Joel Osteen Podcast - Learn to Love Well

Episode Date: February 18, 2020

There’s always room to grow in the way we love others. The good news is, we don’t have to do it all on our own. God's love is a source that never runs dry. When you lean into His love, you’ll be empowered to love others better!Your best days are still ahead, and together we can make a difference in this world with the message of God's hope and love. To give visit JoelOsteen.com/GiveHope Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of the Joel Osteen Podcast ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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See you. Hi, this is Victoria. Thank you so much for downloading this podcast. I believe God has amazing things in your future. I hope you enjoy this message. You today with a scripture that Paul prayed over the Philippian Church. And I think this is a great scripture that we should pray each and every day. It's found in Philippians 1. He prayed this. He said, I pray that your love would abound in knowledge. and depth of insight. His prayer to the Philippian Church was this. I want you to agree with me, that's why I'm sending you this letter, that your love would grow, increase, multiply. Now let me tell you something. He wasn't writing this letter to them because he had noticed

in his visits that they weren't people of love. Historically, they were people who loved. But he was saying to them, this is such an important prayer, because your love has so much potential to go so much further and build such a greater foundation in your life. He was saying, agree every day with me as I pray for you that your love will reach its fullest. You see, that's what we need to pray every single day. God, would your love abound in me more and more, in depth, and insight, and knowledge and wisdom. You see, we have to learn to love well. Because the way we love, how we show our love, the mercy we give, the grace we extend, you see, it's a direct impact on our own life.

The way we love has a direct impact on our own life. We need to learn to love well. We can't just put our love on autopilot. We can't just push it, you know, on cruise control. Let's just say that, because we all have a cruise control on our car. We set the speed and go. We can't just set the speed and allow it to stay the same all the time in every situation. We have got to understand that our love has to mature. It has to develop and it has to grow. And in order for it to do that, we have to make a commitment to love. Because it's all about commitment, focus, and determination. I mean, why do you pray? You pray because you want something to change. You're committed to it. You pray because you know God has your answer and that if you'll give it to him, he'll help you.

So we can't just set our love once and keep it set at that same speed. You know, I heard this woman, I heard a story about this woman who was talking to her husband. husband. And she said to him, honey, do you really love me? And he looked at her so strangely. And he said, why would you ask me that question? He said, I told you 25 years ago when I married you that I loved you. And if it changes, I'll let you know. You see, that man had one speed. He didn't understand that love grows. You see, it's interesting because as people we evolve, We grow, we change. Our situations change.

Things in our life change. So we have to be willing to adapt our love to that change. We cannot just let it stay the same. I think about my children when they were small. I'd scoop them up. Anytime I wanted to, they could be walking across the floor and I'd want to grab them and show them my love. I'd just scoop them right up, tickle their little bit.

bellies, you know, just cuddle with them, poke little food in their mouth. You know, all those things you do to babies and they can't do anything about it. It's so fun, and you're showing your affection, you're showing your love and you're showing your joy. But now my children are grown. I can't cuddle them, poke food in their mouth, tickle their bellies. No, they're adults. I have to understand my love has to adapt and grow.

to who they are. If I want to grow with them, I'm going to have to make some changes. Yes, I wish they'd stay babies forever. Yes, I wish I could show them the same love. I would love to say, just put that on cruise control and let it happen. But life changes. We change. We evolve. And our love must be willing to evolve. I study my children now. I let them have an opinion. I adapt to their abilities. I try to find ways to communicate with them in a better way, a way that will enrich our lives and our relationship. I want insight to who they are

and what I can do to serve them well with my love. You see, you adapt. Love is smart. That's what Paul was saying. He said, I pray that your love would grow and abound in knowledge and depth of insight. Your love should have wisdom. Your love should see beyond the superficial. It should see beyond what's happening right now.

Our love should not be limited to the love we're receiving. We can't just set a standard if you give me love, I'll give you love. That's not building that foundation that God wants to be. wants to build in us. Can I tell you when we decide we're going to be the person that comes up higher, we're going to be the person that loves in spite of how someone is showing us love? It does something to the inside of you. It strengthens your resolve.

It causes you to be able to be better. And you know what? How many of you want to get better in here? I know I do. I long to get better. We've got to be smart with our love. We can't be reckless and careless. Can I tell you something?

Love doesn't wait for things to happen. Love doesn't just hang around waiting. Love makes stuff happen. Love builds relationships. Love serves. Love gives. Love just doesn't give what it wants to give. love is willing to look into a situation and give what the situation is in need of.

Love is smart. I want that. I want to get up every morning and agree with Paul. Paul, I'm agreeing with that prayer. Anytime you see a prayer in the Bible, like Paul said, he said, I'm writing to you because I am praying this for you. Basically, find those things in the Bible. get in contact with them, get in agreement with them, pray them over yourself.

They have so much truth. The way we show love is going to impact our life. It's 30 years Joel and I have been studying each other and adapting to one another. We've made love happen. We haven't waited for it to happen. You know, love, it's a feeling, but love is also an action. that feeling can either grow or that feeling can fizzle out. I want my love to grow and to abound.

I want it to produce because that's what love does. That's what God love does. It produces good fruit in your life. Can I tell you something you will eat of the fruit that you produce? You're not going to be able to eat fruit that you don't produce. you can eat only from the fruit that you produce, just like you can't drink out of an empty glass. You know, some of you are saying to me, Victoria, I have loved and loved and loved, and I'm not getting love back. Then I have to tell you something you're drinking from an empty glass.

And the reason I can say that is in reality, the only way that we can love is to allow the love. of God in us first. That is the only way that we can love. We don't have the potential in our human ability alone to love. We may be able to try to love, but we don't have the capacity to love on our own. In fact, Jesus told the Pharisees this in Matthew 22. They said, Jesus, what's the greatest command in the law of Moses? And he said, the greatest and first command, the command that you should keep the most,

the one that is the most important is this, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all of your strength. See, they wanted to keep the law. They thought if they could keep the law, they would be right with God. And Jesus was saying this. He was saying, you can't keep the law by yourself. You can't do it by yourself. You need a savior.

That's why I'm here to keep the continual flow of love coming. Listen, when my love tanks low, I'm trying to drink out of an empty glass, there is a source of love that never runs dry. And it's the Lord Jesus Christ. It's God the Father. He is love, the Bible says. He is love. When you come to him, you are.

coming to love. I think about the woman at the well. There's a story in the Bible, and Jesus met this woman at the well, a Samaritan woman, and he was talking to her. She was coming to fill her jug up of water so she would have sufficient water for the day. And he told her something very insightful. He says, you drink water that will go away. You will thirst again with the water that you drink, he was saying what you have will not last. But he says, if you receive what I have, I have water that'll cause you to never be thirsty again. I have a flow of living water, of living love that will fill you up. That's the only way this love that Paul is talking about can abound. You see, if you want good relationships, if you want your life impacted, you've got to come to God.

You've got to let him transform you. You've got to let that foundation of love be built in you. And then as you release that love, there'll be a flow of love that'll strengthen you and it'll continue. It's interesting because the Pharisees just asked him what the first commandment was. But he went ahead and told him what the second one was. And he said, let me tell you what the second one is, and it's the same as the first. Love your neighbor as yourself. What he was saying, if you get the first part of the equation right, the second part of the equation

will come much easier. Do you want to agree with me, as I agree with Paul, that this love of God would just abound, abound, abound? It wouldn't depend on our outer circumstances, but it wouldn't depend on our outer circumstances, but It would depend on what's going on in the inside of us, the well that we're connected to, the one with living love. I want to pray for us right now. Father, I just thank you.

Just as Paul prayed, we come into agreement with that prayer. That, Father, our love would increase and abound in knowledge and depth of insight. That, God, we aren't superficial in our love, but it runs deep. It has roots. It is full of wisdom. knowledge. It adapts and it adjusts and it brings us good fruit. Father, I thank you that every day we'll fill our spigot with the living love, the living water that causes us to be able to abound and to release it to the people around us. Father, we thank you that you are love and that you

love us with an everlasting love. Father, at the end of the day, we believe as long as we're connected to you, we can do the impossible. Love, even when love's not being shown to us, we can build, Father, our love in you, and abound in every good word in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. Amen. Thank you for listening to the Joel Osteen podcast. Help us continue to share the message of hope with those all over the world. Visit joelosteen.com slash give hope to give a gift today. Thanks for listening to the podcast. Be sure to subscribe so you can get all of the latest messages. Know that we pray for you. God bless you. More than ever before, people are turning to the church for their mental health struggles.

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