because you're a believer right now, God is working.

Not next week, not next month. Right now, God is arranging things in your favor. Right now, God is lining up the right people. Right now, health and healing is flowing through your body. Right now, God's protecting your children. right now God's fighting your battles for you. As long as you're believing, God is working. That's why it's so important to live in an attitude of faith and expectancy.

It allows God to continue to work. All through the day, these thoughts will bombard our mind saying, it's not going to change. Nothing is happening. Your health is not improving. Your child is not doing better. You're never going to get married. You might as well accept it.

That is the forces of, of darkness trying to keep you right where you are. You may not see anything happening. In the natural, it may look the same week after week, month after month, even year after year. But you've got to have the attitude. I am not moved by what I see. I'm moved by what I know. And I know because I'm a believer right now, God is working in my finances. Right now God's working in my children. Right now, God's working in my health. When you believe, you activate God's power. But if we don't guard our minds and constantly cast down these wrong thoughts, then over time we'll get worn down and eventually we'll give in. Well, Joel, I'd love to believe what you're saying, but you don't know my situation.

I don't see how it could ever change. It's been this way so long. No, when you dwell on thoughts like that, you are tying the hands of Almighty God. If you could see behind the scenes right now, you would see God arranging things in your favor. lining up your vindication, planning your breakthrough. But all of a sudden, God says to the angels, hold on everybody. We've got to take a break. We've got to put this project on hold. One of the angels says, why, God? Why can't we finish?

Why can't we give them the victory? Why can't we turn it around? God says we have to stop because they quit believing. They're not releasing their faith anymore. If they're not activating my power, I can't continue to work. I don't know about you, but I need all the help I can. get. I need God to fight my battles for me. I need his favor, his wisdom, his strength. Let's make up our minds. We're going to be believers and not doubters. It may be taken a long time,

but remember this promise. God will finish what he started. That tells me we don't have to live life upset, stressed, wondering if it's ever going to change. Is it ever going to get any better? No, we can stay at peace, knowing at the exact right time in due season it is going to to pass. I know some of you have had these same challenges for a long, long time. In the natural, it doesn't seem like it's ever going to get better. But God is saying it is not permanent. It is not going to last forever. Your day of victory is on its way. Because you're a believer, things are changing in your favor. God is working behind the scenes. And it's just a matter of time before you see new doors begin to open. Divine connections are coming your way.

restoration, vindication, promotion, health and healing. Now is not the time to give up. Now's not the time to get discouraged. Think, oh, man, it's not going to happen for me. No, now more than ever is the time to dig your heels in, stay in faith, knowing that your time is coming. I think about the Israelites. They had been in slavery year after year. They were very mistreated, taking advantage of. It was unfair. but one day God supernaturally brought them out. And after much traveling, they finally made it to the

promised land. They were camped right next door. God promised them the victory. All they had to do was fight for the land. They were so close, they could taste it. Their dream was about to come to pass. Moses sent some men in to spy out the land. They came back and said, Moses, we'll never defeat these people. They're so much stronger, so much more powerful than us, we don't have a chance. That negative report spread like wildfire throughout the rest of the camp. The people got discouraged. They started complaining, saying Moses, why did you bring us out here in the desert to die? Why can't we just go back to be in slaves? Do you know those people, even though they were camp next door, they never made it in to the promised land. They wandered

around in the wilderness for over 40 years. What's my point? It became permanent because of their own wrong thinking. It was never God's intention for them to stay in mediocrity. God never planned for them to wander around, defeated, constantly struggling, constantly in lack. They had seen God do great things. But when we get discouraged and we slip over into that negative mentality and we start thinking, my obstacles are too big, I don't see how it could ever change.

It's always going to be like this. then our own wrong thinking is what allows it to become permanent. And some of you today, just like them, you are camped right next door to your promised land. You are so close to a major victory. You are so close to seeing that promotion you've been praying for. Close to a new day in your health. Close to seeing that child turn around. Let me encourage you, don't do like they did and say, oh, Joel, I've had this sickness for years.

my obstacles are too big. I never get any good breaks. No, shake that off and let this seed of faith take root. You've got to have the attitude. It's my time. This may look permanent, but I know better. God says it's temporary. I'm not going to live my life defeated, depressed, negative. I'm a believer and not a doubter. I'm going to step in to my promised land. It is only permanent if we allow it to become permanent in our own minds. The book of Genesis, Isaac. was talking to his son, Esau. He said something so interesting. He said, Issa, your brother has tricked me, and he has carried away your blessing. This is saying someone or something can carry away our blessing. I'm sure sometimes we've let disappointments carry away our blessing. Sometimes we let

discouragement carry away a blessing. No doubt at times we've all let other people steal our blessings. I don't know about you, but this does something to me on the inside. It makes me more determined than ever that I am going to stand in faith and not allow anyone or anything to carry away my blessings. Some of you today, you need to go back and get your blessings. And that's a great thing about God. It's never too late. You can reclaim lost blessings.

Maybe you didn't go into the promised land the first time you were camp next door. Your attitude needs to be, I'm going to go in the next time. No person is going to talk me out of my victory. No obstacle is going to defeat me. No sickness is going to hold me back. No disappointment is going to discourage me. What I lost in the past, I know God can make up in the future, so I'm going into that reclaiming mode. You need to reclaim every lost opportunity.

Reclaim every blessing you let pass by. Reclaim every promotion that should have been yours. reclaim the victory that people tried to talk you out of. If you'll rise up in faith, it is never too late. Somebody may have carried away a blessing, but this is a new day. And God is saying, you can still live a life of victory. You can still accomplish every dream. You can still overcome that addiction.

You can still be happy in your marriage. You can still live a blessed, prosperous life. It is never too late to become all that God's created you to be. I think about how when Jesus prayed for people, often he would ask how long they had been that way. He said to the man at the pool of Bethesda, how long have you been laying here? The man answered 38 years. He asked a woman that was all been over, how long you've been this way? She said, 18 years.

These parents brought their grown son to Jesus. He was blind. Jesus said, how long has he not been able to see? They said, since he was born. Why was Jesus so interested in the length of time? Why didn't he just heal him and go on to the next one? It's because he wanted to show us how nothing is permanent. He wanted it to be forever recorded so we would always know it is never too late.

It's interesting at that pool. Jesus healed the man that had been there the longest. He didn't just randomly pick him out. No doubt there were hundreds of other sick people. why did Jesus choose him to make sure we understood that even if it's been 38 years, even if it looks like it's set in stone, it looks like it's never going to change, it's just impossible. God says, if you believe all things are possible. Some of you today have faced things that have been there year after year and you're just

about to give up, you're just about to write it off. but God is saying it's time to believe again. I can still bring that dream to pass. I can still restore your marriage. I can still heal your body. I can still bring the right person into your life. Don't stop believing. It's not over until God says it's over. You may have been praying about a situation for a year or five years. I don't know, 10 years. But as long as you're praying, God is working. As long as you're believing, God is working. I met a 90-year-old man in the lobbies a couple of weeks ago after the service. He had never been to church a day in his life, 90 years old, never set foot in a church.

That morning, he had stood up and made a decision for Christ. His family was so excited. His wife was there, his children, his grandchildren. They told how they had been praying for their father for over 60 years. This wife had gone to church without him year after. a year, taking the children, being her best. She said, every time I pulled out of the driveway headed to church, I said, Father, thank you that one day my husband will be coming with me. One day, he'll be serving you. Don't you know, she could have given up after a year,

after five years, after 10 years, but she was bold enough to keep believing. She knew as long as she was believing, God was working. She knew this promise that God would finish what he started. she had big tears coming down her cheeks. She said, Joel, today is the fulfillment of a dream coming to pass. Friends, it's not over until God says it's over. You may have been praying for a loved one for many years, but keep on praying. Your day of victory is on its way.

You may have struggled with that addiction for a long, long time, but you keep resisting. You keep being your best because your day of freedom is on its way. Or maybe you've had a dream in your heart. It's been so long, and you've tried here and there, nothing's worked out. But if you will stay in faith and keep believing, keep praying, keep hoping, keep being your best, God still has a way to bring it to pass. And the scripture says here in 2nd Corinthians 418, the things that are seen are temporary,

but the things that are unseen are eternal. One version says, the things that are seen are subject to change. You may have situations that look permanent. looks like it's set in stone, but you have to remind yourself, everything you're facing is subject to change. Your child may not be doing right, but he's subject to change. Your health may be going downhill. The good news is it's subject to change. Your finances may be kind of low, but they are subject to change. Sometimes you need to get that checkbook out and just announce to it, you are subject to change. Or maybe your boss hasn't been treating you right.

Maybe it's been that way a long time. Next time you see him just smile real big and say, sir, do you realize you are subject to change? You better do that one under your breath. But if we make the mistake of accepting it, and we let it get on the inside and damper our vision, still our enthusiasm, we've already lost the battle. It may have been going on for years,

but it is not permanent. Here's how Paul put it. These light afflictions are for a moment. Notice he was saying, don't take ownership of those problems. They are temporary. It's amazing what he called light afflictions. Paul had been shipwrecked and spent nights on the open sea. He had been bitten by poisonous snakes,

beaten with rods, thrown into prison, gone without food and shelter. His attitude was, it's no big deal. It's not going to keep me from my destiny. It's just a small detour, just a temporary delay. If you've been struggling with something a long time and you're tempted to get discouraged, you need to remind yourself, you're not going to be staying there long. That is not your permanent address.

You're just passing through. It's a light affliction. It is only for a moment. The problem is many times we put our stakes down, so to speak. We get our tent out, move our furniture in, set up camp there. We don't see any way out. We're making plans to be there forever. But I'm asking you today, pull your stakes up, pack up your belongings, have the attitude.

I am not a citizen of mediocreville. I do not reside permanently in poverty estates. I may be here temporarily, but this is not my final destination. I do not belong here. I am a foreigner. That's what Moses did. He had been in slavery all those years, but he never left. slavery get on the inside. And back in those days, names had much more significance than our names

today. Moses named one of his sons Gersham, which means I was an alien in a strange land. He was saying, we were in slavery, but slavery was not the norm. That was not our permanent address. We were foreigners. Every time he saw his son said, hey, Gersham, he was reminding himself, we don't belong here. This slavery, this poverty, this defeat, this lack. This is not our normal state. I am an alien in a strange land. That's the attitude we have to have. When times get difficult, don't embrace it and allow it to become the norm. I hear people say things like, my arthritis is really acting up today. My depression is really bad. My anxiety attacks, my financial difficulties. No, don't take ownership of those problems. You may be there temporarily,

but that is not your permanent home. You might say it like this. You are not a citizen of that difficulty. You don't fit in that environment. You are a foreigner in a strange land. When times get tough, it's good to announce to yourself, I won't be staying here long. I don't have citizenship here. I am not a citizen of fear. I'm not a citizen of poverty. I'm not a citizen of depression. I'm not a citizen of anxiety. I'm not

a citizen of cancer. This disease is alien to me. It is not my normal state. This may be where I am, but it is certainly not who I am. I am blessed. I am prosperous. I am healthy. I am strong. Anything to the

contrary, you need to view as foreign, it's only temporary. It is not your permanent address. This is what my father did. He was raised in extreme poverty. Looked like he would never make much out of his life. But my father was bold enough to believe that he was a foreigner in that land. His attitude was, I may be in poverty, but poverty is not in me. I am an alien to poverty. I am an alien to defeat. I don't have citizenship here. In other words, he didn't take ownership. He didn't see it as his normal state. Daddy rose up out of that defeat and went on to do something great with his life. When my mother faced terminal cancer in 1981, this is what she did. She didn't sit back and

accept it. Her attitude was, I may have cancer, but this is not my normal state. I don't belong here. I am a foreigner to cancer. It was never my cancer. It was never my cancer. My answer. She didn't take ownership of it. She didn't see it as permanent. She saw it as temporary. When times get difficult, you cannot take ownership of that problem. Don't embrace the trouble and let it get on the inside. If you do, it'll become a part of you. That's what stops us from God's very best. Too many people today are living below their potential. And one reason is they've got all these limitations programmed into their mind. Things like you're depressed because your mother was depressed. You'll never break that addiction. Your father has the same problem. You'll always be poor

and defeated. Everybody in your family has been that way. But just because it's been that way a long time, just because that's all you saw modeled growing up, doesn't mean it's the way it's supposed to be. could it be even right now you've accepted something a limitation an addiction a sickness a wrong mindset when in fact just like my father you're a foreigner in that land you may have settled there but something on the inside is saying i don't belong here i don't fit in i was made to rise higher i was made to be free I was made to live healthy. I was made to have good relationships. I was made to do something great with my life.

You need to rise up and say, I am not settling here. I've been here long enough, but I don't fit in mediocrity. I don't fit in defeat. I don't fit in poverty. I don't fit in poor health. That's not who I really am. I am a foreigner to those things. That may be the way it's been in the past,

but that's not the way it's going to be in the future. I'm packing up my goods and moving where I belong to the land of victory, the land of more than enough, the land of health and wholeness, the land of blessing and favor. You say, Joel, I don't see how that can happen. My obstacles are so big and I have so much coming against me. No, recognized, in difficult times, human nature tends to exaggerate the negative. We get so focused on our problems, we make them bigger than they really are. And that's what happened to the Israelites, heading toward the promised land.

They said, Moses, we're never going to survive out here. We don't have anything to eat, nothing to drink. What are we going to do? Really, that was not true. God had provided them manna every day. He had given them water out of a rock. The fact is, they had not missed a single meal, but in their mind it was so hard and they were so worried, they exaggerated their problems.

When times get tough, you need to step back and get the proper view. You'll hear those thoughts saying, it's never going to change. But the fact is, it is going to change. Well, it's never going to get any better. No, can I give you some good news? It is going to get better. Well, it's been like this forever, Joel. No, most likely it's just been like that for a season.

Get a new perspective. Don't believe the never lies. They are exaggerations. I'll never get well. I'll never get out of debt. I'll never overcome this obstacle. No, those are exaggerated points of view. You've got to reprogram your thinking. I'm trying to put some new software in your computer today. This is the latest, greatest version available. It says every problem is temporary. That sickness is not permanent.

That financial difficulty is not going to last forever. This two shall pass. God is supplying all of your needs. He's going to prosper you even in the desert. What was meant for your harm, God's going to use to your advantage. It may be taken a long time, but you don't know. You may be camp right next door to your promised land. The good news is, God

will finish what he started. If you're going to exaggerate anything, exaggerate the goodness of God in your life. Magnify his promises. Recognize every adversity is only temporary. It may have been there for years, but it is not permanent. Let me tell you what is permanent. Psalm 30 verse 5,

God's favor will last for a lifetime. Friends challenges are temporary. Favor is permanent. David said, goodness and mercy will follow me, not a little while, not six days a week, all the days of my life. I want you to have a new attitude. Those problems didn't come to stay. Favor came to stay. That sickness is not going to last forever. Favor is going to last forever. Favor is going to last forever. That financial difficulty is not permanent. Favor is what's permanent. Because you honor God, he has promised. His blessings are going to chase you down and overtake you. That means trouble's not going to overtake you. Blessings are going to overtake you. When you look back, don't look for heartache, disappointments, failure. Look for promotion, increase, blessings, favor. Remember, everything

you're facing is subject to change. Right now, the creator of the universe is at work in your life. Those light afflictions are for a moment, but favor is permanent. If you'll have this perspective and view everything negative as temporary, here's what's going to happen. You're going to step into a new freedom. You're going to enjoy each day more. You're going to overcome every obstacle, defeat every enemy, and you're going to live that life of victory.

God has in store. Amen. Do you receive it today? Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to keep you encouraged and inspired all through the week. Help us to continue to share the message of hope with those all around the world. Visit Joel Osteen.com or click the link in the description to partner with us today.

We hope you'll share this message with a friend, and be sure to follow us on social media. We're praying for you. I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you next time. All-inclusive vacations make life easy with endless eats, bottomless drinks, and never-ending fun. So booking an all-inclusive vacation should be easy too. That's where Apple Vacations comes in. Book your all-inclusive getaway with Apple Vacations

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